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New Music Friday: Owl City, Tyrese, And Nina Simone

By Michael Cerio

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The revolution will not be televised. It will be sung.

Today marks the very first New Music Friday in the United States. It is a move that evens the global playing field to cut down on piracy and to ensure you get zero work done on Fridays.

The first batch contains sugary electro-pop, a tribute to one of soul's greatest voices, and the final album from a man who fights robots.

Owl City – Mobile Orchestra

Six years ago, Adam Young got the song "Fireflies" stuck in your head under the name Owl City. Now he's five albums deep into his indie electro-pop experiment with the band's Mobile Orchestra. There's much division and hostility surrounding Owl City despite his positive tone. Actually, mostly because of his positive tone. However amongst his simplistic and sometime juvenile lyrics, you are bound to find a melody lodged in your brain for days. This time around he finds help from vocalists Sarah Russell, Jake Owen, and even Hanson.

Tyrese – Black Rose

Tyrese has taken time out from driving cars that are often too fast and frequently too furious to release what he says will be his last album. Black Rose pays tribute to several eras of hip hop and R&B, all tied together by the effortless voice of Mr. Gibson. You can hear The Fugees ring through the song "Dumb ****", or the groove of Al Green through "Waiting On You". There's even a little En Vogue on the single "Shame". All with plenty of slow jams to go around. Your move Decepticons.

R5 – Sometime Last Night

The kids love them some R5. They are a boy band, mostly. All related, mostly. Brothers Ross Lynch, Riker Lynch, Rocky Lynch, sister Rydel Lynch, and family friend Ellington Ratliff make up R5. Get it. Because of the R's. Sometime Last Night is their second album. They're young but infectious, and "Smile" is a perfect song no matter how old they are. It's a great album for those that think One Direction is like totally over, or for those who dig a good sunny pop song.

Nina Revisited: a Tribute To Nina Simone

There is an excellent documentary right now on Netflix called "What Happened, Miss Simone?", about the troubled life of the jazz singer. The classically trained pianist got her start singing in the bars of Atlantic City after being denied entrance to Curtis Institute Of Music in Philadelphia. What follows is an amazing voice, pushed to it limits by violence and the culture of the civil rights movement, eventually fleeing the country. Along with the film comes another tribute in Nina Revisited, supported with several songs by the also often troubled Lauryn Hill. Also featured are Common, Usher, and Mary J. Blige. It's a nice reminder of the talent of Miss Simone.

Also out this week are albums from Years & Years, Slim Thug, and an all-star soundtrack to the movie Paper Towns.

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