News

Joan Jett, Lou Reed, Green Day, and Stevie Ray Vaughn among Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees

Lou Reed and Joan Jett will be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and join the likes of Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Nirvana, and The Clash.

Among other acts that will be inducted in 2015 are Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Bill Withers, and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band.

Ringo Starr will also be awarded the Award for Musical Excellence and the “5” Royales will receive the Early Influence Award at the ceremony. The induction and award ceremony will be held on April 18 2015 at Cleveland’s Public House.

Green Day are the 48th act that have been inducted the first year of being eligible. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong told Rolling Stone, “I had to go for a walk when I heard the news. We’re in incredible company and I’m still trying to make sense of this. The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame has always held something special for me because my heroes were in there. This is a great time for us to sort of reflect and look back with gratitude.”

Reed, who has appeared on the ballot in 2000 and 2001, has become the first person to be inducted as both a band member (Velvet Underground in 1996) and also as a solo artist. He is now in the likes of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Neil Young. The late musician is inducted for “uncompromising stance in the service of his artistic vision – often following commercial breakthroughs with daring, experimental projects that initially confounded both fans and critics only to gain recognition decades later.”

Over 600 artists, historians and members of the music industry chose the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame list of inductees. Fans were able to vote for their favorite artists this year. To be eligible to be nominated, the artist has to release a single or album at least 20 years before that year’s nomination. Other names that were on the ballot included The Smiths, Nine Inch Nails, Kraftwerk, Sting, and Chic.

Wilco announce new 2015 tour dates

Wilco has announced their first dates for 2015. The five-city stint begins in Texas and ends in Florida between the final week of April to the beginning of May. The band will then return in June for Solid Sound Music Festival in North Adams, Massachusetts. announced its first leg of tour dates for 2015.

This leg of tour follows the band’s recent Chicago residency that celebrated their 20th anniversary.

Wilco 2015 Tour Dates:
04/22 – Dallas, TX @ McFarlin Memorial Auditorium
02/23 – Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center
04/26 – Tallahassee, FL @ Capital City Amphitheater
04/28 – Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live Orlando
05/01 – St. Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheater
06/26-28 – North Adams, MA @ Sound Solid Festival

Yusuf Islam performs blue rendition of “You Are My Sunshine” on the Tonight Show

In September, Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens, cancelled his first New York City performance in 40 years due to the city’s “ban” on paperless tickets. However, that did not stop him from stopping by at The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. Yusuf went on in support of his new album, Tell ‘Em I’m Gone and performed a blues rock rendition of “You Are My Sunshine.” Watch the replay here.

Red Hot Chili Peppers confirm “different” eleventh album

Chad Smith, drummer for Red Hot Chili Peppers, confirmed that the band will release a new album next year, calling it “different and unique.”

The band released their most recent album, I’m With You in 2011 and this upcoming release is their eleventh.

Smith, while answering questions from fans via Rolling Stone, revealed details regarding the album.

“The new album is shaping up good. We’ve got lots of songs, and we’re working with an unnamed producer who is really challenging us to find new ways to come up with new music. We’ve done the “guys get in the room and jam out songs, everybody playing together all at once” thing. And we wrote a bunch of songs that way. And we’re now going to try another method that will be really challenging for us and will bring new, exciting results for the band. We’ve written and recorded in a way that we’ve never done before, so the record is going great. We all have high hopes that it’s going to take off and we’re going to do something very different and unique for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. As far as percussion goes, I foresee Mauro Refosco, the percussionist that we had record with us on the last record and tour with us, coming in and being a part of this record as well. I would think that he would add some nice, interesting percussive elements. But, as far as what I’m doing, I’m just playing my same old beat that I’ve been doing for 25 years, faster and slower. Anything we do is going to sound like Red Hot Chili Peppers. Certainly with Anthony [Kiedis] singing and the way that we play. We’re just trying to break new ground and come up with something. All I can say is we’re taking a different approach that is going to wield different results. We’re going to probably write some more new songs this way, but we’re also going to work on the ones that we have as well, which we’ve already done. We’ve already recorded some of the songs, just a few that we’ve been working on. But this is also going to be in addition to those. It’s a new process. I don’t know how long it’s going to take. We’ll have a record out next year.”

Smith also talked about the idea of touring for the 25th anniversary for their record, Blood Sugar Sex Magic in 2016.

“I wouldn’t say ‘never’ to anything,” Smith said about the idea. “But we’re always moving forward and we don’t look back too much. That seems to me that you’re really going back. We have so much other material, and so much music that we want to play. But, again, I wouldn’t say that we’d never do it, but it’s not something that’s ever really come up or discussed or talked about or anything. It’s not going to happen anytime in the near future.”

Bassist, Flea, said that the album was “super danceable,” telling Rolling Stone: “It’s cool. It’s super danceable, funky shit and some real introspective, pretty stuff. It feels good, man, and it’s fun to play it. I would hope that in a year from now, we have a record out and we’re on a world tour.”

This will be their first album without long-time producer Rick Ruben since their 1989 album, Mother’s Milk.

Labrinth has plans to make an Arctic Monkey-esque album

Timothy McKenzie, also known as Labrinth, revealed that he has plans to make an Arctic Monkey-esque rock album.

Labrinth spoke earlier today at the first BBC Music Awards in London. He released his debut, Electronic Earth in 2012 and he is planning to release his second album, Take Me to the Truthin 2015. Two singles have been released from the album earlier this fall, “Let It Be,” and “Jealous.”

He said, “A lot of people after the first two records, ‘Let It Be and ‘Jealous’, were like ‘Lab, you’ve taken a turn!’ I just respect when artists try and develop and you hear something new when you listen to an artist. So for me this album is me evolving and trying to spread my wings. Because I want to do everything.”

He continued talking about his plans for his third album saying, “I want to do a rock album after this album. I want to produce [something] like Arctic Monkeys or Coldplay – I can go over there.”

André 3000 to turn his jumpsuits into a t-shirt collection

One-half of Outkast, André 3000, will turn his wisdom into something wearable. In his recent interview with Hard Knock TV, André 3000 revealed that he has plans to turn his custom jumpsuits that he has worn in Outkast’s recent reunion tour into a T-shirt collection. He says, “You’ll be able to see that really soon, because people have been asking me.” Watch the interview below.

In another recent interview with FADER, he compared the sayings on his jumpsuits to Tweets. “I felt like it was cool that I could say crazy thoughts or fun stuff. And I think it actually gets more attention because it is what it is instead of tweeting it. And Twitter, from what I know of, you only have a certain amount of characters, like 150. My space was just right here,” he said.

Modest Mouse will release new album in 2015

Indie rock band, Modest Mouse, has confirmed their first release since their 2007 We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. The news initially was reported on Revolt.

This week, the band joined the social platform, Instagram and posted a 7-inch record that was labeled “Lampshades on Fire.” The song was debuted initially in 2011, leaving fans to speculate whether it could be the leading single of a new album.

“Lampshade on Fire” will receive its radio premier on December 15th according to 91X DJ Robin Roth.

The band is to play at KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas this week in Inglewood, California.

Stream the Pass’ High Road EP now

The synth rock band from Kentucky, The Pass, will release their new EP, High Road on December 9th. The band uploaded the five track EP on Soundcloud.

The effort was self-recorded and produced during the summer in their studio, And follows the band’s recent series of 7-inch singles where songs were released in pairs between January and April of this past year. Their last full-length album was their Melt which was released in 2012. You can stream the EP here.

Jonah Hill covered Drake while Scarlett Johansson covered New Order at the 20th anniversary of Vice

Vice celebrated its 20th anniversary on Friday night with its own music festival in Brooklyn. The mini festival featured a lineup of musicians and celebrities that fronted the house band, lead by Nick Zinner from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Scarlett Johansson covered New Order’s “Bizzare Love Triangle” Jarvis Cocker from Pulp covered Celine Dion’s “The Power of Love” and members of Pussy Riot performed “Deceptacon” by Le Tigre.

Performers include Stephen Malkmus, Karen O, Chromeo, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Black Lips, Fucked Up’s Damian Abraham, and Andrew WK. Jonah Hill took the mic to cover “Marvin Room” with Spike Jonze on the guitar.

The festival was shot professionally and will be posted on Vice’s YouTube channel.

The full list of the 2015 Grammy Nominees have been revealed

Except for the Album of the Year, the list in full o the 2015 Grammy Awards nominees have been revealed. The album of the year nominees will be announced during the Ll Cool J hosted “A Very Grammy Christmas.” The program will air on CBS tonight at 9:00pm EST. The special will have performances from Sam Smith, Mary J. Blige, Pharrell Williams, Ariana Grande, Maroon 5 and Tim McGraw.

UK singer Sam Smith and Australian rapper Iggy Azalea are among the big nominees, dominating the categories And picked up five nominations respectively. Also, Beyoncé has become the most nominated female in the award’s history after receiving five nominations.

The nominations for Record of the Year are Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me,” Sia’s “Chandelier,” Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX’s “Fancy,” and Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.” Smith, Sia, and Swift also are nominated for the Song of the Year.

The category for Best Rock Song features Jack White’s “Lazaretto,” Ryan Adams’ “Gimme Something Good,” Beck’s “Blue Moon,” and The Black Keys’ “Fever.” All of these artists and also nominated for Best Rock Performance along with “Do I Wanna Know” by the Arctic Monkeys.

The Best Rock Album nominees features Ryan Adams’ self-titled album, Beck’s Morning Phase, The Black Keys’ Turn Blue, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Hypnotic Eye, and U2’s Songs of Innocence.

The Best Alternative Album includes Arcade Fire’s Reflektor, St. Vincent’s self-titled album, Jack White’s Lazaretto, Alt J’s This is All Yours, and Cage the Elephant’s Melophobia. These nominations were announced by Ezra Koenig, Vampire Weekend’s frontman.

HAIM, Sam Smith, Iggy Azalea, Bastille, and Brandy Clark are the nominees for Best New Artist.

Nominations for Best Rap Album are Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP 2, ScHoolboy Q’s Oxymoron, Childish Gambino’s Because the Internet, Common’s Nobody’s Smiling, and Iggy Azalea’s The New Classic.

Nominees in the Best Rap Song category are Kanye West’s “Bound 2,” Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda,” Kendrick Lamar’s “i,” and Drake’s “0 to 100 / The Catch Up.”

Nominees for Best Rap Performance category are Drake’s “0 to 100 / The Catch Up,” Kendrick Lamar’s “i,” Eminem’s “Rap God,” and Donald Glover’s “3005.”

Among the nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album are Coldplay’s Ghost Stories, Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz, Ariana Grande’s My Everything, Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour, and Katy Perry’s Prism.

Best Urban Contemporary Album will have Beyoncé’s self-titled album will be up against Pharrell’s G I R L. She is also nominated for Best R&B Performance and R&B Song for “Drunk in Love” with her husband, Jay Z.

Aphex Twin’s Syro, Röyksopp & Robyn’s Do It Again, and Little Dragon’s Nabuma Rubberband are the nominees for Best Electronic Album.

Karen O’s “The Moon Song” received a nomination for Best Song Written For Visual Media; Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross relieved a Best Score Soundtrack for their soundtrack for Gone Girl; FKA Twigs for Best Recording Package for LP1; and Tegan & Sara and The Lonely Island for their song “Everything Is Awesome!!!” for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

The Grammy Awards will take place on Sunday, February 8th, 2015 in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. The awards will be broadcasted on CBS.

Album of the Year: Yet to be announced.

Record of the Year:
Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX – “Fancy”
Sia – “Chandelier”
Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
Taylor Swift – “Shake It Off”
Meghan Trainor – “All About That Bass”

Song of the Year:
Meghan Trainor – “All About That Bass”
Sia – “Chandelier”
Taylor Swift – “Shake It Off”
Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
Hozier – “Take Me to Church”

Best New Artist:
Bastille
Iggy Azalea
Brandy Clark
HAIM
Sam Smith

Best Rock Song:
Paramore – “Ain’t It Fun”
Beck – “Blue Moon”
The Black Keys – “Fever”
Ryan Adams – “Gimme Something Good”
Jack White – “Lazaretto”

Best Rock Album:
Ryan Adams – Ryan Adams
Beck – Morning Phase
The Black Keys – Turn Blue
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Hypnotic Eye
U2 – Songs of Innocence

Best Rock Performance:
Ryan Adams – “Gimme Something Good”
Arctic Monkeys – “Do I Wanna Know?”
Beck – “Blue Moon”
The Black Keys – “Fever”
Jack White – “Lazaretto”

Best Alternative Album:
Alt J – This is All Yours
Arcade Fire – Reflektor
Cage the Elephant – Melophobia
St. Vincent – St. Vincent
Jack White – Lazaretto

Best Rap Album:
Eminem – Marshall Mathers LP 2
Iggy Azalea – The New Classic
Childish Gambino – Because the Internet
Common – Nobody’s Smiling
ScHoolboy Q – Oxymoron
Wiz Khalifa – Blacc Hollywood

Best Rap Song:
Nicki Minaj – “Anaconda”
Kanye West – “Bound 2″
Kendrick Lamar – “i”
Wiz Khalifa – “We Dem Boyz”
Drake – “0 to 100 / The Catch Up”

Best Rap Performance:
Donald Glover – “3005”
Drake – “0 to 100 / The Catch Up”
Eminem – “Rap God”
Kendrick Lamar -“i”
Lecrae – “All I Need Is You”

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
Iggy Azalea feat. Charli – “Fancy”
Coldplay – “A Sky Full of Stars”
A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera – “Say Something”
Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj – “Bang Bang”
Katy Perry feat. Juicy J – “Darkhorse”

Best Pop Vocal Album:
Coldplay – Ghost Stories
Miley Cyrus – Bangerz
Ariana Grande – My Everything
Katy Perry – Prism
Ed Sheeran – X
Sam Smith – In the Lonely Hour

Best Pop Vocal Performance:
John Legend
Sia
Sam Smith
Taylor Swift
Pharrell Williams

Best Dance/Electronica Album:
Aphex Twin – Syro
deadmau5 – While (1
Little Dragon – Nabuma Rubberband
Röyksopp & Robyn – Do It Again
Mat Zo – Damage Control

Best Dance Recording:
Basement Jaxx – “Never Say Never”
Clean Bandit feat. Jess Glynne – “Rather Be”
Disclosure feat. Mary J. Blige – “F For You”
Duke Dumont feat. Jax Jones – “I Got You”
Zhu – “Faded”

Best Urban Contemporary Album:
Jhené Aiko – Sail Out
Beyoncé – Beyoncé
Chris Brown – X
Mali Music – Malis Is…
Pharrell Williams – G I R L

Best Comedy Album:
“Weird Al” Yankovic – Mandatory Fun
Jim Gaffigan – Obsessed
Louis C.K. – Oh My God
Patton Oswalt – Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time
Sarah Silverman – We Are Miracles

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media:
American Hustle
Frozen
Get On Up: The James Brown Story
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media:
Christophe Beck – Frozen
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – Gone Girl
Alexandre Desplat – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Steven Price – Gravity
Thomas Newman – Saving Mr. Banks

Best Song Written For Visual Media:
Tegan and Sara feat. The Lonely Island – “Everything Is Awesome!!!”
Ed Sheeran – “I See Fire”
Glen Campbell – “I’m Not Gonna Miss You”
Idina Menzel – “Let It Go”
Karen O – “The Moon Song”

Best Music Video:
Arcade Fire – “We Exist”
DJ Snake and Lil Jon – “Turn Down For What”
Sia – “Chandelier”
Pharrell Williams – “Happy”
Woodkid feat. Max Richter – “The Golden Age”

Best Music Film:
Beyoncé and Jay Z – On the Run Tour
Coldplay – Ghost Stories
Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer & Judith Hill – 20 Feet From Stardom
Metallica – Through the Never
Pink – The Truth About Love Tour: Live From Melbourne