Life On Shuffle 03.29.10: The Smiths, Katy Perry, Drake, Mary J. Blige

Posted by Julian Williams on 03.29.2010

Join us for another week of Life On Shuffle as the iPod plays songs from Drake, The Smiths, Katy Perry, and more. Do the songs get to stay or do they get hit with the delete button? Only one way to find out. Click The Link!

Happy Monday folks (or more appropriately, Happy f*cking Monday) and welcome back to Life On Shuffle. We are now firmly settled into our brand new timeslot of Monday mornings so I hope that I can bring a little cheer to your Monday blues. If this is your first time here, let's have a quick overview. This is the column where we set our iPods on shuffle, see what songs pop up, and review those songs to see if they get to stay or get deleted. Simple right? I'm a simple man with a simple column. Let's get to work!


Song #1: Treat Me Like Your Mother – The Dead Weather



Jack White can do no wrong in my eyes. In addition to being a member of one of the best rock bands of the last 20 years, The White Stripes, White also has been a part of two other great bands: The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather. The latter of these two groups I was introduced to in mid-2009 when a friend at work had me listen to "Hang You From The Heavens". I thought the song was great and looked forward to hearing more from the band. I heard "Treat Me Like Your Mother" a few weeks later on the radio and thought that it was fantastic as well. I loved Alison Mosshart's bravado and boldness on the song as she didn't ask, but DEMANDED that her lover treats her the same way he would treat his mother. She makes it clear that she's not the type of woman to accept a bunch of bullsh*t and she will not accept anything less than the truth. The music in the background is a perfect background to her audacious lyrics as it helps drill home the point that this is not the woman to f*ck with. Great song from a great band that I hope to hear a lot more from.
Rating: ****
Status: SAVED




Song #2: Ask – The Smiths



I love The Smiths. I actually didn't know about them until about 5 years ago when I was watching a documentary that was chronicling the history of British bands and when the section that highlighted The Smiths came up, I was entranced by the music I heard. I instantly started downloading some of their songs and enjoyed listening to them immensely. Many people have described The Smiths as "Emo before Emo" and that's a pretty accurate description of them. Their songs were definitely more emotional and blunt than other rock songs of that era. I appreciate that, though. They aren't afraid to show their feelings and tell their lover exactly what is on their minds. No macho b*llshit, just truth and sincerity. I think "Ask" perfectly captures that. You can feel the love and caring when Morissey sings out lyrics like, "If there's something you'd like to try/Ask Me/I wont say no/How Could I?" Isn't that what everybody wants to hear from a significant other. They want to know that the other person cares about their feelings and their wants. Many men would ignore the needs of their lover, but not The Smiths. They care. And if that makes them Emo, so be it. At least they're getting a lot of ass.
Rating: ****1/2
Status: SAVED




Song #3: We Got Hood Love – Mary J. Blige ft. Trey Songz



This is an interesting song to me. The song's content and lyrics are pretty weak. Also, I don't get why she calls it "hood love". So because you argue, yet can't stand being without each other, that's hood love? Please. That describes 90% of the successful relationships in the world. It's rare that you're going to find somebody that doesn't drive you insane. The true testament of your love for each other is if you can deal with the insanity of your significant other and love them regardless. Ok, enough with my rant about love, let's talk more about the song. Like I said, it's an interesting song because the lyrics are pretty weak, but it's still an enjoyable song nonetheless. The chorus is very catchy and sucks you in. Both Mary and Trey Songz sound very good vocally and I believe that is what truly makes this song good because with two lesser singers, this could have turned into a horrible song. This song isn't an all-time classic and I'll probably get sick of it a couple of months from now, but for now it gets to stay.
Rating: ***
Status: SAVED




Song #4: Left & Right In The Dark – Julian Casablancas



I've liked Julian Casablancas for a long time and not only because he shares my name (although that does make him 10x cooler by default). When The Strokes first burst upon the scene in the early 200's, I instantly loved their sound. At that time, rock music was overloaded with rock-rap hybrid's like Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit and while I enjoyed those bands, I missed the days of straight up rock music. Groups like The Strokes, The Hives and The Vines brought that back and I couldn't have been more excited when they did. Out of those three, I liked the Strokes the most mainly because of Casablancas' voice. It had this lazy appeal to it because it sounded like he just woke up and started singing. I thought The Strokes were headed straight to the top, but alas, it wasn't to be. Still, they have provided us with some fantastic music so when I heard Casablancas was going to be making a solo album, I was immediately hyped for it. The album, Phrazes For The Young, was not as good as I was hoping for. It wasn't a bad album by any means, but there were some songs were it was obvious that Casablancas was experimenting and the finished product wasn't very good. There are a few songs that are fantastic and this is one of them. "Left & Right In The Dark" captures what I feel Casablancas was trying to achieve with the entire album: It has a sound that is similar to The Strokes, but it is also uniquely different. It sounds less "garage band" and more "Electro-Rock". It maintains the grungy edge that The Strokes had, but also sounds fresher and more up-to-date. It's simply a great song to listen to.
Rating: ***1/2
Status: SAVED




Song #5: I Miss My Love – Fabolous



You know what I miss in hip-hop? Storytelling. I remember during the advent of Hip-Hop, MC's would craft stories that you could visualize due to their descriptive lyrics. Somewhere along the line, that disappeared in favor of rapping about random nonsense that had no type of cohesion. So whenever I hear a song like "I Miss My Love", I'm almost guaranteed to instantly love it just because I miss storytelling in Hip-Hop. In the song, Fabolous rhymes about a girl that he loves who has betrayed him and now he needs to get rid of her. That sounds like a pretty simple premise, but the way that Fab rhymes draws you into the story to the point that when Fab finds out that his girl has betrayed him, YOU feel betrayed as well. And even though the way he deals with the betrayal is reprehensible, you cant help but agree with Fab that she deserved what she got. This song brings me back to the days of Slick Rick and Rakim when songs actually had a story behind them and were, in a way, movies in musical form. I hope that we'll get more songs like in the near future and less sh*t like "All The Way Turnt Up".
Rating: ****
Status: SAVED




Song #6: Say What's Real – Drake



I first heard about Drake about two years ago when one of my friends kept going on and on about this Canadian rapper named Drake. At first, I ignored him and didn't bother listening to any of Drake's music, especially once I found out he was the same dude that played Wheelchair Jimmy in Degrassi. "How good could a Degrassi cast member be at rap?" I thought to myself. Apparently, very good. I finally caved in and listened to some Drake tracks and was amazed by just how good he was. "Say What's Real" is one of the first songs I heard from him and I loved his delivery and wordplay. He has a knack for saying lyrics that are funny, yet completely serious at the same time. When he raps, "Promoters trying to get me out to they club/To say I had fun/But I cant imagine how/Cuz I just seen my ex-girl/Standing with my next girl/Standing with the girl that I'm f*cking right now" you can't help but laugh, but feel bad for him at the same time. I like this song because it has a simple beat and it just allows Drake to rap straight-up for 4 minutes. No catchy hook and no overproduced beat. This song feels like a throwback to the days when a MC would just hop on a beat and spit whatever pops up in their head.
Rating: ***1/2
Status: SAVED




Song #7: Girls All The Bad Guys Want – Bowling For Soup



I've been a big fan of Bowling For Soup for a while now. I first discovered them around 2002 and this was the first song that I heard from them. I instantly enjoyed it because it was so different from what was being played on rock radio at the time. Most rock songs back then were filled with anger and angst-filled lyrics and here were these guys making one of the goofiest and most fun rock songs I've ever heard. Yet, I think it's a song that a lot of guys can relate to. Everyone has had that one (or two or three or four or....) girl that you've tried your best to impress even though it was blatantly obvious that she was not into you at all. Girls tend to like the bad boys while the nice guys are seemingly left in the dust. This is an anthem for all those nice guys. Keep your head up guys.
Rating: ***1/2
Status: SAVED




Song #8: Waking Up In Vegas – Katy Perry



Katy Perry is part of the new breed of pop divas. It seems that Katy's role in that new breed is to make fun songs about getting drunk and hooking up. She continues that with "Waking Up In Vegas" which is just a song about the highs and lows of Las Vegas. They call it Sin City for a reason and Katy portrays that as she talks about being wiped out in Vegas and the aftermath of that. Ironically, listening to the song makes you want to hop on the next flight to Vegas even though she's taking about going broke because of Vegas. That's the allure of Vegas that no other city has. There is no other city where you know that you have a 85% chance of being completely broke by the time your vacation is over, yet you still look forward to going. So this is another good song from Katy as she was smart to capitalize on people's obsession with Vegas and I'm sure that this is a song that gets played repeatedly by anybody on their way to visit Vegas.
Rating: ***
Status: SAVED




Reader Feedback

First up is Hombre:

First off, it's neither Tweedy nor Cole, it's Cherly Hombre.

Oh come on, to say it with the everlasting words of Journey: "Don't stop believing"

Seriously, once again I found some pretty interesting songs this week. And the top ten are back, so everything is good in this world. ;-)

And by the way, the Bee Gees' version is on my iPod too, but it's shuffle, so it came up with TT's version .... whaddayado?

Here's mine for the week:

1. No Doubt - Don't Speak
2. The Clash - London Calling
3. Mariah Carey - Without You (back when she was still good)
4. Air - Alone in Kyoto (from the Lost in Translation Soundtrack that is, I guess you can check that out on the Tube, if you don't know it)
5. Simple Minds - She's a River
6. Limp Bizkit - Behind Blue Eyes
7. R.E.M. - Shiny Happy People
8. Sparks - When Do I Get To Sing "My Way"

Hey Hombre, I'll never kill your dream man. If I see you in the next National Enquirer as Cheryl's new man, I won't be surprised. Now, let's take a look at your list this week. "Don't Speak" is a classic from No Doubt and I still love to this listen to that song to this day. "London Calling" is another classic and is on frequent rotation in my iPod. You're 3 for 3 with classic songs so far as "Without You" is a great MC song. I remember "Alone In Kyoto" from Lost In Translation and I like it because it's an almost dream-like song. You can envision yourself floating over Kyoto while listening to this song. "She's A River" is one of those songs that I like or hate depending on my mood. Sometimes I'll dig it and other times, I'll skip it immediately in disgust. Congratulations Hombre, you've managed to include the ONE Limp Bizkit song that I absolutely HATE. I actually was a big fan of Limp (and I'm not ashamed to say that....ok, I'm a bit ashamed) so it was rare that they madea song that I didn't at least like partially. Not this song, though. "Shiny Happy People" is the type of song that just perks you up when you listen to it. You can't stay still when that comes on. I first heard "When Do I Get To Sing My Way" about a decade ago and I instantly liked it. My affection for it has kind of worn off, but it's still a pretty good song nonetheless. Thanks once again for the list Hombre!


Next up is a good friend of Life On Shuffle, Michael James:

You're getting quite a response, you may end up being a victim of your own popularity-- good luck responding to 30 lists a week! By the way-- if you never went back and check out Outkast's debut, Southernplayalistic... hop to it, it's a classic.

1- Snoop Dogg- Buck' Em (feat. Sticky Fingaz) (Oh No Limit Era Snoop- such a let down)
2-Eminem- Monkey See Monkey Do
3- Nelly- Die for You
4- Lazlo Bane- Breathe Me In
5- 98 Degrees- This Gift (oh my lord, that's embarassing-- but I'm keeping it, f the world)
6- D-12- Rap Game
7- Bun B- Draped Up (feat. Lil Keke)
8- Timbaland & Magoo- Baby Bubba (feat. Petey Pablo)

Wow, bad list this week.

Thanks for the feedback Michael and I checked out Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik about a year after I heard ATLiens and although I prefer the latter, I still like Southernplayalistic a lot. No Limit Snoop was definitely a disappointment, but I must admit that I absolutely LOVE "Buck 'Em". It makes you want to rob somebody, slap a prostitute, and drink a 40 all at the same time. Only in Grand Theft Auto of course, but still. I'm not a big fan of "Monkey See Monkey Do". It's not a horrible song, but it's nowhere near the upper echelon of Eminem songs in my view. I can't stand Nelly and "Die For You" doesn't give me a reason to stop disliking him. I haven't heard "Breathe Me In", but I'll start searching for it. "This Gift" is actually a pretty good 98 Degrees song. Is it a good song in general? Nah. But for 98 Degrees, it's pretty good. I like D-12 and while "Rap Game" isn't one of my favorites from them, it's still a pretty good song."Draped Up"is a good down south record with a nice beat. Timbaland and Magoo have made some pretty good songs throughout the years. "Baby Bubba" is not one of those songs. Come on Michael, I expect better from you. Thanks again for the list Michael!


Tyrone returns and brings an all-new list with him:

hahahahaha lol i loved yourr response about gucci mane and sean kingston jokess fa dayz anyways on to the list

1. Lady GaGa - Telephone ft. Beyonce
2. Rihanna - Rude Boy
3. Lil Twist - Big Brother
4. Jason Derulo - In My Head Remix ft. Nicki Minaj
5. Usher - Making Love
6. Usher - Guilty ft. T.I.
7. Lil Wayne - Ice Cream
8. Ludacris – Sexting

Hey, I just call it like I see it Tyrone. And the way I see it, Gucci Mane is an atrocious rapper and Sean Kingston is a butch lesbian. I don't think either of those things can be denied. I really liked "Telephone" when I first heard it, but I'm starting to get sick of it. I'm going to try to stop listening to it for a while and maybe I'll start liking it again after I do that. I hated "Rude Boy" when I first heard it, but I've got to admit that the song is catchy as hell and I eventually started liking it. The video that has Rihanna wearing the tightest clothes humanly possible may have added to my newfound appreciation for the song. "Big Brother" is nice song that shows how much Lil' Twist appreciates what Wayne has done for him. Is it a good song? Hell no. But it's nice that he's so appreciative of Wayne. I didn't even know that "In My Head" had a remix so you just helped me discover something new Tyrone. I listened to it and Nicki gives her usual weird verse, but it was nothing particularly special. "Making Love" is more like what I expect from Usher so hopefully we get more songs like that on the new album and less songs like "Hey Daddy". "Guilty" is another good new Usher song and I especially like T.I.'s verse on it. "Ice Cream" is a hot track off of No Ceilings and I like Wayne's version infinitely more than Dorrough's version. "Sexting" is another fun Luda song and any song that makes fun of Tiger Woods is ok by me. Thanks again for the list Tyrone!


Horndog lives up to is name:

I love thick Janet also. Especially in the "Pleasure Principle" video. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm

You're my kind of dude Horndog. While skinny Janet was still sexy as hell, I do miss big booty Janet. My goodness, I'm daydreaming about that booty right now.


The man with the awesome name, Lenny Vowels, provides his own list:

Heh, such interestingly kind words from you, Julian. To be honest, I've played an instrument or two in the past, but I'm more interested in things like the history and overall feel of it, hence why I'm doing album reviews. This will definitely be a story that I tell my friends, though. :)

Anyway, here's my 8 for next week:

1. Protest the Hero - Spoils
2. Muse - In Your World (#2 second week in a row, how 'bout that?)
3. Paradise Lost - Rapture
4. The Offspring - Stuff is Messed Up
5. The White Stripes - A Boy's Best Friend
6. Nine Inch Nails - Wish
7. Alice in Chains - A Looking In View
8. Green Day - Deadbeat Holiday

Thank you once again for providing a list Mr. Vowels. I still stick by my assertion that your name is awesome and you should either be the lead singer of a band or the new host of "Headbanger's Ball" on MTV. Let's check your list out. I read about Protest The Hero last year and decided to check out some of their music and one the first songs of theirs that I heard was "Spoils". I liked the sound of it and will definitely seek out future work from them. "In Your World" isn't one of my favorite Muse songs. Yet, it's one of those songs that you put your finger on the skip button, ready to go to the next song, but you can't press it because the song wins you over and you want to hear it until the end. "Rapture" is certainly the type of song that you want to bang your head to or form a mosh pit because of it. I always considered The Offspring an underrated and overlooked band because they made some truly great songs and "Stuff Is Messed Up" is one of those songs. And that song is probably near the bottom of Offspring songs that I like, yet I still jam to it anytime it pops up on my iPod. While the music for "A Boy's Best Friend" isn't particularly great (at least compared to other White Stripes songs), the lyrics and Jack White's voice are phenomenal. "Wish" is a pretty awesome NIN song, although I frequently skip it if it comes on. I like it, but I just find myself getting bored with it sometimes. "A Looking In View" is a great, great, GREAT song and probably my favorite Alice In Chains song. I love "Deadbeat Holiday" and songs like this are the reason that I'll never turn my back on Green Day.


Music 5 & 1 scribe, Adam Hill, returns with his fingers crossed to give us his list:

I did emerge unscathed last week, thank goodness and apologies, I didn't mean to make you look bad. Let me know what you thought of the new tracks if you get a chance to hear them.

Anyway, emboldened and embiggened by last week where none of my wife and kid's tunes came up, I gave it another go and immediately regretted it. I almost don't want to post this.

1) I Was Born to Make You Happy – Britney Spears
2) In My Arms – Mylo
3) Angel – Massive Attack
4) When Things Explode – Unkle feat. Ian Astbury
5) Ruled by Secrecy – Muse
6) 200 Balloons – Prince
7) Better the Devil You Know – Kylie Minogue (shakes head and is just grateful it wasn't The Locomotion)
8) Uprising – Muse

Hey ho, 2 out of 8 shockers. It could've been so much worse.

Thanks for the feedback Adam. The less we say about "I Was Born To Make You Happy", the better. We'll chalk that up as a song of your wife or kids (hopefully). I really like "In My Arms", the music is just infectious. I didn't really like "Angel" when I first heard it, but then I saw the video and I loved the video which in turn made me like the song. "When Things Explode" is a pretty great song that has an epic feel to it. I never was a big fan of "Ruled By Secrecy". I know that some people love it and find it beautifully haunting, but I just find it boring. "200 Balloons" is just another is a long, LONG line of great Prince songs. The music for "Better The Devil You Know" is actually fantastic. The rest of it? Not so much. "Uprising" grew on me as I didn't really care for it at first, but now it's in frequent rotation on my iPod. You didn't do too bad this week Adam. Outside of "I was Born To Make You Happy", there was anything embarrassing. Hell, I'm the man who professed my love for "Get Into The Groove". It doesn't get much more embarrassing than that.


Patrick Robinson, author of the fantastic Hip-Hop Herald, gives us his thoughts AND Top Ten Hip-Hop Groups:

Patrick here, the site is forcing me to use my forum name for some reason...

So every time I hear Sean Kingston, I'm now going to think 'butch lesbian' although to be completely honest, I suppose that's an upgrade from what I usually think when I hear Sean Kingston.

Drake's "Over" is a great track killed by a hook that sounds like it was written by 8 different people with no collaboration involved in the process. Other than that though, I'm enjoying the track.

The Slaughterhouse album really woke me up in terms of Joell Ortiz and Crooked I for which I am very thankful, although their track off Budden's Escape Route album, "We Outta Here" is my current favorite from them.

Very good list on the groups too and being a major Wu-Tang fan, props for putting them high! As for mine, I'd probably go:

1. Wu-Tang Clan
2. Run-D.M.C.
3. N.W.A
4. Outkast
5. Eric B. & Rakim
6. De La Soul
7. EPMD
8. Public Enemy
9. Little Brother
10. Cypress Hill

For some reason I've never really been able to get into The Roots or A Tribe Called Quest much to the extreme puzzlement of my readers hahaha

I agree with you about "Over" Patrick. I love the track, but the hook is definitely sounds something mish-mashed that was thrown in at the last minute. I also enjoyed "We Outta Here" from the Escape Route album, although my favorite from them is probably "Wack MC's" or "Cut You Loose". I liked your Top Ten Hip-Hop Groups list and I especially liked the love for Little Brother because they are one of my favorite current Hip-Hop groups. Both The Listening and The Minstrel Show are two of my favorite hip-hop albums of the last decade. I can't believe that a hip-hop head like yourself cant't get into The Roots of Tribe Called Quest. I will admit that Tribe can be an acquired taste, but they definitely grow on you if you listen to them enough. The Roots are fantastic because I have rarely heard a song from them that I don't like. You need to listen to both groups for like 2 days straight until their music seeps into your brainwaves because it's unacceptable for you not to care about them as the resident 411 hip-hop guru. UNACCEPTABLE! I'm just messing with you Patrick. If they don't do it for you, that's your personal opinion and it shouldn't be changed. I was never a big Tupac fan when he first came out and I got a lot of sh*t from my friends for not liking him. So I definitely understand how it feels to not care about a popular artist and everybody thinks you're crazy because of it. To that I say, f*ck 'em. It's your ears, you know what they like.


The Log-Off

Well that will do it for this week friends. Be sure to leave any feedback you might have as well as your own shuffle lists. The shuffle gods were favorable once again as there were no deletions for the second week in a row. I'm starting to think that the shuffle gods are a bunch of p*ssies. Oooooo, that should piss them off. Come back next week to see if they take out their wrath on the next shuffle list. Until then, tip your hookers and stay classy.