Feel The Heat. Songs of the Summer 2006.
Hey Soul Mates,
it's a day in the a/c here in SoCal. Couldn't believe it hit 111 here in North Hollywood on Saturday. As noted in an earlier blog, we've moved closer to the sun. There melts the neighborhood.
As a result, there's been lots of indoors time to catch up on popular culture past and present. I don't normally watch a lot of comedies anymore, but I finally saw Anchorman and Pootie Tang. Both, I would highly recommend. Also got around to On The Waterfront. Damn, that Brando (and Steiger) could do his thang. There are so many "classic" films I've never seen. Thank goodness, I got in Pootie Tang. Cole me down on the panny sty.
And lots of time spent in the pool. I haven't done this much swimming since I was eleven. I had forgotten how much chlorine straightened my hair.
Summertime is always a good time for new pop music. And there's some interesting summer tunage this year:
The new Justin Timberlake is the hottest track. SexyBack has got an early 80's hip hop beat and wildly processed male vocals not heard on a mainstream single since Prince's U Got The Look. A very bold move for an opening single to promote a new album. Justified remains one of my favorite LPs of this decade, so my expectations are high for Timberlake's new disc. If SexyBack is any indicator, we're in for another massive album.
Nelly Furtado gets high marks for Promiscuous/Maneater, if only because she held down the top spot simultaneously in the US and UK pop singles charts with each song, respectively. Her stabs at these tunes on SNL were regrettable, but these are fine productions, not performance pieces. It can't be easy for a folky singer songwriter to reinvent herself as a disco queen.
Christina Aguilera's first solo single in years is pure heat, too. And she proves she is the real deal. There's virtually no music going on per se, other than a drum beat and a horn sample yet, she's got a real melody going on on this track. Ain't No Other Man does what Outkast's Might "O" can't in its attempt at 30's jazzy, retro-ness. Pharrell and Kanye's Number One is growing on me. Probably because everything Pharrell does sounds (musically, not vocally) like an outtake from Off The Wall.
The second biggest surprise of the summer has to be Oakenfold's Faster Kill Pussycat which features vocals by actress Brittany Murphy. I had no idea she could sing and wail like that. Pretty cool. And drum roll, the most eye-popping, jaw dropping surprise for this summer is how solid Stars Are Blind by Paris Hilton is. Granted, it's got a user-friendly reggae beat, a listenable hook, was tailor-written for her (no expense spared, I'm sure), but Stars Are Blind is a genuinely sweet performance and I've said as much to close friends and associates. Years from now I may recant, but for now, I'll stand by this opinion.
Other Summer '06 songs on my sonar:
An Easier Affair - George Michael
Fill My Little World - The Feeling
Touch It (remix) - Busta Rhymes & Mary J. Blige
Steady As She Goes - The Raconteurs (easily the best modern rock track of the summer)
Too early to tell:
Deja Vu - Beyonce & Jay-Z (at least it's got Hova on it)
Call On Me - Janet Jackson & Nelly
As you may have noticed, there are very few rock & roll acts here. Well, they have kind of let me down this summer. Ain't naming names. So there's my weigh-in on the hottest newest for your Summer listening. Discovering new music and telling people about it has always been one of my passions. Did you find this article helpful? If so, press 1. If not, press 2.
Love, Power, Peace
it's a day in the a/c here in SoCal. Couldn't believe it hit 111 here in North Hollywood on Saturday. As noted in an earlier blog, we've moved closer to the sun. There melts the neighborhood.
As a result, there's been lots of indoors time to catch up on popular culture past and present. I don't normally watch a lot of comedies anymore, but I finally saw Anchorman and Pootie Tang. Both, I would highly recommend. Also got around to On The Waterfront. Damn, that Brando (and Steiger) could do his thang. There are so many "classic" films I've never seen. Thank goodness, I got in Pootie Tang. Cole me down on the panny sty.
And lots of time spent in the pool. I haven't done this much swimming since I was eleven. I had forgotten how much chlorine straightened my hair.
Summertime is always a good time for new pop music. And there's some interesting summer tunage this year:
The new Justin Timberlake is the hottest track. SexyBack has got an early 80's hip hop beat and wildly processed male vocals not heard on a mainstream single since Prince's U Got The Look. A very bold move for an opening single to promote a new album. Justified remains one of my favorite LPs of this decade, so my expectations are high for Timberlake's new disc. If SexyBack is any indicator, we're in for another massive album.
Nelly Furtado gets high marks for Promiscuous/Maneater, if only because she held down the top spot simultaneously in the US and UK pop singles charts with each song, respectively. Her stabs at these tunes on SNL were regrettable, but these are fine productions, not performance pieces. It can't be easy for a folky singer songwriter to reinvent herself as a disco queen.
Christina Aguilera's first solo single in years is pure heat, too. And she proves she is the real deal. There's virtually no music going on per se, other than a drum beat and a horn sample yet, she's got a real melody going on on this track. Ain't No Other Man does what Outkast's Might "O" can't in its attempt at 30's jazzy, retro-ness. Pharrell and Kanye's Number One is growing on me. Probably because everything Pharrell does sounds (musically, not vocally) like an outtake from Off The Wall.
The second biggest surprise of the summer has to be Oakenfold's Faster Kill Pussycat which features vocals by actress Brittany Murphy. I had no idea she could sing and wail like that. Pretty cool. And drum roll, the most eye-popping, jaw dropping surprise for this summer is how solid Stars Are Blind by Paris Hilton is. Granted, it's got a user-friendly reggae beat, a listenable hook, was tailor-written for her (no expense spared, I'm sure), but Stars Are Blind is a genuinely sweet performance and I've said as much to close friends and associates. Years from now I may recant, but for now, I'll stand by this opinion.
Other Summer '06 songs on my sonar:
An Easier Affair - George Michael
Fill My Little World - The Feeling
Touch It (remix) - Busta Rhymes & Mary J. Blige
Steady As She Goes - The Raconteurs (easily the best modern rock track of the summer)
Too early to tell:
Deja Vu - Beyonce & Jay-Z (at least it's got Hova on it)
Call On Me - Janet Jackson & Nelly
As you may have noticed, there are very few rock & roll acts here. Well, they have kind of let me down this summer. Ain't naming names. So there's my weigh-in on the hottest newest for your Summer listening. Discovering new music and telling people about it has always been one of my passions. Did you find this article helpful? If so, press 1. If not, press 2.
Love, Power, Peace
posted by Norman K at 12:37 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home