Odds & Ends
A British psychologist has determined via a study of patient moods, suicide statistics and other data that today (January 24th) is the most depressing day of the year. So look at the bright side--it's all better from here!
At a recent college basketball game coach Tom Penders, who has a congenital heart condition, collapsed on the sideline, going down on one knee and then falling face forward to the floor. The lead referee, thinking he was being shown up for calling a foul, called a technical on Penders. Even after medics took Penders away on a stretcher, the ref would not rescind the technical foul.
The good news is Penders is now okay and his team did not lose by two points (or at all). The bad news is that the referee has been asked to call the wheelchair basketball game at the Special Olympics (OK, I'm kidding about that part...)
Some Highlights in Music From 2005
There is so much music out there, new and old of every variety that I honestly don't think anyone out there can call themselves an expert, least of all me. That being said, like everyone else there were songs, albums and artists that caught my attention in 2005 and I'd like to share some of those with you. (I apologize in advance for not being up on a lot of the latest in country, jazz or classical recordings. For some insights into what 2005 had to offer in those genres, I recommend DownBeat magazine, the online allmusic guide or National Public Radio.)
Top Songs for Downloading (Some Released As Singles, Some Not)
In no particular order, with comments when I have something interesting to say:
"Gold Digger" and "Gone" by Kanye West (rap)
"Jenny Wren" by Paul McCartney (rock/folk) - A melody so lovely and immediately catchy it reminds you why Paul McCartney really is a genius--when he's motivated. Too bad you can't legally download it without incurring the wrath of the Beatles' lawyers.
"1 Thing" by Amerie (R &B)
"Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani (pop) - the best selling song of 2005 and so insanely catchy it's not a mystery
why.
"Extraordinary Machine" by Fiona Apple (pop) - More about her later...
"These Three Words (I Love You, I Love You, I Love You) by Natasha Bedingfield (pop) - She sure is cute, but the ingenue sister of British pop sensation Paul Bedingfield is a talent in her own right--60's bubblegum pop filtered through a global, 2005 hip-hop sensibility, yo. Ashlee Simpson, eat your talentless heart out.
"Hung Up" by Madonna (pop/dance) - Madonna hasn't lost it, no matter what Elton John says. Her latest reinvention--sleek 21st century disco queen!
"Ribbons and Leaves" by Graham Coxon (alternative rock) - God, this song is gorgeous; beautiful, moody and evocative. Best I've heard from the former Blur sideman...
"Feel Good Inc." by Gorillaz (alternative) - ...meanwhile, former and sometimes current Blur frontman Damon Alborn's side project hooked up with De La Soul to turn out one of the catchiest songs--and most memorable iPod commercials--of the year. This is the best rap De La Soul has turned out since their 2001 Bionix album.
"Since You've Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson (pop) - Enough has been written about the #2 selling song of the year, but admit it, once you've heard it, you can't get it out of your head. Clarkson is the one American Idol who will actually have a superstar career.
"Missing" by Beck (pop)- people kind of went to sleep on the new Beck album, but the album is top notch and this song is one of the best tracks on it --groovy, catchy, complex and a tad creepy all at once.
"So What the Fuss?" by Stevie Wonder (R & B) - Every now and then, Stevie can still kick out the funk.
"Hate It Or Love It Remix" by 50 Cent featuring The Game (rap).
"Unbreakable" by Alicia Keys (R & B) - in a stronger than usual year for R & B (hint: avoid almost anyone they play on BET), Miss Keys comes back with this laid back groove that isn't all that impressively lyrically, but is probably the catchiest midtempo song she's ever written. Her backing choir on this "Unplugged" number steals the show.
"Sista Big Bones" by Anthony Hamilton (R & B) - if this song had come on the radio in 1975, it would absolutely fit right in. And yet, it doesn't feel dated now.
"Pimpin' All Over The World" by Ludacris with Bobby Valentino (rap/hip-hop) - One of the great feel good summer songs of the year by one of the most underrated rappers in the mainstream.
My 5 Favorite Albums (all genres)
I understand that the long playing album is becoming a relic of the past in the download age...but I still had much love for these discs that would hold up musically in any era and were remarkably light on filler:
1. Late Registration, Kanye West - I didn't think he could hire Jon Brion to produce it and come up with anything but a busy mess, but, well...Kanye shut my mouth. Sometimes I wish he'd shut his (although he was right about the President's relationship with Black people), but there's no denying Kanye's gift for finding the perfect pop sample, marrying it to the right instrumental hook and coming up with rhymes that stick in your head. And he's becoming a more technically proficient rapper too, although Jay-Z and Eminem don't have anything to worry about--they can both stay retired. From beginning to end the most satisfying, audacious album of the year.
2. Extraordinary Machine, Fiona Apple - She fired Jon Brion as producer (one of her many ex-lovers) and I thought that meant that the studio-version of this now legendary "bootleg" album would be shit. Wrong again. There's not a drastic difference between the two albums (one new song, a little less bombast and cutesiness on the new Mike Elizondo-produced disc) but what stands out are the lyrics, Apple's best yet and her singing, which is richer, deeper and more affecting than ever. An album worth the wait that lives up to the hype.
3. Guero, Beck - Beck brought the Dust Brothers back and found his groove again. Judging by his songs, it didn't cheer him up that much though, but the result combines the maturity of his previous, straightforward work Sea Change, with some of the funk and cleverness from his initial albums, most notably Odelay. Good stuff...
4. X & Y, Coldplay - Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow and his lads came out with yet another sonically dense album of modern rock "lifestyle" music that was both instantly accessible while still being a little bit smarter than most of what gets played on the radio (although not as obnoxiously, masturbatorily smart as something Radiohead or Sigur Ros would do).
5. Confessions on a Dance Floor, Madonna - I never thought I would rate a Madonna album in my Top Ten again...it had all been slowly sliding downhill since 1996's Ray of Light, I thought. But this album is not only danceable and sleekly produced, it features some of Madonna's best songwriting since Ray of Light (the one exception is her ode to New York City, "I Love New York", which I think was supposed to be tongue in cheek, but just comes off as disingenuous.) I hope I'm that "hip" at 44--or whatever Madonna is now.
2006 Music Events to Watch
--A new album (on yet another new label) from Prince.
--The long-awaited Fugees comeback album.
--This year's controversial "buried" album: Sony's freshly dumped Nellie MacKay disc
--A comeback by...Bobby Brown?
Next blog: The best in 2005 television viewing and some things to look forward to in 2006.
Peace...
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