song reviews
Eddie Vedder
"Better Days"
This spare slow-burner had Pearl Jam scholars wondering whether it was a Riot Act or Backspacer outtake. Turns out it's Vedder's contribution to the Eat Pray Love soundtrack, though it would have been a quiet standout on any recent PJ album. | More »
The Situation
"The Situation"
And you thought Pauly D would be the first Jersey Shore star to rap. Sorry, Pauly — the Situation pulled the robbery! Sitch raps with DJ Class, Fatman Scoop and the Disco Fries, complete with the party chant "Whoa, we got a Situation." It probably sounds fine when you're beating the floor at Bamboo in your "I Heart House Music" t-shirt — especially after a jug of Ron Ron Juice. | More »
Drake feat. Jay-Z and Lil Wayne
"Light Up (Rikers Remix)"
A song about how hard it is to keep the world partying when you feel like dying inside, 'Light Up' was already one of the more poignant tracks on Drake's Thank Me Later. Jay-Z's cameo was note-perfect ('I'm not as cool with niggas as I once was'). But this remix cranks the pathos to 11 with a verse from Lil Wayne — delivered over the phone from freakin' Rikers Island. (Is this how he used his one phone call? Talk about true to the game!) Reception in ... | More »
Kanye West feat. Dwele
"Power"
After you've sampled Can and compared yourself to Maya Angelou, how do you reach new heights of left-field craziness? How about rapping over King Crimson's paranoid prog jam "21st Century Schizoid Man"? Kanye's best single since "Stronger" rides a torrid whipsaw beat, as he takes on his spelunking media image, pinballing from self-aware ("I'm an asshole") to defiant ("Kiss my asshole"). The sentiment is classic Kanye, but he hasn't melted down this brilliantly in a lo... | More »
Arcade Fire
"The Suburbs/Month of May"
"2009, 2010/Wanna make a record how I felt then," sings Win Butler on "Month of May." As usual, the Arcade Fire frontman is feeling a lot. Childhood nostalgia, suburban ennui, parenthood, war, death — these are just some of the themes crammed into the songs on Arcade Fire's fabulous new double-sided 12-inch single. "The Suburbs" is a piano-fueled shuffle that starts dreamy and then turns vaguely paranoid as it looks back at a teenage wasteland with longing and amusement: "You always se... | More »
Ne-Yo
"Beautiful Monster"
There's a problem with Ne-Yo's girlfriend. "You're a knife, sharp and deadly," he sings. In lieu of couples therapy, superproducers Stargate lend a jittery Euro-house beat. It's more goofy than scary, but Ne-Yo's so amiable you root for him — to find a nicer gal, at least. | More »
Perfume Genius
"Mr. Peterson"
On this ballad, Seattle newcomer Mike Hadreas conjures Morrissey as a haunted teen. "He made me a tape of Joy Division," Hadreas mewls, sketching a suicidal pedophile. Gus Van Sant: Your music supervisor needs to check this kid out. | More »
M.I.A.
"I'm A Singer"
Because tweeting the cell number of Lynn Hirschberg, the reporter responsible for an unflattering New York Times Magazine profile on her, wasn't enough revenge, M.I.A. released this dis track. Over murky electro, she calls out writers and Hirschberg in particular: "Journalists be thick as shit. . . . You're a racist, I wouldn't trust you one bit." "Singer" is bland as music, and though M.I.A. has a right to be miffed, it's less interesting than the raw audio about those tr... | More »
Music Reviews
-
star ratingYeezus -
star ratingBorn Sinner -
star ratingKveikur
-
star ratingWatching Movies With the Sound Off -
star ratingOmens -
star ratingWalking on Air
Photos & Videos
We may use your e-mail address to send you the newsletter and offers that may interest you, on behalf of Rolling Stone and its partners. For more information please read our Privacy Policy.
