Archive: July 2009 (61-70 of 117)

Jul 16 2009 06:35 PM ET

Exclusive: Pepsi responds to Michael Jackson accident footage. 'Why would anyone want to share such frightening images?'

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Filed under: News and tagged: ,

Mj_l Pepsi has responded to yesterday’s appearance on the internet of footage of Michael Jackson being burned while filming an ad for the soft drink in 1984. Contacted by EW about the material, which was posted by US Weekly, Pepsi spokeswoman Nicole Bradley sent the following statement.

“We don’t know how the footage became available. Twenty-five years later, we’d question why anyone would want to share such frightening images. It was a terrifying event that we’ll never forget.

We were grateful for Michael’s recovery and for the chance to continue working with him on a number of successful projects.

As for Michael as an artist, his music helped us define a generation and, like everyone else, we’re deeply saddened by his passing.”

Bradley also told EW that the company is not currently attempting to get the footage taken down and that Pepsi itself may well not own the rights to the material. “We don’t know where it came from,” she says. “We don’t know what that footage is. It’s 25 years ago. We don’t know who owns it, so we have no recourse as far as I know. I can only tell you what I know. We didn’t put it up and we don’t know where it came from.”

More about Michael Jackson:
Michael Jackson and the history of the Moonwalk: YouTube explains it all!
Michael Jackson talks Bad, price of fame in unreleased 1987 interview
Michael Jackson: The truth about his “final” photo shoot
Michael Jackson tribute: Who should perform?

More from EW’s Music Mix:
Summer ’09 Playlist: Refresh!
‘The Girls’ Guide to Rocking’: Can you learn it from a book?
Worst cover song of 2009? We have a winner!
Lady GaGa joins Avril Lavigne and Ace of Base(!) in Billboard history
New Mariah Carey video for “Obsessed.”

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Jul 16 2009 02:00 PM ET

Summer '09 playlist: Refresh!

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Suffering from "Boom Boom Pow" fatigue? Wishing the insanely omnipresent Lady Gaga was Lady Gone-Gone from the airwaves? The Music Mix has the answer for those looking to update their playlists. Stream one new song of summer below, plus nine more after the jump. –Leah Greenblatt and Simon Vozick-Levinson

Florence andthe Machine, "Kiss With a Fist"
Brit import Florence comes off like a saucy love child of the Ting Tings and the White Stripes on this punchy guitar anthem from her new full-length U.S. debut, Lungs.

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Jul 15 2009 09:20 PM ET

Sean Kingston: A Music Mix Q&A with the 'Fire'-starting singer

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Sean-Kingston_l We first met the then-17-year-old Sean Kingston in 2007, when the sweetly retro R&B-irie single "Beautiful Girls" became an inescapable Billboard-topping summer smash. Now 19, the Miami-born, Jamaican-bred singer has yet another chart blazer, "Fire Burning," and a new album, due in stores September 22.

Below, our Q&A with Kingston, who talks touring, sampling rock classics, and Gwen Stefani:

Entertainment Weekly: Hi, Sean. So let’s talk about your new album, Tomorrow — not coming out tomorrow, but called "Tomorrow." The single “Fire Burning” is already at number seven on Billboard…
Sean Kingston: Number six!
EW: Oh, sorry! I stand corrected. Can you tell me a little about what makes this new album different than your debut?
SK: Honestly, just a lot of growth. I grew up since the last album, and I’m talking about things I didn’t talk about on the first one. You know, since my debut, I’ve been around the world, I learned a lot of stuff in the industry, and the melodies, the concepts of the songs, the producers… it's all new stuff.
EW: Well you’re definitely a ladies’ man when it comes to live performances – you’ve opened tours for Gwen Stefani and Beyonce in the last two years, two bona fide female superstars. Did you learn anything from them?
SK: Oh definitely, I learned a lot. Especially from Gwen, as far as performances, just giving a good show every single night — she’s phenomenal. It’s way better to tour with women, it’s just more fun. It’s still, like, competition but it’s different, you know? It’s a blast.
EW:  You’ve had two hits built on pretty famous samples, “Beautiful Girls” with Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me,” and “Me Love,” featuring Led Zeppelin’s “D’yer Maker." Are you going that same route on your new album?
SK: No, I didn’t really want to do that on this album, so I didn’t; everything’s original. You know, “Fire Burnin’” “Wrap You Around Me,” “Tomorrow” – all my singles are original music. It was just creativity and being in the studio, whatever worked, just vibing, and this time it didn’t really come up to sample anything.
EW: That’s fair! So you were born in Miami, but grew up mostly in Jamaica. Do you feel more American or Jamaican, musically?
SK: More Jamaican, probably, cuz I’m always around Jamaicans, I spent a lot of time down there — it’s more home to me.
EW: You’ve had “Fire Burning" on the charts for a while, when will you be taking it on the road?
SK: I’m gonna be doing a lot of different stuff, be headlining my own tour for the House of Blues, performing, a full-city tour. We’re still figuring out right now who’s gonna open.
EW: You've done way more than most teenagers, but I'm guessing there's are still things you want that you haven't achieved …
Sean: A Grammy! [laughs]. A Grammy. That’s where I’m at right now.

More from EW's Music Mix:
Michael Jackson and the history of the Moonwalk: YouTube explains it all!
New Mariah Carey video for "Obsessed."
Michael Jackson tribute: Who should perform?
Worst cover song of 2009? We have a winner!
Lady GaGa joins Avril Lavigne and Ace of Base(!) in Billboard history

Jul 15 2009 07:46 PM ET

Michael Jackson's 1984 Pepsi accident: shocking new footage

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US Weekly has posted previously unseen footage of Michael Jackson’s accidental burning during a 1984 Pepsi ad shoot, which you can view at the magazine’s website. The material is of extremely high quality, and it is actually quite harrowing to watch the superstar’s hair catch fire — particularly as Jackson continues to dance for several seconds, oblivious to what has happened.

All in all, it’s not the way many people would want to remember the King of Pop. But it is perhaps worth noting that Pepsi later settled with Jackson to the tune of $1.5 million and that Jackson then donated the money to the burn unit of the Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, CA.

More about Michael Jackson:
Michael Jackson and the history of the Moonwalk: YouTube explains it all!
Michael Jackson talks Bad, price of fame in unreleased 1987 interview
Michael Jackson: The truth about his “final” photo shoot
Michael Jackson tribute: Who should perform?

More from EW’s Music Mix:
‘The Girls’ Guide to Rocking’: Can you learn it from a book?
Worst cover song of 2009? We have a winner!
Lady GaGa joins Avril Lavigne and Ace of Base(!) in Billboard history
New Mariah Carey video for “Obsessed.”

Jul 15 2009 07:23 PM ET

New Thom Yorke hits the web: 'All for the Best' (Miracle Legion cover)

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6a00d8341bf6c153ef0115720a1297970b-800wi.jpg With a new album still in the tantalizing hints phase and no U.S. tour dates forthcoming, this superfan was staring down the sad prospect of a Radiohead-free 2009. I was getting pretty worried there for a minute, let me tell ya. Luckily, word got out recently that Radiohead’s Thom Yorke would be helping with a tribute album for ex-Miracle Legion frontman Mark Mulcahy. It’s just one track, and it’s not quite the same thing as new Radiohead music, but whatever. I’ll take my fix however I can get it.

Even better: While Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy isn’t due til this fall, Yorke’s cover of Miracle Legion’s “All for the Best” hit the web today via Stereogum. It is, predictably, awesome in every way. Yorke translates the original tune’s wall o’ jangle into a sea of glitchy beats, punctuated by rusty guitar stabs — think The Eraser meets “Electioneering,” if that makes any sense. And his vocals are perfectly heartrending as always. How does he do that every single time he picks up a microphone?

So here I am, listening to Yorke’s “All for the Best” on infinite repeat. Somehow it’s only made me more desperate to hear the new Radiohead album that may or may not be coming our way in the vague future. In the meantime, you can head over to Stereogum to hear this cover yourself and let us know what you think. If you like it, be sure to pick up Ciao My Shining Star when it comes out in September: Proceeds will help support Mulcahy, who unexpectedly lost the mother of his two young daughters last year, and you’ll be guaranteed to get some great music, including contributions from Michael Stipe, the National, and Dinosaur Jr. along with Yorke’s song.

More from EW’s Music Mix:
Michael Jackson sells a million in a week, but Maxwell tops the albums chart
‘The Girls’ Guide to Rocking’: Can you learn it from a book?
Worst cover song of 2009? We have a winner!
Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein is trying to become a Phish fan. Any chance she’ll succeed?

Jul 15 2009 03:32 PM ET

New Mariah Carey video for 'Obsessed': See Mimi in drag!

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Filed under: News, YouTube Delights and tagged: , , ,

You’ve heard the Eminem-dissing single, and seen the Mimi-as-a-man photos. And tonight, you’ll be able to see its official premiere on America’s Got Talent.

In the meantime, though, the new Mariah Carey video for “Obsessed” has made an early, unsanctioned bow — like everything else these days — on YouTube. The clips may be taken down nearly as soon as they’re up, but you’re guaranteed to find at least one version of the video if you look fast enough:

So what do you think, readers? I’m guessing she’s not supposed to actually look like the real Slim Shady here; I’m actually seeing shades of Freddie Rodriguez (Six Feet Under, Grindhouse). But you tell me — is this the Mimi you were hoping for? How does it hold up to her past material?

More from EW’s Music Mix:
Michael Jackson sells a million in a week, but Maxwell tops the albums chart
‘The Girls’ Guide to Rocking’: Can you learn it from a book?
Worst cover song of 2009? We have a winner!
Lady GaGa joins Avril Lavigne and Ace of Base(!) in Billboard history

Jul 15 2009 03:24 PM ET

Michael Jackson sells a million in a week, but Maxwell tops the albums chart

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Michael-Jackson-Maxwell_l Stop me if this sounds familiar: American consumers bought a stunning 1.1 million Michael Jackson albums last week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. One disc alone, the greatest-hits set Number Ones, accounted for 349,000 in sales, far more than any album in the country. Yet since Number Ones is an old release, Billboard rules exclude it from the flagship Billboard 200 albums chart along with all the other Jackson discs that have been selling in large numbers following his tragic passing. This is now the third week in a row that Number Ones' posthumous sales have wreaked havoc by outperforming the Billboard 200's No. 1, something that had previously never happened in the publication's history. For the next few weeks, at least, you'll have to look at Billboard's Top Comprehensive Albums chart — a less commonly referenced index which, true to its name, collates all album sales information regardless of release date — to get an accurate picture of what's selling in the U.S.

Still, we shouldn't let this situation distract us completely from the fantastic numbers put up by Maxwell's BLACKsummers'night, which tops the Billboard 200 with 316,000 copies sold. Looks like the singer's eight-year hiatus built up some serious fan demand for his new one. No complaints from me: It's a great record that deserves that No. 1 spot, even if it got there via a loophole of sorts. Meanwhile, Miley Cyrus' latest project — that'd be Hannah Montana 3, in case you've lost track — moved 137,000 units. That's not quite up there with the mega-sales she saw for her first two TV soundtracks, but it still won her a No. 2 finish on the Billboard 200. Pop-punkers All Time Low, meanwhile, secured themselves an all-time high (see what I did there?) after selling 63,000 copies of their album Nothing Personal, good enough for No. 4.

And that was it for Top 20 debuts this week. Thoughts on those numbers? How much longer do you think Michael Jackson's catalog sales will keep outperforming new releases?

More from EW's Music Mix:
Michael Jackson outsells everyone; NOW! 31 tops the albums chart anyway
Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein is trying to become a Phish fan. Any chance she'll succeed?
Worst cover song of 2009? We have a winner!
Wilco hits a grand slam at Brooklyn's Keyspan Park with help from Yo La Tengo and special guests

Jul 15 2009 01:00 PM ET

'The Girls' Guide to Rocking': Can you learn it from a book?

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61y-2iUAYPL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_ Recently, when the book A Girl’s Guide to Rocking: How to Start a Band, Book Gigs, and Get Rolling to Rock Stardom, written by rock critic/longtime zine queen/former publicist and promoter Jessica Hopper, landed on our desk, we thought, “This could be great, but how would we know? We have not been in the target demographic for many many years. And some of us are the wrong sex entirely!”

So we prowled the EW offices (like panthers, except less graceful), until we found Lily Giles, the 15-year-old daughter of our own Executive Editor Jeff Giles.

Lily, being very much in that target demo, was gracious enough to moonlight as a special guest writer on the Music Mix, and provide our review here:

“Jessica Hopper’s new book, The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, is fun from start to finish, but my favorite part is ‘16 Way Overused Band Names.’ I’m 15, and can play ‘Viva la Vida,’ ‘Wonderwall,’ and ‘Let itBe’ on guitar (kind of).

I’ve definitely dreamed of starting a group. Now, thanks to this book, I know never to name it anything involving ‘love’, ‘wolf’, or ‘blood’ (which basically rules out all possibility of a Twilight band).

Hopper’s book taught me other cool tricks, too. And if you’ve ever fantasized about being a rock star (and I know you have), you can learn them too. From choosing your instrument to booking your tours, Hopper offers guidance through cute graphics, clever lists, and inspiring quotes from people like Joan Jett: ‘If I wanted to be an astronaut, I could be an astronaut. If I wanted to be a doctor, I could do that. So, it never entered my mind that I couldn’t play guitar. There’s no rule that says girls can’t play guitar.’

Aside from chapters on songwriting and playing gigs, Girl’s Guide has helpful advice on choosing band members — it’s easier to rock out with your friends than with total strangers, but you have to put friendships before the music — and keeping your band together.

It even has detailed instructions on turning your house into a band-friendly practice space and using Garageband to record your music. However, I wouldn’t get too used to recording on your laptop and practicing in your garage, because with this book to guide you, your band will be world-famous rock stars before eleventh grade.”

What do you think, readers — would you consult a book to help you through the 101 of starting a band? What rock tomes inspire you?

More from EW’s Music Mix:
Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein is trying to become a Phish fan. Any chance she’ll succeed?
Lily Allen’s new video for ’22′: Girls just wanna have fun?
Worst cover song of 2009? We have a winner!
Care Bears on Fire’s ‘Pleaser’: A Music Mix Exclusive
Justin Bieber: Will ‘One Time’ make him this summer’s underage Romeo?

Jul 14 2009 10:16 PM ET

Collective Soul guitarist allegedly punched in the face: His side of the story

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Collective-soul_l True fact: One of the first albums I ever owned, if not the very first, was a cassette of Collective Soul's Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid. Hey, 1993-me was pretty big into "Shine." So it was with some distress that I read about the brawl that the band and current tourmate Gavin DeGraw allegedly got into with unfriendly Myrtle Beach, S.C. locals in the wee hours of Monday morning. DeGraw and Collective Soul have both written about the incident on their respective Twitter accounts, but the Music Mix got Collective Soul guitarist Dean Roland on the phone today to hear a little more about exactly what went down from his perspective. Read on after the jump.

READ FULL STORY »

Jul 14 2009 06:55 PM ET

Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein is trying to become a Phish fan. Any chance she'll succeed?

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As someone who recently stood in a Tennessee field, staring at four men on a stage and attempting to discern why everyone around me was flailing their limbs so joyously to the not-unpleasant-but-not-like-mindblowing sounds emitting from said stage, I have a great deal of empathy for former Sleater-Kinney guitarist Carrie Brownstein as she attempts to become a fan of Phish.

Carrie’s been documenting the journey on her very intelligent blog for NPR; her latest post includes a video of her trip to the used CD store, where she hocked old records and bought Phish albums with the proceeds.

Buying My First Ever Phish CDs from Carrie Brownstein on Vimeo.

I applaud Ms. Brownstein for being stronger than me, and for pursuing her quest in such an aggressive fashion. I am also insanely curious about what CDs she sold, and if she is regretting the decision yet. But what about you, Music Mixers? Would any of you ever begin a full-immersion Phish education program? For you Phish-heads out there, what albums or live bootlegs would you recommend for those willing to join Carrie in her quest? And would anyone care to take up the “Sleater-Kinney was and is a better band than Phish” argument, just for kicks?

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