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Today brings the release of Chris Cornell, a new career-spanning retrospective box set collecting some of the music legend’s most notable songs, including his work in Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Temple of the Dog, in addition to 11 previously unreleased selections. One of those unreleased tracks is called “When Bad Does Good”, which was uncovered by Cornell’s wife, Vicky, after she was reminded of its existence by her husband’s friend, actor Josh Brolin. Now, to coincide with today’s box set release, the Chris Cornell Estate has unveiled an accompanying video for “When Bad Does Good”, starring Cornell’s son, Christopher Cornell Jr. Cornell Jr. portrays a younger version of his father as a paper boy in Seattle. Various Lyrics and mementoes from Cornell’s career are interspersed throughout the video. Watch it below. “For me this video represents my dad and all the art he created throughout his life and what his music meant then and what it means now, not just to me and my family but the city of Seattle and all of his fans,” Cornell Jr. said in a statement. “I wanted to highlight an aspect of Chris’ talents often overshadowed by his more obvious virtues (e.g., his monstrous guitar chops, operatic vocal range or commanding physical presence), which is his place as one of this generation’s greatest lyricists….but do it within a specific context that turned a simple, straightforward journey through the streets of Seattle into a eulogy, of sorts, with mystical undertones,” added Kevin Kerslake, who directed the video. You can stream the full Chris Cornell box set here. A tribute concert honoring the rock legend is scheduled to take place in Los Angeles next month, featuring Foo Fighters, Metallica, and Ryan Adams, along with members of Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Temple of the Dog. Source
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Although he recently claimed that John Lennon only complimented his songwriting one time, Paul McCartney still has a lot of love for his longtime friend. That’s why their relationship inspired him to pen “Dear Friend”, the closing track from Wings’ 1971 debut, Wild Life. Now, McCartney has shared a pair of previously unheard versions of “Dear Friend” pulled from the upcoming massive deluxe reissue of the album. Set for a December 7th release (alongside a similarly expanded, remastered edition of 1973’s Red Rose Speedway), Wild Life has been remastered in full at Abbey Road studios. It features 25 bonus tracks, including rough mixes, original single edits, B-sides, home recordings and other previously unreleased material. Amongst those additional songs are a new remaster and home demo versions of “Dear Friend”. McCartney detailed the somber process of revisiting “Dear Friend” in a press release: “With ‘Dear Friend’, that’s sort of me talking to John after we’d had all the sort of disputes about The Beatles breakup. I find it very emotional when I listen to it now. I have to sort of choke it back. I remember when I heard the song recently, listening to the roughs [remastering works-in-progress] in the car. And I thought, ‘Oh God.’ That lyric: ‘Really truly, young and newly wed.’ Listening to that was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s true!’ I’m trying to say to John, ‘Look, you know, it’s all cool. Have a glass of wine. Let’s be cool.’ And luckily we did get it back together, which was like a great source of joy because it would have been terrible if he’d been killed as things were at that point and I’d never got to straighten it out with him. This was me reaching out. So, I think it’s very powerful in some very simple way. But it was certainly heartfelt.” Stream the new and demo versions of the track — along with a home recording of “Indeed, I Do” performed alongside Linda McCartney — below. You can grab a copy of the Wild Life deluxe reissue here. Source
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Download | Listen and subscribe via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | RSS On today’s special trio episode of Kyle Meredith With…, Kyle speaks with three bands who released critical albums in the year 1988: James, Big Country, and The Church. James’ Tim Booth talks about the humanitarian themes of their newer music, and the importance of their ’88 album, Strip-mine, in the mythology of the band. Kyle jumps back in time again with The Church’s Steve Kilbey, who discusses their classic 1988 record, Starfish, and how “going against the zeitgeist” of that time crafted their unique sound. To finish out the episode, Bruce Watson of Big Country chats with Kyle about their album Peace in Our Time and its groundbreaking effect when the group became one of the first to tour in Russia. Kyle Meredith With… is an interview series in which WFPK’s Kyle Meredith speaks to a wide breadth of musicians. Each episode, Meredith digs deep into an artist’s work to find out how the music is made and where their journey is going, from legendary artists like Robert Plant, Paul McCartney, U2 and Bryan Ferry, to the newer class of The National, St. Vincent, Arctic Monkeys, Haim, and Father John Misty. Check back Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for new episodes. Rate the series now via iTunes. Follow on Facebook | Podchaser | Twitter James: Big Country: The Church: Source
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Gerard Way has spent a few years away from the spotlight since the release of his debut solo album, Hesitant Alien, in 2014. Now, though, a new solo project from the My Chemical Romance frontman appears to be on the horizon. Though official details still have yet to be revealed, the new effort was previewed by a surprise lead single, “Baby You’re a Haunted House” in October. Now, a second track has arrived in the form of “Getting Down the Germs”. It seems that with every new solo release, Way gets further and further away from his roots; “Getting Down the Germs” features bongo flourishes beneath his signature whispered snarl as the track turns into a melodic ’90s-inspired ballad, building up to a surprising flute solo. “I had really been wanting a song that featured the flute prominently for quite some time,” Way said of the track in a press release. “It sits in there perfectly, like it was made to pay the song a visit. The whole song reminds me of wiggling squiggling wormy germs. It’s a very calm affair that shows a peek into where I may be heading musically. I hope you enjoy it. It was fun to make.” Listen to “Getting Down the Germs” via its puppet-featuring lyric video. Source
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The Killers are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their triple platinum third album, Day & Age, with a deluxe reissue. Due out December 14th via Island/UMe, the new version of the 2008 record will be pressed onto double-LP for the first time and feature three bonus tracks. The additional bonus tracks include “Forget About What I Said”, the B-side to “A Dustland Fairytale”; “Human” B-side “A Crippling Blow”; and “Joy Ride (Night Version)”, which backed “The World We Live In”. The reissue will be available on both standard 180g black vinyl and on limited-edition silver-gray vinyl. Both versions will be housed in hardcover cases with patterned foil finishes; just like the band member portraits on the inner sleeves, your face will be reflected in the shimmering cover. To preview the release, The Killers have released three “eSingles” highlighting three key tracks from Day & Age in the form of “Joy Ride”, “Human”, and “Spaceman”. “Joy Ride (Night Version)” is making its digital debut, while “Human” boasts six remixes and a B-side not currently available digitally (“A Crippling Blow”). Meanwhile, the “Spaceman” eSingle features a cover of Bright Eyes’ “Four Winds” alongside remixes by Tiesto, Sander Van Doorn, and Bimbo Jones. Pre-orders for the reissue are now ongoing. The Day & Age 10th anniversary reissue artwork and tracklist can be found below, followed by Apple Music and Spotify streams of the eSingles. Day & Age 10th Anniversary Reissue Artwork: Day & Age 10th Anniversary Reissue Tracklist: Side 1 01. Losing Touch 02. Human 03. Spaceman Side 2 01. Joy Ride 02. A Dustland Fairytale 03. This Is Your Life 04. I Can’t Say Side 3 01. Neon Tiger 02. The World We Live In 03. Goodnight, Travel Well Side 4 01. A Crippling Blow (Bonus track; B-side from the “Human” single) 02. Forget About What I Said (Bonus track; B-side from the “A Dustland Fairytale” single) 03. Joy Ride (Night Version) (Bonus track; B-side from the “The World We Live In” single) “Spaceman” eSingle: “Human” eSingle: “Joy Ride (Night Version)” eSingle: Source
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Papa Roach have been teasing fans throughout fall with a couple new songs, “Who Do You Trust?” and “Renegade Music,” and now, the guys have announced full details on their new album. The California rockers will release their 10th studio album — called Who Do You Trust? — on January 18th via Eleven Seven. Who Do You Trust? will feature 12 new tracks, including the just-released song “Not the Only One,” which you can stream below. The new album comes fairly soon after the release of Papa Roach’s ninth studio set, Crooked Teeth, which dropped in May 2017. As for the short time between albums, frontman Jacoby Shaddix recently told Rock Sound, “We were supposed to go on tour with Of Mice & Men at the beginning of the Crooked Teeth cycle – and former vocalist Austin Carlile got really sick, so the tour was canceled.” He added, “We were, like, ‘If we’re not going to be out on the road, let’s go create.’ So we went in and created five or six songs. Then we went back in June and July and took another stab at it. We have 12 songs – there’s bangers in there.” Pre-orders for Who Do You Trust? are available here. As previously reported, Papa Roach will hit the road with Shinedown and Asking Alexandria for a North American trek in 2019. Dates can be found here. Who Do You Trust? Artwork: Who Do You Trust? Tracklist: 01. The Ending 02. Renegade Musi 03. Not The Only One 04. Who Do You Trust? 05. Elevate 06. Come Around 07. Feel Like Home 08. Problems 09. Top Of The World 10. I Suffer Well 11. Maniac 12. Better Than Life Source
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William Goldman, one of the most prolific screenwriters in Hollywood and a two-time Oscar winner for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President’s Men, passed away on Thursday night in his Manhattan home. He was 87. According to Deadline, Goldman was surrounded by family and friends at the time of his death, and his health had been deteriorating since the summer. Born on August 12, 1931 in Chicago, Illinois, Goldman began writing after taking a creative writing course in college. As an editor for Oberlin’s literary magazine, he would often submit short stories anonymously, only to listen to his fellow peers remark negatively about his work. In 1956, Goldman graduated Columbia University after completing an MA thesis on the comedy of manners in America. That same year, he published his first novel, The Temple of Gold, which was published by Knopf after Goldman agreed to double its length. His career had begun. Goldman would go on to publish two more novels, 1958’s Your Turn to Curtsy, My Turn to Bow, which he wrote in a little over a week, and 1960’s autobiographical Soldier in the Rain, which was turned into a feature film starring Jackie Gleason and Steve McQueen. Around this time, Goldman began suffering from writer’s block while working on Boys and Girls Together. Fortunately for him, both he and his brother James Goldman received a grant to work with the 1960 stage musical Tenderloin, which they helped rewrite. From there, the two brothers began collaborating on an original play, 1961’s Blood, Sweat, and Stanley Poole, and another musical written by John Kander called A Family Affair in 1962. Both only had short runs. Although Goldman’s writing block persisted, he wound up writing another novel instead, 1964’s No Way to Treat a Lady, which he wrote it in two weeks and published under his own Butch Cassidy-inspired pseudonym Harry Longbaugh. Not only was that a best seller, but Goldman found it in him to finally finish Boys and Girls Together, which also went on to become a hit. However, it was an early screenplay draft of No Way to Treat a Lady that brought Goldman to Hollywood. It caught the eye of Cliff Robertson, who hired Goldman to adapt Flowers for Algernon, to which Goldman would eventually write the 1965 spy spoof Masquerade instead. Once he actually finished the Algernon script, Robertson passed and opted for screenwriter Stirling Silliphant. By then it didn’t matter. The film rights to Goldman’s Boys and Girls Together had been optioned by producer Elliot Kastner, which opened the door for another project, an adaptation of Lew Archer’s Ross Macdonald novels at the suggestion of Goldman. Kastner bit and the two adapted The Moving Target, which spawned 1966’s hit Harper, establishing Goldman as a screenwriter. Upon publishing his next novel, 1967’s The Thing of It Is…, and spending some time teaching around Princeton, Goldman returned with his first original screenplay for what would become 1969’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which he had been researching for eight long years. The research paid off, however, as he nabbed a then-record-breaking sum of $400,000 and his first Oscar. His 1973 novel The Princess Bride became a best-seller and would go on to become a juggernaut box office hit in the ’80s. That same year, he contracted a rare strain of pneumonia, which he claimed contributed to his epic creative run that followed. No kidding: In 1974, he published the thriller Marathon Man, which he sold to Delacorte as part of a three-book deal worth two million dollars, which he followed two years later with 1976’s Magic. Both novels’ film rights were sold to incredible sums and both were written for the screen by Goldman. Throughout this time, he also wrote screenplays for 1975’s The Stepford Wives, 1975’s The Great Waldo Pepper, and, of course, 1976’s All the President’s Men, which nabbed him his second Oscar. Despite the accolade, Goldman wasn’t happy with how the film turned out, having written more drafts for that feature than any other in his long, storied career. Nevertheless, Goldman remained on fire, following his Oscar win with 1977’s A Bridge Too Far, which netted him a three-film contract with Joe Levine that was worth $1.5 million dollars. However, only two screenplays came from the deal, The Sea Kings and Year of the Comet, which was part of a creative rut for Goldman that saw more of his works being unused. Still, he remained ever-vigilant behind the typewriter, and following Tinsel, his 1979 novel about Hollywood, Goldman took what he knew about the tumultuous town and wrote a timeless bible for screenwriters in 1983’s Adventures in the Screen Trade. “Nobody knows anything,” the opening lines famously declared, and millions have heeded that advice since. Goldman spent most of the decade away from the silver screen, but continued to thrive in the bookstores with 1982’s Control, 1983’s The Silent Gondoliers, 1984’s The Color of Light, 1985’s Heat, and 1986’s Marathon Man sequel, Brothers, which remains his last published novel. By the late ’80s, Goldman had a major comeback in Hollywood after signing with Michael Ovitz at CAA. Although his first sprint back was an adaptation of his 1985 novel Heat, he really got his running legs back again with Rob Reiner’s 1987 blockbuster adaptation of his 1973 novel, The Princess Bride. The two gelled well enough that Reiner hired him to adapt Stephen King’s Misery, which at the time was considered unadaptable, seeing how it primarily takes place in a single bed. Regardless, Goldman triumphed, delivering a critical hit that earned Kathy Bates an Academy Award. Ever the unstoppable one, Goldman continued to publish outside of Hollywood, from a collection of sports writing (1988’s Wait Till Next Year) to a memoir that meditated on his judicial experiences at both Cannes and the Miss America Pageant (1990’s Hype and Glory). Neither book saw him leaving Hollywood, as he once again became the go-to screenwriter. Throughout the ’90s, he wrote 1992’s Chaplin, 1994’s Maverick, 1996’s John Grisham adaptation The Chamber, 1996’s The Ghost and the Darkness, 1997’s Absolute Power, and 1999’s Nelson DeMille adaptation The General’s Daughter. Throughout this time, he was also doing uncredited work, aka “script doctoring,” on major features such as 1988’s Twins, 1992’s A Few Good Men, 1993’s Last Action Hero, 1995’s Dolores Claiborne, and the list goes on. Despite tipping off the millennium with both 2000’s Which Lie Did I Tell? and 2001’s The Big Picture: Who Killed Hollywood? and Other Essays, Goldman enjoyed a very quiet decade for himself, which was spent solely with King works. In 2001, he adapted the Master of Horror’s not-so-horrific drama Hearts in Atlantis, and two years later, he’d be the unlucky one to try and make sense of King’s Dreamcatcher. His love for King even extended back to his love for theatre. In 2015, he revisited Misery and adapted it for the stage, which went on to star Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf in roles that were played by James Caan and Bates, respectively. Goldman is survived by his ex-wife Ilene Jones and their two children Jenny Rebecca and Susanna. However, he is also survived by his work, from his iconic screenplays that continue to be taught in colleges across the world, to his outstanding books and memoirs that influence new creatives every day, to the dozens of un-produced screenplays sitting somewhere out there in a Hollywood vault. Who knows, perhaps there are more adventures to come in his screen trade. After all, nobody knows anything. Source
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Rap’s had a more than solid last few weeks, what with the release of strong albums from Vince Staples (FM!), Smino (Noir), and Mick Jenkins (Pieces of a Man). Mississippi rapper Big K.R.I.T. is looking to add his name to the list today with a surprise EP called Thrice X. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. True to its name, the collection features three songs: “Higher (King Pt. 6)”, “Glorious”, and “Look What I Got”. None clock in beyond three minutes, but their conciseness works to K.R.I.T.’s advantage — he’s in and out quickly, yet still leaves an impression. The first offering, a sequel to his previous “Higher (King)” cuts, finds the MC sleek and reflective over moody synths. “Glorious” is unsurprisingly a more confident, affirming number with K.R.I.T. taking on a more rapid flow. The boasting closing track has K.R.I.T. celebrating his accomplishments, but also detailing what it’s taken him to get to the top. Thrice X marks the follow-up to 4eva Is A Mighty Long Time, a 2017 double LP that included collaborations with T.I., CeeLo Green, Jill Scott, and Bilal. K.R.I.T. recently served as executive producer on Bun B’s Return of the Trill album from August. Thrice X Artwork: Thrice X Tracklist: 01. Higher (King Pt. 6) 02. Glorious 03. Look What I Got Source
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Last month, Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson made headlines when he slammed the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a “complete load of bollocks,” adding that it’s “run by a bunch of sanctimonious bloody Americans who wouldn’t know rock ‘n’ roll if it hit them in the face.” In a new interview, Dickinson said he was perturbed by the headlines, but only because they made it seem like he was upset that Iron Maiden have not been inducted into the Rock Hall yet, despite being eligible for many years. In fact, in a new interview, Dickinson promised he would outright refuse induction if it ever happened. “I was so annoyed with that coverage because they took my statement out of context to make it seem like I was upset that we weren’t in the hall of fame,” explained Dickinson to the Jerusalem Post. “I’m really happy we’re not there and I would never want to be there. If we’re ever inducted I will refuse – they won’t bloody be having my corpse in there.” He added, “Rock ‘n’ roll music does not belong in a mausoleum in Cleveland. It’s a living, breathing thing, and if you put it in a museum, then it’s dead. It’s worse than horrible, it’s vulgar.” Dickinson was also asked about his health after being diagnosed with and eventually beating tongue cancer. “It’s been nearly four years since I finished my treatment,” he responded. “I go back every six months for a checkup and everything is fine… I’m just really grateful that I’m alive. Not just alive, but properly alive with everything working.” In other news, Iron Maiden recently announced a massive summer 2019 North American tour, which they promise will feature their “biggest production ever.” Dates can be seen here. Metallica’s Top 5 Songs Tool’s Top 5 Music Videos Behemoth's Top 5 Songs Alice in Chains' Top 5 Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy” Annotated Video Source
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On November 12th, MTV expanded their live events business in the US with the acquisition of SnowGlobe Music Festival. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but expansion is in the works… The three-day event, which takes place in stunning South Lake Tahoe on December 29-31st, is where over 20,000 attendees ring in the New Year with a fire lineup, fireworks, snow sports and warm-souled people. The official SnowGlobe 2017 recap Each year SnowGlobe’s lineup somehow outshines its last. In its eighth year, SnowGlobe’s 2018 lineup is without a doubt its best yet. The diverse variety of over 40 artists this year includes headliners: Eric Prydz, Gorgon City, Above & Beyond, REZZ, Ekali, RL Grime and more. We are particularly looking forward to Walker & Royce and Sacha Robotti‘s sets. Enjoy a couple tracks as you check out this year’s lineup and learn about MTV’s plans. The SnowGlobe 2018 lineup photo credit SnowGlobe 2018 photo credit SnowGlobe 2018 by Jorgensen Photography photo credit SnowGlobe 2018 SnowGlobe will also feature all-new art installations and the festival’s signature “Big Air” activation showcasing extreme winter sports demonstrations. photo credit SnowGlobe 2018 photo credit SnowGlobe 2018 Photo Courtesy Visit Lake Tahoe South While SnowGlobe will always be known for its roots in South Lake Tahoe, it’s future is global. In an innovative move, MTV and the SnowGlobe team plan to expand SnowGlobe to additional dates and locations worldwide. We are incredibly excited to be joining the MTV family, whose legacy of developing boundary breaking programming and events perfectly aligns with our long-standing ambition of creative innovation. – Chad Donnelly, CEO of SnowGlobe As a 5-year SnowGlober, I can tell you firsthand and if you’ve participated before then you know just as well, that SnowGlobe is THE place to be on New Years Eve. The world needs more SnowGlobes. If you haven’t been, do yourself a favor and DO IT. Seriously, last chance to grab your tickets, don’t drag your feet and miss out on the ultimate New Years festival experience. A countdown from SnowGlobe 2016 that we will never forget. The post MTV Acquires SnowGlobe Music Festival with Elaborate and Expansive Plans appeared first on EDM | Electronic Music | EDM Music | EDM Festivals | EDM Events. Source
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Troye Sivan’s week was bookended by a pair of appearances on The Tonight Show. He was there on Monday as both a couch guest and performer, chatting with Jimmy Fallon about his new album, Bloom, and joining Charli XCX for their collaborative track “1999”. Last night, he returned to the late night program, this time for a solo performance of “Revelation” from Joel Edgerton’s Boy Erased. Though the track is a collaboration with Sigur Rós’ Jónsi, Sivan was backed only by a string quartet for the performance. Essentially, it was the same set up he had when he sang the song on Ellen last month, only a lot smokier and bluer — but equally stirring. Watch the replay below. Sivan also has a screen role in Boy Erased, which is in theaters now. Source
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Veteran indie rockers The Decemberists returned earlier this year with their latest album, I’ll Be Your Girl, which saw the band pushing outside their comfort zone and experimenting with a new wave palette of sounds. Now, a few months after the album’s release, the band has announced the impending release of Traveling On, an EP featuring five tracks originally intended for inclusion on I’ll Be Your Girl. “Perhaps other bands would be content to rest on the laurels of another successful record released, another romp about the globe put to bed — BUT NOT THE DECEMBERISTS,” reads a post on the folk rockers’ website. “This little bugger is a sharp twenty-one minutes of songs that were recorded during the I’ll Be Your Girl sessions but never quite found a home on the album those sessions produced.” Travling On continues on the path that was laid by the band’s eight studio effort, with Colin Meloy and co. shifting their sonic influences in the direction of New Order and Roxy Music. It is set for release December 14th and pre-order bundles are available now, including t-shirts and 10″ vinyl. Check out the artwork and track listing below. Traveling On EP Artwork: Traveling On EP Tracklist: 01. Down On The Knuckle 02. I Will Not Say Your Name 03. Tripping Along (Full Band Version) 04. Midlist Author 05. Traveling On Revisit Meloy’s interview with Kyle Meredith With…, which took place back in September following the release of I’ll Be Your Girl: Source
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Track by Track is a recurring new music feature that asks an artist to break down each song on their latest record, one by one. Download | Listen and subscribe via iTunes | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | RSS When you record an album in a setting as stately as London’s Church Studios, you might come in expecting an epiphany. For Ben Lovett of Mumford and Sons, that came in the form of an tacit agreement between band members: During the recording sessions with producer and Church Studios owner Paul Epworth, no sound would be off-limits, no approach would go unconsidered, and no idea would die unexamined. “Unshackled” is the exact word he uses; freed equally from the accomplishments of the past or the expectations of the future, and ready to do some genuine exploration. For as massive as their cultural impact has been over the past decade, it can be hard to remember that Mumford and Sons are only on their fourth full-length album. To hear Lovett tell it, the band regarded this milestone as potentially career-defining, with the upcoming material a chance to rewrite some of the definitions established by the band’s earlier work. A spin of Delta reveals that many of these changes come as gentle refinements, ones that stay true to the band’s innate spirit while simultaneous redrawing the boundaries of sonic territory coverable by a Mumford and Sons album. You’ll find them in the traces of West African rhythm that run through “Rose of Sharon”, or the Juno synthesizers that give heft to “Picture You”. You’ll also find the things that Mumford and Sons have always excelled at: massive, heartfelt anthems and lyrics custom-built with catharsis in mind (when you’re really lucky, as on the fist-pumping title track, you’ll find those things intertwined thrillingly together). It’s a beguiling mix of the old and the new, one that will likely keep old fans happy and make a few new fans sit up and take notice. Hear Delta in full below: For the latest Track by Track, Lovett shared his insights on what makes Delta different from any Mumford and Sons record that came before it. Above, listen to our full audio interview for his thoughts on what happens when you record a song 100 times, why playing music on TV rules, and how Paul Epworth’s brain works. A condensed, text-based preview is below. “42”: Before we even got into the studio with Paul, we’d talked about this being the opening song of the album. We couldn’t rationalize it entirely. It just had that sense to it. I think there’s something in its DNA. […] It is interesting why songs have that. We’ve felt it before – I remember it specifically when it came to “Tompkins Square Park” and to “Babel” and to “Sigh No More”. “Guiding Light”: I think the opportunity to essentially play songs on TV is a bit of a bizarre one. It’s not something you consider when you form a band. Over the years, I think we’ve understood it more in terms of just, you get a chance every now and then to play in front of people who aren’t already interested in what you’re doing. Going on The Tonight Show for [“Guiding Light”] was one of those great opportunities. I think there’s something about us that always loves a challenge, and so now we see those TV slots as an opportunity to sort of say hello to the world. […] We felt very confident, and continue to feel really good about “Guiding Light” being our invite into Delta. […] Paul was fascinated by the task at hand, which was to take a band that is steeped in a lot of folk and rock and to challenge some of that, and to see where further he could take us. “Woman”: I remember when Winston brought “Woman” into the studio. We were just doing some writing sessions in Brooklyn, and he’d been in Nashville, and he turned up with the beginnings of the idea – the first verse, and the falsetto hook – and just felt like something that was very, very different, but also felt really good. Maybe that was a moment that we felt unshackled by anything that we had done previously. We’ve got this concept, which is to, before committing to a track, completely strip it down to its absolute, bare-naked truth, which would be just to strum the chords along on an acoustic guitar and sing it. Marcus went through each of those 40-odd songs and played them without any kind of bells and whistles, nothing to distract you, and with “Woman”, it was almost more compelling than ever. There’s a part of me that wished we had that sort of solo acoustic version, but actually the direction that it’s taken feels really exciting to us. “Beloved”: [Something] about “Beloved” that Paul picked up on out of the gate was its rhythmic identity. He’s a very rhythmic guy. He almost hears songs through rhythm first. He doesn’t pay attention to the lyrics and melody in the first instance. I think that’s where you get a bit more of the danceability and the bounce throughout the album, but when it came to “Beloved”, he heard it in a way that none of the four of us had heard it, and he got us to play it back to him as he was gesticulating in the studio, and trying to enunciate the rhythm ideas. All of a sudden it was like, yeah, this is cool. This is better. “The Wild”: We were about three quarters of the way through the process on this album, and it was probably about midnight one night, and we were sat around in front of the mixing desk at the Church, and we were talking about songs and moments throughout the album. We were starting to get a bit of a sense about what was what, and I can’t remember how it came up, but basically it was like, “Has anyone got any more songs at this point to throw into the mix?” Marcus sort of looked up, because he’d been working on something on his laptop in the studio whilst we were also working on some of the other songs, and he was like, “Yeah, I’ve got something today.” Essentially, a week previous, he had gone down to his home and just built a recording studio out in the West Country of England, and he had set himself a challenge of trying to record a song using every single instrument in the studio. He’d worked up a demo that essentially sounds like what the album version is. […] None of us had heard it yet. He plugged in the aux cable, played it over the speakers, and we all just looked at him like, well, yeah. You can’t just sit on songs like that. “October Skies”: You can almost feel [the autumnal qualities of “October Skies”] physically in the track. Some of that, I feel like when we were recording it, just came in being absolutely comfortable with imperfection, whether it be little creaks or little scratches here and there. You can get into the song in a way that you used to in more classic records. Nowadays people try to clean all that stuff out. It’s all about nipping and tucking and maximizing stuff, whereas this was laid down onto a two-track tape. I think it really does the song justice. Not all of the tracks were done that way. “Slip Away”: This was the test song [with producer Paul Epworth]. We knew we wanted to work with him, but even then, we just weren’t sure. Dynamically, it felt like a big decision. For lots of reasons, this felt like a super important album to really get right. […] We said, let’s go in for just a couple of hours, and see how it goes. Six hours later, we were halfway through this version of “Slip Away”, and we knew we were onto something. […] It gave us confidence. That was actually the end of last year, and we were like, right. 2018, we’re going to go make an album with that guy. “Rose of Sharon”: I felt that, from the word go, that this just had an energy to it that was very different than anything we’ve done before – fun, up, wholly positive. There’s this kind of dance love song nature to it. […] We were using this thing called a [Yamaha] DX7, which was this old ’80s synthesizer. It has a setting on it which we kind of messed around with, kind of like log drums, and that’s that weird cross-rhythm sound in it. […] I think it stands proudly on a slightly different dimension, and broadens the record. “Picture You”: There’s a guy called Garrett Miller, who’s a brilliant, lovely engineer in Nashville. He’s become a real enabler for Winston and Winston’s writing process. “Picture You” came out of that. I know that they were playing with a bunch of stuff, one of them being a classic Juno synthesizer. Win was messing around with Garrett doing some reverse chords. Actually, the chords are probably so simple, but have taken me months to try and figure out how to emulate. Win was throwing these pretty left-field sounds out of these writing sessions in Nashville. I remember being in California when he sent an email […] I put it on in the car and took a drive down Pacific Coast Highway. I was like, ok, this is pretty fresh. It’s different, but it’s not scary to us. “Darkness Visible”: We were working on “Picture You” for a couple of days, and that rolled into an evening, late on one Friday night. We were still playing it in the room, and we had all the synths up, and everyone was jumping around on different things and experimenting. It kind of devolved into this – I hate the word “jam,” but just all of us improvising playing and vibing off of each other. We got ourselves into this hypnotic state where were just riffing over a couple of chords out of the back of “Picture You”. We were stuck in the world; we didn’t stop, we didn’t talk. The lights were down, and it was 1 a.m. at this point, and we got to the end, to kind of a natural conclusion, having recording probably 30-40 minutes of music. Paul was like, that’s how we should finish it. That was what became “Darkness Visible.” “If I Say”: [“If I Say”] began its life as a somewhat intimate track, and grew in it epicness while we were recording it. When [arranger Sally Herbert] collaborated on it, it took on this whole other level which wasn’t necessarily there in our earlier iterations of it. […] She just found another gear of it. I remember when we got her first demo strings back, which she layers up herself at home […] it was like, wow. If this is her reaction… That’s what I love about any collaboration; kind of like a conversation, you hear someone’s response back to what you’ve said, and in a great conversation, that inspires another thought. That’s kind of what happened with “If I Say.” It pushed us further. “Wild Heart”: By this point, you’ve been through all the ups and downs and iterations of love, and sometimes love beyond just a romantic love. There’s love explored throughout these tracks about honor and brotherhood and family and different types of situations. I feel like “Wild Heart” really hit a chord with me. […] When we came to the actual studio moment, we recorded this song in 20 minutes. That was the first take, and we did it to tape, and we just laid it down. Winston didn’t even end up on the record on the actual song itself. “Forever”: The first iteration of this song came from an evening in the back garage of Aaron Dessner from the National’s studio in Ditmas Park where we did a lot of the demos for Wilder Mind. […] We were literally in a garage, so we just turned it into a garage rock tune. We ended up with a recording of it that we loved, and got really attached to, and then we toured it like that for a couple of years. Whilst we were touring it, we were recording Wilder Minds, and it didn’t quite fit on Wilder Minds. We couldn’t figure out why, so we started doing different versions of it. It went through every genre and tempo. Mental. We couldn’t believe it, but we couldn’t give up on it. […] When we got around to the songs for Delta, in the spirits of it being an album without limitations, “Forever” was on the table. It was towards the end of making Delta that it clicked. It’s basically just a song at the end of the day. It is what it is. “Delta”: There was a longer version of the front section, and they ended up commingling as ideas, and it felt like all that wanted to be said got said in the opening statements concluding with “what’s beyond is beyond me.” That kind of tees up what’s almost an opening statement for what’s to come, rather than a conclusion. It tees up the future for us. Source
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Chicago musician Ryley Walker has today shared his complete album cover of Dave Matthews Band’s lost 2001 LP, The Lillywhite Sessions. Stream the whole thing below via Apple Music and Spotify. In 1999 and 2000, DMB recorded what was intended to be their fourth full-length effort with producer Steve Lillywhite. However, the songs were shelved in favor of what became Everyday (produced by Glen Ballard), and the Lillywhite sessions were relegated to a Napster bootleg. Many of the tracks appeared two years later on Busted Stuff. Walker decided to revisit the bootleg album as an act of rejection and defiance against music snobbery that says a massively successful act like DMB is not quote-unquote good music. It’s also his way of validating his own appreciation of the group by rearranging Matthews’ songwriting into his own jazzy, experimental sound. As he told Exclaim, “I hate the idea you can’t like something because it’s popular. I’ve been accused of being a record nerd or snob, so I think this is kind of a rallying cry against that: sort of disarming that taboo of hating something because it’s not great. And I really think Dave Matthews is great. It comes out of a total place of love. It’s funny; I love all sorts of music, and I pride myself on having this vast library and knowledge in my head of music, but I haven’t been listening to a lot of music outside of Dave Matthews.” Take a listen to Walker’s The Lillywhite Sessions below. The Lillywhite Sessions serves as the follow-up to Walker’s May album of original material, Deafman Glance. Walker is currently on the road supporting all this new music in Europe, but he’ll be back with North American dates come December. The Lillywhite Sessions Artwork: The Lillywhite Sessions Tracklist: 01. Busted Stuff 02. Grey Street 03. Diggin’ A Ditch 04. Sweet Up And Down 05. JTR 06. Big Eyed Fish 07. Grace Is Gone 08. Captain 09. Bartender 10. Monkey Man 11. Kit Kat Jam 12. Raven Source
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Today marks the release of an eponymous career-spanning box set comprised of Chris Cornell’s unreleased recordings. Subscribers of Apple Music and Spotify can stream it below. The set was curated by Cornell’s wife, Vicky, in collaboration with his former bandmates and friends. It packs 64 tracks that encompass his work with Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, and Audioslave, as well as his own solo work. To demonstrate the vastness of his catalog, the liner notes were written by a diverse array of Cornell’s collaborators, including Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron, Audioslave’s Tom Morello, Temple of the Dog’s Mike McCready, and producer Brendan O’Brien. (Read: Soundgarden: Times Are Gone) In an interview with Rolling Stone, Thayil said the set represents “the breadth of his career, and the large spectrum of stylistic approaches to songwriting and the growth that was shown.” He added, “Obviously Chris isn’t there to put in his two cents, so we have to try to appraise what his feelings and sentiments will be. There are some cases where I remember distinctly that Chris didn’t like this song, or he didn’t like this record, or he didn’t like this particular version, so it’s like, ‘Let’s don’t use it.’” The set features 11 previously unreleased tracks, including “When Bad Does Good”, which just received a music video starring his son, Chris Cornell Jr. Also included is a live recording of Cornell’s duet with Yusuf/Cat Stevens on “Wild World” and covers of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” and Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song”, both of which he recorded with his daughter, Toni. (Read: Soundgarden’s Top 20 Songs) Thayil also hints that there’s new, unheard Soundgarden songs that have yet to be released. “We were working on an album before everything came to a head, so we have some pretty strong demo material that we’re still trying to finish developing and accessing some of the recording material, to be able to flesh it out,” Thayil said. Whether or not it will ever see the light of day remains up in the air. Chris Cornell is available in multiple CD and vinyl configurations, which you can check out here. See the artwork full tracklist below. In related news, a tribute concert honoring the rock legend is scheduled to take place in Los Angeles next month, featuring Foo Fighters, Metallica, and Ryan Adams, along with members of Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Temple of the Dog. Chris Cornell Artwork: Chris Cornell Chris Cornell Tracklist: CD 1 01. Hunted Down [Soundgarden] 02. Kingdom of Come [Soundgarden] 03. Flower [Soundgarden] 04. All Your Lies [Soundgarden] 05. Loud Love [Soundgarden] 06. Hands All Over [Soundgarden] 07. Say Hello2 Heaven [Temple of the Dog] 08. Hunger Strike [Temple of the Dog] 09. Outshined [Soundgarden] 10. Rusty Cage [Soundgarden] 11. Seasons 12. Hey Baby (Land Of The New Rising Sun) [M.A.C.C.] 13. Black Hole Sun [Soundgarden] 14. Spoonman [Soundgarden] 15. Dusty [Soundgarden] 16. Burden In My Hand [Soundgarden] CD 2 01. Sunshower 02. Sweet Euphoria 03. Can’t Change Me 04. Like A Stone [Audioslave] 05. Cochise [Audioslave] 06. Be Yourself [Audioslave] 07. Doesn’t Remind Me [Audioslave] 08. Revelations [Audioslave] 09. Shape Of Things To Come [Audioslave] 10. You Know My Name 11. Billie Jean 12. Long Gone (Rock Version) 13. Scream 14. Part Of Me (Steve Aoki Remix) 15. Ave Maria (with Eleven) CD 3 01. Promise [Slash featuring Chris Cornell] 02. Whole Lotta Love [Santana featuring Chris Cornell] 03. Call Me A Dog (Live Acoustic) 04. Imagine (Live Acoustic) 05. I Am TheHighway (Live Acoustic) 06. The Keeper 07. Been Away Too Long [Soundgarden] 08. Live To Rise [Soundgarden] 09. Lies [Gabin with Chris Cornell & Ace] 10. Misery Chain [with Joy Williams] 11. Storm [Soundgarden] 12. Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart 13. Only These Words 14. Our Time In The Universe 15. ’Til The Sun Comes Back Around 16. Stay With Me Baby 17. The Promise 18. When Bad Does Good * CD 4 0. Into The Void (Sealth) (Live at the Paramount) [Soundgarden] 02. Mind Riot (Live at the Paramount) [Soundgarden] 03. Nothing To Say (Live in Seattle) [Soundgarden] 04. Jesus Christ Pose (Live in Oakland) [Soundgarden] 05. Show Me How To Live (Live in Cuba) [Audioslave] * 06. Wide Awake (Live in Sweden) * 07. All Night Thing (Live in Sweden) * 08. Nothing Compares 2 U(Live at Sirius XM) * 09. One (Live at Beacon Theatre) * 10. Reach Down (Live at the Paramount) [Temple of the Dog] * 11. Stargazer (Live at the Paramount) [Temple of the Dog] * 12. Wild World (Live at Pantages Theatre) [Yusuf/Cat Stevens with Chris Cornell] * 13 .A Day In The Life (Live at the Royal Albert Hall) * 14. Redemption Song (Live at Beacon Theatre) [with Toni Cornell] * 15. Thank You (Live in Sweden) * * = Previously unreleased material Source
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The Lowdown: The timing for the release of the second album by The Good, the Bad & the Queen, the humble supergroup led by Damon Albarn, couldn’t be more perfect. It arrives just as news breaks that the UK and EU have agreed to draft terms of a Brexit agreement and just as the band’s country of origin wraps up commemorations for the centennial of World War I. Both major events — and the past 100 years of British history for that matter — haunt this short, sharp new collection, with Albarn and co. reckoning with the ghosts of the past and the country’s unsure future. The Good: Merrie Land is the rare maximalist album that doesn’t feel over the top. A string section pops up throughout, as does a bit of brass band bleat. The Côr y Penrhyn Choir from Wales fleshes out “Lady Boston”. And there’s a lushness that Albarn and producer Tony Visconti bring to these tracks — songs that mesh together the Music Hall and pure-pop past of England with the steady injection of music from Africa, the Caribbean, and South America brought over by its immigrant population — that is enveloping and welcoming. What keeps the music from overwhelming is the light touch that everyone brought to the studio. Tony Allen and Paul Simonon, the group’s rhythm section, let negative space into their playing in the manner of PiL’s Metal Box. There’s just enough propulsion to push the songs forward but not enough to rattle the insistent calm at the heart of the album. With he and guitarist Simon Tong flitting around the edges musically, Albarn becomes the focal point, stuck as he is in a whirlwind of emotions and images stirred up by the political and social unease running through the “manicured lawns of England/ barricaded in the ’50s,” as he sings on “Last Man to Leave”. Primarily, Albarn views Brexit through the lens of a romantic breakup on songs like the swaying album closer “The Poison Tree” and the see-sawing title track, which still feature some sharp barbs for the Boris Johnsons and DJTs of the world: “We cheer on the clowns as they roll into town/ But their faces look tired and sad to me.” Download | Listen and subscribe via iTunes | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | RSS The Bad: According to an interview with MOJO on the making of Merrie Land, Albarn said he took inspiration from the speak-singing, a stream-of-consciousness style of lyric writing that one of his Gorillaz collaborators, Lou Reed, often used. Conceptually, that makes perfect sense considering the sheer amount of images and ideas that Albarn wanted to pack into each song. But there are also clear and direct choruses that stick their claws in and stick with you after the needle hits the run-out groove on Side B. It works perfectly as an album-length mood piece; just don’t try to turn any of these tunes into singles. The Verdict: Merrie Land may not be the crucial text needed to stop the foolhardy decision by the British government to pull the country out of the European Union, but it does work as a bulwark against the cherry-picking, playlist-happy listening habits of the modern music fan. It works best as a complete dose of bitter medicine; a groove-happy message of fear, love, and measured hope. Essential Tracks: “Merrie Land”, “Drifters and Trawlers”, and “The Poison Tree” Source
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Yeah Yeah Yeahs goddess Karen O and super producer Danger Mouse have teamed up for a new project. Tonight, the pair unveiled their first collaborative track, a lush and cinematic nine-minute recording called “Lux Prima”. Take a listen below. “Lux Prima” serves as the first track off Karen O and Danger Mouse’s forthcoming collaborative album, which be released on a limited edition white 12-inch vinyl at select independent record stores on December 14th. In a statement about the album, Karen O said: “After making music for the past twenty years and embarking on making this record with Danger Mouse I knew a couple things: one was that the spirit of collaboration between us was going to be a pure one, and two was that the more I live the less is clear to me. When you create from a blurry place you can go places further than you’ve ever been. I think we both were excited to go far out.” Added Danger Mouse: “With ‘Lux Prima,’ we were really looking for a place rather than a sound. It was our first shared destination so we thought we’d take our time getting there. The song itself is a bit of a journey, but all the parts felt like they needed each other.” Earlier this year, Karen O contributed a new song called “Yo! My Saint” to a new short film from fashion house Kenzo. She and YYYs guitarist also recently teamed up with Dave Grohl to perform at a Swing Left benefit concert. As for Danger Mouse, he recently worked with Parquet Courts on their 2018 LP, Wide Awake!. Other recent collaborators have included Portugal. the Man, Red Hot ChilI Peppers, and U2. Source
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Proving he’s not such a bad banana, Tyler, the Creator has shared a new EP today called Music Inspired by Illumination & Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch. It’s available to stream below via Apple Music or Spotify. Recorded entirely by the Odd Future rapper, the collection spans six previously unreleased songs, including titles like “Hot Chocolate”, “Big Bag”, and the very Grinch-y “Whoville” and “Cindy Lou’s Wish”. There’s also “Lights On”, a joint track with Santigold and pop singer Ryan Beatty. Today’s EP was inspired by Tyler’s two contributions to the new CGI remake of The Grinch: an updated version of the theme song featuring composer Danny Elfman and this month’s “I Am the Grinch”. The Grinch EP serves as the follow-up to Tyler’s 2017 album, Flower Boy. Though in recent months he’s rolled out a handful of one-off tracks and collaborations, such as “PUFF” and “Potato Salad” featuring ASAP Rocky. Tyler also hosted his Camp Flog Gnaw Festival the other week, which was highlighted by the live debut of Kanye West and Kid Cudi’s Kids See Ghosts. Music Inspired by Illumination & Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Artwork: Music Inspired by Illumination & Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Tracklist: 01. Whoville 02. Lights On (feat. Ryan Beatty and Santigold) 03. Hot Chocolate (feat. Jerry Paper) 04. Big Bag 05. When Gloves Come Off (feat. Ryan Beatty) 06. Cindy Lou’s Wish JAY-Z and Beyonce Tour Reel Travis Scott's Top 5 Videos Food References in Drake’s Music Eminem’s Highest Charting Songs Janelle Monae’s Top 5 Songs Source
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As promised, CHVRCHES have delivered their new Hansa Session EP. Take a listen below via Apple Music or Spotify. The new effort is comprised of five new versions of tracks taken from Love Is Dead, their most recent album. The updated renditions were recorded using all-new acoustic and string quartet arrangements. As its title suggests, much of the EP was recorded at Berlin’s legendary Hansa studios, where David Bowie famously completed his trilogy of albums (Low, “Heroes”, and Lodger). Other acts like Depeche Mode, U2, and Iggy Pop also booked time there. “When we had the opportunity to record at Hansa we jumped at it even though we were in the middle of a hectic tour,” CHVRCHES’ Iain Cook noted in a statement. “It is such hallowed ground for me — my heroes Bowie, Depeche, Iggy, Siouxsie, Tangerine Dream, Nick Cave amongst others made arguably their best work in that building — and we hoped that when we went there, we would capture even just a tiny bit of that energy.” The Scottish synthpop group was also equally thrilled to rework their Love Is Dead material in a fresh way. “It was really fun to try to reinterpret the songs,” remarked singer Lauren Mayberry, “and still communicate the messages and emotions with different arrangements.” Hansa Session EP Artwork: Hansa Session EP Tracklist: 01. Graffiti 02. Miracle 03. Get Out 04. Heaven/Hell 05. Really Gone On a recent episode of This Must Be The Gig, CHVRCHES discussed life on the road and their very first shows. Take a listen below. Download | Listen and subscribe via iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher | RSS Source
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Download | Listen and subscribe via iTunes | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | RSS Trick or treat, Constant Listeners. Halloween has come to Derry, Maine, where hundreds of children are walking the streets, wearing brand new Silver Shamrock masks imported from Santa Mira, California. It’s almost time! Join ol’ Michael “Trashmouth” Roffman as he rings up director Tommy Lee Wallace to talk about both his 1990 miniseries adaptation for Stephen King’s It and his all-time cult classic Halloween III: Season of the Witch. It’s a special crossover episode of The Losers’ Club and Hallowenies, as presented in two different modes above and below. Download | Listen and subscribe via iTunes | Spotify | Google Play | Stitcher | RSS Be sure to return next week when the Losers review Stephen King’s new novel Elevation and the Halloweenies tackle Rob Zombie’s 2007 Halloween remake. In the meantime, leave us reviews for The Losers’ Club and Halloweenies. — Follow the Losers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram — Follow the Halloweenies on Facebook — E-mail us tips. Links — Listen and Follow: Coach Hop — In Case You Missed It: Stephen King’s It Miniseries Defined Horror for an Entire Generation and David Gordon Green’s Halloween is a Baffling Mess — Editorial: The Generation That Grew Up on Stephen King is Taking Him Back — Editorial: Let’s Not Fuck Up This Stephen King Renaissance, Okay? — Feature: Behold, The Stephen King Cinematic Universe! — Guide: Stephen King in Five Films — Ranking: Every Stephen King Movie, Miniseries, TV Show from Worst to Best — List: The Top 10 Stephen King Film Adaptations Source
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Today marks the release of Mike WiLL Made-It’s star-studded soundtrack to the upcoming Creed II, one of our most anticipated films of the fall. Subscribers of Apple Music and Spotify can stream it below. We’ve already heard ScHoolboy Q, 2 Chainz, and Eearz’s “Kill ‘Em With Success”, as well as Kendrick Lamar and Pharrell Williams “The Mantra”, but that still leaves tracks from Bon Iver, Lil’ Wayne, Nas, Nicki Minaj, Vince Staples, ASAP Rocky, and Rick Ross, as well as a posse cut called “F.I.G.H.T.” featuring Gucci Mane, YG, Trouble, Quavo, and Juicy J. Cast member Tessa Thompson even gets in on the action, joining Gunna for a track called “Midnight”. (Read: Yo, Adrian! I Did It! I Marathoned All Five Rocky Sequels!) Mike WiLL Made-It called it the “COLLABORATIVE PROJECT OF THE YEAR, OR MAYBE OF OUR GENERATION” on Instagram, and it’s hard to argue with him. How does it stack up against Kendrick’s Black Panther soundtrack? Find out for yourself. Creed II hits theaters on November 21st. Creed II: The Album Tracklist: 01. Amen (Pre Fight Prayer) – Lil Wayne 02. Do You Need Power? (Walk Out Music) – Bon Iver 03. We Can Hit (Round 1) – Crime Mobb & Slim Jxmmi 04. Kill’em With Success – Eearz, ScHoolboy Q & 2 Chainz 05. Check – Nas & Rick Ross 06. Fate – Young Thug & Swae Lee 07. Shea Butter Baby – Ari Lennox & J. Cole 08. The Mantra – Pharrell & Kendrick Lamar 09. Watching Me – Rae Sremmurd & Kodak Black 10. F.I.G.H.T – Eearz, Gucci Mane, YG, Trouble, Quavo & Juicy J 11. Running – A$AP Rocky, A$AP Ferg & Nicki Minaj 12. Midnight – Tessa Thompson & Gunna 13. Bless Me (Demo) – Ama Lou 14. Ice Cold (Final Round) – Vince Staples 15. Love Me Like That (Champion Love) – Ella Ma Source
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Smashing Pumpkins return today with their reunion album — and our recent Album of the Week — Shiny and Oh So Bright Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.. Stream the eight-track effort below via Apple Music and Spotify. For the first time in almost 20 years, the Smashing Pumpkins’ lineup features founding members Billy Corgan, James Iha, and Jimmy Chamberlin (alongside long-time member Jeff Schroeder). The last time the trio recorded together was for 2000’s pair of records, Machina/The Machines of God and Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music. Produced by Rick Rubin, Shiny and Oh So Bright serves as the direct follow-up to the Pumpkins’ 2014 album, Monuments to an Elegy. In his review of the record, our own Michael Roffman remarked that while the effort still has flaws, it signals a potential return to the magic of the Pumpkins’ heyday. He wrote, “People change — artists especially — and it’d be foolish to assume that three friends, torn apart by bitterness and rage, would just somehow all of a sudden strike up the same ol’ magic. That was never going to happen, no matter how many bathrobes Rubin gave them in Malibu, but it’s certainly proven to be a start. After all, how else do you explain a song like ‘Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)’? It might not be the same magic, but something magical is coursing through Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1., hinting at a future we can all embrace — especially Corgan.” Shiny and Oh So Bright Vol. 1 was previewed with the singles “Knights of Malta”, “Solara”and “Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)”. Shiny And Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. Artwork: Shiny And Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. Tracklist: 01. Knights of Malta 02. Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts) 03. Travels 04. Solara 05. Alienation 06. Marchin’ On 07. With Sympathy 08. Seek and You Shall Destroy The band is currently taking a break from their bonkers 30th anniversary tour, which continues later this month in Wisconsin. Below, listen to our Album of the Week podcast, in which Roffman and Dedrick Hendrix dig into their opinions on Shiny and Oh So Bright Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.. Download | Listen and subscribe via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Radio Public | Stitcher | RSS Source
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Anderson .Paak has released his highly anticipated album, Oxnard. Take a listen below via Apple Music or Spotify. The 14-track effort follows up on his 2016 Grammy-nominated Malibu and marks his first LP on Aftermath Entertainment. A long, impressive list of guest rappers join . Paak throughout the album, including Kendrick Lamar, Pusha-T, J. Cole, Snoop Dogg, Q-Tip, and BJ the Chicago Kid. DOOM and Freddie Gibbs producer Madlib lent some of his talents, but it was Aftermath label honcho Dr. Dre who oversaw a majority of the production and took a heavy interest in the project as a whole. “Just two Aquariuses going at it: two control freaks, perfectionists that just can’t stop working on a project,” .Paak told NPR of his studio time with mentor Dre. But the creative process could hardly be described as grueling, corporate work. “It’s not like I’m trapped in there with some record execs or A&Rs who are like ‘What’s the single?’” .Paak explained to Entertainment Weekly. “Nah, Dre is just trying to have the most fun. I almost have to scale him back a lot of times. Like ‘Let’s go back to the hook, Dre!’ He just wants to make the craziest music ever. Yeah, it was pure creative bliss.” (Read: The 25 Most Anticipated Albums of Fall 2018) In a previous interview about the album and his expectations for it, .Paak said: “I feel like ambition is missing from today’s music… This is the album I dreamed of making in high school, when I was listening to [Jay-Z]’s The Blueprint, The Game’s The Documentary, and [Kanye West’s] The College Dropout.” Oxnard was teased with early singles “Who R U?” and “Tints” featuring Kendrick. Oxnard Artwork: Oxnard Tracklist: 01. The Chase (feat. Kadhja Bonet) 02. Headlow (feat. Norelle) 03. Tints (feat. Kendrick Lamar) 04. Who R U? 05. 6 Summers 06. Saviers Road 07. Smile/Petty 08. Mansa Mansa (feat. Dr. Dre and Cocoa Sarai) 09. Brother’s Keeper (feat. Pusha-T) 10. Anywhere (feat. Snoop Dogg and The Last Artful, Dodgr) 11. Trippy (feat. J. Cole) 12. Cheers 13. Sweet Chick (feat. BJ the Chicago Kid) 14. Left to Right JAY-Z and Beyonce Tour Reel Travis Scott's Top 5 Videos Food References in Drake’s Music Janelle Monae’s Top 5 Songs Migos’ Top Songs Source
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The Pitch: While setting up cameras Ghost Adventures-style to catch Santa Claus in the act on Christmas Eve, estranged siblings Kate (Darby Camp) and Teddy (Judah Lewis) find themselves crossing paths with Kris Kringle himself (Kurt Russell) and stowing away on his magical sleigh. Unfortunately, in the fracas, St. Nick and the kids find themselves stranded in Chicago with Santa’s sleigh, reindeer, and sack of toys tossed to the four winds. With the help of the kids’ plucky resourcefulness and Santa’s encyclopedic Jedi-mind-trick knowledge of the childhood dreams of everyone he meets, Team Tinsel races across the city to get Santa’s journey back on track before Christmas Spirit is depleted from the world. (The last time that happened, the film claims, humanity was plunged into the Dark Ages. So, you know, the stakes are high.) Snakey Plissmas: Now that Netflix is firmly on track to horn in on the Lifetime Christmas movie game, it stands to reason they’d push through their own take on the “wacky Santa” genre. There’s nothing in The Christmas Chronicles* that hasn’t been seen before, from the “Christmas Spirit” ticking clock of Elf to the magical-realist shortcuts for Santa’s tricks from The Santa Clause – Santa zapping around the world through Aurora Borealis-esque wormholes and so on. The genre has given audiences enough ‘broken families healed through the power of Christmas’ melodramas to choke a reindeer, so don’t expect any surprises there either. For what it’s worth, this Chris Columbus-produced romp still manages to skate by on a fair amount of charm, a bowl full of it coming from Russell as old Saint Nick. Playing Papa Noel like a jolly Jack Burton, Russell’s working-man Santa has a twinkle in his eye and swagger to spare, walking into a room like he owns everything (likely because he got it for them for Christmas). His interactions with the public are not unlike the snake-charmer alchemy of Robert Redford in The Old Man & the Gun, winning people over with a twinkle in his eye and effortless recall of their childhood wishes. He rankles against the public’s perception of him, sneering at the more rotund depictions in Coca-Cola ads and saying “I don’t do ho-ho-ho anymore” when prompted by fans. As Santas go, Russell treads similar snow as Tim Allen’s Scott Calvin, but it’s still a joy to see him dip back into the family-friendly territory he traveled, back when he was a Disney Channel darling in his youth. Groan for the Holidays: As fun as it is to watch Russell work, there’s more than a little coal in this particular stocking. His kid sidekicks, who are ostensibly the real protagonists of the story, are just the wrong side of precocious. Their family’s story is unnecessarily steeped in Yuletide tragedy; the Christmas-loving firefighter father (Oliver Hudson) died tragically a year or two back, giving the rebellious, car-stealing Teddy plenty of opportunities to whinge about his dead dad. Both child actors are good but not great, acting as decent foils for the over-the-top Santa while juggling the kind of simplistic emotional baggage about broken families that’s typical of treacly holiday flicks. It’s in Chronicles’ latter half, however, that the holiday family movie cheesiness comes out in full force, to highly mixed results. The biggest culprit of this is the eventual reveal of what Santa’s elves look like in this universe – yup, they’re an army of obnoxious, lawn gnome-sized ghouls who speak in a nonsense elf language, director Clay Kaytis (The Angry Birds Movie) leaning hard into their Minions-level antics to a grating degree. Only one particularly cringe-worthy sequence, in which a jailed Santa conjures up some Christmas Spirit through an impromptu blues number (complete with Steven Van Zandt cameo), is delivered with almost enough gusto to make it work. The Verdict: The Christmas Chronicles is a passable enough lark, and may well be on the upper end of the spectrum when it comes to modern cinematic Christmas fare. Russell’s Saint Nick carries a lot of the film’s charm on his fur-lined shoulders, and there are some delightful cameos from folks like Lamorne Morris and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend‘s Vella Lovell as cogs in Santa’s gift-giving wheel of fate. It still groans under the weight of all the too-broad kiddie gags in the film’s back end, but as Santa adventures go, you could do a lot worse than the Hallmark Channel version of Big Trouble at the North Pole. Finally, as a minor bugaboo, why call this film The Christmas Chronicles? Independent of the title’s vagaries, the film features one chronicle at best. Give audiences an anthology series with Kurt Russell traveling around the globe getting into scrapes like Caine in Kung Fu every December 24th. Then we can talk. Where’s It Playing?: Santa Claus is coming to towns around the world when The Christmas Chronicles premieres on Netflix on Thanksgiving Day, November 22nd. Trailer: Source
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We’ve all had siblings or family member who utter something so unbelievably stupid that we can’t quite understand how we are related. For instance, when I was younger I was looking out the window and saw the clouds were moving, I absolutely shit myself as I believed our home was rolling away and charged downstairs to interrupt Mum on a very important phone call. Well have a gander at this familiar family banter, as one Twitter users father and younger sister are absolutely mindblown by the fact we live on the surface of the earth and not inside it. just in case you’re having a bad day, enjoy this video of my sister realizing that we don’t live inside the earth pic.twitter.com/oVYjFOH559 — SydSyd (@LoveMahalHappy) November 15, 2018 “I thought we were living inside! I thought this whole time we were living inside the earth. They [science teachers] never told me we were living on top,” she says. Then her Dad chimes in with something about us living inside clouds? The whole concept becomes hard to follow. Thinking that we live in a snow globe where the sky is the surface of the world and we’re all clamouring to get to the top is pretty fucking hilarious, but it’s not as great as sharing a wholesome family moment that you’ll remember forever. here’s just a reminder to take some time to have these little moments with your family. whether it be a talk about life, the weather, or if you’re located inside the earth. you never know when it’s the last time you’ll see them. pic.twitter.com/qNMXzEyttp — SydSyd (@LoveMahalHappy) November 15, 2018 Source