New This Week

  • Bodacious Gagas!

    By | New This Week – Mon, May 23, 2011 10:52 PM EDT

    Wow! Don't take this the wrong way, but you're lucky you have me this week!

    I've just spent the past day repeatedly listening to my brand new, 99-cent copy of the new Lady Gaga album, and I've been trying to get my money's worth!

    Between that and my making sure my television is all lubed up and ready go for this weeks' coming American Idol finale--who the heck will win?--I can  barely stay focused on this blog's major premise: That the best music ever is being released week after week!

    To prove my point? This week I'll ignore Glee: The Music, Volume 6--suffice to say it's the best album ever made--and other hot chart contenders, purely to cover the "little people" I'm afraid might got overlooked during this very special time!

    Plus, I think I left my pants in my car!

     

    Lady Gaga: Born This Way (Streamline/Kon Live)  I have been and remain a big fan of Lady Gaga, and I doff my cap to her for the size and scope of her ambition, her still valuable ability to create a million-selling album

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  • If rock 'n' roll theoretically glorifies all that is young,sexy and rebellious, it's an odd week for new releases!

    Among this week's highlights: A box set celebrating the 40th anniversary of Queen, the 30th anniversary edition of the firstGo-Go's album, and a 4-CD collection of Iggy Pop recordings dating back to1979!

    Throw in a few fascinating new releases by Levon Helm andNRBQ, and it's all too clear: Popular music stopped being made in 1981 or so!

    That's why, frankly--speaking strictly as a contemporarymusic fan--I'm so into real estate, the bothersome issue of probate, theexciting new fashion trusses being designed in Belgium, and that great new JustinBieber DVD!

    And though I won't be exploring it in depth this week,apparently there's a great new DVD covering the complete biography ofKe$ha--from her early days as Billie Holiday's personal assistant, through hermarriage to Beatle John Lennon, to her memorable gig at Woodstock, her briefapprenticeship in Fleetwood Mac, her temporary

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  • Leave It To Justin!

    By | New This Week – Mon, May 9, 2011 10:40 PM EDT

    With exciting DVDs by rockers Justin Bieber and AC/DC, long awaited returns by the Cars, Christopher Cross and Nazareth, and stellar new recordings by the like of the Wild Beasts and the Wilderness Of Manitoba, this is shaping up to be one heck of a release week!

    And all of them are as great as you think they are!

    Still, for the life of me, I've had the hardest time taking the Bieber DVD out of the player and focusing on anything else!

    But don't let the fact that I've had bothersome leg cramps for nearly 10 days and can barely get off of my couch cloud the issue!

     

    Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (DVD)  Like most of us, I stood outside a theatre marquee for nearly 36 hours so I could be assured a spot to see the premiere of Justin Bieber's fabulous new movie--and I'm here to tell you it was completely worth it! Incredibly, one of the teenage girls sitting in front of me during the screening got violently ill--stomach cramps, apparently--during the first 10 minutes of the flick, and her

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  • It's a great sign for the music business--at leastcreatively--when the week's best new releases have been produced by artists bothold and new!

    It puts to rest that tired old notion that only older andwiser artists with less-than-minimal attention spans can produce full-lengthalbums of significant merit!

    It also proves that younger artists can stop playing thosedarn video games--or put down those wacky twittering iPhones--long enough tocreate artistic and compelling works longer than three-minutes in length!

    And perhaps most significantly, in today's puzzlingconsumer-driven economy, it provides an up-to-the-minute test case of thatalways charming query: If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does itmake a noise?

    Experts agree: No,not at all! Why do you ask?

     

    Fleet Foxes: Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)  Few would have expected Seattle's FleetFoxes, of the aggressively arty Sub Pop label, to be releasing one of theyear's most anticipated albums--but lo and behold, here, bearing a

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  • Hello, Emmylou!

    By | New This Week – Mon, Apr 25, 2011 11:25 PM EDT

    Great new albums by long-established artists, excellentalbums by emerging artists, and nondescript albums by mildly interestingartists with excellent hairstyles make this an album release week to remember!

    As a special courtesy to readers purely interested inhair--and admittedly, that includes most of us--I've decided to spare thoseartists with less than compelling hairstyles any mention about that issue in the reviews that follow!

    Still, it's important that each artist mentioned hereconsiders the fact that this week we're judging not only the quality of theirmusic, but the degree to which they're well-groomed!

     

    Emmylou Harris: Hard Bargain (Nonesuch)  Well, not togive the game away, but the extremely well-respected Ms. Harris clearly rulesthe roost when it comes to nice-looking hair! Significantly, the quality of hermusic--and especially this new album--renders such judgments inconsequential,since Hard Bargain is one of thisyear's very finest releases! Expertly sung, devoted to

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  • Whew! Excuse me while I wipe my brow! I've just returned fromCalifornia's exciting Coachella rock festival--where the temperatures soared inthe 100's, scantily-clad young women paraded around in next to nothing, andtoday's most exciting pop groups performed while wearing high-security,chip-bearing wristbands!

    It was the best few hours of my life!

    Furthermore, it reinvigorated me! Convinced me that yes,this is the best time ever in the world of pop music, and great bands are outthere, parading around onstage in 100-degree-plus heat, wearing wristbands andwaiting to be discovered by those lucky few who could afford to pay for ticketsto the year's best-ever pop festival!

    And though in retrospect I remain fully aware I could havestayed home, sat on the couch, enjoyed several drinks of my choice in gloriousair-conditioning, watched much of the event streaming live on YouTube, and evenput the action on hold while leisurely walking around my house for theoccasional bathroom break, nothing can

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  • Rockin’ Foos!

    By | New This Week – Tue, Apr 12, 2011 10:58 PM EDT

    Wow! As I sit here, week by week, listing the new album releases and measuring their comparative worth, it strikes me! Some weeks are completely loaded with fascinating new releases, and other weeks are just...I don't know...just plain boring!

    Well, rest assured: This week isn't boring! A boatload of great new releases is hitting the stores, and it's a sure thing that something coming out this week is likely to strike your fancy!

    For starters: Have you got your new iPad 2 yet? They're great! And how about some fresh and yummy Marshmallow Peeps? It's that time of year! Not only that--have you tried that brand new Dr. Pepper Ten? It's not only a taste-tempting treat--it's surprisingly manly!

    And I can think of nothing more exciting than sitting in your car with your new iPad 2, washing down a few Peeps with some Dr. Pepper Ten, and waiting while someone you know goes outside to buy some new records!

    Let me tell you all about them!

     

    Foo Fighters: Wasting Light (Roswell/RCA)  I have to

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  • Special Guest Star!

    By | New This Week – Mon, Apr 4, 2011 11:31 PM EDT

    I don't know about you, but as far as I'm concerned this must be the most exciting week in music history!

    Why? Well, because the recently televised award show by the Academy of Country Music featured an array of guests that proved to be the most enthralling ever!

    Why? Because in the tradition of Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and other celebrated country greats, America was blessed with a batch of guest stars that finally put country music on the map of American popular culture!

    And thus--if you'll forgive me for breaking with a layout tradition that this blog has maintained for 186 consecutive posts--I'd now like to introduce a special guest star that may make this the most widely-read blog in New This Week's history! Ready?

    This week's special guest star: Rihanna!

    Next week? Rather than focus on new album releases, I've decided to devote next week's post to the best carwashes in California's San Fernando Valley! And I don't want to promise anything I can't deliver...but I understand

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  • This week's new albums by Britney Spears, Radiohead, Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis and Snoop Dogg drive home a point many of us may have--perhaps accidentally--overlooked!

    That point?

    Incredibly, word is that the last decade has in fact been a horrible dream--that's right, all this oil spill, earthquake and natural disaster stuff, let alone that weird business going on in Northern Africa, never actually happened! It was just a test--admittedly a grisly one--put forth by a mysterious power greater than humankind's, apparently just to see how we'd react to it all!

    And you know what? Word is that our reaction--going out and getting ice cream, zealously downloading music for free on the Internet, and watching certain television shows--was enough to scare the daylights out of Him! So He decided to rip it all up, start again, and see how we'll get along without His interference!

    So now that it's 2001 again, what say we enjoy this week's great new music and share a laugh about the idiotic

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  • Stroke Four!

    By | New This Week – Mon, Mar 21, 2011 11:59 PM EDT

    It's great to be back!

    I just spent two weeks away from our luxurious Santa Monica offices, toiling in the wilds of such cities as Miami--where I was forced to write my previous blog, in, horrifyingly, a Starbucks that closed at 11 pm--and Austin, Texas, where the celebrated South By Southwest festival drew countless thousands of sweaty humans and even more sweaty corporate sponsors!

    Worst of all: When I came home yesterday...it was raining!

    The final indignity? I'd forgotten to set the clock ahead an hour when I returned, since Daylight Savings Time arrived during my trip--and thus returned to work, after a two-week absence, an hour late! Luckily, no one noticed, as I planned!

    Come to think of it, no one noticed when I left at the end of the day, either!

    Just for kicks, I ended the night alone in my home office, drinking and staring at the ceiling and listening to records no one has ever heard--and if they did, they probably wouldn't like them, either!

    So I Googled myself for a few

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News for You

  • NYPD investigating actress Bynes allegations

    NEW YORK (AP) — Internal Affairs officers on Saturday were looking into allegations made by actress Amanda Bynes that New York Police Department officers sexually assaulted her when she was charged with heaving a marijuana bong out the window of her 36th-floor Manhattan apartment.

  • Museum starts night tours of signs from Vegas past

    LAS VEGAS (AP) — The junked signs that attracted throngs to old Las Vegas have for years gathered dust in a neon boneyard just a few miles from the sleek mega-casinos on the Strip.

  • A controversial victory lap for Lewis at Cannes

    CANNES, France (AP) — Jerry Lewis, so beloved in France, isn't quite overcome with emotion now that he's back at the Cannes Film Festival.

  • Latest 'Bachelorette' won't say if she's engaged

    NEW YORK (AP) — ABC's newest "Bachelorette," Desiree Hartsock, says it's not hard to keep the details of her experience on the show a secret from her friends.

  • Actress Bynes accused of bong toss out NYC window

    NEW YORK (AP) — Actress Amanda Bynes appeared disheveled in a long blond wig and sweats Friday in a criminal court where she was charged with reckless endangerment after police said she heaved a marijuana bong out the window of her 36th-floor Manhattan apartment.

  • Rare Superman comic found in house insulation

    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — It's considered the Holy Grail of comic books: Action Comics No. 1 from 1938, featuring the debut of Superman. And David Gonzales found one mixed in with old newspapers insulating a house he was renovating in a small town in Minnesota.

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