Basslines and Protest Signs is Brett Callwood’s column looking at the intersection of music and politics. This week talks about Black History Month.
What if someone took the 2005 Rick Ro$$ song “Hustlin’” and turned it into a TV series, mixed with a remarkable story of a Palestinian family’s immigration trials in the US?
This week: The Disney Holiday Singalong, CMA Country Christmas, His Dark Materials, 88th Annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center, Sound of Metal, Small Axe “Red, White and Blue”, Selena: The Series, Big Mouth, Mank, The Hardy Boys, The Great British Baking Show: Holidays, Euphoria
The aptly-titled Renacer is most certainly a rebirth for Senses Fail. One of the heaviest albums of 2013, the record leaves behind only minor traces of the Senses Fail we all know and love.
After a year-plus hiatus during which Rilo Kiley’s two principal members pursued solo careers, the Los Angeles-based indie pop quartet is returning to business August 21 with its major-label debut, “Under the Blacklight.” Well, sort of. “People keep calling it our ‘major-label debut,’ but I think (2004’s) ‘More Adventurous’ was that,” frontwoman Jenny Lewis says. And in some respects, she’s right. “Blacklight” marks Rilo Kiley’s first effort on Warner Bros. proper, whereas “More Adventurous” was released on the band’s own Brute/Beaute imprint before the major “upstreamed” it. However you tag it, “More Adventurous,” the band’s third full-length release, is its… Read more »
31 minutes ago Avril Lavigne’s soundtrack pit stop “Keep Holding On” from “Eragon” — top 10 at adult top 40 and top 20 at mainstream top 40 — shows the softer side of the artist . . . and basically a lady-in-waiting before reigniting her full-on persona via third full-length “The Best Damn Thing,” due April 17. Its launch single, the signature pop-punk anthem “Girlfriend,” spits beats per minute like a chainsaw, as Lavigne fires off, “Hey! Hey! You! You!/I don’t like your girlfriend/I think you need a new one/Hey! Hey! You! You!/I could be your girlfriend.” Although she has… Read more »
When Avril Lavigne released album No. 2 in 2004, the spunky teen pop star announced to the world that she was growing up. Gone were the baggy pants and skater-chick image that first earned Lavigne the media-christened nickname of “the anti-Britney.” On that year’s “Under My Skin,” punky anthems like “Sk8er Boi” were replaced largely with grammatically correct, midtempo teen-angst rockers. The album was released a few months shy of Lavigne’s 20th birthday, and the black-and-white Goth imagery made it clear that Lavigne was dealing with some intense late-teen issues. Today, Lavigne is done with all that. On April 17,… Read more »
San Diego – You know it was a powerful show if every single seat in the arena is still occupied by fans singing at the top of their lungs even after the band is done and the house lights go up. That was the scene Monday at the San Diego Sports Arena, where U2 kicked off their Vertigo Tour with a two-hour celebration of the new and the old and a few favorites in between, including a grand finale of “40” that felt more like the end of an Easter service than a rock concert the night after. “We haven’t… Read more »
Partial list of winners at Sunday’s 47th Annual Grammy Awards: Engineered Album, Classical – “Higdon – City Scape Concerto for Orchestra,” Jack Renner, engineer – Robert Spano. Producer of the Year, Classical – David Frost. Classical Album – “Adams – On the Transmigration of Souls,” Lorin Maazel, conductor John Adams and Lawrence Rock, producers. Orchestral Performance – “Adams – On the Transmigration of Souls,” Lorin Maazel, conductor John Adams and Lawrence Rock, producers. Opera Recording – “Mozart – Le Nozze di Figaro,” Rene Jacobs, conductor Patrizia Ciofi, Veronique Gens, Simon Keenlyside, Angelika Kirchschlager and Lorenzo Regazzo Martin Sauer, producer –… Read more »
SpongeBob, Dora the Explorer and the Rugrats could all become rock stars in the next few years. Children’s television network Nickelodeon has partnered with BMG to create a record label, which means tunes from shows like “SpongeBob SquarePants” will be released as albums. “These are characters kids know and songs they sing and love,” said Joe DiMuro, executive vice president of BMG Stragetic Marketing. “It’s a great way to bring the shows to a new level.” The first album, released Tuesday, is a compilation of songs from the show “Dora the Explorer,” about a Spanish-speaking girl and her adventures. A… Read more »
