Underplayed and Underappreciated : Robin Thicke

Robin Thicke’s new album drops officially drops in a fortnight! Loud high fives all around people, this is exciting news. More exciting than Rihanna’s Talk that Talk release by far because here is a guy who actually makes real music (No offence Riri fans.) Yes, Love after War, Robin Thicke’s new will be in stores on December 7 (Merry Early Christmas!!). Two tracks from the album have already been released, and if Love After War and Pretty Lil Heart are anything to go by, we expect nothing but perfection when the album drops. The Love after War video is also out now so for those of you who want to see Robin Thicke’s good looks (or Paula Patton’s) check it out. You gotta love a guy who loves putting his wife in (a lot of) his videos.

Why do I love Robin Thicke, you ask? I have a thing for old school soul i.e Marvin Gaye and although I wasn’t in existence in Marvin’s time, Thicke’s music gives me that old school feeling. Robin Thicke is soul music personified and he has the moves and voice to back it up, so no, he’ not just a pretty face. I will always support artists who go against the grain and refuse to be changed by the pressures of the industry. The success of thump thump songs like Party Rock Anthem and We Found Love shows exactly where the music industry is at right now (music with a lot of shuffle and no soul). Artists like Robin Thicke forever stand out because they are unashamedly all about the soul. His music is deep, authentic and honest, and although the industry doesn’t give him the attention and respect he deserves I think he has 10 times the talent of The Billboard Top 10 combined.

I don’t understand how some people get so much attention and airplay when they don’t have the unique talent and presence to back it up. If you took away the good producers, autotune and bells and whistles there wouldn’t be anything special about them. Notice how I didn’t mention any names? I practised severe restraint here. For every 10  silly catchy thump thump songs there is one quality song. These songs are wasting airplay. Am I the only one who sees something wrong with that? Shouldn’t it be the other way round? Shouldn’t we have a plethora of good music then a few mediocre songs to balance it out? I am passionate about the music industry and what I want to see it return to a time where quality actually meant something. That’s why I fully support Robin Thicke and his music. He still knows what music is and refuses to be tied down by the current commercial pressures of music.

Comeback Season!!

Remember when the Spice Girls had a comeback album a few years ago? I don’t really remember either. What about Mase’s comeback remmber that? Didn’t think so. It’s thin line between good and bad comebacks and this post celebrates the few that I find worth mentioning. These are the comebacks that were worth my listening.

Take That

Did you know that in 1996 the UK government had to start up a hotline to counsel distraught Take That fans, after they learnt of the band’s disbanding?  Or that they are the only boyband to win an Ivor Novello, thanks to Gary Barlow’s songwriting skills. I mean, I love Robbie Williams and all but he really thought Take That were finito without him. After a hiatus we thought they were done but boy did they surprise him and the rest of the world with their smash single “Shine.” This wasn’t just any ordinary comeback this one was one for the books. Did you know that their 2010 album Progress is the fastest selling album of all time in UK and that they are Amazon.com’s highest selling artists. Impressive!! They’ve been around for a while and their still going strong. Robbie rejoined them for Progress and you can also catch them on the X-Men:First Class soundtrack with Love Love one of my favourites.

 

Sade

Before Soldier of Love the last time we had heard form this group was in 2000 with “Lover’s Rock” and they returned with a bang. The UK native’s comeback album didn’t disappoint. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and at number four in the UK, and it also won a Grammy. What I will always admire about these veterans is that they march to the beat of their own drum, stick to their style and resist commercial pressure and it is worth it in the end. Salute to the Soldiers.

Maxwell

Ok so you might have realised that I am a big fan of this dude. He is supertalented with a voice that could make any female faint. After an 8 year hiatus Maxwell came back with a new look and a hit record BLACKsummer’snight in 2009. The record received rave reviews. The album sold 316,000 copies in its first week,debuted at number one on Billboard and won two Grammy’s. It went on to sell over 1 million copies in the US. I don’t think anyone was surprised by this success, I mean I certainly wasn’t. Hats off to a well deserved success!!

 Incubus

2000 was the year I discovered rock music and I’ve never been the same after that. The bands responsible were Limp Bizkit, Puddle of Mudd, Linkin Park, Blink 182 and INCUBUS. Their tracks Drive and Wish you were Here were some of my favourites and then they released Nice to Know You and I was in love and have been ever since. So you can just imagine how excited I was when I learnt of the release of their album, “If Not Now,When?” I am impressed with what I have heard so far. The single Adolescents is also doing pretty well on the charts so I am definitely pleased.