Frank Wu
Bruce Springsteen Records 1913 Song with The Dropkick Murphys
Bruce Springsteen will be contributing guest vocals on The Dropkick Murphys upcoming album Going Out In Style, sharing vocal responsibilities with Ken Casey on “Peg O’ My Heart”.
“Peg O’ My Heart” was written by Alfred Bryan and Fred Fisher and featured in the 1913 musical Ziegfeld Follies. The song was originally performed by Max Harris and his Novelty Trio (based on a version by The Harmonicats).
Going Out In Style will be The Dropkick Murphys’ seventh studio album, scheduled for release on February 28.
Tokyo Police Club and Two Door Cinema Club Mashup
Tokyo Police Club have mashed up “Breakneck Speed” with Two Door Cinema Club‘s “Something Good Can Work”. The two bands are currently touring together. You can listen to the track on Soundcloud.
Single: Oh Land – “White Nights”
Track: “White Nights”
Artist: Oh Land
Release Date: October 19, 2010
Label: Epic Records
Track number two from Danish electro-pop artist Oh Land‘s 2010 EP, “White Nights” is a fun, energetic pop song about the singer’s struggles to find inner peace among the “white nights” and hubbub of Brooklyn, New York, where she now lives. The cheery, layered vocals combine with the frantic, jungle drumming in the background to completely capture her inspiration and thinking behind the song. The other instruments certainly are not lacking either; the rhythmic piano and synthesizers drive the song along from the start. I first discovered the track after Hoodie Allen sampled the track in his latest single, “Dreams Up”, which you can listen to here. In traditional Hoodie Allen style, the rapper chose a lesser-known act and added his verse over top, and as usual, the sampled song is also a really good listen. Be sure to check it out below, as well as a new version of the song remixed by Twin Shadow.
“White Nights” is from Oh Land – EP, out now via Epic Records.
Remix:
Rating: 8/10
New Red Hot Chili Peppers In June
According to drummer Chad Smith, the Red Hot Chili Peppers will be releasing their newest album in June of this year. The new album will again be produced by Rick Rubin and will feature new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer insteadof John Frusciante, who is focusing on his solo career.
Hoodie Allen Releases “Dreams Up”
Four months after the release of his mixtape Pep Rally, rapper Hoodie Allen has sent us first single “Dreams Up”. The Oh Land sampling track will be on Hoodie’s forthcoming Leap Year mixtape. Check out the song below.
New Dangerous Summer Clip
A new short clip from The Dangerous Summer can be heard here. Keep in mind that the song is not completely finished.
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Goes Platinum
Just eight weeks after its release, Kanye West‘s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has been certified platinum (officially selling over 1 million units). This was West’s fifth platinum solo LP. Congratulations Yeezy!
More information can be obtained from the RIAA.
Review: J. Cole – Friday Night Lights
J. Cole – Friday Night Lights
Released: November 12, 2010
Label: Roc Nation
“So here we are…”
Here we are, indeed. Say hello to the third mixtape from North Carolina’s J. Cole, approved by Hova himself. With his debut album scheduled for a 2011 release, it certainly is Cole’s time to shine. This is “his moment”: his chance to achieve the success that is the subject of almost every one of his songs.
If you aren’t already familiar with J. Cole’s life story, Friday Night Lights can certainly fill you in. Like the TV show of the same name, the mixtape focuses on the struggles of small-town folk struggling in the larger world; in this case, Cole’s poverty growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina and his transition to the world stage as a rapper. Cole, who graduated from St. John’s University magna cum laude, is a deep-thinking, well-educated lyricist, taking nothing for granted. It is obvious Cole works extremely hard for everything in his life and he does everything in his power to force you to realize that.
Keeping that in mind, Friday Night Lights contains nothing inherently new in terms of Cole’s choice of subject matter. This, however, also means that Cole is doing what he does best: rapping about himself, his dedication to the “game”, and his rise from obscurity and small town North Carolina. Complimented by the bright, twinkling piano lines of the mixtape, J. Cole spits smoothly and with modest self-confidence.
Friday Night Lights features twenty tracks of rap in its most unadulterated form. Cole handles almost all of the production himself and only includes three rapping features, excluding Kanye West‘s G.O.O.D. Friday track “Looking For Trouble”. The highly anticipated Drake collaboration, “In The Morning”, is a solid showing from both young rappers, with both donning ‘thoughtful loverboy’ personas. J. Cole’s girl is “summertime fine”, while Drizzy’s is “wintertime cold”, but in the end, this makes no difference. Both are troubled by the same internal question that is plausible only because of their meteoric rises to stardom.
Is the mixtape fun? Sure, listen to the energetic “Higher”. How about serious? Cole definitely has that taken care of. Coherent? Absolutely. Friday Night Lights is a great effort from Cole all around, showcasing both his lyrical and production talents, but still addressing all of the emotional issues that have become the ‘bread-and-butter’ of Cole’s musical repertoire. If you’re looking for the future of hip-hop, this is it.
Cole World, here we come.
8.6
Standout Tracks: “Before I’m Gone”, “Higher”, “In The Morning (feat. Drake)” and “Home For The Holidays”
Grizzly Bear Contribute Soundtrack to Blue Valentine
Grizzly Bear contributed the soundtrack to the new movie Blue Valentine. According to The Playlist, the band intended their soundtrack to include original music, but when the film’s release date was pushed up, the band chose to instead include instrumentals of existing Grizzly Bear songs. Bummer.
The Blue Valentine soundtrack will be available on February 1 via Lakeshore Records. The digital album will be out January 25 on iTunes. Check out the tracklisting below.
Blue Valentine Tracklisting:
01 Grizzly Bear: “Granny Diner”
02 Department of Eagles: “In Ear Park”
03 Grizzly Bear: “Easier (Instrumental)”
04 Grizzly Bear: “Lullabye (Instrumental)”
05 Grizzly Bear: “I Live With You (Instrumental)”
06 Grizzly Bear: “Foreground (Instrumental)”
07 Grizzly Bear: “Dory (Instrumental)”
08 Ryan Gosling: “You Always Hurt the Ones You Love”
09 Penny & the Quarters: “You and Me”
10 Grizzly Bear: “Shift (Alternate Version)”
11 Grizzly Bear: “Alligator [ft. Zach Condon, Dave Longstreth & Amber Coffman] (Choir Version)”
12 Grizzly Bear: “Easier”
13 Grizzly Bear: “Lullaby”
14 Grizzly Bear: “I Live With You”
15 Grizzly Bear: “Foreground”
New Member of the Gorillaz
A new member has been added to the Gorillaz, based on a fan-submitted design from the character competition contest. The new character is called “The Evangelist” and has been redrawn by Gorillaz co-creator/animator Jamie Hewlett.
According to the Gorillaz website, “‘The Evangelist’ is the opposite of ‘The Boogieman;’ the light to his awful shade…’The Evangelist’ is a similar entity, but the flip-side of ‘The Boogieman.’ He/she may even be revealed as ‘The Boogieman’s’ avenger. His/her outer appearance is yet to be defined.”
You can see the images and find more information here.
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