So I'm kinda procrastinating right now...anyways you know the drill. There are 30 songs and the first two lines of each song...to make it easy for ya I'll give the artist and the tracks and all you have to do is match them up. All correct matches will be in bold. Enjoy =D

*If there is any speaking at the beginning of the song it's not included.

1. I see the things he does to you.
All the pain that he puts you through.

2. Sometimes it’s gonna be days like this.
Sometimes it’s gonna be rain like this.

3. California's burning, burning
Burning to the ground.
California's Burning


4. London quieten down I need to make a sound
New York quieten down I need to make a sound

5. I just wanna live my life cause I wanna and I need to
So don't be trying to steal my light.

6. I waited til I saw the sun
Don't Know why I didn't come.
Don't Know Why

7. I'm not ashamed at the things that I dream.
I find myself flirting with the verge of obscene.

8. The devil comes and I try to stall and
Soon my subconscious and conscious might start to brawl.

9. I've given every moment I had
Still I can never seem to keep up with you

10. You were all a man would want
I should have seen it from the start

11. The first time ever I saw you're face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes

12. Phat cats just getting fatter
Lining their pockets

13. Hello welcome to the show
Somebody's gotta be on top

14. Anytime, Anywhere, any place
You could be anyone today

15. Murderer ohoh
Murderer ohoh

16. Ain't no tellin' what this hypno will do to me
I'm feelin' like I can do what I want now

17. Hello my sister
Did you make a mistake

18. Take me now
Baby here as I am

19. When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case.

20. We take sour sips from life's lush lips
And we shake, shake, shake the hips in relationships

21. Lyin' in my bed
Thoughts in my head

22. Gonna sell my car and go to Vegas
Somebody told me that's where dreams would be

23. Just about the time the shadow's called
I undressed my mind and dared you to follow

24. Somewhere dem a say
Dance will never die

25. They try to make me go to rehab
I said no, no, no
Rehab

26. Look around everywhere you turn is heartache
It's everywhere that you go

27. I took my baby
On a Saturday bang

28. I have been blind, unwilling to see
The true love you're giving.

29. I'mma be like a jolly rancher that you get at the candy store
I'mma be like a waffle cone that's dripping down too the floor.

30. In the game of love
It takes all you got.



Artists
*NSYNC
Adele
Amerie
Amy Winehouse
Augustana
Backstreet Boys
Barrington Levy
Beyoncé
Britney Spears
Cascada
Céline Dion
Chrisette Michelle
Elephant Man
Emily King
Fall Out Boy
Fergie
Joe
Josh Groban
Joss Stone
Leona Lewis
M.I.A.
Madonna
Michael Jackson
Morgan Heritage
Norah Jones
Phil Vassar
Ryan Cabrera
Sara Bareilles
Sara Bareilles




Tracks
(As I Am)
(Because The Night)
(Black Or White)
(Bucky done Gone)
(California’s Burning)
(Carpal Tunnel of Love)
(Don’t Know Why)
(Dreamin’ Of You)
(Gotta Work)
(Living Without You)
(Make You feel My Love)
(Murderer)
(My Confession)
(No Strings Attached)
(One Sweet Love)
(Rehab)
(Shine On)
(Snakes and Ladders)
(Somebody Gotta Be on Top)
(Suga Mama)
(The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face)
(This Is My Life)
(Touch Of My Hand)
(Unmistakable)
(Vegas)
(Vogue)
(Voodoo Doll)
(Walk In My Shoes)
(Willie Bounce)

I’ve been struggling with my writing a lot lately, especially now since I’ve effectively decided to delay my ’07 year-end list ‘til after this semester’s finals are all said and done. Fortunately, positive feedback regarding some of my work has slowly been trickling in these last few weeks from people I would have never thought would have any vested interest in this sort of thing, so that is encouraging in the very least. Funny how people can get bored enough on Facebook to sift through someone else’s imported notes.

Anyway, I actually had impressions and a header image made out for the month of March, but between spring break and not being very motivated to do anything school-related for the first couple of weeks back in class, I ended up playing catch-up for the rest of the month and missed out on getting it posted. Sans a couple of early standout albums, I haven’t been completely captivated by anything that’s dropped this year. Luckily, there has been a fair share of interesting and interestingly bad musical excursions that compel me to write, so I’m just going to go ahead and throw up my thoughts on last month’s round of records anyway.

Can’t wait to get back into this, f’realz.

♫ MARCH

4 March
1. Shirley Bassey – Get the Party Started
2. The Black Crowes – Warpaint
3. Kathleen Edwards – Asking for Flowers
4. Alan Jackson – Good Time
5. Lykke Li – Youth Novels
6. Son Lux – At War With Walls and Mazes
7. Stephen Malkmus – Real Emotional Trash
8. Mia Doi Todd – Gea

[Just to fill in the uninitiated: the February issue of Maxim featured a mostly negative advance blurb review of the latest release by The Black Crowes. Someone in the Crowes camp caught it fortunately and realized that it would have been impossible for anyone to have reviewed it as they hadn’t even sent out promo or advance copies to any publication. When confronted with the issue, editors immediately wrote it off as “an educated guess preview,” subsequently retracted that statement, and then issued a public apology.

The greatest irony here? – roughly half of anything published in Maxim is guaranteed garbage, but Warpaint did, indeed, suck. Give Stephen Malkmus a spin here and pass on everything else.]

11 March
9. Fat Joe – The Elephant in the Room
10. Moby – Last Night
11. Randy Jackson – Randy Jackson’s Music Club, Vol. 1
12. Kaki King – Dreaming of Revenge
13. Snoop Dogg – Ego Trippin’

[Don’t bother with anything here. Besides Snoop’s all-too-brief flirtation with artistic innovation on ‘Sensual Seduction’, it’s probably safe to say the guy’s most creative days are long behind him. Fat Joe, who’s usually good for at least 1 or 2 decent party tracks, drowns in a pap of its own self-imposed hip-hop mediocrity. Moby and Kaki King are both unbearably vanilla, and Randy Jackson can piss off for screwing over Kaba Modern on America’s Best Dance Crew. Status Quo? – Trash. Go headline a circus show at Wyclef Jean’s Crazy Calypso Carnival.]

17 March
14. Taio Cruz – Departure
15. Does It Offend You, Yeah? – You Have No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into

[Does It Offend You, Yeah? = awful. I’m just going to go ahead and utilize this space to harp on how insufferably bad Lightspeed Champion is as well, for no discernibly related reason.]

18 March
16. Be Your Own Pet – Get Awkward
17. Danity Kane – Welcome to the Dollhouse
18. DeVotchKa – A Mad and Faithful Telling
19. Flo Rida – Mail on Sunday
20. The Kills – Midnight Boom
21. Yael Naim – Yael Naim

[Be Your Own Pet thrashes through another 40 minutes of strident, unimposing indie racket. Danity Kane turn in a surprisingly serviceable sophomore effort that benefits greatly from top-shelf production from the likes of Danja, although some of the beats tread perilously close to a very distinct Blackout aesthetic, borderlining outright theft. DeVotchKa’s anticipated follow-up to the super-stellar How It Ends is, disappointingly, little more than a hollow extension of what came before it, but it still manages to be perfectly listenable. Flo Rida seemed like he was poised to garner the title of being 2008’s breakout hip-hop juggernaut, the overbearing aftertaste of platitude is all that remains after the 4 or 5 entertaining songs pass by on his debut. Yael Naim might be the new voice of Apple, but her debut betrays a considerably more exceptional feat: she’s even duller and more predictable than Feist. Finally, The Kills illuminate the dark and desolate 2008 scene with a punchy and rousing garage rock record full of snarl, grit, and (surprisingly) a beguiling competence for seamlessly weaving in catchy pop elements – easily their best effort to date.]

24 March
22. Blondfire – My Someday
23. Guillemots – Red

[This is a weird record, and I unfortunately mean that with less of the positive connotations that might have accompanied their debut 2 years ago. Fyfe Dangerfield’s vibrant ambition is only effective when tempered by some semblance of sonic cohesion, and Red regrettably succumbs to almost all the pitfalls that befell his earlier EPs in terms of inconsistency. Still, there are some remarkable instances of gratifying pop takeoff on a number of tunes, and is worth a cautious recommendation for people who don’t mind a little bit of cinematic bombast with their indie rock.

Blondfire’s long overdue LP was, one the whole, a run-of-the-mill disappointment. Did I really just wait 4 years to have my heart broken like this?]

25 March
24. The B-52's – Funplex
25. Counting Crows – Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings
26. Destroyer – Trouble in Dreams
27. Elephant Man – Let’s Get Physical
28. Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple
29. Panic at the Disco – Pretty. Odd
30. The Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely

[*deep breath* Man, this date is positively bustling with overrated-ness.

This just in: previous reports of Dan Bejar’s Destroyer outfit putting out yet another unspeakably dreadful record were, in accordance with minority belief, not exaggerated.

Gnarls Barkley fails to turn in anything remotely resembling the serviceable catchiness of ‘Crazy’, subsequently chalks it up to the press as wanting to not tread the same trodden trails, and secures their stature as one of the wackest, most overrated clusterfuck duos with The Odd Couple. My brain started hemorrhaging at the realization of how hollow of a producer DJ Danger Mouse truly is, and that Cee-Lo is living, empirical proof that something as infallible as soul music can be atrocious. This white boy-pandering hip-hop shit has seriously got to end.

The tricky thing about the wildly popular emo darlings Panic at the Disco is that they’re often too easy of a target to pick on. My seething ire for the band has always been sifted through a filter of begrudging acknowledgment for at least the marketing genius behind their curiously theatrical ambitions. Now, though, the moment I’ve been waiting for has arrived, and the scorecards have been tallied up: you can’t fool the public twice with the same shitty record. I feel truly, madly, and deeply emancipated to be able to never give two shits about you fools ever again. I’ll gladly take My Chemical Romance any day.

Speaking of shitty records, have any of you guys ever heard of The Raconteurs before? They tried to pull a fast one on the press 3 weeks ago by rush-releasing their sophomore album online, so that everyone would have the equal opportunity to marvel at how weightless and faceless their super-group brand of sterile, one-take garage rock can be. Jack White resumes his role as the scripted MVP by proxy of the fact that either nobody knows or gives a flying trip who Brendan Benson or The Greenhornes are. How this is even as banal as their debut and simultaneously manages to be the worse entry is beyond me.

I never thought I would say this, but Jack is worthless without Meg. I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.]



♫ APRIL

1 April
31. The Black Keys – Attack & Release
32. Dem Franchize Boyz – Da Point of No Return
33. Kylie Minogue – X
34. R.E.M. – Accelerate

[Even Kylie at her dimmest is still a shining beacon of hope in the context of appalling mediocrity like this.]

8 April
35. Melanie C – This Time
36. Clinic – Do It!
37. Leona Lewis – Spirit
38. The Long Blondes – Couples
39. Peter Moren – The Last Tycoon
40. Tapes ‘N Tapes – Walk It Off

[Oh, Leona Lewis. How fortunate you are that today’s music listeners are so singles-oriented into their consumption, otherwise everyone would realize how asininely MOR your record really was. I have no problems with making the concession that ‘Bleeding Love’ is a beast of a catchy single, but only time will tell how much longer you can get by with riding on the coattails of your X-Factor triumph before bitter record label moguls crush spirits in a heap of artistic ruin. Enjoy your stay in the top slot this week before Mariah comes back again to pwns you all the way back to Sunday burrito brunch in London. With the newly-widowed Corrine Bailey Rae. At the local petrol station.

In other news, Peter Morén, the man who is 1/3 responsible for the obnoxious ‘Young Folks’, embarrasses himself with an epilepsy-inducing acoustic clunker of a solo album. I really don’t have much more to add other than I loathe Peter Bjorn and John.]

15 April
41. Mariah Carey – E=MC²
42. M83 – Saturdays = Youth
43. Tristan Prettyman – Hello
44. Supergrass – Diamond Hoo Ha

[Even with my proclivity for easygoing pop, I was still surprised at how much I enjoyed Mariah Carey’s latest. Her usually limited range of subject matter has benefitted greatly since her quasi-reinvention into (ironically) a media sexpot, as it’s been accompanied with a newfound sense of refined cool credible and convincing enough to guide current hip-hop and R&B trends as opposed to chasing them. Perhaps more unexpectedly, Carey makes accommodations for the deployment of vocal production tricks that we would’ve never dreamed she’d succumbed to 5 years ago (things like vocoders and auto-tune) to yield some interesting loops and effects; additionally, there’s also a great deal less of her trademark vocal grandstanding on this record, where she typically opts to obliterate our fine china around the 3-minute mark of almost any of her previous songs. This shift away from technical showboating goes great lengths to contributing to her leanest and arguably most focused effort, probably ever.

Everything else here is sort of meh.]

22 April
45. Atmosphere – When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold
46. Blind Melon – For My Friends
47. Flight of the Conchords – Flight of the Conchords
48. El Perro del Mar – From the Valley to the Stars
49. Ashlee Simpson – Bittersweet World
50. Tokyo Police Club – Elephant Shell

[I’m mostly unimpressed with everything I heard here. A couple of interesting points about Ashlee Simpson’s new record, though: parts of it were produced by Timbaland and Chad Hugo of The Neptunes, and I think it’s worth mentioned that Hugo really is a great deal more instrumental to the creative impetus of The Neptunes than most people will give him credit for. Timbaland ends up recycling similar guitar loops he exploited on Shock Value last year, and it all ends up being not very good.]

29 April
51. Lil’ Mama – VYP: Voice of the Young People
52. Lyfe Jennings – Lyfe Change
53. Madonna – Hard Candy
54. Mudcrutch – Mudcrutch
55. Portishead – Third
56. The Supremes – Let the Music Play: Supreme Rarities 1960-1969

[Considering how terrible of a megastar collaboration ‘4 Minutes’ turned out to be, the remainder of Hard Candy almost has no right whatsoever being as good as it is. Pharrell roughly splits production duties with Danja and Timbaland, and these three gentlemen actually manage to turn in some of their best, most engaging work in a long while. The entire ordeal still predictably ends up being an assortment of trend-chasing club tunes when you take into consideration all parties involved, but Madonna makes the prudent decision to ebb and flow with her collaborators’ melodies instead of fighting to make her imprint. A cautious achievement, if ever there was any.

Alternatively, Portishead absolutely astonishes with – dare I say it? – their best album ever. I sincerely hope I’m not shooting myself in the foot for this one.]

♫ MAY

6 May
57. Clay Aiken – On My Way Here
58. Gavin DeGraw – Gavin DeGraw
59. Missy Elliott
60. Estelle – Shine
61. Ja Rule – The Mirror
62. Lykke Li – Little Bit [EP]
63. Robyn – Robyn
64. Keith Sweat – Just Me
65. Subtle – ExitingARM

[Well, I really don’t think Missy Elliott’s album is going to be out on time for this date, so if anyone comes across official news of a delay, holla back. Estelle’s (sophomore?) album was decent on the first couple of go-throughs, but I haven’t spent enough time with it quite yet. Subtle’s latest is disappointing on the sheer basis that there’s virtually no sign of rapping on it whatsoever. It’ll be awhile before I get over having my feelings hurt and re-evaluate it more objectively. And holy mackerel! – Robyn’s eponymous international hit is finally making its way stateside. If this bitch doesn’t become a U.S. superstar, there is no God.]

13 May
66. Death Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs
67. Dosh – Wolves and Whistles
68. Duffy – Rockferry
69. Lil’ Wayne – Tha Carter III

[Um, ‘Lollipop’ is a Top 5 Billboard hit. WTF? That can only mean that Tha Carter III is poised for barrels of unharnessed bad-ass-ossity. New Death Cab is predictably ZzzzzzZzZzzzZzzzZzZzZzzZzZ.]

20 May
70. David Banner – The Greatest Story Ever Told
71. Bun B – II Trill
72. Islands – Arm’s Way
73. Scarlett Johansson – Anywhere I Lay My Head
74. Mates of State – Re-Arrange Us
75. Alanis Morissette – Flavors of Entanglement
76. Jason Mraz – We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things
77. Donna Summer – Crayons

[I’m certain I’m in the virtually imperceptible majority on this one, but I think Arm’s Way is the most enjoyable manifestation of anything ever related to either Islands or The Unicorns. I can see it being slighted for its greater accessibility and ease of listen, but the arrangements are a great deal more meticulous and remarkable than anything else they’ve ever done, and front-man Nick Thorburn has never been as compelling behind the mic as he is here.]

26 May
78. Andy Burrows – The Colour of My Dreams

[A solo endeavor courtesy of the drummer from Razorlight, who suck. I can’t wait.]

May 27
79. Ellen Allien – SOOL
80. Al Green – Lay It Down
81. Cyndi Lauper – Bring Ya to the Brink
82. Usher – Here I Stand

[One of the greatest musical moments of 2008 occurred 3 weeks ago when a remix of ‘Love in This Club’ featuring T.I. popped up on a hip-hop blog. Up until that point, I had been seriously contemplating what the song would have sounded like if Jeezy’s more superior ATL colleague were spitting fire on the joint as opposed to him, and I had my prayers answered. This will probably be the best R&B record of the next 45 years.]

♫ JUNE

3 June
83. Ashanti – The Declaration
84. Jewel – Perfectly Clear
85. Ladytron – Velocifero
86. Aimee Mann –@#%&! Smilers

[Ladytron’s upcoming album isn’t anything terribly different from what’s already out, but it’s a solid electronic listen regardless. My excitement for everything else here is well-documented, and I’m even willing to give Ashanti a fifth chance to dazzle me.]

10 June
87. Jakob Dylan – Seeing Things
88. Joan as Police Woman – To Survive
89. Mike Jones – The Voice of the Streets
90. My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges
91. N*E*R*D – Seeing Sounds
92. Martha Wainwright – I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings, Too

[This is a pretty stacked summer date for obvious reasons. Fuck Mike Jones, though.]

17 June
93. Busta Rhymes – Blessed
94. Coldplay – Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
95. Ice Cube – Raw Footage
96. Wolf Parade – Kissing the Beehive

[I’m repelled by pretty much everything Spencer Krug has ever been affiliated with, and Coldplay seem poised to ruin themselves on the basis of that terrible title alone. I have my fingers crossed for both Busta and Ice – neither one of them have seen the light of a truly decent rap album in quite a few years.]

24 June
97. The Game – Los Angeles Times
98. Ne-Yo – Year of the Gentleman
99. Nelly – Brass Knuckles
100. Three 6 Mafia – Last 2 Walk
101. The Watson Twins – Fire Songs
102. Weezer – Weezer

[Anyone here ‘Party People’ by Nelly and Fergie yet? I’m not a Fergie fan, but she goes crazy hard on that song. Yeeeeeeeah.]

23 September
103. Dido

~ To Be Announced ~

A
104. A Camp
105. Paula Abdul
106. Ambulance LTD
107. Annie – Don’t Stop [July 2008]
108. Antony and the Johnsons – The Crying Light
109. Auf der Maur
110. The Avalanches

[Yaaaaaay, Annie!]

B
111. Sophie Barker
112. Basement Jaxx
113. Beyoncé
114. Big Boi – Sir Luscious Left Foot
115. Big Kuntry – My Turn to Eat [March 2008]
116. Black Eyed Peas
117. Blur
118. The Boy Least Likely To
119. Michelle Branch
120. Built to Spill
121. Laura Burhenn
122. ButtonHead

[What really surprised me was that Sophie Barker, one of the many rotating door of vocalists of Zero 7, even bothered updating her website to let everyone know about her sophomore album coming out sometime soon.]

C
123. Isobel Campbell
124. Neko Case
125. JC Chasez – Kate
126. Cassie [September 2008]
127. Leonard Cohen
128. Bill Cosby – State of Emergency

D
129. Britt Daniel
130. Dave Matthews Band
131. Deerhunter – Microcastle
132. Dells
133. Doves [2008]
134. Dr. Dre – Detox [June 2008]

E
135. Eagles of Death Metal – Heart On
136. Eve – Here I Am

F
137. The Faint
138. Final Fantasy – Heartland
139. Franz Ferdinand
140. Fugees

G
141. Garbage
142. Girl Talk – Wild Peace IV: Feed the Animals, Raise the Dead
143. Goo Goo Dolls
144. David Gray

H
145. Emmylou Harris
146. Imogen Heap
147. Keri Hilson – In a Perfect World [May 2008]
148. Whitney Houston

I
149. India.Arie

J
150. Michael Jackson
151. Jem

K
152. Dawn Kinnard

L
153. Jenny Lewis
154. Lil Jon – Crunk Rock
155. Lil’ Kim [May 2008]

M
156. Shirley Manson [2008]
157. Massive Attack – Weather Underground
158. Mercury Rev
159. Metric
160. Janelle Monae – Metropolis [September 2008]
161. My Bloody Valentine
162. My Chemical Romance
163. Mya – Liberation

N
164. Nas – Nigger

O
165. Karen O
166. OK Go
167. OutKast – 10 the Hard Way

P
168. Pixies
169. The Postal Service
170. Lisa Marie Presley
171. George Pringle
172. The Prodigy
173. The Pussycat Dolls – Double the Trouble

R
174. Rahzel – Greatest Knockouts: The Album, Vol. 2
175. Kate Rogers Band – Beauregard
176. Rogue Traders
177. Roxy Music

[I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who cares, but Kate Rogers has, apparently, formed a band after her likeness. Hellz yesh?]

S
178. Raphael Saadiq
179. Nicole Scherzinger – Her Name is Nicole
180. Jessica Simpson
181. Sisqó – The Last Dragon
182. Rachel Stevens
183. The Streets [April 2008]
184. Sunday Munich

[Well, I’ve lost count after the third or fourth tanked single, but Nicole’s really got to get her shit together and develop the sense of mind to get rid of will.i.am as fast as humanly possible if her debut record is ever going to be up to snuff for public consumption.]

T
185. T.I. – Paper Trail
186. Timbaland – Shock Value II
187. The Ting Tings

[KING BACK! And even though it feels it’s slightly against my better judgment, I absolutely love The Ting Tings.]

V
188. The Verve – Urban Hymns [June 2008]

W
189. The Walkmen
190. Sara Watkins
191. Rachael Yamagata

Y
192. Yeah Yeah Yeahs

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Elephant Man

…yeah. Still no year-end list. I suck. But here’s some cool stuff to look forward to!

Oh, yeah. Happy Valentine's Day. I GUESS.



5 February
1. Hot Chip – Made in the Dark
2. Sheryl Crow – Detours
3. Foxy Brown – Brooklyn’s Don Diva
4. Jack Johnson – Sleep Through the Static
5. Lenny Kravitz – It’s Time for a Love Revolution
6. k.d. lang – Watershed

[Up until this point I’ve hated everything Hot Chip has put out, but I was really shocked at how disarmed and enamored I was when their lead-off single, ‘Ready for the Floor’ started making the blogosphere rounds. It’s a strident, peculiarly layered beast of a dance song, but it was also fun and tastefully ephemeral 3 and half minutes of electronic wankery – really, it’s precisely what everyone has said about the songs off their last two records, only this time it fits the context. What went haywire with the rest of the album is still up for debate, although I would fathom that Made in the Dark started losing precious steam the moment it started to senselessly indulge in mindboggling indie rock slow-jamming and teeth-pulling lyrical banality. I often forget whose voice is which, but both Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard have asininely unbearable deliveries, especially since their voices don’t seem to be as heavily mixed on the slower numbers. ‘Ready for the Floor’ is the sole standout here (making this, by default, their best album to date), but the rest is unfortunately passable.

The new Sheryl Crow record is fantastic for the first 3 or 4 songs, and then it suffers from a bloated runtime and too much Sheryl Crow-ness in general.

Everything else on this date blows.]

11 February
7. The Superimposers – Harpsichord Treacle

[My random download for the week: another typical indie pop/electronic hybrid outfit spiraling out of the U.K., but one that’s thankfully devoid of any sort of artistic pretension. It’s all admittedly run-of-the-mill, but I appreciate their disposition straightforward pop tunes. Highly recommended if you’re not in the mood of being challenged by your own radio.]

12 February
8. British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music?
9. Michael Jackson Thriller: 25th Anniversary Edition
10. Kylie Minogue – X

[It’s quite a shame that Do You Like Rock Music? is both too boisterous and bombastic for its own good. How is it even possible to have twice the amount of Britpop stadium anthem excess of your peers but only half of their charisma?

This just in: MJ’s Thriller has been reissued once again, and both will.i.am and Kanye West reassert their ranks as the shittiest, most uninventive producer and remixer, respectively. This reissue is needless and the accompanying bonus material is complete garbage. I think it goes without saying that I’m ready for a legit MJ release right about now.

Finally, X makes its domestic debut this week, but its nowhere to be found in Oklahoma. Oy, vey.]

18 February
11. Mike Doughty – Golden Delicious

19 February
12. Carla Bruni – No Promises
13. Ray Davies – Working Man’s Café
14. Allison Moorer – Mockingbird
15. The Mountain Goats – Heretic Pride
16. Rick Ross – Trilla

[I’m not a studied fan of The Kinks, but I do recall how largely unimpressed I was with Ray Davies’ previous solo outing. Working Man’s Café, by contrast, is exactly what Bruce Springsteen’s Magic should have been: an exercise of muscular blue-collared rock songs. I’m surprised at how good Davies’ still sounds in his old age. Similarly, Allison Moorer has very probably turned in a career-best record, and quite possibly my favorite (alt)-country since Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. It’d be in everybody’s best interest to give her a shot.

Newsflash: The Mountain Goats turn in the same goddamn album for the umpteenth time in a row. Fucking beautiful.]

26 February
17. Beach House – Devotion
18. Ghostland Observatory – Robotique Majestique
19. Goldfrapp – Seventh Tree
20. Janet Jackson – Discipline
21. Son Lux – At War With Walls and Mazes
22. Tift Merritt – Another Country

[This is the first date this year where I’ve either been pleased with everything I’ve heard or am looking forward to hearing everything. Seventh Tree is beyond excellent, and even the new Beach House has grown on me quite a bit (after constant external pressure to reevaluate it, but I digress). Janet Jackson’s new song has captured my interest in a way that her songs haven’t done since Dr. Doolittle 2, and Tift Merritt might very well give Allison Moorer a run for her money in the arena of alt-country.]



4 March
23. Shirley Bassey – Get the Party Started
24. The Black Crowes – Warpaint
25. Kathleen Edwards – Asking for Flowers
26. Alan Jackson – Good Time
27. Lykke Li – Youth Novels
28. Stephen Malkmus – Real Emotional Trash

[So I’ve taken a curious liking to Lykke Li, an interesting vocalist out of Sweden, these last couple of weeks. I’m not really in a position to deliver any informed opinion about her debut album, but it might be something worth investigated for people who have a vested concentration in artists who operate on the fringes of art pop, which is probably the best approximation of her sound I can give at the moment. Elsewhere, Stephen Malkmus continues to assert his a bold argument – that the dissolution of Pavement was probably the best thing that ever happened to him.]

11 March
29. Moby – Last Night
30. Randy Jackson – Randy Jackson’s Music Club, Vol. 1
31. Kaki King – Dreaming of Revenge

[Uhhh…]

17 March
32. Taio Cruz – Departure
33. Does It Offend You, Yeah? – You Have No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into
34. Guillemots – Red

[I’ve heard the new Guillemots single, and I’m somehow disappointed that it seems to be more of the same. They took a huge gamble on their debut 2 years ago in making it as enormous and sonically grandiloquent as possible, but it their uninhibited vision manage to reap handsome dividends mostly because of (don’t laugh) their fabulous sense of editing in the cutting room. As wacky and genre-spanning their approach might seem, the group had some truly abysmal stylistic meanderings that were mercifully excluded from the final cut. A continuation of what came on Through the Windowpane isn’t terrible per se, but I am expecting bigger things from the band that occupied by #3 slot in ’06.]

18 March
35. Be Your Own Pet – Get Awkward
36. DeVotchKa – A Mad and Faithful Telling
37. Flo Rida – Mail on Sunday
38. The Kills – Midnight Boom
39. Lil’ Wayne – Tha Carter III
40. Keith Sweat – Just Me
41. Three 6 Mafia – Last 2 Walk

[Although it’s not as relentlessly gritty as their preceding albums, Midnight Boom features a welcome pop expansion to the duo’s muscular garage rock style. I’ve only listened to it a few times since I’ve snagged it, but I’m very much into everything on that record so far.

Flo Rida’s second single (‘Elevator’) features Timbaland on the soundboard, and it’s easily the best thing he’s produced in a good while (that is, when you take into consideration the questionable work he’s submitted for Ne-Yo and 50 Cent last year).]

25 March
42. The B-52's – Funplex
43. Destroyer – Trouble in Dreams
44. Elephant Man – Let’s Get Physical
45. Panic at the Disco – Pretty, Odd
46. Snoop Dogg – Ego Trippin’

[D-O double G, man. It’s about time this guy stopped coasting on his charisma and got to around to laying down some real tracks again.]



1 April
47. The Black Keys – Attack & Release
48. R.E.M. – Accelerate

[This is about that point in the post where I get tired of talking about upcoming releases and can’t even bullshit my way through bands I only have a partial interest in. I suppose I expect both these releases to be enjoyable on some level, though.]

8 April
49. Clinic – Do It!
50. Leona Lewis – Spirit
51. The Long Blondes – Couples
52. Peter Moren – The Last Tycoon
53. Tapes ‘N Tapes – Walk It Off

[Man. I loathe Peter Bjorn and John and hope to grow to be annoyed with Peter’s solo excursion just as much. It still baffles me why you blokes in the mighty United Kingdom love Leona Lewis so much, but let me just set the record straight by saying that she is absolute trash.]

14 April
54. Portishead – Third

[At the risk of sounding like a broken record in the coming weeks, I think it’s fair to say that I’m excited for one of the bands that changed my life to come out of their 11-year hiatus, don’t you? I don’t even have words to articulate how I feel about this.]

15 April
55. Mariah Carey – E=MC2
56. Mike Jones – The Voice of the Streets
57. M83 – Saturdays = Youth
58. Supergrass – Diamond Hoo Ha

[Much to everyone’s possible dismay, I am truly, madly, deeply excited for new Mariah Carey material. I also recently heard a couple of Supergrass tunes floating around on the internetz recently, and I very much enjoyed what I heard. Finally, this is M83’s last chance to not suck.]

22 April
59. Atmosphere – When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold
60. Blind Melon – For My Friends
61. Flight of the Conchords – Flight of the Conchords
62. El Perro del Mar – From the Valley to the Stars

[Sometimes I just include bands on here that I don’t actually have much of an appeal with me. Case in point: Blind Melon. I’m just mostly interested in how people would react to new material by this (arguably) memorable ‘90s staple outfit, especially since it’s now apparently fronted by some kid who apparently bears no vocal resemblances to Shannon Hoon.

In other news, I’m sure a slew of you will be excited to hear Flight of the Conchords’ proper debut, as well as some retooled favorites. And do everything in your power to avoid that El Perro Del Mar joint – I was offended at how boring it was.]

29 April
63. Dido

[C’moooooooon, Jon Brion!]



6 May
64. Missy Elliott
65. Estelle – Shine
66. Robyn – Robyn
67. Subtle – ExitingARM

[This date is absolutely sick. Even if Missy’s new single sucks.]

13 May
68. Death Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs

[LOL]

20 May
69. Cassie
70. Scarlett Johansson – Anywhere I Lay My Head

[I’ve been digging the idea of a ScarJo vocal record for over a year now, and I love how I already think it’s going to be awesome based on nothing.]



3 June
71. Jewel – Perfectly Clear
72. Ladytron – Velocifero

[Depending on how Tift Merritt’s effort pans out and whether or not Neko Case drops another album this year, Jewel may very well assist in capping this year off as the most bad-ass year for female alt-country records ever. And holla back for Ladytron – what can I possibly say other than it will probably be just as ricockulously sweet as the rest of their discography?]

10 June
73. My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges

[Yeeeeeeeeeeeah, boiiiiiiiii!]

~ To Be Announced ~

74. A Camp
75. Ambulance LTD
76. Annie [April 2008]
77. Antony and the Johnsons – The Crying Light
78. Auf der Maur
79. The Avalanches
80. David Banner – The Greatest Story Ever Told [March 2008]
81. Basement Jaxx
82. Beyoncé
83. Big Boi
84. Big Kuntry – My Turn to Eat [March 2008]
85. Andrew Bird – Soldier On [EP]
86. Black Eyed Peas
87. Blondfire [2008]
88. Blur
89. The Boy Least Likely To
90. Built to Spill
91. Laura Burhenn
92. ButtonHead
93. Isobel Campbell
94. Neko Case
95. JC Chasez – Kate [permanently shelved]
96. Leonard Cohen
97. Coldplay – Prospekt
98. Bill Cosby – State of Emergency
99. Counting Crows – Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings
100. Britt Daniel
101. Dave Matthews Band
102. Deerhunter – Microcastle
103. Dells
104. Doves [2008]
105. Dr. Dre – Detox [June 2008]
106. Eagles of Death Metal – Heart On
107. Eve – Here I Am
108. Eve – Here I Am
109. The Faint
110. Fat Joe – The Elephant in the Room
111. Final Fantasy – Heartland
112. Franz Ferdinand
113. Fugees
114. Garbage
115. Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple [April 2008]
116. Goo Goo Dolls
117. David Gray
118. Emmylou Harris
119. Imogen Heap
120. Keri Hilson – In a Perfect World
121. Whitney Houston
122. India.Arie
123. Islands – Arm’s Way
124. Ja Rule – The Mirror [March 2008]
125. Michael Jackson
126. Jem
127. Lyfe Jennings – Change [March 2008]
128. Dawn Kinnard
129. Ladytron [May 2008]
130. Jenny Lewis
131. Lil Jon – Crunk Rock
132. Lil’ Kim [May 2008]
133. Shirley Manson [2008]
134. Madonna – Licorice
135. Aimee Mann –Smilers [Spring 2008]
136. Massive Attack – Weather Underground
137. Mercury Rev
138. Metric
139. Alanis Morissette – Flavors of Entanglement [May 2008]
140. My Bloody Valentine
141. My Chemical Romance
142. Mya – Liberation
143. N*E*R*D – N*3*R*D
144. Nas – Nigger
145. Karen O
146. OK Go
147. OutKast – 10 the Hard Way
148. Pixies
149. The Postal Service
150. Lisa Marie Presley
151. George Pringle
152. The Prodigy
153. The Pussycat Dolls – Double the Trouble
154. The Raconteurs
155. Rahzel – Greatest Knockouts: The Album, Vol. 2
156. Rogue Traders
157. Roxy Music
158. Raphael Saadiq
159. Nicole Scherzinger – Her Name is Nicole [February 2008]
160. Ashlee Simpson – Color Outside the Lines
161. Jessica Simpson
162. Sisqó – The Last Dragon
163. Rachel Stevens
164. The Streets [April 2008]
165. Sunday Munich
166. T.I. – Paper Trail
167. Chris Thile – Punch
168. Timbaland – Shock Value II
169. The Ting Tings
170. Tokyo Police Club – Elephant Shell [April 2008]
171. Usher
172. The Verve – Urban Hymns [June 2008]
173. The Walkmen
174. Sara Watkins
175. Rachael Yamagata
176. Yeah Yeah Yeahs

[As a final note, the two Usher buzz singles that have been making their rounds lately have rejuvenated hope for an Usher album that’ll murder the competition and put that pappy-ass scratch vocalist Chris Brown in his fucking place. Hallelujah.]

Die Festivalsaison hat zwar noch nicht begonnen, die Vorbereitungen laufen jedoch schon auf Hochtouren! Schließlich garantiert nicht nur Sommer, Sonne und Sonnenschein ein gelungenes Wochenende, sondern hauptsächlich die Musik – der Grund, warum sich die Fans zu Tausenden auf den kleinen matschigen Zeltplätzen scharen. Auch das SPLASH!-Festival ist zu einem beliebten Sommerevent geworden, dessen Datum sich manche bereits jetzt rot im Kalender markieren. Vollständig ist das Lineup noch nicht, doch einen kleinen Vorgeschmack auf den ein oder anderen Act der schon fest zugesagt hat, können wir Euch an dieser Stelle geben:

Blumentopf

Gern Geschehen
Eins A
Grosses Kino
Kein Zufall

Intro
6 Meter 90
Block Und Bleistift
Autos Und Frauen

Culcha Candela

Culcha Candela
Union Verdadera
Next generation
Follow Me

Ey DJ
Next Generation
Solarenergie
Partybus

Dynamite Deluxe

TNT
Deluxe Soundsystem
Kurz Und Schmerzlos
Grüne Brille EP

Dynamit!
Newcomer des Jahres
Komma Klar
Der Thron Ist Meiner

Gentleman

Confidence
Journey to Jah
Another Intensity
Trodin On

Superior
Intoxication
Dem Gone
Send a Prayer

J-Live

All Of The Above
The Best Part
Always Will Be
Always has been

MCee
One For The Griot
Like This Anna
A Charmed Life

Jan Delay & Disko No.1

Klar
Kartoffeln
Vergiftet
Raveheart

Kool Savas

Tot oder lebendig
Der beste Tag meines Lebens