Many people find it hard to tell the great from the godawful when it comes to 21st-century mainstream rock. To help figure out which is which, here's "Corporate Rock Still Sells," where Al "GovernmentNames" Shipley examines what's good, bad, and ugly in the world of rock and roll. This time around, he notes that rock radio has actually started playing songs sung by women after a long drought. (No, really!)  read more »

Ed. note: Chris "dennisobell" Molanphy, our resident chart guru, looks at the upward, downward, and lack of movement on this week's Billboard charts. This week he takes a look at the long, fan-aggravating history of belated "bonus track" re-releases, and how the music industry turned these anomalies into a premeditated punishment for making an album popular:

 read more »

Churning, churning: another batch of nominations for another batch of pointless awards - these are the American Music Awards and, in a bid to stand out from the crowd, they've shaken up the nominations format. Instead of telling you who has been nominated for a prize, award-by-award, they've listed the nominees and then told you what they're up for. Crazy, huh?

Well, no. Not crazy, irritating; although it does allow you to take in at a glance how predictable and drudgy the names are:

Alvin and The Chipmunks
Favorite Album - Soundtrack

Mary J. Blige
mary_j_blige
Favorite Female Artist - Soul / Rhythm & Blues Music
Mary J. Blige - "Growing Pains"  read more »

A cynical attempt by Biffy Clyro's former record label to cash in on the Scottish trio's newfound popularity? Possibly. But, with fourth album 'Puzzle' breaking Biffy Clyro into the mainstream, a re-cap of their previous work is a necessity for many people. While 'Puzzle' fans could just buy the previous three albums, Biffy Clyro often cram so many ideas into each song, that battling through three albums' worth of material is a daunting task. This collection of songs is a much easier way for new fans to ease themselves into Biffy's back catalogue.

The songs are arranged in the order they were released. This highlights Biffy's progression from the straightforward rock with sing along choruses of '27' and 'Justboy' to the experimental vocals of 'Joy.Discovery.Invention' and finally the glammed-up, twisted disco of album highlight 'Glitter and Trauma.'  read more »

Since many people find it hard to tell the great from the godawful when it comes to 21st-century mainstream rock, welcome to "Corporate Rock Still Sells," where Al Shipley (a.k.a. Idolator commenter GovernmentNames) examines what's good, bad, and ugly in the world of Billboard's rock charts.  read more »

Plus: Young Jeezy leans toward 'Swagger Like Us' remix; Fall Out Boy and friends make first tape.
By Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Rahman Dukes

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Lil Wayne


Photo: Universal

Artist: Juelz Santana

Representing: Harlem

Mixtape: Juelz Santana Presents Skull Gang Takeover: The New Movement to Move Wit  read more »

You thought Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead were making good use of the Internet? Well, Metallica have revealed the pricing tiers for the Mission: Metallica Platinum experience. For $25, you'll get MP3s of the album on the street release date. (At midnight! How awesomely retro is that!) And for $12 more, they'll throw in the actual CD. (Shipping included!) But true fans will cough up another $90 for a 5-LP box set of God knows what, and a Mission: Metallica lithograph. (Ow!) And don't forget that all these great deals include the chance to download live shows, watch backstage footage, and enter contests for free tickets. You also get $10 off a Metallica Fan Club membership (normally $25-$45!) and riff ringtones. (Kirk Hammett on my cellphone? Widdly-widdly-wee!)  read more »

It seems like just a few months ago when we complimented Harmonix audio director Eric Brosious for his company's stance against artist exclusive deals. Back in those halcyon days of August, Brosious said of the possibility of bands signing exclusive deals with Rock Band , "We prefer not to sign exclusive deals with artists because while it seems like the competitive 'business' thing to do, in the long run, it's really not good for anyone. We think we should be working to get more music out to more people." Well, August was a long time ago, and when Angus Young calls, you pick up the phone. Apparently, artist-exclusive deals "aren't good for anyone" when they're being signed by your competitor, because guess who's doing a deal with AC/DC and Wal-Mart?  read more »

Starbucks fave and allegedly swoonworthy singer-songwriter Feist was the big winner at last night's Juno Awards—you know, the Grammys of Canada?—sweeping the Single of the Year, Album of the Year, and Pop Album Year categories and taking home the awards for Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year as well. But the fans were not having any of it, handing Michael Bubl his only award of the night through voting on the Juno Web site. Yeah, you tell them what side of the smooth-music coin you like, people of Canada!  read more »

Today Kelefa Sanneh wrote about All $tar, a Nashville rapper who's been the city's "next big thing" for three years now--excxept for the fact that his debut album, Street Ball, has been in limbo since 2005, thanks to his label, Cash Money/Universal, going over the preparation for the album with what seems to be the finest-tooth comb ever. (Sanneh: "...it's not uncommon for rappers to wait months or years while labels try to figure out the right single, the right track selection, the right marketing plan.") What struck me is that I've heard about so many delayed albums lately--from Amerie to All $tar to Nicole Scherzinger--that I can't help but wonder if the music industry is further shooting its sales hopes in the foot by stoking negative buzz around albums by somewhat established stars or high-profile up-and-comers. Especially in the current environment of music, where people seem to have many excuses for ignoring records at the ready. After the jump, a few arguments against pushing release dates, marketing-department-emanating objections be damned.  read more »