Music news, reviews, albums, concerts, and downloads | The Music Mix

The Music Mix Music news, reviews, albums, concerts, and downloads

Nov 26 2009 09:30 AM ET

Songs about food: Let us give thanks!

Categories: Do My Job For Me, Food and Drink, Things Nobody Asked For, Things That Are Awesome

In honor of the holiday that asks not what your stretchiest house-pants can do for you, but what you can do for your stretchiest house-pants, we bring you: Awesome Songs About Food. (Alternate title: Songs That Aren’t Necessarily Really About Food, But Have Food In the Title and Shut Up It’s A Holiday Just Go With It OK.)

We want to hear your favorites of course, but we’ll get the meatball rolling, as it were, with the song that most speaks to the Thanksgiving holiday’s themes of family, history, and nostalgia: Don McLean’s 1971 classic “American Pie.” And on to proteins! Jimmy Buffet’s “Cheeseburger in Paradise”; an all-beef “Hot Dog,” courtesy of Led Zeppelin; “Pulling Mussels from the Shell” with Squeeze; popping the can opener for Weezer’s “Pork and Beans.”

And then, so much fruit! Yes, we have no bananas. But we do have The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields”; Coldplay’s “Strawberry Swing.” Carry those “Peaches” (Presidents of the United States of America) along on a “Blueberry Boat” (Fiery Furnaces), with a few “Apples and Oranges” (Pink Floyd); make sure to put the lime in the coconut.

Sweet tooth? Let’s drizzle on some “Tupelo Honey,” via Van Morrison. Maybe a teaspoon of the Rolling Stones’ “Brown Sugar”; a lil’ “Lollipop” from Lil Wayne. And, of course, some “Cherry Pie.” Thanks, Warrant! I’m stuffed. Time for “Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk.” And for your coffee (ahem), so much better than Stevia:

We won’t even get started on band names themselves (Fiona Apple! Black Eyed Peas! Hall & Oates! Oh look, there we go)—just leave us your most delicious picks in the comments section, below.

Nov 25 2009 03:10 PM ET

'New Moon' soundtrack goes platinum: But does it have the teeth to beat 'Twilight'?

by Clark Collis

Categories: Charts, Radiohead, Twilight

It seems my New Moon: A Hater’s Guide Popwatch post of last week has had absolutely zero effect on the commercial success of the film and its soundtrack. While the movie racked up an astonishing, and record-breaking, $142m in ticket sales over its opening weekend, the CD has just been certified platinum and sold 93,000 copies in its sixth week on release.

It turns out you can get blood from stone of the record-buying public if you involve enough buffed-up werewolves and sulky looks. The big question now is whether the the New Moon CD, which features tracks by Death Cab for Cutie, Muse, The Killers and Thom Yorke (whose contribution, “Hearing Damage,” you can hear below) as well as indie upstarts like Grizzly Bear, Bon Iver and Hurricane Bells, can top the success of the Twilight album. That has been on the Billboard charts now for 55 weeks straight and has shifted 2.3 million copies.

So, non-haters: Do you prefer the Twilight or the New Moon CD? And do you think the latter will ultimately defeat the former?

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

More on the ‘New Moon’ soundtrack”:
Brandon Flowers on vampires and Sinatra
‘New Moon’ soundtrackers Hurricane Bells: An EW video exclusive

Nov 25 2009 01:49 PM ET

Kris Allen: How to explain the 'American Idol' champ's disappointing chart performance?

by Michael Slezak

Categories: American Idol, Charts, Kris Allen, News, Things That Maybe Didn't Go the Way They Were Supposed To

The first-week sales results for Kris Allen are in, and they’re not spectacular. The American Idol champ moved 80,000 copies of his self-titled debut album, placing him at No. 11 on SoundScan’s chart (behind Justin Bieber, Casting Crowns, and Norah Jones, though ahead of Leona Lewis), and perhaps more alarmingly, giving him the lowest first-week sales returns for an Idol winner in the show’s eight-season history. (Read full post)

Nov 25 2009 01:00 PM ET

John Mayer tops album chart; Norah Jones and Justin Bieber, not too shabby

by Leah Greenblatt

Categories: Charts, John Mayer, News, Norah Jones

John Mayer’s Battle Studies is the Genghis Khan of the chart wars this week, with 286,000 copies sold—making it his first no. 1 Billboard spot since 2003’s Heavier Things. (Despite the fact that 2007’s Continuum beat it numbers-wise at 300K, it bowed at no. 2—damn you, Justin Timberlake!).

Andrea Bocelli’s deck-the-halls-with-opera opus My Christmas hung tight at no. 2, while Norah Jones’ The Fall snagged the third spot with 180,000 copies (her previous effort, 2007’s Not Too Late, moved 405,000).

Surprisingly, 50 Cent’s Before I Self Destruct landed fifth behind Christian soft-rockers Casting Crowns’ fifth release, Until the Whole World Hears, selling only 160,000. For Fitty, that’s a nearly half-a-million-unit fall from the 691,000-copy debut of 2007’s Curtis.

And—squeeeee!—15-year-old mall-pop pin-up Justin Bieber moved a respectable 137,000 copies of his debut EP My World; not bad for a kid who can’t even get licensed to drive yet. Two film soundtracks, Michael Jackson’s This Is It and one for a little indie flick called New Moon, held strong at 96,000 and 93,000 respectively. But pity the American Idol champ Kris Allen, whose 80,000-units no. 11 finish, while not tragic, easily falls in the lowest first-week sales for the show’s top finishers.

Who did Allen beat? Rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, who tabbed a healthy 70,000—besting U.K. diva Leona Lewis, no less, who may not be so “Happy” with her no. 13 bow. A true legend, Beatle Paul McCartney, snagged the no. 16 spot with his Live in New York City release.

Tune in next week, music fans, when the battle gets pitched for real: The face-off between Rihanna, Adam Lambert, Lady Gaga, Shakira and stealth chart-bomber Susan Boyle (she’s projected to hit up to a whopping 600,000 unit sales) is but a week—and eighteen tons of turkey leftovers—away.

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

Nov 25 2009 11:57 AM ET

The Avett Brothers get budget-shopped in new 'Slight Figure of Speech' video

by Leah Greenblatt

Categories: New Stuff, News, Strange Bedfellows, TV, Video Gaga

Folk-rock foursome the Avett Brothers hail from Southern climes (specifically, Concord, North Carolina), but they get the Eastbound and Down treatment in the video for “Slight Figure of Speech,” from their Rick Rubin-produced album I and Love and You.

Jody Hill, the creator of the (NSFW) HBO cult hit series, lassoes the show’s supporting star Andy Daly (you may also recognize him from Reno 911 and this year’s Matt Damon vehicle The Informant!) as the skeezy-lovable host of TAB, “The American Budget Shopping Network.”

Watch him sell aviator sunglasses, knives, candy lamps(?) and… a certain band of brothers and non-related dudes they just call Brothers, below:

Nov 25 2009 09:43 AM ET

Adam Lambert rocks CBS 'Early Show.' (Surprise! No one gets groped!)

by Michael Slezak

Categories: Adam Lambert, American Idol, American Music Awards

CBS, 3; ABC, 0.

There’s really no other way to score it, seeing how Good Morning America lost out on one charming, cheeky interview (read what my colleague Ken Tucker had to say about that) and two bad-ass musical performances from American Idol season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert this morning, handing them all over to its rival Early Show because, um, why exactly? Oh yeah, apparently ABC suits didn’t trust the firebrand singer would understand the inherent difference between a 10:55 p.m. performance at a decidedly racy awards show and an 8:30 a.m. gig at a benign, watch-with-your-cereal-and-coffee news program. [Insert eye-roll here.] This isn’t to say I’ve changed my tune on Lambert’s Sunday-night showing. Some 36 hours later, I stand by my contention that his AMA performance of “For Your Entertainment” was a vocal and aesthetic disappointment. But ABC’s finger-wagging disinvitation — “Given his controversial American Music Awards performance, we were concerned about airing a similar concert so early in the morning” — seems as disingenuous as it does counter-intuitive. (Really? Why not just put a big bow on top of that ratings gift you’re giving to Harry Smith & Co.?)

The good news for the Glambert Nation is their guy sounded terrific on his one-two punch of the heartfelt anthem “Whataya Want from Me” and the effervescent party-starter “Music Again.” (Read full post)

Nov 24 2009 01:15 PM ET

Jimmy Fallon does Neil Young doing the 'Fresh Prince' theme song: If you enjoy any of those three things, you must watch this clip

by Simon Vozick-Levinson

Categories: Covers, LOL, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Neil Young, Things That Are Canadian

So, Late Night personality Jimmy Fallon does an amazing Neil Young impression. I mean, really uncanny. Dude sounds exactly like north Ontario’s finest. This is a cool talent to have, if perhaps not a hugely useful one in most situations. Last night, though, Fallon entered transcendent comedic territory by going into character as Neil Young…and covering the theme song from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

No, I don’t know why Neil Young would be covering the Fresh Prince theme song, either. But I am very glad that this completely random idea suggested itself to Fallon. Turns out the old “Innnnn West Philadelphia born and raised…” works pretty well as a haunting falsetto folk song! Watch the clip after the jump. You will not be sorry. Then let us know if there are any other classic sitcom themes you’d like to see Fallon-as-Young cover. (Full House, anyone?)

(Read full post)

Nov 24 2009 12:36 PM ET

Adam Lambert performance on 'Good Morning America' canceled; will appear on CBS 'Early Show' instead

by Leah Greenblatt

Categories: Adam Lambert, American Music Awards, Concerts on the Teevee, Confusion, News, Things That Maybe Didn't Go the Way They Were Supposed To

Adam Lambert’s scheduled appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America tomorrow has been canceled following his controversial performance at Sunday night’s American Music Awards, aired by the same network. An ABC spokesperson sent EW the following statement: “Given his controversial American Music Awards performance, we were concerned about airing a similar concert so early in the morning.”

Instead, the Idol runner-up and general pop culture lightning rod will be moving over to CBS’s Early Show, his publicist tells EW.

UPDATE: A spokeswoman for CBS has confirmed that Lambert will be discussing his AMAs appearance on the Early Show tomorrow as well as performing, and will also appear on the network again that night on David Letterman.

Nov 24 2009 10:01 AM ET

Bryan Adams pens song for new movie 'Old Dogs': Listen to the exclusive stream here!

by Clark Collis

Categories: Exclusives, Soundtracks

When Bryan Adams heard the folks at Disney were using his song “The Summer of ‘69″ in the new comedy Old Dogs, which is released tomorrow, he called the film company’s music chief to express his gratitude. “I said,’Thanks a lot for doing that,’ recalls the Canadian singer-songwriter, “He goes, ‘Hey, by the way, can you write me an original song?’ He told me a little bit about the movie, that Robin Williams and John Travolta are great friends, and then I sent him a song. Simple as that!” The track, which you can exclusively hear below, is a breezy number called “You’ve Been a Friend to Me.” Adams says that he was influenced by having spent most of the year doing acoustic shows: “The song’s got quite an acoustic swing to it, because that’s the instrument I’m using right now.”

Adams has contributed songs to numerous movies. Notably, his single “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” became a global smash in large part thanks to its appearance in the 1991 Kevin Costner action-romp Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. According to the Music Mix’s records, the song was a number one in Britain for seven years straight. “It’s still number one!” laughs Adams. “Actually, it was 16 weeks. I can remember my record company saying to me, ‘Listen, we have to pull the single, because we want to focus on the album. I said, ‘Just leave it’. I mean people were buying that record that never buy records. It struck a chord with people out there in the world that in some cases didn’t even speak English!”

Can you speak English? And, if not, how are you understanding this? Regardless, give a listen to Mr Adams’ newie, and tell us what you think.

Nov 23 2009 06:23 PM ET

Kelis delivers bouncing new dance-terpiece, 'Acapella': Listen to it here

by Joseph Brannigan Lynch

Categories: EW Recommends, Music, New Stuff, News

A new track from R&B rebel Kelis has been unleashed upon an unsuspecting world. Anyone worried her four-month-old baby (or recent divorce from Nas) has watered down her milkshake can breathe easy—that’s not possible for someone this bossy.

The ever-savvy Kelis hasn’t lost her instinctual grasp of what modern club music needs: in today’s case, we could use some effervescent joy. To that end, “Acapella” is Donna Summer-styled retro-disco that nevertheless feels effortlessly fresh. Kelis’ voice recalls the Queen of Disco’s ethereal yearning for love on Bad Girls tracks like “Lucky” and “Our Love,” but with an added scoop of earthiness, and shades of Giorgio Moroder. Check the “we’ve been partying so long I think I see the sun rising” vibe:

This song isn’t unlike the recent efforts from Hercules and Love Affair, the New York-based musical collective who similarly mine the after-dark sounds of the ’70s. One can’t help but dream a collaboration might be in the works….

According to Kelis’ website, she’s nearly completed a new album, her first since 2006’s Kelis Was Here. Does “Acapella” bode well for dancefloors in 2010?