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| Vid Pick: Sum - Road To Rebellion Promo |
| Friday, April 18, 2014 |
Even as a longtime fan of Sum, and his music, I rarely have any idea of what he's going to do next. The one thing I do know, the one constant with all of his work, is that everything he releases is creatively mind blowing. Sum is an artist who doesn't believe in being boxed in, and refuses to accept the typical genre boundaries we're asked to accept.
Earlier this month Sum posted a video cryptically titled "#RTR 1 - Legion," writing in the description, "The Road To Rebellion is everything and nothing. These are not songs or verses from my next album. This is one style of many, don't get it fucked up. #RTR."
In this clip Sum's road to rebellion is paved by a beat by Core Rhythm, and features two kick ass verses. It's a road well worth traveling.
Labels: Vid Picks |
posted by Adam Bernard @ 7:00 AM  |
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| We Are The In Crowd Gets ‘Weird’ |
| Thursday, April 17, 2014 |
A rise to fame can happen fairly meteorically in the world of pop punk. Just ask We Are The In Crowd. In the span on less than five years the quintet from Poughkeepsie, NY, went from posting songs on the internet to touring the world.
Read the full interview at Arena.com.
Labels: Music Interviews |
| posted by Adam Bernard @ 1:38 PM |
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| Nina Persson Displays Her ‘Heart’ On Solo Debut |
| Wednesday, April 16, 2014 |
As lead singer of The Cardigans, Nina Persson became Swedish pop royalty. Buoyed by the success of songs like “Lovefool” and “My Favourite Game,” the group was a worldwide sensation. Fifteen million albums sold later, Persson has embarked on a solo career.
Read the full interview at Arena.com.
Labels: Music Interviews |
| posted by Adam Bernard @ 4:21 PM |
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| NYC Scene Report - Anna Rose, Crow Bait, & more |
| Tuesday, April 15, 2014 |
This week's edition of Neighborhood Watch: NYC features the blues rock of Anna Rose, the psych rock of How to be Topp, the 90s influenced rock of Crow Bait, and the 80s influenced rock of Love Crushed Velvet. We also have the singer-songwriter sounds of Samuel Cooper, because at some point during all this rockin, you’re going to need to chill out for a bit.
Read the full column at Arena.com.
Labels: NYC Scene Report |
| posted by Adam Bernard @ 1:33 PM |
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| Pop Shots - Songs That Should Dominate The Summer |
| Monday, April 14, 2014 |
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with some thoughts on which songs might rule the summer. Spring is almost in full effect, but the top of the Billboard Hot 100 has remain fairly unchanged for quite some time. While Pharrell’s “Happy” continues to make us joyful, the advent of summer means it’s time for a sea-change when it comes to radio playlists. With that in mind, I’ve found five songs currently taking up residence in the bottom half of the chart that would be perfect fits to be 2014’s songs of summer. The chart positions I’m using are from the Billboard Hot 100 as it was listed on Billboard.com this past Thursday, and since this is Pop Shots, you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
56) Iggy Azalea w/ Charli XCX - Fancy
If Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” blows up this summer it will likely have a Macklemore effect on the mainstream, and hip-hop, media. By that I mean there will be hundreds of misguided, click bait, articles written about how Iggy’s “stealing” the culture. Knowing that “Fancy” hitting it big will make the heads of so many easily offended, overly opinionated, internet a-holes explode is reason enough to root for the song. A rise up the chart would also cause hipsters to have to call a meeting to decide whether or not they’re still allowed to like Charli XCX, who is one of their current faves. Am I a little evil in my desires here? Perhaps, but who says I can’t have some fun? The Clueless inspired video for “Fancy” shows Iggy and Charli share influences with an entirely different segment of society that hip-hop normally reaches out to, and their ascension would result in a conflagration that would be enjoyable to watch.
60) 5 Seconds Of Summer- She Looks So Perfect
Every summer needs a good pop rock anthem or two, and 5 Seconds of Summer’s “She Looks So Perfect” would be a great choice to be one of those songs. Not only does it have a slight pop punk vibe, nicely capturing the ebullience of the genre, “She Looks So Perfect” has a ridiculously catchy chorus that will have you singing about American Apparel underwear until the leaves on the trees change color for fall. As an added bonus, the video is filled with people joyously ripping their clothes off and stripping down to their underthings, which is something I like to encourage in the summer. Heck, summer is even in the name of the band. Wait, is that cheating? Hmm, I don’t recall making any rules, so I’m gonna have to say it’s allowed.
64) Neon Trees - Sleeping With A Friend
This song has been out for a while, but I feel like it hasn’t come close to hitting its stride. Neon Trees make the kind of songs that have an incredibly amount of longevity, “Animal,” and “Everybody Talks” being perfect examples of this, so “Sleeping With A Friend,” with its 80s inspired goodness, shouldn’t be leaving us anytime soon. Thankfully, it’s the kind of song we don’t want leaving us anytime soon. “Sleeping With A Friend” is a classic – crank it up every time it comes on the radio – kind of tune that we all eventually learn the lyrics to. Every time you hear it, the lyric “all my friends” sticks in your head, as does Tyler Glenn’s “ooh ooh” refrain, so just start enjoying the madness of never getting out of your head now.
79) Shakira - Empire
OK, let’s all forget the ill thought out duet with Rihanna, because Shakira’s latest, “Empire,” is a kick ass song that builds to a fantastically passionate climactic chorus that shows she still has what it takes to be one of the queens of pop. The chorus, with its vocal distortion, turns what would have been simply a good song into something really special. Shakira’s been hit or miss over the past half dozen years or so. She’s ranged from the forgettable, like “She Wolf,” to the far more enjoyable “Loca.” While her Latin music never fell off, “Empire” is a welcome return to greatness for Shakira’s pop career, and has a triumphant feel fitting for such a reclamation.
80) Cash Cash w/ Bebe Rexha - Take Me Home
Summer is the time when nightclubs are packed to capacity, and they always need a new monster hit that will get every woman in the house amped up to order a round of shots and get on the dance floor. Cash Cash and Bebe Rexha’s “Take Me Home” seems like a perfect fit to be that song for the summer. It has the kind of crossover appeal that will make it a radio hit, and also seems like one of those songs, like Icona Pop's "I Love It," that has the ability to stick around long enough to be huge, even if it takes a while to get there. If it does eventually get there, I do wonder how Pete Wentz will feel about it.
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.
Labels: Pop Shots |
| posted by Adam Bernard @ 7:00 AM |
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| Vid Pick: Ankhle Conscious - Drownin |
| Friday, April 11, 2014 |
Remember how much praise and attention Beyonce received when she released an album packaged with a video for every song? For those of us in NYC's indie music scene it was old news, because veteran artist Conscious had released project earlier in the year under the name Ankhle Conscious titled Audio Journaling: Unkempt, which was not only a package of music and videos, but was updated by Conscious for those who paid for the album.
Audio Journaling: Unkempt is a true artistic project, utilizing as many forms of media as possible, with a goal of experimenting with how much can be done with today's technology. Kudos to Beyonce for following in Conscious' footsteps, but let's check out the man who preceded her, with this clip titled "Drownin," which is a bonus track off of the album.
Labels: Vid Picks |
| posted by Adam Bernard @ 7:00 AM |
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