Good tunes now

Cyndi Lauper's new album, 'Bring Ya to the Brink' is great. It's uptempo dance, house, trance and New Wave. She actually worked with hot-up-to-the minute dance masters including Kleerup and Basement Jaxx. It's modern and fresh electro bounce, even if at times the brand of lite Euro house they use at aerobics, but it works. I like the track 'Lyfe,' which has that same vaguely R&B sound Lisa Stansfield used to do. And Lauper sounds great; over these modern and electro-bounce beats she sounds experienced but fresh. 54! Knock em dead mami...

(This is the kind of music you'd hear at Ibiza, the new hot spot of the moment in Ghent. Also, everyone's buzzing about Avanti, which opened about two months ago and recently hosted that "Sex and the City" paryy with Anna from Z104, but I haven't yet been. How is it?)

Al Green's album "Lay it Down" is good too. Like, really Instant vintage, for reals super good. He's got songs with Anthony Hamilton and Corinne Bailey Rae...you got horns and organs and the Dap-Kings and production from ?uestlove of The Roots. It's terrific! If you like classic soul and/or good Al Green (who doesn't) I'd definitely cop this right away. It would make a great gift for Father's Day...

I also have in my hands N.E.R.D.'s "Seeing Sounds." (Thanks to my super homie! Sorry if I looked a mess, I hadn't yet showered.) It's bold and adventurous, even for N.E.R.D. Out there, but very good, if a sort of emotional roller coaster: you're up and up with synths and drum and bass, then down with a traditional kind of rock n roll R&B track. And Shay is all over it! It's out next Tuesday; check later for a full review. Or read Rolling Stone's, above.

What are you listening to? Send me a good recommendation to Malcolm.Venable@pilotonline.com; I'll mail you the new autobiography  'The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash,' by the pioneering and hip hop DJ Grandmaster Flash, recently added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or Brad Paisley's last album "5th Gear," also very good.

*UPDATE

Also, tonight, N.E.R.D. is on Leno. And Esperanza Spalding, whose jazz album is really nifty, is on Letterman...

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