Idolator Takes Another Turn

Our favorite music blogger Maura has been ousted by parent company Buzznet, replaced at Idolator by two new writers who I will not try to be too hard on. Daily Swarm has all the details, and you can read Maura's goodbye post here.

From the looks of it, a high quality music blog has been replaced by yet another completely mediocre music blog. Too bad. Not a huge surprise--the blog has been bought and sold and had its staff cut a number of times since its inception. We'll keep an eye out for where Maura takes her music writing after this.

Meet Idolator's New Editors [daily swarm]
It's Time (For Me) To Say Goodbye [idolator]

Uh...thanks?

One of our favorite blogs is Idolator. They consistently bring thought provoking commentary to some of the most ridiculous happenings in the world of popular and independent music, and for that, we thank them.

Currently, they're counting down the fifty worst songs of the '00s. It's a dirty job, but... well, actually no one had to do it but I'm glad the Idolator crew has taken to it. Because it gives us great harsh lines like the following:

This is a “collaboration” like leprosy is a collaboration with your skin, with Wu-Tang’s involvement little more than their collecting royalties on a copy of Wu-Tang Forever some kid probably sold to a CD Warehouse in 1998. So basically you have 30 seconds of a Wu-Tang record you already own, a full-on pause, and then a really fucking loud Ozzy and Tony Iommi playing a completely dogshit moronic chorus. And then the Wu record again, but really quietly and sadly just playing by itself with an out-of-tune Cypress Hill noises on top of it. Loud rocks!

Doesn't matter what song they're talking about (it's some kind of horrible Ozzy/Wu-Tang collabo), but these are still worth a read.

F2K: Idolator Counts Down The 50 Worst Songs Of The ’00s, One By Ear-Splitting One [idolator]

Finally: The Beatles' Remasters

Maura Johnston over at Idolator has a post today regarding the Beatles' reissues, something I've clamored for quite a bit and am pretty happy will be making it to the masses this September. I don't think that McCartney and company should be patting each other on the back, since it took them decades to do something that should have been at the top of their list from the beginning days of the CD format. But better late than never, I would say. I have faith that these albums are going to sound better than we've ever imagined, or at least better than they have on digital formats before (nothing beats my copy of Abbey Road on vinyl, "STEVE FISHNER" dymotape still intact). But Johnston isn't so sure that the project will perform very well:

[...]There was one question that was nagging at me every time I passed through another breathless announcement of the release. And that question is: Who, exactly, is going to buy these CDs?

Johnston makes the point that there aren't that many places to even buy CDs anymore, even if people wanted to, which more and more they don't. This is true, and Johnston is right about almost everything (especially "the way the music industry is hell-bent on shooting itself in the foot with dopey ideas like the ringle and Musicpass") save for one thing: people buy the Beatles' material no matter what. She claims that they've "fallen out of the habit," but I don't know that I'd go that far. This is anecdotal but I can pretty much guarantee that my dad, who I think is probably the target here, will pick up this remastered release. No, he doesn't buy CDs with the frequency he once did. In fact, he buys a lot more music via iTunes than he does from brick and mortar sources. But he bought The Beatles' 1, he bought Love, he bought Let It Be Naked, he bought the Capital Albums reissues, and if he bought all those superfluous releases, then he's probably going to buy the remastered catalog. Time will tell, but you should never underestimate the commercial power of the biggest band in the history of the world. As sometime Idolator Michaelangelo Matos points out in the comments to the post, the Beatles are recession-proof.

The Beatles' Remasters: Are They Really That Big A Deal in the Post-CD Era? [Idolator]
Earlier- Dropping the Ball: The Beatles [2DOS]

When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You: The Anthony Hamilton Edition

So idolator picked up on Southern soul man Anthony Hamilton's new (kinda) single "Cool" today. The post is entitled "Anthony Hamilton, R&B's Tough-Luck Story" and bemoans the fact that he gets the music industry's back burner when it comes to video rotation (besides Vh1 Soul and mtvU) and airplay outside of urban stations. The tone is all, he's so great, he has gold and platinum albums and his new video clip is so "charming" so why does he get snubbed when it comes to exposure on mainstream video channels? Well, Dan Gibson of idolator is right; the video for "Cool" is charming and should get more attention. And yes, Hamilton is good. But good shouldn't mean boring. And that's what Hamilton is slowly becoming. Very. Boring. And it hurts me to say that, because his voice is so amazing. He has always been a vocal throwback (in a good way), to Al Green and Otis Redding: his voice drips with feeling and grit. He's great live too. But the best part of an Anthony Hamilton song should never ever ever be a David Banner (yes, that David Banner) rap. 

The song is all about love providing everything this couple needs and the video follows suit: they have no milk for their coffee, their TV breaks, their car overheats and Anthony gets hit by lightning while fixing it (with the assistance of Mr. Banner, who drops the hilarious line: "we can call our white friends up and drink our Miller Genuine Draft/then kick 'em all out of the house, take us a bath") but through it all they laugh and shake it off because they have each other. Sweet sentiment and all, but sonically, the bouncy banjo hydraulics are way played and it is so repetitive, I feel like I'm listening to a snippet on loop. It sounds like a Nappy Roots song from like, 5 years ago. This bums me out. When did Anthony Hamilton become so derivative? His 2003 album Comin' From Where I'm From is so beautiful and textured with his gravelly and gut wrenching vocals ("Charlene" makes me cry, "Float" makes me wanna take my pants off and the James Poyser co-written "Cornbread, Fish & Collard Greens" is one of my all time favorite tunes) and every single song sounds rich and layered with Muscle Shoals like complexities. His 2005 "sophomore" effort (he's had a few compilations, a barely recognized 1996 debut and some re-releases too) Ain't Nobody Worryin' isn't my favorite but it had solid production from the likes of Raphael Saadiq, ?uestlove and James Poyser and garnered major critical acclaim. But if this single is indicative of the rest of his upcoming The Point of it All (which is slated to drop this December, after being pushed from it's original summer release), I'm even more concerned about him than I was when he sang the chorus on Nick Cannon's plea to save the babies. And Dan is right again, Hamilton has been around for a minute and deserves a great amount of success (fun fact: he sang back up for D'Angelo during the Voodoo tour) but I'm not rooting for this "tough-luck" story until the new album drops. Oh, and your contribution to the Soul Men soundtrack is NOT helping. Hamilton, you're on notice. 

Anthony Hamilton, R&B's Tough-Luck Story [idolator]

Ball of Confusion.

Coincidentally coming on the heels of the Nutella to my spoon's post about the Beatles and revisionist history, comes Idolator's post about Vanity Fair's December 2008 feature, "It Happened in Hitsville," an oral history of Motown. And while Paul McCartney's jive turkey approach to life irks me, what really grinds my gears is the enigma that is wrapped in a riddle that is covered in a David Lynch film that is rolled in a pile of bullshit that is the "real story" of Motown. Over 50 books have been written about the rise and fall of the greatest pop label in music history (I like this one) and Berry Gordy's 1995 autobiography was his big attempt to "set the record straight." But it seems like every time the record needs to get straightened (most recently with the release of the film Dreamgirls, and FYI Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson are still pissed) the same song and dance gets performed, and it's no Cholly Atkins routine either.

It comes down to this: I am sick and tired of Berry Gordy fellating himself. Yes, he did the unthinkable and created a black owned musical dynasty that united races via the magic of pop music. He paved the way for so so so many people in the music industry and with an $800 loan from his family he managed to create one of the greatest legacies the music world will ever know. But at the same time, he isn't playing fair. When he says "set the record straight" he means telling us that he wasn't involved in the Mafia, didn't believe in payola and is in no way shape or form portrayed accurately by Jamie Foxx. But that isn't the real story of Motown. His part in the oral history only focuses on what a victim he was and spends little time talking about the music. And Martha Reeves, Smokey, Stevie Wonder and Holland-Dozier-Holland all come out and defend Gordy, be it about the various artist lawsuits he was involved in (HDH's being rather significant, but the composers say that they have nothing but love for their former boss), his decision to move the label to L.A. (the biggest fail of all time) or about special treatment that Diana Ross, whose testimony is noticeably absent from the piece, may or may not have received. Gordy on Ross and the Supremes from the VF article:

"It just came time when it was best for them to split up. I don’t really remember my part in that—I was always objective. The fact that I went with Diana Ross—she never took advantage of that and I never gave her an advantage. She didn’t want any favors; she wanted to do what was right. If she got more attention at Motown, it was because she was good; it was all about the work. That’s why we broke up. We always said [we would] if [the relationship] came in the way of her work. I knew she wanted to be a superstar."

Bitch PLEASE. Ross got no special treatment? You didn't groom her to be a star? I find that very hard to believe, especially when you say things like:

"It’s very clear why I fell in love with Diana—because she was my star, and she came from the bottom up. With her it was not only fun, it was just like heaven working with her because she would surpass anything … and she always kept her self-esteem. She always told me, “If you think it, I can do it.” And she did."

Everybody at Motown came from the bottom up you clownshoe. She was no better and no different than most girls there. I love a good Diana tune every now and again but she is not the reason I love those songs. HDH and the Funk Brothers are the reason why I love those songs. I love a Marvin Gaye song FOR Marvin Gaye. Same with Stevie. But she was not an artist. She was just a singer, a puppet, a style, a look. She was the face of Motown in many ways, but that doesn't mean she was an actual musician. Her Tweety Bird shtick was never my bag and as long as we're being honest, I think the Supremes were the least interesting and provocative group musically at Hitsville. But that's just me.

Don't get me wrong. I don't think Motown's remaining alums are all liars or that they live in fear of angering Chairman Gordy (well, maybe a little bit) but reading this piece just reminds me that certain people, namely the Funk Brothers and Marvin Gaye (and what about Tammi? Poor Tammi Terrell. While I have to read more snooze inducing anecdotes about Diana and Berry's special and magical union, I could be reading about Tammi and Marvin's heartbreaking secret/rumored but confirmed by many in the Motown circle, notably Martha Reeves and Brenda Holloway, affair), get a very specific kind of treatment when Gordy decides to take a trip down memory lane. And while Gaye and most of the Brothers aren't here to tell their experience, it pisses me off that some of the labels greatest contributors get pat remarks from Gordy like:

"Marvin had a divided soul. He looked upon me as a father figure and friend, but he wanted to have his own independence, and he would disagree with you all the time just for the sake of disagreeing. At the same time, he was a pure, wonderful, spiritual person who was looking for truth, honesty, and love. But I had major fights with Marvin Gaye because he did not think it was legal to have to pay taxes. He was convinced that it was not lawful, and I said, “Well, I don’t want to debate that with you, Marvin, but I do know if you don’t pay your taxes, you’re going to jail.”

Really Berry? Is tax evasion what you guys fought about? Not about him being married to your sister Anna who was 17 years his senior and the complications that grew out of your brother-in-law/boss role? Not about the cluster fuck that was his divorce from your sister and the ensuing legal battle that produced the greatest break-up and fuck you album of all time, Here, My Dear? And about What's Going On, the watershed album that ushered in Gaye's musical independence?:

"I heard the album [What’s Going On], and I thought it was really meaningful, but he was a pop singer, and I told him, “Marvin, think about your great image that you built up: do you really want to talk about police brutality?” I could see he had pain and passion and he wanted to awaken the minds of men. He said, “B.G., you gotta let me do this,” and I was really hesitant. Not for me, but for him. I didn’t want his career to be gone. I said, “O.K., Marvin, but if it doesn’t work, you’ll learn something, and if it does work, I’ll learn something.” So I learned something."

Stop B.G., you're making me blush. Your modesty is truly inspiring. Quit playing. You were about as hesitant for him as I am hesitant to eat a burrito right now. And if you knew me, you would know: I am never hesitant to eat a burrito.

It's OK though. I just know not to turn to the label's founder for true insight. I have Standing in the Shadows of Motown for that. And I have this to cheer me up:

Watch more Megavideo videos on AOL Video

It Happened in Hitsville [Vanity Fair]
Today's Must-Read [idolator]