Sobota 29 Gru 2007, 22:56
You may not know M.I.A., but you should. She's a Sri Lankan rapper from the UK with a very unique style of dance music. I know, I know for sure that her music would blow up the club if they played it in the U.S. I would try to describe the sound, but I honestly wouldn't know how to start. I can only suggest you check it out.
Tracks to check out:
Boyz
World Town
4. "American Gangster" - Jay-Z
Now, I'm a fairly new Jay-Z fan. I didn't really get into his music until "The Black Album." This album is a concept album, meant to complement the recent film of the same name, which I have yet to see… Jay-Z said he wanted to fill in the gaps; to sort of describe the thoughts and feelings of a gangster that couldn't fit into the film. Jay-Z's always been a great lyricist, but it's the samples that do the most for this album. A lot of old school R&B. It just sounds great.
Tracks to check out:
American Dreamin'
Ignorant Shit
3. "The Black and White Album" - The Hives
I love The Hives. I love The Hives. Their last album, "Tyrannosaurus Hives" was one of my favorite rock albums. I listened to it all the time. "The Black and White Album" trumps it, easily. It's just fun. Also, The Hives' sound has evolved quite a bit. They've diversified beyond simple grunge. While "Hey Little World" and "Return the Favour" sound like they could have been released two albums back, "Giddy Up," "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S." and "Puppet On A String" sound so new and different. Funky, even - there's disco influence here. I would even go as far as to say that many Hives fans wouldn't like this album much at all, but I love it.
Tracks to check out:
Try It Again
T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.
2. "Blackout" - Britney Spears
Ok, ok. Shut up , shut up, shut up. If you diss this album, you simply haven't heard it. Britney Spears proved, with this album, that an artist's personal life doesn't have to effect their music. I know, that VMA performance really sucked. They say her heel snapped and she was pretty buzzed, but that doesn't really matter. This album smacks your mother. Britney is doing now, exactly what she was doing in '99, and that's making music that you can't get out of your head. You're probably thinking "Gimme More didn't get stuck in my head." And to that I would respond that I could probably pick eight songs that would have made better singles than "Gimme More." The word "pop"doesn't even do this album justice. This is like Madonna meets Timbaland. Don't let Britney's image keep you from hearing this album. This is easily her best work. So even if you've only almost liked Britney in the past, you should check this album out.
Tracks to check out:
Hot As Ice
Toy Soldier
1. "The Reminder" - Feist
If you haven't heard of Feist by now, you must truly be living under a rock. Even if you don't know who she is, you've heard her. Her songs "1 2 3 4" and "My Moon My Man" have been featured in commercials for iPod and Verizon Wireless, respectively. "The Reminder" is a best-selling album on the iTunes store, the number 1 "Editors' Pick" on Amazon.com, and nominated for four Grammy Awards. It's a calm pop album, mostly acoustic, somewhere between Bright Eyes and Regina Spektor. "1 2 3 4" is pretty much as upbeat as the album gets. I'd love for you all to check out this album, but you'd be doing yourself a big favor if you just ran out and bought it…
Tracks to check out:
Intuition
1 2 3 4
Honey Honey
Honorable mentions:
"Funeral For Yesterday" - Kittie
"Dignity" - Hilary Duff
"Rival Factions" - Project 86