Being the music fan that I am, I’ve compiled a list of artists that I expect to see albums from this year. For some of them, I’m just being greedy. For others, I think that something new is due. And for still others, albums have been announced, so I’m well within my rights to have expectations. ... »»
I love Illmatic. I think it's a classic album. But I'd also love to hear what beats Kanye would put to those vocals. For that matter, I'd be curious to hear what Madlib, Danger Mouse, 9th Wonder, Just Blaze, Primo or Pete Rock would do. ... »»
I'll admit that I can, at times, be a hater. I really enjoyed Family Guy when it made its debut, but by the time it returned to Fox after getting cancelled, I couldn't bring myself to watch it because of how obnoxious its fans were. It was like the show was appealing to the most common denominator, and I wanted no part of it.
So to some degree, the more popular something is, the less likely I am to be a fan of it, because fans turn me off to something quicker than anything else. And that's why I'll probably never be able to get into either MF Doom or Lil Wayne, which is odd because their fans are on opposite ends of the hip-hop spectrum.
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Although police have not officially confirmed the identity of woman who was involved in an altercation after which singer Chris Brown was arrested on domestic violence felony battery charges, all signs would point to it being girlfriend Rihanna, and an inside source with the LAPD has allegedly told the Los Angeles Times that this is indeed the case. ... »»
2008 was a nutty year. ... Local record stores moved closer to extinction, rap continued its descent into inanity and BET is still the most depressing channel. ... But why dwell on the negative? Here are my picks for the best albums of 2008, in alphabetical order, as always. ... »»
At this moment, I'm full of hope—it's oozing out of my pores and I'm expelling it though belches. That's how hopeful I am. ... I tried to narrow down the things that I'm really, really hopeful about, when it comes to music. I got it down to a list... »»
I'm gonna lay it out for you, Everlast. What people liked about your solo work was that it was stripped down, gritty, raw and acoustic. I'll give you some credit for tryin' to spread your wings a little, but this album is overproduced and it just doesn't work for your style of songwriting. ... »»
Ok, so a few months ago I made a reference to the two things that totally occupied my musical interests. The one that I addressed in that piece was demos; the other that I was fixated on back then was instrumentals, or more accurately, instrumental versions of albums. Now, I've always been a fan of instrumentals. For me, instrumentals were one of the main draws when it came to purchasing singles. Sure, you might get a remix or an occasional b-side, but you were nearly always guaranteed an instrumental. I even copped Tupac's single for "Dear Mama" because I thought that the instrumental was solid. »»
I think I'm now officially a fan of Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton.
I mean the guy has always interested me ever since he popped onto my radar with The Grey Album. I dug how his remixing of The Black Album wasn't just a mash-up, in that he layered different pieces of various songs when he made his compositions.
And I enjoyed The Mouse and the Mask, but that came at a time when "one mc/one producer" projects had me open. I think when I really started to give the guy his due was when he took over for The Automator as producer of the Gorillaz.
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The Black Keys - Attack and Release
Nonesuch Records (4/1/08)
Blues-rock
The story goes like this: Danger Mouse, über-producer for the '00s, was working on an album with rhythm & blues & spousal-abuse legend Ike Turner, and tapped the modern stripped-down psychedelic-blues duo The Black Keys for a few tracks. Once ol' Ike shit the bed, the project was scrapped. Realizing that they'd struck relative paydirt by combining the low-fi sounds of the Keys with the mind-bending soundscapes of the Mouse, a full-album collaboration was in order.
Once news of this hit, fans of both acts collectively had a simultaneous geekgasm that likely gummed up many a keyboard. The album was set to drop April 1, but it wanted to be cool like the rest of the new albums and get released early. So us Pavlovian geeks dutifully went out and downloaded Attack and Release as soon as it became available. And guess what? It sucks.
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