Seems like there has been a really long build up to this album, no? I’ve given 21st Century Breakdown one full listen and my first impressions are lukewarm. A number of songs immediately caught my ear, and bunch kind of floated by without much interest. I’m not ready to write it off as a failure just yet, I think it needs at least 2 more full listens until I can make my decision and I have a feeling I’ll be more positive after a more thorough absorption.
21st Century Breakdown, Green Day’s highly-anticipated eighth studio album, is being released worldwide today, Friday May 15th, by Reprise Records. The album is the follow-up to 2004’s two-time Grammy Award-winning punk-rock opera American Idiot, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart, spawned five hit singles, and went on to sell more than 12 million copies worldwide.
Produced by Butch Vig, 21st Century Breakdown has already earned rapturous reviews from top media outlets, such as Rolling Stone, which called it “even more ambitious than American Idiot” and “a record of die-hard punk ideals…tightly scripted, continually ascending classic-rock excitement,” and the New York Times, which noted in an Arts & Leisure cover story that in its drive to top themselves “Green Day has dared to offer something far denser and more demanding: a whirlwind of thoughts about activism, redemption, and destruction. The rage and sorrows of American Idiot are pushed even further in 21st Century Breakdown, in songs where idealism and the urge to annihilate are constantly grappling, never far apart.”
The album’s first single, “Know Your Enemy” is already capturing the imagination of listeners across the country. It has been No. 1 at Alternative radio for three weeks and is the band’s ninth No. 1 single at the format, making them the artist with the second most No. 1’s of all-time at Alternative.
Additionally, Green Day will set televisions ablaze with scheduled performances on: the season finale of Saturday Night Live on May 16th, The Colbert Report on May 21st, the first concert of Good Morning America’s 2009 Summer Concert Series from Rumsey Playfield in Central Park on May 22nd and The Late Show with David Letterman on May 22nd. On Sunday, May 24th, CBS Sunday Morning will air its first in depth interview with Green Day shot in Oakland last month.
Green Day, which is singer-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool, are preparing to launch their first proper tour of the United States and Canada in more than three years. The tour begins July 3rd at Seattle’s Key Arena and will cross North America through the summer, including a July 27th stop at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, before finishing up with a show at the Forum in Los Angeles on August 25th. Please visit www.greenday.com for all cities, venues, and ticket on-sale dates.
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Check out the new single “Best Part Of The Day”
Since Urban Mystic took fans of true Soul music by storm in 2004 with his KayGee-produced single “Where Were You?”, the young singer has been on a mission to deliver his quality of powerful vocals and heartfelt lyrics to the masses. On April 28, the Fort Lauderdale native will release the third installment of his momentous Ghetto Revelations musical journey, GRIII: Old School 2 Nu Skool, on SoBe Entertainment.
Urban Mystic’s new single from GRIII is “Best Part of the Day,” an ode to the special time he spends with his favorite lady each day. While he knows the way to a woman’s heart through romantic avenues, Urban Mystic is no stranger to the streets. Growing up surrounded by mayhem in the Fort Lauderdale and Miami areas as a teen, Urban Mystic was fortunately affected by positive influences as well. His roots in the church gave way to a vision to spread his natural gift for song to the mainstream.
He linked with Miami-based SoBe Entertainment, and achieved the dream in 2004 with his debut album Ghetto Revelations. He garnered a smooth buzz with the “Where Were You?” single, and was honored as the 2004 Artist of the Year at the Miami Music Awards. Following strong with the 2005 single “It’s You” featuring Paul Wall, Urban Mystic released his sophomore album Ghetto Revelations II in the Spring of 2006. In the past five years, Urban Mystic has proven that he can blend street-savvy soul anthems and romantic ballads with an edge that few can master.
True to the title, GRIII: Old School 2 Nu Skool will grace music lovers with a variety of songs to take them from the thumping action of the club and excitement of the streets to quiet ardor in the bedroom. Special appearances from reggae stars Beenie Man, Ce’Cile and Shaggy and R&B phenom Phyllisia add multiple layers of classic sound on songs like “So Fly,” “I’m Waiting” and “Why Can’t We?”
Meanwhile, Atlanta’s Yung Joc steps in to offer a youthful Hip Hop perspective on relationships on the album’s lead single “Main Squeeze,” which had a nice run at radio in the Fall of 2008. Flexing his patriotism on the project, Urban Mystic followed strong on the solo tip with his well-received tribute to President Obama, “OBAMA: A Change Has Come.”
The production on GRIII is well-rounded, with powerhouse contributions from Scott Storch, KayGee & Tramp, Steve Morales, Peter Pan, Mac Gordon, RocFaReal, Mike City, D. Drummond and SoBe Entertainment’s own Cecile Barker.
“I’m bringing some new flavor and concepts with this album, spreading my wings a little bit more. I’ve been able to hook up with icons such as Beenie Man and Shaggy, and one of Hip Hop’s finest, Yung Joc, but I still have maintained my own style and swagger as ‘Mr. Soul Man’. I’m definitely going to give my longtime fans what they want, with a little extra. Expect the unexpected - the music will just keep getting better.”
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The good news: Pearl Jam is recording a new album! The bad news: Jeff Ament and another person were mugged and roughed up leaving the studio late at night… uncool. Why don’t muggers hang around the studio that Nickelback records at?? Read more from CNN.com:
So much for Southern hospitality.
When Pearl Jam — the Seattle, Washington-based grunge rock band — was in Atlanta late last month, bass guitar player Jeff Ament and a band employee were mugged outside a recording studio, a police report shows.
According to the DeKalb County Police Department, Ament and Mark Anthony Smith were attacked shortly before noon on April 27 when they arrived at Southern Tracks Recording, a studio in north Atlanta.
Southern Tracks is the home base of producer Brendan O’Brien, with whom the band has worked before. According to Rolling Stone, the band is recording a new album with the producer.
Three men reportedly emerged from a nearby wooded area wearing masks and brandishing knives. They smashed windows of the rented Jeep Commander, snatched a BlackBerry phone and other belongings, and demanded money, the police report shows. The suspects allegedly got away with more than $7,300 in goods and cash.
Ament jumped from the passenger side of the vehicle and started to run, but he was chased by a suspect and knocked to the ground, said Mekka Parish, a public information officer with the police department. Video Watch surveillance video of the attack »
She said he “suffered some lacerations” on the back of his head and was treated at the scene. His backpack was also snatched, she said, and included inside was Ament’s passport.
“At this time detectives believe the victims were not specifically targeted,” Parish said. “But they believe the suspects were familiar with the studio because of its isolated location.”
advertisementThough surveillance cameras captured the incident, the masks worn by the attackers have made identifying suspects difficult.
Witnesses reported seeing the suspects flee through the woods and hop into a waiting black Maxima, Parish added. Anyone with leads on this case is encouraged to call 770-724-7850.
