Music GroupsPreviewing The Week Ahead
There's a wealth of new releases this week that spans genres and tastes.
Album of the week? Could be Pharrel's In My Mind be the big album of the week. The Interscope release has big guests (Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Kanye West) but Pharrel himself hasn't had a true blockbuster yet – not N.E.R.D. nor Neptunes have yet hit the platinum mark.
It's been almost four years since Jurassic 5's previous album, Power in Numbers, came out. It has sold 381,000 to date, a bit lower than 2000's Quality Control (which has done 495,000). Now their album Feedback comes out on Interscope. Best Buy has it sale priced at $6.99.
Tom Petty's third solo album, Highway Companion, was produced by fellow Traveling Wilbury Jeff Lynne and is sure to be a solid seller.
Soundtracks can be big business. This week's top soundtrack is Miami Vice, a remake of the pastel-colored '80s TV show that stars Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx. The soundtrack itself stars Goldfrapp, India.Arie, Mogwai, Moby and Nonpoint covering the Phil Collins' “In The Air Tonight.”
Island's much hyped (but not very impressive) Boy Kill Boy has been prepped as the next in a line of Killers-styled, radio-friendly post-punk. A Circuit City sale price of $5.99 will help shift a few units.
In the indie world, the reissue of Spoon's Telephono, with the Soft Effects EP, is a memorable event. The blog world has been abuzz about Midlake. The band's The Trials of Van Occupanther, out on Bella Union, will let us know once and for all the dollar value in achieving popularity with a handful of influential MP3 blogs.
• Boy Kill Boy: Civilian (Island)
• Randall Bramblett: Rich Someday (New West)
• Code Red: All Aboard (Universal Republic)
• Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man: Soundtrack (Verve Forecast)
• Dead Prez & Outlawz: Can't Sell Dope Forever (Affluent)
• John Doe: For the Best of Us (Yep Roc)
• Gran Bel Fisher: Full Moon Cigarette(Hollywood)
• Flogging Molly: Whiskey on a Sunday (Side One Dummy)
• Michael Franti and Spearhead: Yell Fire! (Anti)
• Freako: Mac Dre Presents Ghetto Star (Koch)
• Gaelic Storm: Bring Yer Wellies (Megaforce)
• Adam Green: Jacket Full of Danger (Rough Trade)
• Gym Class Heroes: As Cruel As School Children (Fueled by Ramen/Atlantic)
• Paul Hardcastle: Jazzmasters 5 (V2)
• Sammy Hagar: Livin' It Up! (Rhino)
• Inspectah Deck: Resident Patient (Traffic/Urban Icon)
• Glenn Jones: Forever: Timeless R&B Classics (Shanacie)
• Jurassic 5: Feedback (Interscope)
