Ladies and gentlemen, it's about that time!...
HEY!
WHAT?
Do you like lists? Well you're in luck, cause as of Tuesday comes the dawn on a new month, and A BRAND NEW QUARTER for the year in movies, music, etcetera OH MY(!), so far. So why don't we go ahead and do like
TEN
WHO/SHE & HIM
WHAT/VOLUME ONE
WHEN/MARCH 18, 2008
WHY?/These two [thing one being Zoeey Deschanel and thing two being M.Ward] make beautiful music steeped in the lush emotional stylings of your soulful swinging 60's.
NINE
WHO/JANET JACKSON
WHAT/DISCIPLINE
WHEN/FEBRUARY 26, 2008
WHY/Janet Jackson takes a step back, lets loose, and tones it down. More focus, less raunch, more jams. Could you ask for anything more?
EIGHT
WHO/PANIC AT THE DISCO
WHAT/PRETTY.ODD
WHEN/MARCH 25, 2008
WHY/On the first go round, the boys in this band came this close to coming off as gimmicky, well timed with their entrance into the Fueled By Ramen kingdom darlings. With Pretty.Odd., Panic turn down the theatrics and tear back the labels, offering up a disc laced with strings, warm bellowing flights of fancy, and Beatlesque harmonies that point them in a direction that should do nothing but widen their already giant fan base.
SEVEN
WHO/GNARLS BARKLEY
WHAT/THE ODD COUPLE
WHEN/MARCH 18, 2008(?)
WHY/Cee-Lo Green is the soul machine. No doubt about it. And on album number two, he and Danger Mouse dig deep into the bowels of one's soul and inner workings. It ain't always pretty, but then again it shouldn't be. Uncertain, dark, and downright menacing? Now that's more like it.
SIX
WHO/WHY?
WHAT/ALOPECIA
WHEN/MARCH 11, 2008
WHY/A rag-tag hodge-podge collection of boom claks, finger snaps, bleeps and blips that, despite their bombastic pizazz, play second fiddle to the often witty and observational words coming out of Yoni Wolf's mouth.
FIVE
WHO/VAMPIRE WEEKEND
WHAT/VAMPIRE WEEKEND
WHEN/JANUARY 29, 2008
WHY/Phew. For a minute there the words, and the hype, and the press, and the backlash almost overshadowed the music didn't it? Good thing it hasn't done so quite yet, cause let's not kid ourselves people, this is one of the tightest and sharpest debut albums to come around in a while.
FOUR
WHO/HOT CHIP
WHAT/MADE IN THE DARK
WHEN/FEBRUARY 5, 2008
WHY/With album number three the lads of Hot Chip show no sign of slowing down, or taking off their dancing shoes. The beats come harder, jumping out like BOOMs and ZAPs on a comic book page. And when the lights go dim, the mood and intent stays the same, refusing to fall by the wayside as you wipe up the sweat. Yes, this shit right here? It's ready for the floor.
THREE
WHO/THE KILLS
WHAT/MIDNIGHT BOOM
WHEN/MARCH 18, 2008
WHY/There's something wonderfully hypnotic about this disc right here. I don't know what it is? Maybe it's the late night after hours sex appeal; so open, so not put on, so fresh, that ropes me in. Or maybe it's the bountiful swagger present in every hook and purr of Ms. VV's voice and the harmonies she shares with Hotel. I don't know. All I do know is that's it's all just so damn slick and just so...cool.
TWO
WHO/MGMT
WHAT/ORACULAR SPECTACULAR
WHEN/JANUARY 22, 2008
WHY/I did it with Devendra. I do it with Animal Collective. And I was ready to do it with MGMT. One listen at Time to Pretend was all it took for me to cast this band into the experimental indie unknown, never to give hem a listen or care for them again. But thankfully I didn't, and I came around. And I am glad that I did. This is an ambitious piece of work that refuses to sit still/let its many colors hide in the darkness.
ONE
WHO/ERYKAH BADU
WHAT/NEW AMERYKAH, PT. 1: 4TH WORLD WAR
WHEN/FEBRUARY 26, 2008
WHY/this album is a revelation. A straight up start to finish, top notch LP drenched in reality, drenched in soul; An ambitious, soul stirring effort, and definitely one of 2008's first headphone masterpieces. This is music for fans of good music; you know, that good shit. You ain't just gotta be a fan of soul, hip-hop, and/or R&B to buy what's she's selling. I promise.
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