Blog Posts by Dave DiMartino

Are New Year's Eve celebrations supposed to glorify the year that was or offer a tasty preview of the year that's to come? If you were watching TV on New Year's Eve, you probably know the answer: They're supposed to make you turn off all the lights in your house, hide in your closet and tremble in horror!

In the same manner that yesterday's youth used to watch Guy Lombardo's Times Square New Year's hijinks with smarmy smirks o' superiority until--way back in '72--the elder dude was replaced by the more robust Dick Clark, time has now passed and things are, shall we say, getting weird. ABC-TV's Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2008 offered a blend of the mundane (as in cheerily vacant host Ryan Seacrest), the ordinary (the chipper young Jonas Brothers), the famously famous (Fergie, Miley Cyrus), and--in the shape of briefly returning host Dick Clark, post-stroke and back for the third time, the praiseworthy but off-putting. Others perhaps more famous put in appearances--such as

As we approach the last shopping week of the year, what better time to focus on those artists who are masters of their craft? Those artists who have spent years and years confined in the studio, purposefully tweaking every gorgeous note of their masterworks--with no regard to commercial pressures--until, record companies be damned, their work is at last ready for public airing?

Yeah, what a great idea to focus on those kinds of artists!

And I think we all know that when it comes to those sort of artists--the ones who make music not for you or me but for the very eons themselves--we are most definitely talking about Chingy!

Oddly, a very bland rapper shares the same name!

Chingy: Hate It Or Love It (Disturbing Tha Peace/Def Jam) Better known to his elite posse as Chingington Butterworth III, young Mr. Chingy is featured here in all his glory, accompanied by Ludacris, Anthony Hamilton, Amerie, Bobby Valentino and others of similar repute, telling it like it is on such tracks as first

It may just be my imagination, but I can see two trends afoot in the record biz as the holiday season approaches!

First: Most of today's top rap artists seem to have no problem whatsoever when it comes to getting their product out in the stores during these precious few weeks! Writer's block? Not for them!

Second: Most of today's top rock artists have been today's top rock artists for several years now! That's why I'd have to recommend the latest releases by rockers Pink Floyd and Radiohead! The Floyd's Oh By The Way is a happy-go-lucky, 16-disc romp encompassing their entire discography! Only slightly less impressive is Radiohead's new Radiohead box set, a sweet 7-CD collection of all of the band's albums but their latest!  Both sets serve as an excellent introduction to those band's catalogs!

And for those rock fans looking forward rather than backward?  Social Security!

Bow Wow and Omarion: Face Off (Columbia) A battle royale of former teen titans or a nonstop party platter? With

Greatest hits collections, live albums by artists whose careers began only an album ago, rappers with dollar signs in their names, and American Idol finalists--this may indeed be the best time to buy new albums in this month's history!

For that matter, it may also be a great time to invest in real estate or marry someone purely for their looks!

But let's not get carried away. Instead, let's just focus on a week of solid new releases, yet again proving the wisdom of Richard Dimples Fields' 1982 smash, "If It Ain't One Thing It's Another." Then let's all pick a record company--any record company--and buy all their new releases so that we can do this again next year too!

I'm into tradition! Are you?

Blake Lewis: Audio Daydream (A.D.D.) (19/Arista) Aside from Jennifer Love Hewitt's harrowing bikini scandal, one of the week's biggest stories will certainly be whether this new album by American Idol contestant Lewis will outsell that of his Idol partner Jordin Sparks--which, you'll remember,

Just a few days after so-called "Black Friday" and it's a sure thing that every record company in the world is wheeling out their hottest product, right?

Wrong, boyo!

One look at this week's new release schedule and it's obvious what's being wheeled out simply can't walk of its own accord!

Mind you, this "walking" stuff is just a figure of speech! Between you and me, it's a classy way to say this week's new releases sort of suck! You probably know what I mean.

Pitbull: The Boatlift (TVT) When the week's hottest new release may indeed be by a human being named Pitbull, truly life is good! The exciting Latin rapper is joined by Lil Jon, Trick Daddy, and T-Pain, among others, and many hilarious punsters are predicting it will sell by the boatload!  With tracks like first single "Secret Admirer" and admirably monikered "Sticky Icky"--apparently a reference to ganja and not an ex-girlfriend, despite all the talk--how can this album fail to influence an entire generation?

Mudvayne: By The

Holy smoke! Every week I stick my hand into the grab bag of new releases and expect to come up with some winners, some losers, and a big batch of people nobody in their right mind has ever heard of.

This week? Bingo! Come Thanksgiving vacation--the biggest shopping week of the year, by some counts--and every big artist and album you've ever heard of, including U2, Genesis, the Apple Pie Motherhood Band, Bob Marley and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, all have "new" product for consumers to gleefully purchase! And most of these albums--reissues all--include secret, previously unissued "bonus" tracks that every fervent collector will have to buy to prove their devotion to their most favorite artists ever!

May I be candid?

It almost appears the American music industry is in danger of commercializing the holiday season!

Luckily, as we all know, the man can't bust our music, and if we all just stick together, everything will work out in the end! That's why Fall Out Boy's new album Infinity On

Three female power-belters head up this week's top releases--as new albums by Alicia Keys, Celine Dion, and Aretha Franklin compete in a no-holds-barred battle for the consumer dollar!

Luckily, all three contenders are undoubtedly ladylike and would never view this simultaneous release schedule as competitive on any level!

So perhaps there's no point in visualizing an arena in which all three artists, dressed only in outlandish battle garb, duel to the death to determine who, ultimately, is the superior vocalist of the three! That would be silly!

Still, it might be fun to see.

Celine Dion: Taking Chances (Epic) It struck me earlier tonight, after watching a private performance by Evanescence (soon to come on Live Sets), that I would not be entirely averse to watching a hard rock performance given by Canadian chanteuse Celine Dion--especially if she were to dress in goth style, and, say, wear a Catwoman mask. Lo and behold, I drive myself home and play Ms. Dion's new album only to find

As last week's release of big name titles by Britney Spears, the Eagles, and even the Backstreet Boys makes clear, this is the time of year when artists and record companies pull out all stops and release the hottest product they can in order to "maximize profits" during the long-awaited fourth quarter.

As an added bonus, they can also remain financially solvent!

That's why this week we're seeing oodles of greatest hits sets, high-profile DVD releases by the Beatles and the Who, and--my personal favorite--"reissues" of albums that are still high on the charts!

So if you missed picking up country sweetheart Taylor Swift's debut album, now's your chance to get it again--this time with bonus tracks and videos included! Already have it? No problem! CDs make wonderful coasters for holiday parties and are a great added touch when serving hot spiced wine or egg nog! It's win/win for everyone!

Jay-Z: American Gangster (Def Jam) I don't think people give pioneering rapper Jay-Z enough credit.