Worst Song...

..ever?



Ron Artest's "Michael Michael" (Michael Jackson Tribute Song)

You decide.

Flashback Friday

With the damn near 24/7 Michael Jackson coverage over the past week, I've been thinking about family music acts.

Two groups really stick out in my mind. The first is The Sylvers. The Sylvers put out some good records in the '70s and members of the family were responsible for helping Janet Jackson put together her self-titled debut in 1982.

The other clan is British and formed the group Five Star. I don't know much about the Pearsons but this week's Flashback has stayed in my head since the first time I heard it. When I found the 12" for "All Fall Down" during a recent trip to a NYC used vinyl spot, I just had to pick it up. And for all you DJs out there, this track mixes well with another Friday Flashback.

Man, I'm always a sucker for videos following the A-Ha mold...

Review: Maxwell's "BLACKsummers'night"

It is absolutely fitting that on the day of Michael Jackson's memorial service, Maxwell is releasing his 4th solo album, "BLACKsummers'night". It's been EIGHT years since Maxwell's "Now" release and to say that he's overdue would be an understatement...

Which brings me to my point about Maxwell & Michael. Both of these gentlemen are EXTREMELY talented [While I'm not saying that Maxwell is not on Michael's level, I will say that on his WORSE day Maxwell is better than 98% of the artists out there]. And both of these gentlemen had/have been EXTREMELY unproductive as of late. To have that/this much talent and no product is absolutely unconscionable in my opinion [See Aretha, Stevie, Miles, Marvin under definition of "work ethic in their prime"].

My point? After two-and-a-half week's of listening, I am here to tell "Blacksummers'night" is NOT that good of an album. Of Maxwell's four albums, it's a distant fourth. And what makes me even angrier is that it took him 8 years to give the public the worst album of his career. Some of you may be consoled by the fact that next July he'll deliver his 5th album and the July after that his 6th, but I'm not. I'm concerned.

"Blacksummers'night" finds Maxwell eerily in a place that he's NEVER been. It's raw. Mostly un-edited. Stripped-down. The EXACT opposite of what all three prior Maxwell album's have been: meticulously edited, thoughtful, exacting and obsessive. "Blacksummers'night" feels like he got a bunch of extremely talented musicians into the studio at once and ran through the songs in quick succession. No looking back. How those session's went down is what this album sounds like. More instruments collide on this album than any previous Maxwell album. His vocals sound "rough". The song-writing is fairly formulaic. No interesting bridges or breaks. In other words, it's lacking in ALL of the areas where Maxwell used to SHINE. Oh, did I mention it's only 9 tracks long and one of them is an instrumental track?

Maxwell is already touring in support of this album, selling-out theaters nation-wide. It will be hard from him to see that the (assumed) sales success of "Blacksummers'night" and its tour has to do with his PAST success and not THIS album. Maybe I'll be proven wrong and the critics will savage this record and the fans will be lukewarm. But I doubt it. Maxwell has left us waiting for 8 years and most fans will probably be happy to have ANYTHING from him. As I said earlier, Maxwell at his worst is better than 98% of the stuff out there. "Blacksummers'night" is no exception to this rule.

I'm going to buy "Blacksummers'night" today because there are so few "real" artists out there these days. But I will be purchasing this album BEGRUDGINGLY.

If you've got an opinion, would love to read it in the comments.

cmB

Flashback Friday

This past week I've seen and heard a lot about Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing turning 20 years old.

I honestly have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that the film's been out 20 years.

Even more so, I can't believe this week's Flashback has been out for the same amount of time (note: The song was not on the movie's soundtrack).

Remember Redhead Kingpin? Are you wondering what he's doing now? Take a listen. Talk about a successful transition from limelight to background player extrodinaire (a.k.a. producer).

More Fun With Detroit Politics: Conyers' Saga

Actually, this isn't all that fun for me.

Watching politics in Detroit is like seeing the ex you still care for do smack in a Sunoco bathroom.

Disappointment is abound.

I have deep feelings for the city but the leadership there hasn't done much to help its dire situation.

The latest episode involves Monica Conyers. You know, the Detroit councilwoman who threatened to shoot people, called a colleague Shrek, and got in a verbal scuffle with our 2008 Greatest American of the Year?

Well, in a development that you could call both an embarrassment and a blessing, Conyers is a councilwoman no more.


"She's about to do more time than I ever did."

Conyers pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy charges in a scandal that involved, I isht you not, sludge.

Could you please try for less irony next time?

I just wonder, will there ever be a time when folks in office just say, "Hey, I know this is a lot of cash but my ass could go to prison and I'll jeopordize the public trust and cause hardship in my family's, constitutents' and staffers' lives. I shouldn't do this"?

Call me a dreamer but I have to hold out hope.

Does anybody know someone out there (not named Cory Booker) who might be a person I can put stock in (just to be left in tears a few years down the road)?

"Diallo's of Houston"

I feel like I should get a cut of this party...



Damn, that looks like one hot party. Houston, represent.

Terrible Music Tuesdays

Last month during my trip to Chicago, my audiofile friend and I started a conversation about musical genres we just couldn't stand.

Q: What do you hate more--'80s pop rock or Hi-NRG?
A: Of course, Hi-NRG.

Q: Ok, what's your least favorite Hi-NRG track?
A: Who the f--k knows the name of a Hi-NRG song? I could hum one but I damn sure don't know the name of it.

And I dare you all to name a Hi-NRG song.

See. It's frickin' impossible.

After the futile attempt to name just one song from an entire genre the question changed to a simpler one:

What's one song you just can't stand?

Well, that's easy--



What's it about this sports bar staple that gets to me?

"Mamba".

I hate how they enunciate "mamba".

It's irked me since I was a kid and I don't know why.

The isht makes me want to slap the "Jefferson" out of the "Starship", but luckily they've already taken care of that.

So what song makes you want to shake the isht out of somebody?