You Can Now Make Music On The Go With Apple’s New iPhone App
Apple has adapted its GarageBand software so you can now download it to your iPhone and make music on the go. This is going to make for some very interesting subway commutes, indeed… [Prefix]
Mumford And Sons Are Back With A Brand New Song, “Ghosts That We Knew”
We were starting to feel like Mumford & Sons might ride off the success of Sigh No More forever, so we’re pretty excited to see they’ve got some new material. [NME]
Coldplay‘s Mylo Xyloto sold 447,000 copies in the United States last week, which puts it squarely atop this week’s Billboard album charts. The British foursome was able to top future VH1 Unplugged star Kelly Clarkson‘s release of Stronger, which moved an impressive 163,000 units. Coldplay’s sales figures look even more impressive when you consider that this is the strongest first week sales total for a rock act since U2 released No Line On The Horizon back in March of 2009.
VH1 News correspondent Kate Spencer was able to grab some quality face time with Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin and drummer Will Champion in Los Angeles recently, a revealing interview in which these gents discuss a variety of topics ranging from how they chose the producers of Mylo Xyloto to why the Haters always keep them striving to achieve more.
If you were born before the year 1993, it’s probably safe to say that you don’t entirely “get” Justin Bieber. After all, you already graduated past the whole floppy-haired-teen-idol-unrequited-love-affair-kissing-posters-to-sleep-at-night thing and have moved onto other crushworthy objects of desire (Hello, Ryan Gosling? If you’re reading this, call us, beb!). That’s all about to change.
After clicking a link on our Twitter feed earlier today out of morbid curiosity, we were suddenly confronted with Bieber freestyling over the beat from Kayne West & Jay-Z‘s “Otis” on LA’s Power 106 radio station. By now, it’s clear that his singing voice has been irreparably changed by the onset of puberty, but his rapping voice? That’s something else entirely. The Biebs proves himself to be not just an adequate rapper but, dare we say, a skilled MC who’s able to spit pop culture savvy lines like “Thanked Jesus at the awards I’m never going to hell / Call me Zack Morris, I’m saving you by the bell†with bona fide aplomb. Maybe this kid’s 15 minutes aren’t going to expire anytime soon, after all.
Foster The People‘s new video for “Call It What You Want” is the most lavish of their young career. Since their humble beginnings with “Pumped Up Kicks,” Foster The People have been featured as a You Oughta Know artist, and now are on the fast track to superstardom with their quirky brand of infectious electro-pop. We’ve been bopping our shoulders all morning at our desks as we listen to the new single, so one thing’s for sure — we absolutely love “Call It What You Want.”
The video, on the other hand, is a little bit more interesting and requires more than just a toe tap to decipher. Set in a lavish mansion akin to the Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters, the video also has a decided Gossip Girl vibe, what with all the gilded, ornamental decadence and the striking resemblance of front man Mark Foster to Chace Crawford. Add some hallucinogens and the video descends quickly into madness while the band experiments with all manner of wet, exploding and popping things, while ignoring the scantily-clad female fans screaming beneath their balcony.
And not only are the fans ignored, they’re shot at with Mark Foster’s finger gun, exploding blue paint from their chests in a gruesomely vibrant simulation. We can’t decide if it’s a thinly veiled metaphor — Foster The People’s priority is to experiment and create rather than to lavish in fame — or if it’s just a super fun, tongue-in-cheek kitschy kind of video. Either way, we hope the fish flopping on the floor towards the start of the video made it back into its tank alive…
Rihanna‘s “We Found Love” (featuring Calvin Harris) hit the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts today, marking her 11th (!) song to hit #1 on the charts. All of her hard work is clearly paying off, as she is now inducted into an illustrious group that includes The Beatles, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Madonna, The Supremes and Whitney Houston as the only artists to reach this plateau. Singling out female performers, this achievement puts her in a tie with Whitney Houston for the female artists with the most #1 hits all-time, trailing only Mariah (18) and Madonna (12).
Also scoring a big milestone this week is Kelly Clarkson, whose new single “Mr. Know It All” has just become her ninth Top Ten hit. We were lucky enough to see Kelly perform this song (and a few as-yet-unnamed others) when she taped VH1 Unplugged last week, and we’re giddy with excitement over the rocketing success of her new single and album, Stronger. You’ll be able to catch Kelly’s full Unplugged performance when it premieres exclusively on VH1.com at 7 p.m. ET on November 17, which is just one day before the 11 p.m. premiere on VH1.
Rihanna’s ‘Found’ Her Way Back to Hot 100 Summit [Billboard]
[Photos: Getty Images]
Last night, while standing on a riser in the middle of a sea of costumed, half-naked Angelinos gettin’ down to Robyn, I shouted to no one in particular, “This is so f*cking cool!” The ethereal Swedish singer was performing as part of MTV’s O Music Awards, which celebrates the best in online music with an interactive and strictly digital interface. Fans voted online (over 22.2 million times) in categories such as Digital Genius (Bjork) and Best Web Born Artist (Kina Grannis), and the show was streamed live on MTV.com, VH1.com and LOGOtv.com.
Beyoncé And Belly Go As A Giant Bumble Bee To Halloween
We’ve dubbed Beyoncé‘s Halloween get up “The Bey-Bee”. You can see how adorable Mamma B (and some other celebrities) looked last night as she stepped out for Halloween at The Fab Life. [The Fab Life]
Liking Nickelback Will Not Get You Laid The Most
According to a hilarious infographic doing the rounds on the Internet today, your chances of getting laid decrease as your liking of Nickelback, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber or Coldplay (amongst others) increases. Turns out your music choices are just as important as your cologne and winning sense of humor when you’re trying to get between the sheets… [Flavorwire]
M83‘s new album, Hurry Up We’re Dreaming, has been one of the most talked about releases of 2011, and has launched the band from cult indie-electro status to “next big thing” stature. And the first single from the album, “Midnight City”, appears to be the culprit behind M83′s sudden pervasiveness. As the soundtrack to Victoria’s Secret‘s latest launch — the landing of the newest Angels in tandem with the release of the brand’s new fragrance — “Midnight City” has blasted out of it’s alternative niche and right into the hungry ears of mainstream audiences.
And the buck doesn’t stop there — “Midnight City” was also featured as the credits rolled on Sunday night’s episode of HBO’s How To Make It In America. It’s not entirely surprising that M83′s star has risen so quickly, given the band’s brand of uplifting, huge, reverberating sounds. The music is almost made to play over grand montages of sweeping movements, slow motion running and whimsical moments. We’re expecting to see more M83 blasting over vast, panning cameras and epic movie style drama very soon!
The controversial experimental collaboration album by Metallica and Lou Reed, Lulu, was officially released yesterday, and seemingly everyone on the Internet has an opinion on it. In the lead up to the much talked about release, critics waxed lyrical about Lulu with many a no-holds-barred, acerbic commentary surfacing in its wake. Every music critic armed with a blog and dexterous typing hand has weighed in on the collaboration, what it tells us about the music industry, and what ‘quality’ means in a world where the fruits of creative process are both disposable and necessary. Overwhelmingly, opinions have been unfavorable.
VH1 spoke to James Hetfield, Metallica front man about the release, and the artist was optimistic, reiterating how much he, Lou and the band enjoyed creating the album, and specifically how much they love the finished product. He goes on to acknowledge the criticism, saying, “at the end of the day all of this is about us writing music that we enjoy listening to, and if other people enjoy it, that’s awesome, and if they don’t — there’s certainly people out there that don’t as well — then move onto the next thing.”
VH1 Presents Mixtape Festival: Train, NKOTB, TLC, The Script + more! Tickets on sale now at MixtapeFestival.com!
