The Black Keys
Attack and Release
Last year, when I decided to expand my listening pleasure to include rock, I fell in love with the White Stripes. I met a guy, Eddie, who told me that I needed to listen to the Black Keys, claiming that they "come from a more authentic place." I just thought him a hater, but, if Eddie's at all representative of Black Keys fans, I can see why they're pissed off at this new effort. But I gotta say, I think adding Danger Mouse as their producer was a stroke of genius. All three of these guys put their feet in it. I betcha this is going to be on a lot of Top Ten lists for '08.
The Heavy
Great Vengeance and Furious Fire
I became an instant addict of these Brits. Hard-driving, retro funk with a hip-hop edge. My wife described them as Lenny Kravitz if he could maintain his avant-retro-garde for an entire album. A friend of mine thought they were a lot like Gnarls Barkley. I read a review that compared the Heavy to both. All I can say is this is on my Top 10 this year.
The Cool Kids
Bake Sale
2008 meets 1996 with tongue in cheek for a good time. A lot of fun.
Y Society
Travel at Your Own Pace
A co-worker, Hater, turned me onto these DC bruddas. Since he hates everything, I figured it had to be good. He definitely didn't do me wrong. It's got that jazzy, mid-90s feel for the sophisticated set. I'd re-title the CD For Lovers of Low End Theory when Luda Is Not Enuff.
Rotary Connection
Rotary Connection
Minnie Riperton's first group. They were soulful psychedelic deconstructionists whose covers of "Soul Man," "Ruby Tuesday," and "Like a Rolling Stone" are not at all recognizable from the original. I think they had three albums, but I only have this one and Aladdin. Both are serious gems. I'm looking for the third because I think it has their version of "Respect" and "Black Gold of the Sun" (yes, Nuyorican Soul fans, that "Black Gold of the Sun"). Dig in those crates for these cats.
Robert Palmer
Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley
My quest to expand my musical tastes and hatred of what's on the radio have taken me down some pretty queer roads. I never ... ever ... ever thought I'd like anything by this cheesemeister. However, his debut album was pretty funky. Consider it blue-eyed Sly Stone, and the tour-de-force, "Through It All There's You," is well worth the shame of having to admit that I like a Robert Palmer album.
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