A Completely Optimistic and Happy Post! - Updated
or Looking Ahead to 2005

For anyone who follows some of the same music that I do, you may or may not be aware of the farking awesome outlook for 2005. Let me just cut right to the chase.

Official News:

Oasis is planning the release of their seventh studio album for four days before my birthday (obviously a gesture of recognition from my boys), making May 16th the most anticipated date on my 2005 calendar. No title has yet been released for the album, although Noel has been quoted several times as having come up with over 60 songs that the band will be sifting through in search of the best album combo. Not bad for having scratched over a dozen just months ago.

Coldplay has promised an album to follow up the phenominal success of their 2002 album "A Rush of Blood to the Head" in March. No official day has been specified, nor any title mentioned. Rumor has it there will be a very extensive live tour, including many dates here in the US. Admittedly, I didn't think the "Live 2002" made one of their shows look like a life-altering event, but for the right price...

Doves have announced that February 21st will be the day to grace us with their third studio album (of A-sides; this does not include the stunning B-side compilation "Lost Sides"). "Some Cities" will feature their first single, "Black and White Town," which is due to be released on February 7th. Update - unfortunately, those of us in the US will have to wait until March 1st for the US release of the album. Damn.

Hootie and the Blowfish have again teamed up with the producer that brought us their first four albums and are in the studio working on their next album, tentatively due in stores in early summer 2005. Soni tells us that they've actually got quite a few songs up in the air right now, but that a lot of them need work. Sarah and I heard one new one this summer, which Darius called "Autumn Jones." Personally, I'm glad to hear they are back with the old producer; the newest album was depressing even for Hootie.

Better Than Ezra has been touting a fall live release, a winter greatest hits release, and a new album in "early 2005." There is also talk of going through a new label however, so that hurts their claim's reliability a little bit.

Ben Folds already promised a new, full-length album in early 2004. That's right, 2004. So techincally, he's way the hell behind. Any day now, Ben.

Estimations:

Trying to find information on Radiohead is a joke. Do not attempt this at home. "Hail to the Thief" was a late release in 2002 (and Album of the Year for 2003 at the HMA), so an album could be available in the second half of next year.

Looking through the setlists of different live concerts that they have put on this year, I've seen close to a half dozen new tracks or covers from these guys. Although the Best Of... compilation only came out last year, the last studio album was "Hard Candy" in 2002. I think it's safe to assume we will hear something from then by the second half of next year as well.

Throughout their US tour this past summer, the Dave Matthews Band played four new singles off of a new album that has not been mentioned anywhere online that I know of. Two new live compilations are available only through their website. Uh, these guys single-band-edly keep the drug cartels in Latin America from ever having to worry about going out of business, so it's really hard to guesstimate when the next album could appear. We haven't been treated to an entirely new studio album since 2002's "Busted Stuff."

Audioslave's first album was 2002. Can we expect anything soon? No news on their official site, and judging from the number of singles released off of that first album, I don't think we can expect anything terribly soon. So I'm not going to call that one.

I don't want to officially call this one either, but I'd like to point out that Matchbox Twenty's last album was out around the same time as "Hail to the Thief." I think they're still riding high on the success of "More Than You Think You Are." They also average a little more time between albums than most bands (~3 years on average). So that one is just something to think about.

Hopefully I'll go three for three on my estimates. Five for three would be fantastic, but my mathy side might cringe at that a little bit.