411 Music Roundtable: September 2010

Posted by Adam Hill on 09.03.2010

Was Kanye West or Steven Tyler the big winner of the month? Could anyone stop Axl Rose from being the biggest loser of the month? What does the 411 staff think of upcoming albums like A Thousand Suns and Audio Secrecy? Find out inside!

Welcome peeploids, to another edition of the 411 Music Roundtable. I, Adam Hill, Lord of the Music 5 & 1, have gathered together some of the greatest minds 411 Music has to offer and locked them in a room with Justin Bieber songs playing on a loop until they agreed to share their opinions on August. If that wasn't enough they will also be dropping science on what to look forward to in September.

Ah, September, purgatory month. Stuck between Fall and Summer yet not really part of either, thank goodness there is a lot of high quality music releases to look forward to. But which ones have got the guys at 411 most excited? Read on Macduff, it's Music Roundtable time.

Michael James
Album Reviewer and Self-Proclaimed Music Zone All-Star

Biggest Winner of the Month: Kanye West.
Kanye doesn't even have a definite release date for his new album, but he spent most of August putting on a master's class in career restoration. From his manic Twitter posts, to his bizarre flirtation with Justin Bieber, Kanye has managed to remove the taint of the Taylor Swift incident in a few genius moves. The G.O.O.D. Friday concept (a new song every Friday until Christmas), and the late breaking news of a possible joint EP with Jay-Z should allow Kanye to continue to reclaim his spot as one of music's most interesting artists.





Biggest Loser of the Month: Wyclef Jean.
At the time of the Haiti earthquakes, I couldn't help but wonder whether somewhere Wyclef would treat this as an opportunity to become relevant again. Well my worst thoughts have proved correct, as Wyclef spent much of August waging a campaign to run for PRESIDENT of the ravaged island nation. Even Pras realized that it was probably crazy for a political novice to think he could lead such a massive rebuilding effort. Thankfully the Haitian government realized the same thing, and Jean will not be permitted to run. Let's just stick to protest songs and fundraising telethons there guy… you couldn't even properly reunite the Fugees.





Biggest Music News of the Month: The Return of Lauryn Hill.
Speaking of The Fugees… L Boogie is back and seemingly sane! Lauryn Hill has been touring with the Rock the Bells Festival and all reports have been glowing. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was one of the best albums of the past 20 years, and if there is any possibility that Hill may finally be over her troubles and ready to get back into the booth, it's big news.





Best New Release: Lissie – Catching a Tiger
August was another slow month for new releases. Ray LaMontagne, Usher and David Gray released decent, but not great albums. Wale's More About Nothing mixtape was decent, but the major label debut from female folkie Lissie was my favorite release this month. Lissie's style on tracks like "Record Collector" can be compared to Sheryl Crow and KT Tunstall, with some Fleetwood Mac flourishes tacked on. It's definitely worth checking out.





Most Anticipated New Release: John Legend & The Roots – Wake Up!
The fourth quarter is like Christmas for music fans… although I suppose part of it is Christmas for non-music fans as well. Looking over the list of upcoming new releases for the month, there are roughly twenty new albums that I'm looking forward to, including new albums by Linkin Park, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Eat World. Top on my list is the collaborative album of socially conscious anthems from The Roots and John Legend. Legend is my favorite R&B artist, and ?uestlove of The Roots has achieved some great results producing soul music. Best case scenario, this is our generation's What's Going On?.





#Nowplaying: "Power" – Kanye West, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver and Nicki Minaj.
Now I find this as surprising as the next guy, but is Nicki Minaj secretly dope? Her accents seem gimmicky on the surface… but she is an absolute beast on this track. She also bodied Drake on "Up All Night". Her first single, "Your Love," is lightweight fluff, but we may be in for a surprise when her debut drops in November.





Any Other Business: Music fans who think they can fly.
Recent shows by Phish and The Swell Season were separately interrupted by disturbed fans leaping out of the balconies. The Swell Season has actually agreed to pay for attendees' therapy sessions after a fan committed suicide at a show. I'm all for positive thinking and getting your R. Kelly on, but the song is a metaphor, all the believing in the world won't grant you the gift of flight.

David Hayter
Album Reviewer

Biggest Winner Of The Month: Arcade Fire
This was an absolute no-brainer. Honestly of all the bands to knock Eminem off the top of the album charts on both sides of the Atlantic, who would have predicted it'd be Arcade Fire a month ago? Well it was, and their rise to the top has been an absolute triumph for music as art, and music fans worldwide. It is so warming to see a band making it to the top of the world on their own terms without sacrificing style, sound, or artistic integrity. Not only did The Suburbs hit the number one spot world wide, but it also happens to be an early contender for Album Of The Year (more on that later). Arcade Fire haven't stopped at selling CDs this month they have been selling out arenas too; I had to wake up at 8am to rush to get tickets to their O2 Arena show. Unfortunately it sold out in 15 minutes! They opened a second date which also sold out, but not before I got my ticket. To top off an extraordinary month they headlined the historic Reading Festival, and put on the most beautiful and brilliant headline set that I have ever witnessed (and this was my twenty fourth festival!). I honestly can't praise that show or this month enough (I'm actually watching it back on TV as I write this now). Oh and in case you thought that was the end of Arcade Fire's mind bending month, it's not; on August 30th they released the superb video for "We Used To Wait" an interactive video using Google & HTML5, it's designed to take you back to your childhood home. I found it pretty moving and I'm sure others will have fun trying it for them selves, but don't take my word for it, have a go for your self just click the link.


Biggest Loser Of The Month: Axl Rose
So after all that good press, after turning up on time for every gig he's played in the last two years, and after finally releasing Chinese Democracy; you could have been mistaken for thinking Axl had finally grown up (for the lack of a better term). He was even making sense; explaining that he wouldn't get back together with Slash because he was only interested in playing with forward thinking guitarists not those living in the past. He explained that Chinese Democracy wasn't perfect and nor was it meant to be; it was just an attempt at making new music. After all that's what he wants to do; make new forward thinking music with Guns N' Roses. Well that all sounded great on paper until this past weekend as me, and 77,000 other people stood in a field waiting, and waiting, and waiting, for Axl to arrive. Don't worry he did turn up, only an hour late, to put on a disinterested hit and miss show, but my complaint wasn't his poor performance or his lateness, it was his reason for turning up late. He turned up an hour late to spite the festival organizer Melvin Benn for saying he'd cut their power if they ran over curfew (which he promptly did). Axl's logic baffles me, to get back at a man who's paying you over a million dollars for one performance you treat your fans like shit? Surely if he wanted to spite Melvin he'd have turned up on time, proved he was the bigger man, and then played on an hour over and break curfew anyway? The reality of what happened was childish and pedantic, spurning a huge crowd that was genuinely excited to see Axl (and when's the last time you could say that about a festival crowd?). For a full report check out my in depth Reading Festival Review.


Biggest Music News Of The Month: Slipknot To Release New Materiel
This is major news for metal, as the one true new headliner that even the snobbiest of metal fans accept as being metal will continue to release music. This is important as you feel losing Slipknot would have made metal appear even more retrospective than already it does. Furthermore, Slipknot has always been at their best when they were dealing with deep emotional trauma, and when Corey really had something to scream about. The death of Paul Gray (who was the bands stabilizing influence) should provide them with more than enough inspiration to write the blood curdling masterpiece that we all know they are capable of. After all, All Hope Is Gone was a solid effort crammed full of great singles, but it wasn't a classic, if Slipknot are to crumble before our eyes let's at least hope they go out on an artistic high.


Best New Release Of The Month: Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
The Suburbs was inspired by a visit by Win Butler and his wife (and band mate) Regine to his childhood home; immediately he was accosted by a Police officer and forced out of his car. He was then interrogated for being a strange visitor in the town he once knew. After this bizarre incident Win set about finding all those locations of great emotional resonance to him personally, only to find they had been bulldozed or cemented over (in the case of a swimming pool). This sense of dislocation, loss, and being a stranger in your own home down town led him to muse on the hidden struggles and catharsis of suburban life. In between all this emotional exploration he found plenty of room for a scathing attack on scenester, music critics, his own fans, and most of all himself (this is Win after all).

Musically varied, unashamedly ambitious, knowingly widescreen; The Suburbs is the type of record that "cool" bands are not supposed to be making in the 21st Century, and that is exactly why it's so brilliant. Finally, a band aiming for OK Computer and not just Kid A (as much as I love the latter, more so than the former in fact) it's great to see a band aiming for artistic and intellectual mainstream domination, not just art house cool.

I reviewed this LP earlier in the month and you can check out my extended thoughts here.


Most Anticipated New Release Of The Month: Interpol - Interpol
I'm very excited about this release; partly because I've already heard it, but mostly because it sees a return to form from one of the 21st Centuries great innovators. This new self titled LP sees Interpol getting back to the big brooding anthemics that made Turn On The Bright Lights one of the last decade's most essential and influential listens. I won't give too much of the game away as I will be reviewing Interpol next week, but I can safely say that I'm very excited.


#Nowplaying: Interpol – "Lights"
So talking about Interpol's forthcoming self titled LP got me all excited about that album's first single all over again. "Lights" is a brooding atmospheric work with one of the most captivating videos I've seen in a long time. I'll happily let the music, and the visuals, do the talking on this one:





Any Other Business: Changing Demographics
At last weekend's Reading Festival I couldn't help but feel like I no longer belonged. Sure, I loved watching Arcade Fire and seeing some of my favorite bands, but the message seemed loud and clear; this isn't for you anymore. I've felt this way before, at Reading 2008 I was so annoyed by a disrespectful yobbish crowd that I found myself taking the year off in 2009, but this year's festival was different. The crowd was friendly, charming and affable (I know, not words you normally associate with the Reading crowd) but it all felt rather vacant (musically). I felt like I was at a fashion show, and not a music festival. I looked around me during Queens Of The Stone Age and I felt embarrassed to be singing and dancing along, as I appeared to be the only person who had heard their tracks not named "Go With The Flow" and "No One Knows". Luckily some very knowledgeable (and very hot) girls soon came along to liven things up during that set, but the same cannot be said of the entire weekend. Festivals now feel like "the place to be". The place for kids aged 15-18 to go get drunk and brag to their friends about regardless of whether they actually enjoy the music or not.

This isn't actually the goers fault, it reflects on the larger trend of music festivals becoming homogenized and populist. The same bands playing the same sets just in different locations. It's just a shame as those unique personalities and atmospheres that made individual Festivals special are slowly disappearing. Reading has lost its cool vibe. It's funny how things change, I remember attending my first Reading Festival at sixteen and being surrounded by people so much older than me who seemed to know so much about the bands, be so excited to talk music. I remember people singing as passionately along to the Wedding Present and Dinosaur Jnr as they would The Foo Fighters or The Offspring. Now I don't mean to sound like a grumpy old man, and I absolutely to do not begrudge people spending their hard earned money however they see fit, and having a good time; but I can't help but feel something has been lost. Something unique, and intangible has disappeared, and you can't help but feel your own energy being sapped as a crowd sits on it's hands (figuratively) waiting for the bands to play their latest hit single. It's even sadder seeing great artistic bands playing to next to nobody. Regardless, I'm going to keep going, and I'm going to keep having fun, as I did this year, I just hope that in years to come festival goers start getting more invested in the music and less into the fashion. God I sound so, so, so old.

Alistair McGeorge Author of Album A Day

Biggest Winner of the Month: Weezer
I'm going with very Leeds Festival-themed responses this week, as I got back from the festival a few days ago, and I'm still buzzing. The winner of the month for me has to be Weezer, who surprised near enough everyone by putting on an incredible set at the festival. From "My Name Is Jonas" and "Island In The Sun" to huge hits like "Buddy Holly" and "Beverley Hills", they blew everyone away and surpassed everyone's expectations, showing they still have it. Plus, they hinted at acknowledging that they get confused for Wheatus by playing a cover of "Teenage Dirtbag". It was a stunning performance all-round, and earns them a spot as my winner of the month.





Biggest Loser of the Month: Guns N' Roses
This'll be discussed a bit more just below, but for the terrible unprofessionalism displayed at Reading Festival this weekend (and to a lesser extent, Leeds Festival), Guns N' Roses are my Loser of the Month. They turned up just over an hour late to Reading, then half an hour late to Leeds the following night, and threw the ultimate bitch fit when their Reading set was cut short. Look…you come on late, you don't get a full set, deal with it. I know everyone expects this from Axl Rose & Co. but it still kinda spits in the face of the fans, and the bands that actually turned up on time and gave it their all.


Biggest Music News of the Month: Guns N' Roses drama at Reading Festival
If you've been on 411Mania at all since the festival, chances are you'll know all about this. Axl Rose and his band turned up over an hour late to their headline slot at Reading Festival, and as a result had their set cut short. Instead of accepting it and leaving peacefully, or apologizing, they moaned, Axl had a foul-mouthed rant at the promoter, and they tried to stage a protest. They put on, by all reports, a damn fine set when they did play, but the continuing unprofessionalism of Axl Rose and his band is the biggest story of the month for me.


Best New Release of the Month: Nothing
This may seem lazy, so I'll actually elaborate a bit to make it worth it. To be totally honest, there's been absolutely nothing that's interested me this past month. I've been listening to the new Reel Big Fish collection and Mad Caddies' latest release, but they were from July. Truly, there's nothing that caught my eye (well…ear) this month, even after looking through the Review section on this site. Next month throws up some nice albums to look forward to, however, so let's move onto that…


Your Most Anticipated New Release of the Month: Weezer - Hurley
Raditude was nothing special, but I did enjoy the Red Album from a few years back. Despite a decline from the Green and Blue albums, Weezer are still a great band with a knack for catchy hooks and radio-friendly choruses. Sure, we have times when we want a little more substance, but Weezer are among the best in the world at what they've evolved into. Even if the album isn't entirely consistent, it's guaranteed to have a handful of good-to-great songs, with a couple sure to make the airwaves.





#nowplaying: Tom Gabel - Heart Burns
After seeing a fantastic set from Against Me! at Leeds Festival, I was once again listening to their back catalogue and decided to check out singer Tom Gabel's 2008 solo effort. It's a less raw version of Against Me! really, with more of a folk-pop influence than pure punk. Tracks like "Cowards Sing At Night" and "Anna Is A Stool Pigeon" show another side to the talent of Gabel, whose rough vocals work just as well here as they do on punk tracks. The acoustic songs "Harsh Realms" and "100 Years of War" remind me a lot of Against Me!'s Acoustic E.P., whilst still having something different. It could've been an Against Me! record, as the band started as a solo project for Gabel anyway, but as a stand-alone release it shows he has enough talent to make it either way.





Any Other Business: Leeds Festival Blog
Just a quick note that I'll be posting a blog within the next week (hopefully) listing and reviewing my Top 10 Shows from this year's Leeds Festival, featuring the likes of Frank Turner, the England return of Blink-182 and Limp Bizkit. Also, my next three editions of Album A Day will feature albums from bands that performed at the festival.

Lenny Vowels
Album Reviewer

Biggest Winner of the Month: Kanye West
The man's name seems to be more common to see than water these days. Everybody from Justin Bieber to J. Lo have said they want to collaborate with him, and in the case of the former, it's already happened. He's also got a project on the way with Jay-Z, and he's promised his fans a free song every week until Christmas. Biggest douche in the industry or not, that's some serious sway right there. His next album, Dark Twisted Fantasy, is set for release in a few months as well, and it already looks like Mr. West will keep plenty busy until then.





Biggest Loser of the Month: Guns N' Roses/Reading Festival
I don't think there was any question about this one, even though I'll call it a split. GN'R's performance and actions at the Reading Festival this past week have outraged fans and concert-goers alike, and the media circus only continued after that. Everyone from Axl to the band's guitarists are pissed off about what happened, but it's the fans that were the real losers. The band took the stage much later than they were scheduled, and supposedly STILL stunk up the joint with a lackluster showing. But Axl, ever the class act, continues to blame the Festival and miscommunication, since he's never been one to take responsibility for his own actions. All I can say is that the band deserves the reputation they get.


Biggest Music News of the Month: Guns N' Roses bombs at Reading Festival
I'll risk sounding like a broken record here, but really, even though it was pretty recent, we here at 411 still can't seem to stop throwing up blurbs about it. It's unfortunate for the rep of the Festival as well, because the rest of the lineup and performances sound like they did a hell of a job at making it a worthwhile show. It's just a shame that Axl and his merry crew of misfits had to put their own special bit of tarnish on it. Will any festivals book them next year after a bit of stupidity such as this? I guess only time will tell.





Best New Release of the Month: Black Label Society - Order of the Black
Unless the album completely bombed (which I figured it wouldn't), this was an easy call for yours truly. After getting to interview Zakk at the beginning of the month, I was even more motivated to check out BLS's first new album in four years, and while it didn't blow me away, it was still an awesome slice of good ol' fashioned metal. Zakk and the pack are definitely back, and I couldn't be happier to see him healthy and kicking ass again!





Your Most Anticipated New Release of the Month: Stone Sour - Audio Secrecy
Speaking of bands that we haven't heard from in four years, Corey Taylor's got his second band back together for their next venture following 2006's Come What(ever) May. I will admit, I'm somewhat skeptical since their last album showed that they lost some bite after their incredible self-titled album that came out back in 2002, but Corey has almost always been able to deliver the goods, so I'll give him his due, and the first single, "Mission Statement," sounds pretty cool as well. I'm also really looking forward to the new albums from Interpol, Jimmy Eat World, and even Linkin Park. Hey, what can I say? I actually liked "The Catalyst." It's cheesy, but different.





#nowplaying: Deftones – "7 Words"
I just saw Deftones live for the very first time the other night, and it was every bit as good as I had hoped for. "7 Words" was always one of my favorites, and it just happened to close the show's encore. I couldn't have asked for a better time, and I sure as hell can't wait to see them again.





Any Other Business: Concert Review!
Not much else to report, I guess, but be sure to check out my review of the aforementioned concert coming up later this week or early next week.

Aaron Titan
Author of Music 3R's and Album Reviewer

Biggest Winner of the Month: Steven Tyler
This dude hasn't been relevant since Aerosmith did that Armageddon soundtrack song, so how awesome for him that he's being talked about in the press so much now? I mean, from what I can tell, the summer Aerosmith tour is doing fairly decent business and on top of that, he's seemingly confirmed to have signed a lucrative deal to become one of the new judges on the now revolving door that is the American Idol judge's table. I think he's going to be entertaining and if he can be that guy that says something crazy and memorable on a weekly basis, he'll become an American fixture once again. I mean, I don't expect that to happen and I could easily see Idol bowing out after its upcoming tenth season, but hey, we'll see...





Biggest Loser of the Month: George Michael
I mean, the dude has always had his problems with substance abuse and public bathroom shenanigans, but after crashing his car and being arrested, he's seemingly hit the low of lows enough that he's going to get some help. I'm assuming that he's done several stints in rehab before, but from what I can tell based on the public statements he's made, it's now or never as he may be facing some jail time here if he can't shake his demons. He's currently receiving outpatient counseling several days a week following a 14-day detox program he completed in London. Good luck George! This guy's pulling for you! More credit to you for doing it your way than on national television with Dr. Drew!


Biggest Music News of the Month: Wyclef's Failed Run for Haitian Presidency
Holy shit, Wyclef Jean, a hip-hop musician, is running for the presidency of Haiti? His Fugees bandmate is backing another candidate? OMG, the drama!

Ultimately, 'Clef's run at the Haitian presidency ended before it started. I covered this in my column, the Music 3R's, this past week, so instead of rehashing old material, just click HERE and check out what I had to say regarding this one.





Best New Release of the Month: Disturbed - Asylum
I honestly haven't heard this album yet, but it's the only album I bought in August. I ordered it the other night on Amazon.com along with my preorder of the next album I'll mention in the Roundtable below. I heard a few songs from Asylum when I went to the Rockstar Uproar Tour two weeks ago, and they sounds heavy and awesome enough to give the whole disc a shot. So yeah, we'll go with this one for August.

Check out my review of the Rockstar Uproar Tour HERE. I got some badass photos of Hellyeah thanks to my photo credentials on the second stage.





Your Most Anticipated New Release of the Month: Stone Sour - Audio Secrecy
I've heard three songs off of this album so far and every single one is pretty damn great. I got to see these guys at the Rockstar Uproar Tour and they opened with undoubtedly one of my new favorite Stone Sours ever: "Mission Statement." The riff is sick, the melody and vocal mix are dope, and really, it's just an awesome rock song - it opens the new album if I'm not mistaken. Anyways, I preordered the Special Edition already, which comes with a ton of extra tracks and a bonus DVD with a 45-minute "Making Of" documentary. Whether this tops its amazing predecessor Come What(ever) May is anyone's guess, but I think it'll be a damn solid outing.





#nowplaying: Wyclef Jean – "Gone Til' November"
After writing a little there about Wyclef, I decided to jump on YouTube and listen to this song while eating my breakfast. Hadn't heard it in a LONG TIME! Great song though! I love the melody!


Any Other Business: Halloween Costumes
So I'm going to the Rob Zombie/Alice Cooper Halloween Hootenanny Tour this fall. The theme is obvious and I thought it would be fun to dress up. I'm looking for costume ideas for the show. I have a floor ticket, so nothing to inhibitory and since it's a concert, I'm limited as to what I can bring in. I'm looking for suggestions, so for anyone who wants to post their thoughts in the Comments section, I'd be most appreciative.

Ben Czajkowski
Author of All You Cannot Live Without (Rock/Metal news) and the 411Music Top 5

Biggest Winner of the Month: Steven Tyler
While it's not Simon Cowell, Tyler is an interesting fit to join Randy Jackson (and maybe Mariah Carey?!) as a judge on American Idol. Now Tyler doesn't have to leave a chair and it helps to keep him in the bright lights of Hollywood. I think this is definitely better than Howard Stern, but I don't see how this could cause controversy with viewership the way Cowell does.





Biggest Loser of the Month: Tila Tequila
Generally I don't have a problem about getting stoned, but poor Tila. Attacked ruthlessly by stupid Juggalos, who pelted her with what she called "stone rocks", beer bottles, and fire crackers, apparently. Even fecal matter? Jesus… And this was at a concert where pot was probably running rampant. I would expect something like this from The Scarecrow, but this is just out of left field.





Biggest Music News of the Month: Some new Dr. Dre leaks!
People fiend for Dr. Dre the same way they fiend for munchies after an ICP/Kottonmouth Kings concert. Fans have been chomping at the bit for years for some new Dre and for him to finally release a new album. Unfortunately whatever was leaked has generally caused this reaction from listeners: "What a fucking mess." So, whatever hope people were holding out for a new album is probably rapidly fading now.


Best New Release of the Month:Disturbed - Asylum
I probably wouldn't normally list this as the best new release of the month, but it is honestly the only album I picked up in August. After getting married at the beginning and taking a honeymoon in the middle, by the time I even thought about picking up some new music, the month was over, as I wrote my Disturbed album review. It's an alright album for what it is, and it's probably a good listen for anyone who enjoyed Indestructible or even 10000 Fists.


Your Most Anticipated New Release of the Month:Stone Sour- Audio Secrecy
Oh hell yeah. This album has me completely stoked for September to be here. I absolutely loved the previous Stone Sour album, Come What(ever) May. What I've heard from Audio Secrecy only has me wanting more. It promises to be one of the best of the Fall. I have yet to be completely impressed by an album this year, so I hope that this fulfills my need for a classic 2010 album.


#nowplaying: Disturbed - "Asylum"
It's a good track, which is probably the best from the album with the same name.

Julian Williams
Life On Shuffle

Biggest Winner of the Month: Katy Perry
She had two big singles with "California Gurls" and "Teenage Dream" and her album debuted #1 on the Billboard charts with over 150,000 units sold. Not bad for a performer who many "experts" predicted would only be a one-hit wonder.





Biggest Loser of the Month: Fantasia
This may come across as insensitive, but I don't give a damn. Fantasia attempted suicide in mid-August and then cited the reason as being because she just couldn't take it anymore and wanted all the "pain" to go away. The pain she's referring to is her married lover not ditching his wife to be with her. Give me a damn break. This woman has a beautiful singing voice, a successful career (as evidenced by her album debuting at #2 on the Billboard charts this past week) and a young daughter and yet she says that she felt she had nothing to live for? That just infuriates me. There are people in far worse positions in life than her who keep on chugging along and never even contemplate suicide. Life is a gift that shouldn't be taken for granted. Yet, that's exactly what Fantasia did. And what makes this matter even worse is that this attempted suicide gave Fantasia a ton of media attention that she probably would have never gotten otherwise. I can already envision this becoming the new norm whenever a celebrity feels like they are slipping out of the limelight. "Hmm, my new album is about to come out but nobody is talking about it. What should I do?? I know! Suicide attempt!" I'm not saying that Fantasia's attempt wasn't authentic. I'm just saying that I can envision other celebs seeing the kind of publicity that Fantasia got and try to replicate it. What kind of example does this set for fans, especially young ones? And most importantly, Fantasia has a young daughter! Was she really going to leave her daughter motherless because some cheating douchebag wouldn't leave his wife for her? That's just pathetic. Look, we all have bad times and I'm sure that there are many people out there (me included) who have at one time or another wished they could just end it all. But then, you think about your friends and family who love you and what it would do to them if you weren't around anymore. If you can realize that you'll be leaving your daughter without a mother and STILL go through with an attempt to take your own life, then you are truly a loser in life.


Biggest Music News of the Month: Fantasia attempts suicide
See my lengthy rant above for all my thoughts on that debacle.


Best New Release of the Month: TIE: Arcade Fire - The Suburbs and Bun B - Trill O.G.
August was admittedly a slow month for album releases and there were only a few that stuck out to me. In fact, these were the only two albums that stuck out to me. While all the other albums I listened to ranged from horrible to mildly entertaining, the only two albums that were in constant rotation in my iPod were these two. Arcade Fire's latest gave us all the pomp and circumstance that we've become accustomed to from them and while I don't think it reaches the legendary heights of Funeral or Neon Bible, it's still a damn fine album that is a breeze to listen to. Bun B's latest took a while to grow on me, but once it did, I couldn't stop listening to it. There are definitely a few songs on it that are instantly skippable, but the majority of the album is fantastic with fantastic lyricism and grade-A production. In a slow month for good music, these two artists helped me not declare August a complete waste.





Your Most Anticipated New Release of the Month: Linkin Park - A Thousand Suns
I was initially disappointed when I found out that both Kanye West and Kid Cudi were going to be pushing their respective albums back from September to later in 2010. But when I looked at the other releases coming out in September, I released that it's a jam packed month and I'll have more than enough to listen to before Ye and Cudi drop their albums. Interpol, Weezer, T.I., Ice Cube, Ne-Yo, El Debarge, Kid Rock, Phil Collins, Jimmy Eat World and Maroon 5 are just some of the artists releasing albums in September. But the one I'm looking forward to the most is Linkin Park's new LP A Thousand Suns. I know the cool thing nowadays is to hate on Linkin Park, but I love them. They consistently make enjoyable music. It's been a while since we've heard from them so I can't wait to see what they bring with their latest offering. I have no doubt that it will live up to the high standards set by their previous records.


#nowplaying: Reflection Eternal - Revolutions Per Minute
I've been listening to this album since it first came out, but it was only recently that I realized how classic this album is. Virtually every song is great and I now listen to this album from beginning to end without skipping anything. This is truly a gem that you should seek out to discover for yourself. Other stuff I've been playing includes newer stuff like Fat Joe (The Darkside), Big Boi (Sir Luscious Leftfoot…), Avenged Sevenfold (Nightmare) and older stuff like Phil Collins greatest hits, Pixies (Surfer Rosa) and Public Enemy (It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back).





Any Other Business: Radio Repetition
Something that really bugs me about modern day radio, especially on hip-hop stations, is their habit of playing the same songs over and over and over again. For example, I really liked the song "Up All Night" by Drake and Nicki Minaj. Now I can barely stand to hear it because the radio plays the song so damn much. Out of the hundreds of hip-hop songs that are currently out and the thousands of songs in the history of hip-hop, why do these stations feel the need to play the same song 3 times in the same hour? That's ridiculous. It's no wonder that so many people are opting for music services like Pandora, Slacker and Rhapsody. Radio stations need to get their shit together before they lose their entire audience. There's no reason I should hear one song over a dozen times in the span of 4 hours. That's absolutely asinine.



So there we have it, stick a fork in August, it's done. Thanks to all the staff who took part this month but now it's over to you. What albums did you rock out to last month and which ones have got you all wet for next month? Do you agree with the selections above or do the guys all suffer from FAIL? Let us know in the comment section.


And with that, I'm outta here. See you next month.