Mega Music Roundup for 11/1/10 (Cudi, N.E.R.D., & more)

This time, we got another batch of albums worth talking about from anticipated albums I have been looking forward to and one that remains styling in funk music.

First up is the latest with N.E.R.D. with Nothing, which was supposed to come out in the summertime, but ended up delayed till this Tuesday. Pharrell and the boys are at it again with hip-hop/rock fused sounds and it is more of what you expect from them delivering some bangers like the lead single "Hot N Fun" featuring Nelly Furtado and the first track in the album, "Party People." There are some surprises though with the Daft Punk produced "Hypnotize U" and more, but this album is just another feel good one to blast on a drive around the city.

We are going from Miami to Ibiza with my next pick, Until One by Swedish House Mafia. Other than their two joints, the one I just mentioned and the smash hit, "One" featuring Pharrell, this album is pretty much a mix of some of the big house joints in recent years in one album mixed by them. Some of my house favorites and obligatory club joints are in there with "Leave the World Behind" by Axwell and "Show Me Love" along with other joints by David Guetta, Daft Punk, and others you would probably know from the house scene. Since I'm still in my house music phase, this album has been in heavy rotation in case I feel like going nuts and plus, its pretty much a lite version of the "Ultimate Club G Mix" I put together. So if you feel like getting hyped in the clubs, Swedish House Mafia is arguably the best option out now for your house music needs.

Time to get funky with one of my favorite artists ever, Jamiroquai, with his new album Rock Dust Light Star. This album came out of nowhere for me since he is not that big here in the States as he used to ("Virtual Insanity" is still one of my favorite songs of all-time) in years past. New Jamiroquai material is always good stuff as it provides chill vibes at any time of the day. "White Knuckle Ride," the lead single (video above) is just a reminder how good he is to this day delivering good music all around. In addition, it makes you wonder that there should be artists like him in today's world of music, but he is still holding it together for many years since he started back in the mid to late 90s.

Last but not least is the highly anticipated sophomore album by Kid Cudi with Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager. This album is out next Tuesday and after the amazing album that was the first Man of the Moon, it has been interesting to see how Cudi can avoid the sophomore slump with his latest. If you're expecting it to be more of the same that his debut album provided, you might be disappointed because just by the title alone, the darker tone and focus makes The Legend of Mr. Rager feels like its own album than trying to repeat the same success. "Erase Me" as the lead single can hit or miss for that crowd that loved his stuff from the first album because of how more "rock" it is compared to his other stuff, but the album as a whole is another classic from beginning to end. Cudi has outdid himself again by making another complete album with no stinkers I can think of after numerous listens. "Mr. Rager" has single potential and the shift in tone about his darker moments in the past year has paid off amazingly. Also, it makes you feel like you have to be high just to share the same sentiments as him when listening to it, but of course you don't have to. While it won't likely top his first album among critics and fans, Cudi is not showing signs of slowing down with The Legend of Mr. Rager as it is another classic and probably best listened when in the right mood if you know what I mean. Then again, maybe not in the mood he's in the video below...

That's it for now... expect more music roundups especially this month with big releases by Rihanna, Nicki Minaj's debut album, and the man himself Kanye West with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy as it is already my pick for album of the year.

Music Video of the Day for 10/31/10

Far East Movement - "Rocketeer" feat. Ryan Tedder of One Republic

Let's get HYPE for CoD: Black Ops!!!!

Call of Duty: Black Ops is out next week and expecting to sell gangbusters this holiday season, but maybe not Modern Warfare 2 numbers even though you never know with considering how big this franchise is these days.

Def Jam Rapstar DLC Picks for the upcoming week or two... again.

Well, Def Jam Rapstar has more songs out for download this week and 4mm Games has admitted they have been slacking in terms of delivering weekly content, but I have been pretty patient with how they are rolling out these songs. It is tough though having only the PS3 version where it feels like its getting screwed with DLC because of Sony's certification process (Like cmon, only that Mims song came out this week on PS3). So, that process needs to get their act together, but then again I'm still being patient with it. In the meantime, these songs are out on the Xbox Live Marketplace though.

And for the potential lulz...

Feeling the Need Again... Hands-On with Criterion's Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit...

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is out next month and arguably the racing game of the fall assuming Gran Turismo 5 gets delayed again to next year. Criterion Games, aka creators of the Burnout franchise are at the helm taking on EA's storied racing franchise. This new Hot Pursuit feels like a return to the Need for Speed of old with no open city to explore, or simulation-like focus which was last year's Shift (not that bad of a racing game though too). Criterion didn't hesitate putting in what they're good at with the Burnout games with intense and aggressive racing from start to finish as it shows in this speedball event above as the cops. As the cops, its pretty simple: take out the racers that are attempting to escape by ramming them numerous times till they run out of health (Well they have health meters) or employ police tactics like roadblocks and spike strips to slow down and then go for the kill. In other words, if you played the recent Burnout games before, this is pretty much Road Rage but you're a cop and you have more weapons at your disposal. The driving feels fine with the cop cars as it is similar to previous games of the franchise even though a different developer is at the helm, but its Criterion and they know how to make a good arcade racer. Racers will take shortcuts to avoid the main road as much as they can, but as long as you as the cop can keep with them, you'll take them out in no time. Other than the event in the demo, there are social elements with the Autolog, a key part of the final game. A glimpse of it is shown off with friend leaderboards, sending messages to friends' walls like Facebook, and more. Then again, I feel like most of the fun factor with this game after beating both the cop/racer careers will come in the online aspect and the amount of friends you have playing the game competing for fast times. In typical EA fashion, they want as much people as they can playing the demo to unlock more goodies for the final game, but the catch is you need to have at least one more friend that plays the demo to unlock another portion, which is a racer-event.

The little taste of what the demo offers for Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit makes me want to play the final game and it is about that time I feel like playing an arcade racer again, so this will likely fill the void for now. The racing itself feels fine and it seems like a return to form for the franchise with Criterion once again setting the bar for arcade racers with the social elements they implemented in this game. We'll see how those and the rest of the final game pans out when it comes out on mid-November.

Another new Donkey Kong Country Returns clip...

Donkey Kong Country Returns is out next month and in typical Nintendo fashion, not much has been revealed, which is for the best besides the Nintendo Power cover story that's out now.

Music Video for the Day for 10/24/10 aka Runaway...

Kanye West - "Runaway" (film)

Simply amazing... pretty much an album preview too (can't wait! Kanye = too gdlk)