Kanye West's tantrums just keep getting stronger

May 8, 2008

I'm so over Kanye West and his eggshell ego. The rapper-producer was the subject of entertainment blogs last week after he threw yet another public diva fit. What ticked him off this time? A review -- a good one.

Recent columns

• Three reissues that stand the test of time

  May 1, 2008

  Major labels still generate big bucks mining old gems in the vaults. Every month in the ton of mail I receive, there are probably just as many reissues as new releases. This week, I check out three reissues -- two genre-busting albums and one oft-sampled jazz-funk set that finally sees the light of the digital age.

• A kaleidoscope of fresh female voices

  April 24, 2008

  I've always been partial to female artists.

• Dianne Reeves' soulful new journey

  April 17, 2008

  All of her beautiful dreads are gone, so I almost didn't recognize Dianne Reeves.

• Dionne Warwick replants her gospel roots

  April 10, 2008

  Growing up, all I knew of Dionne Warwick was that she brought a touch of class to Solid Gold, the hopelessly cheesy '80s music variety show my sisters and I watched every Saturday. As the elegant, stylishly coiffed host, she sang the hits of the day. I remember radio stations in 1985 that seemed to play "That's What Friends Are For," her smash charity single with Gladys Knight, Elton John and Stevie Wonder, to no end.

• Jazz-pop bassist Marcus Miller's joyful noise

  April 3, 2008

  Marcus Miller is in a happy space these days, and the jazz-pop bassist didn't even have to tell me so. Just listen to his new album, simply titled Marcus. Practically every note glows.

• Shirley Brown has always been singer enough

  March 27, 2008

  Honey, you sound like kinfolk."

• Amp Fiddler struts his stuff on album

  March 20, 2008

  I was completely in the dark about Amp Fiddler.

• A look at two compilation CDs

  March 13, 2008

  On the playlist this week, I check out two new compilations: one from an early muse for the Neptunes, the other from the architects of the Philly Soul sound.

• Throwback Ryan Shaw has got them covered

  March 6, 2008

  I remember standing in the sun - sipping my overpriced, overly sweetened lemonade - and thinking, "I want to like him, but I just don't know."

• Subtle but solid pop from Landon Pigg

  February 28, 2008

  It's not a sound I'm usually drawn to -- that guitar-driven, sensitive-guy pop-rock you hear during reflective moments on Scrubs or Grey's Anatomy.

• Thoughtful Hil St. Soul deserves attention

  March 4, 2004

  Around 1996, the phrase "neo-soul" got folks all excited.