Apparently Cobra Starship frontman Gabe Saporta went on a spirit quest into the Arizona desert. There he found his true purpose in life was to “…[teach] hipsters to not take themselves so seriously and by telling emo kids to stop being pussies.” Apparently you do this by contributing to the Snakes On A Plane soundtrack, achieving dance-punk fame [via. MTV] and releasing an album called Hot Mess. Apparently.
Sum 41 seem to have amassed enough hits to put out a best of compilation, All the good sh** : 14 solid gold hits (2000-2008) is that very album. And indeed it does include all their biggest hits including billboard number 1, Fat Lip. Bratty mall-punk abounds.
Missy Elliott’s pal Jazmine Sullivan released the long awaited (she started performing aged 11) Fearless last year. It was a fine debut by all accounts, pick it up from here if you haven’t yet listened to the rising R&B star.
Janelle Monae’s first album has been delux-ified and Metropolis : the chase suite : special edition is the result. It’s a concept e.p. detailing the life of a rebellious soul-equipped android who risks disassembly by falling in love with a human. If you enjoy Andre 3000’s soul wackiness you are advised to issue this. Do it.
Maximo Park are a guitar driven angular pop quintet from the UK. They’ve gained quite a following in the wake of the post-punk revival of the mid decade and look to continue this form with Quicken The Heart, their third effort.
Head Like A Hole, or HLAH, were one of the most popular and hard-rockin’ NZ bands of the 90s. They might not fit into those leather pants as easily as they did back then, but they’ve been touring of late and reports have been overwhelmingly positive. The Devil Makes Work For Idle Hands documents these shows.
Along with Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors are the crossover indie-darling success story of 2009. Bitte Orca marries sweet harmonies and bursts of atonal noise in the most beautiful way imaginable, highly recommended.
MGMT were last years crossove indie-darling success story and to tide everyone over until a new full-length arrives their 2005 ep, Time To Pretend has been re-released. It includes the original versions of Kids and Time To Pretend, along with 4 songs that didn’t make Oracular Spectacular. Managementbros rejoice.
Hip Hop Anthology is a four disc, well, anthology of hip hop. It’s a pretty in depth collection that turns the focus on quality – not necessarily sales – and is to be praised for this, unlike so many other compilations out there. Features tracks from the 80’s to today.
PNC is a local rapper who loves his home town of Palmerston North City so much he named himself after it. His last album Rookie Card won best Urban/Hip Hop album at the 2007 Vodafone Music Awards and his newest, Bazooka Kid, just might repeat the effort.
Lastly, Eskimo Joe return with Inshalla. Fans of commercial rock groups like Nickelback might find something to enjoy on this one.
There are five new CDs this week, and they are…
Hands by Little Boots is a synth-pop album that has received it’s fair share of internet buzz via the blogosphere over past few blog years. Is the hype deserved? “Yes it is”, will say cats who dig on Ladyhawke, Hot Chip and their ilk. If this is you, you know what to do.
If Little Boots (above) piqued your interest then allow Ready For The Weekend by Calvin Harris to do the same. More dancefloor ready numbers reside inside the jewel case patiently awaiting the weekend, which I suppose is why it’s named what it is.
Did you go see the movie 17 Again and think that the music was fantastic? If you did you’re in luck because 17 again : music from the motion picture has just arrived. Includes tracks by Cat Power and The Kooks. Also pictures of Zac Efron on the cover, should that also entice.
Florence Welch is an alt-friendly bluesy singer from South London who releases music as Florence and the Machine. The Machine must be a backing band, though I hope it’s an actual machine, like a robot. Anyway, her music on debut Lungs is similar to that of Cat Power and Amy WInehouse.
The Arctic Monkeys third full-length, Humbug, finds them working with Josh Homme, he of Queens of the Stone Age and Eagles of Death Metal fame, who encourages them into expanding their scope to embrace a bigger more darkly sweeping sound. A new direction, and an exciting one at that.
La Roux means “red-haired one” in French – this is a good name for them since singer Elly Jackson has red hair. They’ve been topping the UK charts for a few months now with an impressive run of 80’s synth-pop inspired singles and have now released La Roux, their self-titled debut.
French electro-rockers Phoenix have been around for a while now, but recent release Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix sees them mastering their craft and conjuring up some of the catchiest pop of the year. If you dig MGMT and Empire Of The Sun, pick this record up.
Fantasy Ride, Ciara’s third is the type of album that will get plenty of play in the clubs this upcoming summer. Guests include Justin Timberlake and MIssy Elliott, the production is supremely glossy and the grooves danceable. Also included is a DVD where you can watch Ciara in the studio and at rehearsals and things.
Blindspott broke up in 2007 to focus on solo commitments playing a final set to a sold out Powerstation, this show has now been released on a handy dandy CD + DVD combo as Sold out: live @ Powerstation, for everyone who wasn’t there, or wants to relive the night. As expected from Blindspott, it’s a largely shouty, noisy affair. It also works as a sort of greatest hits package if you want it to do that to.
Three of them actually. 1977’s Let There Be Rock, 1980’s Back In Black and 1990’s The Razor’s Edge, making all of them too old to get a YA card [see here for reference - G]. Even though they’re getting on a bit, they still rock totally hard and you can catch them in Wellington next January. Until then, why not practise your screechy vocals along with the albums?
Jack White is a prolific man. If his bandmates aren’t ready to release any new material he simply forms a new band and presses on. Dead Weather being active band number three, with The White Stripes and The Raconteurs being the other two. Dead Weather is somewhat of a departure for White, who is banging the drums instead of strumming the guitar on this record. On Horehound, the bands debut, he shares vocal duties with Allison Mosshart (of the Kills), with Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age) and Jack Lawrence (Raconteurs and Greenhornes) rounding out the group. If you’ve ever enjoyed any of the above bands, or even just Rock music in general give Horehound a listen.
The Gossip emerged out of the Nu-Rave scene spearheaded by The Klaxons in 2006 with Standing In The Way Of Control and now return with their new long-player Music For Men. Lead by outspoken front-woman Beth Ditto, it’s more of the same adventurously aggressive, neon-coloured electro-pop.
Paisley, Scotland’s Paolo Nutini was all set to follow his father into the family fish and chip shop business before getting signed two weeks before his 18th birthday. Sunny Side Up is his second album and will be enjoyed by people who normally enjoy folksy pop-rock, also perfect for this nice weather we seem to be having of late.
Just in case you were worried another week was going to go by without some new metal, fret not, for Sevendust’s Animosity is here. Originally released in 2001, it’s been all remastered and stuff for new fans to pick up and enjoy. Expect heavy riffs and downtrodden lyrics.
Speaking of heavy riffs, Sepultura’s Arise has been remastered too. This was the album that turned the Brazilian death metallers into international stars. Your parents won’t like it, and as always, that’s the whole point of metal isn’t it?
Do you like Minuit? If so you’ll be pleased to have seen all the posters about for Find me before I die a lonely death.com, their new one. As far as I can tell it’s not too much of a departure and fans will enjoy. They’ll be touring soon too, so go have a look.
Sticking with the local content, Cut Off Your Hands followed up the excellent Blue On Blue ep with You & I last year. Pick it up, it’s the sort of poptastic treat that gets quite happily stuck in the head for days at a time.
South Auckland born J. Williams has a record out called Young Love. A quick google search revealed he is also a champion break-dancer and should appeal to fans of Chris Brown, T-Pain etc. Fun fact: Older sister Emily Williams placed 2nd in the 2006 edition of Australian Idol.
Also some compilations: Onelove : smash your stereo 2009 is a summer dance collection, as is Summer sessions from those Ministry of Sound chappies and Fly girls! celebrates 30 years of women in rap over 2 cds.
Metalheads rejoice! A whopping two-thirds of the new CDs this week feature loud guitars and shouty vocals. Beatles fans and Tiki Taane fans can also rejoice, but not quite as much.
Master of Puppetsis considered by many as Metallica’s masterpiece and one of the, if not the greatest metal album of all time. Your parents may not consider it a masterpiece if you play it loud enough, and really, isn’t that the point?
Metallica’s next album …And Justice For All, realeased in 1988 (so too old to have a YA card anymore) saw them break-through on MTV with the video for One. My first memory of Metallica was seeing One on Beavis and Butthead, which means I’m far too old to have a YA card anymore.
Metallica, or the Black Album as it is is commonly referred to due to the black cover, was the one that made Metallica into proper mainstream stars. It includes quite a few big hits like Enter Sandman and slow-dance favourite (at least if you go to bogan schools) Nothing Else Matters.
Before he was a tragic figure on a reality show Ozzy Osbourne cranked out a few top-notch metal albums, the fantastically titled Blizzard Of Ozz being the first of his solo efforts. A cornerstone of 80’s metal.
Diary Of A Madman came next for Ozzy Osbourne in 1981. Building on his previous success, this classic album turned Ozzy into a star. Biting the heads off bats and other craziness would follow…
AC/DC are another classic metal band who operated in the 80s. Highway To Hell was their best record to date and also their most well recieved to date. Includes the classic single Highway To Hell.
A couple of Beatles compilations have turned up, 1962-1966 and 1967-1970, also known as the Red and Blue albums respectively. These are pretty much the definitive Beatles compilations to seek out if you don’t feel like picking up the million or so albums they made.
Flux / Tiki by Tiki Taane has turned up. It’s a remix job for the Past, present, future album and includes a song called David Lange You Da Bomb!, which confused me initially until I realised that David Lange probably was our most rockin’ PM.
Another large pile of new CDs have turned up, here are some fun facts about them:
The very best definitive ultimate greatest hits collection by Faith No More is a 2 disc overview of the band’s entire career. The title would seem to suggest that all bases are covered and all hits are present and indeed they are.
Vetran punk-rockers Rancid have a new one called Let The Dominoes Fall. If punk is your thing, then you will enjoy this very much.
The Beatles Anthology 2 takes in the groups ‘middle years’ from 1965-1968 and presents alternatives takes, acoustic demoes and live versions. A must for any Beatles completist.
In 1971 heavy metal pioneers Led Zeppelin released IV. It quickly became their most popular work, thanks in no small part to Stairway To Heaven, which remains to this day the most requested song on American radio.
Ministry of Sound continue their clubbers guide series with Clubbers Guide 2009. This is what dance clubs sound like this year.
Join The Q by the Qemists mixes drum and bass, electro, rock and pop together to make an energetic nu-rave concoction. Sort of like The Prodigy back in the nineties, but better.
Moment and Melodies by Incubus works as both a best of and a new album, how generous of them. Disc one is hits plus a couple of new tracks and disc two is mostly unreleased material. For fans old and new alike.
If you’re a Klaxons fan you might enjoy You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into… by Does It Offend You, Yeah? Even though the band name is a bit silly, they overcome this stumbling block by making good indie-pop.
Do I really need to say anything about the Jonas Brothers other than Lines, Vines and Trying Times is in? Probably not.
Brit rockers Kasabian return with album number three, entitled West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. Judging from first listen I’d predict it as their breakthrough album.
Shawty Get Loose: 20 R&B Club Anthems is a compilation of twenty R&B songs that are considered anthemic, the sort that shawtiez might get loose to in a club. Features R. Kelly, N.E.R.D., Ciara and more.
And finallly, we have Now that’s what I call music 29 and Now that’s what I call music 30. Get caught up on all the recent big pop hits with these two.
I had never heard of the Silversun Pickups before they appeared on the table in front of me this morning. I listened and was pleasantly surprised to have found an homage to the Smashing Pumpkins. Disc in question is second album Swoon, me likey.
Local hip hoppers Smashproof broke a 23 year old record by having a single atop the NZ charts for 10 straight weeks. Impressive, could debut album The Weekend repeat the trick?
Wellington’s Harbour City Electric have an EP out called EP. They have created a style they say can only be described as Acid-funk and heavy break-beat soul. In lieu of a playlist this week pop over to their myspace and have a listen.
Three new CDs this week. You know where to go if you want to hear them; the library! And as always they are free to issue on your YA cards. Aren’t we kind?
3OH!3 deal in jokey electro-crunk chock full of tongue-in-cheek gangsterisms. Their album is titled Want and if you want (my tired attempt at punnery) some silliness in your ears, they will provide.
Return Of The Mack II serves up more classic R&B jams, in fact it says so right on the cover. Included on the 18 track comp are folks like Aaliyah, Coolio and The Fugees.
New Zealand Music Month may be drawing to a close, but there’s still time to slip a new compilation in isn’t there? There is? Oh good. Check out Ultimate Weekend Sessions, spread generously over its two discs are a whole bunch of local dub/R&B/hip hop tunes by Trinity Roots, Rhombus, Katchafire and all the other usual suspects.
The new music is coming in thick and fast these days. I’ve seldom seen it thicker or faster.
Keri Hilson is described by allmusic.com as a dynamic singer songwriter. These dynamic skills have been used to write songs for the likes of Usher, Ludacris and Kelly Rowland, and now on her own album In A Perfect World.
Destroy all lines : dance floor anthems is a compilation for all you cats out there who like dancing to anthemic hits on floors. If that’s you then you’re in luck, because it’s a whopping two-disc affair.
Remember Rihanna’s Good Girl Gone Bad? Yes, of course you do. Well, now I’d like to introduce you to Good Girl Gone Bad: The Remixes. A good stop-gap between Rihanna albums proper.
Platinum emo-poppers Paramore have a new live album entitled The Final Riot. All your favorite Paramore tunes being sung along to by an arena full of kids. Close your eyes and pretend you’re there.
Local Hip-Hopper Savage is back in time for New Zealand Music Month with Savage Island. I can only assume that this is a concept album based on some sort of Survivor type show hosted by Savage. At least I hope so …
21st Century Breakdown is the new, soon-to-be inescapably huge album from Green Day. It’s divided into three acts because they’re so big and important they transcend the regular album format. Golly!
We have 6 new CDs, but more exciting than that (for me anyway) is the return of embedded playlists! This time we’re using deezer.com; it’s cool, stylish and most importantly it works with our firewalls. Anyway, on with the new music…
Evermore return with album number two, Truth of the world : welcome to the show. It’s a very grandiose title, perhaps befitting the ambitious sounds within.
Another New Zealand CD is Optimus Gryme’s Eclipse LP. Do you think Optimus Gryme is a rival of The Decepticonz? Do we have a local rap war on our hands ala West Coast vs East Coast circa mid-nineties US? Stay tuned, kids.
J. Dilla was a much beloved hip hop producer before his untimely passing in 2006. Dillanthology is a greatest hits of sorts featuring Common, Erykah Badu, Busta Rhymes and more.
The-Dream is one of those big, multi-platinum R&B types from the US. His album Love VS Money features other big, multi-platinum R&B types, such as Kanye West and Mariah Carey. If you are a fan of big, multi-platinum R&B types you know what to do.
Alter Ego is a new mixtape from Kanye West. On it are remixes, live versions and other little goodies not seen on albums prev. A Kanye completist’s dream.
Hip Hop: the 2009 collection has a rather self-explanatory title. Hip Hop from 1992-2009 spread across 2 discs. Includes Akon, LL Cool J, Rihanna and a whole lot more.
Yes, as the title would imply there are three new CDs ready to be issued and enjoyed.
Australia’s Ben Lee and The Rebirth Of Venus has arrived. You might remember his hit We’re All In This Together from a few years ago, and this is more of the same acoustic guitar driven pop.
Lady Sovereign has a new one called Jigsaw. More of the UK rap from a female perspective, only this time a little bit more electro influenced.
And finally, Grammy Nominees 2009. Which unsurprisingly includes tracks by artists who were nominated for the most recent Grammy awards. Includes Maroon 5, Katy Perry, The Jonas Brothers and more…
Hello, I’ve been away for a couple of weeks and in my absence a large pile of new music has appeared. So here it is, all ready to issue and enjoy!
The first ever winner of American Idol, Kelly Clarkson has defied all expectations in creating a nice little career for herself by making consistently good music. Her fourth album, All I Ever Wanted has just popped out and again it’s a job very well done.
Fans of The Jonas Brothers will enjoy Demi Lovato and her debut Don’t Forget. She of course starred alongside the lads in the movie Camp Rock and they’ve lent a hand by co-writing much of the material and even dueting on the song On The Line.
Away from the pop for a bit and into the indie-rock with The Notwist and The Devil, You + Me. Give it a whirl if Radiohead and Sonic Youth float your boat like they do mine.
Taylor Swift has released two albums and they both came in at once. So now you can take home Fearless and the self-titled Taylor Swift from the acclaimed country-popper.
And lastly Platinum Rock vol.3 is a two disc collection of popular rock tunes from 1999-2007. It includes the likes of The White Stripes, The Killers and our own The D4. Put it on and rock out for an extended period of time.
Apologies for fans of playlists as there shall be none this time due to the ever worrisome ‘technical difficulties’, hope to have it sorted soon.
Three new CDs this week. If you want them, now you can issue them. Yay!
First is Old Skool Summer Jams, a 2 disc compilation of classic hip-hop and R&B tracks with a summery feel from 1988-2002. Included are The Fresh Prince, Naughty By Nature, TLC, Coolio and a bunch of other stuff to help squeeze the remaining fun out of the pretty much over summer.
Sound Of The Overground is another compilation, this time from 2004-2008. It’s a mix designed for dancing to and includes tracks by Ladyhawke (whom I adore), Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and many more.
We also have Lily Allen’s new album It’s Not Me, It’s You. Expect more of her tongue in cheek pop cheekiness and hit after hit. I just listened to it and it’s ace. We also have her previous one here if you haven’t already listened.
We have new music. Yay!
allmusic.com describes Basshunter as a Swedish computer nerd and his first album called LOL <(^^,)> would seem to indicate that this is accurate. He’s back with Now You’re Gone: The Album for another round of homemade Euro-Dance silliness.
British pop trio Sugababes have just released a sixth album which must make them one of the most enduring girl groups ever. It’s called Catfights and Spotlights and easily ranks among their best.
Friendly Fires scored a big hit in the blogosphere last year when their song Paris was remixed by Aeroplane. Now comes their debut album Friendly Fires with more of the same fun dance-rock that shot them to prominence.
If you’ve turned on a TV at all in the last few weeks you’ll have realised that Fall Out Boy are touring. They’ll be here to support their latest, entitiled Folie a Deux. Fans will love it.
And lastly, if you need to chill out during these troublesome back to school days, pick up Chillout Sessions XI. Stress relief is practically guaranteed.
The YA music collection has some new CDs. Six of them in fact. Here they are …
First is Beyonce’s new album I Am… Sasha Fierce, which sees her alter ego Sasha Fierce get one of the two discs all to herself. It reminds me of the time Outkast split Speakerboxxx/The Love Below in half, only a bit weirder.
The Flying Club Cup by Beirut is next for a bit of meaningful-core indie folk. These guys were critical darlings in 2007 and for good reason, a wee gem says I.
Hilary Duff is back with The Best Of Hilary Duff. Now you can listen to all her best songs all at once, without changing discs. This copy even comes with some exclusive bonus tracks for the Australian/NZ release.
Have you guys heard of High School Musical? Apparently it’s quite a big deal. Anyway, we have High School Musical 3 – Senior Year and judging by the way they’re jumping about on the cover in graduation robes it looks as though it might be the last one. hop aboard now I guess.
On Day & Age The Killers ask the question; are we human or are we dancers? I think I’m a dancer. This the the fourth release from the Las Vegas foursome and it finds them shooting for even more chart success.
We Started Nothing by The Ting Tings is the last on the pile. They were at the Big Day Out the other week, did anyone see them? They make indie-pop to dance to.
If you want to re-live your movie experience in music, but you’re not sure if you want to buy the CD then reserve the library copy of the Twilight Soundtrack and try before you buy for free (on a YA card, that is). There are some interesting artists on here, including Iron and Wine (we like Iron and Wine) and Muse and that, so it’s bound to be good.
Or listen to it now! Legally!
Some new CDs have appeared on our ‘new music that needs to be blogged about shelf’, so I will blog about them for your enjoyment.
First up is Ne-Yo with Year of the Gentleman. He is wearing some very sharp suits on the cover and the tunes inside are the sort of cutting edge R&B you would expect from him. Great job Ne-Yo.
Next on the pile is another sharp-suited R&B man; Lloyd with Lessons in Love and he wears an impressive studded jacket on his cover. Lil’ Wayne drops by for a guest appearance too.
Estelle’s The 18th Day brings us more R&B, but this time from a female perspective. This one actually came out in 2004, but it’s new to the library and quite good.
Christina Aguilera has a greatest hits out called Keeps Gettin’ Better, A Decade Of Hits. I would like to respectfully disagree with her on the title, in my opinion at least ‘Genie in a Bottle’ cannot be bettered. All the faves are included here.
Local lads The Tutts’ new one Get in the Club is here for some Rock if all the R&B listed above isn’t your thing. They were the ones who did that song on the C4 ads.
Oh look! What’s this? It’s a playlist made so you can listen to songs off the albums I just wrote about. How handy. Check out our imeem page for all our playlists.
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