Album Review: Kid Cudi

Kid Cudi is an impressive and unique Music personality, even if his music isn't really all that interesting itself. His sophomore album "Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager" is captivating not necessarily because of the tracks or the lyrics, but the simple fact that Cudi seems to be the Anti-Hip Hop MC.

In so many different ways he goes against the trends of Rap and even Pop music and seemingly does his own thing. The album does play like a continuation on the experimental debut "Man on the Moon: The End of the Day", but goes deeper into Indie and Rock inspirations.  There's almost nothing about this album that is similar to any other Hip Hop album to be honest, even the two tracks that are the most Hip Hop "Wild'n Cuz I'm Young" and "The End" have more Alternative and Electronic sounds that set them apart.

The rest of the album is definitley NOT a Hip Hop album, but is something different altogether (though not necessarily a new sound). On the album stand out "All Along", and the first single (which seems obviously inspired by Weezer) "Erase Me", find Cudi more or less singing like an Alt-Rock star. Songs like "Mr. Rager" "Maniac" "Revofev" and "The Mood" are also very diverse and different in sound.

The only problem with the album, with over an hour of music some of the songs tend to blend into each other. The gloomy vibe of the songs and their lyrics end up being a little muddled if listened to back to back. Throughout the album, Cudi's lyrics seem to describe a star who still feels unfulfilled. That can be very annoying when every song is about that, but singling the songs out you will find some of the better produced pieces of music from 2010.

Kid Cudi, as interesting as he is, still has a long way to go however. This album is satisfying, but nothing near groundbreaking. And unfortunately the album will most likely be forgotten (it kind of already has been) without any really solid radio staples to help with promotion. It ends up sounding like Indie-Rap, and that might be a good lane for Cudi to try to conquer.

Rating: 3.5 Stars
Best: All Along, Mr. Rager, Maniac

Year In Music, 2010

Honestly, 2010 wasn't such a horrible year in Music.Of course alot of the best stuff went under the radar, but even some of the more successful Pop stuff was surprisingly good and inventive. Here is my fairly positive assessment of the Year in Music for 2010, and hopes for 2011.  == Artist of the Year == 1. Young Money -- Drake, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne Lil Wayne knew he was going to be gone (till November as he said on Drake's "Miss Me"), but in order to keep getting his money he formed the Young Money mafia and groomed two of the biggest Hip Hop stars of the Year. Even before Drake and Nicki Minaj took off with impressive numbers for their debut albums, the Young Money clique had the biggest Hip Hop hit of the year with "Bed Rock"  (because let's be real "Love the Way You Lie" is a POP song) and a solid selling and actually surprisingly good self titled album. Drake, who was buzzed about all last year, started things off with two huge summer singles and over 500k in first week sales of his debut "Thank Me Later". All the while Nicki Minaj was making a big name for herself being featured on most of the bigger releases of the year (Usher, Christina Aguilera, Ludacris). She's ending the year with her debut album "Pink Friday" selling nearly a million copies in a little over a month and quickly becoming a household name. Once Wayne himself got out of prison, he was already sitting with another #1 by releasing an EP "I Am Not a Human Being". Proof that when his next full length album comes out he's going to be a force to reckoned with. Now if only anybody could remember the names of the other Young Money crew members, we'll see how things works out for them next year, if at all. 2. Katy Perry 3. Eminem 4. Lady GaGa 5. Kanye West  == Artists who Deserves More Shine== 1. Robyn The swedish Electro Queen delivers both radio accessible Dance hits, as well as authentic and original Electronic music. There's no reason why "Hang with Me" or "Stars 4 Ever" couldn't be huge stateside, but it's possible that her sound and lyrics are watered down and simple enough, sad really.  2. Janelle Monáe Her full length debut album "TheArchAndroid" shows an artist who loves music and it's history and doesn't so much care for what's popular, but incorporating different sounds and making interesting music. Of course radio would shun her, but critics (namely those who vote for the Grammys) should be fawning all over her. There's still a shot she will emerge and be more widely respected for her talents.  3. Mr Hudson His 2009 UK release "Straight No Chaser" is still one of my favorite albums in recent years, and I was hoping his guest appearance on Jay-Z's hit single "Young Forever" would amp up his promotion in the US. Somehow he's been forgotten again, maybe he'll just have to settle for moderate success though he should be huge.  ==FAIL of the Year Award== Lil Kim When Rihanna first came out it was clear her label was molding her to be the new Beyonce in style, but Beyonce had only glowing things to say about her because obviously she was an inspiration to the than new artist. When Drake came out his style of the non-posing Hip Hop rapper was similar to Kanye's early work, and Kanye never publicly demanded Drake pay his respects to him, he actually worked with him. Simply because both those artists are established and aren't threatened by any newbies. Unfortunately Lil Kim obviously felt threatened by up and coming Hip Hop star Nicki Minaj which brings us to the biggest FAIL of the year. Kim's first initial argument about Nicki was a FAIL because when she asked her to "pay homage", Nicki had already done so in interviews and photo shoots. When Nicki said nothing against the Queen Bee, Kim just kept at it doing various radio interviews carrying on the beef in the media but never putting her thoughts on wax, which is how these Rap Beefs usually work. So when Nicki finally responded on "Roman's Revenge" which was released shortly before her "Pink Friday" album dropped, and a radio interview with Angie Martinez showed Nicki being logical, intelligent and even still paying respects to Kim. Than Kim desperately put together a lackluster response "Black Friday" which showed exactly why Nicki has taken her spot, her flow and delivery were boring and the lyrics weren't very clever at all. And even worse, most of the things Kim uses to call Nicki out apply to her and her early career (the "buffoon" remarks, and the idea that Nicki slept her way to the top when we all know that's Kim's story) or were flat out delusional ("still running the game" -- REALLY????). In the end "Pink Friday" is doing better than any Kim album already, and Nicki's more mature approach to this "beef" will make her the winner in the long run.  ==Nicki Minaj Feature Verse of the Year== 1. Kanye West "Monster" 2. Diddy Dirty Money "Hello Good Morning Remix" 3. Trey Songz "Bottoms Up" 4. Gyptian "Hold Yuh Remix" 5. Ludacris "My Chick Bad" 6. Lil Wayne "Knockout" 7. Young Money "Roger That" 8. DJ Khaled "All I Do Is Win Remix" 9. Jason Derulo "In My Head 10. Sean Garrett "Get It All"  ==New Artist of the Year== 1. Nicki Minaj 2. Surfer Blood 3. Justin Bieber 4. J Cole 5. Bruno Mars  ==Biggest Disappointments of the Year== While none of these three albums are complete garbage, given the caliber of artists behind the releases most have high expectations, and all of these albums just fell short. 1. M.I.A. "/\/\/\Y/\" 2. Daft Punk "Tron" 3. Christina Aguilera "Bionic"  ==Album of the Year== Picking the #1 album was difficult for me this year, and even as this is posted I'll probably still have second thoughts about it. It's definitely between two Hip Hop albums Drake's "Thank Me Later" and Kanye West's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy". Drake "Thank Me Later" Why it deserves the #1 spot: Drake's album is perfectly cohesive, the tone and the style of each song blends effortlessly into the next. Even in concept the album tells the story of a man with dreams and watching his dreams come true. The ease at which he transitions from rapping to singing is also new and different and feels totally natural. And it also feels a little more relate-able to the listeners, and another genius thing each and every song has a verse for hardcore Hip Hop fans and one for his female listeners. A clever, complex, carefree album. Why it should be #2:The drawback to giving this the #1 spot is, even though it takes a few risks with extended verses and the overall ambient feel of the album, it's still very much a mainstream accessible album (thus the pandering to different sets of fans mentioned above). Kanye West "My Beautiful Dark and Twisted Fantasy" Why it deserves the #1 spot: "My Beautiful Dark and Twisted Fantasy" is definitely Kanye's peak thus far, and he's been a genius his whole career. The albums strength is that it embodies the different styles Kanye has mastered on his previous four albums, but elevates them and mixes them with classic instrumentation and sounds of rock, alternative, hip hop and R&B. Because of all the mixing the album could have gone terribly wrong, but it manages to never sound forced or overproduced. It just all feels perfect, and is truly a Hip Hop masterpiece because of all the elements working perfectly together. Why it should be #2:There's honestly a lot of clever word play here and he tackles some really deep and important issues. However the main selling point of Drake's album is that it was cohesive in theme, it felt like a story. Kanye's "Dark and Twisted Fantasy" while very cohesive as far as the musical arrangements and feel, is not so much cohesive in theme, there's really no story there just random thoughts.Which I suppose is what a "Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" would feel like. I'm going to give the #1 , pretty predictably since it's the best reviewed album of the year, to Kanye. Both albums feel really classic, and though I instantly fell in love with "Thank Me Later" and still love it to this day, Kanye feels more like a piece of art, like his short video for "Power", so much thought and work and creativity went into it feels more like a Masterpiece. 1. Kanye West "My Beautiful Dark and Twisted Fantasy" 2. Drake "Thank Me Later" 3. Broken Bells "Broken Bells" 4. John Legend & The Roots "Wake Up!" 5. Robyn "Body Talk" 6. Surfer Blood "Astro Coast" 7. Rihanna "Loud" 8. Janelle Monáe "TheArchAndroid" 9. Erykah Badu "New Amerykah" 10. Toni Braxton "Pulse"  ==Single of the Year== 1. Katy Perry "Teenage Dream" 2. Kanye West featuring Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross and Bon Iver "Monster" 3. Rihanna featuring Drake "Whats My Name?" 4. Drake "Find Your Love" 5. B.o.B. featuring Bruno Mars "Nothin on You" 6. Toni Braxton "Hands Tied" 7. Robyn "Dancing on my Own" 8. Sade "Soldier of Love" 8. Black Eyed Peas "Imma Be" 9. Neon Trees "Animal" 10. Kelly Rowland "Commander"  ==Guilty Pleasures of the Year== 1. Ke$ha She also gets my ==I Was Wrong Award== because last year, when I hadn't even heard "Tik Tok" in it's entirety, I predicted the minimal talents of Ke$ha would wear thin once that song had faded out. Dam I was wrong, not that she became a real force to be reckoned with in the industry (her album releases and re-releases continue to flop -- and her live performances are sub par to put it nicely), but she was able to get a few more hits using her auto-tuned, generic yet catchy songs. She became my #1 Guilty Pleasure late in the year, even though most of her songs sound the same and talk about the same stuff, who can deny her singles "Take it Off" "Your Love is My Drug" or "We R Who We R". You hear her songs once and somehow they are stuck in your head. Still, other than catchy hooks and Whiskey references, Ke$ha doesn't offer much else so we'll have to see how things turn for her in 2011. 2. Black Eyed Peas "The Beginning" (Album) 3. Taio Cruz "Dynamite" 4. Trey Songz featuring Nicki Minaj "Bottoms Up" 5. Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris "Baby" ==Youtube Clip of the Year== 1. "Bed Intruder" I don't think anybody can watch this clip without having "Hide Ya Kids, Hide Ya Wife" or "run and tell dat Homeboy" stuck in their head afterwards. A shameful news clip is remixed into one of the most viewed videos, you wanna say SMH, but than you find yourself singing along and clapping to "We Gon Find You!" 2. Jay-Z and Beyonce performing "Young Forever" Just too cute for words 3. Nicki Minaj's Angie Martinez Interview Listening to Nicki Minaj logically talk about whole Lil Kim situation, while still showing respect to one of her inspirations, shows just how immature and petty the older Kim is acting. ==Music Video of the Year== 1. M.I.A. "Born Free" 2. Jay-Z "On to the Next One" (tie) Rihanna "Rock Star 101" 3. Lady GaGa "Alejandro" 4. Ciara "Ride" (tie) "Gimme Dat" 5. Beyoncé "Why Don't You Love Me" 6. Kelis "Acapella" 7. Rihanna "Only Girl (In the World)" 8. Drake featuring Lil Wayne "Miss Me" 9. Lady GaGa and Beyoncé "Telephone" 10. Cee-Lo "F**k You" ==The PLEASE STFU Award== 1. Kanye West By now, we all know that Kanye West is the most outspoken celebrity of late. And sometimes his outbursts were justified and Needed, but this year coming off his hiatus after the VMA controversy it seems that he didn't learn a thing. He opened up a Twitter account and spouted random thoughts about clothing, traveling and Justin Bieber all leading up to the release of the best reviewed album of the year. And than things just got out of hand, firstly him feeling sorry for his 2005 comments about President Bush (the commander in chiefs apathy during a crisis and a controversy on a cable Awards show are NOT the same thing at all), than the Matt Lauer bust up. He now just comes off as a man who can never be happy about anything unless things are going 100% his way. Kanye PLEASE STFU!!!! better yet, just put out music and don't do any publicity. Let us appreciate the genius of your music without having your dickhead soundbytes to remind us what you're really like. ==Most Overrated Artist and Album of the Year== 1. Eminem "Recovery" Look, there's no denying that Eminem can literally give us his worst and it'll be better than most other rappers. He's naturally gifted with a great flow and clever lyricism with his music, my only problem is he's always the SAME Eminem. It never feels like he tries to do anything different, and really why should he when every time he drops an album he gets massive sales. This year, with the help of Rihanna and probably his biggest Pop hit "Love the Way You Lie", he's being hailed for an album that is really lackluster and very undeserving. 2. Bruno Mars "Doo Wops and Hooligans" 3. Monica "Still Standing"  ==Most Overrated Single of the Year== 1. Bruno Mars "Just the Way You Are" 2. Eminem featuring Rihanna "Love the Way You Lie" 3. Far East Movement "Like a G6" ==Most Underrated Single of the Year== 1. Kelly Rowland "Commander" 2. Maroon 5 "Misery" 3. Miguel "All I Want Is You"  ==Most Underrated Album of the Year== 1. Big Boi "Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty" 2. Toni Braxton "Pulse" 3. Kelis "Flesh Tone"  ==Best Career Move== Jennifer Lopez becoming a judge on "American Idol" The new judging line up of "American Idol" was a pretty big deal this year, and Jennifer Lopez (who I called out last year) jumped on it. Securing a spot as one of the "esteemed" judging panel for 2011's "American Idol" should prove well for her, she's still a big star and much more so than Paula Abdul when she joined the first season of the show. If she plays her cards right, this could help any future film or music projects for her. The jury is still out on if people will watch without Simon, but I'm sure most are at least intrigued by the new judging panel (which also includes Aerosmith's lead Steven Tyler).   ==Worst Career Move== Chris Brown having a Twitter account Chris has been hustling this year, trying to get his career back on track. Working on mixtapes and releasing singles and videos left and right even though he has no new album to promote. It's been working, but it seems everytime anybody mentions his "incident" two years ago, he turns into a little child instead of doing the mature thing and not responding. His fans don't seem to mind, but it's not doing him any good in the mainstream eye which is who he needs to get back on his team the most. ==COLOSSAL Flop of the Year== 1. Christina Aguilera "Bionic" Wow! From every angle you look at it, Christina Aguilera's "Bionic" has to be the biggest flop the pop world has seen in years. And really who is to blame, well let's start with the label RCA. The album feels like one half what Christina actually wanted the sound to be (experimental Indie/Electro on "Elastic Love" and the title track among a few others) and what the label wanted it to be for chart dominance (the dated sounding single "Not Myself Tonight" and annoying pop fodder "I Hate Boys" for example). Those two different directions made the album uneven, but there are a lot of successful albums that are even worse. A lot of her fans blame Perez Hilton for constantly saying her new look was similar to Lady GaGa's, which in a lot of aspects (especially the "Not Myself Tonight" music video) was true -- but acts like Beyonce, Usher and Nicki Minaj get called out for copying other artists and it didn't hurt their sales. Who's next to blame, well the artist herself. From her icy and impersonal interviews, to her classless, over-sung (and partially lipped) MTV Movie Award performance she just didn't seem to make any smart decisions in the promotion. The final result was an album that fell out of the Billboard 200 within months, and a first single that couldn't even pass the Top 20 mark with her follow up singles lingering in the bottom half of the Hot 100 (if at all). Christina did end the year on a bit of a high note. Her acting debut "Burlesque" wasn't a box office smash, but wasn't a complete Flop and it ended up getting a few Golden Globe nominations, including one for a song she wrote for the soundtrack. Here's hoping Christina follows up quickly and makes some new and unique decisions about her music and promotion. 2. Ciara  Ciara also gets the ==You Poor Thing Award= because she was the Flop of the Year last year. When she released her new "promo single" "You Got Me (Basic Instincts)" it seemed like she was on the right track because she was singing about what she did wrong in the previous era. Trying to be someone she's not, and she promised to go back to her roots with the next album. Her single and video "Ride" were a step in the right direction, but than things started taking a down turn. BET banned her video (more on that later), and her album was pushed back several times while her songs were being leaked left and right (just like with the Fantasy Ride album). By the time her album did come out of nowhere in December with no promotion, it debuted at #43 with only around 30, 000 copies sold. OUCH!!!! Her problem is the people behind her, to me it feels like somebody at her label is really out to ruin her career and are sabotaging her at every point. She needs to get away from those people and keep on grinding because she's really capable of being a long lasting R&B artist, but after a while she might just stop trying. Poor Thing. ==Trends that need to END!== 1. The Dance Pop trend. Please, it's been the popular sound for too many years and now it's just allowing people to be lazy. In both Production, and Lyrics. Compared to true dance music, the tracks are normally a diluted and repetitive generic version of Dance. And lyrically we've gotten to a place where we accept a song titled "Blah Blah Blah". We need something new, and I have a feeling a more Island style is set to take over. 2. Re-Releases. What used to be a clever marketing tool, is now clearly the proof that we are in a Singles oriented industry and the label heads don't really care about whole albums. Artists might as well just follow Robyn's idea of putting out short EP's every few months, because aside from a few exceptions a Re-Release sort of cheapens the idea of putting together a cohesive full album, when in a few months your just going to scrap together some filler for a Re-Release only intended to promote 1 or 2 new songs. 3. Product Placement in Music Videos. I understand artists nowadays have to get their money in unique ways, but too many Pop stars this year took the fun out of their videos by making them look too much like commercials. Ke$ha's "We R Wo We R", Lady GaGa's "Telephone" and "Bad Romance" videos, and Christina Aguilera's "Not Myself Tonight" stand out as big abusers of this crime. Hopefully in 2011 artists can at least find more clever ways of incorporating the products in their videos.

2011 Grammy Nominations -- Predictions!

As much as it pains me to acknowledge it, Eminem will almost definitley be the Grammy leader when nominations are announced later today. Although his recent album "Recovery" is still a sub par outing, Eminem had a huge hit this year with Rihanna that was still on Grammy voters minds when submitting nomination choices a few weeks ago.

A lot has been made about the fact that he's never won Album of the Year in the media, and the fact that he's been very present this year with feature work and his album selling as consistently well as his previous outings will assure him multiple nominations (even though his album was garbage, but hey that's just my opinion). He'll be a lock for Album of the Year as well as Record and Song of the Year for "Love the Way You Lie" with Rihanna, and he'll dominate the Hip Hop categories.

Other than Eminem, the other leading nominees will most likely come with a lot of surprises. I'm honestly not as confident with my predictions this year as in previous years, but there are some artists that made such a big impact this year I couldn't imagine them being left out. And given last years nominees, the popular acts and best sellers will probably be the most mentioned when it comes to nominations.

Judging by that, I have an instinct that this year may be a big year for Hip Hop in the Big 4 categories (Album, Record, Song and New Artist of the Year). Eminem's "Recovery" is a lock for Album of the Year, but I also wouldn't count out eligible albums by Drake ("Thank Me Later") and Jay-Z ("The Blueprint 3").

Jay's album came out last year right after the cut off, but the album received critical praise and ended up having three really big mainstream singles. His only problem is since the album was released so long ago, it might be forgotten. Even if he doesn't get that big nomination for the album, I could see "Empire State of Mind" with Alicia Keys up for Record and/or Song of the Year.

Drake was the new artist with the biggest hype last year, and even though he didn't have his album out he was up for three awards, so it seems obvious that he will be back again this year, and since his album was a steady seller it wouldn't be surprising to see him in Album of the Year. He seems like a shoe-in for New Artist of the year however (and will probably win).


B.O.B. will most likely be up for New Artist of the Year as well, and even though his album might not be up for the top prize, his single "Airplanes" was so massive it's sure to be competing for Record or Song of the Year (possibly both).

Eminem, Drake, Jay-Z and B.O.B. are sure to be favorites in the Hip Hop categories, and I believe they will probably be competing with themselves in certain categories. B.O.B. will probably get two nominations for Rap/Sung Collaboration for both "Airplanes" and "Nothing On You" with Bruno Mars. Same for Jay-Z who should find "Empire State of Mind" and "Young Forever" with Mr Hudson competing against each other. Drake's "Over" and "Miss Me" will surely be up for nods. Also expect to see Ludacris, Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, and Nicki Minaj whose feature work should snag her a few nods, as well as her hit single "Your Love".

As far as Pop music goes, Katy Perry will probably come out with a bunch of nominations. Her album "Teenage Dream", which is better than some of the Album of the Year nominees of last year, will probably miss out in that category. However her name should pop up in most of the Big 4 categories, as the albums title track is surely deserved of Song and Record of the Year nominations as well as Pop Vocal Performance, Female. The album should get a Pop Album nomination, and depending on how her label plays it "California Gurls" with Snoop Dogg could be up for Dance Recording or Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

Lady GaGa was one of the nomination leaders last year, and expect her to be up for alot this year for her singles and videos from "The Fame Monster" EP. That release is only 8 songs long, and it's doubtful it will be up for Album of the Year. However "Bad Romance" is sure to be up for Record or Song of the Year, as well as Female Pop Vocal and Dance Recording. Her and Grammy favorite Beyonce's collaboration "Telephone" will probably Win Pop Collaboration. As far as Short Form Music Video, any and all of her three video releases ("Bad Romance", "Telephone" and "Alejandro") deserve a nomination.

In the Rock and Indie scene The Black Keys, MGMT and Vampire Weekend are buzzed about underground acts that were more successful this year on a mainstream level. All of their releases came out in the first quarter of the year and could be forgotten, but thanks to a little commercialization Black Keys and Vampire Weekend might be up for a few awards, they have songs that have recently gained mainstream success because of television advertisements.

However the Indie act of the year that is most likely to get the most nominations are Arcade Fire, whose third album "The Suburbs" was a critical and commercial success. The group has won a Grammy for Alternative Album for both of their previous outings, and now that they are more known on the mainstream level I expect them up for Album of the Year no question. As far as any other possible nominations, I'm not sure but they will probably all fall under the Alternative categories.

One last shoe-in for Top 4 nominations is country group Lady Antebellum. I'm not very familiar with them, but I know I have read their name A LOT this past year. They are obviously very popular, and very respected as their second album "Need You Now" has been met with a lot of positive critiques. Again, I'm not familiar with them, but I would imagine Album of the Year isn't out of the question. And the title track, which rose to #2 on the Pop charts will be a contender for Record and Album of the Year. And the group will most likely dominate the Country categories, as Taylor Swift did last year.

And finally the Grammys always have a soft spot for legendary acts making a comeback, and though it wasn't really a comeback in that sense Sade's "Soldier of Love" album single and video will easily compete in a few categories, including the Big 4. That album was released in January and has since lost a lot of steam, but it's Sade who has won a Grammy for nearly every album released. They won't be totally forgotten, but I doubt they'll be nomination leaders.

So here are my educated guesses for the Top 4 categories.

Album of the Year

Arcade Fire "The Suburbs"
Drake "Thank Me Later"
Eminem "Recovery"
Jay-Z "The Blueprint 3"
Lady Antebellum "Need You Now"
Sade "Soldier of Love"

Question marks on Drake and Jay-Z, Eminem might be too much Hip Hop for that category thus canceling those two (far superior albums) out. Also Sade is a question mark, because after the first single not much attention was paid to that album.

Record of the Year

B.O.B. and Hayley Williams "Airplanes"
Eminem and Rihanna "Love the Way You Lie"
Jay-Z and Alicia Keys "Empire State of Mind"
Katy Perry "Teenage Dream"
Lady Antebellum "Need You Now"
Lady GaGa "Bad Romance"

Other possible nominations OMG by Usher, California Gurls by Katy Perry, Not Afraid by Eminem, Fireflies by Owl City, Tik Tok by Ke$ha, Find Your Love by Drake

Song of the Year

B.O.B. and Hayley Williams "Airplanes"
Jay-Z and Alicia Keys "Empire State of Mind"
Lady Antebellum "Need You Now"
Lady GaGa "Bad Romance"
Sade "Soldier of Love"
Train "Hey, Soul Sister"

New Artist

B.O.B.
Justin Bieber
Bruno Mars
Drake
Janelle Monae

For Your Consideration:
I've been talking about the majorly successful artists who are sure to get nominated, however let's shift things to the underrated outings that should be up for something this year.

Rihanna's "Rated R" is a pop album on par with Janet Jackson's "The Velvet Rope" which is a gift, but could be a curse at the Grammy's. Janet's 1997 album was met with the best critical praise in her career, but was ignored on Grammy night (only receiving a nomination for Short Form Video). Even though "Rated R" deserves a shot at Album of the Year, it's doubtful she will snag it. However Rihanna will do well for herself this year, "Love the Way You Lie" alone will get her a few major nominations but also her big hit "Rude Boy" should be up for Female Pop Vocal and maybe Pop Single or they might even put her in the R&B race.

In R&B, Usher will most likely dominate as "Raymond v. Raymond" and it's re-release "Versus" generated two big Pop singles and three pretty big R&B singles. However looking past the mainstream, hopefully Erykah Badu's "New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh)" and controversial video and single "Window Seat" will be shown some love tonight. As well as Toni Braxton's "Pulse", which was all but forgotten shortly after it was released despite being a very solid R&B album with one of the better R&B songs to come out in years "Hands Tied". And though I'm not personally vouching for these releases, I could see Monica and Fantasia up for some awards. Though these outings were a bit lackluster for me, they were met with a lot of praise from R&B fans. And even though she's hard to put in a box of just one Genre, and even though she's more than likely going to be up for New Artist, Janelle Monae will hopefully be given her due as she put out one of the most original and creative albums of the year with "TheArchAndroid".

Producer Danger Mouse might have too mellow of a sound to take notice to, but his collaboration with James Mercer of The Shins "Broken Bells" should be up for Album of the Year. It's doubtful it will, but it deserves to, and if it doesn't I hope to see them competing for multiple categories in the Alternative categories. Also Danger Mouse's collaboration with Sparklehorse might be a topic of debate, it was leaked digitally last year but was released officially this year with several guest artists from different generations of Rock and Alternative music. Even if that album isn't nominated for anything, his output alone should get him a nomination for Producer of the Year. Another alternative group that I think are more than deserving of some mentions are Surfer Blood whose "Astro Coast" was one of the most solid albums released this year. They aren't popular hardly at all on a mainstream level, but hopefully enough hipsters voted and they could possibly break through.

Kelis and Robyn linked up for a tour this summer, and they should both be up for Grammy gold in the Dance and Electronic categories. Kelis' "Flesh Tone" was a sharp departure for her, as it was a total dance album. And not a watered down pop version of Dance, it's up there with some of the best and respected Dance albums of the past. Hopefully we'll see her name in a few categories. Robyn released three EP's this year (only two are eligible), and if that invalidates her from any album categories, her two singles "Dancing on my Own" and "Hang with Me" are miles better than the radio staples I expect to see up for Dance Recording (that really don't deserve to be there). Another Electronic act that got a lot of praise for his recent release was LCD Soundsystem. "This is Happening" got loads of critical praise, and since he's been nominated three times in the past, I'm sure he'll get a nomination this year. As well as Gorillaz, who's album "Plastic Beach" isn't necessarily one of my favorites of the year but deserves to compete, and they should also be up for Short Form Video for "Stylo".

And Big Boi, his first solo album "Sir Lucious Left Foot, The Son of Chico Dusty" came and went with little fanfare, but it's a really solid album with some solid singles that should be up for multiple Hip Hop categories. The Roots could be singled out because of heavy competition in the Hip Hop categories for their album "How I Got Over", but I expect to see their collaboration album with Grammy favorite John Legend "Wake Up!" possibly in the Traditional R&B Album category since it's a celebration of classic soul songs, and a truly great album.

In the Pop field, I want to see Adam Lambert's "Whataya Want From Me" up for multiple categories (I would say it deserves Song of the Year, but it probably wasn't a big enough hit to make it in that category), he should definitely win for Male Pop Vocal for this song however. And while Maroon 5's album wasn't anything to write home about, their single "Misery" is fun, infectious and well produced, hopefully that one song (and the video) get a nod or two. And finally, also aided by the help of commercialization, Neon Trees' excellent "Animal" should be a favorite for Pop Vocal Duo or Group (unless their label puts them in Alternative or Rock -- which doesn't quite fit)

So there are my predictions, as I said earlier I'm not as confident about these predictions as years prior, but I think I'm on the right track. We'll find out tonight. And than we'll discuss the nominations and predict winners shortly after.

Album Review: Nicki Minaj, Rihanna

There were three releases I was looking forward to nearly all year, and they are finally all available at stores and available for me to ridicule. This review will just cover two, the females -- we'll get to the phenomenal Male release soon (it's just too good to lump in with this post). Honestly though, all three artists delivered, some more than others, but none of the albums were major disappointments.

Nicki Minaj "Pink Friday"

The "rookie" of the year Nicki Minaj has made a name for herself this year with her dozens upon dozens of features, most times bringing the only bit of life to the songs in her verses. Her animated and energetic bars were intriguing and exciting, but somehow when she's by herself on a full 3-4 minute song a lot of that excitement is lost. And that's the biggest problem with "Pink Friday", which is actually a solid Hip Hop/Pop Album, it just feels like the Nicki that we fell in love with this year is absent. It's a solid and standard Hip Hop album with club cuts, love songs, and diss tracks and really the only thing that sets it apart from other solid albums from the genre is the fact that she's a woman. There are glimpses of the uninhibited Nicki on clear stand out "Roman's Revenge" with Eminem, and also on "Blazin" with Kanye West and single "Check it Out" with Will.I.Am. Most of this album is spent on trying to prove that she can back up the hype, and for the most part she does a good job in giving her fans something versatile and introspective ("Dear Old Nicki"), and empowering them ("Fly" with Rihanna and "I'm the Best" which gives great commentary on females in the rap game and how she wants to help them). Unfortunately in doing this, she's exposed her short comings as a lyricist, for instance her rhyming "F-1" on 4 bars of "Did it On Em" . Though there are moments of greatness on the album (the Drake assisted "Moment 4 Life" and "Here I Am", and her actually singing a full song on the surprisingly subdued "Save Me"), some of it feels almost like wasted space. The good thing is the album overall is a good listen, by abandoning the rap style that got her famous we at least have something to look forward to on the second album, or future feature work. (Also note: you can get a taste of that Nicki on some of the bonus tracks -- check out "Muny" and "Catch Me", those are the best)

Rating: 4 Stars
Best: "Moment 4 Life" "Roman's Revenge" "Save Me"

Rihanna "Loud"

There's really not much to say about Rihanna's 5th album "Loud". She and her team are just undoubtedly gifted at selecting material that combines to make great Pop albums, and though "Loud" is a slight departure from her slightly more disturbed "Rated R", it plays as a culmination of her career up to this point. There are heavy traces of all of the different genres she's tackled in her short 5 year career, you have the dancehall/reggae sounds found on her first two albums in "Man Down" and the island tinged future Classic "What's My Name?". You get the genuine club sound that made her a worldwide star in first single "Only Girl (In the World)" and the unapologetic sexed up "S&M". You get some R&B ("Fading" "Raining Men") and some pure pop ("Cheers (Drink to That)" and the acoustic/rock ballad "California King Bed"). And more so than just treading paths she's already walked down, each song sound fresh and up to date and just elevated from where they were on previous efforts. Rihanna has become so comfortable with her voice and has always known how to sing with appropriate attitude, and this may be the best album to show off the sass and Diva swagger that has made her a star. Some of the album, with only one verse or no bridge, seems a little rushed at time and it's clearly not the Pop masterpieces that "Rated R" and 2007's "Good Girl Gone Bad" were, but it's a great place holder until her next album -- which given her discography should be pretty phenomenal.

Rating: 4.5 Stars
Best: "What's My Name" "Complicated" "S&M"

Album Review: Quick Update/GET 'ER DONE (Part One)!!!!

Okay it's November, and I have reviews for albums that were released as far back as March!
So you know what, I'm gonna review them ALL... RIGHT NOW!!! In the words of Larry the Cable Guy, I'm on a mission to GET 'ER DONE!!!! So here we go...

LCD Soundsystem "This Is Happening"

The third album from the highly buzzed about Electronic producer LCD Soundsystem (aka James Murphy) was released to mass critical acclaim in May. "This Is Happening" is a fun dance album in general, although it does come off as a bit one-note at times. Some of the best the album has to offer actually can come off as copy cats of other artists (Devo on "Drunk Girls", She Wants Revenge on "All I Want"), but the overall effect is a new level of Electronic music. Murphy maintains a Electronic sound, but there are heavy traces of Punk, Rock and Pop on any given track. The albums high points are the unapologetic fun of "Pow Pow", while "One Touch" "You Wanted A Hit" and "I Can Change" are near perfection. The album is a unique listen, but can wear a little thin at times.

Rating: 3.5 Stars
Best: "Pow Pow", "I Can Change", "You Wanted a Hit"


Robyn "Body Talk Pt. 2"

After the first portion of her "Body Talk" trilogy was released earlier this year, Robyn dropped the sequel in September and it completely blows the original out of the water. Robyn has somehow managed to make club and radio friendly Dance music but layers it with so much heart and intensity that it sounds like a Musical Masterpiece compared to the Ke$ha's and Willow's of the Pop world. "Pt. 2" is a little more intense and heavier than "Pt. 1", songs like "We Dance to the Beat" and "Criminal Intent" have such a hard House sound that's so enjoyable the scant lyrics are more than appropriate. Than you get the honest and heartfelt lyricism on "Hang with Me" "Love Kills" and the Acoustic "Indestructible". "Pt. 3" will be sold as a combination of all albums on November 22nd and there's no doubt that compilation will be better than most albums released this year. Unfortunately not many in America will hear them, and Ke$ha will forever rule the airwaves.

Rating: 4.5 Stars
Best: "Hang with Me", "Love Kills", "We Dance to the Beat"


Brandon Flowers "Flamingo"

The solo debut of The Killers' front man Brandon Flowers came to very little fanfare this October. Maybe because the albums first single "Crossfire" sounded almost exactly like a unreleased cut from the groups last album "Day and Age". And once you listen further to this album, there's not much that separates Flowers as The Killers' lead singer and Flowers as a solo star. The beginning of the album is very lackluster, however towards the middle and to the end he does manage to deliver some outstanding tracks, still very Killers-esque. "Only the Young" the albums second single just sounds like an instant classic, the first single is no slouch either. Most of the last half of the album is enjoyable, though a tad forgettable. Which, unfortunately, is probably what this solo venture will end up being. A forgotten one.

Rating: 3 Stars
Best: "Only the Young", "Crossfire", "Jacksonville"


Kings of Leon "Come Around Sundown"

Last year Kings of Leon emerged from the Indie scene and got a big Pop single and a handful of Grammy gold. And the bright side of their 5th album "Come Around Sundown" is the group doesn't seem to be worried about duplicating their mainstream success. Nothing on the album feels forced, however the overall feeling the albums leaves is pretty boring. The vibe is their original sort of grass roots Rock sound mixed with a lighter feeling. And maybe that lighter feel is my problem, I just don't feel like they "rocked out" hard enough on this album, even though their first single "Radioactive" and "Pony Up" for instance are pure energetic Rocker romps, the rest of the album is just a little too mellow. Still, the group members are skilled and experienced musicians and lead singer Caleb Followill still has one of the most distinct and powerful voices in the industry. Those two facts alone make the album worthy.

Rating: 3 Stars
Best: "Birthday", "Radioactive", "Pony Up"

Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse "Dark Night of the Soul"

Danger Mouse the Go-To Producer for Moody Alternative-Pop is back with probably his moodiest darkest work yet. Teaming up this time with Alternative group Sparklehorse, the album was actually released on the internet last year, however after some legal disputes the album was re-released for retail this Summer. It should be noted that Sparklehorse front man Mark Linkous committed suicide in March of this year so that definitely adds to the eery effect of the album. Another note, always creepy film director David Lynch wrote an accompanying 100 plus page book as visual accompaniment to what is called a "concept album about Spiritual Crisis". Having not read that book, or even knowing about Linkous, the overall tone of the album is very well felt. With guest artists like Iggy Pop, Suzanne Vega, The Flaming Lips, Gruff Rhys providing very haunting vocals over the very spooky tracks. The songs more or less bleed into each other, with not many standouts, but a great overall feel. (Though Julian Casablancas from The Strokes' "Little Girl" is easily my favorite).

Rating: 3.5 Stars
Best: "Little Girl", "The Man Who Played God", "Star Eyes (I Can Catch It)",

Album Review: Quick Update/The Summer of Pop

Katy Perry "Teenage Dream"

If Katy Perry's goal on her second outing was to put together an album full of potential top 10 pop hits, than she more than succeeded with "Teenage Dream" her second studio album. She was already the queen of summer with two #1's from the title track and "California Gurls". And the light fun and catchy tracks like "Last Nite (TGIF)" "Peacock" and "The One that Got Away" are almost Pop radio guarantees. The most surprising thing about the album is that the pop singer goes a little deeper than you'd think with beautiful and well-written tracks like "Firework" "Pearl" and "Not Like the Movies". And even her subject matter (ditching an addict boyfriend on "Circle the Drain") and production ("E.T.") are superior to a lot of generic Pop songs out now. Katy shows them all how to do Pop music, and though it's still really light and just a Fun album overall, it does show some growth as well as charm.

Rating: Four Stars
Best: Teenage Dream, Not Like the Movies, E.T.


Bruno Mars "Doo-Wops & Hooligans"

Bruno Mars became a name this summer from his various feature work, his debut album "Doo-Wops & Hooligans" is in the same vein of most of his features, laid back and breezy poppy hip hop/r&b odes, and his voice does help to fill out some of the songs. Overall though, the album has some catchy songs that are fun to listen to, but are so bogged down by lyrics that cater to the lowest denominator. On "Marry You" he proposes as something "dumb to do", rhymes "snuggie" with "Teach me how to dougie" on "The Lazy Song", and it gets no lazier than "Count on Me" with it's hook "1,2,3... A,B,C". Mars has a lot of qualities that could make him a star, but his elementary lyricism is really a distracting part of the total package. And really makes the album a lot less enjoyable.

Rating: Two Stars
Best: Talking to the Moon, Just the Way You Are, Our First Time


Maroon 5 "Hands All Over"

Maroon 5's single "Misery" should have been a summer blockbuster as it's catchy, fun and upbeat. However the song lingered in the mid-20's of the Hot 100 throughout most of the summer, and unfortunatley when their 4th album "Hands All Over" there weren't many songs to match that first single and confirms why I've never been a big fan of the group. There are a handful of highlights on the album, namely the beautifully produced and sung "Just a Feeling", as well as "I Can't Lie" "Never Gonna Leave this Bed" and "Out of Goodbyes" with Lady Antebellum. The biggest complaint about the album and the group is that they very rarely just go with the flow, it seems like on alot of songs the raw soul and natural energy is dilluted by trying to make everything a perfect package for radio. Leaving the listener with a somewhat sterile and over-worked and over-produced Pop album.

Rating: Two Stars
Best: Just a Feeling, Misery, Never Gonna Leave This Bed

Album Review: Quick Update/The 80's Reborn???

Okay my many followers (LOL!!), I'm dying to write an article about next years Grammy's and who I think will be nominated and who I think should be nominated. However, this summer and beginning of Fall has been filled with alot of music I've yet to review. I have about 13 albums I want to review, and in trying to power-through I'm gonna do just a quick/SUPER-quick recap of what I've been listening to.
Note: I'm gonna use a rating system on this and future album posts, but I might not stick with that style of rating so just know that it might change (probably next year)
So I'm gonna power-through and get these quick reviews done, than I have to post about the Grammy's and than I have an updated Top 25 Favorite Artists of All Time to post. The Grammy nominations are announced in December so expect an article about that, and than ofcourse we'll have our big Year-End post which will be better than the excellent one last year.

So let's start with the reviews!
Devo "Something for Everybody"

The New Wave Kings Devo return after 20 years with an album that actually does in fact feel like a true return to form, and feels like the classic Devo the world fell in love with in the 80's. And the group actually does this in a way that doesn't feel forced, which is one good thing about the album. Tracks like "What We Do" and first single "Fresh" are fun and full of "pep" like their 1980 "Freedom of Choice" album and more of their more commercial outings in the 80's. However the album falters because there's no sense of experimentation or them trying anything new which is the best thing about their early music. Still a fun listen overall.

Rating: Three Stars
Best: "What We Do" "Fresh""Later is Now"


Prince "20Ten"

This album was actually released only in the UK, and for Free in their Weekend Edition newspaper. I'm not in London and I don't subscribe to that paper but thank god for the internet. This album finds Prince giving sonic homages to his work in the 80's, but as always he mixes those sounds with more contemporary elements. The overall feel of the album is not much different from the vibe of his 2009 3 Disc outing, there's Funk ("Act of God"), there's Pop/Rock (the pretty awful "Everybody Loves Me") and there's wannabe-Hip Hop ("Laydown"). The highlights of the album are clearly the slower tempo R&B songs "Walk in the Sand" and "Future Soul Song", and even those come off sounding a little dated for him. It's time for Prince to either bring in some new Producers to get a fresh perspective or just take more time off in between albums. The album on the whole is enjoyable, but like Devo there's just a bit o originality lacking.

Rating: Three Stars
Best: "Future Soul Song" "Sticky Like Glue" "Walk in the Sand"

Album Review: Big Boi

It's funny because I wrote an article a few months back for FullBlastMagazine.com, asking different artists to finally come out of their hiding and deliver the music their fans want. I talked about The Strokes, Missy Elliot and OutKast whose last album was 2006's "Idlewild". In the article I did note how the group always said they wanted Big Boi's first solo album to be released before they came back as a group, and finally after a few years and "promo" singles have passed and Big Boi has delivered "Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty" a very diverse, fun, and overall pleasing Hip Hop album. The beauty of OutKast is that they've always been unique to the Hip Hop genre, they always stayed true to the roots but added weird and very original elements to make them stand out. Big Boi, because he was less animated and not as unique in style as his partner Andre 3000, has always been overlooked in the talent department. His contributions to the duo over the past 15 years are essential to why OutKast has managed to be so popular, glimpses of his talent were shown on the feature-heavy "Speakerboxxx" side of their Grammy winning double album. "Sir Lucious" is more effective in shining a light on him and his impeccable wordplay, cadence and overall delivery. Though there are loads of features from the likes of T.I., Jamie Foxx, Too $hort, Gucci Mane and George Clinton to name a few, this album is really a celebration of Big Boi and he manages to never let himself be drowned out or overpowered by his guests or the amazing production behind the songs.

If a complaint can be made, it may come from the fact that this album at times does feel too much like an OutKast album and doesn't do all that much to separate itself. Songs like "Turn Me On" and "Tangerine" for example feel like they are only missing that verse from Andre. The difference on "Sir Lucious" is that most of the songs feel like they come from a really organic place, they might not all use live instrumentation but they feel like it. It just feels like less of a computer and technology assisted album and more like a jam-session. And though there is experimentation with the production (the stuttering backing track to the first single "Shutterbug" and the dingy underground sounding track to "Fo Yo Sorrows" -- two stand outs from the album), this album never goes too far left with their sounds. One other complaint comes from the fact that Big is making some pretty important statements on individual songs, but overall the album doesn't feel like it's saying anything. There's a bit of a lack of cohesiveness with the actual content of the songs, but the production flows pretty effortlessly. And that's quite a challenge given the very diverse sounds on the album... take the two best songs for example "Follow Us" is an R&B-ish track that's significantly Rocked out with the hook by Vonnegut, and "Be Still" almost takes a jazzy route thanks to Janelle Monae's smooth vocals on it's hook.

"Sir Lucious Left Foot" is a pretty impressive, fun and actually catchy Hip Hop album. Which is pretty amazing because with Hip Hop there is a fine line with that... if you go too Fun it's just a commercial pop album, and if it's not Fun at all it's just a boring album that takes itself too seriously. This album is perfectly balanced and the perfect running time, as it never really gets to feeling like too much. The best thing however, is that this albums release might signal the return of really the best Hip Hop Duo of all time. Let's cross our fingers.

Album Review: Surfer Blood, Beach House, The Morning Benders

The Indie scene these days gives the listener a change of pace from the mainstream stuff that dominates the radios and video programming (which believe it or not does still exist). Where mainstream is generally more calculated and less concerned with innovation or even inspiration, Indie music has the freedom of not fitting into any particular mold and can experiment with both sound and content. The problem sometimes though is if you listen to too much Indie they get the tendency to sound the same. I'd probably blame it on the fact these new groups are around the same age and have a lot of the same influences, sometimes the tone and even content of their music is very similar. Case in point, the three Indie groups I'm about to review. All three are actually really good and show promise, and their albums are also fairly outstanding but it's not difficult to mistake one for the other if you haven't listened to each album extensively to point out the subtle differences.

Surfer Blood stands out from the pack with their debut "Astro Coast", the group offers up a very strong collection of songs and are able to keep the tone the same throughout while being versatile. Tracks like "Swim" and "Take it Easy" are catchy and radio-friendly, but other songs on the album like "Harmonix" and "Anchorage" manage to be very edgy and dark while still maintaining the summer feel of the whole album. They are at once credible Rockers and also commercial enough to cross-over to the mainstream. And the vocals seem to be perfect track by track, the lead singer of the 5 piece band knows how to shift his voice and give the appropriate attitude and emotion for each song. Though at times the group comes off as maybe a harder edged Vampire Weekend, or a less fun Weezer, overall the group does let their individual talents speak for themselves. Surfer Blood is definitely a group to look out for in the coming years, and this album is definitely one of the better pieces of Music released this year.

Beach House's third studio album "Teen Dream" is a little all over the place but still a calming and interesting listen. They seem to take basic arrangements and tweek them a bit, like the single "Norway" which has an eery backing track with odd tuning and distorted sounds, the production on tracks like this, "Walk in the Park" and "Take Care" elevates what might be too melancholy songs to the next level. When the group isn't being atmospheric with their sound, they tend to get a little too peppy with tracks like "Used to Be" and "Better Times" which are alright songs but don't mesh well with their overall sound. However the remaining tracks like "Lover of Mine" and "10 Mile Stereo" are great. They give an 80's pop feel, but stripped and than mixed with elements to make the sound a little bigger and more organic. In the end it's a satisfying album, though because everything feels really "dream-like" it can be easy to forget.

Which leaves us with The Morning Benders, a local group (Berkeley, My Birth Town) whose group name feels all too fitting on their sophomore effort "Big Echo", a moody, very dark, very emotional album. On this album it feels like a group of guys waking up regretful and hungover from some good times the night before. And their morose lyrics and vocal delivery, matched with the bands very unique arrangements make for some excellent music. Tracks like the superb "Hand Me Downs" as well as "Sleeping In", "Mason Jar" and "Wet Cement" are especially effective because you can't help but feel something with the intense yet dour instrumentation. They have some upbeat commercial tracks that are not the best ("Cold War" "All Day Day Light"), but the group is at their best on the slower more introspective songs. The only downside with this group, for me, are the vocals which are a little too thin at times for such serious material. Often the vocals interrupt the flow of such full material, but it is something that can be overlooked. Great Band though, the players are genius in the risks they take with their arrangements and the way they make everything work on the emotional level.

Album Review: M.I.A., Robyn, Janelle Monáe

Apologizing for the infrequency of new posts off the top. And I'm starting another semester of school, so my blog might suffer a bit. There's loads of music I've been listening to, old and new, so I'm gonna try to cover them ALL within this week.(Although this first posting has taken me over a week to post, so we'll see how the rest goes)Let's start out with the Weird Girls I've been enjoying M.I.A., Robyn and newcomer Janelle Monáe.

"Maya" (as it's labeled on iTunes, but apparently the real title is something like "/\/\/\Y/\")

is the third album from UK's M.I.A. one of the few popular artists that lives completely outside of the box. Or at least has up until this latest album, which is a mostly great album even if it doesn't feel as new and fresh as her first two. One could call the album's second single "Xxxo" or songs like "It Takes a Muscle" as intentional cross-over attempts, and one could also say songs like "Space" are obvious attempts to re-capture the success from her US break-out single "Paper Planes". Still, once the album is finished you get the sense that M.I.A. is still staying true to herself even it's really not any better or worse than her last two albums. Since her 2007 album "Kala" it seems she's in a calmer place than the once hectic reggae/hip hop sounds of before, this new outing sounds way more contained and subdued. "It Iz What It Iz" "Lovalot" are two stand out songs that find M.I.A. flowing more comfortably over less chaotic and noisy beats like before. Even when she goes heavy punk (the first single "Born Free") there's still a sense it was produced with the idea of organized noise, not going to the maximum but editing elements out to give a more succinct vibe. Overall "/\/\/\Y/\" is a great outing, and even though for M.I.A. some of it sounds familiar, on the whole the album is still way more innovative and original than most albums released.

Robyn went from late 90's Pop Tart to Electronica/Club Queen with her last eponymous album released in 2008. The critically hailed and Grammy nominated album was obvious inspiration for the first of her new trilogy "Body Talk, Pt. 1".

The 8-track album serves as a bit of a sampler of what made the critics and fans fall in love with the last album, as songs like "Fembot", "Jag vet en dejlig Rosa" and the stellar first single "Dancing on My Own" are reminiscent of tracks from that album. Robyn again offers heavy Electronic, Club, and sometimes straight up Pop tracks under very thoughtful lyrics and melodies, like a more credible Lady GaGa or Ke$ha. With this album she stretches her versatility even further with the Diplo assisted, reggae/electro hybrid "Dancehall Queen" and the more ambient Club banger "None of Dem" with Röyksopp. "Pt. 1" more than wets the listeners appetite for the second and third installments (the second installment is due in September. Third installment has no release date as of yet) and gives a great alternative to the mindless Dance music dominating the radio.

And it's not only the established artists who are daring to be original, newcomer Janelle Monáe has delivered her first full length album

"The ArchAndroid" which is both original and eclectic. The smooth voiced Monáe effortlessly takes a crusade from different genres like Jazz, Rock, Pop, R&B as well as style influences from different decades and yet somehow it all works together to deliver a soulful and relaxing (at times) album that has very little filler. While the album on the whole is an epic and versatile journey, the versatility might be the one downfall. Though the album is a breath of fresh air, and Monáe's ability to mold her voice and attitude to the variety of sounds is impressive. However it's hard to lock down what exactly HER style is, outside of her being able to tackle effectively the vast variety of material on the album, it's hard to figure out what she's bringing to the album vocally, personality, attitude and style wise. Of course that's a very minor complaint, and her style will surely come out in the next few albums. Meanwhile, this album is a must-listen for this year as it's one of the most original and adventurous albums to surface in a long while.