After countless hours searching online for just the right a cappella vocals from Kayne West and the perfect backing tracks from Weezer, the 19 year-old art and technology student had enough to make Yeezer, a ten track album in the vein of Dangermouse's infamous Grey Album.
"A couple of summers ago I got into Weezer," Hodowanec tells Radio.com. "I'm a little bit too young for the first wave of Weezer, but over the years hearing about how old Weezer was really good--I listened to some of their older album and it turned out that it was really good. We listened to the albums in the car that summer." It turns out it was his friend Andy who blurted out the name Yeezer as a joke. But as time went on, the name grew on Hodowanec to the point where he he may be onto something.
"The first song I started working on was the first song on the album--which is Kanye's song through the 'Through The Wire,' mixed with 'Beverly Hills.' I just kinda figured 'Beverly' Hills was the most iconic Weezer song. It was really just a matter of finding songs that had similar feels and tempos from that point on."
"Once that first song clicked, I thought, you might as well just go for nine more, right?" One misconception about Hodowanec's mashup is that it's made up of songs from Yeezus and the Blue Album. It's not two entire albums mashed together. Rather, it's a mix of songs chosen from various albums. The only requirement was that they sound good together. Read more and check it out here.
The tour leg is scheduled to kick off on May 6th in Las Vegas, NV at Mandalay Bay and will conclude on July 8th in Los Angeles, CA at the Staples Center.
Gomez will be announcing additional dates and more countries for the worldwide tour soon. She had this to say about the North American trek, "I am ready to get back on the road and see my fans in person. This album marks a new and very important chapter in my life. I cannot wait to get on stage and perform this new material."
She is launching the tour in support of her new studio album, "Revival", which is set to be released on October 9th. Fans can also see her perform the new single "Same Old Love" on Ellen this Friday, October 9th. See the tour dates here.
When she went on Bev Smith's radio talk show over the weekend, Jones continued sharing her adversarial opinions by discussing her reaction to meeting Lady Gaga.
"Gaga came to me, and I just could not find a soul," Jones said. "I come from church--maybe that has something to do with it. I like to get to the soul of a person. I just didn't feel a soul."
Jones clarified that she wasn't suggesting Gaga doesn't have a soul, but rather it was more difficult to identify than with other people she knows. And the two have met four times, so there's apparently been a handful of opportunities. "She might have been freaked out with meeting me," she said. "It's okay, but then we met three times after, and 'boy, I got so angry." Read more here.
Smith hit his Twitter account to announce the coming of his new video in the evening, in 30 minutes. When that time came and went, he said it will be "7 MINUTES!!"
Many moments after seven minutes and Smith took to Twitter asked for more time-again and again. "Bare with me guys Lol�I'm so sorry about this guys. It's coming it's coming," he said. "Trust me it's worth it x�A lot of angry emails going round. It will be with you VERY SOON�"
Several hours later, Smith was still stalling and promising to deliver.
"OK�. SO�.Officially 40 MINUTES till video. What a nightmare. 40 minutes thou�. And it is yours!!"
At long last, the video hit the net and all was right in Spectre land. "Better late than never," Smith said. The video shows clips of Spectre and also finds Smith in Rome where the film was shot. It's a cinematic and slow winding clip that matches the spirit of the song. Check out "Writing's on the Wall" video here.
Drake and camp debuted the official version on OVO's Sound Radio show, on which Drake has been releasing a steady stream of Drake exclusives, including the Meek Mill diss "Charged Up."
"Can I" showcases a stripped down music bed with keys and a bass line, giving the spotlight to Beyonce's voice, whose "Can I�Baby" chant interplays with the drum cadence.
The official version of "Can I" gives Beyonc� and Drake their first collabo since "Mine," a standout track from Beyonce's album, Beyonce. Check out Drake and Beyonce on "Can I" here.
"We talk about this all the time, how there aren't enough female-represented bands and artists at festivals," big sister Este shared during the band's festival talk. "You don't see them. And it's really sad for us. We came up with the idea basically of, 'Why can't we just bring back a festival that's just ladies?' Not that we don't love the boys. [We] Love the men."
"I did see Melissa Etheridge in concert, I saw Sarah McLachlan in concert, I saw Paula Cole in concert, and Sheryl Crow," she continued. 'All these amazing ladies had such an amazing outlet and place to play music, and it was really beautiful. I feel like that's not really available anymore and that outlet isn't there. We talk semi-jokingly, but semi-seriously, about making it happen. So stay tuned. I think that would be really magical." Read more here.
In the video, both rappers take over a Detroit-area roller rink, Royal Skate Land, for what looks to be the ultimate rap 'n roll party. The rink was one of DeJ Loaf's favorite spots growing up as a child.
Although in "Back Up" she raps about not being adept at social media, DeJ Loaf used that tool to find locals to participate in the video. Background dancers perform the city's Detroit Jit dance, including one father-daughter team that DeJ Loaf found via Instagram. Watch the video here.
Smith claims to have over 30 tracks recorded, of those "I have six or seven that I really like," he tells Zane Lowe. "I'm definitely interested in pushing the envelope of spittin'--how far can you go? I'ma keep giving it a shot up until I'm 70 or 80 years old," said Smith.
"I have so many things I want to say," he continued, "and I'm struggling to say them in a way that fit the flavor of music I tend to like. I'm from the era where it's 16 bars and hook, 16 bars and hook, bridge, hook, and out." Read more here.
Fetty Wap earned 129,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Oct. 1, according to Nielsen Music. The New Jersey-based rapper has burned up charts with a series of hit singles, including 'Trap Queen," '679" and 'My Way."
With his debut chart-topper, Fetty Wap becomes the first rapper to debut on the top on the Billboard 200 with a debut album since A$AP Rocky's Long.Live.A$AP in 2012.
Check out the top ten in this week's Billboard's 200 here.
The five page hand-written letter was written to Nina Bhadreshwar, who worked at Shakur's label Death Row Records. In part, Shakur wrote: "Thug Life to me is dead.
"If it's real, then let somebody else represent it, because I'm tired of it� Here is what my heart says at this time. It's long but it's true." The rapper goes on to explain how growing up in New York shaped his youth but a move to Los Angeles later brought him deeper into dangerous cultures.
Tupac would be killed in a drive-by shooting in September 1996, less than a year after the letter was written. Read more here.
Originally captured as part of a series of four-track recordings Cobain made in 1988 while living in Olympia, Washington, the demo will appear on the companion soundtrack to Brett Morgen's documentary "Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck", with both due November 13.
Cobain and Nirvana recorded several versions of "Sappy" before it surfaced as a hidden track on the 1993 AIDS-benefit compilation album "No Alternative" under the title "Verse Chorus Verse."
A 1993 recording later appeared on Nirvana's 2004 box set, "With The Lights Out", and the 20th anniversary editions of "Nevermind" in 2011 and "In Utero" in 2013.
"Kurt Cobain - Montage Of Heck: The Home Recordings" feature various early and raw cassette recordings made by Kurt alone, giving fans a glimpse into Cobain's creative process. Check out the "Sappy" demo stream here.
The "R40 Live" package captures the band in concert over two nights this past June, marking the first time Rush have filmed in their hometown of Toronto in almost 20 years.
Named after Rush's 40th anniversary box set, "R40", the tour may the last one of its size for the group. The title track to the band's 1991 album, "Roll The Bones (R40 Live)" features a variety of special guests in the rap part of the song, including Jay Baruchel (She's Out Of My League), Les Claypool (Primus), Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), The Trailer Park Boys, and Jason Segel & Paul Rudd (I Love You, Man). Watch the live video here.
The cover of the opening track from 1979's "The Wall" appeared during the finale of the group's headlining show on the first night of the event, which also saw appearances by Billy Idol, Royal Blood and Gary Clark Jr., among others.
The Foo Fighters will return to headline the second weekend of the annual Texas festival this Friday, October 9, with many of the same artists performing at both sessions.
The band are winding down a North American tour in support of 2014's "Sonic Highways." Shows wrap up in Castaic, CA on October 18 and then the group will launch a 2-week European swing in Amsterdam on November 5. Watch the jam of the Pink Floyd classic here.
He can't get used to leaving his three kids at home when he hits the road, but accepts he can't take the nine-year-old, the six-year-old and the four-year-old out of school to go with him.
Stanley tells 612 ABC Brisbane: "Sometimes at night, it's a bit of a struggle to not be home with my little ones. To pull them out just because I miss them would be selfish, and also detrimental. So I just try to limit the length of our tours."
He believes he's achieved a good balance that consists of being away for two or three weeks then home for four to eight weeks. "I spend more time with my children than most dads who work 9 to 5," he says. "I'm with my kids seven days a week when I'm home. I take them to school and pick them up. So I think the balance is pretty good." Read more and stream the full interview here.
The vocalist is recovering from an addiction to ketamine, which he owned up to last year, admitting he "wanted to die" at one point. Skyes tells Billboard: "For me, it had to get to its absolute worst for me to make a change. Hopefully others won't have to. This may sound like the lamest advice in the world - but, talk to someone. Figure out why you're addicted."
He insists that people aren't born or destined to become addicts and adds: "There's always an underlying problem, whether it's self-medicating, using it as a coping mechanism, or using it not to feel altogether.
"First work out what it is, then work out a healthy way to combat the problem." Read more here.
Mayer took to Twitter to express his appreciation on Sunday (Oct. 4). He capped off a series of tweets and high praise by crowning her set as a work of "whack genius."
Mayer quoted a line from the song, "Lighter" ('We never get to see ourselves sleeping peacefully next to the ones that we love" ) from Dead Petz to set the tone for his forthcoming loveliest.
'I'm totally transfixed by this Miley Cyrus album," he tweeted. 'This is why I love music." He wasn't just feeling the love, he was bent on sharing it. "You can be one artist one year and the next discover some crazy light inside yourself and shine it everywhere," he continued. 'You can't try to make something like this. You just tap the vein and don't question a single instinct."
"Okay. I'll stop tweeting about it now," he wrote, before offering his final comments. "Comes down to this: This is a masterwork of whack genius'Comes down to this: This is a masterwork of whack genius."
Check out Mayer's tweets here.
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