Released 6th October….you can preorder here.
@ElizaDoolittle – Waste of Time (Video)
Taken from Eliza Doolittle’s forthcoming effort In Your Hands, released 14th October; if you preorder the album, you will get this track immediately.
Admirers – Return
Involuntary Memory is out now:
While the influences that helped shape Admirers’ debut LP Involuntary Memory can be felt from the opening pulse of album starter “Return,” (Nile Rodgers, Roxy Music, Italo Disco) the record subverts the traditional notion of “synth pop” at every turn. Veering seamlessly from the Nile Rodgers inspired funk of “Return,” to the synth-laden dreamscapes of M83, Admirers’ mastermind Mike James shares the same sandbox with these diverse artists, but creates his own reality on every track. The secret may lie in the album’s title: Involuntary Memory is the culmination of the cinematic, literary, and musical influences flowing through James. A lifelong, pop culture junkie, James toured the world during his time in early aughts indie darlings Longwave, before founding his own projects, most notably Mikey Jukebox. While Admirers’ upbeat, dance aesthetic may be a departure from James’ previous output, it’s a reflection of all that has come before, and where the future lies. “I listen to everything really,” explains James. “And they all shape me. From Pete Seeger and Al Jolson to World Music to Autechre to Beatles and Stones to Stone Roses & Smiths.”
Produced, recorded, and mixed by James with help from legendary producer John Hampton (White Stripes, Raconteurs, Big Star) at the historic Memphis-based Ardent Studios, Involuntary Memory is a tribute to the slew of production techniques James gleaned from records all over the musical map. There are shades of glam, disco, Britpop, ’80s R&B, EDM, post-punk and lo-fi indie rock. Technical mastery aside, the through-line remains James’ whip-smart, pop songwriting chops and a quirky, ethereal romanticism that feels suited to a nighttime driving montage, or a dimly-lit, smoky after-hours club.
“The record was made entirely at night, between 11pm- 4am,” recalls James. “It was intentional, and simply what our schedule allowed. And, I will not lie, I didn’t hide from this knowing Bowie’s Station to Station was done all at night. And if I listen to it during the day, it seems weird. It doesn’t sit well with me. But put it on at 12:23 am and it feels right.” Regardless of the setting or context, Involuntary Memory is one of the most immediately infectious records of the year.
Norma Jean Martine (@NJeanMartine) – Mexico
British implant Norma Jean Martine let go of this one fairly recently. Very powerful record.
Tobias Jesso Jr. – Just A Dream
A demo from the Canadian songwriter currently recording his debut LP with ex-Girls member Chet ‘JR’ White. It’s great. – Paste Magazine
Lee Webster (@VaginaMusic) – oD ouY ekiL ti ni ehT ssA/Shut Your Trap
“lube up”
The above description is the be all in all of ways to describe what’s a pretty hilarious title in the first place. Check out the latest from Lee Webster.
Bonus: ‘Shut Your Trap’ (below)
@OliFurness – Divine Intervention (EP)
Oli Furness’s “Divine Intervention” EP is scheduled for release on September 9th with none other than Underground Solution on remix duties.
50 Cent Loses Lawsuit With Sleek Audio; Cries Racism
From TMZ:
50 Cent says he got SCREWED in court recently because the judge was a rap-hating RACIST … and now he wants the allegedly bias ruling overturned … this according to court docs.
Earlier this year 50 and company called Sleek Audio were embroiled in a bitter lawsuit. 50 claimed Sleek owed him over $261,000. Sleek said otherwise. The case went to arbitration — a binding process in which an arbitrator picks the winner.
Bad news for 50, the arbitrator sided with Sleek (the final $$$ judgement was kept under wraps).
But 50 refuses to go gently into that good night … and is taking the battle to federal court — claiming the arbitration judge discriminated against him because he’s black, associates with controversial African-American figures AND because he’s a high profile rap artist.
Specifically … 50 says the bias ran so deep the judge didn’t allow him to cross-examine witnesses and refused to look at evidence pertaining to the case. Pretty bold claims.
He wants the award axed ASAP and is asking for a new hearing … where he says he’ll prove the judge was out to get him from the get go.
Sleek fired back too … claiming 50’s allegations of racism are a desperate attempt to avoid the arbitration decision and get it brought before an actual court.
Lil Durk – Karen Civil Interview
Karen Civil talks with one of Def Jam’s newest artist, Chicago’s own Lil Durk.
Beyonce Shoots A Music Video (With JAY Z) In Miami
Everyone is saying that we’ll be seeing a Beyonce album this November, so it does make sense to spot a sighting of the R&B rock star shooting a visual. She was recently in Miami with hubby Hov and was cool enough to take pictures with apparently surprised fans; you can check out a few pics below.
Big Sean Talks ‘Beware’ With Rap Up TV
Big Sean talks about collaborating with Kanye West’s creative company DONDA on the trippy music video for “Beware” and other upcoming videos.
RECAP: DJ Khaled’s ‘I Wanna Be With You’ Release Party (Video)
DJ Khaled and Co. recently celebrated the release of his single ‘I Wanna Be With You’, as well as his Gold plaque for ‘No New Friends’.
BEEF: Kim Kardashian Vs. Katie Couric
From TMZ:
Katie Couric insists her baby gift to Kim Kardashian and Kanye West was not a fake Hollywood gesture — and says her comments about Kim’s family were taken out of context.
Kim put Katie on blast today when she Instagrammed a pic of Katie’s gift and card with the hashtag #IHateFakeMediaFriends.
Kim was pissed because Katie recently said in an interview that she didn’t understand why the Kardashians are famous.
Now Katie’s explaining the comment, saying … “I’ve met Kim before and I think she’s a really sweet person. I was responding to a reporter’s question, and explaining how I’m intrigued by the public’s fascination with her family.”
She added, “I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings.”
As for the gift, Katie says … “The gift is genuine, and I’m happy for Kim and Kanye.”
BEEF: Lady Gaga Vs. Perez Hilton Vs. Bill Werde
UPDATE: It got uglier (Credit: That Grape Juice).
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Friends become enemies. Lady Gaga has recently come out to say that former buddy Perez Hilton has — along with Madonna? — been bullying her through text, among other things. Perez Hilton has since responded:
“My heart hurts that my former very good friend Lady GaGa, a person I used to call my “wifey” and traveled the world with, is making very public and very untrue allegations about me on Twitter. While it is still too painful for me to go into detail about why I chose to no longer make her a part of my life, I will say that I am a critic and not a stalker. Any allegation that I am stalking her is utterly false, defamatory and now appear to be putting me in danger. I will continue to be a critic – in a way that is not mean or involves name-calling, and I will continue to have an opinion and talk about music and songs, like GaGa’s “Applause”. As the suggestion that I pose a danger to GaGa is preposterous, if fans want to send a message of support to her, they should buy her music instead of sending me death threats.” – Perez Hilton
In related news, Lady Gaga has also been accused of boosting the YouTube views for her recent clip ‘Applause’ (which itself has been polarizing among fans)….from IB Times:
In a Twitter rant Tuesday night, Bill Werde, editorial director of Billboard, accused her of allegedly trying to better her views on YouTube’s music-video viewing site VEVO for her new single, “Applause.” The rant began after Gaga (real name: Stefani Germanotta) sent out a to-do list message to her 39.7 million followers on Twitter, asking fans to watch and share her latest music video.
“An artist tweeting out and Facebooking a link that enables a fan to hit play and leave their computer is not the spirit of why we chart,” tweeted Werde. “I just hate it when anyone tries to game the charts, be it fans or artists. It’s not in the spirit of what we do, celebrating success,” he added.
Werde claims he wasn’t slamming self-promotion but rather the link allegedly allowing “playlisting” (the act of “watching” the same video multiple times) and the subsequent fiscal benefits YouTube loses from the scamming technique. According to his tweets, a YouTube anti-spam tech was going to check the playlisting accusations and related views Wednesday morning.
Nas Talks Kendrick Lamar & ‘Control’ With Miss Info
Nas speaks with Miss Info Hennessy’s launch party for their new V.S. bottle, and while there he spoke on art in Hip-Hop, Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Control’ verse and more.
Young Jeezy Speaks On YG & Doughboyz Cashout With Revolt TV
Pretty self-explanatory. Jeezy’s CTE compilation mixtape BYLUG is out now.
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Perform On Good Morning America
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis pretty much shut down Good Morning America’s Summer Concert series. Their interview on the show is also included below.
Chris Brown Hit With 1,000 Additional Hours Of Community Service
From TMZ:
Chris Brown just got his ass handed to him in court — the judge sentenced him to 1,000 more hours of community labor after the L.A. County D.A. accused him of fudging his records.
As we reported, the D.A. believes the singer violated his probation in the Rihanna beating case by submitting bogus community service reports — in one case even swearing he was picking up trash in Virginia when he was actually on a private jet to Cancun.
The judge revoked Chris’ probation last month in the wake of hit-and-run allegations, but reinstated it today on the condition Chris completes an additional 1,000 hours of community service.
Think of it like a do-over — because of the discrepancy in Chris’ original labor hours, the singer won’t get ANY credit for service he may or may not have completed since his conviction. Chris was originally sentenced to 180 days of community labor (1,440 hours).
Unlike last time — when the judge said Chris could complete his labor in his home state of Virginia — the judge today ordered that Chris’ service must be supervised by L.A. County officials.
Chris can choose between Caltrans (aka highway cleanup), beach cleanup, probation alternative work services (PAWS), or our personal favorite … graffiti removal.
Chris must also report to a probation officer within the next 48 hours. He did not look happy in court.
The good news … Chris’ probation will finally end in August 2014. One more year to go.
Sparkle Returns To Air Out R. Kelly’s ‘Dirty Laundry’
Most of the young folk may or may not remember this, but R. Kelly used to regularly bang underage chicks (just ask Aaliyah). He eventually got caught up in a pretty ugly legal case with one with left his artist Sparkle in the middle of some serious family matters; if you’re not familiar with what I’m talking about, feel free to get your read on here (or here).
Anyways, a camera and some urine later, Kels gets off the hook. Fast-forward to now, we have the above remix to Kelly Rowland’s single (R. Kelly also remixed this song, interestingly enough). What are your thoughts on this record?
Flatbush Zombies & The Underachievers Perform In Germany
New Yorkers Flatbush Zombies and The Underachievers perform at the Splash! Festival in Gräfenhainichen, Germany.
UPDATE: Chris Fountain (‘Coronation Street’) Fired From Show Over Rape Lyrics
UPDATE: The actor has officially been fired from Coronation Street.
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Coronation Street actor Chris Fountain has been suspended from the ITV soap after a series of internet videos showing him performing a vile rap about rape was posted on YouTube.
The 25-year-old is shown wearing a Halloween mask and using pseudonym The Phantom to spout lyrics about bombing houses and stabbing people in the face with syringes.
In one distasteful clip, Fountain raps about dragging a girl upstairs, and adds: ‘I will **** anybody up in the worst way, rape a b***h on her birthday.’
In another clip the actor performs a stabbing action while he raps: ‘I’m a nasty ****, I will punch you in the face and you look like you’ve been having some acupuncture ’cos my fist is lethal.
‘I’m a ******* hero, you’ve got ******* zero. I’m a mother******* demon, I’ll stab you in the face with a needle.’
Fountain, who finished runner-up in the third series of celebrity skating show Dancing On Ice in 2008, also raps about being fed up with fame as he lounges on a sofa with local rap group the West Yorkshire Cypher.
‘**** with me and you don’t want to risk it, I’ll play you like a board game. I’m bored of fame so I’m taking the rap game, remember the name, it’s ******* Phantom,’ he raps.
Last night a spokesman for support service Rape Crisis said: ‘This is yet another shocking example of the hatred directed towards women by some men.
An ITV spokesman said: ‘ITV finds the language used and the views expressed in this video totally unacceptable. Chris Fountain has been suspended pending further inquiries into this matter.’
Last night Fountain issued a statement in which he said: ‘I would like to sincerely apologise for any offence I have caused. I am deeply ashamed by the lyrics and very much regret my behaviour. The videos were made over a year ago when I was experimenting with music and I’ve not done anything like it since and nor will I.’
The former Hollyoaks star has changed his YouTube privacy settings to try to ensure the five videos – already seen by thousands – can no longer be viewed.
ALBUM STREAM: @Ladi6 – Automatic
Just wanted to express someone I was listening to heavily as of late. New Zealand artist Ladi6’s Automatic is pure Urban Soul and definitely worth the price for those looking for good music; even better, you can stream the entire album before you purchase. Everything is included below.