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In praise of Rihanna and ‘Disturbia’

rihanna2Halfway through presenting my countdown of 2008’s top ten songs (which has already been signed, sealed and delivered) I realized I committed a major blunder in overlooking one of last year’s gems, Rihanna’s ‘Disturbia.’

I bought her multi-platinum album Good Girl Gone Bad toward the end of December but didn’t consider it for my year-end list because it was released in 2007. However, three bonus tracks on the edition of the CD I have were released in 2008. Silly me.

First, let me sing the praises of this album. I know I’m a year and a half late to this party, but that’s not gonna stop me from raiding the snack table and jumping in the pool with my clothes on. Good Girl Gone Bad is, put simply, the best album of its kind I’ve heard since… maybe ever.

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Hear new Neko Case single, help some animals

nekocase2In a nifty marketing move, Neko Case is donating $5 to Best Friends Animal Society every time somebody posts her latest single on his or her blog over the next two weeks.

Now I don’t particularly care about animals, but I will jump at the chance to focus some attention on Neko Case. I’ve been eagerly looking forward to new music from her since her wonderful 2006 album Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. She has one of the very best voices in popular music today and the songwriting chops to match.

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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

benjaminbuttonI have mixed feelings about this film — much of it is very powerful and affective but just as much of it is borderline lousy. Ultimately I can’t help but see it as a failure, but it’s one of those films that makes you wish its creators could get another shot to make the wonderful film that was within their grasp.

From a special effects standpoint, the film is peerless. Through some combination of digital imagery, makeup and black magic, the filmmakers have managed to seamlessly render Brad Pitt as everything from an 85-year-old man to a 17-year-old kid. It’s astounding what they pull off here, and all the more impressive for being completely organic to the film — there’s nothing showoff-y about the effects, they’re just what was required to tell this story.

(Mild spoilers follow, major spoilers in the comments)

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Song of the Day #176: ‘You Don’t Know Me’ – Ben Folds

benfolds3Ten Best Songs of 2008 – #6

Yesterday I wrote about my biggest surprise of 2008… now I come to my biggest disappointment.

Ben Folds is one of my very favorite artists and through his career with both Ben Folds Five and as a soloist, he has almost never made a wrong step. But his latest album, Way to Normal, is his first to leave me cold.

Following his recent (and third) divorce, he decided to steer clear of the traditional breakup album and release something frivolous instead. And that’s fine. But this particular batch of songs is beneath his extraordinary talents — laden with unnecessary profanity and sophomoric humor, light on melody and heavy on monotony. I hope his next album steps up to the plate and apologizes for this one.

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