Sophie Ellis-Bextor returns

Sophie Ellis-Bextor is getting ready to release her fourth album later this year. Two of the album's tracks are now available on her myspace page. "Off and On" is courtesy of Calvin Harris, Cathy Dennis, and Roisin Murphy--not a bad production and writing team to say the least. The other track, "Heartbreak Make Me a Dancer," is a Freemasons production, another good choice.

Ms. Ellis-Bextor (who happens to be Mrs. Richard Jones of The Feeling) could use a hit. Her last two albums haven't fared so well. Her last, Trip the Light Fantastic (my review), scored just one top 10 hit, "Catch You," and the previous one, Shoot from the Hip, had a couple, but neither are very memorable. She remains best known for her debut single, #1 hit "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" and the second single from her debut Read My Lips, "Murder on the Dancefloor."

As I've pointed out before, all three of her albums use cliche titles with an "ip" word (lips, hip, trip). If she keeps that trend up, what could the fourth album be called? Some ideas:

Heart Skips a Beat
Shape Up or Ship Out
When My Ship Comes In
The Chips Are Down
Chip on My Shoulder
Nip and Tuck
Let Her Rip
Let It Slip
Tip of My Tongue
At My Fingertips

UK Singles Chart, 7/12/2008

I know this is really late, but hey--better late than never.

1. Dance Wiv Me - Dizzee Rascal (featuring Calvin Harris & Chrome)

English rapper Dizzee Rascal has been a critics darling since arriving on the scene in 2003 with his Mercury Prize-nominated album Boy in Da Corner, but until now he's never had a #1 hit--his previous best being the #10 single "Stand Up Tall." While Dizzee is certainly deserving with this great single, credit should also go to Calvin Harris, the Scottish DJ at work here. While not yet as prominent as say Mark Ronson, Harris is coming into is own, having produced a top 10 hit earlier this year for Kylie Minogue, "In My Arms," and two top 10s for himself last year, "Acceptable in the '80s" and "The Girls."

3. All I Ever Wanted - Basshunter

Swedish dance act Basshunter follows up his #1 hit from earlier this year, "Now You're Gone," with a new entry this week at #3, "All I Ever Wanted." Like "Now You're Gone," this is an English remake of Swedish single Basshunter previously released, "Vi sitter i Ventrilo och spelar DotA," a top 10 hit in several European countries after it was released in 2006.

22. Electric Feel - MGMT

MGMT got an unexpected boost this week, up nine spots to #22 in its second week. So close to being a top 20 hit.

30. No Substitute Love - Estelle

"No Substitute Love" proves to be no substitute for "American Boy," following that massive #1 hit into a lowly #30 slot. While this is more in keeping with Estelle's chart performance prior to "American Boy," it is surprising she couldn't follow up such a major hit with at least a top 10.

Album Review: Ladytron - Velocifero (3/5)

Velocifero, a term the band says means "bringer of speed," is the fourth album from Ladytron, the British electro-pop group that made waves in 2005 with their last album, Witching Hour. They are vaguely reminiscent of mid to late '80s Depeche Mode or New Order with a stronger dance/new wave sensibility.

"Black Cat," the French-language opening track, has an appealingly dark sound with sharp bass, but really isn't a standout for me. I much prefer the second track and first single, "Ghosts," which is more melodic and upbeat, although no one would mistake them for Alphabeat. "I'm Not Scared" is even more upbeat and still pretty dark.

Then there's "Runaway," my favorite track, which has a sharp beat and sinister synth-based groove that sounds very Depeche Mode (Music for the Masses era). "Season of Illusion" keeps up the dark synths and propelling beat. They keep changing female singers, which is interesting. The "Season of Illusion" singer has a deeper voice than the "Runaway" lead. Sometimes they sing together, which is better yet. "Burning Up" is less insistent than many of the tracks that come before it, but the group punches up the melody nicely on the chorus.

"Kletva" really layers on the synth chords, but unfortunately abandons the melody, but it's thankfully short. "They Gave You a Heart, They Gave You a Name" is better, but not wonderful. "Predict the Day" opens with someone whistling over a heavily distorted bass line, and is generally better, although at this point, I think I'm getting bored with the album.

Sexy "Deep Blue" restores my interest though. It's the album's longest track and the best of the second half, featuring a great strings-based middle section. After sagging in the middle, it's nice that the album picks up at the end. Big-sounding "Tomorrow" exudes a certain amount of warmth. "Versus" features male and female vocals--I think the only track to do so but I could be wrong.

My overall assessment of this album is that it is pretty good, but not wonderful. Some of the early tracks are especially good, but this album seems to lack much range--every track features sinister '80s-style synth grooves with beats that range from slightly above mid-tempo to fairly upbeat (but never harsh). About 2/3 through the album, I felt like I was getting bored with the repetition. While it's interesting that they use old fashioned analog synth instruments, it shows that the newer digital ones probably could provide a lot more variety.

Best: Runaway, Ghosts, Deep Blue, Burning Up, I'm Not Scared

Introducing: The Saturdays

Just when you thought Sugababes and Girls Aloud were starting to look a little long in the tooth, there's a new British girl group on the scene. The Saturdays, like Girls Aloud, are a five-some, two of whom are former members of S Club 8 (the spin-off group from S Club 7 originally called S Club Juniors). The group's first single is "If This Is Love."

Personal Chart, 7/12/2008

TW LW Title - Artist
1 .... 1 .... Viva La Vida - Coldplay (2 wks @ #1)
2 .... 2 .... Take a Bow - Rihanna (1 wk @ #1)
3 .... 3 .... Pocketful of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield
4 .... 8 .... Give It 2 Me - Madonna
5 .... 4 .... Warwick Avenue - Duffy (2 wks @ #1)
6 .... 6 .... Leavin' - Jesse McCartney
7 .... 9 .... Labels or Love (Theme from "Sex and the City") - Fergie
8 ... 12 ... Believe Again - Delta Goodrem
9 .... 5 .... Sweet About Me - Gabriella Cilmi
10 .. 14 .. I Kissed a Girl - Katy Perry

Grace Jones is crazy

Don't watch this just before bed.

Songs I Love Right Now

Here's what I'm listening to these days.

Believe Again - Delta Goodrem. So this isn't actually a current single anywhere at the moment (it was a #2 hit in Australia late last year), but I don't care because I love it. It's pretty close to replacing "Out of the Blue" as my favorite Delta single. Her current U.S. single, "In This Life," is pretty great too, but I prefer the dramatic feel of "Believe Again." Both are from Delta, released 7/15 in the U.S.

Built to Last - Mêlée. Mêlée is a rock band from Orange County. "Built to Last" is the second single from their second album, which has already been a major hit in Japan and some European countries, and is now getting airplay in the UK in advance of a single release later this month. It's a good pop/rock track with a nice piano riff. Pretty MOR, but nicely done.

The One - Kylie Minogue. While I liked "Wow" and "In Your Arms," neither are as good as "The One," a dance track with shimmering simplicity a la "Can't Get You Out of My Head" backed by a warm '80s synth arrangement. Great stuff--hopefully she'll land another UK top 10 hit with it.

All Summer Long - Kid Rock. I was skeptical about this for awhile, but after I heard it, I liked it right away. It curbs liberally from Lynard Skynard's "Sweet Home Alabama" and Warren Zevon's "Werewolves in London," making it instantly recognizable. Great summer track.

All The Times I Cried - Sharleen Spiteri. Remember Texas? "Say What You Want?" "Inner Smile?" Well this is their lead singer gone solo. Doesn't stray too far from her Scottish pop band's sound, which is a good thing.

Dance Wiv Me - Dizzee Rascal (feat. Calvin Harris and Chrome). Thanks to Calvin Harris, hot Scottish dance music producer of the moment, Dizzee Rascal finally has a major hit, and it's a great song, mixing up hip-hop and dance. It was the UK's #1 over the weekend.

Give It 2 Me - Madonna. Give it to Madonna for following up ultra radio friendly "4 Minutes" with Hard Candy's hardest dance cut. "Give it 2 Me" is Hard Candy's "Get Together," and it's a great track with a propulsive dance beat and a dirty "get stoopid" breakdown courtesy of Pharrell Williams.

Forever - Chris Brown. When it comes to Chris Brown, I either love or hate his singles. "Run It" and "Kiss Kiss" didn't do it for me, but I liked "With You" and of course his Jordin Sparks collaboration, "No Air." "Forever" is a great follow-up to those tracks, an upbeat dance pop number featuring Chris's vocals auto-tuned to android-like proportions.

Leavin' - Jesse McCartney. This is one that took awhile to grow on me, but now I like it. Sure it's an obvious play to grab the Justin Timberlake fans between JT's albums, but JM could certainly pick someone worse to emulate. Very different than the "Beautiful Soul" sound we're used to from him.

Billboard Hot 100, 7/12/2008

1. I Kissed a Girl - Katy Perry

No change at the top for Katy Perry, who is also this week's airplay gainer.

3. Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis

It's been 2 months since Leona was at #1 and she's still in the top 3 with a bullet--and this week's sales gainer no less. Interestingly, two other former #1s still in the top 10--Rihanna's "Take a Bow" at #4 and Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" at #6--are both still bulleted too. I'd like to think this was because fast sales drove these singles to #1 early and now they're still gaining due to their airplay, but as I said above, Leona's bullet is based on sales, so who knows.

5. Burnin' Up - Jonas Brothers

Last week the Jonas Brothers had a hefty #20 debut with their Camp Rock song, "Play My Music." This week they debut at #5 with their latest proper single, "Burnin' Up," giving the group its first top 10 hit. With its airplay gaining swiftly too, #1 looks promising for this.

39. Summertime - New Kids on the Block

After a 16-year absence, the recently reunited New Kids on the Block score their 11th top 40 hit with "Summertime," the lead single from their forthcoming 5th album, Back on the Block. The New Kids' original run of hits stretched from late 1988 to mid 1992, consisting of 10 top 40 singles, all but one of which were top 10 hits and three that were #1s--"I'll Be Loving You (Forever)," "Hangin' Tough," and "Step By Step." Two of the group's members had solo hits--Joe McIntyre hit #10 in 1999 with "Stay the Same," and about a month later Jordan Knight also hit #10 in with "Give It to You." Donnie Wahlberg pursued acting rather than singing, most notably appearing in "The Sixth Sense" in 1999. (What's up with 1999 being the year for solo New Kids success?)

July new album releases

The second half of the year commences...with a snooze. This has to be the most boring month of new releases yet. Only Delta Goodrem really interests me, perhaps Sharleen Spiteri.

July 7/8

Beck - Modern Guilt. Midnight Vultures (2000) and Odelay (1996) were Grammy Album of th the Year Nominees; Sea Change (2002) received a 5-star review from Rolling Stone, but his last album, The Information (2006), wasn't a big hit. Will his 8th studio album change that?

July 14/15

Delta Goodrem - Delta. Australia's most popular new artist this decade (she's had eight #1 hits since 2003) finally releases an album in the U.S. Word is that Delta, her third album, is better than her last outing, Mistaken Identity, and more polished than her first, Innocent Eyes. Features first single "In This Life."

Sharleen Spiteri - Melody. The Texas lead singer tries a solo disc. First single "All The Times I Cried" is pretty decent, but doesn't sound that much different than what the band would do.

John Mellencamp - Life, Death, Love and Freedom. John Mellencamp releases a disc of folk rock distributed in the new CODE format, which is supposed to be high-definition and virtually indistinguishable from the recording tapes.

Basshunter - Now You're Gone. After scoring a massive UK #1 wth "Now You're Gone," the Swedish dance act has a whole album of such similar wonders, including new single "All I Ever Wanted."

July 21/22

Miley Cyrus - Breakout. The 15 year-old Disney megastar--one of the hardest working people in the biz--releases her second solo album, featuring first single "7 Things."

July 28/29

Young Jeezy - The Recession. The guy who appears on Usher's "Love in This Club Part 1" puts out another album.

Erykah Badu - New Amyrkah Part Two (Return of the Ankh). She's got a new one too.

August looks a little better with new releases from Ne-Yo, Nelly (finally), The Streets, and The Verve.

Album Review: Moby - Last Night (3.5/5)

Clinging to the belief that his music is still primarily for home listening, rather than say commercial licensing or restaurant background, Moby put out his 9th studio album this year. Judging from the cover art and title, Last Night is intended to be Moby back in DJ mode, after the sleepy 2005 release Hotel (hotels are for sleeping after all). It hearkens back to the first Moby album I ever bought, the fantastic 1995 release Everything Is Wrong, which remains my favorite Moby album--Yes, it's even better than Play, his landmark 1999 release that made him a superstar (and superstar of the advertising industry).

Like a lot of Moby, it's an eclectic mix of upbeat and more ethereal dance number, most with tinkly keyboards, layered synths, and processed vocals. It's also therefore a mixed bag, although mostly pretty good. Lyrically, of course, there's not much going on, such as in the upbeat opener "Ooh Yeah," which loops the title continuously over a driving beat and bass and violin synths, or "257.zero," which loops a bunch of spoken numbers over an '80s dance vibe.

The '80s are clearly on Moby's mind, explicitly on "Everyday is 1989," an old school Moby track with charging dance beat, pounding piano, and looped vocals from some anonymous dance music diva. "I Love to Move in Here" is another retro-flavored standout, hearkening back to that late '80s/early '90s period when rap and house music were briefly merged, featuring guest Grandmaster Caz. I like the little bursts of synth strings and audience noise. "Alice" has an even stronger hip-hop vibe and a harsher arrangement, although still quite danceable--think House of Pain.

Moby turns his synth chords way up on the opening of "Live for Tomorrow" while looping a soul singer--a sound familiar to any recent Moby album--but then gives it a harder beat. Space-age keyboards show up too in this surprisingly good track that comes off as "classic" Moby. Skip over moody "Hyenas" and undernourished "I'm in Love" to "Disco Lies," an enjoyable blend of early '90s dance-pop and Moby sensibility. "The Stars" is another high-energy, piano and looped vocal track that sounds like a revisited Everything is Wrong leftover.

Then the party ends. "Degenerates" lives up to its title, providing a soup mix of synths and percussion. "Sweet Apocalypse" and "Mothers of the Night" are dull, repetitive instrumentals. Vocals return on the languid title track, but not the sense of enjoyment built by the album's earlier dance tracks.

After giving this a closer listen for this review, I found I actually liked it better than when I just had it on in the background, which unfortunately is how most of Moby's music is consumed. With such attention, the joys of the various songs emerged, and were surprisingly good, especially the retro House tracks. Until the final act, which suffers from being too repetitive and bland, there's a good deal of fun to be in Moby's journey through late '80s and early to mid '90s dance music.

Best: Everyday is 1989, Live for Tomorrow, Disco Lies, I Love to Move in Here, Ooh Yeah

Will Young - New material

Will Young is starting to perform new material from his upcoming fourth album, Let It Go, due for release in late September. Here's a video of him performing an acoustic version of the title track:



Not bad. There's also a poor quality video of Will performing the album's first single, "Changes":



Thanks to xolondon for the heads up on this.

UK Singles Chart, 7/5/2008

1. Closer - Ne-Yo

It's peculiar but not uncommon for a popular American artist has a hit in the UK that isn't a hit at home. The last single by an American artist to hit #1 in the UK but miss the U.S. top 10 was Madonna's "Sorry." Other examples from this decade include "Nasty Girl" by The Notorious B.I.G. and friends, "Get Right" by Jennifer Lopez, "Like Toy Soldiers" by Eminem, and Christina Aguilera's "Dirrty."

In The U.S., Ne-Yo hit #1 in 2006 with "So Sick" and #2 last year with "Because of You." He's had several other top 10 hits, but "Closer" isn't one of them (the single peaked at #25 two weeks ago). Yet it sits on top of the UK singles chart this week, having slowly climbed the top 10 over the last 5 weeks. "Closer" is Ne-Yo's 4th top 10 hit and 2nd #1 after "So Sick."

3. No Air - Jordin Sparks Featuring Chris Brown

Another American Idol winner besides Kelly Clarkson finally has a hit in the UK. Jordin Sparks rises 7 spots to #3 this week to become the American Idol with biggest charting UK single yet, beating the #5 peak of Kelly's "Since U Been Gone." This good fortune is somewhat analogous to American Idol results at home. On the American charts, Jordin Sparks is the only other Idol winner besides Clarkson who appears to have major potential as a pop artist, having hit #3 with this single a few months ago (and #8 last year with "Tattoo"). And no, I'm not forgetting Carrie Underwood, who is now perhaps the most successful American Idol winner in American, but she's more a country artist than a pop artist. "No Air" is a great pop single and I'm glad to see it was able to cross the pond.

4. Forever - Chris Brown

For whatever reason (probably because they're both young American male pop/R&B artists) I have a mental link between Ne-Yo's "Closer" and Chris Brown's "Forever"--both having come out at about the same time in the states and the UK and both climbing the chart at about the same pace, at least in the UK. "Forever" is Chris Brown's third UK top 5 hit, his second coming just one spot above this, giving him two top 5 hits this week. The last time an artist had two top 5 singles in the top 10? It was September 2006, when Timbaland was the featured artist on both Justin Timberlake's "Sexyback" at #2 and Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous" at #3. He was, of course, the producer of both singles too.

16. Geraldine - Glasvegas

Scottish band Glasvegas score their first top 40 hit this week with "Geraldine." The group hails from Glascow, but apparently has an affinity for Las Vegas too, having used both cities' names to form theirs. Glasvegas is the 9th act from the BBC Sounds of 2008 list to score a top 40 hit. Only Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong has yet to have a top 40 single. The biggest hits from that bunch so far:

1. Adele - #2 "Chasing Pavements"
2. Duffy - #1 "Mercy"
3. The Ting Tings - #1 "That's Not My Name"
4. Glasvegas - #16 "Geraldine"
5. Foals - #26 "Cassius"
6. Vampire Weekend - #38 "Oxford Comma"
7. Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong - #43 "Lonely Buoy"
8. Black Kids - #11 "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You"
9. MGMT - #31 "Electric Feel"
10. Santogold - #27 "Les Artistes"

24. Shut Up and Let Me Go - The Ting Tings
31. Electric Feel - MGMT

While we're on the subject of the BBC Sounds of 2008 list, two of the other artists on it also score top 40 hits this week. The Ting Tings, who hit #1 in May with "That's Not My Name" score their third top 40 with "Shut Up and Let Me Go." It's not in stores until July 14, so expect this to rise--likely will become their second top 10 hit.

MGMT, the American electro/indie band who hit #35 earlier this year with their debut, "Time to Pretend," score a slightly bigger hit at #31 with its follow-up, "Electric Feel."

30. Bye Bye - Mariah Carey

Today's chart commentary started with an example of a popular American artist whose latest single unusually charted much higher in the UK than in the U.S., and I'm closing with something equally interesting--a popular American artist whose last single was a big hit in both countries--and the follow-up a bomb in both. "Touch My Body," Mariah Carey's first single from her latest album was a #1 hit in America and a #5 single in Britain. It's follow-up, tipped by many as a sure thing, has gone belly up in both countries, peaking at #19 in the U.S. and #30 this week in the UK. Truthfully, I'm not that surprised and a little glad. "Bye Bye" is fine but bland, and there are many other better tracks on E=MC², an album I happen to rather like. "I Stay in Love" is a much better ballad, and upbeat tracks like "Migrate" and "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" are good too. Hopefully this won't prevent them from getting a chance.

Personal Chart, 7/5/2008

TW LW Title - Artist
1 .... 2 .... Viva La Vida - Coldplay (1 week @ #1)
2 .... 1 .... Take a Bow - Rihanna (1 wk @ #1)
3 .... 5 .... Pocketful of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield
4 .... 3 .... Warwick Avenue - Duffy (2 wks @ #1)
5 .... 6 .... Sweet About Me - Gabriella Cilmi
6 .... 8 .... Leavin' - Jesse McCartney
7 .... 4 .... Violet Hill - Coldplay (2 wks @ #1)
8 ... 11 ... Give It 2 Me - Madonna
9 ... 10 ... Labels or Love (Theme from "Sex and the City") - Fergie
10 ... 7 .... That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings

Best Albums, first half of 2008

With My Morning Jacket, I've reviewed 24 new albums so far this year. These are my 10 favorite:

1. Madonna - Hard Candy
2. Duffy - Rockferry
3. Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
4. The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
5. The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement
6. Mariah Carey - E=MC²
7. Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree
8. Adele - 19
9. The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
10. Nine Inch Nails - The Slip

Goldfrapp lashes out

Alison Goldfrapp, realizing her the music from her fourth album isn't doing it, finds a way to generate press.

Album Review: My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges (3.5/5)

I expected to really love Evil Urges, the fifth album from My Morning Jacket. Like Wilco, the band was once known for southern rock but has since expanded the scope of their sound. That band's 2007 album, Sky Blue Sky, was a favorite last year. By comparison, Evil Urges is more eclectic but not as consistent.

Most of the opening tracks are among the album's best. "Evil Urges" is the funky opener, a warm but sometimes sinister blend of electric guitar, strings and drums with a falsetto vocal.
"Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Part 1" has an entirely different vibe--mellower, more electronic--not unlike The Flaming Lips. "Highly Suspicious" has more of a glam rock strut. Then there's "I'm Amazed," which reminds me vaguely of Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion." "Thank You Too" is my favorite track, bathed in twangy electric guitar and strings that soar during the chorus. It has a warm, comforting sound with a laid back feel.

After that, most of the rest of the album is pretty good, but not excellent. "Sec Walkin'" has a nice country twang to it, but feels awfully repetitive, as does "Look at You," another countryish ballad that appears in the middle of the disc. "Librarian" has a very repetitive vocal too, but the underlying music slowly builds, which I like. It's a touching, almost meditative love song.

There are faster songs too, like "Two Halves," which has a bit of '50s feel to it, and up-tempo "Aluminum Park" and "Remnants" with prominent electric guitar. The latter would have benefited from a vocalist with a little more heft than Jim James--such as The Editors' Tom Smith. "Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Part 2," like Part 1, is more electronic than most of the other songs, although it has a very different vibe that Part 1--being both faster, weirder and longer, ending with a keyboard fade-out that finishes with the promised "scream."

This album would almost rate a 4. I like the eclectic approach, although some of the sounds, like the ballads and funky tracks are a better fit for the band than the harder rock ones. I listened to it a lot over the last couple of weeks, hoping it would improve with multiple listens. Some songs do stand out, and overall I like the album, but I just don't love it.

Best: Thank You Too, Evil Urges, I'm Amazed, Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Part 1, Librarian

Misc.

• Leona, where are you? After releasing "Better in Time" in March, which hit #2, Leona Lewis has evidently forgotten about the UK audience that made her a star as she concentrates on breaking into America. No follow-up single has yet been released or is on the new releases schedule.
  
• 'Babes quit at three. Change, the Sugababes fifth album, may become their first to not have a fourth single. First single "About You Now" was a massive hit, but follow-ups "Change" and "Denial" both missed the top 10.
• Kylie X to One. "The One" will be the fourth single released in the UK from Kylie's album X. This had been slated as a digital-only release, but now looks like it will get a full physical release at the end of next month. This is a great single, which should only benefit from the fact that the Freemasons have done remixing duties. Check it out:

Billboard Hot 100, 7/5/2008

1. I Kissed a Girl - Katy Perry

Fifty-three years in, the rock era offers up its 1000th #1 hit, as Katy Perry ascends to the top spot with her first major hit, "I Kissed a Girl." If one of rock's central tenets is pushing buttons, then "I Kissed a Girl" is an apt choice for this honor: the song involves a girl kissing another girl for the first time.

5. Pocketful of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield

Natasha Bedingfield's "Pocketful of Sunshine" reaches its highest peak so far at #5, tying the peak position of "Unwritten," her highest-charting single so far.

9. When I Grow Up - The Pussycat Dolls

The Pussycat Dolls scores their 4th top 10 hit this week with "When I Grow Up," which climbs 9 spots to #9. This is their fastest rise into the top 10, as the single is only in its fourth week on the Hot 100.

10. 7 Things - Miley Cyrus

Here's this week's biggest mover. Miley Cyrus climbs 60 spots to score her third top 40 and second top 10 hit with "7 Things." Her last single, "See You Again," was on the chart for quite awhile, but only ever made it to #10. "7 Things" may slide a bit, as this massive leap is owed to the single finally being available this week at iTunes, but since it continues to rise in airplay, could ultimately be a bigger hit. This is the first single from Cyrus's forthcoming second studio album, Breakout.

11. This Is Me - Demi Lovato & Joe Jonas
20. Play My Music - Jonas Brothers
30. Gotta Find You - Joe Jonas
33. We Rock - Cast of Camp Rock

The latest Disney musical, "Camp Rock," is responsible for four new entries in this week's top 40. All feature Joe Jonas, a member of the Disney darlings band the Jonas Brothers, who get their second top 40 hit with "Play the Music." The brothers also have a new entry at top 40 radio, "Burnin' Up," from their forthcoming third album.

18. Disturbia - Rihanna

Sadly, it looks like Rihanna's Maroon 5 collaboration, "If I Never See Your Face Again," is going to miss the top 40, but she quickly makes up for that failure with this new single "Disturbia," which debuts at #18. She's also at #4 with "Take a Bow," her third current single. "Disturbia" is Rihanna's 11th top 40 hit.

50. Apologize - Timbaland Featuring OneRepublic

This looks like the last week on the chart for Timbaland and OneRepublic's massive hit "Apologize," which has now spent 47 weeks on the Hot 100. Not a record, but quite impressive.

Personal Chart, 6/27/2008

TW LW Title - Artist
1 .... 2 .... Take a Bow - Rihanna (1 week @ #1)
2 .... 8 .... Viva la Vida - Coldplay
3 .... 3 .... Warwick Avenue - Duffy (2 wks @ #1)
4 .... 1 .... Violet Hill - Coldplay (2 wks @ #1)
5 .... 5 .... Pocketful of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield
6 .... 6 .... Sweet About Me - Gabriella Cilmi
7 .... 4 .... That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings
8 ... 10 ... Leavin' - Jesse McCartney
9 .... 7 .... Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis (7 wks @ #1)
10 .. 12 .. Labels or Love (Theme from "Sex and the City") - Fergie

Album Review: Foxboro Hot Tubs (Green Day) - Stop Drop and Roll (4/5)

Green Day's American Idiot was everything a career-defining album should be: challenging, epic, socially conscious, best-selling, award-winning, hit-generating, etc. How does a once small-time punk band follow that up? How do you avoid the inevitable "not as good as your last album" reviews?

While most artists would probably try to do it again and likely fail, Green Day have taken a different take, reinventing themselves--for now--as a different band, the Foxboro Hot Tubs. American Idiot may have been about the war, 9/11, and Jesus, but Stop Drop and Roll is all about having a good jam session, and the alter ego is a great excuse to make a fun album by side-stepping those next-album expectations.

The album clocks in at a lean 33 minutes spread over 12 minutes--so we're talking short bursts of high-energy old school rock. In that regard, it's not too dissimilar to indie bands who've been reaching back to the '60s and '70s for inspiration of late. "Stop Drop and Roll" sets the scene immediately, letting those guitars take center stage. "Mother Mary" and "Ruby Room" keep up the energy, adding more melody.

"Red Tide" is comparatively slower, a little break. "Broadway" is the first track where Billie Jo Armstrong sounds like, well, himself. "The Pedestrian" is rather Green Day-ish too. "She's a Saint Not a Celebrity" adds a little piano to the mix, although you can barely hear under the guitars--this is a guitar rock exercise after all. "Alligator" is particularly fun and has a familiar sound. I also like "Dark Side of the Night," one of the slower songs, that adds a little flute to the mix.

None of this is very substantive, but that's the point. It's just short, enjoyable bursts of '60s-flavored rock. From Green Day...I mean Foxboro Hot Tubs.

Best: Mother Mary, Alligator, Broadway, Dark Side of the Night, The Pedestrian, Ruby Room

Personal Chart, 6/21/2008

TW LW Title - Artist
1 .... 1 ..... Violet Hill - Coldplay (2 wks @ #1)
2 .... 3 .... Take a Bow - Rihanna
3 .... 2 .... Warwick Avenue - Duffy (2 wks @ #1)
4 .... 4 .... That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings
5 .... 5 .... Pocketful of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield
6 .... 8 .... Sweet About Me - Gabriella Cilmi
7 .... 6 .... Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis (7 wks @ #1)
8 ... 18 ... Viva La Vida - Coldplay
9 ... 10 ... Two Doors Down - Mystery Jets
10 .. 13 ... Leavin' - Jesse McCartney

Coldplay set to score first #1 single in US and UK

This week will mark two important firsts for Coldplay. On tomorrow's Billboard Hot 100 chart, "Viva La Vida" will climb a notch to #1, giving them their first #1 single in the U.S. This week will mark the final week of pre-order sales for the single's parent album, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, which was released in the U.S. Tuesday and should easily top the albums chart next week. My guess is that with the album out, "Viva La Vida" will drop quite a bit on next week's Hot 100.

Meanwhile, across the pond in their home country, Coldplay also looks set to score their first #1 single in the UK. "Viva La Vida" hasn't charted at all their, having been found ineligible by the chart guardians due to its special "pre-order" status--a finding the American chart guardians were able to overlook. The album's first official single, "Violet Hill," looks likely to climb back into the top 10.

Here's a rundown of Coldplay's top 40 singles to date in both countries to date:

US
#2 "Viva La Vida" (last week)
#8 "Speed of Sound"
#29 "Clocks"
#40 "Violet Hill"

UK
#2 "Speed of Sound"
#2 "In My Place"
#4 "Fix You"
#4 "Yellow"
#8 "Violet Hill"
#9 "Clocks"
#10 "Talk"
#10 "Trouble"
#10 "The Scientist"
#35 "Shiver"

Album Review: Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends (4.5/5)

Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends isn't just a title Coldplay chose because they couldn't make up their minds. It's a choice: Live life or join death. While that's not terribly provocative as rock album themes go, Viva La Vida is the most experimental we've heard Coldplay yet. Gone is that requisite surging pop number ("Yellow," "Clocks," "Speed of Sound") and the stadium anthem you're supposed to lift your swaying lighter (or rather cellphone) aloft to ("The Scientist" or "Fix You").

Instead there's a willingness to depart--not dramatically--but with baby steps toward something different. Revered producer Brian Eno is along for the journey this time, and although his presence might make you think Coldplay wants to encroach even further onto U2 territory, he actually gets them to experiment with longer instrumental sections and unusual instrumentation. Over the course of 10 tracks and 13 songs (3 tracks are "hidden") Coldplay delivers the sort of lovely pop/rock we've come to expect from them tweaked with little surprises here and there.

They open this time with an instrumental, "Life in Technicolor" which kicks off with a mix of layered keyboards before throwing in a middle eastern instrument, and them amping up the band with a hopeful sound. Not a classic, but a good start. "Cemeteries of London" goes for a pensive sound, turning up the guitar echo and hollow-sounding keyboard effects. Together these tracks quickly establish the album's life and death theme, play off of it both in their titles and in their contrasting styles.

"Lost!" is the album's first great track. This sounds like a typical great Coldplay track, enhanced by an unusual percussion section. Church organ and keyboard effects drive the melody, with guitar used sparingly under the chorus. There's a little piano here too, but it's so buried in the mix as to be barely audible until near the end. It gets its due on "42," a song that starts as a dark piano-and-strings ballad and then suddenly morphs into harder-hitting guitar rock. There's something really interesting going on with the guitars here, which I like. Then--bam--the song speeds up and the piano comes back to drive the upbeat finale. It's a great contrast, which I recommend listening to with the volume turned way up. Is this Coldplay's bid to create a mini "Bohemian Rhapsody?" The more I listen to this track, the more I love it. Chris Martin claims its called "42" because that's his favorite number, but I'm not sure I believe him.

"Lovers in Japan" keeps the tempo and mood upbeat, a steady blend of drums and keyboards. The piano's unusual sound comes courtesy of the band modify its hammers with tacks to create a "tack piano." "Reign of Love," the hidden track that follows, strikes me as something to close an album with. It's just mellow piano and Chris, not much to it, and not very exciting.

"Yes" is an interesting track. Chris sings in a lower register, which is refreshing. Violins and other stringed instruments are used prominently, but in a more Western fashion. "Chinese Sleep Chant," is the best of the hidden songs. Chris is barely audible, buried in the mix of reverberated guitars and keyboards.

Then come the album's two singles, which are the albums two best songs and provide quite a contrast. While "Viva la Vida" at first sounds like any big Coldplay song--"Clocks" or "Speed of Sound"--listen to the instruments and you can tell this is something quite different. First off there are no drums or guitar, the key ingredients in most rock music. Yet the song moves along quite propulsively, featuring the most prominent string section of any Coldplay song. Keyboard and chimes round out the song. It is upbeat and epic.

Then there's "Violet Hill," brilliantly dark and compact. The pounding melody features raspy guitar, piano, and Chris Martin singing about who knows what--politics? ("When the future's architectured by a carnival of idiots on show you'd better lie low"), poverty? ("Clearly I remember from they windows they were watching while we froze down below") Love? ("I took my love down to Violet Hill, there we sat in snow, all that time she was silent still, so if you love me won't you let me know?"). It's a lovely song and I like it a lot, although it took awhile to win me over.

"Strawberry Swing" has a simple hand-clap beat and a staccatic string section that nicely underpins acoustic guitar during the bridge, providing a harmonizing melody against the keyboards at the end. This isn't your typical Coldplay song, and it's quite good. Producer Brian Eno makes a brief guest appearance here, whispering "that's a bit fast" at the beginning, referring to the tempo.

"Death and All His Friends" isn't typical either, although it may seem so it first. It opens sweetly with Chris singing softly over piano, then there's some gentle electric guitar, but then the music surges and the band erupts for the last bit. It's a surprisingly optimistic sound for a song called "Death and All His Friends." The least interesting song on the album is the last. I don't see much point to "The Escapist" beyond providing a soft closing--it's just a pleasant, but not particularly melodious arrangement of keyboard layers taken from the opening track.

While this album lacks as many obvious hits, which X&Y and A Rush of Blood to the Head had in abundance, it makes up for it with experimentation. This is Coldplay's most challenging album to date, turning their back on the big guitar and piano stadium fillers that have made them a name up to this point, but retaining their sensibility for crafting lovely pop melodies and infusing their music with optimism. Even if it falls short of the grandeur of their last two albums, the band should be applauded for trying something different. As dark as some of these songs are at times, many of them resolve with upbeat codas, reinforcing that when faced with the choice between giving in to death or struggling with life, Coldplay chooses life. If you don't like that, go listen to Radiohead for awhile.

Best: Viva la Vida, Violet Hill, 42, Strawberry Swing, Yes, Lost!, Chinese Sleep Chant, Death and All His Friends

Billboard Hot 100, 6/21/2008

1. Lollipop - Lil Wayne Featuring Static Major

Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" snaps a 5th week at the top, inching above Leona Lewis to become the year's second-longest stay at #1 after Flo Rida's 10 weeks with "Low." Please please let this be the last week.

2. Viva La Vida - Coldplay

Well isn't this amazing. Top 10, #3, now #2. Next week's chart will be the last before the release of the Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends album, meaning that next week will be last week that the Billboard Hot 100 will register iTunes album pre-orders as "Viva La Vida" single sales. Apparently the album's been pre-ordered in record numbers. If it keeps up, "Viva La Vida" could be the first single propelled to #1 because it was offered basically as a down payment on an album. It would also give Coldplay their first #1 single in either the U.S. or the UK. That would be pretty cool.

9. Pocketful of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield

Natasha Bedingfield rebounds into the top 10 this week. Along with Coldplay and Leona Lewis at #3 with "Bleeding Love," Brits make up 3 of the top 10 spots in the U.S., a turnaround from the relative lack of UK-based acts making it in the States of late.

31. When I Grow Up - The Pussycat Dolls

So Nicole Scherzinger's solo career didn't work out--that album of hers apparently shelved indefinitely now. Back with the Dolls, she's able to do what she failed to do alone--score a top 40 hit. In fact, neither of her solo singles, "Whatever U Like" or "Baby Love" cracked the Hot 100 at all. Pity. The first had a cool sound, but lacked a good hook (or melody frankly). The latter was more melodic, but a bit bland. This is the group's 6th top 40 hit, their biggest being their debut, "Don't Cha," now a classic '00s pop track, which hit #2 in the summer of 2005.

Personal Chart, 6/14/2008

TW LW Title - Artist
1 .... 2 .... Violet Hill - Coldplay (1 wk @ #1)
2 .... 1 .... Warwick Avenue - Duffy (2 wks @ #1)
3 .... 3 .... Take a Bow - Rihanna
4 .... 4 .... That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings
5 .... 6 .... Pocketful of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield
6 .... 8 .... Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis (7 wks @ #1)
7 .... 5 .... 4 Minutes - Madonna & Justin Timberlake (7 wks @ #1)
8 ... 19 ... Sweet About Me - Gabriella Cilmi
9 ... 10 ... Always Right Behind You - The Zutons
10 .. 39 .. Two Doors Down - Mystery Jets

Album Review: Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan (3/5)

Sunday at Dirt Devil is the second collaboration between the sweet-voiced former Belle & Sebastian singer Isobel Campbell and the gruff former Queens of the Stone Age singer Mark Lanegan. Their first, Ballad of the Broken Seas, was one of my favorite albums of 2006. I loved its dramatic, western-tinged soundscapes and Lee Hazlewood/Nancy Sinatra stylings.

So I should be thrilled to have them back, but unfortunately this second outing lacks the spark of the first. Where Broken Seas was joyously eclectic, Dirt Devil is schizophrenic, joining a somber first half to a light and folksy second half. Let's take them one by one.

The first half is dominated by the sort of '60s-esque dramatic Lee and Nancy balladry that made the first album great, although this time the tone is even darker and less upbeat. "Seafaring Song" is a quiet opening number, with strings and acoustic guitar playing in a melancholy key. "The Raven" is a little louder, adding a few drums, but its still pretty dark. So is "Who Built the Road," which is more uptempo, but that's not saying much on this album of weepies. It has that western flavor and dramatic strings that reminds me of why I liked their first album.

The first half of the album also has a number of more bluesy numbers like "Salvation," which puts Mark front and center with just a guitar and few wisps of vocals from Isobel and the plodding "Back Burner" which is mostly Mark and percussion. "Come on Over (Turn Me On)" is the album's best track. It has a nice swagger to it and finds Mark and Isobel singing together as equals. The music swells, for probably the only point on the album, with piano, strings and drums. Too bad this one song squanders almost all the album's excitement. More of this would have been really great.

The second half drops the dark drama for a set of folksy numbers, some rather light. Unfortunately, they are less interesting than what came before. "The Flame that Burns" isn't very interesting, neither is "Shotgun Blues," which is sooo slow. "Something to Believe" is too bland for my taste.

It's not all bad on the second half though. "Keep Me in Mind, Sweetheart" is a sweet, simple little tune. And "Trouble" has a nice rock melody, with both singers featured equally. That's perhaps one of the biggest surprises--Vocal duties on this album fall more on Mark than Isobel, a reversal from their last project.

Sunday at Dirt Devil suffers from being uneven and lacking much pep. There are a few good moments, but I doubt a Mercury Prize nomination is in the cards this time.

Best: Come on Over (Turn me On), Who Built the Road, Trouble

Madonna "Give It 2 Me"

Here's the video for Madonna's second Hard Candy single, Give It 2 Me. It's more arty that "4 Minutes," but less flashy.

Album Review: Nine Inch Nails - The Slip (4/5)

In a market of dwindling album sales, acts for whom losing the album format itself would be artistically detrimental are increasing turning toward high jinks to get us to buy, or rather, acquire them. Radiohead famously offered In Rainbows last year at whatever price a consumer was willing to pay, Raconteurs didn't announce they had a new album until moments before releasing it, hoping to cut down on pre-release piracy.

Now comes Nine Inch Nails, a big name act that, perhaps inevitably, decided to offer its latest work, The Slip, for free. Like his last album, the instrumental Ghosts I-IV released in March, Trent Reznor licensed The Slip to allow you to remix it however you like as long as you give NIN credit.

"999,999" is just ambient synths, setting the stage for "1,000,000," an insistent rock track driven by the fuzziest of rock guitars and a simple-minded drum and tambourine beat. Next up is "Letting You," even more propulsive, with Reznor's vocals further distorted, the vocals louder. It's layers of hectic, frenetic noise, yet pure melodies peak through.

Through the urgent opening of the album, each track improves upon the previous through "Discipline," the album's single. It's the most conventional track on the album--upbeat, danceable even, with piano and hi-hat competing in the mix of dark and fuzzy guitars and synths. It reminds me a bit of "Closer," NIN's biggest hit, and to be honest, the only thing from him that ever interested me, although not as exciting as that peak moment in NIN's history.

"Echoplex" throttles back on the sound, thinning the ambience down to, at times, just beats. I love how Reznor layers various sounds throughout this album. I've been experimenting with Apple's Garage Band lately, so I can appreciate the complexity of making that work well. "Head Down" shows this off as well. It's dark mix includes loud beats, squelchy guitars, random sound effects, clear keyboard chords, and Reznor's vocals, at times plaintive and at others more like a yell.

The tempo slows down and the mood gets even darker on the last few tracks. "Lights in the Sky" is just Reznor--his vocals almost a whisper now--and a piano. Is there an instrument that can better express melancholy than a piano? I think not, and Reznor coaxes such sadness out of its keys.

Perhaps its just my iTunes settings, but I didn't notice when this track ended and the next, "Corona Radiata" began. At over 7 minutes, this is the album's longest track, and least "song-like" of the bunch, as there are no vocals. This is the sort of music you'd imagine the space travellers in the Alien movies would listen to. The composition begins with just synth chords; slowly as more layers are added, melody emerges briefly and then fades; eventually those synths deepen and flutters of deep, far off percussion kick in and then come forward; the synth keyboards stop, while the synth beats amplify, then the keyboards return more sinister than before. I don't think I'd call this track a favorite, but it's certainly interesting.

"The Four of Us Are Dying," another instrumental, layers stringed instruments and eventually noise over the rich synth keyboards, building in volume and intensity toward the end. Closer "Demon Seed" kicks up the tempo and the noise, returning us to the more conventional "song" territory of most of the album.

Whether the music industry will migrate to singles format exclusively is still an open question. Contrary to what some prognosticators may say, the album isn't dead, although it is on life support. Those artists who prefer their work organized in the format are fighting for its survival--through whatever means it takes. Is the act of releasing ones album for free an innovation or a failure to embrace change? Are we holding onto the past or remaking it for the future? The Slip, like In Rainbows, is an argument for keeping the album format around. It's a dark journey that throttles through a mix of upbeat tracks before pulling us back into the quieter mysterious ones at the end. Unless you're into mammoth singles like "Bohemian Rhapsody," rarely is such terrain effectively traversed within a single track.

Best: Discipline, Head Down, Letting You, Lights in the Sky, Echoplex, 1,000,000

Preview Coldplay

IHeartMusic.com has Coldplay's entire new album up for preview. What I've heard so far is pretty good but not Earth shattering. Despite their claims to the contrary, this is the same old Coldplay. Viva La Vida is out Thursday, June 12.

This weekend UK #1

Just when you thought the era of ridiculous UK #1s was over, here's what's headed to the top of the charts this weekend. Apparently it was featured on Britain's Got Talent (the UK version of America's Got Talent).

Billboard Hot 100, 6/14/2008

1. Lollipop - Lil Wayne Featuring Static Major

Lil Wayne spends a fourth week at the top, matching Leona Lewis's 4 weeks with "Bleeding Love" as the second longest stay at the top so far this year. Both trail by quite a bit the 10 weeks at the top Flo Rida had with "Low" at the beginning of the year.

3. Viva la Vida - Coldplay

This single takes the trophy for most unusual chart feat of the week. Last week this single leaped up to #10 from #41 on the back of critical promotion through iTunes ads shown during the American Idol finale. This week, rather than dropping like a stone, it manages to climb--quite powerfully--up to #3, becoming the band's biggest U.S. hit ever. Meanwhile, the band's "official" single isn't even in the top 40--"Violet Hill" is up 13 to #53 this week.

4. Take a Bow - Rihanna

Rihanna holds at #4 this week but earns the airplay gainer award. I expect to see this single back at the top very soon. She also has a couple of other tracks waiting in the wings. Her Maroon 5 collaboration, "If I Never See Your Face Again" is up 12 to #64, and another new track from her Good Girl Gone Bad re-release, "Disturbia," looks like major hit material too.

5. I Kissed a Girl - Katy Perry

This track is hot--quickly rising up the chart. Up 16 spots this week and the sales gainer, Katy Perry lands her first top 10 hit with "I Kissed a Girl." Not a remake of the Jill Sobule hit from the '90s, this is an all-new track that was featured on Gossip Girls, but is a hit in its own right now, with significant radio and sales support. Should be #1 soon.

7. No Air - Jordin Sparks Featuring Chris Brown
8. Sexy Can I - Ray & Yung Berg
9. The Time of My Life - David Cook
10. 4 Minutes - Madonna and Justin Timberlake

What do these four songs hanging on at the bottom of the top 10 all have in common? They all peaked at #3. Hmmm....

13. Got Money - Lil Wayne Featuring T-Pain
34. A Milli - Lil Wayne

#1 isn't enough, here comes Lil Wayne with the Hot 100's biggest debut at #13. This time he's got T-Pain, the pop music world's current hottest sidekick, doing guest duties. T-Pain only appears on four top 40 hits this week. He's now had 16 top 40 hits, only 4 of which did he get top billing. He also moves up 7 spots to #34 with "A Milli." Oh, and he's also at #25 as a guest on Usher's "Love in This Club Part 2," which also features Beyonce, her 11th top 40 hit, not counting Destiny's Child appearances.

Personal Chart, 6/7/2008

TW LW Title - Artist
1 .... 1 .... Warwick Avenue - Duffy (2 wks @ #1)
2 .... 2 .... Violet Hill - Coldplay
3 .... 4 .... Take a Bow - Rihanna
4 .... 6 .... That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings
5 .... 3 .... 4 Minutes - Madonna and Justin Timberlake (7 wks @ #1)
6 .... 7 .... Pocketful of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield
7 .... 5 .... American Boy - Estelle Featuring Kanye West
8 ... 10 ... Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis (7 wks @ #1)
9 .... 8 .... No Air - Jordin Sparks Featuring Chris Brown (1 wk @ #1)
10 .. 13 .. Always Right Behind You - The Zutons

Songs I Like

Here are the videos for some current singles I like.

"Two Doors Down" Mystery Jets. Yes, this is new, not vintage '80s.




"Labels or Love (Theme from "Sex and the City")" Fergie. This is just stills someone made--I don't think there's an official video. Shame--It could be really fun.

June New Album Releases

We're almost halfway through the year. Key releases this month are Coldplay, the Fratellis and Weezer. Early June looks more interesting than later in the month.

June 2/3
Weezer - Weezer (The Red Album). Weezer puts out their sixth album, their third eponymous one following their debut (nickenamed The Blue Album), and their third album from 2001 (known as The Green Album). I haven't heard anything from the album yet.

Alphabeat - This is Alphabeat. We've already heard "Fascination" and "10,000 Nights" from the Danish band, here comes the LP.

Zutons - You Can Do Anything. The upbeat British rock band releases its third album, featuring current single "Always Right Behind You."

Alanis Morissette - Flavors of Entanglement (June 10, U.S.). Alanis releases her 7th album (4th since her breakthrough Jagged Little Pill). She hasn't had a hit in years--will she now?

Ashanti - The Declaration. Remember in 2002 when Ashanti was the hot new thing? Poor girl's had a hard time living up to massive hit "Foolish" and her Ja Rule collaborations. This fourth album is Ja Rule-free and features first single "The Way that I Love You." Not be be confused with Paula Abdul's 1989 hit "The Way that You Love Me."

Radiohead - The Best Of. Having parted ways with EMI, their formal label collects the biggest hits from their six albums on this 16-track greatest hits. It's Bends and OK Computer heavy, but every album contributes at least one track and all the major hits are here.

Chris Brown - Exclusive, The Forever Edition. Just 7 months out and Exclusive is already getting a re-release with new single "Forever." I'm getting a bit annoyed with the whole re-release thing. After "Kiss Kiss" and "With You" were none of the other original songs on the album good enough to be singles?

Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad Reloaded. Here's another re-release, only slightly less annoying because it has been about a year since it came out, but we've gotten whole new albums from Rihanna every year since 2005 until now--so why no new disc? Probably because Good Girl Gone Bad actually became a massive hit, so she needs some time before a new album, and this is a stopgap. Features #1 hit "Take a Bow" and Maroon 5 collaboration "If I Never See Your Face Again."

June 9-12
Coldplay – Viva La Vida Or Death & All His Friends [Thurs 12th]. Three albums in and they're one of the world's biggest bands. Despite the pretentious title--named after a Frida Kahlo painting--and cover art--a painting of the French Revolution by Eugène Delacroix, Coldplay had hinted that this album would be a more stripped down and experimental affair than their previous U2-inspired works. Brian Eno is on board as producer this time, and the album has already landed separate top 10 hits in the UK ("Violet Hill") and the U.S. ("Viva la Vida").

Fratellis – Here We Stand. The Scottish rock band who brought us hits like "Chelsea Dagger" and "Baby Fratelli" from their first album Costello Music offer their second album. First single "Mistress Mabel" doesn't sound like they've changed much.

My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges. The southern indie rockers release their fifth disc.

N.E.R.D. - Seeing Sounds. Not taking a break after Madonna's disc, the Neptunes fire up their old band for a third album, reportedly quite experimental.

June 16/17
Missy Elliott – FANomenal. Missy Elliott's 7th album, featuring first single "Ching-a-Ling."

Feeder - Silent Cry. The Welsh band's 6th album.

June 23/24
Motley Crue - Saints of Los Angeles. Motley Crue are back, releasing their 9th album and first since 2000.

TBD
Beck - Modern Guilt. Beck's 10th album is supposed to come out sometime this month.

Personal Chart, 6/1/2008

TW LW Title - Artist
1 .... 2 .... Warwick Avenue - Duffy (1 wk @ #1)
2 .... 4 .... Violet Hill - Coldplay
3 .... 1 .... 4 Minutes - Madonna and Justin Timberlake (7 wks @ #1)
4 .... 5 .... Take a Bow - Rihanna
5 .... 3 .... American Boy - Estelle Featuring Kanye West
6 ... 14 ... That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings
7 .... 8 .... Pocketful of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield
8 .... 6 .... No Air - Jordin Sparks featuring Chris Brown
9 .... 7 .... Black and Gold - Sam Sparro
10 .. 13 ... Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis (7 wks @ #1)

Billboard Hot 100, 6/7/2008

This week the chart is all about American Idol (and iTunes, but that chart is always about iTunes). In more ways than you'd expect. But first...

1. Lollipop - Lil Wayne Featuring Static Major

Lil Wayne holds the top spot for a second in a row with "Lollipop," third week in total at the top. But that's really an aside to this week's real chart news.

3. The Time of My Life - David Cook

That begins here. David Cook won American Idol last week, becoming the 7th person thusly crowned, following in the footsteps of Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks and Jordin Sparks. "The Time of My Life" is the expected victory lap so to speak, the rushed out debut single written and produced in advance for the pleasure of the winner to perform and release. That it falls short of #1 is a bit of a surprise. After all, such "victory" singles from Kelly Clarkson ("A Moment Like This"), Fantasia ("I Believe"), Carrie Underwood ("Inside Your Heaven"), and Taylor Hicks ("Do I Make You Proud") all hit #1. Jordin Sparks' had the lowliest such single--"This Is My Now" only hit #15--But she's more than made up for that with her real singles, "Tattoo" (#8) and "No Air" (#3).

The chart intrigue doesn't just end there though. This time around iTunes made available--for one week only- the artist's performances throughout the show. Consequently, David Cook breaks the record for the most Hot 100 debuts in a single week with 11, 4 of which enter in the the top 40. The other entries:

#15 "Dream Big"
#22 "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
#28 "The World I Know"
#42 "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"
#47 "Billie Jean"
#67 "Always Be My Baby"
#73 "Hello"
#77 "Music of the Night"
#92 "Eleanor Rigby"
#99 "I'm Alive"

That tally beats the previous record of six singles set by Miley Cyrus. Only in the age of downloads.

#10 Viva la Vida - Coldplay

American Idol doesn't just benefit the winner--it helps Coldplay too! Two weeks ago "Viva la Vida" debuted at #15, owing to the fact that it was made available for pre-orders of their upcoming fourth album. Then last week it dropped like a stone to #41. Like a manic chart slingshot, it's back up at #10 this week, thanks no doubt to iTunes choosing it as for their new commercial that debuted during the American Idol finale. In fact, it's #1 on iTunes at the moment, so it will probably climb next week. It's Coldplay's second top 10 hit.

#18. Apologize - Timbaland Featuring OneRepublic

Remember when this was a hit like 6 months ago? Well it's still been kicking around the top 40 ever since, and this week, due to OneRepublic performing it on..you guessed it..the American Idol finale, "Apologize" leaps back up 14 spots to #18. The song's now been on the Hot 100 for 43 weeks. It's this year's "Before He Cheats."

#36. Imagine - David Archuleta

Even the Idol runner-up gets a top 40 hit this week, but only one. And only at #36. Sorry Archuleta.

The lastest from Rihanna

Here's the latest from Rihanna. She's been stripped onto Maroon 5's "If I Never See Your Face Again," turning the track from pretty good to excellent. Two years ago I thought she was only mildly interesting, having delivered a fantastic single in "SOS," but who'd have known that she'd follow that with enough massive hits to make her one of the most formidable female pop stars of the moment. She just had her second single to hit #1 in the both the U.S. and the UK, "Take a Bow," and "Umbrella," "Don't Stop the Music" and "Hate that I Love You" were all big hits too.

Check out the video for "If I Never See Your Face Again." Remarkably, she has more presence than Adam Levine.

UK Singles Chart, 5/31/2008

1. Take a Bow - Rihanna

After only a week at #1, The Ting Ting's "That's Not My Name" is knocked from #1 by Rihanna's "Take a Bow," which become's the Barbadian singer's second #1 hit after last year's "Umbrella." The Ting Ting's can take more than a little solace in the fact that they have this week's #1 album with their debut, We Started Nothing. This rather quick turnover--two new #1s in two weeks--reverses this year's trend of long stays at the top, with the four #1 singles previous to The Tings Tings--Madonna's "4 Minutes," Estelle's "American Boy," Duffy's "Mercy," and Basshunter's "Now You're Gone" all spending 4 or 5 weeks at the top.

7. Warwick Avenue - Duffy

Up six spots to #7 this week is Rihanna's competition for #1 next weekend, Duffy's "Warwick Avenue." The soulful track is Duffy's follow-up to her massive #1, "Mercy," still the biggest hit of the year so far. I'm really hoping to see this at #1 in 6 days.

10. Violet Hill - Coldplay

After peaking at #8 last week, Coldplay's "Violet Hill" slips two spots to #10. Surely the decision not to release this as a physical single is hurting its chart promise. Could this have been Coldplay's first #1 hit if it had been fully released? Perhaps. The single spends its second week at #1 on the airplay chart this week.

12. Closer - Ne-Yo

Could Ne-Yo be heading to his second UK #1? Possibly. "Closer" is already up to #12 on download sales, and the physical single isn't out until June 23rd--plenty of time for further growth. Ne-Yo hit #1 with his first single, "So Sick," and has had two other top 10 hits since then.

16. Love Song - Sara Bareilles

Also doing well on advance download sales is American singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles with her debut "Love Song." I'm a little sick of this song (it wore out its welcome on U.S. radio) at this point, but in Britain, where it's a new quantity, it appears to be doing well, up seven spots this week, with its full release still 3 weeks away.

18. Sweet About Me - Gabriella Cilmi

Finally it's time for me to write about Gabriella Cilmi. I can no longer ignore this record. This single was released in March, at which time it didn't perform very spectacularly, spending only 1 week in the top 40 at #38. Then the unexpected happened--3 weeks later it returned to the top 40 and has kept climbing ever since, up one spot to #18 this week. It finally attracted the attention of Radio 1, where it's now on the B list. The single is currently spending its third week at #1 in her native Australia.

19. I Can Be - Taio Cruz
23. 10,000 Nights - Alphabeat
27. Mistress Mabel - The Fratellis
28. Always Right Behind You - The Zutons

Here's a cluster of tracks all selling on downloads that all get a physical release today. It will be interesting to see how they do this weekend. I'm betting the best performance will come from the Fratellis' first single from their second album--top 5 for sure. Taio Cruz and Alphabeat should be top 10 too. Zutons are the wild card here. "Always Right Behind You" has been doing well on airplay (it's #6 this week), but their biggest hit to date was "Valerie," which hit #9 in June of 2006 (and was since remade by Amy Winehouse, whose version became her biggest hit to date).

33. Great DJ - The Ting Tings

This is an interesting entry. "Great DJ" was released as The Ting Ting's first single in March, but was found to be chart-ineligible (I think it was being offered for free or something). However, now that the track can be downloaded as an album cut, it is finally able to chart, debuting at #33. How big a hit this would have been we'll never know.

36. Rhythm Is a Dancer - Snap!

What's this doing here? Apparently it's been featured in a TV ad, rekindling interest in it. This single spent 6 weeks at #1 in the summer of 1992, Snap's second #1 hit after "The Power."

Personal Chart, 5/24/2008

TW LW Title - Artist
1 .... 1 .... 4 Minutes - Madonna and Justin Timberlake (7 wks @ #1)

2 .... 8 .... Warwick Avenue - Duffy

3 .... 2 .... American Boy - Estelle Featuring Kanye West

4 .... 12 .... Violet Hill - Coldplay

5 .... 10 .... Take a Bow - Rihanna

6 .... 5 .... No Air - Jordin Sparks Featuring Chris Brown (1 wk @ #1)

7 .... 6 .... Black and Gold - Sam Sparro

8 .... 9 .... Pocketful of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield

9 .... 4 .... In My Arms - Kylie Minogue

10 ... 3 ... Cold Shoulder - Adele

"Believe Again" Delta Goodrem

I may lose any shred of credibility here, but I love Delta Goodrem's "Believe Again," the second single from her third album, Delta, which is supposed to get a U.S. release soon. What can I say? I've always been a sucker for pop singles with a big sense of drama, and this certainly qualifies. If Celine Dion ever does a song featuring cannons...I'm there (actually there may be cannons in the "It's All Coming Back to Me single mix). The best part is the opening, which gets truncated in the video, so here's the full album version:



And the totally over the top video:



Other Delta must haves are her post-cancer survivor epic "Out of the Blue," which was written by Guy Chambers, who is the current king of dramatic pop music (best known for Robbie's "Angels"), and "Lost Without You," the second single from her first album.

UK Singles Chart, 5/24/2008

1. That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings

Here's an old-fashioned chart surprise. Newcomer British pop band The Ting Tings soar to a #1 debut this week with "That's Not My Name." Released one week in advance of their debut album, We Started Nothing, the single far surpasses the performance of their first release, "Great DJ," which failed to chart when released in March. The single knocks Madonna's "4 Minutes" from #1 after 4 weeks at the top, keeping Madonna from having a single spend more than 4 weeks at the top, a feat she's scored twice before with "Into the Groove" and "Vogue."

2. Take a Bow - Rihanna

Also making a big splash near the top is Rihanna, who debuts at #2 this week with "Take a Bow," the new track added to the upcoming re-release of Good Girl Gone Bad. This is a downloads debut, and with the physical single out tomorrow, it will be a strong contender for #1 next weekend. If "Take a Bow" does hit #1, it will become her second chart-topper following last year's "Umbrella." If it doesn't, it will join Rihanna's three other #2 hits, "Pon De Replay," "SOS," and "Unfaithful," all of which spend 2 weeks at #2.

13. Warwick Avenue - Duffy

Still 2 weeks away from its physical release, Duffy keeps climbing with "Warwick Avenue." Check out the moving video.

Album Review: The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing (4/5)

Here's another hotly anticipated debut album. The Ting Tings were one of those bands the music press mentioned in January as being something to watch out for this year. First taste was the promising single "Great DJ," followed recently by their second single "That's Not My Name" and the use of one of their songs ("Shut Up and Let Me Go") in an iTunes advertisements, currently the music world's version of an Oprah book endorsement.

Those upbeat tracks are among the album's best moments. "Great DJ" is a winning mix of guitar, keyboard, hand claps and the band's female/male vocal blend. "That's Not My Name" is even better--irresistible, simple, and stuck in your head after just a few listens. "Shut Up and Let Me Go" is the best though. One of those infectious songs you can't help but not move to.

Also good is propulsive "Keep Your Head," which moves along at a rapid clip with keyboards. I also like the mellower, guitar-driven "Be the One." Insistent "We Walk" opens with a melancholy piano and has a minor key, making it perhaps the darkest track here, but for this band that's about like a cloud briefly covering the sun. This is sunny upbeat stuff.

Other moments are fine, but less interesting. "Fruit Machine" has some nice guitar work, but doesn't have the hooks of the first two tracks. Same goes for the title track. Where the album stumbles most are with a couple of tracks that don't sound finished. Goofy "Traffic Light" sounds like it could use a nudge in the tempo department and maybe a couple more layers of sound, not getting interesting until the near the end. On "Impacilla Carpisung," which also sounds like its missing some instruments, the band puts too much emphasis on strange clangy noises, which, up against the great melodies of most of these tracks, doesn't hold much appeal.

These are minor flaws though, The group excels at crafting upbeat pop melodies. It's nice to hear pop music that isn't rooted in electro or R&B, which are so popular at the moment. This isn't a serious work and it's not meant to be. The Ting Tings are clearly having a good time and so are we.

Best: Shut Up and Let Me Go, That's Not My Name, Great DJ, Keep Your Head, We Walk, Be the One

Duffy's Warwick Avenue video

Here's the video for Duffy's new single, "Warwick Avenue." Duffy shows off her acting chops here--the camera never strays from her face, reminiscent of Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2U." Strangely captivating in its simplicity.

Singles Roundup

I haven't done this in almost two months. Here's some of what I'm listening to these days...



That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings. The Ting Tings just put out their second single, "That's Not My Name" in advance of next week's release of their debut album, We Started Nothing. It's more upbeat than "Great DJ" and more radio friendly. Expect this to be a big end-of-spring hit--and this week's surprise #1 on the UK singles chart. Check out the video above.

Warwick Avenue - Duffy. Following "Mercy" isn't an easy task, but "Warwick Avenue" was absolutely the best choice. I love this song, another highlight from Rockferry. It's a lovely ballad with a soaring, string-backed chorus. And it mentions the tube station near my flat when I lived in London, so I have to love it.

Violet Hill and Viva la Vida - Coldplay. Coldplay offer up not one but two advance singles from their forthcoming album. "Violet Hill" is the official single, moody and dark, a little harsher even than we're used to hearing from Chris Martin & Co. "Viva la Vida" is more unusual for them, relying heavily on strings for its melody.

I Love to Move in Here - Moby. This is the second single from his latest Last Night, which is supposed to be more dancefloor and less moody trance like his last couple albums. I was interested in Last Night's first single, "Alice," but this song is pretty cool.

If I Never See Your Face Again - Maroon 5 Featuring Rihanna. The first track from Maroon 5's It Won't Be Soon Before Long gets an invigorating facelift--a bit of a remix plus the welcome addition of Rihanna, turning this into a worthy single. After the flagging performance of their last single, "Won't Leave Home Without You," this should give them another hit.

Take a Bow - Rihanna. Balladry has never been Rihanna's strong suit, but she is getting better. Compare this to "Unfaithful," for example, and she sounds much stronger now. It's a pretty straightforward piano ballad, tastefully restrained.

Daylight - Kelly Rowland featuring Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes. Credit Kelly Rowland for not giving up. After her second album pretty much flopped, she kept at it, first bringing in cousin Beyoncé's favorite remixers, the Freemasons, to reinvigorate "Work," then actually re-releasing her album with new tracks and remixes, including this breezy winner. Look for McCoy's great line: "I'll be back in 3 days like Paris's jail sentence."

One Day Like This - Elbow. This anthemic track is long--over 6 minutes--but features all the elements of a stadium sing-along, soaring music, big chorus repeating the same refrain, full orchestra, etc. Best track from their latest album.