J. COLE ALBUM DEBUTS AT #1 ON BILLBOARD TOP 200 CHART
J. Cole has debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Charts for the third time taking the place of Taylor Swifts 1989. ‘Forest Hills Drive’ sold 371,000 copies in its first week; the highest selling first week sales of any hip-hop album to come out in 2014. Receiving acclaim from the likes of NPR, Complex, The Los Angeles Times and many more the album’s first week numbers are the most of the rappers career. All of this comes without the release of any singles prior to the album’s release date (12/09/14) and very limited pre-album promotions or press. Many milestones were reached with this release including 15.7 million first week album streams on Spotify (all time record in the U.S.).
http://geni.us/ForestHillsDrive
ENTER SHIKARI REVEAL “SLIPSHOD” OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
English rock band ENTER SHIKARI is gearing up for another US invasion, which will take place early Spring 2015. In the meantime, they’ll be preparing fans for their US headline tour with the release of their new album THE MINDS WEEP, which is set for a January 20, 2015 release via Hopeless Records. In addition, the band revealed their cartoon animated music video for “Slipshod”– the bonus track on the iTunes deluxe version of The Mindsweep. The video was directed and animated by Peter MacAdams (Ren & Stimpy) and can be seen here:
http://smarturl.it/slipshodvideo
FAT WHITE FAMILY NEW VIDEO FOR “I AM MARK E SMITH”
Fat White Family are the greatest young rock band in the UK and this probably extends to the rest of the world as well. For a band that only really coalesced as the Fat White Family in 2011, the six piece have already got several once-in-a-lifetime/ ‘OMG – were you there?’ gigs under their belt. One such show, in December of last year, the band rattled the walls of the legendary 100 Club in London, thus aligning themselves with the numerous legends who have trod the very same stage. The band summoned up the feral electric skronk blues of The Magic Band and The Birthday Party, the proto-punk pummelling of The Monks and The Modern Lovers and the twisted folk of Charles Manson and The Country Teasers.
http://www.nme.com/news/fat-white-family/81754
NEW EP BY 60 EAST
After meeting on Facebook, Artist 60 East and Producer Omega had a meeting and decided to work on a project together. The 5 song EP which later came to be known as “The Freeway Series” was recorded and produced in its entirety by Producer Omega. All songs on the EP were written while 60 East was on The #DOITour during the summer of 2014. The project which is very diverse in content ranges from topics of Police Brutality, Gang Influence, Love and becoming a father. This project will be the beginning of a new series by 60 East in which he takes his fans for a ride down the freeway of his life. Buckle your seat belt, and prepare to experience The Freeway Series Volume 1.
https://60east.bandcamp.com/album/the-freeway-series
SHAKEY GRAVES NEW VIDEO ON VH1
Austin’s Shakey Graves (the stage name of Alejandro Rose-Garcia) has a new music video for “Dearly Departed”, which premieres today at VH1 and CMT. The video, directed by CJ Vinson, follows a couple and the aftermath of a bad breakup, exaggerated for humorous effect. Watch the video at the link below.
http://www.vh1.com/video/shakey-graves/1107969/dearly-departed.jhtml
STARGROVES NEW RELEASE
Hear the Radio Dept. track “Strange Things Will Happen” like you’ve never heard it before in a performance cover by NYC indie pop band Stargroves. Frontman Teddy Watson and his bandmates and friends put a creative twist on the song with an array of instruments that highlight their unique interpretation of the tune.
Indie rock fans may be familiar with the Radio Dept. record, which first appeared on their 2003 album Lesser Matters before resurfacing on this year’s The Fault in Our Stars soundtrack. In their rendition of the song, Stargroves utilize banjo, accordion, violin, upright bass and various types of keyboards, including a toy piano that manages to sound right at home in the mix of eclectic sounds.
http://media.stargroves.com/strangethings/?ID=14864&Sub=1&EID=13
JIMMY KIMMEL GETS PRANKED
Emily Blunt and her husband John Krasinski are not only friends of Jimmy Kimmel’s, but they are also his neighbors. A beloved holiday tradition started by a few years back involving all three of them. Three years ago, John and Emily broke into Jimmy’s house while he was at work to set up a large Santa and Snowman display in his living room. Jimmy retaliated by installing a large neon insurance sign (found on Craiglist) on Emily and John’s front wall. The next year, John and Emily planted a zombie statue coming up from the dirt in Jimmy’s garden, (which terrified him). Jimmy and his wife Molly then installed a 26 foot inflatable reindeer complete with non-inflatable reindeer poop on the Blunt-Krasinski property.
NEW VIDEO BY MYSTERIES
Mysteries is just as it implies. A few months ago Felte received an anonymous demo accompanied by a photo of 3 figures, faces covered like some sort of futuristic druids. To this day the label still doesn’t know the group’s origin, but the joy of discovering this music unimpeded renders this fact almost irrelevant.
One thing is certain, New Age Music Is Here glows with exotic, crunchy, muscular, expressive pop music built around vocals and drums, rather than the big synth or guitar riffs prevalent today. Almost like a psych-rock, cyborg, 50’s doo-wop Alice Coltrane if you will.
WATCH TIM BAKER OF HEY ROSETTA! PERFORM “CARRY ME HOME”
Hey Rosetta!’s Tim Baker recently performed the band’s holiday-themed song “Carry Me Home” with Toronto’s Choir! Choir! Choir! Watch the video via Paste, who hails the “rich rendition” of the song, which is off the band’s 2012 Christmas EP A Cup Of Kindness Yet.
Sonic Records will release the band’s new record Second Sight in the U.S. on January 27.
http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/av/2014/12/video-premiere-hey-rosetta-and-choir-choir-choir–.html
TYLER HILTON “INDIAN SUMMER”
Tyler Hilton, also known for his turn portraying Elvis Presley in the Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line and as Chris Keller on the show One Tree Hill, has made a name for himself in the musical world through his earnest lyrical content and detail-oriented songwriting. His major label debut The Tracks of Tyler Hilton was released a decade ago (2004) on Warner Bros. Records. In the time since, Tyler has recorded covers for the critically beloved Walk The Line soundtrack and has appeared on each of the One Tree Hill season soundtracks. In 2012, Tyler self-released a very raw, honest record in Forget The Storm. On that album we got to see Tyler really develop as a songwriter forming his own sound, which Rolling Stone compared to a modern Howie Day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1BGf1fonNw
MAGNET 2014 YEAR IN REVIEW MUSIC
Issue #116 is out now, and it’s our annual Year In Music edition. In it, MAGNET presents a list of the 25 best albums of 2014, from Ex Hex and the New Pornographers to Ryan Adams and TV On The Radio to Guided By Voices and Spoon to St. Vincent and the Hold Steady. Find out here who made the cut and who got left out in the cold.
http://www.magnetmagazine.com/2014/12/15/magnets-top-25-albums-of-2014/
THE NEW ISRAELI OPERA CELEBRATES ITS 30TH ANNIVERSARY
The New Israeli Opera is celebrating its 30th anniversary this season, along with 20 years of performing in the Opera House of the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center. Tel Aviv’s original opera house was built in the 1930’s on the Mediterranean shore, and it was there, from 1962 to 1964, that an unknown Mexican tenor named Placido Domingo was a leading performer.
The 30th anniversary 2014-2015 season will feature 11 operas at the Opera House, including the first-ever Israeli Opera production of La Rondine and new Israeli Opera productions of Nabucco, The Barber of Seville, The Tsar’s Bride, The Bayadere and The Marriage of Figaro, as well as a revival of L’Elisir d’Amore. One of the season’s highlights is a double bill of two newly commissioned operas by Israeli composers – The Lady and the Peddler by Haim Permont and Shitz by Yoni Rechter.
http://www.israel-opera.co.il/eng/
BRYAN CRANSTON PERFORMS “YOU HAVE TO F**KING EAT”
Audible, Inc., the world’s largest seller and producer of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word content, today announced the release of a free, landmark audio performance by Bryan Cranston of Adam Mansbach’s You Have to F**king Eat. In this much-anticipated follow-up to Mansbach’s best-selling mock bedtime story, Go the F**k to Sleep, Cranston’s rendition brilliantly captures the infuriation in this universal parenting challenge. You Have to F**king Eat is available free at
PORTER ROBINSON’S “DIVINITY” (FEAT. AMY MILLAN) TAPPED BY GOOGLE
Porter Robinson’s song “Divinity” (feat. Amy Millan) provides the soundtrack for the Google – Year In Search 2014 film, which premiered today HERE. The clip takes a look back at the searches, questions and moments that defined 2014. “Divinity” is from Worlds, Robinson’s full-length debut. Released by Astralwerks in August 2014, Worlds entered Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Albums chart at No. 1.
DIAGRAMS PREMIERE NEW SINGLE “GENTLE MORNING SONG”
Diagrams, aka songwriter/producer Sam Genders, premiered the second single, “Gentle Morning Song”, off of his upcoming North American debut full-length, Chromatics, today on The 405. Chromatics will arrive March 10, 2015 on Full Time Hobby (January 19 in UK/Europe). Of Chromatics, Genders said, “Relationships are a constant thread, in all their frustrating, exciting, mundane, beautiful, wonderful, sexy, scary glory. And there’s lots of hope in the songs. They shouldn’t be taken too literally mind you… in my head Chromatics is life in Technicolor; with all its ups and downs.”
GHOSTS OF EDEN “HAPPY”
Produced by Mike Watts (As Tall as Lions, Story of the Year, American Fangs, Gates) What Makes You Happy demonstrates how Ghosts of Eden ascends to new horizons, with a sound that will resonate in the minds and hearts of their fans and audience members of all ages. From receiving spotlights on Diffuser.fm, NME, Rockwired, Artist Direct and Pure Grain Audio, to selling out shows at New York City’s famed Gramercy Theatre and Mercury Lounge, and being invited to support sold out shows at Irving Plaza and Six Flags Great Adventure, showcasing their sound that is “absolutely strong and spine tingling.”
http://diffuser.fm/ghosts-of-eden-happy-exclusive-premiere/
THE MEANING OF LIFE NEW VIDEO
Check out indie-alternative, dream pop band The Meaning of Life and their new video, “I Want To Do With You What Spring Does With the Cherry Trees,” premiered via Creem Magazine, from their forthcoming sophomore EP ‘Diamonds and Junkfood’, due out February 17, 2015.
http://creemmag.com/the-meaning-of-life/
MICHAEL BUBLE $106 MILLION IN TICKET SALES FOR 2014
Michael Buble’ has much to celebrate this holiday season. The multi-Grammy winning award singer, songwriter and global entertainer will be completing the l57th performance of his phenomenally successful sold out world tour this week in London. In addition, hewill host his 4th Annual Christmas Special “Christmas in New York With Michael Buble'” airing on NBC tomorrow, December 17th . Add to this his “Christmas” CD which has sold over 9 l/2 million copies worldwide is back on the charts for the 4th consecutive year.
In 2014, the “To Be Loved Tour” sold 992,637 tickets with a box office gross of 106 million dollars. In the UK alone, Buble’ performed l8 sold out shows, 31 in Europe, l2 in Canada and several sold out shows in Mexico, South American, Australia, New Zealand and the US.
http://holidays.michaelbuble.com/
AMANA MELOME RELEASES VIDEO FOR SINGLE “LOCK & KEY”
Soul jazz artist Amana Melomé releases the music video for her single “Lock And Key” after its recent premiere on SoulBounce. “Lock and Key” is the first single and title track off her soon-to-be-released EP. Shot on the streets of New York City, the video was directed by Valentina Caniglia and has music collaborations with Adam Berg and Itai Shapira of The Decoders. “Lock & Key” is a mix of sultry vocals and funky beats that celebrates the beauty of individuality and being true to yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UENkq8Ao-0
JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS ANNOUNCED AS 2015 ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts will be among the 2015 inductees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at Cleveland’s Public Hall on April 18, 2015.
“I’m still collecting my thoughts, but the feeling is surreal. I’ve always focused on making music for the art of it, and its ability to reach others,” said Jett. “I am truly honored that my music has been recognized by the great rock and roll community that voted me in.”
15 YEAR OLD CHRIS MILES NEW MIXTAPE
In the last year, Chris has grown from young lyricist to seasoned songwriter. Not only are his bars sharper, but he’s added a keen sense for melody to his arsenal. As TheSmokingSection states Chris, “displays the type of promise that makes it easy for him to stand out from the rest of the pack.” The Birth of Cool is only the beginning for one of the East Coast’s most promising young voices.
http://www.complex.com/music/2014/12/chris-miles-birth-of-cool-mixtape-stream-premiere
THE DIRT ROAD & BBR MUSIC GROUP PARTNER TO RELEASE FREE MUSIC SAMPLER
The Dirt Road and BBR Music Group partner to release a free music sampler featuring some of today’s biggest country music artists, as well as exciting newcomers from the Nashville-based music group. The Dirt Road Sampleris available for free download starting today though December 30, exclusively on Google Play.
THE KI “LIBRARIAN GIRL”
Regarding “Librarian Girl” The Ki says “Though I’m sure it will go over people’s head, the song is just about a girl I’ve chosen to mess around with but being very low key and quiet about it – so quiet as if we were doing it in a ‘library’.” Following Missing Assignments, The Ki plans to release a full-length mixtape titled School’s Out Forever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPsW0gn-1BU
MAXI PRIEST RELEASES NEW VIDEO “HOLIDAY”
With over 15 million albums sold worldwide, multiple Grammy nominations and top 10 Billboard hits (including the No. 1 smash “Close To You”) – the most successful solo act in British reggae history Maxi Priest drops his new video for “Holiday,” the latest single off his first studio album in almost a decade Easy To Love (VP Records). Yahoo Music premieres this visual opus, directed by acclaimed Jamaican visionary Ras Kassa and filmed at Strawberry Hill Hotel, located high in the Blue Mountain region of Kingston, Jamaica.
https://www.yahoo.com/music/after-taking-a-seven-year-hiatus-from-releasing-105282053931.html
CHADWICK STOKES’ NEW SONG “I WANT YOU LIKE A SEATBELT”
Chadwick Stokes’ new song “I Want You Like A Seatbelt” recently premiered at Glide Magazine and can now be heard/shared via soundcloud. Of Stokes and the new track, Glide praises, “…maintains his mastery for contagious worldly rhythms along with a fervent live energy, that mirrors his flair as an honest to goodness solo artist.”
http://www.glidemagazine.com/127980/song-premiere-chadwick-stokes-want-like-seatbelt/
NEW ALBUM BY STEVE WILSON
Jazz saxophonist Steve Wilson has confirmed his first new album release in over 12 years: ‘Steve Wilson & Wilsonian’s Grain Live in New York: The Vanguard Sessions’ is set for March 24, 2015, as Wilson signs with Random Act Records. The new CD will feature tracks recorded live at the Village Vanguard on May 24 & 25, 2014, and will showcase Wilson along with the great talents of Orrin Evans on piano, bassist Ugonna Okegwo and Bill Stewart on drums.
In addition to being Wilson’s first headlining release since 2003’s ‘Soulful Song’, the upcoming album marks a number of other ‘firsts’: Wilson’s first time doing a live recording as a leader, first time recording at the historic Village Vanguard, and first time/debut recording with his ‘go-to-band’, Wilsonian’s Grain. The project was also partially financed thanks to the support of 214 contributors to Wilson’s first-ever Kickstarter campaign.
http://www.stevewilsonmusic.com/
THE CHIMPZ “CALIFORNIA” VIDEO
L.A. Rap Metallers “The Chimpz” are extremely happy to announce the release of their Official video “California, their single off the new self-titled EP, produced/ mixed/ arranged by the award winning Ryan Green (NOFX, Bad Religion, Megadeth, Jay Z, Usher). The song is about life in California (obviously!) …but it is also about following your dreams and working hard to obtain the lifestyle in which you desire.
When you see this video, you will know exactly where they are coming from and why the have so much love for the State of California. The Chimpz hope that this video will entice the rest of the world to come to their home state and experience what they get to live and experience everyday.
RANDY BACHMAN ANNOUNCES NEW PROJECT
The man known as the “architect of Canadian rock n’ roll” is forging ahead into 2015 with a brand new project billed simply as BACHMAN. Joined by a virtuoso rhythm section with Anna Ruddick on bass and Dale Anne Brendan on drums, the trio’s debut effort entitled Heavy Blues will be available worldwide on April 15, 2015 through Linus Entertainment.
Heavy Blues draws from the unlikely trio’s love of classic 60s blues rock and emerges with a blistering sound, a fierce and fearless collection of BACHMAN originals. Featuring an enviable list of Randy Bachman’s contemporaries including Neil Young, Joe Bonamassa, Robert Randolph and the late Jeff Healey, each musician contributes their signature-style guitar solos blending classic blues and rock with a modern undertone.
http://www.randybachman.com/
MICROPHONE JORDAN “KISS”
Chicago, Illinois rapper Microphone Jordan presents “Kiss”, his new single. “Kiss” is produced by St. Paul, Minnesota/Chicago producer Evan Spacey (formerly known as SPVCE) of Retro Samurai Empire and Permute Clothing. “In my lifetime I’ve noticed that a kiss can bring a lot of things such as death, life, tears and joy,” Jordan says about the track. “The allure of that kiss from the one you desire… Hotness.”
KODALINE “HONEST”
Kodaline have today released the official lyric video for their new single ‘Honest’, directed by Stevie Russell who created the award winning videos for previous singles ‘All I Want’ and ‘High Hopes’.
PHENOM SPEAKS ON POLICE BRUTALITY
Phenom releases a new single today titled “The Caged Bird”. With all the incidents of police brutality, Phenom weighs in on the current events on a heavy 808 induced track.
