Category Archives: Music

Review: Kanye West premieres short film ‘Runaway’, previews songs from upcoming album

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Kanye West travelled to Prague not so long ago to film a 35 minute short film called Runaway.  The film, directed by West & written by music video collaborator Hype Williams, plays like an extended and highly perfected music video.  Nine songs from West’s upcoming fifth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy are interspersed throughout the film that premiered Saturday night simultaneously on MTV, MTV 2, MTV.com, BET, BET.com, and VH1.com.  Watch it uncensored after the break.

The film tells a short story about a beautiful phoenix (played by model Selita Ebanks) falling to Earth and falling in love with a man played by Kanye.  It opens up with a short introductory quip by Nicki Minaj (in her overzealous British accent) as she invites the viewer to “gather ’round children, zip it, listen!”  Then the first beat drops.  As Kanye drives his luxury car through a wooded area populated by grazing deer (who appear to be CGI), ‘Ye raps the title track “Dark Fantasy.”  In the distance up in the sky a plume of fire quickly descends to the ground, crashing into Kanye’s car and forcing ‘Ye to come to the rescue.  As the track goes “Can we get much higher?  Oh, oh, oh oh…” we catch our first glimpse of the Phoenix injured on the pavement.  Kanye picks her up and carries her away from the wreck, walking slowly towards the camera as the fire blazes in the background and “Dark Fantasy” winds down.  The title card “Runaway” appears, the track ends, and the story resumes at Kanye’s home.

The Phoenix wakes up and finds herself disoriented in our markedly different world.  Ebanks does a fantastic job throughout the film portraying this sense of feeling out of place in a foreign land–the ruffling of her feathers, the way she moves her claws and darts her head.  All of these small but very distinct qualities add to her stranger in a strange land mentality that brings the film’s overall theme into focus when the conclusion rolls around.  She is startled by a breaking news story shouting from the TV; Kanye appears and informs her, “First rule in this world baby: Don’t pay attention to anything you see in the news.”  Take note: the film does not contain much dialogue (not including the songs, obviously), so listen carefully to what Kanye and Ebanks’ characters have to say.  Kanye’s message is not hiding–it lives in the songs, the visuals, and also in what he (and the Phoenix) have to say.

Next up is “Gorgeous” — Kid Cudi sings the chorus and Kanye raps a verse as we watch the Phoenix interact with nature and animals.  While she’s frolicking in the backyard and getting acclimated to our world, Kanye looks on from inside the house.  He’s in love with the mysterious bird that fell into his lap.  Quite abruptly the track ends and a distinctly new version of “Power” begins.  Kanye plays with the beat on his sampler and the Phoenix twitches along with it.  A wave of comfortability hits the Phoenix and so she fearlessly begins to seductively dance to the heavily sampled “Power.”  Then as abruptly as it started “Power” ends and the signature horns of “All of the Lights” are introduced. Continue reading Review: Kanye West premieres short film ‘Runaway’, previews songs from upcoming album →

Kid Cudi drops third single, reveals MOTM2 tracklist + posters

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Cudder’s sophomore slam is nearly here.  Want a peek at the 17 song ‘scenelist’ for Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager?  Force your eyeballs slightly downwards.

Act 1: The World I Am Ruling
1. Scott Mescudi Vs The World feat. Cee-Lo (Producted by Emile)
2. REVOFEV (Producted by Plain Pat)

ACT 2: A Stronger Trip
3. Don’t Play This Song feat. Mary J. Blige (Producted by Emile)
4. We Aite (Wake Your Mind Up) (Producted by Emile)
5. Marijuana (Producted by Dot Da Genius)
6. Mojo So Dope (Producted by Emile)

Act 3; Party On
7. Ashin’ Kusher (Producted by Chuck English)
8. Erase Me feat. Kanye West (Producted by Jim Jonsin)
9. Wild’n Cuz Im Young (Producted by Plain Pat)
10. The Mood (Producted by Emile)

Act 4: The Transformation
11. MANIAC feat. Cage & St. Vincent (Producted by Anthony Killhoffer)
12. Mr. Rager (Producted by Emile)
13. These Worries feat. Mary J. Blige (Producted by Emile)
14. The End feat. GLC, Chip Tha Ripper & Nicole Wray (Produced by Blended Babies)

Act 5: You Live & You Learn
15. All Along (Producted by Emile)
16. GHOST! (Producted by Emile)
17. Trapped In My Mind (Producted by Dot Da Genius)

As you can see, Cudi organized the tracklist here the same way he did for the original MOTM; it flows more like a “scenelist” where the tracks are bunched into individial scenes and they bleed into each other very much like a movie.  Cudi managed to scoop up some impressive featured artists; there’s Cee-Lo, Mary J. Blige, Kanye West, Cage, St. Vincent, GLC, Chip Tha Ripper, and Nicole Wray.  Dot Da Genius, Emile, and Plain Pat return as producers along with new recruits Jim Jonsin, Chuck English, Anthony Killhoffer, and Blended Babies.

You’ve already seen the album cover for the regular and deluxe versions, so how about we detail how they differentiate.  The regular version comes complete with all 17 tracks; the final song “Maybe” is an iTunes bonus track (produced by Dot Da Genius and Rami Beatz).  The deluxe versions comes with all 17 songs plus the “Erase Me” music video and a 30 minute documentary titled “Journey of Mr. Rager.”  If you want that bonus track, preorder MOTM2 in iTunes: standard / deluxe.  And if you preorder today, you will instantly receive a copy of single #3 that is “Mr. Rager.”  Prefer a physical copy?  Amazon’s got you covered: standard / deluxe.

Curious about the movie poster hanging above? Continue reading Kid Cudi drops third single, reveals MOTM2 tracklist + posters →

Rihanna is ready to get LOUD

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After dropping the single Only Girl (In the World) back in September, Rihanna is nearly ready to release her fifth studio album.  Album cover: check (see above).  Tracklist: check (see below).

  1. S&M
  2. What’s My Name (Featuring Drake)
  3. Cheers (Drink To That)
  4. Fading
  5. Only Girl In The World
  6. California King Bed
  7. Mad Down
  8. Raining Men (Featuring Nicki Minaj)
  9. Complicated
  10. Skin
  11. Love The Way You Lie Part II (Featuring Eminem)

That’s right–RiRi is hooking up with Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Eminem in her latest effort to deliver the pop sound that made her so successful.  After watching her new music video for Only Girl, it’s plain to see Rihanna is ready to walk away from the darkness and back to her fun, cut loose dance anthems.  Get Loud November 12.

[Via Rap-Up]

G.O.O.D. Friday: Kanye West – “Don’t Look Down” (Featuring Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco & Big Sean)

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Kanye West is working so very hard on finalizing his upcoming album My Beautiful Twisted Dark Fantasty–no wonder why last week’s G.O.O.D. Friday track landed on the ‘Net during the wee hours of Saturday morning.  When he officially tweeted about the track’s release he called it “Don’t Look Down (The Phoenix Story)”, so make a choice when giving it a name in your music library.  You know the drill by now: preview and download below!  Note: The album art does contain nudity; hop after the break for the uncensored image.

Download: Kanye West – “Don’t Look Down” (Featuring Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco & Big Sean)

[audio: Kanye West – Don’t Look Down.mp3]

[Via KWBlog] Continue reading G.O.O.D. Friday: Kanye West — “Don’t Look Down” (Featuring Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco & Big Sean) →

Band loses gear, rocks out on NYC subway using iPhone instrument apps

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Brooklyn-based band Atomic Tom supposedly had all their instruments stolen earlier this month.  So they decided to hop on the B-train and perform their single “Take Me Out” using nothing but iPhones and musical apps.  The video went viral and has garnered around 2.1 million hits on YouTube.  I say “supposedly had their instruments stolen” because this all went down about three months after their debut album The Moment hit iTunes.  Publicity stunt or not, these guys are super talented.

[Via Digg]

‘The Social Network’ soundtrack is available now

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If you’ve seen The Social Network you know that one of the most standout redeeming qualities of the movie (besides the stellar writing and acting) is the dark, ominous, electric music from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.  The 19 track soundtrack is available to purchase today for $7.99; that’s a steal.  Download it at iTunes or order a physical copy from Amazon.

Kid Cudi selects MOTM2 album cover [Update: deluxe edition]

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And here it is!  Definitely not as racy and bizarre as Kanye West’s George Condo piece, but it doesn’t have to be.  There’s the signature dark overtone Cudder brings to the table with his music, and in the torn image he’s sitting on a stool in front of a picture of a colorful night sky looking at an empty shot glass.  Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager drops November 9.  Get psyched.

Update: Look after the break for the deluxe edition album cover.  It’s basically the same image except that the picture of the night sky is slightly tweaked.  The deluxe edition packs the CD and a DVD featuring a half-hour documentary by Jason Goldwatch/DECON and three music videos (Erase Me, Soundtrack 2 My Life, Cudderisback).

[Via DatNewCudi, here & here] Continue reading Kid Cudi selects MOTM2 album cover [Update: deluxe edition] →

Kanye West finalizing new album, complaining about “banned” album cover

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My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West’s fifth studio album, drops in about one month’s time on November 22.  In anticipation of the album’s release, Kanye is giving fans a peek into his final plans.  He tweeted on Sunday, “Last day to wrap the album… I’m feeling so blessed on this day… finishing my 5th studio album in 6 years! Lining up piano sample replays.”  He then revealed, “Adding the voice samples from the VMA performance to the album version of Runaway also the whole song is 8 minutes long.”  So the single version of “Runaway” (now available on iTunes) is not the final version making it to the album.  Good to hear, since those voice samples rock.  On Twitter he also spilled that the Runaway short film (which is 35 minutes in length) to accompany the new album will premiere simultaneously on MTV, MTV2, BET, MTV.com, BET.com, and VH1.com next Saturday, October 23 at 8PM ET.

So now let’s talk about that “banned” album cover you see sitting above.  It’s a George Condo piece featuring a cartoonish (and nude) Kanye West sprawled out on a bed with a nude, winged, and polka dotted tailed, armless woman-beast on top of him.  On Twitter Kanye screamed, “Yoooo they banned my album cover!!!!!” and continued, “Banned in the USA!!! They don’t want me chilling on the couch with my phoenix!”  He went on to share his excitement about the album cover and the reaction it was getting.  “I know that cover just blew yall minds … I wish yall could see how hard I’m smiling right now!!!”  Then he started to complain about the “ban”.  “In the 70s album covers had actual nudity… It’s so funny that people forget that… Everything has been so commercialized now.”  “In all honesty … I really don’t be thinking about Wal-Mart when I make my music or album covers #Kanyeshrug!”  “I wanna sell albums but not at the expense of my true creativity.”  “So Nirvana can have a naked human being on they cover but I can’t have a PAINTING of a monster with no arms and a polka dot tail and wings.”  But was the album cover acutally banned after all?  The answer, quite simply, is no.

According to the LA Times, the racy cover was not “banned” in the full sense of the word.  An anonomous source close to the matter says that Kanye’s label UMG Island Def Jam “strongly urged [Kanye] to use alternate art” but added that Kanye “was told if he wanted to do it, the label would stand behind him.”  The same source also said that the main issue at hand “was whether or not mass-market retailers such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart would carry an album featuring venomous nudes.”  But in a statement to EW, Wal-Mart denies rejecting the album art.  Said a Wal-Mart spokesperson: “We’re excited about Kanye West’s new album and we look forward to carrying it in our stores on November 22nd.  As always, it’s our standard practice to carry the edited parental advisory version.  We did not reject the cover artwork and it was never presented to us to view.”

So there you have it.  The label did not ban the album cover and giant retailers do not have the intention to boycott it.  This appears to be a classic case of Kanye West stirring up some controversy and igniting the hype for what promises to be a hot commodity come this November.

[Via @kanyewest; EW, here & here; LATimes]

G.O.O.D. Friday: Kanye West – “Take One for the Team” (Featuring Keri Hilson, Pusha T & CyHi Da Prynce)

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Another Friday means another G.O.O.D. Friday track.  This one features the lovely Keri Hilson along with the newest G.O.O.D. Music label players Pusha T and CyHi Da Prynce.  Preview and download below.

Download: Kanye West – “Take One for the Team” (Featuring Keri Hilson, Pusha T & CyHi Da Prynce)

[audio: Kanye West – Take One for the Team.mp3]

[Via KWBlog]

Single: Ke$ha – “We R Who We R”

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It’s always fun to make fun of Ke$ha.  But when you remove all those layers of glitter, her lazy attitude, and the fact that she can’t sing live, what you get are some really, really catchy radio tunes.  The pop star is ready to impress again with a followup to her debut album Animal with Cannibal.  In an interview with EW she expressed her excitement of working the studio again and shared her passion for creating music for the new generation of youngsters.  “I feel like I’m creating this hopefully very youthful and irreverent movement of the kids, of like adolescence.  I feel like the parents don’t get it, but the kids get it. And they deserve to have more good, positive music.”

The first single off Cannibal is “We R Who We R”, a song Ke$ha reveals to be a topical message for the current crop of kids being bullied in school for being different.  “I wanted to inspire people to be themselves,” she says.  It’s a celebration of any sort of quirks or eccentricities.”  (She even took time to post a thoughtful message promising  bullied teens that “It Gets Better.”)  And as for the nine track album which releases November 22?  “It’s fun as s—!”  Hope she doesn’t mean that too literally.  Go on and take a listen to the new single above–you know it’s going to be stuck in your head once the radio stations get a hold of it, so you might as well prepare early.

[Via EW-MusicMix]

Music video: Rihanna – “Only Girl (In the World)”

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So you know that Stargate-produced headbanger that you can’t stop listening to?  Well know it’s been issued a music video, ready for your viewing pleasure above.  Watch Rihanna belt out her latest single and frolic among flowers in a field in “Only Girl (In the World)“.  Care-free, up-beat RiRi is back.  Her next studio album LOUD! releases November 12.