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Lil Wayne: Kobe Bryant is My Musical Inspiration
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Hip-Hop & Rap,
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Lil Wayne says Kobe Bryant has inspired a lot of his songs.
The "Lollipop" rapper - whose real name is Dwayne Carter - has paid tribute to the Los Angeles Lakers basketball player for the way he "fights through injury," which has led the 29-year-old star to pen a number of tracks about the legendary sportsman.
"He's inspired not only songs, but he's inspired me in life in general just the way he attacks things, the way he never backs down, the way he fights through injury," he said.
The rapper - who served eight months for attempted weapon possession in 2010 - counts Kobe as one of his main inspirations through life and he has been spurred on to succeed by looking at how well the Lakers star "excels through injury." He added to The Los Angeles Times, "Not only do he fight through injury, and not only do he play through injury, he excel through injury. I take those type of things and I just apply them to my everyday life. I believe he's the greatest player to touch a basketball."
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Blink 182 Cancels US Tour
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Concerts / Tours, Alternative, Pop, Rock,
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Blink 182 have canceled a series of tour dates after Travis Barker had to undergo emergency surgery.
The "All the Small Things" band's drummer had have an urgent medical procedure on his tonsils, forcing them to cancel all further shows in their current US tour, which runs until the end of the month.
"The band apologizes for any inconvenience as a result of these cancellations and thanks their fans for their ongoing support," a statement on the band's website reads. The note added Travis' "recovery period is expected to extend beyond the scheduled tour dates."
It is not yet known if the band's later dates in the UK and Europe, starting in June, will be affected by Travis' condition. The group - which also includes Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge - have already had to reschedule their tour once, after it was originally supposed to start in July last year, but dates were pushed back in order to allow the group to finish sixth album Neighborhoods.
No Doubt’s ‘Ear Candy’ Album
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Upcoming Releases, Alternative, Pop, Rock,
No Doubt promise their new album will be "ear candy."
The "Don't Speak" group are releasing their as-yet-untitled sixth album - their first for over a decade - on September 25, can't wait for fans to hear the results. "We are incredibly excited to share the new music with you. Ear candy coming your way! Thank you all so much for your support over the last 25 years. We're really proud of our new album and we hope you love it as much as we do. We'll send plenty of photos and webisodes as we go so you're there with us. See you soon," a post on their official website read.
The group - made up of Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal, Adrian Young and Tom Dumont - have previously revealed working titles for tracks including "Party-Ready Reggae Blast," "Steady Down" and "One More Summer."
The group has been working on the record since the beginning of 2011, but Gwen admitted it takes them a long time to perfect their ideas.
Click to continue reading No Doubt’s ‘Ear Candy’ Album
Tom Jones Wanted to Work with Whitney
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Collaborations, Blues, Pop, R&B / Soul,
Tom Jones wanted to work with Whitney Houston.
The "What's New P***y Cat" singer - who has worked with the likes of Elvis Presley and the Stereophonics in the past - thinks Amy Winehouse's death at 27 last July was particularly tragic as she hadn't left a substantial body of work, unlike the "I Will Always Love You" hitmaker, who passed away in February aged 48.
"Poor Amy Winehouse. At least someone like Whitney Houston left a legacy of great stuff but Amy, she was only just getting into gear. I would love to have worked with Whitney, but I never got to," he said.
Tom is disparaging about many modern day singers, believing they are too focused on "vocal acrobatics."
"Don't get me wrong, I think there are some great voices around. But record companies hear something and they want more of it. So now if you don't put a lot of runs in, a lot of vocal acrobatics, they think you're not being modern enough. Jackie Wilson did it years ago, but when he did it, it fitted to what it was. Nowadays, because they feel it is in fashion, they do it anyway."
Coldplay Delighted with Their ‘Good Problem’
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Concerts / Tours, Alternative, Rock,
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Coldplay are struggling to make substitutions in their gig setlists because their performances have been "killer."
The "Paradise" hitmakers - Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Will Champion and Jonny Buckland - are experiencing a "good problem" during their US tour in that they are unsure where to make changes from gig to gig because each show has been a "total belter."
"The fellas are clearly having a properly great time - and the shows have been total belters as a result. San Jose were a pretty damn loud crowd. Perhaps it's been like this every night and I just spent more time with my earpieces out, taking it all in. They're most definitely in the zone right now. There have been tinkerings, though with some possible setlist additions in soundchecks. One of the Viva album tracks that only got a rare live outing has had a workout. I really hope it makes it back into the setlist, it's one of my all time favorite Coldplay live tracks (particularly the ending when Jonny goes off into full on guitar hero territory). They also played around with something from a long way back. It's all a sign of a band very much alive and enjoying themselves. The possibilities keep appearing left and right for great additions, but the set right now is so killer that it's tough to work out where to make substitutions. I'd call that a good problem to have," Coldplay's roadie revealed on their blog.
Click to continue reading Coldplay Delighted with Their ‘Good Problem’
Adam Horovitz Pays Tribute to Beastie Boys Bandmate Adam Yauch
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Hip-Hop & Rap,
Beastie Boys musician Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz has paid tribute to his late bandmate Adam Yauch following his death.
The 45-year-old star praised the hip-hop group's fans, family and friends for all the "love and support" they have shown to the 47-year-old rapper, also known as MCA, since he passed away on Friday after battling cancer in his parotid gland and a lymph node since 2009.
"as you can imagine, s**t is just fkd up right now. but i wanna say thank you to all our friends and family (which are kinda one in the same) for all the love and support. i'm glad to know that all the love that Yauch has put out into the world is coming right back at him. thank you. (sic)" Ad-Rock wrote in a post on the band's blog last night.
A number of stars have paid tribute to MCA - who founded the group with Kate Schellenbach, John Berry, and Michael Diamond (Mike D) in 1979 with Berry leaving in 1983 to be replaced by Ad-Rock - including Madonna, who took to her Facebook page to express her sadness about his passing: "The Beastie Boys were one of a kind! And so was Adam! They were all an important part of my musical history and integral to the musical revolution that was happening at the time. I'm very sad to hear about Adam's passing. God bless him and his family."
Nicki Minaj worries she always has to be outlandish.
The "Starships" singer is known for her eccentric outfits and outspoken attitude and thinks she now always has to be like that because it will disappoint people if she relaxes.
"So much is taken out of you that you lose yourself. I feel like I've set the bar too high, so I always have to be 'on.' I can identify with Marilyn Monroe in that people saw a beautiful woman, but inside was a fragile little girl," she said.
Nicki also admitted she hopes to replicate the success of hip hop mogul Jay-Z, who is involved in a variety of business ventures, including music, sport, and clubs. Discussing her song "HOV Lane," she said, "That's got so many meanings. It's the HOV Lane, which is the fast lane on the highway and Hov is Jay-Z and it talks about him being a male mogul who's done so much. That's what I want to do. I don't know if the industry is sexist or if it's just that women haven't tried to pursue the goals of being a mogul before. I can only say I'm attempting to become a mogul and doing things I've seen guys in this business do."
Damon Albarn Finds His Opera Hard to Explain
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Performances, Folk, Rock, Soundtracks, New Releases,
Damon Albarn worries people think he has "lost it."
The Blur frontman is currently focused on his Dr. Dee project - a play and accompanying album of folk opera inspired by Elizabethan mathematician Dr. John Dee - and admit she is "nervous" about the response to the music
because it is very different to his previous work.
"It's not an easy listen and it's not an easy thing to talk about. That's what's making me really nervous at the moment. I want to be enthusiastic about it and explain, but the language you have to inevitably use to explain a record like this, in the modern idiom - especially in pop music - just looks completely mad. It looks like I've completely lost it."
Click to continue reading Damon Albarn Finds His Opera Hard to Explain
Mumford and Sons Complete Album
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Upcoming Releases, Folk, Rock,
Mumford and Sons has finished recording their new album - but may not release it.
The group have been working hard on the follow-up to 2009's Sigh No More and admits they will scrap the record if it doesn't meet their high standards.
"We've done recording it but if we listen back while we're mixing and discover it's s**t then we'll just start again. We're not going to put it out until it's good enough," said keyboard player Ben Lovett.
The band are planning to play new tracks at their summer dates because they enjoy seeing the crowd's response to new material. "Playing the songs like helped shape them because we get to listen to them through the crowd's ears," banjo player Winston Marshall explained to NME magazine.
And the group are quick to reassure fans not to expect a radical departure from their previous material on the new album. "[Frontman] Marcus [Mumford] made a joke that the album wasn't doom folk and we don't really know why he did that. We'd just like to assure everyone that it is doom folk," Winston added.
The Wanted in Talks to Tour with Chris Brown
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Concerts / Tours, Gossip, Dance, Hip-Hop & Rap, Pop,
The Wanted is in talks to tour with Chris Brown this summer. The group revealed that they have spoken to the singer about joining him for the North American leg of his tour in July. Siva Kaneswaran, Tom Parker, Max George, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes hope the exposure will introduce them to the urban market.
"Scooter - our manager - told us the other week that they'd spoke. We met Chris Brown - he came in and saw us at the studio when we were rehearsing - and he was actually really sound. He said he liked our music and stuff. He'd spoke to Scooter since then and said he'd love to do a song with us so who knows? If it's the right song then we'll do it," Max told radio station Capital FM.
"There's talk about us, he's got his American tour coming up in July, maybe we'll go on that for a few shows which will be cool. Hitting that urban market - The Wanted go urban," Tom added.
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