Archive: November 2010 (1-10 of 147)

Nov 30 2010 06:10 PM ET

Why is the Department of Homeland Security shutting down popular rap sites? An official explains why they're targeting bloggers

by
Filed under: Music, News and tagged:

Last week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security seized over 80 websites for alleged copyright and trademark violations. Caught up along with many sites alleged to be selling counterfeit clothing and other products were five entertainment websites, including the popular hip-hop blogs OnSmash.com and dajaz1.com. All that remains on their homepages is a stern notice from the government threatening steep fines and prison time under federal statutes. Why were these sites shut down by Homeland Security? We spoke with Erik Barnett, assistant deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to find out.

“One of our responsibilities [at Homeland Security] is the protection of copyright and trademarks,” he says. “We’ve been doing this frankly for about 40 years at least, when we were the U.S. Customs Service. Of course, back then, it was seizing container loads of mostly luxury goods that were coming into the United States, mostly from China. Like a lot of crime over the last 10 to 15 years, this has now transitioned from flea markets and small vendors to the Internet.”

That analogy might perhaps apply to alleged counterfeiters like burberryoutletshop.com or nfljerseysupply.com, but clearly OnSmash and dajaz1 were not selling fake luxury goods. These weren’t knock-off handbag warehouses — they were prominent parts of a cultural scene. In many cases, the sites have said that record labels gave them tracks to post for promotional purposes. And per TechDirt, no less a recording artist than Kanye West linked approvingly to OnSmash just weeks ago. READ FULL STORY »

Nov 30 2010 03:22 PM ET

Snoop Dogg lights up 'smokin' song for Prince William's bachelor party

by
Filed under: Music, News and tagged: , , ,

Earl Gibson III/FilmMagic.com; Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Though it’s been rumored, we’ve got no clue if Prince William of Wales has invited hip-hop royalty to his upcoming spring wedding to Kate Middleton. But California king Snoop Dogg already has a track that he says is tailor made for the king-to-be’s bachelor party. In a press release Snoop says the second single from his forthcoming Doggumentary Music, “Wet,” is “the perfect anthem for Prince William or any playa to get the club smokin’.” Fittingly, the song will make its debut at 4:20 pm PST today on his website.

Prince William’s known to a be huge fan of hip-hop titans like Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and Diddy–all of whom would seemingly be “safer” picks as invitees to such a regal event. But Snoop sure does up the cool factor several notches. What do you think of Snoop’s unencouraged act of assistance? Will you be checking in later to find out what he laced William with? Spark up some dialogue in the comments.

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

Nov 30 2010 12:23 PM ET

Grammy nominations: Who will get Album of the Year nods?

by
Filed under: Music, News and tagged:

Grammy-LogoThe 53rd Annual Grammy Awards kick off in earnest tomorrow night at 10 P.M. Eastern, when this year’s nominees will be announced at a live televised concert event. Which five releases will be nominated for the prestigious Album of the Year award? Right now it’s anyone’s game, but we have a few guesses.

Due to a change in the awards calendar, albums released between Sept. 1, 2009 and Sept. 30, 2010 (a 13-month period) are eligible for this year’s Grammys. Based on the Recording Academy’s historical preferences, Eminem’s Recovery, Sade’s Soldier of Love, Usher’s Raymond vs. Raymond, and Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now all seem like solid contenders. If the indie community unites behind a consensus choice, Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs could get the fifth nod. Or the Academy’s traditional guitar-rock contingent might conceivably put John Mayer’s Battle Studies in the running for a nomination. There’s also the possibility of a wild-card veteran artist sneaking onto the short list, like past surprises Herbie Hancock and Steely Dan (both of whom actually won in the end) — could Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Mojo perhaps fit that bill, or will we hear an even less expected name tomorrow?

Okay, let’s hear your best guesses. Which five albums do you think will be nominated for Album of the Year Grammys, bearing in mind the September-September eligibility window? Predict away, and check back at the Music Mix tomorrow night for the full list of nominees.

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

Nov 30 2010 11:50 AM ET

New T.I. track feat. Christina Aguilera, 'Castle Walls': Hear it here

by
Filed under: Music and tagged: , ,

TI-AguileraImage Credit: Frank Micelotta/Getty ImagesThough he is currently living behind walls of a different kind, T.I.’s “Castle Walls” hit the internet today, featuring a melancholy chorus courtesy of one Christina Burlesque Aguilera that goes, in part: “Everyone thinks that I have it all / but it’s so empty living behind / these castle walls (these castle walls) / If I should tumble if I should fall would anyone hear me / screaming behind these castle walls?”

It’s a mournful, lonely song, the latest in a line of Trust Me, The Platinum Grass Isn’t Any Greener hip-hop confessionals (see also: B.o.B, Drake, Kanye): READ FULL STORY »

Nov 30 2010 11:38 AM ET

Thirty Seconds to Mars' controversial 'Hurricane' video: Watch the sexy clip here

by
Filed under: Music, News and tagged: ,

30-seconds-to-mars-hurricaneAs of yesterday, Jared Leto was still deciding how to respond to concerns over the explicit content of his band Thirty Seconds to Mars‘ 13-minute “Hurricane” video. He appears to have found an answer already: A version of the clip with bold “CENSORED” boxes covering up parts of the raciest scenes is now available. The censored clip has been airing on TV as of this morning, and you can watch it right now in this post.

Click through to the jump to see the censored (but still possibly NSFW?) video for Thirty Seconds to Mars’ “Hurricane” (via MTV.com), and let us know what you think. Is this a good compromise? Do you like the video? READ FULL STORY »

Nov 30 2010 09:09 AM ET

Lady Gaga promises 'Born This Way' will be the 'greatest album of this decade'

by
Filed under: Music, News and tagged: ,

lady-gagaImage Credit: Janet Mayer/PR PhotosLady Gaga told fans at a concert in Poland on Friday that her upcoming album, Born This Way, is going to be “the greatest album of this decade.” “I don’t know what to say,” she said though tears, as the audience cheered. “Thank you so much. I don’t know what I would do without all of you. You are the most… I just promise that, I don’t even know. I promise you I’ll never let you down. And not for nothing, the album’s finished, and it’s f—ing really good,” she said, smiling. “So whatever this is, whatever you just did, for all of us, I promise to give you the greatest album of this decade, just for you.” READ FULL STORY »

Nov 30 2010 01:00 AM ET

Fefe Dobson talks return to music with new album 'Joy': 'I'm so stoked, I can't explain it to you.'

by
Filed under: Music and tagged: , ,

Fefe-DobsonThere was buzz around Canadian pop-rocker Fefe Dobson when she debuted her self-titled first album in 2003: The effort premiered at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers Chart, sold about 300,000 copies domestically, and spawned one minorly successful single, “Take Me Away.” But then Dobson virtually disappeared, and it came to pass that her sophomore album—Sunday Love, which was to hit in 2006—would not be released by her label, Island Records. Until recently, Dobson had stepped away from the studio—or at least singing in the studio—and could mostly be found writing songs for other artists, everyone from Miley Cyrus (“Start All Over”) to Selena Gomez (“Round & Round”). But now, after more than seven years, Dobson has got a couple of new singles—“Ghost” and “Stuttering,” which she recently performed on The CW’s teen cheerleading drama Hellcats—and is finally ready to release another studio album. The disc, Joy, hits retailers today, in fact. To celebrate her return, EW got Dobson on the phone to talk about her scrapped album and the last few years; her new album; who she’s been writing for; and who’d she love to collaborate with in the future. Rock—or rather, read—on.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Let’s talk about your new album, Joy. It’s been a while since you released anything. How are you feeling about getting back out there?
FEFE DOBSON: So excited. I’ve been waiting for this release for forever. I tried to get it to a point where we’re all happy, and I’m happy, and I think we’re ready. I’m ready. I’m so stoked, I can’t explain it to you. I’m smiling right now.

When somebody says, “Give me the pitch for what Joy is,” how do you answer that?
Joy to me is a reflection of the life experiences that I’ve had throughout the first record and kind of having some time and a hiatus. It’s just like all of those experiences that I had during that period—that growing up period. I made my first record when I was 17, and I’m in my early 20s now, so I kind of had some time to figure stuff out.

You grow and change a lot during that period.
Exactly! You grow and evolve and as you do that, your art hopefully reflects that change and that growth. Musically, it’s still rock and roll, but there’s elements of pop because I love pop music. I love rock music, I love country music—I love all music, let’s be honest! But it reflects that and my interests. It’s a really raw record.

Raw in the sense that you feel like you put yourself out there? What does that mean?
Yeah, definitely because I put myself out there and just kind of expressed what’s going on and what’s been up. And it’s raw because, musically and sonically, there’s two sides of the album. There’s the indie side and the pop side, and the indie side is musically very raw, and sonically, and the pop record is more raw lyrically.

Wait, so the pop side is more raw lyrically and…
Basically, what’s happening is that I made this album for like three years. It’s a concept record, and half the record is indie rock and half the record is pop because that’s who I am as an artist. So we kind of wanted to make it more literal, and in a way poke fun, but also just say, “Here it is,” and put it on the table.

READ FULL STORY »

Nov 29 2010 04:53 PM ET

Supreme Court to illegal music downloaders: Ignorance is no defense

by
Filed under: Music, News and tagged: ,

Think you can get away with illegally downloading music if you didn’t know you were breaking the law? Nice try. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear the case of a Texas teenager who was making that argument, effectively shutting it down for the foreseeable future.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that the Supreme Court declined today to hear an appeal from Whitney Harper. Several years ago, when she was a high school cheerleader living with her family in San Antonio, Harper used the file-sharing service Kazaa to download 37 songs by artists like Eminem, Mariah Carey, and the Police, according to a 2008 Wired story. The Recording Industry Association of America sued her years later under a law that would require her to pay $750 per downloaded song.

Harper in turn argued that she shouldn’t have to pay such high fines because she hadn’t realized she was doing anything illegal. “She argued that she was not aware that the file-sharing program on her computer was dealing in stolen property,” per the CSM. “She said she thought the songs could be downloaded for free, just like listening to the radio on the Internet.” While one federal judge sided with Harper at first, an appeals court overturned that decision.

By refusing to hear Harper’s latest appeal, the Supreme Court is essentially letting the RIAA’s approach stand. So from now on, all the record industry has to do is post copyright notices on CD jewel boxes. If you somehow miss those warnings and pirate music anyway, you’re officially out of luck.

What do you think of the Supreme Court’s stance on this issue? Let’s hear it.

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

Nov 29 2010 04:02 PM ET

Jared Leto talks 'banned' Thirty Seconds to Mars video: 'It's an interesting double standard'

by
Filed under: Music, News and tagged: , ,

30-Seconds-to-MarsImage Credit: CobrasnakeJared Leto wasn’t completely surprised when TV networks refused to air his band’s racy “Hurricane” video. “We always knew there would be some images that would have a tough time getting through,” says the Thirty Seconds to Mars singer, who called the Music Mix while driving to the band’s next gig in Brighton, England today. “But we didn’t expect this kind of pushback that we’re getting now.”

In fact, the “Hurricane” clip that 30STM submitted for TV had already been edited down from the original. “I had always planned on having an explicit version and then a version that was not so explicit,” Leto says. “The version that we were trying to get on broadcast is not the explicit version, and that’s still having a really difficult time.”

Leto wonders just why the networks were so offended by the video’s sexual images. “I’m not interested in provocation for provocation’s sake,” he says. “I just think it’s interesting that when you turn on the news or whatever else catches your interest, how much violence and negativity is available out there. As soon as it comes time for sexuality, it’s a big shock that people are sexual beings. It’s an interesting double standard to me.” READ FULL STORY »

Nov 29 2010 01:38 PM ET

Lil Kim vs. Nicki Minaj: The battle gets bigger

by
Filed under: Let's Argue! and tagged: , , , ,

lil-kim-minajImage Credit: Donna Ward/Getty Images; Johnny Nunez/WireImage.comRap fans got a salty side dish this holiday weekend to go with their turkey-cran sandwiches.

For months, the buzz has been on Nicki Minaj, whose recently released Pink Friday features a track, the Eminem-guesting “Roman’s Revenge,” that many took as a side-slap to Lil’ Kim (sample lyrics: “Look at my show footage, how these girls be spazzin’ / So f—I look like gettin’ back to a has-been? / Yeah, I said it, has-been /Hang it up, flatscreen /Haha plasma”). And last Friday, the Queen Bee bit back.

“It’ll be a murder scene, I’m turning Pink Friday to Friday the 13th,” Kim spat over Pharoahe Monch’s inimitable Godzilla-sampling “Simon Says” horns. “I hate you Lil’ Kim clone/clown, all this buffonery, the sh– stops now … We all know your last name is what got you your job, you’s a put-together gimmick, something like a collage.” And later: “That’s cool, I was the first one wit’ it / You’se a Lil Kim wannabe you just hate to admit it / I’m the blueprint you ain’t nothin’ brand new / Check your posters and videos / You’ll always be number two.”

As rapfix reports, Minaj doesn’t bear Kim’s wrath alone; Drake gets his moment too: “”Yeah, this hood sh– you and Drake ain’t built for, this the sh– the other bitch almost got killed for.” Hear Kim’s track in full, after the jump:

READ FULL STORY »

Advertisement

TV Recaps

Powered by WordPress.com VIP