Archive: August 2009 (101-110 of 139)

Aug 13 2009 10:35 AM ET

Radiohead track(?) 'These Are My Twisted Words' mysteriously leaks: Hear it here

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Categories: Radiohead

Next to nothing is known at the moment about “These Are My Twisted Words,” the purported new Radiohead song that mysteriously appeared online last night. Unlike “Harry Patch (In Memory Of),” which Radiohead surprise-released almost exactly one week prior (hmmm), this one seems to have materialized on various illicit music hubs without any official announcement or acknowledgment from the band. Their camp hasn’t been able to offer any clarification yet in response to the deluge of requests that they’re no doubt experiencing right now. We can’t even say for sure that “These Are My Twisted Words” is a new Radiohead song, or a Radiohead song at all, for that matter.

So in the meantime, give “These Are My Twisted Words” a listen below (stream via Pitchfork) and see what you think. For this fan’s money, it’s virtually certain that that’s Thom Yorke whose woozy vocals kick in after about three minutes. The wonderfully menacing krautrock groove that occupies the first half of the song, meanwhile, sounds an awful lot like the product of a jam session between Yorke, guitarists Jonny Greenwood and Ed O’Brien, drummer Phil Selway, and bassist Colin Greenwood. And considering Yorke’s recent comments about losing interest in the traditional album format — sentiments he’s expressed many times in the past, just for the record — you’ve got to wonder if the band intentionally sneak-leaked this song.

Then again, who knows! We’ll keep you updated as soon as we learn more. ‘Til then, I’ll be listening to “These Are My Twisted Words” on obsessive repeat. Check it out for yourself below, and let us know what you think: Is this a new Radiohead song? How do you like it?

More from EW’s Music Mix:
Radiohead surprises fans with new song, “Harry Patch (In Memory Of)”
New Michael Jackson album due
Led Zeppelin record a new song? No. But close!
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: Yay or nay?

Aug 12 2009 05:08 PM ET

Guest blogger: 'Bandslam' star Scott Porter on his favorite live performances

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Categories: Guest Blog!, Movies


Last fall, then-Friday Night Lights star Scott Porter did an absolutely terrific job guest-blogging for us from the Austin City Limits music festival. Now that he’s graduated to the big screen — starring in Bandslam, which opens Friday the 14th at a cinema near you — we invited him back for another turn at the keyboard.

“What up, Music Mix!?!  I’m back for another go around on this blog thing, and I’m hoping you’ll enjoy it.

What brings me back this time is my new movie, Bandslam.  It’s about a battle of the bands in the great state of New Jersey. It has awesome music, broken promises, heartbreak, and the happiness that can only come from finding your place in this crazy world.  In other words, it’s awesome.

It takes place at Van Buren High in Lido, New Jersey.  A school where music is as big as football is in Texas. Every year, MTV sponsors a battle of the bands, and each high school in the tri-state area sends a representative of their own. I play Ben Wheatley, the lead singer of the band that has represented Van Buren in Bandslam for the last two years — only to come in second twice.  He’s back one more time to win the whole thing, but has to go head to head against the band that the movie is centered around to do it.

The best thing about this movie was the live performances of all the actors and bands involved. Everyone had to play. Everyone had to sing. No exceptions.  I learned how to play guitar for this film and actually got to perform again after a three-year hiatus from the stage.  It was exhilarating and made all the difference in the world in the final cut of the movie: you can feel the battle and the concert vibe all the way through.

EW.com came around and asked me if I’d like to try something new here and throw together a “setlist,” if you would.  I asked if I could toss together a list of the 10 best live performances I’ve personally ever seen. A perfect Bandslam night. There are some links to videos, some links to mp3s of the lesser known songs.  I was lucky enough to find some videos from the actual shows I was at. For those that don’t have clips… well, my words will just have to do.

The songs that made the list were the most memorable, incredible, mind-blowing and/or passionate performances I have witnessed in person.  Keep that in mind when you read.  I know that everyone has a list like this and mine might not be chock full of the Beatles or the Stones, but it’s honest.”

After the jump, in no particular order, Scott Porter’s Perfect Bandslam roster.

READ FULL STORY »

Aug 12 2009 04:11 PM ET

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: Yay or nay?

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Categories: Buzzworthy, Indie Rock, Let's Argue!

Having successfully avoided the gathering tumbleweed of hype surrounding kaleidoscopic psych-rock collective Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, I finally got snagged on a live YouTube clip that made the Music Mix email rounds today. Watch below:

First thought? Wow, that intro sounds exactly like The Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up” with bits of “Crown of Love.” Second thought? Oh goody, more beardy-messiah commune rock! Meet you at the corner of Polyphonic Spree Street and Devendra Boulevard, my hairy friends! Third thought: Holy crap, is that the old singer from Ima Robot?

That would be the dance-punk outfit whose 2003 self-titled full-length was full of  spiky little razor-wire ditties like “A Is for Action” and “Dynomite” — a wee bit L.A.-fromage and frankly bandwagon-jumpy, but oh, so hooky.

Now that you’ve witnessed the artist formerly known as Alex Ebert, now “Edward Sharpe,” with his beatific, sprawling crew of Magnetic Zeros, tell me — are you buying what he’s selling (along with, I’m guessing from this video, handmade tambourines and veggie burritos from a van)? Or does it seem just a little too third-gen Father Yod/indie-trendy opportunivore?

Frankly, I’m still very much on the fence, though you can buy the new self-titled record, or see them on tour now through October and judge for yourself; if you’ve already made up your mind, do tell me in the comments section below.

More from EW’s Music Mix:
Led Zeppelin record a new song? No. But close!
Beck interviews Will Ferrell; hilarity ensues
Harvey Danger Farewell Tour Diary

Aug 12 2009 02:39 PM ET

Michael Jackson: new remix album due this fall

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Categories: Michael Jackson, Release Date

Speculation continues to mount as to whether we’ll ever hear the vast collection of unreleased music that the late Michael Jackson reportedly left behind. In the meantime, fans can look forward to some (more or less) new MJ music sooner than they might think: Universal Motown is preparing to release Michael Jackson: The Remix Suite this fall. Star producers including the Neptunes, Polow Da Don, Stargate, Ryan Leslie, Q-Tip, Salaam Remi, and more are set to rework Jackson’s hits for the album, mostly drawing from his Jackson 5 years. And while the full project won’t be on sale til Oct. 27, many of the remixes will be released digitally in the even nearer future.

Listen to the Neptunes’ recently-leaked take on “Never Can Say Goodbye” below, then let us know: What do you think of this project? Whose remixes are you most looking forward to?

More from EW’s Music Mix:
Sugarland, outsold by Michael Jackson, tops the albums chart
Smokey Robinson speaks on his new album and his friend Michael Jackson
Are these the best (and the worst) album covers of the year?
New DJ Quik and Kurupt video: A Music Mix exclusive

Aug 12 2009 02:23 PM ET

Led Zeppelin record a new song? No. But close!

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Categories: Things We Love

How many times a week do you wake up and think, “Wouldn’t it to be nice to hear a new Led Zeppelin track?” For me the number is eight (I like to have a restorative disco nap in my office on Friday afternoons.) Of course, I’m always disappointed in this department. But not today. Okay, technically, no fresh Zep track has been unearthed. But new supergroup Them Crooked Vultures have posted a rockingly Zeppelin-esque instrumental snippet from a track called “Nobody Loves Me And Neither Do I” on youtube. And as the band comprises Dave Grohl, Josh Home and Led Zep bassist John Paul Jones then I’m counting it as a win.

Do you agree that the song is nicely Zep-ish? And are you looking forward to the Them Crooked Vultures album, which is rumored to be coming out October 23?

More from EW’s Music Mix:
MTV’s famous TRL studio in Times Square: R.I.P.?
Are these the best (and the worst) album covers of the year?Beck interviews Will Ferrell
Harvey Danger Farewell Tour Diary

Aug 12 2009 12:00 PM ET

Sugarland, outsold by Michael Jackson, tops the albums chart

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Categories: Charts, Michael Jackson, Sugarland

You know we’ve hit the late-summer commercial doldrums when a chart like the latest Billboard 200 rolls in. Sugarland takes No. 1 with Live on the Inside, a punnily-titled live CD/DVD that was sold exclusively at Wal-Mart. The number of shoppers who picked it up? Just 76,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan. No offense meant to Sugarland — that’s a perfectly fine number for a set of concert recordings that’s available at only one retailer, but it wouldn’t have been a chart-topper in almost any other week.

Sales were so slow that even Michael Jackson’s Number Ones, the greatest-hits set that keeps outperforming the Billboard 200′s No. 1, moved only 98,000 units, the least it’s managed in any week since Jackson’s shocking death made it an overnight best-seller. (Say it with me now: Even though Number Ones sold 22,000 more copies than the Sugarland album, it’s not eligible for the flagship Billboard 200 chart because it was released too long ago.) That brings Number Ones to six non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Top Comprehensive Albums chart (which counts catalog albums alongside new ones), the longest any Jackson release has stayed there since Bad 22 years ago.

There were actually quite a few other new entries on the Billboard 200 this week, though none of them sold especially well. The self-titled debut from glossy Nashville quartet Gloriana came in at No. 3 with 44,000. Kidz Bop 16, truly the only album on the market for those interested in hearing over-caffeinated children shout the lyrics to Kanye West and Nickelback songs, managed 34,000 for a No. 10 bow. Down at No. 12, Detroit R&B crooner K’Jon‘s major-label debut found 33,000 fans. Modest Mouse’s odds-and-sods collection No One’s First, and You’re Next made it to No. 15 with 27,000. And American Idol: Season 8 — The 5 Song EP, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like and was another Wal-Mart exclusive, landed at No. 17 with 24,000.

Any thoughts on these fairly uninspiring sales rankings? Don’t despair — this year’s fourth-quarter event releases (hello, Mr. Carter!) are just around the corner…

More from EW’s Music Mix:
MTV’s famous TRL studio in Times Square: R.I.P.?
Are these the best (and the worst) album covers of the year?
New DJ Quik and Kurupt video: A Music Mix exclusive
Fabolous, outsold by Michael Jackson, tops the charts

Aug 12 2009 11:31 AM ET

Beck interviews Will Ferrell; hilarity ensues

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Categories: Beck, Things That Are Awesome

Does any artist have an official website that’s more awesome than Beck’s right now? Between the Velvet Underground covers and the celebrity interviews, the recently relaunched Beck.com has become an essential read almost overnight. The latest must-click: A long, weird, hilarious transcript of a phone conversation between Beck and Will Ferrell that the musician posted today.

Beck and Ferrell chat about, oh, everything — the word kudos, auditioning for Cirque du Soleil, kitschy ’70s TV ads, parenthood. You know, all the stuff two bros generally talk about. They also discuss, at some length, the 2005 tsunami relief show at which a red-unitard-clad Ferrell barged on stage to interrupt Beck’s performance. (You can hear audio of the encounter below; sadly, there doesn’t seem to be any video footage online.)

And this is just part one of their interview! I’ll be hanging on the edge of my seat waiting for part two. How about you?

More from EW’s Music Mix:
Beck on the Music Mix
MTV’s famous TRL studio in Times Square: R.I.P.?
Are these the best (and the worst) album covers of the year?
New DJ Quik and Kurupt video: A Music Mix exclusive

Aug 11 2009 06:12 PM ET

MTV's famous 'TRL' studio in Times Square: R.I.P.?

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Categories: In Memoriam, MTV

According to a New York Post business story today, MTV may be saying goodbye to its famous Times Square studio, the space that served as a home to flagship shows like TRL.

Landlord SL Green has reportedly put the one-million-square-foot-plus space on the market after MTV parent company Viacom failed to renew the lease. TRL, of course, shuttered its doors last November after a decade-long run, but the loss of the studio would definitely signal the end of an era.

What will you miss if the famous spot is no more, Music Mixers? Did you ever stand on the sidewalks below with other superfans, waiting for your most cherished Backstreet Boy/former Beatle/Tokio Hotel porcupine to arrive for a guest appearance? Did you draw cursive “Mrs. VJ Jesse Camp” loops in your Trapper Keeper?

Tell us your memories in the comments section below (Mariah meltdown circa 2001! Taylor Swift chatting up Rihanna and Verne Troyer on the studio couch in ’08!), and enjoy Miley Cyrus below on TRL back in 2007, all young and innocent and not humping a pole:

More from EW’s Music Mix:
Are these the best (and the worst) album covers of the year?
Fabolous on Chelsea Lately
Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye to be first musical guests on Jay Leno’s new primetime show
What’s the greatest guilty pleasure act of all time?

Aug 11 2009 05:23 PM ET

Harvey Danger Farewell Tour Diary: Chapter the First

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Categories: Attack of the '90s, Guest Blog!, In Memoriam

August 7: Boston

Boston is one of America’s most perplexing cities. You go in with visions of the Pixies and Throwing Muses and Steven Wright and you always wind up finding Aerosmith and, like, Boston. It’s easy to feel, as you walk the austere, history-paved streets, that every single man, woman, and child is just as likely to punch you in the throat as look at you. I went to a grocery store near the hotel and asked the clerk for a paper bag instead of a plastic one, and he looked at me like I had called his grandmother a lesbian ditchdigger.

And yet, for all its tough guy exterior, Boston has always been a bastion of success for Harvey Danger, issuing, like nearly all our success, from the fact that its radio stations were insanely supportive of our lone hit song 11 years ago. A devoted sub-sect of the millions of people who were (over)exposed to the song so long ago have remained interested in the band as years have sagged on, following our less-publicized work and developing that curiously ferocious brand of private loyalty that comes from being in on a secret. That’s my theory anyway. And it’s why we decided to play the first date on this mini-tour here.

(Speaking of which, you may be wondering: Who is this person writing about himself on this blog? Why should I care about his stupid band? Are they even still together? Who will replace Paula Abdul? All good questions. Just a brief factual aside: Harvey Danger formed in Seattle in1994, had a hit record with a hit song called “Flagpole Sitta” in 1998, and made two more albums, in 2000 and 2005, on major and indie labels, and are now doing a small run of farewell shows in August before disbanding.)

Sean’s tour diary continues after the jump…

READ FULL STORY »

Aug 11 2009 12:09 PM ET

Are these the best (and the worst) album covers of the year?

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Categories: Cover Art, U2

brooke-hogan-redemption-coverA couple of weeks back I wrote about an LA Times gallery which supposedly featured some of the worst album covers of all-time, but which included, to my eyes, some rather good examples of the art form. Now, AOL Radio have compiled lists of the best and worst album covers of the year so far based on listeners’ suggestions. Once again I have mixed feelings.

Several of the covers on the “best” list would seem more deserving of a place in the “worst” ten, notably the demon-and-crucifixion-featuring illustration that decorates Heaven & Hell’s The Devil You Know. And, while U2′s No Line on the Horizon cover is rather irritating in its twee tastefulness, I’m not sure it really belongs to be rubbing shoulders with the undeniably egregious artwork for Brooke Hogan’s The Redemption CD (see above. Although, much like the sun, it’s probably best not to look directly at it.)

On my previous blog I asked you to send in your nominations for a Worst Album of All-Time gallery. There were a lot of great suggestions, but we’ve still got room for a few more. Can you think of any image worse than an illustrated, wing-sporting, armpit-showing, Brooke Hogan? Let us know!

More from EW’s Music Mix:
What’s your pick for the worst album cover of all-time?
Fabolous on Chelsea Lately
New DJ Quik and Kurupt video: A Music Mix exclusive
Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye to be first musical guests on Jay Leno’s new primetime show
What’s the greatest guilty pleasure act of all time?

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