One of the most defining things Bonnie Raitt ever said, for me, was on The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder back in 1999, when she said that what made her get into making music was noticing the difference between Little Richard and Pat Boone’s versions of ‘Tutti Frutti’. She said “It’s just got that thang,” referring of course to the former. Bonnie Raitt’s got that thang in spades.

It’s been seven years since her last release, and in that time she’s been through more than enough to pen a few songs about. She’s lost both of her parents, her brother, and one of her best friends. Slipstream has its moments of tender reflection, and even regret, but she’s not dwelling on it. For the most part it’s an album of bluesy and upbeat jam sessions.

The opener, ‘Used to Rule the World’, is a tried and true funk tune which represents one side of Slipstream’s tumbling coin. It’s about a fraternity of has-beens, and the feeling of obsoletism which comes with aging, in as positive a light as that might be cast. As an introduction it seems a sort of strange statement, but it’s more a celebration of the good old days than anything mournful.

‘Right Down the Line’ adds a reggae groove, which works well among the jams which make up a dominant half of the record. These tracks may be a little too predictable, but then, people aren’t buying Bonnie Raitt albums for forward-looking musical experimentation. She sings and plays with soul, she means it, and she loves it.

Most of these songs follow predefined musical templates, almost as familiar as the direct covers, of which there are several. The blues songs sound like every blues song ever written, and the same is true for her funk, reggae, and bluegrass. It’s a straight-up jam session. These tracks have a real soul and a blues backbone, and an attitude which comes easily for Bonnie Raitt.

The softer moments are probably the most successful. ‘You Can’t Fail Me Now’ is sung wonderfully, exploring love and loss, and deep loyalty. It’s easy for most listeners to tell the difference between true emotion and emotional songs that are designed to pander to them. This is the first time on the record that Slipstream truly achieves the former, though not the last. ‘Take My Love With You’ fits that description, and it’s a contest between the two for the best track.

There is not a lot of obvious political or social commentary here, which has always been very important to Bonnie. There are very personal songs, and then there are the celebratory, fun tunes to offset them, and not much else. It seems likely that she wanted that to be very evident.

Slipstream is a focused record, in spite of its having two very different stories to tell. They really do compliment each other as opposites, not allowing the album to be either too depressing or too indulgent. It has its elevator music moments, but that seems appropriate, too. She wanted to give you a collection of simple, effective songs, and that’s exactly what you’re getting here. Slipstream is fun, it’s pretty, and it is quintessentially Bonnie Raitt.

From the introduction of the title track–beginning with a simple piano melody and polite applause, and building quickly into a raucous space cabaret channelling Queen–it’s absolutely clear that Some Nights is not going to be an album that will hold anything back. When the song proper begins it surprises again, with tribal rhythms and gospel style vocals, peppered with about 50 other genres in fleeting glimpses. Even a little autotune. Absolutely anything to build its theatrical, overpowering effect.

fun. were inspired by Kanye West to be liberated of any desire to hold back, and made a conscious decision to unleash each song and to let them be as big and as grand as they possibly can be. The album is very heavily infused with elements of hiphop, and makes at least some use of absolutely every other style and instrument known to man.

The songs can seem to be very disjointed, and while a case can be made for ADD here, if not musical bipolarity, they do hold together cohesively, while I initially feared they had presented something of a cacophony. It’s as if each song has an introduction before a curtain lifts and they are set loose at full throttle. It’s a formula which becomes a bit too predictable, but there is not much out there along a similar vein to match this sound. It’s good on a per-song basis, and pretty good as an album.

‘We Are Young’ is about the perfect anthem for the drive to meet with a friend after work on a Friday night for a 30-something, and the sentiment here comes across as being fairly genuine, nearly (though not quite) escaping the layers of cheese probably inherent to this sort of lyrical pandering. The track has certainly been heavily exposed through TV soundtracks and car commercials, but it hasn’t lost its effect, and for that it is likely an underrated song rather than an overrated one.

‘It Gets Better’ is exemplary of a 90s pop-alternative song structure, with 80s drums and flashes of things from decades we may not have reached just yet, or decided to skip over. ‘All Alone’ brings harpsichord into hiphop with good effect.

It’s nothing short of amazing how many styles of music are thrown into each track, and it is definitely surprising that it doesn’t fall apart. They seem to take their favorite things from any given genre of music and just smash them together regardless of any potential compatibility issues, and by and large it works, partly because so much is going on that this becomes the effect, rather than there being a lot of competing effects.

It’s a somewhat short album at just under 46 minutes, and it feels like it’s over quickly because of its pace. Probably a good thing, as you do get a full serving of all the variety fun. has to offer with this release, and if it gave you the chance to get sick of it the results might be a little grating.

Some Nights is a very upbeat and theatrical record, and shouldn’t be mistaken as aspiring to be anything more than that. The band does visit some fairly serious topics, but never takes them very seriously, refusing to wallow or present any kind of negativity. This album could be a manifesto for a way of life, and while it’s a little shallow, it’s definitely fun.

The album opens with Justin Townes Earle wearing his heart not just on his sleeve, but holding it in an outstretched hand. He begins ‘Am I That Lonely Tonight’ by setting the scene of sitting alone and listening to the music of his father, Steve Earle, wishing for the phone to ring.

It’s a very introspective album, delving into issues of broken relationships with his parents and the women he has loved, and the struggles he has developed on his own. He never hesitates to go there, he’s never vague, and he never stops short.

Justin Townes Earle has a fantastic, powerful voice for this kind of music, and it really shows in the more rock n’ roll moments, such as on ‘Baby’s Got a Bad Idea’, when he pushes his rasp out to the forefront. It’s more subtle, but equally effective in the coolly reflective songs which dominate this album, keeping them from being too pretty.

Nothing’s Gonna Change… is primarily a folk record, but delves into classic rock, bluegrass and jazz, without having to travel very far at all. You can hear the music of his father in these songs, and the maturity of a songwriter who, at just 30 years of age, has visited with a lot of pain.

He has a somewhat cold way of looking at past love and relationships. “Things change, babe, such as my feelings for you,” he sings very matter-of-factly on the title track. On ‘Won’t Be The Last Time’ he confesses, “I took just what I wanted from that pretty little thing.” He seems simultaneously detached from and hungup on these feelings, and this sort of internal conflict lends itself very well to his strong and artful lyrics.

The songs are all very short, mostly around 2 minutes and 30 seconds long, harkening back to the early days of popular music when 5 minute songs were sprawling epics. Some tracks on Nothing’s Gonna Change… feel like they end too soon, though they are not necessarily incomplete; rather, they tend to be over just when you’re really starting to get into them. The entire album runs only about 32 minutes.

Many of the songs lack any real hook, perhaps as a result of their brevity, or maybe that’s the reason for it. Maybe it isn’t strictly needed for this sort of crooning. 50s and 60s rock tunes were great because they packed a strong punch into a very tight package, but this album is sometimes a little plodding and musically uninteresting. At times it can sound like a jam session with a bottle of bourbon, but maybe that’s the point, and there is a subtle depth and richness to the way the songs are crafted.

‘Memphis In The Rain’ presents perhaps the most complete, effective, and quite catchy song of the lot, complete with a bridge and a second act to sate the listener. It’s still only 2:28, but in that time it does everything I find myself wishing some of the others would. ‘Unfortunately Anna’ builds to its conclusion without need for a verse-chorus-verse structure.

These are songs of a very personal nature, and it makes sense for them not to be overly produced, or to try to be anything more than what they are. Justin Townes Earle very obviously has a natural gift with music, to be able to pull out the sounds he needs at any given moment and help create the perfect image to go with his poetry. It can be gutting, but it’s also beautiful, and always honest.

Things are really beginning to heat up for the current season of “American Idol.” With the elimination of contestant Hollie Cavanagh last night, there are only three contestants left vying for the coveted title of American Idol.

Though she was competing on the 11^th season “American Idol,” Cavanagh is originally from Liverpool, England. However, the 18-year-old currently lives in McKinney, Texas. She also tried out for the 10^th season of the show, and made it to the Las Vegas round, though she was eliminated before making it into the Top 25.

After her elimination, Cavanagh stood showing little emotion as video clips of her time on the show played. She later said she had a feeling she would be voted off of the show yesterday.

“I had a gut feeling when I woke up this morning,” she told the Hollywood Reporter backstage after her elimination. “I was looking at everyone like are they treating me different? Who’s talking weird?”

She went on to say “That’s why I wasn’t so emotional today. I was emotionally preparing myself for this.”

After her elimination, she performed her last song, which was Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb.” The song was fitting not only because Cavanagh has called it one of her favorite songs, but also because it was the song she originally auditioned with during season 10.

Before Cavanagh was eliminated, the show featured a performance by Jennifer Lopez of her latest single, “Dance Again.” She was joined during the performance by her boyfriend Casper Smart. Appropriately for the song title, the two danced together closely throughout the number, and afterward Lopez thanked everyone at “American Idol” and remarked that the 25-year-old Smart “is so cute.”

The episode also featured an appearance by season seven winner David Cook. Cook performed his latest single, “The Last Song I’ll Write For You.”

Barbra Streisand has announced that she will make perform in Brooklyn this October for the first time since she was in high school in the borough. The performance will be held at the new Barclays Center, a 19,000 seat sports and entertainment center, and will be Streisand’s first major concert since her European tour in 2007.

The concert will take place October 11, and is being billed as the “Back to Brooklyn” show. Streisand was raised in the Flatbush neighborhood and attended Erasmus Hall High School. In a press release about the event, she spoke of the importance of performing a concert in her hometown.

“Brooklyn to me means the Loew’s Kings, Erasmus, the Yeshiva I went to, the Dodgers, Prospect Park, great Chinese food,” she said in the statement. “I’m so glad I came from Brooklyn – it’s down to earth. I guess you CAN come home again.”

Bruce Ratner, the developer of the Barclays Center, also spoke about the event in a statement.

“When I first thought about building an arena in Brooklyn, I always envisioned Barbra Streisand coming home to take center-stage in her native borough,” Ratner said. “It’s humbling and almost surreal to welcome arguably the greatest entertainer of all-time to Barclays Center. Barbra is Brooklyn and there’s nowhere more fitting for her to perform. This will be a night to remember.”

The Barclays Arena will be a part of the Atlantic Yards housing and entertainment complex in the city. It is located at the juncture of four of Brooklyn’s rising neighborhoods, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Fort Greene and Boerum Hill. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz also spoke of the importance of the events.

“I’m thrilled that all of America will be celebrating one of Brooklyn’s greatest contributions to the world of music, film, television and Broadway this fall when Barbra Streisand comes home to the exciting new Barclays Center,” Markowitz said.

Norah Jones latest album, Little Broken Hearts, was released last week, and it landed at number two on the Billboard 200 albums chart in its debut week. To celebrate, Jones has added dates to her already extensive U.S. touring plans later this year.

The new dates will begin October 7, when Jones brings performs at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. The newly announced dates will run nearly to the end of October, and the last date will be at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre in New Orleans on October 23. Other new cities on the tour include Milwaukee, Chicago, Des Moines, St. Louis, Houston and Dallas.

Jones will be performing a handful of European dates at the end of this month and in the beginning of June, and will kick off the American tour on June 20 in Indianapolis. The previously scheduled dates ran through August 23.

Little Broken Hearts was produced by Danger Mouse, also known as Brian Burton. The two were inspired to work together when Jones provided vocals on a collaboration between Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi called Rome, which was inspired by the music of spaghetti westerns.

The album is Jones’ first official studio album since 2009’s The Fall, though the popular artist hasn’t been lazy since that time. In 2010 she released …Featuring, a collection of duets she had previously recorded with other artists. Additionally, her country music side project, the Little Willies, released their sophomore album For the Good Times earlier this year.

And, surprisingly, this year also marks a decade since Jones first burst onto the scene with her debut album, Come Away With Me. Sales of the album were spurred mainly by the hit single “Don’t Know Why,” and the album eventually went on to sell more than 10 million copies. It also was awarded eight Grammy Awards, including Album of the year.

Blink 182 has been forced to cancel six dates of their current reunion tour due to a medical emergency involving drummer Travis Barker.

Barker was forced to undergo an emergency tonsillectomy, and the band has announced that the remaining tour dates in May have been cancelled.

“The members of Blink-182 have announced today the cancelation of all their May 2012 tour dates due to a medical emergency,” read a statement on the group’s official website. “Blink-182’s drummer, Travis Barker, required an urgent tonsillectomy with a recovery period expected to extend beyond the scheduled tour dates. The band apologizes for any inconvenience as a result of these cancelations and thanks their fans for their ongoing support.”

The dates, which were scheduled to take place in Rochester, N.Y.; Manchester, N.H.; Uncasville, Conn.; Asbury Park, N.J.; Bethlehem, Penn. and Quebec City, Quebec, will not be rescheduled. The band’s website says refunds for the performances will be available at the point of purchase except for the Asbury Park date, which is part of the Bamboozle Festival. My Chemical Romance will headline the event in place of Blink 182.

The promoter of that festival issued a statement about the band’s absence.

“Blink 182 will be greatly missed, and all of us here wish Travis a speedy recovery,” read the statement. Other acts scheduled for the festival include Foo Fighters, Skrillex, Gaslight Anthem and Bon Jovi.

The current tour is celebrating Blink 182’s 20^th anniversary as a band, and is scheduled to run through July 21. There has been no indication that any other scheduled performances will be cancelled or postponed.

The tour is also supporting the band’s most recent album, Neighborhoods, which was released last September. The album is the group’s sixth studio album, and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

Tony Bennett and Jane’s Addiction represent the diversity of this year’s lineup as headliners at Seattle’s Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival.

The three-day festival will take place at the Seattle Center over Labor Day Weekend, September 1-3. The lineup for the festival is as extensive as it is eclectic, and includes a lengthy list of notable names including Skrillex, M83, Passion Pit, M. Ward, Big Sean, Yelawolf, Mudhoney, Wanda Jackson, The Jayhawks and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.

Bumbershoot has been held every year since 1971, and is now one of the biggest and well known festivals in North America. In addition to the music artist, the festival features a host of other arts activities, including comedy, dance, spoken word and visual arts. The Seattle Center is a 74-acre venue in the heart of Seattle that was originally built for the 1962 World’s Fair.

One price gains access to all aspects of the festival, and the music is held inside the Seattle Center as well as on specially prepared outdoor stages. For festival attendees, there will be a variety of food, merchandise and art vendors featured at the festival.

And what about that name of the festival? It has a simple definition: it’s an umbrella. But the festival’s website explains a little more about while it was chosen as the festival’s name:

The word bumbershoot first appeared in the U.S. around 1915-1920. It is thought to be an alteration of the umber- part of umbrella plus a respelling of –chute (as in parachute). Bumbershoot was chosen as the Festival’s name as a metaphor for the Festival being an umbrella for all of the various arts and performers it encompasses.

Bumbershoot typically welcomes more than 100,000 to the downtown Seattle area every Labor Day Weekend. The Seattle Center is located at 305 Harrison Street.

The votes have been tallied and the results have been broadcast, and the winner of the current season of “The Voice” is Jermaine Paul.

In the season finale last night, it was announced that Paul, a 33-year-old former backup singer for Alicia Keys, had one $100,000 in addition to a recording contract with Universal Republic Records. As the host of the show, Carson Daly, said, he is “no longer a backup singer.” Daly also revealed that Paul beat the second place contestant, Juliet Simms, by less than four percentage points.

Paul was a member of Blake Shelton’s Team Shelton throughout the season, and hugged the country singer as he was named the winner. He then ended the show by singing a rendition of R. Kelly’s hit “I Believe I Can Fly.” During the performance, he was backed by a full choir, echoing the church choirs where he began singing as a child in upstate New York.

Paul sang the same song the previous night as part of his final performance night. Tuesday’s results show was a star-studded event that included appearances by Lady Antebellum, Flo Rida, Hall and Oats, and Justin Bieber. The latter star sang “Boyfriend,” the latest single from his upcoming album, Believe. Last night’s show also welcomed back past contestants that had previously been voted off the show to join in the festivities.

The finale of “The Voice” also had good news for its network, NBC, as it posted a significant ratings jump over the show’s season finale last year. Ratings were up about 16 percent over last year’s numbers. The show has been threatening Fox’s singing reality show “American Idol,” but even with the ratings jump has yet to surpass that show. However, “The Voice” did have the highest ratings of any other show that aired last night.

Taking example from the famous 1970s Festival Express Tour, the newly announced Full Flex Express will take artists on a tour across Canada via rail. Skrillex and Diplo are two of the artists that will perform all around the country.

The train the artists ride on will take them to six cities from July 13 to July 22. The first show will be held at Fort York in Toronto, and the last stop on the trek will be at the PNE Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia. The train also will pull into Ottawa, Ontario; Montreal, Quebec; Winnipeg, Manitoba and Edmonton, Alberta.

In addition to Skrillex and Diplo, the tour also will include Grimes, Pretty Lights, KOAN Sound and Tokimonsta. The Festival Express tour also took artists around Canada on a train, and was recently honored with a tour documentary. Artists that participated in that tour included Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and the Band.

Skrillex and Diplo are familiar with working together on short tours. The two were featured earlier this year in Holy Ship!, a three-day cruise event that included a stop on a private island in the Bahamas.

The Full Flex Express tour’s official website says that the tour is part of Skrillex’s aim to completely reimagine the idea of touring. The website also says that as an “assertion of the camaraderie and like-mindedness of the performers, the tour is less about practicality than it is simply enjoying the ride. Skrillex also adds his own comments.

“We were really inspired when Mumford and Sons and Edward Sharp and those guys did a train tour,” he said in a statement. “We wanted to do it as well and share this music with people across Canada. Just to do it and have fun.”

The tour will travel on a private passenger train and each stop will feature multiple stages.