BY MIKEY MIGO
For most people, The Fourth of July feels like summer is winding down. Before we all know it we'll be back in long sleeves, back to school, back to primetime television, and just back to our normal non-summer routines. Let's not forget that fall or "autumn" to you weirdoes doesn't start until September 23rd. Just because the smoke from the celebratory color bombs of recreation are behind us does not mean we're not going to be treated with some great summer albums and summer singles.
Summer music is pretty big in my memories. Who could ever get away from "Hey Ya!" by Outkast or even "Float On" by Modest Mouse? It's not always the pop song that breaks into the summer lexicon, but really just the best song to party to and/or sing along with. There's still a chance we might get a good "summer jam" out of the upcoming releases by some of the biggest acts in music. The chances are good. I mean they are world renowned and considered the "biggest acts in music" for a reason. Huge smash hits or not, there seems to be a lot of quality on the horizon. Let's take a look.
(These Fickle Dates are Subject to Change.)
THE BAND: The Dead Weather
THE ALBUM: Horehound
WHEN TO GET IT: July 14th, 2009
I am a huge fan of "The White Stripes" and the "The Raconteurs". I consider Jack White to be one of the only real new rock stars out there. Twenty years from now it'll be his work (and most likely "Foo Fighters") that is heralded as representing an era of rock history. So yeah, I'm bias and excited for this release. To top it off you get Jack Lawrence from "The Raconteurs", Dean Fertita of "Queens of The Stone Age"(another defining band and favorite), and Alison Mosshart of "The Kills" behind the mic. That's some promising ingredients in what could be a hearty serving of "awesome". If you get on their official website you can preview a few tracks in their "Media" section. Of course, I listened. They put up "Hand You from the Heavens", which is the first single. I've only heard it a few times before and they were always during distracting car rides. It's a good tune, but like the also solid "Treat Me Like Your Mother", doesn't grab you like the others. "I Cut Like A Buffalo" is a bad ass gritty trip-funk rock track that I can already imagine will be cool single/video. I'm still 100% open minded to the album, but only one of the three original songs released really has me excited. I hope I'm proven wrong, but still, you can't fault them for giving it a go though.
THE ARTIST: Jay-Z
THE ALBUM: Blueprint 3
WHEN TO GET IT: Friday, September 11th, 2009
"The Black Album" was the last album of Hova's that I liked. Since then he's retired, bought part of an NBA team, sold out a bit, release two "meh" albums, and has pretty much become a "Diddy" mogul clone. He's successful at what he does, but what he does isn't something I care about. I see the man now and I normally roll my eyes. He's ONE OF the best rappers of all time, not THE BEST. But you probably couldn't tell HIM that. I know I sound negative, but I honestly don't know what happened. I used to support the guy and anticipate his albums, but somewhere around getting involved with auto racing it all changed. When I heard of the release of "Blueprint 3", I probably rolled my eyes and went on a "Hip Hop isn't Back to the Future, there's no need for sequels" rant. This all changed when I heard more about the album. This album will have absolutely NO AUTOTUNE. NONE. Over the past couple years autotune has ruined hip hop music and some of its best performers. Kanye's "808" was the biggest let down of all last year. Not because I'm anti-Kanye, because I enjoy the guy's music and I enjoy his antics. It was because of AUTOTUNE. Jay is apparently in the same boat as me on this and is speaking out. The track "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" was released as the first single and is undeniably a hot track. Hot to the point where my hopes for this album are now high. I'm looking forward to it, but I still have a worry about it. "Autotune" is a passing trend, Jay's music is mostly timeless. In 10 years when Lil Wayne is a punchline, people are going to listen to this upcoming album and remember "autotune". It's something that we should just forget already.
THE BAND: Muse
THE ALBUM: The Resistance
WHEN TO GET IT: Monday, September 14th, 2009
It's safe to say that "Black Holes and Revelations" is one of the best rock albums in the past five years. "The Resistance" is said to be an "electronic album", which can be just as awesome if you're up to date with the band's older releases. Then there were talks of there just being a spree of singles or one 50-minute symphony, or just a new kick ass album. Lucky for us, it's the latter. Little is still known about the music. Nothing has leaked or been released yet. I'm sure we'll be treated to some kick ass tracks, but what I'm looking forward to most experiencing is the three part symphony titled "Exogenesis". The only public figure to hear the album is BBC Radio 1 host Zane Lowe. He describes it as "A beautifully recorded, strong, sweeping, fighting, uplifting, rocking, lilting and inclusive record about love." Those are adjectives one likes to hear when anticipating a new album.
THE BAND: The Beastie Boys
THE ALBUM: Hot Sauce Committee Part 1
WHEN TO GET IT: September 15th, 2009
It's been a long time since 2004's "5 Boroughs". I know there was an instrumental released between then and now, but that doesn't really count to me. I need to hear those three emcees rock the mic for anything to be official. There has been two tracks released so far to sample what to expect. "Lee Majors Comes Again" is one of the hardest tracks Beasties have put out in recent memory. Musically it's punk, but in Beastie fashion, they manage to rhyme over it with chaotic ease. It reminds me of a good ol fashion throw back to my youth when the Boys were still edgy. Then we have "B-Boys in the Cut" that's a great grit-hop track that you can't help but enjoy. With a line like "I'm like Oscar the grouch…trashy!" you know you're in for a treat. After hearing those two tracks, I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to this album more than any other pending release. This isn't just a release; it's an unleashing. Oh how I've missed you all.
THE ARTIST: Sean "Diddy" Combs
THE ALBUM: Last Train to Paris
WHEN TO GET IT: September 22nd, 2009
My hopes aren't super high for this release, but my curiosity is definitely there. "Diddy" is a great business man and has given us a lot of great hip hop stars, but he never seems to get the credit for his own musical work. I DO like the guy. The same people who shit on the guy for sampling so much are the ones dancing in clubs to his jams. Most hip hop artists sample, Combs was just way ahead of his time. He has my support, but I'd be lying if I said I was excited for this album at start. I just sorta blew it off and ignored it. A few days ago I read about the vision behind this album. It's a concept album about meeting the woman of his dreams, losing her, finding her, losing her again, and then finally finding her one for the final time. It sounds like it could be repetitive, but I'm a sucker for concept albums.
THE BAND: Fashion Bomb
THE ALBUM: Visions of the Lifted Veil
WHEN TO GET IT: Late Summer, 2009
Off the bat, I should fill you in on why I am bias in this specific case. I know these guys and do lend a hand with web and graphic duties. On the flipside to that, I wouldn't even waste my time if I didn't appreciate their music. Long before being involved, I was a fan that attended shows religiously. I just lucked out in getting the opportunity to work with them. Enough of my personal interlude. Their first release "Devils to Some, Angels to Others" was and is still one of my favorite albums to be released this millennium. Being a fan of NIN, Manson, Zombie, Tool, and darker hard rock in general, it's hard not to like these guys. Their self released first album garnered them plenty of attention from the likes of Metal Hammer magazine among other media outlets. It got them shows with the likes of Dope, Mushroomhead, Godhead, American Headcharge, and Soil just to name a few. Most importantly, it got them signed by Full Effect Records. So under the Full Effect branding and through Sony, the album was rereleased on a national level. Now we fast forward to 2009. Their second album, produced by Raymond Herrera of Fear Factory and Arkaea and also Jeremy Blair, whose credits include works with GNR, Fear Factory, and other kick ass bands. So the album has THAT going for it. There's a cover of Tori Amos's "Crucify" that I'm sure will be unique as well a few tracks I've already had the pleasure of hearing. Their last couple of concerts had a few new tracks from the upcoming album and they are already stuck in my head. "The Vow", "Sick One", "The Meek", and the ones I've heard at these concerts show their range as musicians. As opposed to just growling into a mic over guitars being played as fast as they can like many bands considered metal these days, there is substance. I can't wait to hear the songs I've heard, the ones I haven't, and the full studio production on this album. Take note; that's not a shill. I am moist with anticipation for this one. Yeah, I said it.
THE BAND: Pearl Jam
THE ALBUM: Backspacer
WHEN TO GET IT: September 22nd, 2009
With the ninth studio album, Pearl Jam returns with their first album in three years. For the first time in their career, they will be self releasing their music. I'm not a huge Pearl Jam fan, but I always anticipate their releases because they're always good for at least one or two really good rock singles. Eddie Vedder recently said "The new record feels good so far-really strong and up tempo, stuff we can sink our teeth into." That right there tells me that we're in for a few good head bangers.
Okay, so fall beings either the 22nd or 23rd of September. There are still a few releases that come afterwards that I wanted to cover, but I won't. I will ask to help me stretch the seasonal clock so we can include this last one. Just one week after the season change….
THE BAND: Alice In Chains
THE ALBUM: Black Gives Way To Blue
WHEN TO GET IT: September 29th, 2009
I'll admit it. ECW wrestler Tommy Dreamer using "Man In The Box" is the main reason I ever picked up an Alice In Chains CD. From there I was treated with the best grunge metal EVER MADE. Songs like "The Rooster", "Would?", "Down In a Hole", "No Excuses", "We Die Young", and "Got Me Wrong" all made it into my "forever playlist". These are songs that my ears will always welcome. After the passing of Layne Staley I assumed like many others that our days of new "Alice In Chains" albums were behind us. That was until a few years ago when it was announced that William DuVall would be taking over the lead vocalist role. At first, I was hesitant and not sure if this was a good idea. Then I snooped around the internet, heard some live performances, and read more about where the band was coming from. I can pretty much say that DuVall is awesome and this could end up being a really good album. FOURTEEN YEARS is a long time to wait for a new album, but my hopes are high on this one. If the first single, "A Looking In View" is any indication, the high hopes will not only be met, but exceeded.
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