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Coldplay, Lil Wayne, Usher, N.E.R.D. and Katy Perry

the music press

mon 6/16/2008

Seeing sounds. A collage of Coldplay, Lil Wayne, Usher, N.E.R.D. and Katy Perry.

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Coldplay make their inevitably big return to the charts with the Brian Eno-produced Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends. The Village Voice observes "Viva La Vida is the moment where they want to be taken seriously, and they've used just about every bell and whistle at their disposal to reach that goal." The Chicago Tribune struggles to compliment the album as "a big, stadium-sized rock record" with "nuances." NME makes peace with the band's debt to U2, calling the second half of Viva "stratospheric," "magnificent" and "overreaching" -- but in a good way.
The preternaturally prolific Lil Wayne finally releases... an album: Tha Carter III. The Guardian UK gushes that "trying to keep up with Wayne's mind... is a thrill." Entertainment Weekly is less enthusiastic, lamenting it's not a "thought-out lyrical masterpiece... [t]hough it certainly way better than most rap albums in the past year." Remarking that his album proper is less cohesive than the 77 songs he released last year, the Washington Post speculates "Perhaps he's become a little bit bored by his own brilliance."
After complimenting Here I Stand, Usher's follow-up to the hit Confessions, as "consistent," the LA Times notes "Usher might be naturally gifted, but he's not a visionary like Prince or prime-time Jackson." The New Yorker magazine finds a similar vein to tap, describing the album's pleasures as "rarely raw, surprising, or complex, but they are reliable." Even BallerStatus joins the choir of "ho-hums" with the feint praise: "So here Usher stands, proving that he has every right to still be... standing."
N.E.R.D., Pharrell Williams and his on-again, off-again partner-in-crime Chad Hugo, deliver their third album Seeing Sounds. Rolling Stone takes a closer listen to the album's vocals and asks for a do-over: "[I]f they want their rhymes to keep up with the strength of their tunes, they need to dig a little deeper than this." In a review that borders on self-parody, Pitchfork wonders if "every track [is] a battle to see whether P first gets bored of his lyrics or his melodies." The BBC, however, finds more than a few moments of genius shining through calling Seeing Sounds "beautiful in places."
With her video for "I Kissed a Girl" predictably drawing millions of oglers on YouTube, Katy Perry is poised to make a big debut with One of the Boys. Billboard is positively ecstatic: "Not since Jagged Little Pill has a debut album been so packed with potential hits." Not so much is Rolling Stone which offers a tart: "Perry has a heart, but it sounds like her bustier's too tight for her to use it."

also tagged lil wayne, usher, coldplay, n.e.r.d., the music press, katy perry

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7 responses to “the music press: Coldplay, Lil Wayne, Usher, N.E.R.D. and Katy Perry”

bout time WEEZY FINISH DA ALBUM CNT WAIT TO GET IT =)

★☆Latiin_Queen☆★

mon 6/16 6:22pm

"...i kissed a girl and i liked it..." that katy perry song is really catchy, but u gotta be careful when you're singing it. or else ppl will look @ u like "what!?!"

la princesa

sun 6/22 10:45am

N.e.r.d tries too hard to be different i still think their first album is their best work..... but "maybe" from the second album is probably my fav song

Mrjam7

sun 7/6 11:46am

Yeeehh WEezy F BayB!
hIZ albUm iz gOnna BE DOp3333333!!!!
HE 0nli Hazz 1 sOng and itz Tha BOmB...and All the Remixes That He dOezz are hOtt!!!

♡ Ti AMO

thu 7/10 8:59pm

Katy Peryy is awesome i lover her voice! jejje

Adyy $$

sat 9/6 7:47pm

Lil Wayne my love, the best

Mama Baby Eye

sun 11/9 1:34pm

Here i stand is amazing<3
[prayer for you,Love in this club,Moving mountains,His mistakes,trading places.]
and so is the carter 3.
[3 peat,phone home,and Mr.Carter]