Well the Summer season is slowly coming upon and it's usually around April/May where singles are released to test the waters and see if certain releases will be viable in the next month or so....So, instead of my intended suggested tracks, here's a rundown of the good and bad coming out....

Kelly Clarkson - "Never Again"- Clarkson's last album, "Breakaway", was something I felt ashamed to like. But then alot of people seemed to echo the same sentiment, which made it okay to like. This seems to bring back the dark side of Kelly as she wishes all the worst of luck to a cheating boyfriend. For a summer song, it's far from any shiny, happy ditty. Really, it's the opposite. But I think it will catch on as cheating boyfriends always make for a good topic. Plus the song doesn't sound too bad, not "Since U Been Gone" catchy, but not terrible like almost every other female pop song. B

JC Chasez - "You Ruined Me" - Oh JC, you wanted to be like Justin Timberlake. But if this song doesn't kill your career ....


Well than you're just in denial. This song sounds like your typical middle-of-the-road pop ballad by someone listening to too much Nick Lachey and early Beatles. It will catch on with the soccer moms, which really is all that matters because they're the only people still buying actual CDs. D


Linkin Park - What I've Done - I love producer Rick Rubin, I really do. What he did with possibly Jay-Z's best single ("99 Problems") was excellent, his work with Slipknot (Yes, Slipknot) actually sounded good (a word I would not normally associate with such a band). Here, he's taken all of former Linkin Park producer Don Gilmore's trademark layers of vocals for singer Chester Bennington and made him sound like one person singing. It works out well and, if the band wants to move away from their old sound, this is a step in the right direction. The song - eh, it's alright. I wouldn't buy the album on just this song but it peaks my interest some. Still, nothing out-of-the-ordinary about it. C+

Sum 41 - "March of the Dogs"- Yep, Sum 41 still exists. Something tells me this song won't help them sell any more albums than thier last album that more-or-less tanked. The political-bashing grew old when Green Day's "American Idiot" became overplayed and overall, this is a catchy pop-punk song but it's only a few knotches above the bland Bowling For Soup and Simple Plan territory. It peaks my interest to hear what the rest of the album will be like. But this isn't anything new. Though, of the songs I've spoke about, this is the only one that has a glimmer of Summer in it. B-

Naturally 7 - In The Air Tonight -



This isn't a new song or single. But this is just amazing. See kids, this is what we call talent. A+