The Truth About Music

"What's hot, what's not, and whats next in pop music"

What Jason Mraz Now Means to Music

By Harris posted August 23, 2009 at 01:29

This past week, Jason Mraz broke a decade old record held by country songstress Leann Rimes for her song “How Do I Live.” “I’m Yours,” which was robbed for song of the year at the 2009 Grammy Awards by Coldplay and “Viva La Vida,” has now spent 70 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. To put that into perspective, it has been 15 months since the song premiered in May of 2008. At that time George W. Bush was still our president, Lehman Brothers was still outside Chapter 11 and Israel still occupied most of the Gaza Strip. Jason Mraz, you truly have accomplished one the greatest feats in modern pop history and for that you should be commended, congratulations. Continue...
The Worst Thing I’ve Heard Today

By Harris posted August 20, 2009 at 08:23

Anytime I receive a press release I use a few things to identify it. First, has it come from someone I trust within the industry? Second, is there a band that I’ve heard of before anywhere in the subject? If I’ve answered no to these then I look for something, anything to make me care about what I am reading. This morning I got an email with the subject “Fonzerelli – Dreamin [Official Music Video], how could I not check that out. Clicking on the YouTube link I began to listen a music video that was simply terrible. It wasn’t that the music was bad but that the voice didn’t match the guy in the music video and that is apparent guitar playing was overwhelmingly fake. I understand what they tried to do; take a Zak Efron look a like and surround him with georgeous women in an attempt to [...] Continue...
The Truth About Music Release Radar: August 18th, 2009

By Harris posted August 17, 2009 at 08:36

With new releases from a wide variety of artists, this week a trip to the record store might actually be worth the trip. With past weeks being occupied by one or two albums that I am looking forward to hearing, this week features quite a few from reputable bands and artists. Leading off my list for the week is Jack Penate who will release his second album “Everything is New.” Although many people in the United States have never heard Jack’s music, his first album “Matinee,” was a huge hit in Europe and his quirky stage show makes him an instant hit in the pop world. I am very interested to see what this album will bring to the table. Second on my to do list this week is the second major release from the German group Cascada. Made famous over the past few years with huge singles such as [...] Continue...
The Songs in my Head: She Is Love

By Harris posted August 15, 2009 at 22:56

In an early entry for song of the year Parachute may of struck gold with their latest single. For almost three months Parachute has been riding a wave of success following their major debut album “Losing Sleep.” The single “She Is Love,” is dynamite in both it’s full band and acoustic versions. If you want to hear a truly great song check this one out. What “I’m Yours,” by Jason Mraz was to 2008, “She Is Love,” could be in 2009. Only time will tell if this band can survive once this first single dies down but with another single “Under Control,” on the way out Parachute is looking strong heading into the Fall of 2009. Continue...
Harris’ Song of the Week: Good Days Bad Days by Kaiser Chiefs

By Harris posted August 13, 2009 at 08:34

If the Kaiser Chiefs are ever going to make it big this might be there big chance. How many times in their future do you suppose they will be opening for the largest band in America, playing sold out shows night after night? Although I was not thrilled with their latest album “Off With Their Heads,” which was released in October of 2008, there are a few (not so hidden) gems on the album. This weeks song of the week has some real potential especially if it were picked up by network television and thrust into the limelight. It has that “indie rock” quality that made MGMT’s “Time to Pretend,” a huge hit. In a sense it would be a case of indie miss song gone mainstream hit. It is interested to me that when you have a middle of the road band (not great but not terrible) the singles [...] Continue...
The Truth About Music Release Radar: August 11th, 2009

By Harris posted August 10, 2009 at 23:11

It’s been a few weeks since I felt there was enough new music to bring you a release radar. Although there were a few albums that came out last week it wasn’t worth wasting an entire post. With that in mind I will include some stuff from last week as we move out of July and into August. The most anticipated album of the late summer for me is Cobra Starship’s “Hot Mess.” Under normal circumstances I would assume this album would flop as most of the previous Cobra albums have. What makes this album different? “Good Girls Go Bad.” This single has single handedly made Cobra Starship a household name and for the first time in their careers given them a true #1 single. Given the success of the single there is a strong chance that “Hot Mess,” will be a strong release by Gabe Saporta’s group. Last week we saw releases by Modest Mouse [...] Continue...
The Truth About "The Hangover"

By Harris posted August 06, 2009 at 15:46

The answer is yes, I am the last person in New York to see the movie heralded as the “Funniest of the Summer,” “The Hangover.” On a spur of the moment run to the movie theater just after ten at night on Wednesday I finally got the chance to see the movie that has been recommended by everyone. My expectations were set extremely high and considering the cast it seemed there was a chance I would not be disappointed. Unfortunately I was. Despite being an extremely funny movie with quite a lot of great one liners it does not stack up against the best comedy of the summer. As shown in the commercials, “The Hangover,” centers a lot of jokes around a baby that they find in the hotel room and a tiger that is occupying the bathroom. Besides being ruined in the trailers these jokes were found too many [...] Continue...
The Truth About "Funny People"

By Harris posted August 04, 2009 at 23:21

Last night amongst many personal dramas occurring over my summer vacation I found some time to go see one of the more highly anticipated comedies of this summer. “Funny People,” which stars Adam Sandler alongside Seth Rogen is a really solid example of where comedy was in the 90′s and where it has come. In a way this movie closes a full circle for Sandler who gave one of the best performances of his acting career. Although it was not based on true events, there is some reality to “Funny People.” The character Sandler plays has a past very similar to the real life actors. He began as a stand up comic and in his later years played meaningless roles that do nothing but make people with a toddlers comedy sense laugh. “Funny People,” a movie that was not only touched by the golden hands of Judd Apatow, but starred [...] Continue...
Harris’ Album of the Month: Underclass Hero by Sum 41

By Harris posted August 01, 2009 at 06:59

This month I draw your attention to an album that was passed over by fans and critics alike. Everyone will remember Sum 41 for their early 2000′s hits “Fat Lip,” and “In too Deep,” both from the 2001 release “All Killer No Filler.” After the album that made them a household name they released two more albums in 2002 and 2004 both of which weakened the bands public demand and caused the 2007 release of “Underclass Hero,” to go unnoticed. The album itself is truly great. Leading off with the title track “Underclass Hero,” is a true old school Sum 41 song. When you hear it you think to yourself that it could of been on “All Killer No Filler,” and that makes the song special. From there they mix the new aged “overproduction,” style made popular by the likes of Green Day among others, with that old school sound [...] Continue...