Katharine McPhee: Somewhere Over the Rainbow
On most tunes, this American Idol runner-up is as bland as day-old margarine, but she does justice to this venerable chestnut. Anyone who can sing an interesting version of this Harold Arlen classic has a place in my heart.
If you’ve been near the radio, you’ve heard this talented Brit emote through this hyper-catchy pop tune: “No one else can feel it for you / only you can let it in…” Check out the special bonus: throughout the lyrics runs the metaphor of a book being written. For a pop tune, that’s brainy. 
On a hipness scale of one to ten, this Dick Dale knock-off is easily pushing a nine. As you listen, you’ll feel your head bobbing with the groove, your feet will begin to move, and before you know it you’ll be in a full-bore sweat. 
They’re sassy, they’re opinionated, they’re hated on Country radio, and…they’ve got a hit! And a well-deserved one. The tune is a feel-good, stand-up-for-what-you-believe-in anthem. You go, Chicks. 
Simpson channels ’80s vintage Madonna for this tired if not unpleasant example of generic club pop. Warning: may cause drowsiness. Don’t operate a motor vehicle while listening to this. 
Bon Jovi does a nice job of goin’ country, proving that not all country is pre-fabricated noise made by guys and gals in cowboy hats. A good beat. 
This tune is the real thing. In a sea of shiney corporate product, this 
It’s good old fashion rock ‘n’ roll (dressed up as “alternative”): real guitars, pounding drums, impassioned male vocals. Like, cool, dude. 
Deep, kind of melancholy, but with a beat. This and a strong cup of coffee might get you through the work day. Some really pretty stuff. 
For some reason, this type of music came into being in the ’80s and (sadly) never went of style. It’s machine-driven 
It’s good to know that the Chili Peppers are still in shape — still putting out muscular rock grooves, still in fine spirit. No new territory explored here, but it’s sure to please the group’s rabid fan base. 
I have to give credit to Paris Hilton. She knows everyone’s going to laugh at her for putting out a single. But she proceeds anyway. 
Whoops — it’s still more soulless, machine-driven, generic hip hop-esque noise. If you’re a music programmer for the Gap stores, playing this cut will give your retail outlets a hip feel. If you’re an actual human being, this is as nutritious as a glaze donut. 
She’d be a songstress in the sensitive singer-poet mode — if only she weren’t so incredibly over-produced. Still, there are moments of guilty pleasure if you’re willing to let your standards drop. 
Oh, Christina: Britney still gets all the headlines, but you’re a much hipper, harder working pop-chick diva. 
They call this music “alternative,” but that doesn’t sum up the airy beat and trippy vocals. The tune defies an easy pigeon hole - call it “pleasant stuff.” (Does everything need labels?)
If you want to know what the summer of 2006 sounds like, this is it: a hard-thumpin’ street beat, plenty of heat, and Shakira shaking her (musical) hips. 
“Say A Little Prayer” is vintage Burt Bacharach: a high-quality melody, combining the sophistication of Tin Pan Alley with a soft rock beat from the ’60s. Dionne Warwick did justice to the song, but it’s Aretha’s version that’s truly heavenly. 
With a hypnotic groove, Sarah McLachlan takes flight on “Sweet Surrender.” She finds a middle ground between melancholy and propulsive forward movement, wringing every drop of sweetness out of the melody. Careful with this song: it keeps pulling you back, forcing you to find it on your iPod and press Play once again. 
God, this is a gorgeous piece of music. Look under the dictionary for the word ‘falsetto,’ and you’ll doubtless find reference to Philip Bailey’s otherworldly creamy sky-high head voice. That’s sweetness. The rhythm section grooves like voodoo, the back-up chicks add some sugar, and, well, the thing just works. Highly recommended. 
You have to hear this to know how bad it is. This LA-based sextet freely admits that they’re prefabricated glam-poppers – yet they’re wildly popular anway. Rarely has content-free been quite so content free. The group will have the longevity of a South American Tsetse fly. My only question is: Why do people listen to music like this? 
Daniel Powter comes from the ’90s era school of acoustic-ish singer songwriters who are masculine but sensitive (or is it sensitive but masculine?). Pleasant, melodic tunes, piano and guitar, very hot at the moment. I call it bookstore music. It’s got a beat, but not enough to distract from browsing the stacks. Hey, dude, it’s all mellow, and it’s rainy outside, so let’s have another latte. 
Coldplay’s brand of lushly orchestrated Brit alt-rock sounds sweet on this tune, as lead singer Chris Martin wrings emotion out of plaintive lines like: “Oh brother I can’t through / I’ve been trying hard to reach you ‘cause I don’t know what to do…” 
It kind of gave you hope for all of mankind. 
I read an article about the most popular downloads, and amazingly, plenty of moldy oldies are selling like sizzlin’ hot cakes. For example, more than twenty years after red-meat rock band Survivor earned a huge hit with “Eye of the Tiger,” the song is being downloaded with manic intensity: Yes, 275,000 copies of “Eye of the Tiger” have been sold in the last year. 
Here’s The Bravery — check out the fauxhawk on that guy. (That was my second use of fauxhawk. I’m feeling much more relaxed with it.) 
The most popular song in the country right now is Beyonce and Slim Thug’s “Check On It,” a tune which defines the term “forgettable.” It has a pleasant enough groove, if you like music played by computers, but I can absolutely guarantee you that we won’t be listening to it (or have even a vague memory of it) a year from now. It’s corporate product intended to have as short a shelf life as possible, so it won’t interfere with the next assembly-line pop hit. (Wow, I sound cranky, don’t I?) 
