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Slash: Music Has Lost Magic
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Rock, Amazon MP3 Store, iTunes, Zune,
Slash thinks music has "lost its magic." The former Guns N' Roses guitarist thinks the modern popularity for purchasing albums through downloads lead to the listener missing out because they don't get a complete package that includes the visuals of artwork.
"There was a certain excitement that came with the release of a new record, and a lot of it was just the package itself, and it was something that you milled over while you were listening to the record. It was sad to see them sort of get phased out, but, you know, with CDs at least you still had the booklets, but now, when you look at the digital situation, you're like 'There's nothing in it,' you know. It's not even tangible any more. It's convenient, but you lose the magic of it."
The 46-year-old star is renowned for his musicianship yet he believes playing guitar well is a "never-ending process" and he practices every day: "The funny thing for me, obviously I think it's well known that I quit drinking a few years ago, and so instead of picking up some other bad habit I just put it all back into the guitar playing, so I probably play guitar more now than when I first started.
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Madonna "almost cried" when she returned to the recording studio.
The 53-year-old singer took a break from her music career to direct W.E. and although she enjoyed working on the film, she loved going back to the "simplicity" of songwriting for her new album MDNA.
"It's amazing to be back in music. I like the intimacy of a recording studio and song writing. I'm using a different part of my brain when I work on music versus when I'm directing a film. It's very different. I love doing both, but it was nice to have the simplicity of song writing after three years of writing a script and directing and editing and talking about my film, to sit down and play my guitar and sing a song. I almost cried."
Madonna also said she refuses to listen to other artists' work when she is recording because she needs to work from a "clean slate" with no external influences: "I wasn't listening to anything to tell you the truth when I wrote this. I was working on the soundtrack to my movie W.E. So just classical music. I actually don't like listening to pop music while I'm working on pop music - it doesn't really work. You don't want to hear other people's stuff, you need a clean slate to work off."
One Direction Tops US Album Charts
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Concerts / Tours, Performances, The Charts, Pop, New Releases,
One Direction have become the first British group to enter the US charts at number one with a debut album.
The "What Makes You Beautiful" hitmakers - Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson - made history by selling more than 176,000 copies of their Up All Night album since its release last Tuesday.
"We simply cannot believe that we are number one in America! It's beyond a dream come true for us. We want to thank each and every one of our fans in the US who bought our album and we would also like to thank the American public for being so supportive of us," Harry said.
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The White Stripes Would Only Return if They Were Bankrupt
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Gossip, Reunions, Rumors, Folk, Rock,
Jack White says the only way he would reform The White Stripes is if he were bankrupt. The musician officially ended his group with drummer Meg White official last February, and although there has been a spate of reunions and reformations by other bands in recent history, he would only revisit his former project if he was forced to.
"Absolutely no chance. I couldn't see any reason to ever do that. I'm not the kind of person that would retire from baseball and come out of retirement the next year. I mean, if we went to all the trouble of telling people we're done, we meant it, you know? If we were forced to change our mind about it, I can only imagine the reason being if we went bankrupt or something or needed the cash, which would be a really sad thing. I would probably be issuing an apology with the announcement of the show dates."
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Usher Wants Adele Duet
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Collaborations, Upcoming Releases, Pop, R&B / Soul,
Usher believes the world "deserves" a duet between him and Adele.
The "Yeah" singer thinks he should collaborate with "Rolling in the Deep" hitmaker Adele, after she has had such a great year since releasing her second album 21: "I think the world deserves an Usher and Adele record. That's what I think."
Usher also joked that he didn't want people in the US to keep buying 21, so it doesn't beat his record of 7.9 million sales of an album in one year, set with Confessions in 2004:
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Katy Perry Always Honest with Lyrics
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Upcoming Releases, Pop,
Katy Perry always wants her lyrics to be honest, "no matter how much it hurts." The "Firework" hitmaker - who split from husband Russell Brand in December - promises fans she will always tell the truth on her records, and finds going into the studio is often "cathartic."
"People see the lyrics are a bit vulnerable sometimes, but I think that is what everybody wants to hear, they want to hear the truth, no matter how much it hurts. Writing songs is cathartic, it's definitely like I'm pushing something out. Whenever I feel I'm getting toward breaking point, rather than going into a bad place I just get my guitar, or get myself into the studio and free verse, freestyle," she said.
Katy added she always carries a recorder wherever she goes in order to capture all the funny and interesting phrases, words or descriptions that come to her in her everyday life: "I have this little red recorder I have with me at all times, and if I'm walking around the streets it's in my purse and I just pull it out. It's all about catchphrases and people and conversations and what I'm feeling. I love language, especially when you write a pop song, a lot of people think your pop songs are just pop and whatever, but if you listen to the lyrics, each one has a meaning and a purpose, and sometimes has two meanings, two purposes. Basically what I'm trying to say is I'm super deep. But I'm also a pop star."
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Madonna wrote MDNA because she "felt like a caged animal."
The "Give me all Your Luvin" hitmaker was motivated to make her first album in four years because she was upset with fame and felt like she has something important to say.
"I felt like a caged animal. I felt like I had to scream. I had to get some things off my chest. There's something simple and primal and direct about playing guitar and singing. I still have a lot to say. I still get p****d off about things. And I still believe in love," she said.
She also praised producer William Orbit, who worked on MDNA and has previously collaborated with Madonna on her Music and Ray of Light albums: "Something magical happens when I work with William. He is a tortured soul, and he brings out the tortured soul in me."
Madonna also claimed she's not as "in control" of her career as people perceive her to be.
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Marilyn Manson Teams Up with Johnny Depp
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Collaborations, Rock,
Marilyn Manson teamed up with Johnny Depp for his new album, Born Villain.
Johnny provided guitar and drums for a cover of Carly Simon's 1972 hit "You're So Vain," which shock rocker Marilyn felt would be a particularly "ironic" track for them to take on.
"We did a cover version together of a song which we thought was ironic for each other. He played drums and lead guitar, and I played guitar and sang. It's a bonus track on my record and the video will probably be us looking at each other like a mirror," Manson said.
Johnny has previously said he took inspiration from Marilyn for his character Willy Wonka in the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The pair are friends, and although Marilyn's tracks such as "Cake and Sodomy" and "I Don't Like the Drugs (But The Drugs Like Me)" hardly make him a child friendly performer, he has been booked for his Johnny's son's tenth birthday party.
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Nas Unsure About Winehouse Duet
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Collaborations, Blues, Hip-Hop & Rap, Pop,
Nas says "part" of him "didn't want to" record a posthumous song with Amy Winehouse.
The rapper had planned to write a song with Amy before her death from accidental alcohol poisoning last July, and was apprehensive about whether he should contribute to the posthumously track "Like Smoke."
"Part of me didn't want to do the song. Amy and I share a birthday, so she was my sister. And she was just so much fun to be around. She would say things about well-known people in the industry that she didn't like and it would just crack me up. We were all hoping she would pull through and come back," he said.
Nas - full name Nasir Jones - was introduced to Amy via producer Salaam Remi, and she had referenced him in her track "Me and Mr. Jones," which they had planned to record a sequel to together. The rapper has also told how making "Like Smoke," featured on the Lioness: Hidden Treasures album was a "bittersweet" experience.
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Damon Albarn’s Dr Dee is ‘Spookily Evocative’
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Concerts / Tours, Performances, Classical,
The music of Damon Albarn's Dr. Dee project is "spookily evocative."
The opera, about the life of an Elizabethan scientist, first opened last year at the Manchester International Festival, and has been turned into a studio album which is described as "visual" and "evocative" by collaborator Mike Smith.
"It's spookily evocative, that's what I think when I play it. It's very visual. You can almost see it, it's that evocative. There's a dramatic element to the music on its own," he said.
Conductor André de Ridder agrees with Mike, calling Dr. Dee "emotional."
"It's very deep and emotional music. It's kind of magic but also mysterious subject matter but as it sinks in it grows on you. It's wonderful and it opens up new rooms and spaces each time you perform it," he said.
Damon previously said he wrote the opera because of his ''strong emotional connection'' to the character: "I've got a really strange emotional connection - it really gets to me, that haunted, magical England. It's something that really stirs me in an irrational way. It's just amazing how much color there is in his ideas. Just imagine the English now if we had kept that spirit in our hearts."
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