THE CHAMP IS HERE! Notch another one in the win column this year for me against Adam in Grammy Bowl IV. My official record improves to 2-1-1 against my surely depressed opponent. It all came down to Album of the Year at the end of the night. I was shaking in my underwear as I sat on the couch waiting for the name to be called. And as Taylor Swift was called, you would have thought it was me accepting the Grammy. The final tally is below 11-10.
Record of the Year- Kings of Leon "Use Somebody" Album of the Year- Taylor Swift "Fearless"
Song of the Year- Beyonce "Single Ladies" Best New Artist- Zac Brown Band Female Pop Vocal- Beyonce "Halo"
Male Pop Vocal- Jason Mraz "Make It Mine" Pop Performance Duo/Group- Black Eyed Peas "I Gotta Feeling" Solo Rock Vocal Performance- Bruce Springsteen "Working on a Dream" Rock Performance Duo/Group- Kings of Leon "Use Somebody"
Hard Rock Performance- AC/DC "War Machine"
Best Rock Song- Kings of Leon "Use Somebody" Best Rock Album- Green Day "21st Century Breakdown" Best Alternative Music Album- Phoenix "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix"
Best R&B Song- Beyonce "Single Ladies" Contemporary R&B Album- Beyonce "I Am...Sasha Fierce"
Rap Solo Performance- Jay-Z "D.O.A." Best Rap Song- Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye West "Run This Town"
Best Rap Album- Eminem "Relapse"
Best Country Song- Taylor Swift "White Horse"
Best Country Album- Taylor Swift "Fearless"
Song Written for a Motion Picture- A.R. Rahman "Jai Ho"
Best Short Form Music Video- Black Eyed Peas "Boom Boom Pow"
No doubt these four will be performing the remix to "Forever". I didn't even like this song until I saw Barker get on the drums for the remix. The original sounded like every artist was in a different corner of the country, wrote down some random verse on a ketchup-stained napkin, and mailed it to the producer, who mashed everything together and threw it out to the world.
Look at Barker go to town on those drums. It's like Keith Moon came back to life for a one-off remix spot. Can we just agree that Travis Barker is the best drummer of our generation? Talk about passion and enthusiasm. Who compares? Honestly give me one name.
The Black Eyed Peas are being sued for plagiarism again! A copyright infrigement lawsuit has been filed by Ebony Latrice Batts aka Phoenix Phenom and Manfred Mohr against each of the Peas individually and collectively.
Phoenix and Manfred claim that their song "Boom Dynamite" is incredibly similar to BEP's "Boom Boom Pow." Their attorney states:
“My clients submitted their copyrighted song “Boom Dynamite” to Interscope Records after Interscope had shown interest in some of their music, and the Black Eyed Peas later copied the song when they wrote “Boom Boom Pow.” A simple listening of the two songs will tell you that the songs are substantially similar, and that the hooks of the two songs are virtually identical in rhythm and lyrics.”
Ummmm a little more than coincidence with this one. Does Will.i.am. consciously decided to say "fuck it, no one will ever know" when he "produces" music. This is like me copy and pasting Wikipedia articles into my college essays (which I still attest never happened) and passing them off to the professor as my own work.
Icing on the cake? Black Eyed Peas are nominated for Best Dance Recording for "Boom Boom Pow". I hope they win just for the unintentional comedy factor. Who do you thank, Milli Vanilli for showing you the way?
The Whipping Post- Once again, keeping things honest in a world full of Will.i.am's
With the Grammy's being held this Sunday, it only means it's that time of the year again....Grammy Bowl IV!!! Evey year my friend Adam and I have a contest and pick the categories. Basically it gives us a reason to watch 3 hours of horrible television, OK performances, and unworthy acceptance speeches. After a great first few years of picking, I was humbled with my disastrous picks of last year. It was like a good blackjack run in Vegas. You start to feel invincible, you can't lose, everything you pick is the right choice and them BAM. The dealer brings you right back down to the gutter by pulling a five-card 21, bursting those dreams of a comped suite to go along with that high class hooker on your arm. Things will get better. My picks below in bold, Adam's in blue. After 3 years of picking I'm 1-1-1.
Record of the Year
Beyonce- Halo
Black Eyed Peas- I got a feeling
Kings of leon- use somebody
Lady gaga- poker face
Taylor swift- you belong with me
Taylor vs. Beyonce round two. Taylor takes down the big awards.
Album of the Year
Beyonce- I am…sasha fierce
Black Eyed Peas- the e.n.d.
Lady gaga- the fame
DMB- big whiskey and the groogrux king
Taylor swift- fearless
Song of the Year
Lady gaga- poker face
Pretty wings- Maxwell
Beyonce- single ladies
Kings of leon- use somebody
Taylor swift- you belong with me
I've grown to absolutely despise this song. You couldn't go 10 minutes without hearing this sellout song on every radio station in the country. Sounds like a winner.
Best New Artist
Zac brown band
Keri hilson
Mgmt
Silversun pickups
Ting tings
Lady Gaga is up for album, song, and record of the year, but somehow she doesn't get a best new artist bid? I guess the grammy people are saving that for next year. I hate the people who pick these things. guaranteed she wins this category next year. And I'm picking mgmt this year for that same reason.
Best Female Pop Vocal
Adele- hometown glory
Beyonce- halo
Katy perry- hot n cold
Pink- sober
Taylor swift- you belong with me
Best Male Pop Vocal
John legend- this time
Maxwell- love you
Jason mraz- make it mine
Seal- if you don’t know me by now
Stevie wonder- all about the love again
Best Pop Performance duo/group
Black eyed peas- I gotta feeling
Bon jovi- we weren’t born to follow
The fray- never say never
Daryl hall and john oates- sara smile
Mgmt- kids
Solo Rock Vocal Performance
Bob Dylan- beyond here lies nothin’
John fogerty- change in the weather
Prince- dreamer
Bruce springsteen- working on a dream
Neil young- fork in the road
nobody votes against Springsteen in the Grammy's.
Rock Performance Duo/Group
Eric Clapton and steve winwood- cant find my way home
Coldplay- life in Technicolor II
Green day- 21 guns
Kings of leon- use somebody
U2- I’ll go crazy if I don’t go crazy tonight
This one will bite me in the ass. Never pick against Green Day or U2. Underachieving megabands who will inevitably get nominated and win every year.
Hard Rock Performance
Ac/dc- war machine
Alice in chains- check my brain
Linkin park- what I’ve done
Metallica- the unforgiven III
Nickelback- burn it to the ground
I really wanted to take Linkin Park here, but this is the year of the oldies. Bruce, U2, Metallica, Depeche Mode, Stevie Wonder....what year is this?
Best Rock Song
Pearl jam- the fixer
U2- I’ll go crazy if I don’t go crazy tonight
Green day- 21 guns
Kings of leon- use somebody
Bruce springsteen- working on a dream
Big battle of the night! Bruce vs. U2 vs. Green Day, none of whom should win. Three way toss up.
Best Rock Album
Ac/dc- black ice
Eric Clapton and steve winwood- live from MSG
Green day- 21st century breakdown
DMB- big whiskey and the groogrux king
U2- no line on the horizon
Best Alternative Music Album
David byrne and brian eno- everything that happens will happen today
Grab it before it disappears! Labels will surely get involved with this, just as they did with The Grey Album. The sampling is also a lot less straightforward on Enter the Magical Mystery Chambers. Some songs use multiple Beatles samples and obscure cover versions of songs, making it difficult to even recognize that you're even hearing The Beatles. It's much different than the 2 song, peanut butter and jelly mash-ups that you may be accustomed to. Very well done, and the results speak for themselves. The album even got the thumbs up from Raekwon. Here are a couple of my favorites:
Wu-Tang vs. The Beatles (yesterday)- "Criminology"
Wu-Tang vs. The Beatles (come together)- "Release Yo Self"
Download the entire album FO' FREE cuz that's how we dohere.
Elkhart, Indiana. Home to the nation's highest unemployment rate. Not exactly a hot spot for big hapnin's; but what could cheer up an unemployed, misery-fleeing, hopeless patron faster than a Monopoly Chance card with a $5,000 bank error in your favor? Music, obvs.
Elkhart's own, inbirdseye, have crafted a (rough) catchy little EP, titled Tres Songs. It's three songs long, in case you were wondering. "They Won't See" is by far my favorite and immediately reminds me of something Band of Horses or My Morning Jacket would create. Those soaring vocals are seriously impressive. Although all the songs are a little raw at this point, you can easily see the promise these four young guys can deliver. A follow up to Tres Songs is currently being worked on and will be titled Speak Easy. I'm excited for this follow up, the guys definitely have the potential to be something big.
inbirdseye- "They Won't See" from Tres Songs EP
inbirdseye- "Sorry, Deric" from the upcoming Speak Easy
Download the entire Tres Songs EP FO' FREEhere. And be sure to visit the band's Myspace for some more new tracks.
Catchy, clever, and LOUD, The Material is a 5-piece, female-fronted rock ensemble whose combination of alternative, post-punk and super poppy female vocals have thrust them toward the front of the California music scene.
Hailing from San Diego, CA, The Material released their latest EP, To Weather The Storm, in June 2009 and after one listen you can hear commercial success banging down their door. The band have had songs featured in the video game Rock Band, as well as television shows on WB and MTV2. But with all of their success, The Material remain unsigned. It's hard to believe no label offers have come their way. Or maybe they've decided to stay true to the DIY approach. Either way, you need to listen.
The Material- Unforgivable
Be sure to check out The Material on their Myspace for more great songs! Purchase To Weather the Storm on iTunes.
YouTube quietly launched a playlist creation tool called the YouTube Music Discovery Project, otherwise dubbed "Disco." It looks like a standard search tool, where users enter in the name of an artist they like and then click the "disco" button. The resulting page will give you a quick bio of that artist, stream a random music video by that artist, compile a playlist of all music on YouTube available from that artist and of videos from similar artists. Users can edit the playlist by adding or deleting songs, skip videos, and save and name their favorite playlists to a special playlist page, as well as share them via e-mail with others.
It seems like YouTube’s is responding to Pandora and Last.fm and is similar to the Genius option on iTunes, working off the slogan "Find > Mix > Watch."
For instance, a search for Pearl Jam results in a playlist stocked with Eddie Vedder & Co., plus videos by fellow Seattle grunge all-stars like Nirvana and Soundgarden and ’90s rockers like Smashing Pumpkins and Black Crowes. Not much for “discovery” as the vast majority of Pearl Jam fans are already well aware of these other bands, but the Pearl Jam list might introduce fans to the handful of obscure Screaming Trees music videos that YouTube suggests. Similarly, Disco search of Miike Snow will not only result in a list of the Swedish trio's work, but also give you videos of Lykke Li, Peter Bjorn and John, The Neptunes, and Gossip.
However, here’s a surefire sign Disco is still brand new, under construction, and working out the bugs: Search "Radiohead" and the other suggested artists are simply "head" bands like Diamond Head, Big Head Todd & the Monsters and Murray Head. Is Disco revolutionary? Probably not, but it’ll likely steal a few clicks from other music recommendation sites. Considering YouTube’s big push behind Vevo, it’s a little strange that this new music feature is launching via regular YouTube and not its new music site, which the record labels prefer you visit. At any rate, it's nice to have a "genius" list of videos prepared for you of your favorite artists. I even stumbled across a couple videos that I didn't even know existed from some of my favorite artists. Check it out and let me know what you think.
"This is a circus, we're all trying not to go home."
Another great U.K. band! Why are the best unsigned bands always from the U.K.? Anyway, Edinburgh boys Your Neighbour The Liar have been a band for only a couple months now (with only 3 shows under their belt, is this true?), but have put together a few great sounding demos.
The three song collection, titled The Michael Cera Type, include songs simply titled "Circus", "Snow", and "Birthday". All of these songs show great promise, and it's easy to see that with a little better production and help in the right direction, Your neighbor The Liar will without a doubt be one of the biggest buzz bands of 2010. I'll definitely be following these guys in the upcoming months. More songs NOW please!
The animated quartet's third studio album, Plastic Beach, has been confirmed to drop on March 9 -- but its lead single, "Stylo," featuring Mos Def and Bobby Womack, just leaked online. "Stylo" finds Gorillaz in their signature dub and trip-rock sound, but now with more flowing soul grooves and vocals. The single will officially release online on January 26.
"Frontman" Murdoc has commented on "Stylo" hitting the internet via his Twitter account, writing: "A leak! A leak! 'Plastic Beach' has sprung a leak! One of those Russian pirates has put a bullet hole on my island! My single's leaked! 'STYLO'!"
The band released the full tracklisting and announced album contributors Lou Reed, Mos Def, Mark E Smith Snoop Dogg, Bobby Womack, De La Soul Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals), and the Clash duo of Mick Jones and Paul Simonon.
As with the band's previous releases, the album boasts a back story:
"the band have taken up residence, recording on a secret floating island deep in the South Pacific, a Plastic Beach HQ, made up of the detritus, debris and washed up remnants of humanity. This Plastic Beach is the furthest point from any landmass on Earth; the most deserted spot on the planet".
Take a listen to "Stylo" below...
Tracklist for Plastic Beach: 01 "Orchestral Intro" (featuring Sinfonia ViVA) 02 "Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach"(feat. Snoop Dogg & Hypnotic Brass Ensemble) 03 "White Flag" (feat. Kano, Bashy & The National Orchestra For Arabic Music) 04 "Rhinestone Eyes" 05 "Stylo" (feat. Bobby Womack & Mos Def) 06 "Superfast Jellyfish" (feat. Gruff Rhys & De La Soul) 07 "Empire Ants" (feat. Little Dragon) 08 "Glitter Freeze" (feat. Mark E Smith) 09 "Some Kind Of Nature" (feat. Lou Reed) 10 "On Melancholy Hill" 11 "Broken" 12 "Sweepstakes" (feat. Mos Def & Hypnotic Brass Ensemble) 13 "Plastic Beach" (feat. Mick Jones & Paul Simonon) 14 "To Binge" (feat. Little Dragon) 15 "Cloud Of Unknowing" (feat. Bobby Womack and Sinfonia ViVA) 16 "Pirate Jet
The U.K. band (and quickly becoming one of The Whipping Post's favorites) Two Door Cinema Club, have released a new non-album song for download. AND YOU KNOW IT'S FO' FREE! Just visit their website and have at it! At first listen, the new song "Costume Party" immediately reminds me of something Autovaughn would release. Soaring harmonies and a light and simple, yet incredibly catchy guitar riff. Feel good music at it's finest.
Two Door Cinema Club- "Costume Party"
Two Door Cinema Club will release their debut album March 2nd.
Video game 'Rock Band' has begun to allow any band or artist – signed or unsigned – to upload their own songs to the game and sell them to other users.
Until now, the only tracks to appear on the game have been pre-loaded, and have generally featured the likes of major acts. However it's suggested that as of yesterday, all users of the game will be able to upload their own songs via the Rock Band Network Store, which is open for beta testing.
Although the Network Store, which is designed by Harmonix, was initially created to cater for unsigned acts, several high-profile acts, who haven't been featured on Rock Band, have also signed up to feature their material.
The likes of Creed and Evanescence are understood to be among the acts set to use the service to get their songs featured on the game, while Sub Pop – the label home to The Shins, Mudhoney and Flight Of The Conchords – is also understood to be preparing a batch of songs for the game.
The lineup for the West Coast's largest music festival, Coachella, has been announced. What's up with Thom Yorke Four Question Marks? Like maybe he'll be there, maybe he'll say Eff it I'm out. (Not a huge fan, so personally I could care less). The rest of the lineup looks pretty solid though; a huge improvement from last year. Aside from the headliners, we have Miike Snow, B.o.B., Portugal. The Man, White Rabbits, Hockey, among other titillating acts playing the festival. Looks like Friday is the day to go in my opinion. Click here for the larger image.
I didn't know anything about Aziz Ansari until I started watching Parks and Recreation. I always thought he had a great character on the show, great one-liners and all, but never heard any stand up of his own until recently. Over the weekend I watched his Comedy Central special, Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening, and was glued to the TV laughing.
Aziz goes off about his night out with Kanye West, and his cousin Darwish getting into a war of words with Kanye. Kanye even posted about the war on his own blog!
Night Out With Kanye
Kanye vs. Darwish
Listen to the entire album here. Make sure to listen to the track about his cousin Harris on Facebook!
Swedish label, Sincerely Yours, is giving away jj's latest virtual single FO' FREE! The first song, "Let Go" is mysterious, ghostly, and simply amazingness. The song will appear on jj's upcoming album, jj nº 3, due out March 9th. The second song is instantly great, with a creepy Charles Manson monologue and a verse from Lil Wayne. It's definitely a breath of fresh air to hear something like "My Way". Hearing Lil Wayne rap over this spacey, dark music is just so different than what one would expect to hear. Here's what Sincerely Yours had to say:
OK, jj went to malaga to have some fun, get some sun and 2 albums done. it was back in the fall of 2008 when they had both lost their virginity to insanity and were looking for moments of clarity. a plane to spain felt like a reasonable opportunity. so with money in the bank, nobody to thank, it started with a drank. and a couple of hours later the on the 29th of september they had felt the first breeze coming in from africa, sweet winds of melodies pure and true. and now, it's time to give it away to you, of course for free, for you to see how vacation could be. so, let go, cause this is my way.
Forgive me for not picking up on this earlier, but I don't necessarily search out trashy pop singers on the radio or scour MTV Hits for throw away shit music, but after listening to Ke$ha's song "TiK ToK", it's insanely obvious that she (or her team of producers/writers) ripped off the Justice song "Tthhee Ppaarrttyy". If you're unfamiliar with the Justice song I'm speaking of, here it is:
Justice- Tthhee Ppaarrttyy
Sound kind of familiar? Like maybe you've heard it before but just can't put your finger on it? Maybe that's because you've been subjected to Ke$ha and her shitty stolen version.
Ke$ha- TiK ToK
Are you kidding me? This hoe and her posse should be locked up for taking a credible piece of music and turning into some piece of garbage aimed at 14 year old Twilight fans who love Ke$ha (only in between Twilight dvd viewings), who will buy this "TiK ToK" ringtone by the thousands just to show their friends how cool they are, and who will never hear this Justice song, nor know that it even exists! Ke$ha is a disgrace to the human ears.
It's so obvious it's not even funny. I understand someone being influenced by an artist or genre, but when you straight up rip someone's style, a style unique with it's own identifiable rhythm and cadence.....fuck it I'm pissed. JUSTICE GOT SWAGGERJACKED!
An album of previously unreleased Jimi Hendrix studio recordings is set for release in March, kicking off a brand new exploration of the legendary guitar virtuoso's life and works in the lead-up to the 40th anniversary of his death in 1970.
Valleys of Neptune, a 12-song collection that includes the final studio sessions of the original Jimi Hendrix Experience lineup and Hendrix's first recordings with bassist Billy Cox, is set for release on Mar. 9 on Sony's Legacy Recordings. The album marks the launch of the 2010 Jimi Hendrix Catalog Project, a partnership between the label and Experience Hendrix LLC, the company charged with overseeing the guitarist's music and image.
Taken mostly from several 1969 sessions, Valleys of Neptune was originally recorded and newly mixed by Eddie Kramer, the Electric Ladyland studio engineer who worked closely with Hendrix. Kramer used both cutting-edge digital and analog equipment to restore the master tapes to the original, pristine quality.
The title track, much craved by Hendrix devotees, delivers on the promise of the musician's legendary trove of unreleased material: a fully realized song written and recorded by Hendrix at his creative peak in 1970 that had remained unrecovered for nearly four decades. The song will be released as a single globally on Feb. 2.
Other highlights of the album include the only JHE studio recording of "Hear My Train A Comin'," a Hendrix blues original that he often performed live; a searing instrumental take on Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love;" the extended stage arrangements of JHE classics "Fire" and "Red House," recorded in preparation for the band's 1969 Royal Albert Hall concert recordings; and "Mr. Bad Luck," one of the only original tunes the then-unknown guitarist performed in tiny Greenwich Village nightclubs in 1966.
Other planned 2010 Hendrix releases include a reissue of Smash Hits, the 1968 compilation of singles, b-sides and several standout JHE album tracks; a DVD and Blu-ray release of "Live at Woodstock;" and a multi-disc box set. A new documentary film is also in the works.
Hendrix died on September 18, 1970 at the age of 27, having released only four albums and a few singles in his lifetime.
This song originally leaked out online last month when it fell into the wrong hands, but the mess was quickly cleaned up. It led Lupe to take to his blog and say this about the matter. Now, Atlantic Records sent it out for promotion, so it might turn into a single....who knows at this point. But it's damn good.
Trying out the playlist option with my Divshare rather than posting 5 separate mp3's. Good stuff in this grab bag edition. First up, Japanese remix artist Nosaj Thing gives us his take on "Islands" by The xx. Second, 2009 breakouts Florence and the Machine cover a classic 80's song "Addicted to Love". Smack in the middle is Passion Pit remixing Chairlift's "Bruises"...you know, that old iPod commercial song? Fourth (I know it's getting long, but they're all totally worth it, trust me) mashup mastermind, ABX, whips up some DMX vs. The xx in a song smoother than your grandma's mashed potatoes. SIDENOTE: Remember how good DMX was? Like seriously, some of his flows are ridiculous. Admit it, who didn't have a DMX cd and bump that shit like it was 1999 (because it was). And FINALLY bringing up the rear is the song "Cudderisback" by (obvi) Kid Cudi featuring Vampire Weekend. It's good to see Cudi not just say he's a fan of indie rock, but actually use bands in his music (Ratatat, MGMT, Vampire Weekend).
Let me know what you think of using the playlist instead of separate mp3's. Better? Worse? Anything? Just plain don't give a shit? I'll take that too.
The Whipping Post- Bringing two great things together, like celebrity nip slips and the paparazzi.
Last night, MIA twittered (I refuse to say tweeted) a new song along with a short phrase "THERES SPACE FOR OL DAT I SEE". Possible song title? The Sri Lankan artist released the song along with a video (sort of). It's mostly just MIA dancing behind green astral projections.
Musically, the song is more of the same from MIA, not that I'm complaining. The four-minute tune opens with a loud siren, then drops into a slow electro beat as the girl born as Maya Arulpragasam rap/sings, "Gravity is my enemy / Stars that are bright get close to me / There's space for all that I see." No word on if this song will be featured on her upcoming album, which MIA claims will be "really odd" in comparison to her last. If this song is any indication, I don't see her new album being much different than Kala. Just classic MIA.
And just for kicks and wiggles, I rediscovered MGMT's video for "Kids" and forgot how funny it is to laugh at this baby's nightmare world.
Mad Decent, along with Diplo and company, have finally released the entire Free Gucci project.
it’s here… IT’S HERE! If you’ve been living under a rock or in the jungle with no internet, let me fill you in… Diplo rounded up some of our favorite friends to remix tracks from Gucci Mane’s “Cold War” mixtape series. Now instead of charge you for this awesome release, we’re nice enough to give you the full mixtape in high quality for FREE! Below is your link to get it!
THE CHAMP IS HERE! Notch another one in the win column this year for me against Adam in Grammy Bowl IV. My official record improves to 2-1-1 against my surely depressed opponent. It all came down to Album of the Year at the end of the night. I was shaking in my underwear as I sat on the couch waiting for the name to be called. And as Taylor Swift was called, you would have thought it was me accepting the Grammy. The final tally is below 11-10.
