Thursday, July 28, 2011

Pointless Female Pop Acts Dominating Music

Looks like the quality of music today is worse off than I thought.

Rihanna recently told Glamour that Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Beyonce, Kesha and herself are the women that are currently dominating music.

"Women are definitely dominating music right now, and that's because we are competitive beings," Rihanna tells Glamour. "I feel like music hasn't been this exciting in a while."

It's extremely insulting for Rihanna to put herself, Katy Perry and Kesha in the same category of two of the hardest working women in music, Lady Gaga and Beyonce. The three of them are just smoke and mirrors--the more clothing they take off to distract people, the less people will realize they can't sing.

It also sounds to me that Rihanna's implicating some kind of "girl power" statement, which offends me. All three women are solely image-based, and with the help of computers they are able to just get by to be considered "singers." They are all interchangeable and their music is meaningless and insignificant--not to mention they don't even write most of it themselves. I can understand their catchy pop tunes get stuck in our heads, but let's face it, this is the music we should all be downloading illegally.

Remember the days when Madonna, Janet Jackson and Mariah Carrey were dominating music? Oh, the days before auto-tune. Something strange to think about...singers were actually required to sing.

I wonder if Rihanna also thinks she and her female counterparts will actually be around or spoken of in about five years. I think she has a shot as long as Celebrity Rehab and/or Celebrity Fit Club is still airing.

For your entertainment, some of the worst documented singing moments of Rihanna, Katy Perry and Kesha:


Rihanna peforming live on the 2010 AMAs.



Katy Perry performing "California Girls" live on SNL.

Kesha performing live on SNL.

Metallica Celebrates 30th Anniversary With Fans

Metallica announced they will be performing four shows in San Francisco's Fillmore for only members of their fan club, Club Met. The shows will be a celebration of the group's 30th anniversary.

The band promised on their website that there will be “special guests and events, rare songs, varied set lists, odds and ends, and all the nutty stuff you expect from Metallica… fun for the entire family!”


That's not even the best part. Fans will be able to purchase a "four-pack," including tickets to all four shows and an entry into special contests at just $19.81. Single tickets will be sold at $6. Amazing.


If you're not in Club Met, don't worry -- I'm sure some of those $6 tickets will be sold on Ebay and Craigslist  for an extra couple grand or so. But then again, if you aren't a big enough Metallica fan to be in their fan club in the first place, why would you pay such prices? 


Metallica Tour Dates:


08/31 – San Francisco, CA @ Moscone Center 
09/14 – Bronx, NY @ Yankees Stadium 
09/25 – Rio de Janerio, BR @ Rock in Rio
10/28 – Delhi, IN @ F1 Rocks
10/30 – Bangalore, IN @ Bangalore Palace Ground
12/05 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
12/07 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
12/09 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
12/10 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Gene Simmons' Rating Booster

Entertainment news sources have been having a field day reporting about Gene Simmons' proposal to his common law wife, Shannon Tweed, on reality show Gene Simmons: Family Jewels.

If you are stupid enough to watch this show, then you are most likely stupid enough to believe that half-ass proposal was genuine. It's a shame that Simmons has reached the point of desperation where he's destined to do whatever possible for high ratings on his less-than-mediocre reality show.

Gene Simmons is indeed a music icon and will always be known in the music industry as a legend, but strangely I can say it's the complete opposite in regards to television. He contributes to the poison that is reality shows, a.k.a. the downfall of quality television. Quite the sell out, if you ask me. Anything to make an extra buck these days!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Amy Winehouse Back on Music Charts

Dying is a great way to sell music.

Amy Winehouse's 2007 album Back to Black re-entered the top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart today at No. 9. The album sold 37,000 since her death just three days ago, according to Nielson SoundScan. "Rehab" re-entered the Digital Songs chart at No. 46, with 38,000 sold.

It's expected that even more of Winehouse's albums and songs are to be sold next week.

Family and Friends Attend Amy Winehouse's Funeral

GETTY IMAGES
Kelly Osbourne arriving to Amy
Winhouse's funeral.
Family and friends mourned together to say goodbye to Amy Winehouse today at a small private ceremony in London.

Celebrities, including producer Mark Ronson and media personality Kelly Osbourne--sporting Winehouse's trademark beehive hair--were among the several hundred mourners in attendance.

More emotional photos from the funeral here.

New Solo Album From Rock Singer

Fall Out Boy singer, Patrick Stump, is releasing Soul Punk, a follow-up to his first LP, Truant Wave, according to an interview with billboard.com. The album is set to be released in October.

Soul Punk consists of an R&B vibe, completely different from the typical Fall Out Boy album.


"The challenge was finding something that I enjoy doing as much as Fall Out Boy but that has nothing to do with Fall Out Boy -- otherwise there's really no point in doing it," Stump said. 


Other Fall Out Boy members have also moved on to new projects--Bassist Pete Wentz in Black Cards and guitarist Joe Trohman and drummer Andy Hurley in The Damned Things. Fall Out Boy is currently on hiatus, but Stump expects a reunion in the future. 


Read the full interview.



Monday, July 25, 2011

Amy Winehouse's Cause of Death: Inconclusive

Update (Well, not really): An autopsy was performed Monday at St. Pancras Mortuary in London and it did not determine Amy Winehouse's cause of death, according to Us Weekly.

Further information will be available in about two to four weeks.

The Throne

Recently Jay-Z and Kanye West formed a group called The Throne and debuted "Otis," which samples Otis Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness." "Otis" is the new single on their upcoming release Watch the Throne.

"There was a back and forth about whether the name of the song would be 'Otis' or 'Otis Redding,'" Redding's daughter, Karla Redding-Andrews, told billboard.com. "And we just wanted to make sure lyrics and references in the song worked with the legacy of my father. To have two current, legendary artists use the legendary music of Otis Redding-we were quite honored."

The Throne will begin a twenty-four date tour on September 22nd, including two stops in East Rutherford, NJ. Watch The Throne will be released August 8th on iTunes.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

R.I.P. Amy Winehouse

Another music icon has been taken from us too soon. Twenty-seven year old Amy Winehouse was found dead today in her London home.

Winehouse's death didn't come as a huge shock to most-- It's widely known she struggled with addiction to drugs and alcohol. Though the cause of death is currently unknown, many are speculating it was an overdose of some kind.

It's unfortunate she never lived up to her full potential. It also seems as if she never got the chance to enjoy her well-deserved fame acquired by exceptional talent. Many hoped she would get her life back on track.

Other musicians in The 27 Club include: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain.

Amy Winehouse's album Back to Black sold over a million copies and won five Grammys. She will be remembered by music lovers all over the world.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Rebecca Black Is Back

Rebecca Black has graced us again with her new music video for "My Moment," which debuted this week on YouTube. And it already has 20 million hits.

The video shows Black's rise to 'fame' since her first music video "Friday," exploded on YouTube in March.

Luckily for our ears, the song was auto-tuned.



The Return of 'Beavis and Butthead'

Beavis and Butthead will be returning to MTV in the October, according to the show's creator, Mike Judge...but slightly different. Both characters will resume their roles from almost 20 years ago as inane and vulgar teenagers attending Highland High, but instead they will also be critiquing YouTube submissions, MTV reality shows and more. This doesn't come as a shock considering MTV has rarely played any music videos in the past decade. 




Kelly Clarkson's Upcoming Single

Kelly Clarkson fans will have to wait two more months to hear new music from the Idol alumnus. The singer initially tweeted that her single will be "hitting radio in August," but an hour later wrote "Okay please do not get angry but it might be September for my single."


Clarkson's fifth album is expected to be released in the Fall. 

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Rihanna Versus Britney

Recently, photos from both Britney's and Rihanna's meet and greets surfaced online. I honestly don't know which is worse...awkward or inappropriate?


More Britney M&G Photos

Lady Gaga Performing for Howard

Lady Gaga stopped by The Howard Stern Show recently and performed "The Edge of Glory" and "Hair" from her latest album, Born This Way.  

"I really was moved," Stern said of "The Edge of Glory" performance. "That's one of the best live performances I've ever had on my show in all the years I've been here." 

Talent at its best. Can Gaga record an acoustic album...please?

Lady Gaga performs "The Edge of Glory."


"Hair"

Bruno Mars' "Love Gone Sour"

Bruno Mars and his songwriting partner, Philip Lawrence, were recently featured in a YouTube video called "Love Gone Sour," serenading their true love, a bag of sour cream and onion Popchips. This is the latest of several recent Popchips online ads. If only that bag of Popchips had ears!



No Doubt Recording New Album

Finally! 

No Doubt announced on their Twitter last night they are working with Diplo and Switch of Major Lazer to release their first album since 2001's Rock Steady.

This makes me believe it will be more of a dance album like Rock Steady. Maybe one day they will go back to their original sound of the Tragic Kingdom days.

At least the Gwen Stefani solo era is over... or so we can hope.

2011 MTV VMA Nominees Announced

Katy Perry
The nominees for the 2011 MTV VMAs were announced last night. Katy Perry, Adele, Kanye West and Bruno Mars received the highest amount of nominations -- a whopping nine for Katy Perry. Eminem, Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj are all tied with 3 nominations.

MTV, which formerly stands for Music Television, still continues its tradition of giving out awards for the best music videos when the station devotes an hour or so at most in the middle of the night to actually playing these videos. It's a shame Snooki didn't come out with a music video this year.

Vote for your favorite video in each category here.

Friday, July 15, 2011

No More Love for Rock in NYC

Rock is officially dead on New York City radio.

Yesterday, the modern rock station 101.9 RXP announced it will be changing to an all-news format. The station was part of a cluster sold to another media company.

RXP's programming, which includes Matt Pinfield & Leslie Fram's Local Licks and Rich Russo's Anything Anything, is also well-known for supporting NYC's local music scene. Matt and Kim, Atomic Tom, Jesse Malin & The St. Marks Social and The Dirty Pearls are just a few of the local bands on RXP's airwaves.

"You listened, you wrote emails, showed up at events, supported the sponsors and most of all you trusted the show, you trusted me and didn't turn the dial if I played a song you didn't like or talked too long," RXP deejay Rich Russo told listeners. "You embraced the unsigned bands, the low-fi and sometimes unpolished recordings, the scratchy vinyl or muddy cassettes that sometimes were played. I thank you for that."

RXP's format change came as a shock to many. When NYC's legendary rock station K-Rock changed formats in 2009, many of its former listeners turned to RXP as it then became the last remaining modern rock station in NYC.

Both Matt Pinfield and Rich Russo have stated they already received new offers. Pinfield will once again host the rebirth of MTV's 120 Minutes, which will air monthly on MTV2. Russo will be continuing Anything Anything and further details will be revealed soon.

It's unfortunate that not enough music listeners have the patience to support or even care about new music. RXP provided opportunities for many local artists in the area that weren't fortunate enough to have major record label promotion money. Rock stations also just can't seem to compete with the many redundant Top 40 stations. It will most likely only be a matter of time until another rock station in NYC surfaces, but I won't hold my breath.