What the hell is going on 2012? I've been really disappointed in your music so far. I mean, we all have five weeks left to live and yet at this moment, Justin Bieber, Ke$ha, Taylor Swift and the Gangnam style guy are all in the top 15 of the
Billboard Hot 100 Songs. Actually, I can't hate on Taylor Swift this time, but I can hate myself. Her new single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" is super catchy and I hate myself because I don't shut it off when it comes on the radio.
But I have come today bringing good tidings of great music, because there are some awesome things in the making:
Eminem:
If you don't like Eminem, it's not him, it's you. He may say some things that offend you, but you have to respect his talent. Unfortunately for hip-hop, his talent hasn't been around much lately, as his last release was two and half years ago.
On 11/19, Rihanna's new album,
Unapologetic will be released and with it, Eminem resurfaces as a featured artist on the song "Numb". However, Mr. Marshall is not the biggest story here; Chris Brown, yup that Chris Brown, is also featured on the album. I really hope he was very careful choosing his words for this song. If not, critics and fans will come up with some very mean, albeit very clever things to say.
On 12/11, Eminem will again be featured, this time on a single by Wisconsin's own Skylar Grey, titled, "C'mon Let Me Ride". Eminem is also an executive producer for the album that will follow this single.
Kid Cudi:
Staying within the rap genre, Kid Cudi is going to release the album Indicud in early 2013. One song I've heard from this album, "King Wizard", is a huge step in the right direction for him and I hope to hear more like it on the rest of Indicud. Cudi has always had an unmistakable rapper's voice, yet his voice is really unique and distinguishable. Also his lyrics are above average and his cadences are refreshing. Still, I've always felt like Cudi's hooks needed some developing and I think the hook in "King Wizard" shows a good deal artistic maturity. Hype aside, the album should be unprecedented and a departure from his previous work.
blink-182:
After news broke that blink-182 had split with their label to go the independent route (pretty badass move I think), they surprised fans with the news of a new album, through various tweets from the band about recording in February of next year. It's such a big surprise because it's only been a little over a year since the release of their sixth studio album
Neighborhoods. But, the band claims it has a new found agility after leaving Interscope, so hopefully this leads to a faster, more energetic album with perhaps a less melancholic tone than
Neighborhoods or self-titled, while still maintaining the lyrical progress they've made since the days of
Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. Then they announced, again via twitter (which is becoming their official press release), they were recording this month and releasing an EP before the end of the year as a Christmas present to blink fans everywhere.
Here are some of last week's photos of the band's most recent recording sessions:
(A prize will be awarded to anyone who can tell me what these lyrics are before the EP's release)
^DeMi is just a little pumped for this EP.
Here is the most recent article with news about the EP, set to be released December 18th.
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1697322/blink-182-mark-hoppus-new-ep.jhtml
Angels & Airwaves:
Tom DeLonge is the busiest dude alive. Shortly after blink's announcement of a new EP, Tom tweeted about a new music video for a new song "Diary", dedicated to Critter. The one and only Jeff "Critter" Newell was Tom's former sound engineer, who died on New Year's Eve last year at the young age of 45. He is often credited with helping Angels & Airwaves find their unique sound and because of this, the band thinks of him as their fifth member. His very next tweet announced an upcoming double EP for AVA, named
Stomping the Phantom Brake Pedal, also coming out December 18th.
Information about the double EP, including bundle contents, track list and prices can be found here:
http://www.angelsandairwaves.com/
Diary Official Music Video
