Blur and More to Look Forward to in 2006

Despite stating last May that they were awaiting the return of guitarist Graham Coxon before working on another record, the remaining three members of Blur have begun recording the follow-up to 2003's "Think Tank." Damon Albarn described the record to NME as "very basic" because "we decided that if we're going to make another record it's just got to be the three of us and I've got to play guitar. And because I'm such a rudimentary guitarist it has to be really stupid and basic punk rock." Given the fact that "Think Tank" was recorded almost solely without Coxon, and that it was absolutely one of my favorite Blur albums, I have nothing but high expectations. Given that I am obsessed with all things Blur and Blur-related, I am also looking forward to a possible Albarn solo record - recorded in Nigeria, and a new release from Coxon, which should see the light of day as soon as he can design the artwork. Coxon tells NME, "At the moment I've been messing around with the computer images from scanned in sketches. I think the artwork does reflect the theme of the album in a way. It's all to do with symbols."

While some may not be as excited about this news as myself, there are a number of other high-profile upcoming releases that will likely tickle your fancy:

A new Outkast album - "Idlewild" - was originally scheduled for a December 2005 release, but now LaFace records says February at the earliest. Why the delay? Wll, Big Boi told MTV that it was only "75, 80 percent done" and that they had narrowed potential singles down to three. He added, "When it comes out, you know it's going to Outkast." While Andre 3000 gave us all a scare in 2003, admitting that he was tired of rapping and wanted to play jazz, Outkast buddy Bubba Sparxx promises that Andre will be rapping this time around. While delays are frustrating, an Outkast album is generally worth the wait.

I just learned, thanks to NME, that Mike Skinner - the mastermind behind the Streets (whose "A Grand Don't Come For Free" was my favorite record of 2004) - is putting the finishing touches on a new album, due in April. There is little word on what it sounds like, other than Skinner stating his goal to "be more like The Who. Every album I make I want to move the sound on. The first one was grungy garage, the second was really slow and dark. This album is going to be a bit more polished and bit faster, hopefully exciting."

Lupe Fiasco - who appeared on Kanye West's "Touch the Sky," made waves on the mixtape circuit with "Conflict Diamonds" and appears on the cover of the new Fader - has an album "Food and Liquor" due in the near future. In the meantime you can hear the old school sounds of "Kick Push" at his MySpace page.




Speaking of Kanye, there's talk of a new album from the rapper/producer entitled "Graduation," but if we don't see that, you can expect plenty of production for his G.O.O.D. Music label, including Sa-Ra. "Their music is real edgy," Kanye tells MTV, "it's what I wanna do with G.O.O.D. music, how I like to push the envelope.... It's really sexy and not to just use a cliche word, but it's that shit, it's that '80's type feel." Other G.O.O.D. artists include frequent Kanye guests Consequence and GLC.

In "this is getting kind of ridiculous" news, Rick Rubin has added Justin Timberlake to his list of clients, which most recently has included Neil Diamond, Shakira and the Dixie Chicks. After pioneering hip hop in the eighties, Rubin turned his attention to career-saving production, most notably for Johnny Cash. This has since turned into "career reinvention" or just "cool factor," neither of which are things Mr. JT is in need of. Timbaland and the Neptunes did fine work with Timberlake on "Justified," so I can only hope there is something as infectious as "Rock Your Body."

Add to the list new records from Neko Case, Morrissey, Belle & Sebastian and the Futureheads, a U.S. release for Junior Senior, possibly new Radiohead, not to mention a number of groundbreaking sounds that I have yet to discover, and 2006 is shaping up to be a stellar year for my iPod.