JCS On The Top Ten Musical Highlights of 2011 At Mid-point

James Christopher Sheppard
on his Top Ten musical highlights of 2011

As we hit the mid-point of the year 2011, James Christopher Sheppard takes a look back and charts his top ten musical highlights of the year so far. With stellar performances, standout single releases and albums that will be listened to for years to come, here’s how James’ top ten shapes up, in descending order, starting with the tenth best highlight.

10

P!nk ‘Fuckin’ Perfect’

New Mum, P!nk, released the second single from her Greatest Hits… So Far!!! album in March, to much critical acclaim. The video portrays a girl with self-confidence issues, who dabbles in self-harm, but ultimately grows into a beautiful women and mother. As corny as it sounds, it really is a moving song and video and incredibly apt for P!nk at this time in her life. I can not wait for the follow-up to the incredible Funhouse album.

 

 

 

9

Britney Spears ‘Hold it Against Me’

Britney smashed back onto the scene after a short break at the beginning of the year with the dub-step tinged monster hit ‘Hold it Against Me’. The song is a new direction for Britney, and while the album Femme Fatale may not live up to the standard set here, ‘Hold it Against Me’ is one of the best Britney singles ever.

 

 

 

 

 

8

Lady GaGa ‘The Edge of Glory’ performance at Radio One’s Big Weekend.

Lady Gaga had run into all sorts of critical indifference at the beginning of the year as the response to the first two singles from her album Born This Way were not met with the same ecstatic reception in the UK that she was used to. While ‘Born This Way’ slowly built on people and sold steadily, it still was the least original single she had put out, and ‘Judas’ didn’t do a great deal to help matters. Cut to May and Gaga headlined Radio One’s Big Weekend in Carlisle and performed a piano only version of third single ‘The Edge of Glory’. With no gimmicks, no crazy outfit or political message, ‘The Edge of Glory’ proved Lady Gaga’s musical talent was still as evident as ever and stands as one of her most emotional and powerful performances to date.

 

7

Blondie Panic of Girls

Returning with their ninth studio album, Blondie proved on their stunning new album that they are still a force to be reckoned with. The band sound younger and fresher than they have done in years, with Panic of Girls being innovative and full of energy. Stand out tracks include ‘Mother’, ‘What I Heard’, ‘Girlie Girlie’ and ‘Wipe off my Sweat’. Get the limited edition collector’s pack if you haven’t already, featuring an exclusive magazine, prints, a poster and bonus tracks.

 

 

 

6

Lower Than Atlantis World Record

The second full-length album from melodic hardcore band, Lower Than Atlantis, arrived in April and saw Mike Duce and his band-mates establish themselves as one of the leading alternative rock bands in the UK, getting air-play from Radio One and Kerrang, amongst others. World Record managed to outshine their outstanding debut, Far Q, with killer tracks like ‘Beech Like a Tree’, ‘(Motor) Way of Life’, ‘Another Sad Song’ and ‘Deadliest Catch’. World Record is only the beginning for these guys, which makes them so exciting to watch. Definitely a band and an album to check out if you haven’t already.

 

 

5

Adele 21 and that Brit Awards Performance

You must have been in a coma for the past six months if you’ve failed to notice to phenomenal success of English singer/songwriter Adele’s second album, 21. The album is now established as the longest running UK number one album since Saturday Night Fever in 1978, that’s sixteen weeks so far, and as it stands 21 is still #2. First single, ‘Rolling In The Deep’, was a huge success pretty much everywhere, and has just spent its seventh week at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, while ‘Someone Like You’ rocketed to number one in the UK following the heart-wrenching acoustic performance at the Brit Awards in February. There’s even more to 21 that the massive hits however, with gems such as ‘Turning Tables’, a cover of The Cure’s ‘Lovesong’ and ‘Set Fire To The Rain’. 21 is a record-shattering album, with over seven million sales since its release in January, and its obvious why- just seriously good music.

 

4

Incubus If Not Now, When?

Following a five year gap since their last studio album, Incubus finally ventured back into the limelight over the past few months to announce the forthcoming release of their seventh studio album. If Not Now, When? is delicate and mellow, yet mesmerising and powerful, with new Incubus classics such as ‘Adolescents’, ‘Isadore’, ‘ Defiance’ and ‘In the Company of Wolves’ to add to our already lengthy Incubus playlists.

 

 

 

Complete the Top Ten and see the final top three highlights, including Kylie Minogue, Patrick Wolf and Within Temptation, at Eyewear.

 

Love? by Jennifer Lopez Review

James Christopher Sheppard reviews

Love?

by Jennifer Lopez

Following a prolonged break from topping the charts, Jennifer Lopez returns with her seventh studio album and the first since 2007, Love? First single, ‘On the Floor’ smashed it’s way to the top of the UK singles chart last week, knocking Adele’s massive hit ‘Someone Like You’ off the chart summit, which has raised excitement about the new material. Here’s how the leaked tracks are sounding so far.

‘On the Floor’ (featuring Pitbull)

What is it about Pitbull? He seems to crop up in the most obscure places, having been featured on Enrique Iglesias, Alexandra Burke and Usher tracks all in the past year, to name just a few. No matter how unlikely the pairings seem to be, however, it seems to guarantee a hit, and this is no exception. An appealing dance track, incorporating the sounds of Kaoma’s 1989 hit ‘Lambada’, the J-Lo track ‘Waiting for Tonight’ and something that screams the latest Sugababes work with Red One, who also produced this, the only thing this lacks is originality.

‘Good Hit’

‘I got that good hit’ Jennifer sings on the intro. If Lopez is trying to secure her place back at the top of the ghetto divas, it might be worth being less censored and actually using ‘shit’. With a great beat, this track holds some promise, but is completely ruined by the never-ending auto-tune on Jennifer’s vocals. It literally does not stop and trashes what would otherwise be a decent track.

‘I’m Into You’ (featuring Lil Wayne)

Second single from the album, ‘I’m Into You’ continues the Latin-tinged summer beat already and could well be as big as ‘On the Floor’. The only real problem is the very repetitive boring chorus ‘I’m into you, I’m into you, I’m into you, yeah, yeah yeah’. Really?

‘What is Love’

The melody is almost a slowed down version of ‘On the Floor’, yet still succeeds in feeling fresher that both ‘Good Hit’ and ‘I’m Into You’. It’s refreshing to hear Lopez actually sing and hear some emotion behind the vocal. No auto-tune and no guest rapper, this feels more authentically J-Lo. A breezy, relatable song, that hears a girl longing for love. A triumph- more like this please Jenny from the block.

 

Read the full review at Eyewear