This one goes out to the ladies… in all of our favorite songs. Girls kinda run the world, and musicians have taken notice from Green Day’s “Maria” to Fountains of Wayne’s “Stacy’s Mom”.
O come, all ye Colbert faithful. Stephen Colbert will host his own Christmas special this year, Comedy Central announced Tuesday. “A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!” will air Nov. 23 as a one-hour special. It will be a musical special featuring John Legend, Elvis Costello, Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, Feist – and “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, who’s slated to sing a duet with Colbert of a song simply titled “Hanukkah.” (The song Colbert is to sing with Nelson appears to be a version of “The Little Drummer Boy” – called “Little Dealer Boy.”) Most of the… Read more »
INDIO, California – Perhaps it was a sign that the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Arcade Fire and Hot Chip were sharing the same bill. Whatever the case, Saturday was certainly one of the most scorching Coachella afternoons ever, with temperatures into the100s for hours on end. That meant the tented stages provided plenty of shadowy solace, while pre-sunset outdoor acts were playing to their diehards and suffering while doing it. (Let’s just say there were multiple hipster rockers quoting Lil Jon’s infamous sweat-dripping lyrics.) Still, Peter Bjorn and John and the Decemberists wore their suits and the Sahara tent was… Read more »
Lava/Atlantic recording group The Click Five has unveiled the identity of their new lead singer set to appear on the group’s forthcoming, sophomore release, “Modern Minds and Pastimes.” Twenty-year-old singer/guitarist Kyle Patrick joins fellow Berklee College of Music alumni guitarist Joe Guese, bassist Ethan Mentzer, keyboardist Ben Romans and drummer Joey Zehr on the power pop sensations’ much-anticipated collection, which arrives on June 26th. “Modern Minds and Pastimes” was produced by Mike Denneen (Fountains of Wayne, Aimee Mann). The album’s first single, “Jenny,” is available for purchase on iTunes and going to radio now. The band is scheduled to shoot… Read more »
Following the release of Fall Out Boy’s 2003 full-length debut, Take This to Your Grave, the Chicago quartet was flooded with hyperbolic praise. The group, which was signed by tiny independent label Fueled by Ramen, was declared the “next big thing” by multiple media outlets, and its album sold more than 200,000 copies. So expectations were high for the band’s major-label follow-up, From Under the Cork Tree, which came out on May 3 and will debut at #9 on next week’s Billboard albums chart. Some pundits predicted a groundbreaking pop-punk expedition, and others awaited a heart-rending emo excursion, but Fall… Read more »
The Rolling Stones and Radiohead got theirs from song titles, U2 and the B-52’s from military aircrafts and Lynyrd Skynyrd from their old gym teacher. And the stories behind new millennium band names are no less random: Yellowcard According to these So-Cal pop-punkers, “yellowcard” is a take on the ever-popular Frat house idiom, “party foul,” proving drunks can be simultaneously obnoxious and witty. Perhaps Ewan McKegger was already in use. Coldplay Chris Martin and his mates, originally called Starfish, were friends with a band called Coldplay. When that band gave up the name, Starfish asked if they could use it.… Read more »
Digital tracks are outselling physical singles by a growing margin, a sign that consumers increasingly are embracing the brave new world of Internet downloading. Digital download sales outpaced physical singles 857,000 to 170,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures for the week ending Oct. 26. That’s slightly more than a 5-to-1 ratio. Sean Ryan, VP of music services at RealNetworks, says that the rise of digital track sales carries a “symbolic significance,” illustrating the music industry’s shift to online delivery options. He also says it indicates a real opportunity for the music business: “Selling individual songs as an offline strategy wasn’t… Read more »
Los Angeles’ Smile Empty Soul have plenty to smile about. The band’s self-titled debut is officially #1 on Billboard’s New Artist Chart and New Alternative Artist Chart, outselling buzz bands such as Hot Hot Heat, Rooney, Interpol and Fountains of Wayne. The band’s pulverizing, intense debut which was released on Lava Records May 27th, explores a variety of current topics and already, its become one of the most sought after alternative records this year. Smile Empty Soul’s album is fueled by the compelling and controversial lead track Bottom of a Bottle. The song is currently the #10 alternative track in… Read more »
Few bands have a résumé as extensive as the one belonging to They Might Be Giants, so it’s no wonder their music should make perfect fodder for a documentary. In their 20 years together, the quirky duo of John Linnell and John Flansburgh have successfully telemarketed themselves into underground celebrity, composed scores and theme music for television and film, and won a Grammy (for “Boss of Me,” the theme to “Malcolm in the Middle”), while recording seven studio LPs and a slew of EPs, live albums and singles. Flansburgh even found time to moonlight as a video director, helming clips… Read more »
