Category Archives: Music

This year in music, as told by DJ Earworm’s mega-mashup

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By now you should be anticipating DJ Earworm’s mashup of the top 25 hits according to Billboard Magazine when the year is near its end. Like always, in addition to masterfully mashing together all these songs he also manages to fuse together all of the corresponding music videos that accompany the tracks. Adele, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, LMFAO, and Rihanna dominate this year’s selection; for the full tracklist jump after the break. Download “United State of Pop 2011 (World Go Boom)” right here. Now turn your speakers up and sing-along…you know all the words, don’t deny it.

Continue reading This year in music, as told by DJ Earworm’s mega-mashup →

Adele tops iTunes’ best-selling albums and songs lists of 2011

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Apple has released lists of its music store’s best-selling albums and songs of 2011. 23-year-old singer songwriter Adele has comes out as the clear winner, topping both the best-selling album and song charts with her sophomore release 21 and the track “Rolling in the Deep,” respectively. Following 21 is Mumford & Sons’ Sigh No More, Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV, Kanye West and Jay-Z’s collaborative effort Watch the Throne, and Coldplay’s latest Mylo Xyloto. Drake’s Take Care impressively took the #8 spot on the list, having only been released last month. Moving over to the best-selling songs, LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” landed at the #2 spot, followed by Katy Perry’s “Firework”, Bruno Mars’ “Grenade”, and Cee-Lo Green’s “Forget You.” This year Apple went so far as to award artists individual distinctions, too. For obvious reasons Adele was named Artist of the Year; Wasting Light by The Foo Fighters got Album of the Year, even though it didn’t land the in the best-selling top ten list; Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks” is Song of the Year (#9 on the top ten list); and Breakthrough Artist of the Year is Nicki Minaj whose song “Super Bass” rests at #10 on the best-selling songs list. Jump after the break to see who else rounded out iTunes’ best-selling albums and songs of the year. Open iTunes to view their Rewind 2011 section for more year-end chart toppers.

[Via THR] Continue reading Adele tops iTunes’ best-selling albums and songs lists of 2011 →

Kid Cudi reveals WZRD album cover

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Kid Cudi can’t keep out of the news. After releasing two tracks from his upcoming collabo album with producer Dot Da Genius, Cudder jumped back onto Twitter to share with his followers the “official logo” for his band WZRD. He confirmed that the image embedded above will in fact serve as the album cover when the still yet-to-be-titled album drops January 30. Though now all signs point to it being self titled as WZRD. Cudi went on to describe the album art as “simple, classic, iconic.”

Bonus! The same day he posted the WZRD image to Twitter, he also shared a link to Dia Frampton’s YouTube channel. Embedded after the break you’ll find an amazing cover of Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness” by The Voice runner-up. The two recently collaborated on Frampton’s new single “Don’t Kick the Chair.”

[Via @wizardcud] Continue reading Kid Cudi reveals WZRD album cover →

Single: W Z R D – “Teleport 2 Me” (Snippet)

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There really isn’t anything more to say than this… Kid Cudi is back and quite possibly better than ever. His Man on the Moon cuts are great, sure. But the kid named Cudi is preparing to take his fans on an entirely different kind of journey in his Wizard suit. We got a taste of what’s to come with his previous full-length release “Brake” late last month and today he’s dropped only a snippet of “Teleport 2 Me”, the first official single off his still yet-to-be-titled collabo album with producer Dot Da Genius. Plug in your Beats, turn the volume up to full blast, and teleport into Cudder’s latest magnificent, dream-like track. I dare you not to grin from ear to ear upon first listen.

Download: W Z R D – “Teleport 2 Me”

[audio: Teleport2Me.mp3]

Kanye West leads 2012 Grammy nominations

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On December 1 the 2012 Grammy nominations were announced and rapper Kanye West leads the pack with seven nominations. Though this may sound like great news, of the seven nods only one falls in a major category. And that nod is for “All of the Lights”, a cut off West’s 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy which competes against Mumford & Sons’ “The Cave”, Bruno Mars’ “Grenade”, Bon Iver’s “Holocene”, and Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” for Song of the Year. Twisted Fantasy and his latest effort Watch The Throne were snubbed and didn’t find a seat at the Album of the Year category. Instead, West’s albums will be competing against one another for Best Rap Album, along with Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV, Lupe Fiasco’s Lasers, and Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday. West also landed nominations in the following categories: Best Rap Performance (with Jay-Z on”Otis”), Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (with Rihanna, Kid Cudi, and Fergie on “All of the Lights”), Best Rap Song (“All of the Lights” & “Otis”), and Best Recording Package (Watch The Throne). Following close behind ‘Ye’s seven nods is Adele, Foo Fighters, and Bruno Mars with six each. Rapper Lil Wayne and newcomer Skrillex landed five a piece.

Click here to view the full 2012 Grammy nominees list. The 54th Grammys airs Sunday, February 12 at 8PM on CBS.

Music video: Lady Gaga – “Marry the Night”

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Every time Gaga releases a music video, you never really know exactly what you’re going to get. Like some other in her collection, the nearly 14-minute clip for “Marry the Night” plays like a short film. In fact, the music doesn’t start until Gaga pushes in an 8-track tape at the 8:47 mark. Before that happens all kinds of erratic scenes fill the screen. In the beginning Gaga is wheeled into a hospital ward that appears to be located inside a hotel, and during this part she narrates her inspirations behind the nurses’ wardrobe, among other things. Once the music kicks in so does the choreography; Gaga and her dancers once again show off their fancy moves and impress. Go on and grab some popcorn then mash play to experience another wild glimpse into the mind of Lady Gaga.

Music video: Dia Frampton – “Don’t Kick The Chair” (Featuring Kid Cudi)

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If you watched the first season of NBC’s music competition series The Voice then the name Dia Frampton should ring a bell; she was the runner-up behind winner Javier Colon. Falling to second place didn’t stop her from achieving fame. Frampton is preparing her debut album Red that’s expected to drop December 6 and for her new single “Don’t Kick The Chair” she managed to get rapper Kid Cudi to croon a verse. She shared the inspiration behind the track to AOL Music. “It started with my lyrical idea, ‘Don’t Kick the Chair,’ since my sisters and I throw that phrase around at home when we’re complaining about something when, on the other hand, it’s a beautiful day outside. In other words, ‘don’t kick the chair’ is another way of saying, ‘don’t give up,’ because you can’t have the highs without the lows, and there’s no use in getting down about something for too long. You got to start pushing forward at some point.” On working with Cudder: “It was a pleasure having Kid Cudi on this song. I’m a fan of his work and also am very happy with the positive lyrics he created. This song has a dark undertone, but overall, I wanted it to be optimistic.”

Watch the lyric video above and bop your head to upbeat track and Frampton’s sweet, crisp voice.

Update: The song, as well as Frampton’s album Red, is now available to purchase on iTunes.

Single: W Z R D – “Brake”

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The former lonely stoner just couldn’t wait any longer. After teasing the album’s January 30, 2012 release date on Saturday, Kid Cudi jumped back on Twitter to share with the world the first official cut off his upcoming third, yet-to-be-titled studio album. The track is called “Brake” and it’s produced by Wizard-in-crime Dot Da Genius and features guitar strings flicked by Cudder himself. Much like his previous release “Perfect Is The Word,” this song doesn’t find Cudi rapping but instead crooning over a punk rock-ish beat. Prior to dropping the single Cudi tweeted, “Tonight, you will all witness the new chapter, the new journey. Music will never be the same…” Listen to “Brake” below, follow along by reading the simple lyrics provided by Cudi, and click the download link for keeps. Are you entranced by Kid Cudi’s new sound? Anticipating his collabo release with Dot? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Download: W Z R D – “Brake”

[audio: Brake.mp3]

Kid Cudi announces W Z R D album release date

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This week rapper Kid Cudi took to Twitter to make a major announcement: his next album is coming out January 30, 2012 to coincide with his 28th birthday. He also made a change to his group’s name. He and producer Dot da Genius are now collectively known as W Z R D (short for WIZARD) and 2 Be Continuum is no more. Cudi was not ready to spill the beans on the album’s title yet. However he did go on to say that the album “does not contain any profanity or the usage of the word “nigga”.” The former lonely stoner calls it “a universal album for everyone.” Also, he says “WZRD is bringin Punk Rock back with a whole new energy and sound.” Not really sure what he means by that? We’ll have a taste of what’s in store soon as Cudi promises that a snippet of the first single is on its way. “Ladies, your gonna have something to shake those booties to,” he teases.

Preview ‘The Muppets’ soundtrack right here!

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The new Muppets movie is almost here! To elevate your sheer excitement click play above and take in seven minutes of the original soundtrack. You’ll hear vocals from all of your favorite Henson characters as well as stars Jason Segal, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, and more. Preorder the soundtrack at iTunes today. It releases tomorrow, November 20. And the movie comes out this Wednesday, November 23.

Donald “Childish Gambino” Glover drops rap album ‘Camp’

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Community star Donald Glover is a rapper, if you didn’t know. After submitting data into a Wu-Tang Clan name generator, he decided to make the result his alter-ego rap name: Childish Gambino. Glover has been making music since 2008, outputting mixtapes and albums and headlining national tours over the years. Today his latest studio album Camp released and it includes 13 tracks. The lead single “Bonfire” has a music video and it’s embedded above. Before starring in the NBC sitcom and writing for 30 Rock, Glover made viral videos with his troup Derrick Comedy. Dan Eckman, a member of that comedy troup, directed the clip for “Bonfire.” Fair warning: the lyrics contain lots ‘o expletives. For an actor-rapper, the production value hold up pretty well, and Glover is gifted with hustle and flow. The music video includes a story and twist ending that is well worth your time; visually it’s enticing and at the same time it’ll introduce you to Glover’s rap style. Need to hear more before you purchase Camp at iTunes? NPR is currently streaming the album in its entirety.

YouTube musician Kina Grannis has fun with jelly beans in new stop-motion music video

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Have you ever heard of jelly bean art? Well it exists. And now so does a jelly bean music video. YouTube star Kina Grannis wrote a song called “In Your Arms” and developed a music video with director Greg Jardin involving 288,000 jelly beans. The insanely impressive stop-motion video, which includes a total of 2,460 individual frames, took 22 months (1,357 hours) to complete. Sure the song is catchy and Grannis has an infectious charm about her, but it’s the sheer level of dedication put into this music video that has elevated to viral status. In under a week it has amassed about 1.5 million well deserved views. After you wipe the saliva off your mouth when the video ends (and that’s either because you’re so impressed or you’re craving Jelly Belly jelly beans, or both) make sure you jump after the break to watch a seven minute making-of video that shows just how much hard work and patience was required to make the music video a reality. With “In Your Arms” Grannis has proved she’s a creative force to be reckoned with, and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next. Continue reading YouTube musician Kina Grannis has fun with jelly beans in new stop-motion music video →