Under the Scalpel 07.03.09: Drake, Kristinia DeBarge, Depeche Mode, Godsmack, Bon Jovi and More

Posted by Mark Ingoldsby on 07.03.2009

Drake serves up romance with a side order of smut, Kristinia DeBarge swipes a familiar hook to launch her pop career, Depeche Mode creates the perfect juxtaposition of hope and despair, Godsmack provides adequate rock station filler, Bon Jovi participates in an impromptu jam, and more. Brought to you by the sometimes humorous, always heartless guitarist from the hard rock band A Simple Complex.

"Under the Scalpel: Dissecting Pop Culture One Song at a Time" is a weekly column written by Mark Ingoldsby, songwriter and guitarist for the hard rock band A Simple Complex. Download three free tracks that will rock your panties off at www.asimplecomplex.com

Drake – Best I Ever Had
Rap ballad oozes romance and smut



After eight very successful seasons, the cast of the Canadian teen television show Degrassi: The Next Generation reported to their dressing rooms only to discover that their names were no longer on the doors. Aubrey Graham (middle name Drake), who played the role of basketball star Jimmy Brooks on the show, was fortunately already honing another skill – rapping.

His family already had a history in music. His father played drums for Jerry Lee Lewis and helped write for Al Green, and his uncle played bass for Prince. It was his father's time in jail, however, that influenced Drake to become a rapper.

"My dad was in jail for two years and he shared a cell with this dude who didn't really have anyone to speak to," he recalled. "So he used to share his phone time with this dude ... and he would always rap to me over the phone. I started to write my own shit down and, after a while, he would call me and we would just rap to each other."

His friendship with J Prince Jr., son of the founder of Rap-A-Lot Records, was another key piece in Drake's growth as a musician. "He played [Lil] Wayne a couple of my songs and Wayne called me when I was in the barber chair getting a haircut, and he was like, 'Dude, I just heard two songs from you and you got a whole CD of shit here. I don't even need to hear anymore. I just need you here right now. Can you get to Houston?'"

Drake flew to Houston the next night to meet with the rap mogul, a meeting that would later inspire a song Drake so eloquently titled "Ignorant Shit," a title I too have often used to describe anything related to Wayne.

Since then, Drake's had his hands in several different projects. He is currently writing and recording with Rhianna (and reportedly kissing the boo-boos Chris Brown left behind as well). He wrote a song for Wayne's upcoming rock album. He worked on a song with Jay-Z, and another with Mary J. Blige. He was featured in the Young Money collaborative jam "Every Girl," which has worked its way up to #10 on Billboard's Hot 100. His own album is scheduled to drop later this year. He will be touring with Wayne, Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em and Young Jeezy. And, his single, "Best I Ever Had," currently sits at #3 on the Hot 100.

"Best I Ever Had" is a smutty R&B ballad that is both clever and asinine, sensitive but overly pompous, and tender yet rough around the edges. This track has its share of good raps, but sadly it is also loaded with some flaky ones.

Some of Drake's better lyrics come from times when he paints an honest, sentimental picture. An air of romance is fulfilled when he shares heartfelt verse like "Sweat pants. Hair tied. Chilling with no make-up on. That's when you're the prettiest," and "She make me beg for it 'til she give it up and I say the same thing every single time. I say, 'You the, you the best... the best I ever had.'" Be aware, however, that the uncensored version changes the oft-recurring line "You the, you the best" to "You the fucking best.

Drake unfortunately chooses to kill the mood at times with tasteless lines such as "Get it from the back and make your fucking bra strap pop. All up in your slot 'til the nigga hit the jackpot," and "I can make your pussy whistle like the Andy Griffith theme song."

He also wastes time bragging that the buzz about him is "so big I could probably sell a blank disk." He goes on boasting "When my album drop, bitches will buy it for the picture and niggas will buy it too and claim they got it for they sister." The rhymes themselves are fine, but in this song they come off as non sequitur and ultimately serve only to distract the listener from the amorous story being told.

"Best" is a ballad, but fortunately it's not a sleeper. The tempo is upbeat and Drake keeps it moving along by exercising his versatility, switching between different styles of singing and rapping throughout the track. It gets its dreamy sound from sampling the Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds 1975 number one "Fallin' In Love."

"Best" is not a song that I plan to add into rotation on any of my personal playlists, but I can see why it has generated mass appeal. So if you like uptempo R&B ballads, and can get past a few unnecessarily crude lyrics, you'll probably like this hit from the fourth Canadian rapper ever to chart on Billboard's Hot 100 – an honor he has to share with "me daddy me" Snow.

Heh, and just when you thought you finally had "Informer" out of your head for good…

Rating: *** (3 out of 5)
If You Like: Akon, Jamie Foxx, TI, Trey Songz

Kristinia DeBarge – Goodbye
Another Swiped Hook Hits The Hot 100



Bad artists copy. Good artists steal. This old saying, attributed to Pablo Picasso, infers that success is often gained not from being inspired by your idols, but by outright ripping them off.

Today's Billboard Hot 100 provides ample evidence of this. It is loaded with plenty of artists who, though I wouldn't label them "good," sell a lot of music to a sometimes oblivious, often uncaring, public that seems to thrive mainly on catchy, and more importantly, familiar melodies.

Kristinia Debarge's debut single, "Goodbye," is just one more new-millennium pilfering of a successful hit from the past, proving yet again that most of today's pop artists lack the ability to find success in relying on originality and talent alone.

"Goodbye" has landed in the top 20 of Billboard's Hot 100 by boldly swiping the hook of the 1969 number one "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye," chewing it until the flavor is almost gone and sticking it to a secondhand bubblegum wrapper discarded by Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera.

Kristinia is the daughter of James DeBarge, a founding member the 1980s namesake R&B group known best for the hit "Rhythm Of The Night." Her father encouraged her to choose a different career path other than music. However, Kristinia insisted that singing was her true calling.

In response, her father immediately threw her into the deep end of the pool. He brought the then 12-year-old Kristinia into a music studio and recorded a duet with her until four in the morning as a test of her commitment. "My dad asked me after all those hours and after all that work if I still wanted to do this," Kristinia recalled. "I answered yes, and that's how he knew I was serious about being a singer." It's a good thing she didn't ask to pursue kickboxing.

After appearing on the American Idol spin-off show American Juniors almost a year later, Kristinia then went out on tour with daddy – a move that would lead her to the next big step in her career: being discovered by famed songwriter/producer Babyface. "When I saw her at a very young age, I [knew] she wasn't ready yet but she had 'it'," Babyface said. "I've been watching her evolve and one day, I knew she was ready."

Being ‘ready' translated into having a meeting arranged for her with LA Reid, the chairman of the Island Def Jam Music Group. After the meeting, Kristinia signed to Babyface's Sodapop Music, an imprint of Island Records. "Things started moving very fast after that," Kristinia affirms. "Goodbye" debuted on Billboard's Hot 100 in May and was featured in a commercial for skin product company Nivea. Her debut LP, Exposed, drops next month.

The lyrics to "Goodbye," excluding the shoplifted hook, were created not by Kristinia herself, but by some behind-the-scenes songwriters often found buried in the credits of several cookie-cutter hits by artists like R Kelly, Britney Spears, N Sync, and so on. This "hit factory" switched the story of the song from watching your loved one come back to you (kissing the newer boyfriend goodbye) to a simple, brash send-off to a partner who "doesn't know how to act" and doesn't "know where [his] life is going."

As part of the breakup, the song's protagonist finds her newfound freedom so exhilarating that she's inspired to partake in such levelheaded activities as cutting her hair (because the "long [hair]do" reminds her of this guy) and changing every single one of her phone numbers. What's next? Cutting his face out of her photographs? Moving to a new trailer park? Can we get any more vacuous? Pardon me while I roll my eyes.

Kristinia, perhaps pretending she had something to do with the creation of the lyrics, explained, "She's not tripping over this guy. She's saying she totally expected this from him and now she's got her single girl swag back."

It's understandable that Kristinia would speak on behalf of the songwriters, being the public representative of the song, but I nearly fell off my chair when she went on to claim, "My music is similar to Led Zep lyrically." What?! Did you just compare the lyrics to this bubblegum nightmare to Led Zeppelin? How dare you! Then she added, "Music is like religion – it all comes together in one place." Please, please, please step down off of your soapbox before you slip, fall and break a nail.

Kristinia will join Ciara as an opening act on "The Circus Starring Britney Spears" tour starting August 20, playing tweedle-dee to Spears' tweedle-dum.

Her bouncy reinterpretation of "Goodbye" is a fun, catchy song if you're 13 years old and find that your head needs to be hooked to a helium tank whenever your energy level begins to fall. Otherwise, it's nothing more than unoriginal, uninspired pop trash.

And like-so-totally-not Led Zeppelin. Lyrically or in any other way.
Rating: ** (2 out of 5)

If You Like: Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore, Rhianna, Spice Girls

The Six Pack: A half-dozen quick song reviews in an easy-to-carry cooler!

Billy Currington – People Are Crazy
Two guys are sitting in a bar. One turns to the other says and says "God is great. Beer is good. And people are crazy." Sounds like the perfect setup for a redneck joke, right? Actually, that's pretty close: it's the hook of a country song. Billy Currington relates a story (written by professional songwriters of course, as most country singles are) of two men, the song's protagonist and an 'old man,' who exchange their life stories in a bar for several hours until last call puts them out on the street like a cat about to piss on your pillow in the middle of the night. In a goofy "sixth-sense" ending, the first guy discovers the old man's obituary – on the front page of a newspaper no less – and reads that not only was gramps a millionaire, but the ol' coot left all of his money to him. The song ends with the newly rich man leaving a six-pack of beer on the eccentric essobee's grave. Currington said of the song, "It's one of those that lifts your spirits and makes you laugh. I knew the first time I heard it, I wanted to lay it down and record it for the album." Well yeah, it made me laugh, but come on. It's goofy as hell. And the music is boring too.

Rating: ** (2 out of 5)
If You Like: Clay Walker, Dierks Bentley, Josh Turner, Luke Bryan

Depeche Mode – Peace
The second single from alternative synth-pop crooners Depeche Mode is a juxtaposition of positive lyrics with dark, moody music – something this group perfected long ago in their almost 30 year career. "Peace" preaches an earnest effort to begin living life with an optimistic attitude in search of freedom from regret and despair.

I'm leaving bitterness behind,
This time I'm cleaning out my mind,
There is no space for the regrets,
I will remember to forget,
Peace will come to me,
Just wait and see.

At times, the lyrics hint at a religious experience as inspiration for the huge change in outlook. "I am a living act of holiness," the song's protagonist announces. What makes the song intriguing is the contrast created by the mood of the music, which sets a very eerie tone with its haunting harmonies and spooky synthesizer melodies. The atmosphere of the track casts such a dark shadow of doubt over the seemingly confident vocals that it makes this song very captivating.

Rating: ***** (5 out of 5)
If You Like: Cut Copy, Eurythmics, Pet Shop Boys (darker tracks), MGMT, New Order

Godsmack – Whiskey Hangover
Godsmack's latest single is a return to the band's well-established sound, this time not veering far from their proven hard rock hit-making formula that was somewhat missing from their last and least-successful album. Powerful, driving guitars rock full blast during the track's intro and chorus, and then take the usual back seat as singer Sully Erna invokes his trademark Vedder-meets-Staley vocal stylings in the verses. There's nothing new and exciting revealed musically in "Whiskey Hangover." You could easily tack this song onto the end of Awake or Faceless and none would be the wiser. Lyrically, Erna boasts brazenly about being a proud alcoholic who wants those who preach sobriety to "keep [their] shitty advice inside." I still haven't decided if this song is being satirical or just intends to bluntly legitimize arrogant and belligerent drunkenness. Either way, it doesn't grab me like many of the band's previous hits. It's a bit too familiar and predictable to be anything more than just adequate rock station filler.

Rating: *** (3 out of 5)
If You Like: Crossfade, Daughtry, Nickelback, Seether, Sevendust,

H-Town – Call Me Mister Pac-Man
Soul crooners H-Town are one member short of their original lineup... and one sandwich short of a picnic basket. Their latest silky jam sounds as dated as their 1990s hits "Knockin' Da Boots" and "Part Time Lover." The only difference is that their lyrics have gotten worse. Painfully trite lines like "Every woman needs a lover" and "Do you like it, baby?" are peppered with references to being "Mister Pac-Man" – an absurd metaphor used to relate how much the song's protagonist enjoys "eating" his woman. Out of all the terrible lines in this track, "Yummy yum. Here I come," and "Yummy yummy yummy yummy yummy yum yum" have me yelling, "Check, please!" Sure, these guys can sing. But dear Lord, could somebody please hire them a lyricist?

Rating: * (1 out of 5)
If You Like: Color Me Badd, Ginuwine, Jodeci, Maxwell, R Kelly, Shai, Usher

Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Andy Madadian – "Stand By Me"
Exiled Iranian pop star Andranik "Andy" Madadian arrived at an LA studio on June 24th with famed producer Don Was to record the classic Ben E. King song "Stand By Me" as a "message of solidarity" to the Iranian people. Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, who happened to be sitting outside of the studio eating lunch, offered to participate in the recording. This track is the result of that four-hour impromptu collaboration intended simply "to be downloaded and shared by the Iranian people." Their version of "Stand By Me" has a very relaxed "sitting-around-the-campfire-jam" feel to it that is neither poor nor extraordinary. Its simple instrumentation provides little flair or excitement. I'd recommend listening to it once for the feel-good spontaneity of the event, and hearing Jon sing in Farsi, but don't expect to get hooked on this somewhat dull cover of a great song

Rating: *** (3 out of 5)
If You Like: Billy Falcon, Bon Jovi (Unplugged), Goo Goo Dolls (Acoustic), Indigo Girls (Upbeat Songs)

Livvi Franc – Now I'm That Bitch
Barbadian singer Olivia "Livvi" Waithe took on the stage name of "Franc" in honor of her grandfather who, when Livvi was two years old, predicted that she would grow up to be a musician. Her debut single, "Now I'm That Bitch" is an anthem for any girl who crushed on a guy who assumed she was too immature for him, but later grew up to be too hot for him. "Flowers blossoming. I am one of them. Bet you like how I've grown," she unabashedly boasts, "You were too fly then, so fly away now. Now I'm ‘that bitch,' and you're just a clown." Rapper Pitbull tosses in his two cents with, "I ain't gonna lie. It turns me on a little bit when you act like a bitch. Mama, I know what you went through is hard but the biggest bitch is karma." The music is standard dance club fare with its stomping bass thumps and clapping snare hits. There is, however, an bizarre electronic noise featured throughout the entire track that sounds like someone walking down a mall corridor in new sneakers. And I'd know. The day before my band opened for Korn, my other guitarist bought new shoes. Every step he took made a loud, annoying squeak for our entire mall visit. If you can block out that irritating squeak noise, and you dig most of today's dance jams, this song is tolerable.

Rating: *** (3 out of 5)
If You Like: Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Pink, Pussycat Dolls