Day in Pop Report for 02/14/2011
The evening began with a tribute to the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, but by the time the last of the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards was handed out on Feb. 13, several other singers and bands looked something like royalty. Foremost among them was Lady Antebellum, which walked away with three trophies while the group members earned two more each for songwriting categories. During a show memorable for its range of fully fueled performances, the country superstars sang a pitch-perfect medley of tunes that ended with a quiet rendition of the song that launched them, "Need You Now," and shortly afterward collected the Song of the Year Grammy for it (along with co-writer Josh Kear, with whom they also took Best Country Song). But there was plenty more to come for the trio. They also took home the Grammy for Best Country Album for Need You Now. Accepting that award, lead singer Charles Kelley said, "This song has completely flipped our world upside down." By the time Lady Antebellum stood up to collect a trophy for Record Of The Year for "Need You Now," they were in disbelief, and possibly discombobulated: "Oh my gosh, we're so stunned we started walking the wrong direction," said singer Hillary Scott breathlessly. more including winner list
Its very rare that a song just comes to me. I am a notoriously slow, meticulous songwriter. I spend entirely too much time making sure each word is the right word not only that it makes sense lyrically but also that it sounds right in the context of the song. "Burn it Down" however was a song that essentially wrote itself. Doomtree, has weekly meetings to update everybody on the work that has been done over the past week and work that needs to be done. They are the dull but essential side of working in this business. We often try to make them somewhat rewarding when we finish with the business and have drinks, play each other tracks, etc. After this particular meeting in the summer of 2009 Lazerbeak was playing me a batch of new beats he'd made. I was sitting smoking cigarettes in his Camry with Paper Tiger when he played he beat for what would become this song. I vividly remember losing my mind hearing it, so was Paper Tiger. Beak sat there ginning, he knew he made a banger. I knew this was the one, and probably the one that would shape the rest of the sonic landscape of my album. I got home later that night and put the beat on repeat for about an hour, then turned on Blonde on Blonde and passed out. The next morning I woke up and wrote this song. I was looking out my window at the abandoned warehouses across the street and the lyrics started to pour out. I wrote for maybe two or three hours straight; it was one of those rare moments where I stated and finished the song in one session without having to go back and change anything. And oddly enough that night I began to think of a video treatment for it, sort of a basic predator/prey situation but with a classic Shyamalan twist (just kidding). You can check out the video below. I'm fairly sure the lyrics in the song will do a better job at explaining the song than I can now but basically the song is about people and their environments. About the distinctions sub-groups of people make between themselves that ultimately distract them from seeing the threads of commonality that tie them together. It's about being distracted by our differences in gender, race or sexual orientation or being distracted by commoditized goods or trying to find our place. It is not my attempt at a call to arms so much as a call to open up dialogue. Its about losing your safe place and taking a chance with other people and abandoning outmoded lines of thought in order to get something accomplished. It's pretty much about partying. Its one of the cornerstone tracks on Bad Time Zoo and helps establish the sonic and thematic environment on the album and it's one of my favorite songs I've written. Hope you like it, thanks for reading. Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!
The new dates include a very special hometown show on April 9th at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles and a headlining appearance at The Bamboozle festival on April 29th in East Rutherford, NJ. The band will play new single "Closer to the Edge" for the first time live on U.S. television on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on Feb. 18th followed by a performance on Lopez Tonight on Feb. 22nd. more on this story
Dubbed Run and Return and directed by Michael Thelin and Jose Louis Rios, this short documentary features Matisyahu's thoughtful reflections on his creative philosophy, celebrated career and musical synergy with his band Dub Trio, who also share their thoughts on their unique musical partnership with Matisyahu. The behind-the-scenes footage, filmed while on tour in the summer of 2010, captures the Grammy-nominated artist as he prepares to return to the famed music venue Stubb's in Austin, TX, to record Live at Stubb's Vol. II. The live CD/DVD, just released February 1st , is the second installment in his signature Live at Stubb's series. more on this story
More than 50 years after its initial airing on television, the estate of Nat King Cole plans to digitally release The Nat King Cole Show on iTunes on Tuesday, February 15, 2011, which marks the 46th Anniversary of Cole's passing in 1965. These rare television shows, largely unseen in their entirety since their initial airings in the 1950s are being presented for the first time digitally re-mastered from the original kinescopes. We have Cole's widow, Maria Cole, to thank for savings these shows and for helping to preserve the legacy of her late husband. "I knew these TV shows were too important to have something happen to them, so that's way I held on them all these years. And I'm so excited that they will be seen exactly they were first seen back in 1956-1957. And Nat never looked or sounded better in those shows. It's just a shame that the show lasted just a little more than a year," says Maria Cole, who currently resides in Florida. more on this story
ABKCO Records will release 16 Year Old Soul, the album that launched the recording career of the remarkable Billy Preston on February 22. The release marks the album's availability for the first time in more than 45 years. more on this story
Solar was conceived during the hottest summer of our lifetime in Helsinki's Kulttuuritalo ("House of Culture"), a historical brick-walled venue designed by Finnish architect giant Alvar Aalto in the 1950's. Kulttuuritalo is best known for hosting concerts of historical artists such as John Coltrane, Queen, Frank Zappa, Gil Evans and Jimi Hendrix. Fittingly then, Solar, produced and recorded by the band themselves and mixed by Ben Allen (Animal Collective, Deerhunter, Gnarls Barkley) absolutely cooks. more on this story
Fans in the US can download the single right now for free when they pre-ordering the Born This Way album from Target.com, where the release is being sold as an exclusive deluxe version with three additional studio tracks and five remixes. Little monsters in the US and internationally can also snag the single on iTunes now. Born This Way, the album, is due out May 23rd. On Feb. 19th, Gaga will hit the road in North America once again for the final leg of the Monster Ball Tour. http://www.ladygaga.com
Wilson joins a growing chorus of celebrities, professional athletes, politicians, business leaders and Americans who are getting THEIR boots on for our troops.
Musiq's sixth album will be heralded by the first single, "Anything (Feat. Swizz Beatz)." The track � produced by Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis (Wyclef Jean, Justin Bieber, T.I.) � is now available via iTunes. "Anything" is already looking like another major hit for Musiq, having just made a bulleted debut on Billboard's "R&B/Hip-Hop Songs" chart based on radio airplay audience as measured by Nielsen BDS.
The tour includes shows in New York at The Knitting Factory (3/13) and a sold out show at Mercury Lounge (3/14) with Bombay Bicycle Club and numerous performances at Austin, Texas' SXSW Music Festival. One Hundred Suns is now available on limited-edition turquoise marble vinyl. more on this story
After recently premiering on Cinema Blend, DeWitt's two-disc Cold Weather score - one disc of the official score and another of demos - can now downloaded here, while an MP3 of the "End Credits" can be streamed and downloaded directly here.
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