Breaking Down the Best Songs of the Year

At the end of every year since 1996, I have gathered up my favorite songs from that year for a countdown of my favorite. I was interested in seeing who were the artist that appeared most on those list over the past decade and here are the top 25 (well since there was a tie there are actually 31). I counted any song of which they were listed as a featured artist, not just when they were the lead artist. Also keep in mind this list has nothing to do with my upcoming Greatest Songs of the 00’s which I promise to release before the next decade ends. I also included a list of the number 1’s of the past twelve years as well as Mr. Irrelevant (the song that was last that year).  For the full list for the past five years, click the Best Songs label at the bottom of the post.

1. Kanye West - 25

2. Alicia Keys – 15

John Mayer – 15 (Solo, 14 and John Mayer Trio, 1)

4. U2 - 14

5. Jay-Z - 13

6. Carrie Underwood – 11

Coldplay – 11

8. Nelly Furtado – 10

9. Beyoncé – 9 (Solo, 6 and Destiny’s Child, 3)

Dave Matthews – 9 (solo, 1 and Dave Matthews Band, 8)

Eminem – 9

The Killers – 9

Michelle Branch – 9 (solo, 6 and The Wreckers, 3)

Nas – 9

Ryan Adams – 9

Snoop Dogg – 9

Snow Patrol – 9

3 Doors Down - 9

19. Christina Aguilera – 8

Jack Johnson – 8

Jack White - 8 (The Raconteurs, 2 and The White Stripes, 6)

Lily Allen – 8

Maroon 5 – 8

Santana - 8

25. Common – 7

Death Cab for Cutie – 7

Jimmy Eat World – 7

Rihanna – 7

The Roots – 7

Taylor Swift – 7

Weezer - 7


Most Top Ten Songs

7 - John Mayer

Kanye West

4 - Michelle Branch (solo, 2 and The Wreckers, 2)

Santana

3 - Coldplay

David Gray

Death Cab for Cutie

Jay-Z

The Killers

Ryan Adams

U2


Shortest Song: Fell in Love with a Girl – The White Stripes (1:50)

Longest Song: I Will Possess Your Heart – Death Cab for Cutie (8:36)

Longest Break Between Charting: 10 Years (Ben Harper, Steal My Kisses in 2000; Fly One Time in 2009)

Number One Songs by Year

2000: Maria, Maria – Santana featuring the Product G&B

2001: Everywhere – Michelle Branch

2002: Fell in Love with a Girl – The White Stripes

2003: The Seed (2.0) – The Roots featuring Cody ChestnuTT

2004: All Falls Down – Kanye West

2005: Landed – Ben Folds

2006: Crazy – Gnarls Barkley

2007: Drivin’ Me Wild – Common featuring Lily Allen

2008: I’m Yours – Jason Mraz

2009: Use Somebody – Kings of Leon


Mr. Irrelevant

2000: The Bad Touch – The Bloodhound Gang

2001: Standing Still – Jewel

2002: Friends and Family – Trik Turner

2003: Make Me a Song – Kiley Dean

2004: Some Girls – Rachel Stevens

2005: Give a Little Bit – Goo Goo Dolls

2006: Lithium – Evanescence

2007: This Ain’t a Scene, it’s an Arms Race – Fall Out Boy

2008: Stuck to You – Nikka Costa

2009: Let’s Take a Walk – Raphael Saadiq

Hate Him or Love Him for the Very Same Reason

There has not been a more provocative album title in recent memory than Hip Hop Is Dead. On one hand Nas hit the head on the nail as the ringtone rappers killed off the genre that had been slowly dieing all decade. But on the other hand, that album actually proved otherwise and that hip hop still had a couple more breathes in it.

So how do you follow-up a controversial title album? Well name it something that usually reserved for Jesse Jackson spoken on Fox News. But when it looked like the album wouldn’t be getting shelf space almost nowhere, Nas decided to change the album to, well, nothing. Or as Nas says himself in Hero: “Try telling Bob Dylan, Bruce, or Billy Joel they can’t sing what's in their soul! So "Untitled" it is. I never change nothing” This begs the question was naming it months in advance all a publicity stunt to get people talking without hearing a note?

Where Hip Hop Is Dead was a loose concept album on how and why the genre needed a funeral and who killed it, the new album is a loose concept album on race relations. Throughout the album are thoughts about how blacks are perceived in the media (Sly Fox), stereotypes (Fried Chicken), and a half hearted endorsement of Barack Obama (Black President), and even though it is no longer the title, a certain six letter word shows up in two song titled claiming that n*****’s are not black people but the uneducated.

Throughout the album, Nas is on point when not inexplicably name dropping Jessica Simpson or giving props to ringtone rappers he put on blast less than two years ago. The album falls flat thanks mostly to the company he keeps. You have to do a double take at seeing Chris Brown on the guest list and the song is about as juvenile as Brown’s age suggest.

Aside from the Polow da Don produced Hero; the production value is moderate at best. Even Mark Ronson, who had been batting 1.000, had a rare misstep on the snare heavy Fried Chicken that is too downtrodden than his usual upbeat horn infused throwback. Nas recently stated that he wants to drop two albums on the same day. One exclusively produced by D.J. Premiere who he hasn’t work much with since Illmatic, the other by his The Firm associate Dr. Dre. With the mediocre at best beats that pepper this album, that drop date cannot come soon enough.

Song to Download - Hero

[Untitled] gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

I Want My Music Television vol. XXIX

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.



Cath... - Death Cab for Cutie

The more I listen to Narrow Stairs (see: And They Carried on Like Long Division) the more Cath… becomes my favorite song on the lattest Death Cab for Cutie album. The video is about as odd as the four and a half minute bass groove that started off I Will Possess Your Heart. Half, a fairly literal version of the song about a lady marrying someone she could have done better than with the other half with the whole band lip syncing in a backstage area with grass. Arighty then. Hero - Nas & Keri Hilson The latest album from Nas is no longer called the word I am not allowed to say without receiving a beatdown, indeed is now named, well, nothing. The song has to be in the running for beat of the year so far with it Neptunes meets Timbaland feel, granted the video itself just looks like another Hype Williams retread. Oxford Comma - Vampire Weekend In what could be the most profound question of the year, Vampire Weekend ponders, “Who gives a (expletive deleted) about an Oxford Comma”. Indeed. But my pretentiousness aside, you got to like any video that is all one shot. Just don’t ask me what the whole chapter thing is about. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) - Amanda Seyfried Yes that is Lily Kane singing… singing Abba from the theatrical version of Momma Mia, a movie there is no way anyone can get me to see unless Lily Kane herself invites me and involves some extracurricular activities afterwards.

2008 Spring Music Preview

The first quarter for music is pretty boring but the past winter saw surprise releases from Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, Gnarls Barkley and The Raconteurs that came out without the usual months long hoopla, instead coming out within days of their announcement. Hopefully that trend continues because there isn’t much on the docket for the spring that really piques my interest that much. Wait, apparently the trend has as you can expect an album from Foxboro Hot Tubs (i.e. Green Day’s garage band side project) “any day” now. Here is a list of the albums that at least caught my eye.

If you are interested in preordering the albums from Amazon, the link on the album name will take you their, the links on artists names will take you to their iTunes page. If I left one of your favorite artists off the list with an upcoming album feel free to drop me an e-mail or feel free to wax poetic in the comment section on which albums you are looking forward to. (Note: release dates subject to change):

May 6
Home Before Dark - Neil Diamond: Yet another round of songs from the Diamond created with the help of Rick Rubin. You can preorder Home Before Dark on iTunes and get a bonus preorder-only track.

Gavin DeGraw - Gavin DeGraw: His first album was listenable in an easy listing kind of way. But that was five years ago. DeGraw says the new batch is more rock as evident from the first single, In Love with a Girl. But how rocking can something be when working with Daughty’s producer? You can pre-order Gavin DeGraw on iTunes.

Snack Time - Barenaked Ladies: It has been a while since they have created a great song, but rarely do they put out anything bad.


May 13
Narrow Stairs - Death Cab for Cutie: If the eight minute opus of I Will Possess Your Heart is any indication, the new album will be a big departure from the breakthrough of their last album. You can preorder Narrow Stairs on iTunes and receive a bonus track.

Blame it on Gravity - Old 97’s: Maybe the best band no one outside of Texas has heard of is back for some more southern rock.

Rockferry - Duffy: The latest Bristish import who is like Amy Winehouse without the modern feel, potential drug overdose, or jail time. The more I listen to Mercy, the more I am looking forward to the whole album. You can pre-order Rockferry on iTunes.


May 20
3 Doors Down - 3 Doors Down: Third time wasn’t the charm for the band as Seventeen Days was a huge disappointment. Hopefully they can rebound. You can pre-order 3 Doors Down on iTunes and get a bonus pre-order only track.

Anywhere I Lay My Head - Scarlett Johansson; Julianne Hough - Julianne Hough: Julianne Hough is what I like to refer to as moderately attractive, but I couldn’t make it more than a minute into her video before I had to turn it off. Johansson’s stab at Tom Wait songs do not fair much better. Hopefully the two stick to their day jobs.


May 27
Lay it Down - Al Green: Hopefully ?uestlove of The Roots can do for Green what Rick Rubin was able to do for Johnny Cash. John Legend, Corinne Bailey Rae and Anthony Hamilton also guest on the album.

Same Old Man - John Hiatt: Simply one of the best songwriters of the past couple decades.


June 3
Perfectly Clear - Jewel: Her last album bombed now Jewel is trading in her van for a cowboy hat for a country album.

The Glass Passenger - Jack’s Mannequin: Shortly before the first album was released, Andrew McMahon was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Natually they were not able to promote the album since he was recieveing cancer treatments so the gem was widly unnoticed. Now that his treatments are over, hopefully the new disk will reach a larger audience.

Rock My World - Bret Michaels: No, seriously, that is the name of his album.


June 10
Seeing Things - Jakob Dylan: The Wallflowers are basically a one album wonder, a decade after that hit; Bob’s son has hooked up with Rick Rubin for a solo album.

Seeing Sounds - N.E.R.D.: When not producing for other people Pharrell William is pretty hit or miss with his solo outings and trio N.E.R.D. You can download the first single Everybody Nose for free over at Spinner.com.

Self Portrait - LaLah Hathaway: All I know is that her dad is named Donnie whom you may know best as the dude that was referenced by Amy Winehouse, “There’s nothing you can teach me that I can’t learn from Mr. Hathaway.”


June 17
Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends - Coldplay: There has been nothing more disappointing this decade that X&Y to the point where the album almost sounded like a Coldplay cover band. The band has said to have broadened their musical palette this time around with lead singer Chris Martin, taking a break from singing hooks for rappers, discovering lower register for his vocals this time around. This week only, you can download their first single, Violet Hill on their website, Coldplay.com.


June 24
Weezer - Weezer: Just start calling it The Red Album now to avoid confusion with their two other self titled albums. You can pre-order Weezer on iTunes and receive a pre-order only track and a unique password to purchase Weezer concert ticket on Ticketmaster.com before the general public.


July/August
(Expletive Deleted) - Nas
Life, Death, Love and Freedom - John Mellencamp
Everything Comes and Goes - Michelle Branch
TBA - Ben Folds
TBA - B.B. King
TBA - Ray LaMontagne

25 Best Mash-Ups of 2007

One of the coolest musical innovations in recent memory is the mash-up. For those that may not be familiar with the term, it can best be described when you take the vocals from one song and place them over the instrumental from a different song. The artform may have not gotten as much press this year as it has in past years but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some great new mash-ups floating around the internet. I tried to give credit to the creator of the mash-up, but due to some poor labeling, some have gotten lost and I even had to create a name for a few mash-ups that I discovered nameless. Also some of these songs may have been created earlier than 2007 but this is a list of songs I’ve found this year.

Please do not ask for me to send you any of these songs because for legal reasons I cannot confirm or deny that any of these songs actually exist (but I will point out there is a Google search box on the sidebar as well as other helpful links). You know, because I would not illegally download copyrighted material even though that material has been altered from any version that could be bought anywhere. If you want the unaltered album version of the songs, on the second line I will list the main songs that make up the mash-up (note some have more songs than I’ve listed):


1. Dip it Joe - Pheugoo
Christina Milian (Dip It Low) vs. Jimi Hendrix Experience (Hey Joe)

2. Escasy of Gold - DJ Erb
Nas (One Mic) vs. Ennio Morricone (The Ecstasy of Gold)

3. Lord Move Me on Up - locK3Down
DMX (Lord Give Me a Sign) vs. Primal Scream (Movin’ on Up)

4. Mashups in Heaven - Norwegian Recycling
Eric Clapton (Tears in Heaven) vs. Lionel Ritchie (Say You, Say Me)

5. Red Umbrella - DJ Topcat
Rihanna (Umbrella) vs. UB40 (Red, Red Wine)

6. Keep the Car Crazy - DJ Vic
Beyoncé (Crazy in Love) vs. Arcade Fire (Keep the Car Running)

7. Listen Twice - DJ BC
Talib Kweli (Listen!!!) vs. The Doobie Brothers (Listen to the Music)

8. Clock a Minute - Pheugoo
The Pussycat Dolls featuring Timbaland (Wait a Minute) vs. Coldplay (Clocks)

9. The World Changes on its Own - Cro
Amy Winehouse (Tears Dry on Their Own) vs. Eric Clapton (Change the World)

10. Mercy for the Scientist - Bobby Martini
Peter Gabriel (Mercy Street) vs. Coldplay (The Scientist)

11. Drop it Like it’s a Whole LottLed Snooppelin - Party Ben
Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell Williams (Drop it Like it’s Hot) vs. Led Zeppelin (Whole Lotta Love)

12. Got My Crush Set on You - DJ BC
Lil’ Ceaz and Lil’ Kim (Crush on You) vs. George Harrison (Got My Mind Set on You)

13. (Are You Gonna Be My) Dirrrty Girl - Soundhog
Christina Aguilera featuring Redman (Dirrty) vs. Jet (Are You Gonna Be My Girl)

14. How Six Songs Collide - Norwegian Recycling
Jason Mraz (I’m Yours) vs. Howie Day (Collide)

15. You Don’t Know My Sweet Emotion - Aggro1
Alicia Keys (You Don’t Know My Name) vs. Aerosmith (Sweet Emotion)

16. Stir Up Problems - McSleazy
Jay-Z (99 Problems) vs. Charlatans (Song Unknown)

17. The Weather Episode - Go Home Productions
Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg (The Next Episode) vs. Crowded House (Weather with You)

18. Turn Off Bubba - Norwegian Recycling
Nelly Furtado (Turn Off the Light) vs. Bubba Sparxxx (Deliverance)

19. Gimmie the Nightclub - Dan Meth
50 Cent (In da Club) vs. George Benson (Give Me the Night)

20. My Favorite Name - Loo & Placido
Destiny’s Child (Say My Name) vs. The Cardigans (My Favourite Game)

21. More Falls Down - DJ Crook Air
Kanye West (All Falls Down) vs. Len (Steal My Sunshine)

22. Woohaa - DJ Nicky
Busta Rhymes (Woo Ha!! Got You All in Check) vs. AC/DC (Back in Black)

23. Killing Boombastic - DJ Zebra
Shaggy (Boombastic) vs. Rage Against the Machine (Killing in the Name)

24. Puppet Rock - CCC
Queen (We Will Rock You) vs. 5th Dimension (Puppet Man)

25. Penthouse Temperature - Essexboy
Sean Paul (Temperature) vs. Alan Braxe and Fred Fauke (Penthouse Serenade)

(Psst... Here is number 1, do not tell the RIAA)

Don't Download These Videos vol. XI Kanye West Edition

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately and they all happened to be from Kanye West. So I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


Classic - Kanye West, Rakim, Nas, and KRS-One



Holy KRS-One sighting! But it may not been a good idea for Kanye to sandwich himself between the Rakim and Nas as it only amplifies his deficiencies as an MC. Although it is nice to see DJ Premier of Gangstarr fame get back to producing rap records after taking time out to helm the latest Christina Aguilera record.


Wouldn’t Get Far - The Game and Kanye West




I’ve never been a big fan of The Game (or is it juat Game, I’ve never figured that out), the only song off his first album that was any good was the Kanye produced Dream and once again on his sophomore outing the Kanye produced Wouldn’t Get Far is the best off of it and he was smart enough to get Kanye to spit a verse to make it even more listenable. As for the video, it a funny spoof, although take out the intro, it basically your token rap video. For a better spoof, check out The Roots What They Do which sadly even being almost a decade old, still hold up for today’s videos. And was that Hoopz from Flavor of Love in the video?


Throw Some D’s - Rich Boy (not safe for work)



Speaking of token rap videos, before I get into the last Kanye video, I have to set some things up by showing this video. Yeah it is your token rap song that sounds like virtually every other rap song recorded this decade with an interchangeable rapper (don’t try to differentiate Rich Boy from Yong Joc, Nitty, J-Kwon, T.I., Mums, Jibbs, etc.) rapping about materialist things like cars. Now I’m not entirely sure what the “D’s” he speaks of (rims?) but…


Throw Some D’s (Remix) - Kanye West (Not safe for work or for anyone with a high moral standing)



… I certainly know which “D’s” Kanye is talking about. Now the title say remix, but let’s be real, this is a parody straight out of “Weird Al” territory. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But I doubt Al would ever write a line like, “She ain’t pregnant but about to have twins.” And I wonder how many times the shout out in the song will send Brittany in and out of rehab. (Scooter’s Note: this video is for humorous purposes only and neither he nor anyone at the 9th Green condones buying breast implants, in fact as the religious people we are, we much prefer the God made breast as opposed to the man made ones.)

If You Asking Why Is Hip Hop Dead There’s a Pretty Good Chance You’re the Reason it Died

For old school hip hop fans we don’t need Nas to tell us that Hip Hop Is Dead as we have know for some time now that it was. For proof look no further than the recent Grammy nominations where there were no rappers represented in the big four categories (Album, Song, Record, New Artist). The big question is who killed it: Was it Eminem who made it socially acceptable for thirteen year old suburban white chicks to listen to the genre? Or Nelly who took a step further and recorded a song with the very un-hip *NSYNC (and later with Tim McGraw)? Maybe it was Nas himself who sampled In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida not once but twice recently here on the title track of Hip Hop Is Dead.

But throughout the album Nas doesn’t call out names of who is responsible, even on the track Who Killed It?, instead he throws a blanket of blame over the commercialization of the genre and even hints at his motivation during the title track when he raps, “Nas rap is compared to legitimized crap.” The rest of the album plays out like a eulogy even giving love to those who never got the commercial success, most notably on the James Brown sampling Where Are They Now?, unlike their excessive bling wearing modern day counterparts. This is even though they laid the foundation that enabled the current stars to gain an embarrassment of riches that they are more than happy to show off on Cribs.

On Got Ur Self a... off of Stillmatic, Nas started one verse by say “My first album had no famous guest appearances, the outcome, I’m crowned the best lyricist” which was more than you regular boisterous rapper claim as there was plenty of truth in that statement. In early stages of this album, Nas suggested that his next would be without any guest and would be solely produced by D.J. Premier of Gang Starr but Hip Hop Is Dead ended up with a few guest appearances along with plenty of big name producers. Premier is conspicuously absent which makes me wonder if that album was just put on the back burner.

What hurts Nas the most is when he when he brings in those guest because rarely do they usually pale in comparison to one of the best lyricist. This most evident with The Game on QB True G who spend most of his verse blowing smoke at Nas and Dr. Dre who produced the track. This is also evident on Play on Playa with Snoop Dogg, but the track itself is not up to par thanks to the blandest producer in recent memory, Scott Storch. Ironically Nas opens up the song by ripping on the Hilton sisters when it is Storch who we can thank for Paris’s train wreck of an album. Another producer who couldn’t provide Nas a decent beat was Chris Weber for Blunt Ashes. And yes, it’s that Chris Webber.

But after a few boring guest spots and a mediocre comeback album, Nas’s onetime nemesis and current boss at Def Jam, Jay-Z seems revitalized on Black Republican a song that samples Marcia Religiosa from Godfather III, by far his best effort since coming out of retirement. Kanye West produces and gives a verse on Still Dreaming though doesn’t live up to their collaboration on We Major form West’s latest album. West does a much better job with the other song he produces on the disk Let There Be Light but it is the unknown Tre Williams that steals the song with his soulful hook.

And even though I ripped on it in the intro, the will.i.am produced title track is a stand out track that uses more than the Iron Butterfly sample including the go to sample for old school cats, Apache by the Incredible Bongo Band as well show stopping ending with Nas rapping over a crowd shouting “Hip Hop.” But no high priced producer was need for the closer Hope where Nas goes acappella for most of the track. Although like with every Nas album not named Illmatic, this one is uneven at times, but as long as there are rappers like Nas and his ilk, there is still hope for a hip hop resurrection.

Song to Download - Let There Be Light

Hip Hop Is Dead gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Don't Download These Videos vol. VII

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


A Great Big Sled - The Killers



A couple days ago I wrote about The Killers holiday song that benefits the Red Foundation and here’s a video. Yeah the boys are from Vegas and may have never witnessed a white Christmas but could it hurt them to break out a snow machine for the outdoor short. Although maybe it’s some artistic statement considering the Red Foundation works with AIDS in Africa and a wise man once said, “There won’t snow in Africa this Christmas time.” (So tonight thank God it’s them instead of you.)


Lithium - Evanescence



Not necessarily a Christmas song but the video is very wintry, and the song itself shouldn’t be confused with the Nirvana song, instead it is Evanescence’s My Immortal for this album (but not as good). Of course this video only builds on Amy Lee’s Hottest Goth Ever title. I don't think there is even a second place.


Hip Hop Is Dead - Nas



Scouring the last twelve month’s rap releases you don’t need one of the greatest MC’s to tell you that Hip Hop is dead. Even the high profile Jay-Z album was a let down. Hopefully the truly saved the best for last as the album by the same name will be released at the end of the month and will most likely be my last album review of 2006. As for the song, forget the Iron Butterfly sample, the song is at its best when Nas is rapping over the “hip hop” chant.


Amerie - Take Control



Okay so the song isn’t as catchy as 1 Thing but the latest outing from Amerie should keep you warm over the winter months. As for the video, I’m not entirely sure what exactly is going on; something about a senator and a photoshoot that are somehow connected? Not that I really care about the plot because she is purty looking.

Scooter McGavin's Fall Preview

One of the many reasons why the music industry is crumbling around itself is that all the record labels hold off the big name releases for the fall leaving the other nine months with albums that the labels have no faith in. To that point, the highest selling album of the year so far is the Soundtrack to High School Musical with a dismal just over two million copies (my data is a little old so it may not be totally accurate). Then when the labels get around to releasing all their big names over a three month span hoping to capitalize on the holiday season leading to a few big hits, but even more albums with disappointing sales because the consumer just can’t afford to buy them all. Then of course the record labels don’t blame the slump on their stupidity instead point to downloads as the problem. With that said here are a few albums that I am looking forward (or dreading) to this fall season, many of which you can look forward to me reviewing (click on band name to find music on iTunes, click on the album name to pre-order from Amazon and feel free to tell me what you are looking forward to in the comment section):

September
5th Audioslave - Revelations: I just review this album yesterday, scroll down to check that out.
Beyoncé - B-Day: Like I mentioned in my VMA post, it’s not a good sign when you have to rush out a second single before the album drops. Beyoncé and her group were always good for two or three great songs per album, but after the last Destiny’s Child tanked, and two poorly received singles the Beyoncé era may be over. At least her movie Dreamgirls is getting good buzz. Look for a review shortly.

12th John Mayer - Continuum: I’ve already heard the album and it features studio versions of a few songs from his live Trio album and a Hendrix cover. Where Heavier Things was his decent into the blues, Continuum is Mayer’s stab at soul music.
Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds: From the two songs he performed at the VMA’s, it look like this will suck like his previous work. Although Rick Rubin produced one track, the album closer Another Song and that has me intrigued a little bit. (Okay, just heard the album, it's not Paris Hilton bad, but one of the worst I've heard lately, look for a review next week.)
Lionel Richie - Coming Home: Richie has always been better at producing hits than child rearing, and from what I’ve heard from the album, he’s back to top form except when lesser producers bring down the album.

19th Clay Aiken (A Thousand Different Ways) and Fergie (Dutchess) both release album, place your bets now on which one will suck more.

26th “Weird Al” Yankovic - Straight Outta Lynwood: Look for a “Weird Al” themed Lyric Quiz this month in honor of the album.


October
3rd The Killers - Sam’s Town: Lofty expectation considering how lead singer Brandon Flowers brought out the Bruce Springsteen comparison. For the songs I’ve heard so far it sounds like more of the same.
Evanescence - The Open Door: Word has it that the departed Ben Moody was the driving force behind the band, so it will interesting where Amy Lee takes the band. By the sound of the new single, it doesn’t sound like the band will deviate from past success.
Jet - Shine On: yet another band trying to avoid the sophomore slump after their first disk delivered some of the best rock songs of 2004.

10th Robert Randolph - Colorblind: One of the best guitarists of the current generation looks for his breakout hit. Look for guest spot from Dave Matthews and a decent guitarist in his own right Eric Clapton.

17th Sarah McLachlan - Wintersong: One of the few Christmas albums that I’m aware of that will be released this season. Look for Christmas standards like Little Town of Bethlehem and The First Noel as well as John Lennon’s Happy Xmas (War Is Over).
Diddy - Press Play: Diddy says he named the album because it is an album you can press play and never have to skip a song. But after hearing the first single with the chick from the Pussycat Dolls there will be at least one song I’d skip.

24th John Legend - Once Again: Legend put out on of the few R&B records of this decade worth listening to. But since then he won the dreaded Best New Artist Grammy. To prepare for the new album, Legend listened to a lot of The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Sufjan Stevens and brought back Kanye West to produce the album along with Will.i.am Raphael Saadiq.
Brooke Hogan - Undiscovered: I really hope this is a joke and won’t happen. This will essentially Paris Hilton take 2.

31st Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose: You know you’ll like it even if you won’t admit it.

TBA Natalie MacMaster - Yours Truely: I really don't know much about this artist, but it comes reccomended by Russ.


November
7th Nas - Hip-Hop Is Dead: Although a legend in the rap game, Nas rarely gets the commercial respect he deserves. This may be the album that gets him back on the radar with production by Kanye West Will.i.am and Dr. Dre.
Talib Kweli - Ear Drum: An hopefully an album that will prove that rap is actually not dead. Look for for production from Kanye West and Just Blaze as well as an appearence from Grammy winner Norah Jones.

21st Snoop Dogg - Red Carpet Treatment: Snoop is always good for a club banger or two so hopefully this album will have a few

TBA - Maroon 5: The band’s first album was top-heavy with a bunch of hits but the rest was basically filler, will have to wait to see if the band can make a whole album this time.


For all you karaoke fans, this is your season for crappy music as aside from the previously mentioned Aiken, you can expect bland albums from Rubin Studdard (The Return 9/26), Fantasia (TBA 11/7), Taylor Hicks (TBA 11/14), and Katharine McPhee (late November) and even though the band hasn’t even chosen a singer yet, Supernova has a release date of 11/21. And for my readers that have yet to go through puberty yet, there is not one, but two High School Musical alums (Vanessa Ann Hudgens - V 9/26; Ashley Tisdale - TBA) that will be releasing albums in time for Christmas. Start bugging your parents now.

Also for all you music fans out there, the latest edition to my "Blogs I Read" list, Culture Bully is hold a CD giveaway for everyday in September. For those keeping track at home, that thirty CD's up for grabs (but you can only win once), so hop over there to see what albums you can choose from today and the complete rules.


Some television shows have already started but my Fall TV season doesn’t start up until the 14th. Here’s a revised look at what I’ll tentatively be watching this year since some shows have since switched times or days since I last made my schedule, including their premiere date (feel free to tell me what you're watching in the comment section).

Mondays
8:30 - How I Met Your Mother (9/18 CBS)
9:00 - Heroes (9/25 NBC)
10:00 - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (9/18 NBC)


Tuesdays
9:00 - Veronica Mars (10/3 CW)
9:00 - Kings of Prosperity (10/17 ABC)
11:00 - Ice-T’s Rap School (10/17 VH1 - most likely will catch repeats)


Wednesdays
8:00 - Jericho (9/20 CBS)
9:00 - Lost (10/4 ABC)


Thursdays
8:00 - Survivor: Jim Crowe Cooke Islands (9/14 CBS)
8:00 - Smallville (9/28 CW)
8:00 - My Name Is Earl (9/22 NBC)
9:00 - Supernatual (9/28 CW)


Sundays
7:00 - Everybody Hates Chris (10/1 CW)
9:00 - America’s Next Top Model (9/20 CW)