album review: '99¢' by santigold

So here's a piece of an argument that I really can't stand: 'well, it's better because he or she did it first', the idea that something is inherently superior because the creator might have been the one to imagine or realize it before anyone else. I get the principle behind this argument - you could argue that building off an established sound requires less work than inventing something brand new - but it can also discount when an artist takes an established foundation in a direction that even the originator never could.

In the case of Santigold, however, it might be one of the rare cases when you can see the ripple effects of her music spanning the past several years of pop music, where she was just ahead of the punch. She started off as the frontwoman of the punk band Stifled, which released two albums in the mid-2000s, but by the time she dropped her solo debut Santogold in 2008, you'd never know, as it blew through synthpop, reggae, and much of the electronic textures that would come to dominate mainstream pop for the next five years. The immediate and most common comparison is M.I.A., but I found Santigold much more likable, partially because she has a great grasp of melody and tightness in her writing, and partially because her writing had a deft touch that might not be as vibrantly scattershot as M.I.A., but ultimately felt more cohesive and considered. Now I found that debut to be pretty uneven at points - and yet when she came back with Master Of My Make-Believe in 2012, I'd argue it's one of the best pop records of that year. The writing and grooves were so well-realized, balancing electronic and organic amazingly well, it was an album that won me over fast, even if I do think the energy fades a bit in the final tracks.

So in other words, after four years of being out of the spotlight, and with the knowledge that Santigold has the sort of forward-thinking production that could take her in a fascinating direction, I was definitely on board here. So what do we get on 99¢?

video review: 'i like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it' by the 1975

I'm amazed this review hasn't been torn to shreds yet, even though it is more positive. Ah well, goes to serve what my presumptions will be.

Next up... probably Santigold or LMNO or Mount Moriah... but who am I kidding, that Kendrick release is definitely coming, so stay tuned!

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - march 12, 2016 (VIDEO)

Well, this is a late post - late episode too, but that's what happens when your software craps out. Oh well.

Next up, the 1975... well, the video that is.

album review: 'i like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful and yet so unaware of it' by the 1975

There's been a thinkpiece making its rounds on a few music websites questioning the continued viability of the album review, or at least the written album review. Where it was once something that could influence audiences or artists or even drive sales, many major publications have seen in the rise of the internet consumers who care less about critics and more about being guided by their own taste, the democracy of public opinion. Now this is very much a mixed blessing: on the one hand it's seen the embrace and re-analysis of pop music, giving real critical consideration to what was usually derided... but you could also argue that unless the critic has a large enough following, it's not going to help the independent, weirder acts that used to rely on a review to break out. What's more concerning is that it's seen the lines between criticism and promotion blur, especially when sites and channels rely on hits to stay afloat, and it's also led me as a critic to reassess what my role as a critic can be. And in this case, it's twofold: operating as a filter to all the acts I hear throughout the year, especially in my recommendations; and providing as much in-depth analysis as I can to improve the quality of individual reviews. 

And yet no act has so divided traditional critics and the general public as The 1975, and I think I can explain why. When I covered their debut album in 2013, I was like many critics in identifying their blatant 80s influences and self-aware self-absorption that was balanced on the edge of emo - in other words, shallow, derivative, and kind of insufferable. And yet I was also like a lot of their diefans in not really caring all that much, or at least more able to relate, mostly because the group had a gift for gleaming, slightly offkilter riff-driven hooks, great basslines and saxophone, with a distinctive vocal delivery from Matthew Healy and lyrics that had a surprising amount of insight if you read between the lines. In other words, I thought their debut was a real slice of greatness, and while their social media shenanigans got a little tiresome - along with a title for the new album that stank of emo pretension - I figured what the hell and dove into The 1975's sophomore record, which from the hype and lead-off single was reportedly weirder and more colourful than their sleek debut. What did we get?

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - march 12, 2016

I've said before there are certain weeks on the Hot 100 that are deceptive, appear quieter than they actually are because nothing seems to be really shaking up the top. And hell, it'd almost make sense, the week between the Grammys and Academy Awards, nothing really exploded here, right? Well, not quite, because if you delve deeper you'll find a fair few big shifts and dropouts, setting the stage for what could be the new songs of spring to flood in coming weeks.

video review: 'this unruly mess i've made' by macklemore & ryan lewis

Goddamn it, I wanted this record to be so much better than it is... can't expect this review will go over well, especially considering the political start to things, but still...

In any case, next up is Billboard BREAKDOWN and The 1975, so stay tuned!

the top ten worst hit songs of 2008 (VIDEO) (ft. thedoubleagent)

Well, this happened. This is why there was a bit of a drought of videos at MAGFest a few weeks back, I was working on this! Thanks a lot to Ethan for joining me here, it was a ton of fun!

Unfortunately, the second review going out is far worse... so stay tuned...

album review: 'this unruly mess i've made' by macklemore & ryan lewis

"You know why people hate liberals?  Because they lose. If liberals are so goddamn smart why do they lose goddamn often?"

That was a quote from a self-identified Republican from the Aaron Sorkin-penned show The Newsroom in 2012, and as we head into the upcoming trainwreck that will be the 2016 general election, I think I can see an answer to that question. It's not an answer anyone wants to hear, especially as a liberal, but where conservatives will unite despite most internal schisms, liberals will demand ideological purity and drive people away, preferring to 'win right' rather than win, which can make the losses all the more costly.

Okay, so what does any of the politics have to do with Macklemore, a good but not great independent rapper who has released his sophomore record pairing him with the perennially underrated producer Ryan Lewis? Well, the more I've seen the hype and the even greater backlash to Macklemore the more I've come to realize that his career probably be most damaged by the audience for whom you'd think would be a natural fit - the social justice community. Keep in mind this is a rapper who months before 'Thrift Shop' caught fire released a song supporting same sex marriage in the United States, and who has released music criticizing the industry and exploring his own alcoholism... and yet in the past few years I've seen Macklemore be dealt more hatred, distrust, and outright scorn from an audience on the surface you'd expect to be more receptive than rappers who you'd think would be much bigger targets who have said far worse things.

Now to be clear here, it hasn't helped that Macklemore is not particularly artful in some of his social commentary, and being entirely too earnest and corny makes him easy to mock. But of all of the criticisms leveled against him, the one that he is mercenary and 'profiting' off of the social justice movement while not truly believing it is the most ludicrous and frustrating for me, mostly because if that was true, he wouldn't nearly screw up as often and invite the tidal wave of hatred he gets. There are legitimate grievances with him - his work is clumsy and broadly sketched, he's proven too willing to be the martyr, especially in public, the tonal whiplash between goofy and preachy can be disconcerting, and at the end of the day as a rapper he has a lot more dud lines than he should - but for as hard as Macklemore is trying, it truly is frustrating to see the audience that you'd think would receive him counterattack instead of help.

So when I heard that Macklemore newest collaboration with Ryan Lewis was going to be called This Unruly Mess I've Made, it made too much sense. Here was a man who has had an exceedingly messy few years trying to make sense of it all, and given the extremely mixed critical response, I wasn't sure where this was going to land. And his list of featuring credits was even more bizarre, spanning golden age titans to Ed Sheeran, KRS-One to YG, Anderson .Paak to Idris Elba - so what sort of mess did we get here?

video review: 'dori freeman' by dori freeman

Oh, I'm so happy I got the chance to cover this album. Doubt it's going to get a lot of traffic, but I hope I can drive more attention to her - this girl deserves a lot more attention.

Next up, Santigold, Macklemore, and The 1975 - stay tuned!

album review: 'dori freeman' by dori freeman

So I haven't talked as much as I'd prefer about indie country yet this year, mostly because of the same reason I haven't talked about much hip-hop this year - 2016 has had a bit of a slower start, and there hasn't been much that's really caught my ear.

And yet there's been one artist that when the indie country sites exploded with critical acclaim, I knew I had to take a look eventually, and that woman is Dori Freeman. Born in south-west Virginia, it seemed like her situation would be the same for many indie country prospects with no real web presence - it's never good for buzz if I've got more of a following than the artist I'm covering. And then something funny happened: she was 'discovered' by Teddy Thompson, the son of the legendary singer-songwriter Richard Thompson, who pulled enough strings to get her into the studio to cut a debut album. Now keep in mind that Dori Freeman doesn't seem to have any obvious connections to the burgeoning 'New Outlaw' movement under Dave Cobb in Nashville - we could have the sort of outlier that rarely receives any attention at all if not picked up by the critical set or an indie label with ingenious promotion or something going viral.

In other words, this is the sort of artist my channel is made for, so I finally got the chance to really dig into Dori Freeman's self-titled debut album - what did I get?

video review: 'paradise' by pop. 1280

Again, this review took way too long to get out, but it's finally here. Next up is Santigold and Dori Freeman, so stay tuned!

album review: 'paradise' by pop. 1280

I guarantee the majority of you did not see the review when I covered this band the first time.

And frankly, I'm amazed that in the summer of 2013 and after a random browse through Pitchfork that I decided to cover them, more out of bored curiosity than anything else. And while I haven't really revisited much of that record, I do distinctly remember Pop. 1280 as a weird, twisted, dark little band, driving some surprisingly solid melodies through the noise to create a hollow, rattling somewhat industrial flavour, with lyrics that seemed to alternate between punk railing against the machine and the craven horrors that humanity engaged in to survive. And while I wasn't always wild about frontman Chris Bug's delivery or the haphazard mixing, I did think their sophomore release Imps Of Perversion was a step in the right direction to emphasize the band's strengths that got overshadowed in the rough noisy murk of their debut.

And thus when I heard that their third album had opted for an even bigger, even more electronic-enhanced sound, further polishing and building off of the foundation of their last release, I was definitely interested. So, better late than never, I dug into their third album Paradise - what did I get?

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - march 5, 2016 (VIDEO)

Well, that was okay. Little late to blast this episode, but here it is.

And speaking of late... well, stay tuned!

special comment: '#freekesha - a response' (VIDEO)

Well, this happened. Hope it goes over well, but even as I read more stories about this, I can't help but feel my information will be woefully outdated.

Eh, it happens. Next up, Billboard BREAKDOWN, so stay tuned!

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - march 5, 2016

I was expecting this week to be busier than it is. I mean sure, it wasn't exactly a quiet week - new number one, a bunch of new arrivals and some considerable jumps around the chart - but I was oddly expecting more. Turns out one of the biggest factors that I was expecting - Kanye's big release - actually made no impact, because he kept it TIDAL exclusive, which Billboard doesn't count. And as for the Grammys... well, maybe it's just me, but with a few exceptions, it actually seemed more reasonable.

special comment: #freekesha - a response

I hoped that I would never have to make this.

In 2013, I made an extended Special Comment video surrounding the mismanagement of pop star Kesha's career, culminating in the cancellation of the collaboration project she made with the Flaming Lips, Lip$ha. In said Special Comment, I outlined all of the reasons why this was an asinine decision that ultimately cost them a considerable profit and the opportunity to market a more versatile and bankable star instead of doubling down on club boom trends that were nearing their final moments. Granted, the entire Warrior rollout and promotion had been a catastrophe where the labels had repeatedly shot themselves in the foot, to the point where you could argue it was intentional sabotage.

theneedledrop podcast: white publications and black music (w/ anthony fantano)

This was a fascinating conversation - thanks again to Anthony to have me on his podcast, and I hope to have another chance to delve more deeply here on a later date! In the mean time, if you want to hear two music critics talk race in music criticism, this'll be one of the more enjoyable runs, so have fun!

video review: 'the driver' by charles kelley

Yeah, this video honestly should have dropped a few days earlier, but I was at MAGFest and really never got a chance to get the editing done. Not to worry, I've got more footage and editing to get out there, but until then, I'm going to try and get the Pop 1280 and Lori Freeman reviews out. Stay tuned!

album review: 'the driver' by charles kelley

So I have said in the past that I don't care about the Grammys - it's an industry award that's more intended to recognize popular opinion than critical consensus, and it's often just as political as the Academy Awards - see the Best Album award this year. But sometimes the Grammys manage to surprise me, and when the nominations were announced for this year, there was a song nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. Furthermore, it was a song that seemingly dropped overnight, and since then has never broken the Top 40 on country radio. Not the Billboard Hot 100, which might as well have no idea this song exists, but on country radio. Think about this for a second: this is a song from two well-established artists and a third with some critical acclaim, and this song went nowhere. In other words, for me this looked more like the Grammys trying to plug a hole in the ballots with whatever might fit, especially considering it didn't win.

But is that unfair? The song, as you're all probably aware by now, is the title track from Charles Kelley's debut album - and if you don't recognize the name, he's the frontman of Lady Antebellum, a band that I've always found frustrating in that I should like them more than I do. Now of the members of Lady Antebellum I tend to like Charles Kelley more than Hillary Scott for having a voice with more unique character... but let's be honest, we're not exactly hurting for male mainstream country acts right now, especially when he doesn't even have the majority of songwriting credits on his own album. And that was presuming this record would be country at all! Lady Antebellum has always rested on the border between country and adult alternative, and considering the album included a Tom Petty cover with Stevie Nicks - because why not make the Fleetwood Mac parallel all the stronger - I honestly wasn't sure what Charles Kelley would be delivering with this. But on the other hand, it was only nine tracks and I was curious, so how did The Driver turn out?

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - february 27, 2016

So after two weeks of pretty hectic movement, things seem to have finally settled down a bit on the Hot 100. Now this didn't mean we didn't get new debuts or a few big shifts, but with the resetting positions in the top ten, it looks like we got a week of calm before the aftermath of the Grammys and Kanye's release blows the chart into complete chaos. Eh, you take them when you can get them.