Idolator, All About the Music... If Only It Were

somethin 4 the weekend

A Long Listmaking Exercise For A Long Weekend

Today's list that's going around some blogs that I read: List the albums you like most from each year that you've been alive. It sounds simple, right? But in making a list like this, you realize things about yourself, like how Aerosmith's peak for me came right around the year I was born, even though I didn't really hear them until many years later. And how 2004 was something of a weak year for my personal canon, while 1989 was a really huge year for it, one where I had to pick between Like A Prayer, Doolittle, Cocked & Loaded, Full Moon Fever, and the album I finally wound up selecting. Anyway, peruse my list after the jump—Anthony made one too—and feel free to pick mine apart/make your own, although I should warn you that it took me a while to do. (I'm usually loath to use Wikipedia as a source, but its lists of album releases were helpful to cross-reference with Amazon, as were the Pazz & Jop rundowns on Robert Christgau's site.) If people enjoy this exercise, maybe we'll do singles lists next week! Or, hell, runners-up lists, since some of these "best" decisions were a lot harder than others. More »

1:30 PM on Thu Jul 3 2008
By Maura Johnston
1,024 views, 34 comments

Latest by ronaldpagan: Oh bonus: 1986: Forever Breathes The Lonely Word, Felt Life begins at conception people! Also, these lists are hard because, like, for any given year, do you pick the seminal albums that aged well, or do you pick the album that you listened more »

Obituaries

Natasha Shneider, R.I.P.

Natasha Shneider, who played keyboards and sang with the band Eleven and collaborated with Queens of the Stone Age and Chris Cornell, died of cancer yesterday. "She was a brilliant, beautiful, and ballsy woman who will be missed deeply by all those who knew her. Send your loving thoughts her way in the universe," wrote frequent collaborator Troy Van Leeuwen. Shneider and her husband Alain Johannes founded Eleven with former Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons in 1990, and the band recorded five albums and toured with Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Queens Of The Stone Age—all groups that members of Eleven would eventually collaborate with or join. Shneider's colorful career also included playing a cosmonaut in 2010: The Year We Make Contact and recording a song for the Catwoman soundtrack. Some clips from her career below. More »

10:15 AM on Thu Jul 3 2008
By Anthony Miccio
774 views, 4 comments

Latest by Charlie Kerfelds Jetsons Tee: Holy shit. I had no idea about this. Very sad, indeed. more »

rock-critically correct

"Rolling Stone" Finally Embraces Rush

Once again, we present Rock-Critically Correct, a feature in which the most recent issues of Rolling Stone, Blender, Vibe, and Spin are given a once-over by a writer who's contributed to many of those magazines, as well as a few others! In this installment, he looks at the new issue of Rolling Stone: More »

12:00 PM on Wed Jul 2 2008
By Anono-Critic
1,352 views, 10 comments

collaborations

Hinder To David Cook: "It'll Be Really Good To Hear Your Voice Singing Our Songs"

There was a point during American Idol's final stretch that a friend of mine turned to me and said, "Hang on, why am I rooting for David Cook again? I hate this post-grunge stuff." A good question, and one that will no doubt be asked again now that the confetti has stopped flying and Austin Winkler, lead singer of nu-mooks Hinder, has extended the offer to help write material for his fellow Oklahoman's forthcoming solo album. Is the world ready for "Lips Of An Angel II: After The Hang-Up"? More »

11:30 AM on Wed Jul 2 2008
By Maura Johnston
1,259 views, 2 comments

Latest by Maura Johnston: @Al Shipley: Well, it is EW. more »

100 and single

The Followup Conundrum: At Midyear, Big Hits Are One-Offs

Ed. note: Chris "dennisobell" Molanphy, our resident chart guru, looks at the upward, downward, and lack of movement on this week's Billboard charts:

If you're trying to guess what might end up as Billboard's top song of 2008, you might take a gander at this week's Hot 100, where a prime contender is still sitting in the top three after peaking months ago.

That would be Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love," the neo-diva ballad that's outlasted anything her role model Mariah Carey has released so far this year. According to Nielsen SoundScan, which released its (mostly dismal) midyear report this week, Lewis' smash is the top-selling single for the six-month period beginning Dec. 31 and ending June 29.

That doesn't necessarily make the Lewis track a lock for the year's top prize, due to some technicalities which I'll discuss momentarily. But there is one thing that makes "Bleeding Love" emblematic of 2008: it's an undeniable smash single which has proven tough for the artist to follow up.

More »

12:00 PM on Thu Jul 3 2008
By Chris Molanphy
372 views, 8 comments

Rumors

Is Alex Rodriguez Madonna's New Boy Toy?

There was a time in my life that I felt kinda bad for Alex Rodriguez, who, despite his massive contract, seemed like something of a spaz in the slick shadow of Derek Jeter, causing many a Yankee fan of my acquaintance to believe that he placed some sort of reverse-Ruth curse on the team. (Nothing epitomizes him better than that whole "hey, I'm just hanging out in Central Park with my shirt off" fiasco.) And now, on the heels of him hitting home run No. 534 and the eve of a weekend Yankees-Red Sox series, comes word that A-Rod may be spending his late nights voguing with Madonna. Well, you know, they could have been holding rap sessions about what it's like to have really huge contracts on their backs!
More »

9:15 AM on Tue Jul 1 2008
By Maura Johnston
1,066 views, 3 comments

Latest by Jay-C: Will they play this when A-Rod comes to bat at Fenway?: + Watch video more »

coming out of the dark

Darkness Lead Singer Returns, Hot Leg In Tow

One of my favorite albums of 2005 was the Darkness' unheralded One Way Ticket To Hell...And Back. With the help of Roy Thomas Baker, the band had finally constructed an entire album of ridonkulous pop-metal moments—but it was tossed aside with minimum publicity thanks to internal meltdowns and label indifference. Since leaving the band in 2006, screaming mimi Justin Hawkins announced a solo album, Panther (now scrapped), and released the song "Do It In The Dark" as a free download to promote energy conservation. But now he has a new band, Hot Leg, and they have an album in the can and a tour kicking off next month. More »

9:30 AM on Thu Jul 3 2008
By Anthony Miccio
476 views, 18 comments

Latest by disasterevolved: Dear Brian May: Get rid of that Bad Company buffoon and hire Justin "Dave" Hawkins. Now. more »

it's the economy, stupid

"USA Today" Celebrates The Recession By Glorifying Overpriced Band Merch, Recycling Jokes From "PCU"

Today's USA Today has a big piece on rock merch, talking about how $55 concert T-shirts are purchased by people who are "style-conscious and socially conscious" (oddly, the word "suckers" is not used), how being sold at Target hasn't hurt the alleged cool factor of Beatles and Rolling Stones shirts, and how the ever-annoying Katy Perry designed her merch in such a way that's inspired by (her apparent non-reading of) Lolita and "fruit motifs, especially strawberries and cherries." (Because eating them is, like, just like kissing a girl... plant!) It even finds some poor sucker to trot out the already-old-and-reliable "you can't download a T-shirt" notion! But perhaps the best part of the story is Edna Gudnersen's guide to "t-shirt etiquette," which seems to have been taken out of some sort of sidebar storage unit that was last replenished in 2004. More »

10:30 AM on Thu Jul 3 2008
By Maura Johnston
472 views, 5 comments

Latest by MayhemintheHood: It should be "The Merkins Rule", because that's the band Gutter was going to see while wearing their shirt. "Gutter, you do realize there was music made BEFORE 1989." more »

leak of the (yester)day

Heidi Montag Is One Drink Away From Banging You

ARTIST: Heidi Montag
SONG: "One More Drink"
WEB DEBUT: July 1, 2008 More »

burning questions

Does Indie Need To Be More Influenced By Janet Jackson?

Fluxblog proprietor Matthew Perpetua has a plea for all those indie musicians out there who want to make music that can be described by the terms "limp psychedelic folk, faux-Animal Collective bullshitting, [or] lame-ass attempts at mimicking the Jesus & Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine": Get new influences, please. He takes his first such shot across the bow of schmindie today, launching a series called, simply, "Your New Influences" that asks musicians to think about what makes great songs tick, even (especially?) if said tracks venture far beyond the usual lump of guitar-drone goo. His first suggestion is a great one—Janet Jackson's fire-breathing 1989 track "Miss You Much," which he's recommending because of its Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis production, because Rhythm Nation 1814's overall aesthetic can be gleaned from just one listen, and because it's a firecracker of a song. More »

1:45 PM on Wed Jul 2 2008
By Maura Johnston
942 views, 28 comments

Latest by blockofice: Oh, I don't think they've pigeonholed themselves since the age of 12, but it's easy to work yourself into a rut. I think this is all fake controversy, actually, although it has illuminated a little about what people think more »

the biz

The Recorded-Music Business Stems The Bleeding Just A Bit

Sure, the past few weeks have been good for the recorded-music industry, what with Lil Wayne and Coldplay breaking through the 500,000-sales-in-a-week barrier that even heavyweights like Madonna and Usher couldn't surpass. Overall, though, 2008 has been another dismal year for the biz, with this year's 204.6 million units sold through June 29 representing an 11% year-to-year decline. (Last year's tally at this time was 229.8 million units.) But take heart, everyone: At this point last year, album sales were on a 15.6% year-to-year slump. See? Numbers can make any semi-depressing reality look good! More stats from the reports after the jump. More »

1:00 PM on Thu Jul 3 2008
By Maura Johnston
131 views, Comment

videodrone

Lil Wayne Embarks On A Brief Constitutional; Ne-Yo Follows Along

Lil Wayne's video for "A Milli" has a pretty straightforward concept: Watch as hip-hop's newest superstar walks to the set of his next video (which, um, looks to be set in the same hotel as Fatboy Slim's "Weapon Of Choice"), rapping all the way, even during bathroom breaks. The "Don't Tread On Me" hat is a nice touch, too. But did you know that Ne-Yo also released a clip for his version of the track? And it has Busta Rhymes in it and everything. More »

9:00 AM on Thu Jul 3 2008
By Maura Johnston
371 views, 4 comments

Latest by Halfwit: @StuntKockSteeev: I'd always been intrigued by the opposite trend in the 90s (perhaps it's been rolled back in the conservative 00's) - when a single was first released, it would be edited to hell, but once it became a hit, more »

intentional leak of the day

Slipknot's "Psychosocial" Brings The Mustaine

ARTIST: Slipknot
TITLE: "Psychosocial"
WEB DEBUT: June 30, 2008

More »

American Recordings VI: The Velcro Fly

ZZ Top Is Rick Rubin's Latest High-Profile Comeback Production

ZZ Top! Of course! The trio will celebrate its 40th anniversary by herding into the studio with Rick Rubin later this year, after they wrap up a co-headlining tour with Brooks & Dunn. The band is aiming a sound more "La Grange" than "Sleeping Bag" (aw, can't they do both?), and Rick Rubin does seem the painfully obvious choice for a high-profile authenticity move. The band has also signed to Rubin's American Recordings, which heightens the prospect that its forthcoming album will get his full attention, rather than being one of eight projects he watches through a large telescope from inside his ashram. In recent years Rubin has worked with the Dixie Chicks, Linkin Park, Metallica, Weezer, U2, Kanye, Green Day, the dude from Semisonic... is there any respected figure in music that Rubin has yet to work with? I was able to come up with five who would be definite collaboration coups for both sides. More »

4:00 PM on Wed Jul 2 2008
By Anthony Miccio
492 views, 10 comments

Latest by cosmiclove: @Captain Wrong: That Rubin Times Magazine article was LAWLZ. more »

my eyes

Slipknot: So Bad-Ass, They Had To Partner With AOL Just To Reveal Their New Masks

Sadly, the self-proclaimed "nine man hard rock enigma" Slipknot will not be teetering around stages in their own production of Easter Island Comes Alive! when they tour in support of their forthcoming album, All Hope Is Gone. No, those masks represented their spring collection, and the band is ready to "unveil its new imagery in an exclusive partnership with AOL Music, the web's most trafficked online music destination." You guys, I'm so scared! There's even a—gasp—visitor-length-inflating retrospective photo gallery! What will we tell the children? A shot of the new masks is after the jump. More »

8:30 AM on Tue Jul 1 2008
By Maura Johnston
1,609 views, 3 comments

Latest by Clevertrousers: @Maura Johnston: Ha! Nice! more »

pointless listmaking

Anthony's Favorite Albums From Each Year Since His Birth

1979: Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Rust Never Sleeps
1980: The Feelies, Crazy Rhythms
1981: Kix, Kix
1982: The Fall, Hex Enduction Hour
1983: Kix, Cool Kids
1984: The Replacements, Let It Be
1985: Cocteau Twins, The Pink Opaque
1986: The Smiths, The Queen Is Dead
1987: Prince, Sign 'O' The Times
1988: Half Japanese, Charmed Life
1989: Ice-T, The Iceberg/Freedom Of Speech...Just Watch What You Say
1990: Flaming Lips, In A Priest Driven Ambulance
1991: Slowdive, Just For A Day
1992: Basehead, Play With Toys
1993: Urge Overkill, Saturation
1994: Pavement, Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
1995: Yo La Tengo, Electr-O-Pura
1996: Weezer, Pinkerton
1997: Sleater-Kinney, Dig Me Out
1998: Cat Power, Moon Pix
1999: LeTigre, LeTigre
2000: The White Stripes, DeStijl
2001: Fugazi, The Argument
2002: Desaparecidos, Read Music/Speak Spanish
2003: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Fever To Tell
2004: Nellie McKay, Get Away From Me
2005: The Mountain Goats, The Sunset Tree
2006: CSS, Cansei de Ser Sexy
2007: LCD Soundsystem, Sound Of Silver
2008: Still hoping to hear something better than what I already have.

12:00 AM on Thu Jul 3 2008
By Anthony Miccio
182 views, 4 comments

Latest by GhostOfDuane: How could you pick Cocteau Twins over Yngwie Malmsteen in 85? Nobody's more relevant than Yngwie. more »

leak of the last night

CSS Are Apparently Tired Of Being Any Fun To Listen To

ARTIST: CSS
TITLE: Donkey
RELEASE DATE: July 22, 2008
WEB DEBUT: July 1, 2008
More »

Feel Like Makin' Legal Precedent

Bad Company Reunite To Play Florida Casino, Preserve Trademark

Does every band have to do this? Paul Rodgers will stop dick-slapping what little legacy Queen has left just long enough to perform with Bad Company for an Aug. 8 show at the Seminole Hard Rock & Casino. While the band and slot machine enthusiasts are sure to have a great time, the main reason for this get-together isn't necessarily festive in nature. Rodgers and company will go once more through "Simple Man," "Can't Get Enough" and all that crap so that they can preserve their touring trademark in America and keep fake Bad Companies from touring in their place. Does this mean I could get some friends together and perform as Husker Du? More »

5:00 PM on Wed Jul 2 2008
By Anthony Miccio
302 views, 9 comments

Latest by Thierry: @Oldboy: He sounded fine in the clips from the Mandela Concert from last weekend - those Queen songs are probably a good way to keep your vocal chords in top shape... more »