Fall Out Boy Back With A Vengence

Fall Out Boy came back from their hiatus with their fifth album Save Rock and Roll. The album followed their 2008 opus Folie à Deux. The album featured guest appearances by Blondie singer Debbie Harry, William Beckett and Lil' Wayne and went between genres. Then in 2009 the band went on hiatus.
This album may not be perfect, but it shows that Fall Out Boy need to be here. Fall Out Boy just can't say away from making music and this record is a testament of that. From the introductory track "The Phoenix" to the album closer and title track which features Elton John, the album has no bad songs. While some songs like "Alone Together" and "The Mighty Fall" which features rapper Big Sean may be a little boring, songs like "Where Did The Party Go" more than make up for them.
The album's highlights would have to be "Just One Yesterday" which features singer Foxes, "Rat a Tat" which features Courtney Love and the Robynesque "Miss Missing You." These songs all show what the band do best, make good music.
The lyrics are another thing that make the album so great. "I'm gonna change you/ Like a remix/ The I'll raise you/ Like a phoenix," front man Patrick Stump sings during the chorus of "The Phoenix." While most of the songs are about breakups and aging, they never get overdone.
This album is a great return for Fall Out Boy, here's hoping that they don't do any silly things like going on hiatus ever again.

Keyshia Cole redeems herself after last album

Heartbroken R&B diva Keyshia Cole released her new album last month and it makes up for her third and fourth albums weren't good.
On her fifth album Woman to Woman Cole keeps up the amazingly sad soul anthems of love gone wrong. While Cole herself is happily married and has a child, she can still channel past heartbreaks to make great R&B anthems.
While this album isn't as perfect as her first two were, it still is a step forward instead of going back. The two best songs on the album are the beautiful "Stubborn" and the iTunes bonus track, the dance anthem "Here We Go." These songs show Cole proving that she can still shine bright. Other highlights include "Enough of No Love" which was the first single and features Lil' Wayne. The album showcases Cole's signature lyrics about cheating. I'm not sure who Cole's exes are but they seem like the scum of the earth.
Other highlights are the funky "Who's Gonna Hold Me Down" and the soulful "Wonder." Both of these songs are not on the standard editon, but the Target exclusive deluxe edition. Another highlight is the beautiful "Signature." The piano heavy song is about love and how it stays with you forever. Another good song is a duet with Ashanti. Ashanti and Cole duet on the title track, a kind of 2012 version of "The Boy is Mine." The only problem with the duet is that Ashanti is nowhere near being as talented a vocalist as Cole is.
The album does contain some cheesy songs. "Hey Sexy" sounds like a terrible song from the 90s. "Forever" is an explicit mistake. The song is gorgeous and Cole dropping the f-bomb is out of place and unwarented.
This album is far from perfect but it's a welcome change from Cole's recent musical mistakes. Hopefully her next album will get her back to the greatness of her hits like "I Changed My Mind" and "Let It Go."

Take a breather Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj released her debut album Pink Friday in 2010. Then in 2012 Minaj released her amazing Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. Just a little under a year and a half later. Both albums were instant classics and Minaj became a household name. She ever earned a place as an American Idol judge.
In November, seven months after her second album came out, Minaj released a rerelease of that album called The Re-Up. While Roman Reloaded was amazing, only one of the eight songs on the EP come close to that level of amazing. Songs like "I Endorse These Strippers" which features Tyga and Brinx and "Up in Flames." are fun, but they don't hold a candle to half the songs on the original release of the album.
"I'm Legit" featuring Ciara and "Freedom" are both great songs. But songs like "High School" featuring Lil' Wayne and "Hell Yeah" featuring Parker are okay, they're not "Starships," Marilyn Monroe" or "Roman Holiday."
The best song on the album is "The Boys" which features washed up singer Cassie. The song is based off of a Cassie demo called "Money on Love." The song mixes rap, R&B, electropop and folk rock into a crazy song that is just as good and out there as anything Minaj has ever done.
The eighth song is the single "Va Va Voom," which was already featured on the deluxe version of the original album. The inclusion of that song feels like robbery.
With Minaj planning to release her third album in May of 2013, tentatively titled Pink Friday: The Pinkprint, Minaj is showing no signs of slowing down. While the album will probably be amazing, I for one am kind of getting tired of Nicki Minaj.