Mike Damante
We’re back! Did you miss us? While Sound Check was on a break during the summer, (break, NOT an indefinite hiatus) Roshan and I kept ourselves busy. Roshan had interviews at the Vans Warped Tour with Gym Class Heroes and Norma Jean, to name a few. Meanwhile, I had gigs with Against Me!, The Street Dogs, Angels and Airwaves and Matt Skiba (Alkaline Trio). All that fun aside, we truly missed doing Sound Check for our legions of loyal readers. So, here is to the semester and the year! I don’t have a crystal ball to peek into the future, but here are some predictions for the rest of 2008.
I’m predicting the end of Fall Out Boy. I’m sorry, but the MTV-darlings will be no more. Ashlee Simpson will prove to be a modern day Yoko Ono in her marriage to Fall Out Boy’s bassist and residential media-whore, Pete Wentz. She will sing on a track, and it will lead to the downfall of the band. Expect solo projects, new bands and more merchandising to follow.
Diddy will once again have another Making the Band show. While he’s busy "scuba diving with Aqua Man and Chris Tucker," as usual Diddy will leave the musical direction of Bad Boy Records to an MTV show trying to find the next "it" singing group. Making the Band has been through many incarnations, with each group flopping. Maybe Diddy should stop stroking his ego and concentrate on putting out good hip-hop music.
Metallica has a new album coming out, but do not even think about downloading it. If you do, Lars Ulrich will personally come to your house, confiscate your music and then proceed to burn your house down. He will then hop on his private jet and fly to his mansion while drinking the most expensive wine and dining on caviar.
The Gaslight Anthem will blow up. They will claim their throne as the best band on the planet. Longtime fans will turn their backs and declare, "Their old stuff is way better" and verbally abuse them on message boards like they were Against Me!
Roshan Bhatt
Ah, yes. We’re back after the summer hiatus. We both know you missed your weekly dose of Sound Check. The rest of 2008 will surely be great for new releases. Some of hip-hop’s and rock’s biggest names will be releasing new albums, which will dominate your stereos. Aside from that, I have a few predictions for the rest of the year.
First and foremost, although he’s my homeboy, I’m predicting Kanye West will get snubbed for an award he feels he deserves, which will be followed by one of the following: an angry blog entry, a YouTube video rant or an on-stage interruption during the winner’s acceptance speech. Speaking of which, Jay-Z will see his biggest comeback album of his career, as he teams up with the Mr. West, who will produce his new album, The Blueprint 3.
The cameo kings Lil’ Wayne and T-Pain will continue to dominate the charts, as both artists will be featured on about 30 more songs. Not to mention, they’re supposed to be collaborating on an album.
At some point in the fall, Nickelback will exploit their new deal with Live Nation and release yet another atrocious album (which will sound like every album they’ve ever released) that will more than likely sell millions of albums and revive the music industry’s failing numbers.
Had enough of the Cyrus family yet? Trace Cyrus and his profound band Metro Station will continue to spread audio cancer as they tour the nation this fall. However, the tour will probably be cut short because of a nervous breakdown; it’s only a matter of time before Trace’s private Sidekick photos end up on the Internet like Pete Wentz.
Aside from this, I’m anticipating a handful of albums. I hope the new Underoath and Jacks Mannequin albums don’t disappoint, and as far as hip-hop goes, I’m excited about Young Jeezy, T.I. and of course, Jay-Z. Here’s to a great second half of 2008.
