New developments in the field of Awkward Cell Phone Usage suggest that people are more likely to let their phone ring through a live performance than pull it from their pocket to reveal themselves as the culprit. This news comes after a ringing iPhone disrupted the New York Philharmonic during their performance at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall on Tuesday. (more…)
It’s been 13 years since Napster revolutionized the way we acquire music by offering the first user-friendly interface for the free swapping of MP3s. Now, finally, the mysterious grin on the mischievous, green-eyed Napster Cat can be explained: It was announced this week that for the first time ever, digital music sales have topped the physical sale of music. The spokes-kitty must have known all along what its troublesome trailblazing would eventually lead to–world digitalization. (more…)
It looks like Michael Buble might be digging a double-platinum plaque out of his stocking this year. Buble’s “Christmas” album, a collection of timeless holiday standards, has remained No. 1 on the Billboard for a month–and the crooning angel doesn’t seem to be coming down from atop the tree until well after the holidays.
Evidently the modern world is not growing tired of the same old Yuletide tunes (especially if they’ve been revamped by the likes of Buble), so in the spirit of the holidays, we’ve compiled a short list of some interesting interpretations of your favorite Christmas classics.
Bringing new meaning to the term MC, songwriter and producer Pharrell Williams has been tapped as Music Consultant for the 84th Academy Awards. Williams, known for his versatile collaborations with the likes of Jay Z, Britney Spears, Madonna, and Snoop Dogg, is now teaming up with Hanz Zimmer to play this year’s award-winners up and, if necessary, off the stage.
This announcement comes weeks after Eddie Murphy dropped out as host, and assures us that even if Billy Crystal is his replacement, the Oscars won’t be lacking in funk this year.
There’s the question of how such a collaboration will sound. The Lion King with Hip Hop beats? “Drop It Like It’s Hot” featuring a sweeping orchestra? The odd couple have already worked together on the original soundtrack for the animated film Despicable Me, giving us a taste of what to expect.
Now curiosity abounds: Will Gary Oldman receive his first ever golden statuette (or even his first nomination) for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy? Will Ryan Gosling be double-nominated for Drive and The Ides of March? And of course, will they walk the red carpet to the beat of “Hot in Herre” or “Pass the Courvoisier”?
To view the full article by Gil Kaufman click here.
The surprises (some pleasant, some not so) of the recent nominees announcement.
After a shameful few years of mediocrity, the Grammys fought back last year, and offered a hint of breaking the mold with the underground band Arcade Fire claiming some big prizes. This caused people of all ages and backgrounds to proclaim their love or ignorance of the platinum-selling band, which was probably more attention than the Grammys had received for some time.
Fast forward to this year, and perhaps they are looking to rock the boat again? Folk rockers Mumford & Sons have more nominations than Lady Gaga. Teen-raver-sensation/dubstep hero Skrillex got more nods than Katy Perry. Other multiple nominees acts include Adele and Kanye West, naturally, but at least we can still say that many of the artists this year have been pursuing their own ideals and not the talentless flash-in-the-pans that have been molded by a pop factory.
Two major individual snubs; My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy wasn’t included for Album of the Year, nor previous Grammy dahling Taylor Swift‘s latest LP, both of which are unusual choices to leave out, given their impact on the sales charts, streaming channels and general music headlines.
Another annoying recent pattern of previous Grammy nominees, until now, was that they really liked… how to put this… ‘the oldies’. No offence, classic albums are great, but to say that the latest Paul Simon or Eagles work is more artistically interesting than their younger counterparts is often outrageous. This too, seems to have been addressed in the 2012 votes.
Whether this is all a ploy to stir up more interest or a genuine shift in voter tastes, we will have to wait and see, but the idea of a more diverse base of artists to reflect a truly diverse year is a nice thought. Not only that, but the way that folk and dubstep can both push artists into the ‘big four’ categories (Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist) is an inspiring thought for independent artists everywhere.
I’ll sign off with one of the nominees for Record of the Year, and definitely one that has a wide appeal, and was only slightly overplayed Adele’s Rolling in the Deep.
The 54th Grammy Awards will be presented on February 12th, 2012. For a full list of all nominees, check out grammy.com/nominees/
Two DJ magazines have released their ‘Best of 2011′ lists and awards recently. Find out who came out on top in the world of American electronic music.
Even though DJ Mag‘s number one DJ is actually Parisian, David Guetta is often seen as a key element in pushing dance music to the American masses. His counterparts in this operation, djs Deadmou5 and Skrillex also come in at numbers 4 and 19 respectively (view the full 100 here). According to DJ Mag, after building upon massive success in 2009, Guetta “became the go-to guy for US urban artists to hook up some dope dance beats”. His recent production list proves that, with collaborations with the Black Eyed Peas, Kelis, and Snoop Dogg helping him, and his dance beats, reach a wider audience and achieve a breakthrough in getting dance music onto American radio.
Meanwhile, DJ Times recently held an event at Marquee Nightclub in The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, where they crowned Kaskade as ‘America’s Best DJ 2011′. Chicago-born Kaskade regularly lands high in the Billboard Dance Charts, and has remixed pop acts such as Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga. The award ceremony rounds off a 12 week tour in which DJ Times hosted 24 parties across the US, from New York to Los Angeles. Kaskade also recently completed a video for The Craft, telling the story of his initial discovery of dance music and recent rise to stardom (look out for a quick shot of Gramaphone Records!)…
With all these ‘official’ awards, there is always a backlash from music-lovers and club-goers, touting their favorites as the biggest and best. Many of them are deserved front runners, from house music pioneers of the early eighties, to current trance heavyweights, to the underground dubstep phenomenons. The fact is that dance music as a whole has never been more prominent in the US, taking up larger stages at festivals, as well as dedicated festivals for each sub-genre. Dance music is on breakfast radio shows, in downtown bars, on the catwalk and at the gym, and in part, all of the above mentioned DJs have had a part in that over the last ten years. As for rating the best, that will always be subjective, but the fact that more people are voting and listening, means that the scene as a whole is healthy, and that we should all agree is a good thing.
I just received an announcement about the latest and greatest that Google has created – Magnifier, to go along with Music Beta.
Magnifier essentially, according to Google’s blog, is:
“a new music discovery site that will keep your collection growing. Magnifier will feature great music and the people who make it, including videos of live performances, interviews with artists, explorations of different musical genres and free songs that you can add to your Music Beta collection.”
Seems like a cool new way to keep your music filing cabinet full of everything you love, without having to go and search for all the different multi-media on your favorite artists. I look forward to having the chance to play around with it. I’ve requested my invitation, have you gotten yours yet? Request yours now if you haven’t!
Once you’re in Music Beta you’ll get access to Magnifier and all the cool features only Google could think of. Currently they’re giving away a couple of My Morning Jacket tracks, which one is an exclusive. Why hasn’t my invitation been granted yet – argh Google! Hurry before these tracks aren’t available any more.
The Beastie Boys are back with a vengeance, with a new album (“Hot Sauce Committee Part Two”), lead single (“Make Some Noise”) and 30 minute accompanying music video cum short movie, titled “Fight For Your Right Revisited”.
The full “Fight for Your Right Revisited” video premiered last night on MTV2, mtvU, VH1 Classic, and Palladia, as well as the explicit version airing at 3am on Comedy Central. The video acts as a ‘sequel’ to the Beastie Boys’ 1986 smash “Fight For Your Right”, with the beer can-throwing antics of their younger days included. You weren’t watching TV at 3am? Well, here is the next best thing – lead single “Make Some Noise” is below (currently hosted via MTV), and features the opening segment of the full video. The video’s cast is a list of cameos from a wealth of Hollwood celebrities, with Seth Rogen, Elijah Wood, Danny McBride, John C. Reilly, Will Ferrell and Jack Black all playing members of the Beastie Boys, plus Ted Danson, Kirsten Dunst, Orlando Bloom, Steve Buscemi, and many more making brief appearances.
The Social Network soundtrack will see it’s digital release next week. This will be available for purchase EXCLUSIVELY on Amazon MP3 at a promotional rate of $2.99 for a 48 hour period starting 12:01am PT on September 28th. Physical formats (CD, Blu-ray and vinyl) will be released in October, but you can pre-order now.
Trent Reznor has often famously supported a free-for-all download, such as the sampler he gave away as part of the NIN|JA tour, but with his work with NIN, he also created high-end packages that retailed to the super-fans. Maybe since this is an outside project, with more complicated licenses and other publishing and copyright agencies involved because of the film synchronisation, he has decided to partner with Amazon and pretty standard ordering and delivery options.
You can get a free five track sampler from the supporting website – click through to find the link… (more…)
Chicago house music staple 5 Magazine have just celebrated their 5th anniversary, and not only did they hold a fantastic event for Boom Boom Room at Green Dolphin, but they embarked on an epic project of live video and interview footage with 40 of the greatest DJs and Producers in the Chicago electronic music scene.
As a bonus, there is also a short film shot by John Pappas on the subject of 5 Magazine’s Five Year Anniversary, with Czarina Mirani, Rees Urban and a cast of Chicago’s Househeads, including Byrd Bardot, Chitown Ronnie, David Sabat, Christopher Banks and many more.
I think it is a wonderful idea that 5 Magazine put all this together to celebrate, and the idea of sharing information, video and music among the Chicago community is one of the things that makes the Chicago music scene a great place. Presenting some of the great names of the past, present and future, and creating a package for worldwide fans of Chicago-based music to enjoy for free is a humble and noble thing to do, and an extension of the education and exposure that the magazine delivers on a regular basis. Check out the official ‘The Project’ website and pass on to people you know in the worldwide house music community.
Adele’s Rolling in the Deep.
