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11-27-09 Footnotes
Show 209: Our Annual Turkey Shoot, Reviews of Rihanna & Julian Casablancas
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1 It’s entirely possible that two of 2009’s biggest hits will have come from reality TV stars. This week both Susan Boyle from Britain’s Got Talent and Adam Lambert from American Idol have new albums out. While neither singer actually won his or her respective talent competition, both are poised to have huge hit debuts. Boyle has already broken Amazon’s record for most pre-sales, and some sources predict sales in the millions. Lambert shocked some audiences at last week’s American Music Awards, but perhaps the controversial performance, or perhaps because of it, he could sell over 200,000 albums in his first week. Greg admires Lambert’s attempt to break out of the pristine Idol mold, but doesn’t think the record has goes far enough.
2 Every year Jim and Greg celebrate Thanksgiving with the Sound Opinions Turkey Shoot. They take out the year’s biggest musical turkeys—albums from normally great artists that fell flat. Hope you’re hungry…here are 6 turkeys for your feast.
Greg
Neil Young, Fork in the Road
Pains of Being Pure at Heart, S/T
Bruce Springsteen, Working on a Dream
Jim
The Gossip, Music for Men
Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown
Bob Dylan, Christmas in the Heart
Jim and Greg also hand over the rifles to a couple of listeners.
Matt from Pasadena CA
Andrew Bird, Noble Beast
Phillip from Austin TX
Chris Cornell, Scream
3 Jim and Greg review two new albums—are they triumphs or turkeys? First up is Rated R, the 4th album from Rihanna. The pop singer blew up in 2007 with songs like “Umbrella.” But, fame turned to infamy after a violent altercation with former boyfriend Chris Brown. While Brown was being sentenced for felony assault, Rihanna began working on Rated R. The result, for Greg, is surprisingly a record of substance. While Rihanna didn’t write the songs, they are haunting and seem to directly address her abusive relationship. He never expected to say it, but Greg thinks this is one of the best records of the year. Jim agrees. He won’t go so far as to compare the pop star to the towering voices of Mary J. Blige and Aretha Franklin, but Jim thinks Rated R is a record of empowerment. It gets a double Buy It rating.
4 The Strokes debut Is This It was recently named the best album of the decade by NME. Now the band’s lead singer Julian Casablancas has released his first solo record, Phrazes for the Young. This is a left turn for Casablancas, and rightly so, according to Jim and Greg. It wouldn’t have been a good move to try to do a Strokes album without the band. But, none of the experimentation panned out for Jim. He really wanted to like this album, but he actually found another turkey. Greg agrees—the songs just aren’t there. And neither is the tension between a strong rhythm section and Julian’s dream vocals. Phrazes for the Young gets two Trash Its.
Songs Featured in Show #209
Susan Boyle, "I Dreamed a Dream," I Dreamed a Dream, 2009
Susan Boyle, "Daydream Believer," I Dreamed a Dream, 2009
Adam Lambert, "For Your Entertainment," For Your Entertainment, 2009
Ohio Players, "Jive Turkey," Skin Tight, 1974
Neil Young, "Cough Up The Bucks," Fork in the Road, 2009
The Gossip, "Dimestore Diamond," Music for Men, 2009
Pains of Being Pure at Heart, "Gentle Sons," The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, 2009
John Lennon, "Cold Turkey," John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, 1970
Wilco, “The Thanks I Get,” The Thanks I Get, 2007
Andrew Bird, “Natural Disaster,” Noble Beast, 2009
Chris Cornell, “Part of Me,” Scream, 2009
Green Day, “Last Night on Earth,” 21st Century Breakdown, 2009
Bruce Springsteen, “Queen of the Supermarket,” Working on a Dream, 2009
Bob Dylan, “Must Be Santa,” Christmas in the Heart, 2009
Rihanna, "Russian Roulette," Rated R, 2009
Rihanna, "Stupid In Love," Rated R, 2009
Rihanna, "Rockstar 101," Rated R, 2009
Julian Casablancas, "11th Dimension," Phrazes for the Young, 2009
Julian Casablancas, "Ludlow St.," Phrazes for the Young, 2009
Various Artists, "The Prisoner Theme," Sci-Fi's Greatest Hits, 1998
The Andrews Sisters, “The Telephone Song,” Music Lessons with the Andrews Sisters, 2003
Dream Theater, “Pull Me Under,” Images and Words, 1992
James Brown, “Mother Popcorn,” Sex Machine, 1970
Paul Simon, “I Know What I Know,” Graceland, 1986
Them Crooked Vultures, “Elephants,” Them Crooked Vultures, 2009
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