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The Beatles have sold more than 2 million songs and 450,000 albums in just their first week on iTunes. More importantly, though, iTunes sales rankings have finally allowed us to answer the question: What is the world’s favorite Beatles tune? Last September, EW ranked the Fab Four’s top-50 greatest songs, but iTunes’ current list represents a more populist opinion. Guess what’s No. 1 and check out the top-10 after the jump. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Tim Ogier/ABCTaylor Swift is hitting the road in 2011. The 20-year-old star announced today via press release that she will kick off an 87-date Speak Now world tour in Singapore this coming February. After swinging through parts of Asia and Europe, she’ll criss-cross the U.S. and Canada from May through October.
Those American dates will include six arena engagements at Detroit’s Ford Field, Dallas’s Cowboys Stadium, Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, and elsewhere.
Click through to the jump for all the dates on Swift’s Speak Now tour. Is she coming to your town Will you be buying tickets? Speak now in the comments! READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Albert L. Ortega/PR Photos; Chris Hatcher/PR PhotosQuincy Jones does not like being compared to Kanye West. In a recent Us magazine interview, a reporter dared to utter the words, “Kanye West is similar to you in that he’s the producer everybody wants to work with in the last decade…” The famed producer’s retort: “How, man? No way. Did he write for a symphony orchestra? Does he write for a jazz orchestra? Come on, man. He’s just a rapper. There’s no comparison.” Ouch.
“I’m not putting him down or making a judgment or anything, but we come from two different sides of the planet,” Jones continued. “I spent 28 years learning my first skill. I don’t rap. It’s not the same thing. A producer has to have some sort of skills that enable him to be a producer. It’s totally different to know what to do with 16 woodwinds you know from piccolos down to bass clarinet. It’s a whole different mindset. No comparison. None.”
With all due respect, I wonder how closely Jones has been listening if he really thinks Kanye West is “just a rapper.” West first became known for his remarkable talents as a producer. Opinions may vary on the quality of his lyrics, but it’s just not credible to deny that the man is an expert behind the studio boards. He actually does know what to do with 16 woodwinds, believe it or not! READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Arnold Turner/WireImage.comT.I. is back in prison, but he’s still proceeding with plans to release his album No Mercy on Dec. 7. The track that just leaked online should help rev up his fans. It’s called “Welcome to the World,” and it features Kanye West and Kid Cudi, two of T.I.’s most talented peers in rap right now.
The vibe is suitably dark given T.I.’s current situation. West introduces the listener to a lifestyle defined by “fast money, fast cars” but also “fake smiles” over an unnerving piano loop. “If you’re looking for your real love, you won’t find it here/If you’re looking for your real love, well, good night my dear,” he says caustically. “If you’re looking for real love, don’t come around here,” adds Cudi through heavy reverb. Man, these guys don’t make being a world-famous rap star sound like any fun at all.
T.I. kicks a typically nimble verse, full of the chattering flows and casual threats that are second nature to him. But the verse on this song that everyone’s going to be talking about belongs to West. He sounds as furious and focused as I’ve ever heard him here. “You must not really know where I come from/Exactly where my heart,” West raps, his voice rising in intensity. “Or you would never, never, NEVER — where do I start?” After addressing the moronic rumors that he’s part of some Illuminati secret society, he moves to an even more sensitive topic: T.I.’s legal troubles. “They’d rather see a n—- locked up,” West says of unnamed critics. “Why? For stupid s—/Look how they did my n— Tip/Soon as Wayne get out, Tip go in.”
Right now it’s just an unofficial leak, but a rep for T.I.’s label confirms that “Welcome to the World” will appear on No Mercy. That’s great news. Have you heard “Welcome to the World”? How do you like it?
(Follow The Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)
More on the Music Mix:
T.I.’s No Mercy due in December
EW’s review of Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Cee Lo Green and Big Boi go back. As founding members of Goodie Mob and OutKast, respectively, they made Atlanta’s Dungeon Family crew one of the most fearsome forces in music throughout the ’90s and beyond. And both of them put out very strong new albums this year. So it’s only right that Cee Lo and Big Boi are joining forces for a co-headlining tour dubbed “Georgia Power,” per MTV.
No dates for the tour have been announced yet, but this is a great idea. In addition to all their new solo music, Cee Lo and Big Boi have a whole catalog full of collaborations to draw on. Who knows which classic OutKast/Goodie Mob crossover tunes you might hear if you stick around for the encore at one of these shows — “Slum Beautiful”? “Dirty South”? “Git Up Git Out”? “Liberation”? “Reset”? The possibilities are endless, and endlessly awesome.
Would you buy tickets to see Cee Lo and Big Boi in concert together? Let us know.
(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)
More from EW.com:
Cee Lo: Why wasn’t his album a hit?
EW’s A– review of Cee Lo’s The Lady Killer
EW’s A– review of Big Boi’s Sir Lucious Left Foot
GL Wood
Rapper Nicki Minaj’s much-anticipated big-label debut, Pink Friday, hit retailers yesterday, at the beginning of one of the biggest shopping—and music release heavy—weeks of the year. (EW just reviewed the disc here on The Music Mix.) It turns out Thanksgiving week’s consumer culture was part of the inspiration behind the effort’s title. “We named it Pink Friday because it comes out the week of Black Friday,” she tells EW. “It’s girly girl meets crazy, psychotic lunatic meets mix tapes. I think all of those things are represented on Pink Friday.” Besides the nod to Black Friday, the album is also brimming with rap’s biggest and brightest stars. Here, Minaj takes us behind three of her favorite tracks on Pink Friday, a trio of collaborations with Kanye West, Rihanna, and Eminem.
“Blazin” with Kanye West: “‘Blazin” is one of those where you want to let your hair down, feel a little lifted, and just ride out into the night. It’s a more subdued track, and I love the beat. The beat takes me somewhere. I remember playing it for Kanye in the studio, and Kanye started free-styling to the beat right then and there, off the top of his head. I knew his voice was going to sound insane on that particular track, and it brought out a little street edge in me as well. It gave me a platform for things that I needed to say. It’s one of those records that puts you in a peaceful state of tranquility. But it’s hood at the same time.”
It doesn’t take long to notice that Nicki Minaj isn’t quite happy with the respect she’s getting as a rapper. Four verses into her debut set Pink Friday, on the merciless “Roman’s Revenge,” she asks as Roman Zolanski, one of her several much-loved alter egos, “Is this the thanks that I get for putting you b—— on? Is it my fault that all of you b—— gone? Should’ve sent a thank you note, you little h-. Now I’mma wrap your coffin with a bow. Nicki, she’s just mad ‘cause you took the spot…”
Though we do have a hunch, “she” could be anyone. For more than a year now Minaj has earned her place among rap’s elite by track-hopping—stealing the show on big records with fierce verses on Ludacris’ “My Chick Bad” and Kanye West’s “Monster” while branding herself as more than just a girl who can rap. Now she’s simply a great rapper. The predictable byproduct has been a mob of salty rapstresses buzzing about the new queen bee. Nicki addresses them often—whether she’s ordering her Barbies to put up two fingers if they’re crapping on their competition on “Did It On ‘Em” or threatening to iron the face on an “old wrinkled b—-” on the will.i.am-produced, Buggles-sampling “Check It Out.”
Oddly enough, the accented voices and self-assured rhymes that propelled Nicki to stardom are hardly what make this a solid album. It’s those moments when the eccentric wigs are off and aliases put away that the best songs are revealed. Like when she steps off of her throne, vulnerable and helpless on “Save Me,” uncovering a talent she kept hidden throughout her sidekick days: She sings. Well, if I might add. Minaj may not blow like Pink, but her voice is strong enough that aside from one Rihanna-assisted cut, hers is the lone voice carrying a tune. The triumphant “Moment 4 Life,” along with the album’s two lead singles, all showcase her knack for melody while boasting lyrics chronicling her struggles–be they professional or intimate ones of love and hurt. All of which are way more poignant than raps about how dope she is.
She’s often compared with a laundry list of washed-up female emcees. And sure, there’s a little Kim in there. Really though, she reminds me most of her labelmate Drake—fully aware of how amazing she is, but also how fragile. Rap’s first lady may never get the appreciation brashly expected from the aforementioned “she.” But Minaj has certainly earned it here. B+
(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)
On his latest album, The Age of Adz, indie-folk darling Sufjan Stevens embellishes his tunes with all manner of extravagant electronic frippery. Now he has a video to match.
The new clip for standout Adz track “Too Much” is a manic neon blur. A blank-looking Sufjan and assorted dancers writhe about wildly while wearing bright-hued fabrics. Costumes include a sleeveless t-shirt/indoor sunglasses combo and a freaky demon-head mask like the one in that absurd MC Hammer video.
Overall it’s an unusual look for Stevens. Then again, The Age of Adz is an unusual album for him, and after a few listens I learned to love it. Check out the “Too Much” video after the jump (via Pitchfork) and let us know what you think: Too much, not enough, or just right? READ FULL STORY »
In an evening of excellent impressions (Miley vs. Katie Holmes? Shello! Prutty kewl), new SNL cast member Jay Pharoah stood out for both who he took on in his Thanksgiving-themed Weekend Update segment—Jay-Z, Drake, Biggie Smalls—and how on-point his impersonations were.
Close your eyes and listen to the Hova celebrate turkey thighs and Beyonce’s badonk! Marvel as “Drake” nails his sing-songy Canadian cadences in honor of drunk uncles and fat cousins! Bounce along as the Notorious, posthumous B.I.G. lisps a loving tale of candied yams and “biscuits for days”! It’s all after the jump: READ FULL STORY »
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Long-dormant pop-punk giants blink 182 will be bringing all their small things to big stages next summer, according to a recent announcement.
The band’s Mark Hoppus blogged the news on bompa.com of five upcoming U.K. showdates for July 2011, including London’s 02 Arena, with the message “Yes indeed!!! Going back on tour this summer, after the release of the new album. Lots more dates to come, and not just in the UK. These are just the first we’re announcing. Stoked!”
Are you ready for the band’s return, and their first album since decidedly darker and more experimental self-titled release?
(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)
More on blink 182 from EW.com:
Travis Barker’s solo debut to be packed with A-list rappers. Excited yet?
Tom DeLonge on Angels and Airwaves’ free ‘Love,’ the blink-182 reunion, and more: The Music Mix Q&A
