Gaga Over Lady

I was at the the Lady Gaga concert at the House of Blues on Tuesday, March 24 and boy what a treat! I went to the early "all-ages" show and was pleasantly surprised not to be surrounded by screaming teenage girls. Instead I was up in the "adult" section surrounded by a bunch of screaming gay men. Lady Gaga is only the most recent common pop musical interest of the two groups of screamers and she lived up to expectations with a rousing show that was entertaining from beginning to end. Flanked on stage by DJ Space Cowboy and backed by three handsome dancers, the Lady's show included a beautifully sung slow version of "Poker Face," a marvelous bubble dress, quirky and at times R-rated dialogue between songs, and a spectacularly performed "Just Dance" closer that sent everyone home happy. I heard the later "adult" show wasn't nearly as much fun and went way late. Like 2:30 am late. On a school night!?! Sometimes being an adult is over-rated.

No Defects In This House

For those who love and appreciate house music - and that should be all of you IMO - be on the lookout and definitely pick up Defected Records latest release in their popular In The House series. Subtitled "Miami 2009" - in conjunction with the annual Winter Music Conference that was recently held down there - the release has a Poolside mix (CD1) by Yass; a Sundown mix (CD2) by DJ Spen; and an In The Club mix (CD3) by David Penn.

While Yass may not be as well known as some of his fellow Parisian DJ/remixers such as Bob Sinclar and DJ Gregory, he nonetheless has the "former Resident DJ at Club Queen" pedigree and has a house music sensibility that screams several parts NYC garage with a splash of French disco. His Poolside mix on this Miami 2009 album, featuring his "No Lies" and "I Won't" as well as his own new remix "The Way You Love Me" by Marc Evans, is extremely soulful and groovy. It's sure to impress those familiar with his work and those taking their maiden Yass voyage.

More familiar to house-heads around the world, and one of my favorite house-meisters of all time, DJ Spen absolutely turns out the Sundown mix. Featuring two classic songs remixed in house format - Prince's When Doves Cry" and Aretha's "Rescue Me" - Spen delivers a mix that further cements his position as one of the most important and influential persons on the global house music scene today. Rounding out this incredibly strong In The House production, Spanish DJ/remixer/producer David Penn presents a banging Club mix with plenty of hands in the air moments derived from classic house tracks, both new and old. Far from reliant on back catalog grooves in the original versions, Penn introduces freshness to house connoisseurs of all ages, including his remix of "It's Yours" by Jon Cutler and Henrik B's rerub of "Can't Get Enough" by Soulsearcher.

I've long maintained that Defected is the best house music record label in the world today. This 3-CD compilation and the use of Yass, Spen, and Penn once again demonstrates why it would be difficult to argue with me on this point.

SCREAMing For Cornell

Back in the day when grunge and bands from Seattle ruled the musical world, Nirvana along with Pearl Jam seemed to be all that folks wanted to talk about. Meanwhile I remember discovering that there were other voices up in the PNW and became a big fan of Soundgarden and their frontman Chris Cornell. After Soundgarden disbanded in 1997, Cornell became a member of the critically-acclaimed and commercially successful Audioslave from 2000 to 2007. As a solo artist since then Cornell released a well-received album in the summer of 2007 (which included a remake of "Bille Jean") and is now back this spring with the 13-track Scream. Produced by superstar hip-hop/R&B producer Timbaland, Cornell proves that his talent knows no bounds and that he is willing to explore new musical avenues. While the club-friendly direction of Scream will be a bit surprising to some of Cornell's die-hard fans, the album is nonetheless a real treat and is sure to impress old and new admirers alike.

Round-up

A quick trip through my inbox reveals a couple of new discs worthy of mention. First up is the maxi-single CD of "Boom," and new dance track by Anjulie that's beginning to get some well-deservd cub play. Available via iTunes and Amazon.com MP3, remixes are served up by Bimbo Jones, Mike Rizzo, Brazilian Girls, and Greg Kursin. I'm particularly liking the dubbish Kursin Dark mix.

Finally, there's a cool ass duo (Holly and the openly gay Ara) out of Los Angeles called MYNX that you absolutely do not want to miss out on. With a musical style that's compared to Garbage (as in the group, not as in trash) and that brings up "imagery of an electro rebirth of Sonny & Cher meets Goldfrapp." MYNX's new self-titled 5-track EP, featuring their underground cult hit "I'm So L.A.,": is filled with punchy lyrics, infectious hooks, and fierce vocals that are destined to broaden their appeal beyond the California state line.