I’ve begun separating the wheat from the chaff in popular music by listening for the bridge. One of the reasons I think hip-hop is so unmemorable these days is that they’ve abandoned the good things about pop song structure (verse chorus bridge chorus) and kept only the bad (repetition). The result is that the songs don’t go anywhere — they start in one place and end in the same damn place. (continue reading…)
For some reason, I’ve lately become fixated on owning Police Academy on DVD. I popped over to Amazon to check it out and found this insightful review:
I still want this movie, but I don’t got it yet. I know it’s funny because I saw it in theatres back in 1984. I almost died laughing. Same with my dad. Yes you heard me right, my dad who let me see any movie brought me into this movie when I was 9. My mom didn’t like my dad taking me to any movie out there. Soon or later I will get this movie and maybe get the box set that was just realesed.
Classic. I hope that guy does the DVD commentary.
[Review for NashvilleZine.]
On their previous two records, Sahara Hotnights displayed great style but their songs tended to borrow hooks from each other. Nobody was complaining since the hooks were good and the band delivered them with fiery panache, but the criticism that their albums were a bit samey was valid. Well, no more. Kiss & Tell, their first record for RCA, not only ups the ante, it rewrites everything you knew about Sahara Hotnights. (continue reading…)
[Review for NashvilleZine.com.]
The END is one of the best/worst places in Nashville to see a band. On one hand, it’s a great size, the sound has been consistently improving, and it’s easy to hang in, out of, and around. On the other hand, during the summer it’s hotter than a whore on nickel night and it’s the kind of place to avoid when Great White’s in town — i.e. ventilation and fire exits leave something to be desired. Then again, who’s going to argue against getting the women of Sahara Hotnights all sweaty? (continue reading…)
[Review for NashvilleZine.]
The first line of Metric’s debut album — also its title — pleads for the simplicity of the past. It’s a theme slightly paradoxical to Metric’s keyboard-laced futuristic pop, yet it pervades throughout the ten tracks here. But then, their music gives off a classy, anachronistic vibe thanks in large part to Emily Haines’s cool, measured vocals. (continue reading…)