PORTUGAL. THE MAN IS NO STRANGER to writing and recording music. The Portland-based group first released music in 2005 and has consistently been releasing new albums/EPs ever since.
Their album, Twistification, kicked off what has become quite the year in music so far. Having spent the past couple of years building momentum, The Last Royals (consisting of singer-songwriter-producer-guitarist Eric James and drummer Mason Ingram) finally released their debut record in January. And while the band’s material injects fresh energy into any playlist, with shamelessly danceable beats and shiny indie-pop sounds, some of their songs have actually been floating around for a while.
When it comes to mainstream music, EDM (electronic dance music) has not exactly been at the front of the pack. But if Spotify and Cazzette have anything to say about it, that will soon change.
Photo via Bryan Thomas, The New York Times
The VMAs are moving to Brooklyn's Barclays Center this year, being held on Aug. 25 at 9 p.m. MTV this morning released the full list of this year's nominees, and they can be seen below.
If there was any question about this year's "Song of Summer," Robin Thicke has put that to rest this week, as the singer's "Blurred Lines," featuring Pharrell and T.I., ties Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' "Thrift Shop," featuring Wanz, with six weeks at No. 1. Meanwhile, JAY Z and Justin Timberlake's "Holy Grail" debuts at No. 8, making it a short climb to top, should the song move in that direction (which is likely).
Photo by David Roemer
While all eyes are certainly on JAY Z's mammoth No. 1 debut this week with Magna Carta Holy Grail, he's not the only new entry in the top 10. Behind him at No. 2 is Ciara's self-titled fifth album, which sold 58,000 copies this past week. This is her fourth top three album. At No. 8, Skylar Grey makes her Interscope debut with Don't Look Down, which sold 24,000 units.
Photo by Chris Pizzello
While many across the country have expressed outrage over the not-guilty verdict for George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin, The Wire creator David Simon in a new blog post has gone as far as to say he is "ashamed to call himself an American."
Rainn Wilson, who earlier this year wrapped nine seasons playing Dwight Schrute on NBC’s The Office, has landed a book deal with Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Although officially being called a "memoir," the actor hesitates to call it that.
**Editor's Note: Portions of this piece appear in the new issue of Variance.**
I was 11 years old when I got my first rap album, a cassette tape version of JAY Z’s Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life. My dad bought it at a local record store and made sure to grab the explicit version, too. My mom was to never find out about this, and she didn’t. It stayed hidden inside my backpack, only to be removed when I found time alone in my room—with over-the-ear headphones and the lights turned off so my parents would think I was sleeping. To this day, I can still remember every lyric to every song on the album.
If you're an Ellie Kemper fan, your post-Office drought is almost over. The actress, who played the quirky receptionist Erin Hannon on the NBC comedy, has signed on to appear in the final season of How I Met Your Mother.
Well, it's officially official. JAY Z's newest album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, debuts this week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the set sold 527,000 copies in its first week of availability.
Glee actor Cory Monteith was found dead on Saturday (July 13) at Vancouver's Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel. He was 31. The news was first reported by Canada's CTV.
