Envision, if you will, a world remade in the image… of late Doors singer Jim Morrison. MORE »
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f2k
No. 37: Satellite Party Feat. Jim Morrison, “Woman In The Window”
arena rock
Jay-Z Can’t Stand The Rain
Thanks to the threat of pre-game precipitation in the New York area, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ pre-World Series performance of “Empire State Of Mind” has been moved from tonight’s before-Game 1 festivities to tomorrow’s Game 2 intro. What, Jay, you can’t handle a little precipitation? Do you realize that your sensitivity to the elements is forcing America to sit through more Joe Buck than usual? And making your Yankees look a little, ahem, weak? (Let’s not even mention your revelations about jamming Fergie at the gym.) What would Jeter do, man??? [Rap Radar] MORE »
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 »
collaborations
I Have An Idea: Let’s Make Nicole Scherzinger The New Lead Singer Of Velvet Revolver
The lead Pussycat Doll is apparently the latest person to attach herself to Slash’s forthcoming solo album, which comes out next year and is set to feature a Love Boat-worthy cavalcade of cameos by the likes of Iggy Pop, Flea, Stacy “Fergie” Ferguson, Adam “Maroon 5″ Levine, and Jason Bonham. But why not just go all the way and re-record La Scherz’s forever-in-turnaround solo effort Her Name Is Nicole as a collaborative effort between the Pussycat Dolls’ chief vocalizer and the still-in-search-of-a-frontperson semi-supergroup Velvet Revolver? Let’s face it—both projects need a big shot in the arm, buzz-wise, and this could maybe almost do it in a “so crazy, you have to check out the MySpace page at least once” sort of way… [AceShowbiz / Photo: Getty] MORE »
100 and single
Boy Least Likely: Jay Sean Sinks Black Eyed Peas’ Titanic Run
Remember Lost in Space? What a timeless film: William Hurt, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham, and TV greats Lacey Chabert and Matt LeBlanc. Back in 1998, there was such excitement for this cinematic recreation of the classic ’60s CBS series.
What’s that? You say you don’t remember this bit of Clinton-era movie magic? Or…you do, vaguely — but you seem to recall that it kind of blew chunks?
Well, how could that be? After all, Lost in Space was the movie that evicted Titanic, the highest-grossing and Oscar-winningest movie of all time, from the top of the U.S. box office after a record-setting, still unbeaten run.
This bit of throwaway trivia (regarding a movie that, all kidding aside, was a serious flop) leaps to mind as I consider the song that finally terminates the Black Eyed Peas’ half-year run atop the Billboard Hot 100.
Jay Sean’s “Down,” to be fair, isn’t half as bad a song as Lost in Space was a movie. It’s a pleasant little ditty, a Chris Brown‒like midtempo jam with a not-embarrassing supporting rap from prodigal chart hero Lil Wayne. London native Sean — born Kamaljit Singh Jhooti — also earns the happy status as one of the few people of South Asian descent to top our singles chart, after a successful half-decade career hitting charts in the United Kingdom and India.
Still, there’s no question that the Hot 100 win by “Down,” over a very competitive field of songs-in-waiting, has less to do with love for the track than with the Peas at last letting go. Jay Sean should enjoy the victory he’s eked out, because it will likely be short-lived. MORE »
100 and single
Seasonal Allergies: Black Eyed Peas Dominate Hot 100 All Summer Long
As we approach the end of a summer in which some (including including our esteemed editor) claim that there was no one Song of Summer thanks to Michael Jackson looming large in the afterlife, we are a few weeks away from a rare act of chart dominance: Total Hot 100 ownership by a single act for every week of a calendar season.
The Black Eyed Peas have held the top spot on Billboard’s flagship chart for 21 weeks, so long that they’ve already set a new record for consecutive dominance by a single act (beating Usher). Billboard has celebrated that feat with copious coverage.
But for cultural critics who care less about raw chart statistics and more about how said numbers reflect the Zeitgeist, owning an entire summer lock, stock and barrel is a more interesting accomplishment. Depending on whether you define “summer” as going from Memorial Day to Labor Day or from June 21 to Sept. 22, the Peas either have this feat locked up or are just a few weeks away from it.
If they actually make it all the way to mid-September, the Peas will be the first credited artist (not just writer or featured act) to dominate for a full American summer. But several other acts have come pretty close. MORE »
videodrone
Jay-Z, Rihanna, And Kanye West Don’t Need Another Hero
The video for the Jay-Z/Rihanna/Kanye West collaboration about being famous, “Run This Town,” has the feel of some sort of futuristic populist rally in which the three supernovas entrance fire-wielding mobs with tales of how it’s really hard-slash-awesome out there for the well-known. (Especially when their all-star collaborations are kept from their rightful place at the top of the charts by the likes of Fergie and Miley Cyrus!) The video is stylized to here and back—not surprising, given the three people involved—but was it worthy of a trailer? Probably not. Clip after the jump. MORE »
collaborations
Former Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler is scheduled to lay down some tracks for the solo record by his ex-bandmate Slash today, joining Izzy Stradlin in the group of Former Guns N’ Roses Members Who Will Be On This Album Alongside Fergie. [Twitter via GNRDaily] MORE »
100 and single
Chartwalker: Why Billboard Geeks Remain Fond of Michael Jackson
I’ll probably always remember where I was when I heard the news of Michael Jackson’s death, if only for the specificity of the circumstances: I was on a plane back from Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon when the news broke on my seatback TV. I’d boarded the plane planning to spend the bulk of my time writing this chart column, and I was all set to focus on the usual Billboard happenings. But that quickly went out the window.
Within minutes of turning on the news on my seatback monitor, an MSNBC newscaster began rattling off a list of Jackson’s many awards and achievements, some (“Best-Selling Album Worldwide”) more impressive than others (“Grammy for Shortform Video of the Year, 1988”).
This is a natural and understandable biographical thread for Jackson encomia to pursue: after the sordid details of his personal life are burned off, Jackson’s music-business achievements are enormous. That said, as you head into this weekend, you’re going to hear and read a lot of superlatives about Jackson’s body of work, and the sheer length of the list might obscure which sales statistics and career kudos really matter.
But let me be clear: I come to praise Jacko, not bury him. The fact is, even a quarter-century after Thriller’s last hit fell off the Hot 100, the Gloved One’s industry achievements are stunning. More important, Jackson is one of very few acts for whom chart achievements serve as a fairly accurate barometer for artistic and cultural impact. This is one case where the commentators’ assessments are correct: We won’t see his like again. MORE »
Idiots
Anyone Who Thinks The Black Eyed Peas Are Capable Of “Selling Out” At This Point Hasn’t Been Paying Attention (Or Is Super-Fast With Their DVR Button)
Seriously, Seth Stevenson of Slate–you’re just now noticing that the Black Eyed Peas are very interested in increasing the Black Eyed Peas’ bottom line by any means necessary. You dare fling the slightly dated epithet “sellout” in their direction? Do you think that they don’t know that they’re one of the most overexposed acts of this young century–and that they don’t relish every minute of it? MORE »
