Image Credit: Pamela LittkeyJustin Bieber is the musical guest on Saturday Night Live this week. This you know. This you cannot change. Here are five reasons it might turn out to be okay: READ FULL STORY »
Tag: Things That Are Canadian (61-70 of 71)
Apr 9
2010
03:03 PM ET
Justin Bieber: Five reasons watching him on 'SNL' may not be as painful as you think
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Mar 9
2010
05:56 PM ET
Barenaked Ladies frontman Ed Robertson talks about their first album without Steven Page; plus, watch new video 'You Run Away'
Image Credit: James Minchin Barenaked Ladies — everyone’s favorite band of macaroni-dodging, occasionally-rapping, old-apartment-visiting Canadians — haven’t had the most cheerful time of it lately. The string of misfortune began with original co-frontman Steven Page’s arrest on drug charges in 2008, which were later dismissed. That same year, other co-frontman Ed Robertson crashed his single-engine plane with his wife on board; luckily, everyone walked away. In December of 2008, Robertson’s mother passed away. And in February of 2009, Page officially left the band “by mutual agreement,” and has since gone solo.
With four men now left standing on their pirate ship, the Barenaked Ladies are sailing on, releasing their 11th studio album, All In Good Time, on March 30th in the U.S. (Canada, you get yours a week earlier.) They’ve just debuted the video for first single, “You Run Away,” which you Mixers can watch embedded right here after this Q&A with Robertson, in which we discuss everything from Page’s departure and the challenges it presents to his country’s much-maligned-in-these-parts Juno Awards, with a special shout-out to Nickelback. He was, quite honestly, one of the most pleasant conversationalists we’ve encountered via phone in a long while. Enjoy.
Entertainment Weekly: We are here to talk about this new album, and the horribly traumatic times that led up to it. Would that be a mischaracterization, or was it really as bad as it all reads?
Ed Robertson: You know, the last year has been amazing. But the year previous to that kinda sucked.
The more you talk about it, are you realizing, Oh man, this sucked worse than I thought when I was in it? Or were you aware the whole time it was sucking?
Oh, I was fully inside of it at the time. I was noticing all of the suck.
In what order did these three major events occur, with Steve leaving the band, and your mom passing away, and your plane crash?
Well. I would include Steve’s arrest in the events. So it went arrest, plane crash, mom passing away, and then parting ways with Steve.
First of all, I’m really sorry. But was there a point in there where you thought about just chucking the whole thing?
For 20 minutes, yeah, kind of right around the new year of 2009. It just seemed like there was a lot of negativity swirling around. But it was about kinda taking stock and going, Man, we’ve done a lot of really great things with this band. We’ve gotta find a way to do it and enjoy it again. READ FULL STORY »
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
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?)
Nov 12
2009
10:09 AM ET
Joni Mitchell, James Taylor help birth Greenpeace: An EW exclusive stream from a rare 1970 concert
A re-mastered concert featuring folk legends James Taylor and Joni Mitchell is now available for the first time. Amchitka: the 1970 concert that launched Greenpeace captures Mitchell and Taylor and in all their youthful, creative glory. And—holy patchouli!—they duet on a version of Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man.” I’m quivering in my Birkenstocks!
In all seriousness, though, this is a welcome double-disc dosage of seminal folk-rock from now-classic stars trying to make a political difference during their musical prime. The event’s aim was to raise money to send activists to stop U.S. nuclear tests near the Alaskan island of Amchitka, and it was also Greenpeace’s first campaign.
Phil Ochs—a protest singer whom the FBI once had a nearly-500-page file on—began the set with the type of tunes occasionally referred to as “finger-pointing songs.” Ochs soon passed the baton to James Taylor, just 22 at the time and fresh off the success of his Sweet Baby James album.
The real star of this live set, though, is Joni Mitchell, who was nine months shy of releasing Blue, one of the most acclaimed albums of the rock era. The best moments here are her previews of that material: It’s a thrill to hear her say, “This is a new song” and then launch into a classic like “My Old Man.” Get a taste of this seminal performance after the jump.
Oct 26
2009
04:39 PM ET
CMJ Music Fest: Indie's 'next big thing' bands do NYC
CMJ’s Music Marathon wrapped up late this Saturday night, marking a soggy end to a thrilling week that featured hundreds of up-and-coming indie bands playing the New York City concert circuit.
Britain’s minimalist pop quartet the xx were the reigning buzz champions of the festival, and their live shows did nothing to quell the fervor surrounding them. This group of lovelorn 20-year-olds specializes in a quiet brand of pop that eschews typical indie sonics in favor of quiet storm R&B production sheen. The co-ed lead vocalists— Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim—straddle the line between lo-fi breathiness and Top-40 soul.
In spite of the softness of their music, the xx’s unexpectedly gorgeous genre-alchemy is one of the more exciting things on the scene today and audience reactions backed this up: the crowd’s whoops of approval easily exceeded the volume of anything on stage. Check out some fan footage of the xx playing the Music Hall of Williamsburg below (as well as more CMJ coverage after the jump):
Oct 24
2009
12:33 PM ET
Leonard Cohen at Madison Square Garden: The master at 75
Last night, about a month after his 75th birthday, Leonard Cohen packed NYC’s Madison Square Garden to the rafters. Earlier in the week, he’d released Live at the Isle of Wight 1970, a CD/DVD package documenting a festival set he played when he was just shy of 36. And here’s the thing: Ask me which of the two performances was more compelling, more full of life, more can’t-look-away transcendent, and…I’ll have to get back to you on that.
Sure, Cohen had a certain bright-burning intensity 39 years ago. He waited til after 2 A.M. to go on stage in 1970, which I imagine he wouldn’t be as happy to do today. His voice could hit a few more high notes back then. But that’s about all the obvious advantage that young Cohen has over old Cohen.
Oct 14
2009
10:30 AM ET
Michael Buble on 'Crazy Love,' '30 Rock,' and his shower song
On Monday, the New York offices of Warner Bros. Records were decorated with the same yellow caution tape that graces the cover of Michael Bublé’s fourth studio album, Crazy Love (which just debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart). Perhaps because they knew he’d be stopping by to do some press — and to interrupt a meeting of the top brass.
“It’s quite amazing actually,” he says after crashing that conference room gathering next door. (We heard the applause through the wall.) “I walked into the office in L.A. seven years ago and I did the same thing, and they had no clue who I was. I’ve been told the first thing I said was, ‘Hello, I’m your bitch, Michael Bublé, and I’m going to work so hard for you.’ I’m sure I was like the 10,000th person who came in, and they were like [mumbling under his breath], ‘Alright, let’s see what you can do.’ It turned out pretty good.”
After the jump, the crooner who earned a Grammy for his last effort, 2007′s Call Me Irresponsible, shares the stories behind some of Crazy Love‘s memorable tracks, his 30 Rock vocal cameo, the song he considers his finest performance (which you still haven’t heard), and more. READ FULL STORY »
Jun 18
2009
06:32 PM ET
Sarah McLachlan records Winter Olympics theme
Singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan has written and recorded the theme song to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, EW.com has learned exclusively. The track, called "One Dream," will be used in all of NBC's promos for the games. McLachlan, who lives in Vancouver, will have a busy 2010, remounting her Lilith Fair tour and releasing a new studio album. And we've already witnessed the power she wields when she teams up with an established organization: Her TV spot for the ASPCA (featuring her hit "Angel") reportedly helped raise $30 million. And we can guarantee her wardrobe will be much more tasteful than Bjork's never-ending 2004 Olympics frock.
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