Silence is not always golden

Thank you to New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow for his piece on the self-destruction of the record industry. It’s quite possibly one of the most truthful assessments to come out. It’s fairly well thought-out, and simply put, although he gets one thing wrong and skips one important point.

Taking Hip Hop Back to Africa

Critics and fans alike have long awaited K’naan’s sophomore album. He brings it with all its unpaved street cred on Troubadour, his major label debut. I never thought I’d say this, but the majors have so far been good to him.

Populism and American Idol

With the electoral season upon us, the electoral college and populism have popped up in a lot of recent conversations. In my heart of hearts, I desperately wish that I believed in direct democracy, but I have a lot of reservations, and I need look no further than the U.S. version of Pop Idol to illustrate my case.

Brooklyn’s Straight Pride Parade

Get ready, Brooklyn: As if straight people didn’t get to celebrate their straightness on days that aren’t the last Sunday in June, they’re getting their own Straight Pride Parade at the end of August. No, I’m not telling you when or where it is because I expect you not to show up. I don’t even want you to go and protest; not only would that invite the possibility of violence but the parade would be a dismal failure if no one bothered to turn up.

5 Lessons Learned from Gay Hipster Karaoke

Maybe I’m old or just naïve but I walked away from gay hipster karaoke with some unexpected revelations. Of course, it logically doesn’t make sense that being gay or being a hipster would make you immune to the idiosyncrasies of the other, but that would just make so much more sense to my small brain.

Gawker had a great piece last year about karaoke in New York and the hipster part appears to hold true.

Alone in the community

Just several hundred people showed for Sunday’s Pride kickoff rally in Bryant Park, though that may just be because of the scattered showers that pounded unprepared tourists as I searched for VISA-friendly fast food in Times Square. There were so few people here, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so few people in Bryant Park.

Album Review: Junior Senior — Hey Hey My My Yo Yo (Crunchy Frog/Rykodisc)

Where does Junior Senior get off referencing Neil Young in the title of its new old album? There are no heroin references to be found anywhere in the Danish pop duo’s 2005 album, which just landed here in the U.S.

This album will satisfy those who felt hoodwinked buying Junior Senior’s first album, D-D-Don’t Stop the Beat, after hearing the band’s 2003 dance anthem “Move Your Feet.” That song can still be heard on a regular basis on San Francisco’s Energy 92.7-FM but the rest of the album sounds a lot more like The B-52s and early Bangles-style surf rock. Hey Hey My My Yo Yo moves both backward and forward in time from its predecessor, infused with the cold grooves of ’80s synth dance and sunny hooks reminiscent of The Brady Bunch and Donny and Marie. Cold and sunny? Yeah, sounds pretty northern Euro to me.

If that sounds like split personalities, the album actually comes together better than its predecessor, despite having a less cohesive style. Hey Hey My My Yo Yo even pays homage to its forbear by putting Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson on vocals in “Take My Time.” So what if its breakout single, “Can I Get Get Get,” isn’t as explosive as “Move Your Feet.” How can you resist a new track called, “We Are The Handclaps?” That’s right, and this time, the songs are sufficiently catchy and dancey but not so imbalanced to be unable to handle the segué.

With any luck, Junior Senior will be able to balance its dance and rock sensibilities if we ever see a third album. The worst thing wouldn’t be if one of those two styles gets dropped, it’d be if they became dance rock soundalikes. We don’t need another !!! or The Rapture; those bands do just fine on their own. Worse yet, we definitely don’t need another OK Go, the soundalike band that doesn’t sound like anything.

The Yellow Menace has found a way to be ghey without the Scissor Sisters. Find out how at theyellowmenace1@gmail.com.

Record Review: M.I.A. — Kala (Interscope Records)

This couldn’t be a true Yellow Menace blog without some Arts and Entertainment, so I bring you, just over a week late, a record review. Enjoy!