Simpson sounds bittersweet message

By: Ross MacDonald July 1, 2008 12:00 AM - Mary-Kate and Ashley. Paris and Nicky. Jessica and Ashlee. So many sister acts deserving of our time, so little of it to give. With the Simpsons, it’s even more complicated. Like which to choose when it’s time to drop a few bucks on your next CD. I mean, there hasn’t been a taste test this tough like this since those two cola companies were fighting it out.
Boil it down to substance over form, and we’ll take Ashlee, even if her lightweight dance-pop is little more than the three Rs – regurgitate, recycle, reuse – that are pretty much the template for getting on the radio these days.
That said, Ashlee may be just right for those who’ve given up on Britney or grown out of the Mousketeerish Miley Cyrus. Bittersweet World is disposable for sure, but perhaps worth a listen for anyone whose life’s pleasures are of little more than the fleeting or guilty variety.

It’s time to stop flogging the same dead horse Lenny. To go retro is one thing; to be out of touch for much of one’s career is another.
Almost 20 years after his debut, Let Love Rule, Kravitz still finds himself stuck in the Summer of Love. Songs like “Will You Marry Me”, “I Love The Rain” and “This Moment Is All There Is” tell us that much. He’d have us believe, if you haven’t figured it out already, that love is the answer. Which is fine if you can come up with a recipe other than rehashed classic-rock leftovers.
Yet for all of his so-called idealism Lenny can’t seem to find any kind of lick or instrumental nugget to make us sit up and take notice. He continues to look to his heroes for his chops and inspiration, but no amount of funk muscle or ill-timed guitar solos can lift this lightweight material off the ground.
It’s time for a revolution.
Given how the Gloved One has done a fine job of tainting his place in pop history, it’s easy to forget the magnitude of his early solo career. Thriller, for example, was a monumental accomplishment - the likes of which we may never see again. It topped the charts for a staggering 37 weeks and won eight Grammy awards. Seven of its nine songs became Top 10 singles. It inspired the groundbreaking videos Beat It, Billie Jean and the famous 14-minute Thriller. Little wonder that at 100 million albums and counting, it’s the biggest seller of all time.
While the content will never astound as much as the numbers, Thriller is still worth a listen.
As with many “anniversary” or “special” editions however, this one comes with a caveat. Instead of giving us only what we need – the original nine songs and the aforementioned videos – we also get senseless remixes from the likes of Kanye West and will.i.am. Their contributions are little more than fingerpainters tampering with a Picasso.