Day in Pop Report for 08/19/2014
Meek Mill, real name Robert Williams, was originally arrested in 2009 on drug and weapons charges, and was said to be in violation of his probation by the D.A. for "[posing] on Instagram with a gun, test[ing] positive for drugs, set[ting] up out-of-town show dates when the court asked him not to, and [he] did not keep a direct line of communication with his parole officer." The sentence for this violation was originally 3-6 months. The defense countered with "the gun in question was a prop for a video, the drugs were prescribed by a doctor and that Meek wasn't adequately informed by the court of the limitations for out-of-town bookings." Still, the request was denied by the judge in front of a packed courtroom. More.
It's no secret that both McCartney and West are fans of each other. Last October, during a Twitter Q&A, the Beatle admitted that one of the last albums he bought was West's. Meanwhile, West has referred to himself as the Black Beatle. Whether or not the world will get to hear their music is still to be determined. So what will a possible collab between McCartney and West sound like? It's anyone's guess, but one track is purportedly titled "Piss on My Grave." Another possibility.
But just when it seemed like we'd reached maximum Swift, the singer unleashed one last surprise at the end of the stream: the music video for "Shake It Off," her new single, had been shot two months ago and would premiere that very night. "Shake It Off"'s premiere included the singer dancing and prancing throughout the livestream's studio, so it's only fitting that the music video for the song features an equivalent amount of jiving. In fact, that's pretty much the entire premise of "Shake It Off" is: dancing. And Swift does it with all kinds of folks and in a million different dresses. There's the ballerina getup, the cheerleader, the Gaga-esque futuristic shot, the hip-hop video - you name it, Swift dances it. The video is for the first single off 1989, Swift's fifth album and first since 2012's Red. The album will be available Oct. 27 in stores. Check out the video here.
The band, led by Chris Martin, will perform songs from their latest album Ghost Stories, along with wide selection of hits from their previous five albums, from 2011's Mylo Xyloto, back to their massive debut album from 2000, Parachutes. A live broadcast of this performance will be available on CBS RADIO stations nationwide, or by downloading the Radio.com app for iOS, Android, and a variety of other mobile devices. If you want to come to the show, find out how to score tickets here.
The album, The Cowboy Rides Away: Live From AT&T Stadium, will be released on September 16th by MCA Nashville and will feature 20 songs that were recorded during the show. Straight was joined at the concert by special guests Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Eric Church, Martina McBride, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson and Ray Benson. Preorder the album here. Fans will also be able to watch a two-hour television special captured at the concert when CMT broadcasts "George Strait: The Cowboy Rides Away" on August 29th. Check your local listings for air time. more on this story
"Drunk On A Plane" has given the country music star his second consecutive chart topping hit single off of his latest studio album, "Riser" and the 12th No. 1 of his career. Bentley had this to say about this new milestone, "I think I knew even back when we were in the studio making this album that we were on to something special, but once you let it fly out into the world, you just never know what will happen." "First, 'I Hold On' came out and really hit people in an emotional, personal way, and I was totally blown away by all the stories I heard and how impactful some of those lyrics were for a lot of people. And now, the reaction to 'Drunk' has just been crazy�two VERY different songs that the fans have taken and made their own. "I'm just trying to live in every minute and soak it all in. In the few quiet minutes I've got, I spend a lot of time thinking about how grateful I am to be here doing this and how many people have supported me and my music. The guys in radio are first on that list�I'm beyond thankful for those relationships. 12 No. ones�crazy!"
The singer announced Sucker, her third LP, yesterday (Aug. 18) and released an accompanying new song, "Break the Rules." The new track has its electronic influences, pausing a bit on some of the '90s output of the Prodigy and others - mostly in its deep bass and percussion. The former simultaneously feels man- and computer-made. "I don't wanna go to school / I just wanna break the rules," she sings, her lyrics perhaps coincidentally paired with the return to school for many grade school- and college-aged children right about now. Check out the new track here.
Along the way, singer Paul Banks rails against tradition. "F**k the ancient ways," he sings as the guitar tones swell. It's quintessential Banks: rarely does he jump from more than a few-note vocal rage, though he does let loose a falsetto for a brief time about two-thirds through. The song is the second taste off Interpol's new record El Pintor, following first single "All the Rage Back Home." El Pintor, the first Interpol album since 2010, is out Sept. 9. Check out the new song here.
Supporting their latest gold-certified album, Pop Psychology, the fashionable four-piece will be joined by No Devotion, Echosmith, The Moth and the Flame and Fictionist. The 26-date tour will stretch all the way to Nov. 8 in Sioux City, Iowa. The Utah band's latest tour will see a mix of headlining slots as well as featured appearances on CBS Radio shows, including San Fransisco's Alice Radio and New York's Fresh-FM. more on this story
Deadmau5 followed the initial tweet with more thoughts on the track, adding such missives as "why can't these f-king pop acts just rip off Sandstorm or something?" in reference to Darude's massive 1999 hit, "Sandstorm," followed by, "whats this guy worth? a million or 2? even if i had no f-king talent whatsoever, bet i could find a f-king kid to 'make a beat' for 500$.' Amid the Twitter tirade, Deadmau5 also sent a message to fellow EDM hitmaker, Calvin Harris, simply saying, "I'm mad" with a sad-face emoji. That message led fans to believe that the cause of Deadmau5's derision is the melody to "Touchin, Lovin" (featuring Nicki Minaj) bearing a resemblance (albeit in slowed-down fashion) to Harris' 2009 single, "I'm Not Alone," particularly his own remix of said tune. More including the tweets here.
But Sheeran took a step even further into the rap world on Monday (August 18th) with the release of an official remix on "Don't," featuring a verse from Rick Ross. The original song is mostly intact - in fact, if you started listening at about a minute in, you might not know anything was different aside from a few exclamations from the rapper toward the end. But that's because the Miami wordsmith jumps in from the start of the remix, laying down a minute-long verse before the usual of "Don't" takes hold. "Killed your boy career / Still no arrest yet," Ross boasts over the song's acoustic guitar-driven beat. He adds, toward its end, a reference to Sheeran, whom he calls Ed Sizzle. Check out the remix here.
"Man, when those people kicked in and started singing 'Flora-Bama' back to me, that just hit me in the heart," Chesney said in a press release. "A year without touring takes me away from that, and those fans� whether they know it or not� inspire me. So having spent the year writing and recording, that was like plugging into the source." Chesney's No Shoes Nation came from all over to celebrate the country singer. Chesney performed for two-and-a-half hours with 32 songs that spanned his catalog, from "How Forever Feels" and "Don't Happen Twice" to "Old Blue Chair," "You and Tequila" and "When I See This Bar." Midway through the set, Chesney brought out co-writer David Lee Murphy, who wrote "Flora-Bama" off the new album The Big Revival with Chesney, to duet on "Dust on the Bottle" and "Party Crowd." more on this story
In the 15-second video, Keef is driving down the freeway, cigarette in hand, blasting the song, which he writes is called "Nobody" Almigh x Yee," the latter presumably being fellow Chicago rapper, Kanye. Kanye first worked with Keef back in 2011 when he remixed his song " Ye then recruited Keef for "Hold My Liquor" off Yeezus. Back in February, Keef was seen with Kanye and it was reported that the two were hard at work on Keef's new mixtape, Bang 3. Perhaps, this is the result. According to XXL, the heavily auto-tuned new track contains a sample from the 1973 Willie Hutch song "Brothas Gonna Work It Out" from the soundtrack of the Blaxploitation film, The Mack. Check out the preview clip here.
Now, the mysterious producer seems to be on the verge of satiating his legion of diehard fans with his first new proper Aphex Twin album since 2001 full-length, Drukqs. The first sign of imminent Aphex Twin activity came over the weekend, when blimps emblazoned with the artist's logo and "2014" were spotted flying over London and New York City. While excited fans clamored for theories behind the unexpected flying machines, Monday (August 18) the Aphex Twin Twitter account posted an internet link, which, according to Stereogum, leads to a site on the "deep web" that seems to indicate the tracklist and cover art for a new album. For users without the Tor browser needed to access the deep web, Pitchfork has located a much more easily accessible site, albeit one without the tracklist or album title, SYRO. More including the cover art here.
While the band's upcoming album, Junto, is set for release on Aug. 26, fans eager to hear what's in store can get an early listen to the full-length now courtesy of an advanced album stream, which is happening on Pitchfork. "Well, that's part of the reason we did this album," band member Felix Buxton told The Guardian about the current revival of classic house music that's sweeping the world. "But it's not like it ever really went away. Now it's all just very big and mainstream." more on this story
When Rob asked if Pierce was going to join the next installment of "Expendables," the actor confirmed he recently met with producer Avi Lerner in Bulgaria. Pierce said, "He offered me this job and I said, 'Sure, why not have me read the script? Let's talk money.'" He also talked about his role as an ex-CIA operative in "The November Man." Brosnan explained, "Peter Devereaux is a hard man, but an honest man and a good man� yet fractured and tortured and mangled by being an operative. He's a sassy operative, a cultured badass." more on this story
"Spotless Mind" was released yesterday (Aug. 18) prior to its anticipated release on iTunes today, Aug. 19. Aiko originally debuted the song at Coachella back in April. The new song keeps with Aiko's usual chilled-0ut R&B vibes, this time also wrangling a '70s-esque electric guitar for some background noise. "I'm a wanderer," she repeats on the chorus, crooning a tune about reverting back to a bit of a clean slate - the "spotless mind" that's referenced in the title. Souled Out is now due out Sept. 9 after an original release date set for Aug. 26. Check out the new track here.
In the 50-second black and white clip, they keep with the film noir theme as Beyonc� channels Nancy Sinatra singing "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" in a glittery floorlength gown as Jay blows cigar smoke in the shadows. The trailer eventually kicks into high gear with one lone gunshot that launches us into quick shots of the two performing. Bey's showing off her all her moves, while Jay's got everyone putting up their diamonds. The HBO special will consist of concert footage shot at the duo's two-night residency at the Stade de France in Paris on Sept. 12-13. The concert special airs September 20 at 9 pm EST. Watch the trailer here.
In an interview with the Daily Star (via DigitalSpy), Cowell predicted that One Direction will split up after at least two more albums, one of which is currently in the process of being created. "Bands don't stay together forever," Cowell said in the interview. "I think they will make at least two more albums together and they are in the middle of one right now." He added that he didn't think the breakup would necessarily be because of Harry Styles and a solo career - and believes that, eventually, all five will record solo records. More on this story.
Their more somber take even featured a little lyrical switcheroo as Flowers sang, "From Vegas to Staffordshire" instead of "L.A. to Tokyo." The few second cover ended with Vannucci stretched out on the floor underneath Flower's lightening bolt keyboard. "What do you think?" Flowers asked. "I think it's a hit." Probably not the song of the summer or even as inventive as Weird Al's "Handy," which takes I-G-G-Y's hit song and makes it a wannabe carpenter's anthem. But, it's something that's for sure. Check out The Killers version here.
Share this article 
Click here to read today's full Day in Rock report tell a friend about this article
...end |
On the Blue: New Horizons Cruise Days 4 & 5: Starship Lands on the Pearl, Alan Parsons Takes It Home
Kandace Springs - Run Your Race
On the Blue: New Horizons Cruise Day 1: Marbin Gets the Fun Started
Hot In The City: Prog Band Tu-Ner Coming to Phoenix
blink-182 Launching North American Stadium And Arena Tour
Watch David Gilmour's 'The Piper's Call' Video
Check Out Powerman 5000 'Dancing Like We're Dead'
The String Cheese Incident Take Fans On Epic 'Roll Around The Sun'
Watch Motley Crue's 'Dogs Of War' Video
Richie Sambora Returns With 'I Pray', The First Of Four New Songs
The Smashing Pumpkins Reveal New Guitarist
Linkin Park Top Hard Rock And Vinyl Albums Charts With Papercuts
