Simon Vozick-Levinson | Music news, reviews, albums, concerts, and downloads | The Music Mix

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Author: Simon Vozick-Levinson (1-10 of 298)

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

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?)

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Nov 23 2009 12:18 PM ET

Jennifer Lopez on AMAs fall: 'I meant to do that!'

by Simon Vozick-Levinson

Categories: American Music Awards, Jennifer Lopez, News

Jennifer Lopez took to Ryan Seacrest’s KIIS-FM radio show this morning to speak on the tumble she took while performing her single “Louboutins” at the American Music Awards last night. First came denial: “Did I trip a little bit? I don’t even remember.” Then excuses: “I meant to do that! You should know me better than that. That was part of the choreography!”

Okay, so Lopez was probably only kidding with all that nonsense, as indicated by her laughter throughout. After Seacrest graciously credited her with “the greatest recovery ever” following her spill, the diva offered some more sincere words of wisdom: “The measure of things is not what happens when you fall, it’s how you handle when you fall.” That’s deep.

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Nov 22 2009 09:32 PM ET

Rihanna's AMAs comeback performance: How did she do?

by Simon Vozick-Levinson

Categories: American Music Awards, Awards Shows, News, Rihanna

The latest stop on Rihanna’s publicity tour just took her to the American Music Awards stage. She began her performance strapped to an uncomfortable-looking gurney in front of a pile of staticky TVs, going on to perform a medley of “Wait Your Turn” and “Hard,” both from her new album, Rated R (out tomorrow).

Was it the kind of outstanding performance that will have viewers buzzing at the water cooler tomorrow morning? Not quite, I’d say. Rihanna was in decent vocal shape, but those two songs just aren’t necessarily the strongest selections from Rated R, for one thing. Still, awards show performances are all about spectacle, and she had the eye-catching factor nailed — from the aforementioned gurney set, to the “RATED R” tattoo-like writing on her chest, to the fake-gun-toting backup dancers. Overall it felt like another well-played step in her promotional plan, if not a resounding triumph.

Or do you disagree? What did you think of Rihanna’s performance? The comments section awaits below.

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

Nov 22 2009 08:18 PM ET

Aerosmith exclusive: Joe Perry denies Venezuelan singer rumors

by Simon Vozick-Levinson

Categories: Aerosmith, News

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry has denied reports that the band is eyeing Venezuela-based singer Paul Gillman as a potential replacement for frontman Steven Tyler. “If somebody was coming in, I think one of the other guys in the band would have at least texted me his name,” Perry quipped to EW when asked about the rumors on the American Music Awards red carpet. The Boston Globe cited “word out of South America” yesterday suggesting that Aerosmith plans to audition Gillman. –Reporting by Whitney Pastorek

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

Nov 18 2009 02:24 PM ET

Chris Brown: Is his career rehab working? The answer might surprise you

by Simon Vozick-Levinson

Categories: Chris Brown, New Boyz, News

Chris Brown has been going all out to relaunch his music career lately, just a few short months after pleading guilty to felony assault of his ex Rihanna. Right now, all signs indicate that Brown’s career rehab might be working. (Full disclosure: I’ve both reported on and expressed my opinion on various sides of this story.)

“I Can Transform Ya,” the lead single from his album Graffiti (due Dec. 8), has climbed to a peak position of No. 23 after five weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100. That’s not smash territory yet, but it suggests that a lot of people are ready to hear new music from Brown. “The audience will tell us whether they want to hear it,” says Rob Morris, program director at the Twin Cities region’s KDWB FM, which has begun testing “I Can Transform Ya” in its mix shows. “I’m sure there’s going to be folks who will give us reasons why they don’t think Chris Brown should have a song on the radio. But a song’s a song. Obviously he’s paying for [what he did] in many ways. I think the music that he continues to do is somewhat separate.”

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Nov 18 2009 11:49 AM ET

Bon Jovi tops the albums chart

by Simon Vozick-Levinson

Categories: Bon Jovi, Charts, News

Bon Jovi have come full Circle on the Billboard 200, notching their second consecutive No. 1 debut with 163,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. (For what it’s worth, the Jersey vets’ last album got there with a more impressive 292,000.) They were by far the biggest-selling new release in a fairly quiet week.

Down at No. 8, Flyleaf gave the world 56,000 Memento Moris. Switchfoot made it to No. 13 with 39,000 copies sold of Hello Hurricane. Dashboard Confessional took No. 19 with 30,000 copies sold of Alter the Ending.

That was it for chart debuts this week. In other developments, Lady Antebellum’s 2008 debut vaulted back into the Top 20 at No. 11 after a memorable performance at the Country Music Awards helped them move 45,000 units — more than double what they did the previous week.

What do you think of this week’s chart offerings? Any surprises? Who do you expect to come out on top next week, when John Mayer, Kris Allen, Justin Bieber, Norah Jones, and others will face off?

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

Nov 17 2009 11:54 AM ET

Lady Gaga can't win a Best New Artist Grammy, so who should?

by Simon Vozick-Levinson

Categories: Awards Shows, Lady Gaga

The Grammy Award for Best New Artist is notorious for using a fuzzy definition of the word “new.” Officially, nominees have to have released “the first recording which establishes the[ir] public identity” in the eligibility window — even if their actual debut came out years earlier, which can lead to some confusion. But it turns out the Best New Artist category does enforce certain rules. As Variety points out, this year’s biggest breakout act, Lady Gaga, won’t even get a shot at the award, since her hit “Just Dance” was already nominated for Best Dance Recording last year. Other rules disqualify Kid Cudi and Phoenix. So if none of those artists can even be nominated, who should?

Variety picked out a few possibilities, including Keri Hilson, Owl City, Kevin Rudolf, Diane Birch, and others. With the exception of Keri Hilson, none of those choices quite thrill me, to be honest. How about, say, Grizzly Bear? (Yes, Veckatimest is their third album, but it’s the one that likely put them on Grammy voters’ radar for the first time. They could be this year’s Feist.) Or the Dead Weather, who had an actual debut album that made it into the Billboard 200’s Top 10? Or, taking things in a poppier direction, Jeremih? I can’t be the only person who thinks the genius of “Birthday Sex” deserves to be noted in the Recording Academy’s historical record — or then again, maybe I can.

You must have some even better suggestions, so have at it. Who should get a Best New Artist nomination this year? The nominees will be announced in a live telecast on Dec. 2, so you still have a couple of weeks to sway the Academy’s voters…

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

Photo credit: Meeno

Nov 14 2009 10:41 AM ET

Rihanna's violent, disturbing 'Russian Roulette' video: How dark is too dark?

by Simon Vozick-Levinson

Categories: Music Videos, News, Rihanna

What, you thought Rihanna was going to give “Russian Roulette” a video full of sunshine and rainbows and peppy choreography? Her first single from Rated R is a song about violence. The video, which 20/20 premiered last night, is about the darkest piece of promotional material I’ve ever seen from a pop star.

The requisite shots of Rihanna and a man playing with a pistol aren’t the half of it. The video also features Rihanna writhing on the floor of a prison cell while menacing guards look on; staring down a speeding car on a dark highway; and twisting and turning underwater as bullets fly past. Director Anthony Mandler gives the clip an arty feel with creative camera angles and speed-up/slow-down effects. It’s the logical extension of previous Mandler-Rihanna collabs like “Disturbia” — which, like this clip, owed a heavy debt to the work of “Closer”/“99 Problems” auteur Mark Romanek. Perhaps needless to say, “Russian Roulette” is also an infinitely more worthwhile production than the pandering schlock that Rihanna’s abusive ex is putting out these days.

Of course, good art isn’t always good business. This is an extremely creepy video. I’m not sure how much MTV play it’ll get (during the few hours they still play videos), and more importantly, I wonder how many potential Rated R buyers will find this imagery to be a turn-off. Watch the video below, then you tell me: Do you think this is too dark for a pop video? And do you like this clip as much as I do?

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

Nov 13 2009 02:59 PM ET

Chris Brown's 'Crawl' video: He's feeling remorseful about a lost love. Do you care?

by Simon Vozick-Levinson

Categories: Chris Brown, Music Videos, News, Things That Make Us Uncomfortable

The video for Chris Brown’s “Crawl” has hit the Web after premiering on The Wendy Williams Show this morning. Filled with shots of a bespectacled Brown looking remorseful as he sings about a lost love, it’s the second promotional clip he’s released in advance of Grafitti, due Dec. 8.

By centering this clip on an ex he can’t stop thinking about (played by Cassie), Brown is practically begging for us to read it as a statement on his former relationship with Rihanna — you know, the relationship he hastened to an end by brutally assaulting her in February. So what, if anything, is he actually saying with this clip?

Mostly, just that he feels sorry for himself. “Everybody says we’re through/I hope you haven’t said it too,” Brown complains. “So where do we go from here?” I’m pretty sure a roadside trash pick-up site and an anger-management counseling session are where you’re supposed to be going, Chris. We see none of that — the real aftermath of his breakup — in this video, of course. Instead we get Brown moping around a hotel room, a snowy street, and, finally, a CGI desert, mouthing self-help platitudes about crawling before you fly. Excuse me if I’m not ready to sing along just yet.

Do you find Brown’s latest video as uncomfortable to watch as I do, or am I being too harsh? Check out “Crawl” below, then let us know what you think.

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

Nov 11 2009 03:21 PM ET

Aerosmith drama: Steven Tyler impersonator on who should replace Tyler if he quits (which he hasn't)

by Simon Vozick-Levinson

Categories: Aerosmith, Confusion, News, Special Guests!

Looks like all that talk of Steven Tyler quitting Aerosmith was a little premature. Take it from the man himself last night: “I am not leaving Aerosmith!” Fans, you can exhale now.

But yesterday, when you were still holding your breath, I spoke with a guy who knows a thing or two about subbing for Tyler: Chris Vandahl, lead singer for tribute act Aeromyth. That’s him on the right in the photo accompanying this post — hard to tell who’s who, isn’t it? Vandahl gamely agreed to grade a few potential replacements for Tyler. Even though the entire premise of our interview is now obsolete, this thought experiment was too much fun not to share. Read on after the jump, then let us know in the comments whether you agree with Vandahl’s grades for these hypothetical new Aerosmith singers.

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