Out This Week 11/23

In the last few years, Kanye West has been all over the news with one controversy after another -- whether it’s his interruption of Taylor Swift’s award acceptance at the MTV VMA’s, his post-Katrina declaration that former President George W. Bush “doesn’t care about black people,” or most recently his Today Show incident with Matt Lauer, in which he apologized for his statements about President Bush but then got mad at Lauer for running clips of the Taylor Swift incident -- that and more is enough to make you forget that Kanye West actually makes music. And great music at that. Love or hate his self-promoting, self-destroying antics, the appeal of his music is hard to deny, and his ability to cross over to a wide range of audiences is nothing short of genius. I mean, heavy rotation on both the KUBE and KEXP? Brilliant! Kanye’s latest, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, with guest appearances and production by Kid Cudi, Raekwon, RZA of Wu-Tang Clan, Q-Tip, and even Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, is not only earning universal acclaim, but people are already talking about its potential impact on the future of hip-hop as a whole.

While Kanye’s album alone should be enough to get you to the record stores this week, you should also check out the excellent new EP by Girls, the latest from San Francisco band Eux Autres, a 7-disc retrospective of early-80s Glasgow band Orange Juice, and possibly the billionth LP by Tucson’s Giant Sand (actually, a great followup to 2008′s Provisions). If you’re into female pop songstresses, there are plenty to be had this week with the latest from Swedish icon Robyn, Icelandic singer Hafdís Huld, and Russian-American singer Regina Spektor. You’ll find all of these and more on Largehearted Boy’s list and at your favorite record stores: