music

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Dance the Night Away With Handclap
 Dance the Night 
 Away With Handclap 


MUSIC REVIEW

Dance the Night Away With Handclap

Band has high-profile guests and a fun vibe that runs a bit too long

(Newser) - The Phenomenal Handclap Band gets a leg up on its self-titled debut from buzzworthy guests like TV on the Radio and the Dap-Kings—but one of the unfortunate consequences is that “there's a feeling of anonymity to the band,” writes Paul Thompson for Pitchfork. Nonetheless, when it comes...

Mel, Babymamma Record Duet
 Mel, Babymamma Record Duet 

Mel, Babymamma Record Duet

Duets with babymama to be released, plague us all

(Newser) - The 40th anniversary of Woodstock—what a perfect day for the announcement that Mel Gibson is making what is sure to become known as musical history. The actor provides guest vocals for two of the tracks on babymamma Oksana Grigorieva’s upcoming album, the Mirror reports. In not nearly so...

The Music Sucked at Woodstock
 The Music Sucked at Woodstock 
OPINION

The Music Sucked at Woodstock

(Newser) - Woodstock become an iconic event of the '60s, but according to Wall Street Journal critic Jim Fusilli, it was a mediocre festival at best. Major artists like Lennon, the Doors, and Led Zeppelin stayed away, those who did show were drugged up, and sound equipment failed—the whole thing was...

Music Legend Les Paul Dead at 94
 Music Legend  
 Les Paul Dead at 94 
obituary

Music Legend Les Paul Dead at 94

Inventor, guitarist 'changed the course of 20th-century popular music'

(Newser) - Musical innovator and guitar legend Les Paul died today in White Plains, NY. He was 94. A “virtuoso guitarist” himself, in the early 1940s Paul pioneered the “log” guitar, “probably the first solid-body electric guitar," writes Jon Pareles of the New York Times. His popular Gibson...

Best Rock Documentaries
 Best Rock Documentaries 

Best Rock Documentaries

(Newser) - In honor of Woodstock—which happened 40 years ago this weekend—and the “seminal documentary” that captured it, John Farr shares his list of the 10 best rock concert/performance films—all of which are “meant to be played loud,” he writes on the Huffington Post. “So...

Happy 100th to the Man Who Changed Rock
 Happy 100th to the 
 Man Who Changed Rock 
appreciation

Happy 100th to the Man Who Changed Rock

Leo Fender, inventor of the Stratocaster, born Aug. 10, 1909

(Newser) - Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of a man who forever changed rock and roll—even though he couldn’t play the instrument inextricably associated with his name. Leo Fender designed guitars and amplifiers that have endured for decades, including the legendary Fender Stratocaster, played by Jimi Hendrix,...

Radiohead Stuns With Anthem for WWI Vet
 Radiohead Stuns With 
 Anthem for WWI Vet 
MUSIC REVIEW

Radiohead Stuns With Anthem for WWI Vet

(Newser) - Radiohead made waves when they let fans download their last album for whatever price they wanted, yet a new online-only track has been released in the past week to far less fanfare. "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" commemorates the last British veteran of World War I, who died last...

Maxwell and K'Jon Force Soul Music to Grow Up
Maxwell and K'Jon Force
Soul Music to Grow Up
ALBUM REVIEWS

Maxwell and K'Jon Force Soul Music to Grow Up

Maxwell, K'Jon lead return to classical soul era's adult themes and sound

(Newser) - Soul music has always been adult, conveying mature themes like financial insecurity and emotional anxiety. Now, with the emergence of K’Jon and the return of Maxwell, it finally sounds adult, too, Jon Caramanica writes in the New York Times. “K’Jon and Maxwell represent a strain of R&...

New Generation of UK Rappers Steps Out

Kids are coming out of the woodwork earlier to become Internet sensations

(Newser) - Grime—a musical genre fusing, among other things, hip-hop, electronica, and Caribbean influences—is being rejuvenated and redefined by “youngers,” the new generation of Internet-savvy MCs reaching for the charts, the Independent reports. “The ‘olders’ grew up listening to rap and hip-hop and other artists from...

Beastie Boy Yauch Has Successful Cancer Surgery

(Newser) - Beastie Boy Adam Yauch has had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his salivary gland and is recovering at home, Rolling Stone reports. The rapper says he had the procedure a week and a half ago, and spent just one night in the hospital. Though his recovery is going...

Boyle: I Did It for My Mom
 Boyle: I Did It for My Mom  
Interview

Boyle: I Did It for My Mom

Fame hasn't gone to singing sensation's head

(Newser) - Soaring to stardom was “too big for anyone to handle,” says Susan Boyle. But in her first major magazine interview, the singer doesn't pause when asked whether she’s glad she went on Britain’s Got Talent: “Come on! It goes without saying,” she tells Harper’...

Hip-Hop's Next Big Thing 'Fine, Fresh, Serious'

Sure, her life wasn't all hard, but don't write her off as a rapper

(Newser) - “Even in a ‘post-race’ world, street sells,” writes Amy Granzin for Pitchfork. That would explain why some looked at Speech Debelle—the once-homeless UK rapper turned Mercury Prize nominee and "hip-hop's next big thing"—and spun “a tiny bit of flash into blinding bling....

Seacrest, Idol Alums Sorry to See Abdul Go

Hosts, finalists Tweet their sadness over resignation

(Newser) - Paula Abdul’s surprise announcement that she won’t return to American Idol has disappointed fellow host Ryan Seacrest and several Idol alumni, E! Online reports.
  • "I was shocked," Seacrest said on his radio show this morning. "I'm just bummed because we've worked together for so
...

Gangsta Rap Has Nothing on Filthy Blues of Old

(Newser) - Some complain about the explicit lyrics in rap, but modern MCs have nothing on early-20th-century blues singers. Compared to them, “the members of NWA are levelheaded concerned citizens,” says Cracked. A sampling:
  • "A to Z Blues," Blind Willie McTell, 1956: "I'm gonna cut A, B,
...

Asperger's Man Could Be Next Susan Boyle

Briton who can barely leave the house wows X Factor judges

(Newser) - A young singer with Asperger’s syndrome who once spent 7 years without leaving his home is poised to take the British reality TV world by storm, the Independent reports. 21-year-old Scott James’ yet-to-be broadcast audition on the show X Factor features a rave review from Simon Cowell, earning him...

Take Those Tunes Beyond Your iPod

 Take Those 
 Tunes Beyond 
 Your iPod 
OPINION

Take Those Tunes Beyond Your iPod

At least five sites can help

(Newser) - Sure, you can listen to the hundreds of gigs of music you have on your computer—but why limit yourself? Mashable lists the top Web sites and applications to help you really utilize your audio library:
  • Last.fm: One of the Web’s most popular music social networks, the site’
...

'Healing Power of Death Metal' Buoys Wounded Vets

(Newser) - A new program is putting some smiles on the many pained faces at Walter Reed Army Medical Center—and perhaps even helping wounded veterans recover, Slate reports. The seed for Musicorps came when musician/producer/tinkerer Arthur Bloom was asked to help an amputee there play drums again. Now, the program teaches...

15-Letter Phrase for Memory Boost? Crossword Puzzle

Activity may fend off the start of memory loss

(Newser) - Doing crossword puzzles may delay the slide into forgetfulness associated with dementia, a study shows. Researchers monitored the frequency with which a group of elderly subjects engaged in reading, writing, group discussions, playing music, playing cards, and doing crossword puzzles, and found that those who developed dementia took part in...

Newfound Mozart Works Written in Sister's Book

(Newser) - Two pieces by a 7- or 8-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart went undiscovered for more than a century because they were written in his father Leopold’s hand, the New York Times reports. Austrian researchers have disclosed new details about the works after announcing the finding in July: The music consists...

Shakira Goes 'She-Wolf' in Funky New Video

(Newser) - Shakira’s new song “She Wolf” is “either the most insanely brilliant (or brilliantly insane) song you'll hear in 2009,” James Montgomery writes for MTV.com. It sounds like 1970s Italian disco and features the word “lycanthropy,” but the song’s true strangeness can’t...

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