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Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Opinion / Jeff Hahne / News Groundation vs. Fergie
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Wed, Sep 23, 2009 at 3:56 PM
The band Groundation is suing Fergie, stating that her song "Voodoo Doll" stole it's music from the Groundation song "Waterfall."
Sounds like the same thing to me. What do you think?
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Opinion / Mike McCray / News Please don't rap in commercials
Posted By Mike McCray on Wed, Sep 23, 2009 at 10:36 AM
You thought it died in the early '90s.
I mean after The Fresh Prince pimped Sprite and MC Hammer pushed some popcorn chicken, you thought it was the beginning of the end and you were right. Consumers were on "hip-hop" overload, with even the most un-hip-hop products like Barbie, Lego's and Chef Boyardee getting generic rhymes and breakdancing from suburban white kids.
I mean, the movie Kazaam alone should have been the nail in the coffin on that whole street smart, dress tough, white kid rapping thing, right?
Apparently that movement just took a Gatorade break to get everything straight and returned with what is probably the worse 60 seconds of rapping since any 60-second interval of Rodney Dangerfield's rap album.
Education Connection's rap commercial featuring the girl who "works for an hourly wage" and "went to high school, didn't do great" is probably the most cringe worthy thing on TV.
Opinion / Jason Younger / News Jay-Z > Elvis?
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Wed, Sep 23, 2009 at 10:23 AM
If someone were to ask you which solo artist holds the record for most number-one albums of all time, who would you say? Before you answer, make sure you understand the question – solo artist - not group. Based on number-one albums — not total album sales, number-one songs, etc. Who would you guess? Nope. Not Elvis. At least not anymore. With last week’s The Blueprint: Vol. 3 reaching number-one status on the Billboard chart, the answer is perennial rapper/hip-hop artist Jay-Z.
Now, let’s be clear. This is not an attempt to say Jay-Z is better than Elvis, just something I find extremely interesting. Perhaps even more so, is the fact that with his new album, Jay is now number two all-time (group or solo) behind only The Beatles. That’s right. The top 3:
1. The Beatles – 19 number-one albums
2. Jay-Z – 11
3. Elvis – 10
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
New Releases / News This week's new releases (9/22/2009)
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Here's a quick rundown of some of this week's new releases:
Harry Connick Jr. Your Songs
Five Finger Death Punch War is the Answer
Sean Kingston Tomorrow
Diana Krall Quiet Nights
Mika The Boy Who Knew Too Much
Monsters of Folk Monsters of Folk
Noisettes Wild Young Hearts
Plastic Ono Band Between My Head & The Sky
Skindred Shark Bites and Dog Fights
They Might Be Giants Here Comes Science
Three Days Grace Life Starts Now
Rufus Wainwright Milwaukee at Last!
Opinion / Mike McCray / News Retiring the summer hip-hop anthems of 2009
Posted By Mike McCray on Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 9:47 AM
With today marking the end of summer and the first day of fall, it's time for Charlotte to say goodbye to its summer anthems. You've heard them blasted in every club and out the windows of every Chevy on rims since May. Now we can we cozy up to tracks and albums that are a little less party and a little more hip-hop. (Apologies in advance for the woman's anthems that were most likely overlooked on this post, lol)
Drake Feat. Lil Wayne & Young Money - "Every Girl"
Admit it, after a couple drinks, you sang along and if you're like me you probably pointed! But when you think of the shear logic of wanting to fuck every girl in the world, you're probably kinda disgusted. Seriously, think of what that encompasses.
Mario Feat. Gucci Mane - "Break Up"
I literally just got this joint stuck in my head by typing it! Uugh! Gucci was everywhere this summer. I mean who would have thought the man behind "Shirt Off" and "Bricks" would end up on tracks with Mariah Carey, Wale and this joint with Mario. As much as you want to hate the guy, you love him.
Drake - "Best I Ever Had"
Yeah, the Kanye-directed video flop made it lose some steam, but before that it was hard to go an hour without hearing it as someone's ringtone or in a clothing store. Wheelchair Jimmy managed to get girls to really believe we (dudes) thought they were at their prettiest when they rocked sweatpants, with their hair tied up and no make-up on. I'm all for low-key but damn.
Kid Cudi Feat. Kanye West & Common - "Make Her Say (Poker Face)"
They managed to flip Lady Gaga and make a summer banger and created my favorite line of the summer, "Hold up! Born in '88? How old is that? Old enough!"
Dorrough - "Ice Cream Paint Job"
Cream on the inside! Clean on the outside! When you were "rollin' like a big shot" this summer, chances were this song came on multiple times.
Jay-Z - "D.O.A."
It was most hip-hop heads' middle finger to the radio and the summer anthem for those against the current incarnation of rap music, which was funny considering Jay-Z is about as mainstream as you can get. How can you illustrate the impact of this track? It was released just a day before his Hot 97 Super Jam performance and when he hit the stage to perform it, the crowd knew all the words.
Monday, September 21, 2009
News / Mike McCray The three minutes I believed Prince was dead
Posted By Mike McCray on Mon, Sep 21, 2009 at 10:15 AM
There has to be a university study somewhere that says alcohol makes you believe anything, right?
Because Thursday night, there was enough of it in me to believe some random guy with hipster clothes on was as trustworthy as MTV News.
Like most Thursday nights, I decided to bounce around Plaza-Midwood and take advantage of the beautiful green driver's license which I like to call, the "all-access pass."
The problem with the intoxication that "all-access pass" allows is that when drunk people start talking, just about anything sounds plausible.
Sitting on the patio at Common Market, a Michael Jackson song came on, making one drunk guy say, "Why are they playing this when Prince is the one who died today?"
Friday, September 18, 2009
Concert Announcement / News Concert announcement: The Mars Volta
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Fri, Sep 18, 2009 at 4:57 PM
The Mars Volta will perform at The Fillmore Charlotte on Oct. 22. Tickets go on sale on Sept. 25.
On TV / Awards / Opinion / Jeff Hahne / News Too much for TV?
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Fri, Sep 18, 2009 at 3:08 PM
Apparently, some people are upset (read the comments on this blog) about Shakira's performance the other night on "America's Got Talent." The Colombian singer's lip synching wasn't the most offensive part of it, either.
Nope, people weren't happy about her ass shaking (1:37) and speaker humping (2:40). Personally, I'm more offended that people were watching "America's Got Talent" in the first place.
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Regardless, Lady Gaga's outfits are a lot more scandalous — she prances around without pants on a regular basis. Get your complaints straight when it comes to Top 40 female singers.
10-in-10 CD Reviews / News 10-in-10 reviews
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Fri, Sep 18, 2009 at 12:28 PM
Each Friday, we bring you 10 CD reviews done in 10 words each:
Nitin Sawhney Biography — Guitarist/DJ gets help from plenty of guests, including McCartney.
Shadows Fall Retribution — Ten tracks of thrash! Argh! Screaming! Argh! Heavy metal! Argh!
Ricky Skaggs Songs My Dad Loved — Tastes of bluegrass on award-winner’s first true solo album.
Livan Happy Returns — English pop-rocker sounds like Midnight Oil with pop edge.
Band of Heathens One Foot in the Ether — Self-released successful Americana band with hints of country, blues.
Anvil This is Thirteen — Canadian no-joke metal band’s album re-released with bonus track.
Michael Ford Jr and the Apache Relay 1988 — Debut features guest spots by Joe Kwon, Jessica Lea Mayfield.
As Tall As Lions You Can’t Take It With You — Band’s third album sounds a bit like their tourmates, MuteMath.
Honor Society Fashionably Late — G-rated pop band is adored by Jonas Brothers fans.
Something to Burn Transitions — Rock band’s singer’s voice sounds like pained whisper at times.
Concert Announcement / News Get outta town: Goodie Mob reunion in Atlanta this Sat.
Posted By Carlton Hargro on Fri, Sep 18, 2009 at 10:22 AM
In the mood for a road trip this weekend? If so, I'd suggest hopping in your car and making the short drive (at the most, 4 hours away) to Atlanta to witness the historic reunion of Goodie Mob.
For the uninitiated, Goodie Mob is one of the South's most influential hip-hop groups. Born and bred in the ATL, the group consists of members Khujo (Willie Knighton, Jr.), T-Mo Goodie (Robert Barnett), Big Gipp (Cameron Gipp) and Cee-Lo (Thomas Callaway) — who many may know as one half of the acclaimed band Gnarls Barkley (see members in above photo by Joeff Davis).
But before Cee-Lo hit the mainstream with Gnarls, he was down with Goodie Mob, cranking out conscious tunes with a Southern twist like "Soul Food," "Cell Therapy" and "Black Ice," among many other classics.
The group hasn't officially been back together since 2002 — although they did a few surprise, one-off shows here and there over the years — so the show in Atlanta this weekend is a rare treat. Also, this is the "A" we're talking about, where many celebs dwell, so expect to see some surprise guests.
For more on the show and the reunion, check out a big feature on the Atlanta edition of Creative Loafing's site.
Details: $40. 7 p.m. Sat., Sept. 19. Masquerade Music Park, 695 North Ave. Atlanta, Ga. 404-577-8178. masq.com.
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Rain doesn't dampen the party with Kesha and Macklemore
Both sets cut short as storms roll through Charlotte, N.C.
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Live review: Fiona Apple, The Fillmore (9/26/2012) 16
Fans ate it up, but it was a trainwreck of tragic and frustrating proportions.
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Frank Ocean tops Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll
Annual critics list creates requisite buzz
