Debbie Schlussel

Epic to ‘contemporize’ unreleased Michael Jackson songs in new album

<img src='http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2014/04/AP367373754354-1024x772.jpg' width='200px' alt='This combination of two undated handout photos made available by the Centro de estudios Borjanos shows the 20th century Ecce Homo-style fresco of Christ before (left) and after (right) an elderly amateur artist Celia Gimenez, 80, took it upon herself to restore it in the church of the northern Spanish agricultural town of Borja. The incident made national news and was an Internet trending topic Thursday Aug 23 2012 with some Twitter users dubbing it ?Ecce Mono?, meaning ?Behold the Monkey? instead of ?Behold Man.? (AP Photo/Centro de estudios Borjanos)' style='float:left;padding:5px' /> Please enter a valid phone number. Please enter your Phone Number. Send Thanks! A link has been sent. Done Two New Drake Songs Ask: How Do You Like Your Drake? By Ben Cosman April 3, 2014 1:31 PM 0 shares Content preferences Done Aubrey Graham, aka Drake, posted two new songs on his personal blog this week, the latest coming in the wee hours of Thursday morning. Which you like better "Draft Day" or "Days In The East" depends on which of thetwo distinct versions of the Drake we know and love you prefer: classic rapper Drake, or soulful Drake? "Draft Day" went up on Tuesday and is standard Drake, in the ilk of " HYFR " and " Started From the Bottom ." He raps like we know he can; referencing his contemporaries (Chance the Rapper) and pulling from the pop culture milieu (On some Hunger Games shit/I would die for my district). It is serviceable Drake good, but nothing special. But on "Days In The East" we get Drake at his Drakiest , oozing with feeling. As Vulture points out, the song is probably about his brewing relationship with Rihanna, so of course it is fraught with emotion. RELATED: 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' Is a Shield-Throwing Conspiracy Thriller Drake on "Days In The East" is the same Drake from " Hold On, We're Going Home ," which means it is the best Drake. Drake himself makes the distinction between his two selves. When talking about "Hold On", he said "'It's not 'Versace,' it's not 'Started From the Bottom.'""Hold On" which Drake adamantly calls " not a rap record " and something to be "played at weddings in 10 years"was the standout on Nothing Was The Same. In its review of the album , Rolling Stone said "He's most charming of all when he breaks into a full-on croon for 'Hold On, We're Going Home'" and Pitchfork named it the best song of 2013 . There's a reason "Hold On" is the most played Drake song on Spotify (and it's not close).

Cobain told Azerrad the line "I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black" was about children with cancer: "Any time I think about it, it makes me sadder than anything." However, the rest of the lyrics suggest the song is about the Cobain's turbulent relationship with his wife, Courtney Love: "Hey, wait, I've got a new complaint/Forever in debt to your priceless advice." The lyrics address "Pisces" and "Cancer," Cobain and Love's astrological signs, respectively. Also, after their second meeting, Love reportedly sent a heart-shaped box filled with trinkets to Cobain's hotel room. Love claimed Cobain named the song after her private parts. 4. "Come as You Are" In light of Cobain's ultimate fate, the standout lyric on the second single from "Nevermind" is "When I swear that I don't have a gun/No, I don't have a gun." But the line seems less a threat than a declaration that Cobain intends to express his discontentment with life through music, not violence. The rest of the song is filled with cryptic and contradictory phrases: "Take your time/Hurry up/Choice is yours/Don't be late" suggests he's stuck in a no-win situation. Interestingly, Cobain was initially reluctant to include the song on the album because the echoey, ethereal guitar line was reminiscent of Killing Joke's "Eighties," which he admitted was in influence. Killing Joke did not sue. "My mum found a Christmas card sent to me in 1988 by this guy Kurt Cobain," the band's frontman Jaz Coleman said in an interview for the book "Louder Than Hell: the Definitive Oral History of Metal." "He must have nicked the music then. We get lawyers coming up to us all the time saying that we can have all this money. We're not interested. I think the Christmas card speaks for itself. As we've said, money is not our God." 5.

In 2012, Hot 97 radio host Peter Rosenberg called Nicki Minaj's chart-topping hit "Starships," "one of the most sellout songs in Hip Hop history." His 2012 Summer Jam rant ,in which he referred to "Starships" as "bullshit," was followed by Nicki Minaj canceling her performance at the event. Recently sitting down with Radiolab , Rosenberg relived the infamous beef with Nicki Minaj and said that he would always hold her to a high standard because of his fondness for her rapping talent. I thought she was really good, in fact I though she was the total package, Rosenberg said when recalling the beef. The year before it all happened, I pulled her aside at Summer Jam [2011] and I said, Hey, I think you could be the greatest female artist of all time, the greatest female rapper of all time. And I just want you to know in thinking that, Im going hold you to a high standard so I probably will say things about you. Rosenberg also spoke about "Starships" and why he disliked it, especially since Nicki made it. "Starships is a blatant pop song so I didn't like the song," he said. "In the moment it felt like, you're a Hip Hop star, why would you do this? This is not for us. When core Hip Hop artists make pop songs it upsets me because it can be a moment that blurs and messes up Hip Hop." Listen to the full interview below: This is a test of the error system Add New Comment Got an account with one of these? Log in here, or just enter your info and leave a comment below. Now that you're logged in, you don't have to fill out a captcha. * required field Error Submitting Comment This is a test of the error system Got an account with one of these? Log in here, or just enter your info and leave a comment below. Now that you're logged in, you don't have to fill out a captcha. * required field

Michael, a compilation album of previously unreleased songs, was released in December 2010, following his death at age 50 in June 2009. Posthumous albums are tricky. Theres an undeniable squick factor, and they prompt loads of questions: Who is this going to benefit? Who sees the profits, especially in the cases of artists who met untimely deaths, or who struggled publicly with substance abuse? Is it just an opportunistic cash grab? And in 2Pacs case especially, why in the world did he have a seemingly endless catalog of unreleased music? Its like digging around in a writers desk, reading unedited notes that they never expected anyone to see. Were we evensupposed to hear this stuff? Xscape seems particularly ripe for a backlash if it doesnt stay true to Jacksons ethos, as its been described as a contemporization of music from his archives. This isnt just anybodys music; its the artist who made Thriller. He doesnt need Auto-Tune.Theres an incredible desire to protect and remain true to Jacksons towering musical legacy because so many people have deeply personal ties to his music. Screw it up, and instead of a touching tribute, youve got the aural equivalent of the Spanish woman who turned a fresco of Jesus into a preschool art project with her restoration : The 20th century Ecce Homo-style fresco of Christ before (left) and after (right) an elderly amateur artist Celia Gimenez, 80, took it upon herself to restore it in the church of the northern Spanish agricultural town of Borja.