A quick glance at the release schedule for the rest of 2008 points to a shift in the music cycle � more rock and less pop from now until Christmas.
>> Coldplay (Tuesday): Although it�s not out yet, their Viva la Vida album is already on torrent sites. Producer Brian Eno did for Coldplay�s fourth album what he did for U2 when they needed to make the transition from the sound of War to The Unforgettable Fire. The first two minutes of Viva will likely remind you of the opening of The Joshua Tree.
>> Offspring (Tuesday): Like Coldplay, they gave away millions of MP3s of the first single. Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace has the familiar Offspring approach to SoCal punk.
>> Beck (July): On Modern Guilt, he�s gone all psych-y with producer Danger Mouse. I heard eight songs at his manager�s office in Los Angeles last week and there�s a definite late �60s/early �70s vibe to a lot of the material. Chemtrails, the Syd Barrett-like song that�s already on the Internet, is not the official single. My pick would be a track called Orphans.
>> Nine Inch Nails (July): Expect a physical version of The Slip, the album Trent Reznor gave away online last month.
>> Green Day (Fall): They have to follow up American Idiot. Talk about a tough act to follow. Ignore the Foxboro Hot Tubs project from earlier this year.
>> The Killers (Fall): One of the hardest-working bands in the world today. We might hear a single as early as August with an album to follow in early October.
>> AC/DC (Fall): Their first album since 2000�s Stiff Upper Lip. Word is they�ll follow the Eagles by offering this disc exclusively at Wal-Mart. Rumours suggest that Fleetwood Mac will do the same.
>> U2 (Fall): After messing around with Daniel Lanois in Morocco last year, they�re now in serious lockdown mode. If past history is anything to go on, we�ll get the first single sometime in early September and the album in November. And don�t expect a Radiohead-like giveaway. Manager Paul McGuinness likes selling CDs.
� The Ongoing History of New Music can be heard on stations across Canada. Read the daily Music Geek blog at www.ongoinghistory.com
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