In the last few weeks, a lot has happened in the world of music. Some of this news has been huge, attracting headlines worldwide, while other bits have been more or less forgotten or ignored. Here’s what you may have missed:
Weezer
Weezer (or maybe more particularly Weezer front man Rivers Cuomo) has officially gone off the deep end. With every album getting a little more terrible, Rivers and Co. redoubled their efforts for their newest album, “Raditude,” as named by Dwight from The Office. The album, which happens to feature a sure-to-be god-awful collaboration with Lil Wayne, is set to be released next week.
But that’s not all for Weezer! As of late the band seems more and more prone to focus on quirkiness in the stead of quality music. First came the Weezer approved versions of the Snuggy. Then came Rivers’ announcement that he was teaming up with Katy Perry. And most recently, Weezer teamed up with Sara Bareilles, Chamillionaire and Kenny G (yes, the soft jazz musician) for AOL Sessions. Kenny G? Really?
T.I.
Rapper T.I., who is currently serving time in prison, just released his newest single to the world, entitled “Hell of a Life.” While very similar to most of T.I.’s other recent work (keyboard/synth drenched beats), the song is extremely catchy and well crafted. The video for the single (filmed before he reported to jail) is also well made, providing viewers with images of a more reflective T.I. being checked in to prison. With songs like this, T.I. is making sure he stays relevant even while he's away from the spotlight for the time being. Can’t wait to see what he has up his sleeve next.
The Flaming Lips
In a far cry from the rap world, the Flaming Lips are storming to even higher prominence having just released their newest album, “Embryonic.” But this hasn’t been the biggest news from the Lips yet — far from it. Rather, Wayne Coyne recently announced that the band would be covering and re-recording Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” in its entirety. Wow. Talk about taking a trippy album and make it even trippier. The Lips have played several songs from it live in the last few weeks and it serves to be said that they sound absolutely fantastic.
Lil Wayne
And what’s a good music update without some news surrounding Lil Wayne? Weezy announced that despite all past delays, he would indeed be releasing “The Rebirth” (the warily anticipated rap/rock fusion album) before the end of the year. But that’s not all! Lil Wayne has promised fans that both “The Rebirth” and “Tha Carter 4” would be out before 2010. He stated, “Tha Carter 4 is out Dec.15, we won’t release The Rebirth as a double CD like people are saying. Both will be out before 2010. We’re looking to take over the game completely, flood the market. The Grammy’s are ours next year.” But recent news about his guilty plea to charges for attempted gun pocession in New York may overshadow the music. Wayne will be sentenced in February and will likely serve 8 to 12 months in prison.
