Charlie Puth to the Rescue

Charlie Puth delivered something I did not expect. I was in a drought of sorts. Nothing sounded good to me. It's not too often I experience a season like that when music doesn't appeal to me and everything sounds a bit tired, flat and uninspired. And then something changed. Browsing around, I found a jazz version of Done for Me. I liked the original a lot, so I gave it a listen. It was so fresh, so unexpected, so fun. And like that in an instant, everything began to sound good again. Now, Charlie, how about a whole album of jazz?

(Photograph from Entertainment Weekly.)

Songland Needs A Rewrite

NBC's songwriting competition, Songland, needs a rewrite. It's a great concept brought to the mainstream by Maroon5 frontman  Adam Levine. The problem is not the concept. It's one of the coaches.

While One Republic's Ryan Tedder and mega super star producer Ester Dean - with her sparkling, happy personality- fit perfectly, it's country music's Shane McAnally that is the misfit. He may be a talented guy, but each interaction with the songwriters seems to turn into a personal therapy session as Shane discusses his past and his demons. A self-focused downer. During the Leona Lewis session, he even seems to hit on one of the contestants. Very unprofessional.

The concept is solid and has yielded some pretty good results. Let's hope this show gets renewed for a second season- with a new producer / coach.