Get ready for a plethora of new music this spring. Some of the biggest names in music will be releasing new material in the coming months. Check it out:
Erykah Badu 3/30
Slash 4/6
Jakob Dylan 4/6
MGMT 4/13
Willie Nelson 4/20
Hole 4/27
Melissa Etheridge 4/27
The New Pornographers 5/4
Court Yard Hounds 5/4
The Black Keys 5/18
Stone Temple Pilots 5/25
Tom Petty (May)
Devo (May)
Band Of Horses (May)
Drake (May)
Maroon 5 (June)
Mark Ronson (June)
Sara Bareilles (June)
Christina Aguilera (Spring)
Katy Perry (Spring/Summer)
Mar 30, 2010
Spring To Bloom New Music
Mar 22, 2010
THE RUNAWAYS: SEX, DRUGS and ROCK 'N' ROLL
Many have heard of Joan Jett or Lita Ford, but few probably know that they started out in the same all-girl teenage rock band in LA called The Runaways. Now thanks to the new movie of the same name and a little TWILIGHT star power (Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning as lead singer Cherie Currie), the story of the first female rock band is being told.
The band only lasted four years, but they changed the music industry forever. The movie chronicles the girls through their formation, rise to fame, hard partying lifestyle and turbulent relationship with manager Kim Fowley (Oscar nominee Michael Shannon). It marks the feature film directorial debut for Floria Sigismondi, the music video veteran who wrote the screenplay based on Currie's book Neon Angel. Jett served as executive producer to help guide Stewart and the rest of the cast.
The end result lived up to expectation even though the film is a bit choppy. Stewart shines as the tough as nails Jett, while Dakota Fanning is almost unrecognizable as Currie. The film doesn't shy away from the teenage girls graphic drug use and sexual experimentation. It's a raw look at the 1970's male dominated rock 'n' roll scene and how one girl (Jett) and one band (The Runaways) defied the odds.
...........and I personally would love to see a biopic on Jett that picks up where THE RUNAWAYS left off. TBC....
Update 3/29/2010: THE RUNAWAYS received four MTV Movie Award nominations.
Mar 11, 2010
THE UK CHART
I'm always looking for new music and that task can be overwhelming at times because there are sooooo many places to look. One stop that I always make however is the current UK Top 100 Singles Chart.
I think most would agree that Europe's musical taste is quite different then America's. Sure top U.S. hits like Owl City's "Fireflies" make the chart, but the UK list has far less bubble gum corporate crap. Instead you'll find a much more diverse chart that contains a lot of really cool electronic pop/rock material.
I scan the artists, write down the ones I don't know and then head to their MySpace music page. If I like what I hear, I'll pop over to iTunes or a similar service and buy the music. If the majority of the tracks sound good, I'll hop over to Amazon (U.S. or UK) and pick up the album.
Over the years, I've discovered many artists on the UK Chart including Calvin Harris, Florence + the Machine, La Roux, Frankmusik and English electropop sensation Little Boots.
Anytime a new artist strikes me, I always check to see if they are on tour and note their LA date. Last night, Little Boots stopped by The El Rey theater with her flashy costumes and laser light show. Vocally, she wasn't as strong live, but the thing that struck me was how full the venue was. It was packed and Little Boots, to my knowledge has never been played on commercial LA radio and has never landed on the Billboard chart.
Looks like others are searching for new music too, which is great for all musicians!
P.S. The opening act Dragonette was cool too, so the UK Chart is like the gift that keeps on giving :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
