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 Mraz	Love Is A four Letter Word
SWV	I Miss Us
Train	California 37
1 May 2012
B.o.B	Strange Clouds
Carrie Underwood	Blown Away
Marilyn Manson	Born Villain
Norah Jones	Little Broken Hearts
Pennywise	All Or Nothing
8 May 2012
Chris Brown	Fortune
15 May 2012
Santana	Shape Shifter
Tenacious D	Rize of the Fenix
22 May 2012
Joey Ramone	...Ya Know?	[Posthumous release]
John Mayer	Born and Raised
Slash	Apocalyptic Love	[Former Guns N' Roses guitarist]
12 June 2012
Usher	Looking For Myself
19 June 2012
Kenny Chesney	[Title TBA]
Smashing Pumpkins	Oceania
26 June 2012
Maroon 5	Overexposed
11 September 2012
Ludacris	Ludaversal
25 September 2012
Green Day	Uno!	{Part of a trilogy of albums]
13 November 2012
Green Day	Dos!	{Part of a trilogy of albums]
15 January 2013
Green Day	Tre!	{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 Wayne	Like Father, Like Son 2	Winter 2012
Brandy	[Title TBA]	2012
Busta Rhymes	E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event) 2: End of the World	2012
Dr. Dre	Detox	2012
D'Angelo	James River	2012
Elton John	The Diving Board	Fall 2012
Eve	Lip Lock	2012
Fabolous	Loso’s Way 2	2012
Far*East Movement	[Title TBA]	2012
Janet Jackson	[Title TBA]	2012
Justin Bieber	Believe	2012
Lil Wayne	I Am Not A Human Being 2	2012
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 Furtado	Lifestyle	Summer 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-Dream	Love IV MMXII	May 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!