Category Archives: Music

Rihanna joins Kanye West & Paul McCartney for new ditty “FourFiveSeconds”

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When Kanye West dropped “Only One,” an emotional track featuring keyboard improvisation by The Beatles’ Paul McCartney, we knew this was just the beginning. In fact, a press release at the time stated, “[The track] will be the first publicly available recording from what has become a prolific musical collaboration between these two legendary artists.” In a surprise move, however, the next West/McCartney collab comes out of Rihanna’s camp, not West’s. Today the Barbadian singer released a fresh song called “FourFiveSeconds” and interestingly none of the three artists are labeled as being featured guests. iTunes merely reads “Rihanna and Kanye West and Paul McCartney.” Whether the song lands on RiRi’s followup to Unapologetic or gets tagged with “Only One” on West upcoming seventh studio album is anybody’s guess. For now, preview and download the track at iTunes. It’s soft and acoustic, with Rihanna adding a bit of a country flair with her vocals. She harmonizes with West, who again leaves rapping behind here and sings with auto-tune assistance. McCartney strums a cool guitar all the while.

Kanye West releases Paul McCartney-assisted ballad “Only One”

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Kanye rings in the New Year with a new track called “Only One.” Paul McCartney (of legendary English rock band The Beatles—look it up, kids!) backs up ‘Ye’s autotuned vocals with keyboard improvisation. The quiet ballad is pretty much the opposite of what Kanye last put out in the world; “Black Skinhead” this is not. In fact, “Only One,” which is what “Kanye” translates into from its Swahili roots, is a very personal song for the rapper. Upon first listen it’s immediately apparent that ‘Ye is channeling his late mother Donda West; she’s speaking to him and his daughter North (Nori is her nickname) in the simple yet powerful lyrics. A press release tells the enlightening tale of how Kanye’s “stream-of-consciousness riff” came to him:

When they played back the recording afterward, something remarkable happened. Kanye sat there with his family, holding his daughter North on his lap, and listened to his vocals, singing, “Hello, my only one . . . ” And in that moment, not only could he not recall having sung those words, but he realized that perhaps the words had never really come from him. The process of artistic creation is one that does not involve thinking, but often channeling. And he understood in that moment that his late mother, Dr. Donda West, who was also his mentor, confidante, and best friend, had spoken through him that day. “My mom was singing to me, and through me to my daughter,” he said, astonished.

If you’re one to buy into the rumor mills, this is the first of many collaborations between the rap icon and the rock legend. West and McCartney recorded “Only One” in a small bungalow in Los Angeles, and some say this is just a sampling of their collaboration. Perhaps McCartney will pop up more than one on West’s upcoming seventh studio album when it purportedly releases sometime this year.

For now, click over to kanyewest.com; there you can hear the new track, croon along thanks to provided lyrics (likely) hand-written by West, and view the single artwork featuring Kanye and his daughter. “Only One” can be purchased at iTunes today.

This year in music, as told by DJ Earworm’s mega-mashup “United State of Pop 2014”

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DJ Earworm is back to celebrate the most popular music to come out of 2014. Per usual, he magically mashes together the top 25 songs of the year–as determined by Billboard’s weekly Hot 100 charts–with visual eye candy to-boot. The 4-minute music video mash includes Ariana Grande, Hozier, Iggy Azalea, John Legend, Maroon 5, Meghan Trainor, Sam Smith, Taylor Swift, and many more. Jump after the break to discover every song the DJ managed to string together for his latest tribute. When you’re done watching, click over to SoundCloud to download the track for free. Continue reading This year in music, as told by DJ Earworm’s mega-mashup “United State of Pop 2014” →

iTunes shares 2014’s top-selling music, movies, TV shows, apps & more

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Apple returns to reveal its best-selling media across the major entertainment industries including music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books. Consumers flock to the iTunes Store for the latest and greatest, and so it’s always fun to look back and discover which products made the biggest dent in their respective categories.

The top-selling album of 2014 is actually a soundtrack: it’s Disney’s Frozen! Included in the top 20 are T-Swift’s 1989, Coldplay’s Ghost Stories, Sam Smith’s In The Lonely Hour, Beyonce’s self-titled surprise album, and Lorde’s magnificent debut Pure Heroine. The top-selling song of the year is Pharrell Williams’ addictive “Happy,” a song that made waves in the animated feature Despicable Me 2. Also in the top 20 are John Legend’s “All of Me,” Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse,” Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me,” A Great Big World’s “Say Something,” and OneRepublic’s “Counting Stars.” In addition to these top-selling lists, Apple likes to share hand-picked Editor Choice awards and they include: Best Artist (Beyonce), Best Album (Taylor Swift’s 1989), Best Song (Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy”), and Best New Artist (Sam Smith).

Top-selling movies include Frozen, The LEGO Movie, The Wolf of Wall Street, Catching Fire, and Neighbors. Apple named Guardians of the Galaxy Best Blockbuster, The LEGO Movie Best Family Movie, Boyhood‘s Richard Linklater is crowned Best Director, and Obvious Child is Best Discovery. Moving over to TV, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Downton Abbey, Breaking Bad, and Scandal are amongst the year’s best-selling series. Apple named Fargo TV Show of the Year, The Honorable Woman is Best Discovery, Key & Peele is Best Breakthrough, and Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson’s performances in True Detective are commended.

Apple’s App Store truly houses the best app ecosystem–there are just so many to choose from. In 2014 people gravitated toward trivia game Heads Up!, which receives my personal Best App To Help Pass The Time Award. Other best-selling paid apps include Minecraft–Pocket Edition, Afterlight, Plague Inc., Sleep Cycle alarm clock, and Facetune. And I bet you can easily guess the top 5 best-selling free ones: Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. 5 for 5? Thought so.

Are you a reader? John Green’s The Fault in our Stars, Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, Veronica Roth’s Insurgent, Allegiant, and Divergent are among the best-selling fictional tales. Top-selling non-fiction novels include Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson, Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent, and Duty by Robert M. Gates.

We cannot forget about podcasts! I will share with you my favorite podcast this year. It’s Serial, from This American Life. It’s being called the most popular podcast of all-time and for good reason. It tells a highly serialized and incredibly addicting true crime story across 12 episodes. It’s like a riveting TV drama, except you get to imagine all of the characters and settings in your head. In addition to Serial, which Apple calls the Best New Podcast, other top-selling podcasts include works from NPR, HowStuffWorks.com, Joe Rogen, Carolla Digital.

Open iTunes to view all of the best-selling media across Apple’s digital storefronts.

Sam Smith, Pharrell Williams & Beyoncé lead 2015 Grammy nominations

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Newcomer Sam Smith, Pharrell Williams, and Queen Bey collected the most Grammy nominations (six apiece!) at the nod announcement ceremony this week. Fun fact: Beyoncé is now the most-nominated female artist in history with 53 nods total thus far in her illustrious career. Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” is up for Record of the Year along with Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” (featuring Charli XCX), Sia’ “Chandelier,” T-Swift’s “Shake It Off,” and Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass.” Smith was also nominated for Album of the Year for his debut effort In The Lonely Hour; in this coveted category he’ll be competing against Beyoncé (Beyoncé), Pharrell (Girl), Beck (Morning Phase), and Ed Sheeran (X). In addition, Smith’s “Stay With Me” hopes to be crowned Song of the Year as is “All About That Bass” (Meghan Trainor), “Chandelier” (Sia), “Shake It Off” (T-Swizzle), and “Take Me To Church” (Hozier). Smith’s luck doesn’t end there; he’s also up for Best New Artist along with Iggy Azalea, Bastille, Brandy Clark, and Haim (woo!). Click here for the full list of nominees.

The 57th Annual Grammy Awards airs Sunday, Feb. 8 on CBS.

Peter Jackson enlists former Hobbit Billy Boyd to perform franchise swan song

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I’ve got the strangest feeling in the pit of my stomach; there’s pure excitement and there’s undeniable sadness lingering as we approach the release of Peter Jackson’s final film in the Hobbit trilogy. Not only will The Battle of the Five Armies close the book on The Hobbit movies, but it also serves as the last chapter in Jackson’s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s tale of Middle-earth. So how does one properly say goodbye to characters and settings you’ve grown to know and cherish across 13 years and 6 movies? The director enlisted actor and musician Billy Boyd–who played Hobbit Pippin in the Lord of the Rings trilogy–to perform the Five Armies swan song. “The Last Goodbye,” written by Boyd, Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens, will play when the credits roll at the end of the last Hobbit movie and will surely leave fans with a feeling of closure. “We came all this way, and now comes the day, we bid you farewell,” sings Boyd on the soft, charming tune.

“We had to get the song just right, to send the audience out of the movie theater in the most perfect way we could,” Boyd tells Entertainment Weekly. “I think we discovered very quickly this wasn’t just a song to end The Battle of the Five Armies—it was a song to say goodbye to Middle-earth.” He added, “…being asked to go back to that, to work in that wonderful fantasy world again and to be singing the song that says goodbye to Middle-earth for everyone involved and the fans who took this beautiful journey with us is truly a great, great honor.”

Though “The Last Goodbye” doesn’t carry the same oomph as Ed Sheeran’s closing song used in The Desolation of Smaug, it serves its purpose with flying colors as it aims to peacefully put the stories of Middle-earth to rest. Watch Pippin Boyd perform his song in the video embedded above; it’s set against scenes across Hobbit and LOTR films, so embrace yourself for pangs of nostalgia and bring the hankies.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies releases December 17. Download “The Last Goodbye” at iTunes.

Kanye West puts his stamp on Lorde’s ‘Hunger Games’ track “Yellow Flicker Beat”

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New Zealand singer songwriter Lorde was given the keys to curate the official soundtrack for the latest Hunger Games film, that is, Mockingjay Part 1. She got to handpick the artists featured on the album and she collaborated with them to set a particular mood and tone for the 14-song soundtrack. Two of those tracks were imagined by Lorde herself, and one of them caught the eye of Kanye West. The rapper puts his signature twist on Lorde’s “Yellow Flicker Beat,” turning the rather upbeat tune into a darker and frankly more haunting symphony. Listen to the remix above; click here to watch Lorde dance around to the original version. Mockingjay Part 1 hits theatres November 21, and Lorde’s curated soundtrack is out now on iTunes.

OK Go impresses again with meticulously shot music video featuring motorized scooters, colorful umbrellas & a drone

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OK Go may not be the most popular alt-rock band on the scene, but there’s absolutely no denying their inventiveness when it comes to the construction, production, and execution of their extravagant and by all means brilliant music videos. Billboard breaks down their latest masterpiece and visual eye candy: getting around on motorized mobility devices made by Honda, the band is accompanied by a flock of umbrella-toting Japanese school girls in the middle of an abandoned structure located in the city of city of Chiba, about 45 minutes outside of Tokyo. The precise choreography is splendid, and the whole thing was captured by a camera-assisted drone called an octocopter. The single, uninterrupted shot took about 50 to 60 times to nail, but you just need to watch this once to fully embrace the magic of it all.

Live out your Star-Lord dreams with ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ mixtape coming to cassette tape

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GOTG fans, listen up! “Awesome Mix Vol. 1,” you know, the truly awesome mixtape carried around by hero Peter Quill in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy filled with the greatest hits of the 70s and 80s curated by the little Star-Lord’s mother… it’s being released on cassette tape so now you can pop it into a Walkman and dance around and fend off baddies like no one’s watching. The limited release lands on shelves Friday, Nov. 28 at participating record stores; it will remain an exclusive to that community of independent retailers associated with Record Store Day through Dec. 31, according to Billboard. The cassettes will also come with digital downloads of the album so you can easily transfer the tracks to your portable music player of choice.

Just another fun distraction as we await the inevitable “Awesome Mix Vol. 2.”

[Via Marvel; Billboard]

Celebrate ‘Friends’ coming to Netflix with a new live rendition of the theme song

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All 10 seasons (236 episodes) of famed NBC sitcom Friends is coming to Netflix on January 1, 2015! To celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the series (it ran from 1994-2004) and its new streaming home, Netflix has put out a live recording of the show’s theme song. Click play above to hear The Rembrandts perform the forever catchy and hand-clappy “I’ll Be There For You” featuring Central Perk manager Gunther. The music video was recorded at the Central Perk pop up coffee shop in NYC.

Catchy ‘Better Call Saul’ music video teases ‘Breaking Bad’ spinoff sensibilities

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Saul, Saul, you better call Saul / He’ll fight for your rights when your back’s to the wall / Stick it the man, justice for all / You better call Saul!

The hype machine for Breaking Bad prequel-spinoff hybrid Better Call Saul is officially up and running now that a music video for it is out. Country musician Junior Brown belts out a catchy tune written by Saul co-creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould and series composer Dave Porter. This sure is a unique way to market a new show, and I’ve got to say they pretty much nailed it. Over the course of the song, a couple of fine ladies wheel out televisions featuring Walter White’s lawyer played by Bob Odenkirk and viewers will catch a handful of glimpses from the upcoming series.

Better Call Saul debuts in February on AMC, and it has already been renewed for a second season set to bow later in 2016.

Turbo T. Double drops ambitious “Atoms,” directed by Kanye collaborator Yemi A.D.

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“We are all atoms,” sings Terrell Woodard, better known by his stage name Turbo T. Double. After years of hard work, patience, and pounding the pavement (or what Turbo refers to as “the scramble”), the rising rapper has released his first project “Atoms” to the masses and it shines both lyrically and visually. The track samples M83’s synthpop “Midnight City,” with the electronic band’s blessing. The video, shot in Prague, is directed by Yemi A.D., a well renowned creative in the hip-hop community. A major collaborator of his is Kanye West; Yemi served as director of his recent tours and he’s also the choreographer behind West’s ballerina-clad music video “Runaway.” Turbo’s “Atoms” unequivocally promotes peace and equality as humans of varying shades and sexes emerge from the earth in harmony in the clip embedded above.

Turbo tells [experience-it-all] that his new release was inspired by personal events in his life that made him feel “mistreated for ridiculous reasons.” The track is a response to those who have treated him poorly, and it’s also something that he feels can encourage others to “figuratively open their eyes” and rise above roadblocks and any haters that are in your way of fulfilling your dreams. Soft-spoken and smart, Turbo imagined “Atoms” to be the best and most “peaceful and relatable” way to get those thoughts across.

Working with Yemi was “like a dream come true,” shares Turbo. He “operates at a super high frequency,” says Turbo, and “when he heard “Atoms” he related to the lyrics and came up with the idea for the video and everything flowed from there resulting in a refreshingly challenging and inspirational experience I’ll cherish till death.” He continues, “I’m thankful that Anthony [Gonzalez] of M83 allowed me to loop “Midnight City” in order to deliver the message and Yemi’s vision brought it to life in a major way.”

Enjoy the ethereal experience that is “Atoms” and anticipate Turbo T. Double’s forthcoming EP due out next year.