Gossip

The Gossip close Music for Men with a song called "Spare Me from the Mold," but Beth Ditto, Nathan Paine, and Hannah Billie could never be accused of conforming. They were still a relatively underground group when Standing in the Way of Control's passionate mix of punk, soul, and disco became their breakthrough – and they sounded so confident on it, it felt like the mainstream was coming to them rather than vice versa. They've got their own piece of the pop (and pop culture) mainstream now, and Music for Men feels aboveground in the best possible way. Befitting its major-label debut, this is the band's most polished music yet, a balance of Control's ferocity and the sleek remixes of the album's singles, but it's still not slick. Most of Music for Men finds The Gossip sticking to their roots and using their success to get their messages out to as many people as possible. These songs are just as empowering as their earlier work, though they're more subtly defiant.

One of the great decade-long singles runs is straightforwardly documented on Respect M.E., a compilation distributed throughout Europe and, unfortunately, not released in the States. From 1997 through 2006, Missy Elliott's work – often the product of a partnership with producer Timbaland – was in steady rotation on the radio and on video programs. Nearly every time out, she came up with something fun, inventive, out of this world, and lasting, charting alternate paths for pop music while also projecting the image of a fully empowered plus-size woman in a mainstream populated by females who tended to be anything but. Although each one of Elliott's albums is well worth owning, nothing can deny the need for this release, which includes almost every noteworthy track she released during the period, from "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" through the underappreciated "Teary Eyed." The most significant omissions are "Lick Shots" and "Take Away": hardly deal breakers. An ideal companion release would contain the hits Elliott wrote and/or produced for other artists, such as Aaliyah's "One in a Million," SWV's "Save Me," 702's "Where My Girls At," Nicole's "Make It Hot," Total's "What About Us," Monica's "So Gone," and Tweet's "Oops (Oh My)." During these years, there was no greater force in popular music.

New Orleans soul is a musical style derived from the soul music which has a large influence of the Gospel (music). New Orleans soul has ingredients of pop music and soul and is influenced by boogie-woogie style. The songs always are accompanied by a piano and a saxophone. Guitars are rare in this genre. It was popularized in the postwar era in the Crescent City.