The musical reconciliation of Rihanna and Chris Brown raises a welter of emotions: outrage, sadness, bewilderment, revulsion. It’s not merely, as some armchair psychoanalysts have suggested, evidence of crippling codependency; nor is it solely a morally obtuse publicity stunt. It’s business as usual, consistent with the music that has made Rihanna a prolific hitmaker: From "Breakin’ Dishes: to "S&M," her songs explore the violence of sex and, yes, the sexiness of violence. "Turn Up the Music" is proforma club R&B that spices up Brown’s simpering lead vocals with some flirty cooing from Rihanna. Her "Birthday Cake" is a more sonically arresting piece, a raucous mix of buzzes, beats and X-rated chants. Brown announces,"I wanna fuck you right now"; Rihanna ups the ante by turning sex into a power play: "I’m-a make you my bitch." Is it coincidence that Rihanna is the dominatrix, and Brown the submissive who gets crushed beneath her leatherboot heel? The revenge is symbolic, of course. Unfortunately, symbolic victories are the only kind available to Rihanna – and evidently, they’re the kind she cares about most.

Listen To Rihanna Feat. Chris Brown's "Birthday Cake" (Remix):

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“All Along the Watchtower”

Jimi Hendrix got hold of Bob Dylan's early John Wesley Harding tapes and in late 1967 recorded a version of "All Along the Watchtower" with the Experience in London. Dissatisfied with that first development, Hendrix brought those tapes with him to New York in early 1968 when he began work on Electric Ladyland. Eddie Kramer, Hendrix's engineer at the time, told Rolling Stone that Hendrix "was still looked upon by his basically white audience as the mammoth black guitar hero. There was a constant fight within him to expand himself." Hendrix's successful take on Dylan's work has long been recognized by the songwriter. "I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way," Dylan wrote in the liner notes to his Biograph box set. "Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."