Turkey Shoot 2011 & Drake Review

Sound Opinions celebrates Thanksgiving with its annual Turkey Shoot. From the butterball to the tofurkey, we run down this year's greatest musical disappointments.

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One of the biggest sales in record company history has just been completed. EMI, until now one of the four remaining major labels, is being broken up and sold off by the megabank Citigroup for a combined $4.1 billion. After many months of negotiations, French media company Vivendi, which owns Universal Music Group, will buy EMI's recorded music division and Sony Corp. will pick up the publishing arm. Now we're down to three. But some people speculate that consolidation is necessary for this industry's survival. One thing is certain, Universal, already the largest music company in the world, with an estimated 27% of the global market, is now an even bigger giant with the addition of Coldplay, Katy Perry and Pink Floyd to its roster.

It may be years too late, but Google is finally in the digital music business. They launched their online store with a splash on Wednesday, demonstrating how its 13 million songs will be integrated with Android and can be accessed across various devices and shared with friends. The Internet company inked licensing deals with 2 of the 3 labels, save Warner Music Group, but it seems unlikely Google be able to compete with reigning digital music king iTunes, as well as services from Amazon and Spotify. The secret to success rests with its dominant search engine. People will come to Google Music first. But will they stay is the real question.

Turkey Shoot

Time to round up the turkeys! Jim and Greg name this year's most disappointing albums as part of their Thanksgiving Turkey Shoot. These aren't just bad records, but ones that should have been so much better. Here are the Butterballs and Tofurkeys for 2011:

Jim

  • The Strokes, Angles
  • Bon Iver, Bon Iver
  • Adele, Take It All

Greg

  • Bjork, Biophilia
  • Steve Earle, I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive
  • Jay-Z and Kanye West, Watch the Throne

Listeners

Never ones to keep the listeners out of the fun, Jim and Greg invite these folks to share the turkey shooting duties.

  • Chris from Kansas City: Destroyer, Kaputt
  • Jeromme from Toronto: Red Hot Chili Peppers, I’m With You
  • Annalise from Brooklyn: Beyonce, 4

Take Care Drake

Take Care (Deluxe Version)

Is the new album by rapper Drake another contender for the Turkey Shoot? According to Jim, yes. He really enjoyed the former Degrassi star's debut in 2010. But on Take Care, Jim just hears a young man whining about his wealth and fame. And worse, that whining stays in the same tempo for 17 tracks. Jim says Trash It. Greg had a completely different reaction. He thinks this sophomore effort is an improvement and doesn't hear whining as much as an honest depiction of what happens when fame shatters your moral compass. Greg also appreciates the way Drake blurs the lines between hip-hop and R&B. This host would encourage you to Buy It.

Greg

The Desert Island Jukebox segment is often an opportunity to give love to an artist who doesn't get enough of it. Prime example? Earth, Wind and Fire. Sure we've all heard the hits at weddings. But brothers Verdine and Maurice White were musical geniuses in Greg's opinion. And one of their strengths was linking the funk of the 1970’s to its roots in Africa. They did this through dress, but also through the use of instruments like the Kalimba. Check out the rhythms in Greg's choice of the week, "Kalimba Story."

Dear Listeners,

For more than 15 years, Sound Opinions was a production of WBEZ, Chicago's public radio station. Now that the show is independent, we're inviting you to join the band and lend a hand! We need your support more than ever because now we have to do all the behind-the-scenes work that WBEZ handled before (like buying insurance and paying for podcast hosting, ugh). Plus, we have some exciting ideas we'd like to try now that there's no one to tell us no!

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