December 2008 Archives

Song: Skinny Love
Album: For Emma, Forever Ago
Artist: Bon Iver
Selected by: Nate Cavalieri
Date: December 31, 2008

Much like the record from which it comes, this tune has the kind of hushed, snowed-in intimacy that you might expect from a guy who broke up with his girlfriend, split up his band and headed to a hunting cabin in the Wisconsin woods to ride out the heartbreak. Justin Vernon's one-man band, Bon Iver, won apt comparisons to Elliot Smith and turned out the slow-grow record of 2008. By the time its done, those of you who aren't curled up in the fetal position sobbing will want to take your head out of the oven.

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We asked some of our favorite musicians to tell us about some of their favorite artists, songs and moments from 2008. Here's what Swedish metalheads In Flames had to say about the year in music.

Favorite album:
Who the hell released albums this year?  [Laughs] I think, this is not a metal band but it’s a band called Glasvegas, from Scotland.  That is an amazing album.  I mean it’s kind of depressing in a way, but to me it’s in an uplifting way.  A lot of darkness and sadness in the songs and everything, but to me I find beauty in these things as well.  A lot of my friends were like “how can you listen to this stuff?”  I love when things go in a new, darker and more depressed stage.

We asked some of our favorite musicians to tell us about some of their favorite artists, songs and moments from 2008. Here's what auto-tuned R&B sensation T-Pain had to say about the year in music.

Why Your Album Deserves To Be In Year End Best Lists
I really don’t know. A lot of good albums came out this year. You get me. Everybody hearing all the hits I’m making for everyone. The hooks that I’m doing and the concepts I’m coming up with. It’s an album of that.

Song: Lollipop
Album: Tha Carter III
Artist: Lil' Wayne
Selected by: Toshi Kondo
Date: December 30, 2008

After creating a near-frenzy with countless stellar mixtapes and guest appearances, would 2008 see Lil Wayne break through as a bonafied superstar or wilt under the almost unrealistic expectations? Wayne chose the former, using auto-tune on this sexually explicit serenade with singer-songwriter Static Major (Aaliyah, Missy Elliott, Timbaland) to create the hottest club song of the year, and propelling Tha Carter III to 3 million copies sold.

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George Jones once called 1970 "a good year for the roses," and though the fellow who made my very favorite album this year accurately suggested that his records be alphabetically filed "somewhere between Jennings and Jones," he apparently thought 2008 was a good year for mowin' down his ex-wife's roses with a tractor instead. Another hint is that, though legend has it he created his highly introspective current album in quiet seclusion after a life-changing breakup while letting his beard grow, he is amazingly not Bon Iver! Also, he and the fellow who made my second-favorite album of the year both have the same last name! Which last name somehow appears nowhere among my 51st-to-100th or 101st-to-150th favorite albums of 2008! Guess I've just got a thing for Johnsons. Not to mention grumpy old white guys who mess up their lives a lot. Psychoanalyze that how you will. And Happy New Year!

We asked some of our favorite musicians to tell us about some of their favorite artists, songs and moments from 2008. Here's what Camila Grey from Uh-Huh Her had to say about the year in music.

Favorite Album of The Year:
MGMT-Oracular Spectacular

Favorite Rapper of the Year:
Kanye West

We asked some of our favorite musicians to tell us about some of their favorite artists, songs and moments from 2008. Here's what New York champagne-popper Jim Jones had to say about the year in music.

Big Events of 2008 That You Address On Your New Album
I’ve been finished with my album so I didn’t get a chance to mention anything about a black president and all that type of sh*t there. But my albums always talk about the recession. We been in a recession. It’s called poverty. That’s what my album reflects. All my n*gg*s in the hood that’s coming up hopeless and trying to struggle to make a dollar. It ain’t easy because they ain’t giving no jobs so we hustle to get ours.

So, all I want to say is the same thing I've said every year this decade: If you think hardly any good albums came out this year, you weren't looking very hard. Period. Otherwise, the main thing I realized while compiling the list below is what a really good year 2008 was for rock from Australia (which is where numbers 51 and 52 come from, plus at least four others -- five if New Zealand counts.) Otherwise otherwise, see numbers 101 to 150. And for numbers 1 to 50, wait a couple days. Those'll be even better, I promise!

Song: Paper Planes
Album: Kala
Artist: M.I.A.
Selected by: Philip Sherburne
Date: December 29, 2008

Multicultural ambassador M.I.A. had her work cut out for her in a year that saw America elect a mixed-race president with roots in Kenya, Kansas and Hawaii. But her "Paper Planes," an ambivalent look at globalization, logged some serious mileage, soaring through the airwaves to explode in countless remixes and cover versions.

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Ground rules: (1) Only albums I actually listened to were eligible. Which means I didn't include albums that I didn't hear. Pretty obvious, right? But worth noting, even if nobody making lists like this ever does, given the thousands upon thousands of albums I didn't hear (the overwhelming majority of which I have no interest in, and wouldn't have liked even if I did hear them, but what the heck.) (2) I included reissues, but not ones that merely repackaged old albums that've always existed. (3) I also included a few albums that came out in late 2007, but nobody noticed until 2008. That said, on with the show!

We asked some of our favorite musicians to tell us about some of their favorite artists, songs and moments from 2008. Here's what Chicago MC/actor Common had to say about the year in music.

Big Events of 2008 That You Address On Your New Album
I wrote about Obama. It was more in a way of talking about the change that I see happening in the world when people were started to get inspired by what Obama was doing. The hope that everybody had in their eyes and all the unity and energy that we got out there going right now. I have a song called “Changes” that’s really is symbolic to that and it really could be Barack Obama’s inaugural song because it is something that really deals the positive changes and seeing a better day for the youth and the future. So that’s one song that I could say that revolves around a big event that happened.  You know, to be honest, a lot of the rest of the songs on the album is more just about having fun and enjoying life. There was so much trouble and people were going through so much that I wanted this music to be a release. To be something for them to let go, take their minds off of it, feel some type of inspiration, and just think about fun, smiling, and kicking it. I wanted that to create that energy because I knew people were going through so much.

Song: Seven Principles
Album: Selections 1976-1988
Artist: Sweet Honey in the Rock
Selected by: Sarah Bardeen
Date: December 26, 2008

Get into the spirit of Kwanzaa -- which begins today. Tune into the uplifting harmonies of American a cappella institution Sweet Honey in the Rock as they sing about the holiday's seven principles.

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We asked some of our favorite musicians to tell us about some of their favorite artists, songs and moments from 2008. Here's what acclaimed remixer Morgan Page had to say about the year in music.

Favorite Album Of The Year:
Fleet Foxes

Favorite Rapper Of The Year:
Kanye West

We asked some of our favorite musicians to tell us about some of their favorite artists, songs and moments from 2008. Here's what San Fran thrash-metal band Testament had to say about the year in music.

Favorite album:
I like our record a lot of course and other than that the new Whitesnake record just was killer --  Doug Aldrich is one of my favorite guitar players and it’s very old school, I like that. The Avenged Sevenfold record, that’s pretty good too.

Song: The Little Drummer Boy
Album: The Little Drummer Boy
Artist: Harry Simeone Chorale
Selected by: Stephanie Benson
Date: December 25, 2008

Once upon a time, in a land before the Beatles, a young lad named Richard Starkey received his first drum kit for Christmas. Somewhere in the distance a sprightly fellow by the name of Pete Best, unaware of his future fate as an original Beatle, sighs. The rest is history.

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The Road Hammers are four guys from Alberta and Ontario -- led by Jason McCoy, a great white north star in his own right -- who pretty much only sing about driving trucks and all that entails, often with a chugging road rhythm underneath and compact guitar solos and sundry ignition noises on top.

Song: Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Album: A Christmas Gift To You From Phil Spector
Artist: Darlene Love
Selected by: Mike McGuirk
Date: December 24, 2008

Arguably the best Christmas song of them all (except for maybe the rest of this album) -- the yearning in Darlene Love’s voice, the shimmering sleigh bells, the drums, the pianos, the backup singers – it just doesn’t get the much more … Christmas-y than this. (Let’s just try and forget that Phil Spector is currently on trial for the murder of a nightclub hostess, not to mention his felony possession of extremely bad hair.)

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We asked some of our favorite musicians to tell us about some of their favorite artists, songs and moments from 2008. Here's what masked metal avengers Slipknot had to say about the year in music.

Favorite album:
My favorite album of the year is mine of course.  [Laughs] I mean because I’m on it [laughs]. It’s just the best record of the year.

We asked some of our favorite musicians to tell us about some of their favorite artists, songs and moments from 2008. Here's what Miami DJ/hitmaker DJ Khaled had to say about the year in music.

Big events of 2008 that you address on your new album
I try to just express the grind, the hustle, and showing people you got to go hard

Angela Bruno: So, here it is, Chris. It's time for the big dance. The senior prom of all blog posts! Except that I've blocked out almost all the details of all proms I've attended. Especially that year when I was everyone's back up date … . But these songs, no, I'll never forget em. Especially with the way you played these breakfast, lunch and afternoon-snacktime at the office. Ah, the memories …

Ne –Yo, "Closer"
AB: Not gonna lie. I pretty much despised Ne-Yo before this song. Then he started wearing really nice suits. And when this song came out – March? – it sounded like dancing-under-palm-trees. Which is just so me.

CR

Kanye West, "Love Lockdown"
AB: Favorite memory: rubbernecking to watch this LIVE on the Paramount lot at the VMAs. Only topped by watching Ellen's reaction to its video premiere on her show. Only matched by my reaction to it premiering on Ellen .

The Academy Is …, "About a Girl"
AB: That dude must be on the Rachel Zoe workout plan. Not only does he look like a chick with an eating disorder – but he is clearly embattled by inflated male ego/insecurity. That's right, bah humbug, I feel sooo bad for you.

John Legend, "Green Light"
AB: I thought I was so over Legend's lothario-hidden-under-the-guise-of-classy-cabaret-esque-piano-man shtick. 'Cause, when you break it down, this song is really only about the urgency of his … boner. Sorry, can I say boner here? But, like I said, nice suits. And Andre's on it. Best line: "I heard you when you told your girl when, oooh he can get it/admit it/ you did it."

Webbie, "Independent"
AB: According to this song, if I work hard, I'm a "bad broad." And according to this squad of romeo-geniuses, a "bad broad" -- by definition (if you don't know, now you know) -- "She cook, she clean, neva smell like onion rings." (Phew, got all three! Thought I'd never make the cut.) This is where you spell everything out …

Mariah, "Touch My Body"
AB: Oh Mariah, back on the crazy train. How you infuriated me this year. That "wedding" to Nick Cannon. That other wedding to Nick Cannon. The rumors about you two procreating. Please god no.The ill-explained allusion to physics. Oh yeah, and put some CLOTHES on. As me and my girlfriends have hypothesized, she probably got married in a mohair thong bikini. And you, Chris, force-feeding me gossip about her all year long. You fueled the flames!

T.I., "Live Your Life"
AB: Just the absolute JAM. Played on cue by you on all those ice-coffee-and-chair-dancing-fueled summer afternoons. Hold up, I'm getting misty eyed.

Katy Perry, "Hold N Cold"
AB: Katy Perry, I salute you. And I'll even forget "Kissed a Girl" while I'm at it too. Serious karaoke potential. But you wouldn't know anything about that …

Paramore, "That's What You Get"
AB: I love Paramore/Hayley. Loved 'em/her from the get. Don't know why, just do. Plus, you know it's a good song when all the women shoppers at H&M are singing along to it. That is a bond you can't break.

Young Jeezy, "Put On"
AB: Wasn't that into "Put On" … until I watched an a cappella troupe sing it. Total Street Cred Points Earned : -763!!! And while apparently it's not okay to smell like onion rings, it's apparently okay "her weave look like curly fries." Copy paste other lyrics about – fish sticks, tartar sauce, pockets full of celery, asparagus, they know he got that broccoli ….

Jim Jones, "Pop Champagne"
AB: Champagne gives me an immediate hangover. And Jim Jones makes me immediately projectile vomit. But for all his misogyny, megalomania, arrogance and douchebaggery, this song serves its party-purpose. Darn it.

Jesse McCartney, "Leavin'"
 AB: I credit the success of this song to ... you playing it incessantly, grown men singing along to it (aka all of my coworkers), my (literally) escapist tendencies, the paltry success rate of my romantic endeavors, his boyish good looks .... total summer jam.

Danity Kane, "Damaged"
 AB: I credit the success of this song to ... my playing it incessantly, grown women (aka all of my friends) singing along to it, my (literally) escapist tendencies, the paltry success rate of my romantic endeavors, their boyish good looks .... that breakdown at the end is simply delicious.

Usher, "Love in this Club"
AB: Maybe Jeezy is just hungry: "it's going down on aisle 3, I bag you like some grocercies." Plus, listening to any other songs on Usher's album is like moving mountains [cue the laugh track]. Real talk: I was beyond obsessed with this song – and could not for the months of march-may start my day without listening to this at least twice every morning.
CR: Jeezy also delved into produce metaphors on "Put On" (asparagus, broccoli, etc.)

Leona Lewis, "Bleeding Love"
AB: How could you not get swept away in the Leona Lewis zeitgeist that was the first half of '08? How could you not expect it to fizzle out soon thereafter?

Lil Wayne, "A Milli"
AB: So much has been said that there's not much left to say. I've had conversations I never thought I would have about Weezy with people I'd never thought I'd have them with. Total Street Cred Points Earned: 375! The only thing I regret about my year with Weezy is not getting wise to him post-Hot Boys, pre-T3. Total Street Cred Points Earned: -19.

Yung La, "Ain't I"
AB: I'm forfeiting this round. I can't pretend like I've actually heard this song before. Total Street Cred Points Earned: -27.

T-Pain, "I Can't Believe It"
 AB: I can't believe how nonplussed I am. Total Street Cred Points Earned: 444!

Jonas Brothers, "Burning Up"
 AB: Camilla who?
CR: U mad.
AB: Holler at me Joe Jonas, I'll make the pain go away – that was too much eyebrow for one relationship anyway. Plus, I went to Catholic school grades K-12. [Wink.]
CR: Christ on crutches, the boy wears promise rings.
AB: Oh, sorry, I got distracted. This song totally caught me by surprise – in a good way.

Taylor Swift, "Love Story"
AB: I give her props for calling out Joe Jonas [loyalty is not my best quality]. But the thing I love most about this is your completely unironic love for Taylor Swift. ALL you.

So, if you've been paying attention, I've spent lots of time in the past two months listening to singles from other people's and publications' Best Singles of 2008 lists, in order to determine whether such accolades were deserved. This time out, I'm tackling lists published in Slate by Jody Rosen (a Top 25) and Robert Christgau (a Top 10) as part of an often intriguing and just as often infuriating now-apparently-annual three-way discussion on the year in music (also featuring Ann Powers, whose list has yet to be included). I've got thoughts about what they wrote, too. But I'll procrastinate on those.

We asked some of our favorite musicians to tell us about some of their favorite artists, songs and moments from 2008. Here's what the Austin metal band the Sword had to say about the year in music.

Favorite album
I'm gonna have to go with Torche, Meanderthal on that one. Torche is really one of my favorite bands.  They satisfy the seemingly impossible qualification of being "as heavy as the Melvins." Sorry, no other band in the world is that heavy. AND they understand how to use melodies to really engage you and demonstrate a pop sensibility that hardly anyone can match. They are like an elegant Giant that has turned total destruction into a breathtakingly beautiful form of art.

My tastes and Pitchfork's generally tend to reside on opposite polar extremes (never did forgive that stupid 0.8 those humorless twits gave Northern State's debut six years ago, or the equally dumb 4.0 they gave Electric Six's first album, but the bigger problem is that a good lifetime has passed since their beloved indie college rock was anywhere near the most happening musical milieu out there.) Still thought it'd be fair to find out whether a few tracks on the site's 100 Best Tracks of 2008 list don't actually stink, though. (Same basic task I attempted here, and here, and so on.) Cross your fingers!

We asked some of our favorite musicians to tell us about some of their favorite artists, songs and moments from 2008. Here's what the Soulja Boy Tell 'Em had to say about the year in music.

Current events addressed on your new album
Barack Obama becoming the first black president. I didn’t really dedicate a whole song to it, but I addressed it in a couple of bars. It was just a moment that’s going to go down in history forever.

Why your album deserves to be on year-end best lists
It’s 10 times better than my first album. I think that my flow enhanced, and my delivery, production, overall skills and music have gotten better since I’ve been in the game. I got a whole lot of hard tracks. It’s going to go down, as a lot of people didn’t expect it from me. With this album, [I produced] probably like 50 percent because I have a lot of producers on there like Jim Jonson, Polow Da Don, Beethoven and Drumma Boy.  And I got a couple of underground producers.  I just really go by the sound and not the name.

Song: Run Rudolph Run
Album: We Wish You a Metal Xmas ... and a Headbanging New Year
Artist: Lemmy Kilmister, Billy Gibbons and Dave Grohl
Selected by: Jen Guyre
Date: December 18, 2008

What better gift could the holidays bring than the union of Motörhead vocalist/bassist Lemmy Kilmister, ZZ Top axe-slinger Billy Gibbons and Foo Fighter frontman Dave Grohl on his first love, the drums. Their whiskey-drenched version of this holiday classic is as explosive as Marty McFly‘s rendition of “Johnny B. Goode." But nothing beats Lemmy’s yuletide cheer: “Merry Christmas, m*th*rf*ck*r!”

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Drumma Boy has had hits before, but 2008 is officially the year he achieved superproducer status. Since the 25-year-old Memphis native moved to Atlanta in 2004, his slow, deep, moody, bass-heavy sound has backed gutter anthems for Young Jeezy, Lil Scrappy, Yung Joc and Paul Wall. Last year, he started hurtling towards the mainstream, scoring hits with Plies’ breakout single, “Shawty,” featuring T-Pain, and U.S.D.A.’s “White Girl.” This year, he broke out producing eight songs on Rocko’s debut, Self-Made, including his smash “Umma Do Me,” Rick Ross’ “Here I Am,” Young Jeezy’s “Put On,” featuring Kanye West, and four songs on T.I.’s highly anticipated Paper Trail. Rhapsody spoke to Drumma Boy on the phone as he prepared for his Thanksgiving holiday. Here, he discusses working with T.I., feelings on auto-tune, and memories of late Def Jam Executive Vice President Shakir Stewart.

More possible stinky-stocking-stuffers for headbangers on your holiday list (though a couple of these, admittedly, might not necessarily be preferable to a lump of a coal):

Song: Medley: Carol of the Bells
Album: Christmastime
Artist: The Swingle Singers
Selected by: Nick Dedina
Date: December 17, 2008

Christmas Present just can't seem to measure up to warm memories of Christmas Past. Maybe that's why this wordless medley from the French vocal jazz group works so well. This one instantly conjures up more childhood holiday memories than anything outside of a Charlie Brown Christmas special.

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Song: Ghostface X-Mas
Album: Ghostdeini the Great
Artist: Ghostface Killah
Selected by: Sam Chennault
Date: December 16, 2008

Ghostface tries to play it fairly straight on this Christmas song -- he samples “Carol of the Bells,” doesn’t curse and refrains from the bloody street vignettes that have characterized the latter half of his career. Still, Ghost can’t help but be Ghost and Wu’s finest sounds downright frantic as he tells Ms. Claus, “Holy Jesus, I gotta drop all these toys off” and then demands that the children be “good for ol’ Ghost’s sake.”

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Most groups that released a major label debut that sold a little over 5,000 copies in six weeks would be preparing to be dropped from the label and fading into the obscurity. Instead, the New Orleans duo, The Knux, comprised of brothers, Kintrell “Krispy Kream” Lindsey, 26, and Alvin “Rah Amillio” Lindsey, 24, are gearing up to have a big 2009. Their self-produced album, Remind Me In 3 Days…, was already the best hip-hop debut this year according to Rolling Stone. Now “Daddy’s Little Girl,” their song about Hollywood socialites, will be the theme song for the sure to be a hit, Run’s House spin-off, Daddy’s Girls, starring Vanessa and Angela Simmons. While in town for a show with Q-Tip and The Cool Kids, Rhapsody sat down with The Knux to talk about their mother’s influence, the New Orleans music scene, and what hip-hop they listened to growing up.

The Swear are Atlanta young people (three boys, one girl) who have every intention of making it big. Their press bio looks like a frigging resumé – long boring lists of TV shows they’ve landed their songs on ( Rescue Me, Roswell, Smallville); movies they’ve ditto (Surreal, Cross Country, By Chance); endorsements (Gretsch, Gibson, Marshall); contest successes (“Rolling Stone/Ray-Ban ‘Never Hide Your Music’ finalist”); web stuff (“#1 track In All Genres and a Featured Artist on NumberOneMusic.com”); radio stuff (“Arizona Jeans Radio Free Arizona featured artist”); “Noteworthy Performances and Conferences” (who the heck cares); you name it. Ambitious little strivers trying to impress the gatekeepers of a dying biz – that’s pretty much what rock music has come to these days, right? Maybe it’s the economy’s fault; it’s not like bohemian messing-around is all that viable an option anymore, at least not for provincial tykes not born with silver trust funds in their mouths.  Still -- do bands like this actually have fun, or is it just a job? The Swear’s music is not especially joyful, to my ears. Odd thing is, I kind of like it anyway.

Song: Girl of My Dreams
Album: Gold New Wave
Artist: Bram Tchaikovsky
Selected by: Linda Ryan
Date: December 15, 2008

One of the long forgotten new wave/pub rock gems of the late '70s, "Girl of My Dreams" is a song about an obsessive love affair between a man and his blow up doll. Check the opening lyrics: "Judy was an American girl/She came in the morning with the U.S. mail/Didn't say nothin' but she looked pretty good to me." A little something to keep in mind when trying to find the "perfect" gift for the hard-to-shop-for friends on your holiday list.

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It wouldn't be the holidays without eating, gift-giving and more eating. We put the word out to some of our favorite artists -- Faith Hill, Zac Brown, Adele and many more -- and they got back to us with their favorite holiday recipes, including photos. So preheat your ovens, throw on this playlist and enjoy the culinary stylings of Rhapsody's own Top Chefs.

Song: Let's Have a War
Album: The Record
Artist: Fear
Selected by: Sarah Bardeen
Date: December 12, 2008

On this day in 2000, the Supreme Court decided the votes of an entire state -- Florida -- didn't deserve a recount, and they awarded George W. Bush the 43rd presidency of the United States. Happy eighth anniversary, Dubya!

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Before it was announced that metal it-band Torche's guitarist Juan Montoya would be playing his final show with the band at All Tomorrow's Parties' Nightmare Before Christmas Festival in England, Rhapsody spoke with an unaware Montoya about some of his best and worst moments and memories of 2008. In what became his last interview as a member of Torche, we learned about an altercation that took place between Montoya and singer/ guitarist Steve Brooks. As Brooks releases a statement saying "[Montoya is] no longer with us due to ongoing personal reasons," it seems the black-eye inducing altercation Montoya spoke of was the final deal-breaker.

Once upon a time -- like, two decades ago -- jolly old England's New Musical Express used to come up with incredibly diverse, educational and intriguing best-of-the-year lists as a matter of course. But for years now, the venerable paper has tried to pass off the silly lie that the best music comes from pasty and undernourished white lads who can neither sing nor rock. Though their best-of-'08 lists seem to fall firmly in the latter tradition, that's not going to stop me from bravely trolling through a few mysterious titles from this year's Top 50 Singles to see if any might be worthy, just as I've previously done with several Best-Singles-of-08 lists from other places. To wit:

Song: Jail Bait
Album: Ace of Spades
Artist: Motorhead
Selected by: Justin Farrar
Date: December 11, 2008

On December 11, 1957, Jerry Lee Lewis married his 13-year-old cousin Myra Gale Brown. Although The Killer’s career went down the tubes, rock 'n' roll is no stranger to this brand of sin. As Lemmy of Mötörhead once howled, “Hey baby you’re a sweet young thing/ Still tied to mommy’s apron strings.”

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Pundits who anticipate that a Democratic administration in Washington will somehow necessitate an upheaval in commercial country music are showing their hand, if not their ignorance, about all sorts of things. Genres have never particularly changed face that way in the past, as far as I can tell, and country was never anywhere near as intrinsically symbiotic with the Bushies as liberals who don't listen to it much seem to think. For every John Rich or Hank Jr., there’s a Tim McGraw (who’s reportedly said in the past that he’d like to run for Congress sometime as a Democrat) or Dixie Chicks. And it’s been several years since Nashville even seemed particularly triumphalist about, say, Iraq. These days, when manly bohunks like Toby Keith or Trace Adkins sing about the war – as they both do, at least obliquely, on their new albums – there’s nothing rah-rah about it; the message is no more concretely right-wing than, say, Army Wives. And though it’s ridiculous I even have to point this out, that’s hardly the main thing they do. By now, both Toby and Trace are at least as interested in presenting themselves as grown-up love men.

Song: I've Been Loving You Too Long
Album: Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul
Artist: Otis Redding
Selected by: Nick Dedina
Date: December 10, 2008

The great Otis Redding died in a plane crash on this day in 1967 just as he was crossing over from R&B chart-topper to internationally recognized treasure.

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Song: Fantasy
Album: #1s
Artist: Mariah Carey
Selected by: Sam Chennault
Date: December 9, 2008

When Mariah Carey -- the singer -- threatened legal action against Mary Carey -- the porn star -- over their similar-sounding stage name, the singer feared that fans could get the two stars confused. Which is pretty understandable -- Mariah had spent the past few years slipping out of dresses, roller skating in bikinis, doing strip teases on "TRL" and generally behaving in a manner that betrayed her considerable talents.

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Song: Thank You
Album: Hellyeah
Artist: Hellyeah
Selected by: Jen Guyre
Date: December 8, 2008

Four years ago today, metal lost a legend when Pantera/Damageplan guitarist Dimebag Darrell was gunned down on stage. There isn’t a facet of heavy music that hasn’t been affected by the tragedy. Hellyeah’s “Thank You,” a song dedicated to lost loved ones, was inspired by Dime, and features former Damageplan bassist Bob Zilla and Dime’s brother, Pantera/Damageplan drummer, Vinnie Paul.

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Man alive, these dudes know how to sell some sneakers. I don't care if you're wearing last summer's gladiator sandals with some Thinsulate socks or some Chuck Taylors you bought off some crustifarian hanging out outside of Gilman Street, whatever, whatever: you must respect the architects. Nobody merges sound, vision and commerce like Nike. The above commercial was directed by Mark Romanek, famed music vid auteur, responsible for clips such as Jay-Z's "99 Problems." The Lebron ad features appearances by Lil' Wayne and basketball G.O.A.T. Oscar Robertson. The song you hear in the clip is "Candyman," by Cornershop.

 Song: Queen Bee
Album: Kulanjan
Artist: Taj Mahal and Toumani Diabate
Selected by: Sarah Bardeen
Date: December 5, 2008

Much has been made of the family relationship between the blues and West African music. "Queen Bee," a collaboration between roots bluesman Taj Mahal and Mali's kora master Toumani Diabaté, is one of the most delicate renderings of that relationship we've heard.

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Time to sample more of the singles I've never sampled before from Blender magazine's "Top 144 Songs of 2008" list! Just like I did with other ones last week! Will I like them or not?

 Song: Return of the Spiders
Album: Easy Action
Artist: Alice Cooper
Selected by: Justin Farrar
Date: December 4, 2008

Frank Zappa turned into (uncle) meat 15 years ago today, so lets honor his eccentric business skills. If it wasn’t for his Bizarre and Straight imprints, avant-freaks Captain Beefheart, Tim Buckley and Alice Cooper would’ve been scrubbing dishes, not making records for a major label in the late ’60s.

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At least one band discussed here -- maybe even a couple -- once took a longer hiatus between albums than Guns N' Roses ever have. And if that means I can wait a few more years before having an opinion about Chinese Democracy, that's just fine with me.

Song: Mmm Papi
Album: Circus
Artist: Britney Spears
Selected by: Rachel Devitt
Date: December 3, 2008

Don't call it a comeback because, uh, she tried that before and that didn't work out so well. But Britney's latest album (and attempt to regain her credibility) might actually win the war (she's waged against herself) with tracks like "Mmm Papi." The lyrics may be predictably coquettish (albeit with a hint of "Piece of Me"-style self-reflexivity), but winkingly retro production and an almost campy playfulness show a side of Britney we haven't seen much of before (who knew there were any of those left?!).

Play It Now

I know how it is, my fellow patients. Teeth hurt, sciatica acting up, whooping cough, etc. It's hard to keep a handle on the various maladies of modern life. But when's the last time you had your Taste Barometer tuned? What's that? You haven't looked under that hood in ages? Well, let Dr. Q-Tip, M.D. help you with that.

  What's new? What's good? What will you find here that you won't hear anywhere else this week? Sit back, relax and click through to the premieres, the originals and the exclusives available only on Rhapsody! This week:

Lily Allen, "The Fear" (Rhapsody Premiere)
Lily Allen's new single might have a shiny, pulsing electro-pop feel, but at it's core, it's got a heart of darkness.

P.O.D., Rhapsody Originals (Rhapsody Exclusive)
The Christian rap-rock ensemble at their furious live best. Features renditions of fan favorites like "Alive" and "Youth of the Nation."

  Song: Everything Happens to Me
Album: Close to You & More
Artist: Frank Sinatra
Selected by: Nick Dedina
Date: December 2, 2008

In 1963, Frank Sinatra's son was kidnapped at gun point by idiots. Junior was returned safely and the perps were arrested. But the psychic fallout from the crime was the turning point for Sinatra's slow drift from skinny, open-hearted Democrat to porcine Republican.   

Play It Now

The suntanned late ‘70s man-of-leisure music that hepsters have been calling “yacht-rock” since a well-hyped online series of that name debuted three years ago was actually some studio-musician-masterminded mash-up of soft-rock, pop country, lightly funky pre-disco soul, and I’m-okay-you’re-okay singer-songwriter folk – as fleeting on the charts as a one-night stand, and frequently just as bittersweet in retrospect. Pure pleasure music, really. What I’ve been wondering, though, is what the ‘00s equivalent might be. Rob Thomas’ “Smooth” with Santana, though seemingly in the neighborhood, just doesn’t go down nice or easy enough; strangely, it sounds a little too thuggish. Maroon 5 and Jack Johnson probably come close on paper, too, but as far as I can tell, they’re not actually any good. As with lots of kinds of pre-‘00s commercial rock, where you really might need to go to find viable remnants is Nashville. Yacht-rockingest artist of the decade may well be Phil Vassar (who I blogged about here); dude’s got about as much to do with “real” country music as I do, and he’s even had hits about hot tubs, for Crissakes. A couple other yacht-country albums I’d like to nominate from 2008 are James Otto’s Sunset Man and Billy Currington’s Little Bit of Everything.

 Song: Silimu Okutumala! [AIDS Finished Us]
Album: Singing For Life: Songs of Hope, Healing and HIV/AIDS in Uganda
Artist: Bukona Women's Group
Selected by: Rachel Devitt
Date: December 1, 2008

It's World AIDS Day, a time for drawing attention to the continuing global impact of this epidemic. In Uganda, which has been particularly devastated, community organizations like the Bukona Women's Group have found music to be a much more powerful tool for disseminating information on HIV/AIDS prevention than conventional Western methods. "Silimu Okutumala!" is from a Grammy-nominated collection of equally impassioned and educational songs recorded by ethnomusicologist Gregory Barz, who estimates that this musical activism helped reduce the infection rate in Uganda to 5 percent (down from 30 percent). Act up. Sing out.