3 Doors Down - Shine

Album: AT&T Team USA Soundtrack (Vancouver Olympic)

Two years ago, AT&T did the similar thing for the Beijing Olympic by enlisting big name artists to raise money for the US Olympic team. 3 Doors Down was part of that program and released, “The Champion in Me” back then. This year, for the Vancouver Olympic charity compilation, 3 Doors Down releases “Shine.” I purchased this song for the cause, but I thought the song was leaning on the cheesy side. I didn’t watch much of the Olympics but from what I hear, it was supposedly exciting.

Alkaline Trio - This Addiction

Album: This Addiction

I had never heard of this punk trio band from Illinois, but they have been around since 1996. The current lineup consists of Matt Skiba (vocal/guitar), Dan Andriano (vocal/bass) and Derek Grant (drums). Their latest album, This Addiction (same name as the lead off single) is their seventh release. They sound like other punk rock bands such as Bad Religion, MxPx and Rise Against.

Angels & Airwaves - Hallucinations

Album: Love

no sample

Angels & Airwaves is lead by Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge, and they are trying to pull off what Radiohead did with In Rainbows, where fans can download the entire album for free, but they can also make a monetary donation. DeLonge hopes to make up the money from corporate sponsorship and tours. The album is actually quite good, so I suggest that people download it from their official website. The album, Love, was released on Valentines Day, and within 48 hours, there were already 300,000 download.

Crash Kings - Mountain Man

Album: Crash Kings

When I heard this song on the radio, I thought it was another one of Jack White’s new project. But once I listened to the vocal closely, it wasn’t Jack White. The band turned out to be Crash Kings from LA, who had signed to new label of Linda Perry (formerly of Four Non-Blondes, but recently more famous for producing for Pink or Christina Aguilera).

Deadmau5 - Ghosts N Stuff /ft. Rob Swire of Pendulum

Album: For Lack Of A Better Name

I assume this DJ name is pronounced, “Dead mouse.” Deadmau5 is a popular house/techno DJ from Toronto, Canada. This track, “Ghosts N Stuff” have been around for some time, but the album was released just a couple of months ago. The beat is great. Being a Canadian, he performed during the winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Gorillaz - Stylo /ft. Bobby Womack & Mos Def

Album: Plastic Beach

Animated virtual band, lead by Blur’s Damon Albarn is back with their third album, Plastic Beach. Albarn mentioned that it is going to be the most “pop” album he has ever worked on. Once again there are a lot of guests on the album, including Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, Mick Jones, De La Soul and more. For this track, Bobby Womack and Mos Def lend a hand. I haven’t heard any other songs on the album yet, as the album will be released in early March, but I didn’t particularly think that this song was as catchy as their previous singles.

Ludacris - How Low

Album: Battle Of The Sexes

What’s great about Ludacris is that he always brings fun into hip-hop, showcasing that you don’t have to be gangsta to enjoy hip-hop. The album, “Battle of the Sexes” was initially supposed to be collaboration album between Ludacris and female MC, Shawnna, but that was later changed. This single, produced by T-Minus, has climbed to #6 on Billboard single chart.

Nneka - Heartbeat

Album: Concrete Jungle

Nneka’s father is Nigerian and mother is German. She grew up most of her life in Nigeria until she was 18, and since then divides her time between Germany and Nigeria. She reminds me a lot of Neneh Cherry. Her song is poetic and her music is unique. With Lauryn Hill out of picture (though there are a lot more rumor of her comeback), Nneka could make a good dent in the US for her rap/R&B style of music.

Three 6 Mafia - Feel It /ft. DJ Tiesto, Sean Kingston & Flo Rida

Album: Feel It (Single)

Oscar winning rapstars, Three 6 Mafia’s new album, which is rumored to be titled, Laws of Power, has seen its release date bumped to later dates several times already. “Feel It” which was produced by superstar DJ, Tiesto is the third single, and it is packed with addictive dance beat, and features Sean Kingston on the hook, and Flo Rida for some rapping. It is climbing on the dance chart, but hasn’t had much success on the mainstream chart just yet.

Violent Soho - Jesus Stole My Girlfriend

Album: Violent Soho

They sound a little like Nirvana, The Vines, and The Datsuns put together. Just like the Vines, Violent Soho hails from Australia, and plays Nirvana-esque screaming rock songs. Their US debut album, Violent Soho will be released in early March. Most of the songs on the album are from their debut album, We Don’t Belong Here from 2008. They are currently touring all over the US to get their name out.

Artists For Haiti - We Are The World 25 For Haiti

Album: We Are The World 25 For Haiti (Single)

It has been 25 years since Quincy Jones, Lionel Ritchie and Michael Jackson gathered their musician friends to record “We Are the World.” Back in November of 2009, there was a talk of re-doing the song with completely new artists, but Lionel Ritchie, who co-wrote the song, didn’t think it should be remade, as the song was recorded for a particular purpose. But with Haiti’s devastating earthquake, Ritchie agreed that there is now a purpose, and the song got recorded.

With the exception of Michael Jackson who sings from archival footage alongside his sister Janet , none of the artists from 25 years appear on the new version.

The song starts out with Justin Bieber, Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Nettles, Josh Groban, Tony Bennett and Mary J. Blige. Toward the end, there is auto-tune and rap from LL Cool J, Will.I.Am, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes and Kanye West.

Now, of course, when you compare it with the original, where almost all of them are now considered legendary artists, the song doesn’t sound as powerful. To many, the auto-tune and rap part may sound absurd. But I personally think the producers did what they can to get the song to sell for today’s music buying population. The purpose of this song is to raise money for the Haiti cause, so including Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Lil Wayne probably makes sense.

Black Eyed Peas - Imma Be

Album: The E.N.D. (The Energy Never Dies)

Black Eyes Peas continue to release hits after hits from their latest album, The E.N.D. Thanks to the Grammy performance, “Imma Be” gained a lot of new fans, and it is already #2 on Billboard singles chart. It may not be long before it swaps places with Kesha’s “Tik Tok” for a #1 spot. I’m not a huge fan of this song (though I can see the mass appeal), and I’m still waiting for “Rock That Body” to be the next single.