Image Credit: ABC
Apologies for the brief disruption last week, Jukeboxers, but I return bearing the gift of a double-stuffed column full of babymakers, creepy creepers, club jams, and retro classics. So, if you’ve been wondering “What’s that song?” while watching your favorite shows, we’re here to tell you. Check out our picks and the Spotify playlist below. (Warning for those still catching up on DVR: SPOILERS ahead!) READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Andrew Wettig
Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird played an inspired set at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival last weekend, full of both old-time charm and new-age sounds — and, of course, whistling. He played a show packed with songs from 2012′s Hands of Glory, as well as jam-heavy songs like “Imitosis” from 2007′s Armchair Apocrypha and the lighter “Eyeoneye” off Break it Yourself. EW caught up with Bird before his show at the legendary music hall Tipitina’s and talked about New Orleans, his ties to classical music, and how he connects to his growing worldwide fan base.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You’ve spent a lot of time in New Orleans. What’s special about this city and playing here?
ANDREW BIRD: This is my first time at Jazz Fest. I never really lived here but I almost did. I spent a lot of time here in the late ’90s working at Kingsway [Studios]. It always felt like I got out just in time. It is just such a heavy place. Just touring in the south, you always have more stories to come back with.
I used to run around and play with a lot of street musicians. [New Orleans] attracts a lot of people from all over that have an ear for that old country blues, traditional music, and these guys just run around and play on street corners and at bars for tips, and I kind of fell into that scene a bit. That was when I was deeply into it; the guys here really knew the field.
READ FULL STORY »
British comedian, onetime Hot Chip video director, and, yes, voice-of-Darth-Maul Peter Serafinowicz has just posted a highly entertaining clip for Daft Punk’s track, “Get Lucky.” According to the French duo’s publicist, the video is not authorized (although can robots really “authorize” anything anyway?) and we’re not sure quite why Serafinowicz decided to make the clip. But we’re glad he did!
You can check out the video below. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Larry Marano/Getty Images
Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman thought he was on the mend after a spider bite followed by an infection. He’d been writing songs with the band in anticipation of recording a new album later this year.
But in an unusual chain of events, a representative for the band said the bite may have contributed to Hanneman’s death more than two years later.
Hanneman died Thursday morning of liver failure at a Los Angeles hospital with his wife, Kathy, by his side, according to Slayer spokeswoman Heidi Robinson-Fitzgerald. He was 49. READ FULL STORY »
Aerosmith, James Taylor and Jimmy Buffett are among the scheduled performers for a Boston Marathon benefit concert on May 30.
The show, at the TD Garden, will benefit One Fund — the collection of donations that will be distributed to the survivors of the April 15 bombings and the families of those killed in the attack.
Other confirmed acts include Jason Aldean, Boston, Extreme, Godsmack, The J. Geils Band, Carole King and New Kids on the Block. Donnie Wahlberg of New Kids on the Block said that like other native Bostonians, he and his bandmates are honored to do their part.
Comedians Dane Cook and Steven Wright also are included in the lineup.
Tickets range from $35 to $285. They go on sale Monday.
A lot of champagne gets wasted in the new lyric video for Vampire Weekend’s newest song, “Ya Hey,” in which people move in slow motion and shower themselves with bubbly. All the time, the song’s lyrics scroll up the screen. This is the band’s third video for its upcoming album, Modern Vampires of the City (out May 7), following “Diane Young” and “Step.” Meanwhile, the band has also been playing “Unbelievers,” “Obvious Bicycle,” and “Everlasting Arms” in concert and on late-night shows. That’s half the album so far — and a bunch of new sounds to hear. Consider “Ya Hey” practically a VW ballad, driven by drums. Is it about God? It sounds so sad, in a we-have-so-much champagne kind of way.
Watch below. What do you think?
Image Credit: Christie Goodwin/Getty Images
When I was 10 years old, Slayer scared the hell out of me. It wasn’t the punishing music or the satanic themes. I worshipped at the altar of Metallica, Megadeth, Exodus, Celtic Frost, Mercyful Fate and their like in the mid-1980s. Speed, Satan, violence, aggression — that’s what kept me going during my “awkward years.” Yet I was intimidated by Slayer.
It was because of the fans. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Larry Marano/Getty Images
It’s not just Chicago Bulls fans who are upset about the Brooklyn Nets forcing a seventh game of their NBA playoff series on Saturday night. Rihanna’s concert at Brooklyn’s Barclays center will now be postponed to accommodate the winner-take-all contest.
In a statement to fans, Brett Yormark, CEO of Barclays Center and the Brooklyn Nets, said, “I want to apologize to Rihanna’s fans for the inconvenience of having to reschedule her show at Barclays Center from Saturday, May 4 to Tuesday, May 7 due to Game 7 of the Brooklyn Nets-Chicago Bulls NBA Playoffs series. I want to thank Rihanna for working with us on this new date and for understanding what a Game 7 in Brooklyn means to the borough. We are looking forward to a special concert and I hope Rihanna will be our guest at Game 7.”
Tickets for Rihanna’s show will be honored on the new night, or refunds will be given.
Read more:
MTV Video Music Awards to make history with move to Brooklyn
Rihanna inks a deal with MAC Cosmetics
Rihanna sulks in a bathtub in ‘Stay’ video: Watch it here
Image Credit: Dirk Mai
Phoenix-based This Century began chipping away at the rock scene with their sweet, jangly 2011 debut, Sound of Fire. Their second album, Biography of Heartbreak, out on May 14, pushes their sound forward with some new rhythmic tricks and production depth (courtesy of knob-twiddler Colby Wedgeworth).
Their evolution is clearly evident on the dramatic track “Deadly Weapon,” which you can listen to exclusively below. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Image Rights: 1
Jeff Hanneman, guitarist for legendary thrash metal band Slayer, has died of liver failure. He was 49. The band posted the news on their website and Facebook page Thursday. Hanneman founded the band with fellow guitarist Kerry King in 1981 and created a sound influenced by heavy metal and punk, writing Slayer classics like “Raining Blood” and “Angel of Death.”
The full statement on Slayer’s website reads:
Slayer is devastated to inform that their bandmate and brother, Jeff Hanneman, passed away at about 11AM this morning near his Southern California home. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his brothers Michael and Larry, and will be sorely missed.
In 2011, Hanneman suffered a spider bite and contracted a flesh-eating disease, taking time off from the band to recuperate, but it is unclear if this contributed to his death.
READ FULL STORY »
