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Archive: September 2009 (101-110 of 170)

Sep 11 2009 04:41 PM ET

The 50 worst albums of the decade? See if you agree

Categories: Misc.

Grab a bendy straw and and get ready to sip the haterade, Music Mixers — British music blog Gigwise has compiled its definitive list of the 50 worst albums of the 2000s.

While it has its share decidedly U.K.-centric picks — reality blow-up dolls Katie Price and Peter Andre grab the No. 1 spot, and quintessentially Brit outfits like Oasis, Razorlight and Robbie Williams are royally dissed — North Americans hardly escape their wrath.

Amongst the damned: Avril Lavigne (for 2002′s Let Go), Jennifer Lopez (2005′s Rebirth), Mariah Carey (2002 underwhelmer Charmbracelet) Guns ‘n Roses ( 2007′s Chinese Democracy), and the Black Eyed Peas, for their latest; plus less-than-stellar catalog entries from nu-metallers Staind and Puddle of Mudd, and Limp Bizkit.

Not to be outdone? few of our favorite actress/singer/spray-tan-provider hyphenates (Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, the Simpsons Ashlee and Jessica); the odd sad white rapper (Vanilla Ice, Kevin Federline), grunge god Chris Cornell, the JoBros, and — last but not least — Celine Dion. Her heart will go on!

Get the full list after the jump (and see all its brutally snarky commentary compiled on one page here):

READ FULL STORY »

Sep 11 2009 03:55 PM ET

Guilty Pleasures, Round Three: Journey (3) vs. Barry Manilow (2)

by Whitney Pastorek

Categories: Barry Manilow, Guilty Pleasures, Journey, Let's Argue!

EW’s Music Mix is searching for the Greatest Guilty Pleasure Musical Act of All Time. With eight seeded contestants remaining (see all the matchups), this tournament is continuing to change hearts, minds, and lives, as well as make some people remarkably agitated! Read/listen to the following, and then cast your vote in the poll after the jump; reader comments will be used from here on out, so we encourage you to also post a comment explaining why you chose the way you did. Note: In case of a tie, please select the artist you feel more ashamed to adore.

This is the final matchup of Round Three. Polls will remain open through the weekend.

READ FULL STORY »

Sep 11 2009 03:24 PM ET

Weezer reveals 'Raditude' cover art: The quick brown dog jumps over the hiding cat

by Simon Vozick-Levinson

Categories: Cover Art, Weezer

I’m pretty sure the fine gentlemen of Weezer just won themselves a spot on my album covers of the year list. Behold the image that will grace Oct. 27′s Raditude, to your left (spotted via Idolator). Is that or is that not the greatest LOLcat/dog combo you have seen today? (Spoiler: The cat is hiding in the lower left-hand quadrant of the cover, in case you don’t immediately see it.)

According to a post on Spinner.com, Weezer mastermind Rivers Cuomo found this pic while flipping through the pages of National Geographic, which apparently publishes adorable photographs of dogs leaping across suburban living rooms now. Also, the dog’s name is Sidney.

Aren’t you glad you know that? Register your thoughts on this striking image in the comments, below.

Sep 11 2009 02:37 PM ET

Kanye West and Lady Gaga: dates for 'Fame Kills' tour announced

by Leah Greenblatt

Categories: Divas!, Kanye West, Lady Gaga

We first heard rumblings that these two little wallflowers were banding together back in June. And now, in a explosion of spangles, caps-locks, and conceptual sunglasses, the magical announcement has finally arrived!

Four initial dates for the dynamic duo”s joint “Fame Kills” Tour (if it kills, will this be a double funeral?) are now available at Lady-Gaga.net – beginning with Sacramento on Nov. 18 before passing through Greensboro, NC; Hartford, Conn., and Dallas; a more complete list is scheduled to follow.

Prices begin at $39 (roughly two Gaga hair-bows worth) and climb to $250 (basically, the laces on a pair of Kanye for Louis Vuitton sneakers). But really, can you put a price on these two? You cannot! Or actually, you could try, in the comments section below…

Sep 11 2009 01:38 PM ET

Guilty Pleasures, Round Three: George Michael/Wham (6) vs. ABBA (2)

by Whitney Pastorek

Categories: ABBA, George Michael, Guilty Pleasures, Let's Argue!

READ FULL STORY »

Sep 11 2009 01:20 PM ET

Tokio Hotel: A Music Mix Q&A

by Joseph Brannigan Lynch

Categories: An EW Exclusive!, Music, Q&A, Things That Are European, Twilight

A pair of twins who only just turned twenty are leading Germany’s latest musical blitzkrieg. Bill and Tom Kaulitz are half of the emo-pop foursome Tokio Hotel, and with the release of their second U.S. album Humanoid this October, the European superstars seem poised to finally break into America’s mainstream.

Why is this group of Hot Topic Deutschlanders leagues ahead of the competition? Maybe it’s lead singer Bill Kaulitz’s thick Robert Smith makeup and Mad Max punk fashion aesthetic. Or does the combination of twin brothers (and self-described soul mates) in a band truly make for emo magic?

We talked to them about guitarist Tom’s secret hip-hop recordings(!), Bill’s Twilight obsession, and why they named their band after a city they’ve never even been to.

Entertainment Weekly: Did you ever think you would end up so successful so quickly?

Bill Kaulitz: No, we never, ever expected that. We came from a small village and there is no music business there. We never expected it—it was a lot of happy and lucky moments for us, and we are totally happy that we got the chance to do all this. There was never a plan behind it. We just did our thing and try to be good.

EW: Does your success change the way you approach writing music? Do you ever go into the studio thinking, “I should I try to write a hit”?

BK: We try to push the pressure away. It’s not good in the studio if you think, “Oh, I have to write a hit like ‘Monsoon’ or something.” You just go ahead and write your thoughts down. Just try to do things you love and I think then it’s always good. If you like what you do then it’s fine.

EW: Tom, I hear you’re into hip-hop—would you ever try to incorporate that into your sound?

READ FULL STORY »

Sep 11 2009 11:56 AM ET

Daft Punk sign on for 'DJ Hero'

by Leah Greenblatt

Categories: Misc.

Zut alors! Grammy-winning French electro duo Daft Punk have signed on to bring their discotheque magic — and face-shielding future-roboto likenesses — to the new Guitar-Hero-with-turntables video game DJ Hero.

The habitually press-shy Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, who studiously avoid being photographed out of costume, will supply 11 exclusive mixes that, according to Rolling Stone, blend their greatest hits (“One More Time,” “Harder Better Faster Stronger”) with tracks from Queen, Gary Numan, No Doubt and Young MC.

Other DJ luminaries already signed on to participate include DJ Shadow, Grandmaster Flash, Z-Trip, and the late DJ AM; Jay-Z and Eminem will also provide exclusive content.

What do you think, Music Mixers — how will DJ Hero stand up against its rival game Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, which promises tracks from the likes of Kanye, the Beastie Boys, Outkast and Dr. Dre? And how much are you going to enjoy your Daft Punk avatar? Could it possibly be any more magnifique than this video?

Sep 11 2009 01:00 AM ET

The Best Beatles Songs, 25-1

by EW staff

Categories: The Beatles

25. I’M A LOSER (1964, Beatles for Sale)

One of the jolliest — and saddest — cries for help ever.

24-1 after the jump…

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Sep 10 2009 06:17 PM ET

Kurt Cobain in 'Guitar Hero 5': former Nirvana bandmates are 'dismayed and very disappointed'

by Leah Greenblatt

Categories: Games, Let's Argue!, Nirvana

This evening, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic released an official statement in response to the open use of a Kurt Cobain avatar in Guitar Hero 5, in which the late grunge icon can be made to perform any song by any artist in the GH catalog.

Said the pair: “We want people to know that we are dismayed and very disappointed in the way a facsimile of Kurt is used in the Guitar Hero game. The name and likeness of Kurt Cobain are the sole property of his estate – we have no control whatsoever in that area.

While we were aware of Kurt’s image being used with two Nirvana songs, we didn’t know players have the ability to unlock the character. This feature allows the character to be used with any kind of song the player wants. We urge Activision to do the right thing in “re-locking” Kurt’s character so that this won’t continue in the future.

It’s hard to watch an image of Kurt pantomiming other artists’ music alongside cartoon characters. Kurt Cobain wrote songs that hold a lot of meaning to people all over the world. We feel he deserves better.”

Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love, has already threatened to sue the parent company Activision; she tweeted today: “wait til you see what MY lovely lawyer has cooked up, i never ever signed off on this … btw we get NO money for this, travesty, Frances gets NO money for the rape.” Activision responded: “Guitar Hero secured the necessary licensing rights from the Cobain estate in a written agreement signed by Courtney Love to use Kurt Cobain’s likeness as a fully playable character in Guitar Hero 5.”

Watch the pixelated Cobain, in his trademark fuzzy green cardigan, perform snippets of Public Enemy and Billy Idol below before busting into songs that are the antithesis of his sound — namely, Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name,” Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” and Bush’s “Comedown” — and tell us if you agree. Is it blasphemous, or all in good fun?