Music

Twenty-two-year-old Ne-Yo scored this summer after scribing Mario’s “Let Me Love You,” but Ne-Yo’s own love-longing single “Stay” is far more dynamic: a dance-tempo R&B track lightened by synth twinkles and a melting chorus that conjures thoughts of “Human Nature”-era Michael Jackson. The rap interlude by Peedi Crakk may be…

“Sometimes I hate being in love with a thug,” laments Sharissa, her power croon quavering. Meanwhile, Kells is getting really good with Greek-worthy tragedy, and the heartbreaking dialogue on this ballad is upheld by a Wurlitzer melody and Sharissa’s soul cry: She stands by her man, but she’s terrified of…

On my first day as a freshman in college in the mid-Nineties, I was greeted by the scent of patchouli, offers of LSD, and the sounds of the Grateful Dead. But by sophomore year, it was all Ecstacy, raves, and Josh Wink. It’s a testimony to his talent that producer/DJ…

With the exception of a drowned drummer here and a slain icon there, Lady Death has been holding off on the Beatles and the Rolling Stones’ pact with the Devil for an awfully long time — allowing them to soak up their “living legends” titles while remaining productive (if not…

With a heavy frame and an ever-present wide-eyed expression, international salsa/ Latin pop star La India is not likely to be mistaken for a princess based on looks alone. Yet the Puerto Rico-born, Bronx-raised singer has had little trouble living up to “The Princess of Salsa” tag. As if possessing…

Modernage’s basic sound is hardly original. With influences that include Joy Division, Fugazi, and Gang of Four, the group shares a postpunk-meets-disco template that has been the style du jour for indie rockers over the past three years. At times the band is reminiscent of Spanish New Wave darlings Hombres…

For the last couple of years Hervé Salters has been the secret weapon of Bay Area hip-hop collective Quannum, supplying vintage keyboard sounds for Blackalicious, Lyrics Born, and Lifesavas. Now the French-born, Berkeley-based musician steps out front, releasing a solo album of playful, funky hip-hop, composed entirely with Clavinet, Hammond,…

In this cut’s computer-animated video, a pantless ragga-frog zips across the globe, blurting out “Ding! Ding!” over Harold Faltermeyer’s Eighties classic (a.k.a. the theme from Beverly Hills Cop) at least once every ad break, determined to make the most of his fifteen minutes of fame. His giant eyes suggest either…

Before there was Bobby McFerrin, there was George Krantz, whose beat-wise vocal scatting made his “Din Daa Daa” a massive, enduring club hit of the Eighties that’s instantly recognizable even today. It now forms the basis of this new cut from the Twins and local rapper Pitbull, who all have…

Unlike most of its Brit-rock peers, Franz Ferdinand realizes you need to drop some “You Really Got Me”s before you make a Village Green. The group’s disco-Davies sound hasn’t changed a bit, but cries for evolution seem pedantic in the face of FF’s flirtatious exuberance. And it’s not like the…

Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy has his full shtick in effect here — mainly the same interjections he makes on all of his songs (“yeeeeeah” and “that’s riiiight”). Instead it’s the distinctive tone of guest vocalist Akon, originally from Senegal but now making his home in the ATL, that makes this…

Cole is on her third single from her phenomenal debut album, The Way It Is, and she has asserted herself more with each one. “I Should Have Cheated” is a middle finger to overly jealous and possessive boyfriends who always think their girls are cheating. With all that stress, she…

With the possible exception of Bob Dylan or Mick Jagger, Sir Paul McCartney remains the ultimate rock idol and the world’s most influential living singer/songwriter/musician. Even so, McCartney’s relevance since the demise of the Beatles has been fiercely debated. From his self-titled solo debut to his work throughout the Eighties,…

This gifted Brazilian singer/guitarist takes us on a journey back in time as he draws inspiration from the sounds that came from Bahia in the early Seventies (Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, and Novos Baianos) and deftly mixes them with the retro cool of Fifties bossa nova. On his recently released…

One can look back on the early Nineties Native Tongues hip-hop movement much like one would regard the Miami Heat roster these days: Y’know, ya got Shaq and Dwyane leading the way, and then a bunch of solid, sporadically sensational role players coming in for a while and then departing…

Negroni’s Trio, a local father-son collaboration, delivers a sharp, closely-knit sound that liberally draws from the rich roots of Latin music while keeping an open ear to other jazz influences. The aesthetic is on full display on their recently released CD, Piano/Bass/Drums (Universal Music Latino). On the original “Mavi,” they…

Turntablism — the late-Nineties hip-hop subgenre that showcased technical wizardry behind the ones and twos — was in many ways doomed from the beginning. It was too esoteric, too exclusive, and most turntablists prioritized difficult routines and out-of-print records that impressed only fellow practitioners, not audience members. But Arizona DJ…

Not to grandpa it, but it used to be that you had your emotionally distraught singer/songwriters on the left and your carefree electro/techno denizens on the right. Sure, every once in a while someone like Underworld would shake shit up, but in general it was the narcissist versus the hedonist,…

Scott Herren (a.k.a. Prefuse 73) awoke one morning this past February to find that his new album, Surrounded by Silence, had been leaked to the Internet a full three months before its scheduled release. While this is an increasingly common phenomenon, it didn’t make the pill any easier to swallow…

Being besieged with free promotional CDs would seem like an enviable problem. But in all honestly, it’s oftentimes more of a burden than a benefit. Everything from rain forest music to that Crazy Frog ringtone CD crosses my desk, and while Apollo Kid tries to give everything a shot, most…

)??e on the other end of the phone sounds like that of Alejandro Fernandez — the enfant terrible of Mexican pop — but something seems off. For one, the man comes across as impossibly cheerful, almost content. There are no hints of the short-tempered, egomaniacal star who partied into the…

Dropped by Epic following the disastrously overproduced Love, The Juliana Theory comes out swinging with Deadbeat Sweetheartbeat, an unapologetically white-knuckled take on its trademark emo-punk. Vocalist/songwriter Brett Detar has clearly been listening to his Guns N’ Roses records: Booming drum fills and snarling vocal turns abound. The guitars swarm and…