Pork here with Listen Up! AKA New Music Tuesday for October 28, 2008.

P!nk’s Funhouse is open and I’ve spent much of the past week inside of it. The Cure is reawakened with 4:13 Dream and John Legend continues to Evolve. Lady Gaga is finally served up in the U.S. and Bloc Party get intimate.

I would’ve liked to have reviewed the new album by Bloc Party, Intimacy, but we’re just a new, little site and I don’t have labels throwing new releases at me to listen to. Maybe that will change someday, but for now settle for the cover art, which is ever so romantic.





Listen Up! AKA New Music Tuesday is going in deep this week. Track-by-track deep. P!nk is back! She’s still not dead, but man is she ever hurting! After repeated visits to the Funhouse, I’ve emerged with this report of sure grammatical malfunctions and even some f.t.w.s (first time words), but I’m a believer that you have to create at least one word a day or the English language is dead. Dead I tell you! That being said . . . here’s a bit of decoding from the top: Fun = Sad, House = Heart. You need look no further than the lyrics to the title track to see P!nk is getting a different kind of party started: “This used to be our funhouse, but now it’s full of evil clowns . . . I’d rather live out on the street than in this haunted memory.” Oooooooh. I LOVE heartbreak albums!

“So What” offers a wagon’s worth of bravado as P!nk struts through this defiant, fists-in-the-air anthem for everyone needing to claim their inner rock star. The lead single and album opener became the first No. 1 single of P!nk’s career and after repeated listens it heftily attaches itself to the brain thanks to its sing-alongability (f.t.w. #1) and top-notch production by Max Martin. This was a no-brainer, across the board smash . . . right down to the “na na na na na na na”s.

Read the track-by-track review of Funhouse and check out all the new music releases for today October 28th, 2008 after the jump.

In this Funhouse is a rollercoaster, and it takes you from one of the few highs of “So What” to the numerous lows heard early on in the “Why do I feel this party’s over?” of “Sober.” Bitterness has entered and makes its presence felt immediately. Truth be told, however, it’s not P!nk at her best. “Sober” also happened to be the name of the massively overlooked second single from Kelly Clarkson’s last album, My December, and although this is not a cover of that gripping tune, P!nk still seems to be pulling her best Kelly Clarkson impersonation on this mid-tempo chugger that easily would fit into the Clarkson Songbook. This is a surprisingly tame production from Danja, better known for his groundbreaking hits for Nelly Furtado (“Promiscuous” and “Say It Right”), Madonna (“4 Minutes”), Britney Spears (“Gimme More”), and Mariah Carey (“Migrate”). The thick layers of swirling hip-hop beats and string loops are replaced with slick, semi-rock production that seems not only anchored, but weighed down, by a chunky chorus that is catchy enough to remember, but perhaps not worthy.

A truer view of this Funhouse is visible in the next 4 song titles alone: “I Don’t Believe You” (a wilting and woozy, string-laden plea to not have to accept a heartbreak . . . quite pretty actually), “One Foot Wrong” (a bluesy and nervous track that opens with “Am I sweating? Or are these tears on my face? Should I be hungry? I can’t remember the last time I ate. Call someone. I need a friend to talk me down.” and ultimately finds her asking . . . okay yelling “Who’s gonna find me, who’s gonna find me? You’ll have to love me when I’m gone.” Gee, Pink. The party is over.), “Please Don’t Leave Me” (Surely this song has to be a single. It’s polished and lonely. Songs about longing rock hearts and the radio. Plus, the ‘da da da da da’s will circle in your head when you wake up in the middle of the night to pee…well that’s what’s happenin’ to me anyway. :] No song on Funhouse comes closer to recapturing the magic of I’m Not Dead . . . . think “Who Knew Pt. 2.”) and “Bad Influence” (one of those big euro-stompers with some swirly melodies and party-time lyrics we’ve come to love and expect from P!nk and one of the last highs this rollercoaster will show you).

“Funhouse,” the title track, is a bit too close to the Maroon 5/Ting Tings finish line for me to embrace it fully, but could it grow on me? Damn you, P!nk! I betchu it does! Those verses are downright throwbacks to Siouxsie & The Banshees “Peek-a-Boo” (“Burn this fucker down! doo doo doo doo doo doo doo”)

Things become crystal clear on the acoustic “Crystal Ball.” “Irony, irony is hating love, hating love for what it does to me . . . what it’s done to me . . . what it’s done . . . done.” Simple. Beautiful.

Oh, the Funhouse is not closed yet! Get ready for the drunken romper “Mean” where over some barsy (f.t.w. #8) Wallflowers-esque guitarwork P!nk wonders “How did we get so mean? How do we just move on?” P!nk would rather forever be and she doesn’t want to be free. So who were you calling a tool in “So What,” eh?

“It’s All Your Fault” brings P!nk back to Clarkson Land, but with a revved up chorus that will kick “Never Again "’s ass. This is the kind of song that could get you a speeding ticket . . . so beware if driving under the influence of P!nk. (Fans of P!nk’s “da da da da da da da”s rejoice! They return here for your pleasure.)

“Ave Mary A” demonstrates shades of Linkin P!nk…P!nkin Park? It explodes into a proper, all-out anthem for the desperate with the pleading refrain “Where did you go? Where did you go?” Fists in the air!

“Glitter In The Air” is by far the most mature song on Funhouse and amongst the best she’s ever written (or co-written as she has all 12 of Funhouse’s tracks). It is like coming out of a smoky haze and piecing together what just happened. Questions remain: “Have you ever hated yourself for staring at the phone? Your whole life waiting on the ring to prove you’re not alone…Have you ever felt this way?” A great way to come down.

I must say that P!nk has never sounded better. Her vocal swagger continues to stand out in an ever-deepening pool of female artists flooding the airwaves. P!nk is also on my short-list of Must-See-Live Artists, so hopefully some live dates will start popping up. Ba ba da ba ba.

Funhouse is a whirlwind of questioning and longing . . . mostly to not be alone. It doesn’t pack quite the punch of most other P!nk albums, but maybe this is the album where she’s the one being punched. The reaction is a snapshot of the punching bag just as the glove is removed from the stricken surface. At least P!nk was smart enough to not release Her December at the beginning of the summer.
Well done, P!nk. I’m still holding you to your word that we can sing together someday. :]

The List:
All New Music Releases - October 28th, 2008

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals – Cardinology
. . . And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – Festival Thyme (an EP on vinyl)
Sara Bareilles – Between the Lines: Sara Bareilles Live at the Fillmore (DVD)
David Benoit – Jazz for Peanuts: A Retrospective of the Charle Brown TV Themes
Bloc Party – Intimacy
Kurt Cobain – Cobain Unseen (Hardcover with spoken-word material by Kurt on CD)
Coolio – Steal Hear
Cynic – Traced in Air
Bob Dylan – Inside Bob Dylan’s Jesus Years: Busy Being Born…Again (DVD)
Eagles of Death Metal – Heart On
The 88 – Not Only…But Also
Forgive Durden – Razia’s Shadow (A Musical)
The Heligoats – The End of All-Purpose
Michael Jackson – Thriller 25th Anniversary – The Book Celebrating the Biggest Selling Album of All Time (Paperback)
Joey + Rory – The Life of a Song
Elton John – The Biography Presents Elton John (DVD)
Elton John – The Red Piano (Caesar’s Palace concert and documentary, CD and DVD)
Kaiser Chiefs – Off With Their Heads
Toby Keith – That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy
The Knus – Remind Me in 3 Days
Yolanda Kondonassis – Air
Lady GaGa – The Fame
John Legend – Evolver
John Lennon – John Lennon: The Life (Hardcover, author: Philip Norman)
Lordi – Deadache
Marillion – Happiness Is the Road, Vol. 1: Essence, Happiness Is the Road, Vol. 2: The Hard Shoulder
Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis – Live From Jazz at Lincoln Center New York City (DVD)
Tom Petty – Runnin’ Down a Dream (DVD)
P!nk – Funhouse
Queen + Paul Rodgers – The Cosmos Rocks (enhanced and limited editions)
Boz Scaggs – Speak Low
Snow Patrol – One Hundred Million Suns
Talk Talk – Live at Montreux 1986 (DVD)
Susan Tedeschi – Back to the River
Various – Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition (DVD)
Various – OMFGG: Original Music Featured On Gossip Girl No. 1

Re-Issues, Greatest Hits and Box Sets from:Anastacia, Audio Adrenaline, Avalon, Blackfoot, Dave Brubeck, George Carlin (“FM & AM” - 1972 Grammy winner for Best Comedy Album and “Jammin’ in New York from 1992), Johnny Cash (they just keep ‘em coming, don’t they? This week it’s “Johnny Cash’s America on CD and DVD), Celtic Woman, Steven Curtis Chapman, The Chordettes, The Coasters, Ry Cooder, dcTalk, Bo Diddley, Celine Dion (“My Love: Essential Collection”), Dokken (For those of you at the record stores for the new Celine…get your Dokken while you’re there.), Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, Judy Garland, Benny Goodman, The Isley Brothers, Jump5, Trini Lopez, Paul McCartney & Wings, Reba McEntire, Buddy Miller, Aaron Neville, The Partridge Family, P.M. Dawn, Queen (4 new remasters!), Rascal Flatts, Ratt, Roxy Music, Carly Simon, Skid Row, Ray Stevens, Stray Cats, Hunter S. Thompson, and a CD/DVD Bond Compilation called (you knew it) The Best of Bond . . . James Bond. And for all you fans of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, today’s your day to finally get an offical MP3 Download from Ode Records.

Pork here with this week's new music.

It’s October 21st, 2008! That means one thing to me: Labelle! The legendary and inimitable trio reforms and returns after a 32 year absence with Back To Now, a (near) brilliant return to form. No one will ever move me like Patti LaBelle can, and it’s an edgy breath of fresh air to see her reunited with Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash and a relief to see that in these times of chasing trends, Labelle can make you come to them instead of the other way around.

That being said . . . for those of you who may have heard the massively unfortunate first single “Roll Out” (produced by Wyclef Jean) . . . don’t be afraid! This desperate attempt at modernizing Labelle’s sound is both unnecessary and undesirable. It is also as out of place on this very album as it is in Labelle’s discography. Of the various producers (including Lenny Kravitz and the classic songwriting/producing team, Gamble & Huff) Wyclef is the only one silly enough to make such a misstep with his complete disregard for who he was producing. Only a fool would put the most powerful voice (ever) in soul music through a vocoder! SHAME ON YOU, WYCLEF! PatTi-Pain? How dare you! It should be taken off the future pressings it’s so offensive. (Mind you, I used to have nothing but love for Wyclef Jean and I have entertained many of his questionable moves into “experimental” hip hop graciously. “Roll Out” is insulting.) Signs of true life are visible all over the rest of the album. Labelle truly is “re-ignited” (as Ms. Hendryx likes to call it) and by the end of the first chorus of the first song, “Candlelight,” Labelle smoothly creeps right back under your skin and into your soul promising “if you leave out your candle light, I’ll be comin’ for you tonight.” Only Labelle could deliver such a romantic line and yet somehow also hint that you’d better be careful what you wish for. Their unmistakable vocals and harmonies are on full display in this sexy-funky slow jam that Ms. Hendryx actually began penning back in the day.

Lenny Kravitz does what Wyclef couldn’t on “System” and deep inside I knew that’d be the case. Who’s going to do retro-rock-and-soul better than King Kravitz?

The re-ignited energy sparks and flows through the bulk of Back To Now and is capped off by a vintage, live recording of “Miss Otis Regrets.” Some say the recording is from 1969 and some say 1970 . . . either way, it’s a very rare, aural glimpse into a truly different time.

You haven’t and won’t hear another album like this in 2008 or anytime soon. It’s true soul . . . with guitars . . . that will make you listen . . . and feel. Read the full Labelle review. . . .

Back To Now has me happily submerged in a 70’s vibe, and that was around the time I began my music collection . . . with 8-tracks. One of my very first was Kiss’ Double Platinum 8-track. It just about literally rocked my world, and today they are releasing a 4-CD box set called IKONS. Each disc highlights a different band member and their musical contributions over the years. How can you give Peter Criss his own CD, you might be wondering? Well, that’s where you’ll find “Beth” which was on my Double Platinum 8-track and always showed me that it was okay to rock hard and soft and love hard and soft.

Over on the other side of town, James Taylor, known as much for his sincere songcraft as his tender delivery, has taken on a project of covers. Usually one for an acoustic and retrospective moment, Covers is surprisingly upbeat, yet bluesy and almost bouncy in a country kinda way. The collection is made of up songs he has been performing live in his concerts over the years, but has never recorded . . . until now. Fans have been clamoring for this type or record from James for years and now’s their chance to hear their hero roll out his favorites by John Anderson, The Temptations, George Jones, Keith Urban, The Drifters, Glen Campbell, Buddy Holly, The Dixie Chicks, Leonard Cohen, and Eddie Cochran.

Of the project, James says “I've done covers of other people's songs since the beginning. Looking over the various collections of my tunes a fair-sized portion of my "hits" have been covers: ‘You've Got a Friend,’ ‘How Sweet It Is,’ ‘Up On the Roof,’ ‘Handyman’ . . . so this is not uncharted water for me. I've always thought that writing an original song and reinterpreting someone else's were similar processes; just as making music is a lot like listening to it.

What has been so memorable about this album were the sessions themselves: ten days in deep January in a converted barn in the woods of Western Massachusetts. It's remarkable and unusual today to put 12 musicians in the same place at the same time. It's a type of "live" recording sadly seldom seen in these days of the overdub. You get an immediate energy and it's a whole lot of fun. It sweeps you up and it carries you along and when it's done, it's done.”
I personally have always found his cover of Joni Mitchell’s “California” to be pretty interesting. I’ll toss it up in The Media Bar for you all to check out soon. Probably an Acoustic Monday. :]
Read the full James Taylor review. . . .

Indie-heads . . . today’s the day for Sea & Cake and Of Montreal. Soak it in.

Uh-oh! Here it comes! It’s . . . The List
The Full Reviews
and
All New Music Releases - October 21st, 2008
after the jump.

The List
All New Music Releases - October 21st, 2008

+/- (Plus Minus) - X’s On Your Eyes
AC/DC – Black Ice
An Albatross - An Albatross Family Album
Brett – Hope for the Hopeless
Kenny Chesney – Lucky Old Sun
The Dears – Missiles
Neil Diamond – “He Is . . . I Say: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love” (Hardcover) (You gotta love that title.)
Eminem – The Way I Am (Hardcover) . . . Slim spills the beans.
Sebastian Grainger – Sebastian Grainger and the Mountains
Waylong Jennings – Waylon Forever
Montell Jordan – Let It Rain
Kiss – IKONS
Labelle – Back To Now
Lake – Oh, the Places We’ll Go
Lineland – Logos for Love
Madonna – Confessions (Hardcover with overly-gratuitous photos by Guy Oseary)
Mary Mary – The Sound
MF Doom – Born Into This
Of Montreal – Skeletal Lamping
Pit Er Pat – High Time
Pompeii – Nothing Happens for a Reason
Sea & Cake – Car Alarm
Soundtrack: High School Musical 3: Senior Year
Stereolab – Chemical Chords
Sugababes – Catfights and Spotlights
Tommy Sunshine – Relax, This Won’t Hurt
Hank Williams, III – Damn Right, Rebel Proud
Lee Ann Womack – Call Me Crazy

As is to be expected at this time of year, there is a slew of Re-Issues, Re-Masters, Re-Packaging or even simple Re-Formatting (lots of stuff is being released on 180-Gram Vinyl!) by the likes of Black Sabbath, The Byrds, Glen Campbell, The Doors, Eagles, Eno/Fripp, Jefferson Airplane, Joan Jett, Gladys Knight & The Pips (2 collections), Van Morrison, Prince and the Revolution (“Purple Rain” on 180 Gram Vinyl), Sting, Thin Lizzy, Van Halen and even the fine folks @ A Very Special Christmas.
Now you know what’s new. Listen up. :]