Saturday, April 14, 2012

Calling the Music Industry to Task

It's midway through April, and I'm sure you've noticed.  There is a distinct lack of decent new music right now. I should clarify what I mean by new-- an album released in 2012.  This means that the Rihanna, the T-Pain, the Weezy, the Yeezy, Drake, Taylor Swift, and even the Gotye that are currently getting spins were all released for our ears during the year 2011.  All the great talent in the music industry, and nobody wants to release an album during a time when there has literally been no competition for new content.  It came as quite a shock as I downloaded Roman Reloaded, pulled up the iTunes playlist, and noticed that this was the first album with a 2012 tag.

Needless to say, it caused me a moment of disappointment in the music industry when I thought of all of the talent that's due for something new, but all there has been is silence.  The foremost of which had better get his friggin' arse into the booth as soon as his honeymoon is over, because even when I checked over with my friends at Metacritic, Justin Timberlake is still nowhere on the upcoming releases list.

That disappointing news aside, I was pleasantly surprised to see the lineup of new releases for the rest of 2012 from names of familiar artists, and I'm sure that the following list will be further enhanced by some new talent that comes onto the scene as the year unfolds.  As of now, information available on Metacritic suggests the following probable release dates....


Upcoming Album Release Calendar

All dates are for U.S. releases unless otherwise noted. Release dates are subject to change, and often do.
17 April 2012
Jason MrazLove Is A four Letter Word
SWVI Miss Us
TrainCalifornia 37
1 May 2012
B.o.BStrange Clouds
Carrie UnderwoodBlown Away
Marilyn MansonBorn Villain
Norah JonesLittle Broken Hearts
PennywiseAll Or Nothing
8 May 2012
Chris BrownFortune
15 May 2012
SantanaShape Shifter
Tenacious DRize of the Fenix
22 May 2012
Joey Ramone...Ya Know?[Posthumous release]
John MayerBorn and Raised
SlashApocalyptic Love[Former Guns N' Roses guitarist]
12 June 2012
UsherLooking For Myself
19 June 2012
Kenny Chesney[Title TBA]
Smashing PumpkinsOceania
26 June 2012
Maroon 5Overexposed
11 September 2012
LudacrisLudaversal
25 September 2012
Green DayUno!{Part of a trilogy of albums]
13 November 2012
Green DayDos!{Part of a trilogy of albums]
15 January 2013
Green DayTre!{Part of a trilogy of albums]

Anticipated Future Releases

These albums do not yet have a firm release date, but are in various stages of development. If an artist appears multiple times, that means multiple albums by that artist are forthcoming.



Aerosmith[Title TBA]Summer 2012
Birdman and Lil WayneLike Father, Like Son 2Winter 2012
Brandy[Title TBA]2012
Busta RhymesE.L.E. (Extinction Level Event) 2: End of the World2012
Dr. DreDetox2012
D'AngeloJames River2012
Elton JohnThe Diving BoardFall 2012
EveLip Lock2012
FabolousLoso’s Way 22012
Far*East Movement[Title TBA]2012
Janet Jackson[Title TBA]2012
Justin BieberBelieve2012
Lil WayneI Am Not A Human Being 22012
Linkin Park[Title TBA]Summer 2012
Lupe Fiasco[Title TBA]2012
Matchbox Twenty[Title TBA]2012
Missy Elliott[Title TBA]Jun 2012
Mumford & Sons[Title TBA]2012
Muse[Title TBA]Fall 2012
Nelly FurtadoLifestyleSummer 2012
No Doubt[Title TBA]2012
Pearl Jam[Title TBA]2012
Phoenix[Title TBA]2012
The Killers[Title TBA]2012
The Offspring[Title TBA]2012
The-DreamLove IV MMXIIMay 2012
Timbaland[Title TBA]Jun 2012


After seeing this list, I decided a couple of months with nothing new will definitely be more than offset by what's to come for the rest of the year.  Should be a great year for music!




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