August 8-14

With new releases...

Available for digital download August 8th;


The Throne
Watch the Throne

This album is currently available for digital download on iTunes. It will be released on August 12th in CD format. For those of you who don't know, The Throne is a collaboration between Roc-a-fella Record's two best selling artists, Jay-Z and Kanye West. The Watch the Throne tour will be kicking off sometime in September to promote this album. This album has already spawned two singles, H-A-M and Otis. I always endorse both artists so I am looking forward to this album. Normally I worry about collaborations like this, but in past performances, Kanye seems to know his place around Jay-Z. I guess it helps when he is your boss! Enjoy! By the way....this album has hit #1 in 23 countries already.

The following albums will be available for purchase on Tuesday, August 9th;


Luke Bryan
Tailgates & Tanlines

This will be Luke's third studio release. His first two albums reached number two on the charts and I don't expect this one to be any different. His last album has been certified gold and he continues to pick up steam with his career. I am happy to hear that he co wrote 8 of the 13 tracks on this album. I appreciate any artist that writes their own material. I am sure this album will be decent, I personally have more interest in the singer/songwriter or bluegrass side of country. He will also be performing this week in Charlotte with Tim McGraw.

Gucci Mane & Waka Flocka Flame
1017 Bricksquad Presents...Ferrari Boyz

This is a collaborative album by rappers, Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka Flame of the 1017 Bricksquad. No, Waka Flocka Flame is not the pyromaniac version of Fozzie Bear. If you remember Wocka Flocka Flame was shot in Charlotte not too long ago. Apparently he has made a strong recovery. This album also contains input from other members of the squad like, Wooh da Kid, Frenchie, Slim Dunkin', Ice Burghandy, YG Hootie and production from Drumma Boy, Schife, Southside Luellen, FATBOI, and Shawty Redd. Are you flippin' serious?! Who the hell comes up with these names? Who takes this crap seriously? The cover alone makes me nauseous. Where are Statler and Waldorf when you need them? I am going to try to keep this short and sweet; I will not endorse this album. If you like this kind of rap, more power to you. I will stick with those rappers who have talent. Always remember if you don't listen to this crap.....it may go away.......I apologize if this offended anyone, it is my blog and I get to call it as I see it.

Royce da 5'9

Success Is Certain

This is the fifth studio album from Detroit rapper, Royce da 5'9. I have starting to listen to more of his material after I heard him with Eminem on Bad Meets Evil. I liked what I heard so far. On this album, he gets production from the one and only DJ Premier. There are special guest appearances by Joe Budden, Travis Barker and of course Eminem. Two singles have already been releases off of this album; Writer's Block, featuring Eminem and Second Place. The latter of which was rumored to have guest appearances by Raekwon and Method Man of Wu-Tang Clan but no longer does because of a leak of information. You are presented with two rap CD releases this week. One good and one bad.....make the right choice.





The rumor mill...


I heard some gossip about two popular bands that I wanted to share with everyone. The Kings of Leon cancelled their recent Charlotte show and have cancelled the rest of their tour. "Rumor" has it that the lead singer, Anthony Followill, has an addiction problem, "rumored" to be alcohol. As more information comes out, we shall see what the real reasons were for canceling the show and the tour. Secondly, major drama with the band Breaking Benjamin. This really sucks because I really do like this band. Apparently, last year, the lead singer, Benjamin Burnley, cancelled shows due to "vocal exhaustion or recurring illness." Very soon after, he performed a number of solo shows. So now, his band decided to release a greatest hits album without his consent. So of course what does he do? Yep, he sued his band mates. Nice.....So I hoped you liked what you heard because it sounds like Breaking Benjamin is Breaking Bad.....(two pop culture references in one sentence...nicely done Sean!) In a bit of side news, Gavin DeGraw was hospitalized after being assaulted and hit by a cab in the same night. Chalk that up as the only recent Gavin DeGraw hit......aww...too soon? Lauryn Hill's former guitarist is suing her for unpaid wages.

Album reviews...


Let's face it. There hasn't been much coming out that I have wanted to buy. I have been trying to review at least three albums per week but I have run out of current albums to review. If there is anything you want me to check out or be the guinea pig for, let me know. I will review your request and post my thoughts.

O.A.R.
King

I was a little disappointed when listening to this album. I guess I was expecting it to be a little better. Don't get me wrong, the music is still good, it was just all over the place. It reminded me of Sublime more than anything else. I miss the use of horns in their music. The only potential single I could hear on this album was Gotta Be Wrong Sometimes. The only thing that stops this from getting a bad review is that I understand that this band is progressive and likes to expiriment with sounds. You might want to give this a listen before you buy.  

This weeks throwback albums...

Nas

Illmatic

This was the debut album from one of the greatest MC's of all time. Illmatic is considered by many to be the best rap album of all time. I still listen to this album a lot. The material is dated but Nas' flow is timeless. Every time I hear N.Y. State of Mind it brings me back to the golden age of hip-hop. If you sleep on this album any longer you will be Rip Van Winkle. Get it if you don't have it....plain and simple. Why would you not want to own one of the best albums ever. As far as rap music goes, this is piece of fine art, like the Mona Lisa or the Parthenon. When you have the chance to own a piece of history, you take it.

Smashing Pumpkins

Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness

In my opinion, this is the most epic rock album released in my lifetime since Pink Floyd's The Wall. I know this is a strong statement but I stand by it. Given what this album is, a masterpiece of progressive and visionary work, this is one of the all-time classics. It is a journey from start to end. Billy Corgan's songwriting is top notch and their was even heavy contributions from guitarists, D'arcy Wretzky and James Iha. Prior to this album, it is rumored that Corgan wrote tirelessly and wrote 56 songs over the course of a year. This album earned them 9 Grammy nominations and has gone 12x platinum. The album also spawned 6 charting singles. The sheer numbers are staggering. This album was intended to be a statement about the cycle of life and death. I admit it took me a couple listens to fully "understand" the album, but I loved the sound from minute one. This music is still relevant and I highly recommend this for any collector or music lover.

You oughtta know...

Ray LaMontagne

Ray Lamontagne was born to a traveling mother and a violent musician father. For this reason, Ray seldom engaged in musical activities. He spend most of his time reading in the forest. LaMontagne eventually landed in Maine working in a shoe factory. One morning at 4am, he awoke to Stephen Stills' Treetop Flyer. Ray purchased the Stills Alone album, which influenced him to quit his job and become a song writer. Let's be thankful that this chain of events happened. I admit, I first heard the song Trouble, on the Traveler's Insurance commercial. I came across the rest of the album by chance and loved it immediately. He is the epitome of current folk music and has an unmistakable raspy voice that lends a pureness to his music. You should definitely check him out.

If you like what you have heard here.....I have provided this album for download at this link. Enjoy

http://www.mediafire.com/?9bbjt7kn17aj2

This week in history...

I had asked if people like this section. I had several people respond that they do. Last week I didn't add this but I will from now on. Thanks for your feedback.

2001

Avenged Sevenfold

Warmness On the Soul

Toby Keith

Pull My Chain

Michelle Branch

The Spirit Room

Alison Krauss

New Favorite

K.D. Lang

Live by Request

1991

Metallica

Metallica

Brooks & Dunn

Brand New Man

Cypress Hill

Cypress Hill

1981

Debbie Harry

Koo Koo

Bob Dylan

Shot of Love

Luther Vandross

Never Too Much

1971

Al Green

Al Green Gets Next to You

Happy Birthday...

August 8th;

Drew Lachey (98 Degrees)

35

JC Chasez (N'SYNC)

35

Scott Stapp (Creed)

38

Mohandas DeWese (Kool Moe Dee)

49

David Howell Evans (The Edge/U2)

50

Richard Allan Ream (Rikki Rockett/Poison)

50

August 9th;

Dedrick Rolison (Mack 10)

37

Whitney Houston

48

Curtis Walker (Kurtis Blow)

52

August 10th;

Michael Bivins (New Edition/Bell Biv DeVoe)

43

Patti Austin

61

Ronnie Spector (The Ronettes)

68

August 11th;

Asher Roth

26

Chris Kelly (Mack Daddy/Kriss Kross)

33

Joe Jackson

57

Eric Carmen

62

August 12th;

Teren Delvon Jones (Del the Funky Homosapien)

39

Anthony Ray (Sir Mix-a-lot)

48

Mark Knopfler

62

August 14th;

David Crosby

70

Dash Crofts (Seals & Crofts)

71

In Charlotte...

This weeks venue of note is the Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheater. On Tuesday, the Goo Goo Dolls will be performing. Go support a hard working band from Buffalo. Wednesday, the Get $leazy Tour tramps into town featuring Ke$ha. This should be a high-energy, entertaining show. Finally, on Saturday, legendary band, Chicago, rolls into town with their multi-person brass band. This is the place to be. If you at least get to one show...go enjoy.

August 1-7

With new releases...

*This week I will be starting a "thumb" system for upcoming releases. Pretty self explanatory.


Tuesday, August 2nd;


Fountains of Wayne
Sky Full of Holes





This is the fifth studio album from New York rock band Fountains of Wayne. From the information I have received, this album is supposed to be more sedated than past. Their sound apparently remains harmonic but with more believable lyrics. I like this band but am somewhat familiar with their catalogue. I am more familiar with the handful of singles they have released. I have a neutral recommendation on this album.



O.A.R.

King

This is the seventh studio album by O.A.R. They have already released the single, Heaven, which has reached #1 on the iTunes rock chart. I have always thought this band to be underrated even though they seem to consistently deliver a good product. These guys continue to be popular among the college crowd as many of their lyrics are relative to either their high school or college days. I would recommend checking this album out.

Trace Adkins
Proud to Be Here

This is the tenth studio album from country music star Trace Adkins. I personally do not get all the hype and success of this artist. I think he talks in his songs far more often than he sings. If I want to hear a man with a deep voice talk on disc, I will get a book on tape narrated by James Earl Jones. This being said, many people enjoy his music and his fist single off of this album, Just Fishin' has reached #12 on the country charts.

Mat Kearney

Young Love

This will be the fourth release by Nashville songwriter Mat Kearney. When listening to his music, you can tell he is a true singer/songwriter and can definitely hear the Nashville influence in his writing. However, in direct contradiction to the traditional Nashville style, Kearney revealed that he will be using a rapping style that can be heard on past albums. He feels that this style is a return to innocence. His first single, Hey Mama, has already been released for digital download.

With music...

iHeartRadio Festival

As you probably know by now, on September 23rd and 24th, there is going to be a mega concert/festival in Las Vegas, NV. iHeartRadio is an App. and website that allows you to listen to radio stations all over the world. The more I think about this, the more remarkable it is that they had so many artists commit to this festival. I am not sure I have witnessed such a vast collection of artists at one event in my lifetime. This thing is supposed to be huge and sold out in 10 minutes. I expect a media explosion as a result, dvd's, cd's, apps, who know. Follow if you can, it should be highly entertaining. Below I have included a list of artists who have committed to play with more supposed to be announced over the course of the summer. Among the performers are, Lady Gaga, Steven Tyler, Jane's Addiction, Kenny Chesney, Black Eyed Peas, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj, David Guetta, Alicia Keys, John Mayer, Kelly Clarkson, Rome w/Sublime, Sting, Usher and more...WOW!

*As a reminder....I rate these albums based on a sixpack. I finally figured out how to include icons. Enjoy!!

Wu-Tang

Legendary Weapons

I truly wasn't expecting to like this all that much but I did. I thought it was very reminiscent of older Wu-Tang and I enjoyed it on the first listen. I am not sure how this is a compilation album as I hadn't heard the material before. Also didn't miss GZA as much as I thought. The sound was still grungy and the samples used were in form with Wu-Tang's style. It was definitely a nice break from all the crap you hear on the radio now. If you are a Wu-Tang fan you will definitely enjoy this album. I don't think this album will get much airplay but Wu-Tang's music rarely does and to be quite honest I don't think it is meant to....and I like it that way.

Joss Stone

LP1

This is another strong release from Joss. This girl has soul spilling out her ears. I think one thing that Joss does better than anyone is gives you a raw, intimate feeling with her music. There is so much emotion in her words that you can't help but feel a connection with what she is singing. This is a good album to chill out with and enjoy. She has transitioned succcessfully from a soulful young lady into a soulful woman and that transition is evident in her lyrics.

This week's throwback albums...

Bush

Sixteen Stone

Bush was basically England's answer to the grunge success of Pearl Jam and Nirvana. This debut of Bush peaked at No.4 on the Billboard charts and has reached over 6 million in sales. The album produced 5 top 40 singles and propelled the band into stardom. The album is named 16 Stone after a friend of lead singer, Gavin Rossdale's called a number looking for a 21 year old Scandinavian beauty. When she arrived at the home she was in her 40's and weighed in at 16 Stone (a UK measurement of weight...16 Stone=224lbs.) This album is worth checking out and is still fun to listen to today.

 

Junior M.A.F.I.A.

Conspiracy

Junior M.A.F.I.A. (Master at Finding Intelligent Attitudes) was a rap group formed and mentored under the guidance of Notorious B.I.G. This group is responsible for launching the career's of Lil' Kim and Lil' Cease. Unfortunately the group broke up after the death of Biggie in 1997. An interview with Notorious B.I.G. revealed that he was planning on retiring from rap in 2000 to manage this group. Oh what could have been. This record managed to spawn two singles, Player's Anthem and Get Money. Worth checking out. As I always say, a must have for any true rap collection.

 

You oughtta know...

The Old 97's

The Old 97's are an alternative country band who formed in Dallas, TX in 1993. They are considered to be the pioneers of the alt-country movement of the mid and late 90's. Elektra records picked them up hoping that the alt-country movement would be the next grunge movement. Sadly, the movement and the band never gathered as much attention as expected. The band is still solid and worth checking out. They have also been featured in the movie The Breakup.

Fan feedback...
Someone asked me how I felt about the Rebecca Black phenomenon, Friday. For those three or four people who have never heard the song or seen the video, check it out here.

OK, now that that's out of the way.....I will tell you how I feel. Let me first give you some background. A friend referred her to this place called ARK Music Factory. Since Black was active in the community already singing, dancing and auditioning for shows, this seemed like a good idea. Her mother paid $4,000 dollars for her to shoot this video. Lets face it, this song is AWFUL but is hard not to find it catchy....so mission accomplished I guess. Here are my issues with this. First, Rebecca didn't write the song, ARK did. So I don't feel she should get any grief about how cheesy the lyrics are or how awful the song is. Second, this song should never have been leaked for availability. I am still unclear as to who leaked it, ARK or the family. The family had the master copy but I doubt they have the connections to put the video out there like that. This girl was an honor student and seems like a good kid. She was interested in a cut-throat business who slays the weak and under managed. This video went viral immediately and she received almost 4 million dislikes. That is pretty harsh judgement for an innocent teenage girl. In this media-now world, she never had a chance. People can be cruel and rarely take others' feelings into consideration when they berated and belittle someone. Yes, she has gained publicity and has probably had more media attention this way, but it has all been bad. This is not something she can ever recover from. This stigma will stay with her forever. She can kiss any career in arts and performance goodbye. Even though this songs sucks harder than a Dyson vacuum, I think we should cut this poor girl some slack. Let's call it what it is. A waste of $4K and a lesson learned. I hope she moves on without lingering issues of depression and anxiety.


Happy Birthday...

August 1st;

Ashley Parker Angel (O-Town/solo)
30

Adam Duritz (Counting Crows)
48

Artis Ivey Jr./Coolio
49

Carlton Douglas Ridenhour/Chuck D (Public Enemy)
52

Tim Bachman (Bachman-Turner Overdrive)
60

Jerry Garcia (The Grateful Dead) *d.1995

August 3rd;

Shirley Manson (Garbage)
45

James Hetfield (Metallica)
48

Tony Bennett
85 

August 4th;

Marques Houston (IMX/solo)
30

Louis Armstrong *d.1971

August 5th;

Terri Clark
43

Aston George Taylor Jr./Funkmaster Flex
43

Adam Yauch/M.C.A. (Beastie Boys)
47 

Rick Derringer
64

August 6th;

Geri Halliwell/Ginger Spice (Spice Girls)
39

August 7th;

Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden)
53

BJ Thomas
69 

In Charlotte...


I am switching up my format for this section a little bit. I try to list all the concerts that are coming to town each week. Frankly it is tiring and half of the bands I am unfamiliar with. In addition, most of my followers seem to be from out of town and probably could care less about local events. I would rather give my pick for the concert or venue of the week. If anyone is unhappy with this or feels I should go back to the old format. Please leave your comments. Thanks for the support.

This week the place to be is Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. There are many blockbuster shows coming this week and lots of big names. The Unity Tour rolls into town on Monday and will be featuring 311 and Rome with Sublime, both favorites of this site. Then on Tuesday, another big show. Maroon 5 will be here with Train and Gavin DeGraw. Kings of Leon plays on Friday and finally, Lil' Wayne is here with Rick Ross, Keri Hilson, Far East Movement and Lloyd. Lots and lots of big names. Get out and check out at least one show.

As a side note, Young Jeezy will be playing at the Tremont and Selena Gomez will be playing at the Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheater.