In late 2009, America encountered a British band named Florence and The Machine on music charts and the web. My first thought when I heard “machine” in its name was that Florence Welch and her band must have some nifty sci-fi theme. When I finally heard Lungs, what I got…

In the last months of 2011, Britney Spears’ career is the cat in Schrodinger’s sealed box — it’s both alive and dead. Most often, the swan song of a pop star’s career is a Lifetime Achievement Award, which Spears received at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards in August. As…

Along with appearing in the upcoming movie Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D, Trey Songz is coming out with a new album next year tentatively titled Chapter 5. I’m really looking forward to what the Inventor of Sex will invent next. You see kids, Trey is one of my favorite R&B artists…

I’ll level with y’all: The only things I’ve heard from Washington D.C. rapper Wale are his Seinfeld-themed mixtapes, 2008’s The Mixtape About Nothing and last year’s More About Nothing. The rest of his non-sitcom library has just flown past me, I guess — even his debut album, Attention Deficit. The…

Flo Rida has only become more and more interchangeable and average since he transitioned from R&B party music like 2008’s “Low” to poppish party music like 2009’s “Right Round.” At this point, he oughta change his name to Cam Ofloj. Or something similar…

Looks like Coldplay released their album Mylo Xyloto on Monday. I’m racking my head about what the album title means. Is it the name of Chris Martin’s pet axolotl? No idea.So, instead, I’m gonna put Mylo Xyloto off and check out at another soft-rock band — one often compared to…

I guess the reason I dislike Bruno Mars so much is that his sensitive, artistic bad boy image likely only appeals to impressionable young girls. That’s probably why Bruno’s “It Will Rain” is synergisticly matched with the upcoming movie in the Twilight series. Bruno’s library and Twilight are both fairly…

A few years ago, you’d hear the happy-go-lucky, impossibly supportive local music fans shout their rallying cries, and you’d smile because, much as you wanted to believe that what they were saying was true, you knew in your heart that it wasn’t. Still, you listened to their rants: “There’s just…

B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray was one of my favorite albums last year. The album’s thematic diversity, B.o.B’s keen verses and the ensemble of guest vocalists provided a lot of personality. Hell, Bobby Ray would have been my favorite hip-hop album of 2010 if Kanye didn’t swipe the…

When I first heard Hot Chelle Rae’s summer hit “Tonight Tonight,” I assumed that the pop-rock band came from the West Coast. Young, sun-drenched energy? A bit of naivete? Apathetic pop hooks? Check, check and check. Also: They name-checked the Hollywood sign. Turns out I was wrong. Hot Chelle Rae…

It’s easy to get distracted by LMFAO’s visual flash and catchy, meat-and-potatoes tracks. At first glance, they’re no big deal. Just some Grade A morons with too much time on their hands. But don’t let LMFAO’s sophomoric humor and garish clothes fool you: These two dudes have a knack for…

It looks like T-Pain is playing the waiting game for his forthcoming album Revolver, which he finished recording two summers ago. He’s been keeping busy in the mean time: This past summer, T-Pain released a mixtape called prEVOLVEr, which featured a few tracks without any Auto-Tune assistance for a change…

It’s hard to say how influential DJ and producer David Guetta has been to today’s pop music. I’d argue in his defense. He first broke into American charts in 2009, when he produced “When Love Takes Over” with Kelly Rowland. Then there was that whole annoying Black Eyed Peas, “I…

Current American Idol judge and People Magazine’s “World Most Beautiful Woman” for 2011 Jennifer Lopez has had quite a year between having twins and announcing a split with her third husband Marc Anthony. For the past couple years, though, J-Lo had tried to draw a line between her personal and professional…

Some exciting news out of Rihanna camp last week: Her new album is scheduled to release on Monday, November 21. The announcement came in conjunction with the release of her latest single with electronic music producer Calvin Harris.”We Found Love” is Harris’ latest collaboration with a British Commonwealth diva. (He…

My friends tell me that I’m something of a Mr. Know-It-All, jumping into conversations with a nasal “actually” before throwing out a relevant fact and adjusting my glasses. So, I’m embarrassed to admit I don’t know a lot about Burleson’s Own superstar and original American Idol, Kelly Clarkson. What I’ve…

In an episode of 30 Rock from last year’s fifth season, Tina Fey’s alter-ego Liz Lemon walks the street, moping about the end of writing as career path. (I feel you, sister.) (Fistbump.)Eventually, she runs into a group of other bygone careerists living in a subway, ready to adopt her. These careers included…

I’ve never been into bluesy piano rock played by guys wearing fedoras over casual clothing. It just seems like something made specifically for impressionable young women or those married couples that spoon at concerts. I’m neither of those, so that’s probably why I never heard of Gavin DeGraw until now…

As a musician, one surefire way to get yourself on the charts is to plug a cliché sex idiom into your lyrics. It’s a common ploy, one that happens so often you sometimes just wanna gag. (That’s what she said.)Seems newcomer Dev is going that way with her single, “In The Dark.”…