New Good Song: Your Body by Christina Aguilera

Here's a new good song -- "Your Body" by Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera is such a talented vocalist that the bar is very high for her output. The anticipation and expectations around her releases are further heightened by how infrequent her albums are, compared with her contemporaries. And even more attention is on her now that she's on "The Voice," which is apparently very popular.

Aguilera's better songs, in my opinion, have included "Genie In A Bottle," "Fighter," "Ain't No Other Man," "Hurt" and "Candyman." Less good have been "What A Girl Wants," "Can't Hold Us Down" and "Woohoo." Now she is back with "Your Body," a loud and energetic song about seduction that is not her best but is good and should inject some adrenaline back into her career. The surprising secret weapon here is the production, which seems particularly off-trend but intrigues the listener, particularly on repeated listens. In this sense, it's very much in a league with "Genie In A Bottle," somewhere in the gray area between gritty and glossy.

Also, isn't the cover art striking?

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Distance by Christina Perri f/ Jason Mraz

Here's a new good song -- "Distance" by Christina Perri f/ Jason Mraz

"Distance" is a sadder echo of another good Jason Mraz duet, "Lucky," featuring Colbie Callait. Mraz is doing quite well with his output in general, coming off the very nice "I Won't Give Up" earlier this year.

Perri's previous work hasn't exactly aligned with my tastes. She's clearly very talented, but "Jar Of Hearts" and "A Thousand Years" were over the top in vocal delivery and production while being underwhelming in their lyrical content. If as a singer you want to shoot for wringing out emotion, the bar is higher for lyrics. They need to be mature. Perhaps this a double standard. At 25, Perri is younger than, say, Carly Rae Jepsen, who is 26. But my expectations for Jepsen are different because she sings in a more juvenile way and is shooting for a younger target audience. The production of "Call Me Maybe" is poppy and cute, but it works with the delivery, the lyrics, and even Jepsen's clothes. Perri seems to want to be taken more "seriously," which is to say appreciated by adults, so when she's practically shouting at us about a metaphorical jar of hearts, some (i.e., women who are nurturing the wounds of a breakup) may cry, but others (like me) will roll their eyes. Perri co-wrote "Jar Of Hearts" and "A Thousand Years," so perhaps she is destined to be restrained by mediocre material as long as she insists on helping compose it.

These double standards for women go back a long way. Take Britney Spears than Christina Aguilera, who are basically the same age. Spears is cute and a nice performer, but seemed perpetually 13; her vocal delivery and production make it OK to sing about liking boys and being in clubs. Aguilera, on the other hand, has a huge voice and is wildly more talented, so the bar is higher for her output -- we want her to act like a woman, since she sings like one, and to sing songs that have some meaning and impact. I do not think Aguilera's body of work has risen to people's expectations, given her talent. Expectations for Spears, meanwhile, are low. We're just happy when she is not going insane before our eyes.

On "Distance," Perri seems to have elevated the content of the lyrics and relaxed a little with the production and delivery, and the result is emotional impact that to me was missing in her previous songs. She seems more comfortable here and, thus, mature. Mraz's harmonies are a nice addition. If Perri can channel her talent into work that seems more sincere, I think she can be the engine behind many future good songs.

Enjoy!