Tag Archives: Grammy

Five For Friday: February playlist, Drake, WayHome Festival, Stevie Wonder and the GRAMMY’s

13 Feb

I haven’t written on one these in a while. Feels good to get back into the swing of things on DoYouHearTheMusic.com. And in this case, time to bring back “Five For Friday” and get you coasting into the weekend with some music.

  1. Earlier this week I posted my February playlist. Click HERE to check it out. Should be the perfect playlist for the weekend.
  2. Drake unexpectedly dropped a mix tape “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” – read more and listen HERE.
  3. Have you peeped the brand new WayHome Festival in Ontario this July that just announced a crushing lineup?
  4. If you missed the Stevie Wonder all-star GRAMMY tribute special, click HERE.
  5. Speaking of the GRAMMY’s, get my thoughts on them HERE.

 

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REVISITED: My thoughts on the 2015 GRAMMY performances

9 Feb

Each year the day after the GRAMMY Awards I try to post my thoughts on each performance here on the blog. To be honest compared to past years I thought there were a bunch of underwhelming performances this year and instead of poking holes in the lackluster, I want to mention the moments of awesomeness.

  • My favorite performance was Jeff Lynn of ELO and Ed Sheeran, that was as awesome as it got last night.
  • John Mayer is mounting his comeback to the mainstream audience. Last week he was guest hosting the Late Late Show and last night joining Ed Sheeran (along with Questlove and Herbie Hancock) was brilliant. I’d love to see what those two could do together on an album.
  • “FourFiveSeconds” is clearly Rihanna’s song and Kayne was just Kanye and Sir Paul, man I love him but it didn’t even appear that he was really part of that performance. Regardless, loved hearing that song live. Lots of GRAMMY wins collectively on that stage.
  • Perhaps it’s just that I have been a huge fan of Beck for years but I really enjoyed his performance of “Heart Is A Drum” with Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
  • A tip of the cap to the GRAMMY’s for recognizing the rise in country music. Eric Church delivered a great performance, Miranda Lambert equally the same and Brandy Clark with Dwight Yoakam was great.
  • Having one of the biggest Latin superstar musicians, Juanes, perform was a great achievement to draw in a different audience and showcase a different genre to millions
  • Simple and just perfect Beyonce and Katy Perry. Both traditionally have elaborate set designs and moving parts but last night it was just enough and worked extremely well.
  • Thank you Annie Lennox
  • I said it after seeing them on NYE, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga it works and I for one am happy to see Gaga in this role, I believe she was meant to play this part and I hope they are able to continue performing together for a long time to come.
  • Sam Smith and Mary J Blige, bravo
  • Wasn’t crazy about Pharrell’s performance but I understand the artistry and what a HUGE coup having Lang Lang and Hans Zimmer perform alongside.  Rad and so Pharrell to pull off something like that.

Time To Go Back To College? New Music Courses At NYU and USC Thanks To Steven Van Zandt, Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre

17 May

These days I wish I was back in college but not for the reasons you might be thinking. To be a student at NYU or USC is pretty special right now.

On the east coast, NYU with the assistance of Steven Van Zandt’s Rock and Roll Forever Foundation in partnership with the GRAMMY Museum are introducing Rock and Roll: An American Story (RRAAS), an interdisciplinary middle and high school curriculum that explores Rock and Roll from its roots in blues, country music, gospel, and R&B to its latest incarnations today.

Out west at USC, the university announced plans with Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre to develop an Arts Academy after a $70 million donation from the music heavyweights.  The money will be used to create the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation will enroll 25 students beginning in 2014.

Five For Friday, Band of Skulls, Grammys, Mumford & Sons, Dizzy Wright, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Foxygen and more

8 Feb

TGIF and I’m back with a Five For Friday. Been a crazy start to the year and I’ve slacked on getting out some awesome nuggets of music news, new music, concerts and general info.

  1. This weekend in Vegas is going to be rocking with live music. If you had your sights set on the Imagine Dragons show, and feeling bummed since it’s sold out; head over to Vinyl at the Hard Rock Hotel where Band of Skulls will be raging in the intimate room. I promise they will bring it and so should you.
  2. The Grammy Awards are this weekend, don’t miss out as there are going to be some amazing performances. If you recall a couple years ago Mumford & Sons, The Avett Brothers and Bob Dylan all jammed together and look at what that did to propel M&S and TAB to the next level. This year all eyes are on fun. and The Lumineers even though there are countless other amazing musicians performing.
  3. Speaking of Mumford & Sons, did you see the announced this year’s Gentlemen of the Road tour? Catch the US dates and see performances by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Alabama Shakes, fun., Those Darlins, The Vaccines, Half Moon Run, Bear’s Den, Willy Mason and Old Crow Medicine Show.
  4. Monday, February 11 head over to ghostbar at Palms where Vegas’ own, Dizzy Wright will be performing as part of Red Bull’s Red Monday presents. If you want to see the next big thing in hip-hop, you’ll be there.
  5. Next Saturday, February 16 if you are in Las Vegas make sure you head to Beauty Bar where Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Foxygen will be jamming. This is definitely a show you do not want to miss. Trust me.

Video: The Lumineers do Saturday Night Live

21 Jan

In case you missed it, check out The Lumineers performing on Saturday Night Live this past weekend. They absolutely killed it!  Thrilled to see that they are continuing to rise (album is in Billboard Top 10) and that “Stubborn Love” is finally getting the airplay and attention it deserves.  Nearly a year ago I first featured them on the blog and here we are just a few weeks away from seeing if they can take home a GRAMMY Award!

 

Countdown to Bonnaroo: 23 Days – Artist of the Day: The Civil Wars

14 May

Wow, what a (well deserved) rise to fame for The Civil Wars.  Not only did they figure out how to cross over to multiple genres of music but the got to perform on the biggest stage of them all earlier this year at the GRAMMY Awards (I still think they got hosed on the miniscule performance time) and have two GRAMMYs to show for it, Best Folk Album and Best Duo/Group Performance.  And man is Barton Hollow a great album that everyone should have in their collection.  Even more exciting is the duo of Joy Williams and John Paul White now bring their beautiful melodies to Tennessee for what is sure to be a great performance.  With Williams pregnant, it should be interesting to see if this affects their set, I suppose not but you never know. Bonnaroo baby, maybe?

My thoughts on the GRAMMYs

13 Feb

Ah the GRAMMYs, for one night to have all that talent in one room.  I have to say, I did like LL Cool J hosting the awards show, he brought a nice touch to them and did a nice job paying respect to Whitney Houston (as did everyone else).  But as much as I love seeing the performances, I have to ask, what happened to all the awards?  I feel like there were maybe 10 awards presented on TV and every time someone was introduced it was like “with two new GRAMMYs tonight….,” okay but what did they win for? Want the full list, click here.

Also I have to say I was not a fan of so many musicians getting multiple performances at the awards.  I get it, they crossover to different genres but there are plenty of musicians who made an impact in the last year of music who could have also had the grand stage to perform.

Enough rant, on to the performances.

  • Bruce Springsteen – “We Take Care of Our Own” – loved the string section, and The Boss looked super calmed, relaxed and what a great way to start off the GRAMMYs.  I really do love this song, it sounds like the gold old. Springsteen.   Loved seeing Paul McCartney and Chris Martin singing along too.
  • Touching tribute to start the GRAMMYs by LL Cool J
  • Bruno Mars – Huge fan of his music and his appearance on the big stage confirmed it once again, he’s an electric personality and helping to bring back a style of music that has been missing from the mainstream attention.  You couldn’t not be tapping your foot or clapping your hands during this performance.
  •  Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt – “Sunday Kind of Love” I could have listened to that for days, amazing voices.
  •  Chris Brown – The stage setup reminded me of Qbert, he keeps pushing to overtake Usher.
  •  Man, Kanye wins a GRAMMY and not present, go figure! Well we got once less random rant
  •  Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson – If country is your thing…..
  •  Foo Fighters – As expected, a rocking performance.
  •  Coldplay and Rihanna – I thought Rihanna did a great job and I loved the way the Staples Center looked during “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall.”  I use to only like the remixed versions of that song and now I just love the original.
  •  Maroon5, Foster The People, Beach Boys – Who doesn’t love the Beach Boys?  But I don’t know if it was just me but I was underwhelmed with this performance.  I guess I was just expecting more and to be blown away. Plus all I kept thinking when I look at Mark Foster was commercial jingles.
  • Paul McCartney, Diana Krall, Joe Walsh – One word, Beautiful.
  • The Civil Wars – So proud they got to perform at the GRAMMYs just wish they gave them more air time. At least two GRAMMY wins substantiates why they deserve this.
  • Taylor Swift – Great job.  My favorite thing about Taylor Swift is she gets so amazed at the crowd reception of her performances. Crazy to think we have basically watched her grow up through these award shows.  I can’t wait for ten years from now and what she’s singing about.
  • Katy Perry – um no
  • Adele – She makes it look so easy and effortless.  I love the confidence she showed on that stage and if you weren’t a believer before, you sure must be now. And wow what a reception from the crowd.
  • Derek Trucks sighting!
  • Glen Campbell, The Band Perry and Blake Shelton – who doesn’t like Rhinestone Cowboy! As a non knowing Country music person, I wonder if The Band Perry are going to be the next big thing.
  • Nicki Minaj – next please
  • David Guetta, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne + Foo Fighters and Deadmau5 – I was really disappointed in how this appeared on TV, personally I think it was not as big, flashy and what it could have been on the biggest stage to date for EDM.
  • Tony Bennett and Carrie Underwood – just another day at the office for the legend.
  • Jennifer Hudson – For real?  That was incredible.
  • Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Joe Walsh, Dave Grohl– how can you not love seeing these legends just jamming to close out the awards.

NEWS: Maroon 5 and Foster The People to Perform with The Beach Boys at the GRAMMY Awards

9 Feb

Check out THIS story from Paste Magazine about the Beach Boys upcoming performance at the GRAMMY Awards on February 12 with Maroon 5 and Foster The People.

I don’t anticipate it being quite like The Avett Brothers and Mumford & Sons with Bob Dylan last year but it should be pretty cool nonetheless.  Looking forward to it for sure.

Also looking forward to performances by Maceo Parker, The Civil Wars and Joe Walsh.

My interview with Grammy and Oscar winner Ryan Bingham

26 Nov

Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing Ryan Bingham for his show this evening at the Silverton in Las Vegas.  The interview was published this week in Vegas SEVEN and you can click HERE to read it.  If you’re in Vegas tonight, you won’t want to miss this show, it’s going to be a rocking good time.

Countdown to Bonnaroo: 5 Days – Artist of the Day: Eminem

4 Jun

A five year hiatus didn’t do anything to diminish his reputation in the music game.  If anything it only made Eminem come back stronger to claim his stake as one of the all time elite in hip-hop. Fast forward three years, two new albums albums and now a total of 13 Grammy Awards to date and Slim Shady has an arsenal of material to drop at Bonnaroo.  As one of the headliners, expect the performance to be an intense 90 minutes. Perhaps a guest spot by Weezy while we’re at it?

Saturday 11:00 PM – 12:30 AM – What Stage