Archive: January 2011 (91-97 of 97)

Jan 4 2011 12:29 PM ET

Kanye West and Jay-Z's 'Watch the Throne' album: Is it really coming out this week?

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Categories: Hip-Hop/Rap, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Release Date

jay-z-kanyeImage Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.comWhat’s happening with Kanye West and Jay-Z‘s Watch the Throne project? West first announced that he and Jay-Z were collaborating on a five-song EP back in August. Two months later, he said they were amassing enough material for a full-length album. Bits of additional information and rumor have circulated since then, culminating in West’s proclamation at a New Year’s Eve party in Las Vegas last weekend (pictured): “Watch the Throne, coming in one week!”

Those are some tantalizing words for hip-hop fans. If only they were a little more plausible. West’s promise would presumably put Watch the Throne in your headphones this Friday, Jan. 7. Putting aside the fact that albums generally come out on Mondays or Tuesdays, that’s awfully soon for a project that’s received so little formal promotion to date. West’s label, Def Jam, hasn’t said a word about Watch the Throne; a label rep had no comment for this story. We haven’t heard any official singles or seen cover artwork. Watch the Throne isn’t listed for pre-order on Amazon or iTunes. West and Jay-Z haven’t even confirmed a specific release date outside of that one party. Parachuting an album onto the market with so little advance preparation would be a risky commercial move, to say the least.

That still leaves open the possibility that West plans to surprise everyone by posting Watch the Throne for download on his website this week. Maybe he’ll even be reviving his dormant “G.O.O.D. Fridays” free giveaway series for that purpose. But are Kanye West and Jay-Z the kind of artists who would give away an entire new album online with no regard for profit margins? Bold as such a move would be, it feels out of character for both of them. A more likely version of this scenario has West posting an individual new song from Watch the Throne on Friday, or perhaps finished versions of the original five tunes from this summer — a teaser course, not the whole meal.

Of course, there’s no predicting exactly what Kanye West has up his sleeve at any given moment. Who knows! When do you think we’ll get to hear Watch the Throne? Are you looking forward to this meeting of the minds?

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

More news from EW.com’s Music Mix:
Kanye West and Jay-Z announce collab EP
Kanye West and Jay-Z are making a full album together

Jan 3 2011 05:21 PM ET

Trent Reznor on his Golden Globe nomination, what's wrong with the Grammys, and what it really means to be 'independent': An EW Q&A

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Categories: Q&A, Trent Reznor

Trent-ReznorNine Inch Nails may be on semi-permanent hiatus, but Trent Reznor—erstwhile prince of sonic darkness, emperor of industrial, master of non-metric measurements—has hardly been sitting on idle hands.

Among other things, the past year saw him forming a new band, How to Destroy Angels; welcoming his first child; and garnering a Golden Globe nomination for his film score for David Fincher’s The Social Network (due on DVD Jan. 11), with longtime collaborator Atticus Ross. Will he be wearing a tux to the Jan. 16 ceremonies in Los Angeles? “For sure,” he says. Does that mean his famously tetchy stance towards industry awards shows has changed? Read on.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: First off, congratulations on being nominated for a Golden Globe—you are now officially a multi-hyphenate.

TRENT REZNOR: Oh, thank you very much.

How does it feel to be recognized in an area of entertainment you’re not generally known for?

It’s been surprisingly nice to see this stuff go down. I’m really thinking about how to proceed from here, because the experience of working with David Fincher couldn’t have been better. It was just working with a really smart guy with a really smart team that challenged us, the work was rewarding, and it was a cool experience not being the boss for a change, realizing you’re working in a supporting role. David knows what he wants, and when we started this thing I went into it with that in mind—he’s not winging it. [The feedback] wasn’t all “yes yes yes yes great,” there was some back and forth. But it was fun to witness, and it was an education.

His next project of course is The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and I’m sure that movie needs a soundtrack, too. You seem like you might be a good candidate…

[Benevolent pause] Well, we’ll see how that plays out.

On a sadder note, we were speaking about what’s on your iPod [for a piece in this week's EW print issue], and you mentioned [legendary experimental outfit] Coil, which I’m guessing may be in part because of a recent death…

Yes. I just lost a dear friend, Peter Christopherson. We’ve known each other over the years to varying degrees, and I reached out to him this spring, because I wanted to make sure that it was OK that I pilfer the name to use for my new band because a) I love Coil and b) I just thought that was a really cool name, and I wanted to get his blessing on that before I moved forward, so we touched base. He had stayed with me in New Orleans for a while back in the mid to late ’90s, and I always had an immense amount of respect for the guy, not only as a musician but as an artist. He has a very big influence on my life; he did some videos for us way back, and I was just really saddened to hear about his passing.

I only heard that he died in his sleep, no other details… READ FULL STORY »

Jan 3 2011 02:25 PM ET

EXCLUSIVE: That Justin Timberlake-Neptunes song from last week? Bogus!

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Categories: Justin Timberlake, Leaks, Things That Sound A Whole Lot Like Other Things

So by now, if you’re one of the zillions of people starving for new Justin Timberlake music, you’ve no doubt heard this song “Take You Down,” which allegedly features JT singing over a Neptunes beat. The Internet has been buzzing about  the track since it “leaked” last Thursday. One minor detail, though: It ain’t him.

“Various media outlets recently reported that a song called ‘Take You Down’ is a new track from Justin Timberlake,” a rep for Timberlake tells EW via a statement. “These reports are untrue. The song is the work of a Danish artist named Rasmus Thude. Justin’s representatives were not initially contacted to fact check the validity of these reports or if the song was, in fact, his. Justin has no involvement with either the song or the artist but wants to assure his fans that when he releases new music, they will be the first to know.”

So by all means continue to enjoy the song if you like. But if it’s true Justin Timberlake ear candy you crave, sorry to disappoint you.

Jan 3 2011 01:14 PM ET

Gwyneth Paltrow and Cee Lo Green: Recording together?

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Categories: Cee-Lo, Gwyneth Paltrow, Music

Gwyneth-Paltrow-Cee-Lo-GreenImage Credit: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic.com; Michael Buckner/WireImage.comIs Cee Lo Green recording new music with Gwyneth Paltrow? It sure sounds like it lately. Paltrow, who memorably sang Green’s “F— You” on Glee, recently dropped another hint during a Good Morning America interview (h/t E!). “We’re emailing each other,” said the Country Strong star. “We don’t know where that’s going to go. But I am such a big fan of Cee Lo. He is so gorgeous and talented and amazing. We’ll see!”

This comes on the heels of a New Year’s Eve interview in which Cee Lo told Popeater he might be working with Paltrow as soon as this week. “I am actually supposed to go into the studio with her in the next few days,” he said then. “We are doing another personalized version of ‘Forget You.’ Who knows, we may come up with something spontaneous.”

What do you think of this news? Would you like to hear a personalized “F— You”/”Forget You” featuring both Cee Lo and Paltrow, or something else, result from these sessions?

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

More from EW:
Glee: Gwyneth Paltrow sings “Forget You”
Cee Lo, Big Boi announce co-headlining “Georgia Power” tour

Jan 3 2011 12:48 PM ET

Lady Gaga's bare-bottomed 'Born This Way' artwork: What do you think?

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Categories: Lady Gaga, Things That Are Sexy, Things That Are Strange

With no awards shows to perform at or red carpets to bless with her eccentricities, Lady Gaga‘s been pretty quiet for the last few months. But it seems like we’ll be getting back to regularly scheduled Gaga programming in no time. As we reported earlier, she kicked off the new year on Twitter announcing that her next album, Born This Way, will hit stores May 23. And the first single, its title track, will be released Feb. 13, the same day as the 2011 Grammy Awards. Along with the announcement came a photo of a pantsless Gaga wearing only a jacket adorned with the name of her album and a unicorn drawing, which matches the tattoo on her thigh. Considering this is the same person who proudly wore a meat dress and one made of Kermit heads, this isn’t that wild. Racy? Sure. But I certainly was expecting something that would register a bit higher on my crazy meter. Still, it’s NSFW-worthy and a little too much to be displaying here without you choosing to check it out after the jump. See it for yourself.

READ FULL STORY »

Jan 2 2011 01:13 PM ET

Chuck Berry collapses during Chicago show

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Categories: Music

chuck-berryImage Credit: Jorge Rosenberg/Getty ImagesRock legend Chuck Berry collapsed on stage during Saturday’s standing-room only performance at the Congress Theater in Chicago, according to the city’s Tribune. About an hour into his show, the 84-year-old slumped over with his head on a keyboard and didn’t move for several minutes. He had to be helped from the stage. About 15 minutes later, he returned to the stage with the intention of finishing, but he was interrupted when paramedics arrived. The Chicago Fire Department gave Berry a quick check-up at the scene, and the singer, who claimed to be feeling better, signed a release refusing further medical treatment and was not hospitalized.

Update: Berry’s agent, Dick Alen, told the Associated Press that the singer felt ill before the Chicago show due to exhaustion. Update II: CNN reports that a spokesperson for Berry, Andy Riesmeyer of CMG Worldwide, said in a statement, “He collapsed due to exhaustion, he then came back out to the crowd and did his ‘duck walk’ dance before leaving for the night.” Riesmeyer added that Berry, 84, “is fine” and that he has returned to his home outside St. Louis.

Jan 1 2011 08:22 AM ET

Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' gets release date

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Categories: Grammys, Lady Gaga, Release Date

At midnight last night, Lady Gaga tweeted that her upcoming new album, Born This Way, will be released on May 23, 2011. “THE SONG 2 13 11 THE RECORD 5 23 11,” read the singer’s feed, accompanied by a risque photo of her in a Born This Way jacket. The album’s title track thus drops on Feb. 13, which just so happens to be the same day as the 2011 Grammy Awards.

Read more:
Lady Gaga promises ‘Born This Way’ will be ‘greatest album of this decade’
Barbie does (Lady) Gaga
Lady Gaga puts Senate on notice

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