Black Widow
01-27-2009, 07:29 PM
New year, new music from heavy hitters
What's in store for music this year? We take a look ahead at 2009's most anticipated releases from established artists.
Bruce Springsteen: The Boss debuted an acoustic version of the title track to "Working on a Dream" during an Obama rally last November. Since then, several fully formed songs from the album have been officially released, including "The Wrestler," which just won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song. Thematically, "Working on a Dream" picks up where 2007's "Magic" left off, somber and introspective but hopeful. Meanwhile, Springsteen's new greatest hits package will be sold exclusively by those union busters at Wal-Mart, a move given added irony during his concluding performance at the Jan. 18 "We Are One" concert from the Lincoln Memorial, teaming with Pete Seeger (once blacklisted for his socialist sympathies) on "This Land Is Your Land."
Prince: Good luck avoiding Prince in 2009. The Purple One has been giving copious interviews lately in anticipation of three self-released records coming this year: "MPLSound" is vintage Prince electro-pop, featuring a track with rapper Q-Tip; "Lotus Flower" is guitar driven and eclectic; and "Elixir" is a sultry R&B collaboration between Prince and his newest femme-protégé, Bria Valente. A quick taste of three new songs are available at www.lotusflow3r.com. Word is a tour's in the works, too.
U2: After taking the longest between-album break of their career, U2 will release "No Line on the Horizon" on March 3. The Irish rockers initially had some 60 songs in the can, recorded with their usual production team of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, as well as revisionist guru Rick Rubin and Black Eyed Peas co-founder will.i.am. The Rubin sessions were scrapped to leave an album "not like anything we've ever done before," according to lead singer Bono. Überfans will geek out over the numerous versions of the album (standard jewel case, digipak with expanded liner notes, double vinyl, magazine format and boxed set), a trend you'll see more of this year.
50 Cent: How does Curtis Jackson top a year in which he was crowned Forbes magazine's "Hip-Hop Cash King"? (He netted $150 million in '08. Take that, Kanye.) "Before I Self Destruct" is the album that will accompany the self-penned, -directed and -produced feature film of the same name. Clearly the words "economic downturn" don't register with this guy. Dr. Dre and Eminem guest and produce on a record that 50 describes as "more aggressive" than his previously lighthearted efforts.
Missy Elliott: Like almost every album in this roundup, Missy's "Block Party" was rescheduled from '08 until early '09 and has swapped singles like sweat socks. "Ching-a-Ling" was leaked a year ago and easily -- ahem -- bested "Best Best," which appeared a few months later. Timbaland is back in the producer's chair, alongside T-Pain, Pharrell and Danjahandz.
Black Eyed Peas: In a case of false advertising, "The E.N.D." is not the Black Eyes Peas' swan song, it's an album. But not in the traditional sense: After releasing "The E.N.D." (short for "the energy never dies") in early '09, the pop-hop quartet plan on adding downloadable bits and pieces throughout the following months as a sort of audio diary. "I'm trying to break away from the concept of an album," lead Pea will.i.am told Billboard in December. His online focus maintains the cachet he earned with his viral Obama hit, which earned him a Webby Award.
Green Day: Five years later, Green Day's follow-up to the multiplatinum "American Idiot" looks to be an even more ambitious concept album. Early reports describe three segments: "Heroes and Cons," "Charlatans and Saints" and "Horseshoes and Handgrenades." For the first time, the band tapped Butch Vig (Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana) to produce. Don't be surprised if children's choirs and chamber orchestras show up.
Christina Aguilera: As previously reported here, Christina Aguilera's as-yet untitled, un-release-dated album will lean in the "futuristic" direction of her recent single "Keeps Gettin' Better" and will feature input from femme-forward electro icons Ladytron and Goldfrapp. "The future could go anywhere, so it really isn't so specific to a genre or style," Aguilera told MSN in December.
Keith Urban: "Sweet Thing," the first single from Keith Urban's upcoming album, is more of the perfectly polished pop-country that's made the Kiwi lady killer New Zealand's hottest export (in more ways than one). "Defying Gravity," Urban's fifth studio record, comes out March 31. Urban recently told Billboard the title phrase "defined the joyous, optimistic and uplifting spirit that seemed to show itself while making the album."
Dierks Bentley: Country favorite Dierks Bentley has discovered the key to big success in '09: one song on the latest "Rock Band" download pack and another in Billboard's top 10. Led by the single of the same name, Bentley's fifth album, "Feel That Fire," is set for a Feb. 3 release. That's right as Bentley is in midtour, opening for Brad Paisley.
Lily Allen: Three rocky years after her breakout, the rambunctious Brit starlet makes a bid for genuine superstardom with "It's Not Me, It's You," out Feb. 10. But does she really want it? Early tracks, including "The Fear" (about the perils of genuine superstardom) and "Everyone's At It" (about the unhealthy debauchery of genuine superstardom) are ambivalent. They're also bouncy, electro-pop floor fillers ripe for DJ remixes.
The Fray: For better or worse, everyone will be more sincere in '09 (thank you, Barack Obama). That fact only boosts the Fray's chances of repeating the multiplatinum success of their 2007 debut. The earnest, piano-driven balladeers return with the same production team to release their self-titled sophomore record on Feb. 3. Lead single "You Found Me" was released in November and is available wherever the Internet is sold.
Neil Young: Cranky, yes. Crusty, no. Neil Young recently announced that "Fork in the Road," his zillionth solo album, will be released in March. The title track rips into federal bailouts, gas consumption and iPods, all to a blistering, boogie-blues riff. (Along with a homemade video, it's available for streaming on NeilYoung.com.) Young also just finished his latest with Crazy Horse, called "Toast" but there's no release date for that one yet. Meanwhile, his massive, long-awaited, oft-delayed "Archives" box, finally slated for DVD and Blu-ray release in February, recedes to an unconfirmed future date.
Franz Ferdinand: They get bigger and slicker with each album, but somehow the lads of Franz Ferdinand retain the casual affability of barstool raconteurs. "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand" adds hefty, disco-inflected bottom end to whip smart, anthemic rock 'n' roll. FF is on the way to becoming a household name and very well could go supernova with their third release, out Jan. 27.
Eminem: No feat in pop music is more difficult than retaining hip-hop cred. (Reason No. 1 why there are so few elder rap statesmen.) Eminem's "Relapse," his first album in five years (release TBD '09), is an X factor. Em's been so far from the limelight for so long that it remains to be seen whether he's still got it or whether anybody still cares. The Dr. Dre-produced, 50 Cent-guested "Crack a Bottle," rumored to be the lead single, is a good sign.
Mastodon: After walloping Taste of Chaos tour audiences last summer, heroes of heaviness Mastodon offer up "Crack the Skye" in early '09, the follow-up to 2004's career-boosting "Blood Mountain." Call it thinking-dude's metal, a concept album dealing with Czarist Russia and, as bassist Troy Sanders explained to Stereogum in October, "dissecting the dark matter that dominates the universe." Rawk!
Jonathan Zwickel writes about music for The Seattle Times and is working on a biography of the Beastie Boys.
MSN Music
What's in store for music this year? We take a look ahead at 2009's most anticipated releases from established artists.
Bruce Springsteen: The Boss debuted an acoustic version of the title track to "Working on a Dream" during an Obama rally last November. Since then, several fully formed songs from the album have been officially released, including "The Wrestler," which just won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song. Thematically, "Working on a Dream" picks up where 2007's "Magic" left off, somber and introspective but hopeful. Meanwhile, Springsteen's new greatest hits package will be sold exclusively by those union busters at Wal-Mart, a move given added irony during his concluding performance at the Jan. 18 "We Are One" concert from the Lincoln Memorial, teaming with Pete Seeger (once blacklisted for his socialist sympathies) on "This Land Is Your Land."
Prince: Good luck avoiding Prince in 2009. The Purple One has been giving copious interviews lately in anticipation of three self-released records coming this year: "MPLSound" is vintage Prince electro-pop, featuring a track with rapper Q-Tip; "Lotus Flower" is guitar driven and eclectic; and "Elixir" is a sultry R&B collaboration between Prince and his newest femme-protégé, Bria Valente. A quick taste of three new songs are available at www.lotusflow3r.com. Word is a tour's in the works, too.
U2: After taking the longest between-album break of their career, U2 will release "No Line on the Horizon" on March 3. The Irish rockers initially had some 60 songs in the can, recorded with their usual production team of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, as well as revisionist guru Rick Rubin and Black Eyed Peas co-founder will.i.am. The Rubin sessions were scrapped to leave an album "not like anything we've ever done before," according to lead singer Bono. Überfans will geek out over the numerous versions of the album (standard jewel case, digipak with expanded liner notes, double vinyl, magazine format and boxed set), a trend you'll see more of this year.
50 Cent: How does Curtis Jackson top a year in which he was crowned Forbes magazine's "Hip-Hop Cash King"? (He netted $150 million in '08. Take that, Kanye.) "Before I Self Destruct" is the album that will accompany the self-penned, -directed and -produced feature film of the same name. Clearly the words "economic downturn" don't register with this guy. Dr. Dre and Eminem guest and produce on a record that 50 describes as "more aggressive" than his previously lighthearted efforts.
Missy Elliott: Like almost every album in this roundup, Missy's "Block Party" was rescheduled from '08 until early '09 and has swapped singles like sweat socks. "Ching-a-Ling" was leaked a year ago and easily -- ahem -- bested "Best Best," which appeared a few months later. Timbaland is back in the producer's chair, alongside T-Pain, Pharrell and Danjahandz.
Black Eyed Peas: In a case of false advertising, "The E.N.D." is not the Black Eyes Peas' swan song, it's an album. But not in the traditional sense: After releasing "The E.N.D." (short for "the energy never dies") in early '09, the pop-hop quartet plan on adding downloadable bits and pieces throughout the following months as a sort of audio diary. "I'm trying to break away from the concept of an album," lead Pea will.i.am told Billboard in December. His online focus maintains the cachet he earned with his viral Obama hit, which earned him a Webby Award.
Green Day: Five years later, Green Day's follow-up to the multiplatinum "American Idiot" looks to be an even more ambitious concept album. Early reports describe three segments: "Heroes and Cons," "Charlatans and Saints" and "Horseshoes and Handgrenades." For the first time, the band tapped Butch Vig (Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana) to produce. Don't be surprised if children's choirs and chamber orchestras show up.
Christina Aguilera: As previously reported here, Christina Aguilera's as-yet untitled, un-release-dated album will lean in the "futuristic" direction of her recent single "Keeps Gettin' Better" and will feature input from femme-forward electro icons Ladytron and Goldfrapp. "The future could go anywhere, so it really isn't so specific to a genre or style," Aguilera told MSN in December.
Keith Urban: "Sweet Thing," the first single from Keith Urban's upcoming album, is more of the perfectly polished pop-country that's made the Kiwi lady killer New Zealand's hottest export (in more ways than one). "Defying Gravity," Urban's fifth studio record, comes out March 31. Urban recently told Billboard the title phrase "defined the joyous, optimistic and uplifting spirit that seemed to show itself while making the album."
Dierks Bentley: Country favorite Dierks Bentley has discovered the key to big success in '09: one song on the latest "Rock Band" download pack and another in Billboard's top 10. Led by the single of the same name, Bentley's fifth album, "Feel That Fire," is set for a Feb. 3 release. That's right as Bentley is in midtour, opening for Brad Paisley.
Lily Allen: Three rocky years after her breakout, the rambunctious Brit starlet makes a bid for genuine superstardom with "It's Not Me, It's You," out Feb. 10. But does she really want it? Early tracks, including "The Fear" (about the perils of genuine superstardom) and "Everyone's At It" (about the unhealthy debauchery of genuine superstardom) are ambivalent. They're also bouncy, electro-pop floor fillers ripe for DJ remixes.
The Fray: For better or worse, everyone will be more sincere in '09 (thank you, Barack Obama). That fact only boosts the Fray's chances of repeating the multiplatinum success of their 2007 debut. The earnest, piano-driven balladeers return with the same production team to release their self-titled sophomore record on Feb. 3. Lead single "You Found Me" was released in November and is available wherever the Internet is sold.
Neil Young: Cranky, yes. Crusty, no. Neil Young recently announced that "Fork in the Road," his zillionth solo album, will be released in March. The title track rips into federal bailouts, gas consumption and iPods, all to a blistering, boogie-blues riff. (Along with a homemade video, it's available for streaming on NeilYoung.com.) Young also just finished his latest with Crazy Horse, called "Toast" but there's no release date for that one yet. Meanwhile, his massive, long-awaited, oft-delayed "Archives" box, finally slated for DVD and Blu-ray release in February, recedes to an unconfirmed future date.
Franz Ferdinand: They get bigger and slicker with each album, but somehow the lads of Franz Ferdinand retain the casual affability of barstool raconteurs. "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand" adds hefty, disco-inflected bottom end to whip smart, anthemic rock 'n' roll. FF is on the way to becoming a household name and very well could go supernova with their third release, out Jan. 27.
Eminem: No feat in pop music is more difficult than retaining hip-hop cred. (Reason No. 1 why there are so few elder rap statesmen.) Eminem's "Relapse," his first album in five years (release TBD '09), is an X factor. Em's been so far from the limelight for so long that it remains to be seen whether he's still got it or whether anybody still cares. The Dr. Dre-produced, 50 Cent-guested "Crack a Bottle," rumored to be the lead single, is a good sign.
Mastodon: After walloping Taste of Chaos tour audiences last summer, heroes of heaviness Mastodon offer up "Crack the Skye" in early '09, the follow-up to 2004's career-boosting "Blood Mountain." Call it thinking-dude's metal, a concept album dealing with Czarist Russia and, as bassist Troy Sanders explained to Stereogum in October, "dissecting the dark matter that dominates the universe." Rawk!
Jonathan Zwickel writes about music for The Seattle Times and is working on a biography of the Beastie Boys.
MSN Music