by Kris K ’11
November 24th, 2008 was a big day for the music industry. Two albums came out both from big name, mainstream artists: Kanye West and The Killers. For both Kanye and the Killers, it was their fourth album.
Kanye’s new smooth styled album, 808’s and Heartbreaks had fans questioning his production. His first single off the new album, Love Lockdown was first heard and performed at the MTV video music awards on September 7th, and immediately gained popularity because of how it differed from Kanye’s previous work. The album gradually leaked all over the internet, and most songs were heard long before the album was released. Sources say the album was influenced by the death of Kanye’s mother, and his separation from his fiancé. Most of the songs are slow tempo, with lyrics that express his feelings towards the way his life is headed. The week following the release, 450,000 albums were sold across the country., and debuted at #1 in the Billboard Top 100.
On the rock side of the double release date, the Killers came up with their newest album Day&Age. It is argued that the album is mediocre, and the worst of the three previously released. Their freshman breakthrough album Hot Fuss, was a big hit around the country , and in the UK. Most people didn’t believe that it was possible to follow that sort of a success, and thought the band was going to get too cocky to record another successful album. However, their sophomore album Sam’s Town was even more successful than the previous album. Their third album was a mix of previous tracks, covers, B-sides. Finally, their fourth album was highly anticipated by fans and the media. It was their first studio album in two years, and held ten solid tracks. The first two songs, Spaceman and Neon Tiger were performed at a concert in New York on July 30th for a special fan club only. Around two months later, on September 22nd, their first single off the album was released. Human caused more anxiety among the fans because of the up beat tempo, and the style being similar to that of Hot Fuss. In my opinion, Day&Age was a big success for the Killers, and contains some of their best work with inspiring lyrics, and interesting storylines. Day&Age sold around 193,00 copies in the first week, and debuted at #6 in the Billboard Top 100.
The BACC Rag 