Singer-guitarist Jeff Tweedy promised that his band’s new album would make Wilco’s last record seem “obsolete.” Originally scheduled for release last summer, the album certainly represents a departure from the Chicago group’s alt-country classic Being There and its Woody Guthrie collaborations with Billy Bragg. In fact, songs like the ominous “Radio cure” and the strange “I am trying to break your heart” bear more than a passing resemblance to Radiohead transmissions.
Baca fits in the forefront of world-music divas with Cape Verde’s Cesaria Evora and Brazil’s Virginia Rodriguez. But where Evora evokes an aching sadness and Rodrigues projects spiritual tranquility, Peru’s Baca conjures up a dreamy mysticism laced with elements of both. Steeped in Afro-Peruvian rhythms, sensuous songs like “La Noche y el Dia” have a power that belies their gentle delivery. And when Baca sings Bjork’s “Anchor Song” in Spanish, the effect is truly otherworldly.
McNarland’s “Mr. 5 Minutes,” about a partner’s premature ejaculation, rivaled Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know” for its rage and sexual frankness. But the Vancouver singer has now traded anger for motherhood. Her forthcoming album, featuring tender ballads like “Beautiful Blue” and “When You Come Down,” is more in keeping with Sarahs Harmer and McLachlan and the mellower Alanis. However, McNarland still packs an emotional wallop.
There’s always been a strong theatrical side to pop’s beatnik iconoclast. Aside from his movie appearances, Waits has often collaborated with his playwright-wife Kathleen Brennan. These two new acoustic albums, being released simultaneously, arise from theatrical projects about the girl who inspired Alice in Wonderland and Woyzeck, a soldier driven insane by infidelity and medical experiments. Waits’ record company describes the music for the latter as “Tin Pan Alley meets Weimar Republic.
The Haitian-born rapper has done more to broaden hip-hop’s musical palette than either Lauryn Hill or cousin Pras, his ex-Fugee cohorts. Like his last two albums, Masquerade mixes reggae and r&b with funk and hard-edged hip-hop beats. There’s a Dylan cover and the usual Marley influence. The message ultimately remains the same: ‘Clef, a product of the projects, preaches ghetto enlightenment. The biggest surprise is the Oriental-flavored “Peace God,” which Jean amusingly calls “crouching tiger style.”
Chicago is the cradle of modern blues, the place where Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf urbanized and electrified the music of the Mississippi Delta. But, during the ’70s, the windy city also gave rise to two of the finest singer-songwriters that America has ever produced: John Prine and Steve Goodman. Like bookends in a vast library of American roots music, Prine and Goodman shared stages and a gift for wry, witty and often poignant compositions. Between them, they wrote hundreds of country, bluegrass, folk and rock ’n’ roll songs, many of which are now considered standards and covered by others: Jimmy Buffett recorded Goodman’s politically incisive “Banana Republics” and Willie Nelson made Go...
Sting is an adventurous soul. Whether hiking deep into the Amazon rainforest to meet Kayopó Indians or waxing lyrical about the joys of tantric sex, the former Police man is anything but predictable. Musically, too, the pop star has taken risks, exploring Algerian rai and 16th century Elizabethan lute music. “Rock ’n’ roll has become like a dead art,” he said recently. “It’s tyranny in the backbeat. It’s 4/4 time. It’s the same three chords. It’s almost like a fundamentalist religion. Stravinsky is more rebellious than rock.” To prove his point, Sting has recorded Symphonicities, a CD to accompany his world tour with the 45-piece Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. The album features a...
Always provocative, M.I.A. performed pregnant at this year’s Grammy—on her due date. The rap artist’s song “Paper Planes,” featured in the Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire, was up for record of the year. Now M.I.A., whose occupations also include fashion designer, visual artist and political activist, has released her third studio album and it’s already causing a stir with agit-prop songs like “Born Free” and “The Message.” But the album also features one memorable love song: the reggae-flavored “It Takes a Muscle.”
Neil Finn is one of the world’s most gifted tunesmiths. Not many artists can write songs as memorable as “Don’t Dream It’s Over” or “Better Be Home Soon,” two of Crowded House’s beloved hits. The group’s sixth album—second since co-founder Paul Hester’s suicide—adds several more gems to the list, including “Isolation,” Neil’s haunting duet with his wife, Sharon, and “Falling Dove,” sweet, McCartney-esque pop featuring his son, Liam. But the best is Neil’s epic “Archer’s Arrows,” which hits a direct bullseye.
There have always been parallels between America’s Madonna and Australia’s Kylie Minogue. Both are dance-pop artists with fervent followings. Kylie, nine years younger, was still a popular TV actress when Madonna’s reign began. But the Aussie songstress quickly made up for lost time, becoming the only act whose first 13 releases all went Top 10 in Britain. While Madonna-level fame in America has eluded her, Kylie seems content with her iconic status. “Madonna’s the Queen of Pop, I’m the princess,” she once said. “I’m quite happy with that.” Still, Kylie remains the primo pop diva for her most ardent fans. “I love Kylie—she’s the anti-Madonna,” confesses Rufus Wainwright. “Self-knowledge is a...
