Once again, we present Rock-Critically Correct, a feature in which the most recent issues of Rolling Stone, Blender, Vibe, and Spin are given a once-over by a writer who’s contributed to many of those magazines, as well as a few others! In this installment, he looks at the new issue of Spin:
For another week, Lil Wayne and Coldplay make up the album charts’ 1-2 punch, with Tha Carter III taking the top spot (125,000 copies sold) and Coldplay serving as Wayne’s best men (113,000 sold). According to Hits, Nas’ untitled album is set to break this log jam next week, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
All the positive mind powers that come with being “clear” couldn’t push Beck to a No. 1 debut on next week’s album charts. More »
I’ll acknowledge Maura’s point (over IM) that it’s better he do this kind of second-rate Unrest than something grandly glum. More »
From time to time, we round up the all-important, all-summarizing last sentences of the biggest new-music reviews. This time around, we look at the critical reaction to Beck’s rush-released collaboration with Danger Mouse, Modern Guilt, which hits stores tomorrow.
ARTIST: Beck
TITLE: Modern Guilt
RELEASE DATE: July 7, 2008
WEB DEBUT: June 30, 2008
As may you may have heard, Sonic Youth has decided to skip the traditional best-of route, instead getting famous friends like Mike D, Radiohead and Eddie Vedder to pick less familiar, more personal choices like “100%,” “Kool Thing,” and “Teen Age Riot.” Only six of the fifteen older titles selected have never received a video treatment, and one of those is “Expressway To Yr Skull.” This basically leaves “Stones,” “Tuff Gnarl,” “Rain On Tin,” “Tom Violence” and “The World Looks Red” as genuinely surprising tracks to find on a SY comp, so thank you Allison Anders, Dave Eggers, Flea, Gus Van Sant, and Chloe Sevigny. Hits Are For Squares? Wouldn’t a more accurate title have been Starpower? Let’s attempt to deduce the curators’ logic.
ARTIST: Beck
TITLE: “Chemtrails”
WEB DEBUT: May 19, 2008
MTV is reporting that the new Beck album may be stealth dropped, Raconteurs-style, sometime within the next month or so. The album would be the second Danger Mouse-produced album of 2008 to be rushed into release to avoid extended periods of leakage. More »
ARTIST: Beck