song reviews
Cee-Lo Green
"No One's Gonna Love You"
The Gnarls Barkley belter remains a master of the unexpected on this knockout reinvention of the Band of Horses ballad. Green meets the lyrics' heartbroken drama head-on, transforming country rock into electro R&B and revealing a buried soul classic. | More »
Mavis Staples
"You Are Not Alone"
Jeff Tweedy produces an album by a gospel-soul legend at Wilco's Chicago headquarters and writes her a couple of songs to boot. An odd pairing? Perhaps. But this first taste, a simple soul-folk tune à la Bill Withers' "Lean on Me," driven by acoustic guitar, celesta and piano, is the sweetest Tweedy song in a while. And Staples — a civil-rights-era front-liner who dated Dylan — sounds, at 71, as inspiring as ever. "Isolated and afraid/Open up, this is a raid," she sings. ... | More »
Brandon Flowers
"Crossfire"
In the genius video for the first single from Flowers' solo debut, Charlize Theron rescues him from evil ninjas, showing off her throwingstar chops and flashing him a brilliant, you-are-so-high-maintenance glare before she cuts him free. Sadly, it's wasted on a song that sounds like a Killers B side — standard-issue Boss-meets-Bono dance rock, with Flowers serving up so much meteorological-metaphor fury, you'll want to call FEMA: "Dark clouds roll their way over town/Heartach... | More »
Gucci Mane feat. Trina
"Vampire"
The persistent current popularity of blood-sucking bucks (and the chicks who love them) heads to the 'hood. Bypassing Team Edward and Team Jacob completely, teeth-barred Trina is "not remorsey" as she hops on Team Gucci: "Throw me in a movie/when you see me you salute true blood/ ooh-wee!" In turn, Gucci raps over tolling bells and casket-rattling bass in an appropriately undead rasp: "I believe in vampires/ lil' shorty stay up all night/ trying to build an empire." On that note, ex... | More »
Prince
"Bonus Track #77"
Having declared the Internet "over," Prince is releasing his new disc by giving it away in copies of European newspapers and magazines, such as Rolling Stone's German edition and Belgium's enticingly named Het Nieuwsblad. Sadly, 20Ten is all blad and no nieuws, wanly recapitulating Purple Rain's funk-rock sound while replacing its great theme (fucking) with windy lyrics about universal wisdom. Fitting the offbeat marketing plan, the best song is a hidden track, "Laydown," ... | More »
Trey Songz feat. Amerie
"Let's Chill"
This sparkly slow jam literally starts in the club: It's late and Amerie is ready to call it a night. But then she spots club-weary crooner Trey Songz, who offers the leggy songbird his immodest lullaby: "Rockabye baby when the beat drop/ don't let your friends know we about to creep off." When that beat drops and desire goes boom, Amerie and Trey soar, showing that like Donnie Hathaway and Roberta Flack before them, the pair have some serious harmony. | More »
KT Tunstall
"Push That Knot Away"
On the first single from her third studio LP Tiger Suit, the Scottish songstress ditches coffee-shop-flavored folk for a big dose of booming beats, electro textures and fuzzed-out bass. It's nice to hear Tunstall stepping out of her comfort zone: "Push That Knot Away" is a rousing, foot-stomping anthem that, while not as earworm-y as her breakout song 'Black Horse and the Cherry Tree,' would easily get a crowd of drunks riled up at the pub. But lyrically, Tunstall is still mire... | More »
!!!
"AM/FM"
On their first single from their new LP Strange Weather, Isn't It?, the Brooklyn dance-rockers (who pronounce their name "chk chk chk") deliver a fat slice of funk that has all the sleaze and residue of a '70s New York disco. You can hear the porn-star mustache on "AM/FM," from the chubby bassline to the ditzy backup vocals. Singer Nic Offer's vocals barely cut through the mix — his lyrics are too dunked in reverb. But this song is more about the groove than the lyrics. As it... | More »
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