Madonna's 11th studio album, Hard Candy, will be released on April 29th to fufill her contract obligations to Warner Brothers Records. Songs have been slowly leaking from the new album, and Madonna's age (she'll be fifty in August) is starting to show. The material girl is sounding worn out, and not even an infusion of Timbaland's beats and Justin Timberlake vocals are doing much to pep her up. Take a listen for yourself and let me know what you think.
For your ears -
Madonna: Four Minutes(featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland)
Madonna: Candy Store
from the upcoming album Hard Candy (pre-order it)
For your eyes -
The video for the last good song Madonna put out, "Jump"
Parisian Yael Naim caught the ears of everyone when Apple used her quirky song "New Soul" in a Macbook Air commercial. Naim ended up garnering a spot on The Billboard Singles chart, and her sophomore album, Yael Naim, was finally released in North America on March 18th. The album is sung in English, French, and Hebrew and is a beautiful little record. Pick it up for yourself, you won't be disappointed.
I won't lie, I was a huge fan of Panic! at the Disco's debut album, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. The album was a good time from start to finish, with great hooks and clever lyrics all along the way. I was looking forward to their sophomore release, Pretty Odd, on March 25th, hoping honestly for more of the same. Unfortunately, it seems like the boys of Panic were listening to The Beatles way too much, and Pretty Odd comes across as a horrible knock off of McCartney/Lennon without the great lyrics and arrangements. Save yourself the time and energy and let this one sink into the abyss.
It's Friday, and Spring is on its way. Here's five cover songs to start the weekend off with. Enjoy!
For your ears -
Kate Nash: Seven Nation Army (White Stripes cover) Sia: Gimme More (Britney Spears cover)
Klaxons: My Love (Justin Timberlake cover)
The Pipettes: I Think We're Alone Now (Tommy James and The Shondells cover)
KT Tunstall: Fake Plastic Trees (Radiohead cover) support these artist by buying their music
For your eyes -
Ben Folds' covering The Postal Service's "Such Great Heights"
My girlfriend and I decided to attend the Sons and Daughters' show at Lee's Palace almost on a whim. We both love the venue, but knew very little of the band musically. I was addicted to their song "Dance Me In" back in 2005, but never dove any further into their discography. We arrived just in time to catch opening act Bodies of Water. Bodies of Water's set made me anxious about the rest of the evening because it was a massive pile of crap. Seriously, it was all I could do not to laugh out loud at the horribleness of this band. Luckily for us, Sons and Daughters came onstage about forty minutes later and rocked our faces off. Lead singer Adele's stage presence, energy level, and vocals were amazing. The energy put off was somewhat rock-a-billy and frantic, and quite damn enjoyable (the bass player was fighting the flu and still managed to kick ass). I am picking up the entire Sons and Daughters' discography today, and I highly recommend seeing this Glasgow-based group if they come your way.
For your eyes -
Sons and Daughters performing "House in My Head" at Lee's Palace (last song of the show)
I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Toronto's Katey Morley is going to be the "next big thing" out of Canada. Winner of the Rock/Alt category of the 8th Annual Great American Song Contest for her song "Noah", Morley will be releasing her cd Heart Full of Thumbs later this year. Backed by the jazz trio The Deborahs, Katey's set at Slacks was solid from start to finish. Morley's voice is strong and piercing, and her lyrics are heart-felt and heart-wrenching. There was not one song that wasn't superb, and exceptional stand-outs included "Noah" and "Never Fall". I highly recommend checking out Katey's music at her MySpace, and if she is performing near you, GO!
After a change in venue and date, I was really excited to see Sia perform live. I've been a fan of hers since catching "Breathe Me" on the Six Feet Under series finale. Sia's opening act was Har Mar Superstar, a sweaty mess of a man who was completely narcissistic and looked like Ron Jeremy's twin brother. His music seemed alright, though I was so distracted/nauseated by him running around in his underwear that I couldn't enjoy it.
Har Mar Superstar's video for "Body Request"
After 45 minutes of that nonsense, Sia and her backing band came out. The entire ensemble were wearing glow in the dark, black light responsive costumes that made them look like stick figures. The entire stage was set up like a child's playroom, with toys and giant LED flowers strewn around. Sia has a lovely voice, and this came across nicely at the show. Sia began performing tunes from her latest album, Some People Have Real Problems, and interspersed the songs with light banter. Sia came across much like Charlize Theron's character in Arrested Development (MR F - and if you catch that reference you get 20 bonus points). The main problem of the show was the LED flowers that decorated the set were so bright that it left my girlfriend and myself with pounding headaches. We left about six songs into her set. If Sia can manage to leave the seizure-inducing lighting behind, I would definitely love to see her in action again.
Sia performing "The Girl You Lost To Cocaine" at the Opera House
Sia performing "Breathe Me" at the Opera House
Sia performing "Death by Chocolate" at the Opera House
Madonna's 11th studio album, Hard Candy, will be released on April 29th to fufill her contract obligations to Warner Brothers Records. Songs have been slowly leaking from the new album, and Madonna's age (she'll be fifty in August) is starting to show. The material girl is sounding worn out, and not even an infusion of Timbaland's beats and Justin Timberlake vocals are doing much to pep her up. Take a listen for yourself and let me know what you think.
