Music Info

Lily Allen Biography

2010-02-17T23:54:00.000-08:00

Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born May 2, 1985 in London, England) is an English pop singer-songwriter, mostly known for her songs: “Smile”, “LDN” and “The Fear”.

Allen is the daughter of comedian/actor/songwriter/frequent New Order collaborator Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen.

Allen has released two hit albums as of 2009: “Alright, Still” (2006) and “It’s Not Me, It’s You” (2009).

Her first single “Smile” reached number one on the UK singles charts in July 2006. In December 2006 her debut album Alright, Still was voted the third best album of the year by Mixmag.

Her second album “It’s Not Me, It’s You” was released in the United Kingdom on 9 February 2009 and on 10 February in North America. It has been certified 2× platinum by the British Phonographic Industry on the date of 28 August 2009.

In September of 2009 Allen announced that she is considering a career in acting and that she will not renew her record contract. In a blog, her last before taking it down, Allen wrote that she has “no plans” to make another record. “The days of me making money from recording music have been and gone as far as I’m concerned”. Allen’s spokesperson said “She is not quitting pop music. She is not thinking about her next album right now because she is still in the middle of promoting her current record.” ( Wikipedia ).

Download Lily Allen mp3 : Download

Saosin New Album - In Serach Of Solid Ground

2010-02-08T03:20:00.000-08:00

Southern California quintet Saosin are one of the fastest-growing headliners in rock – earning mainstage slots on the Vans Warped Tour, selling out clubs in a flash, going out with heavyweights like AFI, Avenged Sevenfold, My Chemical Romance and Taking Back Sunday and garnering an ocean of fans who’ve downloaded their songs from MySpace over five million times – all before they’ve released a full-length album.

That will all change on September 26th with the Capitol Records release of their self-titled debut. As your average Saosin fan (and there are legions) will be quick to point out, the wait was a considerable one. “We were waiting until the songs were right,” says frontman Cove Reber with some understatement.

It’s been three years since word of the band’s full-length debut first surfaced, and in that time a lot has changed within the music scene from which they originally emerged and within the band itself. (Saosin Site). Read More

Download

Radiohead Rock For Haiti at Small Los Angeles Benefit Show

2010-01-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

Photo: Shearer/Getty

Even Radiohead can be surprised by the difference a rock band can make. On Sunday, the forward-looking Oxford quintet took a break from recording sessions for its next album to perform at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Hollywood and raise desperately needed funds for Haiti earthquake relief. “This is how much money we made,” singer-guitarist Thom Yorke announced late in the two-hour concert, as he was handed a card with a final tally. “Gross: Fuck me! $572,774!”

Tickets for the night’s “Radiohead for Haiti” concert were sold over the weekend via online auction, with a top price paid by one fan at $4,000 for a single pair. “What did you do to get a ticket?” Yorke joked with the crowd. “Get money from your dad? Or blackmail your boss?” The all-star audience included Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, Flea, Drew Barrymore, Paul Thomas Anderson and Anna Paquin. (Rolling Stone). Read More

Paranormal Activity (FIlm)

2010-01-25T07:48:00.000-08:00

PLOT

Katie, a student, and her boyfriend Micah, a day trader, live in a two-story tract house in suburban San Diego, California. Katie claims that a ghostly presence has haunted her since her youth and believes that it has followed her to their new home. During a visit to their house, Dr. Fredrichs, a self-professed psychic, assesses that they are being plagued by a demon which feeds off negative energy and is intent on haunting Katie no matter where she goes. Dr. Fredrichs recommends they contact Dr. Johann Averies, a demonologist, but Micah's reluctance to do so leads to arguments with Katie. Each night, Micah mounts a video camera on a tripod in their bedroom to record any paranormal activity that might occur while they sleep. He manages to capture several phenomena, such as objects moving on their own, lights and televisions switching on and off, and sounds ranging from voices and growls to footsteps and loud thuds. The strange occurrences in the middle of the night soon involve Katie awakening to spend several hours standing by the bed staring at Micah while he sleeps and going outside to sit on the backyard swing, none of which she remembers the following morning.

Katie, already irritated by Micah's making light of the situation, becomes irate when Micah brings home a Ouija board, despite Dr. Fredrichs' warning against any attempt to communicate with the entity. While the two are out of the house, a wind blows through the living room and the Ouija board's planchette moves on its own. A small fire soon erupts on the board and extinguishes moments later. That night, Micah sprinkles talcum powder in the hallway and later they find non-human footprints leading to the bedroom from the attic. In the attic, Micah finds a charred photograph of a young Katie, previously thought to have been destroyed in a house fire. That night, the bedroom door slams shut and is violently banged upon from the other side. The next day, they discover the glass over a photo of them has been smashed with Micah's image scratched underneath. Dr. Averies is abroad when Micah finally agrees to invite him, so Dr. Fredrichs agrees to make a second house call. Upon his arrival, Dr. Fredrichs immediately has a sense of dread. He apologetically leaves despite their pleas for his help, stating his presence is only making the demon angry.

That night, Katie is dragged out of bed and down the hallway by an invisible force. Hearing her screams, Micah gives chase and wrests her away; the next day he discovers a gruesome bite mark on her back. Stressed and exhausted, the couple decide to go to a hotel. Micah later finds Katie gripping a cross so tightly that it bloodies her palm. Just as Micah is set to leave, a suddenly calm Katie insists they instead remain at the house. Micah, angry at a situation he cannot control, burns the cross and the picture found in the attic.

That night, Katie awakens to once again stare for several hours at Micah while he sleeps. She then goes downstairs into the darkness and begins screaming. Micah wakes up and runs after her, while the camera, left on its tripod, records what sounds like a struggle downstairs. The screams suddenly stop, and a brief silence is followed by the sound of heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. Katie returns to the bedroom from downstairs, wielding a knife with blood on her clothes. She then sits next to the bed and rocks back and forth in a catatonic state for the next few days. Her friend Amber calls the house, and later arrives, discovering Micah's body downstairs. When police officers arrive, Katie comes out of her catatonic state and, confused, approaches them. The officers instruct her to drop the knife, but fire on her after being startled by a door suddenly slamming behind them. The movie ends with audio of the police discovering the camera and a picture of Katie and Micah as the credits roll. (Wikipedia).

Click here to download this movie

Linkin Park Announce Summer Tour With My Chemical Romance

2010-01-24T14:28:00.000-08:00

Following their appearance at the Bamboozle Festival in New Jersey this weekend, Linkin Park stopped by New York’s Museum of Television and Radio to announce the details of their fourth Projekt Revolution tour, which kicks off on July 25th and hits twenty-nine amphitheaters before wrapping on September 3rd in Englewood, Colorado. The band will be joined on the main stage by fellow Bamboozlers My Chemical Romance and Taking Back Sunday, as well as HIM, Placebo and Julien-K. “If you took Linkin Park off this bill it would still be the best bill of the summer,” says singer Chester Bennington. “Saying yes to this tour was a no-brainer,” My Chem’s Gerard Way adds. “Linkin Park has a vision, just like our band and Taking Back Sunday.” An eco-friendly outing, Projekt Revolution will include side stage performances by Saosin, The Bled Mindless Self-Indulgence, among others. (Rolling Stone).

Taste of Chaos Tour Report: Mild Chaos, Ample Angst

2010-01-24T14:16:00.000-08:00

The crowd didn’t seem to notice the absence of headlining act 30 Seconds To Mars at Friday night’s Sacramento pit-stop on the Rockstar-sponsored Taste of Chaos tour. And why would they? The evening — featuring a screamo-heavy bill that included The Used, Aiden, Senses Fail and Saosin — offered enough frenetic fist-pumping and sweaty moshing to satisfy even the most devout Jared Leto acolyte. (The official word from 30 STM’s camp was that frontman Leto had been hospitalized for strep throat, though insiders speculate that he simply wanted to spend some extra time at home in L.A. before gearing up for the tour’s Vegas stop.)

Things got off to a slow start with earnest but forgettable sets by Evaline and Chiodos, but the show picked up remarkably when Seattle quintet Aiden appeared. Led by singer Wil Francis (who wore a pink shirt emblazoned with the words “To Hell and Back”), Aiden owned the crowd when the opening strains of the raucous tune “The Suffering” from (2006’s Rain in Hell) were audible. “I want this shit to be epic,” Francis bellowed, ordering the crowd to part and make room for a massive moshing session. From the controlled chaos that ensued, it was evident the audience was more than willing to accommodate. Francis’ rock star showmanship was in full effect, and came complete with inspirational messages (“Music has the power to save and save lives”) and a Messianic, “walk-on-water” take on crowd-surfing that might best be described as “crowd standing.”(Rolling Stone) Read More

John Mayer in His Own Words

2010-01-24T14:09:00.000-08:00

Photograph by Mark Seliger

In our new issue, John Mayer opens up about his hunt for "the Joshua Tree of vaginas" and harshly critiques his own albums. Here's bonus interview from Erik Hedegaard's chat with the guitarist:

Check out Mayer's most outrageous moments, from his Borat mankini to impromptu jam "Bare Ballin'."

On his early ambition:
When I first sat down to solicit myself for a record deal, I did the rounds at all the record companies in New York City in 2000. The label heads would ask me, "What do you want as an artist?" and I said, "I want to be the guy who plays The Tonight Show, [and then sits] on the couch, making people laugh." There were only two men who were musicians who could truly sit on the couch at the time I came up: Chris Isaak and Harry Connick Jr.

On his biggest hits:
My hits are not hits. "Your Body Is a Wonderland" is the biggest hit I've ever had, maybe ever will have. There wasn't a ton of music in that song. It's a novelty tune. I don't have Lady Gaga-sized hits; I'm trying to get hits on my terms, hits without selling out the musicality. "Waiting on the World to Change" has all of its roots in Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye. It's "We're a Winner" and it's "People Get Ready" and it's "This is My Country." "Who Says" is no different than a Lyle Lovett song, except it has the phrase, "Who says I can't get stoned?" which is a little bit like, "They say I've gotta go to rehab." It has a little bit of fang on it.

On becoming a staple of the tabloids:
It's so interesting how success hits people and how they react to it. I remember reading Pearl Jam saying that after Ten, "I wish we hadn't gotten this big." I read that, and I go, "Well, then give it back. Someone else will use it." The idea that phenomenal success is something to wish away... I don't understand it. I hope I sell 100 billion trillion copies of whatever I put out, but if you're that guy, then next time out, don't write a hit song.

I love being a famous musician but I don't like the [intimate details of my] relationship to be known. It just makes me severely, severely uncomfortable, as I believe it would make anybody uncomfortable. How did we get to where we actually say this: "Why do I watch that? It's like a car crash, you can't look away." Guess what? I look away at car crashes, and I know people who look away at car crashes, because it makes us uncomfortable to watch other people in pain.

Personally, I want to watch somebody entertain me safely without the sense that I'm going to fall through the net and crash with them. Personally, I want to see somebody who is a trained professional entertaining me — Alicia Keys entertains me, she's fantastic. That's why I liked Norah Jones selling as many records as she did, that was a "well done, America."(Rolling Stone). Read More

Avenged Sevenfold’s Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan Dead at 28

2010-01-24T05:37:00.000-08:00

Photo: AP Photo/Jason DeCrow

Avenged Sevenfold drummer Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan was found dead at his home in Huntington Beach, California, yesterday. He was 28. Preliminary police reports indicate Sullivan died of natural causes, but the Orange County Coroner’s Office is investigating his death, the OC Register reports. Sullivan helped found Avenged Sevenfold in 1999, and featured on all four of the band’s studio albums.

Look back at Rolling Stone’s collection of Avenged Sevenfold photos.

“It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we tell you of the passing today of Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan,” Sullivan’s Avenged Sevenfold bandmates wrote on their Website. “Jimmy was not only one of the world’s best drummers, but more importantly he was our best friend and brother. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jimmy’s family and we hope that you will respect their privacy during this difficult time. Jimmy you are forever in our hearts.”

Remember more artists lost before their time.

After playing Ozzfest in 2006, Avenged Sevenfold memorably beat out Rihanna, Chris Brown, Panic! at the Disco, Angels and Airwaves and James Blunt for the title of Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards, thanks in part to their Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas-inspired song “Bat Country.” Avenged Sevenfold then reached Number Four on the Billboard Top 200 with their self-titled fourth album. The band spent the past two years on a co-headlining tour with Buckcherry. The band was reportedly in the process of recording their fifth album. (Rolling Stone).

Clicking for Classic

2010-01-24T05:19:00.001-08:00

By Marc Geelhoed

Beethoven, having died in 1827, is hardly the flavor of the moment. Bach didn't have an alter ego as an MC or sell mixtapes on the street. Pudgy opera singers tend to look less than Beyoncé-esque, and had Vladimir Horowitz paraded into Carnegie Hall in Danger Mouse's outfits, the effect would have made people gasp, and not in a good way.

What I'm trying to say is that classical music has an uneasy relationship with popularity. Listeners with a passing interest tend to value it for its soothing qualities or, conversely, for its extreme volume. The combined timbres of winds, brass, percussion, and strings playing at full volume bring on the gut-wobbles just as surely as five Marshall stacks do. I know a rock critic who couldn't care less about Wagner's operas, but give him the "Ride of the Valkyries," that leaping theme from Wagner's Die Walküre that Francis Ford Coppola used in Apocalypse Now, and he flips out.

The top 10 best-selling classical "songs" on iTunes show exactly this split between calm and stormy. The list also shows an unhealthy obsession with Andrea Bocelli, the blind Italian tenor whose voice adds entire new dimensions to the word lackluster. While he tried to sing both straight classical and crossover material in the mid-'90s, he now plies a musical river that's lined with lira alone these days. And since he's appeared on American Idol, he's hit the jackpot. Recently, I downloaded all the Bocelli and non-Bocelli tracks and spent an afternoon coming to grips with what really sells.

At No. 10 was the opening chorus of Carl Orff's 1936 cantata "Carmina Burana," a setting of lewd poems by a bunch of medieval monks whose only outlet for their desires was to put them in verse. In Latin. The track takes the solemnity of Latin and makes it defiantly impious and bellicose. And if there's anything people like in their religion these days, it's defiance and impiousness. Check out Christian rock for examples. This recording is on the London Symphony Orchestra's own LSO Live label, conducted by Richard Hickox. It's loud, it's rhythmic; people love it.

I was then whipsawed—quietly, but whipsawed nonetheless—by two recordings of Pachelbel's "Canon." At No. 9 was Raymond Leppard leading the English Chamber Orchestra. From the softly plucked basses and cellos at the opening to the contented plinkings of the harpsichord, it's not difficult to hear why it's so popular. That it's also the de facto choice for bridal marches from Atlanta to Phoenix doesn't hurt, either. However, it's not quite so popular as Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert's interpretation of Pachelbel's "Canon and Gigue in D Major: Canon," as iTunes labels the exact same piece of music. Listeners who went for this one obviously prefer the quicker tempo and use of solo strings instead of a full chamber contingent. Tomato, tomahto.

British conductor John Eliot Gardiner and his Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique held down spot No. 7 with the first movement of Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5," by far Beethoven's most well-known moment. They attack the famously assertive opening and dig those woodwind crescendos. Gardiner is an aggressive interpreter here, and while this recording is one of the first to show up when searching for the "Fifth Symphony," that hard-nosed aggression must tip buyers in his direction.

On to No. 6, and keeping the energy level high, was Aaron Copland and his "Fanfare for the Common Man." With the blood coursing through my veins at this point, I almost saluted the flag outside a museum I was walking past. Again, it's the London Symphony, this time with Copland conducting. From the way the trumpets fudge the opening, it's hard to tell why this one gets downloaded so often; I'd go with Leonard Slatkin's version with the St. Louis Symphony. But when people want their rousing fanfares, it's best not to ask questions. Give them the fanfare and move away quietly.

With No. 5, the light started to dim and I couldn't see straight. Andrea Bocelli's "Con Te Partiro" held that position. This is in the classical section? Bocelli's tenor is, how do you say, unsupported and is about as operatic as Boone's Farm is fine wine. With its synthesizer-sounding string section and chorus, the song is high-class movie music. Like so many terrible tunes, I can't get this one out of my head, especially this mock-heroic modulation from G to A at the end. Ravel does the same thing at the end of "Bolero," so you know Bocelli's arranging team can ID a good model when they hear it.

Bocelli also had position No. 4, though there he had the star power of Céline Dion to help him out in "The Prayer," from Bocelli's Sogno album. Dion coos with an electric keyboard in the background before twittering in Bocelli's ear when he enters. Is easiest listening a genre?

Yo-Yo Ma and the first movement from Bach's "First Cello Suite" were up at No. 3. The hugely popular cellist has delved into world music and worked with such pop musicians as Bobby McFerrin, so his ranking makes sense. The meditative suites can put the listener in a state of auditory bliss where the outer world and its troubles fade away. The mellow-sounding cello never screeches like a violin, and in a capable cellist's hands, like Ma's, it almost takes on the soothing quality of a voice. Who wouldn't want a little of that in their iPod? And thank God Bach beats, at least a little, Bocelli.

Then it's back to the loud, with Fritz Reiner leading his Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a raucous interpretation of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture." It's a staple at outdoor concerts, where the final sections can be buffed up with cannons for real militaristic power. Like my rock-critic friend and Wagner, this is classical music you can rock out to.

Which brings us to No 1., an alternate version of "Con Te Partiro" featuring Andrea Bocelli and his perfect mate, the soprano Sarah Brightman, titled "Time To Say Goodbye." The arrangement includes the "Bolero" pattern on a drum throughout, along with Brightman's straight-from-a-phonetic-dictionary Italian. That, folks, is the sound of lousy vocal technique.

With its warhorses and canon of great works, classical music is insulated from a lot of fads. Beethoven's Fifth will probably always be popular, and so will "Carmina Burana." But it's not so far from popular culture that a tenor whose calling card is his biography and who is backed by an effective PR machine can grab the spotlight. Beethoven raged at the heavens for letting him lose his hearing, but then, he never heard Andrea Bocelli.

Classical Music

2010-01-24T05:03:00.000-08:00

Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 9th century to present times.The central norms of this tradition became codified between 1550 and 1900, which is known as the common practice period

European music is largely distinguished from many other non-European and popular musical forms by its system of staff notation, in use since about the 16th century. Western staff notation is used by composers to prescribe to the performer the pitch, speed, meter, individual rhythms and exact execution of a piece of music. This leaves less room for practices, such as improvisation and ad libitum ornamentation, that are frequently heard in non-European art music (compare Indian classical music and Japanese traditional music) and popular music.

The term "classical music" did not appear until the early 19th century, in an attempt to "canonize" the period from Johann Sebastian Bach to Beethoven as a golden age.The earliest reference to "classical music" recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from about 1836. (Wikipedia)

Ludwig van Beethoven

2010-01-12T08:41:00.000-08:00

The biography

He was born in the German town of Bonn on the 16th of December 1770. His grandfather Ludwig and his father Johann were both musicians. Johann was to act as little Ludwig's first music teacher, but Ludwig soon changed to the court organist C. G. Neefe. Passing eleven years of age, Ludwig deputized for Neefe, and at twelve had his first music published. He then stayed as Neefe's assistant until 1787, when at seventeen, he took off for Vienna. Even though Vienna was to be his home for the rest of his life, this first visit was short. On hearing that his mother was dying, he quickly returned to Bonn. Five years later he finally moved to Vienna to live and work.

After arriving in 1792 he studied composition and counterpoint under Haydn, Schenk, Salieri and Albrechtsberger. At the same time, he tried to establish himself as pianist and composer. His good relations with the towns aristocracy soon led to a secured income. In 1809, with the sole condition that he stayed in Vienna, Prince Kinsky, Prince Lobkowitz and Archduke Rudolp even guaranteed Beethoven a yearly income. But going back to the years around 1800, which is traditionally called the early period, he was still trying to master the high classical style. This strive culminated in the second symphony from 1801-1802.

This is also the time when the middle period starts. From now up until 1813, Beethoven develops and enhances the high classical style into a more dynamic and individualistic style. It is now that he writes symphonies Nr. 3 - 8, piano consert Nr. 5 and a lot of chamber music. But as he learns to control his craft and develop the music into new undiscovered grounds, he also suffers from reminders of the pains of real life. He has early in life discovered that his hearing wasn't what it should be, and the disorder gets worse as time goes by. It gets to the point where Beethoven is thinking of ending his life as he sees no way out of his despair. That fact is documented in the letter he wrote to his brothers in 1802, the so called "Heiligenstadt Testament".

This hearing disorder seems to have affected his social life to a great extent. He became difficult to handle in social interactions and could suddenly burst into outbreaks of anger and show bad temper where he usually insulted someone. If that is the reason for his troubles with women, or if their is something traumatic hidden in his childhood, I don't know, but the fact is that he never got involved with a woman in a normal relation. Beethoven seems to have been attracted to women he couldn't get, or at least was hard to get. An example is Antoine Brentano, with whom he had a relationship, but who broke up with him to marry a friend. It is she who is known as the "immortal beloved" in letters addressed to her from Beethoven in 1812. Around the same time, as this wasn't enough, his deafness reached the stage where he no longer could perform.

Now came a couple of years without much creative work. Instead he was tormented by personal matters concerning his nephew of which he tried to gain custody when the brother died in 1815. But Beethoven didn't have the capacity of a domestic human being, and even though he did win the struggle for custody, Beethovens relation with the nephew was tense and burdensome and it reached the point where little Karl tried to take his own life in 1826. This is also the so called late period in Beethovens musical career. His music is described as less dramatic and more introvert, but also, I would like to add, more mature and secure. It has a flavour of the genius growing old and an obvious attitude. Listen for example to symphony Nr. 9 - it is complete! There is really not much to add as I see it. The above mentioned piece gave him, at last, at bit of economical success and he could live his last years in relative wellfare. But this period is still characterized by his lack of funds, much because his former patrons no longer could support him. Maybe the lifelong poverty is a reason for his deteriorating health and his death on March 26 1827.

20th-Century Music

2010-01-12T06:58:00.000-08:00

A revolution occurred in 20th century music listening as the radio world music. Music performances became increasingly visual with the broadcast and recording of music videos Copyright laws were strengthened, but new technologies such as file sharing gained popularity worldwide, and new media and technologies were developed to record, capture, reproduce and distribute music. Because music was no longer limited to concerts, opera-houses, clubs, and domestic music-making, it became possible for music artists to quickly gain fame nationwide and sometimes worldwide. Conversely, audiences were able to be exposed to a wider range of music than ever before, giving rise to the phenomenon of and concerts. Music of all kinds also became increasingly portable.

also made it easier to record and reproduce copyrighted music illegally.

Twentieth-century music brought new freedom and wide experimentation with new musical styles and forms that challenged the accepted rules of music of earlier periods. Faster modes of transportation allowed musicians and fans to travel more widely to perform or listen. Amplification permitted giant concerts to be heard by those with the least expensive tickets, and the inexpensive reproduction and transmission or broadcast of music gave rich and poor alike nearly equal access to high quality music performances.(Wikipedia).