Sidetracked

SONG: Royal Flush
ARTIST: Big Boi (feat. Raekwon and André 3000)

Don’t believe the rapper-crooner dichotomy advanced by Outkast’s two-faced 2003 album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. André 3000, depicted as the singer-eccentric foil to Big Boi’s thug sensibility, can rap. Dre’s 48-bar verse on “Royal Flush,” the first single from his counterpart’s upcoming solo album, is a case study in enjambment, internal rhyme and metaphor and easily trumps the other two MCs’ efforts. It’s good to see 3000 showing his cards.
Grade: A-

SONG: Touch My Body
ARTIST: Mariah Carey

Next time you listen to “Touch My Body,” change the chorus to T-Pain’s Lil-Jon-ripped incantation on “Buy U A Drank”: “Snap your fingers / Do your step / You can do it all by yourself.” It syncs perfectly, and that means something. Mariah definitely doesn’t need the help of an auto-tuner, but the first cut off her Einstein-minded album E=MC2, with its digital snaps and pervy lyrics, sounds like it could’ve come from Mr. Pain.
Grade: C+

SONG: I Lust U
ARTIST: Neon Neon

OK, I get it. Everyone’s bringing the ’80s back. Rappers describe the decade – with its booming markets, both legitimate and illicit – as a time of excess. New Wave revivalists Neon Neon remind us it was also a time of cheapness and superficiality. “I Lust U” is a catchy little electro joint, but after a while, the track’s fuzzy synth lines feel as tacky and overdone as an ’80s-themed frat party.
Grade: C

SONG: Fools
ARTIST: The Dodos

San Francisco indie duo Dodos has become the apple of college rock’s eye faster than you can say “Pitchfork.” Their first single “Fools” is a noisy folk ballad with clickety-clack percussion, busy guitar strumming, airy vocals and – because why not? – a blustery tuba feature. (If you like this track, you can check out The Dodos live in Bloomington on April 19 at the Culture Shock Festival.)
Grade: A