Artwork by Adam Sarpalius
Here are Pretty Much Amazing’s Top 75 Songs of the Decade. Below you will find the entire list with three accompanying podcasts. For our reviews of the Top 25 songs, please follow this link.
Posts Tagged: Rihanna
4
Nov 09
Rihanna – Wait Your Turn (Wait Is Ova)
I’ve had about a week or so to let the shock of “Russian Roulette” to settle, and you know what? I bought it on iTunes just yesterday. Why the sudden change of heart? Letting go of dreams of more Umbrella’s and Disturbia’s, I listened to this new side of Rihanna. Muumuse coins it best, “Rihan-noir.”
Rihan-noir sounds exactly how you imaged it would. It’s dark, moody, dramatic and a lot more fierce than Beyonce’s last album. In a sense, Rated R is going to be Rihanna’s 808s and Heartbreak. I’m officially on board.
21
Oct 09
Rihanna – Russian Roulette
“Russian Roulette,” is Rihanna’s official first single off her “comeback” album, Rating R. She debuted the song, which was written and produced by Ne-Yo, on Ryan Seacrest’s show Tuesday morning.
Where’s the dancefloor beat, girl? If this is really your “comeback” track shouldn’t it be a little more uptempo?! A little more like “Umbrella”?! The song has simple yet moody and noir-esque lyrics. It captures the fear and agony of a roulette game while paralleling the game with certain real life situations.
“And you can see my heart beating. You can see it through my chest. And I’m terrified but I’m not leaving. Know that I must, must pass this test so just pull the trigger.”
The music video for the track will appear on prime-time ABC and from paparazzi shots, it looks like it’s going to be fierce, dark and seducing, a lot like the art work for the single.
Rated R is scheduled for release November 23rd. There will be a collaborative track with Justin Timberlake on the album, among other collaborations. This new album may show the dark side of the artist that we will grow to love and appreciate. Either direction the album goes, this is Rihanna’s chance to make her mark. Listen to “Russian Roulette” after the jump. Continue reading →
27
Jul 09
Jay-Z – Run This Town (ft. Kanye West, Rihanna)
Jay-Z has been hitting the news rounds quite a lot lately. First came the “Death of Autotune,” then an All Points West headlining spot (Jay-Z replaced the Beastie Boys because one of their members has been diagnosed with cancer. Get well soon!). Also, an interview will Billboard shed light on an upcoming collaboration with MGMT.
And now, the official second single off Jay’s The Blueprint 3, has hit iTunes and select radio stations. “Run This Town” features Rihanna on a live-giving hook and Kanye West assisting his big brother, doing what he does best. With a roster like this one, did I have high expectations? Yes. Does the song live up to the hype? Probably not. But it’s a nice track, nonetheless. Continue reading →
27
Jun 09
pmaCAST #15: Funk In Your Trunk
pmaCAST #15 The “Funk In Your Trunk” Episode Tracklist
Continue reading →
13
May 09
Rihanna & Lady GaGa – Silly Boy [UPDATED]
![Rihanna & Lady GaGa Silly Boy [UPDATED] listen](http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/3848665/Rihanna+45.jpg "Rihanna & Lady GaGa Silly Boy [UPDATED]")
This is the first legitimate release Rihanna has made in a long while, and with Lady GaGa no less! Though there is no official word about “Silly Boy,” the song’s lyrical content and the inclusion of Lady GaGa has me thinking that “Silly Boy” was recorded not to long ago and probably in a hurry. Is this record Rihanna’s long awaiting comeback single? Does she really want to go with a Chris Brown diss as the first single of her new album? I guess I better question is why does this song blow so hard?
Considering Rihanna and Lady GaGa’s latest offerings, “Silly Boy” sounds remarkably silly and dated. Listen for yourself. Continue reading →
10
Apr 09
Just Jack – Live Your Life (T.I. & Rihanna Cover)
I honestly didn’t think I’d hear T.I. and Rihanna’s haters-step-back “Live Your Life” in a harmonious acoustic arrangement. Props to Just Jack for that. Biggest props to Radio 1 for constantly providing us with amazing covers. You should definitely check their compilation out.
Enjoying my vay-cay, so things will be sorta irregular for a few days.
[download#98]_
2
Mar 09
Mateo – Get Out Of My Head / Live Your Life Remix
Too often do I get emails from people claiming so-and-so is the next biggest thing in music. Most of the time they are horribly wrong, but in Mateo’s case, they might be horribly right. I was a Mateo virgin until not too long ago when Quddus from the Q side, (among other things) emailed me Mateo’s remix/re-interpretation of T.I.’s and Rihanna’s “Live Your Life” (easily the biggest song of the last 6 months). Basically, he’s doing what many rappers do in their mixtapes (most famously, Lil Wayne): he’s putting his own vocals over instrumentals we’d recognize. To reiterate Q’s email, I didn’t think anyone would spin “Live Your Life” this way.
Because of my Mateo cherry-poppin’ happened late in life, I asked what was Mateo’s story, here it goes:
Well he comes from good musical genes- his grandfather was a guitarist for King Records and even collaborated with James Brown. Mateo got a degree from Morehouse and a job consulting in NYC but the artist itch was too strong to go that route so he quit his day job to come out to LA where he helped out with the music on the UPN show that Eve starred in but at the same time he was also developing his own stuff. Then when we met 3 years ago he was just starting to do shows and he came up with a song called ‘Complicated’ that was the song I needed to be able to get him a deal at Myspace Records. Here’s a great new “making of” clip that’ll give you an idea about his process:
He was also a writer on a song called “One Night Stand” on Jazmine Sullivan’s new album. Rumor has it his new mixtape Underneath The Sky Ch. 1 will be leaking very soon. Patiently waiting for that. Until then, listen to “Get Out Of My Head / Live Your Life” Continue reading →
27
Feb 09
Rihanna – Whipping My Hair
Here’s the first piece of new Rihanna music to surface post-Chris Brown beat down, and I like it. The production marks a more modern Rihanna — not saying that this demo is for LP4, but it’s definitely getting warmer. It doesn’t hold a candle to Rihanna’s previous effort, Good Girl Gone Bad, but this change in direction is worth noting.
However, as far as demos go, “Whipping My Hair” is pretty darn impressive. It should lead to great things. Catch it below Continue reading →
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