Filed under: Releases of the Week, Uncategorized | Tags: Best I Ever Had, Bun-B, Drake, Eminem, Every Girl, GarageBand, hip-hop, J.R. Writer, Lil, Lil Wayne, Mack Maine, More Than A Game, Young Money
Young Money release an effective greatest hits album
PREVIEW: DOWNLOAD Drake’s “Ransom” (Feat. Lil Wayne) MP3
WE GIVE IT: 15/20 Watts
2009 has surely been a definitive year for Young Money Entertainment. With collaborative single “Every Girl” and Drake’s “Best I Ever Had” charting at #10 and #2 respectively, and a slew of albums on the horizon, the label is enjoying the success of pop stardom. Led by Lil’ Wayne, Young Money is a crew consisting of rappers and singers signed to his imprint. Young Money Year 2k9 is a sort of like a greatest hits (a large portion of this album is available on previously released mixtapes), showcasing the successful mixtape songs, freestyles, and singles of 2009.
The main characters of the album are the label’s two megastars, Lil’ Wayne and Drake. They collaborate and completely rip apart “Ransom” with multisyllabic flows and crisp punch lines, while being a little more fun and laid back on “Man of the Year.” The original version of “Forever” is also featured, though it severely lacks a monster verse from Eminem, as seen on the version cut for More Than a Game. “Every Girl” shows up too, catchy as ever, even after months of radio rotation. (more…)
Filed under: Features | Tags: Britney Spears, Elliot Smith, Eminem, James Brown, James Hetfield, Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson, Ozzy Osbourne, Van Gogh
Musicians, regardless of their genre, are not what you would call normal people.
Michael Jackson reminded us of that with his tragic death. Jackson was an extreme case though. He wasn’t just troubled, he was literally bonkers. His father stole his childhood by putting him to work in the Jackson 5, and the rest was history as he developed a severe addiction to plastic surgery and drugs over the course of his life.
Sadly though, a lot of musicians are troubled and disturbed as well, although not many to the point where their noses fall off. Kurt Cobain, Britney Spears, Eminem, Ozzy Osbourne, Elliot Smith, James Brown, James Hetfield and Johnny Cash are a few names on an endless list. Musicians have similar stories that begin with fame and fortune and end with rehab and death. They’re flat-out crazy half the time, but you’ve got to believe their craziness and troubled stories are what make them great artists. An artist doesn’t become a genius through a happy life and ice cream every day. It’s the pain, the struggle and madness that makes a musician truly great. All geniuses, after all, are always crazy before they become geniuses.
Let’s face it. The Michael Jackson we loved and idolized died a long time ago — not last Thursday. That impostor walking around in masks was a zombie. He died in the early 1990s when all his baggage came to bite him in the ass. It’s amazing he lasted this long! But people lose sight of the bigger picture every time a celebrity dies — they forget all the pain and anguish and make them martyrs. Kurt Cobain? He’s a rock God now, but in real life he was a sociopath crackhead.
It’s amazing how disconnected a crazy musician can become from his/her work. Truly crazy people can make magical works of art, and yet people only see the art. All art has a price. Van Gogh? We don’t even need to go there.
It’s rare for musicians to have long lives because their bodies and minds take such beatings. The one outlier is, of course, Keith Richards. He should have died a long time ago, and quite literally looks like grim death.
The saddest part is that a lot of nutty musicians die and never see the true value of their insanity in their art. Michael Jackson was filthy rich before he died, but he left $500 million in debt. You can bet that debt will disappear this year once all of his old albums and merchandise sell off the rack.
–Jett Wells
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: andrew bird, Animal Collective, Bat for Lashes, Beirut, breakfast at sullimay's, Common, Dan Deacon, Dirty Projectors, Eminem, Grizzly Bear, Matt + Kim, Wilco, Yo La Tengo
My grandmother hasn’t acknowledged the existence of an album since Frank Sinatra’s Nice ‘n’ Easy. Thus, the idea of her listening to the latest from Beirut, Common or Yo La Tengo isn’t just comical — it’s downright ridiculous. It’s also the concept behind Breakfast at Sulimay’s, a video blog/online television series that you (and your grandma) are gonna want to check out, if you haven’t already.
From the corner of what appears to be a B-grade suburban diner, three lovable senior citizens don headphones, jam to the latest from the likes of Andrew Bird, Matt & Kim and Bat for Lashes, and deliver their ruling on the tracks.
My grandmother would surely grimace and pronounce that Dan Deacon’s “Snookered” was in headache-inducing poor taste.
Joe, Ann and Bill are totally down, though — they love Dan Deacon! They love Eminem! And of the latest from Grizzly Bear, they say:
“Is this… English?”
Priceless! Youth is wasted on the young.
– Caitlin Dewey
Filed under: Editor Picks | Tags: Drag Me To Hell, Eminem, Marilyn, Marilyn Manson
He needs to dye his hair back. This video is more like a Manson video than an Eminem video. Creepy. The crazy homeless lady reminds me of the witch lady from Drag Me To Hell. That movie sucked so much I left halfway through.
–Jett Wells, Reviews Editor
Here’s the link to the video. Amazing. I love how angry Eminem gets. I can only hope Eminem didn’t know about this beforehand, but it’s MTV we’re talking about. Everything is calculated.
–Jett Wells, Reviews Editor
Editor’s Note: The stunt was indeed bullshit. What a surprise.
Filed under: Editor Picks, Industry News | Tags: Eminem, Family Guy, Lil Wayne, Stewie Griffin, The View
According to an article on Paste Magazine’s website, Fox announced that Eminem will co-host in Family Guy this sunday.
Eminem’s response?
“I’m a big fan of talking babies and their humor,” Eminem said in a statement.
Ooookay.
I love Stewie Griffin and Family Guy, personally, so to me, this could potentially be really funny. I’m not going to get over-excited because I’m sure Eminem’s animated character is going to be cliche as hell, and ruin the whole show. I don’t watch Family Guy on Fox, just the re-runs on other channels, so I won’t see this, most likely.
When musicians release new albums, they usually make their rounds on the networks, publicizing their record. They stop by Letterman, The Daily Show, or some show on MTV, but they don’t make appearances on Family Guy, but then again, this is Eminem we’re talking about.
I don’t know what’s weirder. This or Weezy chatting with the girls on The View…
–Jett Wells, Reviews Editor
Santigold – iTunes Live From SoHo
Santigold is one of the more interesting and colorful bands of the alternative world. Front woman, Santi White offers a very unique blend of sounds and beats to create a strange but enjoyable ambiance. It floats throughout all of her songs and masks this singer/ songwriter in a kind of mysterious haze that can only occasionally be penetrated. She is something to be reckoned with and this live performance tests her showmanship.
Santigold’s most recognized song, “L.E.S. Artistes” is an incredible live track. The electronic synthesizers, guitar, bass and hard drums mix with White’s voice and lyrics to create an incredibly unique sound. Although she doesn’t have the greatest voice, she knows her range and doesn’t try to overshoot it. And the range and intensity make her sound more like a man. She does a great job interacting with her audience and flows flawlessly from song to song.
The album is a great preview of what’s to come from this very experimental and interesting group. The live show is personal and Santigold creates a vibe that rivals some of the greatest grunge acts from the 90’s.
Best Track: “My Superman”
Filed under: Features, Industry News | Tags: Blink 182, comeback, Eminem, Marshall Mathers, MTV Movie Awards, rap, reunion, Slim Shady
Slim Shady is back in business. The hit single, “Crack a Bottle,” has jump started Eminem’s career once again. It was reported today that Eminem will be performing with his band on May 31 at the MTV Movie Awards.
It appears like many musicians have started to use live award shows to make their comeback (or at least make an announcement like Blink 182 at the 2009 Grammys). The last time we saw Eminem was in 2002, when he sold over seven million copies of The Marshall Mathers LP over three million copies of the soundtrack to the movie “8 Mile.” It will be exciting to see what new material Eminem comes out with; we have no doubt it will top the charts.
-Kyra Zeller
Eminem has a crush on Sarah Palin.
The old goofy Eminem videos are back, but in a retro/stale way. In Eminem’s latest single “We Made You,” Eminem raps the following:
“Well I can be as gentle and as smooth as a gentleman
Give me my venom, my inhaler, and two Xenadrine,
And I’ll invite Sarah Palin out to dinner, then
Nail her. Baby, say hello to my little friend.”
Filed under: Industry News | Tags: David Byrne, Dizee Rascal, Eminem, Fatboy Slim, Iggy Pop, Live Nation
Live Nation Continues Takeover
Music promoter and record label Live Nation will continue their attempts at taking over the music industry, when they launch a new digital music store. So far three of the four major music labels have agreed to terms, allowing Live Nation to sell mp3s on its website. The company will setup artist pages to offer the songs on.
