Insane In The Timpanic Membrane | Talib Kweli crammed enough lyrics into Ear Drumto supply most ordinary rappers with material for three albums.
DETAILS
BEWARE OF BILLY
Bonnie “Prince” Billy
McDougall United Church • March 23
$25 | Ticketmaster
Beware, which arrived in record stores this Tuesday, is the eighth album he’s recorded under his Bonnie “Prince” Billy alias (okay, his 10th if you count a couple of collaborations), and he’s described it as his most ambitious disc yet. The cover art pays tribute to Neil Young’s Tonight’s the Night, and while the lyrics paint a bleak picture of Oldham’s lonely state of mind, the arrangements — complete with xylophones, violins, and sax — conjure comparisons to nouveau-Nashville acts like Lambchop. It’s a keeper.
BLACK STAR
Talib Kweli
Edmonton Event Centre • March 20
$39.90 | Ticketmaster
How good is Talib Kweli? He’s so good that not even a guest appearance by Will.I.Am was able to prevent his most recent disc, Ear Drum, from being one of the best rap albums of 2007. It was also the best-charting solo disc of his career — buoyed, no doubt, by guest spots by everyone from Kanye West to Norah Jones to jazz-funk legend Roy Ayers, but still a heartening development for any fan of conscious rap. As is the prospect of a new album in 2009, a collaboration with Res with the irresistible title Party Robot.
THE SHIRTS OFF THEIR BACKS
Plain White T’s
Starlite Room • March 22
$27.50 | Ticketmaster
Does anyone else out there daydream about this band going on tour with The Cardigans? No? It’s just us, then? Fine. And are we the only ones puzzled by their hit song “Hey There Delilah”? Let’s see if we get this straight: Delilah is going to school in New York, and the singer is telling her to hang on for two more years — in New York City, mind you — because by that time, he’ll be a rock star? Hate to tell you this, dude, but Delilah’s been sleeping with some douchebag from her art history class for three months now.
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