Gonzo takes the wheel for a review of Debbie Harry’s new album. - Pete….
(2007, Five Seven Music)
I have to begin by admitting two things. First, I’m a big Blondie fan. I have all of their albums on vinyl, minus the contract-filling Hunter. I’ve often said that New York City in the mid-late 1970s is my favorite music ‘scene’ of all time. Along with the Talking Heads, Patti Smith, The Shirts, Television and the Ramones, Blondie is one reason for my view. Secondly, I confess that I haven’t followed Debbie Harry’s solo career with any level of depth. That said, I was intrigued when given the opportunity to review Harry’s latest solo disc, Necessary Evil.
The album’s opening tracks set the tone for the rest of the album. In general, the songs on Necessary Evil retain Allen’s roots in the new wave and pop music of the late 1970s/early 1980s. Whether this is conscious or not, this aspect of Harry’s most recent work fits in well with the current trend of retro-new wave acts such as The Killers. Yet in addition to recalling Harry’s most well known work with Blondie, the album combines this aesthetic with contemporary conventions of indie rock and electro dance music. The result is admittedly not anything to write home about. While Harry is able to bridge the past with the present, the product of this marriage is sadly not particularly unique or groundbreaking. Still, that’s not to say that the songs are without merit.
However, the failure of the album is its lack of brevity. At 17 tracks, the disc gets to be a bit tedious. While I doubt that it would create a landmark album, trimming some of the fat on Necessary Evil could at the very least have led to a more solid and enjoyable disc.
In short, Necessary Evil is enjoyable for what it is. It isn’t earth-shattering, but it shows that Harry has maintained her competence in form and execution. Overall, I give it a solid ‘C’ grade.
Necessary Evil hits the shelves on 9/17 in the US.
I know it’s Thursday and not Sunday, but I’ve had this one in my hopper for a day or so…
I’m going to turn on the cantankerous old man voice now: what in the heck are these kids listening to! A couple of weeks ago I had my son in the car with me and this lovely little ditty came on. My first thought was “Hmm, Ben E. King with a beat, interesting” and I was with it until I listened to the lyrics. Here’s a snippet:
You’re way too beautiful girl
That’s why it’ll never work
You’ll have me suicidal, suicidal
When you say it’s over
Damn all these beautiful girls
They only wanna do your dirt
They’ll have you suicidal, suicidal
When they say it’s over
Did he really just say suicidal? More than that, is that my 9 year old singing along!? I’ll admit that merely typing the words “In my youth” hurts, but in my youth parent advocate groups would have had Mr. Kingston in court in a heartbeat for merely suggesting suicide is cool. And yet atop the Billboard 100 this tune has sat for three weeks and not even Fergie, Timbaland nor the mighty KanYe can seem to de-throne him.
I’m interested to hear what all the faithful readers of ickmusic think of this tune. Personally, and much to my son’s displeasure, this gets switched off at the first note anytime it comes on.
It’d be easy to pass Amerie Mi Marie Rogers by as just another Beyoncé clone to be filed neatly before Ciara and Rihanna in the record industry’s attempt to strike gold more than once (as displayed perfectly by the latter’s more than 2 month stint atop the UK charts with her infectious “Umbrella”). It’s not that easy though, and Amerie is far from another clone.
With everything from the acid-jazz breaks of “Hate2LoveU” to the classic 80’s new-wave funk of “Some Like It” and “Crazy Wonderful”, Amerie delivers 13 tracks of pure funk. It may be a heady comparison but the overall record hearkens back to Sign O’ The Times era Prince. Covering ground from multiple styles while creating a cohesive album that really just makes you want to shake your behind and fall in love all at the same time.
While this record is not out in the states until August 21st, the UK crowd has had this record since May where it reached number 17 on the UK Album charts. Here’s a taste of what we’re in store for… check out “Crazy Wonderful” and pick up Because I Love It when it hits stores, or pick up the UK import which includes her 2005 breakthrough tune “1Thing”.
The five top songs on this week’s Billboard Top 100 are the same as last week. Boring, but I’ll continue on with week 2 of “What the Kids are Listening To”… this week, we look at Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry”. I can’t say the song does anything for me. Very manufactured, and very much targeted to all of the young heartsick girls out there. I gotta hand it to Fergie though, she’s risen from her roots on the TV show Kids Incorporated, through her time in the Black Eyes Peas, and emerged as a very successful solo artist. Not even a little on-stage squirt in her pants will deter her or her fans.
So here’s the video. It is me, or is she dressed like a blonde Milli Vanilli at the beginning? And I love the hard-ass punk look on her band, playing what couldn’t be any further away from hard-ass or punk.
Okay, so I’m 36 years old, not ancient by any means, but what I am realizing is how increasingly disconnected I am with the current popular music scene. So I’m inspired to start a new Sunday series called “What the Kids are Listening To”, a chance for us, the disconnected ones, to take a look and listen to what’s on the kiddies’ iPods. I’ll pick one out of the top 5 and we’ll all watch the video and comment. Be as nice or un-nice as you please (example, Jen from my recent Rihanna video post felt this way: “This song makes me want to dig out my eardrums with a fork.”)
Here’s this week’s chart:
I announced my affection for Rihanna and her sexy umbrella a couple of weeks ago, so tonight I pick the only non-R&B / hip-hop tune of the bunch, which is “Hey There Delilah”, a song by the Plain White T’s. It’s sentimental, catchy, acoustic pop. And you know what? Not bad! My first thought upon hearing it was that it wouldn’t sound out of place on an Old 97’s record. It has that mellow Rhett Miller vibe for sho’. Sure, it’s as sappy as a maple tree, but I’ll take it any day over “Party Like a Rock Star” or “Buy You a Drank”.
Bryan Ferry’s new album, Dylanesque, is released tomorrow. As the title suggests, it’s Ferry’s take on 11 Bob Dylan tunes. I jumped in to take a listen, and I have to say, I like what I hear.
He goes uptempo on “Simple Twist of Fate” - and succeeds. He also covers one of my favorite later era Dylan tunes: Time Out of Mind’s “Make You Feel My Love”. Tie me up and flog me if you wish, but I still think Garth Brooks has the best version of this song. It’s the sweet n’ sugary side of me I guess (the side of me that sings along to “The Rose” when I hear it).
The whole album is streaming at Spinner.com. Go on over and take a listen. And you can taste a couple of tracks here too…
You usually won’t find me too in touch with the Top 40 hits of the day (or the Hot 100 on Billboard), but Rihanna pulled me right in to this video. I could do without Jay-Z’s bantering at the beginning, but that’s what you get these days. Wherever you look on the charts, you get the obligatory Artist Name featuring currently hot hip-hop star. A quick scan of the Hot 100 shows:
T-Pain Feat. Yung Joc
T-Pain feat. Akon
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony feat. Akon
Gwen Stefani feat. Akon
Fergie feat. Ludacris
Fabolous feat. Ne-Yo
D.J. Khaled feat. T.I., Akon, Rick Ross, Fat Joe, Lil Wayne, and Baby
and a lot more
Maybe I’m old and grumpy, but that pisses me off (for no particular reason). And that Akon, what a class act he is.
But back to Rihanna. I genuinely like this song. What’s not to like about a hot 19 year old from Barbados. *slap* Snap out of it Pete.
I know very little about Gary Numan. I’ve always been a fan of “Cars”, but beyond that, not much exposure to ol’ Gary. But I’m always seeking to paint in the bare spots of my musical canvas (like that?), and God knows, we all need to take a trip back to 1980 once in a while for some classic synth-heavy new wave.
So a quick Numanology…. born Gary Anthony James Webb in Hammersmith, West London in 1958… Put together a band in the late 70’s called Tubeway Army… 1979’s The Pleasure Principle included his biggest hit, “Cars” - and was completely devoid of guitars… two of his biggest influences: David Bowie and Marc Bolan… he’s a flying nut, and was once arrested in India for “spying” during a flight around the world… he’s seen a resurgence in his career over the last decade, as time and perspective have him labeled by some as the “godfather of electronic music.”
Enjoy the show…
Gary Numan
Live in Santa Monica, CA
BBC Rock Hour, broadcast September 7, 1980
Airlane
Me I Disconnect From You
Praying To The Aliens
M.E.
Films
We Are So Fragile
Are Friends Electric?
Conversation
Metal
Cars
I Die, You Die
Down In The Park
Here’s a world premiere of Paul McCartney’s new video for “Dance Tonight”. Amazing how he does it. Instantly familiar and catchy. He’s Paul McCartney fer cripe’s sake.
His new album, Memory Almost Full, will be released on June 5th. Preorder / buy it here:
This Tuesday, Epic will release ‘The Warmth of the Sun’, a retrospective of three decades of Beach Boys music chosen by the Boys themselves - yes, even Brian Wilson (along with Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and Mike Love). To complement the release, there’s an 11-part series of free podcasts filled with interviews and quality Beach Boys tuneage being released over 11 weeks. You can subscribe to them in iTunes.
So naturally, it’s time for another Ickmusic give-it-away! A comment below puts you in the running. Pretty simple, hey? As always, points for originality. And extra points to anyone who can throw Brian Wilson and “warmth of the sun” into a limerick.
The Warmth Of The Sun (CD and Digital Album)
1. All Summer Long (new stereo mix)
2. Catch A Wave
3. Hawaii
4. Little Honda
5. 409
6. It’s OK
7. You’re So Good To Me (new stereo mix)
8. Then I Kissed Her (new stereo mix)
9. Kiss Me, Baby
10. Please Let Me Wonder (new stereo mix)
11. Let Him Run Wild (new stereo mix)
12. The Little Girl I Once Knew
13. Wendy (new stereo mix)
14. Disney Girls (1957)
15. Forever
16. Friends
17. Break Away
18. Why Do Fools Fall In Love
19. Surf’s Up
20. Feel Flows
21. All This Is That
22. ‘Til I Die
23. Sail On, Sailor
24. Cool, Cool Water
25. Don’t Go Near The Water
26. California Saga (On My Way To Sunny Californ-i-a)
27. California Dreamin’
28. The Warmth Of The Sun
.
’s “Make You Feel My Love”. Tie me up and flog me if you wish, but I still think Garth Brooks has the best version of this song. It’s the sweet n’ sugary side of me I guess (the side of me that sings along to “The Rose” when I hear it).
included his biggest hit, “Cars” - and was completely devoid of guitars… two of his biggest influences: David Bowie and Marc Bolan… he’s a flying nut, and was once arrested in India for “spying” during a flight around the world… he’s seen a resurgence in his career over the last decade, as time and perspective have him labeled by some as the “godfather of electronic music.”
, will be released on June 5th. Preorder / buy it here:
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