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.
If AC/DC hadn’t done it 30 years ago with “You Shook Me All Night Long” this song might feel fresh, but unfortunately that’s not the case. Still it is somewhat catchy and became a top 10 rock hit in the US. The fifth album, also titled, All Night Long, was released earlier this August.
I’ve been reading about this South African white rap group, and for some reason, I always thought they were “Die Antwood”. “Die Antwoord” means “The Answer” in Afrikaans, and this rap group delivers in both English and Arikaans. The music video for this track became a viral sensation, leading them to sign with Interscope who recently released the EP album.
I hadn’t heard anything about them until I downloaded this song from Amazon MP3 free daily download. If you liked Amy Winehouse or Mark Ronson’s soul throwback tracks, this one is for you. This LA band got a lucky break by opening for Maroon 5, and now they were even featured on Justin Timberlake’s blog. They sound like they would put on a kick ass live show.
Kelis went from screaming rock-chick (remember “Caught Out There”) to hip-hop milkshake queen, and now she is going for techno. She has already succeeded by placing her first single, “Acapella” to top of dance charts and UK pop success. This song reminds me a lot of Madonna’s “Hung Up.”
Linkin Park’s previous (third) album, Minutes to Midnight was their least successful album so far, and some have put blame on legendary producer Rick Rubin’s involvement. On some songs, they did sound a bit like U2, which distanced a lot of their core fans. I was a huge fan of their first two albums, but hardly listen to Minutes. I’m hoping that their next album, coming out in September would be a good one, which is also produced by Rick Rubin. At least this single sounds cool.
LA soul-rock-pop group Maroon 5 is considered to be one of the biggest rock band in the 2000s, but their new album, Hands All Over, to be released in September is still only their third. The lead off single, “Misery” was released in June, but has not fully caught on the charts, peaking at #17 on US Hot 100.
Although Sara Bareilles had a couple of minor hits after “Love Song”, she is still by in large, considered a one-hit wonder. With her highly anticipated sophomore album coming out in September, she has a lot to prove. The first single, “King of Anything” is already a decent hit, but could it reach top 10? It is a catchy song, and I think it could do it.
Sting has toured with his old bandmates, The Police, and it seems like there is not much more to do for him, but he has decided to team up with orchestra symphony to put a little spin on his favorites and rarities. This symphonic remix of “Englishman In New York” has turned into a top 10 hit in Japan.
Lead singer from Slipknot’s side project, Stone Sour, is back with their third album, Audio Secrecy. Their previous album, which contained the hit track, “Through Glass” was a major success. They are hoping to repeat the success with working with the same producer, Nick Raskulinecz, who is famous for producing Foo Fighter’s hit albums.
Usher is on top again, thanks to will.i.am featured track, OMG, which was popular over the early summer. He is trekking to the top again with the new single, “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love” which is basically a Euro dance pop. This track appears on the deluxe edition of Raymond v. Raymond. Not to upset the fans that had already bought the original Raymond v. Raymond, the label also released, Versus, which only contains the new songs and remixes.
Montreal, Canada’s popular indie band, Arcade Fire have been getting a lot of press, with most of them saying that The Suburbs is the album that is going to make them into a huge band. It’s true. They’ve sold out at Madison Garden, and The Suburbs was released to #1 spot on Billboard chart. This album has more pop appeal which could translate to mainstream crossover.
Eminem’s latest album had been #1 for five weeks and it looked as though it would continue to sail on top, or at least that’s what the industry forecasted, since they didn’t think Californian metal rock band, Avenged Sevenfold’s fifth album could do nearly as well. M. Shadow (lead singer) and rest of the members surprised everyone when they knocked “Relapse” from the peak position (though they only stayed there for a single week with Eminem taking the top position back eventually). The band went through turmoil when their drummer The Rev passed away last year, and this is their first album without him.
A friend of mine introduced me to Beach Fossils. When I heard their sound, I thought about Mamas & Papas from distant memory and/or The Drums from more recently memory. They sound like Californian laid back surf band, but they are actually from Brooklyn, New York. Although they’ve been featured on Spinner and Pitchfork magazine, they still don’t even have a Wikipedia entry.
People have been wondering, “When is the next Outkast album coming out?” Both Big Boi and Andre3000 have said that each of them will be releasing solo album first. Big Boi’s album took forever to be released due to label dispute. The label didn’t think the album was a hit material, but it managed to debut at #3 spot, which is not bad. The single, “Shutterbugg” wasn’t a huge success in the US, but it managed to crack top 40 in the UK.
Wait, which one is Disturbed? There are several metal rock bands that came out in early 2000s including Slipknot, System of a Down and Godsmack. Disturbed is the one that sang, “Stupify”. They hail from Chicago, and their last three albums have come out as #1 album. Their fifth album, Asylum will be coming out end of this month, and their single, “Another Way to Die” is another catchy headbanger.
I saw this music video on MTV which features cast of Jersey Shore. Similar to President Obama, I’ve never watched Jersey Shore, and have only heard of some of their names, like Snooki. I didn’t think much about the song, but I kept on hearing it everywhere from supermarket to clubs.
Katy Perry managed to turn herself into a huge star thanks to her mega-hit debut with One of the Boys, two years ago. Her sophomore album seems poised to take her further as the first single, “
California Gurls” is one of the biggest hit of 2010 so far, and the second single, Teenage Dream is just as catchy.
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For being white and having a little nasally voice, he is often compared to Eminem. But Professor Green is British, and he doesn’t have the lyrical power that Eminem possess (at least not yet). Still, this collaboration with popstar Lily Allen is a fun sounding track.
How the Late Night host, Jimmy Fallon managed to get The Roots as his house band is quite remarkable, but The Roots are not done being creative. They have mentioned that working on the Late Night made them more musical (sometimes they jam with musical guests), and on their new album, it definitely shows. The track featuring indie supergroup, Monsters of Folk (consists of members from My Morning Jacket, Bright Eyes and M. Ward) is a stand out.
Australian singer, Sia, may be well known to Zero 7 fans as she has collaborated with them. Sia has had a busy 2010 so far. She helped write a couple of songs for Christina Aguilera’s new album, Bionic. And she also managed to write and record her own album, We Are Born, which is her fourth album. “Clap Your Hands” is doing well on the dance chart.
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