TOMORROW ON THE MORNING JOLT - POP, POP, POP MUSIC

First off: this (very obviously) photoshopped image is from Rolling Stone.

Second: sorry I haven't been posting in the past week.  Things have been busy.

Onward! So tomorrow morning I will be on SiriusXM OutQ's The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick  (and co-host Keith Price) at about 9 am ET. Every so often, I go against type and bring in a bunch of straight up pop records.

Right now, the biggest pop record on earth is the latest from Lady Gaga, Born This Way. I don't have as strong of an opinion on her as everyone else seems to.  I think she is talented, she's written some good songs, and she's a savvy marketer. On the other, I think she goes way out of her way to prove her intelligence, her artsiness and how much of an outsider she is.  I don't buy into her like other people do.  I think her new album is pretty good, but it's about as edgy as a Loverboy or REO Speedwagon album from the '80s.  I do enjoy the fact that she used Clarence Clemons from The E Street Band on two of the songs.  His playing is very '80s: it reminded me of his playing on "Dancing In The Dark" or Aretha's "Freeway Of Love."

I choose a couple of other prominent pop records: a Britney/Ke$ha/Nicki Minaj collab, a Katy Perry/Kanye West collab and some new Beyonce songs.  I have to say, I wasn't really impressed by any of them. Also a newer artist named Christina Perri: she's not my thing, but I can appreciate her a bit.

And also, the artist who I think will be one of the stories of 2011: Adele.  Right now, I bet that 21 will be one of the big Grammy albums, and it may make lots of critics lists also.

And what's that you say?  You don't have a SiriusXM subscription?  Get on that! Get a free online trial and check out what you're missing!

FRIDAY NIGHT: NO EXPIRATION ON VH1 - TOP 40 VIDEOS OF 2010

For the second year in a row, VH1 invited No Expiration to be a "pundit" on their year end video countdown. Full disclosure: I worked at VH1 for years, and they would occasionally ask me to comment on one of their shows, generally when a "real" pundit cancelled at the last minute and they had already paid for a crew. But I got good at being an interviewee (mainly because I was usually the interviewer, and I knew what they were looking for).

Last year, there were lots of rock bands on the countdown, which is why I got the call, but they used my comments on lots of pop artists too.  This year, the list is much more pop-heavy, but I had a great time being interviewed.  Thanks again Rick H and Rob N for thinking of me, and Riley M for two fun interviews.

For some reason, they've posted most of the videos (but not the top five) here, and people who watch VH1's countdowns (or the pop charts) can probably make good guesses of what topped the list. As seen above in a graphic created by VH1, Adam Lambert, Katy Perry, Kid Rock and Bruno Mars have made the cut. There were a lot of questions about Katy Perry's anatomy in the interview.

I was glad that Mumford & Sons' "Little Lion Man" is on the list, I've written about them before.  They are one of my favorite new bands (even though they sound like they're from 1945). Also on the list: Muse, whose "Resistance" is one of he best songs of the past two years. One of the best videos of the year is Jack Johnson's "At Or With Me" which features Saturday Night Live's Andy Sandberg, I'm glad that made the cut.

Not that I only enjoy the more "rock" artists on the list.  I definitely dig P!nk's "Raise Your Glass," which is a great 2010 anthem (despite the lazy lyric "if you're too school for cool"), and also the Lady Gaga/Beyonce duet "Telephone." Also the Jay-Z/Alicia Keys classic "Empire State Of Mind" and both Eminem tracks, "Not Alone" and "Love The Way You Lie" featuring Rihanna. Anyway, tune in and find out what song is #1!

LOLLAPALOOZA 2010: SOUNDGARDEN, GREEN DAY, LADY GAGA

Well, the rumors were true. Soundgarden, Green Day and Lady Gaga are headlining Lollapalooza this year (August 6-8 in Chicago's Grant Park). I am pretty sure this is the first show that Soundgarden has announced, and it is appropriate as they are one of the only bands (along with Tool) to be a Lolla headline act more than once (in 2991 and 1997), Also on the bill: Arcade Fire ,Social Distortion, Jimmy Cliff, the Black Keys, Devo, Cypress Hill, The Drive-By Truckers, and many more.  Find out more at the festival website.

LOLLAPALOOZA RUMORS: SOUNDGARDEN, GREEN DAY, GAGA

This year, Lollapalooza will take place, as usual, in Grant Park in Chicago on August 6-8. The rumored headliners are Green Day, Soundgarden and Lady Gaga. Pretty cool lineup: Green Day and Soundgarden were both Lollapalooza main stagers back in the '90s. And I think that in her own way, Lady Gaga kind of fits in. Although if I were going, I would stay until the last note of Soundgarden and Green Day rang out. I would not, however, brave a parking lot traffic jam for Lady Gaga (although I'd be curious to check out her live performance).

TOMORROW MORNING ON OUTQ: GRAMMY WRAP-UP

Last year, I went on OutQ Monday morning after the Grammys and was ready to defend the fact that I voted for Robert Plant & Alison Krauss' Raising Sand five times, over the likes of Leona Lewis and Lil' Wayne. Tomorrow, I'm going on the air, but I don't have anything that I felt that passionate about. Beyonce and Taylor Swift both had big nights, and I don't have huge opinions about them. Some people probably thought that Lady Gaga should have won more awards.

I was happy to see Green Day win Best Rock Album, I was glad to see Judas Priest, Maxwell, Levon Helm and Booker T. Jones get some Grammy love. I guess that's what we'll be talking about tomorrow! On Wednesday, I'll be back, talking about film music: the Oscar nominations come out Tuesday.

SO... THIS LADY GAGA GAL

A confession: before preparing for VH1's Top 40 Videos of 2009, I had never seen a Lady Gaga video.  I had seen some clips, but that was it. I'm not being a contrarian,  I really hadn't.  Of course I'd seen pictures, and I read her Rolling Stone cover story, which kind of impressed me. I say that with a bit of a caveat: I'm not quite as impressed with her as lots of othre people are. Yes, she plays piano and writes songs, but those songs, to me, are not much differnet than what I imagine the denizens of the "Jersey Shore" listen to. (And no, I haven't seen that show either. I live in New Jersey and went to college in Long Island, I think I've seen the story before.) Most of those artists have no persona nor any media savviness, and so they are forgotten about the moment they fall off of the charts. Gaga brings some of that Madonna and even Marilyn Manson self-marketing to the game. She's grabbed hold of our attention and she won't let go.  I actually watched an inteview with her, when I filmed her appearance on SIRIUS XM Hits 1 a few weeks ago. I thought it was interesting that she carries herself as both a pop superstar and at the same time, more "artsy" than you. But doens't come off as a bitch or a diva. She's actually very smart and very canny.

She also talks about "redefining the idea of what is beautiful." I don't think she really does that. If she plays down her Warholian wardrobe and dresses like a Jersey Shore girl, I bet all the guys down there would have no problem with her. Beth Ditto on the other hand, could maybe redefine the idea of what is beautiful. But I don't think the general public would buy into that.

Back in the '80s when Madonna released her first album, I remember her being really polarizing, and I didn't have a strong opinion of her either way, but I didn't think she would be around for long. That was based on the music, which was nice pop, but I didn't know much about her personality. By the time she released Like A Prayer, I realized she was kind of the real deal and would be around for just as long as she wants to be. Now she is a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and I think she deserves that, she's more rock and roll than Leonard Cohen or The Eagles. I wonder if Gaga has a Like A Prayer in her though.

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: HIP-HOP

OutQ listeners know I like to flip the script. Last week, I discussed "outlaw" country music. Tomorrow,I'll talk about hip-hop.


I never bought into Jay-Z like most everyone else have. I have no great objection to him, I just have not often felt the need to pay to hear his music. That said, he has some great songs: I like "Can I Get A...," "Money Ain't A Thing" and his cover of Ice-T's "99 Problems." He was also great on "Swagga Like Us." But his new song, "Run This Town," featuring Rihanna and Kanye West, is great. Rihanna's cool, it's nice to hear her return with such power. And hopefully this will be the last we hear from Kanye for a while. I'm a fan of his music, but I think he needs a break from the limelight, and the world needs a break from him.


Kid Cudi is a protegee of Kanye, I don't know too much about him, but he seems to sort of come from the Native Tongues tradition. This song features Kanye and Common, and prominently samples Lady Gaga.


Lady Gaga is also featured on Wale 's "Chillin'." He's a protegee of the great UK producer Mark Ronson. Pretty cool song. It's interesting to hear so many hip-hop dudes into Lady Gaga.


T.I. was being hailed as "The Jay-Z of the South" at one point. I felt the same about him as I did about Jay: no objection, but I wouldn't go out of my way to listen. After a while, I started to enjoy some of his songs. "Dead and Gone" with Justin Timberlake is great, and he killed it on "Swagga Like Us." This new song, "When I'm Gone," featuring Mary J. Blige, has a lot of weight. He's currently serving a year in prison.


Michael Franti has never gotten much attention in hip-hop, but just as I like "outlaw" country, I also like "outlaw" hip-hop. Not gansta, but guys who don't follow the same rules (or hire the same management companies or marketing companies) as the hip-hop stars. Franti got his start in a punk/hip-hop band called The Beatnigs who were on Jello Biafra 's Alternative Tentacles label. Then he had a sort of industrial/hip-hop hybrid group The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphopracy. Then he formed the more rootsy Spearhead, and they're sort of in the jam band scene. They're really political, but this is just a fun summer jam. I can't believe the guy has a hit single, like 20 years into his career! But good for him.


The Beastie Boys "Too Many Rappers" featuring Nas is the lead single from the Beasties' Hot Sauce Committee, which should have come out by now, but was delayed because of Adam Yauch's recent health scare. This song also gets some extra weight from Yauch's first lines: "I been in the game since before you was born, I'll still be MCing after you're gone." I'm glad that that's still true. No one takes the old-school hip-hop feel and makes it modern like the Beasties.