I can hardly understand what she is saying, but Sia sings with tremendous passion. In addition, the video for “Soon We’ll Be Found” very adeptly fuses the colors and motifs of her website to screen. Dig those colors man!
Indie/garage rock was in full-effect with performances from the likes of Athens, Georgia native, The Whigs, and Ohio-based rockers, Heartless Bastards at the 2008 SoCo Music Experience concert. Click on the player to watch the clips.
Well...they’re back. Old-ass rockers, AC/DC, return this fall with a brand new album, reportedly titled Black Ice. With amazing song titles like “Rock’n’Roll Train,” “She Likes Rock’n’Roll,” “Rock’n’Roll Dream” and “Rocking All the Way,” it can’t fail, right? And in an increasingly annoying trend, Brian Johnson and Co. plan to release Black Ice through Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club. For those math whizzes out there: Wal-Mart + Sam’s Club < Rock n' Roll.
After serious bouts of depression and rumors of retirement, it looks Eminem is back to old self again. In an interview on his Shade 45 satellite radio station in celebration of Delicious Vinyl’s 20-year anniversary, Slim Shady chops it with up DJ Tony Touch and former Cold Chillin’-Delicious Vinyl artist, Masta Ace, about Em’s remixing of the Masta Ace song - “Slaughtahouse,” and other upcoming projects
REVIEW BY MARGUERITE FRENCH
Label: Columbia/BMG
The Grade: B+
The Who: Looks like our man Raphael Saadiq has had some name issues. Born Charlie Ray Wiggins, Saadiq formed the R&B soul dance trio Tony! Toni! Tone! with his brother Dwayne Wiggins and cousin Timothy Christian, even though none of them were named any variation of Tony. Wiggins transfered from the name Charlie Ray Wiggins to Raphael Wiggins, and, after he amicably split from Tony! Toni! Tone!, made the full commitment to the moniker we now know and love. Under this appellation, Saadiq formed the group Lucy Pearl, served as a producer for such artists as Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, The Roots and D’Angelo (winning a Grammy for that last one).
Advertisement ...................................................
What the eff!? Venerable actor, Sir Ben Kingsley may have just outdone himself. The versatile thespian who’s stuck the landings on such roles as serial killers, religious saviors, nazis and Sexy Beasts takes now takes on his most hardcore challenge...punk. Here’s Sir Ben rawking out to old-school punk patron saints, Minor Threat.
Details are slim, but according to MEAN Magazine:
Sir Ben Kingsley: Oscar-winner. Knight of the realm. Sexy beast. Stars for MEAN… in a tribute to our hardcore heroes, Minor Threat.
Directed by Kashy Khaledi
Photography by Kurt Iswarienko
Title effects by Casey Basichis
Editing by X1FX
So...Awesome? Courageous? Poser? Love to know what other people think.
Throw Prodigy among the likes of Perez Hilton, Will Leitch, and Ariana Huffington. The eccentric half of Mobb Deep has become a force on the blogosphere, dropping ghetto diatribes from his jail cell since being convicted of gun possession (a third time) last year. In a May post on Vibe.com, the Queens rapper wrote of a massive conspiracy behind 9/11, giant owl-worshipping secret societies, and invisible energy lines that wrap around the earth. In his latest post, dated Sept. 13, the Queens rapper writes of Mid-State Correctional Facility, where he is currently serving out his 3 1/2 year sentence:
YO, THEY GOT BAT’S FLYING AROUND INSIDE. SHIT FLEW PASS MY FACE A FEW HOURS AGO. I HATE BATS!! I GET BIT, I’M SUING!
But that’s just the beginning, or rather the latest from this national treasure. You’ve gotta see what P had to say back in February about the twenty-six hip-hop trends he started. Rapping words that don’t rhyme? Yeah, that was P. Custom football jerseys with “Hennessy” written on them. Yeah, that was P too.
Check after the jump for the full list of tastes that Prodigy claims to have made.
Label: Def Jam
Release Date: September 16, 2008
The Grade: B+
The Who: Popularly known as an R&B smoothie, Ne-Yo got his foot in the door by creating anthems for the likes of chart queens Rihanna, Mary J. Blige and Beyonce. (Yeah, have you heard that song “Irreplaceable”? That one was his.) But it’s not as though the man’s singing doesn’t merit media frenzy on its own: he’s released several singles of his own, all of them hits, snagged a few Grammys for said hits, and, since he writes his own lyrics, he’s got an edge over most of his competitors.
Goddammit...first the financial world crumbles a few streets south of me, and now this! Brace yourselves everyone...TRL is being canceled. I know, I know - this is the last piece of news we needed today. But after more than ten years on the air, the venerable heir to the Dick Clark and Casey Kasem-style countdown shows of pop mythology is closing its Times Square doors in November.
What, you say you didn’t watch TRL? Liar. LIAR! If you didn’t flip on the latch-key-kid boob-tube after you got home from middle school, I call shenannigans. Bring your lies elsewhere, hippy.
I’m left stunned. All I can do is sit back and let the reel of fond memories flash before my eyes....Carson Daly announcing “Freak On A Leash” for the inexplicable 253rd time...Mariah Carey literally going bat-shit crazy on live television...Britney Spears causing thousands of teenagers to stampede and commit heinous felonies in the middle of the street as she walked closer to the studio window...God it’s just too much.
We’re gonna get through this people. Somehow we’ll survive. Here’s an appropriate send off...a video that had to have been shown on TRL more times than anyone cares to admit.
It shoulda been you, Ryan Seacrest.
“Bye, Bye, Bye”
REVIEW BY MARGUERITE FRENCH
Label: Universal Motown Records
Release Date: September 16, 2008
The Grade: C
The Who: The man who brought us “Hot In Herre”, that club anthem that urged party goers to remove all attire due to the rising temperature of the environment - which in retrospect may have been an early warning call regarding global warming - is no stranger to the recording studio: he’s poised to release his fifth studio album, Brass Knuckles. Nelly is also responsible for “Ride Wit Me,” the ironic cautionary tale on the dangers of driving while intoxicated or distracted, and “Pimp Juice”, the paean to personal hygiene.
Advertisement ...................................................
REVIEW BY BILL HEINZELMAN
Label: Fat Beats/Uncle Howie Records
Release Date: September 16, 2008
The Grade: B
The Who: Brooklyn, NY native, Ill Bill, is one of the founding members of the defunct rap group, Non Phixion, and the CEO of Uncle Howie Records. Non Phixion – comprised of Ill Bill, Sabac Red, Goretex, and DJ Eclipse – released their classic underground LP, The Future Is Now, in 2002. The album featured production by DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Necro, Large Professor and Juju of The Beatnuts. In 2006, the group disbanded as all three members drifted apart and started to focus on their solo careers. As a solo artist, Ill Bill dropped his underrated debut, What’s Wrong With Bill, in 2004. The critically acclaimed LP featured the controversial single, “The Anatomy of a School Shooting,” and went on to sell over 16,000 copies.
Rainbows, white robes, golden guitars, dancing cops, African-American hipsters… TV on the Radio really bring it in the video for “Golden Age,” the lead single to their highly anticipated third album, Dear Science, due out Sept. 22. We’ve already heard the album in full, and while it’s not quite as hot as 2006’s Return to Cookie Mountain, it’s a real interesting record that should get a heap of critical acclaim in the coming weeks.
Check after the jump for the “Golden Age” video.
Advertisement ...................................................