Hit Singles
“Just Dance” – Lady Gaga, From the album “The Fame”, released May 2008
Fresh out of NYC, this disco-erotica queen is changing the world one sequin at a time. Her song “Just Dance” is about a night of drinking and dancing with abandon: “can’t see straight anymore…what’s the name of this club?” The hype surrounding Lady Gaga seems justified to me – I took an instant liking to the album version of the song with its strong electronic synths, catchy beat and captivating (if not humorous) vocals. Though many dance remixes of this song have been released, my feeling is that they only take away from the original.
“We Break the Dawn” – Michelle Williams, From the Album “Unexpected”, released August 2008
I can’t say that I was already familiar with Michelle Williams, most likely because she started out in the genre of gospel. But her single release of “We Break the Dawn” shows promise for her third album “Unexpected” to be a bold new collection of contemporary pop and dance classics. The album version creates a sweet and warm mood, but you might hear the catchy Karmatronic Club and Mr Mig Remixes on the dance floor.
“When I Grow Up” – the PussyCat Dolls,From the album “Doll Domination”, coming September 2008
This is a very catchy number released back in July that’s been getting a lot of attention. They use a very interesting tactic to get away with saying something a little risqué. The published lyrics say, “When I grow up, I wanna see the world, Drive nice cars, I wanna have Groupies”…but we all know they’re actually saying “boobies” not “groupies”. Anyway, my bet is that the clubs will be playing the Wideboys Club Remix or Dave Aude Edit, but the Ralphi Rosario Radio Edit is also really good.
“Don’t Call Me Baby” – Kreesha Turner From the album “Passion”, coming February 2009
Edmonton born Kreesha Turner’s “Don’t Call Me Baby” - her first single from her upcoming album “Passion” - has been all over the radio for a few months now. It’s a number where she pleads for an ex to let her go; but the sentimental air as she sings “walking away now, walking away now baby” makes it seem like it is equally painful for her to do so. Personally I’m a fan of the plain old album version, and Rich Morel’s Pink Noise Radio Edit which stays true to the original, but for the added danceable beat – most of the dance mixes, in my mind, detracted from the song’s mood.
Albums

“Apocalypso” by The Presets
The best way I can describe The Presets on this album is Depeche Mode from the bizarro dimension. The singers are male with Australian accents; the songs are dark, freaky and fun, like a bad horror film that you’ll love watching. In fact, the cover portrays the tone of the emo-techno album surprisingly well.
It starts out with “Kicking & Screaming”, a delightfully sinister sounding piece that is the ideal mood-setter. It’s very retro, making use of simple electronic synthesizers that have been all but shelved since the 1980s. The singer makes a low-pitched “awooo-ah” sound in the background that conjures ideas of werewolves, and one of the melodic counterpoints jumps to a high-pitched shriek reminiscent of screaming. If any DJs are searching for a thematic song to play this Halloween, this is one to get your hands on!
“A New Sky” starts out with a haunting duet, while “The Boy’s in Love” was a favorite with an energetic tempo and yearning tone. “Eucalyptus” starts out with a promising saw-tooth bass line but goes off on a really weird tangent.
I’ll give a small word of warning about “Together” because they really got me with this one. As I listened to it on my headphones, near the beginning of the song there is a sudden “ow!” sound that seems to come from over my right shoulder, and twice I ripped the headphones off thinking there was someone behind me. Fool me twice, shame on me!
“Aeons” is a purely instrumental bridge to the final song “Anywhere”, a minimalistic track that I found to be a slightly weak ending to the album. Oh well.
“Self Portrait” by Lalah Hathaway
You could say this Chicago born artist has music in the family, with her father Donny Hathaway, one of the most influential soul artists of the eighties, and her mother Eulaulah Hathaway, an accomplished musician in her own right.
“This album is like a movie of my life over the last couple of years,” says Hathaway. “The portrait I see of myself is of a very confident, smart woman who is extremely funny, independently wealthy and well-traveled – all things that I am to a small degree. Every day I realize that I’m walking toward the woman I’m going to be. She’s there. I can see her.”
Other words that might describe Hathaway from her songs are: gentle, confident, loving, and accepting. Her soothing, feel-good sound in “Let Go” encourages you to do just that - let go of the things in life that you can’t change, to make room for the next experience.
The rest of the songs throughout this CD have a similar calm ambiance incorporating laid-back rhythms with relaxing guitar strums and a big helping of electric piano. Hathaway’s voice is flawless and mesmerizing as she dips into her lower registers.
My personal favorite track was the slightly more upbeat “Breathe”. Otherwise I found it difficult to separate the tracks from one another – the CD is an experience that you take in as a whole, not in smaller chunks. It’s the album to put on while relaxing on the beach on a holiday, or for a romantic night with your partner.