So SNSD Made Their US Morning Show Debut This Morning…
I tend to loathe when a musical artist gets booked on what used to be Live with Regis and Kelly (previously Live with Regis and Kathie Lee). For one thing, when the show would start, one would have to suffer (or fast-forward if they recorded the show) through a babbling dialogue between Regis and Kelly (mostly pushed by Regis) that would take up at least 45 percent of the airtime. Secondly, musical artists tend to not get more than two minutes to pay a song, which is both jarring to the viewer and insulting to the artists. James Brown actually refused (and rightly so) to perform under such a ridiculous restriction and cancelled his appearance on the show at the last minute.
Girls Generation did a performance of “The Boys” on Live with Kelly this morning that I didn’t find out about until someone tweeted to me about it last night after my last post went up. I somewhat dreaded it because of how ridiculous the format of the show has been for decades, but I still set my DVR (and ended up watching it live anyway – thank god I have Wednesday mornings off). Regis is, thankfully gone (adios, you babbling idiot…), the monologue was thankfully shorter, and Girls Generation got off a relatively complete performance of “The Boys”, albeit one where there might have been one verse left out of the song (I didn’t replay the performance this time around). They did, however, perform over a backing track rather than use a live band like last night on The Late Show with David Letterman, which was a bit of a letdown.
They also got their first US TV interview courtesy of the show, with host Kelly Ripa being somewhat serious and guest co-host Howie Mandel being a slightly less obnoxious asshole than Regis Philbin. There could have been a bit more research and thought going into the questions asked of the band, but since the show was geared mainly toward a more general audience that is to be expected. The show’s producers also had a shot of the band’s tour bus and the crowd of hardcore Sone (at least one of them holding up a copy of the tin-packaged Korean edition of the new album) waiting outside, which was good because America got to see a crowd of discerning American pop fans who wouldn’t listen to thoughtless, overproduced, and undercomposed dreck like Katy Perry or Scotty McCreepy if you put a loaded pistol to their heads.
So, two for two as far as SNSD’s first two performances on American television go. Let’s see what happens from here (An album or EP with English versions of “Genie”, “Hoot”, and their other earlier hits would be a nice start…)
So SNSD Made Their American TV Debut Last Night…
…well, it’ll be last night when most of you will be reading this. As of this writing, Girls’ Generation’s network TV debut on The Late Show With David Letterman – pre-taped Tuesday afternoon – finished airing about ten minutes ago and I even re-ran it to watch a second time. Let’s get right to business:
PROS: Girls Generation and the session musicians backing them – a curious three-piece unit of keyboards, drums, and DJ – could have done a note-for-note performance of “The Boys”, but surprised me by switching up the arrangement a little bit, throwing in a new instrumental break that isn’t on the original recording in the process. Their vocals were live and not lipsynched, which was another plus (there were a few pre-recorded effected vocals running underneath the live mics – more on that in a moment – but those were there to help replicate the production of the original recording while SNSD sang live over them, not for them to mime to). They also handled their choreography well despite the relatively small amount of real estate on the stage floor they had to deal with (and even though Sunny, at least for a second or two, in danger of bumping her ass cheeks into Paul Schaffer’s keyboard stands).
CONS: Firstly, whoever David Letterman’s director is needs to be repeatedly pimpsmacked, as there were quite a few times when the cameras were focusing on members who weren’t singing. The vocal mix wasn’t 100% perfect as a few of the members seemed to have had their mic levels lower than the rest of the group, and at one point a pre-recorded effected vocal almost cancelled out one of the other members’s live vocal. And who said Regis Philbin (who had participated in a field-goal skit with Letterman and guest Bill Murray) could obnoxiously blow his referee’s whistle right after Girls Gen and their band stopped playing? Isn’t that old fart supposed to be completely retired from being on television?
So, that’s SNSD’s American TV debut in a nutshell. Are there going to be other TV performances to follow this one? Or are Interscope going to drop the ball and not push them any further this cycle, just like they unnecessarily delayed the American release of the album Girls Generation are supposed to be promoting for months after its original Korean release? Time will tell…
BEST ALBUMS OF 2011 – Numbers 15 to 11
Even though my personal life is getting even more fucking hectic as Christmas draws near, I settled earlier this month on a plan to post my Best Albums countdown at a more timely basis. I will be posting albums #10 through #6 between December 20 and December 24, taking a one-day break on Christmas, and resuming the countdown with #5 on the 26th.
Since I had a few albums that didn’t make the cut but didn’t see fit to pass off, I decided to throw in five more favorite albums to kick off the countdown a day early. Without further (any?) delay…
Lulu
(Warner Bros., available on CD, LP, iTunes, Amazon)
It’s not for everybody – you’d have to appreciate or at least respect what Lou has done in his solo career from New York first – but the only thing tone-deaf about this album were the armchair OMGWTFBBQ1111!!! “critics” who thought this was a mistake for both Lou and the Metallikats. It’s definitely the toughest backing band Lou has ever had in his solo career. Give it another chance.
To Hell With God
(Century Media, available on CD, iTunes, and Amazon)
Changing record labels always seems to revitalize Glen Benton and company. While their last (almost for good) album Till Death Do We Part was no black mark on the rest of the band’s catalogue (That dishonor would go to In Torment In Hell, their last album for Roadrunner ten years ago), this album would prove to be the best album they’ve done since Once Upon The Cross.
Tha Carter IV
(Cash Money/Universal, available on CD, iTunes, Amazon and Spotify)
As a pun-dropping lyricist, he hasn’t changed one goddamn bit – which is a good thing. And he doesn’t intend to sit on his ass, either, if talk of a Rebirth 2 and an I Am Not A Human Being 2 is any indication.
The People’s Key
(Saddle Creek, available on CD, LP/CD combo, iTunes, Amazon and Spotify)
Conor Oberst’s songwriting skills are still as sharp as ever musically. Lyrically, I still haven’t made up my mind about the subject matter on this album. Otherwise, it was worth the wait after two “solo” albums released in the years between Cassadaga and now.
The Boys
(SM Entertainment, available on import CD only)
The title track ended up being better in the original Korean than in the English version released here by Interscope, although the song itself turned out to be a grower. While the entire album is not perfect, it’s the best long-player out of the three original editions they’ve done.
REVIEW: GIRLS’ GENERATION “The Boys” single
GIRLS GENERATION (SNSD)
“The Boys” single
(SM Entertainment/Interscope)
Available on iTunes
Rating: 
Let’s be honest and brief: I am a big Girls Generation/SNSD fan. I’m glad they signed a major label deal with Interscope/Universal. But this first single under their new deal is a disappointment.
The English-language vocals are fine, save for the unnecessary rap-style vocal breaks – the girls handled themselves admirably here. But musically, this single is just not on the level of “Gee”, “Genie”, or “Hoot”. It is a shade better than much of what is overpopulating Top 40 radio currently and lately, but knowing what I know of what they’re capable of, this was a poor choice for a first American single. I would have much preferred that they cut an English language version of “Genie” or “Hoot”, which would have smoked the likes of Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus into either retirement or suicide.
Even sadder was the choice of producer Teddy Riley to handle this. What was wrong with SM’s own stable of producers and songwriters? Teddy Riley has some classics under his arm but he hasn’t had a hit single as either a producer or songwriter since Bill Clinton was president. At least it wasn’t some low-talent, overpriced, overrated chump like Timbaland that can only write one riff at a time, talk annoyingly in the background behind the featured vocalist, and call it a complete song.
The only silver lining to this is that those that hear this, if they choose to dig further, will get to hear what the band is capable of. But even that’s not a given. I hope the new album is a lot better than this!
3 out of 5 stars. Sorry, ladies.
BEST ALBUMS OF 2010
This list took forever – for which I’m sorry.
I knew some of the sure fire candidates that were going to be on here – but had to think back to some of the others that had come out this year that I enjoyed. My rather slack blogging activity probably didn’t help matters, and this year I’m determined to review albums within days of their issue (JapanFiles’s sudden licensing split with UFW blew my usual trend of reviewing Morning Musume’s newest album before I had gotten my physical copy, and I never found a leak in time.) My marriage plus the holidays on top of that… you get the picture. And I wasn’t going to pull a stunt like I did in 2007 and do the entries in small installments either, at first, but since I’d rather move forward, this methodology will have to do this time around.
One caveat: the new albums from Morning Musume (Fantasy Juuichi) and Ayumi Hamasaki (Love Songs) that were just released this month are not going to be considered for this list for one simple reason: They’re too new. They’ll be eligible for the 2011 list as I’m sure I’ll be playing them a lot over the next twelve months. And with regard to Mike Watt’s hyphenated-man album, even though it came out in Japan in October, I’m holding off on both counting it for this list and reviewing it until the domestic release happens this spring.
So, here goes nothing…
10. ERODE AND DISAPPEAR – Scythian Lamb (self-released 12” EP/CD package; visit www.erodeanddisappear.com) This duo is actually 2/3 of the Philadelphia trio Northern Liberties, singer/percussionist Justin Duerr and bassist Kevin Riley, and the band/project’s name comes from NL’s first full length album of the same name. With NL’s drummer (and Justin’s brother) Mark having to semi-curtail his participation in the group in the wake of becoming a father, Justin and Kevin chose to occupy the idle time by continuing to make music solidly in the NL tradition, this time with Justin taking over the drum kit as well as singing. A long time in coming since the project started, Scythian Lamb makes for a more than adequate continuation/tideover of the NL sound until the trio’s next release (set for later this year).
9. GIRLS GENERATION – Hoot (SM Entertainment) – The unstoppable Korean nonet seems best taken in EP-length doses (Their second album Oh! and its companion “deluxe reissue” RunDevilRun seem to be very slow growers as far as listener appeal, despite many stellar tracks), and in the 007-vibed title track the group has its strongest song since “Genie”. How soon will SM fully target the US with these ladies, now that they’re making inways into Japan?
8. DEVO – Something for Everyone (Warner Bros.) – A fine comeback from the influential quintet. Sadly, Warners dropped the ball after their initial support for the group’s comeback, failing to release the uncharacteristic ballad “No Place Like Home” as a follow-up single as well as failing to continue their remastered back catalog program (Oh! No It’s Devo and Shout still await the deluxe treatment afforded the band’s first four albums).
7. RICK ROSS – Teflon Don (Maybach Music/Def Jam) – Although materialistic rap in general may be fading (witness the relative sales and critical failure of Lloyd Banks’ “comeback” album after making such a strong impression saleswise with his first post-Interscope single “Beamer Benz and Bentley”), Ross has a strong, booming voice and an unlimited supply of clever punchlines going for him, and when he has stellar production behind him (see: first single “B.M.F. (Blowin’ Money Fast)”, “Maybach Music III” with its live orchestral[!] backing), the songs work. When of his guest vocalists can hold their own next to the big man (see: Cee-Lo Brown on “Tears of Joy”, Jay-Z and John Legend on “Free Mason”, Drake on “Astin Martin Music”, Kanye West – who also produced – on “Live Fast Die Young”), it’s icing on the cake. When the production isn’t all there or the guest features are just lame (Gucci Mane’s terrible vocals bring down “MC Hammer” drastically), it weakens the album – but fortunately those moments are rare.
6. BUONO! – We Are Buono! (Pony Canyon) – Still unstoppable even after three albums. Does one even have to be reminded why? Now if only Miyabi, Airi and Momoko would actually pick up instruments…
5. SCANDAL – Temptation Box (Epic/Sony) – And speaking of unstoppable, the Osaka Four’s second full-length outing finds our heroines progressing nicely without losing the edge that brought them to the dance in the first place. (The companion cover versions EP R-Girls Rock!, issued a few months later, also helps ground the young ladies by reminding them of how they got to the dance in the first place.)
4. KODA KUMI – 8th AL Universe (Rhythm Zone/Avex) – Kuu-chin goes organic for the first half of the album, then goes back to her more urban/electronic side for the second half, and it all works.
3. AYUMI HAMASAKI – Rock n Roll Circus (Avex) – While not as entirely rock-influenced as the album title suggests, Ayu reached high, made up for the somewhat weak Next Level, and handed in one of her strongest albums in years (and kept going strong, what with the late-December release of yet another studio album, Love Songs).
2. NICKI MINAJ – Pink Friday (Young Money/Universal); KANYE WEST – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Rockafella/Def Jam) – 
Two artists, one a rookie and one a veteran, both with something to prove, and both succeeding both artistically and at the cash register. And both did it with high levels of creativity and without resorting to gangsteresque/materialistic bullshit. The fact that these albums outsold G-Unit flunkie Lloyd Banks’ would-be “comeback” album several times over – apiece – says, along with Nicki’s labelmate Drake and mentor Lil’ Wayne – more good things about the direction of hip-hop rap than had been said at least a year or so before.
1. MORNING MUSUME – 10 My Me (Zetima) – MoMusu at their most experimental, closing out their “emo” period with finality and looking forward to the future – and this would be just part one of their current story. The December 2010 release of the equally strong (and less experimental) Fantasy Juuichi and the addition of the 9th Generation members are merely the beginning of another chapter. They’ll keep going and going and going, and music will be better for it.
BEST ALBUMS OF 2009: #10 (tie): MEAT PUPPETS “Sewn Together” / GIRLS GENERATION “Genie: The Second Mini-Album”
MEAT PUPPETS
Sewn Together
(Megaforce)
Available on CD, colored-vinyl LP, iTunes and AmazonMP3
GIRLS GENERATION (SDSN)
Genie: The Second Mini-Album
(SM Entertainment)
Available on CD
One of the reasons this year’s list took me awhile to finalize is because there were some albums I simply couldn’t bring myself to cut out of the list. This installment is one of the most extreme cases.
The Pups’ first album since brothers/founding members Curt and Cris Kirkwood reconvened, Rise To Your Knees (Anodyne, 2007), was a nice restart, but wasn’t completely up to the level of their classic back catalog. This time around, however, the group returned with all cylinders firing, recalling much of their glory days (Up On The Sun, Mirage, Too High To Die, Huevos) without breaking as much of a sweat. The album’s title seems more indicative of the band’s unlikely label for this release (the more metal-oriented Megaforce label) than for the state of the band’s lineup, which is playing like they never left in the first place.
As for the group known in their native Korea as So Nyeo Shi Dae: K-Pop isn’t something that I ever seriously delved into, and to be honest, I still really haven’t, except for this particular band (via the recommendation of my female counterpart, Vee from PinkWota.com). Genie, their current EP, got me hooked in with the title track and went from there. Besides the very catchy title song, the shameless 80’s pop of “Girlfriend” and the Strauss-interpoating “My Child” are the EP’s other high watermarks that had me going back and getting the rest of the group’s back catalog, which didn’t hook me as quickly as this EP did. But that’s OK, because if this EP is their current creative high point, then that’s enough to have me looking forward to future releases from them.
