Misc. Singles III

Here are some new singles (including one from Jack Johnson, as you can see), which were obviously chosen fairly randomly- it’s all about what I’m interested in and from there I recommend what I think everyone should listen to. Read on…

· OMG (Usher) – I’ve liked Usher in the past and this song has been #1 on iTunes recently. It is pretty catchy and you’ll find yourself singing to yourself. I call artists like Usher hip hop lite, not too hardcore.

· Rill Rill (Sleigh Bells) – I had never heard of Sleigh Bells, but I read two reviews of their album in two days earlier this week. They’re a pretty new male/female due from New York and have a cool, kind of quirky sound. The actual vocals belong to a female with a really pretty voice, and the lyrics are clever and unexpected. I’ve read that this song is actually their least “alternative”, but I like it and might try the whole thing.

· You and Your Heart (Jack Johnson) – If you are a Jack Johnson fan, you are really never going to be disappointed with a new song because one of his greatest strengths is his predictable mellowness. He is a Hawaiian surfer dude, not a rocker, so he has perfect music to relax to and you don’t have to work very hard to like his songs. The downside is that you’re never really going to be surprised by what you get. That being said, this song is actually a bit livelier than his usual, meaning there is some electric guitar action and he sings a decibel or so louder than usual.

· Southern Pacifica (Josh Ritter) – I have seen this name around and was elated when I saw that the song was being offered free at Starbucks since those songs are often by artists I’ve never heard of. What luck that it was one I’ve wanted to try anyway! He has a cool mellow song but with a bit more of an edge to it than a Jack Johnson, for instance. I’d definitely try other songs by him, although I have to stop thinking that he used to be on Three’s Company.

· Not Afraid (Eminem) – One thing you can say about rappers is that they should never need therapy because absolutely every thought and emotion comes straight out their mouths- and beware of the “explicit” versions (I have no idea how they make a song like this “clean”). This song is no exception, but one thing about Eminem is that he has really interesting lyrics if you’re not offended by them. This song is basically about Em getting his life together, cleaning up and coming back to his fans after a hiatus. It has a good message but requires some concentration to sort through it (I’m always distracted by the complexity of his rhymes!). I tend to like Eminen because I think he’s actually really talented, but he’s never for the faint of heart.

· You’ve Got a Friend (James Taylor and Carole King) – due to absolutely no forethought about the sequence of my playlist, this song followed Eminem. James’ voice always feels like being wrapped in a really comfy blanket, especially after being emotionally exhausted by the previous song. This album is from a 2007 live show he and Carole King did at the same theatre where they first performed in 1970, the Troubadour in West Holleywood, California. This album contains some of his songs and some of hers. They sound great together, just as they always did, so you can’t really go wrong if you like either of them. One thing that’s always fun about live albums is the bits of chatter that’s included, which this has.

· My First Kiss (3Oh!3 with Ke$ha) – I’ve been reading about this 3Oh!3 guy (I think he chose to do the duet with Ke$ha because he was drawn to the special characters in her name- kindred spirits) and discovered that his “name” refers to his area code (303 in case you are having trouble interpreting it) as he’s from one of my favorite places: Boulder! I don’t really picture Boulder as producing sounds like this, but it’s pretty lively and will be a temporary chart topper but doubtful on a long-term presence. Good to dance to (if I was about 20 years younger).

· Rock That Body (Black Eyed Peas) – I think the Black Eyed Peas are just systematically going through every song on this album and when one starts to dry up they release another, so this is the latest, although none are ever going to beat I Gotta Feeling. Not crazy about what sounds like The Chipmunks singing on this song, but all Black Eyed Peas songs are clever, memorable and different- they can’t be accused of doing the same song over and over.

Recommendations? None that I really disliked from this group, but the ones I particularly liked are:

· OMG (Usher)
· Rill Rill (Sleigh Bells)
· Southern Pacifica (Josh Ritter)

Here is the song Rill Rill, although there’s no video. At least you’ll hear the song.

Ke$ha: Animal

There is a lot of buzz about Ke$ha these days, and I believe youngsters may soon begin asking their parents if they should brush their teeth with Crest or “a bottle of Jack” because they’ve heard Tik Tok so many times, so reviewing Animal isn’t exactly cutting edge, although it might be for someone my age.

Ke$ha had one of those hard-luck childhoods where she and her single mom drifted about. She actually is from the Nashville area and still lives with her mom there when she’s not on tour; early influences growing up were largely country. Although she’s only 23, she’s been trying for a number of years to break onto the scene and added the ‘$’ to her name sarcastically during the early years (I know, I was also surprised to learn that her given name didn’t include the ‘$’, her actual birth name being just plain Kesha). To illustrate the hard times she went through early on, she sang backup on Paris Hilton’s album- yikes. I did not know (or remember anyway) that she also sang on Flo Rida’s hit song, Right Round. Fun fact: Ke$ha is nearly six feet tall- isn’t that interesting?

Okay, the music… My first impression after listening to Animal all the way through is that little Ke$ha needs an intervention and possible some self esteem classes to choose better boyfriends- oh my! D.A.R.E. officers could use this album to relate cautionary tales of the bad things that happen to you when you’re drunk because Ke$ha details many of them with an unapologetic attitude (although she claims the bad behavior is large in the past tense). I should have realized the direction things were going while perusing the song titles: Your Love is My Drug, Hungover, Party at a Rich Dude’s House (in which she describes throwing up in a closet, which she apparently really did at Paris’ house), etc.

Once the shock of the lyrics wore off I actually did enjoy the album. I definitely liked the more upbeat songs more than the slower ones, which seemed kind of depressing to me. If you’re not offended (or concerned) about the lyrics and just take them as a youngish party girl sharing some of her tales, you might like this album.

Aside from the radio hits, which now also include Blah Blah Blah and Your Love is My Drug, I would recommend Dinosaur, which is very fun and bound to hit the radio at some point, and Take It Off. Overall, I think I would save the album for a younger group and be satisfied with a few song rather than all.

Now that I’ve reached the end of this post I would like to mention how annoying it is to type Ke$ha’s name repeatedly!

P.S. If you enjoy reading these posts, please bookmark my page and consider recommending it to a friend. I’d also love to hear from people who have tried any of my recommendations or people who have music of their own to share. Thanks for reading!