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Public Enemy - Still Going Strong, or Behind the Times?
If you know about old-school rap, you know Public Enemy. Their genre-defining album It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back is still regarded as one of the finest albums in any genre, and for hip-hop, it is indispensable. You may be surprised to hear that Public Enemy is still at it, pumping out albums at a typical cycle with four in the 2010s and one in 2020. Understandably, these albums don’t live up to their iconic predecessors, but are they still worth listening to? Let’s explore what’s going on in Public Enemy’s most recent album, What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down?.
The Hip-Hop Queen Mary J. Blige Is Still The #1 Underrated Artist of 2022
Months have passed since the 2022 Superbowl Halftime Show and her new album release, and Mary J. Blige still is missing the full recognition she deserves. With the potential for her 2022 legacy to fall by the wayside, let's cover how Blige's new record Good Morning Gorgeous dominated the start of this year with some impressive performances and critical acclaim.
Everyone Is In For A Tough Listen With Shamir's New Record 'Heterosexuality'
Since Shamir's successful single 'On the Regular' from 2015, the polymorph electro-pop artist has never reached the same heights with his streaming numbers. However, that doesn't mean his later music is not worth listening to, as evidenced by his self-titled album from 2020. His constant shifts have at times impressed and perplexed critics, and the noisier direction of his new album Heterosexuality will surely be another divisive moment in his career. Whatever your opinion, there's no doubt that this album is not for pleasant background music.
10 More Best Albums of 2022
For those in desperate need of new music every day, look no further than the ever-growing list here on Onedio! Including these two lists, we're up to 24 top-notch records from 2022 that are all must-listens for new music lovers. Here are ten more that should brighten your day (whether revisiting or hearing for the first time)!
The Complete List of Taylor Swift’s ‘Fearless’ Re-Recording Bonus Track Songs
In honor of last year's start (and the current continuations) of Taylor Swift's re-recording project, let's take a deeper look at exactly what is going on in the very first 'Taylor's Version' release. Swift aimed in 2021 not just to re-release the same album again but to really give fans a package worth experiencing. Here is the complete list of the Fearless (Taylor's Version) full package.
Eddie Vedder’s Newest Solo Album Shows Off His Diverse Talents
Pearl Jam singer/songwriter Eddie Vedder was long overdue to spread his solo wings when Earthling arrived in early 2022. Though he exclusively wrote five songs for Pearl Jam’s 2020 release Gigaton, a quick glance at Vedder’s brief solo discography shows he has other interests than his band’s grunge-based guitar rock. As only his third effort under his name, Earthling is just the kind of record Vedder needed, not rejecting the influences of Pearl Jam but instead expanding on them in a way only he, with his individual style, could do.
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The Albums That Received The Most Critical Attention In The Internet Music Review Era
Print is dying, and just like articles, music reviews are staying exclusively online nowadays. The added benefit is being able to read more of them very easily, and any user can rate, chat, and post about those same albums on numerous websites. At the peak of this era of music journals moving to near-exclusivity online, here are the major albums that saw thousands of reviews from publications and users at the height of the changeover.
How Spiritbox Dominated Metal Music in the 2020s
When vocalist Courtney LaPlante and guitarist Mike Stringer left the metalcore band Iwrestledabearonce to form their own group in the mid-2010s, no one expected such a massive reception to the music they would soon create. After a mediocre turnout with their first EP and singles, Spiritbox suddenly skyrocketed to the most wide-reaching new metal band while a debut studio album was still over a year away. Here are the highlights that define this growing heavy metal phenomenon.
Freddie Gibbs’ Collaborative Albums Showcase An Incredible Hip-Hop Synthesis In Lyrics and Production
Though it is common practice to use a wide variety of producers on a rap album, some rappers and producers interestingly have decided to do the opposite, highlighting their abilities through mutual collaboration. Chief in that group is the work of Freddie Gibbs, the Midwest rapper known for straddling the lines of underground hip-hop with his gritty lyrics. By frequently collaborating with the same producers, his albums achieve a remarkable synthesis that only a handful of other peers have accomplished in the 2010s onward.
Placebo’s 2022 Record Evokes Classic And Modern Sounds From The 90s Alt-Rock Band
The persistently under-the-radar alt-rockers behind the gender-focused alternative hit “Nancy Boy” and their definitive single “Every Me Every You” have been in desperate need of a comeback, and they finally reached their highest place on the U.K. charts with Never Let Me Go. Led by four well-received singles, this new album peaked at #3 in their home country, beating their debut record, which only made it to #5.
New Kendrick Lamar Song Is (Finally) Released!
The new Kendrick Lamar album is finally on its way. Aside from sparse social media announcements leading up to the album, the world only received one taste of Lamar’s new record on May 8th, 2022. As part of his long-running series of similarly named tracks, “The Heart Part 5” marks an ambitious highlight for the critically acclaimed rapper.
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Pop Punk Lovers Cannot Miss This Exciting Summer 2022 Tour
In the wake of Warped Tour’s permanent cancellation in 2019, pop-punk fans need a substitute tour to follow. The best filler for that legendary traveling festival is definitely Sad Summer Fest, which for a few years now has been the best one-day pop-punk festival the U.S. has to offer. This year’s Sad Summer Fest runs from July 8th to August 5th, and every band is at the forefront of pop-punk today. Here’s the entire list of groups from the major dates.
The Highlight of The 2022 Billboard Music Awards Performers
On May 15th, the Billboard Music Awards host their 2022 ceremony for the fifth consecutive time since moving to NBC. The list of performers is once again a strong showing from the top pop and rock acts of the last year, and like the awards, the choices are based on performance on the Billboard charts rather than the traditional voting method of other awards shows. Here are a few of the top performers from this year.
Bastille’s New Conceptual Record Hardly Breaks From Standard Electro-Pop
The English pop band Bastille, known 2013 mega-hit “Pompeii” and their electro-crossover Marshmello collaboration “Happier,” took a different turn in 2022 with a conceptual record that details virtual world escapism. Despite a fresh vision for the group, the same kind of bombastic 80s-style choruses and pop band dance beats dominate Give Me The Future, making it feel less interesting than their last two more successful albums.
Arcade Fire’s 2022 Return Proves They Are An Exceptional Legacy Act
Without Arcade Fire, indie rock would not be in the state it is in today. The only band grounded yet experimental enough to truly take up the helm set up by Radiohead, these Canadians shaped modern indie with their first three critically-acclaimed releases. After dabbling in dance beats on their mid-2010s records, WE is billed as a comeback of sorts, and while it doesn’t rise to the heights of those first three, it is an enjoyable reminder of why the band is still vital.
Noisy Shoegaze-Pop/Rockers A Place To Bury Strangers Excel On Their Career-Culminating 2022 Album
NYC-based rock band A Place To Bury Strangers can only be described by the classic shoegaze-appropriated term “wall of sound.” This revival of the term popularized to describe the production of Phil Spector demonstrated the heavy side of the indie/alternative spectrum, this side being called shoegaze and the other known as dream pop. Clearly inspired by the hazy works of My Bloody Valentine and similar artists initially, this band now positions themselves in a unique midpoint between pop hooks and a rock massiveness, and their new album See Through You shows that quality in peak form.
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Producer Yeule’s Brand of Hyperpop Is A Treat For Genre Fans
Yeule is the alias of Singaporean musician Nat Ćmiel, whose particular sort of pop music hardly veers into the mainstream. Ćmiel’s future-pop on Glitch Princess, which features production from Danny L Harle and Mura Masa as well, does not reinvent the genre but sticks firmly in the glitch-pop comfort zone with some seriously great highlights and a handful of worthy experiments.
Critically Acclaimed Nu-Metal Albums That Surprisingly (Sort Of) Hold Up
Though the jury is still out on whether the highly ridiculed genre of “nu-metal” can be considered good as a whole, there are some undeniably important moments in every genre that no one can keep from returning. Even for music typically weighed down by weak mainstream hip-hop clichés and tired metal riffs, some emotionally captivating performances stand out even today! Here are a few albums that no one can fault you for revisiting.
Los Bitchos Counters Their Label of “Most Exciting Prospective Band” With Unexciting Debut
When four instrumentalists from four different countries come together by chance to create an entirely new form of fusion rock, the expectations here are too high to fully express. Bringing together the sounds of cumbia, tropical, and Turkish psych-rock under a surf umbrella, Los Bitchos should be the most exciting group around, but their pleasant background music approach clouds their great potential.