Archive: September 2009 (1-10 of 170)

Sep 30 2009 06:46 PM ET

Fever Ray in concert: A pagan laser-fest at granny's house

What does a Fever Ray concert look like? Well, imagine stumbling upon a pagan sacrificial ritual in a misty forest under the blanket of night… if a laser-tag game was raging the heavens. Oh, and don’t forget a touch of Grandma’s house, maybe some antique lamps scattered around the stage. It might look something like that.

Fever Ray—Karin Andersson of the beloved Swedish electronic duo The Knife—put on two otherworldly, thrilling shows at New York’s Webster Hall this week.

Not that you can really see her; a furry black cloak swallowed her head for half of the show, so it often felt like jamming to one of the creatures from Where the Wild Things Are in concert. But nothing could take away from her inimitable voice, which was in great form—she went from a child-like whine to a god-like boom within the space of a single verse, whether singing “the hit” (“When I Grow Up”) or standout album tracks like “Seven” and “I’m Not Done.”

Her onstage entourage of musicians were dressed similarly: If she was the high priestess, they were the druids lurching to her eerie synths and tribal electro weirdness. The whole thing seemed ancient and subhuman, as if it was transported from some lost pre-Christian civilization.

Which is to say, ‘S wonderful.

More from EW’s Music Mix:
Sufjan Stevens’ ‘Enjoy Your Rabbit’ Osso cover

Pearl Jam tops the albums chart
Fool’s Gold: The Music Mix recommends

Amy Winehouse rapping: How many seconds can you stand before you press stop?
New Andrew Bird video, ‘Anonanimal’

Sep 30 2009 06:03 PM ET

Lady Gaga: Now hawking headphones!

Today at a press conference in New York City, Lady Gaga and Dr. Dre revealed the details of their new collaborative effort — not to create a glammed-up G-funk hit, but to market a line of high-end Monster Cable ear-bud headphones called Heartbeats.

The Lady’s headphones use the technology of Beats by Dr. Dre, which claim to be the only headphones that actually convey what music sounds like in the studio. The fashion sense, on the other hand, is all Gaga—hers are triangular and sort of look like little pyramids sticking out of one’s ears. Ms. Gaga explained the personal reasons behind the design: “The triangle for me represents three things. I say sometimes I would die if I were forbidden to write, forbidden to love, or forbidden to fashion.”

Gaga (pictured above with Dre and Interscope head Jimmy Iovine) kept her poker face throughout the conference, hiding behind a pair of sunglasses that wouldn’t look out of place on Dame Edna, but did give knowing smiles each time she said anything particularly PR-ish. When she spoke of working on demos for the re-release of her debut (re-dubbed The Fashion Monster), she said, “I’ve been unable to listen to them [outside the studio] unless I was using our headphones,” and flashed a cheeky grin afterward, as if to acknowledge she was dropping some scripted talking points.

READ FULL STORY »

Sep 30 2009 01:50 PM ET

Sufjan Stevens' 'Enjoy Your Rabbit' Osso cover: A Music Mix exclusive stream

As multi-instrumentalist geographer/indie godhead Sufjan Stevens prepares the October 20 release of his New York motorway tribute The BQE, the string quartet Osso, already featured on his 2005 Midwest opus Illinoise, have completed their reinterpretation of one of his earliest albums, 2001′s Run Rabbit Run.

Their reimagining of Stevens’ astrologically-themed instrumentals, out October 6 on his own Asthmatic Kitty Records, brings a sort of avant-chamber tingle to the original compositions, thanks to arrangements contributed by classical composer/downtown poster-boy Nico Muhly (he of the Bjork and Philip Glass collaborations), Antony & the Johnsons stringsman Maxim Moston, Gabriel Kahane and others.

Listen to both the original and new versions below and tell us — which one sparks your star sign?
Sufjan original:

Osso’s Sufjan 2.0:

More from EW’s Music Mix:
Paul McCartney to document Citi Field shows with ‘Good Evening New York City’
Pearl Jam tops the albums chart
Fool’s Gold: The Music Mix recommends

Amy Winehouse rapping: How many seconds can you stand before you press stop?
Lady Gaga on Kanye’s VMAs outburst: “He feels so f—ing bad!”

Sep 30 2009 12:19 PM ET

Paul McCartney to document Citi Field shows with 'Good Evening New York City'

Paul McCartney was having a pretty cool 2009 even before the latest wave of Beatlemania kicked in early this month. Perhaps you recall his three-night stand at NYC’s newly built Citi Field this summer, echoing the Beatles’ historic 1965 gig at the demolished Shea Stadium next door? I know I do — I was there for the first show on July 17 (pictured), easily one of the most fun concerts I’ve seen in the past few years.

Whether you attended one of those dates or just wished you could, you’ll have a chance to re-live them when McCartney releases Good Evening New York City through Starbucks’ Hear Music on Nov. 17. The live album, culled from footage of all three Citi Field shows, will be available both as a 2-CD/1-DVD set or a deluxe 2-CD/2-DVD package which will also include McCartney’s July 15 outdoor performance for The Late Show. The compilers had plenty of material to work with: Those Citi Field shows were marathons, drawing heavily on McCartney’s Beatles years for set lists that stretched to nearly three hours each night. Though I haven’t heard or seen the finished product, I feel safe saying that if you’re a Macca fan, you might want to pick one of these up with your pre-Thanksgiving latte.

Anyone else looking forward to Good Evening New York City? If you’ve witnessed McCartney in concert this year, which songs are you most excited about seeing/hearing again?

More from EW’s Music Mix:
Paul McCartney gives Citi Field a first show for the ages
Paul McCartney: The exclusive EW Q&A
Chris Brown, “I Can Transform Ya”: Are you ready to hear this?
Amy Winehouse rapping: How many seconds can you stand?

Photo credit: Kevin Mazur

Sep 30 2009 11:46 AM ET

Pearl Jam tops the albums chart

Categories: Charts, Pearl Jam

We’re in the full swing of fall now, with plenty of new releases hitting shelves most every week. Leading the pack on the latest Billboard 200 chart is Pearl Jam‘s Backspacer — the band’s first album to hit No. 1 since 1996′s No Code.  After catching flak from some fans for striking a retail deal with Target for Backspacer, Pearl Jam ended up selling 189,000 copies in week 1, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That’s not a bad number, but it’s a good bit less than the 279,000 that their previous record put up in 2006. Make of that what you will.

Other top-selling new releases came from Three Days Grace, who made it to No. 3 with 79,000 copies sold of Life Starts Now; Brand New, who placed at No. 6 with 46,000 copies sold of Daisy; Five Finger Death Punch, who proved violence sells by shifting 44,000 units of War Is the Answer for a No. 7 finish; Harry Connick Jr., coming in at No. 8 with 37,000 copies sold of Your Songs; The David Crowder Band, a Christian electro act whose Church Music takes No. 10 with 36,000; David Gray, whose Draw the Line lands at No. 12 with 35,000; and Mika, whose The Boy Who Knew Too Much squeaks in at No. 19 with 27,000. Also of note is Monsters of Folk‘s self-titled debut, which was relegated to No. 144 last week after selling a paltry 3,000 copies through Amazon’s MP3 store (which offered it two days early); this week, with the album available across all retail formats, they sold a respectable 33,000 and moved up to No. 15.

What do you think of those results? Did you buy any of these albums last week? Any albums you expected to show up higher or lower? Weigh in below.

More from EW’s Music Mix:
Jay-Z tops albums chart again; Oprah bump for Whitney Houston
Chris Brown, “I Can Transform Ya”: Are you ready to hear this?
Joss Stone’s new single, “Free Me”: Hear it
Lady Gaga on Kanye’s VMAs outburst: “He feels so f—ing bad!”

Sep 30 2009 08:59 AM ET

Amy Winehouse rapping: How many seconds can you stand before you press stop?

A video of British songstress and perpetual trainwreck Amy Winehouse rapping — er, I guess that’s technically what she’s doing — has hit YouTube, and her nearly undecipherable rhymes don’t do anything to help her messy reputation. She wails her way through the homemade video, her heavy accent — yeah, let’s blame it on the accent! — causing her to stumble over many of the words she’s trying to get out. Truly, a smoky voice like Winehouse’s shouldn’t be wasted on such crap. Just put out a record of what you do best — folksy, soulful, raspy tunes!

But to be fair, it looks like she’s just messing around and having a little fun with her musical pal Zalon — who was nobody to me before watching this video. But Zalon: Not half bad! Kind of a Craig David-type I’d listen to. According to his website, he’s recognized “as the lead backing vocalist to Amy Winehouse.” Supposedly, he’s also sung alongside Mariah Carey, Blu Cantrell, and Lil’ John. And, apparently, Mark Ronson is co-producing his album, which is set to hit later this year.

But back to the clip at hand: It’s just over three minutes, and you can find it after the jump. In the comments below, tell us how long you made it before you hit the stop button. (I’m guessing it’s somewhere around 46 seconds, when Amy begins her murderous, and ear-splitting, shrieking.)

READ FULL STORY »

Sep 29 2009 05:30 PM ET

Extended Play: Alice in Chains, Robert Earl Keen, Mark Mulcahy tribute

Welcome to Extended Play, an often-as-possible feature on the Music Mix which allows us to review deserving albums for which cruel fate has denied the chance to dwell within our printed pages. Weep not, for they have found a home at last.

This week: new music from Alice in Chains and Robert Earl Keen, plus an all-star tribute to singer-songwriter Mark Mulcahy.

READ FULL STORY »

Sep 29 2009 05:04 PM ET

Chris Brown, 'I Can Transform Ya': Are you ready to hear this?

Chris Brown has a new single called “I Can Transform Ya,” featuring Lil Wayne and Swizz Beatz, streaming right now on his official website. Two decent verses from Weezy make this one a somewhat easier listen than “Twitter,” the grating track Brown leaked earlier this month. One thing hasn’t changed since then, though: I’m still not ready to hear this kind of music from Chris Brown.

The singer also recently announced a headlining concert date on Oct. 27, his first since becoming a convicted felon. I can’t decide whether to feel baffled or outraged by his apparent decision to charge forward with a comeback before even finishing his court-mandated trash-pickup hours. Brown was sentenced to that community service just one month ago after pleading guilty to assaulting his former girlfriend Rihanna in February. Does he think we’ve already forgotten what happened? As EW’s Michael Slezak noted when “Twitter” leaked on Sept. 10, Brown needs to take some serious time off from promoting his career to think about why he committed such an awful crime and make sure it never happens again. Many of you agreed at the time, as did I. Call me crazy, but I don’t think a 19-day break was what any of us had in mind.

It’s really a shame — “I Can Transform Ya” isn’t a terrible song at all. (Stream it after the jump if you want.) Unfortunately, I just can’t hear this guy sing Auto-Tuned come-ons right now without cringing. Can you? When, if ever, do you think it will be appropriate for Brown to hawk new music?

READ FULL STORY »

Sep 29 2009 04:02 PM ET

Joss Stone's new single, 'Free Me': Hear it now!

Categories: Joss Stone

joss-stone_lMore than two and a half years have passed since the release of Introducing Joss Stone, the third CD from the British soulstress. And, if Miss Stone had had her druthers, the singer’s fourth collection, Colour Me Free, would have been out a lot sooner than October 20, when it is available for purchase exclusively through Target. “The album was kind of held in limbo” says Stone. “It’s all record company stuff. I just want to make music and put it out. They have a different mind set. So, we had a little tiff and now we’re putting it out.” Colour Me Free was recorded in the UK at a club owned by Stone’s mother. “It’s a tiny little place that was a restaurant, but my mum made it into a great club,” the singer explains. “While she was actually doing that, when the builders were in, I had the idea to make this album. I figured, ‘Why not? We’ll just work when the builders aren’t working.’ So, we did.”

The first single from Colour Me Free is “Free Me,” which you can hear below and which Stone will perform on Dancing with the Stars tonight. “It’s kind of the title track, really,” says Stone of the song. “It’s just about independence and allowing people to be free and to make their music and their art freely, without somebody sat there telling them how to do so. That’s my slant. But other people can look at it differently.”

After the jump, the singer talks about working with Nas and Jeff Beck. And not writing a song for Obama.

READ FULL STORY »

Sep 29 2009 03:10 PM ET

Lady Gaga on Kanye's VMA outburst: 'He feels so f---ing bad!'

Categories: Kanye West, Lady Gaga

It was the “Imma let you finish” heard ’round the world — and now Kanye West’s upcoming Fame Kills tourmate Lady Gaga joins the celebrity peanut gallery (Obama and Jimmy Carter and Jay-Z, oh my!) of those who have something to say about his infamous Taylor Swift awardus interruptus moment at this year’s VMAs.

Speaking to a Las Vegas radio station, Gaga said, “It’s funny cuz while it was going on I was thinking, ‘Oh gosh … But I would say he’s a good guy and everybody makes mistakes, and he feels so f—ing bad. He really does, he really feels bad.”

She continues: “If you listen to the radio right now, with the exception of myself, really, and, like, probably Taylor Swift, Kanye is responsible for everything we’re listening to. Everyone likes to focus on gossip, but he’s changed music and he’s really prolific and an incredible person, and I think it’s unfair to judge somebody on one mistake they’ve made.”

“He’s really kind of shown me a lot, as a friend, planning this tour — it’s all about the fans … I felt like that [VMA] moment really portrayed him in a way that he really isn’t. It was just a random moment.”

What do you think, readers — just one controversial artist defending another, and trying to boost their co-tour, which she calls “a celebration of creativity and art and fashion and choreography”? Or is she articulating what you also feel: That it’s time to forgive ‘Ye his transgression already?

More from EW’s Music Mix:
Adam Lambert burns up the pre-sale album charts
Katy Perry circa 2001: A natural blond!
Lady Gaga, like you’ve never seen her before: circa 2006

Britney Spears’ NSFW new single
Fool’s Gold: The Music Mix recommends

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