Blogcritics Category: Music: Pop http://blogcritics.org/archives/categories/music_pop.php A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:41:52 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software Music Review: J. Wells - <I>Digital Master Vol. 2.1</i> http://blogcritics.org/archives/2009/04/25/204152.php Jordan Richardson Nice beats can't cover up a lack of lyrical content.<br/> J. Wells certainly knows how to gather the stars to his cause, uniting MCs like Snoop Dogg, Rah Digga, Mack 10, Kurupt, Roscoe, Da Brat, and others on his Digital Master Vol. 2.1 set.Wells, known most for his production credits, definitely knows how to rock a good beat too and this disc essentially finds him showing his stuff. The lyrical content...<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=d5b53cf91e55a7ccc97b18ef440bec8b&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=d5b53cf91e55a7ccc97b18ef440bec8b&p=1"/></a> Music 101950@blogcritics.org Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:41:52 EDT Music Review: La Strada - <i>La Strada</i> EP http://blogcritics.org/archives/2009/04/25/203459.php Tan The Man La Strada feels more like an orchestra than a band, joining the likes of Arcade Fire as indie pop darlings.<br/> Not to be confused with a reunion of the defunct 1980s new wave Serbian band, New York indie band La Strada is similar to the Zachary Francis Condon-led Beirut but with a more rustic folk mentality.I can't imagine either the stress or the fun involved in collaborating with so many musicians to make such pleasant music. With seven members (James...<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=1cd3c7644f5dbd87a5e9abef67228dd4&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=1cd3c7644f5dbd87a5e9abef67228dd4&p=1"/></a> Music 101940@blogcritics.org Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:34:59 EDT <![CDATA[Presented By:]]> http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=1cd3c7644f5dbd87a5e9abef67228dd4&p=4 1cd3c7644f5dbd87a5e9abef67228dd4 ]]> Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:34:59 EDT Music Review: Matthew Barber - <i>Ghost Notes</i> http://blogcritics.org/archives/2009/04/25/031350.php Jordan Richardson When great tunes are as essential as gas in the car, Barber hits home.<br/> Back towards the closing notes of high school, my best friend and I would take drives in his colossal Oldsmobile. We&rsquo;d just drive and drive, off in the middle of nowhere with nothing but trees and night sky and the smell of warm summer evening around us. No cell phones, either. Our best piece of technology at the time was a little cassette...<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=0b0e6b82dd8121a19b68fa62e5c11082&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=0b0e6b82dd8121a19b68fa62e5c11082&p=1"/></a> Music 101904@blogcritics.org Sat, 25 Apr 2009 03:13:50 EDT Jason Castro Fans Invites to Webcast; Follow on Twitter http://blogcritics.org/archives/2009/04/23/173823.php Connie Phillips You can follow Castro on Twitter and submit questions for next weeks webcast.<br/> Fans of Jason Castro, the third runner up in the 2008 season of American Idol now have two new ways get their fix and pass the time until his debut album is released.The artist will be holding a webcast, streamed from his official website, on April 29 at seven pm eastern. Castro, who stole the hearts of millions of Idol viewers with his charming...<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=215a785cca7f0f946cbf5475cee846b2&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=215a785cca7f0f946cbf5475cee846b2&p=1"/></a> Music 101754@blogcritics.org Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:38:23 EDT Music Review: Vienna Teng - <i>Inland Territory</i> http://blogcritics.org/archives/2009/04/23/074023.php Tan The Man Listening to Vienna Teng I often found myself mistaking what I was hearing for Tori Amos.<br/> Listening to Vienna Teng I often found myself mistaking what I was hearing for Tori Amos. It&#39;s an honest slip because both exhibit lovely melodies behind such beautiful voices.The California-born Taiwanese-American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist saw music as being such a huge part of her life that she quit her job as a software...<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=93e320bdde651a701981bcfdb00f4b8e&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=93e320bdde651a701981bcfdb00f4b8e&p=1"/></a> Music 101708@blogcritics.org Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:40:23 EDT Music Review: Megan Hamilton - <i>See Your Midnight Breath in the Shipyard</i> http://blogcritics.org/archives/2009/04/23/073534.php Jordan Richardson My favorite album of the year...so far.<br/> When I was a child, I used to pretend that my bed was a ship taking me off somewhere. I didn&rsquo;t particularly have a destination in mind, but in my years of uneasy sleep I&rsquo;d soothe myself with the notion of drifting off with the comforting pull and push of the ocean beneath.In making See Your Midnight Breath in the Shipyard,...<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=3bb942b554ca8f2d39d0cb82c7a033b2&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=3bb942b554ca8f2d39d0cb82c7a033b2&p=1"/></a> Music 101724@blogcritics.org Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:35:34 EDT <![CDATA[Presented By: Waking the Baby Mammoth: Sunday at 9p]]> http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/ht.php?t=c&i=3bb942b554ca8f2d39d0cb82c7a033b2&p=4 3bb942b554ca8f2d39d0cb82c7a033b2


On the frozen plains of the Siberian tundra, a reindeer herder chances upon a 40,000 year old baby mammoth ? the most perfectly preserved mammoth ever found. On Sunday, witness the mammoth?s unveiling to the world, as scientists reveal her incredible story. Click to meet the Baby Mammoth now >> natgeotv.com/mammoth   ]]> Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:35:34 EDT Theatre Review (LA): <i> Back to Bacharach and David</i> at the Fonda Theatre http://blogcritics.org/archives/2009/04/22/100056.php Robert Machray A disappointing Bacharach and David revue tries too hard to hip and funny.<br/> I have been and still am a huge fan of the musical genius of Hal David and Burt Bacharach. Their songs defined for me the 70&#39;s, and some of the 80&#39;s, more than any other pop songs of the day. The rhythms were catchy, the arrangements quirky, and the yearning for connection and love connected with this boomer who became a bit disillusioned...<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=b8f20594a975e5b85ff99f6670a5799c&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=b8f20594a975e5b85ff99f6670a5799c&p=1"/></a> Culture 101606@blogcritics.org Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:00:56 EDT Music Review: Micachu & The Shapes - <i>Jewellery</i> http://blogcritics.org/archives/2009/04/22/074034.php Jordan Richardson A classically-trained composer destroys music in tremendous fashion.<br/> There are times that an everlasting mutiny of sounds is all there is to cling to. Every construct related to that thing called music is chipped away and what remains are wobbly slabs of linking tissue, a bit of wiring, and some sparks. In the case of Jewellery, a record by Micachu and her band The Shapes, the listener gets to hold the tissue and...<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=807a6c7568d82b701c420827d85335ca&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=807a6c7568d82b701c420827d85335ca&p=1"/></a> Music 101644@blogcritics.org Wed, 22 Apr 2009 07:40:34 EDT Music Review: Alligators - <i>Piggy & Cups</i> http://blogcritics.org/archives/2009/04/20/091652.php Jordan Richardson Light, dreamy pop from a snappy Puget Sound quintet.<br/> Green, sparkling, and snappy, Piggy &amp; Cups from Washington State&rsquo;s Alligators is a pop record completely lacking in pretense and ugliness.These Alligators have earned their spot with enjoyable dream-like pop that will probably remind every hipster of a few different indie coffee-shop acts, but will still visibly and smartly pare their own...<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=a526770b0d700343a333415c2863225a&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=a526770b0d700343a333415c2863225a&p=1"/></a> Music 101428@blogcritics.org Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:16:52 EDT Music Review: Trip Audrey - <i>Please Do the Needful</i> http://blogcritics.org/archives/2009/04/19/195756.php The Other Chad A tuneful and energetic debut from a Seattle-based indie rock group.<br/> From the opening needle-drop sound that precedes "Mardou," to the drum fill that concludes "Wrecking Ball," Please Do the Needful bristles with high energy, well-produced indie rock. The debut album from the Seattle-based Trip Audrey benefits from a clear confidence in approach. The arrangements are at once loose yet well-rehearsed, with little...<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/> <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=a0b6a044b312f8c251d34228418eb686&p=1"><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=a0b6a044b312f8c251d34228418eb686&p=1"/></a> Music 101268@blogcritics.org Sun, 19 Apr 2009 19:57:56 EDT <![CDATA[Presented By:]]> http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=a0b6a044b312f8c251d34228418eb686&p=4 a0b6a044b312f8c251d34228418eb686 ]]> Sun, 19 Apr 2009 19:57:56 EDT