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Reading, Wellington, and whatever else – teenblog@wcl.govt.nz

Tag: New

Cee Dees

rihannaRihanna has really stepped up with sass, aggression and belligerence on her latest, Rated R, and this makes sense given recent headlines about her personal life. A cathartic release that Rihanna can be well proud of, but with such strong material, the real winner is the listener. Will it be a late contender for Teen Blog album of the year?

chris brownThe reason for much of Rihanna’s very public turmoil is Chris Brown, who also has a new album out, Graffiti. This fares far worse – musically and lyrically – and it’s hard to feel any of the sympathy Brown so obviously and clumsily courts on the record.

cobra starshipCobra Starship got their start by recording the title track to Snakes On A Plane, they then turned the subsequent success into While the city sleeps, we rule the streets. If you enjoyed Hot Mess, their 2009 effort, you’ll want to pick it up. More witty, hip dance-punk.

lady gagaEvery single person who’s submitted reviews or votes for the best music of 2009 post has mentioned Lady Gaga, usually suffixed with “of course”. Need I say any more? Well, yes actually, as that would be a very short and lazy review. Although with that last sentence padding things out a bit and this one too, I could get away with just saying that The Fame Monster is here and that you’ll likely need to reserve it.

Fall Out Boy have now released five studio albums, one live album, and three eps over their eight year career. Sounds like it’s time for a greatest hits album to me, and look at this, Believers never die is just that. A gold star goes to the person who can name the fictional character who played the fictional fictional character in the never completed fictional fictional movie that appeared in an episode of a fictional TV show that Fall Out Boy named themselves after. If that makes any sense.

Disney Channel actor and now pop star, Selena Gomez, originally broke into the entertainment business by appearing in Barney & Friends. Kinda like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake starting off in The Mickey Mouse Club huh? Anyway, she now fronts Selena Gomez & The Scene who debuted with Kiss & Tell earlier this year.

Finally some Pop Idol alumni have CDs appearing in the catalogue, American runner up Adam Lambert with For Your Entertainment and Australian winner Stan Walker with Introducing Stan Walker.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Listen To These

karen o and the kidsThe Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O has teamed up with an all-star cast of indie rock noteworthies to score (probably) the most anticipated children’s movie ever. Where the wild things are : motion picture soundtrack, is the result. And what a result it is! For fans of shouting, stomping and making a wild rumpus.

them crooked vulturesAnother all-star cast teaming up this week are Them Crooked Vultures with their self-titled effort. With Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters and Nirvana), Josh Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age, Eagles Of Death Metal, Kyuss) and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) on board you can probably hazard a guess at what this sounds like. You’re right by the way.

cascadaCascada is a Euro-dance trio with an impressive string of hits to their name. Evacuate The Dancefloor is their latest effort, I don’t think the point is to evacuate the dancefloor though, rather to rush onto it. At least I would imagine so. Basshunter fans might enjoy, it’s very popular anyway, evidenced by its long reserve queue.

New Zealand drum and bassers Shapeshifter have a new one called The System Is A Vampire. There are drums, there are basses, there are even bits with singing – all of which adds up to some very popular local drum and bass. Expect to hear this blasting out of boy racers’ cars all summer long.

Ministry Of Sound’s Annual series continues with The Annual 2010. The new installment is mixed by John Course, The Aston Shuffle & Goodwill and includes music from the likes of Mika, Bob Sinclair, Wolfmother, Dizzee Rascal and others. Sure to be a hit over summer.

New Zealand dub pioneers Salmonella Dub return with Freak Controller. It’s a generous two-disc affair packed full of dubby-dubness from the scene veterans. The second CD includes a song called Bungle Fun, which raises a smile at Teen Blog HQ.

The Vans Warped Tour has been in existence for a long time now, and has helped break many, many nu-metal acts over its run. Who will be the next big shouty band to take over airwaves? Two CDs of contenders and other, longer tenured bands await on Warped tour : 2009 tour compilation.

Speaking of bands making it on the Warped Tour, The Used rose to popularity after a strong showing while on it in the early part of the decade. Before that they were homeless, so hey, large collections of shouty men with drop-tuned guitars travelling around are beneficial to society. Sort of. A tighter more polished screamo sound from The Used on Artwork.

Some Music We Have Now

There are three new YA CDs on the catalogue. What are they? Look below…

foo fightersGreatest Hits by the Foo Fighters is a one CD, one DVD collection of all of the hits they deem their greatest. Dave Grohl says in the liner notes “…it is a collection of songs that have defined our band’s identity to most people over the years.” A good starting point if you’re new to the Foo, but a nice overview for old fans too.

Twilight doesn’t have anything to do with vampires, rather more to do with drum and bass. It’s a compilation put together by Concord Dawn to showcase the acts housed on the Uprising record label. If drum and bass is the genre you like best, then what are you doing? Come down and issue this right away!

flight of the concordsBy now Flight Of The Conchords need no introduction, but this is kind of an introduction, so please ignore this needless sentence. I Told You I Was Freaky is the latest album from every Americans second favourite New Zealand-centric pop culture reference (behind Peter Jackson’s hobbit filled films).

New Musical Express

cobrastarshipApparently 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.

sum41Sum 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.

janellemonaeJanelle 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.

Gamers Rejoice II

Judging from a website titled Ultramarines The Movie there is to be an Ultramarines movie. It seems a fair conclusion to reach. What are Ultramarines? Why, they’re genetically-modified super-soldiers in space, and part of the Warhammer 40k gaming universe. The movie probably won’t be out for a while, but once a trailer appears we will post it!

While the library doesn’t have gaming, we do have a rulebook (for the Warhammer fantasy RPG); we also carry White Dwarf magazine, and we have some of the related novels (and here’s 5 good reasons why you should read them if you haven’t already).

Some more music

There are five new CDs this week, and they are…

little bootsHands 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.

calvin harrisIf 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.

17 againDid 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 and the machineFlorence 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.

arctic monkeysThe 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.

New YA magazines

Not so long ago we asked which magazines should get added to the Young Adult (YA) magazine collection. Not too many people responded, but that’s okay! We’re not too disappointed! As a consequence we have added Entertainment Weekly to the YA collection – it means you can issue it for free on a YA card. (If you reserve it through the catalogue be sure to reserve the YA copy.)

We are also adding Shonen Jump. It’s not yet in the system but there is a website. Good news for manga fans, is it not. Okay, cool.

Smells Like New CDs

paolonutiniPaisley, 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.

sevendustJust 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.

sepulturaSpeaking 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.

cut-off-your-handsSticking 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.

Even More Metal

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.

masterofpuppetsMaster 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?

andjusticeforallMetallica’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.

metallicaMetallica, 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.

blizzardofozzBefore 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…

highwaytohellAC/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.

Even More Metal

Mushi-Shi

We have a new anime series available in the YA area. (Quite timely, as we’ve just separated the anime out from the other animated DVDs.) Mushi-Shi is about Mushi, supernatural creatures that aren’t noticed by most people, and Ginko, a Mushi master, who is researching them and helping out people who suffer from a case of Mushi infestation. The series has won loads of awards. There are five DVDs containing the first 20 episodes; the last disc isn’t quite here yet.

Here’s the official website, here’s one in English, and here’s a link to the library catalogue so you can check availability and reserve them.

Lots of music

Another large pile of new CDs have turned up, here are some fun facts about them:

faith-no-more 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.

beatlesanth2The 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.

qemistsJoin 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.

jonasbrothersDo 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.

lots of music

Double O seven

The YA DVD collection will soon be somewhat expanded by the addition of almost all (maybe all; I’m too lazy to confirm) the James Bond films. They’re not quite in yet but you can reserve them – YA DVDs are 50c on a YA card, and reserves for ya’ll are free.

Here they are in our catalogue. If you’ve never seen any of the classic Bond films you really should, as they’re great fun.

Tomorrow’s Twilight DVD

Tomorrow the Twilight DVD will be released. Since DVDs and CDs don’t become available on the library catalogue until they’re actually in the building, you won’t be able to reserve it until they’re ready. Which will be tomorrow morning, hopefully. We – the Teen Blog – will update as soon as they’re ready! And you can reserve your copy! Before everyone else does!

So keep reading!

Almost Amazing Video Part II

Due either to popular demand, or just the fact that I like playing with iMovie, here is the second ad for The Almost Amazing Race. This one gives away a few more details (possibly about locations) and once again stars Adrienne who is such a good sport for running everywhere I told her to on a very hot day.

Registrations will be opening very soon. We’ll let you know when on this blog and if you become our fan on facebook, we’ll let you know even sooner.

New CDs and a list you can play

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.

20/02/2009

 

More New Music Y’all

A whopping eight new CDs this week. Here they are …

Fleet Foxes are here with their self-titled debut album, Fleet Foxes. Pitchfork loved it so much it was their album of 2008. Delightful indie-pop for fans of The Shins and their ilk.

Lady Gaga is making a splash with The Fame. She says she is influenced by Madonna and Michael Jackson, it shows because she makes dance-pop in a similar vein.

One of my favorites, Ladyhawke, has made it into the YA collection with her debut Ladyhawke. She’s from New Zealand and has generated quite a lot of buzz overseas with her Blondie-esque pop. Highly recommended.

We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things by Jason Mraz is also in. Mraz is one of those singer-songwriter types with an acoustic guitar, this, his third album is considered my many his best work to date.

Jennifer Hudson was a contestant on the third season of American Idol and also had a role in the 2006 film Dreamgirls. Quite the star. Another self-titled debut called (duh) Jennifer Hudson.

Bic Runga has released a rarities collection called Try To Remember Everything: Rare And Unreleased.  Fans of this local lass will surely be pleased with this compilation of her harder to find work.

Art-Rockers Franz Ferdinand are back with Tonight… Franz Ferdinand. Another effortlessly cool collection of songs from the Glaswegian quartet.

Duffy’s Rockferry has gotten a deluxe re-release. It now comes with seven extra bonus tracks housed on a second CD. <3 bonuses <3

11/02/2009

Yet More New CDs

Another week, another pile of new music to issue. Here we go …

The Black Kids debut album Partie Traumatic is a CD to party (partie) to. Hopefully not traumatically. I’ve seen pictures and only two of them are black, how wackily misleading.

Craig David has a greatest hits album out, called Greatest Hits. Included are all the hits that he deems his greatest.

Remember Cher’s song Life After Love, where she had that crazy autotune effect on her voice in the chorus? T-Pain has done it for two whole albums now and the latest is called Thr33 Ringz. I expect this will be wildy popular, so listen to it here first.

Britney Spears has somehow found the time to make a new album called Circus and it seems like her return to form may be continuing. Includes all manner of dancey pop.

Kanye West tries the autotuned singing thing on his new one entitled 808s & Heartbreak. People seem to either love this or hate it with no middle ground. Personally I’m in the former camp, try it out and see where you stand.

Akon is back with Freedom. What’s up with all the funny voiced R&B this week? If you’re an Akon fan you’ll enjoy this a lot.

Panic At The Disco have a live album out called Live In Chicago. If you’ve enjoyed their studio albums, but have never managed to get to a concert you could close your eyes and pretend. All the hits are included.

29/01/2009

Remember you can visit the Teen Blog imeem page to listen to all previous playlists. You could also sign up for your own profile and add us as a friend.

… And One More

Another CD just came down from Cataloguing, conveniently too late for the last new music post. So here he is, all by himself, Robin Thicke with Something Else. Did you know that his father Alan Thicke was on the sitcom Growing Pains? Let’s hope this album doesn’t cause any listening pains. Aren’t I funny? In other Thicke trivia, did you also know he won a Grammy for his work on Usher’s Confessions?

Thicke

A Hundred Million Suns

CD CoverHey, if you want to listen to the new Snow Patrol CD (A Hundred Million Suns) before buying/downloading (legitimately) it, then you can reserve it now and listen to your heart’s content. One of the back room elves has just this minute finished its catalogue entry.

Newest DVDs and a New CD

A few new DVDs (and one CD/DVD) have arrived:

» Disposable Hero (M) – This is a documentary about Brian Deegan, a freestyle motorcyclist who has won the most awards in his sport. He’s also lost several organs in the process.
» Futurama : The Beast with a Billion Backs (PG) – The second feature-length Futurama DVD. (Rather than reviving the television series, a total of four films will be made.)
» Batman : Gothic Knight (M) – These six episodes of the animated television series form, taken  together, form one complete film.
» My Chemical Romance : Things That Make You Go Mmmm! (M) – A documentary about My Chemical Romance, featuring interviews with the band and people close to them, shot in New Jersey where the band began. Also …
» The Black Parade is Dead : My Chemical Romance – This is a CD and a DVD; the CD is a recording of a live concert in Mexico City, and the DVD a concert in Mexico and Hoboken, New Jersey, in the U. S. of A.

 

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