Tabloid media’s mind-numbing saturation into the national psyche is the grim topic of Tool’s “Vicarious.” Instead of tsk-ing at reality TV or celebrity overexposure, it laments desensitization to violence (particularly when it’s thousands of miles away) and how bloody images grease the wheels to higher ratings. “I need to watch things die/From a good safe […]
The title track from Roberts’ forthcoming sophomore album is a compelling ballad about a woman looking for love yet finding herself alone the morning after, pondering just what she’d done and where she went wrong. The chorus boasts one of the best hook lines to come out of Nashville in a long time: “Men and […]
Donell Jones achieved fleeting success with jazzy 1999 album “Where I Wanna Be,” which included singles “U Know What’s Up” and the oh-so-soulful Kanye West-produced title track (before Kanye was, well, Kanye). But singer/songwriter Jones has never managed to carve a long-lasting niche. “I’m Gonna Be,” the first single from his fourth set, “Journey of […]
Texas-bred rockers Blue October already are scaling modern rock radio with “”Motown Records”Hate Me,” the first single from just-released album “Foiled.” The highly confessional track, making initial inroads at top 40, is rife with despairing, dark imagery (including one particularly visual reference to negative thoughts that “crawl in like a cockroach leaving babies in my […]
Jon Secada, clearly a great talent of the ’90s, proved that he can still deliver (without a major label’s backing) with recent top 15 adult contemporary hit “Window to My Heart.” His second single, “Free,” is a hipper uptempo track, vying, perhaps, to capture a broader audience without alienating those with fan club memberships. The […]
Hot on the heels of top 10 “These Words” and top five “Unwritten,” breakthrough U.K. singer/songwriter Natasha Bedingfield proves she’s got the goods to go three for three. “Single” again dresses up a straightforward melodic pop frame with soulful production and enough hip-hop-leaning gizmos to fit at top 40 radio somewhere between Alicia Keys and […]
The “I Love the ’80s”-inspired New Wave revival continues. Joining the throwback party started by bands like the Killers and the Editors, Los Angeles-based fivesome Rock Kills Kid arrives with early-U2 guitars and a hard-driving dance rhythm. With only two chords, “Paralyzed” recently became one of L.A. station KROQ’s top-requested songs and last week jumped […]
Fort Minor, the side project for Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda, is finally getting liftoff with the third single from debut album “The Rising Tied.” Within two weeks, “Where’d You Go” leaped from No. 88 to No. 42 on the Pop 100 and entered the Billboard Hot 100 and Mainstream Top 40 charts. Shinoda strikes a […]
When listeners first get a taste of the Caribbean-flavored intro to this song, they are likely to think this is another of Kenny Chesney’s tributes to island living. But this little slice of paradise comes from someone who was churning out hits when Chesney was still a kid in East Tennessee. Milsap was one of […]
Train’s previous single, “Cab,” sounded like a sure-fire driver to No. 1 at adult top 40. Its disappointing stall in March at No. 9, in turn, did little to fuel sales of current album “For Me, It’s You,” which debuted at No. 10 and has fallen to the bottom quarter of the Billboard 200. New […]
“Proud” has had quite the journey since its 2000 debut as the title track of Heather Small’s international solo debut. The empowering soulful ballad has been featured in TV spots (health-care provider HealthPartners) and TV shows (”The Biggest Loser”). The song also was used as part of London’s successful bid for the 2012 Olympics. Then, […]
America is finally catching up with U.K. folk-pop heroine KT Tunstall. Already an international hit, her fiery debut single, “Black Horse & the Cherry Tree,” keeps galloping ahead on the Billboard Hot 100. Tunstall’s new effort, “Suddenly I See,” contains fewer “whoo-yeahs” and even more melodic muscle. Over a spare, infectious guitar groove, Tunstall serenades […]
After releasing uptempo party cuts “Pon De Replay” and “SOS,” Barbados-bred Rihanna bares a softer side on her first ballad, “Unfaithful.” Penned by labelmate Ne-Yo, the cut is the second single from upcoming sophomore set “A Girl Like Me.” While Ne-Yo flexes his versatility by writing from a woman’s perspective, Rihanna unlocks those impressive (though […]
Lock up your grandmas, Westlife are back with a thoroughly uplifting number destined to do well this Christmas.
You Raise Me Up is a sort of Bridge Over Troubled Water, with soaring vocals (although not as majestic as the lads from Il Divo) and Celtic riffs that will no doubt bring a tear to the […]
