Endorsements

I had one of those beautiful moments a few weeks ago where it seemed like every new piece of music I listened to I loved. And I listened and listened and meant to write and then didn't, and now the shit is old news in Internet time and it's getting ready to be replaced by a new batch in my rotation. It's sad whenever the kind of permanent transience that defines my listening habits is spelled out like that, but hey, it's how I live. And love.

Anyway, I've got something to say! (About some albums and singles and shit.) Before they're totally irrelevant (i.e. two weeks old)...

I would be so frustrated right now if I were Amerie. With the help of producer Wiz the Buchanan, she created "Why R U," a calculus problem of a pop song that starts at the same time in two different directions (the explosive agitation we expect from her, and a new old-school hip-hop soul angle courtesy of a sample from Ultramagnetic MCs' "Ego Tripping" and so much more), and meets in a place that apparently only makes sense in her head, if the song's poor performance on any chart is an indication. This song, like the rest of In Love & War, save two tracks (the drab "The Flowers" and the "We Belong Together" rewrite "Dear John"), is fucking brilliant. At this point, the retreads of "1 Thing" that she's so fond of doing (the first five tracks fall under this umbrella) feel more like the cultivation of a style (frenetic retroism) than a desperate clinging to the past. (In retrospect, the fact that "1 Thing" was so huge was a happy accident -- in the scheme of R&B this decade, it was a sonic fluke.) The more straightforward R&B cuts that round out the album are arguably even better. "Pretty Brown" borrows heavily from Mint Condition's 90's classic "Breakin' My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)" (as full-band R&B, this was a "1 Thing"-like commercial fluke, come to think of it), but it only uses a few weird bits of its source, so that it seems more like a re-edit than a remake. "Different People" is the kind of grimy heartache that inhabited Mary J. Blige's My Life. Don't even get me started on "Swag Back," which braids Southern 808 flourishes with keyboards Whitesnake would covet and a main beat that shuffles like Siouxsie & the Banshees' "Kiss Them for Me." Mind-blowing.

Not that any of it matters from a commercial perspective. This will be ignored by radio and the few people left who buy CD. It's frustrating because Amerie displays her work ethic with every yelp, grunt and lift-off into the inevitably effervescent chorus. She is a powerhouse by trade. On her last album, she informed us, "I do it 'cause I love it." Let's hope that love never dies, because really, it's all she's got.

Alongside Amerie and Electrik Red's How To Be a Lady, Vol. 1, in my Top 3 R&B albums of the year (or probably Top 3 albums of the year, period), is Ryan Leslie's sophomore solo disc, Transition. His first album did little for me: it seemed more fixated on its lo-fi aesthetic than interested in presenting a coherent musical statement. Transition sounds more balanced, as it's an album that is brimming with electrifying production ("Zodiac" is straight boogie) and indelible tunes, alike. There's something a little more grown about Leslie's approach than the average R&B manchild who thinks he invented sex. Transition feels intimate, confessional and "real," but with a current running through it. It's like neo-neo soul: Transition imagines what would happen if the synth came along and shook things up all over again. It's almost too perfect for me to go on and on about, but just know that you need the "Deluxe Edition" of this thing to get the full effect. Without it, you're missing out on the best "Gotta Get You Home Tonight" tribute ("Rescue U") this side of BLACKstreet.

 

If you need any more proof that pop music is all about context, check out Alpahbeat's sophomore album The Spell, which presents a multi-song thesis on the coolness of '90s Eurohouse a la Black Box, Snap, Captain Hollywood Project, etc. How many Danes does it take to make music that sounds like the work of robots in JNCOs? Six, apparently, and I don't know if this act has become a Kraftwerkian performance art outfit, in which everyone gets a button to push, or what, but it doesn't really matter. What's funny is that this giant group of people makes music that falls just short of mimicking its retro source, the same way that said source aspired to disco-, Chicago- and Detroit-rooted sounds in the '90s and ended up making failing a key part of its aesthetic. Well, failing and those ridiculous drum rolls, which are on The Spell, too, just in a way that sounds...kind of off, of course. Regardless: there's plenty of fun to be had here, even if training one's gaze on the mid-'90s as a source retro-coolness is entirely obvious (we're just moving forward along a time line that's 15 years behind). Yeah, it's that time, but whatever: Alphabeat got there first.

And now, some single sentences on some recent singles:

Alicia Keys "Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart" - Success: Alicia finally admits that she's trying to put us to sleep.

Rihanna "Russian Roulette" - The definition of a let-down: a metaphor loaded with blanks.

Lady GaGa "Bad Romance" - My favorite power ballad since "It's All Coming Back to Me Now," but this has an edge since it's also disco.

Leighton Meester featuring Robin Thicke "Somebody to Love" - Sounds like a parody of the Euro trash lifestyle and its accompanying music, but I think it's sincere, and in any event, perfect.

Comments

[Raf]

PLEASE elaborate your opinion about Lady Gaga...I need to know because there is just so much...is she a genius? Is she taking us for a ride? What is true? What is satire?

Your angle would make my life.

[Colin]

I am really not a fan of R&B, but I have always liked Amerie, and I always thought it was a shame she wasn't more popular than some of the people I find to have no personality or quality music, i.e. Keri Hilson.

I guess its also terrible that I had no idea this album was coming out. In any event, thanks for that.

[Jackie]

THANK YOU so much for reminding me of the original "Pretty Brown Eyes"!

[Ian]

OMG i was hoping you would write about Amerie. "Higher" has been the one for the past week. I selfishly want you to do another write up of Lady Gaga, so much has changed since you last wrote about her!

[Vanessa]

It's All Coming Back to Me Now is also my favorite power ballad, and only Celine song I can stomach. Putting Bad Romance in the context of a power ballad, brilliant.

[emily]

when i read "i've got something to say!" at the beginning of this post, i imagined jerri blank screaming it and waving her arms in the air, about to bestow some wisdom upon me. i really hope that is how it was intended.

[Wookie]

I want Amerie to record a remix called, "Why R U (Taking My Budget, Def Jam & Rihanna?!?)"

[Aaron]

I had never heard of Alphabeat before this post and now I'm hooked. Thank you!

[vajayjay]

I like everything I have heard by Leighton Meester so far but I, like, LOVE "Somebody To Love".

[KyvtheDyv]

Rich = dopeness!!
With that being said, I love Amerie. Her first album All I Have" is a cult classic (well at least in my mind it is). It was the perfect blend of R&B and Soul. Her second album, a drastic departure from her first album, was louder, and waaay more busy than her first, but I didn't hate it b/c it was completely different from what was out at the time. I hope "1 Thing" isn't the standard that she is being held to, b/c that would be a shame (like "Milkshake" being the epitome of Kelis's work.)
I agree with you on Ryan Leslie's frist album. Aside from a few gems, the songs started to sound the same and the lyrical content was bland. I do think that he is very talented and I am anxious to hear his sophmore effort!!! Thanks for the heads up!!

I would love to read your thoughts on BBD's (Bell Biv Devoe) influence on modern R&B. Do you think they are the pioneers of the union of R&B, Hip-Hop and Pop???

[Jan]

Great post! I discovered Electrik Red when you mentioned them and I'M LOVING IT since then. Keep writing about music you like, it seems we have the same taste ;)

Cheers!

[Jan]

Forgot to tell, nice Almodovar banner. I just saw the movie yesterday and recognized the hands :). Kiss

[Golden J]

I agree with all your comments re: the singles and the Amerie album. And I'll be checking out the Ryan Leslie and Alphabeat discs.

Question: have you heard Rihanna's "Wait Your Turn" - I think it's fairly earth-shattering and should have been her official lead single. It feels like a force of nature, and hey, it's dubstep!

[Chaka Kahn]

I always pay attention to Amerie and her last album reeeallly disappointed me. I couldn't have disagreed w/ your review more. I thought it was a collection of crappy songs that made 0 sense together; they may as well have been ordered alphabetically.

I'm gonna give you another chance b/c u and I r totes on the same page re: Alicia Keys and La Roux.

[James]

Amerie's latest album will be overlooked and it's a shame, especially cuz it has one of the greatest slow jams I've heard in a while. "Red Eye" is a honey of a song. "Fly with meeeeeeee"

[ed hardy]

I really like this article and have enjoyed reading. Nice article, love the post.

[Paloma]

Amerie can't sing. Neither can Rihanna, but two wrongs don't make a right. I will never support her "music."