Category Archives: Music

iTunes shares 2013’s top-selling albums, movies, TV shows, apps & more

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Apple’s iTunes, App, and iBooks Stores have truly become the destination on the Internet to discover and download the latest and greatest in music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books. And every year the house that Jobs built tallies the best-selling media, so let’s take a look.

In music, Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience is crowned the top-selling album of 2013. Also landing in the top 15 are Imagine Dragons’ Night Visions, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ The Heist, and Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories. The top-selling song? M&R’s “Thrift Shop,” followed by Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” and Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive.” In addition to these top-selling lists, Apple has hand-picked Editor Choice awards; namely, JT is named Artist of the Year, M&R’s The Heist is Album of the Year, Lorde’s “Royals” is Song of the Year, and Kendrick Lamar (Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City) is Breakthrough Artist.

The top three best-selling movies are Skyfall, Wreck-It Ralph, and Argo. Apple named Gravity Best Movie and Despicable Me 2 Best Animated Movie. On TV, Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, and The Walking Dead lead the top-selling series of 2013. Vince Gilligan’s masterpiece is TV Show of the Year, Scandal is Best Breakthrough, and Orphan Black is Best Discovery.

The best-selling paid app is Minecraft – Pocket Edition; also making that list is Heads Up!, Temple Run: Oz, and Angry Birds Star Wars. The best-selling freebie? Candy Crush Saga, of course, followed by Temple Run 2, Vine, Google Maps, and Snapchat.

The most popular books (fiction) are Dan Brown’s Inferno, E L James’ Fifty Shades of Grey, and Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. Apple quite liked Tenth of December by George Saunders.

Click here to browse Apple’s Best of 2013 charts across all the various forms of media.

Kid Cudi drops track off upcoming EP ‘Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon’

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Before Man on the Moon III hits in 2015, Kid Cudi is dropping a prelude EP called Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon. This week Cudder surprised his Cud Fam and released a track from said EP titled “Satellite Flight” co-produced by his WZRD partner Dot Da Genius. It’s got that classic Cudi sound so fans should anticipate the EP to share a similar vibe. Listen to the track in the SoundCloud embed below.

Eminem revisits his past in “Monster” music video

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“Monster” is the fourth single off Eminem’s successful MMPL2 following “Berzerk,” “Survival,” and “Rap God.” Featured artist Rihanna joins Em in a trippy therapy session for the “Monster” music video directed by Rich Lee. The clip is quite cool, actually; Em borrows from Chris Nolan’s Inception and takes a trip down memory lane as he rides down a mysterious elevator that calls back and even recreates music videos of the past and many high points from the rapper’s long career (remember when he performed with Elton John at the Grammys in 2001?). Hit play and relive it.

Jay Z leads 2014 Grammy nominations

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Rapper Jay Z scored the most Grammy nominations this year with a grand total of nine. It is worth mentioning, however, that he efforts are not included in any of the big three categories. Record of the Year contenders are Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive,” Lorde’s “Royals,” Bruno Mars’ “Locked out of Heaven,” and Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.” Those artists vying for Album of the Year are Sara Bareilles (The Blessed Unrest), Daft Punk (Random Access Memories), Kendrick Lamar (Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City), Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (The Heist), and Taylor Swift (Red). Bareilles’ “Brave” and Katy Perry’s similar sounding “Roar” are going head-to-head for Song of the Year; the rest of that category includes Pink’s “Just Give Me A Reason,” Bruno Mars’ “Locked out of Heaven,” and Lorde’s “Royals.” Speaking of the rising 15-year-old star, Lorde was snubbed and not included in the Best New Artist section which is occupied by nominees James Blake, Kendrick Lamar, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Kacey Musgraves, and Ed Sheeran. Click here for the full list of nominees.

The 56th Annual Grammy Awards airs Sunday, January 26th at 8PM on CBS.

Music video round-up: Bob Dylan & Pharrell Williams create fun, interactive clips; Kanye West gets parodied [Update: Eminem is a “Rap God”]

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Forty-eight years after Bob Dylan released his 1965 hit “Like A Rolling Stone” the track gets its very own music video and a uniquely impressive one at that. Israeli director Vania Heymann partnered with interactive videomaker Interlude to imagine a music video experience that allows the viewer to flip through TV channel stations and inside each one TV personalities are lip-syncing Dylan’s song. There are 16 stations to flip through using your arrow key or mouse press; from Pawn Stars to The Price is Right to Marc Maron’s podcast, Dylan permeates through them all without missing a beat. Mash play in the TV box embedded above and see it to believe it.

Jump after the break to watch new music vids from Pharrell and Kanye West. Continue reading Music video round-up: Bob Dylan & Pharrell Williams create fun, interactive clips; Kanye West gets parodied [Update: Eminem is a “Rap God”] →

30 Seconds to Mars shines a light on the “City of Angels”

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Jared Leto and his 30 Seconds to Mars have released a music video/short film hybrid for the band’s single “City of Angels,” a track off their latest album Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams. It’s an ode to Los Angeles, a place where dreams are born and made everyday, at least according to the lineup of celebrities, celebrity impersonators, and street performers that pop up in this 11-minute clip. Leto and his bandmates set up shop near LA’s Griffith Observatory and play the uplifting track as Kanye West, James Franco, Lindsay Lohan, and others open up about coming to and living in the City of Angles.

“As I got older I realized I wanted to make some of my creative dreams come true that I need to go west,” spills Leto. From the sweeping, grand shots of the city to the vitalizing track and the inspirational tales told by the featured guests, Leto has directed quite the PSA for California’s capital.

Justin Timberlake is out for the count in “TKO” music video

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Sexual tension takes center stage in Justin Timberlake’s latest music video for “TKO,” the second single off The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2. Elvis’ granddaughter actress Riley Keough stars opposite Timberlake as she takes him for a not-so-pleasant ride. The clip is visually stimulating but not nearly as engaging as JT’s previous efforts “Mirrors,” “Tunnel Vision,” and “Take Back the Night.”

Download the full 20/20 Experience at iTunes today, and read SpeakSonic’s glowing review of Part 2 right here.

Peter Jackson calls on Ed Sheeran to create “Hobbit” closing track

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Peter Jackson handpicked English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran to compose and produce “I See Fire,” the softly bold track that will close out the second Hobbit film when the credits roll. Jackson posted this video on his Facebook page and here’s an excerpt from his accompanying message to fans:

We have a tradition in our Tolkien films of having a song over the closing credits. It’s very important that the song feels right for the world of the movie – and also carries the emotional resonance of the end of that particular film. The Desolation of Smaug is no different. The ending of this film requires a voice and sensibility that will allow a viewer to process what they have just experienced. It’s always tricky to think of the right person to create and perform these songs. Someone who shares our passion for Tolkien, and somebody who is prepared to respect the film. This year we are thrilled to have Ed Sheeran write and perform our closing song, “I See Fire”.

It was a great experience, and what you will see in this video are moments captured by our behind the scenes team during the creation of the song. But the images are only supporting Ed’s wonderful song. This is his direct emotional response to seeing The Desolation of Smaug, written and performed on the same day he saw the movie.

And his “direct emotional response” turned out to be a thing of beauty. The song balances strength and grace and it’s easy to imagine it play as the second chapter of Jackson’s three-part journey comes to an close.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug hits theatres December 13. Download “I See Fire” at iTunes today.

‘Arrested Development’ soundtrack coming in November

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Ten years after its debut, composer David Schwartz is finally releasing an Arrested Development soundtrack. The 42-track disc features music heard across all four seasons of the cult comedy, including fan favorites like the Arrested theme, “It Ain’t Easy Being White,” “Mr. F,” “Big Yellow Joint,” “Fantastic 4 (Medley),” and an extended version of “Getaway.” The last track on the collection is the incredibly catchy “Boomerang,” the song that closes out the Netflix season performed by Schwartz’s daughter Lucy. Schwartz says the soundtrack pickings were inspired by fan requests during Arrested‘s recent AMA on Reddit.

The Arrested Development soundtrack comes out November 19 and you can preorder it today at Amazon. Jump after the break for the full tracklist; there you’ll also find a video uploaded by Schwartz teaching you how to play the AD theme on the uke! Continue reading ‘Arrested Development’ soundtrack coming in November →

‘Slumdog’s Freida Pinto strips in Bruno Mars “Gorilla” music video

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The music video for “Gorilla,” a strong track off Bruno Mars’ second record Unorthodox Jukebox, has been let loose into the wild and it stars Slumdog Millionaire‘s Freida Pinto stripping in a club and later pounding Mars’ chest like bang-bang gorillaaa. Actor Luis Guzman pops up too, for good measure. With that, enjoy.

Eminem’s ‘MMLP2’: new single + tracklist inside

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Eminem’s ninth studio album The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (aka MMLP2) will include 16 tracks, featuring singles “Berzerk,” “Survival,” and his latest release “Rap God” (listen to the third single after the break, along with them music video for “Survival”). Skylar Grey, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, and Nate Ruess round out the record’s guest artists. Click after the break to view the tracklist. Above, eye the album artwork that is similar to 2000’s MMLP cover art–it features an image of Em’s now-boarded up Detroit home he grew up in.

Eminem performs on SNL November 2 and this will lead into MMLP2‘s November 5 release date. Continue reading Eminem’s ‘MMLP2’: new single + tracklist inside →

Kid Cudi announces ‘Man on the Moon III’ prelude EP coming soon

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Kid Cudi is riding high on his Cud Life Tour and during his stop in Dallas he dropped some major news regarding his next release. He announced that there will be a prelude EP that will lead into Man on the Moon III, still due out in 2015. “When I give you the release date it will be 24 hours before it’s released.” Interesting marketing move here; fans will feel a surge of anticipation and then hours later they’ll be listening to the new EP. I like it. He went on, “You don’t know when it’s gonna happen but it’s definitely gonna happen in the next three months.” Cheers to that!

Cudi says he’s been working on this EP with his WZRD collaborator Dot Da Genius and it will most certainly feature King Chip aka Chip tha Ripper. In a string of tweets he spilled that the track “Going to the Ceremony” will be on the record along with a never before released remix of his breakout single “Day N Nite” that he made with Dot the day after the original was cut. To hear a snippet of it he says to “Play the intro to A Kid Named Cudi and listen reaaaal close;” see if you can spot it here.

The untitled EP serves as a gap between Cudder’s last album Indicud and the third and final installment in the Man on the Moon trilogy. He says, in fact, that the EP will begin right where Indicud leaves off with “The Flight of the Moon Man” and it will serve as a “seamless connection” to MOTM3 when that comes out in the distant future.

Watch Cudi discuss his grand plan in a video embedded after the break.

[Via DatNewCudi] Continue reading Kid Cudi announces ‘Man on the Moon III’ prelude EP coming soon →