Bamboozle: The Good, the Bad & the Soggy

Fall Out Boy, No Doubt, and Journey -- sort of -- are among SPIN's picks for the fest's rays of sunlight and its wet blankets.
Pete Wentz / Gwen Stefani / "Steve Perry"

The Bamboozle is the ultimate annual music festival for teenagers, in all that implies. Held in the parking lot of Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, it crammed 9 stages with raucous rock, pop-punk, and hip-hop acts -- most of whom are youngbloods with a max of five active years and two albums behind 'em -- and brings higher-profile but disparate marquee names in at night.

Patrick Watson & the Wooden Arms, 'Wooden Arms' (Secret City)

Art-pop arriviste gives flimsy whimsy some bite.

Art Brut, 'Art Brut vs. Satan' (Downtown)

Quippy bashers sprinkle Pixie dust on punch lines.

Naysayers, prudes, and rival philosopher kings may be surprised that Eddie Argos and his crank army have lasted for three albums. But the Brit crew prove why they've survived in just seven and a half minutes on "Mysterious Bruises," Art Brut vs. Satan's concluding track.

Trouble Andrew, 'Trouble Andrew' (Virgin)

Santogold's fiancé wipes out with dopey crunk-rock shtick.

This is why people make fun of snowboarders. Over bro'd-out synth-rock jams, pro shredder turned singer Trevor Andrew tries extremely hard to be contemplative for a guy wearing a sideways baseball cap, gold chains, and an ironic mullet. Dishing out aphorisms such as "Does your money love you?

Beyoncé, 'I Am…Sasha Fierce' (Music World/Columbia)

Ms. Knowles unleashes inner drag queen.

Because 2008 wasn't enough like the ultimate battle of good versus evil, Beyoncé would like to throw her hat into the fray. Or, rather, her glove -- the silver Terminator accessory she's been sporting, which signifies the haute couture arrogance and can-crushing prowess of her new persona, Sasha Fierce.

The Killers, 'Day and Age' (Island)

Brandon Flowers and Co. cruise the Vegas Strip once again.

Hunter S. Thompson would not have liked this album. Which isn't saying much, considering he spent the majority of his time face-up spewing vitriolic rants about these shallow kids today and their endless entitlement. "A generation of dancers," he once seethed.

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