Dr. Blackwell's BLOG

Continuing to prove she is definitely pop’s new megastar who is here to stay, Lady GaGa released the video for her new single “Paparazzi” from The Fame today. The video, directed by acclaimed director Jonas Akerlund (who also directed Madonna’s Confessions Tour), is awesomely choreographed and is extremely entertaining. Take a look at the video below… ALL HAIL LADY GAGA!!!

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Just as Green Day released their new album 21st Century Breakdown today, tickets to their upcoming world tour also went on-sale. Green Day Tour 2009 will be making stops in a plethora of cities across the globe, including a concert at Orlando’s Amway Arena at 8pm on Wednesday August 5th. To purchase tickets or for more information about Green Day Tour 2009, visit the band’s official Web Site @ http://greenday.com.

Today, Green Day released their new album 21st Century Breakdown. All I can say about this album is, “WOW!” 21st Century Breakdown is an absolutely incredible follow-up to the band’s American Idiot, which many critics speculated simply couldn’t be topped. While I won’t crown the new album as superior to American Idiot, I will definitely say it matches in-terms of musicality and deepens the sound of Green Day beyond the typical punk-rock genre and definitely demonstrates tremendous growth in their musical style.

Along with the heavy guitar instrumentation expected for most rock bands, many of the songs also feature a strong piano accompaniment; strings can also be heard punctuated throughout some of the songs on the album. When non-traditional instruments are utilized, they serve more to strengthen the background music rather than serve as an over-indulgence or over-emphasized originality statement. From the first released single “Know Your Enemy” to “21st Century Breakdown,” every song on this album is masterfully crafted and almost perfectly executed.

There are many heavy-rock anthems and also some powerful ballads like “Last Night on Earth” and “Restless Heart Syndrome” which highlight the amazing musical range of the group. 21st Century Breakdown is the best album to be released thus far in 2009 and just might secure that award for the remainder of the year. 21st Century Breakdown is available now for digital download through iTunes and in retailers nationwide from Reprise Records. Below, the band discusses the production of 21st Century Breakdown:

A very minimalist video for Pet Shop Boys’ new release “Did You See Me Coming?” from their new album Yes. Take a look:

One of my all-time favorite rock bands of all-time are back on the scene! The Daily Roxette is reporting today that Marie Frederikkson will be joining her longtime singing partner Per Gessle at his Party Crasher concert on Wednesday in Amsterdam. Roxette had a slew of smash hit songs in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s including, “The Look,” “Dangerous,” “It Must Have Been Love,” and “Joyride.” While the group failed to maintain their popularity in the United States after 1995’s Crash! Boom! Bang!, they continued to record record-breaking albums released throughout Europe including Have A Nice Day! and their last full album release in 2001 Room Service. 

Unfortunately, Roxette went on permanent hold when in 2002, Marie underwent major surgery for a malignant brain tumor and left the music industry to recover. In 2006, the band released a greatest hits CD with newly recorded singles, “One Wish” and “Reveal” but Marie was still too ill to devote herself fully to Roxette. But reports are indicating Marie has made a full recovery and is ready to bring Roxette back together! Hopefully after Wednesday, we’ll get more information about a new album and tour from this dyanmic duo! Below is a video for a live performance of 2006’s “One Wish.”

Green Day has released the video for the first single “Know Your Enemy” from their forthcoming album 21st Century Breakdown. It’s a great video for a great song:

Some big releases today in music! First and foremost, Green Day has released their first single “Know Your Enemy” from their forthcoming album 21st Century Breakdown, which will release May 15th from Reprise Records. iTunes is offering an exclusive pre-sale on the album for $11.99, which will also get you “Know Your Enemy” as an immediate download. The new track is awesome and features an instrumentation which sounds like 21st Century Breakdown will pick-up right where the group’s last (2004) album American Idiot left off. Also today, Astralwerks released Pet Shop Boys’ new album Yes, featuring the smash hit “Love, Etc.” I opted to purchase 9 of the 11 songs from the album (I wasn’t a fan of “King of Rome” or “The Way It Used to Be”) and the songs are great! They are heavily-laden with pop-synth and are upbeat and fun. While the Pet Shop Boys are no Erasure, this album should hold us over until the dynamic duo releases their new album in 2010. Below, the Pet Shop Boys discuss the making of their new album

Lady GaGa continues to travel the world celebrating the massive success of her debut album The Fame. She wowed audiences at Orlando’s House of Blues during her World Fame Ball just 2 weeks ago and made an appearance on the UK’s version of Late Night (Friday Night with Jonathan Ross) on Friday, where she performed her latest #1 song “Poker Face.” With a live band on-stage (and the same dancers [including the Latin hottie we all drooled over] at her show in Orlando), Lady GaGa put a little bit of a rock-spin on the single and impressed the European audience just as much as those in the United States:

Erasure’s Andy Bell had plenty to say about the duo’s latest release Pop Hits! and the formation of the group in the early 1980’s and the impact of being an openly gay (and HIV+) performer last weekend while DJing at the White Party in Palm Springs, California. Andy made a pit-stop in Los Angeles for an interview with WestHollywood.com while en-route to the dessert oasis and gay party mecca. While he didn’t discuss Erasure’s plans to re-enter the studio at the end of the year to begin work on their new album (scheduled for release in 2010), he did have some great things to say about Erasure: