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Tag: Musiq Soulchild

  • The New Music Files 12/9/08: Common, Maroon 5 & More

    Common Universal Mind Control
    The rapper formerly known as Common Sense is used to being one of the most critically acclaimed emcees by the music press. That apparently has stopped with Universal Mind Control. The Chicago wordsmith’s eighth album has been panned by just about every publication I’ve laid my eyes on. Common has forgone his usual soulful, thoughtful raps for a more danceable, electronic style-apparently inspired by an experience at a club in Europe where he apparently got upset because none of his songs were being played. Hey, man…not all good music is danceable. The jury’s out on this, but I’m prepared to be disappointed.

    Maroon 5 Call & Response: The Remix Album
    The remix album is a phenomenon that’s kinda fallen by the wayside in recent years, and probably with good reason-anyone remember Limp Bizkit’s attempt at one? At any rate, Maroon 5’s album contains reworkings by the likes of DJ Premier, Jazzy Jeff and ?uestlove of The Roots, as well as some more club-conscious remixes by some of today’s hottest electronic producers. I’d trust Adam Levine and the boys to make my body rock a little more than Common does. Just sayin’.

    Brandy Human
    It’s Moesha, y’all!! The former teen idol is now pushing 30, and has a great deal of life experience behind her. She suffered the indignity of a lie she told the public about getting married blowing up in her face, and she was involved in a car accident a couple years back that killed a woman. So, we’re looking at a new, thoughtful Brandy. So if you’re one of those folks who was bopping to The Boy is Mine back in the day, you can welcome your girl home.

    Musiq Soulchild OnMyRadio
    I like Musiq Soulchild, despite the fact that he’s essentially made the exact same album four times in a row. I’m not expecting #5 to be any different, so I’m on the fence about getting this. The current single, “Ifyouleave” (cut it out already with the stupid song titles), features Mary J. Blige and is a pleasant enough song. Just not sure if it’s good enough to make me part with my eleven dollars.

    Avant     Avant
    The only thing notable about Avant is that he sounds like R. Kelly. Well, there’s also the fact that people seem to buy his records for some odd reason. This is, if I’m not mistaken, his fifth album. And apparently, there’s a duet with R. Kelly on it! Ha! I get it!

    As you can tell, this Tuesday is a heavily R&B and hip hop-centric release date, so it’s up to Thrice to represent for all the rock folks out there. Live at the House of Blues is a 3-CD set which should appeal to diehard fans of the band (whoever they are). In the “Where Are They Now?” department, the first solo effort from Ken Block, the lead singer of rootsy-rock band Sister Hazel, is hitting stores today as well.In the re-issue department, a couple of classic albums have been expanded and re-released: Jimi Hendrix‘s Electric Ladyland and Pavement‘s alt-rock classic Brighten the Corners. Finally, Motown #1s is a multi-CD box set that collects every single #1 record in the U.S. or the U.K. from the legendary label. So you not only get the best of The Supremes, Tempts and Tops, but you get Seventies Classics from Stevie and Marvin, some 80s flavor from DeBarge and Lionel Richie, and a little bit of Nineties courtesy of Boyz II Men. If you’ve got the scratch and a jones to hear these classic tunes (or know someone who does), this would make a very nice stocking stuffer!

    A full list of this week’s releases can be found here.

  • The New Music Files 11/11/08: David Archuleta, T-Pain and More!!!

    Sorry I missed y’all last week. Voting (and the subsequent 7 hours of watching CNN while fluctuating between cnn.com and yahoo.com) took up the entire of my Tuesday. However, Obama’s been elected (YAY!) and I can now devote my attention towards letting you know what’s in stores-’cause today’s kind of a doozy.

    David Archuleta David Archuleta: The only other instance of a 2nd place Idol finisher coming out before the champion that I can remember was Clay coming out (ooh, play on words) before Ruben…and you all know how that one went. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago how I’d finally been sucked into the gooey goodness of first single Crush, but that’s where I draw the line. However, your teenage niece or cousin is probably on line at the record store already to grab this one.

    T-Pain Thr33 Rings: I think I’ve made my disdain for T-Pain pretty clear. The man can’t sing, can barely rap, and brings coonery to an all-time new level. If, with that knowledge, you still want to buy his record, be my guest.

    Taylor Swift Fearless: Carrie who? Taylor Swift is country music’s current it girl, with tons of pop appeal (hey, she dated a Jonas!). This widely anticipated second album has already spawned the huge hit Love Story and will be one of the biggest successes of the fourth quarter.

    Seal Soul: Seal is starting to put out albums with the same frequency that he makes babies!! Coming just a year after his last release, Seal’s new album features covers of classic soul tunes. The first single is a version of Sam Cooke’s A Change is Gonna Come, which has me kind of worried, but Prayer for the Dying and Love’s Divine can make up for a million ill-advised covers.

    Musiq Soulchild On My Radio: Last year’s #1 Luvandmusiq did nothing for me. Why? Because it sounded like Musiq’s last three albums. For album #5, the R&B singer tried to switch it up with the T-Pain-esque single Radio, but after that met with a resounding thud at radio, he regrouped and came back with the safest bet possible-a Mary J. Blige duet. I own each of Musiq’s first four albums, but this might be the record where the Musiq officially stops for me.

    Elsewhere: Did you know that Tracy Chapman was still around? Me neither. The folky wonder celebrates the 20th anniversary of her still-classic debut with a new album tomorrow. The 29th installment of the Now That’s What I Call Music series also hits stores, as does the first album of R&B material from Deborah Cox (did you know that she was still around?) in six years. Offensive-rap outfit Jedi Mind Tricks have a new one hitting stores today, and there are also a couple of interesting curiosities: an Enya Christmas album, an album from Kevin Costner (I’m assuming this is The Bodyguard star and there aren’t two Kevin Costners floating around, and a new Vanilla Ice album-this one featuring him tackling some of the greatest hip-hop hits of all time. I might get this just to see what a complete and total trainwreck it is.

    On the greatest hits tip, alterna-rap faves Jurassic 5 re-release their first, independently distributed record with a bonus DVD, while several of New Order‘s classic albums get the deluxe double-disc treatment. On the anniversary tip, there is a 30th anniversary edition of Cheap Trick’s Live at the Budokan, while we’re also getting a 2-disc Smiths anthology. Christina Aguilera’s Target & iTunes-exclusive greatest hits disc gets released today, as do hits packages from Enrique Iglesias (!) and Hilary Duff (!!…and didn’t she just come out with a greatest hits album like two years ago?)

    Get your full list of new releases here.

    Happy shopping!!