Piddycombs (my new, all-purpose name for Sean “Puffy” P. Diddy Daddy Combs) has transferred from Atlantic to Interscope Records, and he’s taken his Bad Boy brand with him. One tiny problem, though…he wasn’t allowed to take any of his Bad Boy ARTISTS with him. Day26, Janelle Monae and Cassie all remain with Atlantic. I find this a little weird…not that Bad Boy was anything but a shell of what it was in it’s heyday, when not only was Combs more viable as an artist (it’s really hard for me to type that without quotation marks), but he had B.I.G., Faith, 112 and Ma$e. It’s doubtful that Combs can rebuild his empire (he’s been trying that for the last decade or so), so my gut feeling is that Bad Boy will now exist purely as a vanity label. Combs’ new album, “Last Train to Paris”, is scheduled for a March 2010 release. Interestingly enough, Interscope is the original home of Death Row Records, once helmed by Combs’ nemesis, Suge Knight.
Ever heard of Broken Bells? Well, if you haven’t heard of the band itself, you’ve certainly heard of the members. Broken Bells consists of super-producer and 1/2 of Gnarls Barkley Danger Mouse, joining forces with James Mercer, the lead singer of The Shins. According to various reports, the music these two have cooked up sounds NOTHING like either Danger Mouse or The Shins’ previous work, which I guess could be a good or bad thing. As one of the folks who got swept up in the awesomeness of The Shins via “Garden State” and also as a huge fan of Danger Mouse’s work as a musician and a producer, I’ve gotta say that I’m very much looking forward to this release…which unfortunately won’t arrive until next year.
“American Idol” fans…Adam Lambert’s new album doesn’t come out until the end of November, but his debut has already garnered the #2 spot on Amazon.com’s music chart, by virtue of preorders. The only album that ranks above it is the new Barbra Streisand. The weird thing is, a pre-order hasn’t even been ANNOUNCED for Lambert’s album yet. It achieved its’ ranking strictly by virtue of word of mouth. This could mean two things: either Lambert’s album is gonna be a HUGE hit (it will certainly outsell, if not be WAY more interesting than Kris Allen’s) or he has one of the most rabid fanbases in “Idol” history…and that’s saying a LOT.
