Aidin Vaziri | Interviews, Reviews and More: November 2008

30 November 2008

Review: Britney Spears, 'Circus'

Britney Spears, 'Circus': Aidin Vaziri | The worst possible thing ever has happened. Britney Spears has become self-aware. "All eyes on me/ In the center of the ring/ Just like a circus," the uncharacteristically lucid pop juggernaut sings on the title track of her seventh album. She then spends the rest of the record banging on about her terrible taste in men ("Mmm Papi"), the year she spent out of her head ("Blur") and how she has suddenly remembered she has children ("My Baby"). With a gaggle of top-shelf producers and songwriters filling out the credits, it's hard to know exactly how many of these sentiments are truly the singer's own, but the fundamental effect is the same. Despite some truly banging tunes - "If U Seek Amy," "Lace and Leather," "Radar," etc. - nobody cares about boring old Britney unless she's blitzed up to the eyeballs and feeling up K-Fed on some seedy hotel balcony. Get it together, girl.

Pop Quiz: Oasis

Aidin Vaziri | You may not have noticed, but Oasis returned a few months ago with its first decent album in ages, "Dig Out Your Soul." After getting burned so many times, it's understandable that the mouthy British rock band's fans have thinned out since its mid-'90s heyday. But the Gallagher brothers can still deliver killer quotes and make a nice racket in big venues, which makes them as valuable as ever. We spoke with guitarist Noel Gallagher, 41, shortly after he was attacked onstage in Canada. He couldn't comment on the incident but was happy to talk about the reception that the new album is getting.

Noel Gallagher of Oasis
Q: Did you read the reviews of "Dig Out Your Soul" or is that something you generally avoid?
A: Oh, no, I don't avoid them. But by the same rule, I don't go out of my way to read them all. I've seen a few.
Q: They were cautiously optimistic.
A: They're just the same Oasis reviews to me: "Some songs are good, the s- ones are s-, why are they still f- making music?"
Q: It probably goes back to your third album, "Be Here Now." Critics gave it such great reviews before realizing that maybe the music wasn't actually all that great.
A: They've never forgiven us for that. I'm quite proud of that. Yeah, so, I've read a few. They still do that thing where they slag you off for your lyrics, yet they print the wrong lyrics. It's like, hang on a minute, you're printing your f- lyrics, you're not printing mine. That's not what it says on the f- song, you doofus. Continue reading.

'You Are Hear,' dancing in the terminal at SFO

'You Are Hear,' dancing in the terminal at SFO: Aidin Vaziri | Gibby Waitzkin has six flights coming in and out of San Francisco International Airport this week, but Wednesday she wasn't in a hurry to catch her plane. The Washington, D.C., artist was too busy watching a midmorning concert by Bart Davenport in the middle of the United Airlines hub. "I've been standing here for 45 minutes," she said, glancing at the musician, who was playing his acoustic guitar in de rigueur shades and tight-fitting leather jacket. "This is the most pleasant airport experience I've ever had." It was an odd sight, to be sure: a rock show amid a tempest of luggage carts, weary airline crews and rushed passengers. But this is the exact reaction the airport's marketing and communication manager, Jane Sullivan, was hoping for when she tapped local musician Marc Capelle to curate a series of concerts at SFO, billed as You Are Hear. Continue reading.

Inside the 'Idols' winners' circle

Inside the 'Idols' winners' circle: Aidin Vaziri | Last season's "American Idol" champ David Cook and runner-up David Archuleta have new albums out, but are the people who cast the 95.7 million votes during the live singing competition going to buy them? We look at the top-ranking contestants from the previous seasons and discover how many lived up to their potential. The eighth season of "American Idol" begins Jan. 13. Continue reading.

23 November 2008

Review: Guns N' Roses, 'Chinese Democracy'

Guns N' Roses, 'Chinese Democracy': Aidin Vaziri | Axl Rose is an idiot. He spent nearly 15 years, countless millions and a truckload of Slash replacements making "Chinese Democracy" only to finally put it out in the same week as just about every other major release of 2008 (and only at Best Buy stores, at that). Since he made us wait so long, it's only fair that we make Axl wait for our verdict on the new Guns N' Roses album after we address all the other important new stuff coming out this week. Here goes. The Killers, "Day & Age": Even worse than their last album, if that's technically possible. Kanye West, "808s & Heartbreak": Kanye can't sing, yet everybody involved neglected to inform him. Daryl Hall & John Oates, "Live at the Troubadour": Awesome, as usual. Coldplay, "Prospekt's March (EP)": The lukewarm leftovers from "Viva La Vida," with a wholly unnecessary Jay-Z cameo. Barry Manilow, "The Greatest Songs of the Eighties": Oh really, Barry? Where's "Girlfriend in a Coma"? David Byrne and Brian Eno, "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today": Great if you have a Ph.D. in being boring. The Fireman, "Electric Arguments": The latest from Paul McCartney's alter ego, which at points sounds like old U2. Ludacris, "Theater of the Mind": He's stepping it up with the lyrics, slowing it down with the beats - call it a draw. R.E.M., "Murmur (Deluxe Edition)": Came out 25 years ago and still capable of making knees tremble uncontrollably. Finally ... Guns N' Roses, "Chinese Democracy": It's a bit overproduced, isn't it?

Pop Quiz: Q-Tip

Aidin Vaziri | After nine years of getting shuffled around various labels, making albums and shelving them, rapper Q-Tip is back with an appropriately titled new album, "The Renaissance." The sometime A Tribe Called Quest front man not only served as a major source of inspiration for artists such as Kanye West and Pharrell Williams, but he's also appeared on songs by everyone from R.E.M. and the Beastie Boys to Janet Jackson and Deee-Lite. Q-Tip's new album entered the Billboard charts at No. 11 and includes guests Norah Jones, D'Angelo and Raphael Saadiq. We caught up with him when he made a tour stop in San Francisco earlier this month.

Q-Tip
Q: You went through five record labels in six years. You also made a movie with Nicole Kidman, and your scene was cut. Did you ever feel unwanted?
A: No. You know, the strong survive, brother. It just shapes us. So when it comes, I deal with it and keep going. I believe in what I have. I believe in what I've done. And I believe I still haven't even peaked yet.
Q: So now that the cork has popped, are you going to be putting out a new album every two weeks?
A: Yeah, I'm going to crank them out. I'm going to get in my Stevie Wonder-Prince-James Brown-Parliament phase and release two albums a year.
Q: Your house burned down a few years ago. Did that put all your other setbacks in perspective?
A: It just made me appreciative of life. I'm just thankful, man. It made me really humble. Continue reading.

Review: Dido, 'Safe Trip Home'

Dido, 'Safe Trip Home': Aidin Vaziri | Because record companies no longer send out advance albums because they're convinced that all music critics moonlight as pirates with CD pressing plants in their backyards, we attempted to download the new Dido album from several rogue Web sites based in Russia, only to wind up with a desktop full of naughty videos (thanks for that!) and nasty viruses (not so much!). Then we realized that, because it's Dido, we didn't really have to listen to anything but just go to a park, find a snail and watch it slime around the grass for 45 minutes. The verdict? It was quite nice. Then we heard the first single on YouTube and it confirmed that we were totally right. Expect more reviews based on that methodology in the future. Arrrr, matey!

16 November 2008

Pop Quiz: David Cook

Aidin Vaziri | Let's be honest. The latest season of "American Idol" didn't really get exciting until David Cook and his pointy hair shot ahead of the competition. The Oklahoma rocker, 26, handily defeated his warbling 17-year-old nemesis David Archuleta in the finals, marking a victory for stalwart grunge fans everywhere. Now the two get to face off again on the charts. Cook's first album, "David Cook," arrives Tuesday, a week after Archuleta's self-titled CD was released. Cook's record was produced by Rob Cavallo, who not only oversaw the past five Green Day discs but also Kid Rock's "Rock N Roll Jesus" and My Chemical Romance's "Black Parade." This pretty much guarantees it will rock. Plus, Chris Cornell helped write the first single, "Light On." We spoke to Cook, who grew up in Blue Springs, Mo., near Kansas City, by phone from Los Angeles.

David Cook
Q: Do you think there's a "From David to David" movie in your future?
A: I implore somebody to tell me where that plot goes.
Q: I'm sure you've gotten plenty of worse offers.
A: Well, yeah. You get this shot once, so I'll do anything and everything that I feel is going to be artistic and has some substance. So far my concentration has been on the record, so I've read scripts with the general idea that now is not the time for me to be going on location shooting a movie. I really want this record to do well, and I'm willing to do everything within my power to make sure that happens.
Q: Something like 97.5 million people voted on the last season of "Idol." Surely, some of them might buy your record.
A: If I could get one of those silver discs for my wall, I'll be a happy panda, for sure. Continue reading.

Coming To America: Russell Brand

Russell Brand: Aidin Vaziri | Russell Brand is trouble. As the host of this year's "MTV Video Music Awards," he nearly brought the Jonas Brothers to tears and called President Bush "that retarded cowboy fellow." On Sept. 12, 2001, he showed up for work at MTV in Britain dressed as Osama bin Laden. And then there was last month's series of on-air prank calls to 78-year-old "Fawlty Towers" actor Andrew Sachs. Brand put the English tabloids in a panic after he left increasingly lewd messages for Sachs, crowing about sleeping with his granddaughter and worrying that Sachs might commit suicide on hearing the news. After drawing more than 18,000 complaints and the condemnation of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Brand quit his BBC Radio 2 show Wednesday and jumped on a plane to America. Now the controversial 33-year-old British comedian has landed here and he's our problem. "I only want enlightenment and to convey love," Brand said by phone just hours after arriving in Los Angeles. Continue reading.

Review: Beyoncé, 'I Am ... Sasha Fierce'

Beyoncé, 'I Am ... Sasha Fierce': Aidin Vaziri | Beyoncé Knowles has finally lost her mind. No, really. "I have someone else that takes over when it's time for me to work and when I'm onstage, this alter ego that I've created kind of protects me and who I really am," she says. "Sasha Fierce is the fun, more sensual, more aggressive, more outspoken side and more glamorous side that comes out when I'm working and when I'm on the stage." But even her alter ego is suffering from an identity crisis. "I Am ... Sasha Fierce" is a double album with two distinct sides. The first half is made up of midtempo pop tunes written by Amanda Ghost, one of the collaborators behind James Blunt's "You're Beautiful." These are supposed to represent the real Beyoncé and are, therefore, quite dull. Well, aside from the single "If I Were a Boy" and the reasonably genius "Halo." The second half, meanwhile, is made up of futuristic R&B jams produced by Bangladesh and Jim Jonsin. All computer beats and minimalist melodies, they are breathtakingly risky for a singer who too often plays it safe. But the risk pays off, and not just because tracks such as "Radio" and "Video Phone" sound as if they were swiped from Björk. The staggering "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" is one of the best things Beyoncé's ever done - under any of her personalities.

Review: Christina Aguilera, 'Keeps Gettin' Better'

Christina Aguilera, 'Keeps Gettin' Better': Aidin Vaziri | So the only way you can get the Christina Aguilera greatest-hits album is by going to Target, which is fine because everyone can use an excuse to stock up on Pringles, tighty-whities and overstyled kitchen tongs that fall apart after one week. The problems arise when you finally get home and play the CD. Originally considered a more soulful, better-groomed alternative to Britney Spears, Aguilera killed it with her first two singles, "Genie in a Bottle" and "What a Girl Wants," a pair of pop confections so perfect in every way that they were the most likely culprits behind Mariah Carey's mega-meltdown. But this chronological collection reveals the major drawback of working with 1,219 producers on every album, as the singer plunges wildly through various genres with only her big-lunged wail holding things together. From gushingly romantic ballads ("I Turn to You") and soft porn rave-ups ("Come on Over") to an inexplicable traipse into Andrews Sisters territory ("Candyman"), you hardly get the sense of any sort of artistic vision behind Aguilera beyond making everyone involved really rich. Despite occasional "Total Request Live"-sanctioned gems such as "Dirrty" and "Beautiful," the set serves only to highlight the singer's total lack of quality control. And as far as the new material goes, the only things you need to know are: 1) One of the tunes includes the line "Some days I'm a super bitch" and 2) There's something called "Genie 2.0."

Thriving Ivory: Ready For Take Off

Thriving Ivory: Aidin Vaziri | The first time Thriving Ivory's video for "Angels on the Moon" appeared on VH1, Scott Jason was unimpressed. "I was at my girlfriend's house sleeping with the dog, and she started screaming from the other room for me to get out of bed," the San Francisco band's pianist and chief songwriter recalls. "But I had already seen the video a million times on the computer and just wanted to go back to bed, so it was kind of anticlimactic." His attitude has changed since. The cable giant has selected Thriving Ivory as one of its You Oughta Know acts, an honor previously bestowed on the likes of James Blunt, Leona Lewis and Amy Winehouse. The group spent most of the summer playing sold-out shows across the country. "When that happened, things started to pick up full speed," Jason says. Continue reading.

02 November 2008

Live Review: Madonna at Oracle Arena

Madonna gives Oakland the hard sell: Aidin Vaziri | There are certain things you expect, no demand, from a Madonna concert: You want lots of bare flesh, hot girl-on-girl action and a hefty dollop of swearing. The 50-year-old pop icon delivered on all counts Saturday at the first of two sold-out "Sticky and Sweet" tour stops at Oracle Arena. Plus, she offered fans that paid upwards of $400 for floor seats a chance to get a closer look at the world's most famous red-string kabbalah bracelet. Continue reading.

Pop Quiz: Ray LaMontagne

Aidin Vaziri | Even though we caught up with Ray LaMontagne the day after his latest album, "Gossip in the Grain," entered the charts at No. 3, he sounded like someone who had just had the wrong tooth pulled. Mumbling, pausing and generally shrugging off any attempts to celebrate his spectacular feat, the bearded 35-year-old New England folksinger pretty much lived up to his reputation as the world's most reticent live act. But with new tracks such as the album's Stax-horn infused opener, "You Are the Best Thing," and the tribute to the White Stripes' drummer, "Meg White," maybe he's starting to come around.

Ray LaMontagne
Q: Your album just went in at No. 3. Does it feel good to sit on top of Metallica?
A: I guess it's surprising, yeah. I just write what I write. The fact that it's connecting with people is just sort of, I don't know, it seems to be working. Lord knows it hasn't been promoted in any way.
Q: At shows, do you enjoy when women scream that they love you?
A: There's always one or two. But that's always been the same. There are always a few people in the audience who want to be the focus of the show. Everybody experiences that. Continue reading.

Review: Pink, 'Funhouse'

Pink, 'Funhouse': Aidin Vaziri | We know we should like Pink because she goes around singing songs about how Britney, Paris and Jessica are stupid. But really, how is she different? She appears in the tabloids just as often as they do, and while her music might offer more guitars and stinking attitude, it's every bit as contrived. Just listen to "So What," the first single from her fifth studio album. It starts as a post-divorce anthem, but then Pink spends the next three minutes wailing, "I'm still a rock star/ I got my rock moves." Does it get any worse than that? Actually, it does. Trading in the melodic pop currents of her biggest hits for tuneless dirges that qualify as rock music only in the darkest corners of Forever 21, Pink frowns her way through 14 tracks of weird baroque-ish guitar riffs and conflicting confessions in songs such as "It's All Your Fault" and "Please Don't Leave Me." Every time her ex, Carey Hart, puts this album on, his smile is going to grow wider.

Five Questions for Matt Nathanson

Aidin Vaziri | Matt Nathanson, the San Francisco singer-songwriter behind the hit "Come On Get Higher," is aVH1 "You Oughta Know" artist. He tells us about his secret desire to go back in time, why his hips gyrate so much when he sings and how his music can heal you.

Matt Nathanson parties like it's 1982:
Q: On tour, you're playing covers like Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl" and A-ha's "Take on Me." How bad do you want to build a time machine to take you back to 1982?
A: Hell yes, I want to go back to 1982! Once a year is name-checked in an Asia song, it takes on mythical proportions. Plus, the real 1982 sucked for me. I was a heavyset, nerdy Dungeons & Dragons-playing kid who sat in his basement learning Def Leppard songs on guitar. I want a do-over.
Q: What's going on with your hips when you play? They look like they could put someone's eye out.
A: They are pretty much trying to get me all the female attention they can. It's my attempt to make up for the decade I spent in my basement playing role-player games and eating Flaky Puffs. Continue reading.