From all the hubbub surrounding @KanyeWest and his tweets you’d never believe that he’s only been using the social networking service for less than a week. Just hours after he jumped on the bandwagon and started sharing thoughts only Kanye could come up with, comedian and real-life pal Aziz Ansari started an ongoing conversation using the hashtag #PredictingKanyeTweets. Early ones included: “Just saw a girl with huge titties at Del Taco.” “Hans Zimmer needs to write a score for whenever I eat a cookie. when I eat cookies shit is mad suspenseful.” The hashtag made it to Trending Topics for a few hours that first day.
Following #PredictingKanyeTweets is #KanyeNewYorkerTweets. That’s right, Twitter users are tagging Kanye’s tweets to actual New Yorker cartoons. Surprisingly they make for near perfect captions. I’ve posted one above, and there’s a bunch more in the gallery below. Like Ansari’s hashtag, this new conversation has just begun so make sure to search the hashtag often for a light chuckle throughout the day. Kanye must be loving this.
Kid Cudi recently performed his first single “REVOFEV” off his upcoming sophomore album Man on the Moon: The Legend of Mr. Rager at the BAPE clothing store in NYC. He teamed up with YouTube to have a VEVO crew follow his journey to the store. The best part of the collaboration is that the video is in HD and the audio is perfectly audible. Don’t have much time? Scrub to timestamp 1:37, that’s when the song actually starts. Remember you can download the track here.
Moving on to some important news regarding the release of MOTM II… According to Rap-Up, Cudder’s new album has been delayed twice in the same week. Last Thursday it broke that the album would not drop on September 14 (aka G.O.O.D. Music Day) but instead be pushed back two weeks to September 28, the same date T.I. and Young Jeezy are expected to drop King Uncaged and TM 103, respectively. Then two days ago it was reported that his label Universal Motown decided to delay the record by nearly another month. Though this is all up for speculation, sources say that MOTM II is now expected to drop October 26. Bum-mer.
In the meantime, you have “REVOFEV”, “Erase Me”, and now “Mojo So Dope” to enjoy. “Mojo” found its way onto the ‘Net a few weeks ago in snippet form, but early this morning the full, tagless version was let loose into the wild and it’s hella good. Its got this hazy, retro, dream-like vibe to it–Cudi’s signature stamp if you ask me. Take a listen below and click the download link for keeps. The wait is worth it, the wait is worth it. You gotta keep saying that to yourself..
After spending some time out of the limelight, Kanye West has returned to entertain us with his slick, emotionally-driven raps and different side of his thumping ego. On Wednesday Kanye visited Facebook HQ in Palo Alto, California to preview four tracks from his upcoming album. He donned a fresh suit and rapped a capella atop a table inside a fluorescently lit conference room in front of Facebook employees. He starts with a “fun rap”, that’s the one embedded above. It rocks. “Kill the hypocrisy/This is an aristocracy..I’m Socrates/But my skin more chocolatey.” The next rap is rather short; it may just be a freestyle, but it’s got a sick line in it: “Lost in this plastic life/Let’s break out of this fake-ass party, turn this into a classic night.” The next song likely titled “Chain Heavy” is dipped in politics and contains this humorous line: “They try to tell me that aliens built the pyramids/I swear life’s on bitch on a period”; it concludes with my favorite line I’ve heard this far: “This is the making of a masterpiece/So we broke out the chains and told our master, ‘Peace’.” The fourth song is called “Mama’s Boyfriend” and it’s an extremely emotional track about Kanye’s late mother Donde West. In it he journeys back to the days when his divorced mother started dating other men. “I’m my mama’s boyfriend/I’m her little husband…Keep your hands off my mama” he screams. Apprently this track took him 33 years to write and it clearly means a lot to him. ‘Ye drops so many uses of the n-word in this track, but he says, “I’m allowed to use it.”
Later that day he posted this message targeted to the Facebook employees: “Many times in life I’ve had to deal with moments of doubt. And as it’s been a minute since I’ve performed any fresh material in front of an audience, this could’ve been one of those moments… but it wasn’t. Your energy was a gift so electric, so genuine, that it really helped me give my best. The energy was so inspiring I had to keep going! I just hope you got as much from me as I got from you…which was everything!” Be sure to look after the break to listen to all the tracks.
From one popular social network to another, Kanye finally caved in and joined the Twitterverse. And you know what? He actually comes across a non-egotistical funnyman. Peep his first tweet: “Up early in the morning taking meetings in Silicone Valley.” This was followed almost immediately by: “Lol I spelled Silicon wrong ( I guess I was still thinking about the other type of silicone ITS A PROCESS!! : )” Then came some important news regarding his upcoming album: “The album is no longer called “Good Ass Job” I’m bouncing a couple of titles around now.” Just confirming our suspicions, Kanye. After giving a handful of shoutouts to various blogs for reporting his Facebook HQ visit, he started to notice how quickly he was garnering a following. In less than two days he managed to gain a following of nearly 300,000 (he’s currently at 293,687 followers). With tweets like these: “My thoughts on Twitter so far… at the end of the day, God damnit I’m killing this shit!!!” and “I think Twitter was designed specifically with me in mind just my humble opinion hahhhahaaaahaaa humble hahahahhahaahaaaa” you might think ‘Ye is stroking his ego again, but I think he’s actually starting to satirize himself. He’s finally realized that he “has the power to let power go” and he’s learning from his past mistakes. Hilarious comic (and one of Kanye’s friends) Aziz Ansari started trending the hashtag #PredictingKanyeTweets, and Kanye simply retweeted jokes that were on him. “Damn I wish Hermes made edible snacks, Cheezits just ain’t dope enough for my mouth”, tweeted Ansari. The fact that he’s not retaliating but instead having fun with his new lease on life through Twitter makes me believe that he’s turning a corner for the better. But don’t take my word for it. Follow @kanyewest and form your own opinions.
At the end of the day, it appears as if Kanye wants to begin a new chapter in his career. After coming out of hiding he decided to tease some tracks and open up his fanbase using the power of social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter. It’s an interesting and unconventional route to take but it’s one I can commend. Welcome back Mr. West. September 14 come now please.
Update: Later in the week Kanye visited a bunch of magazine headquarters including XXL and Rolling Stone. A video surfaced on YouTube from his meeting with the latter outlet. Look for it after the break.
House fans, listen here! Hugh Laurie, aka Dr. Gregory House, wants to record a blues album and he’s going for it! It was announced Monday that Laurie signed with Warner Music Entertainment to make a New Orleans-inspired blues album. “I am drunk with excitement at this opportunity,” Laurie said in a press release. “I know the history of actors making music is a checkered one, but I promise no one will get hurt.” Joe Henry has signed on to produce.
He’s finally got the chance to share his piano and guitar skills he often flaunts on the show with the rest of the world. And if you were wondering, Laurie is apparently a self-taught pianist due to “creative differences” with his childhood piano teacher. Oh, House.
Last week a good friend of mine introduced me to a brand new artist whose voice will likely take the industry by storm. Mark Russell is a singer-songwriter at heart, but he can easily supplement his powerful voice with piano keys and guitar strings. Back in college his talent afforded him the opportunity to open for renowned acts like Avril Lavigne, One Republic, Hanson, and Robin Thicke. Since then Russell decided to enter the biz as a solo artist under Wright Entertainment Group management, and the musical content that has materialized thus far is simply superb.
Embedded above is Russell’s most recent music video. In it he performs “I Believe”, a song originally produced by alternative rock band Blessid Union of Souls in 1995. One day in the studio he teamed up with another client under his management company and started belting out his own version of the inspiring track. Russell shares, “In the spirit of sharing charity, I wanted to give away this song in hopes that those of you who have experienced tragedy this year might find some comfort in it, and perhaps the rest of us can be re-inspired to reach out and do something good.” Download “I Believe” for free here.
What makes Russell stand out is that he sings from the heart, and you can feel his emotions pour out of the lyrics (thanks to his strong voice) and the instruments he plays. He’s got a very rustic, fresh vibe to his look and sound; artists with qualities like these are always welcome to jumpstart an industry crammed with uniformity. Russell has the ingredients to become an immensely popular and successful pop-rock musician with his impressive vocal range. It only takes a few beats in his rendition of “I Believe” to hear it.
Be sure to check out his YouTube page if you like what you hear in this video. There you’ll find original content plus a notable acoustic cover of Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite”. Russell is currently bringing his act to locations around the country. Keep tabs on his official web site and Facebook page to follow his whereabouts and other updates. If you’re digging his talent as much as I am right now, spread the word and let’s get Mark Russell to start climbing the charts.
Jed Whedon is ready to go solo. After teaming up with brothers Joss (Buffy, The Avengers) and Zack (Fringe) to create the amazingness that is Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and composing last year’s Guild smash “(Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar“, the youngest Whedon is prepping his solo debut album titled History of Forgotten Things. He posted three tracks from it onto his SoundCloud profile page, and they’re embedded above for your convenience. Since he had a significant hand in the making of Horrible and its catchy, high production value hits, I have little doubt his foray into the music biz will go unseen. Frustrated, angry, or having a bad day? After previewing Jed’s soothing tracks you will feel much better. Side effects include the sudden anticipation of his album which drops on August 10.
You all know about Owl City (aka Adam Young) and his chart-topping song “Fireflies” and album Ocean Eyes. But did you know that before Owl City there was Sky Sailing and he had an album called An Airplane Carried Me To Bed? Here’s the story behind what’s being called a “side project” in Young’s words:
Three and a half years ago, I recorded a collection of songs in my parent’s basement during the bleary-eyed hours of night when sleep and I could not bring ourselves to meet. I was a metalworker, working 6 AM to 4 PM at a warehouse in my little southern Minnesota town. I was writing, creating, thinking, imagining and breathing music with every second I had to spare. Music has always been my dream, but at that point in time, it was merely a feather tossed to the wind. Regardless, my spirits were far from dampened and I created music as fast and as furiously as I could. In my little basement bedroom, I had an old Dell computer, Reason 2.5, a friend’s borrowed Behringer C-1 condenser, a Behringer 8 channel analog mixer and my uncle’s old Alvarez. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing but I was a dreamer and music was my escape so I gave it everything I had. Never expecting my music to be heard anywhere but by my parents through the floorboards above, I wrote for my own ears. I was both artist and audience and I called myself Sky Sailing.
It’s true–the Sky Sailing’s vocals are very similar to what we hear on Ocean Eyes today. What differenciates the two alter egos is that Sky Sailing trades in Owl City’s current crop of synth-infused tracks for those that feature acoustic guitar and standard piano keys. Young explained toBillboard, “It was clear early on that it needed to be separate from Owl City. Overall, this piece is disconnected enough to be its own thing.”
On July 13, the 11-track An Airplane Carried Me To Bed was released to iTunes exclusively; it hits stores in physical form tomorrow (7/27). Although Young has done little to promote this new album, it quickly climbed the charts and sold thousands of copies during its initial digital release week. If you’re a fan of Owl City, you’ll want to preview what Sky Sailing has to offer. Feel free to preview four tracks from Airplane on his MySpace page.
We’re one teaser and two trailers deep into the expansive world of Tron (catch the others here & here). This latest one is fresh from its 2010 Comic Con debut. I really don’t know how they do it, but somehow these Tron sneak peeks get better with every trailer. I don’t give a damn if you have never heard of Tron or don’t take any interest in the movie/1978 arcade game; you will watch this trailer and like it. And if you are a Tron fan and are highly anticipating its December 17 release in IMAX 3D like a respectable human being, well then…you’re in for a treat! Load in HD, turn up your speakers, and let it rip.
Note: You should know that actor Jeff Bridges starred in the original 1982 Tron flick as Kevin Flynn, and that he reprises his role as Papa Flynn in Legacy. At timestamp 1:08 we are introduced to Clu, a villianous rogue program in the Tron universe, who might look eerily similar to a young Jeff Bridges to you. Well that’s because it is a young Bridges! Thanks to advanced CGI technology, a performance-capture suit, and impeccable editing skills, the Tron special FX crew was able to create a Kevin Flynn as he appeared in Tron almost thirty years ago. Crazy (and a bit creepy), right?! Moving on…
It was leaked quite some time ago that Daft Punk would compose the score for Tron: Legacy. And over the course of the last year we were teased with the theme music in the trailers that have been released. Today that tease disappears! Online radio station “The End” got their hands on exclusive streams of six tracks from the movie soundtrack, including the epic theme from the trailers. They’re dark and appropriately cinematic in scope. Click here to take a listen. (Bonus note: The electric Daft Punk duo will have cameo roles in the movie–gasp!–sans characteristic helmets!
Brett Domino and his partner-in-crime Steven Peavis are back to perform a medley of popular songs using an ecclectic choice of instruments. Said instruments include (in order of appearence) soft drink cans, an iPod Touch (using the DigiDrummer app), accordion, Roland E-36 keyboard, Korg digital piano, Stylophone beatbox, theremin, ukulele, egg shaker, Roland AX-Synth keytar, recorders, glockenspiel, kazoos, and stylophones. From Jay-Z to Bieber to Ke$ha the talented duo cover it all.
Apparently one Platinum DieHard battery can power a cube of lights, a double-stacked keyboard, 24 cars without batteries, and um, Gary Numan. Watch the ’79 one-hit wonder perform “Cars” on keyboards hooked up to car horns. He’s aged, hasn’t he?
Over three days in the desert, a team of six engineers worked on 24 cars and removed the batteries from each. Instead, they connected them all together to a central computer and a keyboard. The horns inside the cars were removed and instead an MP3 player was used to tune it. The entire set-up was hooked to one DieHard battery. .. As Numan hit each key on his keyboard, the software turned on the lights and sound for the corresponding car.
German composer and producer Hans Zimmer has played a part in over 100 films, and his latest two ventures do not disappoint. Zimmer teamed up with N.E.R.D. frontman Pharell Williams and Heitor Pereira to compose the score for Universal Pictures’ Despicable Me. I fell for the score last September when the first teaser trailer for the animated flick came out. When it was made known that Pharell would have a hand in the music production, there was little doubt that the soundtrack would attract moviegoers. The movie opens with the slow tempo “Despicable Me” track and it hits the ground running as other Pharell-infused songs add an extra touch to support the gorgeous animations. The soundtrack features four solo cuts from Pharell; he also produced and wrote songs for a number of the characters including “Minion Mambo” (co-written by Lupe Fiasco) and “The Unicorn Song.” Robin Thicke, The Bee Gees, and The Sylvers lend their voices to the soundtrack, too. Preview and purchase the soundtrack at iTunes, or at least get the catchy “Despicable Me” track.
Having worked magic on Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan decided to call up Zimmer’s services a third time to formulate the score for Inception. The soundtrack is, in a word, brilliant. Zimmer was going for “a very electronic score”, and after researching how it would be best to mash together “the playfulness” of math and music he succeeded in making a score that perfectly matches the dizzying and exciting on-screen action. From the chilling “Half Remembered Dream” track that was featured behind the theatrical trailer to the heavy, melancholy “Dream Is Collapsing” and “Dream Within a Dream” tracks to the final track “Time” that is both uplifting yet ominous, Zimmer manages to capture the suspense and thrill of the movie in music. Download the soundtrack at iTunes.
Nine years after forming the alt-rock band The Killers, lead vocalist Brandon Flowers has decided to try it solo. The album is called Flamingo and it’s due out September 14. The first single “Crossfire” was released on June 21. One helleva awesome music video was made for it earlier this month and it’s embedded for your viewing pleasure above. In it Flowers finds himself in many situations where he’s held captive by ninjas. And every time the sexy Charlize Theron is there to rescue him. The music video was shot beautifully (thanks to direction from Nash Edgerton) and the combat choreography is really impressive. And oh yeah, Flowers sounds great. Something tells me he’ll do just fine ridin’ solo. Peek after the break for a quick behind-the-scenes look at the making of the video. Continue reading Music video: Brandon Flowers (of The Killers) — “Crossfire”→
