About This Site
Each month I select 20 songs (10 songs twice a month) that I am either hooked on or am curious about. Most of the music I select are rock, hip-hop, R&B and pop songs.
My song selection comes from 20-30 CDs I get from various sources each month, as well as recommendations from iTunes and Amazon. I also check out the charts in US, UK and Japan.
Welsh singer, Duffy had a huge success with her debut album, Rockferry, which contained hit singles such as “
Mercy” and “
Warwick Avenue”. She had the Amy Winehouse style of throwback voice, and all of us expected more of that for her sophomore album, but she decided to go for more upbeat sound. Duffy still maintains her unique soulful voice, but this lead off single may turn off some initial fans.
There has been controversy surrounding this song, as some have said that the voice doesn’t sound like Michael Jackson’s. I think it does, though maybe not as strong as he used to sound. I’ve only heard snippets of Michael’s latest album, but there are a few songs that could turn into next single and do well on the radio.
I was worried that I may not like My Chemical Romance’s latest album, since I recalled reading a magazine interview where Gerard Way said that the new album is going to be more ‘punk’ as opposed to theatrical rock that made The Black Parade so good. But the new album still has that sound, particularly this latest single.
I read an interesting interview of Nicki Minaj. She started out in the mixtape by being a bit of Lil Kim/Foxy Brown, using P-words and C-words. But lately, Nicki has realized that she has a lot of younger fans, like 8 year olds, and she no longer feels comfortable shouting, “where my bitches at!” at concerts, and lately calls them her “barbies.” I think she is by far the hottest female MC today, and even in the company of men, I would list her as one of the best. How she can go from one bar to the next, completely changing her character reminds me of Eminem, and this track proves that she can spit next to the best rapper and still make her sound good.
Robyn has been nailing her singles, and gaining a lot of new fans (and winning back a lot of older fans who’s known her since the 90s). Her “Body Talk” EPs have been very successful, and she compiled the three EPs for this album. This is one brilliant electronic-pop album.
Weezer has been talking about releasing an album called ‘Odds and Ends’ comprised of band’s leftover materials for the past couple of years. And here it is, now titled Death to False Metal. One of the highlights from the album is the cover of Toni Braxton’s song, “Unbreak My Heart.” When Rivers sings it, there is poignancy and you just want to cheer up the guy.
Bon Jovi released their greatest hits (second time, since 1994’s Cross Road), with a couple of new songs, including “What Do You Got?” Although the song or the album was not a major success in the US, it is doing extremely well in Japan. Both the album and single reached #1 there. No wonder Bon Jovi likes to tour in Japan so frequently.
When Bruno Mars came out, he had clean cut pop singer image, but recently he was arrested for possession of cocaine. Despite his recent arrest, this guy can write and sing great pop songs. He has already proven himself with
Travie McCoy’s “Billionaire” and
Cee-lo’s “F**k You”. His latest single is also addicting and climbing up the chart.
Norah Jones recently released an album with songs where she was featured on other artists’ albums. In the past decade, she has worked with numerous musicians from the legendary ones like Ray Charles, Willie Nelson as well as rockers like Foo Fighters, and even hip-hop artists such as Outkast, Q-Tip and Talib Kweli. One of the tracks from the album is Roxy’s cover song, “More Than This” with Charlie Hunter. This song was recorded right before Norah Jones signed with Blue Note, after Hunter heard the demo (the same demo that got her to sign to the label). This track has become top 10 song in Japan recently.
Chris Brown has been trying to regain his fans after the incident with his then-girlfriend Rihanna. He was able to get a lot of famous rapper friends to spit verses on his recent single, “Deuces.” That’s an impressive lineup if you got Drake, T.I., and Kanye West, but that’s just the first half. Fabolous, Rick Ross and Andre 3000 of Outkast also appear on this remix.
Hugo has a very interesting background. He was born in theUK, but grew up in Thailand. One of the songs he wrote, “Disappear” was picked up Beyonce on her I Am Sasha Fierce album, and since then he was signed onto Jay-Z’s label. His debut album is currently in works, but he is gaining attention with the cover of his boss’ song, “99 Problems.” When I originally heard it on the radio, I thought it was Jack White.
In the past couple of years, several Korean singers and groups have tried to break through in the US market. This month, it is JYJ’s turn. Korean and Japanese audience will know them as the three guys from their former group TVXQ or Tohoshinki or Dong Bang Shin Ki. As much as I want to cheer these guys on for trying, their singing makes me nervous. It’s not that they are a bad singer, but combined with cheesy lyrics and not-so-sexy accent, it will be hard to sell this to US audience who have no previous contact with Tohoshinki. I do want to give them a credit for being able to drag Kanye West into this.
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