It’s been a year since Carrie Underwood had a solo single on country radio, her last one being Mama’s Song, which peaked at #2 on the country charts.

Taking her time with the preparations for her upcoming album, set for a May 1st release date, Carrie Underwood has been building the momentum for both her lead single, Good Girl, and her album. The anticipation for the lead single has reached stratospheric proportions among country audiences, especially following an Amazon clip and a teaser that Carrie posted on YouTube.

And now Good Girl is here. Was the long wait for new Carrie music worth the wait? I guess you’ll have to read the remainder of this review to find out. Who am I kidding? Good Girl is way better than I thought Carrie’s lead single would be. Add to that my already very high expectations and the scenario becomes: this is a knockout blow delivered by Mrs. Underwood (or is it Underwood-Fisher now?).

The song opens with a killer guitar riff to a backdrop of drums and hand-clap percussion to which Carrie starts: “Hey good girl with your head in the clouds. I bet you I can tell you what you’re thinking about. You’ll see a good boy, gonna give you the world. But he’s gonna leave you crying with your heart in the dirt….” Then she takes it up a notch vocally to growl the rest of the first verse: “His lips are dropping honey. But he’ll sting you like a bee. So lock up all your lovin’, go and throw away the key. Hey good girl, get out when you can I know you think you got a good man…”

And then she starts signing the chorus, which has a very different melody, creating a hook in itself in the transition between verse and chorus: “Why, why you gotta be so blind? Won’t you open your eyes? It’s just a matter of time till you find he’s no good, girl. No good for you. You better to getting on your goodbye shoes and go, go, go. You better listen to me he’s low, low, low….” It doesn’t hurt that Carrie kills the rocking chorus vocally as well. Starting with heavy tempo, it turns to simply Carrie’s voice to a backdrop of drums as she sings “he’s no good, girl, no good for you.”

The tempo then picks up again for the second verse: “Hey good girl, you got a heart of gold. You want a white wedding and a hand you can hold just like you should girl, like every good girl does. Want a fairytale ending, somebody to love.” Then she takes it up a notch again for the second part of the verse – all with a killing line to end it: “But he’s really good at lying girl, yeah, he’ll leave you in the dust cause when he says forever, well, it don’t mean much. Hey good girl, so good for him, better back away honey, you don’t know where he’s been.”

Carrie then repeats the chorus before going into a pure rock bridge that will leave you absolutely stunned. “He’s no good, girl. Why can’t you see? He’ll take your heart and break it. Listen to me, yeah…“

The bridge starts with a shout and ends with a falsetto. Enough said, right? I was hoping for a bigger chorus, but this one delivers just right.

The song then ends with another version of the chorus which ends with Carrie singing “he’s no good girl, no good for you. You better get to getting on your goodbye shoes” acapella – nothing to back her up on it. And the song ends.

Perhaps the correct title for the song should have been “Damn Girl” because Carrie Underwood is back and she’s not messing around with anyone. From the second the song opens, you know this isn’t like anything Carrie has given her audience before. The fact that this is probably the best she has sounded on a recorded track only helps to elevate Good Girl from the hit that it is to a truly amazing song. It’s absolutely brilliant to see such vocal versatility with Underwood. She can literally sing the phonebook (or one of my medicine books) and get you absolutely interested in what she’s singing. Her vocal ability translates onto Good Girl and then some more. And on Good Girl, she sings with the song’s production, not on top of it.

The song is also different structurally from what Carrie Underwood’s fans are used to. There’s no three-verse storyline. There are no lyrics which can be considered sappy. It’s all in your face. Who would have thought a Carrie Underwood song would contain the line: “Better back away honey, you don’t know where he’s been?” No one. And yet it feels so natural to have such strong lyrics in Good Girl. Why? Because the song demands it. And Carrie delivers.

The country-rock sound is also a very welcome change for Underwood. This is also the most rocking she has been in a song before, with the song still having much needed country elements. Her detractors will shout “she’s not country” at her new offering. But who cares when you’ve got such a song on your table? You simply don’t. You welcome it and you listen to it with a smile on your face because it’s just that awesome.

Carrie Underwood is back, ladies and gentlemen. And she’s here to reclaim that #1 spot at the top of the charts like a good girl does.

10/10

You can get Good Girl on iTunes here.

Listen to Good Girl:

For my review, click here.

[Verse 1:]

Hey good girl

With your head in the clouds

I bet you I can tell you what you’re thinking about

You’ll see a good boy

Gonna give you the world

But he’s gonna leave you crying 

with your heart in the dirt

His lips are dropping honey 

But he’ll sting you like a bee

So lock up all your lovin’

Go and throw away the key

Hey good girl

get out while you can

I know you think you got a good man

[Chorus]

Why, why you gotta be so blind?

Won’t you open your eyes?

It’s just a matter of time till you find

He’s no good, girl

No good for you

You better get to getting on your goodbye shoes and go, go, go

you better listen to me he’s low, low, low

[Verse 2:]

Hey good girl

you got a heart of gold

You want a white wedding and a hand you can hold

Just like you should, girl,

like every good girl does

Want a fairytale ending, somebody to love

But he’s really good at lying girl,

Yeah, he’ll leave you in the dust

Cause when he says forever

Well it don’t mean much

Hey good girl

So good for him

better back away honey

you don’t know where he’s been

[Chorus]

Why, why you gotta be so blind?

Won’t you open your eyes?

It’s just a matter of time till you find

He’s no good, girl

No good for you

You better get to getting on your goodbye shoes and go, go, go

Yeah yeah yeah, he’s low

yeah yeah yeah

[Bridge]

he’s no good, girl

Why can’t you see?

He’ll take your heart and break it

Listen to me, yeah…

[Outro]

Why, why you gotta be so blind?

Won’t you open your eyes?

It’s just a matter of time till you find

he’s no good, he’s no good

won’t you open up your eyes?

It’s just a matter of time till you find

he’s no good, girl

he’s no good for you

you better get to getting on your goodbye shoes

In fact, J.K. Rowling left a note on that website saying: “Although I’ve enjoyed writing it just as much, my next novel will be much different from the Harry Potter series.”

I have no idea what the book might be about but I’m sure very excited for this.

Update: It looks like Little, Brown have won the rights for the book. Here’s a more extensive quote from Rowling regarding the book:

“Although I’ve enjoyed writing it every bit as much, my next book will be very different to the Harry Potter series, which has been published so brilliantly by Bloomsbury and my other publishers around the world. The freedom to explore new territory is a gift that Harry’s success has brought me, and with that new territory it seemed a logical progression to have a new publisher. I am delighted to have a second publishing home in Little, Brown, and a publishing team that will be a great partner in this new phase of my writing life.”

In case you don’t think anything is happening in Syria, this is for you, too.

“Be brave. Don’t give up. The history is on your side. Every dictator… every bad person out there throughout history has gone down in flames. They all go sooner or later – no matter how bad or evil they are. History advances, and the human race progresses. And that’s what’s happening now in Syria. I’m so proud of you” – Michael Moore.

I may not like Moore but his words resonate true – especially with all the atrocities happening in Syria. Award-winning journalist Marie Colvin was killed in Syria today. Anthony Shahid, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist of Lebanese origins, died a few days ago.

The Dior Ad I drove by all the time and never thought could cause drama

What do you know, just when I thought we’d get at least a few weeks off from the crazies, they’re back at it again. This time, however, the casualty is not a performer or a physical presence of someone who’s associated with Israel. They want a poster featuring Natalie Portman in her Dior ads to be taken down.

Why? Because she’s a known “Zionist.”

Cue the outrage.

What does her being a Zionist have to do with a poster of her promoting a cosmetics company? Are those cosmetics killing the children, women and men of Palestine? No. Is her picture causing their death as well? No.

According to this article, a Lebanese blogger said: “Since each contact or with an Israeli occupation in Lebanon is considered a crime, you do not think hanging a poster size of 15 meters with the Zionist Jerusalem is illegal?”

Simply, no. How in the name of everything that is Holy is hanging a poster of Natalie Portman contacting someone who is Israeli? How in the name of everything that is sacred does a billboard ad be considered as dealing with Israeli occupation?

Another blogger wrote: “Portman, who was born in Jerusalem and whose real last name is Hershlag, has spoken at length about her love for her home country and how she wants to move back there once there is peace.”

Many Jews believe it is their religious duty to return to their promise land, regardless of what we think of that or not. Her support for the state of Israel is simply a byproduct of her culture, just as there are millions of Americans, French, Italians, Arabs (yes, the do exist), British, German, etc… people who share her line of thought. You are entitled not to support her or her ideology, which is something I don’t do. But you calling for a removal of a poster featuring her is simply nonsensical, childish, useless and will reflect negatively on you, first and foremost, and on your country.

What do those calling for the billboard removal hope to achieve? Much needed publicity, maybe. Apart from that, there will be hundreds, even some who are as anti-Zionist as they go, who will laugh at their meaningless and ridiculous attempts of exposure.

You know what, next time BDS and the like want to take a stand, how about they stand for something useful with which they can actually get support, not against an actress whose movies are released in our movie theaters without hurdles and who was won an Oscar for a movie they have definitely seen, despite her being a “Zionist.”

Enough is enough when it comes to this silliness. But hey, at least Natalie Portman, unlike Lara Fabian, will probably not hear of this. I guess that’s a good sign, somehow.

Have a blessed lent everyone!

I did not take these pictures. I got them, after permission, from the Lebanon Weather Facebook page. I’ll try to go on a roadtrip around the Batroun area soon to take pictures. So stay tuned.

In the meantime, we present:

Zahle

Anjar

Assia, a village at 700 m of altitude in Batroun

The Chouf

The view from Hasroun, in the Bcharre Caza

Jezzine

Kawkaba, in South Lebanon

Knise Moutain in the Metn region

South Lebanon

Toula, in North Lebanon

West Bekaa

West Bekaa, again

And this is a picture my friend Firas took of the Cedar Mountains from his hometown in Koura:

The Cedar Mountains from afar

And people ask me why I’m “hating” on Zaitunay Bay when it’s getting all the attention and scenes like these are getting ignored. I guess that’s the way things are – you have money and power, you get noticed.

The Zaintunay Bay picture used by the NY Times

Yet another piece of Lebanon’s capital makes it to a highly acclaimed international publication. This time, Zaitunay Bay takes center stage with a feature in the coveted New York Times’ Travel section. You can read the full article here.

And if you thought previous articles by The Telegraph and New York Times and other publications about Beirut were not nauseating enough with use of words and adjectives that revolve around “Phoenix, resurrection, war-torn, etc….” this article is no different.

“It’s the phoenix of downtown Beirut coming back,” one of the owners of a restaurant in Zaitunay Bay says. Somehow almost 20 years after the end of the civil war, color me tired of using this terminology. If in 20 years Beirut isn’t back, then it might as well not plan a come back at all.

And somehow I don’t think Beirut has really returned if our pride and joy in the city when it comes to tourists extends from Gemmayze to Hamra. The “Phoenix” we are proud of has a golden beak, which is the aforementioned region. The rest of that Phoenix? I guess the best description would be: wings and body of concrete (and weak concrete at that).

My problem with Zaitunay Bay, and other similar projects around Beirut, is that they are not happening anywhere else. Having blogged before about how Beirut is not what Lebanon is all about, I feel the need to reiterate that point when articles such as this one arise. You see, of course Beirut will keep getting “resurrected” if all the capitol Lebanese and non-Lebanese investors put is in this city, in a very select area of it to be exact, while other places in Lebanon have to make their own luck, so to speak.

The fact that Zaitunay Bay is only an extension of Beirut’s DownTown is a testament to that.

In a way, I am prouder of places like Batroun that have surpassed years of Syrian presence and became one of the North’s major cities. I am proud of Jbeil, a city that is becoming a major tourist attraction solely based on what it has to naturally offer, not because of millions and millions of dollars being thrown in it.

But well, have I mentioned how gorgeous the Cedars are this time of year?

And if you think I’m being too harsh, the concrete marvels of Zaitunay Bay are absolutely breathtaking in this weather, don’t you think?

Insert 5 minutes of him making fun of the whole Mac/iPhone obsession – even down the the most minute detail, the box. You know you’ve kept your macbook’s box somewhere.

Regardless, iPhones and Mac are awesome! Want a demo? :p

Who needs meteorologists when you have Lebanese friends?

I think this will turn into a fiasco if it happens. Has any Israeli official ever appeared in an interview on a Lebanese TV Station before? I don’t think so.

I’m personally not against it happening. We need to be exposed to all sides of a story to formulate our own. However, I think MTV is risking a lot by going through with this and I can’t but see bring the station under attack. You gotta give it to them though, they have some guts to seek this out.

I guess I better start drafting a second “Spare Us the MTV Hate” post.

For a full list of what features OS X Mountain Lion is bringing, go to this link. Or you can check out the following:

This is OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion

This is notification center

The new Notes app

Game center integration... awesome, no?

This is reminders

Apple has also introduced a new feature called Gatekeeper helping users to specify from which sources apps may be installed on their computers. For a hands-on experience of Mac OS X Mountain Lion, you can check out Engadget or Macworld.

And as promised, Apple has unveiled a new messaging app for the Mac. This new app, called Messages, will replace iChat in function. It will allow unlimited messaging to any iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch running iOS 5.0 or higher. It will also integrate Facetime, whilst supporting normal chatting services such as Gmail, AOL, etc…

This is Messages

The good news? You won’t have to wait long to get Messages. A public beta is already available for you to download (click here). Messages requires OS X 10.7.3.

All in all, a great time to be a Mac user, isn’t it?