Oh, Manchester, So Much To Answer For

1. Starmaker (Miami Horror's Relight My Fire Remix) - Dan Hartman
2. 3 Little Words - Frankmusik
3. Daniel - Bat for Lashes
4. Rockin' That Thang Remix - The-Dream featuring Fabolous, Juelz Santana, Rick Ross and Ludacris
5. No You Girls - Franz Ferdinand
6. Skeleton Boy (Single Edit) - Friendly Fires
7. I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked - Ida Maria
8. This Used to Be the Future - Pet Shop Boys featuring Phil Oakey
9. Zero - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
10. Blame It - Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain
11. Magnificent - Rick Ross featuring John Legend
12. Get On Your Boots - U2
13. Paranoid - Kanye West featuring Mr. Hudson
14. Better Off As Two - Frankmusik
15. Pretty Wings - Maxwell
16. The Reeling - Passion Pit
17. Diva (Maurice Joshua Extended Mojo Remix) - Beyonce
18. Trust - Keyshia Cole featuring Monica
19. Running Up That Hill (Datassette Remix) - Kate Bush
20. Circus (Villains Remix) - Britney Spears

It's been almost a week now since the greatest pure entertainer of the last - what, 30 at least? 40? - years died of causes which, frankly, don't matter. The point is that Michael Jackson is gone. But the silver lining is that it seems like the entire world is rediscovering his mastery of the pop and R&B idioms. Fading away surprisingly quickly is all the public hysteria over his weirdness and pecadillos, and the focus has come soundly down on his music, as it should be. Not just the 13 #1 pop singles, not just the 13 #1 R&B singles, not just the never-before 7 top 10s from one album (Thriller) or the never-before or since 5 #1s from another (Bad) - there's so damned much to his catalog. In that spirit, let me present to you 10 great MJ (and Jacksons) tracks that you may not be familiar with, but should be. In no particular order. All are solo MJ cuts unless otherwise noted.

"Can't Let Her Get Away" (Dangerous, 1991): An incredibly hard New Jack'd cut helmed by (whaddaya know) Teddy Riley ( who was behind the boards for about half of Dangerous), this is, like the best New Jack Swing, simultaneously tough and melodic. Jacko and TR was a great collabo, and this was the finest fruit of their labor. Indianapolis' heritage R&B station, WTLC, played the hell out of this as an album cut, and thank goodness they did, or I might've even missed it.

"Burn This Disco Out" (Off the Wall, 1979): Joyous, utterly buoyant, and while it may be of disco, it comes off more as deliciously meaty funk than anything. It's not a surprise to learn that this was originally slated for a Brothers Johnson record, 'cause it's got their sonic signature. Michael sings the hell out of a marvelously celebratory lyric.

"It's the Falling in Love" (Off the Wall, 1979): This lovely, airy duet with Siedah Garrett - a full 8 years before "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" was released - totally gets what one angle of love is all about. This could've been on Thriller it's so good, and so kinda-timeless.

"The Lady in My Life" (Thriller, 1982): Of Thriller's 9 tracks, 7 were singles, so it's all the more shocking to realize how great this album cut is. This mid-tempo Rod Temperton composition features supple playing from a couple of the Toto guys, along with a poppin' bassline from Louis Johnson (cf. the Brothers Johnson), and another gorgeous vocal from MJ, helped out by the gorgeous arrangement by Temperton. Sometimes, pros are the best way to go... (Sampled prominently in LL Cool J's 1995 hit "Hey Lover.")

"Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin' (Too Good To Be True)," Jermaine Jackson and Michael Jackson (Jermaine Jackson, 1984): Easily the finest moment produced by Michael Omartian, the poor man's Narada Michael Walden (that should be taken as the insult it's meant as), this proves that sometimes even hacks get it right. Presumably Clive Davis told his new signee Jermaine "why don't'cha get that brother of yours to help out?" - and he did, giving Jermaine one his biggest crossover moments in the process. Ironically, Epic wouldn't allow Arista to release this as a proper single, so even though it peaked at #6 on pop radio, it never graced a Billboard chart, apart from Dance Club Play (where it reigned for 3 weeks). This propulsive cut, heavily synthed but with a light touch, spotlights both brothers and has aged excruciatingly well.

"Blame It on the Boogie," The Jacksons (Destiny, 1978): This Michael-led cut hit #3 on the R&B chart, true, but only scraped to #54 pop, and deserved better; its rather pedestrian verses are saved by a creamy, harmony-laden chorus (and some delicious horn charts). One of Michael's loosest vocals, too.

"One More Chance (Paul Oakenfold Mix)" (original version on Number Ones, remix on "One More Chance" single, 2003): This track, tacked onto the Number Ones compilation in a highly optimistic move, is a somewhat blah R. Kelly mid-tempo soul cut in its original version. Shockingly it's craptastic trance DJ Oakenfold who unearths the chewy pop center underneath, making this roughly the pop equivalent of meringue.

"This Place Hotel," The Jacksons (Triumph, 1980): After Off the Wall turned Michael into a massive solo artist, he reconvened with his brothers for the follow-up to Destiny, with far grander results. Four singles were spun off this, including the enduring classic "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)," but this was actually the biggest hit on the R&B charts, spending a full 5 weeks at #2 (while charting a mere #22 pop). A somewhat epic, mildly grandiose song showcasing Michael's flair for the not only dramatic but cinematic, this was originally titled "Heartbreak Hotel" but later retitled to avoid confusion with Elvis's classic of the same name. It's meant to be a slightly foreboding tale of the evils that (some) women do. Preach, preacher! It's also meant to be a tight, funky R&B cut, and on that level it succeeds like a mother.

"Blood on the Dance Floor (TM's Switchblade Mix)" (original version on Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix, remix on "Blood on the Dance Floor" single, 1997): Recasting MJ as a dance icon in the mid-'90s actually worked much better than you likely realize, unless you spent a lot of time in pop-leaning clubs during that time - or are European. Blood on the Dance Floor, mostly full of remixes of songs from the HIStory project, was massive all over Europe, while American audiences turned largely a blind ear. Our loss, as evidenced best by this taut house mix by Tony Moran of the album's title cut. Its mood fits the lyrics' severe paranoia, yet still works expertly as a floorfiller.

"Leave Me Alone" (Bad, 1987): Originally only available on CD pressings of Bad but later exposed to a larger audience thanks to its cheeky, all too clever video (Michael as an amusement park!), this well-muscled funk-pop number deals with the tabloids' obsession with MJ with, frankly, flair and panache. It's also one of the perkiest things on Bad, and deserved far better than being a tacked-on bonus track - this could've been a #1 record.

I wrote this piece in 2004 and revised it slightly in 2005:

Oh, Michael. So often, you just can't leave well enough along. I'm reminded of that (but that's not all - patience, we'll get there) listening to your recent, recontextualizing boxed set (about time!), The Ultimate Collection. For instance, take "Unbreakable," from '02's D.O.A. album Invincible. Cowritten and coproduced with Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins (who most recently reminded us that he's still got it via Destiny's Child's "Lose My Breath"), this is a spectacularly lean and muscular R&B track. You give a great, gritty vocal on it, one of those through-gritted-teeth performances that come so naturally to you these days, and which fit your favorite lyrical tone of the past decade - paranoia, that'd be - so nicely. Yeah, it sounded a bit late-'90s when it was released just over two years ago, but with a tight edit, I think it could've still been a hit. But you had to mess with a good thing, mistakenly thinking you were buying yourself insurance, didn't you? I understand that having the Notorious B.I.G. lace HIStory's "This Time Around" was sensational, MJ, I do. But using a rap of his lifted from another record - let alone it being a friggin' Shaquille O'Neal record which was a single - should've smelled bad at the idea stage. Maybe there's no one left in your orbit to advise you against such moves anymore, Michael. Is there? Or are you truly now surrounded with only "yes" men? Come back to the five and dime, Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson.

See, here's the sad truth, Jacko (I know you hate that nickname, but it's got worldwide currency): people don't realize, anymore, how brilliant you're capable of (still) being. They realize instead how irrational you're capable of being. Exhibit A: "You Rock My World," also from Invincible. The easy, breezy, beautiful counterpart to "Unbreakable," also made with Jerkins' assistance, is a masterful single. Or would've been, at least, had you released it the year you made it: 1999. Instead, it sat on a shelf for three years, by which point it was sadly outdated, and the public knew it. So "World" and its attendant album flopped; they deserved much better.

Of course, it doesn't help that you've tried so desperately to regain pop relevance in the past decade-plus that you've hopped into bed with almost any hot producer you found willing. [Be honest, Mike: you've called Dr. Dre, haven't you? How about Pharrell?] It doesn't have to be that way, though. I was shocked to discover, while reading The Ultimate Collection's fine liner notes (written by no less than Nelson George), that '87's "Michael's back, bitches!" ballsy first salvo from Bad (to the haters: who else could announce his return, following up the biggest-selling album of all time, with a midtempo ballad?!), "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," was actually recorded in 1982. Yet it still sounded fresh, still sounds timeless, and certainly sounds nothing (much) like the contents of Thriller. That's what you're capable of, Michael. Think about that.

And that's just a beginning, one of a myriad of potential jumping-off points offered by this boxed set. There are, of course, the strings of stunning singles from Off the Wall and Thriller - "Billie Jean," for one, sounds just as sparkling and shiny today as it did some 22 years ago. There's the first flushes of you feeling out your identity as a writer and producer, such as on "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)," the smash you wrote with your little bro Randy for the family gang: that sinuous, sexy piano riff hitting it straight outta the park from the first note. The awesomely machinistic tracks you were making circa Dangerous are (nearly) all here, too. And there's the previously unreleased material you've gifted us with here, some of which is extremely eye-opening.

Foremost among these is "In the Back." You produced this one all by yourself, even with layering the work of some 20-odd musicians on it, and it's stunning. It provides an eye into your creative process - with presumably unfinished lyrics, you spend some of the song just "dut-dut-dut"ing. The muted trumpet here is gorgeous, too. But ultimately, this one comes down to its swirling, ominously luscious music on the chorus, a virtual orchestra of faux-woodwinds (I assume it's all keyboards), strings, and keyboards themselves, laid against a stark percussion track. This isn't remotely house, but I wonder how much Masters at Work would love to get their hands on it, just to play. I'm sure they'd love the demo version of "P.Y.T.," a take which bears almost no resemblance (save its chorus lyrics) to the version which ended up as one of Thriller's seven top 10 singles. This version's cowritten by James Ingram and has completely different lyrics and music - and is scads better. You get to spend your time cooing and singing in that rich high register you've got, Michael, taking your time and luxuriating in it, from the sound of it (the tempo here isn't near the frantic pace of the released version, either, much more midtempo). And you make it sound so effortless.

That's not to say that this 4 CD/1 DVD (of a great late-period [i.e., '90s] concert you gave in Bucharest, of all places) set is nothing but an embarassment of riches. Let's be honest: most of the unreleased ballads, from "Scared of the Moon" (pretty [and] vacant) to "Beautiful Girl" (nothing new to see here, people, move along), should've stayed that way. And in case three words attached to "We Are Here to Change the World" - "from Captain EO" - aren't embarassing enough, the song's surprisingly awful music certainly should be, Mike. But to hear all of your classics - and there's a good two discs' worth here - alongside, at long last, the cream of your work with your brothers (from "The Love You Save" to "Lovely One" to the delightfully silly Jagger-assisted "State of Shock"), augmented with rarities which, while not always successful, are nearly always at least interesting (and speaking of creative process, as I was earlier, the spare, voice-and-piano [is that Lionel?] demo of "We Are the World" is fascinating), makes this a boxed set to cherish. But can you beat every single odd and come back as a force, either artistically or commercially, let alone both? I hope so, though the odds aren't so great, Michael. [Let's be honest, okay?] In which case, if nothing else, thanks for the memories.

In reaction to a question about the enduring popularity of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," this week's "Ask Billboard" column reprinted the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending December 19, 1981 (the week "Don't" peaked at what now seems like an amazingly low #9):

No. 1, "Physical," Olivia Newton-John
No. 2, "Waiting for a Girl Like You," Foreigner
No. 3, "Let's Groove," Earth, Wind & Fire
No. 4, "Oh No," Commodores
No. 5, "Young Turks," Rod Stewart
No. 6, "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)," Daryl Hall John Oates
No. 7, "Why Do Fools Fall in Love," Diana Ross
No. 8, "Harden My Heart," Quarterflash
No. 9, "Don't Stop Believin'," Journey
No. 10, "Leather and Lace," Stevie Nicks with Don Henley

This is, frankly, a shockingly good top 10. I'll argue (vehemently) that there's not a dud in the bunch, with a fair number of certified classics to be found here (let's start with numbers 2, 3, and 6, alongside Journey's chestnut). Not to sound all "things-were-better-in-my-day" old guy, but c'mon, what can match this these days? Lady frigging GaGa? Pitbull? Flo Rida? Even today's hit pop-rock is gag-inducing: the Fray, anyone? (The less said about easy target Nickelback, the better.)

Yes, I'm in my late 30s. Yes, I'm increasingly an '80s-head. Yes, I firmly attest that 1984 was the greatest year for top 40 radio EVER: Madonna's first album, Tina Turner's comeback-for-the-ages, Purple Rain, Springsteen, Thriller's hits still being treated like currents, and great weirdos like ZZ Top and the Cars becoming pop stars and Sheila E. taking us to 55 Secret Street - and that's not even mentioning the still-ongoing Brit invasion spearheaded by Duran Duran, Culture Club, and Eurythmics, but also including Thompson Twins and Wham! But that said, I still listen to currents - I'm a big fan of Carrie Underwood, I think Jamie Foxx's vocoder-drunk "Blame It" is great pop(ulism), and thanks largely to my husband (and Mixmag), I'm able to stay pretty on top of electronic stuff. But that said, the early '80s were impeccable for totally crossed out, genres-be-damned pop radio.

You know why I like Sugarland so much, besides the obvious their-song-choices-get-better-with-each-album? Because every time I see them performing (granted, on awards shows), Jennifer Nettles can't stop smiling, even while she's singing. That makes an impression.

Changed my life in some way or another, or changed the way I hear music. Or both. In no order. (xposted from my Facebook.)

1. Public Enemy, It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988): An atom bomb, which blew up most of my preconceived notions about pop music (the diaspora, not specifically popular music).

2. Sonic Youth, Daydream Nation (1988). It caused a teenage riot in my head.

3. Prince and the Revolution, 1999 (1982): Purple Rain was more seismic, Parade was better, and Sign "O" the Times the masterwork. But this album, borrowed from the North Manchester Public Library and played when my folks weren't around, was my introduction to the genius of Prince. My pop ear may have gotten off on the radio-played "Little Red Corvette," but my nascent crit mind worshipped "All the Critics..." (natch) and "Something in the Water" - clearly, this one was on some other shit.

4. Daryl Hall & John Oates, H2O (1982): The first album I ever truly loved and recognized as a cohesive work, 11 songs which hung together. Sparkling pop-rock-soul. Disbelievers in H&O's ability to rock are pointed towards "Family Man."

5. DJ Shadow, Endtroducing... (1996): Opened my eyes to a whole new world of turntablism.

6. Scritti Politti, Cupid and Psyche 85 (1985): This one I've gone into great depth about, right here.

7. Moby, Everything Is Wrong (1994): Rave-cum-dance music as pop songs - this is where a lot of my interest in real dance music can be traced to...

8. Various Artists, Rave 'Til Dawn (1991):...and this is where much of the rest of it can be. Rave as strictly 'ardcore, even with its pop tendencies peeking through.

9. LTJ Bukem, Logical Progression (1996): Drum'n'bass at its most lovely. I love hard jungle, but you can't listen to it all the time (at least I can't). This jazzier side of it, you can. 21st-century soul.

10. Me'shell NdegeOcello, Peace Beyond Passion (1996): Speaking of 21st-century soul, at her peak - and this was it - no one in R&B came close. Political without being preachy, and endlessly, easily funky, there's a reason everyone from Madonna to Mellencamp loved her.

11. Jodeci, Forever My Lady: When this came out, in '91, it was on some totally next-gen shit. Utterly contemporary, but totally timeless. Easily the first post-New Jack Swing R&B superstars, and along with Mary J. Blige, the harbingers of a new movement; the next decade of R&B can mostly be traced to the 2 acts. Fun fact: mostly co-produced and -written by Al B. Sure!

12. Rolling Stones, Dirty Work: This album didn't really change the way I hear music, or my life for that matter - but Christgau's review of it kinda-sorta did; he showed me how to defend a record thought to be indefensible, and helped me see that it's more than okay to go against the critical grain. (And for the record, it's my favorite Stones record to this day.)

Here's his review in full:
Dreaming of solo glory, Mick doesn't have much time for his band these days--just plugged into his Stones mode and spewed whatever he had to spew, adding lyrics and a few key musical ideas to tracks Ron and Keith completed before the star sullied his consciousness with them. And I say let him express himself elsewhere. For once his lyrics are impulsive and confused, two-faced by habit rather than design, the straightest reports he can offer from the top he's so lonely at, about oppressing and being oppressed rather than geopolitical contradiction. In the three that lead side two, always playing dirty is getting to him, as is his misuse of the jerks and greaseballs and fuckers and dumb-asses who clean up after him, yet for all his privilege he's another nuclear subject who's got no say over whether he rots or pops even though he'd much prefer the former. Especially together with the hard advice of "Hold Back," these are songs of conscience well-known sons of bitches can get away with. Coproducer Steve Lillywhite combines high-detail arena-rock with back-to-basics commitment and limits the melismatic affectations that have turned so much of Mick's late work in on itself. Let him have his own life and career, I don't care. What I want is the Stones as an idea that belongs to history, that's mine as much as theirs. This is it. A

13. Guy, Guy: THE album to prove that production meant as much as singing and songwriting in R&B, as well as THE definitive New Jack Swing full-length. Also THE place that proved Teddy Riley's genius, without question.

10:28: I know the Grammys are "dress-down," but Sam Jackson, could you at least make a fucking effort to look decent?!

10:31: I guess that T.I. is so huge because he makes super-pop songs, but for the most part I just don't get him. He can do better, but insists on pandering. I guess the $$'s worth it.

10:41 Four Tops medley = yawn.

10:47 You know what? I really don't care what anyone thinks: I can't stand Neil Diamond. And "Sweet Caroline"? *barf*
And could he be more Vegas-y? What the fuck does Rick Rubin see in this hack?

Have I mentioned that Justice won a Grammy for their remix of MGMT's "Electric Feel"? That's pretty cool.

10:53: Wow, in the deathroll, they actually referred to Larry Norman as the "father of Christian rock." That's pretty cool, too.

10:54: Fucking John Mayer. Shut up and let the men play/sing. Fucking tool.

11:10: Fucking will.i.am. That said, WEEZY BABY! It should - but won't - be Album of the Year, but Rap Album is a nice consolation prize, and Tha Carter III deserves it.

11:19: YES. Alison Krauss looks like a siren, like a goddess, Robert Plant looks like the legend he is, and T-Bone Burnett plays guitar like a fever dream. Who ever could have fathomed that Raising Sand would become the semi-phenom it has? And ain't it grand?

11:23: The fact that Green Day get to hand out Album of the Year makes me sick. Yes, respect for their respect of Pansy Division, blah blah blah, but they still utterly suck and I hate them.

This is Krauss's second Album of the Year Grammy; she also got one as part of the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack - which is also where T-Bone's previous one comes from. Is theirs the most exciting album of the past year? No. But it's a damned fine one.

11:27: Bedtime.

9:38: Did Morgan Freeman really just intro Kenny Chesney, and refer to him as "my friend"!?! Celebrities are weird.

9:41: Another Plant/Krauss Grammy, this one for Record of the Year. Yay. (Even though I really wanted M.I.A. to win this.) I believe Alison Krauss now has 583 Grammys.

9:49: M.I.A.! Kanye! Jay-Z! Weezy! T.I.! But this black-and-white gambit is just silly.

Oh, shit, M.I.A. just brushed the dirt of Jigga's shoulder!

I'm so worried that all this performing is gonna make M.I.A.'s water break, f'reals. Though it would make for amazing television.

9:57: It's McCartney playing "I Saw Her Standing There," with Dave Grohl on drums, and I have absolutely nothing to say about it.

10:02: There's been quite a few good performances, but good Lord - another hour and a half?!

10:06: Fucking John Mayer.

10:07: L.L., you're a legend, but you really will show up anywhere and do anything you're told, won't you?

10:13: While I'm not sure why Adele needed an assist from Sugarland, damn: Jennifer Nettles can sing anything, can't she?

10:19: There's something "utterly brilliant" about Paltrow introducing Radiohead with those words, instead of her husband's shit band. And their performance with the USC Marching Trojans now links them eternally with Fleetwood Mac!

8:55: Miley (Cyrus) is no great singer, but she's alright, and Taylor (Swift) sounded better than I expected on their duet of "Fifteen." What Taylor IS, is a good songwriter.

8:58: YAY another Plant/Krauss Grammy! How the hell was T-Bone Burnett not nommed for Producer of the Year?! (Granted, he'll get one when they win Album of the Year, but still.)

9:03: J-Hud's performance was "inspirational." And really, really boring.

9:09: It would be wonderful if someone would stab Jason Mraz to death.

9:10: It's like the Jonas Brothers live on the Sunset Strip, with Stevie Wonder channelling Roger Troutman (RIP)! Bizarre. Bongos? A horn section? And Stevie singing a JoBro song?! This is delightfully weird.

Funny to see one of the boys mucking up the lyrics, clearly due to nerves. That's called playing on national TV with a legend, boys. (Mind you, I'll totally defend the Brothers. Ask me about A Little Bit Longer sometime.)

9:14: Goddammit, if that douchebag had died in that plane crash, Blink-182 couldn't get back together.

9:15: Fucking Coldplay.

9:23: "Hot N Cold" is okay, but I LOATHE "I Kissed A Girl." And Katy Perry's gonna be gone before you know it, I still attest.

9:27: Between his growing-out hair and flashy blazer, Kanyeezey's looking awfully 1984. And I like it. Love "American Boy." Like Estelle quite a bit. Wish she's gotten a full-on performance, with a band and such.

Weird to see a new artist presenting Best New Artist. Will it be Adele? Duffy? JoBro?
YAY, it's Adele! I fear this will be a curse on her U.S. success, but I'm still glad for her.

8:00: U2 open with "Get On Your Boots," which sounds better live than the single version. Very nice. Also nice to see Bono back at his actual day job.

8:05: OMG IT'S WHITNEY!!!! She looks amazing. Sure, she sounds a little loopy, but she looks incredible, and accounts from last night's Clive Davis Grammy whoop-de-do are that she's sounding fine as ever.

8:07: OMG Whitney just gave my girl J-Hud a Grammy. Wow.

8:09: I hate you, Duane Johnson. Stop trying to be funny.

8:11: There's an awful lot of talking on this show.

8:16: Okay, the Al Green/J-Tim duet on "Let's Stay Together" was actually pretty good, though having Keith Urban there to play a few hot licks felt slightly like pandering. And Boyz II Men were, what? Take 6? On backing vocals?

8:21: I really, really wish Coldplay would just stop.

8:23: I had a feeling Jay-Z would pop up here - the Grammys love nothing more than "crazy" collabos, and this one's already been recorded, so why not? (Answer: cuz it's dull.)

I'm fascinated to see M.I.A. perform, BTW, as today is her actual due date (thanx P-Fork!). And I wonder if she'll lace "Swagger Like Us" with vocals too?

8:26: Is Chris Martin wearing pants from the Michael Jackson "Circa '83" collection?! Were they purchased at the Neverland garage sale? How I dearly hope they get shut out of the big categories tonight...

8:27: I heart you, Keith Urban. I heart you even more, Carrie Underwood, even though your outfit is rather ill-advised. (Looked great on the red carpet, though.) Love that with this perf of "Last Name" she nicely proves that country music can rock as much as anything else. This is one simply superb single, and I'm very happy she won another Grammy - her 4th! - for it. (Best Female Country Vocal.) Also on the country tip, King George (Strait) FINALLY won a Grammy after all these years. About damned time, right? One more Underwood note: how cool is it that she's got a female lead guitarist, who can kinda shred?

8:32: Sheryl Crow + Leann Rimes presenting must = Best New Artist.
Um, or not. They're presenting Country Duo/Group. Hmm.
Yay, Sugarland! "Stay" is the definition of a career record. The guy in Sugarland looks even cuter with a full beard. And I love how country Jennifer Nettles is.

8:42: Fucking Coldplay.

8:44: Interesting to see Kid Rock doing a more "respectable" song, "Amen," rather than something (ahem) trashy like "All Summer Long." While I'm not a huge fan, I love what a bizarre genre polyglot he's become.

Oh, wait, here's "Summer" after all. I still don't entirely get how this made top 5 on the country chart last year, but it makes me happy that it did.

Wait, is this a third song? This medley thing is weird.