Backstage Pass

The Summer Single isn't always a great song or even a good one. (No, I'm still not going to include Katy Perry's awful "I Kissed a Girl" in this list.) It's the song that sounds best booming from cars on the corner, blasting from radios at the beach, or on the system at every holdiay party you hit this weekend.

Here's the Backstage Pass playlist:

NOTES: (1) Yeah, the LCD Soundsystem song is kinda old, but it's received a new life thanks to the upcoming Will Ferrell movie. (2) We would've thrown Weezer's "Pork and Beans" in, but Geffen insists on blocking it on Imeem. Sorry, Rivers.

After the whole ridiculous hullabaloo over Jay-Z headlining the Glastonbury Festival this year, including Oasis' Noel Gallagher claiming that hip-hop was wrong for the festival, Hova took the stage Saturday night by thumbing his nose at the controversy. Donning a guitar, he took on Oasis' "Wonderwall" before launching into a raucous version of "99 Problems" that was just as rock and roll as anything else at the festival. Sorry, Noel.

[Explicit Jay-Z language in the clip below.]

Jay-Z, "Wonderwall/99 Problems"

Not only did Chrisette Michele like Tyler Perry's TBS show "House of Payne" enough to write a new song, "Love Jones," promoting it, but the Patchogue singer-songwriter made up a new dance for it as well. [Click on pic for the video]

   If you go just by his music, Johnnie Lee Jordan sounds like he's from Kansas or Texas or Minnesota, maybe, somewhere with lots of open space and from an era that's more timeless than timely.
   Jordan's latest EP, "With a Little Help From My Friends," reflects the Patchogue singer-songwriter's love of Bob Dylan and Tom Waits, along with a bit of The Replacements, but it also reflects his literary style of songwriting.
   "I love music, but I also love literature," Jordan says. "I do try to write in a very literary vein. I try to write a story in the song that people can relate to, a story that kind of takes people to a different place."
   He does that in "Tough Love," building an entire story line out of short, clipped descriptions. "Baby, you're a liar," he sings at the end of a litany of complaints, "but I'm a liar, too."<br>  "I try not to subscribe to a certain sound," Jordan explains, adding that he also enjoys jazz, blues, folk, punk and hip-hop. "I try to let it all run its course when I write."<br>   And it all does find a place in his music - well, except for the hip-hop, though that could change, too. "Pop Song" has a nice Replacements-ish swagger that sounds only more impressive when the complexities of the seething lyrics get added in, "Pop song? I hope this pop song makes me sound as phony as you," he sings.
    Jordan, who turned 21 earlier this month, says he's in the middle of writing more songs he hopes to record and release as a full album on his own by the end of the year. But he's also planning as many shows as he can do, getting the word out about his music wherever he can.
   "There are so many bands out there, it's really hard getting people out," he says. "People are so cautious about what they do, it's tough to let people know who you are or what you look like, what your music's about. You just have to keep getting out there and see who you connect with."

Jordan plays a free concert at Port Jefferson Free Library, 100 Thompson St., Port Jefferson, 631- 473-0022, at 6:30 p.m. Monday.

Johnnie Lee Jordan [MySpace]

PHOTO: Johnnie Lee Jordan

For this week at least, Coldplay can drop the "used to" from their new single. Their "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends" album does rule the world.

The album will top the charts next week on sales of 721,000, making it the year's second-biggest debut behind Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III," which sold more than a million copies its first week and another 308,000 last week to land at No. 2. Coldplay will also be No. 1 in England, Japan, Australia, Canada, France and Germany.

The Jonas Brothers-filled soundtrack to "Camp Rock" debuted at No. 3, on sales of 188,000, and the "Now 28" compilation slips a notch to No. 4. With a 68 percent sales drop, Plies' "Definition of Real" slides from No. 2 to No. 5 in its second week.

With no massive releases set for this week, Coldplay should hang on for a second week at No. 1, but will it have enough staying power to outlast 50 Cent's G-Unit release on July 1 to make it three weeks at the top?

PHOTO: Chris Martin at Madison Square Garden on Monday by Ari Mintz for Newsday.

Blake Lewis is no longer on Arista, after the label declined to pick up the option for his next album. It's another sign of the deepening problems of the record industry, one where artists -- even ones that arrive with millions of already-passionate fans -- don't get a lot of time or resources if they don't start producing smashes right away. Lewis, runner-up on last year's "American Idol," lasted less than a year on the label. His exit leaves Clay Aiken, and this year's David Archuleta, as the only Idol runners-up with major-label deals.

"No biggy," Lewis wrote on his MySpace page this morning. "I'm still with 19 Recordings and I got a tour and new record on the way. Now, I'll I need is a home for my music. Some place warm and tropical.... seriously though... Got to be a place where they actually respect my craft and electronic music."

Lewis' announcement comes at an odd time. He played the Canal Room last night and his single "How Many Words" is currently climbing the dance charts. However, Lewis said the song's success wasn't really due to the label anyway. "Getting RCA to do remixes for my record was like pulling teeth AND I had friends do the mixes for next to nothing," Lewis wrote. "They turned out great and are rising on the Billboard charts. .. So freaking pumped. People been shakin there booties to some electro Brake.. hehe."

PHOTO: Blake Lewis for Arista

With all this Long Island music scene talk today, it seemed like a good time to talk about the launch of the Long Island Band Board -- a new forum built by our pals over at Newsday.com where local bands can announce shows, post flyers, find other bands to gig with and talk about the scene. Well, at least, that's what we hope it'll be.

Anyway, check it out. Post some info and we'll see how it goes. And, in other housekeeping, The Long Island Sound column has moved to Sundays and you can still email us links to your MySpace or new MP3s at thelisound@gmail.com. This Sunday's installment will feature Patchogue up-and-comer Johnnie Lee Jordan.

Long Island Band Board

And, for no reason other than we feel bad we missed their show Saturday night, here's Nightmare of You's "My Name Is Trouble" video

With the start of his story arc on MTV's "The Real World" set to start tomorrow, Matthew Bair has unveiled the name of his new solo project. The singer-songwriter from Seaford, formerly of Bandcamp, is going to be known as The Sequel, which will serve as a sort of Dashboard Confessional, Secondhand Serenade kind of identity, where he's a solo artist, but can also be a band under the right circumstances.

Bair's new MySpace is here, which shows off the more Costello-edged "Tip of My Tongue" and "Cigarette Kisses."

PHOTO: Matthew Bair as The Sequel.

The Blue Jackets, "Valley Stream"

The Blue Jackets were "handpicked" by Coldplay to open the band's free concert at Madison Square Garden Monday night, giving the unsigned Long Island band a huge new audience for its blues-tinged indie rock.

In its half-hour set, the band introduced songs from its new EP "No Doubt About It," including the standout "Sneaky Pete," and singer PT Walkley made sure to correct WRXP DJ Matt Pinfield, who introduced them as a New York band. "We're from Long Island, New York," Walkley told the capacity Garden crowd.

The Blue Jackets have had some high-profile help before, landing on the soundtrack to the Edward Burns film "The Groomsmen" in 2006, as Walkley wrote "Four Cheers" for the movie's closing title sequence. However, landing the opening slot on one of the summer's hottest shows can only help to spread the word about their new songs, released to iTunes earlier this month.

Braininess doesn’t always translate well on record for rockers and Coldplay, who celebrated the release of their “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends” album with a free concert for fans at Madison Square Garden Monday night, is no exception.
    For great performers, however, brain power and star power can be powerful allies and Coldplay, especially singer Chris Martin, is no exception to this either, as the band’s crafty 70-minute show not only erased some of the album’s more problematic issues, but highlighted some of the album’s subtler charms.
    Though Coldplay rolled through eight new songs, usually the kiss of death for arena shows, they handled it effortlessly through smart moves in pacing and staging, including playing on a mini-stage in the middle of the Garden floor and heading up to the balcony to deliver a moving, stripped-down version of “Yellow” surrounded by its fans.
    “Viva La Vida,” the band’s first No. 1 single and the song that will propel the album to No. 1 as well, was transformed from delicate pop number to an arena anthem by Martin’s bouncing performance and the crowd participation that unexpectedly built the little bridge of “oh ooh-woh-oh”s into something of Springsteenesque proportions.
    “Great singing, there,” said Martin, who seemed a bit shaken by the moment’s power.
    However, Coldplay pulled off some surprises of its own. By separating the  “Chinese Sleep Chant” from its boring medley partner “Yes” in the album version, the song was able to soar to its mid-‘80s U2-like glory. By cutting off the “Reign of Love” ending from the gorgeous “Lovers in Japan,” Coldplay found a worthy, upbeat show-stopper, complete with butterfly-shaped confetti to flutter in the light show.
    And Martin was, of course, quick-thinking enough to turn his flubbing of the lyrics to “Fix You” into the night’s most-memorable moment, turning the next verse into “When you embarrass yourself at MSG, but it doesn’t matter ‘cause you got in for free.”
    
SETLIST: Life in Technicolor / Violet Hill / Clocks / In My Place / Viva La Vida / Chinese Sleep Chant / God Put a Smile Upon Your Face / 42 / Square One / Trouble / Lost  / Strawberry Swing / Yellow / Death Will Never Conquer / Fix You / Lovers in Japan

PHOTO: Chris Martin and Will Champion during "Viva La Vida" by Ari Mintz for Newsday

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Hard to believe, I’m sure, but The Cure’s Robert Smith – he of the gravity-defying hair and the over-dramatic mascara – sometimes forgets that less can be more. His band’s long-awaited return at Madison Square Garden Friday night was a sprawling, three-hour affair, with tons of hits, several misses and a sense of excess that, while bold and charming, eventually became, well, excessive.

Our Bob was in fine voice the entire evening and, seemingly, in equally fine spirits. (See the video below for the evening’s stage banter. He also introduced “Friday I’m in Love” by saying “Well, it’s a shock that we’d play this,” on, y’know, a Friday night.) And some of the new songs from the forthcoming album sounded pretty great, especially the lush opener “Underneath the Stars” and the first single “The Only One.”

The problem with the clunkers – especially “The Perfect Boy,” which sounds like The Cure doing a recent Bryan Adams cast-off, and “Baby Rag Dog Book,” which has Smith and the guys getting their Metallica on – is that they not only interrupt the flow of the show, but they do it in spectacular fashion. Then, once the interruptions become cumulative, it gets harder and harder to start up again, though, with The Cure’s outstanding back catalog, they were able to do it time and time again.

The gothic aura of “Pictures of You” followed by “Lullaby” followed by “Fascination Street” was gorgeous. The pure pop buzz of “Friday I’m in Love” followed by “Inbetween Days” followed by “Just Like Heaven” was a thrill, matched later in the encores of “Close to Me” and “Why Can’t I Be You.” If they carved the thing down to a tight, muscular two hours, it would have been an amazing show. Of course, it really wouldn’t really be the massive show of force that Robert Smith clearly wanted to create either. Nevertheless, I’m thinking the abridged version that aired live on Fuse Friday night as part of their “Fuse Rocks the Garden” series and will, no doubt, re-run many times over, may actually pack a more powerful wallop than the diluted version fans got at the show.

The Cure, "Baby Rag Dog Book" (Live at MSG)

SETLIST: Underneath the Stars / Prayers for Rain / A Night Like This / The End of the World / Lovesong / To Wish Impossible Things / Pictures of You / Lullaby / Fascination Street / From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea / The Perfect Boy / Hot Hot Hot! / The Only One / Wrong Number / The Walk / Sleep When I’m Dead / Push / Friday I’m in Love / Inbetween Days / Just Like Heaven / Primary / Shake Dog Shake / Charlotte Sometimes / 100 Years / Baby Rag Dog Book // ENCORE: If Only Tonight We Could Sleep / The Kiss // Freakshow / Close to Me / Why Can’t I Be You /// Boys Don’t Cry / Jumping Someone Else’s Train / Grinding Halt / 10:15 Saturday Night / Killing an Arab

Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" knocks off Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" to land the band its first No. 1 single in America, on sales of 246,000. The scarier prospect, though, is the rise of Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl," which jumps two slots to No. 2 leapfrogging "Lollipop" at No. 3. Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love" slips to No. 4 and Rihanna's "Take a Bow" holds at No. 5.

PHOTO: Coldplay -- Will Champion, Guy Berryman, Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland -- by Stephan Craneanscki for Capitol Records.
 

OK, so I'm still absorbing the new Girl Talk album, but it reminded me of this mashup of The Jackson Five's "I Want You Back" over the guitar riff from The Smiths' "This Charming Man," resulting in "This Charming Back" (?!)

Girl Talk (a.k.a. Gregg Gillis) finished his new album "Feed the Animals" earlier this week and he put it up on the website for his label Illegal Art this morning, available for download for whatever price people want to pay.

If you pay more than $10, you get a copy of the CD when it's released in September, access to the album as a single, uninterrupted file (the way Gillis would want you to hear it) and high-quality MP3 versions. For more than $5, you get the single file and all the MP3s.

Now the buzz of hearing 300 different samples in a little over 50 minutes is a bit dizzying, but "Feed the Animals" is as much fun as Gillis' breakthrough "Night Ripper" and, if nothing else, a great party trick. Who can resist the mix between Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" and Nine Inch Nails' "March of the Pigs" on "Here's the Thing," which opens with Quad City DJs' "The Train" rapped over Chicago's "Saturday in the Park"?

PHOTO: Girl Talk's "Feed the Animals" on Illegal Art

The release of Rihanna 's repackaged "Good Girl Gone Bad" is apparently a serious deal, as Miss Umbrella takes a bow all over town.

She'll be signing CDs at Virgin Megastore in Times Square at 3 p.m. today (if you buy a copy of the new CD first) and online at 6 p.m. at www.defjam.com.

You can also catch her at Rockefeller Plaza for the "Today" show at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow. Then, she heads to CBS' "The Early Show" for a taping at 11:15 a.m. on the corner of 5th Ave. and 59th Street.

Considering how well the new single "Take a Bow" is doing, all this additional attention for the already hit-packed "Good Girl" album may land her another big sales week.

PHOTO: Rihanna for Def Jam

Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter III” sold more than 1 million copies last week, becoming the first album to cross that one-week sales threshold since 50 Cent’s “The Massacre” in 2005.
    Buoyed by the No. 1 single “Lollipop” and strong reviews, “Tha Carter III” sold more than the rest of the Top 10 albums combined and quadrupled Lil Wayne’s previous best showing the 238,000-sales week of “Tha Carter II” in 2005.
    Unlike the massive roll-out of Mariah Carey’s “E=MC2  earlier this year, Wayne’s “Tha Carter III” landed the biggest blockbuster opening with a minimum of hype, relying instead on airplay and support from his collaborators, including Kanye West, who blogged about the album, and Jay-Z, who leaked his version of Wayne’s “A Milli” last week.
    Rapper Plies debuted at No. 2, with his “Definition for Real” album, while the “Now 28  compilation slipped to No. 3. Last week's No. 1 Disturbed's "Indestructible" slid to No. 4 and Usher's "Here I Stand" dropped to No. 5.

PHOTO: Lil Wayne for Cash Money Records

It's been amusing to watch Coldplay grow into one of the most controversial bands around because there's really no reason for it. Seemingly inspired by equal parts Radiohead, U2 and soft-rock playlists, Chris Martin generally writes nice-rock anthems that sound good in big arenas and dentists' offices. What exactly is wrong with that?

Here's a look at some of their best work:

5. "Fix You" (Live at Live 8)

Though Coldplay's "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends" is a bit of a mixed bag, the roll out for it has been pretty much a perfect primer for the Music Industry 2.0.

They gave away the first single "Violet Hill" for a week on their website to generate free publicity and then announced free concerts in London and at Madison Square Garden to promote it further. Then, they saved the hotter single "Viva La Vida" for use in an iPod commercial, letting Apple (and its way deeper pockets for advertising) to drum up even more publicity for them.

The results so far have been huge. "Viva La Vida" is now the band's biggest American hit ever, poised at No. 2 to become their first No. 1 single here. And first-week sales of "Viva La Vida" in their United Kingdom base may be their biggest ever, though because of the release date, it will be split between two weeks on the chart. Nevertheless, in its first three days of sale in England, the album went platinum, selling 300,000 copies and selling more than the rest of the Top 5 albums combined.

(All those sales came with many leaks of the album available on the Internet and the band has made the entire album available on I Heart Music for days.)

It's been great news for EMI, which has been the major label that has been struggling most with the changing music industry landscape. Whether Coldplay's results are good enough to save the company remains to be seen, but they are certainly off to a good start.

Hear "Viva La Vida or Death and All is Friends" here 

PHOTO: Coldplay -- Will Champion, Guy Berryman, Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland -- by Stephan Craneanscki for Capitol Records.

In deference to last night's wild weather at Jones Beach, R.E.M. opened its show with Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" and its own "So. Central Rain." Michael Stipe said that they thought about doing the lovely "I'll Take the Rain," but "it's seven minutes long and kind of plodding." Aww. They really could have done an entire weather-themed, water-related set and been just fine. Should we talk about the weather? Aye, aye, aye.

Top 5 R.E.M. Water-Related Songs (a.k.a. Some Suggestions for Next Time):

5. "I'll Take the Rain" (Live at 99X)

    When R.E.M. took the stage in the waning moments of a Jones Beach lightning storm late Saturday night, it was a scientific fact: There was electricity in the air.
    “Welcome to R.E.M. Survivor 2008,” singer Michael Stipe said, as sheets of rain fell on the already-drenched crowd. The band ditched its regular opening, as Stipe broke into the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” followed by a stunning version of the R.E.M. classic “So. Central Rain” and it became instantly clear that this was going to be a show fans brag about for decades to come.
    Anticipation was already high for the show, its first area appearance since releasing its return-to-form album “Accelerate,” but the battle against the elements (and an hour-long rain, er, lightning delay) brought the best out of the band and the crowd. Once R.E.M. roared through “These Days” and Stipe pretended to be electrocuted when he grabbed the mic stand, everyone shifted into high gear.
    Despite the rain, the sound was excellent and Stipe was in fine voice the entire evening – so was bassist/backing vocalist Mike Mills, for that matter – even as they all negotiated puddles on the stage and tried not to fall down or get electrocuted for real.
    The fieriness of the “Accelerate” songs – especially the usual set-opener “Living Well Is The Best Revenge” and the snarling glam-rock gem “Man-Sized Wreath,” which Stipe dedicated to “the pathetic George Bush” – fueled inspired versions of the band’s classics. (The weather was apparently the inspiration for hauling “It’s the End of the World As We Know It” off its tour-long hiatus.) Guitarist Peter Buck is masterful with both swaggering rock anthems, including “What’s the Frequency Kenneth?” and “Orange Crush,” and meticulous ballads like “Losing My Religion” and the newly acoustic “Let Me In,” but he seems to be enjoying rocking out more these days.
     When The Smiths’ great Johnny Marr, now playing with opener Modest Mouse, took the stage next to Buck for a gorgeous version of “Fall on Me” and “Man on the Moon,” it was a thrill to see indie rock’s two most influential guitarists had only gotten better – something that could also be said for R.E.M. as a whole.

SETLIST: Have You Ever Seen the Rain? / So. Central Rain / These Days / Living Well Is The Best Revenge / What’s the Frequency Kenneth? / Man-Sized Wreath / 1,000,000 / Ignoreland / Hollow Man / Welcome to the Occupation / Houston / Electrolite / Horse to Water / The One I Love / Let Me In / Bad Day / Orange Crush / I’m Gonna DJ / “ENCORE”: Supernatural Superserious / Losing My Religion / It's the End of the World As We Know It / Fall on Me (w/Johnny Marr) / Man on the Moon (w/Marr)

PHOTO: Michael Stipe at Nikon at Jones Beach Theater by Michael Ach for Newsday. 

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Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" enjoys a fifth week at the top of the singles charts and should be a shoo-in for a sixth considering the massive sales week his new "Tha Carter III" album is currently having.

Wayne is set to take over the top spot on the albums chart next week, but the crown is currently held by rage-rockers Disturbed, who sold 252,000 copies of its "Indestructible" album. The 28th volume of "Now That's What I Call Music" comes in at No. 2 with 185,000 copies sold. Weezer debuts at No. 4 with 126,000 copies of "The Red Album" and "Revelation," the latest from Journey, with new lead singer Arnel Pineda, comes in at No. 5 with 105,000 copies sold only at Wal-Mart. Last week's No. 1, Usher's "Here I Stand" slipped to No. 3, after a sales drop of 67 percent to 145,000.

Ashanti's "The Declaration" landed at No. 6, with sales of 86,000, after a big push late last week.

On the singles chart, Coldplay, who are hoping to dethrone Lil Wayne on the albums charts in two weeks when their "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends" arrives in U.S. stores, climbs to No. 2 with "Viva La Vida," trading places with Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love," now at No. 3. Katy Perry's  "I Kissed a Girl" climbs to No. 4 swapping places with Rihanna's "Take a Bow," which slips to No. 5.

PHOTO: Lil Wayne for Cash Money Records 

Chrisette Michele is finally releasing the gorgeous "Love Is You" from her debut "I Am" and the pride of Patchogue has a new video to help it out. (Click on the pic for the video.) 

There's a push going on in certain circles of hip-hop to get Lil Wayne's great new album "Tha Carter III" over the  one million sales mark for its first week as a sign that hip-hop is still alive and kicking.

Kanye West is asking his fans to help Young Weezy out on his blog, even pointing out his favorite song is "Shoot Me Down." (And not "Comfortable" or "Let The Beat Build" which West worked on? Whoa!)

And now Jay-Z, who appears on Wayne's "Mr. Carter," takes a crack at rhyming over the irresistible beat of "A Milli" with a new freestyle that he has upgraded to "A Billi," with rhymes that outline the hopelessness of life in the hood ("Don't nobody love us / Shawn Carter, Sean Bell, what's the difference? Do tell / 50 shots or $50 mil, ain't no difference / Go to hell") and then how leaders like Barack Obama and Hova himself can help change it, adding, "I'm signing off as the hood's Barack."

"I know a million people already did this," Jay says to start "A Billi." Well, current estimates put sales of "Tha Carter III" between 850,000 and 950,000 -- with only a fraction of the hype that West and 50 Cent got last year, or even Mariah Carey's big opening this year. But a big weekend could push Weezy over the million mark.

Hear Jay-Z's "A Billi" here (R-rated language, consider yourselves warned)

Hear songs from Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III," including "A Milli" at I Heart Music 

Joan Jett and Gibson Guitar announced the launch of the Joan Jett Signature Melody Maker guitar line today, making Jett the first female artist to have her own Gibson signature model.

“This is my guitar -- Gibson was successfully able to replicate my custom velvet hammer pick ups which have not been available for 20 years," Jett said in a statement. "For those of you performing live, you may understand the value of being able to shave off those split seconds between playing and interacting with the audience, especially if you use your hands to communicate. I can move between the killswitch, which mutes the guitar, and playing, and then back again without a lot of in-between motion."

The model, based on the Melody Maker version the Long Beach rocker used on "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" and "Do You Wanna Touch Me," is also similar to the Les Pauls of the late '60s.

“Joan Jett is a true icon of rock and roll," said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar, in a statement. "Since the beginning she has been a groundbreaking artist and a trailblazer for women in the genre. Gibson is proud to be working with such an influential guitar player."

PHOTO: Joan Jett for Gibson 

What made Adele -- the latest promising one-named British import, following Duffy and Estelle -- so surprising at the Highline Ballroom wasn't her remarkable voice (though I guess in these days of pitch correction, the way she was able to recreate and, in some cases, improve on the vocals from the recorded versions on "19" is stunning in its own right). It was her charming personality and the delightful poise of a 20-year-old clearly still trying to figure out what is going on.

She gasped in shocked appreciation when the crowd began singing her single "Chasing Pavements" back to her. She revealed that she was wearing Spanx, that the pineapple juice wasn't helping her voice, and that she was more of a Miranda than a Carrie, even though she bought a pair of Manolo Blahniks that she intended to wear onstage and then kick off because, "I can't really walk on high heels."

It was her charm that made all the songs from "19" so much better live than on record, another example of why the music industry's ongoing shift from searching for video-friendly one-hit wonders to bonafide live acts who can tour may actually help it survive in the long run. Of course, Adele would've been signed regardless, a unique show-stopper who jazzily plucks pretty notes out of the air or bends them to fit the emotion she's trying to convey.

Adele apologized for the lack of uptempo songs on her "dramatic, melancholy" album, though the irresistible groove of the Mark Ronson-produced "Cold Shoulder" was strong enough to hold up the entire hour-long set, along with "Right as Rain" and "Tired." And when the ballads are as strong as "Daydreamer" or "Crazy for You," no one will complain anyway.

SETLIST: Right as Rain / Melt My Heart to Stone / Daydreamer / Dreaming of You / Cold Shoulder / First Love / Make You Feel My Love / Tired / Hometown Glory // ENCORE: Crazy for You / Fool That I Am / Chasing Pavements

PHOTO: adele.tv 

Diddy is still Diddy. He took to YouTube this week to squash the months-old rumor that he was going to start performing as Sean John because another artist is known as Diddy in England. He also took the opportunity to encourage people to register to vote without threatening "Vote or Die!," which was nice.

While The Academy Is... and a few journalists listened to "About a Girl" from the band's still-untitled forthcoming album, singer William Beckett raised his hands over his head during the future hit's impossibly catchy chorus, a sign that he's already thinking about performing the song for big, big crowds.

It's a good plan, since the handful of songs I heard last week at Fresh Kills studio in Greenwich Village shows the band embracing its poppier side and looking to make another quantum leap in their careers. "About a Girl" is a smash in the making, a straight-up power-pop gem with loud guitars and clever lyrical twists. Another song, possibly called "His Friday Girl," is nearly as infectious.

Beckett says the new album, currently slated for an Aug. 19 release on Fueled by Ramen, is "a celebration of youth" and filled with songs about enjoying life. The band plans to unveil a couple of new songs during its sets on the Warped Tour, which stops at the Nassau Coliseum parking lot on July 26. Hopefully, including "About a Girl."

They may even have a title for the album by then, which Beckett says is important "for a band whose last album was called 'Santi.'" Producer Sam Hollander joked that since the bulk of the album was recorded at the Manhattan studio where Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" and Madonna's "Like a Virgin" was done, they try "Born a Virgin," which struck a chord with the band, though maybe not as a title. It's probably more likely than "Santi