When Kelly Clarkson's music is played, gays shrill with glee. No wonder she is being pegged early in her career as the next icon. The original American Idol returns with My December, sounding more like Alanis Morissette than the typical Idol graduate. Here, Clarkson lives up to her song Miss Independent, breaking away from her peers as a blossoming songwriter and stepping into new musical territory. Unfortunately, Clarkson's summer tour was canceled due to poor ticket sales.
But alas, with her third album, Clarkson finds herself getting into much publicized quarrels with former Evanescence member David Hodges, as heard on the song Never Again—and she even butts heads music mogul Clive Davis. Clarkson ought to step back to remember Davis' legacy in the industry; he worked with an array of divas such as Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Annie Lennox and Jennifer Hudson. And let's not forget: Whitney Houston's got Davis' back.
One of the hottest remixes of the summer is the Ralphi Rosario and Craig CJS Vocal Mix of Enrique Iglesias' Do You Know ( The Ping Pong Song ) . This hit is pulled from the now mole-free singer's latest, Insomniac. Here, Julio's son has no reason to apologize for his remake of Ringside's overlooked Tired Of Being Sorry. During his concerts, the young Iglesias serenades a special lady in the audience during his 9/11 anthem, Hero. However, at the London hotspot G-A-Y, the choreographed routine did a sidestep, as Iglesias performed with another man. Staying true to form, the sexy Latin superstar put his arms around the fan, to the audience's delight. The clip has become a staple at YouTube.
Sinead O'Connor finds peace and solace on her Sanctuary double-disc set, Theology. Leaving her recent ventures into reggae and traditional Irish material behind, the controversial songbird takes a lesson on simplicity instead of over-production. The first disc favors an acoustic approach dubbed The Dublin Sessions, whereas its companion, The London Sessions, is a more pop-oriented take on most of the material from its predecessor. Highlighted by Something Beautiful from disc two, Theology includes inspired covers of Curtis Mayfield's We People Who Are Darker Than Blue and Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's I Don't Know How To Love Him. O'Connor has proven she can tackle Webber's catalog; some may recall her autobiographical version of Don't Cry For Me Argentina from 1992's Am I Not Your Girl. Sadly, O'Connor's once-wild and uncontrollable voice is showing the effects of smoking. Not as radio-friendly as 2000's Faith & Courage, Theology draws comparisons to O'Connor's 1997 serene EP Gospel Oak. A tour is underway, although there are sadly very few dates stateside that are currently listed. How I would love to hear her wail during the prophetic Never Get Old.
With his debut, Blue Collar, Mark Ronson collaborated with Chicago Grammy-winning rapper Rhymefest. Now Ronson is back with a little help from his friends. The funky Version boasts reinterpretations galore and an elite guest list, including Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse and Robbie Williams. As a producer, Ronson has worked with these stars as well as Christina Aguilera and Daniel Merriweather. Need more Winehouse? Be sure to check out her live date Sept. 29 at the Aragon Ballroom.
In his autobiography, Committed: A Rabble-Rouser's Memoir, Dan Mathews, the vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, recounts how The Gap offered Chrissie Hynde $100,000 to use one of her songs in the clothing chain's Everybody in Leather campaign; the Brass In Pocket singer declined. However, that was not enough—Hynde then diced the leather jackets on display at a Gap with a switchblade. Now, The Pretenders will be cutting it up on stage this summer. Hynde and her band share the bill with ZZ Top, Joan Jett, The Stray Cats and REO Speedwagon for a concert scheduled for July 19 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview. Now only if Hynde and Jett would join ZZ Top during Legs and Brian Setzer would accompany the bearded band during Sharp Dressed Man.
Also coming to Chicago on July 19 is Swati. This out New York musician debuted with her buzzworthy and honest album, Small Gods. The Elbo Room is the perfect setting to absorb Swati's intense, yet personal, songs like 2 am or Blackjack. This Lilith Fair veteran even does an earnest cover of Bruce Springsteen's I'm On Fire. Swati's divine debut is available on Amazon.com and iTunes.
In celebration of The Metro's 25th anniversary, the concert hall is collaborating with the Grant Park Music Festival as The Decemberists give a free show at Millennium Park. Accompanied by the Grant Park Orchestra, The Decemberists are slated to take to the stage at The Jay Pritzker Pavilion on July 18. This Portland outfit's album Crane's Wife was voted the top album of 2006 by National Public Radio listeners. The Chicago date's performance will be conducted by Sean O'Loughlin ( Blue Man Group; Pink Martini; Belle and Sebastian ) , as The Decemberists are embarking in a five-stop orchestral tour and will appear on The Tonight Show on July 9.
This summer, while you are enjoying the extended hours of sunlight, Sunshine Jones offers downtempo music at its finest on his bright solo debut, Seven Tracks In Seven Days. The title stems from Jones locking himself in his studio after a tour, emerging a week later with the title number of new tunes. Jones, the founder and frontman of the San Francisco-based Dubtribe Sound System, blurs the mundane repetition of comedown music with sporadic vocals and beats. Seven Tracks In Seven Days is the best after-hours album since Dusted's 2000 effort, When We Were Young.
When Bananarama reissued its first six CDs via Collectables in 2004, I was extremely disappointed. These reissues still had poor sound quality and no bonus tracks. Alas, Rhino Records just released the group's treasured catalogue with bonus tracks—overseas. You may need to call your dentist, as you listen to sugary treats like Venus and I Heard A Rumor as well as alternate mixes and hard-to-find numbers like Hotline To Heaven, Mr. Sleaze and Treat Me Right. The British girl group is coming out with yet another import retrospective, More, More, More: Greatest Hits, to celebrate its 25th anniversary.
