New This Week

  • You know, I'd like to pretend I'm extraordinarily interested in the current state of pop music-who's big, who's not, who wins awards, who doesn't, etc.--but there are times, I must admit, when I'd really rather be watching the season premieres of Game Of Thrones and The Killing than some dopey televised awards show!

    And so it is that I missed last night's Academy of Country Music Awards!

    But fear not! I already know the highlights, and so should you! Taylor Swift won something or other, country pioneers Kiss--who along with Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings rewrote all the genre's rules so many decades ago--finally acceded to popular demand and showed up, and other people won things, too! And apparently there were commercials!

    Most jarring? The joint appearance of Mickey Mouse and Leopold Stokowski! And doesn't that just figure?

    Still, without Kanye...what's the point?

    Rascal Flatts: Changed (Big Machine) Certainly one of the biggest bands in country music, Rascal Flatts continue to amaze with their commercial appeal, their good-hearted, folksy nature, and their always superlative wardrobe! So perhaps it's no surprise that their latest effort, Changed, depicts the band in an entirely new set of clothes! They're nothing if not

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  • There is a certain warmth and sense of reassurance that comes with writing about musicians with whom you are deeply familiar!

    This week I'll be writing about new releases from Madonna and Lionel Richie, two superstar artists with distinguished careers behind them--and it's a near certainty I'll sound authoritative as I write about their works, merely because I've been doing so, sort of, for years!

    Still, there are few doubters out there--"haters," if you will--who have occasionally commented that it often seems the reviews I carefully craft are completely fictional and have no bearing whatsoever on reality!

    Silly doubters! I've only "carefully crafted" about six of them in five years! The rest give me something to do on Monday nights!

    Madonna: MDNA (Live Nation/Interscope) The volume of writing about Madonna that has anything whatsoever to do with her actual music as opposed to her image, the controversies that arise in her wake, and her admirable musculature is, in a manner of speaking, a very

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  • Shinning The Kicks!

    By | New This Week – Wed, Mar 21, 2012 4:09 AM EDT

    Apologies for posting this a day later than usual, but I just spent the last eight days in Austin, Texas, at the South by Southwest Music Conference, a popular confab this year highlighted by appearances by rising stars Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z, Eminem,  50 Cent and other lesser-known, unimportant clods!

    It was great!

    Sadly, upon my return, I dutifully drove to the office early Monday morning with every intention of penning this world-acclaimed blog later that night--but, when day was done, instead found myself sleeping for a full 13 hours!

    To return the favor to you, dear readers, I've decided to write this blog tonight, in hopes that you too might sleep for 13 hours as well! It's easy and fun!

    The Shins: Port Of Morrow (Aural Apothecary) A new album by the Shins is always welcome, as the robust pop group has an uncanny knack for memorable melodies, respectable songcraft, and a wonderfully anatomical name! The new disc, named after a unique cut of

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  • Hello and greetings from Austin, Texas--that marvelous city which once a year hosts the exciting South By Southwest Multi-Media Something-Or-Other Conference, where I am currently ensconced, preparing for a week of marvelous music, marvelous interviews and exclusive performances, and marvelous opportunities to toss a few down in the spirit of our marvelous music industry!

    Incidentally, have I told you I own the rights to the word "marvelous"?

    But before it all begins, before I solemnly walk the streets in search of the latest superstar-to-be from Chile, New Zealand, or Punta Gorda, Florida, I thought I'd examine this week's hottest new releases and help set the stage for what may be the most exciting 2012 in music history!

    Perhaps I'll list a few interesting new releases and say a few words about each of them!

    And with any luck, those words will be related to the albums themselves!

    One Direction: Up All Night (Columbia)  Rightly referred to as "the biggest UK breakout group of 2011," One Direction are a fascinating bunch indeed! Consisting of five charismatic youths all of whom are enormously tall--word has it

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  • It's a serviceable week of new record releases!

    Glitter and glam? How about that Bruce Springsteen? Sex, guts and glory? Check out the new Blues Traveler compilation! Ardent pacifism? You can't go wrong with Good Old War! Conspiracy theories? New releases by Andrew Bird and I See Hawks in L.A.!

    Humans fully capable of growing wings and flying around the country spreading love and happiness via pixie dust?

    Sure, that too!

    Birth control an issue? Hey, you can put these albums between your knees and it won't be that costly!

    Things are looking up all over!

    Bruce Springsteen: Wrecking Ball (Columbia)  Bruce Springsteen's physical transformation from a scraggly upstart to everyone's favorite Uncle Charlie from

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  • A Fork In The Road!

    By | New This Week – Tue, Feb 28, 2012 4:14 AM EST

    One week you're on top of the world--completely plugged into the pop culture scene via exciting performances during the marvelous Super Bowl and Grammy Awards telecasts--and the next, you're wondering why you haven't seen a single movie that was nominated for an Academy Award!

    And that same week, you wake up, try to put on your shoes, and realize that suddenly, strangely...they're somehow loose! It's as if you've actually physically shrunken! And when you find yourself adjusting your car seat only minutes later--a car seat in which you've been perfectly comfortable for the past three years--it strikes you again! Something has changed!

    And then it hits you: Looking at your reflection, you realize you're wearing a wonderful new shirt! And my, you look good!

    Who knows, you say to yourself--maybe this will be the week I listen to all the new albums before I review them!

    But the man in the mirror laughs! And you find it pretty funny yourself! Later you buy gas!

    Lyle Lovett: Release Me (Lost Highway)  Though he tends to drift in and out of the public sphere, performer Lyle Lovett has never been less than an extraordinarily tasteful

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  • The Bells Of Hell!

    By | New This Week – Wed, Feb 22, 2012 5:03 AM EST

    After the recent hubbub of the Grammys, the sad demise of Whitney Houston, and the surrealistic news of further recorded collaborations by contemporary singing stars Rihanna and Chris Brown, one might say...anything goes!

    And so, to celebrate, to get in the mood--to, in a sense, cleanse my palate of all that today's music scene has to offer--this week I decided to get rid of all my preconceived notions of what was right, wrong, good or bad, and, indeed, start from scratch! I would listen to every new piece of music that crossed my path and judge it purely for what it was--without prejudice, critical snobbery, or that numbing sense that everything now being done was once done before, but, sadly, even better.

    And thus, to begin my quest, I decided I would start anew by listening to the complete recorded works of Dutch rockers Golden Earring, a long-lived band who since the mid-'60s have recorded a fascinating catalog of slightly off popular music that would eventually encompass a fascinating side-long cover version of the Byrds' "Eight Miles High," a memorable testosterone-infused hit with "Radar Love," a staggering classic via the accompanying "Candy's Going Bad," an early MTV hit with "Twilight Zone," and a whole bunch of other albums that, remarkably, have never stopped coming. All over the place.

    In short: They are now the critical baseline by which I will now render all of my judgments regarding today's popular music!

    Were I not to notify you of this, I would be doing you a disservice!

    Sleigh Bells: Reign Of Terror (Mom + Pop)  While I am sadly hip enough to know this trendy duo appeared on Saturday Night Live this weekend, I simply did not have

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  • Wow, what a phenomenal week!

    First came Sunday night's exciting Grammy Awards show--a rock 'em, sock 'em, no-holds-barred ceremony honoring this year's absolutely greatest musicians! I was enthralled!

    Would Adele be able to sing? What would Lady Gaga be wearing? Would Kanye West really rush onstage, grab a microphone, call people on his cellphone and ask if their refrigerator was running? And wasn't it about time for Jay-Z and Beyoncé to have another baby or something? Heck, it could be a great night!

    But...when all was said and done, it was a major downer!

    Why? No Spin Doctors reunion!

    Still, later that night, when Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and I went out for donuts and coffee, the car in front of us lost a hubcab! And you should have heard Gaga howl!

    And at Krispy Kreme, Nicki Minaj let us take cuts!

    Like I said: what a week!

    Amos Lee: As The Crow Flies (Blue Note)  It's always difficult to ascertain what album deserves the treasured lead-off spot here, but I'm suspecting that Mr.

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  • Like most of us, I'm sitting at home with a bag of ice perched atop my head, still trying to recover from the horrendous spectacle of Sunday's Super Bowl performance--in which popular star Madonna, ready to emerge with a brand new album, dared to dance and sing in front of the entire world in an effort to promote it!

    How offensive was it? Let me count the ways!

    First, she was disarmingly attractive! Secondly, she seemed a skilled dancer! Thirdly, she was singing a catchy song! Fourthly, the onstage choreography displayed by her entire onstage troupe was precisely performed and a marvel to watch! Fifthly, it was a pleasure watching the onstage guests--celebrities in their own right Nicki Minaj, M.I.A., LMFAO and Cee Lo Green--artfully singing, dancing and performing, abilities we as Americans have paid them vast sums to display on their own! Sixthly is a word I never thought I'd have to use! Seventhly, she's into World Peace! You mean to tell me you're not?

    And eighthly, I think M.I.A. likes me!

    In short, it was the greatest Super Bowl show of all time! And I have a bag of ice on my head because it's fashionable! I am going to buy two copies of the new Madonna album just to prove my point!

    In many ways, we're a lot alike!

    Van Halen: A Different Kind Of Truth (Interscope)  One of last week's personal highlights was being able to catch Van Halen's "surprise"

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  • If you're like me, you're probably shivering in anticipation about the next two weeks!

    This Sunday will bring us the exciting return of Madonna--whose appearance at the Super Bowl is certain to be the stuff of legends! I'm betting she'll be controversial, maybe sort of sexy, and say the word "pigskin" more than once!

    And the next week will of course bring us the exciting Grammy Awards! Packed with superstars, controversy, outlandish wardrobes, and, every now and then, music, it's sure to send consumers directly to record stores--where they'll drop hundreds of dollars purchasing the latest product by today's acclaimed superstars and keep our good friends in the record industry employed for at least eight, heck, maybe nine more months! And I understand there are more than 50 record stores left!

    Whoever said "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" was half-right!

    Leonard Cohen: Old Ideas (Columbia)   New records by Leonard Cohen are a cause for celebration, and this latest--his first studio album in eight years--merits all the

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