monitorTHIS! - December 2008/January 2009 - (Page 45)

The All-American Rejects When the World Comes Down DGC/IntersCope/ DoGhouse Thrice Live at the House of Blues Va G r a n t Womanizer in Chains Will Britney’s latest comeback actually stick? in stores dec 2 T Tyson Ritter is a triple threat. He’s a male model, but not the type worthy of Ben Stiller parody. He starred as (what else?) a heartthrob in The House Bunny. And he sings and plays bass for punk-poppers the All-American Rejects. New single “Give You Hell” has a bouncy, infectious bassline that dives into a Weezer-style shout-along chorus. As a matter of fact, just think of AAR as Weezer fronted by Derek Zoolander. In Stores December 16 If any band has earned a three-disc live set, it’s Thrice, who took six months between 2007 and 2008 to release their four-disc concept album, The Alchemy Index. The Irvine, CA quartet may have started as a run-of-the-mill Warped Tour screamo crew, but is constantly evolving into a truly progressive outfit, regardless of fans’ expectations. And they’re sure easier to wrap your head around than the Mars Volta. In Stores December 9 h e b it ch is ba c k . And we don’t mean that in a derogatory way. Surely you remember the infamous intro to “Gimme More”: “It’s Britney, bitch.” That served as both introduction and epitaph to the Blackout era, in which our heroine nearly succumbed to a media avalanche that culminated with an “erratic” performance at the VMAs and a South Park episode where she walked around with half of her head blown off. Since that nadir, however, Britney grew her hair back (sorta) and reappeared on the VMAs to humbly accept three awards. And lo and behold, the vid for infectious first single “Womanizer” doesn’t boast just superstar production value; it features her in the buff looking possibly better than ever. It’s hard to truly imagine a happy ending for this story, but Spears isn’t even close to 30 yet and still finding collaborators that keep her a club priority. Touring on Circus is the next Britney Spears big step. Hope she’s Circus jIVe ready. Akon Freedom srC/unIVersal Motown Panic at the Disco Live in Chicago FueleD by raMen Long live sequential hip-hop titles! In 2004, the Senegalese hip-hopper was in Trouble. Two years later, he was Konvicted. And now, free at last! Which is impressive given that every time the dude plays live, there’s a new controversy, from (inadvertently) dry-humping an underage girl to throwing a concertgoer off stage, Hulk Hogan style, last year. Labelmates Colby O’Donis and Kardinal Offishall keep him on the up and up on “Beautiful.” In Stores December 2 Pretty cool holiday package from the Las Vegas “emo submarine” quartet. The CD features four alternate versions of staples from recently released sophomore effort Pretty. Odd. and the DVD assembles a tour documentary, assorted videos, an MTV short film and all that behind-the-scenes tomfoolery the girls love. Time will tell if Panic’s preteen audience follows them in their transition from ornate, cabaret-friendly power-pop to trippy, introspective Beatles worship. In Stores December 2 [ dec 08 / jan 09 + monitorthis! + 45 ]

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monitorTHIS! - December 2008/January 2009

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