Star Track?

Whole lotta shakin goin on.

So I am listening to this new Chris Brown disc right. And track three, Take You Down, comes on and I'm all "aight Chris I see you." It's a well put together track. And old school to a T. If you like your R&B sweetly harmonized and of singing male with over-sized jeans, no shirt, timbs, and a rain jacket circa the years 1992-1996, then this track is for you. Hell if you loved you some Al B. Sure at the height of his fame or own a well worn out copy of Don't Be Cruel, then this track is for you. Yeah, it's that good.

And then it ends.

And then track four begins, With You.

-ROLLS EYES AND SUCKS TEETH-

Look y'all, I love Irreplaceable as much as the next man, and I can see why any artist would want their own Irreplaceable in their artistic cannon. And yes, I am well aware of how good a raw, uninhibited and/or smooth, effervescent R&B vocal can sound over an acoustic guitar, but SHITGODDAMN Y'ALL.

[And here I was thinking this was a problem that only affected Ne-Yo.]

But seriously. StarGate must be stopped, or at least reprimanded and placed in the corner til they spice things up a little. How many of y'all [despite how much you may adore the track now]was stopped dead in your tracks that first time you heard Hate that I Love You following, Shut Up and Drive, thus breaking up the dancefloor monopoly that had reigned supreme to no one's chagrin until then on Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad? Huh? Just me?

Quit playin.

And then there's Rihanna's duet partner on the track, Ne-Yo, who probably presented said track as "your Irreplaceable." Look I ain't gon lie, Ne-Yo's Because of You is one of my favorite albums of the year. It's perfectly sequenced, masterfully executed, and escapes the current trend some current male R&B albums follow of being uninspired, with a decent ringtone or two, and a whole lotta space fillers.

And then you get to track 12. Go on girl. Is it a Scott Storch joint? How about a Darkchild production? Bad Boy? Nope. Nope. Nope. It's a StarGate production. So you know what that means? -Sigh- Acoustic guitars, a tired ass melody, and a yearning by you the listener to go back and revisit Beyonce's joint, even if you were sure that said track was all but retired to that part of your music collection best suited for karaoke, drunken social gatherings, and trips back down memory lane. [See Outkast's Hey Ya, Journey's Don't Stop Believin', and for some, Sir Mix-A-Lot's Baby Got Back]

But not for StarGate. Don't you ever for a second get to thinking the musical odds and ends that provide the foundation for B's hit is non-recyclable.

Check it out:

Chris Brown - With You



Rihanna feat Ne-Yo - Hate That I Love You



Ne-Yo - Go On Girl



And the beast that started it all:



Hmmm......