Blog Posts by Dave DiMartino

The latest entrant in the burgeoning field of actresses who double as recording artists has conspicuously arrived--and guess what?

She's good!

The actress in question is, of course, Gwyneth Paltrow, star of Country Strong, which opens in theaters nationally on January 7th. In the film, Paltrow stars as "a fallen, emotionally unstable country star" attempting to reignite her singing career by--in a clever twist--actually singing! And she does exactly that in Country Strong, acquitting herself admirably, by our count.

Paltrow's "side career" shouldn't be news to anyone with access to a television: Her recent vocalizing appearances on both the CMAs and Glee were conspicuous and--considering their timing--not a bad way to promote a film just about to open that also stars Tim McGraw.

[Rewind: Megan Fox stars in Eminem video]

Surprisingly, in these cynical times, most viewers, music lovers and even music critics have given Paltrow's efforts the thumbs up. And maybe part of her good fortune

The holiday season is upon us, and there are only a few weeks before the end of the year!

So now's the time for record labels to fire their last shots, to offer up their best-ever--their last hope to make a few much needed bucks, before their employees hitchhike home, paychecks in pocket, to buy some gas and finally move their cars out of the driveway! If they haven't been repossessed, of course!

Luckily, the quality of this week's releases may be sufficient to save the industry for yet another year--offering everyone at least a few weeks to stay at home and evaluate all those practices that perhaps have placed them in the perilous position, to see the error of their ways, and make sure that it never happens again and that 2011 is their best year ever!

Similarly, the sun may rise in the west, pigs may finally reveal the ability to take flight at their whim, and Santa Claus may be irked about having to transport vinyl reissues he's been re-delivering for two decades now when he can

I think it's safe to say that I've never written this blog while listening to any album by the Black Eyed Peas, let alone the brand new one!

And I've never been so excited in my life!

It strikes me now that my usual writing habits--listening to obscure jazz and classical music that is generally lyricless to allow the words to flow--often lend my prose a detached and at times emotionless style! And that's no good!

So after a great vacation, hitting the stores during the post-Black Friday weekend and actually seeing the guy behind me purchasing a new album--the new Kanye West, if it matters--I decided it might be a good idea to get caught up in the music I was purporting to review for once!

And coincidentally...it's the same week the new album by Soulja Boy has arrived!

The Black Eyed Peas: The Beginning (Interscope)  One can't deny that listening to a new album by the Black Eyed Peas may rank up there with the most important life-changing events there are, and The Beginning ranks

Those who are calendar conscious might be aware that this week--the week of Thanksgiving and its accompanying Black Friday--represent the single best week of album releases in any given year!

It's true! Our close friends in the record industry, perhaps looking to make a dollar or two in these troubled financial times, hold back all their really big releases--the ones they expect to rake in the bucks, to be the perfect holiday gifts for you and yours--until this week, when we all can all line up outside stores at 4 a.m. and try to find a single one that actually sells records!

Oops!

Well, it's the thought that counts--and I'm thinking that if I had limited funds and had to choose between the new album by Ke$ha and, say, great new collections by the Rolling Stones, George Harrison and the Who, I'd opt for Ke$ha any day of the week!

Do you realize how rare that album will be in a year?

Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (G.O.O.D. Music)  Number one on my list of absolutely

It's a fascinating week of new releases!

On one hand we've got incredibly great records by obscure artists you've probably never heard of!

On another, we've got great reissues by older artists whose collective works dwarf those of all the latest hitmakers!

And on the third--and come on, admit it, three hands is what it's all about--you've got new releases by hot "new" artists whose shelf life rivals that of your typical mosquito!

Luckily, recently proclaimed new rules that dictate that all music has the same ultimate value--since, after all, our time on this planet is relatively limited until we pass on to the hollow darkness that awaits us all--mean it doesn't make any difference whatsoever!

Besides, I've been thinking that buying some new shoes might make all the difference in the world!

Josh Groban: Illuminations (143/Reprise)  There were maybe two times in my life when I watched Ally McBeal, and one of them featured an appearance by the rockin' dude who would soon be known to the

I don't exactly want to share too much, but what the heck--since this blog is called NEW THIS WEEK, I might as well mention the newest thing yet!

Driving home from work tonight--the first workday since Daylight Savings Time departed--traffic in Los Angeles was so bad, I decided to kill some time by listening to CDs and looking at my iPhone!

So the usual drive--which I've been taking for years--was spiced up by my phone telling me which available wireless networks were available in the neighborhoods I was driving through!

The verdict? Maybe I never wanted to know I was driving by CUTEBOYE and TRANNY CHASER's houses!

Tomorrow I'll just stick to reading the newspaper!

Susan Boyle: The Gift (Syco Music/Sony BMG)  Like most of us, I believe Susan Boyle to be the greatest female vocalist of the week--and her new album, featuring Susan's picture on the right-hand side of the cover, is about as impressive as you can get! Recent news that the international singing sensation was collaborating

For Beatle fans, it's been an interesting few weeks: Within the past month, most of John Lennon's solo albums have been released, George Harrison's collaborations with Ravi Shankar have been repackaged, and--this week--Paul McCartney's Band On The Run is making the rounds once more!

Maybe just to put things in my own personal perspective, I've spent the last few weeks listening not only to the Lennon set but also the McCartney solo albums--from his very first solo album onward--and have attempted to hear all of them with the advantage of a 2010 perspective!

With no preconceptions about who was really the "cooler" Beatle--because, believe it or not, that's often been the means by which each artist's ultimate relevancy has been determined--I have to say it's been an enlightening few weeks!

Why? Because according to at least two policemen, driving around town listening to old ex-Beatles albums is a task best accomplished while actually wearing pants!

I suspect none of this would have ever

As we near the end of the year, the big guns are releasing all their wares!

In the old days, that might mean that the world's biggest recording artists are putting out their new albums just in time for holiday shoppers!

These days, though, it means that the world's biggest labels are throwing out absolutely anything with a major artist's name on it--purely so that they can afford to fill their yachts with gas while we the people lay rolling on the floor, broke, hungry, and wondering where our next meal is coming from!

Still, that 43-CD Miles Davis box set does look tempting, and I'm sure my son wouldn't notice if I sold his first-ever soccer trophy in order to buy it! Besides, food is great and all, but how long do you think all these great "deluxe versions" of classic albums will be available?

Besides, anyone can have a son!

Taylor Swift: Speak Now (Big Machine)  I don't think it's an understatement to say the entire world is waiting for the brand new Taylor Swift album! Especially