Selena Gomez Throws Epic Dance Party With Stars Dance Teasers

Gomez makes good on her promise of serving up dance music on her new album, out July 23.

Selena Gomez wasn't lying when she said that her new album, Stars Dance, was inspired by EDM king Skrillex. On Monday (July 15), the singer gave fans an early listen to the dance-song-heavy release, officially out on July 23

                               
While the teasers are short, they also paint a pretty sweet sonic picture of what fans have in store for them on the album, her follow-up to 2011's When the Sun Goes Down. Full of wobbly synths, loopy vocals, fist-pumping beats and crunchy breakdowns, the album takes cues from all walks of music including disco, techno and electronic music, exuding sexy confidence and sassy swagger.

 

 It definitely can be classified as "baby dubstep," which how Gomez has previously described it.

It's clear that Gomez just wants to party on the album. The first teaser, with its clappy beat, has her proclaiming, "Tell them it's my birthday/ When I party like that!" (Coincidentally, the album actually drops one day after her 21st birthday.)

 

When Gomez spoke to MTV News back in May about the album, she made it clear that dancing would be an overarching theme. She noted that she was definitely inspired by her work on the bikini-heavy, Harmony Korine-directed "Spring Breakers," which included a dubstep-heavy soundtrack provided by Skrillex.

 

"To be honest, most of the record actually speeds up once I release [the first single] 'Come & Get It'," she said. "The rest of the record, I've never taken this long to work on a record before. ... It was really fun for me to have more of a creative control and more of a say. I want it to be a mixture of everything I'm obsessed with. I love to dance and I love to make people dance."

 

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1710587/selena-gomez-stars-dance-teaser.jhtml

Smith Westerns Mellow Out Before Blasting Off

Kicking back with the Chicago indie trio before their summer tour

By Dan Hyman
June 20, 2013 3:20 PM ET

Cullen Omori has been stoned all day. A busy night lies ahead: The Smith Westerns singer is hoping to whip up a killer gumbo and then, if all goes according to plan, stock his newly minted "smoking room" with the early-Nineties action figures he's recently become obsessed with. Right now, though, he's ready to spark up again.

"Go easy – this stuff is pretty heavy," he warns, sliding a mini-glass bong snugly packed with choice buds across a table in the living room of his messy, college-style Chicago walk-up apartment. Omori's pet fish, Little Pig, looks on from his murky tank.

The 23-year-old frontman and his bandmates – brother Cameron Omori, 21, on bass, and longtime friend Max Kakacek, 22, on guitar – finished recording their third studio album, Soft Will, last October. Save for a pair of Coachella gigs in April, life for the three longhaired musicians has resembled one long, hazy weed nap since then. The daydream ends next month, when they head out on a nationwide tour behind the new album.

Summer Music Preview: The Season's Must-Hear Albums

Today, Cullen woke up, checked some trashy tabloid websites – The Daily Mail and Perez Hilton are two of his favorites – and messed around with a guitar that he recently outfitted with a marijuana-themed pick guard. Cameron overslept, the result of an up-'til-3:00 a.m. bender playing Candy Crush on his iPhone. Kakacek, the most put-together of the three (if only by process of elimination), had already met a friend for coffee and a chicken salad sandwich by mid-afternoon; he even found time to stop by the bank to withdraw some money for the early-Eighties Jeep Wrangler he wants to buy.

Playing in Smith Westerns is the only job these guys have ever known. Their Nuggets-inspired 2009 debut, recorded while all three were in high school, caught the attention of a handful of influential music blogs; their slightly glossier follow-up, 2011's Dye It Blonde, made them indie darlings.

After a year of touring behind Dye It Blonde, including high-profile opening gigs for Wilco and Arctic Monkeys, Smith Westerns returned home to Chicago in early 2012. Cullen moved into an apartment with Kakacek in the hipster-friendly Logan Square neighborhood; he later moved down the streeet to his current place, where he lives with his girlfriend. Cameron is still figuring out his plans, so he moved back in with his and Cullen's parents in the northern Chicago neighborhood of Sauganash.

"It was the first time since 2009 that we had this huge gap of time," Cullen recalls of their life after the Dye It Blonde tour. After an enjoyable stretch spent doing nothing, the trio got back to writing new songs; last summer, they headed out to Sonic Ranch Studios in El Paso, Texas, to record Soft Will with returning producer Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV On The Radio). Adds Cullen, "It was nice to get out and go to this weird, isolated place."

On most days, the trio holed up in the studio from mid-afternoon until the early morning hours. New drummer Julien Ehrlich, formerly of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, joined them for the sessions – the first time they'd recorded with a full band. Cameron recalls the sessions' loose, freewheeling vibe: "I feel like Dye It Blonde was the [album] where there was a little more pressure. This one was a lot more fun."

Soft Will suplements the band's Big-Star-style power-pop with more complex arrangements and lush orchestral melodies. Cullen says he looks to the Clash for inspiration on how to evolve. "You listen to their first record and it's almost unlistenable," he says. "Then you listen further down and it's like, 'Whoa – this is, like, straight-up, really, really poppy, catchy, well-crafted music. I like that."

Source : http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/smith-westerns-mellow-out-before-blasting-off-20130620

Music in the Air - How a Sonos Wireless Music System Can Give You Freedom

Gone are the days when the entire family used to huddle around the one enormous radio in the household, listening closely to the evening news. These days it is no longer necessary to limit our listening to one device in one spot, as modern technology has allowed us to create an interactive and completely customisable "soundscape" for our homes with a Sonos Wireless Music System.

A Sonos Wireless Music System is much more than the old cabinet radios or even the modern "boom boxes" of the 80s and 90s. Rather than being a simple music player, it is a full music system for your entire home. It lets you manage your music wirelessly, organise all of your audio content in one place and control the sound and volume individually in every room. This means that you can have different music playing in each room, only music in select rooms, or play the same song on all speakers in sync. This gives you the freedom to choose and is perfect for families who all want to listen to something different. You can even stream online music or online radio stations, essentially bringing all the music in the world to anywhere in your home.

Listen to a podcast in the kitchen while you are cooking dinner, then put on some relaxing jazz in the dining room while you are eating it. Forgot to turn off the kitchen speaker? No need to get up; just press a button on your smartphone.

You will be able to combine all of your different music libraries into one even if they are spread over many different types of media. Your computer, MP3 Player, smart phone and other components can all be connected into the wireless system and listened to throughout your home. You can control the music from anywhere in the house with your smart phone or tablet.

There is no need for messy wires and no limit to where you can place your speakers. Each of the different styles of Sonos Hi-Fi speakers are small and compact and yet deliver high quality sound which is enough to shake the room. The speakers are portable, so you can move them around as you wish and can even take them outside on the patio so that you can listen to music during a barbeque. The speakers come in different sizes, ranging from large sub woofers to small speakers that can be tucked away in the corner.

With this type of system, music becomes interwoven into your home in a very intuitive way. As you move from room to room, you can easily control your own personal "soundtrack" which corresponds to whatever you are doing. You have the freedom to experience music, radio and other audio content in so many different ways and situations. With a Sonos Wireless Music System, music really is in the air.

Source : http://ezinearticles.com/?Music-in-the-Air---How-a-Sonos-Wireless-Music-System-Can-Give-You-Freedom&id=7523669

Pink Floyd’s album cover artist reveals lighter side of the moon

THE creator of Pink Floyd’s album art since the 1960s has revealed the comic scenes behind some of the band’s most famous album covers and opened up his portfolio of designs that were never used.Storm Thorgerson disclosed that he originally favoured a different design for Dark Side of the Moon, released in 1973. It showed a figure similar to Silver Surfer, the Marvel cartoon character, sipping a cup of tea while riding a mighty wave.

However, the band members took just three seconds to choose a prism and rainbow of light for their most famous album. Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Rick Wright made a unanimous decision in front of a gallery of seven rough images pinned to the wall of London’s Abbey Road studios.The album went on to sell more than 30m copies worldwide over 35 years. A prototype for the 1977 album Animals, which featured a 32-ft high inflatable pig flying over Battersea power station.

Shooting the album cover for 1987’s A Momentary Lapse of Reason involved dragging 700 hospital beds onto a beach in Devon. Rain interrupted the shoot and they had to repeat the exercise two weeks later.“It wasn’t one lapse of reason, it was two,” said Thorgerson, 63, whose retrospective is at the Oxo gallery in London in July.

The cover for 1994’s The Division Bell was the most ambitious, featuring two Easter Island-style statues. An alternative included a magical junk floating above an estuary. Source:timesonline.co.uk


Source : http://www.musicsnews.com/articles/pink-floyd%E2%80%99s-album-cover-artist-reveals-lighter-side-of-the-moon.html

Musical March Madness Reaches The Final Four ... Finally

After some technical difficulties, MMM's Final Four is set — and voting is underway!

By James Montgomery (@positivnegativ)

Well, it wasn't easy ... but after a tsunami of votes so huge it crushed our third-party polling service — and a resulting four hours of technical difficulties that made us want to shatter our leg like Kevin Ware — MTV's Musical March Madness tournament is moving on to the Final Four!
Defending MMM champs Tokio Hotel, upstart Ed Sheeran, perennial powerhouses Thirty Seconds To Mars and Cinderella story Walk The Moon are the last four bands standing ... and one of them is going to hoist the big gold trophy next week. Who will advance to the 2013 championship game? Well, that's up to you: voting is now open in our Final Four matchups, and polls will close on Monday, April 8 at noon ET.

Of course, before we breakdown those matchups, we figure we should address just what happened in the Elite 8 ... in particular, the hotly-contested battle between Sheeran and Paramore. To be honest, we're not sure, though we suspect it had something to do with the sheer number of votes — more than 1 million, which is a whole lot of Captcha codes to enter — from fans of both acts that came flooding in over the past 24 hours. They either crashed our polling service totally, or caused such a gigantic bottleneck that only a few votes managed to get through at a time. We tried to contact the polling site in an attempt to fix the problem, but never heard anything back from them. So, we extended voting an hour, then created a second poll in the hopes that it would alleviate some of the logjam. To an extent, that worked, and a few thousand more votes trickled in. But finally, at 1 p.m. ET, we shut down the polls. 

We know this was probably pretty frustrating to you guys, who have voted round after round, and helped make MMM 2013 an historic success. But we hope you can understand just how incredibly frustrating this was to us, too ... simply put, we love MMM, and to see it get screwed up so close to the finale, well, it sucks, pure and simple. But, we've got to move on — there's a trophy to hand out next week — and, after counting the votes from both polls, it was Sheeran that came out on top, by a final tally of 547,969 to 539,241 (here are the screen shots for proof). Oh, and at the time of this writing, we've yet to hear back from our polling service. Thanks guys!

So, for the Final Four and the MMM Championship, we're going to be using our own polling software ... and we're gonna be watching the votes to make sure there's no cheating (settle down Aliens, we've got you). So let's get back to the business at hand: Four bands are left in our 2013 tournament, and one of them is going to win it all.

Can Tokio Hotel make history as the first band to repeat as MMM champs? They'll have to get past upset-minded Ed Sheeran to do so ... and let's just say Ed's not sweating this one (shoot, he's never even heard of his Final Four opponents). And on the other side of the bracket, Thirty Seconds To Mars look to finally make good on years of tournament promise — three-straight trips to the Sweet 16 — and bring a championship to their Echelon, but they'll have to figure out a way to defeat the underdoggiest band in the land, Walk The Moon ... who have shocked us all by knocking off the likes of the Foo Fighters and Fall Out Boy to make it to this point.

We'll be bringing you in-depth analysis of those matchups over the weekend ... right now, let the games begin! We're so close to the championship, and you'll determine who reigns supreme as the baddest band in the land. Forget about technical difficulties ... It's Final Four time!

MTV's Musical March Madness tournament reaches the Final Four! Voting is now open in all matchups and polls close Monday, April 8 at noon ET, at which point we'll head to the MMM Championship Game. All winners are determined by your votes, so if your favorite act made the cut, it'll be up to you to guide them to glory! You can spread the word on Twitter using the hashtag #MMM — but get ready, it's gonna be a war.

Source : http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1705106/musical-march-madness-2013-final-four.jhtml

Brown wants to be 'bigger than ever'

Chris Brown wants to be 'bigger than ever' in the next ten years.

The 23-year-old singer is recognising nearly a decade in the music industry after releasing his debut album in 2005. He is also preparing for his latest record named X to go on sale in a few months.

Although Chris has already won a coveted Grammy Award for his work, the ambitious musician sees an even brighter future ahead.

"Hopefully in ten years, I'll be bigger than I've ever been - hopefully," he told MTV News.

Chris also spoke about being proud of elevating his loved ones to a higher standard of living.

The star explained he is now is determined to plan his own future to ensure happiness.

"I've accomplished so much of my goals, just from being from Virginia, being able to take my mom, and my parents and certain people out of poverty that I grew up with," he said. "That's one of my main goals that I focused on and now it's about shaping my life."

Chris is looking to move into other areas of music such as producing and songwriting.

He realises there is much more to explore with his job than he could have ever dreamed.

"I think being able to write for great artists - J.Lo [Jennifer Lopez], collaborating, working on her album - and doing stuff that I never thought possible," he confessed. 'Everything that I do creatively, whether it be skating, anything that I try to put my hands onto, hopefully [I'm] excelling in it and, you know, making people see the light at the end of the tunnel."

Source : http://www.music-news.com/shownews.asp?H=Brown-wants-to-be-bigger-than-ever&nItemID=64630

Motown Songwriter Deke Richards Dead at 68, Soulja Boy's Fans Scold Him Over Sizzurp & More

Motown songwriter Deke Richards, who penned hits like the Jackson 5's "ABC" and "I Want You Back" with production team the Corporation, has died of esophageal cancer. He was 68. [RollingStone]

Today is also the 18th anniversary of Eazy-E's death. Check out a documentary that just dropped about his life, and pay respect to a G. [YouTube]

Soulja Boy's fans have scolded him for continuing to post sizzurp photos on Instagram, in the wake of Lil Wayne's alleged syrup-related health care. [VladTV]

This is a video of up-and-comer Chance the Rapper's stay in Mexico, where he did acid and shot a video about it. Looks fun. [YouTube]

This, on the other hand, is a video for "Hello," a new song by Will Smith's son, Jaden Smith. [Complex]

Check out street artist Jay Shells' new project, coupling rap lyric-laden signs with the geographical locations that inspired them. Pretty ill. [YouTube]

Source Url : http://www.theboombox.com/2013/03/26/motown-songwriter-deke-richards-dead-at-68/

Rock band My Chemical Romance break up after 12 years

(Reuters) - Alternative rock group My Chemical Romance announced on their website on Friday that they were calling it quits after 12 years.

The punk-popsters from New Jersey had played together since 2001, recording four studio albums and notching up an international hit with "Welcome to the Black Parade" in 2006.

In a statement, they said being in the band "has been a true blessing" that allowed them "to see and experience things we never imagined possible".

"We've shared the stage with people we admire, people we look up to, and best of all, our friends. And now, like all great things, it has come time for it to end."

The group thanked fans for their support and "for being part of the adventure".

(Reporting by Tim Gaynor; Editing by Pravin Char)


Source : http://news.yahoo.com/rock-band-chemical-romance-break-12-years-065815280.html

Kristen Stewart, One Direction win twice at Kids Choice Awards

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Green slime spewed furiously at the Kids Choice Awards on Saturday, where "Twilight Saga" star Kristen Stewart and British boy band One Direction won two awards apiece.

Stewart, 22, escaped the slime but plunged her hands into the green goo, saying she "felt like I have finally found my kindergartner self," as she accepted trophies for movie actress and favorite female butt kicker.

Organizers said more than 350 million votes were cast online in more than 20 categories, spanning film, television, books, music and sport for the stunt-filled annual award show on youth channel Nickelodeon.

Hosted by "Transformers" actor Josh Duhamel, who is married to singer Fergie, the show in Los Angeles featured performances by Pitbull and Christina Aguilera, as well as Ke$ha.

Johnny Depp and Katy Perry accepted orange blimp-shaped trophies for favorite female singer and movie actor respectively and both stars had words of wisdom for the audience of kids and young teens.

"This is such a cool award ... stay safe, stay in school, don't do drugs," Perry told them. Depp said he was "truly honored and humbled. Thank you for what you are, which is the future."

Selena Gomez, 20, the ex-girlfriend of pop star Justin Bieber, took the female TV actress award for her Disney Channel series "Wizards of Waverly Place," even though the show came to an end more than a year ago.

Bieber, who is on tour in Europe, was voted favorite male singer and was among several stars who did not make it to accept their award in person.

No-shows included One Direction, who are also on tour and who won for favorite music group and song for "What Makes You Beautiful," "X Factor" judge Simon Cowell (favorite villain), and Ross Lynch, 17, who was named favorite TV actor for Disney Channel's pop star series "Austin & Ally."

Sandra Bullock, Neil Patrick Harris, Duhamel, Pitbull, Nick Cannon, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and dozens of audience members got covered in slime gushing out from water cannons, presenter's podiums, ceilings, and even the tail of a fake gymnastic horse.

Other awards went to Nickelodeon's "Victorious" for top TV show, "The Hunger Games" for favorite movie, "Wreck-It Ralph" for top animated movie, and race car driver Danica Patrick and basketball player LeBron James for top athletes.

The Kids Choice Awards will be broadcast around the world in more than 25 languages, Nickelodeon said.

Source : http://news.yahoo.com/kristen-stewart-one-direction-win-twice-kids-choice-024259541.html

Beyonce Reps Houston On New Song 'Bow Down/I Been On'

From that inauguration lip-synching debacle to her HBO documentary and dazzling Super Bowl halftime performance, Beyoncé has been on a heavy promotional run in the past few months. And yet, none of it included new music — until now. On Sunday (March 17), Mrs. Carter posted the track "Bow Down/I Been On" to her website.
Over a trippy instrumental courtesy of producer Hit-Boy, Bey lets her ego do all the talking as she ferociously talks herself up and spews demands. "I took my time to live my life but don't think I'm just his little wife/ Don't get it twisted, get it twisted/ This is my sh--," she sings, before repetitively commanding, "Bow down, bitches."

A little more than a minute into the clip, the tune seems to segue into the second song, "I Been On." It's another far cry from Bey's usual glimmering pop&B formula, as the siren's vocals are transformed, Houston chopped-and-screwed style. Word is that Bey reportedly worked on the track with R&B duo Planet VI, who are responsible for Rihanna's equally gritty "Pour It Up." And for those who prefer to hear the singer's unaltered voice, her Beyhive have already switched up the pitch in the track to reveal the original vocals.
Artwork for "Bow Down" keeps in line with the song's over-the-top ego. In front of a mantle full of awards and trophies, a preteen Beyoncé shares an innocent smile with the text "Bow Down" above her.

Fans may recognize "I Been On" from a tour advertisement for the U.K. leg of the Mrs. Carter World Tour, which was uploaded back in February. Attendees of Bey's four-night run at Atlantic City's Revel last year also unknowingly got a small taste of the now-unveiled tune when the singer used a small clip from "Bow Down" during her performance of "Countdown."

Mega-producer The-Dream, who is working with Bey on the follow-up to her 2011 release 4, recently dished some goods on "RapFix Live." "There's no particular sound that I think we're shooting for, we're just trying to make music that feels good," he said. "If you seen the HBO thing, which was great, we had been talking about doing something that showcases who she is and what she wants because we see those figures that are so out of the stratosphere," he said.

Source : http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1703825/beyonce-bow-down-i-been-on-new-track.jhtml

Iggy Azalea's 'Work' Video Inspired By Outkast

Iggy combines influences from Australian musical, Tarantino film and OutKast video for new clip.

Iggy Azalea initially hoped to drop her debut album The New Classic last year, but in the time that's elapsed since then, the Australia native got a chance to perfect her sound, resulting in new songs her official first single, "Work." For the video, she tells MTV News that she drew inspiration from a classic Australian musical.
"I really love 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,' which is an Australian film about some drag queens that go from Sydney in this bus called 'Priscilla Queen of the Desert' up to the Northern Territory, and it's about this adventure they have," she revealed, also noting that time constraints didn't allow her to fly back home and film like she originally wanted to.

"I really liked this film as a kid and always identified with it because it's [about] drag queens and they have to keep stopping in small rural towns and they're not accepted," she continued. "I always kinda felt that way with rap — trying to break into it, I wasn't accepted and I was out of my element, so I really love that movie, and it being Australian, I really wanted to draw reference from it. So there's little nods to that in the desert scene."
Iggy added that she also took some inspiration from Outkast's "B.O.B." video to create the clip, which she describes as "big" and "neon" and also from the infamous lap dance scene in Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof" horror film.
With a song so dynamic, she felt that it deserved a proper visual treatment. "I think every time you listen to it you get something new, whether it's in the lyrics or it's part of the beat," she said. "I love listening to music like that, when you can hear something and every time it feels like you get a new thing from it. That to me is what good music is."
The New Classic does not have a release date as yet.

Source : http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1703697/iggy-azalea-work-video-inspiration.jhtml

Music's Power Couples

Ah, love - it makes the world go round, it has been said. And music, on the other hand, "hath charms to soothe the savage breast." So what happens when you put these two powerful forces together? We have something the world loves to see - a musical power couple.

Here are some of the most notable power couples of music, in no particular order:

1. Yoko Ono and John Lennon. This is so classic, it hardly needs explaining. John Lennon is a music icon who will remain the stuff of legends for as long as rock 'n' roll exists in this world. Yoko Ono is an artist and musician in her own right; she was also the woman that John Lennon so publicly adored and gave his heart to.

Ono was Lennon's soul mate, his faithful companion in his last years, his biggest fan. She was by Lennon's side that fateful day he was assassinated. She has since kept the fires of Lennon's crusades burning. If ever there was a musical power couple that we will hear about forever, it is this one.

2. Sonny and Cher. Here is another classic team-up, though sadly, it didn't last. Sonny Bono and Cherilyn LaPiere met in 1962, when Sonny was working at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood. They were married in 1964 and put out two songs in the same year, but their stardom did not come until 1965, when their single "I Got You Baby" catapulted to number 1. This was followed by several more hits, and Sonny and Cher became a household name.

Unfortunately, their married life wasn't as successful as their professional one. In 1974, after several years of domestic turbulence, they divorced on less-than-amicable terms. In 1998, Sonny died in a ski accident. But Cher lives on and still shines in her own terms, albeit less brightly than before. Perhaps, it is because the world really cannot imagine Cher without Sonny. For us, it will always be "Sonny and Cher."

3. Jennifer Lopez and Mark Anthony. If you've ever seen J-Lo and Mark Anthony perform a song together, you won't find it hard to imagine the kind of chemistry the two of them could have. This couple sizzles on stage. They seem to light each other's fire. If only marriage could look like this in the four walls of the domestic abode, probably nobody would ever get divorce.

But the stage is not the home, and performance is not the same as everyday reality. In 2011, after a seven-year marriage, the couple announced their separation. This, however, does not mean they do not perform together on stage anymore, so even if they are no longer a couple in real life, they still remain an amazing power couple in the music industry.

4. Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber. If there's anything more interesting to watch than love, it is young love. Justin Bieber, born in 1994, released his first full-length album My World 2.0 in 2010. By 2011, he was already the recipient of the several awards, including Artist of the Year from the American Music Awards and Top New Artist from the Billboard Music Awards.

 It was also in 2011 that his romantic relationship with Selena Gomez was revealed. Gomez, who has been in show business since she was seven, has starred in several films, won several music awards of her own, and was designated UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2008.

Of course, the two are not married; still, they are arguably the most watched music power couple of 2012.

5. Beyoncé and Jay-Z. They have worked together on several songs, such as "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" in 2002, "Crazy in Love" in 2003, and "Déjà Vu" in 2006; most of these became huge hits. They have each won several music awards. In 2006, Time magazine listed them as the Most Powerful Couple in their 100 Most Influential People list. In 2008, they were married. And in 2012, Beyoncé gave birth to their first child, Blue Ivy.

They are, undoubtedly, the music industry's most powerful couple today. We can only hope they continue making good music together for a long, long time.

 Source : http://ezinearticles.com/?Musics-Power-Couples&id=6949072

Smashed KISS guitar at a throwaway price of $5,500

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Die-hard KISS fans looking for the ultimate in concert memorabilia from the group's current Australian tour need search no more. Why not acquire a guitar smashed onstage "in your honor" by guitarist Paul Stanley - for a mere $5,500?

Stanley, also a singer in the U.S. hard rock group known for its garish makeup, will also be selling the microphone he sings into for $3,000, along with special microphone and guitar combination packages, his website said.

If you purchase a KISS guitar during the Australian tour, currently underway until March 16, you also get to meet Stanley before the concert and view your yet undamaged guitar, which will be smashed that night in your honor, according to Stanley's website (http://www.paulstanleyguitars.com).

Not included in the price is your concert ticket.

"What a fantastic feeling I got seeing Paul Stanley smashing 'my' guitar at the end of an unbelievable show," gushed one fan on the website after buying a guitar during an earlier British tour.

(Reporting by Michael Sin, Editing by Elaine Lies and Michael Perry)


Source : http://news.yahoo.com/smashed-kiss-guitar-throwaway-price-5-500-042001794.html

Osheaga 2013 Festival Line-Up Announced: Cure, Mumford & Sons, Phoenix & More

The Cure, Mumford & Sons and Phoenix are the big names confirmed set for this year's Osheaga festival Aug. 2-4 at Montreal's Parc Jean-Drapeau on Ile Ste-Helene.

According to a Twitter post from the official Osheaga account other confirmed acts include New Order, the Lumineers, Vampire Weekend, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Kendrick Lamar, Hot Chip and Tegan and Sara. The bill is also fleshed out by Flogging Molly, Big Boi, Explosions in the Sky, Gaslight Anthem, Beach House, Ben Howard and Father John Misty. Meanwhile the Canadian component includes Hollerado, Diamond Rings, Hannah Georgas and A Tribe Called Red.

Before officially releasing the lineup at 8 p.m. Eastern Monday evening organizers gave cryptic clues the last few days on Osheaga's Facebook page and Twitter site with a photo of a French coin dated 1901 being displayed. The photo immediately had many correctly surmising Phoenix would be performing. However, other photos of the Olsen Twins from "Full House," a deep fryer filled with french fries and a photo of Osheaga's mascots in a Knight Rider-like car resulted in wide ranging guesses.

Festival tickets go on sale this Friday (March 15) at noon Eastern with three-day general admission packages priced at $235 with reserved seating access packages set at $395. If you're looking for the VIP treatment there are also two options: The Osheaga Experience with various perks runs $699 while the The Osheaga Experience (with reserved seating) will set you back $1,099. All prices include service charges and fees with complete information on the festival site. Packages are available through Osheaga.com or by phone at 1-855-310-2525. Single day tickets will go on sale at a later date. No e-tickets will be issued. Twenty additional acts will also be confirmed at a later date.

Source : http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/11/osheaga-2013-line-up-cure-phoenix/

First Watch: Julianna Barwick, 'Offing'

In a way, singer Julianna Barwick's ethereal voice and seemingly shapeless songs are a form of abstract art: colorful and curious, with lines that drift and flow in unexpected but beautiful directions. For her latest video, and a new song called "Offing," Barwick finds commonality in architect Philip Johnson's Glass House and a strange sculpture from artist Ken Price. Barwick performs alongside the sculpture for a live audience, filling the Glass House with layers of her sublime voice.

"Offing" is the opening track to Barwick's next full-length record, due out sometime in late summer.

 Barwick was the first in an ongoing series of artists to perform at the Glass House in New Canaan, Conn., alongside other sculptures, pairing music with other art in the architectural landmark. The video of her performance was directed by Derrick Belcham.

How Loudspeakers Work To Make The Music We Want To Listen To.

Speakers work by reproducing sound from electrical signals to audible sound and they vibrate air around the speaker when the electric current passes through. This is why when you stand or sit near very large speakers, you can feel vibrations coming from the speakers. There are many types of speakers and there are speakers for many types of audio system, so you should look for the particular type of speaker that will best suit both your requirements and your audio equipment.

Basically, speakers consist of many parts including a pair of magnets, spider suspension, cone, voice coil, diaphragm, dust cap and framework. Inside the speakers there are drivers which are used to project different frequencies and these are woofers, tweeters and midrange. Woofers project the lower frequencies, midrange drivers as their name suggests, replicate midrange frequencies and tweeters produce the high end frequencies. As a result, the size of these drivers varies with woofers being the largest and tweeters being the smallest.

This makes perfect sense because high frequency sound moves more quickly and as such the vibrations are faster so a large diaphragm takes longer to make the movements and is better suited to producing lower frequency sounds and this is why woofers are largest. There are of course more drivers that can be used to produce further ranges within the frequencies and these include subwoofers, mid bass drivers and super tweeters. These drivers allow more clarity of the sound being produced as the range of frequencies is larger. Obviously, the more types of driver that is included in the speaker, the better the sound quality and this is what makes the difference between a mediocre and a great set of speakers. The best speakers make you feel as if you are actually there and these will be the ones that have the greatest number and selection of drivers.

Often choosing speakers is dictated by budget and those with the highest specs are the most expensive, however, these will give the clearest and most authentic sound. At the lower end of the spectrum where the drivers are very basic the sound may be muffled, crackly or have other contaminants which will spoil your enjoyment of what you are listening to. Most of us have to make a compromise and choose speakers that are mid priced but you can still have some really excellent quality sound if you take some time to choose carefully. Go and listen to the sound that comes out of the speakers so that you can hear for yourself what the quality of the sound is.

Look at reviews online, weigh up the pros and cons so that you can make an informed choice and find the best quality speakers for your system. With the advent of home theatre systems, great quality sound is available for us all to enjoy. If you are particularly keen on watching movies and enjoying the whole cinema surround sound, then buy a great home theatre system. You will not regret it but you may if you choose a lesser sound system that does not quite give you what you want. There is enough choice on the market with many that have great specifications for the price, so set your budget and see what is available for you to choose from.

Source : http://articles.submityourarticle.com/how-loudspeakers-work-to-make-the-music-we-want-to-listen-to-291688

Violin found in Bulgaria may be Stradivarius stolen in London

LONDON (Reuters) - British detectives are investigating whether a violin recovered during a police operation in Bulgaria is a $1.8 million Stradivarius stolen from a London train station more than two years ago.

The 300-year-old violin was snatched from Euston station in central London in November 2010, when its owner, Korean-born classical musician Min-Jin Kym, stopped at a restaurant to buy a sandwich.

Two bows stored inside the instrument's case, a Peccatte worth 62,000 pounds and another made by the School of Bazin valued at more than 5,000 pounds, were also taken.

A man and two teenage boys admitted the theft in 2011. The man, John Maughan, then 30, was jailed for four and a half years.

The trio had tried selling the violin for just 100 pounds, local media reports said at the time.

The antique violin, made in 1696, was never found. A reward of 40,000 pounds was offered for its safe return.

Officers from the British Transport Police (BTP) were working with Bulgarian authorities following the discovery of the violin, a BTP spokesman said on Monday.

"BTP detectives are aware of the recovery of a violin in Bulgaria and will investigate, with insurers, underwriters and international colleagues, whether it is the 1696 Antonio Stradivarius antique violin stolen from a café at Euston rail station in November 2010," the spokesman added.

(Reporting by Clare Hutchison; Editing by Tim Castle)

Source : http://news.yahoo.com/violin-found-bulgaria-may-stradivarius-stolen-london-174633321.html;_ylt=AtQDlRvbLhtK5R3X.v65DH8EHL8C;_ylu=X3oDMTRiZWp1djNoBG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBFbnRlcnRhaW5tZW50U0YgTXVzaWNTU0YEcGtnAzViZTBkNTg0LWI0YTItM2UxNi05ODhiLWRkYzkwODI1MmJkMwRwb3MDNQRzZWMDdG9wX3N0b3J5BHZlcgNhYjNjYmNlMS04NGYzLTExZTItYmRmNy04NTk0MjBjNGZjODE-;_ylg=X3oDMTJmaWRvY29jBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANlbnRlcnRhaW5tZW50fG11c2ljBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25zBHRlc3QDVGVzdF9BRkM-;_ylv=3

Alabama Shakes' Brittany Howard and Ruby Amanfu on Third Man Single, Dave Grohl Sound City Stream & More -- News Roundup

Alabama Shakes' Brittany Howard and Ruby Amanfu, Jack White's duet partner who performed with him during the 2013 Grammy Awards, have teamed up for a EP of jazz and blues covers on White's own label, Third Man Records. Listen to the songs here. [SPIN]

Taking album launch shows to the next level, NPR will live-stream Josh Ritter in concert tonight (Monday, March 4) at 8PM ET. Tune in to hear his new LP The Beast in Its Tracks live from NYC, plus some older material. [NPR]

Our recent interviewees, the ska-influenced Chicagoan brother-sister band Wild Belle, announced on their Facebook page today that their upcoming debut album Isles is now available to stream with lucky radio stations KCRW, WXPN and KCMP. Give them a listen in anticipation of our exclusive interview and their upcoming SXSW gigs.

You can now stream the soundtrack accompanying Dave Grohl's Sound City documentary online, courtesy of NPR. The tracklist fittingly features an abundance big names including Stevie Nicks, Josh Homme, Paul McCartney, and Trent Reznor. [CoS]

Devendra Banhart's upcoming new album Mala, due out March 12, is also available to stream on NPR this week. It's hard to believe this is the same guy who put out both Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon (2007) and What Will We Be (2009), but this just goes to show that Banhart is one of few constantly-evolving artists we are always happy to hear from.

A certain "wealth-tracking" website is reporting that Ian MacKaye, frontman of legendary punk band Minor Threat and post-hardcore act Fugazi, is (or should be) worth $25 million. Yes, that's twenty-five million dollars. We knew he was the co-founder and owner of indie label Dischord Records, so he must be doing all right in his post-punk rocker life, but we can't help but be skeptical of this figure. But if it's legit, someone will need to remind us how, why, and when punk became so profitable. [Dangerous Minds]

Source : http://www.spinner.com/2013/03/04/brittany-howard-ruby-amanfu/

Scottish singer Susan Boyle to make film debut

(Reuters) - Scottish singer Susan Boyle will get her first turn on the big screen in the British holiday period film "The Christmas Candle," the movie's producers said on Thursday.

Boyle, 51, will back up Samantha Barks, Hans Matheson and Lesley Manville in the Christmas film that began production this week on location in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.

The film, based on the novella by Max Lucado, tells the tale of an enchanted Christmas candle in Gladbury, a dull village that must confront the dawning of the 20th century and a new, skeptical minister.

There was no information on what role the singer will play.

"Everyone on set is a delight to work with and it's a fantastic experience to be part of the team," Boyle said in a statement.

"I'm really enjoying getting dressed in the period costumes and stepping back in time and although it's very cold filming on location, I'm wearing long johns under my bustle," she added.

The singer became an overnight international sensation in 2009 after appearing on variety show "Britain's Got Talent" and performing a flawless rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from the musical "Les Miserables."

Her rendition has been viewed hundreds of millions of times on YouTube, and her life story from unknown Scot to multi-million-selling recording artist has itself been made into a musical.

Barks was most recently in the 2012 film production of "Les Miserables." Matheson's credits include 2010's "Clash of the Titans" while Manville is best known for 2010's "Another Year."

"The Christmas Candle," directed by John Stephenson, is produced by Impact and Big Book Media and will be distributed in the United Kingdom by Pinewood Productions.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey in Los Angeles; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Xavier Briand)

Source : http://news.yahoo.com/scottish-singer-susan-boyle-film-debut-013940459.html

Iggy Pop and the Stooges Ready New Album for April Release

Iggy Pop and the Stooges are ready with a new record, Ready to Die, which will mark the first time Pop has worked with guitarist James Williamson and drummer Scott Asheton on a full album since their 1973 classic Raw Power. As he's done since the Stooges' 2003 reunion, Mike Watt will fill in for the late Ron Asheton on bass. It'll be Iggy and the Stooges' first album since 2007's The Weirdness, which was the last to feature Ron Asheton. Ready to Die is due April 30th on Fat Possum Records.

100 Greatest Singers: Iggy Pop

Pop kept busy last year with a self-released album of French pop classics, and guested on Ke$ha's latest release, Warrior. His 1970s collaboration with David Bowie in West Berlin is the subject of the forthcoming biopic Lust for Life.

Source : http://music.yahoo.com/news/iggy-pop-stooges-ready-album-april-release-155044281-rolling-stone.html