Top 10 albums of 2004 #3

Hey Soul Mates, we have come to #3 How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb... U2. Like a fine wine, or a tired cliche, this band keeps making great music. Their first effort after 9/11, Atomic is a mid-tempo meditation on growing older and growing up. The opening rave-up Vertigo is a bit of false advertising. Vertigo is a brilliant, swirling bit of arena-sized madness which starts with Bono counting in Spaniguese "One, Two, Three, Fourteen!" The recording is what I consider a perfect single. In less than 3 minutes, U2 jump in, shout their piece, shred through a guitar riff and spit you out the other end. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." Once again, U2 manage to capture the spirit of the moment. After that the disc smolders and sears into the brain. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own carries on the tradition of U2's longer than necessary song titles. But as usual, Sometimes is an effective ballad Bono wrote as a memorial to his father. Midtempo songs like Man and a Woman and Miracle Drug allow U2 to revisit the spiritual themes of classic LPs like Unforgettable Fire and Joshua Tree. In fact, this is U2's quietest album since Unforgettable. All Because of You is prototypical U2, Bono's off-key vocals, the Edge's layered guitars and bedrock rhythm from Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton. This song is the one uptempo hiccup half-way through. It's sure to be a sing-a-long favorite on the U2 global tour in 2005. The giant track on this CD is Original Of The Species. Grandiose and grand, it swells with strings and feeling like U2's best singles. Written for Bono's children or maybe his fan base that needs reassuring, this is U2 as comfort food. Nobody does it better. I was a U2 hater for their first decade. But as time goes on, I realize there is no more reliable recording act. You can buy their CDs without having heard a single track and get a solid listening experience. Just remember, this album does not rock you, but it may move you.

Love, Power, Peace

Top 10 albums of 2004 #4

Hey Soul Mates, #4 Kish Kash... Basement Jaxx. I haven't been so attached to a dance album in years. Kish Kash is represents all that is right in the world of dance. The Basement Jaxx had the taste to bring guest singers on board and wring awesome performances from them. Based on his appearance on Kish Kash alone, I bought JC Chasez's solo debut (which flopped). But Plug It In, is one of the hottest tracks I heard in 2004. JC proved that with the right material and production he shines. Every time I hear Plug It In, it reminds me how indebted most artists are to classic Michael and how much promise JC has. The album is crammed with the Basement Jaxx's hyper-hydraulic beats and usually female vocals from the likes of Siouxie Sioux, who rips through Cish Cash like a banshee. Kish Kash opens with the grammy nominated Good Luck and Right Here's The Spot (with MeShell N'dgeocello). MeShell also appears on the album's paisely electronica closer Feels Like Home. The cuts don't let up til after JC burns the dance floor with Plug It In. This album plays like a great Prince protoge disc: all sexy beats and funked up lyrics. The album only stumbles when it slows down the party, but you have to admire a house act that is trying to stretch. Love, Power, Peace

Top 10 albums of 2004 #5

Hey Soul Mates, #5 Musicology... Prince. The hottest live performance of the year was accompanied by the release of my #5 disc, Prince's Musicology. The shows on the Musicology tour were a tour-de-force. The album is brilliant too. It starts off with the old school blast Musicology where Prince name checks Earth, Wind & Fire, James & Sly. It's the funkiest groove of the year. But this record ain't a party all the way through. Two ballads, the arena rocking A Million Days and sultry Call My Name, balance the funk of Life of the Party with its Diwali breakdown and hilarious story of Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance. Prince hits pop paydirt with Cinnamon Girl. Not the Neil Young song, this is a meditation on the life of a middle eastern kid driven to action in the post-9/11 world. The controversial video features Keisha Castle-Hughes from Whale Rider as the title character. Musicology is not a comeback. Prince has been releasing album after album the last 25 years. It's just that the fans came back. This album goes a long way toward reviving Prince's relevance to pop music. It's a reminder of his prowess as a writer and performer. This album has been nominated for a half-dozen grammy awards. The most noms for Prince since Sign "O" The Times and probably his most solid disc since that 1987 groundbreaker. Love, Power, Peace

Dr. King

Hey Soul Mates,
I'm in Atlanta visiting my Dad and brother for the holidays. Hotlanta is frigid. It was about 27 degrees outside. Still we made the trek downtown to the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Historical Center. For those of you who have never been, it's quite moving. Dr. King was born in 1929 on Auburn street and the house he was born in is still there. Then down the street is the old Ebenezer Baptist Church where he preached. And inbetween is his memorial. Dr. King's tomb is in a reflecting pool and even though it was arctic cold the sun blazed down upon it. There's also an eternal flame adjacent. I reflected on what Dr. King's accomplishments mean to me (what all of the civil right's movements participants did, frankly) . His message of love and nonviolence is as important now as it was in his lifetime.
There are only a few non-musicians that loom as largely as Dr. King as an influence on me. Another major one is Jackie Robinson. Both of them passed before my time, but without their impact on popular culture little of what I do would be possible. Theirs are tremendous stories of perseverance and a love for their beliefs and humanity.

Happy Holidays.
Love, Power, Peace.