The Napster Blog

Mariah Carey, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel

Mariah Carey's 12th studio album is packed with more of the catchy, sultry hits that have kept her fans coming back for more for 20 years now. Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel packs 17 new tracks (plus four remixes of the first single "Obsessed"), with the majority of the writing and production credits going to Mrs. Nick Cannon,  along with Tricky Stewart and The-Dream. Continuing and extending Carey's style of hip-hop-tinged pop-soul, tracks like "Standing O" and "Candy Bling" are quickly becoming favorites of early supporters. And she definitely doesn't forget to include the slow jams that always become audience favorites—this batch includes the heartfelt "Languishing" and the popular Foreigner cover "I Want to Know What Love Is." Mariah fans will not be disappointed with this latest effort. And we can be certain that the usual plethora of remixes will soon surface as multiple songs from Memoirs catch on.

Comment of the Week

[Every so often we come across a reader comment that makes us think about things from a different perspective, or say to ourselves, "I wish I'd said that." Here, we introduce an occasional featurette to showcase the best of these. Please read on, and, of course, comment on the comment—Ed.]

Here's some food for thought appended to our recent post about Still Bill, the new documentary film looking at the extraordinary life and career of Bill Withers:

"I was a night DJ doing Quiet Storm from the mid-'80s to the mid-'90s (and have all of Bill's albums). Documentaries like this are like water in the desert. The U.S.A. needs to get back to the basics of good heart & soul music and away from exploitation & buffoonery. The kids now around age 30 and younger are hungry for what's "real" instead of the cotton-candy they've settled for these last 15 years. And so IT'S TIME. Let us ALL take in Still Bill and get back our spark—and with that our *dignity* and turn our backs forever on the near-former ghetto imagery of the mainstream."

—Posted by DJ Chris Carlisle, Sept. 29

Q&A with Bassnectar

A couple of weeks back, we stumbled across the single "Cozza Frenzy" by West Coast producer, performer, and remix specialist Bassnectar. Ever since, we've been looking forward to hearing more. Well, the full-length album of the same name is now out, and it’s a smash. As a bonus, we recently had the chance to engage Mr. Nectar in a brief chat:

You've journeyed through different musical styles over the years.
The scope of my musical fancies is semi-ridiculous: I truly love aspects of any sound or style I have ever heard. As a listener, I have an enormously eclectic range. And as a producer/remixer/participant, there are no rules or limits in terms of combining styles and genres.

With more and more electronic music creeping into the mainstream, do you think we’ll see a day where the sound dominates the American charts?
It already has, because all banging pop and hip-hop today is electronically produced and enhanced. People need to stop thinking of "electronic music" as techno or rave music, or confining it to computer blips and bleeps. Producing music electronically (or at least augmenting traditional styles with electronic techniques) is totally superior because it makes everything bigger, heavier, warmer, thicker and more luscious.

Luscious indeed! Bassnectar is currently on tour. Catch his schedule on his website.

Paramore, Brand New Eyes

Brand New Eyes, the new album from indie rockers Paramore, has been highly anticipated, with some wondering if the long-awaited project might be the band's undoing. Since the success of their mega-hits "Misery Business" and Twilight single "Decode," they've received much more press than ever before, with the majority of it going to a rarity in indie rock: a frontwoman. While the band may see it as a curse (it's been reported that it did almost lead to a bitter breakup), singer Hayley Williams is their best asset simply by being different. Let's face it—the mainstream and more successful face of indie rock is overwhelmingly male, and Paramore stand out because they have Hayley. Luckily, they also have the songs to back up all the attention.

Hayley's voice, and the female point of view in her lyrics, are what give Brand New Eyes its bite; otherwise it would be just another emo-pop record. The tracks here are tight, solid, catchy, and delivered with the same urgency as those on Riot!, but they also have a more mature feel. Along with the sing-along anthems, there are a few quieter, more thoughtful songs that address the disorientation of growing up in the public eye.

Paramore has the potential to follow the path of Green Day—to continue making relevant punk-pop for their audience while also expanding their fan base. Their success could also be a great wake-up call for other indie-rock females, demonstrating that there are other paths to recognition besides playing the "sexy young pop star," and that success is possible in this male-dominated corner of rock world. It's a lot to ask of such a young band, but after hearing their latest effort, it seems that they're not only up for the challenge, they're ready for worldwide domination.

Karen O. and The Kids, Where the Wild Things Are Soundtrack

In just a little over two weeks, Spike Jonze's film adaptation of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are hits theaters. The soundtrack, helmed by Yeah Yeah Yeahs' singer Karen O. with additional orchestral work by Carter Burwell (Fargo, Adaptation, Twilight), sets an adventurous musical tone for the film. The single "All is Love" is a charming parade of a song that incorporates indie-rock sensibilities with the cute and whimsical characteristics of children's music. Can we call this "indie-child-rock"? Childrindie? Regardless, the combination, as on the touchingly introspective, piano-carried "Worried Shoes" and the head-bopping "Heads Up" add a lot of charm. Karen O. has been able to provide the big-screen version of the children's classic with music that's quite free-spirited and creative, and just feels good—an aesthetic of which, one imagines, Sendak himself would approve. Additional contributors to the album include other members to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Deerhunter, The Raconteurs, and Liars.

Miranda Lambert, Revolution

It turns out that Kerosene and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, while great, were just warm-up albums for Miranda Lambert. Feeling and sounding more confident than ever before, Lambert has parlayed the huge potential she's shown on her earlier efforts into Revolution, a massively satisfying new record. It's an exciting album that balances a well-grounded vulnerability with actual grit and toughness.

With Revolution, Lambert has fully arrived as an artist. The album is loaded with plenty of potential singles, and Lambert had a hand in writing 12 of the 15 tracks. "Dead Flowers" and "White Liar" are already Top 40 hits. Expect more hits—there's not a dry moment to be found on the whole thing. She lets her rocker instincts run free to great effect (check out "Somewhere Trouble Don't Go"), but she's also becoming much more effective on quieter tracks, providing extra depth and contrast. Very impressive record.

Barbra Streisand, Love Is the Answer

We recently noted the imminent arrival of this beautiful new album of standards by the one and only Barbra Streisand, with her tantalizingly nuanced interpretation of "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" as our point of departure. Well, here it is—one of the first true superstar releases of the upcoming holiday season, and as we've already said, it's a gorgeous affair, impeccably produced by Diana Krall and Tommy LiPuma and showcasing Streisand at her subtle best. And here's a little twist that makes it even better: There are two versions of the album available on Napster: The standard 13-track edition (including bonus track "You Must Believe in Spring") and the deluxe edition, which includes the whole original album, including Johnny Mandel's fine orchestra arrangements, and a second, pared-down version with just Streisand and quartet. Both are truly wonderful, but listeners are likely to be wowed by how extraordinarily intimate the quartet versions sound. It's striking. ("Turn up the quiet," Columbia A&R man Jay Landers writes, not hyperbolically, in his album notes.) And that intimacy, it turns out, appears not to have been the product of recording precision alone, as both Krall and Streisand reveal a bit about their creative bond in their own notes: "Finally, during those brief interludes in which technical mysteries must be solved," Krall writes, "we play a few hands of gin rummy on a small table in the control room, just two women, sharing a joke and waiting to go back to work." Writes Streisand, "Diana is a wonderful recording artist...I appreciate that she took the time from her own touring schedule to work with me on this album. She's also a pretty good card player!" Lucky for us they both played their cards so right.

Fink, Sort of Revolution

Fink was originally signed to London-based Ninja Tune as a producer specializing in downtempo electronic music, but after releasing Fresh Produce in 2000, he shifted his approach to songwriting and stripped back the beats in favor of an acoustic guitar. Sort of Revolution is his third full-length album in this vein, which will appeal to fans of Jose Gonzalez, Iron & Wine, Tim Hardin, and Nick Drake. Defined by a subtle mix of soul, blues and folk influences, the album never rises above a quiet, understated intensity, even when augmented by the star power of John Legend on "Move on Me." It's a compelling combination though, proving that restrained playing and economical arrangements can convey emotional depth as well as, and sometimes maybe even better than, bombast and histrionics.

Q&A with Steve Vai

Today guitar virtuoso Steve Vai released a new over-the-top live experience, Where the Wild Things Are. Fortunately, we had recovered enough from hearing it to listen when he was nice enough to tell us how it all came together:

Can you tell us a little about Wild Things?
I [had] just finished a live album with the Metropole Orchestra in Holland. It was a glorious project—the first half is me playing guitar with the orchestra, and the second half is new compositions. I always like to challenge myself and put together a project that’s different than anything I’ve done before. I knew I needed to change my band up to get a different sound, and I’ve had several concepts for band constructions; one of them is with two violins; another is with two additional percussionists; another is with a 12-piece horn section. So I decided to take the route with the two violin players, because it seemed to fit best with this project. I put together a short tour of Europe, America, and South America. I wanted to really capture this new band, so I dug into my catalog and put together a list of tracks that I could really bring to life with the addition of two violin players. I set out and I found them—it was really hard because the people I was auditioning were like these metal-mongers, just shredding on the violin. I needed people that understood the written music, but everyone I auditioned that was classically trained was wimpy when it came time to rock out. Primarily I’m a rock musician, so when you get on a stage with my guitar, you'd better be wearing some armor [laughs]. So the gods of good karma sprinkled fairy dust on me, and Anne Marie Calhoun and Alex DePue stepped into the room—they are stunning players; absolutely amazing. I handed them stacks of music, and they could read it and put the "rock 'n' roll sledgehammer" into the music.

What do you want your audience to take away from this album?
With this show I wanted people to feel like they’re experiencing something that’s uplifting, interesting, accessible, engaging, and something that they can’t get anyplace else. No matter how you cut it up, people will always be fascinated by tremendous musicianship. When you see someone playing their instrument beautifully, elegantly, and with great command you’re just compelled. And if that person has the right emotional investment, you’re engaged as well. I’m very careful not to beat people up with my musical intellect, so the speak, because that’s boring. The album has a lot of emotional dynamics; there are points where it’s tremendously heavy and intense, and other points where it’s tender and delicate. At the end of the day, I want to be a good entertainer.

What are you listening to or watching these days?
When it comes to films I’m a big Woody Allen and Christopher Guest fan, so whenever they release something it’s like Christmas for me. I’m a big Tom Waits fan, so I don’t go anywhere without all of his records. I’m listening to a new band that’s very cool called Animals as Leaders. I also discovered Antony & The Johnsons not too long ago. I also like Mastodon, Devin Townsend, Edgard Varèse, Michael Jackson, Ry Cooder, Webern, Zappa, Stravinsky, Luciano Berio, and Jeff Buckley.

Looking back, is there a favorite piece of music or album that you’ve released that you go back to for inspiration, or are your eyes and ears always focused on the future?
I do enjoy going back and listening to my music—one of the reasons I make it is to have something to listen to that I like. Why does a person make the art that they make? For every artist there are high points and less high points, so when I look back at all my projects I can see where I hit the mark, although where I find certain things very important, my fans might not. For the most part, what really moves me is the stuff left of center, and I feel there’s a large contingent of my audience that also feels that way. When you create something, it’s a little snapshot of who and where you were at that particular point in time, so when you go back and look at various works you did you get to peer into the person you were at that time. I think if I was to pick something I keep on going back to right now it would be two pieces from my last orchestral record, [Sound Theories Vol. I & II], “Frangelica” and “Helios and Vesta.”

La Roux

Following massive press, a #2 chart debut, and a Mercury Music prize nomination in the UK, the self-titled debut album from La Roux has finally been released here in the States. Many listeners will be immediately jarred by singer Elly Jackson's high-pitched falsetto on the first track and first U.K. hit "In For The Kill," but don't be scared off: While her voice varies from track to track, the underlying constant is that these 12 songs are perfect pop gems. Yes, there is the voice, and yes, there is the rigorously '80s-influenced synth-pop that would have fit right in a playlist with the likes of Yaz, Eurythmics or Pet Shop Boys, but all of those trappings simply can't conceal the catchy beats and lyrics about lost loves that betray the album's true-beating pop heart. From the more accessible single "Bulletproof" to "Colourless Colour," or the lovely "As If By Magic," each track could easily be released as a single, and taken together they form one of the most arresting and original pop records of the year.