Day in Pop Report for 10/21/2014
As Lorde's made clear, the song was inspired by a photo in National Geographic of Kansas City Royals third baseman, George Brett. The photo, which was taken by photographer Ted Spiegel, appeared in an article about Kansas City in July 1976 and shows Brett signing baseballs for a crowd of fans. Lorde said the word "Royals" on his jersey struck a chord with her and inspired her to write the song. Lorde got a chance to meet Brett before her show in Las Vegas, even getting in a photo with the retired player. But, San Fran seems concerned that the song could add extra fuel to Kansas City's fire, that's why two local radio stations in the area have announced that they will become a "Lorde-free zone" throughout the series, according to Billboard. Read more here.
This frustration came when a fan lobbed a full beer at the singer, hitting him directly in the face. "Who threw the beer?" Lynch asked during his cover of Garth Brooks' "Friends In Low Places." Midway through walking down the catwalk, a loud "Ow!" was heard from Lynch. Bleeding, Lynch pointed to the area the beer came from and tried to find the culprit - but to no avail. "I'm going to keep singing," he says while bleeding. "What was the point of that, man?" Later that night, Lynch thanked fans on Twitter for their concern, before telling PEOPLE Magazine what had happened. Read more and watch video here.
The news comes just as the band is gearing up to release a their Start Together box set - out today - a decade-spanning, 3,000-copy limited edition deluxe vinyl set of remastered editions of each of their seven albums. The new album No Cities to Love, produced by John Goodsmanson, who's worked with the band before, is out Jan. 20. "We sound possessed on these songs, willing it all - the entire weight of the band and what it means to us-back into existence," Brownstein said in a press release. Read more and check out the video for the first track here.
Think you know what the song's about from the title? You're probably right. The track features Swift running down the reasons why she loves the city so much, painting a glitzy, worry-free portrait. Don't necessarily expect the song to become the new city anthem like "Empire State of Mind" did a few years back, but as far as free PR for your city, New York could do much worse than a co-sign from one of the world's biggest pop stars at this moment. "Welcome to New York," she sings. "It's been waiting for you!" Listen here.
The release, appropriately titled Ghost Stories Live 2014 after their recent record, will feature not only a CD of live performances, but a movie directed by Paul Dugdale, who also worked on the 2012 Mylo Xyloto film. The film will feature footage from a concert held in Los Angeles before the release of the album. Some of this footage may look familiar to fans who checked out the television special pegged to the album's release, which aired on NBC last May. Their is also a DVD featuring music videos, including previously unreleased clips for B-sides like "All Your Friends" and "Ghost Story," along with a director's cut of the "Magic" video, which happens to feature a cameo from actor Peter Fonda. Watch the trailer for the release and check out the complete tracklist for the CD/DVD here.
According to the Nashville Tennessean, Craft died Saturday at Saint Thomas Midtown Hospital after years of health issues. Craft wrote songs for such country artists as Bobby Bare, Mark Chesnutt, Ray Stevens, Alison Krauss, Skeeter Davis, Trisha Yearwood, Moe Bandy and Gail Davies. Songs of his also earned a spot on albums by such rock artists as the Eagles ("Midnight Flyer" from On the Border) and Linda Rondstadt ("Keep Me from Blowing Away" from Heart Like a Wheel). "Keep Me from Blowing Away" was among Craft's better-known songs, having been cut by not only Ronstadt but Willie Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis and bluegrass group the Seldom Scene, who actually recorded the song first. "Linda Ronstadt met John Starling, who's in the Seldom Scene," Craft explained during a 2012 video interview. "He sang her 'Keep Me from Blowing Away.' And she said, 'I want to do that!'" Another notable Craft song is "Brother Jukebox," a hit for Mark Chesnutt in 1991 (though it was originally recorded by Don Everly of the Everly Brothers in 1977). Craft was also nominated twice in the same year (1977) for a GRAMMY for two more of his best-known songs "Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life" and "Dropkick Me, Jesus (through the goal posts of life)." The latter was a top 20 country hit in 1976 for Bobby Bare. "He was sittin' in a bar in Memphis and heard a guy say that," singer T. Graham Brown said during a recent performance (in a video posted to YouTube), talking about how Craft came to write "Dropkick Me Jesus." Then he "went and wrote it." Read more here.
Now Jackson is taking the celebration on the road starting early next year with his Keepin' It Country Tour. The tour kicks off Jan. 8 in Fort Myers, Fla., with stops planned in Los Angeles, Dallas and Salt Lake City, among other cities. Currently the tour wraps up May 17 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Denver, though additional dates and stops may be added as well. Jon Pardi and Brandy Clark will join Jackson on the tour as opening acts. The set list will include songs from throughout Jackson's career, including such significant hits of his as "Here In The Real World," "Chattahoochee," "Drive," "Gone Country," "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" and "Good Time." If lucky, listeners may also get a taste of Jackson's 2013 release The Bluegrass Album. More including the dates here.
While the last time around Goulding was making kissy faces with Harris things have seemed to have gotten a wee bit darker. "I'll show you what it feels like," she sings, "now I'm on the outside." Not that you would get the sense that things were on the downward slope with Harris' peppy beat featuring some electric strings and marching band drums. Listen to "Outside" here.
Aldean's new jaunt will kick off Feb. 12 in Greenville, S.C., at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Cole Swindell and Tyler Farr will support Aldean on the tour. A handful of other specific tour dates have been announced, with other cities revealed but not announced in terms of venues and calendar dates. More information will be revealed in the coming weeks, a press release promises. Tickets are now available for the shows in Greenville and in Bossier City, La. Presale and ticket information has been revealed for Aldean's Feb. 21 show in Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena. Check out the dates here.
Consequence of Sound calls attention to "This is Not a Game," released Monday (Oct. 20). The track, the newest taste of the Mockingjay soundtrack, is helmed by the Chemical Brothers, with Miguel handling vocals and Lorde providing a few moments of her own. Meanwhile, the Chemical Brothers handle the production side, making a much-anticipated comeback after a few years away. The track is the newest from the Hunger Games soundtrack that Lorde curated, due out Nov. 18. Listen here.
On the track, which she co-wrote with Blanco, Tedder and Noel Zancanella, Stefani asks for a little honesty. "Baby, tell me there's nothing but love," she sings before bringing on the "ooohs" and a few howls. Stefani will make a special appearance at CBS Radio's We Can Survive show at the Hollywood Bowl this Friday (Oct. 24) alongside Taylor Swift, Pharrell, Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea, Sia, Paramore, Alicia Keys and Lady Antebellum. Listen to "Baby Don't Lie" here.
The paper reports he's got many projects in the works in addition to the Gorillaz album, including writing a West End musical theater adaptation of a children's book and a new record from his The Good, the Bad & the Queen project. What is not on tap, Albarn says, is new music from Blur. "I would imagine there's some kind of future but at the moment there's no time for the future - only the present," Albarn said of Blur. Read more here.
The quip was appropriate, as the pop star had just finished performing her own song entitled "Don't You Want to Stay." She did not, however, go on to cover Lisa Loeb or Charli XCX, though. Sam Smith's version of the song still sits in the top 10 on the Billboard 200, and while Clarkson's soulful, husky-voiced rendition is not quite the vocal show-off that Smith's smooth, effortless version is, Clarkson's voice has enough personality (as does she, exemplified by the banter before the song) to more than make for a fun interpretation. Watch a video of the cover here.
"[It] was force-fed down people's throats," Blunt said to Hello Magazine (via Spin), "and it became annoying, and then people start to associate the artist with the same word." Such is the plight of many artists with one massive, inescapable hit. It is just rare that the artist joins the throngs of people bemoaning a track as being played out. Blunt aimed to change the perception of him on his latest album, 2013's Moon Landing. Whether he was successful is debatable. Read more here.
James finds his way back to the gym at his old high school, St. Vincent-St. Mary, as Hozier's vocal on his hit song "Take Me to Church" swoops in. He's seen in the weight room as flashbacks to his life in Akron are shown onscreen. A final shot reminds viewers that the basketball gym at the school has been renamed the LeBron James Arena. James returns to Cleveland basketball for the first time in four years. He left the team in 2010 to become a free agent, later signing with the Miami Heat and winning a pair of NBA titles. His return to Ohio has been heralded by many as a return home and perhaps a return to form for the Cavaliers, who have struggled since James' departure. Watch the video clip here.
Michael Costello, a former contestant on Project Runway, bought a dress from up-and-coming designer Maxine James. She was miffed when he a posted a nearly identical version on Instagram, without crediting her. She responded with a long post, Eurweb reports: "As a designer [you] should know first hand how heart breaking it is for ppl to take something you worked so hard on �..It's like why? Who does that?" In response, Costello allegedly lashed out at her, according to a screenshot purportedly of his Instagram page. "Your just probably a dumb n-er defending her," the screenshot shows Costello's account saying. "I am royalty b-h! I dressed Beyonc�! Who are they gonna believe!" Stephanie Costello, Michael Costello's partner, claimed the screenshot is fake, created by a former intern. Read more here.
"I'm certain I'mma get it/ Bout to kill it," promises Mill, looking towards the future from behind bars. "Close the curtains/ All these clown a** n****s/ We should put you in the circus." The ferocity of his lyrical approach is matched only by the production, courtesy of D&D. The song sounds like a mix between DJ Mustard's snappy low-slung club anthems and the revving synths of festival EDM. Read more and listen here.
Asked about the breakup, he expressed a positive outlook. "I think sometimes in life things are placed in our lives as a lesson, so you've got to take every negative experience and turn that thing into a positive," he said. Would he write songs bout the situation? "Oh, 100 percent," he explained. "I'm somebody who cannot keep those two things separate. Like, I have to put it on paper, put it on wax, put it in my songs. I cannot separate the two. My creativity, my personality won't allow me to separate the two." Read more here.
This song is about sexual anticipation, specifically the sexual tension between two long-time friends. Wondering if and when the guy is going to take an action to transition the friendship into a romance. I think that the time before a platonic relationship moves into a sexual one has to be one of the most exciting, painful and charged times to experience. I'm singing about a man I'd known for a good 6 or 7 years, one or both of us dating someone most of that time, and for a while living in different cities. Always with some sexual tension between us, but the line was never crossed. Then we found ourselves single and living in the same city. The thing is - despite a few really close interactions, romance did not transpire between us. I feel that it would have if I'd made the first move, but I was pretty determined that he and not I, initiate. I was trying out this because I'd read about an idea, that when it comes to early stages of a relationship between men and women, if a man isn't courageous enough, vulnerable enough to make the first move, (be it physical or verbal) then his heart really isn't in it, and down the line when the stakes are higher, he'll demonstrate that he is not the ideal long-term partner for that particular woman, and it will all fall apart anyway. This is just one completely general idea that might be so wrong in so many situations, but it was a useful and interesting (mostly impossible) exercise for me, because I'm often the one who takes things to the next place, if you know what I'm saying. I think this concept does hold some truth for a few reasons, and even though a desire might be strong, I like the idea of 'standing by' so as to not waste a bunch of time with a man who is ambivalent about putting his feelings on the line. (This is all of course, if we're talking about, and interested in, a long-term partnership). 'I'm the one you'll turn to' is sort of a creepy and psychotic line. But I was pretty convinced. I liked the thought of this man as my partner. There was a woman he was dating on and off, and they seemed to bring out terrible things in each other - and I thought, "Wow she's so critical of everything you do, but I've known you for ages and I see and accept you as you are". He'd had a history of being in these very tumultuous, dramatic relationships and I thought, "Well, I can wait for him to grow out of this." He was in the US, and I was in England for some of the time we were flirting, and I was staying at my parents place deep in the countryside, writing this song about my feelings around him. I was seriously jet-lagged and enjoyed staying up until 4am for a few nights, with headphones at the dining room table writing this as I recorded it. I started with the drum machine beat, then a rough melody. (I vaguely imagined the vocal to be like the detached-sounding female backing vocal in the Prince song 'Pop Life') I had a great time building the beat over time, making it more substantial and danceable. The bass sound and parts were supposed to be temporary, but I really got attached to them. The piano (super low bass notes and sparkly verbed-out high stuff) was recorded in the Withyham Village Hall, near where my parents used to live. I paid the care-taker lady �10 to use the piano for a bit. With only one mic stand but two mics, I jimmied up a contraption whereby the other mic could dangle into the piano from a stick trapped into other bits of wood on a shelf. It worked well, I really like the piano tone. It's probably out of tune, but it does the trick! I do think that sexual / romantic energy is really the same raw material as creative energy. In this case I'm really glad that I didn't make the first move and potentially go down a dead-end path with him, because instead, I made this song. Alchemy! Though he's heard 'Thrills', the guy subject has no idea about it being about him, and I believe he'd never suspect it. Meanwhile, a few of my other male friends think it's about them. No, it's not! Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself as you watch the video here and learn more about El May and her new album right here!
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