Want To Be The Next Lead Singer Of Stone Temple Pilots?

Feb 8, 2016

“No one will ever ‘replace’ Scott” Weiland, say Stone Temple Pilots — but the ’90s rock icons are holding open auditions for a new singer. Want to do it? Check the video below for details.

The Lumineers Announce New Album; ‘Cleopatra’ To Be Released April 8

Feb 8, 2016

The Lumineers announced today the release of their second album Cleopatra via Dualtone, an Entertainment One company, on April 8th. In addition the Lumineers have announced the first leg of their World tour commencing April 14th in the UK. The band also shares their first single “Ophelia” which can be heard here. It took four years for The Lumineers (Wesley Schultz, Jeremiah Fraites and Neyla Pekarek) to follow up their platinum-plus, multi-Grammy-nominated, self-titled debut – which spent 46 weeks on the Billboard 200 and peaked at #2 — but Cleopatra is well worth the wait. After exploding onto the scene with their monster single, “Ho Hey” (which spent a staggering 62 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #3) and its follow-up, “Stubborn Love” (recently featured on President Barack Obama’s Spotify playlist), The Lumineers spent a solid three years touring six of the seven continents. During that time, The Lumineers earned a pair of Grammy nominations (Best New Artist, Best Americana Album), contributed two songs to The Hunger Games franchise (including the hit Jennifer Lawrence/James Newton Howard collaboration, “The Hanging Tree”) and sold an impressive 1.7 million albums in the U.S., and 3 million worldwide.

Cleopatra proves the band are neither taking their good fortune for granted, nor sitting back on their laurels. With the help of producer Simone Felice (The Felice Brothers, The Avett Brothers), the man Wesley calls “our shaman,” the band ensconced themselves in Clubhouse, a recording studio high atop a hill in rural Rhinebeck, N.Y., not far from Woodstock.

“We took the same approach this time as we did with the first album, recording demos in a small house we rented in the original Denver neighborhood where we first moved,” explains Wesley, contributing the lyrical ideas while collaborating on the music with Jer, who tackled a variety of instruments, including guitar, the very prominent piano and trademark tribal drums.

“The record is our greatest hits reflecting what’s happened to us over the last three years,” added Wesley. “We tried to come up with the best possible version of every song, so we recorded a lot of different iterations, changing the tempos, dressing ’em up, stripping ’em down. It took a lot of work to make them sound so easy. We’re very passionate about the process. It was a very intense and beautiful experience. There was a lot of battling, a lot of tears, but some amazing stuff came out, and at the end, we were much better off. It transformed our relationship.”

The Lumineers
Cleopatra World Tour 2016

14 Apr Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
15 Apr Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands
18 Apr Dublin, Ireland @ Olympia Theatre
19 Apr Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
23 Apr London, UK @ O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
27 Apr Paris, France @ Le Trianon
28 Apr Brussels, Belgium @ Ancienne Belgique
29 Apr Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg
2 May Cologne, Germany @ E-Werk
4 May Hamburg, Germany @ Gross Freiheit 36
6 May Berlin, Germany @ Admiralspalast
8 May Stockholm, Sweden @ Berns
9 May Oslo, Norway @ Rockefeller
10 May Copenhagen, Denmark @ Vega
21 May Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
22 May Dallas, TX @ The Bomb Factory
25 May Salt Lake City, UT @ Red Butte Garden
27 May San Diego, CA @ CalCoast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
28 May Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl
29 May Napa Valley @ Bottle Rock Festival
31 May Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
1 Jun Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum Theatre
3 Jun Redmond, WA @ Marymoor Amphitheater
7 Jun Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
10 Jun Kansas City, MO @ KC Live! @ Power & Light District
11 Jun Indianapolis, IN @ Murat Theatre
12 Jun St. Louis, MI @ Peabody Opera House
14 Jun St. Paul, MN @ Myth
15 Jun Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater
19 Jun Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theater
20 July Gardone Riviera, Italy @ Anfiteatro Del Vittoriale
21 July Sesto al Reghena, Italy @ Sexto ‘NPlugged

Track list for Cleopatra:
1. Sleep On The Floor
2. Ophelia
3. Cleopatra
4. Gun Song
5. Angela
6. In The Light
7. Gale Song
8. Long Way From Home
9. Sick In The Head
10. My Eyes
11. Patience

Watch Laura Marling perform in The Current studio

Feb 7, 2016

“I was writing music that called for that arrangement,” says Laura Marling, who plugs in an electric guitar for three tracks on her latest album Short Movie, which was written on her dad’s Gibson 335.

Though ahead of her performance at the second annual Festival Palomino, Marling went back to her roots: She stopped by The Current to perform an acoustic set live in-studio and to chat with host Steve Seel about her new record.

Before Short Movie, though, there was another (scrapped) album. “It was just a bit of a boring record,” says Marling. “I wasn’t inspired really, in a lyrical way.”

Then Marling moved to Los Angeles. “It so directly confronts you with everything that’s so awful about societal inequity and segregation and your complete powerlessness to do anything about it,” says Marling. “It sent me into an existential tailspin.”

“I was sort of surprised by how inspiring I found L.A., and I like the unlikely,” says Marling.

Watch the video below, or listen here.

http://wp.me/p26Qb8-ggm

The best song for a team to run on the pitch to, according to The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn

Feb 7, 2016

That would be my beloved Minnesota Vikings, who come on to the field to Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin. That’s often the best part of the game, with the first line “I come from the land of the ice and snow”, which describes Minnesota, and the line about “Valhalla, I am coming”. They have a viking on a Harley come out and then they chase behind it – it’s actually pretty impressive. I wouldn’t call the soundsystem shit hot, but it gets pretty loud. It’s a supercharged part of the game – and the fans have been drinking for five hours by that point. They introduced it some time in the 90s – before then, they used to have this chintzy “Go Vikings! Let’s win the game”, 50s or 60s rock ’em sock ’em kind of thing that wasn’t nearly as impressive or contemporary. Admittedly, Immigrant Song is 45 years old, but for the crowd of 40-something white people, that’s contemporary. A song that would be great as an entrance would be Paranoid by Black Saabbath, at least in tone if not in content. I always think that’s the ultimate in driving guitar songs. There’s a song by Jawbreaker, the 90s emo punks, that they always used to play first. Before the record actually came out, we thought it was a theme song because the chorus went: “Are you out there? Do you hear me?” It sounded as though it would be great for a sports team. But actually it’s called Do You Hate Me and its about a girl.

Via The Guardian

Beyonce Announces The Formation World Tour

Feb 7, 2016

BEYONCÉ announced THE FORMATION WORLD TOUR today following her appearance during Super Bowl 50. The highly-anticipated tour, promoted by Live Nation, presented by American Express and produced by Parkwood Entertainment, will kick off in North America on April 27 in Miami, Fla. at Marlins Park with 21 additional stadium dates lined up throughout the country including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, Philadelphia, Dallas and more. The European leg of THE FORMATION WORLD TOUR will start on June 28 in Sunderland, United Kingdom at Stadium of Light. Additional European stadium dates include London, Manchester, Zurich, Amsterdam, Paris, Milan, Stockholm, Frankfurt and more. A full list of tour dates and venues is below.

Tickets will go on sale starting Monday, Feb. 15 in Europe and Tuesday, Feb. 16 in North America (full on sale schedule provided at end of release). Beyhive members may purchase tickets in advance beginning Tuesday, Feb. 9 and Monday, Feb. 15 for shows going on sale on Feb. 22.

True to her life’s work of always giving back, fans will be given the opportunity to participate in Beyoncé’s #BeyGOOD initiative supporting local United Way programs and the continued work surrounding the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. United Way of Genesee County has been at the forefront of distributing thousands of filtration pitchers, faucet mount filters, replacement cartridges and truckloads of water to underserved populations to address immediate needs in Flint Michigan. They are also partnering with the Community Foundation of Greater Flint to create a fund that will address long-term developmental, education, nutrition and health needs of the children affected by the Flint Water Crisis. Follow@beygood on Twitter for more information.

As Beyoncé wants to present her fans with the best possible experience at the concerts, she has joined forces with THX Ltd to provide the highest quality audio experience during THE FORMATION WORLD TOUR. THX has assessed, optimized and certified that the acoustic systems used at the concerts are without peer. With this association, concert-goers will get the best acoustic experience possible at any large-venue event.

THE FORMATION WORLD TOUR is BEYONCÉ’s first solo tour since her ambitious Mrs. Carter Show World Tour in 2013. The sold-out tour spanning two years and five continents thrilled nearly two million fans and was hailed by critics worldwide. During the summer of 2014, BEYONCÉ and JAY Z launched the six-week ON THE RUN Tour, playing major stadiums in the US. They ended the tour in Paris, France in September 2014 with two additional dates that were filmed for an HBO Special that was nominated for an Emmy Award.

In addition to the Beyhive presale, American Express® Card Members will also have the opportunity to purchase tickets for the tour prior to the general on sale date.

“American Express has a longstanding relationship with Beyoncé and we are thrilled to partner with her again for the upcoming Formation World Tour,” said Walter Frye, Vice President, Global Experiential Marketing, American Express. “We are proud to bring our Card Members around the world closer to Beyoncé – a global icon and an artist we know they love – with access to purchase tickets for her tour before the general public.”

American Express Card Members can purchase tickets for Miami, Tampa, Dallas, San Diego, Los Angeles, Edmonton, Toronto, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore & Hershey beginning Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 12:00 p.m. local through Sunday, Feb. 14 at 5:00 p.m. local. American Express Card Members can purchase tickets for Atlanta, Raleigh, Nashville, Houston, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis, Detroit and Pittsburgh beginning Monday, Feb. 15 (at 12:00 p.m. through Saturday, Feb. 20 at 5:00 p.m. local.

American Express Card Members can purchase tickets for Beyoncé’s The Formation World Tour 2016 in the United Kingdom, Ireland, *France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, before the general public from 12:00 p.m. Tuesday, 9 Feb. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday, 13 Feb (France pre-sale ends Friday, 12-Feb @ 5pm). American Express Card Members can purchase tickets for Germany before the general public from 12:00 p.m. Monday, 15 Feb. to 5pm p.m. Friday, 19 Feb. local time.

BEYONCÉ – THE FORMATION WORLD TOUR

All dates, cities and venues below subject to change.

NORTH AMERICA:
Wed. April 27	Miami, FL	Marlins Park	Tue. Feb. 16
Fri. April 29	Tampa	Raymond James Stadium	Tue. Feb. 16
Sun. May 1	Atlanta, GA	Georgia Dome	Mon. Feb. 22
Tue. May 3	Raleigh, NC	Carter-Finley Stadium	Mon. Feb. 22
Thu. May 5	Nashville, TN	Nissan Stadium	Mon. Feb. 22
Sat. May 7	Houston, TX	NRG Stadium	Mon. Feb. 22
Mon. May 9	Dallas, TX	AT&T Stadium	Tue. Feb. 16
Thu. May 12	San Diego, CA	Qualcomm Stadium	Tue. Feb. 16
Sat. May 14	Los Angeles, CA	Rose Bowl	Tue. Feb. 16
Mon. May 16	Santa Clara, CA	Levi’s Stadium	Mon. Feb. 22
Wed. May 18	Seattle, WA	CenturyLink Field	Mon. Feb. 22
Fri. May 20	Edmonton, AB	Commonwealth Stadium	Tue. Feb. 16
Mon. May 23	Minneapolis, MN	TCF Bank Stadium	Mon. Feb. 22
Wed. May 25	Toronto, ON	Rogers Centre	Tue. Feb. 16
Fri. May 27	Chicago, IL	Soldier Field	Tue. Feb. 16
Sun. May 29	Detroit, MI	Ford Field	Mon. Feb. 22
Tue. May 31	Pittsburgh, PA	Heinz Field	Mon. Feb. 22
Fri. June 3	Boston, MA	Gillette Stadium	Tue. Feb. 16
Sun. June 5	Philadelphia, PA	Lincoln Financial Field	Tue. Feb. 16
Tue. June 7	New York, NY	Citi Field	Tue. Feb. 16
Fri. June 10	Baltimore, MD	M&T Bank Stadium	Tue. Feb. 16
Sun. June 12	Hershey, PA	Hersheypark Stadium	Tue. Feb. 16

EUROPE:
Tue. June 28	Sunderland, UK	Stadium of Light	Tue. Feb. 16
Thu. June 30	Cardiff, UK	Millennium Stadium	Tue. Feb. 16
Sat. July 2	London, UK	Wembley Stadium	Tue. Feb. 16
Tue. July 5	Manchester, UK	Emirates Old Trafford	Tue. Feb. 16
Thu. July 7	Glasgow, UK	Hampden Park	Tue. Feb. 16
Sat. July 9	Dublin, IE	Croke Park	Mon. Feb. 15
Tue. July 12	Dusseldorf, DE	Esprit Arena	Mon. Feb. 22
Thu. July 14	Zurich, CH	Letzigrund	Mon. Feb. 22
Sat. July 16	Amsterdam, NE	Arena	Mon. Feb. 15
Mon. July 18	Milan, IT	Stadio San Siro	Mon. Feb. 15
Thu. July 21	Paris, FR	Stade de France	Mon. Feb. 15
Sun. July 24	Copenhagen, DK	Parken	Mon. Feb. 22
Tue. July 26	Stockholm, SE	Friends Arena	Mon. Feb. 15
Fri. July 29	Frankfurt, DE	Commerzbank Arena	Mon. Feb. 22
Sun. July 31	Brussels, BE	Roi Boudoin	Mon. Feb. 22

For complete tour and ticketing information, visit www.livenation.com and www.beyonce.com

Beyonce Drops New ‘Formation’ Single, Music Video Just Before Super Bowl Appearance

Feb 6, 2016

Beyonce just dropped a new single, Formation, and it’s accompanying racially-charged music video a day before her scheduled Super Bowl 50 Halftime performance, and made it available for free download on Tidal. Watch for the many appearances of Blue Ivy, too.

Cookie Monster Gets It Right About Friendship

Feb 6, 2016

“You know, life not all guessing games, frog. Sometimes we have to care about friends — especially friends who love cookies. Friends who love cookies so much they play silly guessing games.” — Cookie Monster, getting it right.

Best part? When he says, “Me all ears.”

The Music Industry’s Most-Loved Albums Of All Time, Part 50

Feb 6, 2016

This is part 50 (!!!) of an ongoing series where the kind folk of the music business reveal their favourite album of all time.

Ask people in the music industry the seemingly simple and straightforward question, “What is your favourite album of all time?” and you’ll find that it’s not always easy. After all, my industry peers listen to hundreds of albums a month and thousands of songs during that time. Because the question isn’t the best album of all time or the one that’s made them the most money in sales, or the most clicked-on review, but the one release they personally can’t live without, that one title they have two copies of in several formats, in case one breaks. It’s also about that album that for them has the best back stories and the one that has the most meaning in their lives.

Will Layman, jazz critic for PopMatters.com
Joni Mitchell, Hejira
I am mainly a jazz critic, and I listen to instrumental music 80% of the time, riveted by improvisation and addicted to the riveting interplay of rhythmic innovation and the blues that sits at the core of jazz. But if I’m honest, the record that I come back to most often – as both provocation and comfort, as a recording that rewards me with surprise and narrative beauty, is Hejira by Joni Mitchell. It’s not a jazz recording in any real sense, but it came from Joni at a time when jazz was informing her songwriting, and in its folk-rocky sway and wash of contrasting guitars it finds something of the rhythmic ambiguity of jazz. the melodies snake and slither like great jazz solos, spinning variations on themselves. And the stories are poetry as well as narrative; the words are rich. And her voice is coffee and cream. I listen to it the way you return to dreams after you have woken up, just hoping that you can get caught in them again, enchanted by them again. And it always works.

Soren Spicknall, Station Manager, WIIT 88.9FM Chicago
The Mountain Goats, The Sunset Tree
This album represents John Darnielle, one of American’s greatest living songwriters, in his most personal form. The album moves through a series of childhood experiences in a broken home, presenting Darnielle’s observations ranging from mundane to devastating, all in a remarkably honest manner. The abuses of his stepfather are neither romanticized nor demonized, and it’s not hard to tell that these songs were hard for Darnielle to write and release. For being such a brave portrayal of an incredibly difficult topic, the album stands alone in my mind above anything else I’ve listened to before or since.

Spence, Morning Show Host, News Talk 1590 KVTA , Ventura, California
Neil Young, Time Fades Away
The best of The Ditch Trilogy with the coolest song about a city, L.A. It’s raw and raucous. Rock with a sweet ballad thrown in too. Live music is better, bumper stickers should be issued.

Wendy Rollins, Assistant Program Director, On Air Radio 104.5 Philadelphia
Tori Amos, Little Earthquakes
This was/is a defining album for me. The album lyrically played very closely to my own life and came at a time when I learned that female power can walk with grace and rage with fire.

Randee Dawn, Writer, Today, Variety, LA Times. Author of Home for the Holidays, co-author of The Law & Order: SVU Unofficial Companion
The Trash Can Sinatras, Cake
Hearing “Obscurity Knocks” while sitting in a shared London flat during my study abroad semester in the early 1990s was like falling in love during a very tough year: The Duane Eddy-esque guitars, the soaring strings, the beautiful John Leckie production completely made up for the fact that I couldn’t figure for the life of me what the Scots singer was saying. Eventually landing the full album that featured that single was eye-opening and world-changing: I became evangelical about the album, playing it for everyone I knew. Then I judged them severely if they also were not similarly captivated. Eventually pairing the lyrics to the songs opened up a fresh world: These are some of the most clever, gentle, moving wordplays I’ve ever had the pleasure to enjoy, all paired beautifully with the band’s delight in Smiths-like janglepop and catchy, unexpected hooks. Best news for me is the band is still around and about to put out their latest album.

5 Quotes From Bill Murray Proves He Has It All Figured Out

Feb 6, 2016

Bill Murray’s past decade brings fresh challenges for his co-actors, directors, and heck, even Bill Myurray. Whether it’s showing up at people’s parties unexpected, or taking someone’s french fries at McDonald’s, make no mistake, Bill is waiting for the rest of us to catch up, as he’s got this life thing all figured out.

“I live a little bit on the seat of my pants, I try to be alert and available … for life to happen to me. We’re in this life, and if you’re not available, the sort of ordinary time goes past and you didn’t live it. But if you’re available, life gets huge. You’re really living it.” Via

“There’s a wonderful sense of well-being that begins to circulate . . . up and down your spine. And you feel something that makes you almost want to smile. So what’s it like to be me? Ask yourself, ‘What’s it like to be me?’ The only way we’ll ever know what it’s like to be you is if you work your best at being you as often as you can, and keep reminding yourself that’s where home is. Via

“If you have someone that you think is The One, don’t just sort of think in your ordinary mind, ‘OK, let’s pick a date. Let’s plan this and make a party and get married.’ Take that person and travel around the world. Buy a plane ticket for the two of you to travel all around the world, and go to places that are hard to go to and hard to get out of. And if, when you come back to JFK … you’re still in love with that person, get married at the airport.” Via

“There’s only a couple times when fame is ever helpful. Sometimes you can get into a restaurant where the kitchen is just closing. Sometimes you can avoid a traffic violation. But the only time it really matters is in the emergency room with your kids. That’s when you want to be noticed, because it’s very easy to get forgotten in an ER. It’s the only time when I would ever say, ‘Thank God. Thank God.’ There’s no other time.” Via

“It’s hard to be an artist. It’s hard to be anything. It’s hard to be.” Via

Margaret Atwood Explains How Stories Change With Technology In This Animated Video

Feb 6, 2016

As a critic, activist, and award-winning author of speculative fiction, Margaret Atwood has always been looking ahead. In her glances toward the future, she’s often searching for how technology influences content. The digital transition has already run through an entire era of online evolution, fossilizing a first round of experiments that failed to catch on. But serial stories, online collaborations, and sites like Wattpad, which connects tens of millions of new authors, are leading the way in a new wave of innovation. We’ve always told stories—it’s part of our humanity—but how those stories are created and shared is changing all the time, and Atwood’s looking to share her excitement about it at this year’s Future Of StoryTelling.

Margaret Atwood – A State of Wonder: How Technology Shapes Story from Future Of StoryTelling on Vimeo.