Rack And Opinion: Release Date 8.01.06

Tomorrow is the weakest release date of the summer. There, we said it. Our attitude when we read someone trashing a given release date is typically something along the lines of, "well, what the hell do they know? They are all waiting for the new Justin Timberlake to drop" or whatever. But even we will admit a kind of defeat this week. We've got three slim picks below. Still, there is a bit of an interesting angle. Those of you who live and breathe the music blogosphere have no doubt read the hype about Brit pop rapper Lily Allen having the big song of the summer in the tune "Knock 'Em Out." Or was it "LDN"? Anyway, normally we'd be like "good on ye, Lily." But we think that Spinto Band's "Oh Mandy" CD single that allegedly drops Thursday (?) easily trumps Ms. Allen's pop fun. This being because "Oh Mandy" is probably one of the best singles of the decade. Sorry Lily. Anybody who can pull up some SoundScan on Allen vs. Spinto Band with regards to the releases below (recognizing it's Allen's full-length apples vs. the Spinto's single orange), do hit the comments, we'd be psyched to know the Delaware septet has got the moxie to move more units than their pop contemporary across the pond. Those releases and one other are linked below, with links going to relevant commercial opportunities with our former line cook compatriots over at Insound.

The Clash -- Rude Boy DVD -- Epic/Legacy
Lily Allen -- Alright, Still -- Regal/Parlopone
The Spinto Band -- Oh Mandy CD single [UK] -- EMI/Radiate