The Napster Blog

Quincy Jones, Quincy Jones Explores the Music of Henry Mancini

Over the past week, his work with Michael Jackson on Off The Wall, Thriller, and Bad has once again been in the spotlight, but this 1964 collection, featuring a lineup of top-flight jazz players, shows that even at 31, Quincy Jones was putting his personal stamp of pop genius on the material he interpreted. Jones was already a well-established bandleader at this point, but it was still early in his Hollywood career. This set of  Henry Mancini themes played by Clark Terry, Phil Woods, Roland Kirk, Milt Hinton, and Gary Burton, among many others helped to pave the way for Jones' later film and television soundtrack work.

Blur, The Best of Blur

It's rough when you fight with your best friend. It's even worse when you fight with your best friend, your friend and you are both in a band, and the fight ends up breaking up the band. That's what happened to Blur during the recording of Think Tank.

Singer Damon Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon were obviously going in two different musical directions; Albarn went on to form Gorillaz and The Good, The Bad, and The Queen, work with African musicians, and write an opera. Coxon went lo-fi and released a series of eclectic solo albums, started his own record label, and has inspired a new generation of British guitarists.

But this story of troubled friendship has a happy ending, as the two recently reconciled, and to their fans' surprise and delight reformed Blur and announced a couple of massive comeback gigs in London. Of course, the public wanted more, and Blur delivered, headlining the last night of this past weekend's Glastonbury festival. By all accounts, it was more than a raving success: A huge crowd sang along with their greatest-hits set, including "Girls and Boys," "Coffee and TV," "Popscene," and "Country House," all of which are on The Best of Blur (pictured). And the BBC broadcast of the festival peaked at 1.9 million viewers during their set.

From reigning as the champions of Britpop (see Modern Life Is Rubbish and Parklife) to breaking in America with a simple, silly song ("Song 2" from Blur) to their breakup, Blur has seen its share of highs and lows. It's nice to see them making music together again.

Easy Favorites: Spring 2009 (Napster Playlist)

As we ease into summer with a little waving of the ol' red, white, and blue—and before it gets too hot—it seems an opportune moment to take a look in the rear view and reminisce about some of the songs that kept our recent springtime mellow. "How might we accomplish this with the least fuss, and in the most relaxing way possible," you ask? Why, Napster's recently unveiled "Easy Favorites: Spring 2009" playlist is tailor-made for the purpose. Some of the tracks represented here are old favorites, and some newer tracks that have struck the fancy of Napster's easy listeners. In most cases, these are tracks that have made their way onto the easy listening track or artist chart over the past season, plus a few surprises off the beaten path—just to make sure life continues to have some spice, which is to say, variety. Here you'll find Frank Sinatra, Nelson Riddle, Andy Williams, Nat King Cole, Shirley Bassey, and Edith Piaf, plus newer contributions from the likes of Diana Krall, Cassandra Willson, Jane Monheit, Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and the too-soon-departed Wayman Tisdale (the latter with a distinctly out-of-character but very smooth Toby Keith doing his best Barry White). It's all here, and you, as listener, are king or queen of all you survey. One click and you've got the world on a string—a world of smooth, swinging, and just plain tasty tracks, that is. Ahhhhhhh.

Q & A with Killswitch Engage

Progressive metal maulers Killswitch Engage have been steadily growing in popularity since entering the scene in 2000 with their self-titled debut. Today, much to the excitement of fans everywhere, the group released their fifth full-length album, also self-titled. Killswitch will be on tour this summer, and lead singer Howard Jones was kind enough to answer a few questions about their recent activities:

How does your new album differ from previous efforts?
Well, it's a little heavier, a little more melodic, and a little more catchy. As long as it doesn't sound completely like everything else we have ever done, we did our job. Eat more fruit, your body needs the vitamin C.

Can you share any particularly good/funny experiences while recording the album?
Well, I got to record a portion of the vocals at Henson Studios, home of The Muppets. Kermit was everywhere, and it was awesome. Great photo opportunities. Also, Courtney Love was there at the moment. Surprisingly nice. Take that, Internet!

You’re about to tour in support of the new album. What's your favorite place to play?
Australia. It's beautiful, the people are friendly, and everything is venomous there. Don't be fooled, kangaroos will kill you. Seriously though, the weirdest fish ever are there...quite fun to catch, and tasty.

Anything else to add?
I didn't like the first Transformers movie. I'm hoping for better on the second one.

Michael Jackson, Off the Wall

Relatively speaking, it's no Thriller, having had only about one-fifth the worldwide sales impact of the biggest-selling album of all time (roughly 22 million to Thriller's 110 million), but Off the Wall was a huge breakthrough at the time and remains a sentimental favorite, especially for those who grew up on its massive grooves. With the news of Michael Jackson's untimely passing still sinking in, it's only natural to take another look at the albums that made him one the world's handful of truly elite superstars, and while Off the Wall was actually Jackson's fourth solo album, its sound was so exciting and undeniable that it put him on the map in a whole new way. It was released in 1979, the same year that brought us Blondie's "Heart of Glass" and Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy," as well as the umpteenth disco hits from Donna Summer, Chic, and The Bee Gees (the latter, like Jackson, into the falsetto thing). Also bubbling up that year were The Knack's "My Sharona," M's "Pop Muzik," and The Cars' Candy-O, along with albums from The Ramones and Sex Pistols, and let us not forget that 1979 was also the year of The Sugarhill Gang's seminal "Rapper's Delight." Sheesh. Yet even against such a deep field of hits, Off the Wall stood out as something special. Born of Jackson's budding partnership with producer/mentor Quincy Jones, with whom Jackson had worked while filming The Wiz a year earlier, the album featured songwriting from Heatwave's Rod Temperton ("Rock with You," "Off the Wall," "Burn This Disco Out"), Paul McCartney ("Girlfriend"), Stevie Wonder ("I Can't Help It"), David Foster and Carole Bayer Sager ("It's the Falling in Love"), and Jackson himself ("Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough," "Workin' Day and Night," "Get on the Floor"). Fully half of the album's 10 tracks are household sing-alongs (four were Top 10 hits), and one track, Tom Bahler's disarming ballad "She's out of My Life," showcased a tender, vulnerable side of Jackson that hadn't been seen before in such focus, even on "Ben." He actually weeps at the end, and it's that level of emotional intensity that fuels the rest of the album's manic drive. Thank Jones for the flawless, forward-leaning production that still sounds great today and for drawing out Jackson's genius in a new way—as we know now, this was just the beginning of even greater things to come—and thank the higher power of your choice for Jackson himself. Make what you will of his personal struggles, the man's music is in a class by itself.

La Roux, “Bulletproof”

The video of the latest single from up-and-coming synth-pop duo La Roux, "Bulletproof," is simply amazing. "La Who," you ask? La Roux has been named one of the acts likely to make it big in 2009 by multiple sources in their native England. Singer Elly Jackson has a quirky, androgynous style and crazy red hair that reminds one of another female singer from a synth-pop duo, namely '80s icon Annie Lennox of Eurythmics. After club success with remixes of the last La Roux single, "In for the Kill," the duo has followed it up with this catchy pop tune, which has already spurred a massive sing-along at this year's Glastonbury festival. And as soon as you watch the video for "Bulletproof" you, too, will likely be entranced by the 3D optical art sets in black and white, with splashes of neon colors and Elly's retro-style makeup and outfits, and you'll want to watch it again. And again.

Hank Williams, Jr., 127 Rose Avenue

It's been a long, strange trip for Bocephus. Hank Williams, Jr., son of the country cornerstone, has been performing in front of audiences for over 50 years, first as a gimmicky, pre-pubescent knock-off of his father, then tentatively flirting with rock in an effort to find his own voice, then getting busted up and almost dying after literally falling off a mountain, then wholeheartedly embracing the sounds and energy of rock and correctly anticipating the future direction of country music.

Williams, Jr., is 60 now, and despite having never completely escaped the shadow of his iconic dad, he has created his own legacy, combining outlaw-ish hell-raising with über-patriotism and sentimentality. His latest album, 127 Rose Avenue, adds to that legacy with a solid set of songs. Williams isn't gonna win any singing competitions, but he knows how to connect with his audience, filling the record with the rocking country sounds that have sustained his career for decades. Special guests on the album include Robert Randolph and The Grascals. Classic Hank, Jr.-ness.

Remembering Michael Jackson

"Do you remember the time when we first met?" —Michael Jackson, "Remember the Time"

I'm not sure if I remember the exact time. Most of my earliest memories of the King of Pop are flashbacks of isolated events.  Regretfully, I never caught him live in concert. But since his sudden and tragic passing last Thursday, I've tried to think back to my earliest Michael Jackson memories, and each one brought a smile to my face.

One of my first memories is of "tweeting" along with the radio in my mom's station wagon. No, not "tweeting" on Twitter; "tweeting" with "Rockin' Robin" playing through the speakers on the oldies station she loved so much. She would try and sing along to the tunes but never got the lyrics quite right. I was six years old and her "oldies" were "newies" to me. The "tweet, tweet, tweet" in the chorus was catchy.

Fast forward a few years. "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" flowed through the speakers at my grandparent's house. My aunts and uncles (still in their 20s then) were trying to teach each other the latest disco moves while Grandma warned of impending hearing loss from the music being so loud.

During a family road trip, "Rock with You" was on the radio. My mom would sing (incorrectly) "I wanna rooock your boat" and tap her fingers to the broken metronome in her head.

I remember being in complete awe when I first saw the "Thriller" video on MTV. Soon after, my brother and I were horrified to discover my mom had bought us matching "Thriller" jackets. We refused to wear them. We were even more embarrassed when my grandfather wore one at a family outing.

We all have our own memories of Michael Jackson. He affected our lives whether we took the time to realize it or not, and his music was the soundtrack for a generation.

Do you remember the time?

Jerry Seinfeld, George Carlin, Bill Cosby: Odd Balls

Sports and comedy have a lot in common: both attract crowds, involve high-pressure situations, can be physical and require balls—that, or shuttlecocks. Napster's "Odd Balls" playlist is a tribute to athletes, the games they play, and Americans' undying obsession with competitive sports. Included are some truly classic routines by George Carlin ("Baseball and Football" & "Sports") and Bill Cosby ("Hofstra"), novel suggestions by Dana Gould ("Let's Improve Boxing") and Eddie Izzard ("Alternative Olympics"), and brutally honest accounts of athletic ineptitude by John Mulaney ("Basketball") and Lewis Black ("Golfers"). Whethere you're a die-hard fan or only watch the Superbowl for the commercials, "Odd Balls" is sure to come through with lots of hits and few errors. I'll bet on it.

Basement Jaxx, “Raindrops”

Released this week is Basement Jaxx’ single “Raindrops.” The song is the first track off their new album, Scars, due in September. For the new project, the Grammy-winning Jaxx duo is said to have enlisted vocal appearances from Cyndi Lauper, Santigold, Sam Sparro, and others. “Raindrops,” however, features vocals from Jaxx’s own Felix Buxton and seems to require little assistance as it burns up the radio waves. Likely headed for chart placement, the Jaxx have already coupled their release with an almost R-rated video featuring kaleidoscopic scenes of near-naked dancers. Although we’re all for promoting artistic content, instead we’ll leave you with a more “family friendly” live performance of the newest single.