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Taylor Momsen's Pretty Reckless Rocks Irving Plaza

Posted 4/16/12 8:32 am EST by in Concerts, Music


Taylor Momsen

By James Dinh

NEW YORK – It was three hours since show time on Friday (April 13) and the crowd at the Irving Plaza had grown impatient. Even though the strikingly blue-lit venue had been appetized by the likes of opening acts The Parlor Mob, The Blackboard Nails and The Hollywood Kills, the jam-packed crowd were ready for The Pretty Reckless.

Irving's lights shaded black and each of the four-member act individually took to the stage for their latest "The Medicine Tour" show, but the obvious avalanche of applause was for Taylor Momsen, the 18-year-old actress-turned-rocker. In a matching black dress, jacket and knee-high spiked boots, the frontwoman took hold of the mic and began what would be a 12-song set that would further erase any remnants of her former good girl-turned-bad-turned-good character on "Gossip Girl," beginning with the band's first tune, "Hit Me Like A Man," the same title as their recently-released EP.

Beyond the opening number, Momsen and company flew through a string of songs off their debut LP, Light Me Up, including "Since You've Gone," Miss Nothing," and "Just Tonight."

"Been around the f**cking world and there's no place like New York City," a smokey-eyed Momsen shouted to the crowd.

Like the attention she garners from her famous fashion sense, Momsen kept the audience riled as she tousled her platinum blonde mane, shimmied in her tight dress and, of course, got a little dirty with her mic stand during "Goin' Down." Momsen ventured out of Pretty Reckless territory momentarily mid-show to take on a cover of System of a Down's "Aerials," but her crowd engagement during "My Medicine" proved a show highlight. Strapped with a guitar and cracking a contagious smile, the singer made the hallways of Irving Plaza echo as her "zombies" took turns in chanting the new single, followed by crowd pleasers "Make Me Wanna Die" and "Factory Girl."

Before you knew it, Reckless had near completed their hour-long set, but not before giving the crowd time to catch their breath with an encore of the mellow cut "Nothing Left To Lose," where Taylor reminisces about a relationship with an older man. In just one night, Momsen, barely a year older than the legal age, emphasized her rock showmanship, upstaging many of her teen counterparts in the industry. Sure, we loved her on "Gossip Girl," but Taylor seems to have found her lane in music.

MTV News chatted with Momsen before she hit the stage about her currently nonexistent acting career as well as the one horror film mastermind that might persuade her back into the studio. "It was a pretty big part of my life, pretty much my whole life. I started it at 2," she explained about her early film gigs. "But I'm certainly not looking to do any projects anytime soon, unless Rob Zombie calls. Then that would be cool."

Have you seen The Pretty Reckless live? Let us know below!

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Black Keys, Dave Matthews And Others Sign 'Love Letter' Supporting Public Radio Month

Posted 4/13/12 12:51 pm EST by in Music


By Zachary Swickey

April is undoubtedly a great month for music. On top of Coachella kicking the festival season off, April also has Record Store Day (4/21) and just so happens to also be Public Radio Music Month (PRRM). Artists from just about every genre – including the Black Keys, Dave Matthews, the Roots, the Civil Wars, the Decemberists and Jack White – have even show their support with an open love letter of sorts to public radio.

For those of you not in the know, public radio is a great place to discover new bands and artists. NPR, for example, frequently gives album sneak previews and first listens with some of the best indie and mainstream bands around.

A wealth of notable artists have signed their name to the open love letter to public radio, which essentially reads like a list of heartfelt “thanks you’s.”

“Thank you for taking chances. Thank you for playing our music even when – especially when – it doesn’t sound like everything else on the radio dial,” the letter begins.

Quite the appropriate statement since I can personally recall hearing White Stripes first single “Hotel Yorba” from their breakout album White Blood Cells on public radio months before the band started to blow up with their following single, “Fell in Love with a Girl.”

“Thank you for inviting us into your studios and asking us intelligent questions. Thank you for introducing us to some of the most important music in our lives, music that made us who we are,” the letter continues, before signing off, “Thanks, public radio, for being who you are. Happy Public Radio Music Month.”

Throughout the tough times, the music community has always come together to support public radio, which inspired NPR, local radio stations and musicians across the county to spend April spotlighting how non-commercial radio supports all the different genres of the music community – even less mainstream fare like jazz, bluegrass and classical.

Select radio stations will have special events in celebration: WFPK in Louisville will host a PRMM interview with Chris Walla, guitarist for Death Cab for Cutie; WFUV in New York City will air a live broadcast of Rodrigo y Gabriela from Radio City Music Hall; and KOPB in Portland, Oregon, will have Decemberists bassist Nate Query hosting as guest DJ.

You can tune into the airwaves of your own public radio stations across America or join the fun online at their website as it will be a month-long celebration of public radio’s vital role in our nation’s musical life.

Check out the full letter, after the jump! Read More...

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Bob Marley Documentary To Hit Theaters And Facebook On Same Day

Posted 4/12/12 2:42 pm EST by in Movies, Music


By Zachary Swickey

A new Bob Marley documentary – simply titled “Marley” – will be hitting theaters next Friday (appropriately on 4/20), but the production company has revealed the film will be available to stream on Facebook simultaneous with its theatrical release.

Shangri-La Entertainment, Tuff Gong Pictures and Milyoni touts in a press release that Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald's career-encompassing documentary about the icon will be the first ever U.S. release to be made available for streaming on Facebook the same day it hits theaters.

With the assistance of Milyoni's Social Cinema technology, Facebook users will be able to instantly stream the film from the Bob Marley Facebook page for just $6.99. Currently, over 37 million fans "like" the Bob Marley Facebook page, which easily makes it one of the top 20 most popular pages in the world.

MacDonald has directed many interesting projects over the years: the jaw-dropping mountain survival documentary “Touching the Void” in 2003, Academy Award-nominated “The Last King of Scotland” from 2006, and last year’s “Life in a Day,” which was made entirely from footage culled from YouTube.

A portion of the proceeds from Facebook sales of “Marley” will benefit Save the Children.

“We are delighted that awareness of children's needs will be raised through this innovative effort," said Carolyn Miles, President and CEO of Save the Children, in the release. "We are proud to use funds generated through this on-demand movie release for the children we serve."

"Marley" will also be released through video-on-demand on April 20.

For more on "Marley," visit MTV Movies Blog.

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Feist And Mastodon Cover Each Other In Honor Of Record Store Day, Become Fans In The Process

Posted 4/11/12 2:47 pm EST by in Mastodon, Music


Mastodon

By Zachary Swickey

Record Store Day has seen a resurgence in popularity over the last few years thanks to the rising interest in purchasing albums on vinyl, and this year’s split 7” release from Mastodon and Feist marks one of the craziest releases we’ve ever heard.

The metalheads of the Mastodon crew were first smitten with Feist when they witnessed her perform just two songs on UK talk show “Later with Jools Holland” before they took the stage themselves.

"They were great," guitarist Bill Kelliher told Rolling Stone. "We thought, 'Why don't we see if they want to collaborate somehow, someway?" which is how the project came to light.

It wasn’t until Feist saw an MTV Canada interview that she found out about Mastodon’s plans. "Next thing I know, they had announced on MTV that they were gonna cover a song [of mine]," she recalled – deciding to return the favor. Thus resulting in Feistodon – a split-single that will be available in stores for one day only on April 21 to celebrate Record Store Day.

"It's a wet dream to have Mastodon take one of my songs and put it into their massive machine," Feist said of the hook-up.

The artists basically gave each other complete creative freedom with Feist choosing to record a rendition of “Black Tongue” from Mastodon’s newest effort The Hunter and the band tackling Feist’s “A Commotion.” Read More...

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Bon Iver's Justin Vernon Recording Album With Rapper Astronautalis

Posted 4/11/12 12:14 pm EST by in collaborations, Music


Justin Vernon

By Zachary Swickey

Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon must not be keen on taking breaks, because despite being on the road for most of 2011 – touring behind his Grammy-winning self-titled album – he somehow found the time to record a new full-length effort with his rapper friend Astronautalis.

While the concept may seem like a radical departure for Vernon, it’s really not if you are aware of his other side-gig with his supergroup Gayngs – a “collective” of 25 musicians, including Har Mar Superstar, rappers P.O.S. and Dessa from Doomtree, as well as three members of Solid Gold.

The record will also reportedly feature Bon Iver drummer S Carey and producer Ryan Olson (the man responsible for forming Gayngs) with Vernon’s April Base Studio in Wisconsin serving as the project’s headquarters.

"This process was exhilarating, and it drove us further. We were originally going to be down there for a day," Astronautalis, real name Andy Bothwell, said in an interview with City Pages – claiming he also freestyled for eight hours over the music Vernon came up with.

"A lot of my fans are like, 'Oh this is going to be amazing: Astronautalis rapping and Justin singing choruses.' It's not going to be that,” Bothwell said about the effort.

The two also reportedly have a separate moniker for the project that they have yet to reveal, and though they are reportedly hoping to release new music sooner rather than later, they did not set a release date for the project.

It’s safe to assume that the disc will land on the new label Vernon founded, Chigliak Records. An imprint of Jagjaguwar, the label that signed Bon Iver, Chigliak Records focuses on "never commercially released" or "locally released [in Wisconsin] and never put out on vinyl," as well as new music.

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Rolling Stones Hit The Studio To Explore Ideas For 25th Album, Talk 50th Anniversary Tour

Posted 4/10/12 3:36 pm EST by in Music


Rolling Stones

By Zachary Swickey

Ronnie Wood, guitarist for the legendary Rolling Stones, has revealed that the group will convene at a studio later this month to “throw some ideas around” for the band’s 25th album, their follow-up to 2005’s A Bigger Bang.

Apparently the Stones won’t be in full-blown writing mode, rather they just want “to get the feel again,” Wood told The Mirror. Wood also alluded to “training” for the band’s much rumored 50th anniversary tour.

"It's like working out for the Olympics or something," Wood said. "You've got to go into training. So we're going to go into training."

The group had previously conducted a jam session in London back in December, which went splendidly, according to Keith Richards. “It went very well. We played a lot of blues and outtakes of Some Girls and things like that,” he told Rolling Stone.

Richards also speculated at the time that the anniversary tour would have to be pushed back to 2013, but Rood’s comments seem to insinuate differently. Due to the band’s age, many are speculating that the group’s eventual tour will be multi-night residencies in major cities – ten nights at Madison Square Garden for example – which would make it easier to rock out 50 years after the group’s creation.

"I've got plenty in the locker here, but it's not on tape," Richards said regarding new music. "We'll just get the boys back together again then and maybe cut a side."

The Rolling Stones also have a new documentary set to drop this fall, which will take a look back at their lengthy career. "[There] will be music never heard before, and I've conducted 50-plus hours of interviews so far," director Brett Morgen revealed.

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Skrillex And Girlfriend Ellie Goulding Hit The Studio With Swedish House Mafia's Steve Angello And Sebastian Ingrosso

Posted 4/9/12 3:01 pm EST by in dance, Music


Skrillex Ellie goulding

By Zachary Swickey

We won’t have to wait long to hear a collaboration between Skrillex and his lovely lady, British songbird Ellie Goulding, as the two recently hit up the studio with members of Swedish House Mafia (who have a big upcoming weekend ahead of them at California’s Coachella Music Festival).

SHM member Sebastian Ingrosso discussed the collab with Billboard, saying, “We made a demo and it was amazing. We had a blast. Ellie is a great artist … her voice is amazing. Skillex, enough said, he is Skrillex.”

The musician even admitted that he and bandmate Steve Angello were quite “scared” before the songwriting session went down, but that went away quickly. “Ellie and Skrillex came in 30 minutes late, and we had already started with a melody. Skrillex freaked out, he loved it, and after a few hours we wrote the song,” Ingrosso explained.

Apparently, the session was arranged by Interscope A&R Dave Rene, who has become an unofficial matchmaker in the EDM community. Rene was key in fulfilling Ingrosso’s request to have OneRepublic singer Ryan Tedder add some vocals to Swedish House Mafia’s tune “Calling.”

“Dave is the face of putting people together with love and seeing what happens. I think he’s the most loved guy in EDM,” Ingrosso gushed.

Of course, Ingrosso was also pretty thrilled about Skrillex. “Skrillex is one of the best guys out there, so down to earth,” he said of his collaborator. “He’s exactly what that side of EDM needs. He's got so much love in him, he will always take care of his friends, and he loves every single kind of music. I think he's a genius."

The collaboration is in the bag, but Ingrosso isn’t too positive on where the song will end up, saying, “I think it's going to be for [Ellie's] album, but in this business you don't know until you see it on iTunes."

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U2 Team Up With One Direction Songwriter For New Album

Posted 4/9/12 12:42 pm EST by in Music, U2


U2 One Direction

By Zachary Swickey

It appears U2 hope to inject some youthfulness into their new album with the help of the writing team behind recent UK boy band sensation (and Saturday's “SNL” performers) One Direction.

The Sun is reporting that Bono and the U2 crew have recruited Swedish pop songwriter Carl Falk – the man responsible for many of One Direction’s hits – to collaborate with them on their upcoming thirteenth album.

Apparently, Bono wasn’t thrilled with the lukewarm reception of their last album – 2009’s No Line on the Horizon – and is eager to write some new hits so the band can “survive.” The frontman didn’t think their last album produced enough hit singles, but we think they'll be alright.

U2 have the right team in mind to reinvigorate their sound with One Direction being the first ever UK group to debut at number one with their first album in the United States.

Other big names reportedly in the studio with U2 include Danger Mouse – who is still riding the success of producing the Black Keys’ most recent adored album El Camino – and Redone, who is responsible for Gaga’s monster hits “Poker Face” and “Bad Romance.”

However, Falk himself is the one who let the news of the U2 collab slip, saying coyly, “There’s a long way to go but we are doing something with U2."

Falk’s songwriting credits include Nicki Minaj’s “Starships” and One Directions “What Makes You Beautiful” for those curious about the writer’s specific sound. Hopefully we’ll get to hear his results with U2 before the end of 2012.

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Scissor Sisters Debut New Calvin Harris-Produced Single 'Only The Horses' (Listen)

Posted 4/6/12 10:53 am EST by in Music


Jake Shears

Scissor Sisters have debuted their new single, "Only the Horses," a pounding dance track produced by Calvin Harris, who recently (and famously) lent his producing skills to Rihanna's smash hit "We Found Love."

"I've known Calvin for quite a while, we met originally making some music with Kylie [Minogue] for the Aphrodite album. He's just a lovely guy, he's so wonderful," Sisters' frontman Jake Shears told BBC1's Fearne Cotton before premiering the song this morning.

>> Rihanna's 'We Found Love' 'Most Successful Thing' For Calvin Harris

Scissor Sister's are prepping for the release of their fourth album, Magic Hour, on May 28. The set features some pretty eclectic production work for the NYC-based disco-pop band, with Pharrell Williams, Diplo, BoysNoize's Alex Rihda and Azealia Banks, in addition to Harris, all contributing tracks. Diplo and Williams are better known for their work with hip-hop and R&B artists – though a few years back, Williams was the go-to producer for pop stars looking for beats – but Shears says some of the album's best work comes from Williams.

"I was a little bit intimidated, because I think Pharrell's really amazing… dare I say it, I think it might be some of our best work on this album," Shears told Cotton this morning.

Listen to "Only the Horses" below! Read More...

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Iconic Bob Dylan Album Blood On The Tracks To Be Adapted Into Film

Posted 4/5/12 3:39 pm EST by in bob-dylan, Movies, Music


Bob Dylan

By Zachary Swickey

A film company based out of Brazil has acquired the rights to Bob Dylan’s notorious album Blood on the Tracks and is planning a silver screen adaptation.

The firm, RT Features, is currently on the lookout for an English-language director for the film based on the iconic 1975 album that includes classic jams like “Tangled Up in Blue,” “Buckets of Rain” and “Simple Twist of Fate.”

Fernando Loureiro, senior vice-president of the Brazilian movie company, confirmed the details to AFP reported by industry publication Variety, who said RT Features had bought the album rights from US firm Grey Water Park Productions.

"As longtime admirers of one of the greatest albums in the history of music, we feel privileged to be making this film," RT chief executive Rodrigo Teixeira added.

"Our goal is to work with a filmmaker who can create a classic drama with characters and an environment that capture the feelings that the album inspires in all fans," he continued.

Dylan’s 15th album, Blood on the Tracks is considered by many publications to be one of the greatest of all time, with Rolling Stone listing it at #16 on their much-respected countdown. The album is known for its extremely personal autobiographical nature, reportedly focusing on the dissolution of Dylan’s marriage to Sara Dylan (though Dylan denies it). However, their son Jakob says of the album, “The songs are my parents talking.”

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