Curtis Peoples is part of a genre known as “coffee shop arena rock.” What does that mean? Not sure exactly but if one had to describe Peoples’ music, it would probably be acoustic pop. What makes Peoples stand out amidst a sea of singer/songwriters? That’s easy. Peoples keeps his music simple and easy to relate to, making it easy for one to listen to him while they’re doing chores or driving around town.
Via his website, Peoples “incorporates the radio-friendly and inspiring sounds of U2 and Bon Jovi as well as the rhythmic folk of John Mayer and Jason Mraz into his songs resulting in his own unique musical fingerprint.” That unique fingerprint brought along a slew of opportunities just months after making his way into the Los Angeles music scene. His good friend (who just happens to be Tyler Hilton) invited Peoples out for a couple of tour dates, which gave him the exposure he...
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Let’s get something straight right out of the gate: I love Sugarland. I love just about everything about them and everything they do. This new CD/DVD package
Live on the Inside is no exception. The CD gives us 10 live tracks while the DVD showcases their concert appearance at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY.
Beginning with the richly coalescing track “Love” and winding down with the heart-wrenching poignancy of “Stay,” the audio half of this set is inspiring. The songs in between those bookends cover a wide range of musical styles, for you see most of the songs are live recordings of cover songs; songs they play on a regular basis at the shows. The variety of artists they cover shows the range of influences this duo has and how they view the musical landscape. There are outstanding covers of Pearl Jam's "Better Man", and R.E.M's "The One I Love" with the Kings of...
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The Backstreet Boys kick off their seventh studio album
This Is Us with their first single
Straight Through My Heart. The single is a reintroduction of sorts for the foursome. Member AJ McLean describes the single as, “it’s Backstreet Boys. It's dance, it's pop, it's urban, it's current, it's fresh, it's new.”
He’s not lying. Between the metaphorical lyrics about a femme fatale and the beat you can’t help but move your body to, the Backstreet Boys show a side of themselves that no one has seen before, not even veteran fans. Hailed to be on the softer side of the pop music genre, this new sound makes a statement about perseverance and longevity (and just plain great music). Written and produced by the man behind Lady GaGa (named RedOne),
Straight Through My Heart is an impeccably smart choice for a first single into a new sound.
It’s hard not to imagine the airwaves loving this extremely...
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Erin McCarley’s debut album,
Love, Save the Empty showcases a songwriting talent and vocalist still finding comfort in herself. McCarley’s voice doesn’t seem to possess a lot of range, but it possesses emotion, something those with range cannot quite seem to grasp.
The first song and single,
Pony (It’s Ok) is a delectable story of encouragement and passion. The song got exposure as part of iTunes’ Free Single of the Week and was received with mostly positive reviews. The melody is catchy and the lyrics are sweet, giving the listener a preview as to what the rest of the album will sound like.
Blue Suitcase is a slightly misleading song. The whimsical opening chords prepare the listener for a fun, sassy song but the opening lyrics, “Oh wise one if you knew the answer, why’d you ask the question,” immediately let the listener know that it’s a rhetorical song about goodbyes. The mid-tempo beat sets the pace...
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The album should look familiar - That's Robyn. She had a couple huge pop hits in the 90s, "Do you know what it takes?" and "Show Me Love". She put out one more album in 2002 before she left to go back home to Sweden in 2003 due to creative differences with her then label, Jive Records.
Robyn had this to say about her 3rd album on Jive Records:
“I think the third record I made was a big compromise,” she says. “I felt like it wasn’t fun anymore. Once you make the record and you give it to the record company, it’s not your record anymore! And I hated that situation. “I was going backwards. I wasn’t doing what I wanted to.”
[caption id="attachment_970" align="alignleft" width="221" caption="Robyn now"][/caption]
She then bought herself off of her label and started her own label,
Konichiwa Records. Her fourth album,
Robyn was the first album...
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Hello everyone and thank you for the support thus far. We just wanted to let you know about some new features and plans we have for the magazine.
First, a new column of sorts is in the works where we look at original songs and some of the major covers and ask the visitors which they prefer.
New editions of the
The Very Best Of and
Whatever Happened To....
And as always, more articles, interviews and reviews! If there is something you'd like to see, please don't hesitate to use the
contact form and let us know. We'd love to hear from you!
-...
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Let's rewind: It's 2002 again, two years post-Y2K, too much time spent tangoing with boy bands and pop princesses.
Enter Avril Lavigne: Blonde (but make no mistake), bratty, and unabashedly filled to the brim of her Dickies cutoffs with her catchy, more-pop-than-punk melodies. "Complicated," Lavigne's debut single, which climbed to number two on the U.S. charts, undoubtedly remains her commercial centerpiece. Yet even the most memorable musicians (or poseurs, as Lavigne's critics might insist) need a support system.
Enter Evan Taubenfeld: Lavigne's part-time singing partner & full-time guitarist. Similarly posed and coiffed, the pair were the picture of pop perfection—with one minor exception.
Pre-frame, a young Lavigne listened and lip-synced to the likes of the Goo Goo Dolls; Taubenfeld fronted bands like Baltimore-based rock outfit, Spinfire, prepping himself for Berklee, Boston's leading music conservatory.
It's with this center-stage penchant that Taubenfeld welcomes us to The Blacklist Club, the name of his former band, current fan club, and (obvious) inspiration...
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Only You Can Love Me This Way is the third single off of Urban's 2009 album,
Defying Gravity and his first single since 2007 that hasn't been at the very least mid-tempo. He previously released
You Look Good in my Shirt,
Sweet Thing,
Kiss a Girl, and of course,
Start a Band (with Brad Paisley)a. It's nice to hear Urban pour his heart into a ballad since it has been so long.
The emotion is real and raw but the lyrics are nothing spectacular, just predictable. He sings on the chorus: You're always in my heart/ Always on my mind / When it all becomes too much / You're never far behind / And there's no one that comes close to you / Could ever take your place / Cuz only you can love me this way.
The good news is, it's very radio friendly, very relatable and should do very...
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This song had big shoes to fill coming on the heels of their debut smash,
Chicken Fried and a similarly successful
Whatever It Is. They sing that life is good today because they have toes in the water and ass in the sand. They left GA to go a little farther South (and West) and enjoy the sun and pretty Senoritas in Mexico.
It follows
Chicken Fried with its simple lyrics and singing about loving life. There's nothing too deep with this song but it's fun, catchy, and the band sounds like they had a great time recording it. While this song will undoubtedly be another anthem type song for the band, it's reminiscent of spring break and one can't help but wonder why it wasn't released around then to cash in on that market. ...
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Brad Paisley has been on fire. He has had
ten #1 songs in a row and
Welcome to the Future should follow suit. In today's world, you can't help but love a song that talks about the old days when things were a bit simpler and technology didn't rule the day.
It succeeded in making me think about the days when I also just longed to watch a movie on a long trip and I imagine I am not the only one. It also makes you wonder where we will be in ten years and what technology that seems amazing now will just be common in that time.
But it's not just about technology, the song even talks about racial discrimination and how far we've come while mentioning Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr as he sings From a woman on a bus/ to a man with a dream / Hey wake...
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We reviewed their EP Sing What You Want in February and wanted to follow up with The Ugly Club. The band hails from Jersey and is comprised of six members. Their influences are... Read More »
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