Category: Music

Weezer Invades YouTube on Sept 14th

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(Via Press Release)

LOS ANGELES, CA – September 14, 2010 – For their Red Album in 2008, Weezer invited YouTube stars to be in their video for “Pork and Beans.” The inclusion of such Web celebs as Tay Zonday (“Chocolate Rain”), the Numa Numa Guy, and the melodramatic Chris “Leave Britney Alone” Crocker struck a chord with the viewing public, as well as the media, and ultimately led to the Weezer clip winning a GRAMMY for “Best Shortform Music Video.” Two years later, the band has decided to turn the tables by making themselves available to leading YouTubers for inclusion on their channels. Today, on the release date of Weezer’s new album Hurley (Epitaph, Sept. 14), a de-facto Weezer-ization of YouTube is in effect, as all the participating videos are being featured, in rotation, on the site’s homepage all day.

Weezer, long known for their satirical and quirky world-view, originally chose to embrace the “outsider” talent found on YouTube for “Pork and Beans,” and now they have let it run rampant. To facilitate this free-form taping, they set aside two days in a Los Angeles studio with instructions that read, “We’re up for just about anything that can be filmed in the studio. The finished clip will be yours to release and distribute on Sept. 14, 2010. Acting, performance, interview, make-up, comedy — you let us know what you want to do and how much time you think it might take to film.” It was then up to the YouTubers-whose channels have millions of subscribers and aggregated well over a billion total video views-to write and produce the segments with the band.

The talent/channels that took Weezer up on their offer include:
AutoTune The News: http://www.youtube.com/schmoyoho
Cyr1216: http://www.youtube.com/cyr1216
DaveDays: http://www.youtube.com/davedays
Fred: http://www.youtube.com/fred
Hot For Words: http://www.youtube.com/hotforwords
MagicHugs: http://www.youtube.com/user/magichugs
Mystery Guitar Man: http://www.youtube.com/user/mysteryguitarman
Onision: http://www.youtube.com/onision
Ray William Johnson: http://www.youtube.com/user/RayWilliamJohnson
Real Annoying Orange: http://www.youtube.com/user/realannoyingorange
StSanders aka Kiss Shreds: http://www.youtube.com/StSanders
Tay Zonday: http://www.youtube.com/user/TayZonday
The Key of Awesome: http://www.youtube.com/barelypolitical
UsofAnderson: http://www.youtube.com/usofanderson
KeepTheHeat (Snuggie cameo) http://youtube.com/keeptheheat

In addition to the YouTube invasion and the “Pork and Beans” video, Weezer have a history of idiosyncratic and collaborative works. Their Red Album tour was even unveiled as a “Hootenanny,” where fans were invited to bring their own instruments to play along with the band. They have written songs for a myriad of other performers, as well as crowd-sourced Weezer material from the population at large (via IndabaMusic.com and YouTube). Recently, the band was in heavy rotation in South Africa and around the globe, when Rivers’ pet project, an anthem for the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team, was embraced by the team after its debut on the band’s “Radio Weezer.”

This winter (November/December), Weezer will launch a multi-city U.S. tour, dubbed by fans as the “Blinkerton Tour.” The band will play two shows in each market-on the first night Weezer will play the Blue Album in its entirety, and the second night they will play Pinkerton in its entirety.

Indaba Music’s Community to Remix Matisyahu’s “One Day”

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The top online destination for music creation, Indaba Music, is proud to announce that Matisyahu fans and fellow musicians can visit www.indabamusic.com/remixmatisyahu to remix the singer’s track “One Day,” and have the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a new song with the artist. Matisyahu, whose music merges reggae beats, hip-hop and rock, wants fans to create a new version of the tune, which has been used extensively as the theme song for NBC’s “Countdown to Vancouver” Olympics campaign. “One Day” is the lead single from Matisyahu’s third album, Light, which was released by Epic Records in August, 2009.

The “One Day” Remix Contest will launch on Thursday, February 11th –one day before the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. There will be a four-week submission period and a two-week voting period. A public vote will determine the top 10 winners to receive a pair of Skull Candy Agent headphones and be featured on both www.matisyahuworld.com and www.myspace.com/matisyahu. The First Place Winner and two Runners-Up, selected personally by Matisyahu, will also see a link to their mix Tweeted to Matisyahu’s 1.2 million followers and will each receive a year’s Indaba Music Pro Membership and a signed vinyl copy of Light. The First Place Winner will also be awarded the opportunity to participate in a one-on-one collaboration with the singer through Indaba Music.

Matisyahu will play a pair of shows during the Winter Olympics — at The Whistler Village Square on February 14th, and LiveCity Vancouver on February 15th. Indaba Music will integrate news and content from the Winter Olympics throughout the contest period.

Since his very first album, Matisyahu has had a reputation as an artist who transcends boundaries – musical, religious and ethnic – and encourages a united world view through his music. The singer emerged in 2004 with his debut album Shake Off the Dust…Arise, followed by Live At Stubb’s, which reached #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers charts. His sophomore studio album, Youth, debuted at #4 on Billboard, reached #1 on the Reggae Albums charts, and featured the hit single “King Without a Crown.” Appearing on shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, Matisyahu is a true global artist and citizen of the world, selling nearly three million records and hundreds of thousands of concert tickets worldwide.

Indaba Music offers the leading suite of online tools that enable artists all over the world to create music together online. Members can connect with an international community of musicians to create online recording sessions, editing and mixing tracks recorded in different parts of the world using its digital audio workstation (DAW). Indaba’s collaboration opportunities have previously featured such diverse artists as Weezer, The Roots, Yo-Yo Ma, Mariah Carey, Crystal Method, John Legend, Alkaline Trio, Har Mar Superstar and more.

http://www.matisyahuworld.com
http://www.indabamusic.com/featured_programs

Looking for a Great Last Minute Christmas Gift? Give the gift of music!

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cd

If you’re like me, there’s a couple people on your Christmas list that are almost impossible to find gifts for. You could get a tacky Christmas gift pack from Walmart, but where’s the fun in that? Instead why not give them the gift of music?

Beginning Monday December 14, the Amazon Music Store will begin a week of hot lightning deals, and they’ve done all the guess work for you. Visit the calendar for great prices on music, including a day of all Beatles deals: http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html?node=2233633011

So head on over and get your family or friends some great tunes to get them through 2010!

(Photo: SXC.hu/LotusHead)

Music Review: Fort Knox Five and The New Gold Standard 2

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Fort Knox Five on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads
Looking for some funk in your life? Tired of the only options to keep your groove being pop-rock choices (like the Black Eyed Peas)? Then you need to do yourself a favor and check out this group – Fort Knox Five or pick up The New Gold Standard 2 available on November 17, 2009. If you can’t wait, you can check out their music on their Myspace page or download their DJ mix “All Good Things Come in 5’s” for free from SoundCloud.com.

About Fort Knox Five

FORT KNOX FIVE is a DC based funk and global recording four-part group and they’ve had a huge impact on the international funk and breaks scene over the past couple of years. With the release of five critically acclaimed singles on their own independent label, Fort Knox Recordings, the FK5 have been thrust into the spotlight and caught the attention of music lovers around the world.

Review:

51rW3G66oSL._SL500_AA280_I received an advanced copy of the album for review and knew nothing of Fort Knox Five before listening. What impresses me the most about the Fort Knox Five songs on this album is the complex layering of sounds, instruments and vocals. This truly is modern funk at it’s best. With some of the songs feeling extremely old school (like the Jazz-funk track “The Sax Pusher”) to the modern, Eastern-influenced single “Shift”. All of these songs are great for a club or to get you moving at home.

“The New Gold Standard 2” is a compilation and a follow up to 2006’s “The New Gold Standard” and contains 15 new tracks including “Shift” featuring hip hop and international masterminds Afrika Bambaataa and Mustafa Akbar. It’s great to have a compilation album that isn’t just the same 14 songs you already have on your iPod and one new song, so if you’re looking for some new music, this is a great purchase.

If you’re interested in learning more about Fort Knox Five check them out on Twitter, Fort Knox Five, or Myspace. Also check out their upcoming shows in November in Hawaii, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Tea Stain Clothing Launches “The Music Fashion Project”: Style, Music and Charity!

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image001Shop for a good cause! Tea Stain Clothing has just launched The Music Fashion Project. This philanthropic initiative pairs some of the rock scene’s biggest names with their favorite style of Tea Stain Clothing to raise money for music-related charities. Participating bands include well known bands like Papa Roach and The Donnas. The project also features some bands ‘on the verge’ like Framing Hanley, currently holding the #1 video spot on Fuse TV, and Lovehammers featuring Marty Casey from NBC’s Rock Star INXS. Some benefiting charities include VH1 Save The Music, Little Kids Rock and Rock ‘N Renew. To contribute to the project, fans simply purchase their favorite band’s selected charity style. Tea Stain Clothing takes care of the rest by donating a portion of the proceeds directly to that band’s specified charity.

The project is web based and every band’s feature is completely sharable. “This is the next generation of social media and web based marketing. We wanted to make a difference and make it easy to spread the word.” founder Devin Hajek says. “Even if someone isn’t able to spend money on a shirt, they can still support their favorite band/charity by simply clicking ‘share’. From there they have the option to email their friends or post it on their myspace, facebook and a host of other social networking outlets.”

For more information check out – http://www.teastainclothing.com/

Kenny Chesney Rocking Vegas

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kenny_chesneyCountry music superstar Kenny Chesney is launching his new clothing line Blue Chair Bay at MAGIC Marketplace in Las Vegas and is kicking his latest venture off in style with an invite-only concert at the Hard Rock Hotel on Tuesday, September 1, 2009.

Chesney’s new clothing line Blue Chair Bay, a vintage brand of ageless, simple styles, will launch at MAGIC in the Premium Men’s platform – on the Concourse (Booth PR20800). A non-traditional booth set-up, Blue Chair Bay will exhibit in a vintage Airstream trailer (a first for MAGIC!) and will also host a Corona-sponsored Happy Hour on Monday, August 31st from 4:00 – 6:00 pm.

“They tell me MAGIC is the biggest show for this sort of the thing in the world, and I love the idea that these clothes are out there for the buyers who truly know – to get to see them,” says Kenny Chesney, the biggest North American concert draw this century. “The clothes are casual, comfortable and easy to wear wherever you’re headed… and that was the whole point. Whatever you’ve got to do, something in this line will work — and for someone who lives gone most of the time, one place to find everything — like MAGIC — is a real gift.”

“MAGIC offers the ultimate exposure to its exhibitors and is the perfect setting for Kenny Chesney’s clothing launch,” said Chris DeMoulin, MAGIC International President and Executive Vice President of Advanstar’s Fashion Group. “MAGIC provides a day-to-night platform that encourages a variety of exciting lifestyle launches like this, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have Kenny.”

Blue Chair Bay captures Chesney’s laidback style for men and women. The line reflects his casual lifestyle with ageless, simple styles and a focus on quality fabrics, textures and details. The mid-priced line (ranging from $35 for a T-shirt to $72 for khakis) will include t-shirts, khakis, shorts and button-down shirts with the feel of that shirt that you’ve had forever. Chesney was extremely involved in the design process and even named a few items after friends.

New Yo-Yo Ma Box Set is “Outside the Box”

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yo-yoma_30yearsSource.

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Craving some Yo-Yo Ma now? Buy it on Amazon!

Comprising ninety discs, Yo-Yo Ma: 30 Years Outside the Box is a salute to Yo-Yo Ma’s monumental musical achievements and to his 30-year legacy with Sony Masterworks. The exciting story of his life and work is eloquently told in a quality hard bound book of over 312 pages, lavishly illustrated with more than 150 color and black-and-white archival photos, original album artwork, liner notes and credits. Further enriching the story of this musical giant is a warm and insightful foreword by his longtime friend and esteemed fellow artist, pianist Emanuel Ax, as well as a lengthy, insightful essay by noted critic Richard Dyer. The set is scheduled for release on October 27, 2009.

Beginning with Ma’s debut recording of Saint Saens’s Carnival of the Animals, Yo-Yo Ma: 30 Years Outside the Box includes wide-ranging treasures, from his matchless performance of seminal cello works like the Dvorak Concerto to his tribute to film music maestro Ennio Morricone and last year’s all-star, world music holiday celebration Songs of Joy and Peace, which found him in the company of such luminaries as Ren e Fleming, Chris Botti, Diana Krall and Dave Brubeck.

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Backstreet Boys Gear Up For New Album: “This Is Us”

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prnjdisplayimageservletThey’re baaaaaack.

The Backstreet Boys have announced a new album, to be released on October 6th, 2009 on Jive Records. This will make for the group’s 7th album. Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell and AJ McLean collaborated with a group of producers and songwriters on This Is Us that included T-Pain, Max Martin, RedOne, Soulshock and Karlin, Jim Jonsin and Claude Kelly.

From the sound of it, the tracks are about the boys grown up, but without losing their pop sound.

“We’re really excited to release this new album and know that our fans are excited too. We worked with a group of amazing artists and producers that we’ve never worked with before, exploring new sounds and territory and know the final product turned out incredible,” says Carter.

Backstreet Boys plan on spending the second half of 2009 and all of 2010 on the road. A European tour has already been announced and a full North American headlining tour will be announced shortly. Tour dates can be found on the group’s official website www.backstreetboys.com.

Want some Backstreet Boys now? Check out Amazon.com.