DeShonna Johnson

The Flaming Lips cover an entire Beatles album

Posted on by DeShonna Johnson

One of the greatest albums of all time has received a makeover, my friends.

Sunday evening, NPR released the first listen of rock band, The Flaming Lips, new album With a Little Help from My Fwends. The album is the bands chopped and screwed rendition of The Beatles’ entire hit record Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The album features a variety of artists from Foxygen to Tegan & Sara and Wayne Coyne’s PIC, Miley Cyrus, who appears on “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.”

Despite the artistic craft that the band threw into the project, none of the proceeds from the album will go to them. In fact, proceeds will go to The Bella Foundation, an organization devoted to providing veterinary care to pet owners in need.

With a Little Help from My Fwends  officially comes out Oct. 28 but you can catch all 51 minutes and 24 seconds of the masterpiece here.

New Angels & Airwaves animated short

Posted on by DeShonna Johnson

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This could possibly be the next best thing since Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Recently, Angels & Airwaves dropped an amazing trailer for an upcoming animated short called “Poet Anderson: The Dream Walker.” The short is a creation of Blink-182 and Angels and Airwaves frontman, Tom DeLonge and  features music from Angels & Airwaves new upcoming album, The Dream Walker.

Through about as many twists and turns as a Tarantino film, the short looks thrilling. With Poet as the main character, the viewer sees him running on the tops of trains, fighting off a monster, and receiving the sympathy of  a young lady.

The animation will premiere at the Toronto International Short Film Festival next month and will be available online on December 9.  A comic series will serve as the prequel this following spring.

Check out the video below and see for yourself!

Listen: Taylor Swift: “Welcome To New York”

Posted on by DeShonna Johnson

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Earlier Tuesday, Taylor Swift released the third single off of her upcoming album, 1989. The song is titled “Welcome to New York” and will be the first track on 1989. It was written by Taylor Swift and OneRepublic frontman, Ryan Tedder.

Inspired by her own move to New York City, the track represents the wide-eyed enthusiasm that anyone is likely to experience while adventuring in the City of Lights.

In an introductory video for the song, Swift says that during her transition to the city, the “inspiration…is kind of hard to describe.” If you ever have dreamed of being in New York City, this song will be a ballad for you.

Lyrics in the song are filled with metaphors of awe and inspiration such as “the lights are so bright/but they never blind me.” There are even lines that show the difference in the political  atmosphere between NYC and her previous location of Nashville. “You can want who you want/boys and boys/and girls and girls,” Swift sings.

Overall, the song is soon to be the new NYC anthem and a definite hit. Keep them coming, T. Swift. Check out “Welcome to New York” below!

(via Tumblr)

 

Track 1 #1989lyrics A photo posted by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on

 

 

New CHVRCHES Track to be Added to Remade ‘Drive’ Soundtrack

Posted on by DeShonna Johnson

Electronic band CHVRCHES will have a new song featured on the upcoming alternative soundtrack for the 2011 film, Drive (ooh, Ryan Gosling).

The alternative album is a part of a curated project by BBC Radio 1 show host, Zane Lowe. The new edition of the soundtrack will air on BBC 3 Thursday, Oct. 30 and will feature some original contributions in addition to CHVRCHES brand new song, “Get Away.”

The new song fits perfectly with the original tracks playlist (below) including the Chromatics, Kavinsky and Cliff Martinez. It doesn’t fail to please, either, with the funky synthesized vocals and beats that feel as if one is driving on the highway in a bustling city. The soft lead vocals of Lauren Mayberry over the electronic dance beat add to the MO of the film’s original soundtrack.

Don’t listen to me though, check out the CHVRCHES track below!

 

Watch: Charli XCX’s “London Queen” Lyric Video

Posted on by DeShonna Johnson

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Releasing the track only a few weeks ago, Charli XCX has unveiled her new lyric video for her Ramones-inspired song, “London Queen.”

The video is all animated and somewhat contrasts the punk element of the song. Equipped with its own animated version of Charli, it’s filled with bright colors and fun fonts but few punk hints besides some skulls and crossbones.

As the song takes listeners on a journey from Charli’s transition from the UK to the States, the video follows what appears to be a fun-loving girl driving through Hollywood and seeing the sights there are to see-oh, and of course, driving on the wrong side of the road.

“London Queen” is a single on Charli’s upcoming album Sucker, out Dec. 16 (U.S.) and Jan.26 (Europe).

Check it out for yourself below!

(via Nylon)

ICYIMI: Everything That Happened This Week

Posted on by DeShonna Johnson

Every week, the entertainment world brings us new music, TV shows, movies and, sometimes, celebrity break-ups. A lot can and does happen in seven days, but with a busy schedules, you can’t possibly keep up with everything out there. So to help, here’s everything that you missed in the week of Oct. 12-Oct. 18.

1.) Neil Patrick Harris will be hosting the 2015 Oscars

After hosting the Tonys and Emmys, it is only fitting that NPH would go on to host the most sophisticated award show – the Oscars. The former How I Met Your Mother star was will have some big shoes to fill, following 2014 emcee Ellen DeGeneres. But I don’t think that’ll be a problem.  NPH has the support of many fans including funny man Seth MacFarlane. The Oscars premiere Feb. 22, 2015 on ABC.

(The Los Angeles Times)

2.) Afroman got high again

Rapper-singer Afroman released a remix of his 2001 hit “Because I Got High” earlier this week to show his support for the legalization of marijuana across the nation.

The song has been making waves with the YouTube video reaching over 2 million views since it was released last Wednesday. Check it out for yourself below!

(Rolling Stone)

3.) Foo Fighters released a new single!

In preparation for the release of their upcoming album Sonic Highways, rock band Foo Fighters premiered their new single “Something from Nothing.”  The single is the first song on the tracklist for the album and was produced with the help of Steve Albini. The album will be available in stores everywhere Nov. 10.  Check out “Something from Nothing” below.

(Consequence of Sound)

 

 

Cursive to Reissue The Ugly Organ

Posted on by DeShonna Johnson

cursive

American indie band, Cursive, is reissuing their acclaimed 2003 album, The Ugly Organ, as announced on the band’s website.

The album, which received nods from publications such as Rolling Stone (as well as being in our own Editor-in-Chief’s top 10 albums of all time), will be an expanded to a deluxe version available on both 2XCD and 2XLP vinyl. The additional disks will include eight additional tracks that were originally created for the 2003 copy’s tracklist.

Other goodies included in the 2XCD and 2XLP vinyl are a medley of handwritten notes, lyrics, artwork crafts, and rare photos.  Get your pre-orders here.

Curvise will be on tour starting next year with their kick-off show being February 10 in Denver, Colorado. The tour will last until March 21, when the finale is held in their hometown, Omaha, Nebraska.

Tickets are available for pre-order here!

Check out the “Art Is Hard” remaster below

Listen: Taylor Swift: “Out of the Woods”

Posted on by DeShonna Johnson

Taylor Swift is holding strong with her musical transition from country to pop with her recent release.

This week, Swift released her new track “Out of the Woods” that was recorded with Fun. guitarist Jack Antonoff.

The single is nothing short of a pop sensation with a beat that – to me, at least – is reminiscent of Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own.”

The song is destined to be a hit, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it picked scooped up for the next blockbuster soundtrack. Listen for yourself below, and tell us what you think!

 

 

 

Lorde embraces South Park’s version of her

Posted on by DeShonna Johnson

Last Wednesday, South Park aired a new episode, and their latest celebrity target was the teen royalty, Lorde. In the episode, Randy Marsh is struggling to keep up his alter-identity as the Kiwi singer (suggesting the idea that Lorde is a transgender man). The episode – of course full of funny jokes – also came full of Marsh/Lorde showcasing his vocal skills in the song, “I am Lorde Ya Ya Ya”.

Today, Lorde took light of the joke and embraced it during an interview with the New Zealand television network, TV3.  When speaking to Spin Magazine, Lorde showed her sense of humor saying:

“I was thinking, ‘Yeah he has a moustache…I mean I have a moustache, but is it that prominent?’ But it was someone’s dad pretending to be me. We actually, in my hotel room, went ‘Ya ya ya ya I am Lorde! Ya ya ya!’ for like an hour, because that’s why [sic] they do on the episode, so…”

Lorde even sang the song to show that she laughed it off as well. Watch it below!

 

Marina and the Diamonds drop a new single

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Thank God it’s Friday, and thank God for a new Marina and the Diamonds single!

Earlier today, the bubblegum bitch released a new single titled “Froot.” The track is the first single off of the group’s forthcoming third album of the same title.

The song, so far, is being well received as seen from the over 10k likes on the YouTube video for the single. Following Marina’s 2012 album Electra Heart, the single and album will prove to be more on the softer side of electronica full of beautiful metaphors and funky beats.

“Froot,” the album, has no known release date yet.