On the fence when it comes to new music? PLAY > SKIP rides to the rescue each new-release day with capsule reviews of the latest sounds from a wide variety of genres, plus videos of the latest singles so you can decide for yourself what to play and what to skip.
Possibly more than any other felt-skinned pop culture icons, the Muppets have managed to consistently stay one step ahead of becoming obsolete. Kermit, Miss Piggy, and the rest of the Muppet gang can always count on a new generation of semi-ironic artists pulling them back from the brink of nostalgia and irrelevance. “The Green Album” is the latest bid at Muppet hipness. One could argue that it tries a bit too hard. Still, hearing the Fray reinvent the Animals’ classic “Mahna Mahna” or Weezer get surprisingly touching with Paramore’s Hayley Williams on “The Rainbow Connection” is worth the price of admission. But how come no remake of “Can You Picture That” by the Electric Mayhem? Best Muppet band of all time.
LISTEN to “It’s Not Easy Being Green” performed by Andrew Bird.
Andrew Bird – It’s Not Easy Being Green by Walt Disney Records
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Stephen Malkmus is our Lou Reed. Actually, I’m not sure how accurate that is, but it feels right. Between his beautifully dry Pavement guitar noise and his deadpan odd-meter poetry, he feels like Lou’s Bowery brother more than a Southern California expatriate now living in Berlin. “Mirror Traffic” is Malkmus’ best album since his Pavement glory days. Producer Beck (who’s becoming the T Bone Burnett of the indie-alt set), manages to accomplish what he could not on Thurston Moore’s latest CD: he reins him in. Just enough. “Mirror Traffic” has all of the discord and disarming lyrics (” . . . what the Senator wants is a blow job”) we’ve come to expect from Malkmus’ mind, but it’s all wrapped up in a tight pop package that has eluded his records in the past. No, don’t expect “Mirror Traffic” to enter the Top 10. The world is not that just. But you can expect it to stay in your playlist for the rest of the year.
WATCH the music video for Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks’ single “No One Is (As I Are Be).”
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Like DeVotchKa, Beirut has made a career of opening arms to the world. Zach Condon’s songs tie Eastern European and Western sounds into a big Baroque Brooklyn knot. On their third release, the Western world gets the upper hand. Condon’s good, old-fashioned American pop sensibilities rise closer to the surface than ever before. Don’t worry: There’s still the Balkan flair; it’s just got bit more groove — in the way that only a euphonium and accordion can groove.
WATCH the music video for Beirut’s single “Elephant Gun.”
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Rap is going through a fascinating transformation at the moment. Beneath the posturing and the bravado, a handful of hip-hop artists are experimenting with vulnerability. It’s a strange, new land and most rappers are still getting used to it. Kanye pulled the vulnerability card beautifully on last year’s “Runaway.” Eminem’s “Not Afraid” pushed the vulnerability envelope as well. Now Game is stepping onto the field. He says that he’s rededicating himself to hip-hop and his family on “The R.E.D. Album.” No joke. Game’s new album is a tortured look at someone trying to get past abuse, violence, and neglect to become a man. Not an easy task for a 31 year old from gang-riddled Compton. And “The R.E.D. Album” is no easy listen. Game’s tentative steps toward showing vulnerability should not be misconstrued as him going soft. This is a hard album with brutally frank rhymes. Still, it’s one more step pushing the genre into reflection and maturity. “The R.E.D. Album” makes me want to rededicate myself to rap.
WATCH the music video for Game’s single “Pot of Gold,” featuring Chris Brown.
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An album like this dramatically points out the generational divide that exists in the 2011 music world. Most people with a certain hairline will dismiss Babs’ new disc as schmalz for old folks. That’s unfair and too bad. Aside from being a lovely lesson in friendship (Streisand has been singing the Bergmans’ songs for more than 50 years), “What Matters Most” is a masters class in songcraft and vocal interpretation. Here Streisand is a model of self-restraint. The entire album is a love letter written by well-read friends who share the same fascination for sophisticated melodies and songs that play like stories — not slogans. Let the shoegazers snicker and call me a sap. They should hope to grow old with such luck and grace.
WATCH Barbra Streisand and Alan and Marilyn Bergman discuss their friendship and songs.
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I’m having a hard time thinking of an actor who ever made a record that meant a damn: Keanu Reeves, Eddie Murphy, Bruce Willis — it’s a vanity-filled, musical wasteland. If anyone can think of an exception to the actors-shouldn’t-make-music-rule, let us know in the comment box below. I can only think of one: Jeff Bridges. Also a painter and photographer, Bridges says that he’s been writing songs since he was a kid. He released his album debut in 2000, getting very little attention. Now, with some “Crazy Heart” wind still at his back, he’s taking a higher profile swing at it. Call it “Jeff Bridges: Crazy Heart: the Sequel.”
Soundtrack alums T Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham, and Steve Bruton all return to support their star. But Bridges has no interest in playing the part. He deals in sincerity, not posturing. His collection of songs are soft and laid-back. One could argue that they’re a little too much of both. Still, there’s no questioning his motives. The dude just wants to follow his muse and groove.
WATCH the music video for the Jeff Bridges’ single “What a Little Bit of Love Can Do.”
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Fans of Sly Stone have been waiting for him to come back for decades. Instead, it’s been a string of frustrating public teases: the bizarre 2006 Grammy Awards tribute, the bizarre 2007 tour with Sly abruptly leaving the stage early most nights. His 2009 debut on Cleopatra Records — a label known for reissues and tribute albums — is less bizarre than Sly’s stagecraft but no less frustrating. Essentially a tribute album featuring Sly Stone, “I’m Back!” re-creates Stone’s hits with such classic rock favorites as Heart’s Ann Wilson, Jeff Beck, Ray Manzarek, and Johnny Winter. Skip this and play your “Stand!” CD while you wait for Sly to really come back. But don’t hold your breath.
WATCH Sly & The Family Stone perform “Dance to the Music” on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1969.
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Blue October’s Justin Furstenfeld is now 13 years into his musical confessional. On “Any Man in America,” his recent divorce and custody battle provide the angst and answers to his pain. For sure, Furstenfeld is an inspiration: he’s been successfully living with bipolar disorder and giving his legions of fans some comfort in their own uncomfortable skins. Still, I’m more moved by Blue October’s back story than the beats on the album. Yes, “Any Man in America” is certainly made from the best rock ingredients: passion, real pain, and palpable angst. For me, though, the memory of Furstenfeld’s triumph lingers longer than any of the songs that blend into alt-rock background music.
WATCH the music video for Blue October’s single “The Feel Again (Stay).”
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“Life at Best” is all shiny and sincere, full of mid-tempo country-pop tunes about girls who are crazy or crazy in love, all performed by a bunch of baby-faced Southern boys who you could take home to your mama. It’s all good, clean country fun. How come it bugs me so much? God, it’s lonely being a cynic.
WATCH the music video for Eli Young Band’s single “Crazy Girl.”
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When a band is billed as “humorcore,” you know you’re in trouble. Psychostick is sounds like “Weird Al” Yankovic’s metalhead stepchild made an album high on whip-its while watching “Beavis and Butt-Head” reruns. It’s got all of the adolescent, stoner humor with none of the irony. The jokes try too hard, and the music falls far too short. Play Lonely Island and Rob Zombie on shuffle for a better laugh.
WATCH the first episode of Psychostick’s “SV vs ZD” video series.
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