Monday, December 20, 2010

The 100 Most Entertaining People of 2010


I have decided to add another list to my year end celebrations and this one culminated everything I talk about here on the 9th Green from music to television and every part of pop culture. So here is the inertial Most Entertaining People of the Year.

Kanye West1. Kanye West

2. Kyle Chandler

3. Jim Parsons

4. Timothy Olyphant

5. The Black Keys

6. Chloë Moretz

7. Connie Britton

8. Cee Lo Green

9. Leonardo DiCaprio

Kyle Chandler10. Eric Stonestreet

11. Mumford & Sons

12. Robert Downey Jr.

13. Ryan Miller

14. Joseph Gordon-Levitt

15. Kaley Cuoco

16. Tony Kornheiser, Michael Wilbon, and Statboy

17. Sofia Vergara

18. The Roots

19. Emma Stone

Jim Parsons20. Jon Stewart

21. Taylor Swift

22. Zach Gilford

23. Christopher Nolan

24. John Legend

25. Ed O'Neill

26. James Badge Dale

27. Adam Baldwin

28. Bill Hader

29. Adam Sandler

Timothy Olyphant30. Nestor Carbonell

31. Pusha T

32. Denis Leary

33. Zach Galifianakis

34. Sara Bareilles

35. Alison Brie

36. Mary Elizabeth Winstead

37. Mark Ruffalo

38. Titus Weaver

39. Aldis Hodge

The Black Keys40. Michael Cera

41. Kristen Bell

42. Vampire Weekend

43. Ben Stiller

44. Terry O'Quinn

45. Michael Emerson

46. Landon Donovan

47. Betty White

48. Drew Brees

49. Janelle Monáe

Chloe Moretz50. Jack Johnson

51. Reid Ewing

52. Andrew Lincoln

53. Jorge Garcia

54. Neil Patrick Harris

55. Denzel Washington

56. Peter Krause

57. Erika Christensen

58. Natalie Portman

59. Bill Simmons

Connie Britton60. Broken Bells

61. Nathan Fillion

62. Mae Whitman

63. Adam Ferrara

64. Walton Goggins

65. Ariel Winter

66. Ellen Wong

67. Madison Burge

68. Armando Galarraga

69. Arliss Howard

Cee Lo Green70. Julie Bowen

71. Mark Ronson

72. Kenan Thompson

73. Emma Bell

74. Mia Wasikowska

75. Jurnee Smollott

76. Emma Roberts

77. Anna Kendrick

78. Ken Jeong

79. Jesse Plemons

Leonardo DiCaprio80. Tom Hanks

81. Ginnifer Goodwin

82. The Backbeats

83. Hal Holbrook

84. Zooey Deschanel

85. Norah Jones

86. Hanson

87. K'naan

88. Paula Malcomson

89. Topher Grace

Eric Stonestreet90. M.C. Gainey

91. Chris Rock

92. Dan LeBatard

93. Taylor Kitsch

94. Gorillaz

95. Selena Gomez

96. Diane Birch

97. Aubrey Plaza

98. Dallas Roberts

99. Michael B. Jordan

100. Stana Katic

Sunday, December 19, 2010

I Want to Bring Love Songs Back to the Radio


Love Letter - R. Kelly

Let’s face it, R. Kelly is clinically insane. Not a crazy genius like Prince but they shouldn’t be let out in the general population crazy like Britney Spears. He has gotten to a point where nothing he does anymore raises an eyebrow, it is just Kells being Kells. Yodeling? Okay. A hip hop opera in twenty-two parts? Alrighty. A song with Celine Dion? Sure, why not. So an album of Motown and Philly Soul inspired songs may be the least surprising thing R. Kelly has ever done.

And guess what, Love Letter, filled entirely with old school RnB tracks is R. Kelly’s best album in over a decade. But it wouldn’t be an R. Kelly joint without some eccentricities. Where saner artist may have spoken the intro to the album shouting out bootleggers and future baby mommas, or just resigned it to the liner notes, of course Kells goes up and down the scales to sing, accentuating every syllable, even where there aren’t real syllables to be found. And there are not one, but three title tracks, the Love Letter Prelude, the straight forward Love Letter, and the holiday themed Love Letter Christmas where Kells adds a verse about being a snowman, a spoken word breakdown, and what Christmas song would be complete without a cowbell.

With most songs throwing back to a time past, Kelly goes all out, not holding anything back on his vocal, singing to the point where his voice almost breaks. He brings in K. Michelle to be his own personal Tammi Terrell on Love Is. Surprisingly on this old school album, the best track is the one that sounds most modern. Taxi Cab is classic R. Kelly with him sings about getting down with a lyrical version of Taxi Cab Confessions. Complete with bongos that picks up more instruments as it goes along including a stirring guitar, Taxi Cab it ranks as near the top of Kelly’s best songs of his career.

So congratulations on your best album is a while Kells. Now how about a couple more chapters of Trapped in the Closet? I have been waiting three long years to find out what “The Package” is.

Song to Download – Taxi Cab

Love Letter gets a Terror Alert Level: High [ORANGE] on my Terror Alert Scale.