MUSIC BITS ‘N’ BEATS
By your host Takis Haggiandreou

Week of 06/05/2012 - 13/05/2012

This week’s Top 5 UK/US

UK

(1) Call me maybe (Carly Rae Jepsen)
(2) Let’s go (Calvin Harris/Ne Yo)
(3) We are young (Fun/Janelle Monae)
(4) Can’t say no (Conor Maynard)
(5) Laserlight (Jessie J/David Guetta)

US

(1) Somebody that I used to know (Gotye/Kimbra)
(2) We are young (Fun/Janelle Monae)
(3) Payphone (Maroon5/Wiz Khalifa)
(4) Glad you came (Wanted)
(5) Call me maybe (Carly Rae Jepsen)

(2) One Year ago….. Top 5 UK/US.

UK

(1) Party rock anthem (LMFAO/Laureen Bennett/Goonrock)
(2) The lazy song (Bruno Mars)
(3) On the floor (Jennifer Lopez/Pitbull)
(4) Beautiful people (Chris Brown/Benni Benassi)
(5) Sweat (Snoop Dogg)

US

(1) S & M (Rihanna)
(2) E.T. (Katy Perry/Kanye West)
(3) Just can’t get enough (Black Eyed Peas)
(4) Down on me (Jeremih/50 Cent)
(5) Forget you (Cee Lo)

5 Years ago……..Top 5 UK/US

UK

(1) Beautiful liar (Beyonce/Shakira)
(2) Give it to me (Timbaland/Nelly Furtado/Justin Timberlake)
(3) Girlfriend (Avril Lavinge)
(4) Because of you (Ne Yo)
(5) Stop me/No one knows (Mark Ronson/Daniel Merriweather/Domino)

US

(1) Glamorous (Fergie)
(2) This is why I’m hot (Mimms)
(3) Don’t matter (Akon)
(4) Cupid chokehold (Gym Class Heroes/Patrick Stump)
(5) The sweet escape (Gwen Stefani/Akon)

© This and that

….R.I.P. Adam Yauch, the gravelly voiced rapper who helped make the Beastie Boys one of the seminal groups in hip-hop, died Friday. He was 47….

2012 marks 60 years of the UK’s Official Singles Chart, and, to celebrate ITV are launching a nationwide poll to discover The Nation's Favourite Number 1 Single.
A panel of music experts have pre-selected a shortlist of 60 singles, which you can view below. The panel includes The Police's drummer Stewart Copeland, singer-songwriter and former All Saint, Shaznay Lewis, British soul/R&B icon Beverley Knight, producer Pete Waterman, chart expert Paul Gambaccini, DJ/presenter Trevor Nelson, Observer pop critic Kitty Empire, Radio 1 and The Voice presenter Reggie Yates, and radio/TV presenter Mike Read.

The shortlist is as follows:

1950s
Jailhouse Rock, Elvis Presley, 1958

1960s
I Want To Hold Your Hand, The Beatles, 1963
The House Of The Rising Sun, The Animals, 1964
You Really Got Me, The Kinks, 1964
You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’, The Righteous Brothers, 1965
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones, 1965
Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys, 1966
A Whiter Shade Of Pale, Procol Harum, 1967
Hey Jude, The Beatles, 1968
What A Wonderful World, Louis Armstrong, 1968
I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Marvin Gaye, 1969

1970s
Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon And Garfunkel, 1970
Maggie May, Rod Stewart, 1971
Merry Xmas Everybody, Slade, 1973
I’m Not In Love, 10cc, 1975
Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen, 1975 and 1991
Dancing Queen, Abba, 1976
Wuthering Heights, Kate Bush, 1978
Heart Of Glass, Blondie, 1979
Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick, Ian Dury And The Blockheads, 1979
I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor, 1979

1980s
Going Underground, The Jam, 1980
Ashes To Ashes, David Bowie, 1980
The Winner Takes It All, Abba, 1980
Imagine, John Lennon, 1981
Stand And Deliver, Adam And The Ants, 1981
Don’t You Want Me, The Human League, 1981
Tainted Love, Soft Cell, 1981
Every Breath You Take, The Police, 1983
Billie Jean, Michael Jackson, 1983
Careless Whisper, George Michael, 1984
Do They Know It’s Christmas?, Band Aid, 1984
Relax, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, 1984
West End Girls, Pet Shop Boys, 1986
Stand By Me, Ben E King, 1987
Like A Prayer, Madonna, 1989

1990s
Nothing Compares 2U, Sinead O’Connor, 1990
Vogue, Madonna, 1990
(Everything I Do) I Do It for You, Bryan Adams, 1991
Should I Stay Or Should I Go, The Clash, 1991
I Will Always Love You, Whitney Houston, 1992
Back For Good, Take That, 1995
Gangsta’s Paradise, Coolio Featuring L.V., 1995
Don’t Look Back In Anger, Oasis, 1996
Firestarter, The Prodigy, 1996
Killing Me Softly, Fugees, 1996
Wannabe, Spice Girls, 1996
Candle In The Wind, Elton John, 1997
The Drugs Don’t Work, The Verve, 1997
I Believe I Can Fly, R Kelly, 1997
…Baby One More Time, Britney Spears, 1999

2000s
Stan, Eminem, 2000
Can’t Get You Out Of My Head, Kylie Minogue, 2001
Crazy In Love, Beyonce Featuring Jay-Z, 2003
Dry Your Eyes, The Streets, 2004
Crazy, Gnarls Barkley, 2006
Umbrella, Rihanna, 2007
Bonkers, Dizzee Rascal, 2009
Poker Face, Lady Gaga, 2009

2010s
Someone Like You, Adele, 2011

Log on to www.itv.com/nationsfavouritenumberone to cast your vote,

(D) CD Spotlight

“Love is a four letter word” By Jason Mraz.

The universal message that led to Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" being the longest-running Billboard Hot 100 hit ever was one of the biggest inspirations of his newest record. "The success of 'I'm Yours' really woke me up to the power of songwriting and how it can affect many peoples' lives. How words can empower an individual. When I sing that song, I watch audiences turn and sing it to each other. That they're choosing to put those words in their own mouths, and give themselves or their time to someone else and sing 'I'm yours' that they won't hesitate anymore and this is it," he tells Billboard.com. "That was a powerful, powerful experience. I wanted to continue that experience with this album."
And his newest album, "Love Is A Four Letter Word," draws inspiration from this amongst other themes. Despite seemingly falling out of it by calling off his engagement with fellow singer-songwriter Tristan Prettyman, Mraz focuses his album on the concept to "celebrate love in a way that all of us strive to be loved and to love well. And love itself is such an extraordinary word that we use for so many things. We put a lot of pressure on that word, as soon as 'love' shows up in a relationship amongst friends, we put a lot more pressure on what that relationship means. But really 'love' shows up through our actions and how we help others and how we serve others."
Yet don't think the fans had nothing to do with this album. In fact, Mraz adds that they played a big role in choosing the final tracks. "I should really give all the credit to my career to fan support," the crooner adds. "I want to know which songs fans can see their own selves in the work. And that's important to me. And then of course being out on tour is the best because you start playing songs and of course the songs immediately end up on YouTube so you get to the next city and you can tell who's been watching and paying attention to the YouTube because people start requesting songs that they're becoming aware of.

(D) CD Spotlight

“Up all night” by One Direction.

Along with their boy band counterparts/friends/pseudo-rivals The Wanted, U.K. group One Direction has helped revive a left-for-dead genre of pop music by capturing the fancy of their native country in an incredibly short time. After finishing third on the British version of "The X Factor," Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson inked a deal with Syco Records, released their debut album, "Up All Night," in the U.K. last November, racked up over 100 million YouTube views for the music videos for the album's first three singles, and defeated artists like Adele, Jessie J, and Ed Sheeran at the 2012 BRIT Awards when "What Makes You Beautiful" was named Best British Single.
One Direction's popularity is growing, and with the March 13 U.S. release of "Up All Night," the boys have set their sights on the States
Let's get this right out of the way: first single "What Makes You Beautiful" is the real deal.
The song may not have earned its win over Adele's "Someone Like You" at the BRIT Awards, but One Direction's smash hit is as endlessly playable as "Bye Bye Bye" or "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)," and as unstoppable as its 65 million Vevo views suggest. As the first song on "Up All Night," "What Makes You Beautiful" leads a front-loaded effort -- its first three songs have doubled as its first three singles in the U.K. -- that can make the debut album feel a bit top-heavy. Themes of innocent romance are constant throughout "Up All Night," but tracks like "Gotta Be You" and "More Than This" hit a mark more smoothly than songs like "Everything About You" and "Taken."

(D) CD Spotlight

“Scars and Stories” by the Fray.

(D) CD Spotlight

Lana Del Ray ‘Born to die”

So: is it any good? Well, at 15 tracks, it's as puffy as the singer's oft-debated lips. Many of the songs tread the same lyrical territory (good girl falls for bad boy, or vice versa; variations on lines like "kiss me on my open mouth" and "take your body downtown" are used throughout), and the noir production from hip-hop vets like Jeff Bhasker (Kanye West, Jay-Z) and Emile Haynie (Lil Wayne, Eminem) starts to sound stale on late-album cuts "Million Dollar Man" and "Lolita."
But perhaps that's only because the highlights (title track "Born To Die" and the viral hits "Video Games" and "Blue Jeans") have already become veritable anthems for the Hype Machine circuit by today's short attention-span standards (it's worth noting that Lana Del Rey was a virtual unknown before "Video Games" created a blog firestorm in late July.) Backlash notwithstanding, the "SNL" exposure helped Del Rey crack the Billboard charts for the first time last week, including a No. 20 bow on the Billboard 200 for a self-titled digital EP. The continued curiosity surrounding Del Rey is only going to keep her atop Twitter's trending topics.

(D) CD Spotlight

“Fallen Empires” by Snow Patrol.

"Fallen Empires," the sixth studio album from Northern Ireland's Snow Patrol, dropped Jan. 10 after more than three years of radio silence from the band. Despite the lull, lead vocalist Gary Lightbody explains that the six months they took to the make the record in the Malibu sunshine heavily inspired them, allowing a more creative process and dramatically affecting the tone of the album.
"Fallen Empires," which the band will be supporting with a massive U.S. tour that runs from March 29 through May 18, is rife with Lightbody's childhood nostalgia, the intricacies of love, life and, more than anything, his personal interactions with strangers and close friends alike. He tells Billboard.com of the writing process, "Sometimes it's hard to just reach out, it's hard to ask for help. It's a recurring theme on the record."

(D) CD Spotlight

“Talk that talk” by Rihanna.

Were she willing to tip her hand a little earlier, Rihanna might have considered kicking off her new album, "Talk That Talk," with "Watch n' Learn," which appears near the end of the 11-song release and best captures the Barbados-born singer's most prominent obsession. On it, Rihanna, who over the last half-decade has risen to become one of the most successful pop artists in the world, outlines the myriad ways in which she'll have her way with a lover.
"Talk That Talk" is not entirely sex-obsessed. For balance's sake, and because she's making music in the pop realm and beholden to relatively conservative mores, Rihanna on "Talk That Talk" also harnesses her producers and songwriters -- including Dr. Luke, StarGate, Alex Da Kid, The-Dream and others -- to focus love above the waist and how passion affects both the body and the mind. Throughout, she plays on the idea that we all want the same thing out of life -- to be "drunk on love" (as she sings in a song of the same name).

CD Spotlight

“El Camino” by The Black Keys.

El Camino is the seventh studio album by American blues rock duo The Black Keys . It was co-produced by Danger Mous e and the band and was released on December 6, 2011 on Nonesuch Records .
The album was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee at Easy Eye Sound Studio, which was opened in 2010 by guitarist Dan Auerbach . Based on the difficulty the group had performing some of the slower songs from their previous album Brothers live, they conceived more uptempo tracks for El Camino . The record draws strong influence from early American music and popular genres from the 1950s–1970s, such as rock and roll , soul , and glam rock .
El Camino was preceded by lead single " Lonely Boy ", which was released in October accompanied by a popular one-sho t music video of a man dancing. The album has received positive reviews from critics since its release. In the US, it debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and sold 206,000 copies in its first week, the highest charting position and single-week sales the group has achieved in the country.

(D) CD Spotlight

“Ceremonials’ by Florence + The Machine

Florence Welch, the drama queen. "Over-the-top" is a suitable way to describe what she does with the songs on "Ceremonials," her second album that shows no signs of a sophomore slump.Tribal drums meld with a heavenly choir of what seems like a thousand voices, all of which sound recorded in an echoing cave. Harp, strings, toy pianos, eerie sound effects - they combine to create left-of-center pop anthems that sound equal parts U2 and Tori Amos.
Gothic, Celtic, bluesy, danceable rock: Sounds like a mess, yet quite the opposite -- due in part to Welch's hurtling vocals, some of the most bewitching in both the rock and pop worlds right now.
Musical growth comes in the form of cohesion - something Florence + the Machine's debut, "Lungs," lacked. For "Ceremonials," Welch rode out the wave of success afforded to her by breakout hit "Dog Days Are Over," and instead of going the shiny pop route, delved into her own darkness, aided by producer Paul Epworth.
From what we can tell from the 12-track, 56-minute "Ceremonials," Welch is a sucker for love: romance and heartbreak sharing equal billing, and always in a dire manner. Like we said, drama queen - but in the best sense of the phrase.

(D) CD Spotlight

“Mylo Xyloto” by Coldplay.

Coldplay announced the band's fifth studio album, "Mylo Xyloto" (pronounced my-lo zy-letoe), Produced by Markus Dravs, Daniel Green and Rik Simpson, with "enoxification" and additional composition by Brian Eno, "Mylo Xyloto" is Coldplay's first release since 2008's "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends," which debuted at No. 1 in Billboard and has sold 2.8 million units in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan
Eleven proper songs, all named after the biggest and the best, like landmarks tumbling side by side: holy lands, flames, princesses, waterfalls and uh, Charlie Brown? Each song hits some sort of ridiculous climactic hotspot that seemed impossible the second before it happened. Just listen to “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” the moment the drums kick in for real. It seems completely implausible that a song that started so big could become any bigger. It sounds like the exact Coldplay song that you want to get made over and over again, and for Mylo Xyloto, it finally gets made. It’s Coldplay at heart.

The MTV European Music Awards took place last night (Sunday, November 6) at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall.
Lady Gaga was the big winner on the night taking home four awards (including Best Song, Best Video, Best Female and Biggest Fans) while Justin Bieber won three awards, and Bruno Mars and 30 Seconds To Mars took home two awards each.
Queen, who were awarded the Golbal icon gong, performed live at the event with former American Idol contestant Adam Lambert on vocals.

The full list of nominations and winners is as follows:

Best Song
Nominees: Adele – Rolling In The Deep, Bruno Mars – Grenade, Jennifer Lopez Ft. Pitbull – On The Floor, Katy Perry – Firework, Lady Gaga – Born This Way.
Winner: Lady Gaga – Born This Way.

Best Live
Nominees: Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Winner: Katy Perry.

Best Pop
Nominees: Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Rihanna.
Winner: Justin Bieber.
Best New
Nominees: Bruno Mars, Far East Movement, Jessie J, LMFAO, Wiz Khalifa.
Winner: Bruno Mars.

Best Female
Nominees: Adele, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga.
Winner: Lady Gaga.

Best Male
Nominees: Bruno Mars, David Guetta, Eminem, Justin Bieber, Kanye West.
Winner: Justin Bieber.

Best Hip-hop
Nominees: Eminem, Jay-Z and Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Pitbull, Snoop Dogg.
Winner: Eminem.

Best Rock
Nominees: Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Kings Of Leon, Linkin Park.
Winner: Linkin Park.

Best Video
Nominees: Adele – Rolling In The Deep, Beastie Boys – Make Some Noise, Beyonce – Run The World (Girls), Justice – Civilization, Lady Gaga – Born This Way.
Winner: Lady Gaga – Born This Way.

Best Alternative
Nominees: Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, My Chemical Romance, The Strokes, 30 Seconds To Mars.
Winner: 30 Seconds To Mars.

Best World Stage
Nominees: Arcade Fire, Black Eyed Peas, Diddy – Dirty Money, Enrique Iglesias, Kings Of Leon, Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Ozzy Osbourne, Snoop Dogg, 30 Seconds To Mars.
Winner: 30 Seconds To Mars.

Best Push
Nominees: Alexis Jordan, Big Time Rush, Bruno Mars, Far East Movement, Jessie J, Katy B, LMFAO, Neon Trees, Theophilus London, Wiz Khalifa.
Winner: Bruno Mars.

Biggest Fans
Nominees: Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Paramore, Selena Gomez, 30 Seconds To Mars.
Winner: Lady Gaga

Best Worldwide Act
Nominees: Abdelfattah Grini, Bigbang, Britney Spears, Lena, Restart.
Winner: Bigbang.

Best UK/Ireland Act
Winner: Adele.

MTV Voices Award
Winner: Justin Bieber.

Global Icon Award
Winner: Queen.

….Best Buy To Shutter U.K. Stores; Invests $1.3 billion In Best Buy Mobile
U.S. retail giant Best Buy is to close all 11 of its U.K. stores by the end of the calendar year, it was announced today. Best Buy had partnered with Carphone Warehouse in May 2008 to form Best Buy Europe. The U.S. retailer is set to acquire full control of Best Buy Mobile for an upfront payment of about $1.3 billion which will allow the company to focus on emerging mobile phone markets…

…Conrad Murray Found Guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter in Death of Michael Jackson
Conrad Murray has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the 2009 death of Michael Jackson. A jury took less than nine hours to decide the verdict following a six-week trial in which prosecutors painted Murray as a reckless physician who plied Jackson with irresponsible amounts of the powerful anesthetic propofal…..

(D) CD Spotlight

“Here and now” by Nickelback.

Nickelback's dream girl apparently "smokes a little homegrown, drinks a little Cuervo" and drives a fast car. We're so surprised. But that's a welcome sign-especially for fans-that while the Canadian troupe has grown musically, it hasn't grown up on its seventh album, "Here and Now." The quartet comes out fixin' for a fight with the switchblade guitars of "This Means War," gets into full-on party mode with "Bottoms Up" and pursues that ideal female on "Gotta Get Me Some," "Midnight Queen" and "Everything I Wanna Do." The anthemic "When We Stand Together" offers a requisite bit of social consciousness, while frontman Chad Kroeger's melodic love songs-"Lullaby," "Trying Not to Love You," "Holding on to Heaven," the vividly characterized "Don't Ever Let It End"-boast a rich sheen that could be traced to producer Mutt Lange's work on 2008's "Dark Horse" but without quite as much bombast. It's a well-crafted brand of meat 'n potatoes hard rock.

(D) CD Spotlight

“King” by A.O.R.

O.A.R.'s seventh album is a perfectly crafted Hacky Sack soundtrack, deeply rooted in the sunburned dub stew of reggae, surf, and jazz-rock rhythms favored by purveyors of hemp head-wraps. What separates the band from the rest of the easy-rocking rabble is frontman Marc Roberge, whose lyrics are as heartfelt as a drama student's poetry journal, albeit one who has found peace in the world (a sample gush: ''Life is amazing!''). That, along with some easy, ambling melodies, helps King transcend its asleep-on-the-quad origins

(D) CD Spotlight

“In waves” by Trivium.

It's never a great sign when the most interesting composition on an album is a spooky piano intro – and so it is with Trivium's fifth release. For the odd moment, you want to give the Floridian metallers the benefit of the doubt when they try to spice up the dynamics with the occasional blast beat, as in the Inception of the End, or in Dusk Dismantled, when they rip out some straight-up black/death metal. But then before you know it, you're back in the clutches of the kind of heavy-rotation schlock that clogs up the darker reaches of rock music cable channels, with its staccato non-riffs and alternating screamed and sung vocals (sometimes – shudder – Auto-Tuned).

(D) CD Spotlight

“I’m with you’ by Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

I'm with You is the tenth studio album by Red Hot Chili Peppers. The album made its debut at number one in seventeen different countries including the United Kingdom while reaching number two in the United States and Canada .

Produced by Rick Rubin, it is the band's first studio album to feature guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, following the departure of John Frusciante in 2009, and is their first since Stadium Arcadium in 2006, marking the longest gap, to date, between Red Hot Chili Peppers' studio albums. The album's first single, "The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie" was released to radio on July 15, 2011, three days earlier than expected due to the single leaking

Regarding the album, vocalist Anthony Kiedis noted, "there is no question – this is a beginning," with drummer Chad Smith stating, "this is a new band. Same name, but it's a new band.

The band's official site held a global listening party on August 22, 2011 where they streamed the entire album. Various radio stations throughout the world began playing tracks on the same date leading up to the album's release. The full album was also made available to stream for free on the iTunes Store.

(D) CD Spotlight

“The Truth is…” by Theory of a Deadman.

The members of Theory of a Deadman, especially frontman/chief songwriter Tyler Connolly, aren't a particularly happy bunch on their fourth studio album--it's clear from such song titles as "Love Is Hell," "Drag Me to Hell" and "Bitch Came Back." But the Canadian quartet has a good time being in a bad mood; the cheerful disposition of "Easy to Love You" almost sounds like a trick. And there are certainly smiles to be had as the group grouses its way through some of the most ambitiously arranged and melodically polished tunes it has released to date. Horns put a bit of pumping propulsion behind the hard-rocking "Bitch Came Back" and "Gentlemen" (the latter a celebration of the slovenly), while strings bring an epic swell to "Hurricane" as Connolly wallows through the pain of another lost love. The rootsier hangover lament "What Was I Thinking" finishes with a banjo flourish, and the taunting title track--subtitled "I Lied About Everything"--starts with a Caribbean canter before kicking into rock gear. It's Theory's most distinctive album yet.

(D) CD Spotlight

“Gold Cobra” by Limp Bizkit.

Given the waning fortunes of nu-metal and rap-rock, as well as the group's internal dramas, it's easy to forget that people-a lot of them, actually-were once fans of Limp Bizikit Gold Cobra, the quintet's newest album in five years and first by the original lineup (with guitarist Wes Borland back onboard) since 2000, reminds us why. The set is loaded with the same kind of beefy grooves, massive guitar riffs and the cocky swagger that made Significant Other a massive success in 1999. Frontman Fred Durst may contend that "I've had enough drama/I don't need a chump." But his hate of Limp Bizkit's haters unquestionably helps power Gold Cobra through fierce, forceful songs like "Bring It Back," "Shark Attack," "Douche Bag," "Get a Life" and the title track. Durst still has a taste for the nookie (see "Shotgun" and "90.2.10"), but mostly Gold Cobra reminds us of how much fun a tight, no-holds-barred rap-metal record can be in the right hands

CD Spotlight

“If not now, when?” by Incubus.

Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd may be reading some fans' minds when he sings near the end of the band's first album in five years, "I know you vie for the good ol' days." Befitting the hiatus, "If Not Now, When?" is markedly and unapologetically different from its predecessors. The set sheds the heaviness that was always at the core of the quintet's sound for a more subtle and supple dynamic that hews closer to the quieter side of, say, U2. Incubus lets loose only with the staccato drive of "Switchblade," preferring instead to meander through the more textural soundscapes of the title track, "Promises, Promises" and the first single, "Adolescents." But the winding, trippy outro of the lengthy suite-like song "In the Company of Wolves" gives guitarist Mike Einziger some room to stretch out. Einziger's music studies at Harvard University, in fact, inform much of the album's compositional sweep, which nicely synchs with Boyd's poetic and philosophical lyrical muse about love and possibilities-and their consequences. It's a worthwhile reinvention, but a little more noise wouldn't have hurt, either

(D) CD Spotlight

“Planet Pit” by Pitbull.

I'm involved in the music business," crows Pitbull on his sixth album. That's both an understatement and a credo. Since his 2004 debut single, "Culo," the Miami MC has made good business of music, turning out records with a ruthless devotion to formula. Planet Pit plays a bit like a business plan. There are guest spots by R&B stars (Chris Brown) and Latin lovers (Enrique Iglesias). There are baldfaced rewrites of the Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling" ("Give Me Everything") and Emimen’s "Love the Way You Lie" ("Castle Made of Sand"). But there's something charming about Pitbull's enthusiasm - he sounds most like himself when he's promoting his brand. In "Give Me Everything," he uses his song to advertise his billboards: "Me not working hard?/Yeah, right, picture that with a Kodak/Or better yet, go to Times Square/Take a picture of me with a Kodak.

(D) CD Spotlight

“Laura” By Diego Garcia.

Possessing a melodic pop sensibility with a nostalgic nod to romantic ballads of the '60s and '70s, former Elefant frontman Diego Garcia emerges with a stellar solo debut that's familiar in theme. The haunting "Laura" tugs at the sentiment of lost love; not knowing much about the central figure is irrelevant and captivating at the same time. Smooth harmonies and sweet Spanish guitars provide layers and a steady, cohesive pace that connect the nine tracks poetically. The collection of music here works well mostly because the artist gives the listener an insight to his story, often tragic and understandable. At times the compositions take on chilling undertones, like the title track, which questions her departure: "Do you still think of me, or must you still think of me when he whispers I love you in your ear?" Other songs-like "Inside My Heart," "You Were Never There" and "Stay" -make the artist's genuine intentions very clear

……Billboard 2011 Music Awards

ARTIST AWARDS:

• Top Artist: Eminem
• Top New Artist: Justin Bieber
• Top Male Artist: Eminem
• Top Female Artist: Rihanna
• Top Duo/Group: Black Eyed Peas
• Top Billboard 200 Artist: Taylor Swift
• Top Hot 100 Artist: Katy Perry
• Top Digital Songs Artist: Katy Perry
• Top Radio Songs Artist: Rihanna
• Top Touring Artist: U2
• Top Social Artist: Justin Bieber
• Top Streaming Artist: Justin Bieber
• Top Digital Media Artist: Justin Bieber
• Top Pop Artist: Lady GaGa
• Top R&B Artist: Usher
• Top Rap Artist: Eminem
• Top Country Artist: Taylor Swift
• Top Rock Artist: Train
• Top Alternative Artist: Mumford & Sons
• Top Latin Artist: Shakira
• Top Dance/Electronic Artist: Lady GaGa
• Top Christian Artist: Chris Tomlin

ALBUM AWARDS

• Top Billboard 200 Album: Eminem - "Recovery"
• Top Pop Album: Justin Bieber - "My World 2.0"
• Top R&B Album: Usher - "Raymond vs. Raymond"
• Top Rap Album: Eminem - "Recovery"
• Top Country Album: Taylor Swift - "Speak Now"
• Top Rock Album: Mumford & Sons "Sigh No More"
• Top Alternative Album: Mumford & Sons "Sigh No More"
• Top Latin Album: Enrique Iglesias - "Euphoria"
• Top Dance/Electronic/Electronic Album: Lady GaGa - "The Fame"
• Top Christian Album: Skillet - "Awake"

SONG AWARDS

• Top Hot 100 Song: Taio Cruz - "Dynamite"
• Top Digital Song: Taio Cruz - "Dynamite"
• Top Radio Song: Bruno Mars - "Just the Way You Are"
• Top Streaming Song (Audio): Nelly - "Just a Dream"
• Top Streaming Song (Video): Justin Bieber ft. Ludacris - "Baby"
• Top Pop Song: Taio Cruz - "Dynamite"
• Top R&B Song: Usher ft. will.i.am "OMG"
• Top Rap Song: Eminem ft. Rihanna - "Love the Way You Lie"
• Top Country Song: Lady Antebellum - "Need You Now"
• Top Rock Song: Train - "Hey, Soul Sister"
• Top Alternative Song: Neon Trees - "Animal"
• Top Latin Song: Shakira ft. Freshleyground - "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)"
• Top Dance/Electronic Song: Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina - "Stereo Love"
• Top Christian Song: Chris Tomlin - "Our God"

SPECIAL HONOREES

• Millennium Award: Beyonce Knowles
• Icon Award: Neil Diamond

OTHER AWARDS

• Viral Innovator Award: Cee-Lo Green
• Fan Favorite Award: Justin Bieber
• Heatseeker of the Year: Gentleman Hall

(D) CD Spotlight

“American Tragedy” by Hollywood Undead.

Rap-rock has taken its lumps in recent years and has certainly slipped further back underground from its heyday of dominance in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Those who miss it, however, should be heartened by Hollywood Undead's second studio set, "American Tragedy," a tight mash-up between contemporary sonics and old-school aesthetic. In fact, new "clean" vocalist Danny Murillo's keening upper register hews so close to Chester Bennington's that this may be a salve for fans dismayed by the stylistic left turn of Linkin Park's latest album, "A Thousand Suns." There's plenty of metallic hip-hop stomp in such tracks as "Been to Hell," "Glory," "Lights Out," "Tendencies" and "Levitate," while "Comin' In Hot" and "Gangsta Sexy" are booze-and-booty-fueled party anthems. But Hollywood Undead broadens its parameters this time, too, pulling out acoustic guitars for the decidedly pop-friendly "Coming Back Down" and the Sublime-like "Bullet"-lighter- gauge counterpoints to an otherwise heavy affair.

(D) CD Spotlight

“In your dreams” by Stevie Nicks.

Stevie Nicks built her legend on the California-Babylon chronicles she perfected in the Seventies with Fleetwood Mac, and in the Eighties on underrated solo gems like The Other Side of the Mirror. But she still has that eternal edge-of-17 tremor in her voice. The gypsy queen is in royal form on In Your Dreams — it's not just her first album in 10 years, it's her finest collection of songs since the Eighties.
In Your Dreams has the high-gloss L.A. production of her collaborators, Glen Ballard and Eurythmics' Dave Stewart. But the material is Nicks in platform-soled hyper-romantic mode, with her voice in surprisingly supple shape. "Secret Love" is an oldie she wrote in 1976 — who knew she was still keeping secrets from her Rumours days? It seems to be about one of her rock-star beaus, although she coyly maintains she can't remember which one. Nicks finds storytelling inspiration everywhere, from the Twilight series ("Moonlight [A Vampire's Dream]") to Jean Rhys ("Wide Sargasso Sea"). But the real showstopper here is the Edgar Allan Poe tribute "Annabel Lee," a fan fave that's been kicking around on bootlegs since the Nineties. It's a six-minute meditation on love and death with echoes of the Fleetwood Mac classic "Dreams." Poe's key line — "The moon never beams without bringing me dreams" — might have been written in 1849, but it was clearly meant for Stevie Nicks to sing.

(D) CD Spotlight

“The Defamation of Strickland Banks” by Plan B.

Plan B-the musical alter ego of English film actor Ben Drew -debuted in 2006 with "Who Needs Actions When You Got Words," a post-Streets rap album notable for the inclusion of a Hall & Oates-sampling cut titled "Mama (Loves a Crackhead)." But on his latest album, "The Defamation of Strickland Banks," Drew cleverly reinvents Plan B as a big-city retro-soul singer, a la Amy Winehouse or Daniel Merriweather. Last year, the set entered the Official Charts Co. album tally at No. 1 and has since been certified triple-platinum in the United Kingdom, thanks in large part to the exceedingly "Rehab"-ish hit single "She Said." Given Adele's huge success on U.S. shores with her recently released "21," "The Defamation of Strickland Banks" seems well-positioned for an American breakthrough, even if the concept album's thorny storyline (in which Drew's alter ego embodies yet another one) puts off casual R&B fans. Listeners in that category should check out opener "Love Goes Down" and "Stay Too Long," a jumpy garage-soul gem that Raphael Saadiq might admire.

(D) CD Spotlight

“Wasting Light” by The Foo Figthers.

Going back to the garage hardly means that the Foo Fighters are slumming on their seventh studio album, "Wasting Light." Recorded in the garage of frontman Dave Grohl's home in Encino , Calif. , the 11-song set is an explosive, high-octane burst of rock energy from a 16-year-old band that is tightly honed and righteously raw. Butch Vig-who worked with Grohl while producing Nirvana's landmark "Nevermind" (1991)-guides those two sensibilities into a potent attack. Some of the album's arch, twisting dynamics owe as much to Rush as they do to Led Zeppelin or the Sex Pistols. But the ebb-and-flow power-rock melodicism that's the Foos' stock in trade is in fine form on such tracks as "A Matter of Time," first single "Rope," "Arlandria," "Back & Forth" and "Bridge Burning," while guests Krist Novoselic ("I Should Have Known") and Bob Mould ("Dear Rosemary") add emotional and sonic depth to Grohl's soul-searching peeks into his past.

(D) CD Spotlight

“How to become clairvoyant” by Robbie Robertson.

It’s been 13 years since Robbie Robertson's last solo album, an unacceptable interim for someone whose output has been consistently stellar, both during his days with the Band and since "The Last Waltz." But his newest album, "How to Become Clairvoyant," was worth the wait. The set is an enveloping mix of melody, mood and texture that speaks to Robertson's triple-threat virtues as a performer, composer and producer. Eric Clapton lent a major hand: "How to Become Clairvoyant" began as a joint project between the two musicians, and even under Robertson's name alone it bears the Slowhand stamp on seven of 12 songs, including two they co-wrote and one duet ("Fear of Falling"). Robertson also gets help from Steve Winwood, Robert Randolph, Tom Morello and Trent Reznor. But it's the songs-from the rootsy soulfulness of "Straight Down the Line," "When the Night Was Young" and "Won't Be Back" to the grit of "He Don't Live Here No More" and "Axman" -that are the stars here. Now let's hope it doesn't take another 13 years for Robertson's next release.

(D) CD Spotlight

“F.A.M.E.” by Chris Brown.

The title of Chris Brown's latest album, "F.A.M.E.," stands for "Forgiving All My Enemies." But the R&B singer doesn't directly address his "enemies" on the highly anticipated set. Instead, he delivers an album full of emotional stories over a diverse mix of hip-hop, R&B, electro and dance beats. "No BS" is a lullaby about a casual sexcapade, while "Wet the Bed" finds Brown helping his woman reach her sexual peak over the tick-tock of a clock. The 21-year-old croons about matters of the heart on "Up to You," a piano-based song about lusting for a young lady, and "Deuces" finds him bidding a bitter goodbye to a toxic relationship. Brown also gets experimental with songs like the electro-heavy "Oh My Love" and dance track "Beautiful People." The easier-but not exactly wiser-route for Brown would've been to take jabs at those who turned their backs on him, but his tactic here seems to give listeners a solid album. And what better way to quiet naysayers than doing just that?

(D) CD Spotlight

“Angels” by The Strokes.

When Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas sings about "putting your patience to the test," a legion of fans will doubtlessly feel like he's singing directly to them. It's been five years since the quintet's last album, "First Impressions of Earth," an interim marked by solo projects and reports of dissension in the ranks. And the Strokes' newest release, "Angles," has had its own frustrating gestation, starting in early 2009 and sessions with producer Joe Chiccarelli being abandoned. The 10-track set recaptures the raw, buoyant spirit of 2001's celebrated "Is This It" but is no mere recast. It boasts fresh intricacies in the guitar interplay between Albert Hammond Jr. and Nick Valensi, reggae flavors in the opening track "Machu Picchu," electronic overtones for "Games" and proggy dynamics in "You're So Right." The single "Under Cover of Darkness" and "Gratisfaction" have all the bounce of "Last Nite," while the closing "Life Is Simple in the Moonlight" rides a Church-like ambience. It took awhile, but the Strokes have ultimately rewarded their fans' enduring patience.

(D) CD Spotlight

“Hardcore will never die, but you will” by Mogwai.

These trash-talking Scots have done their quiet-loud noise-rock thing so consistently in the last decade-and-change that Mogwai's reunion here with its original producer hardly makes a recognizable impact. So why mention it? Because, like the half-dozen long-players that preceded it, "Hardcore Will Never Die, but You Will" finds the fivesome in reliably epic pseudo-soundtrack mode, waxing their glacial post-rock riffs until they gleam with equal parts menace and melancholy. A couple of tracks feature liberally processed vocals, but the singing acts less as a melodic agent than as one more source of instrumental texture. All that said, standouts do exist among these 10 tracks, most notably the gorgeously fuzzy "Rano Pano" and "Letters to the Metro," a languid, piano-led slow jam. But if you know Mogwai, you already know "Hardcore."

(D) CD Spotlight

“The King of Limb” by Radiohead.

Judging from their most recent black-and-white portrait, in which the band slope awkwardly at the bottom of an ancient tree, The King Of Limbs could, by rights, have been their acid folk album.

Yorke's deep affinity with musical outriders such as LA's Flying Lotu – upon whose album Cosmogramma he guested last year – is manifest. Bloom, the album's opening track, is underscored by wild jazz polyrhythms.

In truth, The King of Limbs sounds a little predictable, certainly at first. It is very much the heir to 2007's In Rainbows , imbued with some of the spirit of Yorke's solo outing, 2006's The Eraser . Which is to say, it sounds another death knell for fans of The Bends and OK Computer still hoping for a late recantation and a return to anthemic guitar rock.

Guitars are very thin on the ground in Radiohead's dark wood. The most traditional sounds here occur on the splendid Codex, in which a stately, distant piano bongs mournfully. Restless rhythms abound. But they never quite resolve into dance beats – despite Yorke's brave moves in the video that accompanies Lotus Flower. It should have stopped traffic in Tokyo last Friday at rush hour, but because of crowd concerns, the screening on Hachiko Square 's giant video screens was pulled.

Radiohead's works reward close and long listening; this dense and knotted eight-track album is no exception.

….The Grammy Winners Are...(do check for full list and more at www.grammy.com.

Below is a partial list with the nominees and winners

Album of the Year

The Suburbs - Arcade Fire WINNER
Recovery - Eminem[]
Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
The Fame Monster - Lady Gaga
Teenage Dream - Katy Perry

Record of the Year

Nothin' On You - B.o.B feat. Bruno Mars
Love The Way You Lie - Eminem feat. Rihanna
F*** You - Cee Lo Green
Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys
Need You Now - Lady Antebellum WINNER

Song of the Year

Beg Steal or Borrow - Ray LaMontagne
F*** You - Cee Lo Green
The House That Built Me - Miranda Lambert
Love The Way You Lie - Eminem feat. Rihanna[ ]
Need You Now - Lady Antebellum WINNER

Best New Artist

Justin Bieber
Drake
Florence + the Machine
Mumford & Sons
Esperanza Spalding WINNER

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance

King of Anything - Sara Bareilles
Halo (Live) - Beyonce
Chasing Pirates - Norah Jones
Bad Romance - Lady Gaga[ WINNER]
Teenage Dream - Katy Perry

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

Haven't Met You Yet - Michael Buble[]
This Is It - Michael Jackson
Whataya Want From Me - Adam Lambert
Just The Way You Are - Bruno Mars WINNER
Half of My Heart - John Mayer

Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals

Don't Stop Believin' (Regionals Version) - Glee Cast
Misery - Maroon 5
The Only Exception - Paramore
Babyfather - Sade
Hey, Soul Sister (Live) - Train WINNER

Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals

Airplanes, Part II - B.o.B, Eminem, Hayley Williams]
Imagine - Herbie Hancock, Pink ... WINNER
f It Wasn't For Bad - Elton John & Leon Russell
Telephone - Lady Gaga & Beyonce
California Gurls - Katy Perry & Snoop Dogg

Best Pop Vocal Album

My World 2.0 - Justin Bieber
I Dreamed a Dream - Susan Boyle
The Fame Monster - Lady Gaga[WINNER
Battle Studies - John Mayer
Teenage Dream - Katy Perry

2Best Dance Recording

Rocket - Goldfrapp
In For The KIll - La Roux]
Dance In The Dark - Lady Gaga
Only Girl (In The World) - Rihanna WINNER
Dancing On My Own - Robyn

Best Electronic/Dance Album

These Hopeful Machines - BT
Further - The Chemical Brothers
Head First - Goldfrapp
Black Light - Groove Armada
La Roux - La Roux WINNER

Best Rock Solo Vocal Performance

Run Back To Your Side - Eric Clapton
Crossroads - John Mayer
Helter Skelter - Paul McCartney[ WINNER]
Silver Rider - Robert Plant
Angry World - Neil Young

Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals

Ready To Start - Arcade Fire[
I Put A Spell On You - Jeff Beck & Joss Stone
Tighten Up - The Black Keys WINNER
Radioactive - Kings of Leon
Resistance - Muse

Best Hard Rock Performance

A Looking In View - Alice in Chains
Let Me Hear You Scream - Ozzy Osbourne
Black Rain - Soundgarden
Between The Lines - Stone Temple Pilots
New Fangs - Them Crooked Vultures WINNER

Best Metal Performance

El Dorado - Iron Maiden WINNER
Let The Guilt Go - Korn
In Your Words - Lamb of God
Sudden Death - Megadeth
World Painted Blood - Slayer[]

Best Rock Song

Angry World - Neil Young WINNER
Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons
Radioactive - Kings of Leon
Resistance - Muse[
Tighten Up - The Black Keys

Best Rock Album

Emotion & Commotion - Jeff Beck
The Resistance – Muse WINNER
Backspacer - Pearl Jam
Mojo - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Le Noise - Neil Young

Best Alternative Album

The Suburbs - Arcade Fire
Infinite Arms - Band of Horses
Brothers - The Black Keys WINNER
Broken Bells - Broken Bells
Contra - Vampire Weekend

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance

Gone Already - Faith Evans
Bittersweet - Fantasia[ WINNER
Everything to Me - Monica
Tired - Kelly Price
Holding You Down (Going In Circles) - Jazmine Sullivan

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance

Second Chance - El DeBarge[
Finding My Way Back - Jaheim
Why Would You Stay - Kem
We're Still Friends - Kirk Whalum & Musiq Soulchild
There Goes My Baby - Usher WINNER

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals

Love - Chuck Brown, Jill Scott ...
Take My Time - Chris Brown & Tank
You've Got A Friend - Ronald Isley & Aretha Franklin
Shine - John Legend & The Roots[
Soldier of Love - Sade WINNER

Best R&B Song

Bittersweet - Fantasia
Finding My Way Back - Jaheim
Second Chance - El DeBarge
Shine - John Legend & The Roots[ EXPERT PICK ]
Why Would You Stay - Kem

Best R&B Album

The Love & War MasterPeace - Raheem DeVaughn
Back to Me - Fantasia
Another Round - Jaheim
Wake Up! - John Legend & The Roots WINNER
Still Standing - Monica

Best Contemporary R&B Album

Graffiti - Chris Brown
Untitled - R. Kelly
Transition - Ryan Leslie
The ArchAndroid - Janelle Monae
Raymond V. Raymond - Usher[ WINNER

Best Rap Solo Performance

Over - Drake
Not Afraid – Eminem WINNER
How Low - Ludacris
I'm Back - T.I.
Power - Kanye West

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group

Shutterbugg - Big Boi & Cutty
Fancy - Drake, T.I. ...
On To The Next One - Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz WINNER
My Chick Bad - Ludacris & Nicki Minaj
Lose My Mind - Young Jeezy & Plies

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

Nothin' On You - B.o.B & Bruno Mars
Deuces - Chris Brown, Tyga ...
Love The Way You Lie - Eminem & Rihanna
Empire State Of Mind - Jay-Z & Alicia Keys[ WINNER
Wake Up! Everybody - John Legend, The Roots ...

Best Rap Song

Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z & Alicia Keys WINNER
Love The Way You Lie - Eminem & Rihanna
Not Afraid - Eminem
Nothin' On You - B.o.B feat. Bruno Mars[
On To The Next One - Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz

Best Rap Album

B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray - B.o.B
Thank Me Later - Drake
Recovery - Eminem[ WINNER
The Blueprint 3 - Jay-Z
How I Got Over - The Roots

Best Female Country Vocal Performance

Satisfied - Jewel
The House That Built Me - Miranda Lambert[WINNER
Swingin' - LeAnn Rimes
Temporary Home - Carrie Underwood
I'd Love To Be Your Last - Gretchen Wilson

Best Male Country Vocal Performance

Macon - Jamey Johnson
Cryin' For Me (Wayman's Song) - Toby Keith
Turning Home - David Nail
'Til Summer Comes Around - Keith Urban WINNER
Gettin' You Home - Chris Young

Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals

Free - Zac Brown Band
Elizabeth - Dailey & Vincent
Need You Now - Lady Antebellum[ WINNER
Little White Church - Little Big Town
Where Rainbows Never Die - The SteelDrivers

Best Country Collaboration with Vocals

Bad Angel - Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert ...
Pride (In The Name Of Love) - Dierks Bentley, Del McCoury ...
As She's Walking Away - Zac Brown Band & Alan Jackson WINNER
Hillbilly Bone - Blake Shelton & Trace Adkins
I Run To You - Marty Stuart & Connie Smith

Best Country Song

The Breath You Take - George Strait
Free - Zac Brown Band
The House That Built Me - Miranda Lambert
I'd Love To Be Your Last - Gretchen Wilson
If I Die Young - The Band Perry
Need You Now - Lady Antebellum WINNER

Best Country Album

Up On The Ridge - Dierks Bentley
You Get What You Give - Zac Brown Band
The Guitar Song - Jamey Johnson
Need You Now - Lady Antebellum WINNER
Revolution - Miranda Lambert

Best Short Form Music Video

Ain't No Grave / The Johnny Cash Project - Johnny Cash
Love The Way You Lie (Explicit Version) - Eminem feat. Rihanna
Stylo - Gorillaz, Mos Def ...
F*** You - Cee Lo Green
Bad Romance - Lady Gaga WINNER

(D) CD Spotlight

“The World is Yours” by Motorhead.

Motorhead’s previous album, 2008’s ‘Motorizer’, found Lemmy and comrades striving to maintain their bad-ass reputation at the mercy of a sterile production and a bunch of frankly mediocre songs. Thankfully, on ‘The World Is Yours’ the band sound more engaged than they have in some time. The perennial music crit line with Motorhead is that every album sounds much the same. This isn’t true, as fans of the Bill Laswell-produced ‘Orgasmatron’ will attest. A grim echo of that unorthodox classic manifests here in the form of ‘Brotherhood Of Man’, a war-obsessed grinder which reconfigures many of the elements that made the 1986 album’s title track so chillingly effective.

(D) CD Spotlight

“21” by Adele.

With her extraordinary voice, reassuringly dirty laugh and down to earth personality, Adele Adkins seemed manna from heaven from those looking (musically at least) for 'the new Amy Winehouse' back in 2008.
Her debut album, 19, certainly had some standout moments but was marred by an over-reliance on filler tracks - understandable enough for a debut. But there was more than enough potential there to bode well for the future.
As the old adage puts it, from great pain comes great art. And it really seems as if Adele has been through the emotional mill here. Almost every song oozes pain, sadness and anger, but with enough swagger to banish any accusations of self-pity.
Opening track Rolling In The Deep is a fine case in point. Produced by Paul Epworth, who creates a powerful wall of sound built on some phenomenal drumming, it sets the tone of the album perfectly, with Adele warning her unfortunate ex-lover "don't underestimate the things that I can do", before proclaiming "you're gonna wish you had never met me".
21 really is one of the great 'break-up' albums, and the first truly impressive record of 2011. Here is a timely reminder that British soul hasn't lost its mojo.

(D) CD Spotlight

“All American Nightmare” by Hinder.

Hinder drops its third album, "All American Nightmare," with a chip on its shoulder and a palpable sense of something to prove, given the sophomore sales slump the Oklahoma quintet suffered with 2008's "Take It to the Limit" (469,000 sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan) in comparison with its 2005 triple-platinum debut, "Extreme Behavior." So the group comes out firing hard on "2 Sides of Me" and the title track, channeling four years of heavy touring into tales of wine (or, rather, good beer), women and song. Hinder spends the rest of the set delivering solidly written, meat-and-potatoes tunes made to slide comfortably, if a bit anonymously, into any rock radio playlist. "Put That Record On" slips some country-flavored lope into its verses, while "The Life," "What Ya Gonna Do" and the lush "Everybody's Wrong" provide some ballady respite to the slamming fury of "Waking Up the Devil" and "Strip Tease." Frontman Austin Winkler does have the temerity to ponder what happens "when the whiskey ain't workin' any more." But what Hinder learned on the road, at least according to "All American Nightmare," is how undependable girlfriends are and how badass this hard-partying band can be. That can be a dream or a "Nightmare," depending on the ear of the beholder.

(D) CD Spotlight

“Tron: Legacy” by Daft Punk.

A-list superstars in their native electronic-music realm, the robot-masked men of France's Daft Punk have established a foothold among more mainstream listeners thanks to glittery disco-house jams like "Around the World," "One More Time" and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger," the last of which traveled farther still after Kanye West sampled it for his 2007 hit "Stronger." So for their highest-profile project to date, you might've expected Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo to flex that party-starting flair. No dice. This soundtrack to Walt Disney Pictures' upcoming "Tron" sequel is a determinedly moody affair, longer on minor-key strings and hushed synth burbles than on Daft Punk's revered throbbing beats. That's movie-music business as usual, of course, yet the duo still surprises with the austere beauty of cuts like "Adagio for Tron" and its seamless fusion of organic and electronic elements. The artists' masks are designed precisely to keep us guessing about what's going on in their heads, but who knew it was this?

(D) CD Spotlight

“ The Beginning “ by the Black Eyed Peas

It's official: No lyric or synth, sample or influence exists that can't be finessed into a dance anthem by Will.i.am. The world realized this when the line "Mazel Tov!" (from the Black Eyed Peas' hit "I Gotta Feeling") became the most shouted-in-unison refrain of 2009; and most recently when music fans embraced "OMG," Usher's comeback vehicle and one of this year's shrewdest pop constructions. While the title of the Peas' newest album, "The Beginning," might suggest a retreat from this everything-to-everyone agenda, it's everything but. Echoes of "Dirty Dancing," ghetto tech, Daft Punk, early Gwen Stefani and more waft throughout the set, from the Slick Rick sample that animates "Light Up the Night" to Fergie's unabashedly Debbie Harry-esque delivery over a disco strut on "Fashion Beats," a song destined for the catwalks next season. The music is expertly produced, but problems arise when Will.i.am claims the same of his wordplay. On the track "Don't Stop the Party," he chest-thumps, "Kill you with my lyricals/Call me verbal criminal." It's a silly boast for an artist who clearly focuses on beats over rhymes, and is probably better off for it.

(D) CD Spotlight

“The Gift” by Susan Boyle.

The Gift," the second release from famed " Britain 's Got Talent" contestant Susan Boyle, is a bit of a tweener: mostly a holiday album and partly a follow-up to last year's massively successful "I Dreamed a Dream." This time out Boyle even takes on "Don't Dream It's Over," which she and producer Steve Mac turn into a hushed, lush recitation quite different from the soaring celebration of Crowded House's original. The singer also offers solemn, chorale versions of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" and Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." But "The Gift" is primarily about her seven seasonal songs, including a gently building "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and subtly dynamic renditions of "The First Noel" and "O Holy Night." Boyle sounds more assured this time out, and her delivery of "Auld Lang Syne," with just the sparest of accompaniment, reveals an instrument that can probably stretch further than she's been asked so far. Her tone and technique are established; perhaps it's time to let Boyle loose on some uptempo material and bring more personality into the mix.

(D) CD Spotlight

“Sale el sol” by Shakira.

Shakira's album material seems to strike a much purer chord in Spanish. Her latest project, "Sale el Sol," is no exception. It's a mix of uptempo dance tracks based on traditional Latin rhythms like merengue, hard-kicking rock tracks and earthier rock ballads that all told are infinitely more memorable and unique than the singer's baffling 2009 set, "She Wolf." "Sale el Sol" opens with the evocative and hopeful title track dedicated to Argentine musician Gustavo Cerati. Wistful and beautiful, it highlights a more pared-down Shakira, as does the acoustic "Lo Que Mas," sung simply over solo piano and strings, a reminder of Shakira's versatility. At the other extreme is the aggressive current single "Loca" (featuring El Cata), a fast-paced pop merengue that goes overboard on the moaning and gasping but still manages to be fun. Those who yearn for Shakira the rocker can get their fill with "Tu Boca" or "Devocion," or they can chuckle to "Gordita," where Calle 13's Rene Perez says, "I also liked you when you were chubby." Those days, obviously, are long gone, but "Sale el Sol" manages to bridge the divide between the old and new Shakira with a spark that keeps you listening to the very end.

Takis Haggiandreou
P.O.BOX 22111, NICOSIA, CYPRUS
TEL. 7000-1962, FAX. 22750417,
E-mail: progressive@cytanet.com.cy