Starstruck

Best Pop Albums of the Decade (2000-2009)



10. Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/ LoveSounds

Ten years ago, you never would have convinced me that the lead singer of N*SYNC would be capable of making an album like this. FutureSex/ LoveSounds is a twofold triumph. First, it allowed Justin Timberlake to reinvent himself as someone far different from his boy band persona, and also a guy who was every bit as talented as his influences, such as Michael Jackson and Prince. Second, it featured some wild, top-notch beats from Timbaland. As a result, both Timbaland and Timberlake steered themselves in new directions. I strongly felt that Timbaland deserved to win the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year for his work on FutureSex/ LoveSounds and Nelly Furtado’s Loose (they came out in the same year), both of which laid down a new template for pop dance beats in the decade.




9. M.I.A. – Arular

M.I.A. is probably the most fearless pop singer out there. She goes in crazy directions and mixes up genres at will. She makes songs about absolute nonsense, then songs that are heavily political. This sounds like a disastrous recipe, yet she made it work. Arular was a critical favorite when it first came out and I think it still holds up well.



8. Lady Gaga – The Fame

I really resisted this album when it first came out. I got over-exposed to “Just Dance” during my road trip through Canada back in 2008 (she was a big hit north of the border long before she became a household name in the U.S.). Then I got overexposed to “Poker Face,” a played-out song that I still dislike now. But I gotta say, The Fame is a very solid album. It’s consistently good dance music with only one or two songs that can be skipped over. Lady Gaga was a longtime clubber and underground deejay, and she designed this album as though every track was made to be played in a club mix. It’s a very addictive listen.



7. Coldplay – Parachutes

Although Coldplay would become a very formulaic band for the rest of the decade (A Rush of Blood to the Head, X&Y and Viva La Vida are basically clone albums), Parachutes was stunningly original when it first arrived and still stands out from the rest. Chris Martin’s delicate vocals were always on the money; their style was distinctly British, yet had a universal quality to it; and more importantly, the lyrics kinda made sense, unlike now, where Chris Martin writes songs that are self-indulgently cryptic.



6. Nelly Furtado – Whoa Nelly!

Although Loose was a far more popular album, Whoa Nelly! was the album that made Furtado seem like a pop visionary. She’s the classic case of someone with very diverse interests who, like MIA, brought it all together on her album. Hip-hop, Samba, Bossa Nova, R&B, and even traditional Portuguese music all collide in one place, and the formula works. She’s changed her style on every album (her latest album, Mi Plan, is entirely in Spanish), but this one stands out as her masterpiece.



5. Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane

I picked up this album many months before “This Love” became one of the biggest hits of the year and I never got tired of it. Maroon 5 is basically a rock band that is heavily influenced by soul/R&B, but instead of favoring one genre over the other, they made a record that shamelessly hybridized both. Unlike most recent releases, which are badly overproduced, Songs About Jane is a bare-bones album: it’s drums, guitars, keyboards, and a great lead vocalist in Adam Levine. Levine’s lyrics sway between overtly sensual and sexual to confessional and bitter. While most pop singers resemble other singers, Adam Levine and Maroon 5 sound like no one else. And while some bands (OneRepublic comes to mind) have followed in their footsteps, I doubt any will compare.



4. Amy Winehouse – Back to Black

On Frank, Amy Winehouse blended R&B with jazz and yielded good results. But on Back to Black, she teamed up with Mark Ronson for a phenomenal retro-inspired album, a throwback to 50’s and 60’s pop and soul. Her voice, which reminds me of Ronnie Spector, was already a good fit, but Winehouse took her commitment to the sound and style to the next level. She threw herself into the role like a method actor, suddenly donning 60s dresses and sporting a beehive hairdo. But instead of simply mimicking the past, she reinvented it. Winehouse is a complicated and difficult female who spun songs about alcoholism, sex, failed relationships, depression and self-destructive behavior, none of which could have been discussed on record in the past. The result is an intentionally anachronistic album that is a real marvel to hear.



3. Gwen Stefani – Love Angel Music Baby

I really didn’t know what to expect when I heard that Gwen Stefani was making a solo album. It was no mystery that she was more than just a rock singer (remember “Let Me Blow Your Mind,” her song with Eve?). But what direction would she take on a solo effort? The answer was “any and every direction she wanted.” Love Angel Music Baby is polarizing in every way. It pretty much can be summed up by what you think about “Hollaback Girl;” Is it unique and creatively entertaining, or the most annoying song ever made? Regardless, she took big risks on every song on LAMB, and while not every track works, the high points on the album are classics.




2. Kelly Clarkson – Breakaway

From the moment “Since U Been Gone,” hit the airwaves, Kelly Clarkson was a true revelation. Even though she would later fall out with Clive Davis, he deserves major credit for nurturing her in this direction, where she was able to break from the safe and sanitized American Idol mold and venture into (mild) rock territory. Half of the twelve tracks on Breakaway became hit singles, and half of those (“Since You Been Gone”, “Because of You” and “Breakaway”) were megahits. On Breakaway, she showed that she had tenderness, sass, attitude and a strong voice to convey all of those things in ridiculously accessible songs. There is much debate about which Idol contestant is the most talented, but I would argue that this is hands down the best album by a former Idol.



1. Pink – M!ssundaztood

M!sundaztood was an absolute game changer when it came out. Before this album, every pop artist made very harmless music in a typical, studio manufactured manner. Everyone sounded alike: Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Dream, the Backstreet Boys and all of the other bubblegum pop artists at the time. M!sundaztood changed all of that. Pink teamed up with Linda Perry to write brutally honest and confessional lyrics, then laid those over pop productions that were far edgier than the norm. The result was a personal album that rocked all the way through. It was daring, confrontational, and occasionally heartbreaking. While everyone else tried to be the good boy or girl next door, Pink was the bad girl with serious issues. After M!sundaztood sold over 10 million copies, everyone changed their style to be like her. Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera immediately became bad girls (Aguilera even hired Linda Perry for her album, Stripped). Other pop stars tried to write personal lyrics and sing like her. But no one, not even Kelly Clarkson, was able to fully capture what Pink did. It’s a one of a kind album.

Currently in Rotation: Dance Pop

Lady Gaga - "Paparazzi"
Taken from the album The Fame Monster

Get Low!

Random thoughts from a fun night in Fontana


** Around the end of the night, there were two people who basically had sex on the dance floor. This wasn’t just some dirty dancing duo. This was a girl lying on her back with her legs straight up the air and a guy on top of her, thrusting as hard as he could. Though they were fully clothed, it still bordered on pornographic. When they were done (which wasn’t until after they switched from missionary to doggystyle), no one danced in that spot on the floor for the rest of the night. The rest of the house can be cleaned up with soap and water, but that area will need a Hazmat crew. It was dirty and kind of a party foul… but who am I to talk.

** Last year I committed a major party foul by fainting twice in the middle of the party. I could have easily been uninvited from all future events for that embarrassing stunt. Thankfully, my party pass was not revoked, and this year, I stayed fully conscious for the entire night.

** DJ Icy Ice did it again! The man simply knows how to rock a party. I had to give him a pound on the way out.





** The number of confirmed guests on the E-vite was 49 people, but it felt as though twice as many came through. There were A LOT of people in there, and most of us were crammed into two or three rooms. That’s definitely a testament to the drawing power of an E-Dub/Neezy event. Most E-vites overestimate the number of attendees, but theirs was waaaay under.

** The night before the party, I made five gallons of strawberry lemonade, which I sold after work (long story). I sold about three and a half gallons of it. The remainder of it was taken home, put into pitchers and spiked with either Napoleon brandy or White Lightning, a very potent Chinese liquor (112 proof). I put in just enough booze to feel the effects, but not too much to ruin the flavor. I was pleased with both the original lemonade and my homemade hard lemonade, which made Mike’s Hard Lemonade seem like piss water by comparison.

** “Shots” by LMFAO with Lil Jon might be the most ignorant song ever made. But, man, it gets the party hyped! I guess I could say that about all songs with Lil Jon. “Shots” is also a good drinking song.






** I once said that the Pasadena Crew (aka the GeT AlOnG gAnG) should be known as The Partystarters for getting the party crackin wherever they go. That said, I think it’s only fair that my snowboarding clique (aka Ride or Die Crew), should be known as The Closers. 2 am, 3 am, 4am, it doesn’t matter: we are there til the end of the party. I got home last night well after 4 am, and despite a very long day, I felt fantastic. The Closers are me, Rocha, Key, Kim, Squintz, E-Dub, Neezy, Talks-A-Lot, Alicia, Kappa Cags, Ebere, Cassandra and a handful of others who made it ‘til the close.

** Smooth moment of the night: convincing two young ladies to try my lemonade. Not-so-smooth moment: finding out later on that one of them is allergic to strawberries.

** Usually when you throw a party and ask guests to bring something, you can’t rely on them to actually follow through. On a good day, you’ll be lucky if 20% of them actually come with what they said they would. Last night, it seemed like most people showed up with something to contribute. There was one point where there was no more room to put out any of the drinks or food.

** Props to E-Dub and Neezy for throwing another smashing party, and more importantly, for being gracious hosts. In the end, chalk it up as another successful event.


Currently in Rotation: Alternative Hip-Hop

LMFAO – "La La La"
Taken from the album Party Rock

Crash

It was a little after 7:00 pm. I was in my apartment eating dinner and watching MSNBC when there was a loud BOOM and the entire building shook.

My apartment complex is unstable and far from soundproof. If someone at the other end slams a door, the entire building shakes and everyone can hear it. At this point, I’m used to noises that seem stronger and closer than they really are, so I continued eating as though nothing happened.

I would have continued to ignore it, but a few minutes later my roommate came out of her bedroom and said, “Dude, I think someone just hit the building!” She went downstairs to take a closer look. Meanwhile, I ate.

A few minutes later, my phone rang. The roommie informed me that someone did - in fact - hit the building. No longer able to ignore current events, I decided to check it out… after I finished eating.

When my plate was empty, I grabbed my jacket and digital camera and went outside to investigate. The scene was simple. An alleyway full of police cars, ambulances and fire trucks. A woman, presumably the driver, being attended to by the police and paramedics. As I soaked in the scene, I took pictures. I then asked a few questions to the witnesses to piece together the events. I felt like I was a journalist again.





The woman from apartment number 17 drove home from work. Though the rain had stopped hours ago, it was still very wet outside. When she turned into her carport, her foot slipped off the brake pedal and the car plowed straight into the wall. The setup of the complex has the carports directly below and behind apartments, so she broke a hole into the bedroom of an apartment on the first floor.



Scene of the accident.





The good news is that no one was injured. The bad news is that her car is really jacked up and the apartment she hit is in bad shape. In addition to the hole in the wall, the car destroyed the main power and water lines, so the apartment was dark and completely flooded. Firemen ran in and out of the apartment to dump buckets of water with trash cans and whatever else they could fill. They eventually just shut off the water for the entire complex.

Tough to say what will happen now. One thing is for sure, Mario and his girlfriend (the people from the damaged apartment) will need to find a new place to stay for a while. There is a lot of commotion in that apartment right now, and I can only assume there will be a lot more of that in the days ahead as crews work to fix the damage.

The water will stay off through the night and into tomorrow, so it looks like that hot shower I wanted will have to wait. Also, I drink a lot of tap water, so with the water turned off in the middle of a very thirsty night, I had to hit up the local gas station/mini-mart for some drinks.

Not really a good night for anyone.

But on the bright side, at least dinner was good.


Currently in Rotation: Pop
Noisettes – “24 Hours”


Taken from the album Wild Young Hearts

Death and Taxes

A playlist dedicated to Brittany Murphy (1977-2009). All songs are from movies she starred in.

1. No Doubt – “Just a Girl” (featured in Clueless)
2. Garbage – “Sleep Together” (featured in Cherry Falls)
3. Pharcyde – “Runnin” (featured in 8 Mile)
4. India Arie – “Promises” (featured in Don’t Say A Word)
5. Notorious BIG – “Unbelievable” (featured in 8 Mile)
6. Basement Jaxx – “Do Your Thing” (featured in Just Married)
7. Stan Getz – “Autumn Leaves ” (featured in Sidewalks of New York)
8. Lily Allen – “Shame For You” (featured in Love and Other Disasters)
9. Earth Wind & Fire – “Boogie Wonderland” (performed by Brittany Murphy in Happy Feet)
10. Showbiz & AG – “Next Level (Nyte Time Mix)” (featured in 8 Mile)
11. Radiohead – “My Iron Lung” (featured in Clueless)
12. Rufus f. Chaka Khan – “Tell Me Something Good” (performed by Pink in Happy Feet)
13. Carly Simon – “That's The Way I Always Heard It Should Be” (featured in Little Black Book)

Currently Listening to: Hip-Hop
Notorious Big - "Unbelievable"

Taken from the album Ready to Die

Oh, Chariot!

A few days ago, I finally dropped off my car at a body shop in Ontario to repair the damaged door from my hit and run encounter. In need of a set of wheels to get around in the meantime, I called up Enterprise for a rental car. They picked me up and took me back to the agency in Pomona, where I filled out the paperwork to get a ride for 7-10 days. All good, right?

Hell No! I hate this car so much it's a shame.

I got a red Chevy Cobalt sedan. Don't let the name and appearance fool you. It may say Chevy, but I’m pretty sure it’s made by Tonka or Mattel. This car is so unstable and rickety it feels like a toy. I’m positive that if I got into a minor fender bender in this car, not only would it be totaled, but a brown paper bag would pop out of the steering wheel instead of an airbag.

It’s also a gas guzzler. I requested a small car so that fueling up wouldn’t be an issue, but it seems like every time I drive around the corner, I’m already down a quarter of a tank. And speaking of which, isn’t it customary that the agency give you a car with a full tank? The Cobalt STARTED at a quarter of a tank.

Isn’t it also customary that they spritz the car with some nice scents, like “new car smell,” to at least give you the illusion that you’re driving a vehicle that hasn’t been abused by a thousand other people before you. The Cobalt smells like cigarettes. I don't know who decided to hotbox with their Marlboros, but the car reeks of tobacco ash.

Another question: don’t they usually clean out the cars before giving them to you? Today I went Christmas shopping and, for the first time, looked into the backseat of the car. I was kinda floored by what I saw. In the back cupholder was a McDonald’s cup, filled with Sprite. The Sprite had been sitting in there for so long that it was leaking from the bottom. On the back seat was a barbecue dipping sauce. What the f**k! Did they hit up the drive-thru window right before giving me the car? I’m just thankful the barbecue container wasn’t opened, or that there were no Chicken McNuggets scattered around the trunk. Which leads me to...

The trunk on the Cobalt is a pain in the a**. I put my Christmas gifts inside the trunk at the mall (because for some reason, the backseat seemed like a bad idea). But when I got back to my place, the trunk wouldn’t open up. I spent almost ten minutes trying to put the key in and wiggle it around in random ways. I felt like the car was holding my stuff hostage. When it finally opened, I took my stuff out, closed the trunk, then tried it again to see if the stuck trunk was a one time thing... I still haven’t been able to get it open.

By no means do I hate Chevys. When Tom, Ari and I went on our road trip through Canada and the East Coast, we did the entire trip in an Impala. I drove 98% of the time and afterwards, I really felt like the Impala was a dope ride. But I can’t say the same about the Cobalt.

But then again, perhaps the fault lies not with Chevy, but with Enterprise. After all, I highly doubt that the soda, barbecue sauce and cigarette scent came from the factory.

Either way, I’d much rather have my Corolla.

PS – That reminds me, I found out that instead of being stuck with the rental car for 7-10 days, it’ll be more like 18 days thanks to holiday delays for ordered parts.

Eff My Life!


Currently in Rotation: Pop

Keane – “Is It Any Wonder”
Taken from the album Under the Iron Sea

Muddy Waters

Sunday morning began with my usual routine: a bowl of oatmeal and NFL football. I couldn’t watch all the games because I had to work in the afternoon, but I figured I would enjoy it while I could. About an hour before I was supposed to leave for work, my stomach started acting funny. I knew something was wrong, but I wasn’t willing to call out of work for a bad feeling, so went anyway.

The first half hour of work was okay, but then I started sweating and having trouble breathing. I went outside to get some air, but it was useless. I was unable to do anything productive, so my supervisor told me to go home. I went to clock out, but suddenly my stomach started going crazy. I ended up running into the manager’s office, grabbing the nearest trash can and filling it with vomit.

Sometimes throwing up makes you feel better; it’s like your body’s own quick fix. After I threw up, I felt better, so I told my supervisor I was willing to stay. But the feeling was short-lived; a few minutes later, I was worse than before. I got dizzy and nauseated, so I told Eminem (Emily M.) that I could no longer work. She called over my supervisor, who once again told me to go home. But at this point, I could barely walk, so I just sat where I was for ten minutes.

When I got the strength, I made my way to the bathroom. But this time, I felt a strong attack of diarrhea coming on, or as Dave Chappelle would call it, mudbutt. For my entire life, I have been strongly against sh**ting in public restrooms. Sunday was one of the few moments I had to make an exception. I threw down my pants, hopped my ass on the seat and held on for dear life. It was rough. I felt something like Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting, or maybe Jeff Daniels in Dumb and Dumber.



Post-mudbutt, I had the urge to vomit again. I started filling up the toilet before it could even finish flushing.

I eventually managed to leave work, but I knew that I had a very small window before I would have another attack. I’m not even sure how I drove because everything was a blur at that point. I just know that instead of going to my apartment, I went to my parents’ house, where they took care of me for the night. From when I got there until I went to sleep (6pm-1am), my night consisted of throwing up every 20 minutes and occasional mudbutt. At one point in the middle of the night, I got so dehydrated that I could no longer feel anything below my elbows or knees. I was completely empty. At the beginning of the night, I thought it was either food poisoning or a stomach bug. By the end of the night, I was convinced that it might be malaria or cholera.

I spent yesterday slowly recovering, just hoping that I could hold down food. Today has been the same. My stomach still isn’t right, but stuff like this rarely resolves itself overnight. I suspect the culprit was food poisoning, most likely the peach preserves I put in the oatmeal. I didn't know it at the time, but I found out later that the delicious jelly was hella old.

For the last few weeks, I thought I was so fortunate because I was pretty much the only person at work who hadn’t gotten sick in November or December. The joke was on me. I not only got sick, I got it worse than anyone else. I’m gonna try to return to work tomorrow. Let’s hope that goes better than the last time.


Currently in Rotation: SynthPop

La Roux – “Colourless Colour”
From the album La Roux

Necessary Roughness

Earlier this evening in New York City, Mark Ingram of the University of Alabama was awarded the Heisman Trophy for being the best collegiate football player in America. I give him props, but I respectfully disagree with the win. I don’t believe he was the best running back in the country, let alone the best overall player. To be sure, he is a very talented player on a great team; but based on his statistics and what I’ve seen from him this season, I can’t call him the best player in the nation.

The Heisman trophy has always suffered from legitimacy issues due to regional bias, out-of-touch Heisman voters, priority of team records over player stats, and other political nonsense. In the case of Ingram, the latter two biases were definitely in effect.

The fact that he was on an undefeated team played a huge role in his consideration over other running backs with better stats but on teams with worse records. But more importantly, from the midpoint of the season, everyone in the media kept talking about how no one from Alabama had ever won the Heisman, thus crowning him as the great hope to win the award. Every game was about how this “storied program” has never had a Heisman winner. I believe this pervasive line of logic swayed votes, a way of further boosting the legacy of the Alabama Crimson Tide program.

There was also a lot of talk about how the winner this year would most likely NOT be a quarterback, regardless of how good they played. Since 2000, a QB had won every year, except in 2005 when Reggie Bush of USC won the trophy (and he could have very easily lost to another quarterback in Vince Young of Texas). The voters were somewhat tired of quarterbacks winning the award, so it was almost a given that a player of another position would win this year.

By no means do I intend to diminish Mark Ingram’s achievements, but rather point out the flaws of the Heisman balloting. The voting is so political and subjective that it pretty much guarantees the best players will have a difficult time getting nominated, let alone win.

This is why I place higher priority on the position awards, such as the Biletnikoff Trophy (best wide receiver), the Jim Thorpe Award (best defensive back), the Doak Walker Award (best running back) and the AP Player of the Year. Interestingly enough, of the five Heisman candidates this year, Mark Ingram is the only one to not win a position award.

So who would I have voted for? Although I’ve been on the Colt McCoy bandwagon for two seasons, I can’t overlook Ndamukong Suh of University of Nebraska. This guy was not only the best college player in the nation, but he’s the only one in this group who I am also 100% positive will have an exceptional career ahead of him. The rest of the guys may or may not become good NFL players, but barring injury, Suh is a guaranteed franchise player. Colt McCoy would get my No. 2 vote and Toby Gerhardt would be my No. 3.

Question: If you had a Heisman ballot, who would you have picked?


Currently in Rotation: Samba

Seu Jorge – Life on Mars
Taken from the album: The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions