Shakira’s She Wolf came out in Europe and Latin America this week—a month in advance of its delayed U.S. release date—and thanks to my interest in the weird titular single, I decided to give it a whirl. And much like “She Wolf” the song, She Wolf the album is strangely seductive, a dime-store disco record that pulls from influences all over the globe as the Colombian singer purrs, mewls, moans, and threatens to dissolve into giggles simply because of how much fun she’s clearly having. I have no idea how this album will be sold to the American public, if it even will at all, but it’s certainly worth your time. More »
When one thinks of pop star scandals involving drugs, one doesn’t usually first think of the “performance enhancing” variety, but at least three musicians have now been “named in connection with an Albany-based steroid investigation.” So who’s ditching their Hip-Hop Abs workout videos to join the sports world’s finest anabolic abusers?
Special “you’re shitting us, right?” update! From the Albany newspaper story that initially broke the news of 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, and other musicians ordering illegal steroids through a shady online pharmacy:
Ed. note: Chris “dennisobell” Molanphy, our resident chart guru, looks at the upward, downward, and lack of movement on the Billboard Hot 100 in the latest installment of “100 And Single”:
Tidily, the first Billboard Hot 100 dated for 2008 brings the new year’s first No. 1 single, as Flo Rida’s generic, T-Pain-backed banger “Low” finally ends Alicia Keys’s run at the top after five weeks. On the whole, the chart looks a lot like last week’s: static toward the top (the No. 1 changeover notwithstanding) but with lots of interesting activity in the lower regions.
A quiz: Which current pop-rock band of some Billboard renown did Wyclef Jean compare favorably to Yes (a childhood favorite) in yesterday’s New York Times? Some hints: Pencil moustaches and avowed Springsteen worship, yes. Roger Dean covers and mellotrons, no. (So far, anyway. We wouldn’t put either past these guys when it comes time to record their next album.)
