Tag Archives: Eminem

Say Hello to BONNAROO 2011

15 Feb

The Coachella lineup is pretty damn sick but after seeing the initial announcement of artists slated to perform at Bonnaroo, I am now torn and thinking I should look into heading to Tennessee this summer.  I mean at Bonnaroo you have the return of Buffalo Springfield and Widespread Panic celebrating 25 years, String Cheese Incident, Warren Haynes and Gregg Allman which I can all but see some fun little guest appearances in the works, Mumford & Sons are thrust to the big time stage, Ray Lamontagne and Iron & Wine finally out of the tiny print on the line-up, just knowing Primus is going to be there leaves me wondering what Les Claypool has up his sleeve, Sleigh Bells, Portugal the Man, The Drums, Wavves, Ryan Bingham!  Plus Smith Westerns, Beats Antique and STS9, Hayes Carll, Amos Lee, Deer Tick, Matt & Kim, Grace Potter and so many more great acts and that’s not even including the headliners, Eminem and Arcade Fire.

Here’s the line-up as of today:

My Thoughts On Some Of The GRAMMY Performances

14 Feb

The Grammy’s were well the Grammy’s, filled as usual with a ton of fantastic performances but I have to say that Mumford & Sons v. The Avett Brothers v. Bob Dylan was the highlight of the night for me.  Not only did M&S rock out on that tiny little rectangle of a stage that somehow didn’t break to perform “The Cave,” they cemented themselves as the next great band from the UK.  If 2010 was a huge step for the folk rock foursome in terms of crossing the pond and selling out small concert venues, 2011 is going to be one hell of a wild ride.  The Avett Brothers continue to amaze me and I dug their performance which gained steam midway through and probably netted them a ton more fans following.  And no matter how old Bob Dylan gets and how mumbled he may sound, I can never get enough of the musician who made me love music.

Also did Mick Jagger rock the Grammy’s or what?  His cover of Solomon Burke’s “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love” with Raphael Saadiq was sensational.  What a tribute it was, filled with energy and spunk that no doubt must have had Burke smiling down from up above.

Eminem, Rihanna, Dre I’d say was as you’d expect, a great, energetic performance but the real winner seems to be Skylar Grey who practically stole the show with her vocals on “I Need A Doctor.”  And you know what, I’m sure the Eminem, Dre and Alex da Kid are grinning from ear-to-ear knowing they just hit the jackpot yet again.

B.o.B, Bruno Mars and Janelle Monae – three of todays most talented definitely didn’t disappoint and 2011 should continue to be huge for all three.

Arcade Fire, wow!  The Suburbs propelled them to another level in 2010 and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the Canadians after their performances brought rock back to the Grammy’s.  My only question is did they know they were going to win that they were set to play a second song?  I hope not but just curious….

Cee Lo dressed as a ginormous parrot was a bit scary.  Was he trying to be Koko B. Ware?  The Gwyneth Paltrow part, did I miss something?  And The Muppets, loved them!

Drake and Rihanna was just ok.  Anyone else think it wasn’t that great?  I just wonder if Chris Brown was watching and what he must have been thinking about RiRi’s outfit.

Some other notes:

Trombone Shorty!  Let’s hope he gets his due eventually

The Aretha Franklin tribute was a nice touch

Props to Esperanza Spalding and her big win!

John Mayer, Norah Jones and Keith Urban paying tribute to Dolly Parton was pretty cool

How many times do we have to see Lady GaGa and Katy Perry perform at awards shows?  Talented they may be but again?

Barbra Streisand, would have been cool if Duck Sauce was a special guest during the performance.  Hey we can all dream, right?

Do J. Lo and Marc Anthony tell award producers we’ll only present if we appear together?

Can Lady Antebellum officially be considered not country since their crossover to mainstream is now cemented?

And one more note because I just can’t leave it out, what the heck was up with Puffy and his gold teef?

Why No Electronic Music In Rolling Stone’s Top 50 Singles Of 2010?

14 Dec

For as much as Rolling Stone has given electronic/electro music credit this year, I’m pretty disappointed that their Top 50 Singles of 2010 didn’t include any of the below:

Swedish House Mafia – “One” – arguably the song of the summer and anyone who’s been to a pool party or a nightclub has heard this.  The song took off like a wild fire and didn’t get put out.

Afrojack – “Take Over Control” ft. Eva Simons – a late bloomer but still one of the hottest dance tracks of the year.  Play this song for anyone and I’d be shocked if they don’t start dancing.

Deadmau5 – “Sofi Needs A Ladder” – for as much as Rolling Stone has a crush on Deadmau5 and for this song not to be included is a shame.

David Guetta – any song off of One Love since it came out in the second half of 2009 and got MAJOR play in 2010

Steve Angello – “KNAS” – another club banger in the summer of 2010

Edward Maya – “Stereo Love” – from late 2009 and undoubtedly blew up in 2010

Steve Aoki – “I’m In The House” ft. will.i.am – for as much electro as the music industry has gone in 2010 and how big the Black Eyed Peas are, this would be borderline consideration at least.

Those are just a handful of songs that deserve their due but we could go on forever with this and artists who are not being recognized (Yolanda Be Cool & DCup, Roger Sanchez, Alex Gaudino, etc.) for their influence on pop culture. Just because they may not have a song full of lyrics or one incredible line that makes you laugh shouldn’t take away from the sheer talent and popularity.  I know not everyone is into electronic music and that’s fine but don’t just dance (no pun intended) with the music throughout the year and then throw it to the curb when it’s time to hand out awards and accolades.

Top Albums of 2010

9 Dec

Sure there are many great CDs released in 2010 but I think I actually agree with Rolling Stone, they put together a list that’s pretty damn good.  Their Top 10 is really hard to argue with but I’d actually put Kings of Leon – Come Around Sundown (the disc especially “Back Down South” reminds me of why I because a fan seven years ago), Beach House – Teen Dream (this was definitely one of those surprise discs and pushed the duo to stardom) and Yeasayer – Odd Blood (great disc and “Ambling Alp” is hands down one of the best songs of the year) up higher.

Rolling Stone‘s Best Albums of 2010

1. Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
2. The Black Keys, Brothers
3. Elton John and Leon Russell, The Union
4. Arcade Fire, The Suburbs
5. Jamey Johnson, The Guitar Song
6. Vampire Weekend, Contra
7. Drake, Thank Me Later
8. Robert Plant, Band of Joy
9. Eminem, Recovery
10. LCD Soundsystem, This Is Happening
11. The Dead Weather, Sea of Cowards
12. John Mellencamp, No Better Than This
13. Taylor Swift, Speak Now
14. Robyn, Body Talk
15. The National, High Violet
16. Kid Rock, Born Free
17. Beach House, Teen Dream
18. Kings of Leon, Come Around Sundown
19. M.I.A., Maya
20. Neil Young, Le Noise
21. Big Boi, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty ///
22. Spoon, Transference
23. Elizabeth Cook, Welder
24. Maximum Balloon, Maximum Balloon
25. Superchunk, Majesty Shredding
26. Yeasayer, Odd Blood
27. Peter Wolf, Midnight Souvenirs
28. My Chemical Romance, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys
29. The Roots, How I Got Over
30. Rick Ross, Teflon Don