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Simon Cowell Not A Fan Of 'The Voice,' Calls It An 'X Factor' Rip-off

Posted 5/17/12 12:41 pm EST by in The Voice, the x factor


The Voice

By Zachary Swickey

Surprise, surprise – it appears Simon Cowell is not a fan of the "The Voice" and claims the vocal competition show is a blatant rip-off of his own pet-project, “The X Factor” (more specifically, the British iteration, which pre-dates "The Voice," as the US "X Factor" premiered later).

Cowell was chatting it up with Radio 4’s Today Show when he made the bold suggestion that “The Voice” should be on radio instead of television – saying he “didn’t understand” it.

"That show ['The Voice'] puzzles me because it starts off and 'it's all about the voice'," he explained. "So my first thought is, 'Why isn't this on radio?' because what's the point in looking at them. Then suddenly I'm watching it a week or two weeks ago and it's the same as 'The X Factor.' They've got dancers behind them, graphics, lights. Same show."

Apparently, Cowell thinks he has a patent on singing, dancers, graphics and lights?

“I see a lot of shows trying to rip us off. If you try and rip somebody off it always looks like a bad copy,” he continued. Ouch.

Plenty would argue with his statement as “The Voice” has been a ratings behemoth and even helped recharge the celebrity of some its judges. You couldn’t go anywhere without hearing Adam Levine’s Maroon 5 troupe and their hit “Moves Like Jagger,” which featured fellow judge Christina Aguilera, last summer. “The X Factor,” however, has not been taking off the way Cowell expected.

Although, we’re pretty sure Cowell will see one heck of a ratings boost now that they have added Britney Spears and Demi Lovato to this year’s judging panel.

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The Top 5 Bonnaroo Scheduling Conflicts

Posted 5/16/12 1:21 pm EST by in Bonnaroo, Festivals


By Zachary Swickey

At long last, the official schedule for this year’s Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival – taking place from June 7-10 in Manchester, Tennessee – has been revealed, and in typical music-fest fashion, fans are going to be forced to make some heart-wrenching decisions.

Anyone that has hit up a major music festival, especially one of Bonnaroo’s magnitude, knows that they will inevitably have to choose between two of their favorite acts when scheduling conflicts arise, as they are known to do for even the most casual fans.

Considering the stellar lineup they’ve concocted for this year’s iteration – Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Phish, Bon Iver, the Beach Boys, Foster the People, Skrillex and many more. If you’re attending Bonnaroo, you might want to prepare yourself for some overlap between your favorite artists' sets.
Here are five of our biggest scheduling predicaments. Who would you hit up?

Bon Iver Vs. The Shins

It seems like Sunday’s dilemma between Bon Iver and the Shins is the toughest one to make bar-none as their music is somewhat similar. Bon Iver should be winding down his backing of his ’11 self-titled release, while the Shins just dropped a new album (Port of Morrow) after a five year hiatus. So if you’ve already caught Bon Iver, we recommend giving the Shins a go.

Feist Vs. Ludacris

While this may not seem like a dilemma for some fans, music connoisseurs like myself will have a decision to make. With Luda’s rising acting career, his performances are fewer and farther between, and few can argue the appeal of Feist’s newest offering, Metals. Basically, do you want to have your mind blown by a Canadian singer-songwriter or one of the best lyricists in the rap game? Your move; we're not touching this one.

Fitz & the Tantrums Vs. The Avett Brothers

This one’s a toughie. Both of these bands have broken in the last few years and they’re both known for their spectacular live shows. Fitz and his troupe don their throwback suits and swagger onstage even through the most menacing heat, while the Avett Brothers inherently manage to capture the nostalgia of rock’s glory days. Choose wisely!

The Beach Boys Vs. City & Colour

We’re not too sure if many of the younger folks are eager to catch the Beach Boys on their 50th anniversary reunion tour, but having them play during City & Colour’s set is a genuine predicament. Look, we’re not arguing about the Beach Boy’s legacy, but when your youngest member is 69 years old, you’re likely past your prime no matter who you are. And City & Colour totally rules, so there’s that.

The Roots Vs. Mogwai

This one will have the hipsters scratching their heads. Casual music fans will obviously gravitate toward the Roots thanks in part to their gig as Jimmy Fallon’s house band (not to mention they’re just flat-out incredible), but Scottish rockers Mogwai are one of the most treasured indie acts out there. Also, being from Scotland, they don’t make it to the states often, and occasionally their drummer’s pacemaker can throw a wrench in things. We'd go Mogwai, but only because it'll be easier to catch the Roots at another time – they're not going anywhere.

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Andy Samberg Crashes Santigold's NYC Show

Posted 5/15/12 2:26 pm EST by in Concerts, Santogold


By Uptin Saiidi (@uptin)

New York - Fresh off his 100th SNL Digital short premiere on Saturday, Andy Samberg, dressed as Shy Ronnie, crashed Santigold's show in New York City Monday night (May 14).

The show was put on by Samsung to celebrate its 5 million "likes" on Facebook and held at the intimate Irving Plaza. The singer opened with her best-known hits before moving on to her latest tracks from her sophomore album, Master of My Make Believe.

She rocked out on stage with two backup dancers in festive costumes and at one point selected a dozen or so fans to come up on stage to dance with her.

The crowd, which was composed mainly of fans who were hooked up through Samsung's Facebook page, was treated to an open bar, appetizers and even a few surprise guests.

In addition to Samberg, Pharrell Williams also joined the indie sensation to perform "My Drive Thru."

The event was streamed live and you can check out Santi and Samberg in action below. Read More...

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London's Free iTunes Festival Boasts Usher, Jack White, One Direction And Norah Jones

Posted 5/15/12 1:31 pm EST by in Festivals


Jack White

By Zachary Swickey

It appears that three of the most in-demand artists around will be congregating at the same music festival in the U.K. this fall with impalpable Jack White, tween heart-throbbers One Direction, and R&B megastar Usher all signing up to perform at this year’s iTunes Festival, taking place in London in September.

The festival runs as a series of absolutely free shows taking place throughout the month (in past years it's taken place in July), and all performances will be taking place at the same venue, London’s iconic Roundhouse.

Interestingly, all three acts have performed on this season of “Saturday Night Live” with Usher being the most recent. (He even helped out host Will Ferrell with a sketch and appeared in the all-star 100th digital short).

Usher will be the first artist to perform at the festival during night one on September 1 with Jack White (who just rocked our world here in LA) taking his turn on September 8.

One of the most beloved female voices on the current music scene, Norah Jones, will also appear at the festival. She hits the stage on September 10, promoting her newest masterpiece, Little Broken Hearts, which was produced by the one and only Danger Mouse.

One Direction will get their chance to make the audience swoon when they perform their set on September 20. Many more acts will be confirmed in the following weeks.

The 2011 iteration of the festival featured a bevy of heavy-hitting artists, including Coldplay, Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance and the Foo Fighters.

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Animal Collective Reveal Details Of New Album, Centipede HZ

Posted 5/14/12 1:59 pm EST by in Music


Animal Collective

By Zachary Swickey

At long last the quirky-but-awesome experimental rockers Animal Collective have unveiled details behind their upcoming new album – their first since ‘09’s critical revered Merriweather Post Pavillion.

In keeping with their affinity for “WTF” album titles, Animal Collective’s newest effort has been dubbed Centipede HZ and will final hit stores on September 4 through London-based indie favorite Domino Records. The album is expected to contain 11 tracks; however, two recently released tunes – “Honeycomb” and “Gotham,” which are streaming now but set to drop on a 7” in June – will not be found on the disc.

The album announcement comes on the heels of a new teaser video that the Baltimore art-rockers posted over the weekend on their website. Taking a page out of the "Tron" visual palette, robot voices can be heard revealing the tracklisting for the new effort, while “From us to you on Centipede HZ,” can be read at the bottom of the screen.

While a tour is bound to be announced soon, the group’s only listed state-side show as of now is an appearance at the iconic Hollywood Bowl on September 23.

Check out the Centipede HZ track listing, after the jump! Read More...

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Above & Beyond Needs Your Help In Los Angeles

Posted 5/11/12 2:28 pm EST by in dance


By Akshay Bhansali

EDM super-group Above & Beyond has a tradition of epic recap mini-films of their Group Therapy parties around the world. With Group Therapy descending on Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium for three dates in just over a week, our good friends Tony, Paavo and Jono wanted to try something different this go around and asked us if we could help spread the word.

In short, they want you to help them make a film, L.A.!

Get all of the details below! Read More...

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Queen To Perform With A Digital Freddie Mercury After All

Posted 5/11/12 1:13 pm EST by in Music


Queen

By Zachary Swickey

The remaining members of the legendary rock group Queen might want to have a chat about whether or not they want to get into the hologram business. Drummer Roger Taylor insisted that it would never happen, but now guitarist Brian May pretty much says that’s exactly what is about to go down.

Following Tupac’s holo-appearance at Coachella this year, many people were speculating about which acts could utilize such an effect, with Queen being an obvious choice. However, drummer Roger Taylor was quick to suggest the group would never do such a thing.

"I don't want to sit up here with a hologram of my dear friend," Taylor told Rolling Stone. "Were somebody to use a hologram of Freddie, I don't think I would have an objection. But I don't want to. It just didn't sit too well with me."

However, in complete contradiction of that statement, the group is now set to use a similar special effect that will make it appear as if the late, great Freddie Mercury is onstage with them yet again.

Brian May told the BBC that the band has been working on the effect and will use it for their special performance at the West End musical of “We Will Rock You” on May 14. However, May stresses that the effect will be an “optical illusion of sorts” and not a hologram, but says, “People will come out saying, ‘Did we actually see Freddie?’”

Regardless of the confusion, May says the digital Mercury won’t be exactly like the projected image of Tupac that appeared with Dr. Dre and Snoop dog during their set at Coachella last month.

"It's a little unfortunate they did that thing with Tupac as we've been trying to make Freddie appear on the stage for quite a while," he told the BBC. "[That technique] is something we've looked at ourselves, but I think probably for a show that runs eight shows a week it's not really quite practical."

Looks like we’ll just have to see what exactly Queen has up its sleeve when the performance takes place on May 14 in London.

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Skrillex, Diplo And Pretty Lights Team Up For Unique Railroad Tour Of Canada

Posted 5/9/12 2:10 pm EST by in Music, Tour Dates


Diplo

By Zachary Swickey

Haven’t you always dreamt about vacationing on a train through Canada while fist-pumping to some of your favorite electronic dance music artists, including Skrillex and Diplo? Well, you may now live out that fantasy as the producer/DJ masterminds have joined forces with EDM acts Pretty Lights and Grimes for a good old fashioned railroad tour.

Taking a page from Mumford & Sons’ "Railroad Revival" tour – which found them performing sets on train stops with Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show – the “Full Flex Express" tour will make six stops across Canada.

All of the acts will travel on an assumingly rambunctious private passenger train together between each of the stops. Each show will feature multiple stages in a “festival event,” according to a press release of the tour. KOAN Sound and Tokimonsta are also included on the bill.

If we’re lucky, we may eventually get a rad documentary out of the journey, as Mumford & Sons did with their railroad trek. “Big Easy Express” was shot by iconic music video-directing vets The Malloys, and chronicled the unique railway tour.

The train will head out immediately following Skrillex’s headlining slot at this year’s Camp Bisco Festival in New York.

"Full Flex Express" tour dates:

7/13 - Toronto, ON - Fort York
7/14 - Ottawa, ON - Ottawa Blues Fest
7/15 - Montreal, QC - Parc Jean Drapeau
7/18 - Winnipeg, MB - Shaw Park
7/20 - Edmonton, AB - Kinsmen Park
7/22 - Vancouver, B.C. - PNE Coliseum

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Fiona Apple Details Awesome Extras In Deluxe Edition Of Her First Album In Seven Years, The Idler Wheel

Posted 5/9/12 1:03 pm EST by in Music


Fiona Apple

By Zachary Swickey

Fiona Apple is gearing up to finally treat us to her first album since 2005’s critical fave Extraordinary Machine, and now we have all the details on the deluxe edition of her release: The Idler Wheel Is Wiser than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More than Ropes Will Ever Do (and yes, that’s the entire album title).

The fourth album of her 16-year career will be coming out June 19 on Clean Slate/Epic Records with the first single, “Every Single Night,” now available digitally on iTunes. Of course, you’ll receive the song immediately if you pre-order the album, which will be available on CD, 180-gram vinyl, digitally, and in a deluxe CD/DVD package that we now have details on.

The deluxe version comes with a few notable goodies, including the bonus track “Largo” (undoubtedly an ode to the LA venue, Largo, where Apple occasionally performs surprise sets), a DVD that contains five songs from her performance at SXSW in March, a fold-out poster and a book filled with lyrics, drawings, sketches and personal photos.

The five live tracks from SXSW include “Every Single Night” and “Anything We Want" from the upcoming Idler Wheel; “Fast As You Can” and “A Mistake” off When the Pawn… and the Tidal track “Sleep to Dream.”

Additionally, you’re not going to want to miss Apple on her first proper national tour in several years when it comes through your town this summer. Check out the dates below. Read More...

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Lady Gaga's Tea Cup Snags £47,000 At Auction For Charity

Posted 5/8/12 11:38 am EST by in Charity, Lady Gaga


By Elizabeth Lancaster (@lizzydl)

Little Monsters all want a piece of Lady Gaga, and it seems like they will settle for any bit of her ... even her dirty dishes.

>> Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way Ball' Stage Biggest Ever Built To Tour

On May 6, the pop star put her very own blue-and-white tea cup up for auction on Yahoo! Japan Auctions to raise money for artists that were affected by the 2011 tsunami that devastated parts of the country. The tiny tea cup brought in an astonishing £47,000 to help these artists study abroad.

>> Lady Gaga Giving Away 'Monster Pit Key' To Hardcore Fan At Each Tour Stop

Gaga recently brought her "Born This Way Ball" to the continent, and is currently in Tokyo for three more shows following several dates in Hong Kong. As usual, she made sure to keep her Little Monsters in the loop, tweeting early this morning, "On my way to TOKYO!!! I'm so excited I'm gonna sit by the pilot on the planes and ask him to go faster!! *are we there yet*"

>> Lady Gaga And Britney Spears Tweet Love For Each Other

What would you like to see her auction off next? And for which charity? Let us know in the comments below!

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