BROOKE THAMES, A&E Writer
“Wilder Mind” – Mumford & Sons
2015 seems to be the time when beloved artists from yesteryear are deciding to make their glorious returns. First we had Kelly Clarkson, then Florence + The Machine, and now Mumford & Sons. The troupe of talented British musicians are releasing their third album, titled Wilder Mind, in May. The record will include 12 studio tracks and four live recordings of songs featured on the album, but it won’t all be hand-clapping, foot-stomping folk music. Mumford & Sons revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone that there will be a bit of synth incorporated into Wilder Mind, a sound that the band has never experimented with before. A folk band putting synthesizers into their music? Cue the wave of scepticism. Then again, we all said that Taylor Swift couldn’t be a pop star and she sure showed us, didn’t she? Wilder Mind is currently available for Pre-order on ITunes.
“Double Tap” – Jordin Sparks
Anybody who’s anybody in music may be crawling out of the woodwork this year, but not all of them can be welcomed with open arms. Jordin Sparks is back with a single that is bound to make anyone familiar with the sugar-sweet American Idol cringe. “Double Tap” dropped March 2 and warns men against liking Instagram photos of women that aren’t their girlfriends. While Hip-Hop is somewhat famous for turning cultural icons into hit songs, “Double Tap” is just a tacky attempt at integrating social media and music in a “trendy” way. I think I speak for everyone when I say that “Double tap that hoe” are words that should never be uttered by anyone, sung or otherwise. Jordin’s attempt at edging into the realm of “hard” Hip-Hop feels phony and uncharacteristic of the girl who sang works of art like “Battlefield” and “No Air”. While she’s warning men about double tapping hoes, I’ll be over here pretending that I never heard a single note.
Kid Rock Tries to Shake the Beyhive
While we were all freaking out about the Blue and Black dress (yes, the Blue and Black dress), Beyonce’s swarm of worshippers were busy stinging Kid Rock for his comments about Queen Bey in Rolling Stone. In an interview with the music magazine posted Feb. 26, the country rock n’ roller slammed Beyonce for not producing timeless songs like “Purple Rain” and “Sweet Home Alabama”. Meanwhile, Kid Rock has produced countless classics such as…that one song that one time. Who is Kid Rock, exactly, and what musical authority does he have to say that Beyonce is not creating amazing music? “Crazy In Love (2003)” and “Single Ladies (2008)” are the songs to play at any party to get everybody down on the dancefloor. What Kid Rock song is the equivalent of “Irreplaceable” or “Drunk In Love”? There isn’t one, and the Beyhive agrees. Ever since Kid Rock’s comments surfaced on the internet, fans have flocked to social media sites like Twitter to defend their Queen Bey – as if she needed defending in the first place.
