3 is it?

Yeah, we took it easy on Labor Day.

KKCK:

Pink “Funhouse”
If I’m not mistaken, this might be the most fun  yet lyrically dark song of 2009.  It gets my vote.

Ester Dean “Drop It Low”
This one will test your bass.  After that, it makes a nice ringtone.  A year later, we’ll see if anyone remembers it.

Muse “Uprising”
I have a few friends who love Muse, but I’ve never really been able to get into them.  I like this song a lot more than other Muse songs I’ve heard, and since we have a small history of playing hot Muse songs, I thought what the heck.  Some of the synth parts sounded very 80s, which I liked (and some Muse fans probably find it insulting I thought that).

Pink to click: Pink

One of my favorite MySpace bloggers is thinking about deleting her account.  I double post everything at MySpace and WordPress, but I’m not planning on deleting either.  If you’re somebody who reads this, who used to post on MySpace, drop me a comment or a note to where you’re posting now, if that’s something you’d like to share.  One of my favorite pastimes back in the mid 2000s was checking all the new MySpace blogs that I had to read each day, and now I’m lucky if there’s one or two from non-bands to read.  I have a folder of bookmarks for blogs, and I’m always looking for a few more to read.

Today hasn’t been the best day, so I’m not feeling overly communicative.  There’s always next week, so I’ll spend the next six days thinking of what to write next Wednesday.  The week after that the new music blog will go up either Tuesday or Thursday, as Wednesday is Braeden’s 1st birthday, so I’ll be away from the computer almost all day.

Four musical cylinders…which ones are firing?

I’ll let you decide.

KKCK:

Kelly Clarkson “Already Gone”
Uptempo/uptempo/ballad is a time honored tactic.  Kelly Clarkson has played it perfectly so far.  While “Already Gone” should do very well, in the grand scheme of KC’s career, this song might be one of the more forgettable successes.  I’ve heard it a bunch and I couldn’t tell you the chorus due to the fact it’s so…bland.

Michael Franti & Spearhead “Say Hey (I Love You)”
On the other side of bland, we have this fun track that almost sounds like something KKCK would have played in the more free-for-all days of the mid to late 1990s.  The funny part about us adding this song is that some anonymous posters at a radio board have been on our case for playing this song for months (I have no idea what station they were listening to).  If the song ends up becoming a big hit, that would amuse me to no end.

Pitbull “Hotel Room Service”
When the “super extra clean” version still warrants a daypart, I know the kids will go nuts for it.

Rita “Love Has Begun”
It’s been a while since we spun an indie record, so we decided to give this singer a go.  Her info indicates she’s big in Israel, and I can’t remember playing an artist who had that claim to fame before.

Pick to click: Pitbull

Looking back over some recent entries, I get the impression I’m really rushing through these things.  I remember when the Wednesday MySpace music blog was the reason I looked forward to Wednesdays (now the big deal on Wednesdays is a new Zero Punctuation review).  I’m not sure if it’s because I’m writing other stuff elsewhere, or because MySpace’s struggles and diminishing popularity.  I’m still trying to figure out how I ended  up more busy at work and yet it seems like I get less done.  Age?  Incompetence?  Bad luck?  Farkle?

Pure speculation.

I don’t talk about albums I’ve heard lately, but I haven’t heard too many lately.  I had mixed feelings about the Dead Weather, but if the Raconteurs are any indicator, I’ll really like their second album more than the first.

I’m starting to wish I’d started a savings account just for the deluge of G.I. Joe related stuff coming down the pipe right now.  The fact I bought G.I. Joe shirts at ShopKo still blows my mind.

Here’s the problem with writing late at night.  I tend to get sleepy, and then I just awkwardly wrap things up with no real warning.

That’s all for this week.  Comments on the new songs are always welcome, or on songs you think we’re lacking.

How to go on when the thrill is gone

How to go on…

KKCK:

Miley Cyrus “The Climb”
Well…this is the only new song this week.  By default, it is both the best and words, hottest and coldest, and dopest and illest.  The song is one of those soaring ballads, that starts quiet and sparse but gets loud and full by the end.  Miley’s voice is pushed to the limit (maybe too far) on this one, and that’s how it should be because the song is the lead single from the Hannah Montana movie soundtrack.  So…yeah.  Let’s just wrap this part of the blog up.

Pick to Click: Miley Cyrus

By the way, comments are always welcome.  However, this week I’m going to ask for them on a few topics:

1.  Is it just me, or is MySpace slowly dying on the vine?  I’m still getting a lot of random blog views, but comments are few and far between.  When I have the notice that I have “new blog posts” to read, almost all of them are singers, bands, or some other blog written by a famous person or whomever writes their blogs for them.  I double post the blog now to one of my wordpress blogs, but it doesn’t get the views that my MySpace blog does.  That’s why the MySpace blog is still my main blog, at least in my mind.  I’ve stopped listing it as my “web site” on places like Twitter, and I gave my russ4life blog as a destination in our Christmas letter (er, I mean Weevil did).  I had Facebook set to import my blogs for a while, but it stopped doing it after a while.  That was fine with me, as it usually just cropped it off and made people click on the link to get back to the original post.  I’ve started posting the new music blog at my Last.fm profile, but I only have one friend there.  I’m not sure of the general rule of thumb for adding/meeting people on that site is.  I should have joined it years ago, because I love some of the features it has.  Speaking of features, would it kill MySpace to add some new features to the blog section?  Should I slowly begin the transition to another home, or just keep pluggin’ away here?

2. Between MySpace, Last.fm, and wordpress I have eight places where I blog.  I thought separatingthem by various topic was a good idea, but I’ve been wondering if condensing them into one or two is a good idea.  I’d probably want to keep fiction and non-fiction writing apart.  Any opinions out there?

3. Animal Collective and TV on the Radio: I’m still wondering what I’m missing here.  I keep hearing how great those two bands are, but every time I try to listen I just don’t enjoy or appreciate it.  Anyone?  Anybody?

Now, back to the part of the blog where I don’t fish for comments (but hey, go nuts if you want…I’m in a comment readin’ mood).

BSG didn’t kill my favorite character…yet.  I get the feeling that at least some of the main characters are going to bite it before the end of the show next month.  I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by speculating that the Galactica herself might not make it to the end.  There was a scene in last week’s ep in the engine room, and a character  noticed what looked like either damage or metal stress fatigue.  Either way, the show has done a mostly good job of showing the Galactica getting more and more beat to hell.  Don’t forget, in the miniseries the Galactica was the oldest ship and was on her way to be decommissioned.  Aside from my favorite character (who I don’t mention anymore to avoid being spoilery) my second favorite would probably be the Galactica herself. 

Then, there’s Knight Rider.  Two episodes to go for the first season.  No word on the second, but I’d be totally shocked.  Granted, stranger renewals (Sledge Hammer comes to mind, since they ended season one with a nuclear explosion because they were so confident there wouldn’t be a second season) have happened.

There was more I wanted to type today, but the muse escaped.  I’ll have to build a better cage next week.

We’re just three new songs and one DJ…

…stealing Beastie Boys lyrics without delay.

KKCK:

Flo Rida “Right Round”
This song borrows a bit of Dead or Alive, and his style of rapping on the verses reminds me of some old pop/rock song I can’t think of.  All I can remember is that some store in Fargo used it in a jingle for something, or I saw it on a Fargo TV station growing up.  I’d enjoy the song a lot more if I could remember what old song that is.  I’m not even just saying that, because I am enjoying this way more than any other Flo Rida song I’ve ever heard.  With any luck, it might erase the spectre of “Low” from my memory.

New Kids on the Block “Dirty Dancing”
A band successful in the 80s doing a song that shares its name with an 80s movie, AND the song even rhymes “Patrick Swayze”?  That might just be crazy enough to work.  If you don’t know it’s NKOTB, you might not even recognize it as NKOTB.  I’ve never been a huge fan, but this one isn’t too bad.

My Chemical Romance “Desolation Row”
First, like Usher once did, these are my confessions.  I’ve never read “The Watchmen” so I have no idea what the movie will be like.  I’ve never heard the original version of this song by Bob Dylan.  It wasn’t on the “Essential Bob Dylan” CD I ripped into my iTunes.  So, I can only approach this as the three minutes of My Chemical Romance that I hear on my speakers.  Of those three minutes, I like them all.  I hope they don’t dilly dally too long before their next CD.

Pick to click: Flo Rida

Say, that was a pretty good week.  Dare I say it was our best week so far in 2009. 

No show as ever made me delirious with spoiler fever as Battlestar Galactica.  I had a spoiler window open, and I was ready to scroll down…but I just couldn’t do it.  I just want to know if my favorite character bit it.  It sure looks like the character did, and from the next week teaser at the end they even said the character was dead.  That’s why I’m holding hope actually.  Ron Moore never tips his hand like that, unless he has another plan up his sleeve for said character.  So, I’ll patiently wait for that character’s official fate (I’m trying so hard to not spoil anything for those who may be waiting for the season to finish before watching/buying/downloading).

After tonight there will only be two new episodes of Knight Rider, and then we wait for NBC to put a bullet in it.  I hope they don’t, as the show has shown some promise, and the producers seem willing to do whatever it takes to make the show work.  The show has gotten a lot better since the first episode, but it has a long way to go. 

Things at home are going really well.  Braeden is getting bigger, stronger, faster, and smarter by the day.  Kate’s knee is almost all the way back from her surgery.  Our cats continue both amuse and annoy, as cats are born to do.  We’re talking about where we might like to go for a long weekend once the weather warms up, but so far we don’t have any concrete plans.

Just since I started writing this week’s MySpace/WordPress/Last.Fm blog, Kate called to tell me Braeden was laughing.  We’ve been trying to get him to laugh for over a month, as he was at the age where he should start laughing.  What got him to laugh?  Mac the cat meowing at him.  If cats amuse him, he’s in for a fun filled life.

That wraps things up for this week.  Before I go, I was recently tagged by several people on Facebook to do one of those “25 Random Things About Me” deals, so I thought I’d cross post it for anyone who cares to read it but isn’t a Facebook friend.

1. I would still rather watch a well done cartoon than an above average live action show.

2. When I’m walking my son around to calm him down, I talk about baseball, philosophy, Battlestar Galactica, work, or whatever else is on my mind. Some days I swear he’s actually paying attention.

3. I think I drink way too much soda pop.

4. I might be addicted to the internet.

5. In college, I wanted to work anywhere but in Marshall. I’ve worked in Marshall over ten years, and I’ve really enjoyed it.

6. I bottle up feelings rather than talk about them. I am working on this.

7. When I think back to High School, I remember a lot of good times and quite a few things that make me wonder “what was I thinking?” (mainly my hairdo). I wouldn’t trade my time at VHS for anything though, and I’m really happy to see so many Veblen-ites (Veblonians? Vebleners?) popping up on Facebook.

8. On my iPod, I have almost 200 traditional Native American songs, over 500 Spooncat songs, every They Might Be Giants album, over eighty songs by Glenn Miller, most of my old hair rock, every 10,000 Maniacs, AC/DC, Metallica, ZZ Top, Fiona Apple, Bowling for Soup, Megadeth, Sheryl Crow, No Doubt, Dangerous Toys, Weird Al Yankovic, Daft Punk, and Reverend Horton Heat (those are just the ones I thought of now) album, and about 14,000 other songs. Of the 15,900 + songs, not one is in the genre “country”.

9. Some days I obsess about death, but not mine. I worry about my parents and my old cat, and I can’t stop thinking about how one day they won’t be here.

10. If I could go back to college, I’d major in Creative Writing and History.

11. I’m worried I’ve hit that age where I stop caring about playing video games. However, I still love to watch X-Play.

12. I like to think I’m a knowledgeable music fan. Yet, when other fans who I think knowledgeable gush about Radiohead, I feel I totally missed something. I just don’t hear the big deal. Same for TV on the Radio.

13. I still collect GI Joes and Transformers, but not as much as I used to.

14. In my bookmarks, I have almost 200 webcomics bookmarked and separated into tabs of “daily”, “M-W-F”, “sporadic”, “once a week” and “rarely”.

15. As a kid I refused to wear anything with a hood. Now I wear hooded sweatshirts almost every day.

16. I’ve had the same 1989 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme since 1992. It looks like hell, but it still gets me where I need to go.

17. A great friend of mine tried to get me to socialize more because “I’d never meet the right girl in my apartment.” I met Kate for the first time…wait for it…in my old apartment.

18. The best sleep of my life was when I was working an overnight shift. No joke.

19. I really wanted to name our first son “Ichiro Ernest” but Kate didn’t like that idea for some reason.

20. In high school, my dream was to work at ESPN. During college I realized I just didn’t care enough about football, basketball or hockey (among other sports) to really make a go of it. Baseball is it for me.

21. I might be a borderline pack rat, but my mind really associates memories with objects, and I fear I’ll start forgetting things I don’t want to if I get rid of a few things I don’t need anymore.

22. Kate and I have only been out of the United States once, and that was to Canada. We liked it so much we half-joked about moving.

23. The only “bad” habits I picked up in college were comic books and AD&D (and other RPGs of that nature).

24. While I still collect some GI Joe and Transformers stuff, there are several things I used to collect that I no longer do. Some forgotten collections include baseball cards, matchbox police cars, Red Owl stuff, Super Soakers, and Star Trek stuff.

25. I would really like to be closer to my brother, but we’re 20 years and hundreds of miles apart. I don’t even know how to begin.

BONUS FIVE:

26. Lately I’d rather write than play video games or watch television.

27. My favorite book is There’s Adventure in Meteorologyby Neil P. Ruzic.

28. The first board game I learned to play was Monopoly, and the first card game I learned was draw poker.

29. I used to think I was good at poker, until the Texas Hold ‘Em craze. Whatever happened to draw poker?

30. I saved the best one for last. The night Kate and I got married, I had to go to the lobby for extra shampoo. For the first time, I uttered the phrase “my wife” and I realized I had been at my happiest since Kate and I were engaged, and being married has only made me even happier.

[oh, before I forget...Happy Birthday Alice Cooper!]

Three songs for the ages?

Notice I didn’t say what ages?

KKCK:

Nick Lachey “Patience”
While Nick and Jessica were the toast of MTV, I had no idea that Nick would still be getting songs onto CHR while Jessica went to country music.  Mostly I just wanted them to go away, but Nick is proving himself to be quite resilient.  Since Take That don’t do well in the States, why not take a big song of theirs and bring it over?  It sounds like a plan with no drawbacks, and for Lachey fans it is a song with few drawbacks.  For those of us who don’t hang on Nick’s every move, it’s a passable pop song with a bit more guitar that we’re used to hearing on Nick’s singles.

Kings of Leon “Use Somebody”
We toyed with the idea of playing “Sex on Fire” but instead opted to wait for a single with a slightly less racy title.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the song or the album it’s from.  KoL are just one of those bands I can’t get into for some reason.  Why can’t science solve that problem, or at least explain it?  I feel so out of the loop when, for example, musicians/music fans I respect start talking about Radiohead.  I just don’t get it, and I feel: a bit stupider/less refined/out of some kind of loop that I cannot penetrate/all of the above.  So…I do like how the song starts.  Is that a start?

K’naan “If Rap Gets Jealous”
As far as rappers go, this one probably knows more about mean streets and death than anyone with Dr, Lil’, Young, or Cent in their name.  If you don’t know, K’naan grew up in Mogadishu, Somalia, and got out on the last flight in 1991.  I had no idea who he was until we added the song, and the more I read and listen the more interesting his story and music become.  We’re probably early, but that never stopped us before (like when we played a track from M.I.A.’s Arular back in the day).  It’s worth checking out, but if you’re in listening range don’t expect to hear it until a bit later.  Even the radio edit is a bit on the “night only” side.

Plork to clork: Kings of Leon

I saw a story this week that Facebook had passed MySpace in total users, or something like that.  Facebook seems to be a lot more happening these days, but my blogs are only on MySpace and WordPress.  I had feed to Facebook, but it was turned off by FB for some reason.  Maybe I’ll hook it back up one of these years.

Battlestar Galactica has been so frakin’ good during the “final episodes” run.  During the first half of season four I was of the mind it was time, but now it’s really making me want more.  Good thing SciFi wants them to do a few movies, and maybe that prequel series.  Then, there’s Knight Rider.  I want NBC to bring it back, just because it might be one of the more undeserving renewals of all time.  The fight between KITT and KARR last week should have been the high point of the season, but it was over in about three minutes.  Plus, the filming was inspired way too much by the Bourne movies AND the fight was in the dark no less.  I had to watch parts of it three times on the DVR just to see what the heck happened.  The cast is really doing their best with a bad show, and it could be a show that finds better footing if given more time.  The next (and last) four episodes of the season were made in hopes of courting fans of the original show.  We’ll see how that goes.

Nicktoons was on this morning, and I found a new cartoon to list among my new favorites.  “My Life as a Teenage Robot” had snappy jokes, heart and I really liked the overall look of the show.  I don’t think new episodes are in the cards, but I have plenty of reruns to catch up on.  This really is a good time for cartoons, especially superhero/scifi cartoons.  “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” is getting better every week.  “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” has been pure win every week, especially last week with an appearance by the Blue Beetle (I’m talkin’ Ted Kord, not the new guy…no offense kid).  “Wolverine and the X-Men” looks like an interesting take on the characters, and “Iron Man: Armored Adventures” starts up in April.  “Spectacular Spider-Man” has new episodes coming back in March, and so does “Transformers Animated”.  I didn’t even mention the DTV “G.I. Joe: Resolute” that’s on the way.  Safe to say Braeden won’t have a problem finding a cartoon to watch with his old man in a few years.

Things in the old town are going mostly okay.  The Schwan Food Company has been shedding management everywhere, including some people I know.  Quizno’s closed up shop, and I got freaked out at Kmart because damn near everything was on clearance (no worries…that I can find out about).  The station’s home show should be a good barometer of how bad the area is doing.

I don’t have a lot else on the brain, other than what I’m going to write in a few other blogs.  We’ll reconvene here next week, or maybe sooner.  I know I say that a lot, but maybe this is the week it happens.

Godzilla vs. Snot-zilla (oh, and songs too)

Sorry for the title.  With the cold I have I feel like a snot-zilla.  It does beg the question: is “Godzilla” the second best Blue Oyster Cult hit, or does that title go to “Burnin’ for  You”?

Think about it.  Then, think about these.

KKCK:

The Fray “You Found Me”
Am I the only one who finds it funny that ABC is using this song to promote “Lost”?  If you dug the Fray’s piano rock the last time around, this song won’t do much to change your mind.  This song actually sounds like a second album song, as the band’s sound is more…well, just more.  Everything seems bigger this time around, and that’s not uncommon for a young band.  This is probably the most time and money they’ve spent on an album, and the pressure to get it right with a fickle audience has caused many a band to press.  The Fray don’t deviate from their sound, but rather they just make it a bit bigger and more sweeping without totally ruining how they sound.  This should be a big hit, but I’ve been wrong before.

Lesley Roy “Unbeautiful”
This new Irish singer has been a project in the works for a few years, and now Jive is reaping some return.  Her wiki entry links to a Starpulse article that claims her sound is a mix of Avril Lavigne and Melissa Ethridge.  I get more of a Dar Williams with Lucinda Williams, or at least Lucinda’s smoking habit (does she smoke?  her voice tells me yes but really I don’t know).  The song gets points for tripping my spell-check as well, as “unbeautiful” hasn’t made it into the lexicon like “meh” or “truthiness”.  Upon spell-checking, those words aren’t found either.  Get with it wordpress.

Pink “Sober”
Here we have a star lamenting the end of her hard partying ways.  Oddly, it isn’t Britney.  What I really love about Pink is that she’s not afraid to tackle subjects and concepts her contemporaries avoid.  The song isn’t a mover like “So What” but it doesn’t tread into mushy ballad-land either.  It’s a slower pink song, and those tend to do very well.  Here’s hoping Pink sticks around a while.

Pick to click: Pink, just barely over the Fray, who are just barely over Lesley Roy.  This was a good week.

Have you seen this story at CNN about “Tivo Guilt”?  Isn’t it amazing that technology both solves old problems and somehow creates new ones?  I’m totally there as far as Tivo guilt (though technically mine is Moxi guilt).  I’m three weeks behind on “Terminator: TSCC” and Kate asked why I’m still recording it if I’m not into it anymore.  The thing is that show is my second favorite show (“30 Rock” FTW) but I tend to put it off until the weekend, and the last few weekends I’ve been so tired after the Shag I just go to bed.  If I let it slide much longer, I’ll have four episodes in the DVR.  That’s a time commitment akin to watching the first two Terminator movies.  It doesn’t help that I record two shows that are on four nights a week (Daily and Colbert) and two shows that are on five nights a week (“X-Play” and “Late Late Show w/Craig Ferguson”).  The article hits the nail on the head about TV becoming almost a chore because the box only has so much space.  If the hard drive was bigger I have a feeling the problem would only get worse, because the urge to “watch it later” would be stronger.  I have most of the weekend off, and we specifically planned for a weekend where we didn’t have any plans, so hopefully I’ll find out what John, Sarah and Cameron have been up to.

Since Thanksgiving, the only real update on my front is the cold.  Kate does not have it yet, which is really odd.  We’re totally screwing up the order in which illness is being passed around.  I just checked, and Kate is still being an all-star mom.  Braeden is another story.  He cries.  A lot.  A lot lot lot.  Sometimes he’ll be happy giggly baby and then he goes right to screaming his head off.  It has been the cause of some stress and frustration for Kate and I, because all we want to do is make it better, but it seems nothing does.  The doctor thinks it could be acid reflux, so we’re trying some baby-prevacid or something like that.  The kick in the pants is that Kate’s friends who have babies don’t have this problem (seriously…to a person they’re all raising little angels or something).  She needs to hear from some people who raised little banshees.  The real irony here is that I do know of one mother who had a baby who screamed all the time.  My mother was that mother.  For years my mom has told me she could not wait for me to have my own kids, and she laughed a bit maniacally each time she said it.  It turns out I was a lot like Braeden in the crying all the time department, but I’m at work eight hours a day.  Kate is the one who’s getting what I deserve, and that is totally not fair.  Sure, I get a few hours of “wahhhhh!” when I wake up or get home, but it really isn’t right that Kate has to deal with my bad baby karma.  Parents of banshees, help me out.  We can’t be the only ones raising an air raid siren.

I’m contemplating what to do with my blogs in January.  Russ4life isn’t changing, and my MySpace blog isn’t going away (it would be nice if they would add some new freakin’ features…the blog interface is almost the same as it was the day I signed up, and I lost count of how many wordpress updates have happened since I signed up).  Cliffhanger Theater will come to an end in February, as the story will finally be done.  I’ll either start a new one but not a daily one, and the characters will be different.  I might go back to some of the characters someday.  I’ve found myself getting so attached to some of them.  I’ve spent a little time out of each day with them, and now that the story is building to a conclusion I’m having trouble deciding who gets to make it to the ending.  I thought of doing a “Cliffhanger Theater: Director’s Cut” where I go back and actually clean things up, proofread, and fix bad dialogue.  Kate wants me to condense it into something I could try to get published.  One Month in 1984 will probably get one more entry, and then it will probably get rebooted.  I feel I’ve purged my brain of all of my thoughts on my time in New Mexico, and after wrapping it up sometime soon I’ll start the blog over with a new focus and theme, but I’ll keep the URL the same just in case I manage to get back to Farmington someday.  Verbiage Dump has settled into a nice mirror for my MySpace blog, and a place to stick other odds and ends about music.  KKCK Music News is still around until KKCK’s website comes back.  After that, I’m not sure what I’ll do with it, since everything I do there I’ll be doing at the KKCK site.  One blog I have a link to at Russ4life that is inaccessible is 13shots.  That was my original book idea, and I would still like to write it someday.  The problem is that when I started, I was dealing with a lot of sadness that I’ve carried around for a long time.  When I started working on Cliffhanger Theater, the purpose was to get practice writing in hopes of making 13shots better.  Writing on a regular basis has actually brought me out of the cloudy skies, so my head isn’t the right place to write 13shots right now (it will be a very depressing book in spots).  The time may come again someday where I’ll be in the right headspace to work on 13shots, but until then I’ll keep it hidden so I have the basic structure ready to go.  Originally I wanted to do some fanfic, but I’ve had plenty of original ideas since then.  I might use the One Month in 1984 URL for some of that, but I’m still deciding. 

Hey, two long blogs two weeks in a row.  How ’bout that?

Three songs, and a Bears quip

Today I transition from Walter Payton to Neal Anderson.  Wheeeeeeeee.

KKCK:

Beyonce “If I Were a Boy”
In yesterday’s music news post, I linked to a Rolling Stone article about the new Beyonce Album.  Long story short, it’s a double disc with one CD of Beyonce songs, that are like this one.  Nice, slow, and radio friendly.  Then there’s disc two, which deals with her more “Ring the Alarm” alter ego, who she calls “Sasha Fierce”.  Part of me is intrigued by this concept, part of me is worried about her general sanity, and part of me is also wondering if “Sasha Fierce” is really the best thing she could have come up with.  Plus, all those years of “Bootylicious”, “Ring the Alarm”, and “Crazy in Love” were now maybe not Beyonce, and were in fact Sasha.  Maybe I’m looking into this a bit much.  As far as the new song, I’d have liked more Sasha and less Beyonce.

David Cook “Light On”
Those of you who have a good knowledge of hard rock/metal circa 1986-1993, help me out.  David sounds like the lead singer of a mostly forgotten band on this track, and I can’t think of which one.  Maybe a cross between House of Lords and Tangier?  Either way, I’m sure it will do pretty well.  I just hope he can rock it up a bit more than this in the future.  What is it about American Idol that bland-i-fies everybody who wins?

T-Pain & Lil’ Wayne “Can’t Believe It”
I wish they’d just do their “T-Wayne” album and get it over with.  I’m not a big fan of either, so the combination doesn’t do much for me.  Sometimes when two big stars work together, the result isn’t much of a hit.  This will not be the case, as anything these two do together is chart gold.  Yet, I’m still not getting what the big deal with Lil’ Wayne is.  I can barely understand him in this song, and in parts I have no idea what he’s saying.

Pjork to cjork: T-Wayne

There’s a lot I want to type about, but I have little to no time to do it.  Maybe I’ll do something this weekend and cross post it here and here.  If I have time to recommend three albums to check out, it’s all about the ladies.

Leona Naess-Thirteens: it might be her best album yet, and it’s also oddly her happiest (considering she lost her major label deal and her dad while recording it)
Rachael Yamagata-Elephants…Teeth Sinking into Heart: Elephants has everything that you loved about Happenstance, while Teeth Sinking Into Heart shows a side of Rachael that “Letter Read” hinted at.
Ani DiFranco-Red Letter Year: It might be one of her best yet.  No foolin’.

Some songs and some linkage

More on that in a second.

KKCK:

Shontelle “T-Shirt”
When I get emails from record companies, and a lot of sites have huge banner ads for a song, it tells me one of two things.  The song is either a winner that needs some extra push because the artist is unknown, or the song is a stinker but they’ve invested too much in the artist for it to be a total disaster.  I always expect those songs to be disasters, but I’m happy to be surprised when they’re not.  The music behind Shontelle reminds me a bit of older pop songs from the 90s, but not in a bad way.  The lyrics aren’t super deep, but they have that universal “missing you” message that never quite gets old.  The next single should be telling if she’s a flash in the pan or has plans to fashion a long career.

New Kids on the Block w/Ne-Yo “Single”
The most unlikely comeback of ever continues, and even Ne-Yo is getting in on the action.  On my music news blog, I found a story that Ne-Yo is working with Michael Bolton.  That comeback would make NKOTB the second most unlikely comeback of ever.  Getting back to this track, the hip hop production at the beginning reminds me of how a NSYNC song would sound right now if they were to make an album.  Which is funny, because NSYNC were making what NKOTB would have sounded like in the late 90s.  So, rather than hearing a band that drove me nuts in 1990, I’m hearing the band that drove me nuts in 1990 trying to sound like a band that drove me nuts in 2000.  In other words, if you like the style of music made famous by boy bands, you’ll like this song.

Christina Aguilera “Keeps Gettin’ Better”
Remember the Jessica Simpson virgin kerfuffle?  Suddenly, Britney was a virgin too.  When asked if she was, Xtina’s response was along the lines of “ah HELL no”.  Britney is now known more for her life (which is getting back to normal, admittedly).  Jessica was on TV, revealed to the world she’s as dumb as a post, and now is flailing about in country music while making fans of the Dallas Cowboys nervous.  Xtina Aguilera just got married and kept making music, and taking chances that the other two wouldn’t.  She always had the best voice of the three females who emerged from the pop deluge of the late 90s, and it turns out she also was the most savvy of three.  Her new song is…good.  Really good.  I haven’t enjoyed a song by Xtina this much since “Dirrty”, and that was mostly due to Redman.  This song is part of her new best of CD, and as far as extra tracks go, it’s almost good enough to justify the purchase.  This could be the new female anthem, but I’ve said that about other songs and I’ve been let down.  As long as women stop calling for “Crazy B*#@!” I’ll be happy, especially since (A) we don’t play the song and (B) you should really think about what the song says about you if you’re that ga-ga for it, IMHO.

Fall Out Boy “I Don’t Care”
Am I detecting a Depeche Mode vibe from this song?  I am.  The beginning reminds me a bit of “Personal Jesus” but a lot more upbeat.  In fact, the beginning sounds so much like DM I’m having a hard time thinking about the rest of the song.  After bouncing around the song, I now know why.  The rest of the song loses some of that Depeche Mode sound, so I lost a bit of interest.  Don’t get me wrong about Fall Out Boy.  I enjoy them as much as anyone.  I also enjoy the occasional song by Depeche Mode.  This song gets me excited for Depeche Mode then gives me Fall Out Boy.  That’s like asking me if I want an ice cream bar, and then giving me a freezy pop.  Sure, I like freezy pops (especially the green ones) but while I’m chewing on ice I’ll be thinking about the ice cream bar.  Speaking of Depeche Mode, our station only has two of their songs in the system, “Enjoy the Silence” and “Policy of Truth”.  I went to my iPod on appeal but…I only have one song, “It’s No Good”.  I hope iTunes can help me out later, because I need some more Depeche Mode up in here.  For any patient Fall Out Boy fans out there, the song is a solid number but it may not be quite as catchy as their last few lead singles.  If it gets a chance, it could outlast them by sounding a bit less gimmicky.

Clique to pick: Xtina Aguilera

Normally, I type lot here about other things like TV, movies, baseball, and other things.  Since what I’m putting here is less musical and more personal, I’m moving part two of this blog to one where that’s more appropriate.  Namely, my russ4life blog.  The MySpace version of this blog will have both parts.

400 Posts and 1,200 songs? Well, not really…

[I tend to double post my MySpace weekly music blog here, but I've only been doing that for a few months.  That blog just hit post #400, and my inner comic book geek still feels the need to do something when I hit a big, round number.  So, most of the blog won't make sense here.  I've chopped off the nostalgia content, but if you want to read it anyway just click on over.]

KKCK:

Jason Mraz “I’m Yours”
Signed, sealed, delivered, he’s…not doing that song.  Every single time I see the title, I think he’s covering that song.  Couldn’t you hear Jason doing that song, and totally nailing it?  I think his voice would fit it very well.  That being said, this song isn’t too bad, and it’s nice to have Mr. Mraz back on the air.  He’s a tireless worker, and to see someone with his persistence chart CHR again is a welcome sight.  That, and I never need to hear “The Remedy (I won’t worry)” ever again. 

The Ting Tings “Shut Up and Let Me Go”
We jumped on the Ting Ting craze a bit early, and with a different song.  I’ve heard a lot of hype about this band, but don’t expect another single.  I’ve listened to the album a few times, and I’m not hearing another song that will do as well as this one.  This song is plenty catchy, and it both makes me want to crank it to rock out and crank it to dance around very badly.  Not many songs can do that to my old bones lately.

Colbie Caillat “The Little Things”
It’s the little things that kill?  Colbie isn’t covering the Bush song, and I think that’s a good thing.  I’m not sure she’s the right person to do that nugget from Sixteen Stone.  It’s also not the new Danny Elfman song, that should be a much bigger hit than it currently is.  That song has a great riff and a killer hook, but since he’s the Oingo Boingo guy who scores movies, nobody is giving it a chance.  Getting back to Bush, there are a lot of Bush songs that still get a spin or two, but “Little Things” isn’t one of them.  It suffers from “second single syndrome” since it came between “Everything Zen” and “Comedown”.  Anyway, this is Colbie’s third single, which makes “Realize” her “Little Things” but not her “Little Things”.  Right?

Lenka “The Show”
Lenka is new to these parts, and her song is so new I had not even heard it until the call came in that it was going in.  She has one of those sounds that kindareminds you of someone else at first, but the more you listen to it the less you can think of who she sounds like.  The song has some 70s sweep to it, along with some horns and what sounds like generous use of the triangle, compared to other songs.  I wish her luck with her first foray into the American CHR world.

Pick to *CLICK*: Ting Tings

The rest is all MySpace blog stuff. Read it here, or just check back next week for a new song list and whatever else comes to mind.

songs of four, to bore, nevermore

At least not yet.

KKCK:

Katy Perry “Hot N Cold”
After stirring things up with songs like “I Kissed a Girl” and “Ur So Gay”, Katy shows her versatility by releasing a single that is painfully normal for the reputation she’s worked so hard to sully.  Really, there isn’t much controversy in this song.  Well, she does use the term “P.M.S.”.  Does that count?  I have a feeling that this is the bulk of what we can expect from Ms. Perry going forward, and if you dig it, dig it.  I must confess I picked up her CD at Best Buy, since it was only eight bucks, and for eight bucks I’ll take a chance.  It’s worth about eight bucks, but not much more.  She might be an interesting singer to watch in the future. 

Artists Stand Up to Cancer “Just Stand Up!”
The star power on this song is tough to top.  I didn’t even try to flag it for artist separation.  In the last decade or two (mainly since “We Are the World”) charity singles like this never do much on the charts.  However, this one seems to have bust out of the “charity all-star” genre and right into the mainstream.  The multi-network “Stand Up to Cancer” special has helped it as well, but the real test is to see if the song has legs after the special.  A song like this is also helped a great deal by the internet, as the last really good all-star charity song (2001’s “What’s Going On”) didn’t amount to major radio chart success.

Jesse McCartney “It’s Over”
That’s what I thought of Jesse’s career after the album before the current one totally flopped.  I didn’t think his crash would be a total Jimmy Ray disappearance, but I thought he’d fade to the background and release AC albums that get played at coffee shops and bookstores.  Instead, he pulls a near Justin Timberlake makeover and hits back at radio in a big way.  Well played Mr. McCartney.  This song doesn’t have the big hook that “Leavin” does, but it should be good enough to get him in the top ten, and maybe the top five.  “Leavin” was such a big radio hit that the next single should do a minimum of top ten by default, no matter what it sounds like.

Shinedown “Second Chance”
The subject matter of this song caught my ear more than the music.  That’s pretty rare, since I’ve often said “if the music is good the lyrics can be gibberish” or something along those lines.  Rather than do a cut/paste of the whole song, I’ll just hit you with the chorus:

Tell my mother,
Tell my father
I’ve done the best I can
To make them realise
This is my life
I hope they understand
I’m not angry, I’m just saying…
Sometimes goodbye
Is a second chance

For some reason, the thought of “goodbye” being a second chance caught my ear, and got me thinking about how many of my goodbyes were really second chances I didn’t know I was getting.  I realize the implications of a song on KKCK that made me think.  It’s not really what we go for, but a bit here and there can’t hurt, right?

Pick to cliz-ick: Shinedown

The babywatch is in full effect.  It could be any day now.  I just don’t know the day, and no matter how many times I ask him, he won’t answer.  Yesterday at work I referred to him as “a living, breathing alarm clock I can’t set” as opposed to what I have now, which are “furry alarm clocks I can’t set”.  I’m still curious as to how our cats will react to the new arrival.  Kate is worried most about Weevil and Eileen.  Weevil is kind of a bastard, but he’s shown unusual patience when other children have come to visit.  Eileen is an attention whore, so her attention being cut could be a cause for alarm.  Mac is pretty indifferent about most everything, and Logan is so stupid he might not realize there’s a baby until it’s chasing him around.  Our new big fear is that the baby will be allergic to cats.  That means we’d have four friends who would need new homes, and while I’d never pick a cat over my child, saying goodbye to them, especially Weevil, would be heartbreaking. 

Most everything else around here is going well.  The house is in good order, work is going great, and there’s new AC/DC on the horizon.  “Rock N Roll Train” is a better song than any of the singles off Stiff Upper Lip, so I’m quite excited to hear the rest of the new CD Black Ice.  I just hope they stop taking eight years between CDs.  They can’t have that many left in them. 

Speaking of waiting, why is 30 Rock not coming back until almost Halloween?  Fox will debut and cancel at least three shows before then.

That’s all for today.  I must go type here, or here, or here, or here, or here.  I type a lot.