album release

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Pearl Jam's Backspacer More of Same

 Pearl Jam's Backspacer 
 More of Same 
ALBUM REVIEW
Sep 17, 2009 1:56 PM CDT

Pearl Jam's Backspacer More of Same

Despite controversy over Target release, album is praiseworthy—not groundbreaking

(Newser) - Pearl Jam “plays it tight, short and fast on its ninth studio album, Backspacer (Monkeywrench), out Tuesday,” writes Greg Kot for the Chicago Tribune. In its first self-released album, the band steamrolls through 11 songs in just 37 minutes—but it’s 37 minutes of “step-on-it-and-go attack....

Kid Cudi's Debut 'Ridiculously Intriguing'
 Kid Cudi's Debut 
 'Ridiculously 
 Intriguing' 
music review
Sep 15, 2009 1:42 PM CDT

Kid Cudi's Debut 'Ridiculously Intriguing'

Rap's up-and-coming name follows in the footsteps of Kanye West, Andre 3000

(Newser) - The premise of Kanye West protégé Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon: The End of the Day is that he’s “not on the same planet as other rappers. The truth is that he’s not in the same genre,” writes Julian Benbow for the Boston ...

Beatles Remasters Pack a Wallop
 Beatles Remasters 
 Pack a Wallop 
music review
Sep 8, 2009 1:40 PM CDT

Beatles Remasters Pack a Wallop

CDs showcase Fab Four as they were meant to be heard

(Newser) - The Beatles just got better: every one of their original albums and a batch of collected singles has been remastered, boosting the quality to the level “the Beatles themselves would have heard and intended,” writes Matt Hurwitz in the Washington Post. The stereo CDs remind us that the...

Jay-Z at Work on 'Experimental' Album

Says it will be his most eclectic

(Newser) - Jay-Z's new album, Blueprint 3, doesn't drop until next week, but he's already looking ahead to the next one. The rapper, also known as Shawn Carter, tells MTV he's working on his most eclectic album yet. "It's not gonna be a No. 1 album," he says. "That's...

Whitney 'Sublime' After 7 Years Away
 Whitney 'Sublime' 
 After 7 Years Away 
album review
Aug 26, 2009 11:35 AM CDT

Whitney 'Sublime' After 7 Years Away

'The Voice' is still there, with help from industry giants

(Newser) - It’s been seven years since Whitney Houston’s last album, and many younger listeners probably know her better for her recently-troubled life than for her series of huge hits. But her new album, I Look to You, marks a triumphant return, writes Jim DeRogatis in the Chicago Sun-Times. “...

Dance the Night Away With Handclap
 Dance the Night 
 Away With Handclap 


MUSIC REVIEW
Aug 14, 2009 2:51 PM CDT

Dance the Night Away With Handclap

Band has high-profile guests and a fun vibe that runs a bit too long

(Newser) - The Phenomenal Handclap Band gets a leg up on its self-titled debut from buzzworthy guests like TV on the Radio and the Dap-Kings—but one of the unfortunate consequences is that “there's a feeling of anonymity to the band,” writes Paul Thompson for Pitchfork. Nonetheless, when it comes...

Hip-Hop's Next Big Thing 'Fine, Fresh, Serious'

Sure, her life wasn't all hard, but don't write her off as a rapper

(Newser) - “Even in a ‘post-race’ world, street sells,” writes Amy Granzin for Pitchfork. That would explain why some looked at Speech Debelle—the once-homeless UK rapper turned Mercury Prize nominee and "hip-hop's next big thing"—and spun “a tiny bit of flash into blinding bling....

With New CD and Makeover, Houston Has Liftoff

Diva is ready for her comeback

(Newser) - Whitney Houston “tumbled but she didn’t crumble,” music legend Clive Davis said last night at a London listening party for the diva’s latest. I Look To You is the first album in 7 years for the 45-year-old, reports the Mail. The crowd gave Houston—seemingly over...

Jack White's New Band Opens Strong
 Jack White's 
 New Band 
 Opens Strong 
MUSIC REVIEW
Jul 13, 2009 1:08 PM CDT

Jack White's New Band Opens Strong

Jack White's latest effort confirms his reign as king of the blues-rockers

(Newser) - Jack White’s rise to stardom in the postmillennial world of the struggling blues rocker is “remarkable,” and he continues to “honor the blues’ authenticity” while also exploiting its “capacity for mythology” with his third project, writes Stuart Berman for Pitchfork. On Horehound, the Dead Weather—...

Album No Twin Peaks , But Very Lynchian
 Album No 
 Twin Peaks, 
 But Very Lynchian 
MUSIC REVIEW
Jul 9, 2009 2:19 PM CDT

Album No Twin Peaks, But Very Lynchian

Music has fine moments, but often 'is no more than the sum of its parts'

(Newser) - Music has always been an integral part of David Lynch’s films: “Blue Velvet wouldn’t be Blue Velvet without Dennis Hopper’s lipstick-smeared face bearing down on Kyle MacLachlan to Roy Orbison’s ‘In Dreams,’” writes Mike Powell for Pitchfork. So it makes sense that...

Drake Album 'Compulsively Listenable'
 Drake Album 
 'Compulsively 
 Listenable' 
MUSIC REVIEW
Jun 29, 2009 5:20 PM CDT

Drake Album 'Compulsively Listenable'

Lyrics, though awkward, manage not to be petulant

(Newser) - Somehow, rapper Drake recorded an album concerned mostly with “the stresses and travails of fame, even if he recorded the damn thing when he wasn’t famous in any meaningful way”—and then became famous thanks to said album, writes Tom Breihan for Pitchfork. Though he’s “...

Hank Williams' Grandkid Jumps Outside Country Box

Second album has a twang, but don't typecast her: She likes Radiohead, too

(Newser) - Holly Williams is a descendant of country legends—Hank Williams was her grandfather, Hank Williams Jr. her father—but she’s no “cowboy hat-wearing country girl,” she tells the Telegraph. The singer and boutique owner, who admires artists from Dolly Parton to Radiohead, releases her second album Tuesday,...

Whitney's Comeback Album Out Sept. 1

Akon, will.i.am are helping out

(Newser) - Whitney Houston is releasing an album Sept. 1, and she's getting a little comeback help from today's R&B/hip-hop kings. The untitled Arista record is rumored to include collaborations with will.i.am, Sean Garett, and Akon, Billboard reports. During the run-up to the big release—her last effort was...

Black Eyed Peas' The E.N.D. Pure, Shameless, Awesome

(Newser) - The Black Eyed Peas' new album, The E.N.D., isn’t of much consequence, but that’s just as well. Reviewers generally appreciate the party-hardy attitude.
  • “Ever true to their defining characteristic, the Peas have no shame,” Ann Powers writes in the Los Angeles Times. “Fergie
...

Free Cool Kids Album Worth It, Barely
 Free Cool Kids 
 Album Worth It, Barely 
MUSIC REVIEW
May 28, 2009 12:29 PM CDT

Free Cool Kids Album Worth It, Barely

There's still hope for full-length debut

(Newser) - The Cool Kids aren’t as cool as they once were—but “even when they’re on autopilot, their icy flatness has style,” writes Tom Breihan for Pitchfork. Gone Fishing, the internet phenoms’ recently released bundle of free downloadable music, “should be a major event in the...

Epiphany? No. 1 Album More a Shock for Chrisette Michele

I'm not afraid of being me anymore, she says

(Newser) - She’s already got a Grammy, but Chrisette Michele still needed time to recover from the shock of seeing her sophomore album debut atop the Billboard charts last week. Epiphany covers new ground for the singer-songwriter, who relinquished some songwriting duties this time around to R&B singer Ne-Yo. The...

Busta's Back, in Fine Form
 Busta's Back, 
 in Fine Form 
opinion
May 19, 2009 6:29 PM CDT

Busta's Back, in Fine Form

(Newser) - Busta Rhymes is back with his first album in three years, and if his record release party last night is any indication, he's barely missed a beat, writes Jayson Rodriguez in Rolling Stone. Rhymes—whose Back On My B.S. is out today—"has long been recognized as one...

White Rabbits Make 'Punk Nihilism Sound Manageable'
White Rabbits Make 'Punk Nihilism Sound Manageable'
NEW RELEASE
May 19, 2009 3:10 PM CDT

White Rabbits Make 'Punk Nihilism Sound Manageable'

'Cavernous' album will appeal to Spoon fans

(Newser) - White Rabbits’ 2007 effort, Fort Nightly, was an “occasionally very good debut,” but follow-up It’s Frightening, released today, packs a true punch, writes Eric Harvey in Pitchfork. Producer Britt Daniel of Spoon gave the band a leg up, serving as the record’s “songwriting Svengali” to...

Eminem: Serial Killers 'Inspire' Me

Rapper talks about how he's never been in a better place

(Newser) - Where has Eminem been since his last album hit the shelves in 2004? At first, mostly drowning in a sea of depression and prescription drugs, the rapper says in an interview with the Guardian. But for a year now he's been clean and focused on getting back to his roots—...

Boss Rips Ticketmaster for 'Scalping' Tickets

Springsteen says ticket company's practice was a conflict of interest

(Newser) - The Boss called Ticketmaster into his office yesterday, and gave it a tongue-lashing it may not soon forget, Reuters reports. The ticket giant drew Bruce Springsteen's wrath for gouging fans Monday by redirecting them to its resaler, TicketNow, just minutes after seats for his "Working on a Dream" tour...

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