Category Archives: Music

Pop Music Today

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By: Shane Brooks

Today, it seems, pop music is the “bread and butter”, so to speak, of American entertainment. Popular music has always been this way whether it be Louis Armstrong with swing music, Elvis with rock music, The Beatles or Katy Perry.

However, popular music has never had such a strong influence on our culture, fashion and even politics then it has today. We let our popular artists be our voice. Artists like Katy Perry or Lady Gaga use their platform to spread the message of female empowerment or the importance of self-expression.

Whereas, artists like Kanye West and Chance the Rapper use their platform to spread the message of faith and religion. Other popular artists sing about having a good time, relationships and other relatable topics, which is why these songs get so popular. Now, none of these topics areparticularly bad things, yet, there is a huge divide between pop music fans and fans of other genres of music.
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Yeezus Walks: A Kanye West statue was unveiled in Los Angeles this morning

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By: Shane Brooks

This morning, on Hollywood Boulevard, a life size statue of artist Kanye West was revealed with a thorn of crowns on his head, nails through his hands and a pair of his own 350 Yeezy Boost sneakers on his feet. The statue stands on a podium with the words “False Idol”inscribed into it. Kanye has been known to call himself a “God” in several interviews and with songs titled “I am a God” and “Jesus Walks” and calling himself Yeezus it will be very interestingto hear the artist’s thoughts on the project. Attempts have been made by several publications to reach out to West’s representatives for a comment but none has been made so far.

The crucified West was created by L.A. street artist Plastic Jesus. You may remember himfrom an art piece he did last year by putting a small wall around Donald Trump’s star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood. The Hollywood Reporter interviewed the artist and he had this to say: “West is a genius at writing and producing but he’s not a God, and that’s where we put him. Until there’s an issue in his life or a hiccup in his career, then we crucify him.” When asked about the message behind the artwork he elaborated by saying, “By all means, treat and respect these people as artists but don’t turn them into gods- because we crucify our gods.”

On February 24th the statue will be a part of Plastic Jesus’s exhibition with guitarist Billy Morrison called Anesthesia: The Art of Oblivion. For more information on the statue or the artist himself you can visit his website, plasticjesus.net. Here you can see other public art displays he has put together and even purchase pieces from his online collection.

So, if you’re in the Hollywood area make sure to go see the statue on display before it is taken down and we will be waiting to hear from Kanye West himself to hear his thoughts on the piece.

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Chance the Rapper: Chicago’s Independent, Grammy Award Winning Superstar

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By: Shane Brooks

If you were watching the 59th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night then you witnessed history being made. Last year, the Recording Academy changed their rules on Grammy eligibility to allow streaming-only releases to be considered for the award.

This allowed young artist Chance the Rapper to be nominated for seven Grammys, of which he took home three in one historic night. Chance was awarded for Best Rap Album, Best New Artist, and Best Rap Performance. The 23-year-old Chicago rapper beat out artists such as Kanye West, a fellow Chicago native, and his album The Life of Pablo, Drake’s Views and De LaSoul’s and the Anonymous Nobody.

Chance punctuated his triumphant night with a highly spirited live performance of his songs “How Great” and “All We Got” from his “Coloring Book” mixtape. “Coloring Book” was released in May of last year and it became the first streaming-only album to chart on the Billboard 200, opening in the top 10.
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Grammy Awards 2017: See the Full Winners List

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By AI Creative Media

The 2017 Grammy Awards aired on CBS on Sunday night with The Late Late Show’s James Corden hosting. Similar to what she achieved in 2012, Adele swept the night’s main trophies, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year, making history in the process. After winning Album of the Year, Adele dedicated the award to Beyonce, calling Lemonade “so monumental”.

Here’s the full list of winners from the 59th annual Grammy Awards:

Album Of The Year:
25 — Adele

Record Of The Year:
“Hello” — Adele

Song Of The Year:
“Hello” — Adele Adkins & Greg Kurstin, songwriters (Adele)

Best New Artist:
Chance The Rapper

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
“Stressed Out” — Twenty One Pilots

Best Pop Vocal Album:
25 — Adele

Best Pop Solo Performance:
“Hello” — Adele

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CMT Exclusive: Interview with Vivek Maddala on Scoring for The Tom and Jerry Show

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By Elizabeth Walker

Vivek Maddala has written scores for numerous films, and studied jazz performance at the Berklee College of Music. One of his most recent projects has been writing for the Cartoon Network reboot of Tom and Jerry. I reached him by phone to discuss his latest project.

Elizabeth Walker: So is this your first time writing for animation?

Vivek Maddala: My first job writing for film was working for Turner Classic Movies. They were restoring old silent films from the 1920s. Back then, there was no score, because they didn’t have a way of synching music with the film, so I had to create the score. I did five or six of thosefor TCM, and they were not that difference from scoring for animation.

EW: How so?

VM: There is no dialogue between Tom and Jerry, and only a bit from the minor characters. As aresult, it is very visual, and the music has to convey a lot of the emotions. So I did my training for that by scoring the silent films.

EW: Interesting. So how were you approached for this particular project?

VM: On the silent films, I was fortunate enough to work with a tremendous recording and mix engineer – and a very talented musician in his own right – named Dan Blessinger. He was actually the one who recommended me for the Tom and Jerry gig.

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Oscar Nominees: Official Statements

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RUTH NEGGA – “LOVING” (Focus Features) – Nominee, Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role – Academy Awards

“I am truly humbled by the news this morning, and I thank the Academy for this recognition, which I share with my co-collaborators Jeff Nichols and Joel Edgerton. It has been such an honor to have been given the opportunity to tell the incredible story of Richard and Mildred Loving, who serve as an inspiration that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. The Lovings fought quietly yet tirelessly, and changed the course of American legal history. Today, to be among such extraordinary women – my fellow nominees, my peers with films this year, and the legendary performers whose work of years past has long inspired me…this means a great deal to me.” – Ruth Negga, Academy Award nominee for Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (LOVING)

MICHAEL SHANNON – “NOCTURNAL ANIMALS” (Focus Features) – Nominee, Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role – Academy Awards
“I am thrilled! Loved making this film. I would work with Tom Ford anytime, anywhere. Jake Gyllenhaal and Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Karl Glusman made it easy for me. Nice to get some good news in the midst of all the carnage, so to speak.” – Michael Shannon, Academy Award nominee for Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (NOCTURNAL ANIMALS)

KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS
“KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS” (Focus Features) – Nominee, Best Animated Feature Film – Academy Awards
“I’m over the moon! An Academy Award nomination is an extraordinary and cherished gift. Two nominations is more than anyone could hope for. Every filmmaker dreams of a moment like this. But the truth is, I already lived my dream by making this film. Movies have always given me great joy. They enriched my life. They inspired me to dream. That’s the kind of film our team at LAIKA sought to make with KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS. A film is a slice of a hundred souls. In this case many more. An incredible, immense community of artists gave ceaselessly and selflessly to breathe life into this story. I’m so thankful for their talents and efforts and so proud of what we’ve done together. I’m profoundly grateful to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who somehow saw fit to include us among the finest storytellers in film. It is a tremendous honor to stand alongside them.” – Travis Knight, Academy Award nominee as director and producer of KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, Best Animated Feature Film

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2017 Grammy Awards: Beyoncé leads nominations

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By AI Creative Media

The nominations for the 2017 Grammy Awards were announced this morning (Dec. 6), and Beyonce, Adele, Drake lead the way. Beyonce received a total of nine nominations including album of the year. Just behind are Drake, Rihanna and Kanye West, which scored eight nominations each.

Beyonce is the first artist to be nominated in the pop, rock, R&B and rap categories in the same year. Beyonce and Adele were the only artists nominated in all three of the top categories of album, song and record of the year.

The top four categories were announced by Meghan Trainor on CBS This Morning. Trainor was last year’s Best New Artist winner.

The Grammy Awards will be hosted by James Corden. The event will take place at Staples Center in Los Angeles, and will air live on CBS on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. ET.

See the nominees for the general field categories below, then head over to Grammy.com for the complete list.

Record of the Year

“Hello” – Adele
“Formation” – Beyonce
“7 Years” – Lukas Graham
“Work” – Rihanna featuring Drake
“Stressed Out” – Twenty One Pilots

Album of the Year

“25” – Adele
“Lemonade” – Beyonce
“Purpose” – Justin Bieber
“Views” – Drake
“A Sailor’s Guide to Earth” – Sturgill Simpson

Song of the Year

“Formation” – Beyonce
“Hello” – Adele
“I Took a Pill in Ibiza” – Mike Posner
“Love Yourself” – Justin Bieber
“7 Years” – Lukas Graham

Best New Artist

Kelsea Ballerini
The Chainsmokers
Chance the Rapper
Maren Morris
Anderson .Paak

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Drake leads 2016 American Music Awards Nominations.

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By AI Creative Media

Drake broke the 23 year record for the most American Music Awards: 13 nods total. That beats the previous record of 11 nominations set by Michael Jackson in 1984. Drake leads the nomination count in categories including Artist of Year, Favorite Male Artist and Favorite Album.

The nominees were were announced today by singers Joe Jonas and Rachel Platten on “Good Morning America”.

The AMAs telecast will air live Nov. 20 from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on ABC.

Below is the full list of nominees:

Artist of the Year

Adele
Beyoncé
Justin Bieber
Drake
Selena Gomez
Ariana Grande
Rihanna
Twenty One Pilots
Carrie Underwood
The Weeknd

New Artist of the Year Un-Leashed By T-Mobile

Alessia Cara
The Chainsmokers
Dnce
Shawn Mendes
Zayn

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Perfect Illusion: Social Media and Depression. Lady Gaga’s Social Commentary

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By Andrew Van Wilpe

She’s back, and she’s got a message. Gaga reemerges in her music alongside a new single ‘Perfect Illusion,’ with a slightly more a rock n’ roll image we haven’t seen much of since her ‘Born this Way,’ album. On September 9th, Lady Gaga released her much anticipated single, this dance rock track is the appetizer for her fifth album “Joanne,” that’s to be released October 21st,

Upon the release, the chorus made many believe this song was about her ex-fiancé Taylor Kinney.

‘It wasn’t love, it wasn’t love
It was a perfect illusion (Perfect illusion)
Mistaken for love, it wasn’t love
It was a perfect illusion (Perfect illusion)
You were a perfect illusion,’

Was Gaga taking the Taylor Swift break-up route in her music?

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“The Auction at Graceland” During Elvis Week 2016 to Feature Elvis’ Birth Record, Jewelry, Clothing, Personal Items, and Movie Memorabilia Among 197 Lots

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Online Bidding Is Now Open and Collectible Auction Catalog Available to Order

MEMPHIS, Tenn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Graceland® Auctions has announced its fifth auction of rare and authentic Elvis Presley™ artifacts, which will be held during Elvis Week 2016, and feature 197 lots, including Elvis Presley’s birth record document, personal American Express card and important movie-related memorabilia among other historically significant artifacts. The Auction at Graceland will take place in the Graceland Archives Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on Saturday, August 13, 2016, at 2:00 p.m. CDT. Online bidding is now available at Graceland Auctions.

Fans, music collectors and pop culture enthusiasts from around the world are expected to participate on site and online in this significant auction, with all 197 lots expertly authenticated by the staff of Graceland Authenticated. All of the items in the auction will be offered from third-party collectors and none of the items will come from the treasured Graceland Archives. The mansion and all artifacts in the Graceland Archives continue to be owned by Lisa Marie Presley and are not for sale. Graceland Authenticated sets a new standard for pop culture authentication and appraisal to ensure artifact accuracy and provide evaluations of privately-owned collections.

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