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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: New Music

  • First Spin 2/10/08: Lily Allen, india.arie and More!!

    lilyThe slow trickle of new music releases has sped up slightly, with a handful of big name releases scheduled to hit stores (and your local online retailer) right before Valentine’s Day. Here’s what you’ll find in the new release bins this week:

    Lily Allen “It’s Not Me, It’s You”– Lost in the hubbub about Amy Winehouse was the fact that fellow sassy Brit Lily Allen sold half a million copies of her debut album “Alright, Still”. After some tabloid misadventures (including a public miscarriage), Allen returns with a slightly more sober but still cheeky sound on album #2. With Adele, Estelle and Duffy making a solid showing at this year’s Grammy Awards, it would seem that the ladies from across the pond are making more intriguing music than their American counterparts.

    india.arie “Testimony Vol 2: Love & Politics”– The first volume of the neo-soul singer’s “Testimony” series debuted at #1 on the album charts two years back. For the follow-up, arie continues her folksy brand of soul, with a guest appearance by one-time rumored love interest Musiq Soulchild on the first single “Chocolate High”.

    Beastie Boys “Paul’s Boutique 20th Anniversary”– The album that turned Mike D., Ad-Rock and MCA from jokes into serious musicians is now 20 years old. Like I need another excuse to feel old. The reissued version of this classic album now has improved sound (thank GOD!) and includes a pullout poster. For true heads, this special edition is also being made available on vinyl, making it all the more easy to scratch and cut this hip-hop essential, which was one of the first to make a case for sampling as a legitimate art form.

    The Lonely Island “Incredibad”– The first musical spinoff from “Saturday Night Live” in many years, the Lonely Island’s focal point is Andy Samberg, and yes, many of Samberg’s famous digital shorts are here. This set includes “Iran So Far Away” with Adam Levine, “Dick in a Box” with Justin Timberlake, a guest shot from T-Pain (if you look like that, I guess you HAVE to have a sense of humor), and, of course…”Jizz in My Pants”.

    Fleet Foxes “Fleet Foxes”/Ben Folds “Way to Normal: Sticks & Seeds”– The indie darlings and the smartass piano man both get the expanded edition treatment this week, with their 2008 efforts stuffed with even more tracks, pissing off all of the people who may have bought one or both of these albums originally. Sigh.

    Also in stores this week: the third album by anonymous R&B singer Bobby Valentino, the sophomore set by Christian metal-lers Red, a solo album by Black Keys’ guitarist Dan Auerbach, and in the “He’s Still Around?” section of your record store, a new album by Warren G. Methinks Warren would be much better served giving his big bro a call and telling him to release “Detox” already.

    Get yer entire list of new releases here.

  • The New Music Files 1/27/09: The Boss is Back

    bruceWelcome to the first “big-name” release date of 2009. There’s something for everyone this week, whether you’re an indie snob, a meat and potatoes rock ‘n roller, or a nostalgic hip-hopper. Here’s a quick taste of what’s new and interesting.

    Bruce Springsteen Working on a Dream: There was apparently a wealth of good material that didn’t make the cut on Bruce’s last album, 2007’s Magic, so he and the E Street Band have cobbled the rest of those moments up, polished them a little, and voila. Working on a Dream is here. With Bruce’s usual intense character studies, anthemic rockers and political message, The Boss’s legion of followers is sure to be satiated.

    Franz Ferdinand Tonight!…Franz Ferdinand: The Scottish foursome scored a huge smash with “Take Me Out” a few years back, but their follow-up didn’t fare as well. Album #3 promises more of the dance/rock sound that brought the band fame, with a little bit more emphasis on the “dance” side of the equation. This could be the sleeper of this week’s releases.

    The Bird & The Bee Ray Guns are Just Not the Future: I discovered this mellow duo via their ethereal cover of The Bee Gees’ “How Deep is Your Love”, and picked up their self-titled debut as well as Please Clap Your Hands, the EP that contained said cover. Album #2 should blow them up, hopefully to the status of kindred spirits like Feist. Someone hook these folks up with an iPod commercial, stat.

    Hoobastank For(n)ever: Crappy title, generic band, quite probably the end of their career, unless lightning strikes again and the band comes up with another “The Reason”-type hit.

    Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes Eye Legacy: Why a Left Eye solo album is being released seven years after her death is totally beyond me, especially considering her solo debut (which was released overseas but canned by her label here in the States) was widely available as an import (hell, I own it…). Even more galling is the fact that this album contains plugged-in guest verses from the likes of Missy Elliott, Chamillionaire and Bobby Valentino. This is one I’d definitely say stay away from, or at least tread carefully.

    Elsewhere, Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante releases his latest solo album, The Empyrean, which features a guest shot by bandmate Flea. James Ingram tries his hand with gospel on Stand (In the Light), a collection of spiritual songs. Jayhawks frontmen Mark Olson & Gary Louris team up for Ready for the Flood, while my man Duncan Sheik continues his exploration of theater with Whisper House. And for those of you who are up for hearing Steve Martin play and sing, you might wanna check out The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo, which is sure to be more exciting than “The Pink Panther 2”.

    On the reissue/compilation tip: Grammy Nominees 2009 arrives in stores just a little under 2 weeks before the big show, and Motown celebrates Valentine’s Day with Love Songs collections from The Commodores, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight and the Pips and The Jackson 5. Speaking of the J5, the albums Destiny and Triumph are being remastered (finally!) and re-released, from their later days as The Jacksons. Six Alan Parsons albums also get the remaster/reissue treatment, while Kylie Minogue and Rihanna both come out with remix albums. Finally, in the “we never asked for this” column, there’s a 20th Anniversary Special Edition of…Tone Loc‘s Loc-ed After Dark, for those of you (all five of you) who care to delve beyond Wild Thing and Funky Cold Medina.

    Happy shopping, folks. Get your complete list of this week’s releases here.

  • The New Music Revue 1/20/09: Mix & Match

    mariahWelcome to the first new release Tuesday of 2009. While most of the country will be fixated on something FAR more important, there’s no reason you can’t duck out of the inaugural festivities to pop into your local pre-recorded music emporium to check out the new releases. Here’s what’s happenin’:

    It’s a good week to be indie and somewhat androgynous, as today brings us new releases from Antony & the Johnsons and Andrew Bird. Jam band lovers will get down to Umphrey’s McGee‘s Mantis, while some of the same indie folks who’ll pick up the Bird and Antony releases will wanna dig in to Animal Collective‘s Merriweather Post Pavilion. Jazz vocalist Jane Monheit graces us with a covers album called The Lovers, The Dreamers & Me (also known as the same title R&B singer Alice Smith gave her album three or so years ago), and AmIdol fanatics will rejoice (or throw up in their mouths) because Sanjaya Malakar makes his debut with an EP only available through amazon.com called Dancing to the Music in My Head.

    With Valentine’s Day approaching, the love songs compilations are going to start arriving fast and furious. Sony Music is unleashing a new ballads-themed series called From the Heart, and the first set of releases in this series come from a wide range of artists including Air Supply, Billie Holiday and Miles Davis. Speaking of Miles, a deluxe reissue of Kind of Blue hits stores today, as does a double-disc love songs set from Frank Sinatra. Thom Yorke‘s The Eraser gets the album-length remix treatment today, and finally, Mariah Carey gets her own ballads collection, featuring many of her best known hits-and no rapper cameos!!

    Happy shopping & Happy inauguration day!!

    Oh, get yer full list of new releases here.