I’m scared of the new Maroon 5 album, “Hands All Over” ( purchase on Amazon mp3 ). The first single, “Misery”, seemed like the height of laziness to me. If you stuck “This Love” and “Makes Me Wonder” in a blender, the result would be “Misery”, and despite the critical arrows that seem to get slung Adam Levine and co.’s way, they’re definitely better than that. However, no less an authority on music than Popdose’s Grand Poobah Jeff Giles Y’all has deemed M5’s third studio effort, “Hands All Over”, […]
Posts tagged "New Releases"
New Release Report 9/14/10: The Floodgates Open
The last couple of weeks have been pretty quiet on the new release front. Well, folks, brace yourselves. ‘Cause there’s a TON of stuff coming out this Tuesday and for the next several Tuesdays. Let’s jump right into it, huh? Linkin Park occasionally gets lumped in with the whole nu-metal movement, which is kinda sad, because I think Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda have more musical talent in their pinkie fingers than Fred Durst has in his whole body. At […]
New Release Report 8/31/10: Something for Everyone
Something tells me that the weeks of no noteworthy releases are a thing of the past-at least until the end of the year. The 4th quarter buying season is almost upon us, and although there aren’t any mega-superstar releases coming out this week, there are a couple of albums that should challenge Eminem and Katy Perry for the #1 spot on the Billboard charts next week in addition to several albums that might not have #1 potential but will definitely […]
New Release Report 8/24/10: Teenage Dream or Adult Nightmare?
I don’t TOTALLY hate Katy Perry. You have to know someone to hate them, and I don’t know the woman personally. So there’s that. Otherwise, she just seems like an exploitative whore for fame-kinda like GaGa without the talent. So needless to say, I won’t be picking up Katy’s latest release, “Teenage Dream” today. However, I’m pretty sure a couple hundred thousand folks will, injecting some life into the music industry, which has been running on fumes for most of […]
New Release Report 8/17/10: Sensitivity
Those of you who like your singer/songwriters sensitive are in for a treat today, because the overwhelming majority of albums coming out today (at least those worth mentioning) feature in that little sub-genre! I promise I will not say another word about how Ray LaMontagne makes me swoon. All I will say is that his fourth album, “God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise” is at the top of my new release list for various reasons. I will also say […]
New Release Report 8/3/10: Into the (Arcade) Fire
Every once in a while, the Pitchfork types get it right. Arcade Fire’s one of those bands that the music snobs go absolutely apeshit for, and with good reasons. Their sound is epic and catchy at the same time. So it’s kinda strange that the first words I read about their new album, “The Suburbs”, came in the form of a bad review. Then again, it’s not like Boston’s Weekly Dig is a hallmark of music journalism, anyway. They sort […]
New Release Report 7/27/10: Not Like You’re Missing Anything…
In the words of the immortal Sly Stone: “heard ya missed me, well I’m back!”. Of course, I wasn’t intending to take so much time off, but New York was just too much damn fun to spend my time writing. Anyway, the new release column is a day late, but the way I see things, there’s nothing worth running out to your local ‘wrecka sto’ for, anyway. Here’s a couple of highlights. I must admit that I snickered when I […]
New Release Report: Something to Crow About?
Another kinda slow week for music buying, at least if you like what I like. Here are some highlights. Sheryl Crow “100 Miles from Memphis”-As I have mentioned in a previous post, I haven’t really dug Sheryl’s last couple of albums. However, the smooth first single “Summer Day” has me anticipating a Sheryl album more than I have in at least a decade. Keith Richards and Justin Timberlake both guest here, and she covers Citizen Cope’s “Sideways”. She also gives […]
New Release Report 7/13/10: Too M>AI>NY Symbols
Whatever happened to letting the music do the talking? Yes, M.I.A., I’m referring to you. The set up for the Sri Lanka-born rapper’s third album (which is called “Maya” but is spelled out with some ridiculous set of symbols that I have no desire to replicate here) has been marred by a bizarre video and a flame war with a New York Times writer who decided to air out some…shall we say, inconsistencies in M.I.A.’s actual lifestyle vs. her artistic […]
New Release Report 7/6/10: Big Boi is Finally Set Free
Remember when there was the big hubbub about Big Boi’s “Something’s Gotta Give” video? It was pretty much a 4-minute campaign ad for Barack Obama, and despite the fact that the song was kinda “eh”, folks were hopeful that Big’s debut solo album was gonna bring the goods-especially after OutKast’s somewhat odd “Idlewild” soundtrack. Well, that Big Boi album-“Sir Lucious Leftfoot-The Son of Chico Dusty”-is finally arriving…damn near halfway into President Obama’s first term. Leaks and label drama have derailed […]
New Release Report 6/29/10: Get Your Scissor On!
A few years ago, the Scissor Sisters were the next big thing. Their debut album was critically acclaimed (hell, even I liked it). Almost all the members of the group were good with a quip, and I seem to remember the “Take Your Mama” video popping up on VH-1 fairly frequently back in the day. They then fell victim to the sophomore jinx. Their second album, “Ta-Dah”, didn’t sell nearly as well (it also wasn’t nearly as good). Plus, on […]