Eminem’s New Single “Not Afraid” Debuts

He’s baaa-aaaack. This morning Eminem took to Shade 45, his XM radio station to debut the first single from Recovery, out June 22nd. “Not Afraid” certainly makes good on Eminem’s promise to distance himself from the self-defeatism of Relapse, and as a result the track is easily one of the best tracks from Slim Shady [...]

On Concerts, Covers, and Saving Jane

This past weekend my college had their yearly outdoor concert, which they unimaginatively name “Woodstock” (we’re in Southeastern Pennsylvania). Among the five bands playing the concert, only two are worth talking about for very different reasons. The warmup act was a local band called Jealousy Curve. I’m going to talk more about these guys in [...]

A Modest Proposal for Velvet Revolver’s Lead Singer

I know, I know. It’s been two years since the former Guns N’ Roses mates kicked the Stone Temple Pilots’ Scott Weiland out of their clubhouse. I know Velvet Revolver shows little to no signs of life, and no one in the band or elsewhere is losing much sleep over it. Weiland rejoined STP and [...]

Monday Night Roundup: Leaks Galore, Hayley Williams Does (More) Hip-Hop

=The past 36 hours or so have been Christmas, a birthday and the Super Bowl all wrapped into one for digital pirates. In the last two days, the internet has seen leaks of new albums from The Gaslight Anthem, The Hold Steady, Hole, The Black Keys, The National, Minus the Bear, and plenty of others. [...]

Eminem’s Relapse 2 Aborted. Recovery Due Out In June

Eminem’s comeback album Relapse was billed as the first of two albums marking his return to rap. There was even a skit on last year’s disc stating that very fact. But almost a year after Relapse came out, word from Eminem’s twitter (this just in: Eminem has a twitter account) that Relapse 2 had been [...]

Monday Night Roundup: Hayley Williams Does Hip-Hop, Limp Bizkit Returns, and Green Day: Rock Band Setlist Revealed

=Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams is an unlikely figure to appear on the umpteenth single from an up-and-coming hip-hop star. But lo, the newest single from B.o.B. (alias Bobby Ray) entitled “Airplanes” features a sultry, crooning chorus from Ms. Williams. The single is the newest release from the forthcoming B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray, [...]

Leak Alert(s): Broken Social Scene and LCD Soundsystem Albums Both Arrive Prematurely

The indie music world is in a heightened state of nerdgasm right now, as on the same day, just hours apart, two of the most anticipated indie rock releases of the whole year materialized on this very internet. First, the first new album from Broken Social Scene since 2005′s self-titled effort hit the web this [...]

The Adventures In Top 40 Rides Again!

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “What kind of tomfoolery is this, bringing back Adventures in Top 40? We thought that was another one of your long-forgotten weekly installments that you abandoned.” Not exactly. I took a break from the Top 40 because it just got too stale. Week after week I was trying to [...]

Positively 4th Street: The Soundtrack

I’ve been writing the pilot episode of a TV series as my senior thesis for the last few months. The premise is two guys who drop out of college and open up a used record store. Obviously, music plays a pretty big role in the lives of the characters and the series itself. This is [...]

Evelyn Evelyn: Album Review

For the last several months there’s been plenty of speculation and excitement surrounding Evelyn Evelyn, the conjoined duo “discovered” by Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley. The twins’ debut album came out last week and, as expected, it’s very strange, a little bit creepy, and profoundly creative. Yes, it’s Palmer & Webley singing, but make no [...]