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Seriously, I don’t really understand what has become of humanity. In a world where there are natural disasters, Wall Street corruption, and Sarah Palin to worry about, why are people directing their anger at this child? Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, then you’re already familiar with Justin Bieber. He’s the pop star du jour, adored by teenage girls from coast to coast. Like many North American heartthrobs, he’s a cute blond kid, with a slightly prepubescent voice. For some reason, though, he has become quite the hate magnet. People love to hate this kid! Why? I think it says a lot about our society when people just full on hate someone/thing, even though they really have nothing at stake in the matter.

When we were in middle school, it was the “masculine” thing to hate on a pop star. “Eww, the New Kids are gay!” Yes, this was an ignorant and homophobic time, but you grew up, learned the error of your ways, and laughed whenever you saw that same band on I Love the 90s. Today, however, it’s an older crowd getting in on all the ridicule. I don’t feel that Bieber is so pervasive that he interrupts the flow of your daily life. I haven’t heard him on the radio in months. Sure, I see his face on magazines in the store, but I also see Angelina Jolie equally as much. Why doesn’t someone tell her to stop adopting babies, so Mila Kunis can have a shot at a magazine cover?

Can someone over the age of 21 honestly tell me what their beef is with Justin Bieber? Seriously, don’t you have better shit to do with your life? Don’t you have a job and bills to pay? He’s a kid. Sure, he’s beloved by millions, and he’s worth more than you, but he’s a kid. Yes, his voice is shrill, but it’s changing. For all of his perceived “faults”, you still can’t justify your irrational hatred of him. Plainly put, you’re a hater. Just own up to it, rather than waste the time to unravel the mystery of his celebrity. Teen Heartthrobs aren’t supposed to make sense. They aren’t. There are few requirements: cute, no aversion to attending Teen Choice Awards, and did I mention “cute”? That’s it. If you’re an adult, you’re already out of your wheelhouse, as he’s not for you. Teen Heartthrobs prey on the irrational hormones of teenage girls. If you’re a grown man or woman, weighing in on how you feel about something made for children, you might as well go off and “spread democracy” in some 3rd world country, since you know everything.

How old are you? 30, you say? How about I call your parents, and ask them about those phone bills when you kept calling the Coreys on that hotline? You forgot about that dumb shit, didn’t you? But we let you off the hook, ’cause you were young. At least “Beliebers” have the internet, so their shit is free. You kept Ma & Pa Bell in business with your shenanigans! Sure, grown ups probably thought there was something wrong with you, but they remembered what it was like to fawn over Frankie Avalon or whatever. They had bigger shit to worry about, like The Cold War and New Coke, than to weigh in on how much of a waste of space Corey Feldman may have been.

Sure, you see Bieber’s name a LOT. You also see his picture a LOT. As far as music goes, you kinda have to work to hear a Justin Bieber song. They’re not played in every gas station or Dennys. If you hear a Bieber song, you’re either in Claires or you’re listening to pop radio. If you’re so anti-Bieber, you had no business doing either of those things.

Anti-Bieber Fever seems to have even spread to corporate levels, as demonstrated by Twitter’s recent changes to their Trending Topic algorithm. Say what you will, at the end of the day, it was an anti-Bieber initiative. People had complained that they were tired of seeing him trending all the time. If that’s what people were tweeting about MOST, why shouldn’t it trend? I’m tired of hearing about the various wars we’re fighting, but I can’t complain to NBC and ask them to shift shit around so we only get news about anything other than the wars. Sure, Twitter gave some PR response about how and why the change took place, but now we’re left with runner-up Trending Topics, which are usually about some obscure Korean boyband and their new song “Jelly Rainbow Overdrive (Love Stars)” or something.

Nobody hates Hanna Montana this much, and the same people would say that she “sucks”. Is Disney protecting her? Just from a purely business standpoint, this is a kid who built his way up from YouTube, sparking a bidding war between Usher and Justin Timberlake. It’s a technological Horatio Alger story! Those are two guys who know something about the music business, so they must see something in him. Had he been some kind of money grab promoted by Joe Francis, I’d probably be on the side of the haters. That’s just not a union that I would be able to get behind – like if Chris Brown opened a Pilates studio.

Is it his look that bothers you? It’s not all that uncommon these days, but I still encounter people who can’t stand his look. Well, he looks just like that lesbian barista at that fair trade coffee place you pretend to like. So, maybe you should stop boycotting Target and take some time to deal with your issues.

Something odd has happened with this generation, where passion has paved the way to elitism. In music criticism, as well as that of comics and movies, no one is willing to agree to disagree anymore. You can’t have an intelligent exchange with anyone who disagrees with you – it quickly descends into who can say “that sucks! You have no taste” first. This is bad enough with the layperson – spurred along by gamer culture and the prevalence of high-speed internet. It gets FAR worse with the opinionated, self-proclaimed “expert”, spouting, “I am right and you are wrong. And dumb. And shouldn’t be allowed to breed.” I’ve seen this shit happen! Life’s too short, and there’s too much to really worry about, than to devote the amount of time and hatred that many do toward Justin Bieber and the like. A lot of this is coming from the “cultural elite”, but why is their shit protected while everyone else is fair game? How’d you like it if I started raging on how fat Hurley was on Lost? Motherfucker was on that island for how long, and never lost a pound. “But he was hoarding food…” FUCK YOU! I’m shitting in your sandbox now, and you don’t like it, do you?

So, before everyone starts running their mouths about who does and doesn’t have talent, as well as what is and isn’t culturally worthwhile, why don’t you take a minute to process all the bullshit that you’ve been involved with that didn’t hold much water? Leave Justin alone. He’s not for you. That’s fine. Just be classy about it. You’re an adult, so act like one.

P.S. Stop getting high and watching Spongebob. That shit’s played out.

When last we met, I covered Solid Harmonie and their place in the long line of forgotten groups from Trans Continental Records. For every ‘NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, and Jordan Knight, there was C-Note, The Lyte Funky Ones (LFO), and Natural. Well, this week, I want to talk about that last group, Natural.

When it came to bubblegum pop, one of the biggest gripes from the “music snob community” was that the artists didn’t play their own instruments. As far as boybands went, Lou Pearlman had already delivered the harmony group (BSB), the dance group (‘NSYNC), and he decided to finally give the critics what they felt had been lacking: a boyband where the members played their own instruments. Since their acoustic foundation would give them a more “natural” sound, that became their group name.

Natural came about after Lou’s boyband empire had peaked, post-BSB/’NSYNC lawsuits, and right around the time of O-Town. There are conflicting reports as to how the group actually got together, but the main point is that Lou did what he did with most of his boybands: he sent them off to Germany for grooming. When you get down to their look, they were just like every other boyband: there was the blond, sensitive one; the edgy one, with the spiky hair; the one who’s your mom’s favorite, etc. The gimmick, of course, was that they were a band made of boys, but not a boyband. To break it down, they acted as if the music came first, while avoiding some of the common tropes of that era’s boyband, such as smooth dance moves. In execution, the music came off as “BBMak, by way of California Dreams“.  It’s very reminiscent of Guys Next Door (am I the only one who remembers that old NBC show?).There’s definitely a camp factor, as the songs are cheesier than Velveeta, but they’re damn catchy! It was a different sound, as this period was still dominated by the sound of Max Martin, and the rest of the guys are Cheiron Studios. While there were cutsey pop acts of the time who depended on a more acoustic sound (The Moffats, the afore-mentioned BBMak), most of those groups failed to really make a dent in the landscape. Trying something different may have been the wrong call for Natural.

Keep It Natural, like so many other lost Trans Con albums, was released in Germany. Here’s the video for their first single, “Put Your Arms Around Me”. Hey, remember the days when every TV show/movie ripped off The Matrix, even in cases where it didn’t fit? Wait for it…

Bet they’re wishing they hadn’t taken the red pill…

In the US, the single was released as a promo in Claires stores, yet wasn’t universally released until the exclusivity window closed, resulting in Natural not getting much airplay outside of Orlando.

Musically, Natural weren’t “bad”, per se – especially in the pop climate of the time. It just seemed that they were being molded, visually, into something that they were not. The next single, “Will It Ever”, wouldn’t have been out of place on Backstreet Boys’ Millennium album. You’ll notice, however, the addition of another forced dance break. The cut scenes and wacky angles are meant to mask the fact they they are not ‘NSYNC 2: Electric Boogaloo.

This video is a crane shotstravaganza! With a hint of Liquid Dreams…

One of the final singles from their debut was “Let Me Count The Ways”, which ended up as their highest charting German single (#11). Again, this is a pretty catchy song, but it’s not the kind of thing being delivered by their labelmates in the States. I will admit, though, that this video may have hurt them. I know Europe is a bit more liberal with things, but what is she, like, 14? These boys are so lucky they were out in a pre-Chris Hansen world…

We were just gonna watch some movies and hang out. Well, yeah, I brought beer…

Natural went on to release another album, It’s Only Natural, before parting ways with Lou. That’s when things really got ugly. Lou tried to keep the “Natural” name, as he was going to replace the guys who had broken his boyband rules (no facial hair, no girlfriends, etc). Meanwhile, the guys tried to rebrand themselves as more of a rock group, but nothing came from it. Neither album was released in the US, and Natural’s only real impact on North America was that their 2 lead singers provided the singing voices for Bart & Millhouse in the boyband episode of The Simpsons.

At the end of the day, Keep It Natural is a really enjoyable pop album. It’s not representative of the “2000 Boyband Sound”, and that may have been a blessing and a curse. It set Natural apart from the countless other boybands, but it simply wasn’t what the audience wanted at the time. I always feel I have to reiterate that the reason I do this column isn’t as a “This Is A Thing That Exists” piece, but rather it’s an attempt to show value in something that may have originally been overlooked. This music isn’t going to change the world, and it’s not groundbreaking. At the same time, it also doesn’t require you to follow a tweets for hidden meaning, nor does it force you to wonder if the guys eat truffle fries. It’s good old fashioned “Hey, ‘phone’ rhymes with ‘alone’” pop. It’s catchy and it’s fun – definitely earworm material. Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar, and pop is just pop. I, for one, don’t see anything wrong with that.

In this installment, I bring you the self-titled debut (and only) album from Solid HarmoniE. Aww, look how cute it is that they misspell it as “HarmoniE” – that’s so the capital letters spell out “SHE”. Yup, this group’s all about women’s empowerment, or as empowering as you can be while doing flips in a sports bra and track pants. Before we get to that, let’s rewind a bit. You see, Lou Pearlman’s Transcontinental Records wasn’t ALL boybands. Lou wanted to conquer all corners of pop, and he had an assembly line in place to do just that. Former NKOTB manager Johnny Wright handled the boybands, while his wife, Donna, handled the female groups. Of those female groups, only two were notable: Innosense, due to the fact that Britney Spears was briefly a member prior to going solo, and Solid HarmoniE.

Solid HarmoniE was a four-woman pop group, with most of its members hailing from the UK. They followed the Lou Pearlman Model, which meant going over to Germany to gain an audience before being unleashed upon other countries (he had previously done this with Backstreet Boys,*NSYNC, and would later do it with Natural) . This album comes from that stint in Germany. Despite being teased on a Jive Records VHS sampler from ’98, the album never got its US release.

As far as sound goes, Solid HarmoniE is pretty representative of the bubblegum era, yet it brings something new to the table, as there wasn’t a defined “FEMALE bubblegum sound” at the time. So, this allowed them a lot of wiggle room, as far as genre was concerned. At its core, Solid HarmoniE is a fusion of Wilson Philips harmonies, combined with that last drop of Girl Power the group managed to suckle from the spent teats of the Spice Girls. It also doesn’t hurt that they worked with the producer who helped define the 90s bubblegum sound, Max Martin. As a result, this album is chock FULL of hits, all of which you’ve heard before, but with different lyrics. I was going to post the video for their first single, “I’ll Be There For You”, as it’s built over the chord progression of one of my favorite pop songs of all time, “Tearin’ Up My Heart”. Unfortunately, the video’s a piece of shit, even by 90′s standards, filled with the aforementioned track pants and…is that a crystal ball? So, here’s one of their better songs, “I Want You To Want Me”:

My favorite was the one who looked like she probably worked the front desk at the nail place. Yeah, the thick one.

The Wilson Philips influence comes through on “I Wanna Love You”:

Hey, Look! Production Values!

After failing to break out internationally, the group broke up around ’99, with its members scattered across other soon-to-fail girl groups. Seriously, the bubblegum era was not a good time for girl groups; that fan base LOVED seeing 5 cute guys dancing, but they didn’t give a shit about the girlband equivalent (see: SheMoves, Wild Orchid, Innosense; exception: B*Witched). If you wanna learn more about SHE, well,good luck -there are only about 2 websites dedicated to them on the entire internet. I mean, I had to knife a hobo and solve a riddle before I could track this thing down. As a collector of all things 90′s-Era Max Martin, I have to say that it was totally worth it. At the end of the day, I still don’t understand what caused the Powers That Be to pull the plug on the US release. I mean, in a world that tolerates the Pussycat Dolls, there’s sure as Hell a place for Solid HarmoniE.

Oh, what the Hell…

We’ve got a variety of fun & flirty women, just waiting to talk to you. Call now!

So, it may come as a surprise that I’m no fan of the convenience of technology. Sure, I love my twitter and my facebook, but I don’t use technology for anything practical. Paying bills? Hand me my checkbook. Yeah, I blog, but I’d rather write a letter and send it to all of you if I could. I’m an old soul. That’s just how I roll. One convenience I’m just now giving in to is Pandora. I’m the guy who’d lug his CDs from place to place, but that got cumbersome once I passed CD #500. Sure, there’s the radio, but there are only so many times one can listen to “California Gurls” before they want to kill Katy Perry for melting all the popsicles. So, with that in mind, and a laptop at my disposal, I ventured into the world of Pandora.

First impression? I am SO proud of my Shiny Toy Guns station and it’s not like I really had anything to do with it. I mean, I chose a band, and Skynet did the rest. That said, it really does evoke a mood. If I could rename it, it would be my “Trying to Seduce That Hot Artsy Barista” station. Remember Shannyn Sossamon in 40 Days and 40 Nights?

Yeah, this shit’s for her. Sneaker Pimps, Massive Attack, Zero 7, Imogen Heap. Seriously, this is everything that quirky chick would love to hear. They even threw in some Simon & Garfunkel, to remind her of the good times she had with her dad growing up – ya know, before he hit the point where he “just doesn’t understand anymore!”

Sure, she’s not gonna end up being The One, but you’ll have a really torrid and emotional relationship that’ll define your mid 20s and maybe fuck you up for the rest of your life. Breathe it all in, my friend – once that chick moves away to art school/leaves you for her psych professor, you’re never gonna want to hear Sia again. That’s when this becomes the “That Fucking Bitch (Please Come Back – I’ll Change!) Station”. Or so I’ve been told. Stop looking at me like that!

To Be Continued…

Walk into an average DJ’d bar on a weekend night (for you local folks, I’m talking Union Jacks, Blackfinn, the late, great Lulu’s, etc.), and you’re bound to have your ears assaulted by certain songs. Have you ever wondered why every bar plays the same songs? Well, the bars I mentioned are pretty much “white bars”, and I’ve come to notice that drunk white kids LOVE these songs. I thought I’d try to figure exactly what it is about these songs that appeals to the young, drunk, Caucasian masses. These are presented in no particular order, as popularity is relative, based on quality of the night, amount of alcohol, as well as environment. So, let’s see here…

Friends In Low Places – This Garth Brooks classic is a karaoke staple, but it’s the non-country fan’s country song. It embodies everything everyone thinks about country music (drawl, unrequited love), but it’s also got edgy, angsty leanings. It’s about not fitting in, and feeling like an outsider. Shit, this thing could’ve been recorded by Foo Fighters or Death Cab. A lot of insecure wallflowers can relate to this song at the beginning of the night. It’s a song about shady people. Everyone singing along is in one of 2 camps: they’ve got a shady friend, or they are the shady friend. The drunker Cody gets, he moves from the former to the latter. That said, the presence of alcohol just ensures that he’s not alone in this transmogrification.

Sweet Caroline – This is another drunken singalong staple, especially due to its use during the 7th Inning Stretch. Nothing brings a room together like a unison “bum-bum-bummm!” – or, the regional “fuck-ing-slut!”- that follows the titular refrain. This drunken solidarity turns a room full of dudes into a room full of bros.

Gold Digger – White people LOVE this song! Why? ‘Cause it let’s ‘em say “nigger” (unless the pussy DJ is playing the radio edit). Any black person who’s made it to college – the time of life when levels of bravado and available alcohol run highest – has dealt with the “but it’s in the song!” argument that Chad throws down when he sees you glaring.

Another reason the song resonates with white people can be boiled down to one simple line: “we want prenup!”. You see, white people are the only ones who understand the importance of said document. Black people don’t have prenups, unless they’re athletes – in which case they’re married to white women. Otherwise, your average black man doesn’t have anything your average black woman would even want in the event of a divorce!

Also, what does the song’s protagonist end up doing? “He leave yo’ ass for a white girl!” It’s a line that’s met with sneers in the black club, but is met with Woo Girl cheers in your white bar. Every Molly, Abby and Katie will make herself known at this point! Black guys, this is also a good time to scan the crowd to find the girls who might be down. You know what I’m talkin’ about…

As the night rolls on, and everybody’s loosening up, we move to the 80′s trifecta:

Livin’ On A Prayer – Drunk white kids sing this thing like it’s their national anthem. They forget their trust funds and kickball leagues, and sing as if Johnny and Tina were their hardworking, blue collar parents. Despite all this passion, it’s all gonna fall apart at the key change. It always does…

Your Love – This is the point in the night when Cody decides that he doesn’t want to go home alone. He’s had just enough Yuengling to start making eyes at the hot chick at the bar. He makes a point to really eye fuck her once the “I just wanna use your love…tonight” part hits. Unfortunately, Becky’s not on board, and rolls her eyes as she disappears into the crowd to find her friends. This lines up perfectly with the next song:

Don’t Stop Believin’ – Nothing filled white people with so much hope until Barack Obama came along. It’s a song that says to Cody, “Don’t worry, there are other fish in the sea!” The guitar solo alone is enough to make a man forget his troubles, and trust me – he WILL engage in air guitar!

Just as Cody starts to cheer up, and get back on that horse, Closing Time kicks on and the lights go up. Sure, tonight was a bust, but there’s always next weekend – same bar, same songs…

One week – that’s all it took for me to learn all the words to the top songs on Christian radio. Since I wrote that post last week, my car radio dial hasn’t moved from the Christian station. I mean, I thought about changing it, but its pull was just too strong. It’s all SO catchy! There was one song, in particular, that kept me around.

If you remember, last week I prophesied the day that Ryan Tedder discovers Christian music. Well, the song has been written. While Tedder was actually nowhere near the song, it’s clear that somebody deciphered his songwriting code. If you heard it, you’d ask, “Hey, isn’t this OneRepublic song?” The latest single from tobyMac, I give you “City On Our Knees”:

Again, it’s a good example of a song where you wouldn’t catch the meaning from a casual listen. I’ve gotta say, though, I LOVE this song! In fact, it sounds a lot like “Say (All I Need)” from OneRepublic’s debut, Dreaming Out Loud.

Anyway, it’s a song like this that makes me want to try my hand at recording again. I’ve mentioned the a cappella, but even before that, I had dreams of making it in pop. More precisely, I wanted to be the first black guy in a boyband (pop historians will note that we weren’t introduced to the black boyband member until 5ive, and later O-Town, and they were both halfies). To me, the most important part of the plan was figuring out how to gain access to the industry.

Growing up, my church always tried to get me to join their choir. That said, my church was a bit of a white, right-wing nuthouse, so I wasn’t really game. I wasn’t really looking for a gospel experience, but I just didn’t feel like this was the singing experience for me. I always had one singing church friend, though: Angie.

Angie was a sweet girl with a great voice. She’d sing solos, and since she knew I sang, she’d always say that we needed to sing together. 20 something years later, and that duet has yet to take place. In any case, we used to talk about “pulling an Amy Grant”, where we’d become Christian artists, win a couple of Dove Awards (Christian Grammys) to build a reputation, and then crossover to mainstream pop. After all, it seemed like anybody could win a Dove Award! Like I said, though – the duet never happened, so the dream never happened. I dunno, but I don’t think the Jerry Falwell crowd would have gravitated toward an interracial Christian duo. I guess we’ll never know.

Anyway, before I go, I wanted to leave you with one more song. I know people have been up in arms about the new version of “We Are The World”; if you can believe it, I still haven’t heard it yet. In any case, the Christian music community also put together a really good benefit song, entitled “Come Together Now”. It’s no original “We Are The World”, but it might just be good enough to take the bad taste out of your mouth left by the new version.

*Credit Roll*

Where Are They Now?

Will went on to college, where he sang in glee club and a cappella. While, he was Big Man On Campus for a bit, he’s now bitter and unemployed.

Angie went on to marry a con artist. No, really. In the tradition of the church, the reception contained no dancing. Yup, she got married in Footloose. Her con artist husband is currently on the lam.

Neither of them won that Dove award.

I know this is probably gonna get me some flack, this being a “cool kids site” and all, but I’ve got to ask: Have you let Jesus into your heart? Better yet, have you let Jesus into your iPod?

Allow me to explain. As I’ve said in past posts, I am a lover of melodies. Lyrics don’t mean much to me, but melodies really drive it home (considering this site focuses mainly on club music and Lady Gaga lyrics, I get the impression that I’m not the only one shunning the “importance” of words). It was long ago that I realized the best melodies come from the world of contemporary Christian music. I already think that Ryan Tedder knows his way around a good melody, regardless of what people think of his songwriting or OneRepublic. That said, if Ryan Tedder worked in the world of Christian pop, Earth would explode. We just wouldn’t be ready. All those Left Behind books? They are about the day Tedder works with Amy Grant and tobyMac. Since Lent is the season of sacrifice, let me tell you about the time I gave up secular music and discovered the melodic world of “family friendly, family first” music.

Back in my halcyon days at Cornell, I was entrenched in the world of a cappella. Since it was a rather small community, it tended to be the source of most friendships and romantic couplings. Around my sophomore year, a nice girl in one of the female groups caught my eye. She was cute, and sweet, and the kind of girl that might bake you pies if you lived in some backwoods, bumblefuck town near a “crick”. For the sake of protecting identities (and the fact that she just got married, so I don’t want her husband coming to kick my ass), let’s call her “Wendy”.

Anyway, Wendy was a nice girl, but she wasn’t into all the cool, fun things college kids like to do. Sure, she might drink some beer after the arch sing, or swear and quickly cover her mouth, but Wendy liked to spend her free time in other pursuits. In fact, outside of singing, her main social outlet was Campus Crusade for Christ. Now, I grew up in a pretty fire & brimstone church. I’d heard it all, but I never really went to any of the group stuff. I’d gone to an event in the past, where one of the kids told a story about his brother in the Army. Apparently, Army Bro had found out one of the guys in his barracks was gay, and everyone proceeded to beat up the guy with soap-filled pillow cases. As the van cheered in approval, I realized these weren’t my kinda folks! Having come from this background, the last thing I wanted was a “Christian community”. As far as I was concerned, JC and I had a good thing going on our own. Needless to say, Wendy wasn’t having it.

She tried and tried to get me to go to CCC, and I think I went once. That was enough. Afterward, I tried to convince her that I could deal with The World and all its evil on my own. For some reason, I decided that music would be the first target. Now, I’m not quite sure how I thought I could just get rid of secular music, as I was in a group that did nothing but U2 and Erasure songs. That said, I thought of singing as a “job”, while I was burning CD-R’s (remember those?) left and right, filled with dc Talk and Mark Schultz.

The transition was a bit hard at first. After all, this was the height of the boyband craze, and I’m only human. I mean, shit – “Bye Bye Bye” had just come out! “BYE BYE BYE”! The song where even the hardest motherfucker was like, “A’ight, that chorus is kinda catchy.” Despite all this, I still managed to find some nice, spiritual music. When I do something, I tend to get a bit fanatical, so I was even drawing little crosses and stuff on the discs with Sharpies.

Needless to say, the whole Wendy thing didn’t last too long. Turns out she’d never even been kissed, and I suddenly felt dirty. I didn’t want to be some 18 year old’s first kiss. I just didn’t. Plus, as much as I was digging Amy Grant’s non-”Baby Baby” work, I still had a need for some “Oops, I Did It Again”. That said, the one thing that I took away from the experience was a new found appreciation for Christian music. Not being a lyrics guy certainly helped matters, but I’ve got to be honest: a lot of the music isn’t as preachy as you might think. Hell, City High’s “What Would You Do?” hits you over the head with more of a hammer than some of the stuff you might hear on Christian radio. When I was in elementary school, a guy named Paul Hill came to my school and taught us songs like “Awesome God”. That was almost 20 years ago, but I’ve never forgotten it. In fact, when I first heard T.I.’s “What You Know”, I thought to myself, “Hey, this background sounds kinda familiar!” (It wasn’t an official sample, however). I learned that a great melody makes for an excellent vehicle for a message. It’s simple propaganda, but you can tap your foot to it. Now that we’ve come to the end, and to keep my girlfriend from kirking out that I just wrote about another girl, I thought I’d leave you with a sampling of the music that just kinda sneaks Jesus up on ya:

Mark Schultz – “He’s My Son”: It’s essentially about a man, praying to God to save his sick son. Outside of one “God” reference, this could be sung by Leona Lewis in some Hollywood tearjerker, and you’d never know it’s true intention.

tobyMac – “Lose My Soul”: Former member of Christian hitmakers dc Talk, tobyMac brings us a song about struggling not to lose yourself in this crazy world. It’s even got a cameo by Kirk Franklin – he was addicted to porn, so he’s just like us! With a couple of Clear Channel edits, this song could fit into any commercial free spin in place of BEP’s “Where Is The Love?”

Francesca Battistelli – “I’m Letting Go”: Do ya like Sara Bareilles? If so, you’ll love this! Plainly put, it’s about a woman who hs decided to “let go, and let God”, yet she doesn’t say it in so many words. Again, it’s the kind of song you’d hear on Hot 99.5 after some Jason Mraz song, and you’d never even know what it was really about until you gave it a bit more thought.

So, I hope I’ve been successful in showing you that there can be enjoyable songs in the places you’d least expect. Not a sermon, just a thought. I really hope Lon Solomon doesn’t try to sue me for that…

“And there ain’t no nothin’ we can’t love each other through”

(The following is a post that I wrote for TGRIOnline.com, my friend, Marcus’s culture blog)

Christmas songs. I know this is a bit of a hipster blog, so y’all might not be into the Christmas thing so much, but it’s hard to ignore at this time of year. There’s a constant race to see which radio station flips to the all-Christmas format first. Locally, that honor always goes to 97.1 WASH. They used to wait until the day after Thanksgiving, but it has gotten earlier and earlier in recent years. This year, WASH flipped formats on November 20th. At this rate, they’ll be flipping the day after Halloween by 2015 (that is, if the Mayan Armageddon doesn’t get us first).

When it comes to Christmas songs, I’m always surprised by how hard it is for new songs to gain acceptance. Sure, if you write a song about trees and family and snow, you can pretty much call it a “Christmas song”, but the public isn’t going to necessarily accept it. When you really break it down, there are really only about 25 different Christmas songs. The boyband du jour or some New Age artist might try to introduce something new, but when it comes down to it, people only want to hear those 25 prime songs (No, I’m not going to list them – you know the ones), which have been recorded and re-recorded by every artist under the sun. They’re mainly broken down into 2 categories: The Jesus Saga (Oh Holy Night, Silent Night, etc) and Secular Funnies (Grandma Got Runover By A Reindeer, The 12 Days of Christmas, etc). That first category is pretty locked up – there are no more angles of The Jesus Saga left to explore, unless someone comes up with a song about aliens who watched the whole thing unfold. Even then, I think the Bible Belt would put that into the Secular Funnies category. If you want to break into the Christmas music scene, Secular Funnies is the category to aim for. The most recent Christmas song to really have any staying power is Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You”, and that was in 1994. Do you realize how long ago that was? That was like 4 Cher Farewell Tours ago! THAT’s how hard it is to make your dent on the holiday season.

I tend to have a love/hate relationship with Christmas songs. You see, growing up, I used to LOVE the season. My birthday is December 23rd, which was just far enough away from the 25th that I didn’t necessarily suffer from the 1-gift-for-2-occasions screwjob. I always considered my birthday to be the “day that we celebrated the magical birth of the baby Will”. And then, 2 days later, Jesus got his day, which also meant presents for the aforementioned Will. I milked that Santa train WAY longer than a sane person should, but my family thought it was cute, and it ensured maximum giftage. So, considering I felt the entire season was my own personal holiday, the soundtrack of carols and songs really contributed to the mood of things. Then, college happened.

In college, I was not what you might call a “model student”. Whenever people ask what I studied, I sometimes answer “I majored in a cappella”. That was what made me feel popular, and that’s where I had most of my friendships. So, I didn’t do the class/homework thing so well. I usually coasted along through a semester, and then not failing the class would hinge upon me not failing the final. I went to a competitive-ass school, so it’s not like there was a studying montage, and all of a sudden I had an A in the class. I usually gave up sleep, bathing, and my sanity for the better part of 2 weeks. I experienced stress I’d never felt before, because my entire future was hinging on this degree. How was I gonna be “not like all the others” if I didn’t graduate?! What would I do?!!! One year, I even pulled an all-weeker – I believe that we’re all given a set amount of all-nighters that we can endure in a lifetime, and I used up the balance of mine during a finals week. When the nosebleeds started for no reason, I knew that it was “Houston, we have a problem” time.

Anyway, throughout all of this uncivilized behavior, my soundtrack was Christmas music. I was trying to remind myself of the good aspects of the season, and all of the things I would experience after the finals, once I got back to Maryland. That stopped really working around Junior year. Then, a strange, Pavlovian thing took place – instead of helping me forget about the stress, the songs became synonymous with it. Now, when I hear those songs, it all comes rushing back. “Oh Holy Night” – walking home from the library, through the snow, at 1 AM. “The Grinch” – somehow tanking that Human Sexuality final (don’t worry, ladies – everything’s in order now *wink*). “Grandma Got Runover By A Reindeer” – those aforementioned nosebleeds.

This is why I’m so interested in Christmas songs. I NEED new Christmas songs! Those old ones are tainted as Hell. I need something to come and take the pain away. I can’t keep reliving that trauma every damn year for the rest of my life. The only thing that saved that Mariah Carey song is that I love the shit out of Love Actually. So, I’m appealing to you, the hipster crowd, to save my life and record a Christmas song! That’s what was missing on Wale’s album: It could’ve been called “Under The Tree in the DMV”. Somebody get his people on the phone for me!

I ran long this time around, so I’ve only got one pop thing on my mind at the moment: Jason Derulo’s “Whatcha Say”. First of all, I fucking HATE how he just liberally samples Imogen Heap’s “Hide & Seek”. It’s so much of a sample, that he might as well have released it as “Jason DeRulo, feat Imogen Heap”. The main thing that gets me, though, are the lyrics. Yeah, I know in the past that I said I wasn’t a lyrics guy, but these just hit me over the head with a club. So, let me get this straight: he cheated on his girl, and now he’s apologizing, and promising her that he’ll take care of her when his career blows up. REALLY?

Dear Mystery Girl In The Song (and for you teenyboppers listening):
DO NOT TAKE HIM BACK. Right now, he’s a nobody and he cheated on you. You know who it was? It was that bitch, Sharonda, who works at the CVS on Saturdays. You know, the one who’s always chewing the gum! You knew she was acting like a bitch when you went in there for your relaxer. That bitch is fucking yo’ man! But get this, that mu’fucka’s only sorry he got caught. You really think he’s gonna take care of you when he becomes a star? Do you realize what kinda pussy he’s gonna be able to get THEN? Run, gurl! I don’t think you got nothin’ to worry about, though, ’cause that nigga can’t even write a whole song of his own. You do you, gurl!

Peace, Love, and String Cheese,
Will

I’m not really an album review guy, but I needed something to do while waiting for my Farmville crops to grow. I found Timbaland Presents Shock Value II a few days ago, before it started hitting the main sites. I realized no one had reviewed it yet, so I saw it as my chance to be a web pioneer. Then, I lost internet service for one night, and I lost my lead in the race. In any case, by now, you’ve probably downloaded the album yourself, so I invite you to play along with the home version of our game.

1. “Intro” – standard hiphop intro. Really nothing to write about here. It doesn’t exactly set the tone for the album, but it’s an intro. What did you expect?

2. “Carryout” (feat Justin Timberlake)- Get ready for fast food analogies aplenty. My thing, though, is I wonder if McDonald’s gonna be cool with Mr “I’m Lovin’ It” saying “Have it your way”? It’s got a decent beat, bit I feel it’s slightly too corny to be released to radio. New Kids had a similar song on their last album, called “Full Service” – same overkill analogies, but they revolved around a gas station.

3. “Lose Control” (feat JoJo)- JoJo never really had a distinctive sound, which I think is why she’s considered a one-hit wonder with “Leave (Get Out)”. That song could’ve been recorded by anyone. That comes across here. I think Timbo really wanted Miley, but couldn’t land it. Then, he probably went for Selena Gomez, but couldn’t land that, either. So, the label threw him JoJo. This could work, however, as her comeback single. It’s contemporary enough. It doesn’t do a thing for Timbaland, but it might help to reinvent JoJo as a worthy substitute when the Disney Dames are busy. I definitely see this making it to radio.

4. “Meet Me In Tha Middle” (featuring Bran’Nu) – I believe this is the debut of Brandy’s rapping alter ego, Bran’Nu. Run over one innocent person, and all of a sudden she’s got street cred? Anyway, this is the first track on the album that can really be called a “Timbaland song”. He’s actually rapping, and not just making the occasional call out over the beat. Gotta say, though, you wouldn’t know it’s Brandy just by listening to her. She’s got that NYC swagga going for her. The singing riff definitely sounds like her, but the rap is another beast entirely. It’s surprising, but I’m not sure if it’s a good surprise.

5. “Say Something” (feat Drake) – This leaked LONG ago, and the less said about Drake, the better. The beat is slow and lumbering. It’s actually putting me to sleep. It’s just a boring-ass song. If you like Drake, I guess you’ll like it. God, this is a terrible beat. It’s like someone just got a new Casio keyboard, but they haven’t figured out that there’s more than one backing track option.

6. “Tomorrow In The Bottle” (feat Chad Kroeger & Sebastian) – Out of the gate, I knew I’d like this song. Nice use of Chad Kroeger on the chorus. Even if you hate Nickelback, you can just pretend it’s the Kings of Leon getting funky (can someone explain to me why people hate on Nickelback, yet LOVE Kings of Leon, when they’re essentially the same group?). Anyway, this song is a nice display of Timbaland’s ability to mix genres into something unexpectedly pleasing. It’s the first track on the album that’s not straight, cookie-cutter R&B. This song is HOT, and I think it might signal the turning point of the album.

7. “We Belong To Music” (feat Miley Cyrus) – So, remember how I said he couldn’t land Miley for “Lose Control”? Well, I guess he begged and begged, and the label finally relented. I still find it funny that she’s never heard a Jay-Z song, but she’s recorded a Timbaland song. That’s a shame. That’s like if she’d said “I LOVE fancy restaurants! Red Lobster’s my FAVORITE!” This is one of those situations where the song is incorrectly credited – based on the division of labor, it should be “Miley Cyrus, feat Timbaland”. To be honest, this track should’ve been called “Party In The USA Pt 2″. It’s all about having a good time, namedropping the DJ. Seriously, it’s the same PitUSA. vibe, but with a less catchy hook.

8. “Morning After Dark” (feat Nelly Furtado & So Shy) – This is the single most people have heard, and it’s all OVER the place! It sounds like the standard Shock Value Vol 1 track, but then the chorus hits, and it’s like you’re in the middle of the vampire musical from Forgetting Sarah Marshall. What.The.Fuck? Really? Plus, Furtado’s really annoying. I feel like Timbo’s studio instruction was “Yo, I’m gonna need you to sound Chinese.”

9. “If We Ever Meet Again” (feat Katy Perry) – I also see this getting radio play, as it’s just such a crazy combo. It’s a fun song, melodically. It stays just a notch under stadium rock, with Timbaland’s vocoder providing a pleasing contrast to Katy Perry’s “pouty little rich girl who knows she gonna eventually get her way” delivery that she works so well. This is a great single, as it’s not Timbaland giving us more of the same. If this isn’t a hit song for Timbaland, it’s definitely a hit single for Katy, if included on her next album. Plus, it’s got “I can be easily re-recorded for Kidz Bop” written all over it.

10. “Can You Feel It” (feat Esthero & Sebastian) – This is not bad at all, and Timbaland’s actually working a new flow. Get this in the hands of the right DJ, remix it just right, and this could be a club hit. This is the song that I feel will grow on you after repeated listenings.

11. “Ease Off The Liquor” – The one track on the album without a cameo by another artist. It’s OK. It really shines 2/3 of the way through when it gets all mariachi on our asses. It’s still really just a really long, glorified interlude, though. It’s the kind of thing that you know he recorded while waiting for Miley or Justin to show up at the studio.

12. “Undertow” (feat The Fray and Esthero) – This song would be beautiful if it were just The Fray, but it’s nice that the inclusion of Timbaland doesn’t take anything away from it. I’m not sure if they vibe as well together as Timbaland and OneRepublic, but it’s a nice treat. This might be out of left field, but the pop emo paired with R&B voices reminds me of “Your Home Is In My Heart”, by Boyz II Men and Chante Moore, off the How Stella Got Her Groove Back soundtrack, it was the first time I found myself thinking “Why don’t R&B artists sing this kind of music more often?” (see also Monica & 112′s cover of Richard Marx’s “Right Here Waiting”). Laid back, no unnecessary trills. Beautiful song, perfect for a movie soundtrack.

13. “Timothy, Where You Been?” (feat Jet) – This is Timbaland putting on his Jay-Z pants. I’m not sure if it succeeds. I’m not sure if the whole retrospective thing fits him. It’s just him namedropping and listing successes. We all know what he’s done. We bought the albums. Is he beefing with anyone right now? ‘Cause this is the kind of flossy flossy “look what I’ve done” track that you’d record when someone’s been hatin’. The thing is, it’s not HARD. It’s all somber, with the Jet background. So, instead of being impressed by his accomplishments, it leaves you thinking, “Man, Timbaland sure sounds sad”.

14. “Long Way Down” (feat Daughtry) - Is there a non-Timbaland version of this song? Because I feel he did the same thing that he did with “Apologize” – he took a song that already existed, and he just put his Timbaland Beat under it. Maybe not. Still, I don’t think this works. I might be biased, though – I have a problem with Daughtry. I feel like they’re the second coming of Creed, without the Judeo-Christian grandstanding. This shouldn’t be a recording. This is when Daughtry’s playing an encore, and they break out this song, at which point they invite their good buddy Timbaland onstage with them, and he kinda riffs along with the song. That’s the formula here. Afterwards, they might say, “Hey, that wasn’t bad. We should get in the studio and do something”, but if/when that occurs, this is not the song that they’d “immortalize in wax”.

15. “Marching On” (feat OneRepublic) – He’s fucking doing it again! I understand that he kinda gave them a break by including “Apologize” on the last vol of ,Shock Value but it always pissed me off that it went to radio as “Timbaland, feat OneRepublic”, considering the song already existed in a non-Timbaland version. Why should he get top billing? And here, he does it again. This song was already released on OneRepublic’s recent album, Waking Up, and Timbaland doesn’t add anything here. His contribution worked on “Apologize“, because it was a more electronic album for OneRepublic, but they’ve since taken a folksier, Coldplay route, in which Timbaland can’t just seemlessly sneak onto a track and leave his mark. OneRepublic must just love playing second fiddle to Timbaland. I can’t wait for that future episode of VH-1 Storytellers.

16. “The One I Love” (feat Keri Hilson & D.O.E.) – Did they forget to put this on Keri’s album? It just sounds like every track that she and Timbaland record together. Consistency’s good, but it’s JUST LIKE EVERY SONG SHE AND TIMBALAND HAVE RECORDED TOGETHER. It’s nice that the “The Way I Are” team got back together, though. Otherwise, it’s Timbaland Filler.

17. “Symphony” (feat Attitude, Bran’Nu, and D.O.E.) – Remember when Middle Eastern sounds in hiphop were hot? What was that, 2003? Well, this song is straight out of 2003. It’s Timbo and DOE tryin’ to go hard, but I’m not sure it’s the best note on which to end an album. Oh, and we get another appearance by Bran’Nu. You know, the female R&B field is kinda crowded these days, and I would certainly download an album of straight Bran’Nu rap tracks, which means somebody out there would pay money for that. Somebody better get on that. This might be the best career reinvention since Marky Mark became an actor.

I once read an interview with Missy Elliott, Timbaland, and Magoo, where Missy sold Timbo out by saying that his heart is really with 80s power bands, like Journey, and that if he had his way, that’s the kind of stuff he’d be creating. He does R&B and hiphop because that’s what people expect of him, and it’s what pays the bills. It wasn’t long after that interview that Timbaland and Missy sort of sort of started working with other people (and Magoo went back to his shift at Sonic). I don’t think Missy meant it as a slight, but I think she realized that he had a very limited number of things he wanted to say when it came to R&B. This album is further proof of that. When it comes to “black music” (I know that’s I’m gonna get some flack for that), I think he’s said all that he has to say. Those songs all have that Timbaland Beat, which is becoming as tired as the Swizz Beatz sound became in the early aughts. It’s when he steps out of the past, and works with today’s pop artists that he truly shines. I think he has a LOT left to offer popular music, but I think he needs to leave the cookie-cutter hip-pop behind and do more stuff like “Tomorrow In The Bottle”, “Undertow” or definitely “If We Ever Meet Again”. He’s definitely headed in the right direction, and I can’t wait to see what we get on Shock Value III.

“I fucked a mermaid!”

So, since around Thanksgiving, I’ve been stockpiling a shitload of mp3 albums I’ve come across in my blog travels. Half the stuff I’d never even care about were it not free. I’m finding some pretty good gems out there, but there are also quite a few misses. Man can’t live by song parodies and Watchmen reviews alone, so I figured I’d share some of these finds with you. Today’s target is Soul, the latest album from Seal. Released in time for the Christmas rush, Soul is 12 tracks of Seal paying homage to the soul stars of yesteryear. The joke’s on the listener, though, as we find out that Seal’s got NO SOUL. Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either. I mean, the thing just should have been better. It’s produced by David Foster, for God’s sake! That guy shits Top 40 Adult Contemporary gold. He’s the Timbaland of the former yuppie set. Yet, even he couldn’t save this train wreck of a tribute album. Plainly put, Soul seems more like it was rushed together to fulfill a contractual obligation than a display of any real effort on Seal’s part. You know you’re in a bad situation when you find yourself thinking, “Michael Bolton would’ve been so much better on this CD”. Yup, it’s like that. Anyway, I figured I should probably take you on a track-by-track exploration of its few hits and more numerous misses.