“The new album by R & B spitfire Amerie is out today.” That’s a sentence that I thought I’d never get to write on Idolator, despite her being one of my favorite singers for the duration of this site’s existence. And to make the news even better, In Love And War—which is her first U.S. release since 2005, thanks to Sony botching the release of Because I Love It two years ago—is quite good, even joy-inducing in spots. (It could maybe be pared of a song or two; the Lil Wayne remix of her artistic-statement single “Heard ‘Em All” is the definition of CD-era filler.) “But why do you like it,” you ask? I’ll tell you! After the jump, five reasons why it’s worth hunting it down at your preferred outlet for purchasing music. MORE »
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Endorsements
Five Reasons That You Should Pick Up Amerie’s “In Love And War”
Endorsements
The Black Eyed Peas: Working Hard To Make Sure That You Will Never, Ever Forget About Them
Apparently the ’80s-tastic CGI of the Black Eyed Peas’ “Meet Me Halfway” video would have shocked me a lot less if I was a college football watcher; last night I caught the above clip-referencing during the Phillies-Dodgers telecast, and I was initially surprised by how fast the clip’s turnaround from “current cultural product” to “easily referenced bit of minutiae” was. (Other ads for the satellite-TV service have, you may recall, referenced curios much older, like Back To The Future and Star Trek.) But as it turns out, I was dumb for underestimating the Peas’ ability to quickly ride any cross-promotional wave! MORE »
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Tonight at 7 ET on WPRB, Idolator Holiday Music Correspondent Jon Solomon has a very special edition of his weekly radio show that features brand-new live sets by the scorching Brooklyn band Obits, the rad New Jersey outfit Screaming Females, the ever-charming Spinto Band, the spirited outfit Danielson, and the old-school Philly indie act Caterpillar. It’s part of the pledge drive for Princeton University’s radio station (of which I am an alumna, even though I went to school miles away), and to that end, singer-songwriter Jennifer O’Connor will play covers chosen by people who donate money to the station. A good cause, and finer-than-fine music to match! [Keeping Score At Home] MORE »
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Alphabeat Pop Up On The Radio
A public service announcement to those of you who felt scarred by the 3OH!3/Katy Perry atrocity in the previous post: The new single by Danish popsters Alphabeat premiered on Radio 1 earlier today, and while I have yet to find an embeddable stream of the radio rip, Mediafire links are “out there.” (Although as expected for the August premiere of a single that isn’t out until October, said streams are getting pulled down pretty quickly.) The song’s a fun little bit of retro-pastiche called “The Spell”; by some chance of iTunes coincidence my first spin of it segued into Jody Watley’s “Don’t You Want Me,” and it sounded perfect. Needless to say that’s an endorsement from these quarters! (Popjustice has a snippet here.) [MySpace; thanks Candice!] MORE »
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Tapemasters’ “Future Of R & B 28″ Will Bring You Joy
Regular readers of this site know that I’m a big fan of the Future Of R&B series of mixes put forth by the mix-happy outfit Tapemasters. The set’s 28th installment hit file-sharing sites over the weekend, and it’s a pretty fantastic collection, programmed like the all-new-tracks R & B station in some alternate universe where things are a lot better than this one. It kicks off with a new track by Beyoncé—the ProToolsy ode to making whoopee “Slow Love”—and kicks into overdrive from there, with contributions by Amerie, Lloyd, Ne-Yo, and Mary J. Blige, among others. My five favorite tracks after the jump. MORE »
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An Idolator Enthusiastic Endorsement: Why You Should Drop Everything And Listen To Wye Oak’s “The Knot” Right Now
Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak are either two of the most talented musicians currently out there right now, or they’re aliens from a distant planet where all beings are born with the inherent ability to produce songs that are equal parts intelligent, emotional, challenging, and fun. Quite frankly I’m starting to think the latter, because they do it just a little too well. MORE »
Endorsements
Drake Teaches Sex Ed
Rising hip-hop star Drake has offered an endorsement for Strapped Condoms, a brand of safes that’s also been given the thumbs-up by his mentor Lil Wayne. This sensitivity toward spreading disease is a much more successful attempt at a caring-dude persona than the boobtastic video for “Best I Ever Had” he released last week; after all, as one commenter at SOHH noted, “if you rapping about women 90% of the time, i guess you should stay safe, lol.” “lol,” indeed. Clip after the jump. MORE »
