Re-Play Of The Day: TLC "Hat 2 Da Back"

T'boz, Left Eye and Chilli, Kept their hats 2 da back, cause thats the types of girls they were. Can you dig?

The Right Stuff ?

On "Summertime" The New Kids on The Block's first single since 1994's "Dirty Dawg," The boy's are now poised to reignite the semi-soulful white boy band craze that they two stepped into the forefront of the global music scene in the late 80's and early 90's, followed in succession by Color Me Badd, Nsync, UK sensation's Take That and the Backstreet Boys. Now the original kings of prepubescent pop are back and ready to reclaim their soiled kingdom, the only question is have their once faithful subjects gone astray? Their 12 year old female fan base of their hay day are now over 30, and the chances of a group of middle aged hairy guys seeming relevant to the Justin Timberlake crowd are dubious to say the least. What the New Kids have in their favor is the fact that there their new single resist the nostalgic dogma that plagued fellow comeback 90's act the Spice Girls "Headlines" last year, and instead fits right into the current pop radio format.While they have never been the most accomplished singers, they tend to rely on sloppy dramatics than actually hitting any meaningful notes, the melodic chorus and loose harmonies fit hand in glove with their vocal style. No new ground is broken in "Summertime," but that doesn't hinder the single from being a grand statement to sugary,infectious, guilty-pleasure pop lovers, but will that be enough to restore the relevance of their frenzied legacy?

Throwback Of The Day.

"It's Oh So Quiet" By Bjork, belonged more on the original soundtrack of Guys and Dolls than it did on 90's radio formats, but that didn't hinder the indie hit from making hipsters dance in the street like Fred Astair.

The Re-Emancipation of The Material Girl.

Since her 1997 detour into the confused and sometimes beautiful world of electornica Madonna has made some of the boldest music of her career,her first two album's in the genre(1997's Ray Of Light,2000's Music)proved to be successful and reignited the diva's somewhat sagging career. Since then she has been misguided (2004's American Life) and a bit stagnant (2006's Confessions on a Dance Floor)but the material girl has promised to make amends on her first straight up pop album since 1994's "Bedtime Stories", the irony is her return to form "Hard Candy" seems to suffer from many of that albums problems.

Many of the beats are less than innovative and producers Timbaland and Pharrell Willaims don't quite seem to know how to use Madonna's thin,often icy voice to its fullest potential, which results in the songs lacking personality. This is a similar problem on the good, but clunky hip-hop inspired Bedtime Stories.

Those things being said track for track "Hard Candy" serves as a solid album and most of the songs,despite their glaring imperfections, are the most fun Madonna has had since the 80's and will most likely provide her with plenty o' hits which was obviously the intent of this less than ambitious set, and you know what... thats okay.

Grade:B-

Check It Out!!!

So..remember back when day-glo was a color and Michael Jackson was black...no...me either, but I heard a lot about it. While the decade we know, and love as the 80's is not typically known for its ground breaking music English alternative band The Smiths defy the crappy 80's band stigma. Lead by the electric yet wildly eccentric frontman, Morrissey, their personal, political lyrics over guitarist Johnny Marr lush melodic strum work and a wall of synth pop candy sound proves over and over again to be a genius and enduring combination. This bands influence can be seen in almost every UK alternative band from Radiohead to The Cranberries who worked extensively during the 90's with Steven Street, a producer who worked closely with The Smiths. Singer Morrissey has since become a solo superstar in most of the world, though he's yet to break though in the American market.

Start With: "Louder Than Bombs,"released in 1987, this album contains all their singles and most of their b-sides from their 5 year span of previous albums.

Best Track: The goth anthem,Unloveable, on which Morrisey croons "I wear black on the outside,because thats the way I feel on the inside," is not only one of rocks most notable cries for Prozac, but it also stands one of it's greatest lyrics.