music
Tuned In: Diversified Peaches stays true to fans
"I FEEL CREAM," Peaches (XL)
Peaches is ripe for a wider audience, and that seems important on a cultural level.
The DIY-electro performer, a former mentor of M.I.A., has broadened her sound with her new "I Feel Cream," though her potentially liberating, and blunt, treatment of sexuality is uncompromised.
Tuned In: Pet Shop Boys affirm history
"YES," Pet Shop Boys (Astralwerks)
Given the changes in pop music in general and electronic music in specific, it's remarkable that the Pet Shop Boys' new "Yes" sounds so much like the U.K. duo sounded 25 years ago when it unleashed "West End Girls."
Tuned In: Gutsy Ida Maria strikes a chord -- and a nerve
"FORTRESS 'ROUND MY HEART," Ida Maria (Mercury/Fontana)
Ida Maria is flawed and unpolished. Her lyrics are sex-charged and alcohol-soaked, and she's so uninhibited about putting it out there on "Fortress 'Round My Heart" that she's nearly hysterical at times, which can make for an uncomfortable listen.
Tuned In: Cassandra Wilson's 'Closer to You' is enervating
"CLOSER TO YOU: THE POP SIDE," Cassandra Wilson (Blue Note/EMI)
Cassandra Wilson's "Closer to You: The Pop Side" isn't the stuff of Top 40 radio.
Tuned In: 'Fast and Furious' soundtrack hits high gear with Pitbull
"FAST & FURIOUS" soundtrack, various acts (Interscope/Star Trak)
Soundtracks rarely make this much sense, but the compilation for the new "Fast & Furious" film is a natural accomplice to an action movie about fast cars: It's juiced up and larger than life.
Music: As his popularity soars, Rodney Atkins stays grounded
After a dozen years of paying his dues on the road, country singer Rodney Atkins is stepping out of the superstars' shadows.
Tuned In: Yeah Yeah Yeah collapses into randomness
"IT'S BLITZ!," Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Interscope)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs has mastered the art of the tease, and the New York trio's new "It's Blitz!" is as frustratingly enigmatic as its previous releases.
Owning part of a song newest wrinkle in music-memorabilia business
From platinum records to backstage passes, Steve Matthews is an avid collector of rock-music artifacts. He has enough to stock a good-size Hard Rock Cafe, he reckons.
But the latest addition to his collection goes beyond secondhand souvenir: He now owns 0.7 percent of "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone," the classic 1960s-vintage single by the Monkees.
Tuned In: The-Dream's battle isn't about love or money
"LOVE VS. MONEY," The-Dream (Radio Killa/Def Jam)
A release's title track usually showcases an artist's strengths, so it's curious how the title cut of The-Dream's "Love vs. Money" underscores his weaknesses.
