Backstage Pass

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1. Paul McCartney feat. Billy Joel, “Let It Be” (July 18, Shea Stadium): For a moment, it seemed like everyone in Shea Stadium – including Billy Joel and his 21-piece band – was shocked that Paul McCartney had actually arrived. Sure, he had been invited, but with other engagements already scheduled, it wasn’t a sure thing, especially when his timely arrival was at the mercy of JFK airspace and traffic on the Van Wyck. Yet, there he was.

McCartney and The Beatles proved to the world that his band in particular and rock and roll in general were far bigger than anyone ever dreamed when they played sold-out Shea Stadium in 1965. There was no way of knowing how enduring the band’s Shea Stadium performance would turn out to be. But when McCartney returned to the stage to sing “Let It Be” as the final song ever performed at Shea, McCartney knew he was part of history. And so did everyone in the stadium – truly an amazing moment.

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2. R.E.M. (June 14, Nikon Theater at Jones Beach): “Welcome to R.E.M. Survivor 2008,” Michael Stipe said, as the band took the stage in the middle of a vicious thunderstorm. The lightning strikes, the sheets of rain, the appropriate use of “It’s the End of the World As We Know It” all contributed to an unforgettable show that has already become legend among R.E.M. fans.

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4. Chuck D and DMC (Oct. 30, Garden City Hotel): The most memorable of a series of moments from this year’s Long Island Music Hall of Fame Gala was the collaboration of two of hip-hop’s most important pioneers. Not only did they celebrate the genre they helped shape, in a medley that included Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” and “Don’t Believe the Hype,” but they paid homage to the area that helped shape them.

Continue reading "BEST OF 2008:Backstage #4-3 (Chuck D & DMC, De La Soul)" »

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6. Mac McCaughan (Oct. 24, Red Bull Space): It’s easy to forget how great a singer-songwriter Mac McCaughan is considering his various roles as the frontman for Superchunk, Portastatic and Merge Records. But performing solo in this intimate little space, his brilliance really came through, in his own songs, especially “You Know Where to Find Me,” and his eclectic covers of Bob Dylan, Edison Lighthouse and Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark.”

Continue reading "BEST OF 2008: Backstage #6-5 (Mac McCaughan, Taking Back Sunday)" »

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8. Patti LaBelle: Miss Patti had a fine 2008, with the LaBelle reunion and reissues of some of her best concerts, along with her various other businesses. But when we met at Sony headquarters in June, she was filled with great stories, including one that happened only days earlier. “We came from Philadelphia in a limo where the air turned into a heater. It was a ghetto limo that was broke-down. He had to stop at a 7-Eleven and the front of the car was dripping and leaking and the air was not working. And I'm menopausal, I could have choked and pimp-slapped that driver. I said, 'I want to kill him.' I went through the heat like that. ... I was, like, 'Hey, Miss Patti is here. She's ghetto-style, but she's still fabulous.'

Continue reading "BEST OF 2008: Backstage #8-7 (Patti LaBelle, Estelle)" »

The home stretch! We're reaching the end of the historically grand and historically crappy 2008, as well as our best-of lists. Albums? Done. Singles? Check. This week, it's Backstage Pass' 10 best live moments.

10. Friendly Fires (Oct. 21, Bowery Ballroom): It’s hard for dance bands to put on great live shows, but Friendly Fires’ earnest energy was infectious and welcoming. Its set was one of the best CMJ surprises in years.

Continue reading "BEST OF 2008: Backstage #10-9 (Friendly Fires, Hayes Carll)" »

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1. Weezer, “Pork and Beans” (Geffen): Clever as ever, Weezer somehow crafted a multi-generational protest song out of references to Rogaine, Timbaland and a killer guitar riff that only improved with repeated listenings. “I’mma do the things that I wanna do/I ain’t got a thing to prove to you” = words to live by.

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5. Yelle, “Je Veux Te Voir” (Astralwerks): Wow, hip-hop beefs sound way better coming from French women. Or maybe upstart Yelle is just that awesome.

Continue reading "BEST OF 2008: #5-2 Singles (Yelle, Jesse McCartney, Lykke Li, Estelle feat. Kanye West)" »

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10. Danity Kane, “Damaged” (Bad Boy): “Can you fix my H-E-A-R-T ‘cause it’s D-A-M-A-G-E-D?” O.K. Y-E-S!

Continue reading "BEST OF 2008: #10-6 Singles (Danity Kane, Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Lil Wayne feat. T-Pain, Black Kids)" »

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15. John Legend feat. Andre 3000, “Green Light” (Columbia): John Legend’s croon even makes this bold Euro-influenced come-on sound sweet, while Andre 3000 makes sure no one misses the point.

Continue reading "BEST OF 2008: #15-11 Singles (John Legend feat. Andre 3000, Robin Thicke, Jennifer Hudson, Friendly Fires, Chris Brown)" »

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20. Beyonce, “Single Ladies” (Columbia): Sasha Fierce gets to have some fun and hammers home the message “If you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it.”

Continue reading "BEST OF 2008: #20-16 Singles (Beyonce, Times New Viking, Fall Out Boy, MGMT, Hayes Carll)" »

Now that we've finished counting down 2008's best albums, this week, it's time for the singles:

25. Santogold, “LES Artistes” (Downtown): Part Missing Persons flashback, part M.I.A. flash-forward, Santogold’s breakthrough single is all kinds of catchy.

Continue reading "BEST OF 2008: #25-21 Singles (Santogold, Jay-Z & T.I,, Pink, Jazmine Sullivan, T.I. feat. Rihanna)" »

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1. Lil Wayne, “Tha Carter III” (Cash Money): Not only does Lil Wayne offer a little something for everyone – from the pop-leaning Beyonce answer song “Comfortable” to the minimalist hip-hop thrill of “A Milli” to the political commentary of “Tie My Hands” and “Misunderstood” to the club anthem “Lollipop” – he does it all while remaining true to his unique, brash style. That kind of individual excellence in the face of adversity is truly stunning, so motivating that even Michael Phelps found it inspirational.

Lil Wayne feat. T-Pain, "Got Money"

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5. Kanye West, “808s & Heartbreak” (Roc-a-Fella): Abandoning pretty much everything that brought him to superstardom, Kanye West works through the pain of his mother’s untimely death and a breakup in his own earnest (and limited) singing voice and a whole lot of AutoTune. The results are often bleak and beautiful (“Street Lights” and “Coldest Winter”) or minimalist and maudlin (“Amazing” and “Heartless.”)

Kanye West, "Heartless"

Continue reading "BEST OF 2008: #5-2 (Kanye West, R.E.M., Estelle, Lucinda Williams)" »

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10. Friendly Fires, “Friendly Fires” (XL): Giddy new-new wave that welds Spandau Ballet rhythms and New Order techniques to current Euro-dance pop to make dancing your cares away that much easier.

Friendly Fires, "Paris"

Continue reading "BEST OF 2008: #10-6 (Friendly Fires, Fall Out Boy, The Academy Is..., Nas, The Pretenders)" »

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15. Bon Iver, “For Emma, Forever Ago” (Jagjaguwar): Justin Vernon dealt with a string of problems -- a breakup, a band split and an illness -- by hiding out in his father's secluded barn in Wisconsin and writing and recording a stunning, poignant album by himself, using stacked vocals for harmonies and acoustic instruments to make everything sound that much rawer.

Bon Iver, "The Wolves (Act I & II)"

Continue reading "BEST OF 2008: #15-11 (Bon Iver, Bayside, Ne-Yo, Mariah Carey, Sheryl Crow)" »

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20. Panic at the Disco, “Pretty. Odd.” (Fueled by Ramen): What happens when you cross emo and The Beatles? Great things, apparently.

Panic at the Disco, "Nine in the Afternoon"

Continue reading "BEST OF 2008: #20-16 (Panic at the Disco, Yelle, Gentleman Jesse and His Men, Times New Viking, Coldplay)" »

Happy holidays and welcome to countdown time here at the Backstage Pass. This week, it’s a list of the year’s best albums – five each day. Next week, it's the singles. And we’ll close out 2008 by looking at the year's best Backstage moments.

25. The Gutter Twins, “Saturnalia” (Sub Pop): Twilight Singer Greg Dulli and Screaming Tree Mark Lanegan give a seductive and slightly spooky edge to indie rock's dark side.

The Gutter Twins, "Idle Hands"

Continue reading "BEST OF 2008: #25-21 (Gutter Twins, Lykke Li, Adele, Jazmine Sullivan, Al Green)" »

With the release of the Village Voice's Pazz and Jop Poll today, there is even consensus among the consensus-builders. Like the Idolator Poll released last week, album of the year honors went to LCD Soundsystem's "Sound of Silver." (Now wouldn't that have been a much more fitting choice for Album of the Year Grammy than Herbie Hancock? Just a thought.)

Single of the year honors went to Amy Winehouse's "Rehab," edging out Idolator winner Rihanna's "Umbrella." My ballot is here and Newsday contributor J. Edward Keyes' ballot is here.

Complete list of albums winners [Village Voice]

Complete list of singles winners [Village Voice]

PHOTO: LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy by Jake Walters for Capitol Records. 

 It's consensus time! A few times a year, music critics, like Democrats worried that their bickering has gone too far, can reach something approaching agreement about what music was good. The Idolator poll, which tallied the votes of 451 critics this year, is out today and its voters awarded  best album to LCD Soundsystem's "Sound of Silver," best single to Rihanna's "Umbrella," and artist of the year to Radiohead. (My ballot is here, Backstage Pass pal and Newsday contributor J. Edward Keyes has his here. And you can check out the Backstage Pass 2007 recap here.)

PHOTO: LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy by Jake Walters for Capitol Records. 

5. Arcade Fire, Judson Memorial Church, 2.13.07: Though the dark-minded “Neon Bible” would never be as well-received as the more light-hearted breakthrough album “Funeral,” the Arcade Fire certainly introduced it as dramatically as possible, drumming up a monsoon of indie hype that it nearly lived up to.

Continue reading "BEST OF 2007: Backstage@Backstage #5-1 (Arcade Fire, Michael Stipe, Jay-Z, Aretha Franklin, John Mayer)" »

Here are some of my favorites moments from last year:

10. Taking Back Sunday, Giants Stadium, 7.7.07: After their rousing set as part of Live Earth, TBS’ Adam Lazzara, Fred Mascherino and Matt Rubano take to the press room to discuss environmental concerns and the meaning of the day with the world’s media. When they see me, however, the trio uses its place at the podium to get the world’s media to give me a big round of applause. The world’s media declines.

Continue reading "BEST OF 2007: Backstage@Backstage #10-6 (Taking Back Sunday, Amy Winehouse, Joseph Arthur, Public Enemy, Rage Against the Machine)" »

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5. Arcade Fire, “Antichrist Television Blues” (Merge): A dark, depressing look into the world of stage parents and child stars that is cleverly disguised by the jangling guitar, the sweet backing vocals and Win Butler’s diabolically earnest delivery.

Continue reading "BEST OF 2007: Top Singles #5-1 (Arcade Fire, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Justice, Rihanna)" »

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10. Bone Thugs N Harmony feat. Mariah Carey and Bow Wow, “Lil L.O.V.E.” (Full Surface/Interscope): Bone Thugs’ double-time, tongue-twisting rhymes play nicely against Carey’s silky, low-key singing on the refrain, creating a single as potent as “We Belong Together.”

Continue reading "BEST OF 2007: Top Singles #10-6 (Bone Thugs N Harmony, Glen Hansard, Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip, Amy Winehouse, UGK)" »

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15. Avril Lavigne feat. Lil Mama, “Girlfriend (Remix)” (RCA): I admit it, I wasn’t crazy about the original version, but Lil Mama’s flashy rhymes and irresistible “B-R-double-O-K-lyn” style makes it all worthwhile.

Continue reading "BEST OF 2007: Top Singles #15-11 (Against Me!, Glasvegas, Boys Like Girls, Los Campesinos, The Academy Is...)" »

20. Against Me! feat. Tegan, “Borne on the FM Waves” (Warner Bros.): Of all the deliciously subversive anthems on Against Me!’s fine “New Wave” album, the sweetness that Tegan adds to the struggle pushes this one to the top.

Continue reading "BEST OF 2007: Top Singles #20-16 (Against Me!, Glasvegas, Boys Like Girls, Los Campesinos, The Academy Is...)" »

Continue reading "BEST OF 2007: Top Singles #25-21 (Envy on the Coast, Lily Allen, Keyshia Cole, M.I.A., Chamillionaire)" »

National Public Radio listeners today confirmed their reputation as bespectacled white geek-rockers who prefer not to actually rock by voting Radiohead's "In Rainbows" as the No. 1 album of 2007.

The listeners' Top 25 albums included only one rap album and one non-white artist: "Kala" by the Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A.

Five critics weighed in with similarly colored Top Ten lists, bringing the number of albums by non-white artists to three, including "Cornell 1964," a newly-released live recording by Charles Mingus, and "Twinight's Lunar Rotation," a collection of tracks from obscure funk-soul bands.

(The critic Will Hermes chose "Untrue," by the mysterious London producer Burial, which may or may not count: Burial has remained almost completely anonymous, making it hard to tell.)

Three critics also chose "In Rainbows" as No. 1.

Listeners picked Canadian acts Arcade Fire and Feist as No. 2 and 3, respectively, and rounded out their top ten with Wilco, The White Stripes, Spoon, Modest Mouse, The Shins, The National and Andrew Bird.

(Full disclosure: This writer's Top Ten list leads with The Fiery Furnaces' "Widow City.") 

5. The Academy Is..., “Santi” (Fueled by Ramen): Chicago’s The Academy Is... delivered one shiny pop single after another on “Santi,” from the stomping “We’ve Got a Big Mess on Our Hands” to the glam-tinged “Neighbors” to the current power ballad “Everything We Had.”

The Academy Is.., "Neighbors"

Continue reading "BEST OF 2007: Top Albums #5-1 (The Academy Is..., Amy Winehouse, Bruce Springsteen, Stars, Jay-Z)" »

10. Mavis Staples, “We’ll Never Turn Back” (Anti-): Wrapping her gritty-pretty soulful voice around a moving set of civil rights protest songs was not enough for Mavis Staples. Using flecks of hip-hop, blues and folk, she turned them into something new.

Mavis Staples, "Eyes on the Prize"

Continue reading "BEST OF 2007: Top Albums #10-6 (Mavis Staples, Rufus Wainwright, Alicia Keys, Radiohead, Lily Allen)" »

15. Annie Lennox, “Songs of Mass Destruction” (RCA): Though she spends most of her time outlining life’s heartbreaks and human failures on this album, Annie Lennox does it so beautifully in “Smithereens” or “Dark Road” it still seems positive.

Continue reading "BEST OF 2007: Top Albums #15-11 (Annie Lennox, Bishop Allen, Bjork, Envy on the Coast, Linkin Park)" »

20. Lucinda Williams, “West” (Lost Highway): California’s calming effect is starting to take hold of Lucinda Williams, who lets grand songs “West” and “Mama You Sweet” leisurely unfold and even makes time for a political daydream (“What If.”)

Lucinda Williams, "What If"

Continue reading "BEST OF 2007: Top Albums #20-16 (Lucinda Williams, Chamillionaire, Patty Griffin, Joseph Arthur & The Lonely Astronauts, Arcade Fire)" »

25. Macy Gray, “Big” (Geffen): Murderous tales, working mom R&B anthems and Justin Timberlake. Who could ask for more?

Macy Gray, "Finally Made Me Happy"

Continue reading "BEST OF 2007: Top Albums #25-21 (Macy Gray, Erasure, White Stripes, The Cribs, M.I.A.)" »

So much of being a music critic is solitary. You listen to the music alone. You write about the music alone. And, once your opinions are released, you defend them all by yourself.

That's what made the Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop poll so important to me. It was about consensus, about hundreds of critics getting together and, through their votes, deciding on what was best about the previous year's music. It was about being part of something larger.

Despite the Voice's unceremonious booting last year of Robert Christgau, the dean of music critics and longtime caretaker of the poll, Pazz & Jop is scheduled to come out in a month or so. But the poll has been damaged, with many critics opting out, as a protest of the treatment of Christgau.

That's where Idolator's Jackin' Pop Critics Poll comes in, a new, protest-free option to create a consensus. This year, nearly 500 critics voted to crown TV on the Radio's "Return to Cookie Mountain" the top album and Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" the top single of 2006.

Idolator's Jackin' Pop Critics Poll [Idolator]
'Voice' Music Poll Undermined by Internet [NPR]
My Jackin' Pop ballot

PHOTO: TV on the Radio by Roman Barrett/Interscope

Leave it to Jay-Z to create a catch phrase that summed up the country's mood.

After years of flash and hype selling as much in musical product as, you know, musical talent, 2006 was the year when the consumer demanded "show me what you got."

In music, as in politics, spin was no longer enough this year. Hype-dodging consumers wanted results, going for tried-and-true veterans such as Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan (who each had their first No. 1 album in decades this year) as opposed to buzzed-about newcomers Arctic Monkeys or gossipmongers Paris Hilton and Kevin Federline.

The album charts looked like they came from the '70s (Neil Young, Barry Manilow, Rod Stewart) or the '80s (Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Red Hot Chili Peppers), not 2006.

Continue reading "2006: The year in review" »

1. Nas, “Hip Hop Is Dead” (Def Jam). Not only does Nas call out the hip-hoppers who rap about nothing and brag for the sake of bragging, he provides an album full of examples of what they're doing wrong. It's a history lesson and a manifesto, but it's also a thrill to listen to him work, rhyming and preaching over old-school soul (“Hold Down the Block”), hot new beats (“Money over --”) or even Nat King Cole's “Unforgettable” (“Can't Forget About You.”)

2. Jenny Lewis and The Watson Twins, “Rabbit Fur Coat” (Team Love). Stepping away from her band Rilo Kiley, Jenny Lewis mixes Laura Nyro soul, Lucinda Williams alt-country and Emmylou Harris sweetness for an impressive collection that provides dreamy idealism (“Happy”) one moment and studied protest (“Rise Up With Fists”) the next.

3. Dixie Chicks, “Taking the Long Way” (Open Wide/Sony). Once you get past the stunning statement of “Not Ready to Make Nice,” the sweeter, peaceful-easy-feelings come into focus - the Bonnie Raitt bluesiness of “I Like It,” the wistful “Favorite Year” and the gorgeous simplicity of “Lullaby.” Sure, the kiss-off “Bitter End” is fun (and deserved), but the Everywoman charms show The Chicks are uniters, not dividers.

4. Taking Back Sunday, “Louder Now” (Warner Bros.). Bigger, broader and deeper than ever, Taking Back Sunday makes the leap to arena rock without losing its personal touch, offering more clever rock (“Miami,” “20/20 Surgery”) that fans can sing - or scream - along with. And once radio gets a load of TBS's softer side next year (“Divine Intervention,” “My Blue Heaven”), the band will find itself with a whole new legion of supporters.

5. Bob Dylan, “Modern Times” (Columbia). Macroeconomic theory (“Workingman's Blues #2”), post-Katrina empathy (“The Levee's Gonna Break”) and an Alicia Keys shout-out (“Thunder on the Mountain”) come together for another classic from the master.

6. Joseph Arthur, “Nuclear Daydream” (Lonely Astronaut). A gorgeous, inviting album that swirls Joseph Arthur's avant garde songwriting with Rolling Stones-y blues and Neil Young folk to create irresistibly soulful rockers “Slide Away” and “Automatic Situation.” His palette of sounds is so warm and friendly that even condemnations of American excess (“Enough to Get Away”) sound upbeat.

7. Tom Waits, “Orphans” (Anti-). Unexpected, craggy beauty leaps out of the shadows and creaky nobility stands tall in the daylight as Tom Waits tours country, blues, gospel and early rock on the three-disc set, subtitled “Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards.” The “Brawlers” will show you a good time (“Lie to Me”) and the storytelling on “Bastards” will keep your mind whirring (“Nirvana”), but the “Bawlers” will break your heart (“You Can Never Hold Back Spring”) over and over again.

8. My Chemical Romance, “The Black Parade” (Warner Bros.). Fusing emo and glam rock to build an uplifting Broadway-styled musical about terminal illness never looked so easy. My Chemical Romance opens with a powerful anthem, the sprawling, ambitious “Welcome to the Black Parade,” and only gets better from there with the T. Rex-ish “Teenagers” and the dizzying “Dead!”

10. Prince, “3121” (Universal Motown). Prince brought back the synth-funk that made him rock royalty in the '80s, with squiggly dance numbers “Black Sweat,” “Lolita” and “Love,” while showing off his soul singer side on the falsetto-filled “Satisfied.”

[Albums 11-30 on the jump]

Continue reading "2006: Albums of the Year" »

Most of 2006 was dominated by dance singles, especially from Timbaland and collaborators Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake, and Mary J. Blige's R&B ballad "Be Without You" (Geffen), but there were still plenty of surprises in all sorts of genres. Here are some of the year's best:

1. Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy" (Downtown/Atlantic). With Cee-Lo's sweet soul vocals sliding smoothly over Danger Mouse's sleek, innovative beats, "Crazy" was simply bobbing head and brawny shoulders above the rest of the year's songs. A diverse group - from Furtado to Ray Lamontagne to Twilight Singers' Greg Dulli - was so captivated by the song that they all added it to their sets while the original still was climbing the charts, just because they wanted to sing it. Millions of music fans know exactly how they feel.

2. Twilight Singers, "Forty Dollars" (One Little Indian). No one sings about the dark end of the street better than Dulli, especially when he's got his con-man groove on, as he does here, boasting, "I've got love for sale. Come on, get some before it gets stale."

3. Dixie Chicks, "Not Ready to Make Nice" (Open Wide/Sony). It's a rallying cry for standing up for your beliefs, as well as a shot at their detractors, that is so well-crafted, it is nearly impossible to attack and almost just as impossible to resist.

4. Beyoncé, "Irreplaceable" (Columbia). We knew Beyoncé could be clever, but she's downright scheming on this song, a blunt kiss-off dolled up in acoustic guitars and sweet-sounding choruses designed to fake out casual listeners and boyfriends dumb enough to cheat on B.

5. Ghostface featuring Ne-Yo, "Back Like Dat" (Def Jam). It's "Irreplaceable" from the male perspective, with Ghostface rapping about how far is too far in a breakup over old-school R&B beats and Ne- Yo's wounded croon.

Continue reading "2006: Singles of the Year" »