Rarely do albums come along that contain such matter-of-fact honesty and stark revelations that they have the ability to completely gut the listener. When these albums do come along, it is rare that they will be able to musically appeal to a large audience, having the prowess and diversity to call on an array of influences and be accessible to any that lend an ear. But it’s also rare for a band to be dropped by their major label and then picked back up, so I suppose Blue October are simply put, a very rare find. Their latest effort ‘Foiled’ does what any Blue October fan thought was impossible. It has completely surpassed all previous work and marked a new phase for the band, finally bringing some closure to the anguished frontman. Foiled ends the story we’ve been avidly following and starts a new one, while creatively reaching heights previously unthinkable. Musically intricate, intimate and interesting, Foiled will surely be landing on many ‘Best Of’ lists. (5/5)

Danko Jones’ new album ‘Sleep Is The Enemy’ made my stereo ooze so much testosterone it impregnated my television and started a fight club with my xbox. While it has the depth of a shot glass, Sleep Is The Enemy is filled to the brim with fist pumping, sing-along, balls out rock anthems of aggressive machismo. Recently having their song ‘Baby Hates Me’ featured on WWE’s Wrestlemania 22, Danko Jones are solidifying their place in the angst-ridden broken hearts of beer swilling men everywhere and no doubt winning over some ladies along the way. (3.6/5)

A British singer from London has signed to RCA after broadcasting live performances from her living room on the Internet. She built up a daily audience of more than 100,000 people around the world. RCA label director Craig Logan said: “Sandi is a very talented artist with an already unique story.” You can read the full story here.

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10 Years – Wrapping up a national US tour with Korn. Scanning 10k-12k a week with 250k YTD. Strong video rotation on MTV2 and just recently hosted MTV’s T-Minus Rock Countdown that will air each day during the first week of April. New single Through The Iris was #1 most added to Active and #2 most added to Alternative.

Granian – Pop rock artist who has a strong underground cult following. Has been brought up in A&R meetings for the past several months. Will be entering the studio with producer Mike Shimshack to record more tracks.

AltSounds is an international alternative online music community. By ‘Alternative’ we don’t mean ‘Alt Rock,’ we mean it as its technical definition – Alternative to the mainstream. It’s about having a choice, both in music and where you go to hear it. At AltSounds, they have designed a community that gives listeners a place to find the best new music available in an environment that works for them and with them

Both Korn and All American Rejects are nearing platinum status record sales. Kid Rock’s live album “live Trucker” is stiffing. Cold Play is near the 3 million mark. Prince sold 183k right out of the box landing him the #1 position.

James Blunt wrote a million dollar valentines pop ballad scanning 100K+Â this week.

It’s not that hard ladies and gentlemen. A good hook can still sell records. As KOAR always claimed, it’s not the technology that is sucking, it’s the songs that are sucking. Why these major labels hire 18 year olds and call them A&R scouts only to sign their local highschool bands remains a mystery…as much as a mystery as the hype over Arctic Monkeys. Maybe its not a mystery but mere stupidity. Is America being victimized by UK hype mere stupidity? I think so. Basically, we are looking at a 2 fold problem boys. Not only is it harder to find a great band that can write great songs, but hiring people who cannot indentify a great band with a great song is disasterouse. Its called a negative trend and a financial loss.

Chicago veterans Escape From Earth recorded new tracks with producer Rae DiLeo (Filter, Veruca Salt, Army of Anyone). Sounds like Foo Fighters. Teen People Mag ran a full write up in January 2006 and recently packed out the Metro. For more information email Chris Sernel. Check out the tracks on their myspace page.