Nice to see that Lil Wayne invested some of his Tha Carter III profits into his live show. Wayne's concert Saturday night at Chicago's United Center was a pyrotechnical spectacle that owed more to Genesis' vintage, high-concept AV presentations than the typical low-budget, drive-by rap show. Ushered onstage by explosive...

Before he left the New York Times for the New Yorker, the great Kelefa Sanneh wrote a 2007 eulogy for the Song of the Summer, contending that media fragmentation has made it all but impossible for one single to reign over the season the way hits had done in eras past. "As entertainment options multiply, even mainstream pop is starting to look like a niche market," he wrote. Harsh words, coming fro...

Of course there are glaring exceptions, most notably The Black Eyed Peas utterly idiotic "Boom Boom Pow," which topped the Billboard Hot 100 this week, but the pop singles chart is a pretty vibrant place these days. Here are six charting songs that are making commercial radio a better place: T.I. ft Justin Timberlake — "Dead and Gone" (#6 on Billboard Hot 100) The fourth and aga...

Rapper/crooner T-Pain warned the audience that his performance at The Rave would be more than just a concert: It was going to be a full-out party, he said, as he shook his head-full of blond-dipped black dreads, which were heaped into a rear ponytail. T-Pain has mastered the art of creative live oration, marrying many songs to voluptuous choruses accompanied by acoustic guitar. Last Wednesday, when he delivered his 2005 debut single, “I’m Sprung,” about the euphoric feeling of falling in love . . .

Robo-voiced rapper/crooner T-Pain guested on so many singles last year that he gave Timbaland a run for his money. If you didn’t hear T-Pain on his 2007 hit “Buy U a Drank,” then you almost certainly heard him on R. Kelly’s “I’m a Flirt,” Chris Brown’s “Kiss Kiss” or Kanye West’s “Good Life.” T-Pain started 2008 equally . . .

Friday, April 11 The Hold Steady w/ The Dynamiters @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m. Considering the number of pejoratives leveled at The Hold Steady, it’s hard to believe that the group’s last release, 2006’s Boys ...