Be Here Now.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's about that time!...

HEY!

WHAT?

Do you like lists? Well you're in luck, cause as of today 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 take a quick look back at 10 albums released in the past three months that need your attention, shall we?




TEN

WHO/Kidz in the Hall AND The Cool Kids
WHAT/The In Crowd AND The Bake Sale EP
WHEN/April 29, 2008 AND June 3, 2008
WHY?/ Hip-hop ain't dead y'all. In fact, it's been alive and well in the top half of 08 and these two duos help keep it fresh by taking it back, placing emphasis on the rhymes, the beats, and youthful braggadocio.




NINE

WHO/Santogold
WHAT/s/t
WHEN/April 29, 2008
WHY?/Bucking stereotypes and marching to the beat of her own drum [a beat, it must be said that is heavily shaped and fashioned by the Siouxsies, Deborahs, and Joan Jett's before her], Santogold's debut stands her out in the crowd, offering up a feeling of comfortable familiarity while at the same time embarking on something new.



EIGHT

WHO/Ashlee Simpson
WHAT/Bittersweet World
WHEN/April 22, 2008
WHY?/With song titles like Boys, Rule Breaker, Hot Stuff, and Little Miss Obsessive, not to mention well, the name splattered across the marquee, let's be real: the odds are stacked against little miss Simpson, and that's a shame for this is one of the most unabashadely "fuck it, let's have fun" albums of the year. Highly enjoyable and delivered with a wink and sneer, Bittersweet World is an album worth's 'Hey Mickey' shot in the arm that shouldn't be denied.



SEVEN

WHO/Al Green
WHAT/Lay it Down
WHEN/May 27, 2008
WHY?/Al Green brought the house DOWN at this year's BET Awards, right? Here's hoping said performance led many a fan [both diehard casual] to rush out and cop this here album right here. I said it once, and I'll say it again: This CD had me at hello. Real talk. And it just burns y'all. Everything is in its right place with this disc.



SIX


WHO/Lil Wayne
WHAT/Tha Carter III
WHEN/June 10, 2008
WHY?/Again, hip-hop, not dead. I'm still in awe of the Kanye like levels of interest that the general public has invested in the one they call Lil Wayne. I swear to God, a year or two back Lil Wayne was just the go-to artist for my cousin and all his fellow high school graduate buddies to bump in their brand new "first" whips.[Or he who warned us of how hot the block was back in the day] Now he's operating on Kanye like levels of interest from the listening public. Is it thanks to all those mixtapes? The success of Lollipop? Or, or, his -GASP- talent? The answer to all three questions is a resounding YES! Funny, creative, and often, out of this world. Act like you know.



FIVE

WHO/The Roots
WHAT/Rising Down
WHEN/April 29, 2008
WHY?/A Dark and ominous clouds looms all over this album. It peers over every break beat, layers every high hat, and colors many a word and bar from Black Thought's pen. But instead of being standoffish or lost within one's onery/angry mystique, this album invites you in, asks you to think, and most importantly compels you to listen. So tap that foot, bob that head, and mouth aloud to all the things that make you go hmm. It's the way the legendary Roots crew intended it. Again, act like you know.



FOUR


WHO/Madonna
WHAT/Hard Candy
WHEN/April 29, 2008
WHY?/Your one stop Candy Shop encapsulated in 12 songs. Sticky and sweet? Yes indeed. Many of you want Madonna to go play somewhere out of plain sight, but why should she when the fever is still alive and the dancefloors keep calling? She, along with Timbaland, JT, and especially Pharrel make beautiful music together, recalling the youthful exuberance of her early years and songs like Everybody, Borderline, and Burnin Up. Squash the hate, feel the funk, and get down like it's nineteen-eighty-five.



THREE

WHO/Usher
WHAT/Here I Stand
WHEN/May 27, 2008
WHY?/Damn it feels good to be a gangsta right? Not gangsta in a "bang bang shoot em up" sense, but more in a grown, sexy, and self aware "this is who I am, and that is who I was and I'm all the better for it" sense. And this vibe rests in every pocket, nook, and cranny of Here I Stand, the most solid and cohesive album since My Way. With this album Usher lets Chris Brown and Omarion do Chris Brown and Omarion as he inches his way towards grown man Teddy Pendergrass/Gerald Levert territory. It ain't an easy jump into the big leagues, but nobody ever said Moving Mountains was easy.



TWO

WHO/Death Cab for Cutie
WHAT/Narrow Stairs
WHEN/May 13, 2008
WHY?/I've been riding with these cats they call Death Cab for Cutie since the 2003 release of Transatlanticism and I ain't fallen off the wagon since. Said release was a revelation for me; 11 tracks of melancholic lovestruck heartache, optimism, and/or despair all written, sung, and performed in a manner that's unmistakenly that of Ben Gibbard and company. Skip ahead a few years and the revelations continue to reveberate through my ears like the sun peaking through the clouds. Melancholic lovestruck heartache, optimism, and/or despair never sounded so good. Press play. Guaranteed it will possess your heart.



ONE

WHO/The Black Keys
WHAT/Attack & Release
WHEN/April 1, 2008
WHY?/Here's a little story that must be told. And it goes a little something like this: Ike Turner hooks up with Danger Mouse. Danger calls the boys in the band known to you and me as The Black Keys to add a little midwestern honky tonk flava to Ike's set. Ike checks out midway through. (God rest his soul) And the Keys and Danger are left to their own devices, keeping the spirit (and hope) alive in this dark, soulful, and downright southern fried killer of a set. I could say more, but why don't I just let them take you to church: