2014 Music Preview

You can consider my top albums of 2013 post a form of closure (by the way if you have not checked that out you may do so at this link http://mymusicalperspective.blogspot.com/2013/12/my-top-30-albums-of-2013.html)

It's officially the start of a new year and music fanatics everywhere including myself can officially begin to get excited about the upcoming projects coming our way in 2014. These are some of the projects/albums/events/etc. that I am most looking forward to this year. As we all know, everything is subject to change and I'm aware that some of the projects that I may be excited for this year might not even release this year and might not be released at all. But that's the unpredictability of music that keeps me interested each and every single year. So without further ado, let's get on with it then.

Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues (January 21)

 

The story of Laura Jane Grace (formerly known as Tom Gabel) and Against Me! is one of the most interesting, compelling and courageous music events of our time. After dealing with Gender Dysphoria and revealing her true gender this past year, the lead singer of Against Me! decided to press on with the band and create a concept album about the life of a transgender prostitute entitled Transgender Dysphoria Blues. This is an incredibly unique and unorthodox position for any band to be in and I am very much looking forward to how this record will play out. Will Against Me! grow more popular due to their situation and raise awareness for Transgender discrimination? Will they fade into obscurity? I always felt that this was a pretty gritty pop-punk band but I was never fully invested in them. However, at this point I think Laura Jane Grace and Against Me! has everyone's attention.

Schoolboy Q - Oxymoron (February 25)

 

The former member of Black Hippy, Schoolboy Q has finally announced a release date his debut major label album under Top Dawg Entertainment, Oxymoron. After releasing a handful of singles for the album throughout the course of 2013, rumors speculated as to when Schoolboy Q was going to drop an album and Q broke the silence in December by setting a date in stone for the project. I am personally very interested to hear this album mainly because it's on Top Dawg Entertainment. Ab-Soul and Kendrick Lamar's debuts on TDE benefited their careers greatly and I'm curious to see whether or not Oxymoron will do the same for Schoolboy Q because he's a pretty good MC.

Outkast To Tour and Play Coachella for 20 year reunion (April)

This isn't just for hip-hop fans, this is for lovers of music alike. To all of you, I say rejoice. Yes it's true, legendary hip hop duo comprised of Andre 3000 and Big Boi, and personal favorites of mine, OutKast are reuniting at Coachella this year for the 20th anniversary of their debut record, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. News also broke that they will indeed tour venues around the country bringing back their revolutionary signature style of southern-hip hop to everyone. I have longed for the day that this duo came together again. I don't know whether or not they will write or release new music but, I can indeed get my hopes up. For years, Andre 3000 has been unconvinced that OutKast needed to reunite leaving Big Boi out to dry various times in reunion talks, but the nostalgia of their debut, and the ever-increasing demand for a compelling Coachella headliner must have swayed him. I could care less about the motivation because all I know is that two music legends, innovators, groundbreakers of their craft will take the stage once more still in prime form as proven by both Big Boi and Andre's various solo work/guest appearances over the years.

 Kendrick Lamar & J Cole Collaboration Album - (TBA/Never?)

 

The reason I'm hesitant to even get excited about this project is because I've heard so little about it in the first place. So very strange. You would think that if Kendrick Lamar and J Cole even drop one detail of their intentions to release an album together, the media would jump up on it and instill a world of hype within the hip-hop community, but that hasn't really been the case at all. We've heard both of these up and coming MC's slyly mention the potential collab album from time to time but that's it. If it does release, wow what a day it will be. Kendrick Lamar might be my favorite rapper on the scene today and I'm quite honestly a fan of J Cole as well. It would be really interesting to see the dynamic that these two create if they do potentially release an album together this year. This will be the project that will keep me crossing my fingers until I get some more concrete information about it.

Foo Fighters New Album - (TBA)

This would probably be the potential album that I am most excited for this year. There's just no way I can be objective/impartial when it comes to this band. I just love them so much. Right now I'm going through the anxiety-filled anticipation that comes with waiting for your favorite band to release a new album. In fact, I've been feeling like this since Dave Grohl announced that Foo Fighters were writing a new album in "a way that no one's ever done before" back in 2013. It could fucking mean anything at this point. Foo Fighters are so accomplished, so heavily decorated, and so acclaimed that they are at the point in their career where they are just thinking of new ways to change the game just so that they don't get bored. Wasting Light was an amazing rock record and I am definitely looking forward to this band coming back into the swing of things with a potential new album. By the way Dave, that was the shortest "hiatus" I've ever seen in my life.

 

Got anything that you're excited about this 2014? Let me know in the comments! Should be a great year for music in my humble opinion.