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Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Victim of beating in Kent last week is declared dead at Akron hospital
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
Browns' roster nearly devoid of consistent players
College student mistaken for deer, shot to death
NFL star Chris Spielman's wife loses cancer battle
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
For your Saturday entertainment …
Akron Zips:
Hitchens leads Zips in second-half comeback
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Robiskie, Harrison inactive
Kent State Sports:
Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 47-13
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Four area football teams play tonight
All Da King's Men:
The Sunday Sanity Challenge
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (69) The Brookings Institute Study on "Bending the Curve" – Four General Strategies
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Published on Sunday, Apr 27, 2008
BITTERSWEET WORLD Ashlee Simpson
Geffen
Cast as the daring rock rebel in the Simpson family reality-show empire, Ashlee Simpson is hardly less plastic than her nice-girl sister, Jessica.
Her debacle of a Saturday Night Live appearance exposed her as a lip-syncher, and when she's not singing about her rocker-girl independence, she's working on Broadway. Lately, she and her fiance, Pete Wentz, of Fall Out Boy, have been teasing the tabloid media by refusing to confirm or deny pregnancy rumors.
But for Simpson as a pop contender, none of that matters. On her third album, Bittersweet World, the defiant pose — ''I just wanna color outside the lines,'' she pouts in Rule Breaker, sounding about as dangerous as an unruly kindergartner — gives her fertile songwriting territory.
Simpson is smart enough to work with expert hitmakers, among them the producers Chad Hugo from the Neptunes (his partner, Pharrell Williams, has been working with Madonna) and Timbaland (who squeezed Madonna and Simpson into his schedule). And she's shameless enough to mimic Gwen Stefani, Avril Lavigne, Madonna and 1980s hits from Toni Basil, Tom Tom Club and Missing Persons. The shamelessness pays off in songs with crisp beats, teen-seeking choruses and cheerfully obvious lyrics.
Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya) and Ragdoll, her collaborations with the electro up-and-comer Santogold, are perky, syncopated staccato complaints. No Time for Tears segues spooky Eurythmics verses into a pop-punk chorus.
Simpson ricochets from vampy self-esteem (Hot Stuff, Boys) to postbreakup sulking (Little Miss Obsessive) to generically sincere protestations that ''it's not easy bein' me.'' It couldn't be more calculated, but that doesn't prevent it from being catchy, too.
— Jon Pareles
New York Times
BITTERSWEET WORLD Ashlee Simpson
Geffen
Get the full article here.
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