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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: New Music

  • New Music In Stores & Online: 7/15/08: The Hold Steady, Nas, Mellencamp and More!!!

    No need for fancy introductions today, here’s this week’s Top 5 picks:

    The Hold Steady- “Stay Positive”: Craig Finn looks like an investment banker, but his band The Hold Steady have taken their Springsteen-esque brand of anthemic, lyrical rock and become one of the best-loved American rock bands around. Following up 2006’s critically acclaimed “Boys & Girls in America”, “Stay Positive” looks to be the album where the sales catch up with the street cred.

    http://www.theholdsteady.com/

    Nas “Untitled”: I’m not one for publicity stunts, and the whole gambit behind this album leaves me a little leery about what the music actually sounds like. For those who need catching up, the new album from Queens rapper Nas was originally entitled “Nigger”, and a whole bunch of (very likely manufactured) hoopla resulted. Who cares what the album’s title is? Is the fucking music good? While teaser single “Be a Nigger Too” failed to move me (and was eventually removed from the album’s tracklist), I’m kinda digging this new song, “Hero”.

    John Mellencamp “Life, Death, Love & Freedom”: The former John Cougar is now a Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Famer. Can you believe it? The troubadour returns after only about a year off, with an album that confronts aging and mortality in a way not dissimilar (although undoubtedly less sunny) than Paul McCartney’s “Memory Almost Full” from last year. Me? I’ll just crank up “Jack & Diane” again.

    http://www.mellencamp.com/

    David Banner “The Greatest Story Ever Told”: Last we heard from David Banner musically, he was shamelessly ripping The Ying Yang Twins’ “Wait (The Whisper Song)”. This new album allegedly finds the politically minded Mississippi rapper dumbing down for dollars a little bit-never a good thing. Guests include UGK, Chris Brown, and the ubiquitous triumverate of (let’s all say it together) Snoop Dogg, Akon & Li’l Wayne. Ugh.

    http://www.david-banner.com/news.aspx

    O.A.R. “All Sides”: Does anyone enjoy these guys’ music without firing up a giant doobie first? Just asking.

    http://www.ofarevolution.com/

    Also…there’s a live digital EP from Bruce Sringsteen & The E Street Band’s “Magic” tour, a new record from country singer Randy Travis, the debut from Season 6 “American Idol” finalist Ace Young, and for those of you lucky enough to be Australian, The Vines have a new record out!! ‘Memba them??

    …and there’s also an album by a guy called Andy Yorke, who happens to be Thom Yorke of Radiohead’s brother. Why does this make me think of John Stamos’ brother singing “Lovin’ You” on an episode of “South Park”?

    Get your full list of new releases here: http://www.pauseandplay.com/cdfront.htm

    Happy Shopping!!

  • New Music In Stores & Online: 7/8/08: Beck, Yaz, Billy Joel & More!!

    Looks like the dog days of summer have arrived early, because there are very few releases of note this week. Let’s jump right into it.

    Beck's Modern Guilt

    Beck-Modern Guilt: Beck switches it up on his first album in two years, installing Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley) into the producer’s chair. On paper, the two seem like a perfect fit, and the album has gotten pretty good advance notice. Then again, do you remember any Beck album that didn’t get good reviews? Critically, he’s as much of a sure bet as any artist out there.

    http://www.modernguilt.com/

    Alison Moyet-The Turn/Yaz-In Your Room: Our very own Paul wrote a column a couple of weeks back on British synth-pop duo Yaz and their return to the concert stage a quarter-century after their split. In order to commemorate that tour, we have “In Your Room”, an exhaustive box set containing basically every note the two played and sung together. Yaz’s vocalist, Alison Moyet, also sees the U.S. release of her latest album, “The Turn”, which was released in the U.K. last October.


    Billy Joel-“The Stranger: Legacy Edition”: “The Stranger”‘s probably Billy Joel’s best-loved album, with hits like “Only the Good Die Young”, “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)”, the title track, and “Just the Way You Are”. This thirtieth anniversary edition of the hit album is remastered and comes in two versions: one adds a second disc from a Carnegie Hall concert, while another includes the concert and a DVD from the old British musical variety show “The Old Grey Whistle Test”.

    Home

    Um…after that? Crickets, pretty much. Strokes frontman Albert Hammond Jr. releases his second solo album, entitled “Como Te Llama?”, and there are a couple of interesting collaborative efforts out today: one from Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis (there’s a joke in there somewhere that I can’t quite figure out), and the other from Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Patti Smith and My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields. “Country Sings Disney” finds the likes of Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts and Brad Paisley tackling some of the Mouse’s favorite songs, while in the “curiosities” section, there’s a new album from Devin Lima of former C-List boy banders LFO. Yay!!

    Enjoy that Beck CD!!

    A full list of releases can be found here: http://www.pauseandplay.com/cdfront.htm

  • New Music In Stores & Online 7/1/08: G-Unit, John Mayer, Vanessa Hudgens & More

    John Mayer's new release Where The Light IsThe 4th of July weekend seems like the perfect time to release new music. You figure that folks planning the long weekend and heading out to the beach or a barbecue will want to take some tunes along for the ride, right? Well, how come there isn’t anything good coming out this week? Sheesh.

    Here are some highlights (relatively speaking, that is):

    John Mayer “Where The Light Is”: For whatever reason, Mayer is taking some guff for having released so many live albums in a relatively short time. This is his third officially-sanctioned concert release in 7 years (although the John Mayer Trio album was almost completely new material). Of course, those same people won’t mention the fact that Pearl Jam had put out about 500 live albums before their 10 year anniversary. Anyway, I’ve seen Mayer live once and, as much as I love the guy (as explained in yesterday’s post), he was good if not great. Although the guitar at his shows is a little more showy, his records don’t sound a hell of a lot different from his records, and his stage patter can border on smarmy/obnoxious. Anyhow, when a live album from someone whose already put out a pair of live albums in less than a decade is your top choice this week, you know you’re in trouble. This is also available on DVD.

    (more…)