A Guide to Some Upcoming Records That May Suck
With the summer pop blockbusters out of the way, record companies are beginning to churn out the albums they hope America will buy in enormous quantities to stuff stockings, exchange during Hanukkah ceremonies, and grace with the tag “Thnx 4 the Dinosaur Dick, XO Ms. Clause”. October offers music fans a number of classic reissues, some very promising Hip Hop releases, cult favorites, and metal madness. Get down with it.
October 5th
Despite one of them being deceased, both members of Houston hip hop crew UGK drop solo records in 2010. Bun B, the superior of the two, put out Trill OG, and Pimp C releases his first posthumous record The Naked Soul of Sweet Jones, October 5th. Two cult favorites, multifaceted composer Tricky, and college rock mainstays Guster, both release new efforts on October 5th. Finally, in honor of John Lennon’s would-be 70th birthday, six of his remastered records will be released, alongside the Gimme Some Truth box set.
October 12th
Nutso tongue-in-cheek South African hip hop crew Die Antwoord--it means The Answer in Afrikaans--will release a re-recorded, stripped down version of their self-released debut album, $0$, via CherryTree/Interscope Records. Japanese post-hardcore titans Envy, who combine the expansive soundscapes of Mogwai with the epic hardcore of Converge, will release their fifth full-length record, Recitation. Lil Wayne releases the physical version of I Am Not a Human Being, which was released digitally last week. Intronaut, a band of jazz musicians who traffic in a very technical and riff heavy brand of metal, release In the Valley of Smoke, which features a guest spot from Tool’s bassist.
October 19th
October 19th is a big day for fans of one of the 20th century’s best songwriters. Bob Dylan is set to release The Whitmark Demos, a series of more than 50 recordings put to tape between 1962 and 1964, and mono remasters of his first eight records; everything from Bob Dylan to Jon Wesley Harding. This is the first time any of these records will have been available in mono since the original vinyl pressings.
Any fan of contemporary blues-rock groups like The White Stripes needs to get down with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. JSBX’s indie-rock-meets-Led-Zeppelin madness comes back to glorious life with remastered rereleases of Orange and Acme. Lastly, one of the very few genuine big rock bands alive and kicking, Kings of Leon, will release Come Around Sundown, follow up to their breakthrough record Only By the Night.
October 26th
Consistently bright, catchy, and quality emo quartet Senses Fail unleashes its latest effort, The Fire, on the world this October 26th. In the world of epic riffs and bong hits, both Monster Magnet and Kylesea are due to drop records the last Tuesday in October. Down, more epic, riffy, and bong-oriented than those two bands together, and comprised of members of southern metal greats Pantera, Crowbar, and Corrosion of Conformity, release a live CD and DVD packaged, entitled Diary of a Mad Band. Bluesman Buddy Guy will release Living Proof, and Georgia’s favorite sons who aren’t named 3K and Big Boi, R.E.M., will release the Live From Austin DVD.
