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— by Tanya L. Edwards
Pop music doesn't have much of a memory. It's all about what's new and what's now, leaving little room for incumbents to find repeat success. Today's JoJo can easily become tomorrow's Chumbawamba. So in a world more interested in MP3s than LPs, how can an artist stay culturally and musically viable and manage to actually build a career? Apparently there are at least a few paths to take, as a look at this fall's slate of new albums demonstrates.
Green Day: American Idiot, in stores now
The formula: Go high-concept
From their early days on indie label Lookout and even while catapulting onto the national scene with Dookie, Green Day always stuck to a simple formula: three minutes, three chords and Billie Joe's snarling, witty lyrics. It's a formula that worked for their musical forefathers, bands like the Ramones and the Buzzcocks, and one they passed on to their legions of fans who went on to form bands like New Found Glory, Sum 41 and Yellowcard (see "How Green Day's Dookie Fertilized A Punk-Rock Revival"). Always a group of opinionated troublemakers, Green Day took a more noticeable turn into social commentary (as well as musical maturity) with 2000's Warning. While growing up seems on the surface to be the kiss of death for a punk band, Green Day continue to surprise: Who would've thought they had a concept album in them? While it's staged as a "rock opera," American Idiot still sounds like vintage (but simultaneously much more ambitious) Green Day.
No Doubt: Gwen Stefani solo album, Love, Angel, Music, Baby, in stores November 23
The formula: Work your star power
After years of struggling, No Doubt became an "overnight" success in 1996 on the strength of Tragic Kingdom's slew of ska-pop hits and the considerable charm of charismatic frontwoman Gwen Stefani. Since then, the band has continued to craft radio-friendly hit songs, and Stefani has become an institution unto herself. There was the media frenzy over her romance with — and 2002 marriage to — Bush vocalist Gavin Rossdale and the subsequent analysis of song lyrics that just might be about their relationship. The burgeoning style icon launched a clothing line, L.A.M.B., with the ubiquitous Le Sportsac handbags. This fall brings Stefani's debut as a solo artist: Her dance album is seemingly a guaranteed chart-topper. Guys love her, and girls want to be her — nothing sells better than that.
U2: How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, in stores November 23
The formula: Go back to your roots
From their humble beginnings in Ireland, U2 were a rootsy, political rock and roll band that ascended to arena status by the end of the '80s. The Joshua Tree (1987) and Rattle and Hum (1988) cemented their rock-god standing, but as early as 1991, U2 started to dabble in dance and electronica on Achtung Baby. The dabbling grew to full-on experimenting with 1993's Zooropa, an album that left a lot of fans "Numb." This also marked Bono's infamous fly-sunglasses period and his burgeoning public political activism. U2 dropped off the scene for a few years but returned in 1997 with Pop and the Popmart Tour, which was so over-the-top (remember the world's largest television screen?) that the music played second fiddle. After several quiet years, the band literally went back to where it all began with the release of Best of 1980 - 1990, then kept it old-school with All That You Can't Leave Behind, a stunning return to form. Shedding the irony of their '90s releases and returning to a guitar-driven sound, All That You Can't Leave Behind garnered the band seven Grammy Awards and sold more than 10 million copies. Their latest album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, is set to hit stores in November, and the band has added another feather to its cap with a recent nomination to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Dr. Dre: Producing albums for Game and Eminem, both of which are due this fall
The formula: Put the music out front
Since bustin' Straight Outta Compton in 1989, Dr. Dre has written, produced and performed on some of the most iconic hip-hop albums and tracks of our time. After N.W.A split up, Dre dropped The Chronic and introduced the world to Snoop Dogg, whose 1993 debut, Doggystyle, was a Dre-produced smash. He also worked on hit records with Tupac ("California Love") and Warren G ("Regulate"). In 1996, he declared gangsta rap dead, formed a new label (Aftermath) and hooked up with an unknown rapper named Marshall Mathers. They dropped The Slim Shady LP in 1999, and the rest is history. Continuing his tradition of mentoring new talent, Dre, along with Em, signed the already notorious 50 Cent to Aftermath and gave him his first hit album, Get Rich or Die Tryin', in 2003, proving you don't have to be out front all the time to be a force to be reckoned with.
Eminem: Encore, in stores November 17
The formula: Get them laughing, leave them thinking
While Eminem is technically only a budding career artist, it seems safe to predict he'll be around for a few more years, considering his track record so far. It's astonishing to see an artist unload three commercial and critical blockbuster albums in a row (and throw in a hit movie and soundtrack on top of them). Each time around, Em follows the same path to success: Catch their ears with slapsticky, upbeat jams, then hit them with heftier, more personal and more controversial rhymes deeper into the album. "My Name Is" paved the way for "Guilty Conscience," "The Real Slim Shady" opened the door for "Stan," and "Without Me" set the table for "Cleanin Out My Closet." We haven't heard a full-length album from Eminem since 2002's multiplatinum Grammy-winner The Eminem Show, but expect the first bit of the upcoming Encore to get you laughing before Em hits you with the heavy stuff.
R.E.M.: Around the Sun, in stores October 5
The formula: Find your religion
Since crawling out of Athens, Georgia, in 1982, R.E.M. have built a rabid following of painfully devoted college students attracted to their moody rock songs and heart-rending (yet often abstruse) lyrics. They've managed to hang on to most of those fans and strengthen that relationship over the years by growing up with their audience both through their music and through social and political activism — such as their recent inclusion in the Vote for Change Tour — related to causes that are near and dear to their fans' hearts. The devoted are eager to renew their faith in R.E.M. with their album Around the Sun.
LL Cool J: The DEFinition, in stores now
The formula: Stay sexy
Ladies have always loved Cool James, and with the exception of a few missteps — it's tough to forgive that corny "Deepest Bluest (Shark's Fin)" track — LL has become the sexiest, smoothest MC in hip-hop. Back in his Bigger and Deffer days (circa 1987), LL pushed hip-hop in a new direction with "I Need Love," a song that showed his softer side. After struggling with his personal demons, LL made his first comeback with 1990's now-classic Mama Said Knock You Out, and he's been making panties drop ever since. Following up 2002's 10, LL is back with The DEFinition, and he's still buff and still sexy.
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Photo: Interscope
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