> >
Print
E-Mail
tool name
close
tool goes here
Tuesday, Dec. 09, 2008
Sound Files (Dec. 10): On Britney, on Kanye, on Killers, on Ludacris
PODCAST: Our critics help you choose between the heavyweights' December CDs.
Harder, better, faster, stronger: Kanye West's latest album, '808s and Heartbreak,' is one of the year's most ambitious efforts.
December means blockbuster season for the music industry -- or at least a last gasp attempt to sell some records to shoppers desperate for a stocking stuffer. This year it's a particular bonanza, with five major acts all releasing new discs. Preston Jones and Ryan Peterson attempt to separate the naughty from the nice, and tell you which of the CDs should find a place beneath your Christmas tree (or Hanukkah bush -- we don't discriminate on Sound Files!).
Segment One: Britney Spears, 'Circus'
Americans love a comeback and, save for the truly soulless, no one was rooting against the perpetually troubled Britney Spears, but what do you do once you’ve recovered from all that self-imposed trauma? For starters, you make a scattered, tired album like Circus.
Preston and Ryan are certainly glad she's not dead, but couldn't Britney have come up with something better than this?
Segment Two: Kanye West, '808s and Heartbreak'
808s and Heartbreak finds West sifting through his life, indulging in a revealing frankness not often found in rap, let alone pop music. Most superstars simply don’t want to admit they have feelings just like everyone else; West is only too happy to remind everyone just how human he is.
Go figure: Ryan and Preston declare it one of the year's best.
Segment Three: The Killers, 'Day and Age'
Three albums in, this Las Vegas quartet seems to have finally reconciled its glossy nightclub tendencies with white-hot yearning to succeed Bruce Springsteen as the rock poet laureate of America.
Killers-haters Ryan and Preston finally learn to stop worrying and love Brandon Flowers
Segment Four: Ludacris, 'Theater of the Mind'
Atlanta rapper Ludacris has a tidy second career providing sharp, funny cameos on scads of pop, rap and R&B songs, often proving to be the best thing about whatever track he’s on. And while his own career is nothing to sneeze at, Luda just hasn’t found his groove
Despite their obvious love for Luda, Preston and Ryan declare the record way too long and forgettable.
Segment Five: Guns N' Roses, 'Chinese Democracy'
Chinese Democracy is a long-delayed, hotly anticipated record that stands as the last gasp of rock ’n’ roll as anything other than the precision-crafted corporate product that we hear today. Frontman Axl Rose will be remembered for this, no question, albeit not necessarily in ways he intended.
Axl Rose gets no love from Preston, but Ryan is a tad more generous.
Be the first to comment on this story click the 'Add Comment' Tab!
DFW.com is pleased to be able to offer its users the opportunity to make comments and hold conversations online. However, the interactive nature of the internet makes it impractical for our staff to monitor each and every posting.
Since DFW.com does not control user submitted statements, we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted on our website. In addition, we remind anyone interested in making an online comment that responsibility for statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not DFW.com.
If you find a comment offensive, clicking the exclamation icon will flag the comment for review by the administrators; we are counting on the good judgment of all our readers to help us.
