Shakira – Waka-Waka lyric

Shakira – Waka-Waka

You’re a good soldier
Choosing your battles
Pick yourself up
And dust yourself off
And back in the saddle

You’re on the frontline
Everyone’s watching
You know it’s serious
We’re getting closer
This isnt over

The pressure is on
You feel it
But you’ve got it all
Believe it

When you fall get up
Oh oh…
And if you fall get up
Oh oh…

Tsamina mina
Zangalewa
Cuz this is Africa

Tsamina mina eh eh
Waka Waka eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa
Anawa aa
This time for Africa

Listen to your god
This is our motto
Your time to shine
Dont wait in line
Y vamos por Todo

People are raising
Their Expectations
Go on and feed them
This is your moment
No hesitations

Today’s your day
I feel it
You paved the way
Believe it

If you get down
Get up Oh oh…
When you get down
Get up eh eh…

Tsamina mina zangalewa
Anawa aa
This time for Africa

Tsamina mina eh eh
Waka Waka eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa
Anawa aa

Tsamina mina eh eh
Waka Waka eh eh
Tsamina mina zangalewa
This time for Africa

Shakira - Waka Waka’ (“This Time For Africa”)

Shakira has revealed her contribution to the several World Cup theme songs being released by major musical act. Kicking off on June 11th, the world-wide activity that takes place every four years will be watched by everyone on the globe who doesn’t have a sports-related Fantasy Football draft to plan for. Now, Shakira, she’s interesting for sure, and here ‘Waka Waka’ (“This Time For Africa”) was recently released with Cup-themed video. I only wish they didn’t flash so much to all that jogging around a football field and instead focused on the always welcome visage of the Colombian singer, who is joined by the African fusion band, Freshlyground. Of the experience and event, Shakira added:

‘The FIFA World Cup is a miracle of global excitement, connecting every country, race, religion and condition around a single passion.

‘It represents an event that has the power to unite and integrate, and that’s what this song is about.’

She added: ‘This song is a synthesis of the passion for soccer and what it arouses in people.’

The pop star will be singing ‘Waka Waka’ live at the 2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in Soweto. Others scheduled to perform include Alicia Keys, the Black Eyed Peas, John Legend, and more.

Top 15 : Best Rock Love Songs

15. Oasis - "Wonderwall"

Photo courtesy Epic.

For years, fans of this acoustic ballad from Oasis were led to believe that Noel Gallagher wrote it for his girlfriend. Only in 2002 was it revealed that Gallagher had actually meant the song to be intended for "an imaginary friend who's gonna come and save you from yourself." But even if it isn't technically a love song, millions have embraced "Wonderwall" as an intimate conversation between lovers trying to survive a rough patch in their relationship.

14. Slipknot - "Snuff"

Photo courtesy Roadrunner.

Beneath the bruising surface of Corey Taylor's songs is a sense of a man trying to find connection with a world that scares him to the core. This song off All Hope Is Gone reveals a vulnerability you rarely hear in a Slipknot song, as Taylor sings twisted lyrics about a love affair that seems doomed thanks to his own self-loathing and her inability to cope with his failings. "Snuff" sure isn't romantic, but it feels very, very real.

13. Buckcherry - "Sorry"

Photo courtesy Eleven Seven.

Buckcherry are notorious for raucous bar-band rock that pays homage to bad girls, but they do write the occasional love song, too. On "Sorry," singer Josh Todd apologizes to his woman while asserting all the reasons why she means the world to him. Next time you screw up in your relationship, play your significant other this song.

12. Eels - "That Look You Give That Guy"

Photo courtesy Vagrant.

Sometimes, the one you love actually loves someone else. It's a terrible feeling, and Eels frontman E nails the sentiment perfectly on this Hombre Lobo track. Over a melancholy melody, E pledges to adore his beloved with all his heart, if only she would give him the time of day. He may not end up with the girl, but he proves himself to be a hopeless romantic.

11. Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Under the Bridge"

Photo courtesy Warner Bros.

At a low point in his life, Anthony Kiedis wrote a ballad to the one thing he knew he could count on: the city of Los Angeles. "Under the Bridge" is best known as a tale of drug addiction and self-doubt, but it's also a love song to a place that gives Kiedis a reassuring sense of community. For many brokenhearted souls, this Red Hot Chili Peppers track has been a source of comfort during hard times.

10. Guns N' Roses - "Sweet Child o' Mine"

Photo courtesy Geffen.

A love song both hopeful and despairing, "Sweet Child o' Mine" is a startlingly pretty ode to a relationship that reminds Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose of the innocence of childhood. That mixture of love and innocence are then juxtaposed with Slash's searching guitar solo and Rose's worries about whether something so wonderful can last.

9. The White Stripes - "Fell in Love With a Girl"

Photo courtesy Warner Bros. Records.

In a frantic, guitar-ravaged 110 seconds, the White Stripes' Jack White details a torrid, doomed love affair in "Fell in Love With a Girl." The lyrics fly by so quickly you have to strain to make out the details: He's fallen hard for a woman who's involved with somebody else but is always looking for new partners. Rarely has a love song so perfectly captured the frantic, anxious rush of being in love with someone you know is absolutely positively bad for you.

8. Foo Fighters - "Walking After You"

Photo courtesy RCA.

The Foo Fighters album The Colour and the Shape detailed Dave Grohl's crumbling marriage, but the record was never more gorgeous than on this acoustic tune. "Walking After You" pinpoints that moment in a failing relationship when both sides are past the point of reconciliation but can't quite let go of one another. The song is painful and beautiful all at once, seeing the end in sight and crying all the way.

7. Stone Temple Pilots - "Sour Girl"

Photo courtesy Atlantic.

Stone Temple Pilots leader Scott Weiland has a knack for emotional love songs, but "Sour Girl" is the band's very best. A love affair has ended, and Weiland tries to figure out what went wrong, guessing he's probably the one to blame. Stone Temple Pilots mix acoustic and electric guitars with a deceptively bouncy rhythm section, and the melody is so wistful that the song's heartbreak seems to be happening in real time.

6. Metallica - "Nothing Else Matters"

Photo courtesy Elektra.

For diehard Metallica fans, "Nothing Else Matters" is better known as The Song Where Metallica Totally Sold Out. James Hetfield risked his credibility to attempt his first love song, and the results are striking -- an unabashedly romantic salute to finding your soul mate. "I never opened myself this way," he admits, but this ballad argued that such candor suited him well.

5. Garbage - "#1 Crush"

Photo courtesy Geffen Records.

A song that's more about lust than love, Garbage's "#1 Crush" is a scary/sensual ode to devotion. Riding a sexy, stripped-down beat, lead singer Shirley Manson lets her lover understand in no uncertain terms what she'll do to please him. Is she a stalker or a siren? It's impossible to know for sure, but in terms of pure carnal desire, "#1 Crush" is the sound of hormones run amuck.

4. Smashing Pumpkins - "By Starlight"

Photo courtesy Virgin.

Buried near the end of the two-disc epic Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan unleashed his most beautiful romantic pledge. Corgan was always more openhearted than his songwriting contemporaries, and "By Starlight" is the man at his purest, showering his lover with affection and admiration, while at the same time wondering if one person can ever truly know another completely.

3. Radiohead - "House of Cards"

Photo courtesy ATO Records.

You wouldn't expect a straightforward love song from the cryptic Thom Yorke, so it's appropriate that Radiohead's most haunting tale of romance is a twisted little story about two people trapped in unhappy marriages who are mad for one another. "Throw your keys in the bowl/Kiss your husband goodnight," Yorke sings sweetly in "House of Cards," and the swirling beauty of the music makes it impossible to determine if the planned infidelity is pure bliss or utter disaster.

2. U2 - "With or Without You"

Photo courtesy Island Records.

U2 have always been one of rock's most romantic bands, but they were never more heartbreakingly gorgeous than on this track from The Joshua Tree. "With or Without You" starts with muted, aching guitar notes before ascending to a ravishing agony punctuated by Bono's wails. The exquisite uncertainty of love that the singer articulated so perfectly here ("I can't live/With or without you") would be further explored in the group's superb follow-up album, Achtung Baby.

1. Pearl Jam - "Black"

Photo courtesy Epic.

One of the first songs Pearl Jam ever wrote was this crushing tale of a love affair gone bad. Eddie Vedder tries to go through the routine of a regular day, but everything just reminds him of her -- kids at play, sheets of empty canvas. The crystalline guitars convey deep wells of loss and regret, while Vedder lets fly with a vocal performance that's wounded without being whiny. Best of all, this is that rare breakup song that refuses to be bitter. Vedder sums up his still-abiding affection and pain with these eloquent final lines: "I know someday you'll have a beautiful life/I know you'll be the sun in somebody else's sky/But why why why can't it be/Can't it be mine?"

Top 10 Inspirational Rock Songs

The inspiration behind making this list was obvious -- when times are tough, we sometimes turn to music to make us feel better. With that in mind here are 10 rock songs that will boost your spirits and help get you through the day. What's interesting about these songs is that while being inspiring, they also often touch on sadness, suggesting that we can only know joy by being aware of sorrow.

Smashing Pumpkins - "Today"

Photo courtesy Virgin.

The message of this Smashing Pumpkins hit couldn't be clearer: Today is the only day we have, so let's make the most of it. Balanced against Billy Corgan's worries about past regrets and disappointments, the song's winding, towering guitars offer unfiltered ecstasy and hope. Corgan could be a dour fellow, but for once he argued that the trick to being happy is simply deciding to be happy.

Seether - "Rise Above This"

Photo courtesy Wind-Up.

One of the biggest hits off Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces, "Rise Above This" (like the album that contains it) is largely about trying to find the bright side to dark circumstances. On this song, Seether frontman Shaun Morgan stares deep into the heart of self-doubt but vows not to let his troubles destroy him. "I've fallen down," he admits, "but I'll rise above this." The explosive punch of the chorus suggests he's well on his way to pulling himself out of despair.

Guns N' Roses - "Paradise City"

Photo courtesy Geffen.

A song about dreaming of a better tomorrow, "Paradise City" rides the urgent, hopeful riffs of Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash into the promised land. It's a pretty safe bet that a lot of disheartened souls have sung along with Axl Rose's desperate wail of "Take! Me! Home!" over the years, with the volume cranked all the way up.

Live - "Lightning Crashes"

Photo courtesy Radioactive.

When we're down, sometimes it helps to change perspective. This song from Live juxtaposes the birth of a baby with the death of an elderly woman, hinting that the woman's donated organs helped save the newborn's life. Live were known for uplifting songs, but "Lightning Crashes" has a spiritual, philosophical bent to it as the lyrics ponder the miracle of being alive.

Oasis - "It's Getting Better (Man!!)"

Photo courtesy Epic.

A song doesn't need to be deep to be inspiring. Here, Oasis summon a flurry of revved-up guitars to offer encouraging words to anybody down in the dumps. Singer Liam Gallagher effectively sums up the urge to choose hope over pessimism with these simple lines: "Build something/Build a better place and call it home/Even if it means nothing/You'll never ever feel that you're alone."

Pearl Jam - "I Am Mine"

Photo courtesy Epic.

Though not one of Pearl Jam's more famous hits, "I Am Mine" is one of their most defiant tunes, a vigorous blast of self-determination that feels like a raised fist held up in protest. Starting with a reserved verse before blasting into a rousing chorus, the song lays out the case that when everything seems to be falling apart, all we have to rely on is ourselves. Eddie Vedder's rugged vocals suggest all the struggle and courage required to stand strong when the world lets you down.

R.E.M. - "Everybody Hurts"

Photo courtesy Warner Bros.

In the 1980s, R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe preferred to sing his cryptic lyrics in mumbled, mysterious tones. But for this openhearted 1992 ballad, Stipe made his intentions plain, delivering one of his most plaintive performances. Over comforting, churchly keyboards and strings, Stipe consoles the listener, urging him or her not to give up. "Everybody hurts sometimes," he says, "so hold on."

Bruce Springsteen - "Born to Run"

Photo courtesy Columbia.

Bruce Springsteen has made a career out of writing uplifting songs about dreary situations. His masterpiece in this regard is "Born to Run," a beautiful ode to escaping the drudgery around you. With wildly romantic imagery, Springsteen paints a portrait of two restless young lovers who just want to jump in the car and drive as far away as they can. More than 30 years after he wrote it, "Born to Run" remains a favorite for its powerfully transcendent message, inspiring tons of bands along the way.

U2 - "Beautiful Day"

Photo courtesy Interscope.

Many U2 songs deal with inspirational themes, but "Beautiful Day" is perhaps their sunniest song, a paean to being positive when there are obvious reasons not to be. As the song opens, the main character is literally and metaphorically stuck, but then he realizes all the wonders of the world around him, which immediately improves his mood. As the Edge's guitar chords aim for the heavens, Bono encapsulates the feeling of buoyant optimism: "What you don't have/You don't need it now/What you don't know/You can feel it somehow.”

Foo Fighters - "Ain't It the Life"

Photo courtesy RCA.

The Foo Fighters turn down the volume for an almost country-ish ballad about trying to hang onto your sanity during hard times. With sweetly hushed vocals, Dave Grohl sings to a woman who's equally dispirited, offering nothing more than an impossibly breezy melody as a comfort to shield oneself from all of life's sorrows. "Ain't It the Life" may sound melancholy, but its willingness to defiantly put one foot in front of the other makes it resoundingly hopeful.

review : slash new album in 2010

Slash's First Solo Album Boasts a Lot of Big Names but Not Many Surprises

Slash With Black Eyed Peas Singer Fergie

Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NARAS.

Slash’s star-laden solo album Slash is a very mixed bag. Probably the only record this year to include appearances from Kid Rock, Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, Black Eyed Peas’ Fergie, Ozzy Osbourne and Iggy Pop, Slash finds the Velvet Revolver guitarist bouncing around between rock and pop. But while the record’s far-ranging sound helps to illuminate little-seen sides of Slash’s musical personality, the quality of the material is all over the map. Anybody hoping that this solo effort would be a hard-rock monster akin to Slash’s glory days in Guns N’ Roses will be disappointed, but on the whole this uneven effort works.

A High-Concept Solo Album

Slash consists of 14 tracks featuring different high-profile vocalists. (Only Alter Bridge’s Myles Kennedy shows up more than once, and one song, “Watch This,” is an instrumental starring Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl and Slash’s Velvet Revolver bandmate Duff McKagan.) Before the album’s release, Slash’s most intriguing aspect was the fact that we’d get to hear singers from across the musical map lend their voices to Slash’s sonic concoctions. In reality, though, the success rate isn’t as high as one would like. Interestingly, Chris Cornell is one of the spotlighted vocalists, and in a way Slash is much like Cornell’s 2009 collaboration with hip-hop producer Timbaland, Scream, in that it transplants a known rock commodity into the mainstream pop world. Granted, Slash still feels for the most part in the same genre as Slash’s output with GNR and Velvet Revolver, but it’s largely a rock album for people who normally shy away from the aggressiveness of an Appetite for Destruction.

Slash, Pop Star?

Slash is best known for his work in the rock world, but he’s also done guest spots on albums for artists like Bob Dylan and Michael Jackson, suggesting that he’s not someone who’s narrow-minded about what constitutes “rock.” By inviting people like Levine and Fergie to sing on Slash, the guitarist is perhaps arguing that musical creativity transcends rigid genre definitions, and on occasion he proves his point. Levine’s ballad “Gotten” feels very much cut from the same cloth as your typical Maroon 5 single, but it’s nonetheless an inviting middle-ground between Levine’s adult-oriented pop and Slash’s expressive solos. But then you have Fergie’s “Beautiful Dangerous,” which is an unmitigated disaster. Going for a slice of sleazy, sultry stripper-rock, Fergie snarls and moans throughout “Beautiful Dangerous,” but the track ends up sounding like a pop star’s lame idea of hard rock, and as a result it’s nothing but cheesy. Often, the individual pop tracks feel more like that particular singer’s work than they do the product of Slash. For example, Kid Rock’s “I Hold On” is a standout mid-tempo tune, but it draws heavily from the soul-infused sound Kid pursued to great effect on his Rock N Roll Jesus. Ironically, Slash’s solo album may be the first case of an artist ceding too much of the limelight to his guest stars.

The Album Highlights

Maybe not surprisingly, Slash is at its best when the guitarist hooks up with veteran rock and punk vocalists. Lemmy’s “Doctor Alibi” is a terrific burning-rubber rocker filled with bad attitude and strutting riffs, and Iggy Pop’s “We’re All Gonna Die” celebrates the inevitability of mortality by throwing one decadent party. But beyond being album highlights, these two songs reveal Slash’s pleasures as well as its limitations. It’s fun to hear all these different vocalists teaming up with Slash, but the songs can sometimes seem too tailored to the singer’s individual styles. Rather than a brilliant meeting of the minds, Slash is just a solid piece of craftsmanship that plays it a little too safe. You’ll be entertained by Slash but not blown away. Then again, maybe a conservative approach was wise – the most daring song on here is the Fergie track, and perhaps tellingly, it’s also easily the worst.

'Slash' – Best Tracks:

“We’re All Gonna Die”
“Doctor Alibi”
“Saint Is a Sinner Too”
“I Hold On”
“Gotten”

New Album Eminem, ‘Recovery,’ in June 2010

At the end of last month, Eminem took to Twitter to tease fans by telling them that something huge was coming their way. Since he had announced a sequel to his best-selling “Relapse,” called “Relapse 2,” and had already postponed it a couple of times, it was believed that this would be his next project. As it turns out, Em is coming out with a brand new album. After releasing the chart-topping “Relapse,” the rapper said he would come out with a sequel to it because, to put it simply, he had more songs that fit on a single album, therefore the need for a follow-up. As the months went by, Eminem either kept quiet about the album or would postpone it. In a statement on his official website, Em announces plans for a sequel have been scrapped, while a new album drops this summer. “The much-anticipated new album from Eminem, Recovery (Aftermath / Interscope), will be released June 22, 2010, it was announced today by Interscope Records. On Recovery, his seventh major label studio album, Eminem has reached out to an exciting list of first-time collaborators, including DJ Khalil, Just Blaze, Jim Jonsin and Boi-1da, among others,” says the statement. Only after this is the shelving of “Relapse 2” announced, with Eminem himself explaining how this came to happen. “I had originally planned for Relapse 2 to come out last year,” the rapper says, pointing out the obvious for fans. “But as I kept recording and working with new producers, the idea of a sequel to Relapse started to make less and less sense to me, and I wanted to make a completely new album. The music on Recovery came out very different from Relapse, and I think it deserves its own title,” Eminem adds. Further details on the new material have not been released but, since the release date is practically around the corner, fans should probably expect a new single to drop any day now – and perhaps a video as well. Keep an eye on this space for when that happens.

Gorillaz announce new album 'Plastic Beach'

Gorillaz will release their third album, 'Plastic Beach' on March 8, the cartoon creations of Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett have told NME.COM.

Confirming the record's full tracklisting, the band also announced that the likes of Lou Reed, Mos Def, Mark E Smith, Snoop Dogg, Bobby Womack, De La Soul and Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys, while The Clash duo Mick Jones and Paul Simonon reunite on the title track.

"Leeching is the wrong word now isn't it?" the band's 'frontman Murdoc Niccals told NME.COM of the guest stars. "It's not like I've drawn blood or anything. No, I think the word 'coerced' sings the deal a little better. Although, yes, the coercion did come via chloroform and rohypnol."

See this week's issue of NME – on UK newsstands now – for an exclusive comeback interview with Gorillaz.

As with the band's previous releases, the album boasts a back story, which this time sees "the band have taken up residence, recording on a secret floating island deep in the South Pacific, a Plastic Beach HQ, made up of the detritus, debris and washed up remnants of humanity. This Plastic Beach is the furthest point from any landmass on Earth; the most deserted spot on the planet".

'Plastic Beach' has the following tracklisting.

'Orchestral Intro'
'Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach' (feat. Snoop Dogg)
'White Flag (feat. Kano & Bashy)
'Rhinestone Eyes'
'Stylo' (feat. Bobby Womack and Mos Def)
'Superfast Jellyfish' (feat. Gruff Rhys and De La Soul)
'Empire Ants' (feat. Little Dragon)
'Glitter Freeze' (feat. Mark E Smith)
'Some Kind Of Nature' (feat. Lou Reed)
'On Melancholy Hill'
'Broken'
'Sweepstakes' (feat. Mos Def & Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
'Plastic Beach' (feat. Mick Jones & Paul Simonon)
'To Binge' (feat. Little Dragon)
'Cloud Of Unknowing' (feat. Bobby Womack)
'Pirate Jet'

review : New U2 Album 2010

The following is a running collection of news, rumors, quotes, and other information related to U2's next studio album. We'll continue to post updates to this page as we get new information. If you have found a quote or news item about the new U2 album, you're welcome to share it by emailing webmaster...at...atu2...dot...com.

ALBUM NAME: Bono told Rolling Stone the album will be called Songs Of Ascent

PRODUCER(s): unknown, but likely Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, with additional production by Steve Lillywhite since the songs are expected to be unused tracks from No Line On The Horizon

ALBUM RELEASE DATE: Paul McGuinness has told Rolling Stone that the album won't be out by June (when the tour resumes), but it's "increasingly likely" that it'll be released by the end of 2010.

FORMATS: unknown

TRACKLIST: unknown

POSSIBLE SONGS MENTIONED

These are two types of songs listed below:

1. songs mentioned in the buildup to U2's new album
2. songs believed to be unused from previous albums

It's possible that some of these titles were changed and have already appeared under a different name. It's also possible that, as song titles changes, some of these may be referring to the same song.

• "Kingdom Of Your Love" - this is the name of the song U2 is using as the intro music when the band takes the stage on the U2 360 Tour; it appeared on the 7-inch, orange vinyl that accompanied the U2 360 at the Rose Bowl super deluxe DVD box set
• "Tripoli" (unused from No Line On The Horizon) In a video on U2.com, Brian Eno explains that this song became "Fez" on No Line On The Horizon.
• "Winter" (unused from No Line On The Horizon) - this song appears in the Jim Sheridan film, Brothers
• "Every Breaking Wave" (Bono told Rolling Stone this is a "surging anthem" and would be the first single.)
• "If I Could Live My Life Again" - Bono says this song is "inspired by the great Argentinian poet Jorge Luis Borges." Bono said he had just begun the song while speaking with author Michka Assayas in December, 2005. Their interview appears as the extra material in the paperback version of Bono in Conversation with Michka Assayas.
• "Love Is All We Have Left" - a song Bono named during his May, 2006, trip to Africa as one that he had recently written. "It’s like an old Broadway tune. I thought it was a Frank Sinatra song," Bono said.
• "North Star," a song from the How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb sessions which included a guest organ appearance from Michael W. Smith. In this CCM article, Smith describes the song as a tribute to Johnny Cash.
• "Mercy", one of the last songs to get cut from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, described in Blender magazine as "a six-and-a-half-minute outpouring of U2 at its most uninhibitedly U2-ish"
• "Lead Me In The Way I Should Go" -- a contender for Atomic Bomb first mentioned in this February, 2003, interview with Bono in Grammy Magazine
• "You Can't Give Away Your Heart" - a contender for Atomic Bomb first mentioned in SPIN magazine

LATEST NEWS

June 3, 2010: The new edition of Rolling Stone (dated June 30) includes a short article previewing the now-postponed North American U2 360 tour. The article says this about U2's current album situation:

Since wrapping up the 2009 leg in October, the band has been in the studio working on three albums simultaneously: Songs of Ascent, a second volume from the sessions for last year's No Line On The Horizon; the score from the Broadway musical Spiderman; and a set of entirely new songs.

This is not the first time that there's been talk of three album projects, but in the previous reports, the third project was said to be old material from the Rick Rubin sessions in 2006. The above specifically refers to "entirely new songs."

April 14, 2010: Rolling Stone Associate Editor Brian Hiatt has posted this on Twitter:

No new U2 album by June, band manager Paul McGuinness tells me in the new RS: "However, before the end of the year is increasingly likely."

January 15, 2010: In a conversation with Dave Fanning, Edge continued to express the band's uncertainty over what to do next with its Fez material, its Rick Rubin material, and the Spider-Man songs.

"We're asking ourselves exactly the same questions. We don't really know yet. We're working on material here, and it's sounding amazing, but we're far from being certain about what we're gonna do with it."

January 4, 2010: The Guardian has published a Neil McCormick interview with Edge that includes this quote about U2's new album plans:

"...we won't really know til the new year what we'll be able to achieve. There's a certain sort of practical window of opportunity to release the record that we are operating within. If the material isn't ready for the early new year we'll probably have to put it on hold."

But these comments were made back on December 8th, so the quotes below from Bono and Paul McGuinness are still the most recent statements about U2's plans.

January 2, 2010: In the year-end issue of Hot Press, Olaf Tyaransen talks with Edge about U2's plans for 2010.

The last time we spoke, you mentioned the possibility of a new U2 album coming out before the end of the year. That's obviously not going to happen, but when can fans expect a new record?

We would like it to be sooner rather than later. We are working on some stuff that sounds amazing, but it's hard to say when it'll actually be done. Well, certainly I don't, and I know Bono doesn't want to leave too long of a gap between the last record and the next one.

What's the feel of the songs you're working on at the moment?

It's too early to say, but because the last record was an experiment writing with Brian [Eno] and Danny [Lanois] in that kind of free-flowing workshop, Bono and I -- we're really kind of songwriting in a much more formal way at the moment. We've got some stuff, more abstract stuff that we could put together as a release, but right now what's really intriguing me is plain, old-fashioned songwriting, and we have some amazing stuff.

How about the Spiderman musical? It's been reported that, thanks to the recession, it's run into problems. Is it going ahead?

Well, it's all ready to go. We're just waiting for the word that we can ... we've pretty much done our job. We're waiting for the word that our director, Julie Taymor, can get back and get into the theatre and start putting the show together. We're told it could be any day. We've got new producers involved: Michael Cohl is coming in, to become an additional producer. So they're busy working on raising finance and getting all that stuff in order. I'm really happy with the music and the script, and the cast that we have are fantastic, so I don't have any concerns, ultimately, but it's kind of frustrating that it's taking so long.

This interview was likely done in early- or mid-December, meaning the December 27 quotes (below) are the most recent about U2's new album.

January 2, 2010: In the new issue of Q magazine, Bono says this about U2's plans for 2010:

"We've been listening to material for [possible next album] Songs of Ascent. We haven't fully decided to press 'go' on that. But we're touring at the end of May and it'd be nice to have some new songs. Even if it's an EP or a single song."

It's unclear when Bono gave that quote, though for monthly magazine publishing, I would expect a deadline of 2-3 weeks prior to the magazine being in stores. Ergo, the quotes below (December 27) are probably more recent.

December 27, 2009: In this Irish Independent article, Bono and Paul McGuinness say the new album may be out by June, 2010. Here are the quotes:

Paul McGuinness: "I have heard some of the stuff the guys have played and, yeah, it is great. Bono is always an optimist but he seems confident of getting a new record out by the end of the next six months. They're talking about June. By that time we will be ready to go back on tour and I think that will give it a different flavour."

Bono: "We are working away and we have a couple of yearlings in the stables that could really turn out to be thoroughbreds in the future. As a band you are always trying to work on new material and we had some unfinished material from the last album."

December 18, 2009: As we reported here, Bono has told the Hollywood Reporter that he and Edge (and maybe the whole band) are in a studio in New York City this week.

November 13, 2009: Following up on the bit right below this, Rolling Stone has published the article from that interview. As Cara notes, there are a few quotes related to U2's new album:

• Bono and Edge headed to France after their November 5 gig in Berlin for a "two-week songwriting session."
• Bono: "We've been playing really well on the tour and getting better and better, and we need to distill whatever we have into some songs."
• Author Brian Hiatt: U2 is "debating whether the next record will consist of songs from the No Line on the Horizon sessions – the unfinished album known as Songs of Ascent – or an entirely new set of tunes."
• Bono: "I would like to put out an album quickly, but we're only going to do it if it's great."

November 3, 2009: Rolling Stone magazine's Brian Hiatt posted on Twitter after a phone interview with Edge. On the bright side, Hiatt posted that Edge says "Kingdom Of Your Love" -- the U2 360 tour intro song -- is a "potential Songs of Ascent track." On the not-so-bright side, Hiatt also posted that "Songs of Ascent remains an idea more than an actual album at this point, a subject of debate within the band. No release plans yet."

October 5, 2009: USA Today talks to U2 about their new album plans, and reiterates this idea (see next entry below) of three potentially different projects U2 could do. "The Spider-Man collection is the most developed but the least appropriate to the band," Edge says. "We've got so much material at different stages of completion, it's going to be a nice problem when we've got a few weeks to look at it." Speaking about Songs of Ascent, Bono says "It's a very intimate affair. They are beautiful love songs, where the object of love is not always obvious."

October 2, 2009: RollingStone.com has a feature about U2's new album plans, taken from interviews conducted in August and September. It's too long to repeat here, but both Edge and Larry say they want to have new music out "sooner rather than later." There are potentially three albums: Songs of Ascent, a Spider-Man album, and an album from the Rick Rubin sessions. "If we're going to do another rock record, I want to do Spider-Man. I just haven't talked Adam and Larry into that," Bono says.

September 19, 2009: Sun Media also spoke with Adam about U2's album plans, specifically asking him to comment on what Bono said (see next entry below) about Songs of Ascent and the old Rick Rubin material.

Sun Media: Bono told me there is another album coming, with the working title, Songs of Ascent, the more ambient songs done with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, from the sessions for your latest album No Line on the Horizon?

Clayton: Some of it, I'm sure, is true, especially for Bono. And those are great aspirations. I'm a little bit more nuts and bolts and until there are 10 songs finished, mixed and on a shelf, then that's not definite for me. It takes us a long time. When Bono hears two notes together he hears a song complete. When anyone else hears two notes together, we hear a starting point.

Sun Media: Bono was also hopeful you guys would go back to the shelved Rick Rubin sessions, which began before the Eno-Lanois sessions.

Clayton: I'd like to. Part of the reason we didn't feel like pursuing them at the time was that they were too purist, they were too fundamental, and we tend to like our music a little bit more complex -- so I don't know at what point we'll want something as straight forward as that. Rick strips everything away. There's no real dressing. He doesn't like atmospherics and textures or any of that stuff. I think we all thought we could do something interesting together if we applied that sort of discipline, but in the end I think we realized that we like the textures and colours and tones.

September 17, 2009: Bono talked about U2's new album plans in this interview with Canada's Sun Media:

SUN MEDIA: What's the status on a second more ambient album, to be released from the Lanois-Eno sessions, with the working title Songs of Ascent, and then the Rick Rubin session before that?

BONO: We've got a few albums up our sleeves. We've got a whole album we started with Rick Rubin, which is a rocking club album with beats and big guitars, and I can't wait to get back to that. So we're going to see where the mood takes us. But it's not like we have to start afresh. We have five or six songs on that album. We have about 12 on the Songs of Ascent, plus The Edge and myself have written Spiderman: The Musical -- that's nearly done.

August 12, 2009: As we reported here, Sam O'Sullivan (Larry's drum tech) told fans in Zagreb that the band will stay in Vancouver after the 360 Tour ends in October to finish work on Songs of Ascent. He says the album should be out in December or early 2010. There are also other reports that Songs of Ascent will be the first (or one of the first) albums released on a new digital album format being created by the four major record labels.

July 20, 2009: Edge talks about the next album in the current issue of Hot Press:

There was talk of a possible new U2 album before the end of the year. Is that on the cards?
The Edge: It is still on the cards, but we don't really have plans that we can sign up to that far out. We would love the idea of the next record being sooner rather than later. We certainly have the material for it, but it's about whether we have the time to finish it. It depends on how the touring progresses. And there's the Spiderman musical which will be early next year, starting in New York, so Bono and I have a fair amount of work to do on that early in the year. It'll be a first for us. We are very excited about it, but it's a steep learning curve.

You can read more from the interview at Scatter O'Light.

June 21, 2009: This Irish Independent article seems to dash any plans for releasing the album in 2009:

"While a spring release date had been mentioned, Bono seems to damping down that expectation now, saying that while they have nine pieces of music that they think are really special, the album will only come out if and when it is as good or better than No Line. And it certainly won't come out, as was reported in some media, this year. Bono is unashamedly clear that he wants No Line on the Horizon to be the U2 product that gets bought this Christmas."

March 24, 2009: In an interview with Hot Press magazine, Paul McGuinness expresses doubts over U2 releasing a new album in 2009:

"I can't see how, but we did that once before on the Zoo TV tour – the Zooropa album came out. But I remember the sheer effort of flying back to Dublin every night of the European tour to work on that album and then fly out again a day or so later – it nearly killed the band. They should remember that period if they think about doing it again. Nothing would surprise me, but it's certainly not something I would have expected."

March 3, 2009: The March 17 issue of Rolling Stone quotes Bono saying the next album will be called Songs Of Ascent, and that it will be released in 2010.

"Songs Of Ascent will be quieter than No Line in many ways, it's that ghost album of hymns and Sufi singing. We're making a kind of heartbreaker, a meditative, reflexive piece of work, but not indulgent."

February 28, 2009: A New York Times article says that "U2 expects to release a companion album, which band members say will have a more meditative and processional tone, before the end of the year."

February 15, 2009: This Observer article reports that U2 is planning to release another album before the end of 2009. Bono describes it as "a more meditative album on the theme of pilgrimage."

The 25 Most Anticipated Albums Of 2010

This year in music was great and we’rea gonna let it finish (sorry), but in terms of notable album releases the ship has sailed. No offense, 30 Seconds To Mars. While the Gummys’ virtual poll booth remains open for a few more days (did we mention filling out the ballot enters you to win the 50 Best Albums Of The Decade on vinyl and an Apple TV?), we’re gonna look to the future, Conan. And we like the sound of it! If 2010 is gonna be anything like 2009 — skyrocketing unemployment, a Summer Of Death, flu and vampire pandemics — we’re gonna need a bigger headphones. But today we’ve got 25 reasons why 2010 might even be > 2009. Our list was limited to releases (some of which we’ve even heard) that have been confirmed (or close enough), but don’t stop believin’ in Strokes IV, guys.

1. YEASAYER – ODD BLOOD
FEBRUARY 9 (SECRETLY CANADIAN)
If all we had was the apparent shift from the natural mystic to the infectiously skyward weirdo pop promised by “Ambling Alp” (or its two great remixes) to go on, we’d already be excited about this one. But after previewing half of the new record at the Guggeheim, and based on foreword from all that have laid ears on this one, Odd Blood’s the odds-on favorite to dominate early 2010 discourse.

2. VAMPIRE WEEKEND – CONTRA
JANUARY 12 (XL)
How do you followup on one of the most universally acclaimed debuts of the decade? If you’re Vamipre Weekend, you release a free MP3 about a Mexican rice drink, and then a really fun video for a very different sounding song. According to their Progress Report, the Brooklyn and Mexico City-recorded Contra has tracks that are more guitar driven than Vampire Weekend, and others that feature no guitar at all. Ah, now the first two singles make sense. One thing we know, is that Kirsten is not one of their girlfriends, but a stock photo from the ’70s. Good news, ladies.

3. THE AVALANCHES
TBA (MODULAR)
Yes, it’s really been nine years since Since I Left You turned sample-based dance music on its head. The hold up? A news post on the band’s site occupying the top slot for ages has told it best: “Clearing Samples.” Well there’s no confirmed date, but our trusted sources say that the perennial most-requested-Progress Report outfit finally got those samples signed-off and are ready to follow up their classic debut, and that 2010 is the magic number. For now, here’s a teazer for your brains.

4. HOT CHIP – ONE LIFE STAND
FEBRUARY 9 (ASTRALWERKS)
After a year that saw them cover Joy Division, get covered by Lissy Trullie, and pursue various side projects, UK dance crew Hot Chip are set to return with a new LP, the Made In The Dark followup titled One Life Stand. The set features, according to Alexis Taylor, the “anthemic” song “I Feel Better,” a “big, massive Euro club sounding track.” For now, there’s the the gothy then uplifting “Take It In.”

5. THE MAGNETIC FIELDS – REALISM
JANUARY 26 (NONESUCH)
After a year that offered a particularly momentous Merritt milestone in the classic 69 Love Songs‘ 10th anniversary, Stephin Merritt and his Mag Fields will return with Realism, 13 tracks that stick to the three-minute pop format. That bathroom-door album art pairs well with their last LP cover: Then it was a blurred male latrine indicator for an album called Distortion; here it’s a straight-lined girl for an album called Realism. Expect much less Jesus & Mary Chain haze this time around. In fact Stephin says he “thought of the two as a pair,” this time “explor[ing] the various genres under the umbrella of folk.” According to the album bio, “Merritt’s work veers between longing and loneliness, desire and dismissal, romance and revenge, though the melancholic musings of his narrators are cut with sardonic humor. At the end of the disc, Merritt literally leaves his characters shipwrecked.” And we’re warned not to think of it as autobiographical. Sign us up.

6. BEACH HOUSE – TEEN DREAM
JANUARY 26 (SUB POP)
We’ve gone on at length about Beach House’s gorgeous third album Teen Dream. You only need to listen to “Norway” and “Used To Be” to know we weren’t lying when we said, “At first listen the songs feel like simple lullabies. There isn’t a shiny facade, really. It’s only after you take your time with it and let the songs sink in that you realize you’ll likely never see the bottom.” We look forward to listening to it all year.

7. SPOON – TRANSFERENCE
JANUARY 26 (MERGE)
The Got Nuffin’ EP wasn’t just a stopgap between what we’ll assume to be typically terrific LPs — its title track also features on the tracklist to Transference, the band’s first full-length since 2007’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. We’ve heard a bunch of these new songs live, but since “Written In Reverse” is the album’s lead single (in stores 12/1), that’s a good place to start.

8. THE NATIONAL
TBA (4AD)
Matt Berninger kept it quieter on Boxer than he did on Alligator (i.e. no shout songs like “Mr. November”), but the band deepened their instrumentation, wrote some of their most subtly addictive songs, and had their biggest year to date (both in the National and in ambitious side projects like The Long Count). Curious what kind of mood they’re in now? Matt tells us: “We started out trying to make a fun pop record. I had the word HAPPINESS taped to my wall. We veered off that course immediately. We’ve narrowed it down to about 15 songs now and it’s going to be our best record (one song you can dance to) but it can’t be described as happy.” They’ve been recording for almost a year and as Aaron Dessner put it to us “[are] emerging from that black hole to start mixing in two weeks.” Bryce adds, “There are a ton of songs and we have been working for a year, but as always with us it’s the last couple months that change everything so it’s too early to say what the overall direction [will be].”

9. LIARS – SISTERWORLD
MARCH 8 (MUTE)
Liars’ Tom Biller-produced fifth album, the follow-up to 2007’s Liars and the first recorded Stateside since the unfairly derided They Were Wrong, So We Drowned looks at “alternate spaces people create in order to maintain identity in a city like LA … where outcasts and loners celebrate a skewered relationship to society.” The results? A focused post-punk riot mixing paranoia, cynicism, humor, dirt, and love wrapped into songs with titles like “The Overachievers,” “Scarecrows On A Killer Slant,” “I Still Can See An Outside World,” and “Goodnight Everything.” It’s sorta like Liars and Drum’s Not Dead colliding over Route 47. You can hear samples of “Drip” and “Proud Evolution” set to cryptic footage at thesisterworld.com.

10. TED LEO & THE PHARMACISTS – THE BRUTALIST BRICKS
MARCH 9 (MATADOR)
When Ted Leo stopped by for a Progress Report he suggested that the new album comes with a hardcore influence and gave us a listen to “Last Days.” (We’ve also heard an acoustic take on “One Polaroid A Day“). We checked in with Leo last night who let us in on the above title, The Brutalist Bricks, and that “it’s 13 songs, some of which we’ve been playing for a little while, and some of which are completely new. There’s some overflow, too, so I’m sure we’ll try and find something to do with extra tracks.”

11. TORO Y MOI – CAUSERS OF THIS
FEBRUARY 23 (CARPARK)
Toro Y Moi, aka multi-instrumental Columbia, South Carolina bedroom recordist Chaz Bundick, aka the bedroom psychedelicist with the biggest R&B swing, started buzzing after Carpark signed him up to release two full-lengths in 2010 and then leaked two MP3s, “Blessa” and “109,” one from each collection. We’ll be getting Causers Of This first, which opens with the aforementioned “Blessa” and closes out with the title track. (You may already be familiar with another cut, “Talamak.)”

12.CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG & BECK — IRM
JANUARY 26 (BECAUSE)
Gainsbourg teemed up with Beck who, as she told Jessica in a Progress Report, “tried very different things” for her third studio album, whose name was inspired by the MRI machine (IRM in French) she experienced first hand after having a brain hemorrhage after a skiing accident. It’s hard to get a complete feel for the collection after hearing the Kraut rock-lined title track and “Heaven Can Wait,” a duet with Hansen, two very different tracks. Then again, looks like we’ll just have to wait. As Gainsbourg told us, “[The songs are] all in different styles but one proper album.”

13. FOUR TET – THERE IS LOVE IN YOU
JANUARY 26 (DOMINO)
Kieran Hebden’s fifth album, his first proper full-length in over four years, sounds extremely promising after listens to the ghostly dance track “Love Cry” and the crystalline downcast “Plastic People.” Looking forward to the closer “She Just Likes To Fight.”

14. MGMT – CONGRATULATIONS
SPRING (SONY/COLUMBIA)
We know recent Flaming Lips, Kid Cudi, and Jay-Z collaborators Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden recorded their second album with ex-Spacemen 3 member Pete Kember, that it’s being mixed by David Fridmann, and that it features vocals from charismatically disengaged Royal Trux vocalist Jennifer Herrema. Supposedly the guys working on something with Paul McCartney: We’re unsure if the fruits of the latter will appear on Congratulations, but clearly, congratulations anyhow.

15. LOS CAMPESINOS! – ROMANCE IS BORING
JANUARY 26 (ARTS & CRAFTS)
The Cardiff septet’s third album was recorded and mixed in Seattle, Connecticut, and Monmouthsire with John Goodmanson and features guest spots by Jamie Stewart, Parenthetical Girls’ Zach Pennington, and Jherek Bischoff of Dead Science. It also features first single “These Are Listed Buildings,” which suggests the group is still worthy of that exclamation mark.

16. LCD SOUNDSYSTEM
MARCH (DFA)
After scoring Greenberg James Murphy is finalizing LCD’s third album, which drummer Pat Mahoney told goldcost.com.au is “different than Sound Of Silver and certainly different than the first one … It still sounds very much like us, like James. It’s maybe slower and it has kind of got some more rock stuff back in it. It also has a bunch of disco influences.”

17. PANDA BEAR
TBA
We don’t have a time frame or a title, but in an interview with Pedestrian.tv Noah Lennox talks about the “darker,” “raw” new material that’s “outside the sample zone” and “totally different” than MPP. Of course, we imagine this so-called “simple arrangement of drums, the guitar and singing” will sound anything but simple. Look for solo dates, too.

18. INTERPOL
EARLY 2010 (CAPITOL)
After a post-Our Love To Admire time that’s seen Paul Banks masquerading as Julian Plenti amongst other Interpol side-projects, the well-heeled NYC post-punk crew is ready to release LP4, and promise that it’ll trump their admittedly flat-feeling major label debut. Drummer Sam Fogarino told PASTE, “The new record falls back towards the first … In trying to move forward, there was an unspoken realization that you can’t let go of your sonic-defining tag.” On that point, Sam added: “That big wash of reverb? It’s back. I personally brought two reverb tanks to the studio that our engineer fell in love with.”

19. MIDLAKE – THE COURAGE OF OTHERS
FEBRUARY 1 (BELLA UNION)
We’ve been excited for this one for awhile now. In fact, Midlake’s forthcoming third LP was the subject of our inaugural Progress Report, wherein the band explained the delay: “We didn’t know exactly what we wanted, but we know we didn’t want to make the same album as last time. We could have made 10 albums with the amount of time we’ve spent, but that doesn’t mean they’d be saying anything great.” Instead they committed to 40-hour work weeks in order to move away from the last record’s “Fleetwood Mac-y America” with a shift toward, at least in part, “British folk scene of late ’60s stuff.” You’ve waited three years for a listen. For now, there’s a tracklist.

20. THE HOLD STEADY
TBA (VAGRANT)
The band’s toured steadily and Craig Finn’s been adapting Chuck Klosterman’s Fargo Rock City for the big screen, but we’re going to Stay Positive for a new album in 2010. After all, they’ve debuted new tracks here/there and — important for a band this dependable — they’ve never made us wait so long for more of their loquacious barroom anthems.

21. FINAL FANTASY – HEARTLAND
JANUARY 12 (DOMINO)
One man symphony Owen Pallett has moved to a new label for his forthcoming followup to the Polaris Prize winning gem He Poos Clouds. It’s more than a one-man-band this time around: In his Progress Report, Pallett mentioned working with a 50-piece orchestra in Prague, and has since revealed assists from Nico Muhly, Gentleman Reg, and Arcade Fire drummer Jeremy Gara. According to Mr. Fantasy, “The songs themselves form a narrative concerning a farmer named Lewis and the fictional world of Spectrum. The songs are one-sided dialogues with Lewis, a young, ultra-violent farmer, speaking to his creator.” Sounds biblical! And at least at one point, Lewis takes off his shirt. So, biblical and hott. Also check out Owen’s “Keep The Dog Quiet” and cooking tips.

22. JOANNA NEWSOM
TBA (DRAG CITY)
The rumor mill has begun. Joanna’s made a shift from the forests to the fashion set, complete with Armani modeling. So if you’re looking for hints about the new record, you’re probably reading the wrong magazines. Vogue caught up with Joanna at a fashion botique-opening afterparty in Tokyo, where she told the mag she was in town working on a new album. Why Japan? Probably because Ys recorder Jim O’Rourke pays rent there. And later she told W work on the record is done. Might wanna subscribe to Glamour’s RSS for the MP3 premiere.

23. FRIGHTENED RABBIT – THE WINTER OF MIXED DRINKS
MARCH 9 (FATCAT)
Glaswegian warm-hearted rockers Frightened Rabbit are four-and-a-half minutes into the best album review of their careers with “Swim Until You Can’t See Land,” the expansively intimate teaser track (and video) from their forthcoming Midnight Organ Flight followup. The song was billed as a “perfect … first indicator of the new album,” which is a reason The Winter Of Mixed Drinks is making this list. Other reasons: that awesome album title, and this live session of more new tunes.

24. MASSIVE ATTACK – HELIGOLAND
FEBRUARY 9 (VIRGIN)
Grant Marshall laid it out in Massive Attack’s Progress Report: “After 1000th Window, which was tied up with trying to be too clever, we just wanted to get back to sparse, lovely songs with simple production. We wanted to get back to the minimalist thing where you don’t have to fill the song up with shit.” That may mean sparser tunes, but definitely not a sparser cameo list: The band’s first record in five years boasts guest vocals from Damon Albarn, Hope Sandoval, Elbow’s Guy Garvey, Martina Topley-Bird, Horace Andy, and Tunde Adibempe’s “Pray For Rain,” from the Splitting The Atom EP released as a tease to the forthcoming full-length.

25. SURFER BLOOD – ASTRO COAST
JANUARY 19 (KANINE)
Playing 12 times during CMJ is one way to stand out from the packed dancecard. Another is to make each of those shows net ferocious word-of-mouth praise, and that’s where Surfer Blood found themselves at the end of this year’s industry schmooze fest. In concert the band pulls back from the epically raucous end of things for something more visceral and punchy with their surf-Afro-power-pop, bar-room dropkick hooks in place of big-room reverberated clamor. The record promises to hit on both ends of the spectrum though, promising a good year for these young Floridians.

Covers For Reggae Lovers - Various Artists

A lot of reggae fans, be they casual or hardcore, are attracted to the music for the spiritual, militant and cultural themes expressed in it. So reggae love songs have always been a little on the dicey side. An entire album of reggae love songs is even more dicey, and an album of love songs that are cover versions done inna reggae style, well, that could be off-putting to both fans of roots reggae and those who value originality. Even with all that potential baggage, Covers For Reggae Lovers is pretty good. Having been out of touch with mainstream pop for more than 20 years, I'm unacquainted with many of the originals reconfigured here. But the ones most familiar to me- Kenny Rogers' "Through The Years" (covered by Luciano), Foreigner's "I Wanna Know What Love Is" (done by One Third) and "Someday We'll All Be Free" (original by Donny Hathaway, cover by Ian Andrews) -all went down quite nicely. Plus Sanchez, Tarrus Riley and Winston Francis all unsurprisingly show a knack for crooning on "Love We Had Stays On My Mind," "Stay With You" and "I Call It Love" respectively. Similar good romantic vibes are generated by names new to me, including Janet Kay, Calvin Richardson, Prilly Hamilton and Lee Francis. Yeah, a few of the songs are just plain corny or sweetened to the point of sounding like completely anodyne goo to my ears. This is still a recommendable collection though, given that even candied apples are bound to have some bad ones in the bunch.