Contributor
380 items by Jody Rosen
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"Someone Somewhere Tonight" | SONG REVIEW
On 2012's surprisingly ace 100 Proof, this American Idol also-ran reinvented herself as a hard-drawling honky-tonk classicist. With "Someone Somewhere Tonight," her winning streak continues. Originally cut by Kenny Rogers, it's a widescreen power ballad with the...
May 20, 2013 10:15 AM ET -
"Neurotic Society (Compulsory Mix)" | SONG REVIEW
She's back, and she's better than everyone. That's the message, at least, of Hill's first single in a dog's age, cut to try to pay off her back taxes. Her quicksilver flow is impressive, rhymes piling up...
May 20, 2013 10:10 AM ET -
Demi | ALBUM REVIEW
The title of Demi Lovato's fourth LP promises a "personal" album, and Lovato gets songwriting credits on nine songs. But make no mistake: This is industrial-strength pop, and all the better for it. The songwriters include hitmaking...
May 17, 2013 11:10 AM ET -
Twelve Reasons to Die | ALBUM REVIEW
This "groundbreaking concept album" (as the press release calls it) tells the story of an internecine mafia war, which erupts when Ghostface Killah's alter ego, Tony Starks, an aspiring member of the Deluca crime family, falls in...
May 8, 2013 10:10 AM ET -
Acid Rap | ALBUM REVIEW
Chance the Rapper doesn't hide his influences, or his ambitions. His rhyme flow at times baldly resembles Lil Wayne's or, at other times, Eminem's; his mainstream-but-iconoclastic posture draws inspiration from Kendrick Lamar and
May 8, 2013 10:00 AM ET -
Mother | ALBUM REVIEW
It's been a decade since Natalie Maines said a few choice words about George W. Bush and set off the biggest flame war in country-music history. Overnight, the Dixie Chicks became pariahs, and the role suited them:...
May 7, 2013 12:30 AM ET -
More Than Just a Dream | ALBUM REVIEW
This six-piece Los Angeles pop-soul group, led by studio engineer-turned-singer-songwriter Michael Fitzpatrick, is all about irrepressible energy: hopped-up rhythms, shout-it-out choruses, hooted background vocals. On their 2010 debut, Pickin' Up the Pieces, FATT were soul revivalists, and...
May 7, 2013 12:10 AM ET -
Annie Up | ALBUM REVIEW
There may be better bands than Pistol Annies, but what band is more of a hoot? The second LP by the all-female supergroup – Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley – is, like its 2011 debut,...
May 7, 2013 12:05 AM ET -
The Great Gatsby: Music From Baz Luhrmann’s Film | ALBUM REVIEW
This ain't your great-grandfather's West Egg. Jay-Z executive-produced this score, which infuses F. Scott Fitzgerald's Jazz Age tale with the sounds of the hip-hop age. The result is an unusually diverting mixtape, with an all-star lineup:...
May 3, 2013 12:15 PM ET -
Authentic | ALBUM REVIEW
"Authentic"? What jive. LL Cool J is rap's longest-running act, and it's his pop savvy, his indifference to orthodoxy, his easygoing star power that've kept him going. On Authentic, LL's first LP not released by Def...
April 30, 2013 12:00 AM ET -
The Low Highway | ALBUM REVIEW
You can hear the road in Steve Earle's voice, a craggy rumble with a whole lot of mileage on it. But that voice is also a finely cadenced instrument, perfect for the burly roots rock,
April 22, 2013 1:53 PM ET -
Twelve Reasons to Die | ALBUM REVIEW
This "groundbreaking concept album" (as the press release calls it) tells the story of an internecine mafia war, which erupts when Ghostface Killah's alter-ego, mobster Tony Starks, a member of the Deluca crime family, falls in love...
April 18, 2013 5:50 PM ET -
Overgrown | ALBUM REVIEW
On his 2011 debut, James Blake was a bedroom beat maestro with soul-singer ambitions: a composer of beautiful, somewhat blurry songlets that were spangled with dubstep bass groans and glitchy electronics. His new album marks a shift:...
April 15, 2013 4:03 PM ET -
"Come & Get It" | SONG REVIEW
Call it Gomez's Justin Bieber breakup song if you want. The more accurate description, though, is "Rihanna-wannabe anthem." Stargate and Ester Dean, the team behind some of Rih's biggest smashes, have given Gomez the good stuff: an...
April 15, 2013 2:15 PM ET -
Victim of Love | ALBUM REVIEW
Late-blooming soul belter Charles Bradley, who released his debut album in 2011 at the age of 62, is the best kind of retro act: a fully committed one. Victim of Love, Bradley's second LP, makes no bones...
April 2, 2013 12:15 AM ET -
Here’s Willy Moon | ALBUM REVIEW
"Bo Diddley remixed by Swizz Beatz" is how this New Zealander describes his music, which is awesome, as an idea. His debut doesn't quite sound like that – Willy Moon's a frail flower compared with Diddley, and...
April 2, 2013 12:10 AM ET -
"Bow Down/I Been On" | SONG REVIEW
The artwork features a tiara-wearing Beyoncé Knowles, age 10 or so, in a room crammed with trophies. The lyrics make the message clear: "I'm the number-one chick, I don't need no hype." Musically, this Hit Boy-produced...
March 28, 2013 2:55 PM ET -
"Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe (Remix)" | SONG REVIEW
"I'm looking to be the God MC," crows Lamar. To help with that lofty aim, he's teamed up with a rap deity and reworked his most mesmerizing track, jettisoning introspection for braggadocio. As for Jay: He...
March 28, 2013 2:35 PM ET -
"#thatPower" | SONG REVIEW
Will.i.am is the master of dopey-pop: HGH-injected dance hooks with lyrics so silly they bend toward the sublime. This solo single doesn't disappoint on that front: "I'm-a take it higher and high and high and higher/I stay...
March 28, 2013 2:30 PM ET -
Like a Rose | ALBUM REVIEW
Ashley Monroe grabbed country fans by the ears with her hard-drawlin' vocals on Hell on Heels, by the Miranda Lambert-helmed trio Pistol Annies. The riveting, beautifully sung, sharp-witted Like a Rose is even better. It comes on...
March 27, 2013 12:00 PM ET
