Everything goes in cycles. Just a few years ago, in the “Gangstas don’t dance, they boogie” era, some fans would look funny at rappers if they got up onstage or in their videos and tried any leg movement more elaborate than a two-step. Well, after a 180-degree turn, having a dance to go along with your ringtone single is almost as common as having a mic in your hand to move the crowd. There were at least a couple of dozen dances this year that made us lose our breath and get a serious workout on the dance floor. Our resident dance consoeur Tweetie knows how to do them all — and can even make up new dances if she has to. Tweet narrowed down a list of dances to her top 10 favorites of the year and told us why she picked them. To see Tweet and her girls in action, log on to the “Dances From Tha Hood” site. “Holla atcha bird!” Top 10 Dances (in no specific order) 1. “The Aunt Jackie” - Jason Fox This is the simplest but most mysterious dance that I have ever heard of or seen. Finally figured it out, but damn. And can somebody please tell me who the hell Aunt Jackie is? Shout-out to our boy J. Fox — call me! 2. “Tambourine” - Eve Bangin’ song! Swizz Beatz done did it again. Though this dance came and went, it was still hot for the summer. You could do this without sweatin’ out your weave and still keep it cute. It’s showtime! 3. “Popping” (dance style) I had to mention this style because it’s one of my favorites. I love the isolations and robotic moves that sometimes come from it. It’s very popular in the underground world of dance. So many artists, male and female — Michael Jackson, Missy Elliott, Usher, Mya, Omarion, Chris Brown and Ciara — include this style in their videos and stage shows. I love it! 4. “Crank That” - Soulja Boy This dance is fun and catchy. Funny how people in the clubs only know the first part of the dance, the “Superboy,” and then go straight to the “U’lllll!” part. Everything else in the middle always gets lost. But don’t ever try to pull off this dance in an empty pool. Going down! U’lllll! 5. “Dutty Wine” - Tony Matterhorn Caution: Be very careful. This dance may lead to headaches, dizziness and lookin’ like a crazy. I’m gonna need a neck brace for this one. 6. “Hot Wuk” - Mr. Vegas Ay ay ay ay ayyyyy! Aight now, don’t git pregnant! 7. “Pop, Lock & Drop It” Wait! Don’t ever have the Teletubbies droppin’ it like it’s hot on YouTube. Dolla bills everywhere. Git it, Stewie! 8. “Cupid Shuffle” - Cupid I actually went to a club in Atlanta with my boy Smoov (from the show), and when this song came on, best believe the entire club was gettin’ it in! This dance should be done at every black function. 9. “Lip Gloss” - Lil Mama It’s poppin’ … it’s poppin’! 10. “The 5000″ - DJ Webstar OK, first off, who told y’all it was called “The 5000″? I understand that after dancing mad hard, gettin’ it in and killing it, you’re supposed to drop dead of exhaustion (think Chris Brown at the end of his performance at the VMAs or in the “Kiss Kiss” video). Well, honey, it’s called a dip or a layout, and it’s incorporated into the style of voguing. Janet did it in “So Excited” and Beyoncé’s dancers did it in the “Get Me Bodied” video. So Imma need y’all to do your homework before you get up and start falling all over the place lookin’ like one of “the kids.” How you doin’?

2007 was a very difficult year for me personally, which coincided with a very bad year musically for everyone else; making this a difficult year for choosing a list of best albums. So few truly fabulous albums were released and my mental state for the mid-part of 2007 prevented me from really enjoying many others thought were great. This year saw my personal life fall apart, bad health (I contracted a super-bug infection) and a (thankfully) failed suicide attempt, amongst the release of a new Springsteen album (I’m not a fan so this held no interest for me), a new White Stripes album (I love Jack White but… oy what a tragedy that was) and a new Arcade Fire album (one I would love to have spent more time with but just didn’t have the heart for). Radiohead’s In Rainbows should be on my list as I love it, but I didn’t spend much time with it and, for this list anyway, that would feel wrong. Of course Dylan released an anthology which I love but anthologies don’t count on a best-of list.This list is actually a list of the albums I couldn’t do without this year. Most were released this year, two I discovered this year but were released previously, but I felt they needed to be highlighted. They don’t all hold personal significance, but all of them are worthy of a best-albums list due to their power and intensity or my sheer delight in the music, along with the talent involved in creating them. So what follows is a list of albums that I just couldn’t stop listening to. Presented in inverse order of course.Joss Stone – Introducing Joss StoneJoss Stone has a voice so soulful, so sultry and intoxicating that when you hear it, it is something seriously special. Her first two albums, The Soul Sessions (03) and Mind, Body & Soul (04), were good label-driven albums, filled with radio-friendly dance-pop/soul music, tinged ever so slightly with R&B but, as fun as they were, they were bare of substance. That emotive, powerfully sexual voice always needs more substance; there just wasn’t enough there, there. Now Joss is all grown-up and taking charge of her own music, and the resulting album Introducing Joss Stone is significantly more substantive. This album is a big step away from that homogeneous, committee-chosen, label idea of soul music, and shows the obvious influences of jazz, 70's soul and funk, and modern R&B. Introducing shows a woman who is finding herself, taking control of her life and career, and searching for personal and artistic freedom. Stone still has some way to go in developing a fully fleshed-out sound, but this album is a definite step in the right direction.Colbie Caillat – CocoI think in many ways you must be female to understand and truly enjoy Colbie Caillat’s simple melodies and lyrics, written, as they are, from a female perspective. So where some may find her music saccharine, childish and flaccid, I see engaging pureness, teasing silliness and the appealing nature of simplicity. To me Coco is a triumph of delicate beauty and captivating honesty, over pretentious political metaphor or cryptically expressed romanticism — which some will mistake for artistic merit. Caillat has managed to capture the essences of being female and in love. Caillat knows — when some do not — that when a woman of any age is under the influence of that first blush of love she is a mischievous little girl, a giggly, flirty teenager and grown lustful woman all at the same time. Jem – Finally WokenThis stunning debut album, released in 2004, was met with warm critical response but cool sales, possibly due to under-promotion, or to its genre-defying sound. Jem mixes rock, trip-hop, electronica, hip-hop and R&B successfully to create an album that is beautifully atmospheric from beginning to end. With a name like Jem and her beautiful innocent looks you might be forgiven for thinking this 33 y.o. Welsh songstress is nothing more than the newest pop-sensation wannabe but you couldn’t be further from the truth. Jem has a real music pedigree, and has worked as a DJ agent, record producer (for Madonna to name but one – but when it’s Madonna do you need to name more?), songwriter and now as a solo artist. Jem’s catchy, hypnotic tracks are a mixture of everything good about all music, lyrics that are catchy and fun but more than cotton-candy fluff, beats and rhythms that scream "get up and dance", electronica with rock flourishes that shouldn’t work but somehow do. This album is a gem all the way through. Bat For Lashes – Fur And GoldThis enigmatic "band" is really the work of English singer-songwriter, visual artist and multi-instrumentalist Natasha Kahn, but don’t let the "visual artist" part put you off. Fur And Gold (released in September 2006) isn’t nearly as inaccessible and over-the-top arty as that would imply. Kahn’s music is part Björk and Kate Bush and part new wave pop. The richly textured sounds run from electronic flurries, to piano tinkling falling like rain, atmospheric elegance washing over you; perfectly crafted, highly stylised, catchy hooks and unforgettable melodies. Kahn’s beautiful vocals are a big part of that style, they have an almost-whispered quality, even when she is belting it out. She has constructed a sound that feels like it was designed to float along with that ethereal voice. Sometimes feeling almost diaphanous, every track on Fur And Gold is perfectly balanced, never overpowering her vocals always adding just the right touches. This is an album that walks that tight rope between cutting edge and accessibility.Sons Of William – What Hides InsideSons Of William make the kind of rock you want to hear when you’re slumming it in a saw-dust-on-the-floor bar in the deep South, sitting, feet-up on a table, drinking bourbon. As you watch, the band slowly enthrals the rancorous audience into awed silence with a rich tapestry of music that is bluesy, funky and incredibly horny. As the tempestuous, luscious vocals passionately caress the bar patrons, you can’t help thinking to yourself that those deep, ardent lyrics are intellectually above this bar’s usual crowd. What Hides Inside has a mix of radio-friendly indie rock and more edgy southern rock, great songs, fantastic musicianship, stirring vocals and plenty of energy and soul. This dirty, raw, mostly bluesy, sometimes funky sound is combined with dark, sensual, smoky vocals, intelligent, passionate lyrics sung in rich harmony by frontman Joe Stark and bassist Jen Janet. All of this combines to make What Hides Inside a triumph of talent, spirit and rock music.The Ruse – Live at the Viper Room EPThe Ruse have a melodic, soothing, cultivated sound, thick with the influences of big stadium rock bands U2, Coldplay and Snow Patrol. Their music is full of punchy guitar solos and mild baselines but it’s Dauer’s melodic, smooth, mellow vocals that complete this creamy concoction. His vocals are like good Scottish whisky, buttery, rich and hauntingly emotive with a strong Celtic flavour. The Ruse are so good you know one day they will be rock gods. The Ruse: Live at the Viper Room is a five song EP which includes one track from their debut album Invasion, two tracks from their last album, Light in Motion, and two previously unreleased tracks from their new album – they are currently recording and expect it out in early 2008. Dan Ferrari – Don’t Let It FallDan Ferrari is the saving grace of pop music. His fresh, upbeat, catchy sound, intimate heart-felt lyrics, faultless musicianship and emotive vocals are everything pop music should be. In these days of homogeneous, artistically void pop he is the fresh breeze you have been waiting for. Don’t Let it Fall is resplendent with harmonies and melodies, lustful, deeply personal lyrics, and passionate, engagingly honest vocals. Love songs filled with such fresh pain, longing, and sensual loss that you would be forgiven for thinking it was just yesterday she walked out. Even with his enviable vocal abilities, it’s Ferrari’s compellingly emotional lyrics that will keep you listening. Ferrari’s talent lies in painting a stirring and deeply personal portrait of his life – mostly his love life – that is all at once libidinous and winsome, passionate and friendly. You get a glimpse inside the painful heart of someone coming to terms with love lost and desire through his music. Cary Brothers – Who You AreBrothers’ voice exudes a warm sensuality and romanticism that is absolutely necessary when singing music that is so passionately felt and hungrily listened to. He has filled Who You Are, his full-length debut, with luxurious, sensuous, velutinous music; nothing about this album feels sparse, slip-shod or economical. Stunning in its magnitude and scope, Who You Are has quickly won my heart with its richly textured sounds, creamy smooth guitar, gorgeous synth and honeyed vocals. Dan Wilson – Free LifeThis multi-talented frontman of sporadically active pop-band Semisonic (“Closing Time” and “Secret Smile”), and Grammy-winning songwriter (for his part in writing the Dixie Chicks track “Not Ready to Make Nice”) Dan Wilson has released his first solo album Free Life. This beautifully reflective album perfectly conveys feelings of death and rebirth with each song as they start with an edge of melancholy but quickly become more hopeful. His music is streaked with a kind of tender vulnerability and saturated with an air of raw honesty. Wilson’s breathy vocals are filled with a tranquil humility and sentimental sweetness that never feels cheesy or overdone. As you would expect from the veteran of a successful pop band, his philosophical style folk-pop is completely accessible while maintaining an intelligent and erudite manner.A Fine Frenzy – One Cell in the SeaShe calls herself A Fine Frenzy but was born Alison Sudol and she is easily one of the most talented and promising new-comers of 2007. The debut album One Cell in the Sea is a magnificent alternative singer-songwriter concoction full of haunting melodies, stripped back piano and raw, vulnerable lyrics. This atmospheric album is as much artistry as mainstream music can be. With alt-folk sensibilities, this 23 y.o. has crafted an album that is fresh and nostalgic together. A Fine Frenzy is far from being poppy or conventional but is still captivating and accessible. Her rich hypnotic vocals weave a tapestry of portentous emotions, while lulling the listener into a quiet, melancholic frame of mind. After listening to One Cell in the Sea, you’ll be blinded by her subtle waves-crashing-on-rocks voice, the power of her intense lyrics and finally you’ll be enchanted by her charisma and intelligence. One Cell in the Sea should have gotten so much more attention than it has, and I making it my number-one album of 2007. A title it has earned fully.

"I would rather have one song that people actually like than 15 songs that they can barely stand. But that’s just me." Most of the attention focused on Kim Deal in the last few years has come from her participation in the über-successful Pixies reunion. But she recently turned the spotlight to her other well-regarded, super successful indie rock band, the Breeders. After a recording hiatus of over five years, the Breeders will return with Mountain Battles, the follow-up to 2002’s Title TK, on April 7/8 (in the UK/U.S., respectively) via 4AD. We caught up with Deal to talk about the album, and she was a blast: friendly, funny, and full of anecdotes and ideas. In our conversation, she discussed her recent appearance at the "The Second City That Never Sleeps: Letters to Santa" benefit, her adventures in speaking German for a Battles song, a technological explanation for the rarity of quality songwriting in the ProTools era, and why a new Pixies album just isn’t going to happen. Pitchfork: It’s been five years since Title TK was released. What took Mountain Battles so long to come together? KD: Well, sometimes we weren’t at the studio, we were just at the house in Ohio working on stuff. It’s weird, because ProTools has done this– like, I’m a singer/songwriter, so I could do this in my bedroom by myself, and I would have to just get the…I don’t know, web designer, to come over to put the measures up, to pull the ProTools up. It really doesn’t matter if anyone else is involved, so that can be quite freeing, and things can be turned around quite quickly like that, if all I’m thinking about is, "What time do I want the spacebar-pusher to come over today?" But if there’s an actual band, and I own actual instruments, and actual tubes have to be replaced, and people actually have to fly in, and they have lives, and you have to go over the song– because remember, this is tape. It’s not like, "Uh…here’s the idea of the chorus. We’re going to use the Pretenders drums from the first record, ’cause they sound so good," you know? That’s not how we do it. Jose [Medeles], the drummer, has to fly in, and we actually have to write a song from beginning to end that sounds cool. And if it doesn’t sound cool at this part, it’s not like we can just go, "Yeah, let’s rearrange that in ProTools," you know? It’s just a totally different way of thinking. I’m not the quickest, most prolific writer either. I would never pretend to be. I don’t think prolific-ness is equal to quality at all. I would rather have one song that people actually like than 15 songs that they can barely stand. But that’s just me. Another thing is, I think it’s kind of ballsy to sit there and think that [people want to listen] if it wasn’t special and we weren’t trying to do something we would want to listen to. Why is this song actually here? Why is this song taking up two-and-a-half minutes of my life? Is it just because somebody doesn’t have tape anymore and so the amount of recording space is unlimited? That’s why I’m sitting here listening to this, because nothing stopped you from doing it, but there’s not really a reason to do it? I don’t know. If that was me, and I was listening to me, I would get mad, like, "Why are you fucking doing this?" It doesn’t have to be great, but it seems like at least there should be kind of a reason. And it’s hard to come up with a fucking good reason to write something, I think. Pitchfork: You keep hinting at one of the issues that would be at the center of making a new Pixies record, namely whether or not it’s necessary. In recent interviews, you say it’s not, that touring is fun but that a new record might tarnish some of the old memories. KD: [When] this whole thing started out, we were going to do a couple of shows. Joe [Santiago] said he had one kid and one was on the way, and he said, "Do you wanna do it?" And I said, "Oh God, no, Joe!" And I told everybody this, but nobody believes me. And he said, "Kim, this is really important to me. It will change my school district, where I can put my daughter into school." And I said, "Okay, of course. Of course, I will do this." I thought it was going to be a couple of shows, and it turned out really good. I had a really good time doing it. People were just so happy we were doing it. It was just so nice, like [an] "it’s over, thank you, bye," kind of thing. And so there was never any– I don’t know, I think it gets talked about whenever Charles [Thompson, aka Frank Black] has any release, which is often. I have a feeling that’s when he talks about it more than anything. Because him and Joe haven’t gotten together to write any songs, so I think it’s kind of something to bring up whenever he needs press. That’s the only time I hear about it. I have no idea, dude. Pitchfork: Is there anything different about the sound of Mountain Battles as compared to other Breeders albums? KD: Well, let’s see… I still don’t like the ProTools thing, but I guess I’m kind of a dork. I think a lot of people like ProTools. I think a lot of people use it. You know, like, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty…everybody, Dolly Parton. When you think of authentic musicians and players, they don’t fucking go on tape. They wouldn’t fucking bother with it, you know? Pitchfork: What about the songs themselves? KD: I like the songs, actually [laughs]. I did notice this: that each song is definitely its own song. And then, when it goes into the next song, that’s its own song. And then it goes into the next song, and that’s its own song. Okay now, I know– here’s the difference of that. You know when you put on a Ramones record, right? And it’s the Ramones, so it’s great; it doesn’t really matter which song you’re gonna put on, because they all sound pretty much the same anyway, right? Because it’s the Ramones, and that’s what they do, right? And that’s what I love, but track number five is going to sound pretty close to track number eight. I might like the chorus shout-out better on track one than I do on track number eight, but right away I’ll be able to tell it’s the Ramones’ song. [It’s] kind of the same thing about AC/DC, except that I like the Ramones better than AC/DC. But it’s kind of the same thing with AC/DC. Track one is going to sound like a slow blues grunt, and track eight will probably sound like "Slow Blues Grunt II" from AC/DC. I might like track one better because I think it’s got a better catch phrase than track eight, but it definitely sounds pretty much the same, right? And those are great records, and I like records like that, but we didn’t make a record like that. I’m not even sure if I like that [we didn’t do that], but I know that I didn’t [make that kind of record]. So that’s kind of weird, but I didn’t do it on purpose, either! Pitchfork: It just ended up that way. KD: Yes, it did. And it doesn’t help that Kelley sings Spanish on that song ["Regalame Esta Noche"], and then we sing German on another song ["German Studies"]. Pitchfork: I was just going to ask about that. What brought that on? From what I’ve read in other interviews, it seems like you did it because you liked the sound of the languages. KD: Absolutely. So I’m in the four-track, and I’ve got this simple riff [sings riff] on my guitar, and of course, now I gotta grab the microphone. I think it sounds cool, so I’ve got to sing something over it. I know that I want to sing German on top of it. It’s just going to sound cooler. So I figured out the words that I would like to sing, and I knew that I wanted this silly, kind of simple riff that’s kind of middling. It has no high frequency or low. It’s just this taut, tense thing that continues on, relentless! [Sings riff] I knew that that would be a cool place to put Wagnerian harmonies of me and Kelley, these harmonies in German that go [sings gibberish German] whatever, and I knew that I wanted to stop in the song so that I could say "und so weiter." Pitchfork: Which means what? KD: "And so on…and so on" in German. I knew I wanted all that, so we just had to get all the words together, and then I learned how to sing them in German. Pitchfork: And I heard you actually sought out a German professor or expert? KD: Well, you know, my idea was to just go on the computer, and just like, see what the translation thingermajob does. So we did that, but it doesn’t really work in the lyric world of having to come up with phrases and having the pronunciation problems. So we kind of sat on this song, thinking, "Yeah, I can kind of hear the lyrics in English, but I don’t even think this song will work– I’m not going to feel cool doing it unless it’s in German." So it just sat around. And then Kelley calls me and says, "Hi! We’re meeting with Elka. She’s a German instructor at the college nearby." So we went to her house, and she helped us with the lyrics, how to say this and that. "Ich lebe hier." "Ich lebe hier" means "I live here." Pitchfork: Was this woman a fan of yours at all? KD: Oh god, no. Pitchfork: Has she heard the song? KD: No, she hasn’t yet. I wanted to play it to her, because I wanted to check on the pronunciation, but she had gone out of the country for a little bit. She’s still here; she only lives a few blocks away. I want to give her a copy. But we had a German bus driver on the Pixies tour, so I played him the track. But he’s German, so instead of going, "Yeah, yeah, sounds good, I think you did a good job," he said, "Um, yes. There are many mistakes." [laughs] Pitchfork: Did you fix those mistakes, or did you figure most people wouldn’t notice? KD: Well, you know, I don’t want to sound like I’m German. That’s not the point, is it? That’s not funny. Being so rude that I sound German is, I mean, not [just] not funny, but also not true. So there’s nothing funny or even interesting about that, because it’s just absolutely not true. Also, do you know when somebody’s singing something, and they’re foreign, so it sounds cool when they’re singing English? They don’t quite get it, so it sounds cool, right? So I would think that me singing in German but obviously not being very German would sound pretty cool! But then him and his fräulein co-bus-person– because you need two bus drivers in Europe, that’s the law if you go over a certain amount of miles– anyway, it was some woman, and they began talking in German and kind of giggling as they listened. And I’m like, "No, seriously, I’m not saying, like, ‘Did I spill green Jell-O on my foot?’ I’m saying it correctly." And I knew I was because a German told me how to do it, so you know they’re going to be quite precise. And then they started saying, "Licht, licht, licht…light, light, light. Now, you say ‘licked’, and they would probably say that maybe in Berlin, hahaha." I guess that’s funny that Berlin might say that. I guess it should be more "leecht" with an "ee." Instead of a soft "e," it should have been a hard "e." Pitchfork: So they just thought it was a total joke? KD: And so I laughed, and laughed, and laughed! [laughs] Pitchfork: What was performing at the Second City event like? Kim Deal: Well they do 24-hour marathons for underprivileged children in Chicago. I guess Steve [Albini] and Heather [Whinna] run the charity thing, and Heather manages Second City. So the people who do comedy at Second City, they do improv for 24 hours straight. And they have guests! Like, Jeff Tweedy always kicks it off, and [there are] auctions throughout the 24-hour period. Like, he [Tweedy] auctioned performing at a person’s house, and they can invite 10 or 12 or 14 of their friends over, and that went for a certain price, $20,000 or something like that. And they ended up raising $80,000 for the whole 24-hour period! Pitchfork: You performed with your sister Kelley, right? KD: Yeah, me and Kelley. We flew up there. Heather asked me two years ago when I was on tour in Japan, with the Pixies. And then last year, me and Kelley and the Breeders were up at Steve Albini’s studio, and I hadn’t been home to my mother’s– it was my mother’s birthday so it didn’t seem cool to do. So I brought it up this year, and I said to Heather, "Hey guess what, this year we can do the charity [event]!" Pitchfork: So did you and Kelley just do an acoustic set? You didn’t do any improv, did you? KD: We did a– okay, Albini was there. Like, Shellac played last year, but he’s not very Jim Croce, so they weren’t there, [but] he wanted to contribute somehow. So at 1:00 [a.m.], me and Kelley started asking him questions– we did a question and answer period. And it’s just a help so, like, the people who are doing improv can go to the bathroom, [the audience has] somebody new to talk to, there’s somebody actually in the club then, that kind of thing. So we started at 1:00, and me and Steve and Kel asked questions, and then the improv people came back on, and me and Kelley did a couple of songs at 3:30, and then the improv people came back on– well, anyway, me and Kelley ended up leaving at 7:00 in the morning. Pitchfork: Oh, wow. KD: Yeah. No drugs. I thought I was gonna die.

As Pitchfork’s Dave Maher aptly pointed out last time we addressed a resurgent college rock fave of yesteryear, lots of bands from the late 80s and early 90s have opted to hop back in the saddle here in the aughts. You might even call it a trend. My Bloody Valentine, the Verve, and Swervedriver are leading the shoegaze charge, while largely unsung heroes of the underground like Big Dipper, Chavez, Polvo, and Versus have poked their heads into this century to say "Hi" and help remind us why we missed them. And then we have San Francisco’s Swell, led by David Freel, who never really went anywhere but whose two new/"new" releases still feel like a reemergence of sorts. The act formed in 1989 and has treated folks to eight full-length albums of brooding balladry that should sit well with fans of fellow monosyllabic faves and contemporaries like Slint, Low, Come, Spent, Seam, and Drunk. Album number eight arrived just this week. Collecting ten new Swell songs, South of the Rain and Snow is a self-released affair, available only on the Swell website. South marks Freel and co.’s first disc since 2003’s Whenever You’re Ready on Beggars Banquet. Also out now is The Lost Album, which bundles nine "tracks that got left behind" from Swell’s recording sessions for 1997 LP Too Many Days Without Thinking. Thanks to reader Ethel Chauvin for the tip. Oh, and while we’re on the subject: Dear Rodan, please reunite. Love, Matthew. South of the Rain and Snow: 01 Kicking All Them Ghosts 02 Trouble Loves You 03 Saved by Summer 04 Our Aquarium 05 South of the Rain & Snow 06 Good Good Good 07 Tell Us All 08 The Measure of the Moment 09 Waiting for a Beer

Just in time to fulfill your New Year's resolution to listen to more EWI music comes a new release on the BernUp label from instrumental wizard Bernie Kenerson. Just You & Me, with a planned street date of January 1st, features the talented multi-instrumentalist showcasing his Akai Electronic Wind Instrument 4000 on a mix of his own compositions. The EWI is not something that comes to mind as the featured instrument for a new album, but it's certainly showing up everywhere in the background these days. So maybe it's time to bring it front and center. Besides, listening to the EWI (pronounced "EE-WEE") might help lessen the disappointment of those who couldn't find a Wii (pronounced "WEE") in time for Christmas. Kenerson has a varied musical history that includes many years spent in Army bands, diplomas from prestigious musical institutions, and professional experience ranging from his own jazz group to a decade spent in Europe. In recent years he's been part of the Southeastern US music scene, both as a performer and as a recording artist. His original musical education was on flute, clarinet and sax, and he does occasionally pick up one those instruments here, but he's been involved with electronics for many years and there's little doubt the EWI is his focus on this album. He's joined in his efforts by keyboardist Jim Schneider, percussionist Art Weiss, and Gary Craddock on bass, along with a couple of guest sidemen on a few tracks. Although the music on this album shouldn't really be classified as Smooth Jazz, there's little doubt that there is a common theme running through the tracks that's reminiscent of it. For that reason, I'd judge that those who dislike that genre will probably not find much to like here. That being said, I did find some selections a little intriguing. The title tune gets things started well by immediately acquainting us with the sound of the EWI (which takes some getting used to). I also enjoyed "Glad You Said Yes," with its haunting, almost plaintive melody that shows Kenerson's talent to good effect. Always a sucker for just about anything with a Latin beat, I liked "Grand Strand Samba," a song that kicks up its percussive heels while still featuring an EWI lead. It was a combination that worked well for me, although it might not be for everybody. And finally, I thought that the closing tune, "B.W.," gave us something a little different and maybe a bit closer to improvisational jazz. It was the best on the album and left me wishing for more of that and a little less of some of the others. Overall, I'd give an endorsement to the album — but lukewarm. 1. Just You & Me2. She Said3. Stayin' In Shape4. Intro to Glad You Said Yes5. Glad You Said Yes6. Afterglow7. Honeymoon Flight8. Grand Strand Samba9. Summer Release10. B.W.

(London, UK) - Ok, you’ve done your NYE, you’ve been to an all-dayer but what do you do in the evening? Well, if you like it minimal / underground / techy, then you go along to Circo Loco at The End, that’s what…Maybe you went out on New Years Eve, or maybe you think that’s for all the amateurs and you stayed in, then got on at it one of the many fine all-dayers that are going on in London on New Years Day (Bugged Out, Jaded, And So It Goes on at Canal 125 etc). But whatever the case, if you’re up for an evening of messy clubbing with a fantastic crowd, then all nightlife roads lead to Circo Loco at The End on the evening of Tuesday 1 January 2008.Circo Loco’s London sessions are legendary for their superb soundtrack, their dance-floor debauchery and their super-cool crowd - who might have been dancing for days, or may even be fresh on the (dance) floor, you never can tell, such is the amount of sunglasses-at-night styling around the club. Still, don’t get the idea that it’s all about posing: it’s all about partying, full stop. And with a line-up like this, how better to end the festive party season?There’s Davide Squillace, Dinky - who always rocks the after hours, the mighty Circo Loco powerhouse that is Cirillo, Marc Antona rocking a live set, Sossa, Daniel Stefanik and the London’s scene’s own Geddes and Shane Watcha - Circo Loco’s London representative. That’s an international DJ rosta for an international club - it might not be DC10 but you’ll see every creed and colour raving here. Then over in AKA is Vitalik, with Ryan O’ Gorman, Hector and Enzo too; only Circo Loco could cram in this much talent.

In celebration of the release of Nectar Vol. 2, Blogcritics is proud to be offering 15 lucky readers a chance to win some great Johnny Fiasco. Merchandise. Thirteen will win a prize package consisting of a T-shirt and a the Nectar Vol 2 CD, and two will win a T-shirt. After 20 years, Johnny Fiasco has become one of the most recognized producers and remixers in his local Chicago scene and well beyond. He still DJs and insists on referring to the style of music he plays as "house." In a recent press release he was quoted as saying, "My category is house music. If someone asks me what I play, 'it is house.' It's techy, it's hard, it's disco, it's vocal, and it's all of the above really. The spectrum is so wide and this is why I’m so in love with house music." Renowned DJ Johnny Fiasco took on the task of producing Nectar Vol. 2 for Agave records, a rising house label from Orlando, Florida. The album is full of Latin Jazz beats and sultry salsa sounds that have been revved and tweaked for the techno and dance scene. Here is your chance to win a copy of Nectar Vol. 2 and a Johnny Fiasco t-shirt. Just fill out the entry form. Thirteen will win the grand prize package, and two additional winners will win a t-shirt. A link the entry form and rules can be found below. Nectar Vol 2 Track listingIntro Rhythm Plate – Inside Me feat. Astral Vernon & Dacosta feat. Apple Rochez – As Darkness Falls (Giom Mix) Atnarko - Don’t Ya Know - Fiasco remix Leon Louder – Do It Again The Sound Republic – Funkyard Junk Inland Knight – Bust This Jason Merle – Sound Bomber Manuel Tur – In the Ghetto (Mario Fabriani Mix) Eddie Leader – The Pit Mark Militano – Think of a Place (Fred Everything RMX) Johnny Fiasco - Reflex -Original mix Spettro – Nothing Particular Luckystars – Swimming Under the Ice Ian Pooley – What’s Your Number (Jazzanova Renumber remix)How To Enter:Fill out the entry form.Giveaway is open to US residents only.Entries must be received by October 26, 2007. Fifteen winners, 13 Grand Prize and 2 first prize, will be drawn after October 27, 2007.Winners will be notified by e-mail and in the comments section below.

It’s easy to understand why so many women identified with the fantastically damaged early Mary J. Blige and her heartfelt songs of betrayal, loss, and scars. Years later Mary has survived and flourished and she’s now singing about her joy and fortitude as fervently as she proclaimed her pain. On her new, supremely confident and engaging disc Growing Pains, Mary wants her legion of fans to know that there is no need to embrace the bad times or cling to unfaithful men and there is indeed light when the shadows seem much too ominous. While not as immediately accessible and commercial as her The Breakthrough this still is Blige firing on all cylinders. The singer has as many emotions and deep feelings as she has wigs and the secret to her success is that she has been willing to lay them all out and expose herself unlike almost no other pop star. Here, she wants to express her joy and wonderment at the small epiphanies of life she so often ignored previously and her strength and passion seems so immediate and genuine that you can’t help but go with her flow. That said, a lot of these songs come across as intense Oprah you-go-girl sessions. It’s as if that Mary went through some deep therapy trials and figured she’d share the revelations with the help of the who’s who of modern pop R&B producers. “Work That,” the insistent single boosted by the ubiquitous iPod commercials, and “Just Fine” could be theme songs for female empowerment conventions. On the forceful “Roses,” the singer explains the new dynamics of love relationships diagrammed Mary style and it’s a feisty, forceful track. It helps that these are expertly arranged songs without an ounce of fat (very few empty cameos) and her collaborators ranging from Pharrell to Ne-Yo to Tricky Stewart all serve her well and provide the beats and hooks but recognizing that Blige is THE hook that matters. And her singing is graceful and nuanced — she’s toned down her tendencies to shout (hey, the message is getting through) and she’s as playful as she is defiant and on the beautiful “Smoke” she brings a feathery touch that has eluded her previously. Indeed, Blige has grown up and the scars are as permanent as her prominent tattoos. While she sings on “Come to Me (Peace)” that she wants to make peace with her lover, her biggest accomplishment was in making peace with herself.

Artist: Patent PendingSong: ‘She’s a Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas’Why You Should Watch: Long Island’s Patent Pending takes on a whole new kind of Christmas spirit with this lighthearted kiss-off to a not-so-faithful girlfriend.

REM are to release their first studio album since 2004’s Around the Sun in the spring of 2008. The as-yet untitled album is to be released in Europe on March 31 and rest of the world on April 1 and fans can get a preview of the album by heading over to NinetyNights.com to see special daily video clips. Van Morrison has a new album called Keep it Simple pencilled in for March 11 release. It is the artists second effort for Lost Highway records following the release of  Pay the Devil back in 2006. Morcheeba return on February 11 with a brand new studio album called Dive Deep. The bands sixth studio album is the follow to 2005’s The Antidote that peaked at number 17 in the UK charts. Saturday Nights, Sunday Mornings, the forthcoming album by Counting Crows has been pout back until March 24. Moby’s Last Night is back to March 31 and Nick Caves’ Dig, Lazarus, Dig has been slated for release on April 7.