We Read Vibe So You Don't Have To!
(from Vibe: October, 2006)

* Of course, we should start by addressing this scandal: Christina Aguilera was bumped from the cover and replaced by Bobby Brown. No word on if the Christina spread will be in a future issue, but the Bobby Brown article is painfully good in the meantime. You'll know what I mean by "painfully good" if you ever watched Being Bobby Brown. 'Nuff said.

* A new photography book is coming out, in which Stephen Shames documents the history of the Black Panthers. " The book, titled The Black Panthers, will be released by Aperture on October 15th.

* The magazine discusses MP3 aggregators like Hype Machine, which help to alert you when MP3 sites (such as the ones in our links menu...) post songs by your favorite artists. This way, you can save time by not searching every site every day- it is kind of like a del.icio.us for MP3s. And I purposely name-dropped Hype Machine because that site gives you links to purchase the MP3s legally. Now you can sleep better at night (and with good music!).

* Vibe dislikes the new Lionel Richie album and isn't that into Justin's Futuresex/Lovesounds, but really enjoys the new TV on the Radio, a band which they describe with this charming quote:

"Young black males who ain't all crunk-or-die -- banging out music for strippers -- aren't easy to come by these days, especially when they're this geeky and proud."

Bravo!