New Music Tuesday with Coldplay, The White Stripes, and Paul Anka!?!
jamie on June 7th, 2005
First, a rant…
I tried iTunes for a while, but it kept crashing my computer, worked when it wnated to, and cost me a fortune. So I joined Napster, which was better, but still had problems. Next cam Rhapsody…and I was in love. But last Friday Rhapsody started bugging out on my work computer. So, after emailing support (there is NO telephone support, which for a service is bullshit), I reinstalled Rhapsody- only to find that the Beta version is the only currently available version for installation. The Beta version uses a new user interface (presumably made to resemble iTunes- only mostly black) which is graphics-intesive (read: eats up memory, slows things down) and poorly organized. They try to add album suggestions, which would be a good idea if the algorhythm they used didn’t suggest things like Avril Lavigne. What in my listening history mkaes them think I’d want to listen to Avril Lavigne? It’s just wasting valuable appication desktop space. Anyways, if anybody from Rhapsody’s listening (I doubt they are): Beta3 sucks ass, go back to the old version- Rhapsody is a music service, so there’s not much use for flashy graphics and confusing user interfaces that don’t add anything to the listening experience. Rant over.
Okay, today is Tuesday, and as such there are new albums available for the world to consume ravenously. Albums like Get Behind Me Satan (read below) from the White Stripes - forever on to be known as GBMS. The year’s most awaited (and over-hyped) album is X&Y from Coldplay. Those Brit Dreamy-pop-rockers churned out another masterpiece lithium-replacement for all those who are tired of music that actually makes you feel something. Yes, I know it’s a completely non-objective thing to write about Coldplay, but with few exceptions (those really overplayed singles Yellowand The Scientist) just give me the blahs. It’s good background music, for hte most part. Likewise, X&Y will have it’s share of singles that will get used in trailers for HBO dramas. Speed Of Sound has already been force-fed to use via every radio format that doesn’t include hourly updates on Brit and Kev’s marital status (and some that do). If the US takes the UK’s cue, Fix You will most likely be the next single. starts with Chris Martin singing in a crumbly falsetto that waivers in and out of tune (what is it with singing badly on albums these days- Jack White does it frequently on GBMS, and now Martin follows. If this continues, we all may as well start listening to Yodellers). After the band joins him, Fix Youactually becomes a nice song, but by then, it’s nearly over. Fix You is track number 4- after that, my brain lapsed into a coma, and the rest of the album pretty much floated by in my sub-conscience…
In realms of non-coma-inducing music, there are two natable releases today for anyone who hasn’t been swept up by the X&Yhype…
Missy Higgins - The Sound Of White
The Australian version of this album has been available in some places in the US (mostly in the “import” bins) for a while, but this is the US release that will (hopefully) put her in the spotlight here- as she is so deserving. In her native Australia, Higgins is a platinum-selling artist- her single Scar (co-written by Better Than Ezra’s Kevin Griffin) debuted at #1 on the Australian single charts, and spent ten weeks in that position. In the US, the The Sound Of White has already had exposure through the use of All For Believing to promote the NBC mini-series Revelations (which was a flop, but it got the song in the heads of millions). Highlights of The Sound Of White are Scar, Ten Days, The Special Two and All For Believing, but the whole album is gold.
Raul Midon - State Of Mind
Another amazingly talented artist being shunned by the Coldplay hype this week is Raul Midon. Live, Midon plays guitar with such an amazing touch- filling in gaps usually left empty by a solo singer/songwriter. On record, he’s equally amazing. Adding to the effect are guest appearances by Stevie Wonder and Jason Mraz. I’m already head over heals for the Midon/Mraz duet Keep On Hoping. If you’ve tired of being put to sleep by X&Y, give Midon a try.
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