Aaaaand we’re back for part 2 of this month’s album releases. Click through for some unsolicited advice about “Call Me Maybe” and a thought on the word ‘bitch.’ Oh, and music. I’ll be talking about music, too.
September 18
Carly Rae Jepsen, Kiss
Oh, Carly Rae Jepsen. I’ve found that the only way to not get sucked into listening to the entirety of “Call Me Maybe” is by changing the radio station or song IMMEDIATELY. I’m serious. It comes down to this: you only have 5 short seconds to react and change it before she starts singing “I threw a wish in the well” because after that all bets are off and you will blank out for 3 minutes and 9 seconds and during that you will have sung “So call me, maybe?” 12 times. It’s dangerously catchy and terrible and genius all at the same time. Anyway, Jepsen is coming out with a new album which will include “Call Me Maybe,” a few other tracks from her EP, and new material. If you somehow haven’t heard it already, listen to the song she did with Owl City called “Good Time”:
P!nk, The Truth About Love
P!nk has done a really great job with keeping herself relevant in mainstream pop music for the past few years, but somehow manages to keep herself under the radar at the same time. And can I just mention how severely underrated her vocal ability is?? Anyway, her single “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” was playing at a bar I was at the other night and I couldn’t help but vibe to it. It’s a fun song that hooks you in the whole time with lyrics and a music style that only P!nk could come up with.
The Killers, Battle Born
In 2010 The Killers announced they would be on hiatus, but in May 2011 they returned to the studio to begin their work on Battle Born. The Las Vegas band’s single “Runaways” is a big, charging rock song led by lead singer Brandon Flowers. It sounds like classic ’80s Springsteen which we can totally get behind.
September 25
deadmau5, Album Title Goes Here
Wait, what? Progressive house music and the lead singer of My Chemical Romance? Yep, it happened. “Professional Griefers” featuring Gerard Way is one of the songs off Album Title Goes Here. I really wanted to like it but honestly, the vocals and beats in the song feel like they’re physically punching my eardrums. Thankfully there’s 12 other songs on the album that have the potential to not do that. However, the collab between Way and deadmau5 shouldn’t be that surprising since progressive house bases its influence from rock music. Progressive house is known for being melodic so the track below might be able to ease you into the genre a little better than ‘Griefers.’ Check out “Maths”:
Lupe Fiasco, Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt 1
From the clever “And He Gets the Girl” to the more “conscious hip hop” stuff like “Dumb It Down,” Lupe always had a way with words. Which brings us to the now – he has a bunch of great tracks from his upcoming album, but one I find particularly interesting is his song “Bitch Bad.” We’ve gotten to a point in our language where the word ‘bitch’ has become totally skewed and glamorized. He explores this in his lyrics and portrays it really well in the music video. This song is actually what spurred Kanye’s Twitter rant last week.
No Doubt, Push and Shove
We already talked about No Doubt’s return and their lead single “Settle Down” but it can’t hurt to talk about them a little more. “Push and Shove” is another cool track off the new album. It was produced by Diplo (also known as Major Lazer) and features dancehall reggae artist Busy Signal so it’s exactly what you’d think it would sound like – ska, dancehall, moombahton (a genre created by Diplo, which is a combination of Dutch house and reggaeton and slowed down to 110 BPM), and smidgen of dubstep all rolled into one. Is that enough genres for you?
Green Day, ¡Uno!
We also talked about Green Day’s return before – as a matter of fact, it was in that same post about No Doubt – so let’s continue the trend. ¡Uno! is the first part of a three album release, which will be done in the next six months. Lead singer Billie Armstrong said this first album would be power pop influenced so take a listen to their second single “Kill the DJ” to find out if you can hear it:
Mumford & Sons, Babel
Two years after their debut album Sigh No More, Mumford & Sons is back with Babel. The London folk band gained plenty of recognition after being nominated for two Grammys and performing at the ceremony in early 2011. A few posts back we featured their first single from Babel, which is called “I Will Wait.” Make sure your volume isn’t up too high when you start listening to this track because those banjos will get ya.
I saw your graphic before you posted this and I wanted to say something pre-emptively. It’s edgy. 🙂
Hahaha edgy indeed. I think the smily face adds a nice rawness.