Janelle Monae Duets with Power-Pop Trio On Pretty Acoustic Track

THIS is exciting news, poppetts. One of my favorite retro-soul singers, Janelle Monae, has appeared on a duet with a power-pop band named Fun called "We Are Young." While new Janelle is always exciting...this video also led me to find out that one of my favorite bands of the last ten years, the now extinct The Format, has lived on through its singer moving on to Fun!

Yes, Nate Ruess has taken his wonderful, signature vocals and blended them with Janelle Monae's equally flaw-free voice and made what is one of the best power-pop singles of the year. When the full instrumentation flows in with the two singing "We can burn brighter the sun!!"...it is quite an ecstatic moment. This single has already popped Fun's upcoming album to one of my most anticipated of 2012. Great stuff.

Red Dlicious' Essential October Mix

It's that time of month again, chiddren! I spend my many hours of boredom listening through as much new music as possible, and have narrowed down the 20 best songs released this month for you! This month was pretty heavy on remixes and dance tracks, but there is plenty of hip hop, pop/rock, and ballads on here to grab anyone's attention! Not to mention this month marked Her Minajesty's return to feature creature status, and that will always be amazing. So go ahead and download below and get ready to partaaaay!

Red Dlicious' October Mix

1) The Saturdays - My Heart Takes Over

2) Queen of Hearts - Shoot the Bullet

3) Kelly Clarkson - Stronger

4) Drake - Make Me Proud ft. Nicki Minaj

5) Beyonce - Countdown (Reggae Rewind Remix)

6) Wish - Suga Daddy

7) Willow Smith - Fireball ft Nicki Minaj

8) Wale - Slight Work ft. Big Sean

9) Big Sean - Dance (A$$) ft Nicki Minaj

10) Oh My! - Dirty Dancer (HUGE HIGHLIGHT OF THE MONTH)

11) Hyper Crush - Werk Me

12) Kaskade - Lessons in Love ft Neon Trees

13) Katy Perry - The One That Got Away (7th Heaven Radio Mix)

14) Will Young - Come On (Cahill Radio Edit)

15) Major Lazer - Original Don

16) Rihanna - We Found Love (R3hab Radio Edit)

17) Kaskade - Eyes ft. Mindy Gledhill

18) Darren Hayes - Black Out The Sun

19) Coldplay - Princess of China ft. Rihanna

20) Daniella Mason - The Letter ft. Chase Foster

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Kelly Clarkson Is Back!! But Should We Be Excited?

I have been shaking/crying/sobbing through most of 2011 waiting for the return of the one and only Kelegend Clarkson. She is one of my favorite vocalists of this generation, and has shown a huge range, both in talents and in the genres she can work in.

So now that it's here...why am I not feeling it like I thought it would?

So the album is all around a fun listen. After going through and rating all 16 of the deluxe edition's tracks, it came out with a 3.67. So...not a bad album. And there are a few songs on here that could go on to be one of Kelly's strongest career highlights (Let Me Down, Stronger). If I clipped a few of the stinkers out of the album (You Can't Win, Hello), then it is actually only bested by Kelly's biggest album, Breakway. So what's the problem?

Maybe this is only a problem for someone who has followed Kelly obsessively while not ever becoming a die-hard stan like I have. I literally watch every single performance, have every single album (even that awful My December), and get excited for every single interview. But something has always just been a little bit out of reach. As I walked around the other day listening to the album, I tried to identify some of my problems with this album...but more specifically with Kelly in general.

So let's look at Kelly's career trajectory, shall we? 10 years ago, she became the first American Idol, and went on to go from smiley label puppet to wrathful ex-girlfriend superstar with her sophomore album Breakaway. Songs like "Since U Been Gone" and "Because Of You" turned her into the popstar the producers of Idol were hoping for, and gave us a pop/rock vocal goddess to worship. I still count that as one of the best albums of the last decade, and it is what has made Kelly the constant in pop culture. Even after the critical and commercial flop that her "dark" and "personal" project "My December" was...people still were interested in our girl. So much so that even with all of her label drama and poor record sales, the lead single off of her 4th studio album, "All I Ever Wanted", shot to #1 faster than any song before it.

It was in between the period of turmoil and All I Ever Wanted that we started to see things change in Kelly land. She began putting on weight (always beautiful, though!), making public statements that her happiness was more important to her than her abs. She began covering country songs (Up To The Mountain on Idol Gives Back? GLORIOUS), toured with country legend Reba McEntire after their duet on Reba's album, and began having a larger presence in the circle of country stars such as Blake Shelton and Jason Aldean. These influences showed in certain moments of her album campaign for AIEW, especially in her acoustic (and improved) performances of Halo-sound-alike Already Gone. On the record, however, she displayed a return to the commercial, polished sound of her first two albums. She had found her way back to the top of the charts..and I was happy to see her there!

But it was also around this era that I was starting to feel a little bit dissatisfied. Kelly's live performances strayed towards a more acoustic sound, and she had never sounded better. She could deliver heartbreaking vocals on mature songs and sound absolutely sublime...so why all the overly polished immature break-up anthems that echoed her sound from years before? Despite all of the problems Kelly had gone through in the industry in the years before...her approach hadn't actually seemed to progress at all. But I wrote this off as her attempt to become relevant again after flopping with her previous album and anything to let one of our premiere vocalists return to the spotlight was fine by me...surely things would eventually get to the sound we had seen her embrace live.

So that brings us to her new album, Stronger. As I said there are some serious gems on this album, and the lead single Mr. Know It All gave me hope that maybe she was embracing a different, more mature sound. As I listened to the album, however, it is packed mostly with bratty kiss-offs and "I don't need you anymore" post-breakup anthems. Almost all of it is built around explosive choruses and sing-a-long  melodies. It is all very entertaining...but haven't we been here before, Kelly? It is starting to get a little bit boring for me. The material is good...but must I have songs with such stupid lyrics like Einstein and Don't Be A Girl About It? You are one of the top recording artists...you can't get some good songwriters and better producers who can use your talents in better ways than a glossy, overproduced pop/rock swamp?

But fear not Kelly fans...I don't think the problem is something that can't be fixed with a couple tips from yours truly! I am here to save the day! Below are a couple of things that I think Kelly needs to do with her next album if she doesn't want to start losing some of the respect her incredible voice has won her.

1) Take notes from Queen Bey

I know I know. It isn't cute to compare 2 artists this way. But what has made Beyonce's album this year is that she left behind label-puppetry songs that come off as insincere and she backed up her more personal songs with more of a live sound. I am not saying Kelly should come out with a bunch of sex jams...that isn't her. But even a song like Already Gone showed a more interesting approach to a relationship than songs that Selena Gomez could be singing like "My Life Would Suck Without You." She could even turn towards the approach that Adele has taken, who is much younger than her but isn't singing teen anthems about break-ups. Dumb + Dumb = You, Kelly? Really? That's all you got? To see someone with such talent not grow artistically is distressing to me, especially when we have seen glimpses of what that would look and sound like. And speaking of sound...

2) Live Instrumentation is your friend, grl!

Kelly is a stunning live performer. She almost always sounds better when she sounds natural. My iPod is filled with rips of live versions of her songs because the overly polished recordings pale next to them. If rock music is what she is going for, why can't I hear it? Beyonce spent a career of doing the same thing, and finally brought her live sound to her latest album, and has never sounded better. Time for Kelly to do the same thing.

3) Find an identity

5 albums in and pretty much all we have heard from Kelly is how over a guy she is and how she is a bad bitch who doesn't need it. That isn't a theme...that's a slump! What goes on in Kelly's life? What makes her happy? What is she passionate about? Who knows? For a huge solo artist, Kelly has next to no identity...and it is starting to take a toll on her work.

Hopefully Kelly, whom I am sure is a rabid fan of this blog, takes me up on my tips. Until then I will be playing the shit out of her new album and wistfully hoping for Kelly's 6th album to be the one I have been waiting for.

Listen to Red Dlicious' September!

Since it is impossible for all you working shmucks to keep track of every good bit of music that flies through the internet, I have decided to do a monthly breakdown of all of my favorite songs that came out. This may be when they were leaked, when the HQ version was released, or sometimes it might be a sort of old song that I just happened to come across.

Regardless, I put together 20 songs, mostly dancey songs but a few that are a little more mellow. But they are here to get you through your weekend partying, your hangovers, and all of the shame and regret that comes with most of my friends/followers' nights. Check the tracklist and download link below! I put a password on it so it doesn't get taken down for some reason.

1) Shontelle - Ready To Go

2) Rihanna - We Found Love

3) Mohombi - Maraca

4) The Saturdays - All Fired Up

5) Aqua - Dirty Little Pop Song

6) Nicola Roberts - Lucky Day

7) Demi Lovato - Unbroken

8) Agnes - Don't Go Breaking My Heart

9) Lady GaGa - You & I (10 Kings Remix)

10) Monarchy - You Don't Want To Dance With Me ft Britt Love

11) Switch - I Still Love You ft. Andrea Martin

12) Justice - Audio, Video, Disco

13) VV Brown - Children (Keep On Singing) ft Chiddy

14) JLS - Take A Chance On Me

15) One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful

16) Kelly Clarkson - Mr Know It All

17) Lana Del Rey - Blue Jeans

18) Coldplay - Paradise

19) B.O.B. - Strange Clouds ft Lil Wayne

20) Birdman - That's Y U Mad ft. Nicki Minaj & Lil Wayne

Password: reddlicious
Download Mix

Beyonce's 4 Era: Success or Failure?

So, for those who don't know, this is the year that I became a full-fledged, card carrying member of the Beyhive. Everything Beyonce has done this year has made me admire and support her more than I ever have. In the past, Beyonce was always one of my favorite singers because she brought a diva attitude that none of her contemporaries ever could. If there is one thing I love most in the world...it is a pop singer who gives the image of a manufactured, unstoppable top bitch.

Even when she was singing songs like Halo, it always felt calculated and like Bey was just hitting all of the right bases to have a diverse album era. This is not a put-down. I think that it is important for an artist in the music industry to be strategic with their career because it is just that...a career. And when she released the first single off of "4," the Diplo sampled and produced "Run The World," it didn't look like much had changed. The rumors were that she had found a trend to exploit (baile-funk and Philly-style underground dance music) and it felt like we were poised for another Beyonce invasion.

Things didn't exactly work out that way did it, though? Not only has she yet to have a high-charting hit from this album era despite stunning videos and breathtaking performances...but the entire tone of the project is different than a usual Beyonce campaign. Unclear single choices (just today I have heard that Countdown is going for radio adds, after an initial report of Party for the 3rd single and then a switch to Love On Top after her triumphant VMAs performance/pregnancy announcement) and lack of promotion (Bey is known for being endlessly in the public's face with performances, interviews, and product promotion during her album eras...this era you can count on your fingers the amount of times she has appeared) seem to have left the album to flop. That's not to say that it has sold badly...it is one of the year's top sellers, even if it has underperformed for her standards.

No doubt her unexpected pregnancy has something to do with this. Could there have been a worse time to get that oft-rumored pregnancy finally rolling than during the album that needs the most help, girl?! Yes, I was ecstatic and shaking and crying and rolling on the floor when I saw that she was pregnant at the VMAs. But my cynical mind of course flew right to the understanding that from here on out, she would not be shooting any more videos, doing any more Billboard/Glastonbury level performances, or going on tour. I would no longer be getting my album era experience...and I am selfish enough to hold this against her!

However, upon further review...I am starting to think that not only is this album is one of her best musical accomplishments (in my opinion, matched only by the flawless hit factory that BDay was), but the album era is also one of her greatest personal achievements. The ballads are extremely personal, especially the deluxe edition's "Dance For You" and her non-single "1+1." The mid-tempos are sweet and love-soaked, such as "Lay Up Under Me" and "Party." And let's not forget the exuberantly amorous "Love On Top" and "End of Time." Listening to the entire album can almost feel like you are interloping on someone's private relationship. 

And then the pregnancy and the increasingly visible adoration between Jay-Z and herself...well...have we ever seen her look so sincerely happy? She seems even more comfortable in her own skin...and not in the previous exhibition-for-sales type of way. And despite her lack of promotion...somehow it seems like she has never been so dedicated to her fans and her craft.

At her now legendary Glastonbury set, she told the crowd before her showstopping "Halo" peformance: "I will always give you 100% of myself." And the reason the 4 era and Beyonce herself has been so successful this year (for me, at least) is because she has finally done just that. We aren't just seeing Sasha Fierce anymore. We aren't just getting the studio-muted Beyonce-lite.

With the 4 era...we finally have 100% of Beyonce.

Album Review: Pistol Annies: Hells On Heels

Reigning First Lady of Country Miranda Lambert wasn't satisfied with marrying country superstar Blake Shelton and winning the CMAs for Female Vocalist and Single of the Year 2 years in a row. She wasn't even satisfied putting our her soon-to-be-huge 4th album later this year. She had to go ahead and create a supergroup with country singers Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley and create a flawless album.

I've been a fan of Miranda for a few years, and her last album "Revolution" was a set of perfectly crafted country tunes. I did always sort of prefer her vocal betters though, such as Carrie Underwood and Martina McBride. So, going into this album I wasn't expecting what I got.

This album is packed with stomping attitude jams (Hell On Heels, Takin' Pills), feel good anthems (Lemon Drop, Bad Example), love letters (Boys From the South, The Hunter's Wife), and world weariness (Housewife's Prayer, Trailer For Rent.) The girls' melodies and lyrics swing organically between sweet southern belle, go ol' downhome country girl, and revenge seeking banshees; and all of it is simple and pitch perfect.

Country has always been one of my biggest secret pleasures, and without the Dixie Chicks around there has been a serious vacuum of twangy girl power. Thank god we have Miranda Lambert and this group around to bring it back.

5/5 Wigs Snatched

Where I'm At With Lady GaGa

Oh, GaGa. I can say that I was in the legion of your earliest fans. As much as I hate crediting him for anything other than bringing down the world's average worth, when Perez Hilton posted "Just Dance," I knew I liked it. I sat on her MySpace (I think I just dated myself #OldQueenProblems) and waited for new songs to appear. Beautiful Dirty Rich was a filthy pop jam. Then the album mega-mix came out and the 30 second snippets of Poker Face and Love Game had me shaking and crying. Still...I always thought that she would join the large ranks of pop tarts that only the gays ever appreciate. But then I remember this tragic 18+ gay bar EXPLODING when Just Dance came on during Pride...maybe she WAS more than your average.

Then...Poker Face happened. Slowly, very slowly, but very surely...the name Lady GaGa started being known. Just Dance and Poker Face began to see some radio play. People started mentioning her slightly off fashion sense (this was long before meat dresses and incubated egg babies.) But somehow I still always felt that she would be ours. She was the gay community's new it girl...she wasn't the next Britney Spears.

Then, like she has done to so many of her critics, she proved me wrong. I went to her first tour The Fame Ball, and was positively crushed by every straight girl and their boyfriend in NYC...our girl had broken through the rainbow ceiling. And it was clear that she had the talent and drive to stay there.

GaGa, as we all know, became the biggest fucking pop star in the planet on the strength of her debut album. Every song got bigger and bigger. The album refused to leave the Top 10 Albums charts. When people weren't going crazy over her new song or video, she was getting attention for having increasingly zany outfits or interviews. She talked about how she was mocking the famous superstars all while having a #1 song and album. It seemed like those of us who "got" her were in on the joke...when she walked out in a rotating metal sphere, it all seemed like an elaborate gag. Sure, she was dressed up in fine "art," but her music was simple and perfect pop jams. It never seemed too serious. Even the overdramatic VMA performance of Paparazzi had me laughing the whole time.

When Bad Romance came out as the lead single to The Fame's re-release EP, The Fame Monster...it may have lost some of the humor, but that didn't even cross my mind because it was such a flawless pop masterpiece. It was easily my favorite pop song since Madonna's Hung Up...and if possible it launched her into an even higher pop stratosphere. The Fame Monster was basically a perfect pop album. It was moody, and dark, but never lost sight of the glamour and attitude of The Fame. Sure, the Alejandro video was a little off the mark...but no one can be perfect all the time, right? It was the end of one of the most sensational eras of any pop debut. The trashy art school dropout I fell in love with was taking the gay dance culture right to American Top 40. She was our generation's Queen...and I was happy to be along for the ride.

Fast forward a bit. GaGa had been relentlessly touring from the Fame Ball to the Monster Ball for over 2 years, showing that she isn't just a spectacle...she is a talent powerhouse with the strength and determination to give her "monsters" her everything. And yet...something was starting to seem a little off, wasn't it? Maybe it was unavoidable while living in a vacuum of fan adoration. But GaGa's success was starting to get to her head. The Monster Ball, while one of the most successful and enjoyable tours I have ever been to, half of the time seemed like a platform to tell her Monsters that due to her show, they could finally feel good and be themselves. Sure it was all an act...but arrogance much? Does she not remember that it was us gays who were being ourselves that embraced her as part of our culture that made her successful? Or does she think she did that?

Then she began talking about her second official studio album. She began throwing around "greatest album of the decade"and that it would set us Monsters free. OK...let's give her the benefit of the doubt. We know she works hard...she must just be really proud. Let's wait to see how the music stacks up to the claims.

Born This Way the song, in my mind, was a triumph. Yes, it was a replica of Express Yourself. But replicating works of the Ultimate Goddess of Pop is not a crime in my mind. The video was crazy, but in a way I could still enjoy, unlike Alejandro. It had a great, exuberant 80s sound, and a hair-metalesque look to go along with it. I thought it would be good! The clunky Judas was a sort of shitty Bad Romance rip-off, but who could blame her for wanting to replicate her huge success? Edge of Glory and Hair both had the sound I was looking for, so I was pretty sure the album would be perfect. 

It wasn't. Oh, boy it was not. 

First impression, I rated it pretty high based on the ambition. She was all over the place. She did a lot this album! She really went for it! But as the months have drug on and she has gotten increasingly obnoxious, self-serving, and arrogant both in her interviews and in her presentations of her music...I didn't really feel like giving her the benefit of the doubt anymore. I realized that somewhere down the line, I had stopped feeling like she was my girl. She started becoming a remnant of the pop star I used to love. Sure, I wanted her to evolve...but as her personality progresses into the self-centered Haus of GaGa bubble, the music has gone with it. 

First there was the badly done mixing of genres. That ambition I started off complimenting slowly lost its luster, and it just started feeling like an artist whose ambition was bigger than their skill to pull it off. Born This Way seemed to split between euphoric 80s rock and dirty dance techno-driven tracks. I am all for bringing together genres to make an album...but this just wasn't that. It was a smattering of over-produced indulgences. There are many sparkling moments on the album...but the effort as a whole just was not what it should have been. If she had pulled back to even about 90% of the clutter that she gave us...it could have been so much more.

Then there was her transparent obsession with being an "outlaw" and a "hooker." GaGa is one of the least sexually charged pop stars of our time, with more of an emphasis on glamour than sex appeal. But when convenient, she is some whore that all of her alienated monsters NEED in order to feel good about themselves. Mhmm. We all believe that GaGa. And all of this mixed in nonsensically with overdone and pointless religious references. Yeah, we get it...pretending to be Mary Magdalene being in love with Judas is SO revolutionary and not done before...no one has ever done that before. But at some point it felt like we were listening to the ramblings of some incoherent schizophrenic. I know I know...she wants to get "lost in the fantasy"...but did the music have to get lost as well?

So that brings me to now. Her recent choice to promote the amazing You & I, along with the relatively laid-back and humble interview with Jean Paul Gaultier, and an upcoming duet with Cher might be pulling me slowly back into her corner. Maybe it was just how great she looked during NY Fashion Week. I am not done with GaGa...not in the least. She is a smart, talented, and fabulous pop star with more promise than almost anyone in our generation. 

But I just really need someone in that fucked up Haus of hers to sit her down and really let her know that she has the opportunity to become the leading pop lady for years to come and and all of that trumped up bullshit is going to do nothing but ruin it. I need you to have ambition without clutter. I need you to be able to have your crazy performances and outlandish videos without losing all sense of what song you are narrating. I need you think about the fact that you can do everything you do, but not lose touch with your simple pop ancestry.

I don't want to suppress your evolution GaGa...just please get yourself organized and bring us a stronger set of imagery and music next album, please. I want to believe in you...and I hope you don't let me down.