Contributor
187 items by Christian Hoard
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"Mama Told Me" | SONG REVIEW
The OutKast MC's latest single rides an electro-funk groove so spry, Prince-ly and Eighties inspired that you can practically see Molly Ringwald roller-skating to it. Big Boi sounds typically light on his feet, speed-drawling comparisons between himself,...
October 10, 2012 10:20 AM ET -
"Blue Magic" | SONG REVIEW
Riding with Queens buddies Das Racist, this 21-year-old "terrorist with no turban, lyricist with no sermon" sounds both skilled and spazzy over a dope, Zenned-out groove. "Y'all sound like Coldplay/Y'all sound like Oprah," he yelps. "Me, I...
April 30, 2012 10:00 AM ET -
Q&A: Todd Snider on His New LP, 'Jock Republican Christian' Roots | ARTICLE
"I've always avoided the notion that I'm smart because I know three chords and somehow managed not to get a real job," says Todd Snider. "I mean, I smoke more dope before 9 a.m. than most people...
April 26, 2012 3:35 PM ET -
"The House That Heaven Built" | SONG REVIEW
Noise-rock bros burn like the Replacements at their most earnestly hopped up."If they try to slow you down/Tell 'em all to go to hell," yowls Brian King, riding a ragged guitar surge. Invigorating stuff – and a...
April 17, 2012 1:35 PM ET -
Good News | ALBUM REVIEW
"Every sunrise I see takes the piss out of me/And there's cold tea in our loving cup," sings Dan Willson on his band's debut. A crack-voiced folkie who was raised an evangelical Christian, Willson warbles about crises...
October 18, 2011 12:00 AM ET -
Serengeti, 'Family and Friends' | BLOG ENTRY
Five years ago, this Chicago rapper made Dennehy, a truly great concept album about a friendship between a working-class white dude and a troubled teen MC. His 10th album is concept-free, but no less ...
August 9, 2011 4:01 PM ET -
Family and Friends | ALBUM REVIEW
Five years ago, this Chicago rapper made Dennehy, a truly great concept album about a friendship between a working-class white dude and a troubled teen MC. His 10th album is concept-free, but no less distinct. Over atmospheric...
August 2, 2011 12:00 AM ET -
Lloyd feat. Lil Wayne and Andre 3000, 'Dedication to My Ex (Miss That)' | BLOG ENTRY
Lloyd's "Dedication to My Ex" could be 2011's "Fuck You" – the crazy catchy, joyfully profane, vaguely retro R&B song that sweeps the internet. Over a slinky, organ-splashed groove that could have come from ...
June 29, 2011 5:15 PM ET -
"Dedication to My Ex (Miss That)" | SONG REVIEW
Lloyd's "Dedication to My Ex" could be 2011's "Fuck You" – the crazy catchy, joyfully profane, vaguely retro R&B song that sweeps the internet. Over a slinky, organ-splashed groove that could have come from a Raphael Saadiq...
June 29, 2011 5:08 PM ET -
"Rolling Stone" | SONG REVIEW
"I'm-a keep on smoking till I can't hit another note," sings R&B buzz magnet Abel Tesfaye on this narcotic jam (whose title refers to the Earth, not this mag). Rather than slow him down, weed...
June 8, 2011 9:20 AM ET -
Paul McCartney, 'It's So Easy' | BLOG ENTRY
Buddy Holly was one of the Beatles' biggest influences, a pioneer whose simple tunes and insane two-year hot streak inspired John Lennon and Paul McCartney to start writing their own songs. So it's no shock McCartney contributed to Rave...
May 25, 2011 1:43 PM ET -
"It's So Easy" | SONG REVIEW
Buddy Holly was one of the Beatles' biggest influences, a pioneer whose simple tunes and insane two-year hot streak inspired John Lennon and Paul McCartney to start writing their own songs. So it's...
May 23, 2011 3:03 PM ET -
"Brick By Brick" | SONG REVIEW
The first taste of the Brit band's fourth LP, this oddly meat-and-potatoes rocker finds Alex Turner rhyming "rock & roll" with "steal your soul" over simple riffs. His Jim Morrison impression later in the song is only...
March 28, 2011 12:00 AM ET -
"The Words That Maketh Murder" | SONG REVIEW
Fairly peppy for a PJ Harvey song about murder, this folky shuffle finds Polly Jean warbling about dead soldiers while hand claps and horns add to the oddly catchy melee. The 500 Greatest Albums...
January 28, 2011 9:15 AM ET -
Christian Hoard's Best of 2010 | ARTICLE
Albums 1. Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Def Jam) Kanye's ego has, as ESPN analyst Mel Kiper would say, "tremendous upside": It's the reason he's so quotable, the reason he...
December 27, 2010 10:30 AM ET -
"Kush" | SONG REVIEW
The most amusing thing about the first single from Dre's long-gestating Detox album? Hearing Snoop claim he needs weed for his "cataracts." Otherwise, "Kush" is hookless, forgettable bud love.
December 3, 2010 7:40 AM ET -
"Unbreak My Heart" | SONG REVIEW
From Weezer's new rarities collection, a cover of Toni Braxton's forlorn 1996 hit. In another band's hands, this might be a joke, but Rivers Cuomo moans the chorus like the words came straight from his diary. ...
November 26, 2010 9:45 AM ET -
Body Talk | ALBUM REVIEW
"Even the Vatican knows not to fuck with me," chirps Robyn on her third release of 2010. The Swedish diva's swagger is earned. This disc cherry-picks from two previous Body Talk EPs while tossing...
November 22, 2010 12:35 AM ET -
"Indestructible" | SONG REVIEW
The Swedish diva drops the first single from Body Talk PT 3, a disco remake of a ballad from PT 2. She sings an uncommonly elegant Europop melody, promising, "I'm gonna love you like I've never been...
November 8, 2010 6:27 PM ET -
Noise Floor (Rarities 1998-2005) | ALBUM REVIEW
Bright Eyes leader Conor Oberst was a prolific songwriter back before he could shave, and he kept up that pace while turning into the poet laureate of Heartbreak Nation and a sex symbol for nice girls who...
November 2, 2010 12:00 AM ET
