Dad's Power: Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac. Seriously don’t know where to start with the gratitude I have towards this band. This band pretty much summed up what defines a legendary music act which cultivated society to become more musically uplifted and use music as a vehicle to express personal pain and struggles. My dad talked about this band over and over again for years, but it was only a few months ago when lead singer Stevie Nicks released a new song called Secret Love which made my ears tickle of joy and wanted to explore her discography with the band. The instant reaction I got listening to their tunes was “Kristoffer, you’re a fucking fool for proclaiming you’re a supreme music lover and your dad just schooled you a lesson in real music 101”. I mean, many of their songs from the Rumors album such as Dreams and Don’t Stop I knew melodically and could sing along to, but I had no clue on who sang them. I’m upset at myself now.


Musically what I think made Fleetwood Mac got recorded into music history books was that they had a relatable simplicity to them in terms of lyrics and song melodies. They weren’t shy in being generic and featured in the pop-rock category, but instead they managed to be on the top of the pack and had songs that reached the masses not just for pure entertainment, but also as personal anthems. They were part of this music era along with Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and Queen where everyone listened to the same music and had a sense of unity. Today, music universally is divided into countless genres, but with Fleetwood Mac they belonged to every household. That doesn’t surprise me why Rumors went on to sell 40 million albums worldwide. Fleetwood Mac also gave moments for people to belt out their tunes in the car going to work, sitting on the subway or just being at home in front of the mirror. Empowerment is the key to this band’s music.

Choosing a personal favorite tune of the band would be a multiple dilemma since they all speak to me religiously, but if I had to then it would be Go Your Own Way. This song has such conviction and attitude in a cutesy way that sometimes you don’t need to tell people to fuck-off and sound gritty. Sometime you want to let-go of someone in a positive way that begs him or her in wanting you back, which then more self-worth is radiated for your soul. As for the musical side of the song, it’s just a simple pop-rock number and sometime simple is enough. Over-produced and innovative records are sometime artificially long lasting and they don’t stand the test of time with their impact because it fits only a short period of time and then becomes a fad record.

I’m really happy that Fleetwood Mac’s legacy is starting to be hyped again thanks to my favorite TV series Glee. Glee has done a whole episode based on their music catalogue, which I think is vital as an educational lesson for the new generation to understand that good music always starts with good lyrics and good melodies. We can’t let mainstream music nowadays become an epidemic by infamously hallucinate the youth in thinking that in order to become a pop star you need to whore it up.

Going Live: Haley Reinhart's 'Rolling In The Deep'

Haley Reinhart. This woman is the gem of American Idol Season 10. I fucking adore her, her voice, her clothes, her image and her “don’t mess with me bitch” Chicago attitude. Frankly, I didn’t like her at all during the start of the season because her growling singing style for me was annoying like a lion trying to get out of a cage and her big blond curly locks certainly added to her lion persona. First I felt she was contrived in the sense of being this artistic soul girl, but then the last five weeks of the competition this woman has become my favorite. There’s a special quality to her vocal projection that goes leaps and bounds beyond any other contestant on the show this year. She has an infection assortment of tone that has such pizzazz and pierces through your ear.

Commercially, Haley has to take really careful steps post-idol in order to have longevity in the music industry. She can’t be brainwashed in becoming a one trick pop star pony singing about dance floors. She has to find a way in producing real authentic soul-rock music like Janis Joplin, Stevie Nicks and even Sheryl Crow, but done in a Top 40 context. It will be hard for her to survive just going real independent and adult contemporary to expect a long lasting impression. Many Idol alums has failed because they don’t become marketing savvy with their music or usually they are trapped in becoming just another ordinary pop star imitating an already existing act.

Talking about this performance, it was a self-satisfaction moment for me because I said a week earlier prior to the performance that I wanted Haley to create a moment with an Adele song. And what was the result of it? She fucking nailed it big time. Adele is possibly the hardest artist to cover right now considering the magnitude of her success and how people are very use to her voice right now. The comparisons were bound to happen, but overall I think Haley managed to pull through. Plus, this helped Haley to show her viability in becoming a contemporary recording artist. She has to stick to this Adele-Duffy-Amy Winehouse vein, but as said earlier, differentiate from them and not just become a mockery.  Musically, Haley used the growling and huskiness to capture the emotion of the song, but at times she added this soft girly romantic notes to sweetened out the song to not be too angry.

There’s also lots more memorable performances by Haley such as her duet with another contestant Casey Reinhart on a jazz rendition of Moanin’ and she also recently during Top 5 week got a standing ovation for sing House Of The Rising Sun, which I truly believed solidified her credibility and why she’s a dark horse of the competition even though I think she has a shot at only finishing fourth since America is rooting for the Country and Rock acts, but still, Hayler Reinhart…you captured my heart…(eeeew!). 

A Deeper Context: Scissor Sisters Daringly Sizzles

Scissor Sisters. This band defines rad. Their campy, over-the-top and glitzy personas are blended so greatly together that Freddie Mercury would have been satisfied. Talking about Mercury, the band’s lead singer Jake Shears shares the same spirit of him along with inspirations from David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Madonna and of course Elton John. Female lead singer Ana Matronic is also as glam. She’s the mother version of Lady Gaga, but with the bow-down-to-the- fierce bitch attitude. Matronic doesn’t sing much in the group, but her emitting Grace Jones’ nature gets her enough attention and demand on stage when she’s hyping the crowd up with her slick vulgar choice of words.

As for the music, their sound is certainly eclectic. You can hear sounds of glam electro rock from the 80’s where Andy Warhol would have probably taken them as his residence muse band at the factory. Even though their fame in America has been dismal because of the conservative issues (not New York and LA though), but the rest of the world has embraced them. Thank god. Their sound throughout the three studio albums they have released has been a hybrid of glam electro rock with some parental advisory cartoon like sensibilities. So yes, your under 15 child may not be socially qualified to be listening to them talking about rough sex and they instead should go back to their Disney Channel gods or Mr Bieber. With their first two albums Scissor Sisters and Ta-Dah, it was rather a twin-like creation. Both of them shared the same vein of sound explained earlier. However, their latest album Night Work is more cohesive and conceptually has more maturity to their sound and presentation even they are still trying to get listeners to dance and get shit-wrecked. Credits go to executive producer Stuart Price who I worship. I dream one day he works with Gaga and create a new level of music magic.

I favored their debut single Comfortably Numb because it was a time where I remembered my dad got so excited to introduce them to me and I was amazed how diversify he was. I mean, my dad’s fucking traditional with fucking traditional morals and for him to introduce a band where the lead singer sings in jockstraps and S&M leather outfits was just WTF? What The Fuck? Oh, but forgot, Jake Shears is really similar to Mick Jagger and Jagger is my dad’s musical god. This song was a full-blown electronic glam cover version of Pink Floyd’s classic that put them on the map. I still find it amazing that the band had the guts to release a cover song as their debut single. But it paid off! This song didn’t really radiate their upbeat essence. It was more moody and formal. I must agree I wasn’t too crazy about this song at first when my dad introduce me to them in the car on a Sunday afternoon going to brunch, but years later I’m musically hallucinated on them. The video itself was also sick. It had this deep neon green Matrix-esque ocean theme going on with everyone floating around in 80’s Bee Gee Saturday Night Live flamboyant outfits with sea animals swimming around them. I thought it was fucking genius, different and effectively inexpensive. It was a good stepping-stone for them to project their artistic vision.

But my favorite single from them so far has to be Fire With Fire. The Glastonbury-ready tune had hints of inspirational Elton John lyrics and vocal production set along with mild electronic beats underlying the main simple pop-rock beat. It was a different moment for Scissor’s Sister. It was a comeback for them in a more poised and well-mannered way, which disappointed some, but I was in to it. The video became my favorite of 2010. The video embodies my taste, creative vision and the life I live and want to live in the future. The streaks of sleek glam lights in New York City set during a loneliness night just gives me Goosebumps and a rush of emotion every time I watch it. It was like this epiphany moment for me where sometime we can’t really wait for acceptance from others about our identity, but instead we have to be fucking brave and live life through our own judgments and wants. Very deep stuff. I know. Next.

What they do next will be interesting. I don’t expect them to change much, but I want them to elevate themselves by maybe hiring more mainstream producers and try to produce a top 40 hit single worldwide. They had a global hit minus USA with I Don’t Feel Like Dancing, but I want them to conquer America and put it in their faces. When it happens, it’ll mark a new social change in American music history and prove why U2’s front man Bono has once declared them has "the best pop band right now".

Rewinding: Gladys Knight's 'Midnight Train To Georgia'

Gladys Knight and The Pips. (She reminds me of Kelly Rowland) Deep down, I wanted to be born during the Motown era and experience all the music fresh right off the radio. I find this musical time sentimentally inspiring. There was this knack for perfection vocals and perfection melodies where faults were hard to be found. This song possesses such natural soul, but with timeless ease that it’s really soothing. Gladys provide a voice which wasn’t too extravagant and extreme, but could still left listeners in awe. She had great pitch, great vocal dynamics, she meant every note she sang and she had a genuine touch to her personality that gave me such warmth and comfort. Lyrically, you also felt a realistic element that any age can relate to. The song left a space for listeners to interpret their own personal connection to it, which here it could be about the sacrifice for love in having to move somewhere or finding comfort in having to face rejection when following your dreams. When a song can be interpreted in many spheres that in 2011 you can still find true value in it, iconic is the only word.

The Pips were also a colorful addition. They provided a cutesy quality to the song and I love the idea of having men backing up a female singer. There’s such feminine empowerment going on for me. Gladys and The Pips had great vocal runs and adlibs when exchanging to each other during the latter part of the song where you felt The Pips gave the spotlight to Gladys’ singing, but there moves at the back were still pretty comical and legendary. I also bow down to them for making my eyes fixated on their performance the whole time when it was done on simple TV show set with no marketing or million dollar hair and make-up, which in today’s world every televised performance has to be done through pyrotechnics and explosions, which is where the core value of music is greatly lost and questions where true talent lies.

I think that sometime we associate this era too much with Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Lionel Riche and Stevie Wonder, and give them ultimate praise, which isn’t wrong because they were legendary and paid their dues, but it’s singers like Gladys and Al Green who I feel should receive a bit more recognition for contributing such great tunes for us to all cherish. This was when music meant something more profoundly and not based on going to the club and tries to get laid. This was when music left an imprint on people’s lives.  

Just Arrived: Chris Brown's 'She Ain't You'

Chris Brown. I don’t want to sound like a complete asshole, but Brown’s music post hitting/bitch slapping/head locking-Rihanna gate has been better than ever. What happened? Did the infamy turn him into a pop urban mastermind with his latest F.A.M.E album? Whatever it is please continue your violent rage anger, but maybe on a blow-up doll this time or on Ke$ha. Sorry. Anyways, I selected this song for obvious reasons because Brown sampled Human Nature by my music god Michael Jackson. What I applaud Brown for this song is that he sampled the song in a very modern respectable manner where the spirit and DNA of Human Nature was still alive. He didn’t twisted Human Nature’s melody so it fitted into a new dance anthem or rap song, which this trend has been on repeat for the past few years such as BEP’s The Time (Dirty Bits) which sampled Dirty Dancing’s Time of My Life in a whole new direction. Plus, it’s also perfect to see Human Nature’s melody be the central beat and not just a supportive part of the song. The song itself has a great R&B electronic groove which Brown is known for. It has this summer breeze side to it that I think will do well on the charts in the next few months.

The MJ tribute element of this video also collected major points from me. Brown was brave enough to show his direct homage and not try to create a whole different concept with the song. It’s rare to see an artist sample another’s melody, but also sample their artistry visuals. And I must say Brown’s MJ dance moves were pretty good. Of course he didn’t have Jackson’s grimy soul in it, but the execution was pretty flawless. However, what I hated was the boring pop art LED stage. I’ve seen this rainbow fantasy LED soundstage for literally over a hundred times on pop music video. It’s like a second rated Justin Timberlakes’ Rock Your Body. What also made it even cornier were these amateur laser light flare effects with the girl singing with lighten butterflies. Really? I just wished Brown had gone further with the tribute and maybe take it to the streets like what MJ projected with the Bad album concept even though the costume gave me a Smooth Criminal vibe.

All and all, I’m really impressed with this song and album. I feel Brown has found the right formula in finding his recognition from both the top 40 market and urban market. There’s still a lot of more years for him to regain that trust back from fans, but if he continues to walk this musical road then I’m sure he’ll be closer to gaining his ‘MJ successor’ badge even though no one can replace my musical hero.

Under the Radar Obsessions: Jamie Woon's 'Lady Luck'

Jamie Woon. Better watch out for this musical force. Trust me. Fucking trust me. The first time I listen to this song I was mesmerized in a musical chemistry session where the mixture of soul, house, R&B, ambient pop and Michael Jackson inspired sounds just positively reacted together and create a new formula to a timeless classic record. You don’t really come across a raw talent these days since the music industry projects a more manufactured image, but with Woon, he’s on a fresh league of his own. I’ve been saying this countless time on my latest post entries that I truly believe 90’s music is making a comeback. With Woon I see it in his distinct god-like voice which reminiscent many simple divine voices in the 90’s such as Lighthouse Family, Jamiroquai and even Coldplay. Oh and yes, they are all British. British music are seen on the back-burner most of the time for being really awkward and really hard to get into since there’s an arrogant sophistication attached to it, but musically speaking, they create classy music. The musicality which goes into every beat and chord progression is crafted so finely and so differently. So I’m not surprised why British people are seen to have an eclectic taste in music.

The video itself is also a masterpiece for me in a subtle manner. I’ve clearly established my metropolitan aesthetic through this blog and this video elevates it with great motion effects, light flares and traveling montages. With the editing it looks complicated, but truthfully it’s simple cinematography. The director however twisted and milked the footage to create a greater synthesis urban imagery, which is awfully inspiring. Woon’s minimal presentation of himself I feel is a positive yet negative marketing tactic. I understand that he might want to be more understated and let the music shine through (it’s certainly did), but in today’s musical arena-every artist is glamorized to the highest saturated beauty level with costumes, stage theatrics and much more, which I don’t know if Woon will be lost in the shadow of it all. However, however, however, there’s a British singing sensation called Adele (if you don’t have her new 21 album than you’re a musical tasteless fool) and she also has a low-key demeanor, but her new album (go and get it) has sold over 4 million copies in less than four months and she is plain Jane. So there’s hope for Woon.

I think Woon’s artistry overall shines through greatly with this video. There’s something enchantingly mysterious about him that I think a bit more exposure for him would start a new hype. Just push it a bit more Woon. Artist like Woon can remain a single color, but it’s the shades of that color that you need to play to create the excitement.

Dad's Power: Aerosmith

Aerosmith. Steven Tyler is a fucking rock god to me. There’s a side to me where I worship 80’s rock bands with the ridiculous hair explosions, acrobatic stage antics, stadium ready music choruses, bandanas, tight leather pants and of course there life stories of fucking groupies after concert and snort cocaine like oxygen. (However, the drug part I’m disgusted.) But why does a 20 year old who proclaims his love for mainstream pop music would have this side? It’s because my dad lived through it all and passed on the torch to me mildly. I eliminated a bunch of bands like Metallica and AC/DC because I can’t stand metal screaming music like cats going on war, but Aerosmith made the final cut into my musical bible. What I love about Aerosmith is that there’s an American pop country-road melodic sensibility to them where the choruses are epically grand and makes it stuck in your brain. Songs like Walk This Way, Dude (Looks Like A Lady), Cryin’ and of course Dream On all has this magic touch to it. I personally believe that this is the vital ingredient to why people can still sing Aerosmith’s song when it comes on the radio. Other 80’s bands were too invested in creating songs for that moment, but not classic status.

Steven Tyler just like Mick Jagger has this electrifying persona on stage that gives me an adrenaline rush. Yes, those lips of them both are qualified for The Joker role in Batman. Joe Perry also has this cool-somber manner to him when we know he’s also a fucking beast. What works between Perry and Tyler is that they give space for one another to shine. Even though we hear in news stories that their relationship is infamously ego-driven, but onstage they gel well and produce a show like no other.

Going back to the music, my favorite record of them would stereotypically be the same like a million others and it’s I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing. Tyler’s vocal performance on this record broke aesthetic boundaries for me because I’ve never heard a rock record where the singer’s screaming and screeching on the top of his lungs would sound beautiful. I said beautiful. Plus, the orchestral rock epic musical production on it was breathtaking with the emotion of Tyler’s singing building up every second. This record probably has the most sentimental value to me. I remember watching Armegadon in the theatre when I was like 8 and when Bruce Willis’ character dies in front of his daughter played by Liv Tyler…it just hit me like an emotional bullet. For the first time I felt that I couldn’t lose my father. I have a really unconventional and rocky father-son relationship where there’s a love-hate feeling sometime, but when this song comes on it just makes my negative feelings towards him disappear. I’m crying writing this and listening to the song at the same time. Ok, enough of my sappy and vomit-ready melodramatic moment. But, sorry, may I just add that this song was one of the first song I performed in middle school as a duet and I remember I got quite of a reaction from the audience. What reaction? Keeping my way smaller lips than Tyler’s sealed.

When Tyler was announced to be American Idol’s new judge on season 10 I wholeheartedly supported FOX’s decision even when many critics were skeptical at first, but boy he has made me so proud. He has emitted this level of respectable musical knowledge while still being a badass with his Tylerisms comments which is now an iPad application. Pop culture moment there.

Going Live: The Voice Judges' 'Crazy'

Christina Aguilera. Cee-Lo Green. Adam Levine. Blake Shelton. The Voice judges’ just gave one historic 21^st century performance on American television. The musicality and chemistry these four poses together are fucking amazing even if they all come from different music markets. This is what Goosebumps are made for. I personally think that Gnarles Barkley’s (aka Cee-Lo Green) Crazy is one of the greatest records ever made. It has this genre of it’s own where it’s a fusion of old-school R&B soul layered with soft electronic orchestral sounds. As for this performance, it has been rearranged to have a more epic rock feel to it, which is a great idea for American television because it reaches the masses better. What’s also sick about this performance is that it proves the musical genius in each of the singer and the reason why they have been chosen to be judges. We haven’t really seen this on American Idol, but with Steven Tyler on this year’s panel I’m pretty sure we’ll have a great treat coming up. 

I’m ecstatic to see Aguilera in top form with this performance and regain her diva status. I mean diva in singing and not in attitude because her diva attitude has never been lost, which for the past year she has been a real bitch queen. I actually hated her for a while, but now I’m starting to rekindle my love for her. Adam Levine on drums also thrilled me because it showed another musician side to him, which erased his Maroon 5 front man only image. Blake Shelton I don’t give a fuck because I don’t listen to a lot of male country music, but I guess he’s doing his thing. Finally, Cee-Lo is the icing on the cake. I really honor his humbleness with this song because he’s the owner to it, but he’s letting the others shine and he’s taking a back seat. He’s a really genuine artist and he’s not really trying to be a celebrity with this show not like Aguilera (it’s not a bad element though). What I also liked about the producers of this show is that they broke the musical racial boundaries when choosing these judges. I still love Idol the most, but here it’s exciting to see the judges not looking too corporate America where everyone looks plastic perfect. There’s a grunge side to it and a cool hip factor that you don’t feel everything is manufactured with this judges. And who can believe that a country star like Shelton would be sitting in the panel with an R&B star like Cee-Lo? I mean, country music has always been dominating in the US in a league of it’s own where other mainstream music genre hasn’t really bonded with them. It’s like saying to Beyonce to sing a long and hoedown with Dolly Parton in cowboy boots.

May I advice for these four music stars to at least collaborate and release a single. Millions will be deposit in your already enormous “can save a whole country in Africa from poverty” bank accounts.

Rewinding: John Mayer's 'Bigger Than My Body'

John Mayer. My all-time favorite male pop-rock vocalist period. His smooth huskiness voice and realness quality to his lyrics are what I’m drawn into about his music since the very beginning with his Room For Squares debut album. I use to listen to this song and album, Heavier Things, religiously to the point where it was Mayer season in my boarding school room for months. There’s one thing I applaud Mayer for is that he’s categorized in a generic genre of pop rock, but his music has always been pure genius and has been the top of the pack. He’s legendary for me and that explains his longevity. I mean, he won a Song of The Year Grammy for his song Daughters and won Pop Vocal Album for Continuum over Sir Paul McCartney and that’s something.

This song stays true to Mayer’s musical existence. It has this uplifting message and tone that you can play it any time, anywhere. The musical production also reminiscent a lot of what U2 has done with their sound, which is a simple pop rock universal appealing sound to every age group. This song could have been played on Top 40, Adult Contemporary, Rock and even country to a marginal extent. However, Mayer has his own tricks of subtly adding blues-rock to all his songs. With this reason there’s no wonder why John Mayer has create classics. The video itself was basic pop rock cliché 101, but maybe because the early 00’s all videos were crafted like this and today the video’s are more elaborate and theatric. But what I liked about it was that Mayer had this pure innocence and a sense of vulnerability even when he was already revolutionizing music to his own right. He had this friendly persona to him, which he fucking sadly became a self-loathing prick for the past few years trying to the bad boy talking about being a master of sex and bashing ex-girlfriends in tabloids. Sad. Sad when artists like him are eaten up by fame when he was on the road of being the next Bruce Springsteen.

What I would love to see Mayer do now is experiment with more sounds. I haven’t really seen him stepping out of his comfort zone with all the music he has released so far. Yes, he has done featuring on other artist in other genres, but his actual sound has been thoroughly the same. Maybe try a country twang to a song or a jazz Herbie Hancock fussed number or even inject some really mild electronic computerized sound, but still stay true to his own sound. There are many new artists emerging right now like Bruno Mars who’s taking Mayer’s place, which Mayer has to step up his game. Still, Mayer music catalogue so far remains supreme.

A Deeper Context: Femme Fatale = Britney's Elevation

Britney Spears. Femme Fatale. After listening to Ms. Spears’ seventh studio album, the world can rejoice that she’s back better than ever. Musically. Not visually. The disc is jammed packed with heavy feel good sounds merged with European dance vibes against light industrial and cheeky sonic sounding elements. I feel that Britney has a more eclectic mainstream dance sound comparing to Gaga where it’s more limited, but more classic sounding. With Britney it works for the moment, but not timelessly. Vocally, Britney also explored a wide range of variety like always. She has flirty moments. Bitchy moments. Seductive moments. However, her voice was heavily computerized and a ballad would have shown her ability.

The first song on the disc is the addictive Ke$ha penned Till The World Ends. I was reluctant to it at first, but have been listening to it like crack right now. It has this rejoice dance apocalyptic sound to it, which the video also portrayed. Both the video and song was down right a Britney classic. It played with what the world loves her for. It doesn’t sound or looked desperate of her trying to be unique. Britney is iconic because of this. Yes, her dancing in the video is still disappointing, but she shows hope. Britney’s management was also clever in releasing an official remix version featuring Ke$ha and the fucking fierce Nicki Minaj (Britney's Summer Tour special guest), which I must that it was a bold move and new marketing strategy to get the song even higher on the charts since it’s predicted to crack the Top 5 on Billboard Hot 100 for the first week of May. Still, the original is my choice.

Another standout track is the infectiously bitch-cute How I Roll. It’s actually my favorite from the album and it's somehow strange because I'm not a huge fan of album filler tracks and usually gravitate towards the singles because they catchy, but somehow this song worked its magic on me. Bloodshy and Avant produced it (Toxic and Piece of Me) and they created this soft electronic Robyn-esque meets diet Hip-Hop beat with Britney sounding really flirtatious even though she sings one line “You can be my thug tonight” when it sounds like “You can be my fuck tonight”. Sexual innuendos lyrics again from Brit-Brit. Clever!

Bloodyshy and Avant also produced another amazing tune titled Trip To Your Heart. Britney goes really romantic here while the beat is really European house ambient electronic influenced. What she is able to capture here is a down-to-earth persona which is infectious and proves why she’s one of the most genuine singers. And don’t be fucking lame by using her crazy-antic past as excuses. She’s gone through a lot and this song gives fans like me tears.





Criminal is also a song where Britney prevails musically. Here she’s channeling her Nelly Furtado and her approach of going completely Top 40 without sounding like Britney. Don’t be confused. It’s just not a "Britney can only do this record", but rather a song anyone could do and get a hit with it. It’s an amazing song. Mid-tempo jams with a simple percussion bombastic beat are what top the chart these days and this song is one of them. Please release this Britney!





I was also excited to hear Will.i.am production of Big Fat Bass, which was so-so. It had this good BEP club feel to it, but it wasn’t too electronic for what Will.i.am has being doing for his group which is a positive direction because this song gelled with this album's vibe well. It was a Britney song made for Britney and not a Will.i.am song sang by Britney. However, it was very frustrating at times to continuously hear the same melody played over and over again since It’s the longest song in the album with 4:45 minutes. Recycling melodies isn’t going to change the world climate.





However, sadly, with tears, Drop Dead (Beautiful) is a stupid lame-ass song. It destroyed the disk cohesiveness for greatness. Firstly, to feature this unknown artist Sabi who isn’t special in anyway was fucking annoying and the beat was this amateur urban beat sound that I wanted to vomit. It’s call ear vomit. Ear vomit is when you want to ASAP take out your earplugs or change the song instantly before you have to enter music ICU. Britney or whoever really missed the mark here because all of her deluxe album version songs were a million times better than this song.





Overall, this album highlighted Britney’s iconography and why she’s pushing the boundaries with pop music. Executive producers Dr.Luke and Max Martin showed great chemistry with Britney in making the CD cohesive in most part, but that each song has it’s own identity. Plus, it was nice to see Britney in a positive state-of-mind throughout the disk and that she wanted to give the world a feel-good vibe with this disc. This is stepping to right direction for Britney. But a bit of more promotion for the album would generate the Britney-level sales (it’s gone platinum already, but Britney is triple platinum level) and please please please please just fucking dance. Do you want me to capitalize it to show the importance? DANCE. Do you need the extra exclamation mark? DANCE! Underline it? DANCE! You are known as a dancer and right now the world knows you as a lip-singer and I’m sure you’re not happy with that.  Here is my evidence and please not be bias if you're a Britney fan and make excuses after excuses for her.

Don’t give me death threats Britney fans. Just speaking the truth. Ok, I’ll stop now before this post will get more sour.

Under the Radar Obsessions: Kay's 'My Name is Kay'

MY NAME IS KAY from Kaymusik on Vimeo.

Kay. My name is Kay. Got it? It’s Kay. Kay with a K. Lets start. This singer has been busting her ass for the past two years trying to break into the music scene, but it’s about the right time for her to make her mark now when early 90’s music are making a big comeback and this record defines that era. 90’s for me was all about empowerment lyrics mixed with hybrid of sounds from all genres. Like this song, it has a modern funk beat mixed with Beastie Boys inspired New York Hip-Hop along with rap meets pop singing with some gospel sounds playing the supporting role. Kay also has this "I’m Barbie, but I can be a bitch" attitude like what many of her contemporary competitions in this industry plays with. Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry and even Gaga all has it. However, with this video, Kay shows to have more street credibility in her opting for Adidas tracksuits, plain silver jewelry, converse shoes and those iconic boombox as her accessory. Love it! But actually, Kay reminds me a lot of Fergie. I definitely see Fergie in Kay’s pop-rap breakdown. Listen to Fergie Ferg’s Fergalicious and you’ll get the picture. Tony Basil’s One Hit Wonder Hey Mickey also seems to be a huge influence on this song with the 80’s cheerleading chanting accents to the musical production of the song.

As for the video, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Actually not thoroughly. I fucking loved it. Firstly, I’m a sucker for Black and White videos. Secondly, I’m a sucker for 90’s street vibe videos. Thirdly, I’m a sucker for a New York city-feel video, even though this was shot in Chicago. So overall, I’m a sucker for this video. It’s a fantastic debut video for her and really showed how she differentiates from other musical acts dominating the charts right now. She’s much more clean-cut then how Ke$ha or Gaga represented themselves in their debut video, but with Kay there’s a bit more tough love meets bratty attitude about her, which I’m sure people will love her for it. I also enjoyed her extra vulnerable side to her which is shown below.



I have high hopes for this lady. I think she can really make it big if she pushes for it. I think people are ready to embrace 90’s feel good music once again and Kay has the soul for it. Just don’t be eaten up by coporate major music label tactics of changing her to become more of a blonde bimbo because when that happens then it’s only one word left for her- Goodbye.

Rewinding: P.Diddy Feat. Faith Evans' 'I'll Be Missing You'

P.Diddy. Puff Daddy. Sean Combs. Diddy. Anymore? Ok. Let’s start. Going through my all-time favorites, I wanted to fuse in some classic hip-hop records. For me, my kinds of hip-hop records are the rappers rapping their lyrics and the woman singing the simple beautiful chorus. It’s just soothing. I can’t stand listening to hardcore rap songs. I need some singing in it and this song is the definitive answer. I just fucking love this song. Fucking, fucking love it. Till this day, I’ve never heard a better cover/ sampled song on this planet. For Diddy to have the genius to take an iconic Police song (Every breath you take) and mash it up to create a legendary hip-hop record is just inspiring. For me, I think Diddy was the first few hip-hop artists who embrace mainstream pop music. He wasn’t shy to use it as a key ingredient to his music, which is why I’ve appreciated his work for so many years. He did it for Jay-Z and Eminem. The song structure is certainly a prototype to the songs we hear today by hip-hop artist. Listen to Love The Way You Lie.  He should definitely be honored for starting this rap-pop movement years ago when people were still dividing the two and arguing some superior shit.

Even though this song was crafted in remembrance of Notorious Big death (that’s why his widow Faith Evans is singing the chorus), but it’s a song which can reach the masses with such sentimental conviction and let us dedicate it to anyone we have lost in our life. With Japan’s situation or for me Thailand’s flooding devastation, this song means a lot. I don’t want to continue in explaining my feelings because I think the music speaks for itself. Just listen.

Dad's Power: Eurythmics

Eurythmics. I don’t know how many fucking times my dad has put their Greatest Hits albums on heavy rotation in the car. I once suffered from Annie Lennox voice disorder, but unlike anorexia, I wanted to consume the great Lennox. Consume by my ear I mean. Eurythmics is a duo that musically goes against the grain. Their sound is so specifically that it can’t be stereotyped. Yes, production wise it’s very 80’s, but the instrumental sound itself is psychedelically mainstream orientated. It’s mixed with electronic synthesis on heavy guitar chords with Lennox wide vocal range and background sounds of whistle folk meet gospel accents. Their lyrics also has this great balance of love and sadness, but it’s not sloppy and sugary. It’s just amazing. Fucking amazing. Rad. I love when any musical act can be so diverse in their sound because it’s them who moves generation and receives iconic status.

Along with Madonna and Cyndi Lauper, Annie created this fierce bitch image presentation that artists like Nicki Minaj, P!nk and Gaga have to thank them for. Yet, with Lennox she differentiated from the pack in the sense that she had this slightly scary quality to her which somehow drawn you in. It’s all about revolutionizing your image, but still put music in the forefront and your outfit as the complementary good. Plus, Lennox showed the importance of giving back to the society. Her work with AIDS is truly inspiring. Music can change lives because it’s a universal language that has no boundaries. A melody with no words can still make a person in Uganda appreciate it as much as someone in Austria.

For me, with Eurythmics, my dad gave me the maturity and the need in wanting to go back and listen to 80’s music and find its core essence. I must admit that I’ve always been stubborn in trying to only listen to music produced during the time I have lived on earth and not before, but with Eurythmics it changed three-sixty. Eurythmics also proved my dad’s eclectic taste in music. My dad opens countless music in the car or at home and may I say that the range is musically jaw-dropping. I’m talking from house music of Buddha Bar to rock music of 30 Seconds To Mars, ZZ Top and even classic music from Andre Bocelli. Also have to mention Sugababes with Enya, Pink Floyd and Bob Marley and The Wailers. This son can’t compare with him. I bow down.

People ask, “What is real music?” I still believe there’s no answer to it, but this duo gives is a valid hint.

Just Arrived: Katy Perry's 'E.T.'

Katy Perry. I’m over a week late posting this glam meets ecstasy meets space hallucination video.  Whatever. Perry really elevated her fucking usual bratty candy-land videography status. Props go to director Floria Sigismondi who continues to amaze people with her silent skill. Sigismondi continues to create her usual gothic alien-like world with hard-edge, but still fits with mainstream music like what she did with Aguilera’s Fighter. I just find it truly special when a female has this genius quality. We live in a creative music world dominated by testosterone, but when a female can actually elevate this world it just marks a history in the making moment.

The story line stays true to the song itself. Nothing special here considering that it referenced James Cameron’s Avatar heavily except for that fucking stupid Vogue sunglasses endorsement. That really killed the perfection mark for this video. However, I must applaud that they kept it 5 minutes long. With this sort of visual, Gaga would have made a mini-movie out of it, but an epic one that is. Also giving Kanye limit screen time was great. We wanted to focus on Katy and we got it.

We see Perry in amazing flowly queen alien dresses made by world renowned couture fashion houses. Her make-up is running for drag queens’ money and Perry is probably ready to endorse a full-blown MAC VIVA GLAM campaign.

Even though I’m going to hand it to Mrs. Brand for really pulling out all the stops with this video and is probably the most groundbreaking so far for 2011, but after watching it on repeat I kind of lost fait in its magic. I feel there’s so much reference in this video from Bjork, Boy George and Madonna that Katy didn’t really bring something culturally new to the table. It was more imitating something with flawless results. Maybe Katy should have Sigismondi use 100% of her vision and transformed Perry even more to the extreme. I feel in this video Sigismondi was pressured by major recording label heads wanting Perry to continue to fit into the top 40 mould, but why? The song is mainstream enough. Look at what Gaga did with the Born This Way video. At the end of the day, this was an okay risk for Perry and it push boundaries for her. Still, I want Katy to go back to her usual roots of being this hilarious Betty Bop character. She doesn’t need to prove herself and go all performance arts to get the validation Gaga gets. Stay in your lane and just enjoy the success. Rihanna never tries to go Gaga or Gaga never goes Rihanna because who wants to be a world where a cup of tea tastes the same?

Going Live: Fantasia's 'Collard Greens & Cornbread' at American Idol 2011

Fantasia. The American Idol season 3 winner has a voice that just resonates what a real solid R&B singer should sound like. I still don’t fucking understand why she has only won one Grammy after all of these years. Her voice is iconic level for me even if some compare it to a screeching cat. The power and conviction she puts in every note and in every words she sings is just….Oh My Fucking Buddha/God, the lord has just delivered an old-school Motown level-esque angel! Her phrasing is also immaculate with the mountain up-and-town singing dynamics. She may lived in the project, but babe today she’s a true star.

This performance equals perfection. Yes, many people will question her Michelin wheel figure wrapped in Diana Ross’ outfit bought at the local drag queen store, but she’s preparing for a movie role. Hey, her bestie Jennifer Hudson did it with Dreamgirls too and what happened? Maybe Fantasia will be the next spokesperson for Weight Watchers after filming wraps up? The smooth 1920’s lounge setting was a nice change for her from the usual ghetto R&B electrifying performances. You could just sit and appreciate her talent with a fantastic simple R&B tune perfect for any day and age. Her shout-out to Steve Tyler was also equally adorable and bought us back to the same old comical queen Fantasia once was on Idol during her season. I’m sure Simon Cowell will be nervous whether he’ll ever find a talent like this on X-Factor America, but with it’s $5 million award price I’m sure many struggling artists who’s trying to go the traditional route by banning the reality show will have a second thought.

Back to Fantasia, I really wished she came during the 80’s or 90’s where her talent would have been appreciated and gain more success. We live in a world now, urban music wise, where female singers needs to shake their hucci mamma assess and sing about finding man to lick his personal issue area(s). But still, the voice always comes first for me and Ms. Barrino certainly has it right center stage. 

Under the Radar Obsessions: Oh Land's 'Sun Of A Gun'

Oh Land. I’ve know this artist for roughly five months now and what strikes me frankly about her was this video rather than the also amazing song. This Danish (proud Scandinavian moment again. Sorry. Can't help it.) singer reminds me of blonde bombshell Lykke Li meets minor influences from Bjork. She has this folk and airy electronic sound to her mixed with cutesy light drumbeats, which is just perfect. What’s also refreshing to see like Ellie Goulding is that Oh Land isn’t desperate in creating a character persona for her music. She stays true to herself and rather wants her music to speak be the main force.

I adore this video. Really adore it. I’m a sucker for fluorescent light and mirrors, which certainly are the main element here. What’s also unique is that they mix these light balls with a snowy atmospheric backdrop instead of a city. It creates a new vibe for me. Her dancing and prancing around is also cute. It’s just simple contemporary abstract ghostly sway dancing and poses. As for the fashion, I’m happy she didn’t go for the cliché boho-folk lookbook.  She instead opted for some flowly dresses and graphic fashion pieces which complemented her beauty and great physique. For the art direction part I felt was a contrast between hot and cool tones. She looks ethereal in some shots with the hot red lighting, while looking fiercely when in cool blue lighting. It’s just great. Simple juxtaposition. Easy, but yet effective.

Oh Land just has to continue promoting her record and slowly climb the ladder up. Hopefully she’ll not only be this new exciting wave for the next few months, but also have a longevity career in the industry. Markets like New York City will certainly embrace her for a long time, but Middle America may be more reluctant. However, I feel her sound is commercial enough to get her quite far and hopefully she’ll not become a one-album-wonder like KT Tunstall who also reminiscent of Oh Land music quality.

A Deeper Context: The Born This Way Factor

Lady Gaga. Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. Born This Way. I wanted to write about this song since the very first minute I heard it and just be fucking melodramatic in telling how it has changed my life and has become the soundtrack song of my life. But I waited. I waited till now. Being already played over 400 times on my iTunes+iPod- it explains something. I must say I was quite critical seeing the lyrics at first. With the words being so direct and socially vulgar with race and gender issue- I felt Gaga might have been too ambitious too soon. She’s not like Madonna where there’s already many albums and materials released that can back up her legendary status. However, what has happen with this song? You Google it. Yes, I admit it sounds like Madonna’s late 80’s Express Yourself and Vogue, but listen up fucking lame haters….there’s a big difference between imitating and inspiring. Music is a universal language that is created by the inspiration of one another and this is no difference here. People should give Gaga props for bringing electronic dance music back to Top 40 and big again. She paved a new pop-dance pathway for our generation and we’re going to continue to bring her down by one song, which I must say have saved millions of live? Just be positive that Express Yourself and Born This Way are telling you to embrace your uniqueness and love the uniqueness of others.

On the music production side, Born This Way has a hybrid of Electronic, Pop, East European Industrial and even Gospel accent sounds, which is blended to ear orgasm perfection. Producer Fernando Garibay and DJ White Shadow was able to capture the 90’s empowering vibe that artist like TLC, Whitney and MJ achieved so immensely. It was all about how you could injected inspiring lyrics to a radio commercial song, make it ready for the clubs and just wants you to go out onto the streets and be who you want to be. I also applaud the fact that this song is actually lighter in tone compared to her previous 


hits like Bad Romance, Telephone and Poker Face even if the message is universally groundbreaking.

Now moving on the music video. Lady Gaga…7:20 minutes. Nick Knight direct it. Laurieann Gibson choreographed it. Nicola Formichetti styled it. Little Monsters like us just died. Died because the fierceness, ferociousness and ‘Gaga is one motherfucking legend’ness. I mean, this is visually stunning yet again. I don’t know how this woman does it. To create this concept of giving birth to a new race was just...Gaga please adopt me. At least I know I’m whole-heartedly belonged to this race. I credit Andy Warhol and Michael Jackson as my creative gods, and Gaga certainly proves she’s the goddess here. She somehow knows how to push the commercial art boundary into fine art so effortlessly and has so much sentimental symbolisms. However, being unbiased, I feel this video might be too avant-garde for the normal public right now. It’s not like the Bad Romance video which had the right pop-music video elevation ingredient. This video might have taken the abstract art imagery too far. It’s not wrong, but I feel some people may be put off by it. What Gaga has to do now is to somehow lighten the visual imagery of her next videos and maybe put its mentality more straightforward like Telephone and Paparazzi. Still, I’m so fucking excited for her directorial debut for the Judas music video. I expect nothing less than spectacular.

Her Grammy Awards performance of the song was a like eye-ecstasy for me. I’m still high from it. It was beyond words. Gaga and Gibson somehow played the minimalistic route with the performance concept which was too clever. They let the song speak for itself. The choreography was also a master class. It has this unique-tailored for Gaga only stamp to it, but it’s still modern with the Willow’s Whip My Hair tribute. Gibson choreographs for everyone in the business from Diddy to Katy Perry, but her work with Gaga is always on a new level. It’s like what Brian Friedman does with Britney Spears (8 years ago though). The performance’s music arrangement was also interesting. It had this weird church organ breakdown in the middle, which shows that Gaga can fucking sing! She’s not those lip-synching pop queens I can officially declare.  Now there was the Hussein Chalayan Egg Vessel that Gaga made her historic grand entrance. This was just pure wackiness meets the God of genius. Gaga whores for attention, but the attention is for her artistry and not about going to an LA club, get plastered and then receive a DUI.

On a side note, I have to highlight that Gaga released a country-road version of the song to mark the song’s sixth week reign on the Billboard Hot 100 and the new version could instantly be featured on a Clint Eastwood Cowboy movie if he decides to make one in this new era. It has this psychedelic-murder-esque meets light Bruce Springsteen blue-collar sound to it which feels like your epically lost in the Nevada desert. Hopefully, it’ll receive some airplay on country radio.

Born This Way has changed my life and this song defines who I am. I don’t belong to a gender or race group mentioned in the song, but I live through the spirit of the song in embracing my inner-self and who I am as a human being. But what human being that is will remain within myself. I’m too complex as a person. It’s a fucking waste of time for you to question me. 

Dad's Power: U2

U2. My dad is my most important musical force. He was the one who raised me on all sorts of music. From The Rolling Stones and ZZ Top to Enya and Scissor Sisters – that’s one hell of a musical differential gap. His CD collections (along with his Armani tie gallery) is just…. Fuck, I know why I’m damn materialistic (I’m broke at the moment btw). So going back to the music- why did I choose U2 as the first entry for this section? Simple. When this band’s song comes on the radio, I’m like “Roland Gustaf Svensson!” Yes, he’s my Swedish-expelled from school-once druggie-a woman’s player- so different from me (except for the workaholic part- proud Papa. U2 plays such important to our relationship like no other band because their music provides the right ingredient where we agree on what is fucking good music. I can’t stand his AC/DC records and he can’t stand my desperate love for Gaga who he calls a psychotic bitch.

I love all U2 records and can listen to them all on repeat, but why I chose Beautiful Day is because it has such a fearless feel-good vibe. It’s that sort of song that you can open on anytime of the day and regain that inner strength to live life with positivity. It’s a recurring message in all Bono’s musical creation, but with this song it’s more vibrant, groovy and celebrates mankind love for one another in such a fulfilling context.

On a more personal note again, this video also pays lots of sentimental importance to my life because it’s set in an airport and my relationship with my dad constantly revolves around him travel around the world like a rockstar collecting frequent flyer miles. It’s something we’re so use to it and I bet would continue forever. I promise my dad when I make good money, I’ll fly him to watch U2 and we can be like two druken buddies enjoying music like how it all started at three years old for me. 

Just Arrived: Black Eyed Peas' 'Just Can't Get Enough'

Black Eyed Peas. Their latest disc The Beginning has really been quiet. They somehow aren’t creating that phenomenal impact like in the past even though the album is seriously good. However, the singles like this one is still doing great on the radio and continuing in proving why they’re the biggest pop group in the world. As for this video, it has all my personal tastes. I don’t know why, but a lot of videos today are having this 'metropolitan-bright neon fluorescent lights' element to it. However, what makes this video stand out is that it has this somber and loneliness quality to it. It gives you this feeling of being alone in a high-rise building in the middle of night where you want to be with someone only, but not with a bunch of people in a club. Still, the breakdown into the fast techno section at the end was also great. BEP are really clever in that with each album they have a certain cohesive concept to it. Even though this one is similar to their The END album, but if looked closely it has this digital-game like sensibility to it and pushes the electronic boundary further in the mainstream music market. But please, they need to give Taboo and apl.de.ap more screen time because we all know Fergie and Will.i.am are always center stage anyways.

Going Live: Adam Lambert's 'Aftermath' at American Idol 2011

Adam Lambert. He’s my favorite Idol alum period. Everything he does musically just fascinates the hell out of me. I remember watching Idol season 8 and witnessing the emergence of a new iconic force. Yes, the world was ready for a ‘fuck you all certain corporate conservative Americans- I want to be who I want to be!’ At least I know I was. I was ready for the campiness, the glam factor and just down right fucking sick vocal production music done in an electronic-pop mentality with hints of Studio 54 Bowie and touches of 80’s Hair Metal. But what was special about this performance on Idol Season 10 Top 13 results show is that it didn’t embody everything I described previously. It just showcased his sincere side and those pipes, which I personally feel is the best in Idol history. Lambert has such emotional conviction when he sings that as a viewer you drift away on a journey for a moment with him and just feel his struggles or his ecstatic state-of-mind. What I also adore about Lambert is that we all know he’s gay, but he doesn’t play the ‘It’s hard to socially live as a gay man’ card, but instead he just lives on life without constant fear and just proves that it doesn’t really matter who you sleep with in bed.

Rewinding: TLC's 'Damaged'

TLC. They have to be one of my favorite girl groups in the 90’s. They were one of the main forces during my musical childhood; growing up on their fantastic videos on MTV and performances on the VMA. Till this day I still think what would have happened to them if Lisa Left-Eye hadn’t pass. Chilli might have pulled a ‘Beyonce-ditch Destiny Child and turn solo’ move, but that didn’t seemed to work out since Chilli and T-Boz were never able to have a career as a duo (Chilli sadly turned to the VH1 reality show route to get the cash), but this song of theirs with just the two of them during their last years as a legendary group I just love. I also adored Waterfalls, Creep, No Scrubs, Unpretty and all their more commercial success songs, but there’s just something so special about this song. The Indian inspired opening, the sentimental lyrics that matched their group’s sad ending to the pop-rock chorus- it all reminds us that they changed music history because they didn’t have the typical R&B sound even if they were colored and usually put into that category. Plus, till this day, all of their records never sound dated and each and one of them has a story to relate to, which becomes part of our life’s musical compilation soundtrack.