MUSIC

Skrillex Takes it All: DUMBstep!

So, unfortunately, my predictions for the winners in the Dance music category at the Grammy’s this year were off. I must admit I had a feeling the outcome would be this way but I hoped that the Grammy board would step away from the commercial front runner and actually give it to someone with talent.

So Skrillex’s single Bangarang took home the Grammy for Best Dance Recording. Yawn! Dubstep is so 2011! But I guess the Grammy awards didn’t get the memo. Although I wanted SHM to take it I would’ve been happier to see Avicii win then Skrillex.

He also won Best Dance/Electronica Album. I listened to Bangarang, the album, and was totally unaffected. It was the same mechanical beats over and over. Kaskade was definitely robbed, but I think this is just the beginning for Dance Music. Hopefully in the years to come dance artists will be recognized for their talent and of their commercial appeal.

I am so tired of DUMBstep and Skrillex! I’m sure everyone agrees! First off, that hair! Last night he looked like he hadn’t showered in months. I get it, you’re a DJ and you’re so unique and special, but it’s the Grammy Awards! Show some respect and wash your hair.

I am really angry with the outcome last night and hope that other dance music fans were as well. Feel free to let me know how you feel!

Boobs or Snooze; The 2013 Grammy Awards

by Ryan Shea

This year’s Grammy awards brought out an array of fashion. Despite CBS’s comical dress code, the stars still looked hot this year. CBS sent a notice that the attendees of the Grammy awards should not wear anything revealing; no plunging necklines, side boobs, or butt views. Although CBS tried to control the fashion, many artists clearly disregarded the networks warnings. This is the 2013 Grammy Fashion review.

One artist who visibly paid no attention to the dress code was Katy Perry. Perry’s revealing mint green Gucci dress was skin tight and the peep hole at her chest was anything but censored. Her cleavage was fully exposed! The dress was unattractive and Katy Perry looked a little undone. Not her best.

Another artist who ignored the no “bare skin’ rule was Kelly Rowland in Georges Chakra. The fitted black gown was beautiful and had many, many revealing lines. If she moved the wrong way all of her naughty parts would have been on display. Thankfully there were no slips, but it was obvious Rowland was unfazed by the clothing regulations this year.

Kelly Rowland Grammys — Kelly Rowland at the 2013 Grammy’s

I have to admit I was slightly let down by the fashion at the Grammy’s this year. Nothing really astounded me. That being said, there were a few celebrities whose choice of dress was beautiful and warrants mentioning.

My best dressed this year goes to; Rihanna!

Rihanna Grammy's — Rihanna at the 2013 Grammy’s

I must admit I fully expected Rihanna to completely go against the dress code and shock us all, but she decided to keep it tasteful. The singer rocked a dazzling red Azzedine Alaia gown, sheer panels’ criss-crossed over the chest and haltered on the neck. The skirt was full and flowing chiffon. She looked elegant and still made a statement.

Carrie Underwood looked striking last night. She was put together from head to toe. The strapless Roberto Cavalli gown hugged her curves and accentuated her toned arms. The pattern on the dress was elegant and the beading on the skirt was breath taking.

Carrie Underwood Grammy's — Carrie Underwood at the 2013 Grammy awards

Faith Hill really surprised me this year. The knee length frock she wore fit her perfectly and the sheer, embroidered top was lovely. The lace jacquard on the skirt was so subtle you could barely see it. This J. Mendel dress looked stunning on Faith Hill.

And now for my favorite part of the Grammy’s… the WORST DRESSED. The Grammy’s always brings out some of the most outrageously heinous fashions. And, oh, they did not disappoint me this year! I’ll try and narrow it down to my top 5 this year.

#5 – Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez Grammy — Jennifer Lopez at the Grammy’s

J.Lo’s dress looked like a hefty bag. The cut out for her leg to stick through made no sense!

#4 – Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman Grammy's — Nicole Kidman at the 55th annual Grammy awards

Her dress aged her and the muted colors washed her out.

#3 – Adele

Adele Grammy's — Singer Adele at the 55th annual Grammy’s

I feel wretched naming Adele as one of my worst dressed, but the pregnant Grammy winner looked like she was wearing curtains!

#2 – Solange Knowles

Solange Knowles Grammy's — Beyonce’s little sister Solange

Beyonce’s younger sister looked like a cracked out Diana Ross. The sparkly green dress was cheap looking and the orange heels were horrible.

#1 – Ashanti

Ashanti Grammy — Ashanti at the 2013 Grammy Awards

Ashanti’s floral dress was too revealing and looked cheap.

Lastly, I want to shout out a few of the men who rocked it last night…

Country cutie Hunter Hayes looked handsome in his Hugo Boss black suit.

Justin Timberlake rocked his Tom Ford suit and had all of us ladies swooning.

The fashion at the Grammy’s this year was toned down compared to previous years. No one really amazed me. I remember tuning into the Grammy’s and being dazzled by the unique costumes the musicians would adorn. I look forward to the outrageous red carpet and can only hope that next year will be more eventful.

55th Annual Grammy Awards Live Coverage!

by Michael Tyminski

8pm Eastern Time tonight, CBS

CBS standards and practices is desperately trying to avoid a repeat of this (Photo Source: Wikipedia)

7:30 pm Eastern: Good Evening! Welcome to what will be the first of many Manhattan Digest awards ceremony liveblogs! LL Cool J hosts the ceremony, which starts at 8 pm Eastern time on CBS. This should be an interesting evening tonight, with the Album of the Year award showing a surprisingly rock heavy slate with Mumford and Sons’ Babel, Fun.’s Some Nights, The Black Keys’ El Camino, and Jack White’s Blunderbuss, with Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange being the sole R&B outlier. Personally, I think that Babel and Channel Orange are the clear favorites, with Channel Orange being my pick to win the whole thing.

That being said, I’m here mostly to look at the show in terms of its’ presentation than to heavily critique the award choices themselves. The Grammy’s are known mostly for being the safest show on the February awards season, often only garnering attention for a killer performance (such as Elton John and Eminem’s killer performance of “Stan” in 2001), or some truly horrendous fashion calls (see Jennifer Lopez’s infamous green dress from the 2000 show). The latter is under intense scrutiny this year, as earlier this week CBS standards and practices sent out a letter vilifying the use of thongs or costumes that allow for exposed “breasts and buttocks”, singling out that earth-shattering corrupter of morals: the thong. Needless to say, my gut instinct is telling me that someone is going to find a way to defy this (odds on favorite here? Rihanna).

I would love for tonight to be a dialogue as we all react to the show together (and get different opinions at the same time), so feel free to use the comments section below and get involved in the conversation! Stay tuned to Manhattan Digest for more updates as the ceremony unfolds!

Taylor Swift at the Grammy Red Carpet (Source Grammys.com)

7:45 p.m.: Some early updates from the red carpet. Generally speaking it looks like the artists are complying with the S+P guidelines, with only a handful of particularly deep plunging necklines (including Miranda Lambert and Ashanti). Similarly the men seem pretty buttoned up, with a surprisingly large number of skinny ties. I think Taylor Swift’s dress was pretty impressive from a fashion standpoint. Conversely, Adele’s floral print design leaves a lot to be desired.

For me though, the highlight of the red carpet was Jennifer Lopez’s angry shrieks of protest after Ryan Seacrest noted that her dress was skirting the lines of what CBS was allowing screaming “I’m just showing a little leg and a little shoulder!”.

7:57 p.m.: Three minutes to the curtain and a large number of the awards have been given off camera already. Notable award winners included Gotye (who won two awards including Best Alternative Music Album, and Best Duo/Group Pop Performance – the latter with Kimbra for “Somebody that I Used to Know”), Skrillex (who also wont two awards for Best Dance Album and Best Dance Recording both for Bangarang), Rihanna (for her video for “We Found Love”), and Taylor Swift (for Best Song Written for Visual Media ).

Additionally it was announced on the red carpet that Ms. Swift will be the opening performance tonight, so expect to see her on your TV screens sometime in the next few minutes.

8:15 PM: And on cue we open with a weird man on a bike with a torch to introduce Taylor Swift who opens the show with “We are Never (Getting Back Together)” in a very sideshow circus vibe that involved a boyfriend strapped to a carnival wheel, trapeze artists, fire spinners and a large amount of pyrotechnics. The performance itself was pretty mediocre in spite of the spectacle, but it seemed like a fine way to amp up the crowd for tonight’s show.

Afterwords, we see our first appearance of show host, LL Cool J. He devotes his somewhat meandering opening monologue discussing music as a vehicle for bringing people together before pitching it to Eddie Sheeran and Elton John to perform Sheeran’s song “A Team”. I love Elton John as much as anyone, but it seemed like he was off for most of the song and it adversely affected the vocal harmonies. I did enjoy the off in the crowd staging aspect that they used, as it seemed to highlight the “lighter song” vibe that one gets when listening to “A-team”.

Fun. Performing Carry On (Source Grammys.com)

8:27 PM: LL Cool J asks us to use #Grammys when talking about tonight’s show before kicking it to J-Lo and Pitbull (with a split screen to the infamous green dress from 2000) with Pitbull fawning over J Lo before announcing the nominees for best solo pop performance:

The nominees are:
“Stronger” (Kelly Clarkson), “Set Fire to the Rain” (Adele), “Wide Awake” (Katy Perry), “Call Me Maybe” (Carly Rae Jespen) and “Where Have You Been?” (Rihanna)

AND THE WINNER: Set Fire to the Rain by Adele.

Adele gives a very brief speech (in which she called back to last year’s six wins) before Neil Patrick Harris enters to introduce Fun. (whom have six nominations this evening). Fun. then took the opportunity to play “Carry On.”, which started a little slow but picked up once the instruments kicked in. Once it built, we got a performance with a very strong cinematic vibe, including the obligatory downpour towards the end. One thing did bother me about the performance however, and that is why frontman Nate Ruess wore those Capris?

8:48 PM: Bonnie Raitt and John Mayer appear to introduce Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley. The duo play a couple of country tracks in “Over You” and “Home”. Their performance was perfectly fine and fairly low key compared to the immediately preceding performance before cutting to LL Cool J on American Bandstand in an awkward transition. LL then takes the opportunity to pay tribute to Dick Clark.

LL Cool J then makes an another abrupt transition, introducing Miguel and Wiz Khalifa, whom perform “Adorn” . The performance was sizzling, with Miguel showing off his pipes and performing the standard issue R and B theatrics. From there, our performer then announced the nominees for…wait for it…best country solo performance (because that made sense to me too right?)

The nominees for best country solo performance:
“Home” (Dierks Bentley), “Springsteen” (Eric Church), “Cost of Living” (Ronnie Dunn), “Wanted (Hunter Hayes), “Over (Blake Shelton), and “Blown Away” (Carrie Underwood)

AND THE WINNER IS: “Blown Away” by Carrie Underwood.

8:58 PM: LL Plugs social media again before telling everyone in the Northeast to stay warm and kicking it to Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, whom are presenting song of the year.

The nominees are: “Adorn” (Miguel), “The A-Team” (Ed Sheeran), “Call Me Maybe” (Carly Rae Jespen), “We are Young” (Fun. Feat Janelle Monae), and “Stronger” (Kelly Clarkson).

AND YOUR WINNER: “We Are Young” by (the now completely dry) Fun.

Nate Ruess gives a speech that has the first real crack of the night in “I don’t know what we’re thinking writing this chorus, now that we’re in HD and you can see our faces, we are clearly not young.”. They then thank Jay-Z (who mouths a “You’re Welcome” from the crowd) and Chick Corea before the orchestra kicks in to introduce Johnny Depp. I want them to win more awards now because they are clearly the only people so far who have not taken this awards show too seriously tonight.

Depp is there to introduce Mumford and Sons in 20 words or less. They play their hit “I will wait” in front of a large display of lights and had an excellent performance aside from some sound issues that seemed to keep the backing vocals from coming through, though the remainder of the sound was very impressive.

Justin Timberlake performs at the 2013 Grammy Awards (source: Grammys.com)

9:15 PM: We return to Ellen Degeneres and Beyonce (in a pantsuit tonight) whom do a shticky introuction for Justin Timberlake, whom is here to perform “Suit and Tie”. The screen goes black and white, which is probably not a right call because it makes Justin Timberlake look disturbingly like Rick Astley. Jay-Z then climbs on stage to perform his verse. The screen then goes color befor Justin does a new song with a full orchestra and band (Update: The song is titled “Pusher Love Girl”). All internet memes aside, the performance is excellent and realizing the irony in saying this about someone whose only a few years older than myself, he still clearly has it.

Following that performance, we next see presenters Kelly Rowland and Nas, whom announce the nominees for a new category: Best Urban Contemporary Album

Fortune (Chris Brown), Kaliedoscope Dream (Miguel), Channel Orange (Frank Ocean)

AND THE WINNER: Channel Orange by Frank Ocean

9:30 PM:

During the commercial, we saw a hard release date for Justin Timberlake’s new album, which will drop on March 19^th.

Dave Grohl and Pauley Perette (Abby from NCIS) whom are here to announce that Dan Auerbach won producer of the year earlier in the day, before presenting the award for best Rock Performance

“Hold On” (Alabama Shakes), “Lonely Boy” (The Black Keys), “Charlie Brown” (Coldplay), “I Will Wait”, (Mumford and Sons) and

“We take care of our own” (Bruce Springsteen).

AND THE WINNER: “Lonely Boy” by the Black Keys

Following that, Maroon 5 and Alicia Keys perform “Room on Fire” and “Daylight”. While Maroon 5’s performance of Daylight was fine, “Girl on Fire” felt a little flat at points. This was a bit troubling as if there are two vocal artists who not only can, but are expected to let their vocals soar, it’s Adam Levine and Alicia Keys.

Kaley Cuoco and Keith Urban next came out to introduce the award for “Best Pop Vocal Album”. The nominees were:

Stronger (Kelly Clarkson), Ceremonials (Florence and the Machine), Some Nights (Fun.). Overexposed (Maroon 5), and The Truth About Love (Pink).

AND THE WINNER: Stronger by Kelly Clarkson

Kelly comes up and wings an acceptance speech, where she mentions being “stuck to Miranda Lambert” and expressed interest in working with Miguel. It was truly spontaneous and very welcome in this very overstuffed and seemingly overscripted show.

9:55 PM: After a performance from Rihanna that had shades of Adele’s performance of “Someone Like You” from last year, Carly Rae Jespen and Ne-Yo come out to present the award for best Rap/Sung collaboration

“Wild Ones” (Flo-Rida f. Sia), “Tonight” (John Legend f. Ludacris), “Cherry Wine ‘ (Nas f. Amy Winehouse), “Talk that Talk” (Rihanna f. Jay Z), and “No Church in the Wild” (Jay-Z/Kanye West feat. Frank Ocean and the Dream)

AND THE WINNER: No Church in the Wild by Jay-Z and Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean and the Dream.

In a classy move, Jay-Z gave most of the speech to Frank Ocean and the Dream, whom both give quick shout outs. Jay-Z on the other hand, simply thanks “The swap meet, because that’s where he (The Dream) got that hat.”

10:02 PM: The Lifetime Achievement award was announced with The Temptations, Carole King, Ravi Shankar, Patty Page, Glenn Gould, Charlie Haden, and Lightning Hopkins amongst the recipients.

After the break, Kat Dennings comes out to introduce the Black Keys, Dr. John, and the New Orleans Preservation Hall Band. All parties involved come out rocking, performing the Black Keys’ hit “Lonely Boy”. While I am typically not a fan of brass instruments in Rock Music. Adding to the proceedings was Dr. John, whom was dressed about as outlandishly as one could possibly be on a grammy stage, in full Hoodoo gear. It was a great performance, I do with it would have highlighted Dr. John a little more.
This was then followed up by Kelly Clarkson performing a medley including “Tennessee Waltz”, “Natural Woman”, in order to honor Patti Page and Carole King. This then segued into the nominations for best country album.

The nominees are: Uncaged (Zac Brown Band), Hunter Hayes (Hunter Hayes), Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran (Jamey Johnson), For the Record (Miranda Lambert), The Time Jumpers (The Time Jumpers)

AND THE WINNER: The Zac Brown Band’s Uncaged.

Bruno Mars and Rihanna during the Bob Marley Tribute (Source Grammys.com)

10:13 PM: We now get the Grammy’s tribute to Bob Marley with Bruno Mars, Sting, Damian and Ziggy Marley. The tribute started with Bruno Mars, who performed his hit single “Locked out of Heaven”. After the first chorus Sting came out in a fun moment as “Locked out of Heaven” is really Bruno Mars’ attempt at writing a police song. This then segued into The Police’s “Walking on the Moon”. This performance has been the best of the show so far, as Bruno hung out there with Sting and didn’t look out of place, though it looked like Sting initially hindered by the fact that “Locked out” was sped up.

Midway through the performance, Rihanna, Damian and Ziggy Marley came out and performed “Could You be Loved”. This actually created a largeness to the performance that made it feel more worthy of the Grammy stage, eclipsing even Rihanna’s prior appearance 15 minutes earlier.

10:30 PM: LL introduces The Lumineers, whom perform their hit single “Ho Hey”. The performance seemed perfectly servicable, and it seems like they have fixed the microphone problems from earlier. This then swept into Jack White’s performance of “Love Interruption”. After the completion of “Love Interruption.” Jack then exploded into “Freedom at 21”, giving the perfect loud kick after two quieter songs.

Katy Perry is now out to present the Best New Artist award. She marvels at the dedication it takes to get to that point before offering a little solace for those who didn’t win, saying: “I didn’t even get nominated for best new artist, but now I have my own eyelash line!”

The nominees are: Alabama Shakes, Fun., Hunter Hayes, The Lumineers, Frank Ocean

AND THE WINNER: Fun. (Fun has taken two Grammys tonight, I think they are now very much in the discussion for Album of the Year).

I think this one is a little bit of a shocker, I was pretty sure Frank Ocean was going to be a mortal lock for this one.

Hour three right now seems to have been a lot kinder to this show than the first two hours.

Carrie Underwood and her projection screen dress (Source: Grammys.com)

10:45 PM: And apparently I jinxed everyone (sorry!).

Hunter Hayes is out to sing (I wasn’t impressed, but I’m not a country guy) before introducing Carrie Underwood, who then sung two of her songs. Carrie’s vocals did not feel particularly impressive, but the lighting for this was particularly impressive as they used Carrie’s dress as a proxy for a projection screen, allowing for a neat visual that worked out superbly.

After this, Prince made a rare appearance to present Record of the Year, looking like a hybrid of Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Puff Daddy.

The Nominees are:
“Lonely Boy” (The Black Keys), “Stronger” (Kelly Clarkson), “We are Young” (Fun.),“Somebody That I Used to Know” (Gotye f. Kimbra), “Thinking About You” (Frank Ocean), “We are never ever Getting Back Together” (Taylor Swift).

AND THE WINNER: “Somebody That I used to Know” by Gotye f. Kimbra.

11:04 PM: We come back to “Take Five” (no introduction, but it’s one of my favorite Jazz songs of all time, so uh, I know it…and now you do too.) for what I’m assuming is the tribute to Dave Brubeck as performed by Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, and Kenny Garrett.

Neal Portnow and Ryan Seacrest (who’s now the honorary chairman of the Grammy Foundation) are out to introduce Justin Timberlake. Mr. Timberlake comes out to shill for the Grammy Foundation and the new “music educator” award.

We now get the in Memorian Montage, which includes Dave Brubeck, Donna Summer, Andy Williams, Chuck Brown, Robin Gibb, Patti Page, Davy Jones , Dick Clark, Fontella Bass, Hal David, Marvin Hamlish, Richard Adler, Andy Griffith, Ravi Shankar, Adam Yauch (Adrock of the Beastie Boys), Levon Helm and others. Looking back at that last sentence, it seems like every genre of music took a heavy loss in 2012.

This then leads to a tribute to Levon Helm fronted by Elton John, Zac Brown, Mumford and Sons, T-Bone Burnett, Mavis Staples, Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes as they played “The Weight”. This performance had a looser jam band performance due to the larger nature of this collaboration. Elton seemed a lot stronger in this performance than his earlier performance with Eddie Sheeran. This performance is easily in the upper echelon of performances tonight.

11:18 PM: We return to Juanes paying tribute to Elton John singing “Your Song” in English and Spanish in a very intimate acoustic vibe before kicking it to Frank Ocean, who’s performing his single “Forrest Gump”. They start with a cool visual effect where Frank is running on a video screen before completing his run up a hill to his keyboard in person. Frank wrenched a ton of emotion into this one and it created an excellent and haunting performance

We’re down to one last award, Album of the Year, and Adele is here to award it after making a quick crack about she got knocked up after winning Album of the Year last year.

The Nominees are:

El Camino (The Black Keys), Channel ORANGE (Frank Ocean), Blunderbuss (Jack White), Some Nights (Fun.),Babel (Mumford and Sons)

AND YOUR WINNER: Babel by Mumford and Sons.

A pretty deserving winner and one of my favorites from earlier. They managed to spread the love around somewhat with only Jack White not making the winner’s podium during the course of the show tonight.

11:42 PM: We’re down to the grand finale, a performance by LL Cool J, Chuck D, Tom Morello, Travis Barker, and DJ Z-Trip, whom performed “Whaddup”, which was a fun way to end the show if only because Chuck D’s voice IS rap to me, and LL was game. It was a pretty solid performance and I would kill to see the single, though it would not have killed CBS not to stick fee plugs in the middle of the song.

My Final Thoughts: This year’s Grammy ceremony felt a little overstuffed with tons of abrupt transitions and sequences and with a little bit of breathing room we could have cut some of the weaker performances (notably the lacking Maroon 5/Alicia Keys collaboration and Hunter Hayes’ introduction of an introduction). Additionally, at times the show had a somber, joyless feel at points during a night that should be the biggest party for the music industry of the year. That being said, what you expected to deliver did deliver (the Marley and Levon Helms’ tributes, as well your Album of the Year candidates’ performances), so check out those seven performances.

Also some enjoyable moments I didn’t get to point out amid the I Love Lucy Conveyor Belt pace of the show:

Taylor Swift was rocking out to EVERYTHING. I’m not sure why, but this is really amusing to me.
The full extent of Kelly Clarkson’s gushing about R+B artist Miguel
Once the show hit hour three and it slowed down a little bit, it seemed like the show was able to gel a little more as the orchestra wasn’t cutting off awards speeches at the 30 second mark as it did for Fun.’s first speech

Final Verdict: If you haven’t seen the whole show, it’s probably not worth watching all three hours. You owe it to yourself to YouTube up the Marley tribute though, and I would probably check out Fun.’s , Jack White’s, and the Black Keys’ performances as well. LL Cool J was passable as a host, but the role of host honestly felt superfluous with the rapid pace that the show took.

Why Tunecore is awesome for artists

by Ryan Shea

So many independent artists struggle with so many things, from getting their name out there to eventually finding the right record deal. Even some of the biggest selling artists in the world have had this problem and had to file for bankruptcy as a result (TLC, Toni Braxton, MC Hammer). One of their biggest problems is earning the most amount of money for the creative work that they produce. Enter in Tunecore. What does Tunecore actually do? Bottom line, they help you out. When you work with Tunecore, they will put your music on the biggest music downloading services out there, from iTunes to Spotify. They make it sure that you collect 100 percent of all the money you make from those sales. What do you need for this? It is simple. Music you have made and have the right to distribute it, cover art, a valid Paypal and high quality digital formatting music. It couldn’t get any easier than this. I had the great opportunity to speak with Chris Mooney, one of the senior directors at Tunecore, about the evolution of this great service and where he sees it going next.

How was Tunecore discovered?

About six years ago. It was founded by people with a record label background. We all knew how difficult it was for the artists to get their money. The way we did it was to skip the middle man, and simply distribute your music for a small fee. We maintain the accounting, and you get to keep the money. So far this formula has really worked.

Why do you think this is the best service for artists?

There are a number of factors as to why this is the best. For one, we want the artists to have an amazing experience. 60-70 percent of people come back, which is a great statistic. The big thing is that we don’t take any of your sales. There are also a ton of great things that we offer such as media players, exporting and so much more. These factors and others are just some of the reasons why we feel like we are the best.

How did it feel to get J-Dash’s song “Wop” certified gold (500,000 units)?

Amazing. We knew it was having incredible sales. We sent him a congratulations after we received the news. He’s still a top ten Tunecore seller actually. We have been able to harness his popularity in order to have people buy his music. He know has a shiny gold plaque as a result of all of this.

How many artists have Tunecore gotten certified at least gold?

I would say at least a dozen. Artists like Colt Ford and Lloyd Banks come to mind as some that have reached that pinnacle of success.

Is your primary focus hip-hop or are you open to any kind of music?

We take anybody from any background. We have so many genres from rock, singer-songwriters and even K-Pop (Korea) and J-Pop (Japan) are getting big as well. We even work with exercise videos. Native currency is very important when it comes to our international reach, so we make sure they are taken care of just as well as our domestic artists.

What other up and coming hip-hop artists are you working with in 2013?

We have an artist called Hoodie Allen, who actually made it to number one on iTunes with “AllAmerican”. Other artists like Wax, who was on a major label but now works independently, and Ab Soul who is part of Kendrick Lamar’s crew. Even Bubba Sparxx is making a big comeback this year and we are working with him as well.

This seems like a really great service for any artists out there that really want to keep the sales they make while making it big in the industry. For more information on Tunecore, log onto their site. Who knows, you might be the next big thing thanks to them.

Dead Man Down Remix Revenge Contest- with Fabolous

by Ryan Shea

We all know who Fabolous is. He has had quite an impressive career for over a decade now, since we first heard him featured on one of my personal favorite tracks, Lil Mo’s “Superwoman”. Now he has branched off into the world of acting, starring in the upcoming film “Dead Man Down”. Dead Man Down is an action thriller that stars Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace as two strangers whose mutual desire for revenge draws them together and triggers an escalating trail of mayhem. His hit song “Breathe” is featured in the TV spot for the movie, which is due out March 8th. Check out the clip here.

Now Fab wants you to be apart of the movie experience by entering his “Dead Man Down Remix Revenge Ultimate Diss Contest”. All you have to do is tell Fab your tale about how you were betrayed, and if chosen he will turn it into a rap song that will be performed on BET’s “106th and Park”. Translation here, your pain will be turned into a diss track by a Grammy nominated performer. How freaking exciting is that?

Here is what you do- log onto Complex‘s website and it will further give you details on how to enter. You have from now until February 15th, so get that story of yours out there and turn it into a nationwide hit, courtesy of Fab.

Here is Fab talking about the contest. Good luck to all the people who enter!

Album Review: Four Tet – 0181

by Rio Toro

Four Tet: 0181

Score: 6.0/10

Similar Artists: Bibio, Mum, Jon Hopkins

Genre: Folktronica, Trip-Hop, 2-Step

When first hearing that Four Tet had released a free to download album, and seeing the album consisted of one 38 minute track, I was under the impression that “0181” was one of the artist’s live DJ sets similar to that of his live Fabric mix (perhaps from one of his nights at The Boiler Room). As it turns out, this is a rarities/b-sides collection from tracks made around the time of Dialogue and Pause; Kieran’s first two albums as Four Tet. Those two albums, dating from 1999 to 2001 respectively, remain excellent representations of electronic music at the turn of the millennia, and should definitely be checked out if you only started following Four Tet after his sorta breakout album “Rounds” in 2003. This was a particularly crucial time period for the artist as his focus was shifted from his fading post-rock band “Fridge” to working on solo productions which turned out to be much more representative of his talent.

In comparison to his first two LP’s though, 0181 is less engaging and less than essential, standing more as an easy listening experience to play a few times and then forget about. Then again, it is a very generous offering for Kieran to be releasing this album completely free of charge, so if you have enjoyed his material in the past, you will want to hit the download button anyway; it just might not dominate memory on your iPod the way his other albums surely do.

Most of this “new” material could be lumped into the Folktronica genre which Kieran has moved passed with 2010’s mesmerizing “There is Love in You” and last year’s ultra modern single collection “Pink”. I say “most” because variety exists through traces of cool jazz, trip hop, robotic funk and 2-step. Describing this music as traces or sketches would be accurate because despite Kieran’s decision to release this as 1 long track, this is not a continuously flowing piece. There are pauses, and some sections feel unfinished, which gives an abrupt feeling to the music. This disjointedness clashes with the lively production to leave us with an album that lacks the artist’s trademark personality. However, the production work itself is still impressive, and certainly has aged gracefully in the often rapidly moving genre of electronica. One particularly memorable section samples bird chirps and softly toned guitars to delightful effect; another casts a piano interlude that recalls Brian Eno’s early ambient works. Every so often a section appears that sounds unique and not so easily comparable to his other work, but these sections never last long enough to leave an impression. If nothing else, this is a great reminder of how sleek Four Tet’s productions were so early on, but it could have been a showcase for how much untapped potential was left for future releases.

While this is an enjoyable album to listen to, in the end it leaves me wanting to revisit Four Tet’s other, more focused releases. Still, this doesn’t hurt his reputation in any way; he did release this for free after all. I applaud Kieran for being so incredible to his fans. I certainly remain a devoted one.

Track Listing:

1.) 0181

Album Review: My Bloody Valentine – M B V

by Rio Toro

My Bloody Valentine: M B V

Score: 10/10

Similar Artists: Slowdive, Ride, Cocteau Twins

Genre: Shoegaze, Dream Pop

Ah, I remember when the last My Bloody Valentine album came out; those were the good ol’ days. I might have only been an infant of 1 year and a few months at the time, but the roaring guitars completely stood out from the other albums my mom used as lullaby music. Ever since then, I, along with countless other fans have been eagerly awaiting the band’s follow up. Decade after decade passed and little to no news arose; although we still waited, most of us knew the sad truth that there simply wasn’t going to be any more material from the band. Well, it turns out that truth doesn’t really exist, as the new MBV album has just been released. As exciting as it is to know that dreams do come true, even after listening on heavy repeat for the last few days, it feels awfully strange to be writing this review. Despite the recent appearance of every other band from the 90’s reuniting to either put out a new record or roll around the country in a cash grabbing tour, this event seems bewildering, and similar to the music in question, dream like. The best comparison to this event would be the 44 year wait for The Beach Boy’s Smile sessions release, but even that was never actually completed. Now it would seem the only thing I have left to wish for is a new Neutral Milk Hotel record.

So the big question everyone seems to want to know the answer to is, “How does M B V compare to its highly lauded predecessor?” Let me talk about that. That album was known for its unexplainable production, restrictive use of non-guitar instruments, breathy vocals (often inaudible) and an ocean’s length of challenging tremoloed guitar waves. Well, this album has all of those things, and as it turns out, it has a whole lot more as well; so the question in hand should actually be “has Loveless been surpassed?”

This new album title, “M B V”, splits the band’s name into 3 letters with a space in between each. This seems to be in relation to the three distinct sections of the album, (of 3 songs each). The end of each section even has a few seconds of rest to symbolize the changing direction. Because of this, the album can even be taken as a grouping of EP’s the band has deemed up to its standards. Those standards in question are exceedingly high ones, but this release is proof that these individuals are the same group of perfectionists they were in the early 90’s.

The first of these sections is best described as a continuation of the Loveless style. The sounds, textures and songwriting are arguably more accomplished than they were before. We enter with “She Found Now”, a particularly majestic song that keeps things slow moving, yet tense due to the jagged, storm-brewing undercurrents. “Only Tomorrow”, brings on the band’s sorely missed crackling guitar fuzz. Major chords are introduced ¾ through to remind us of how the band excels at combining the accessible with the non-accessible.

The second section opens with “Is This and Yes”, which is an electronic ambient piece led by bright organ drones, the light thumping of a drum, and Bilinda Butcher’s tenderly sung vocals (which are featured prominently through these 3 tracks). It is a curious track that brings to mind select pieces from Angelo Badalamenti’s “Twin Peaks” soundtrack. “If I Am” and “New You” are the most accessible moments on the record, the latter of which throw us into a guitar bass shuffle and ends with beautiful vocal harmonizing from Bilinda.

The last section is the loudest, fastest and least comparable to anything else in the group’s discography (or anyone’s discography for that matter). “In Another Way” is an achievement in its use of superbly warped guitar licks, and a keyboard that sees the band at their most ethereal. “Nothing is” is three and a half minutes of punishingly repeating guitar and drums, but it proves so hypnotic that the word “repetitive” never comes to mind. Final song “Wonder 2” is another out there track that I won’t embarrass myself by trying to put into words….

Of course… none of my words have any relation to what this music sounds like. The band’s indescribability is how they have managed to never falter in turning up repeatedly in day to day conversation. The time off has proved this laughably unprolific band to be a true one-of-a-kind act. MBV’s followers have had 21 years to make an album that sounds like Loveless and nothing has come close. So here we are, listening to this unexpected new release, and all I can think is “I don’t need Loveless anymore.”

Track Listing:

1.) She Found Now*

2.) Only Tomorrow*

3.) Who Sees You

4.) Is This and Yes

5.) If I am

6.) New You*

7.) In Another Way*

8.) Nothing is

9.) Wonder 2*

* – Album Highlight

R&B and Hip-Hop at the Grammy’s

by Ryan Shea

Music’s biggest night is headed our way as the 55th Annual Grammy Awards will be live this Sunday night at 8pm eastern time on CBS. Some of music’s biggest names will be performing, from Taylor Swift to Frank Ocean and most recently Justin Timberlake, who is not riding high so much on his failed first single “Suit & Tie”.

So who will be the biggest winners of the night? We already divulged into Record of the Year, but who will be crowned king in the rap and R&B fields? Here are my predictions as to who will win, should win, and was left in the dust. Leave comments if you agree or disagree!

Best R&B Performance-

miguel-adorn-video — Credit to- hiphop-n-more.com

Miguel- “Adorn”
Usher- “Climax”
Luke James- “I Want You”
Estelle- “Thank You”
Robert Glasper Experiment Featuring Ledisi- “Gonna Be Alright)”

Who will win- This should be an easy win for Miguel as “Adorn” got a coveted nod for Song of the Year, and that it pretty much is the best of the bunch. Grammy darling Usher could give him a run for his money, but this is a sure fire win for Miguel.

Who should win- Miguel. Repeat what I said before.

Who was left out- UMMMMMMMMMMMMMM “Thinking About You” by Frank Ocean. WTF. How is this in the Record of the Year category and not in this one? It makes no sense. Such a phenomenal R&B record and his vocals are haunting.

Best Urban Contemporary Album-

Frank Ocean- “Channel Orange”
Chris Brown- “Fortune”
Miguel- “Kaleidoscope Dream”

Who will win- Frank Ocean should be the only nominee here as far as I am concerned, and this will be his guaranteed win if he doesn’t get Album of the Year.

Who should win- Ocean.

Who was left out- Let’s rephrase this with “Who should’ve been left out”. Chris Brown’s homophobic ass. Please go away.

Best Rap Performance-

Drake Featuring Lil Wayne- “HYFR”

Jay_z-Kanye_West-NiggaS-In_Paris-e1328668654333 — Credit to- Straighttothea.com

Nas- “Daughters”
Jay-Z & Kanye West- “Paris”
Kanye West, 2 Chainz, Big Sean & Pusha T- “Mercy”
Young Jeezy Featuring Andre 3000 & Jay-Z- “I Do”

Who will win- God this really is a tough one, no joke. It’s between three- Nas, Jay-Z and Kanye. All three songs are strong in their own way. The Grammy’s love all three, but I think “Paris” will nudge the other ones.

Who should win- Not really a fan of “I Do” or “HYFR”. Lyrically, “Daughters” is amazing and one of Nas’ best songs ever, so that would be my pick.

Who was left out- Don’t kill me for saying this, but I happened to love “Beez In The Trap” by Nicki Minaj featuring 2 Chainz. The album sucked but this was a shining example of a rather dull album.

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration-

Jay-Z & Kanye West featuring The Dream & Frank Ocean- “No Church In The Wild”
Nas Featuring Amy Winehouse- “Cherry Wine”
John Legend Featuring Ludacris- “Best You Ever Had (Tonight)”
Flo Rida featuring Sia- “Wild Ones”
Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z- “Talk That Talk”

Who will win- It’s video was just as stirring as the song, so I would go with “No Church In The Wild”. Ocean’s voice is very subtle yet powerful for a song of this magnitude.

Who should win- Either “Church” or “Talk That Talk”.

Who was left out- SHOCKED and I’ve said this before, nothing for “Take Care” by Drake and Rihanna. Such a phenomenal record. I would’ve chosen the Chris Brown remix of “Birthday Cake” by Rihanna over “Talk That Talk” personally as well.

Best Rap Album-

Drake- “Take Care”
Lupe Fiasco- “Food & Liquor- The Great American Rap Album, Pt.1”

Nas- “Life Is Good”
The Roots- “Undun”
Rick Ross- “God Forgives, I Don’t”
2 Chainz- “Based on a T.R.U. Story”

Who will win- This is somewhat of a weak category, but Drake will finally earn his first Grammy after 9 nominations.

Who should win- Drake or Nas, the only two that I really think are that good for this category.

Who was left out- Either Macklemore or Kendrick Lamar. God knows why 2 Chainz got in here, good lord.

RuPauls Drag Race Recap: Queens of Yesteryear

by David Baxter

It’s RuPaul’s Drag Race time! Are you ready? Beat your mug and your loins girded for some drama! [Read more…] about RuPauls Drag Race Recap: Queens of Yesteryear

Album Review: Toro Y Moi – Anything In Return

by Rio Toro

Toro y Moi Anything in Return

Score 7.5/10

Similar Artists: Daft Punk, J Dilla, Caribou, Hot Chip, How to Dress Well, Miguel

Genre: Pop, Bubblegum, R&B, Hip Hop, Funk, Chillwave, Disco, House, Trance, Soul

As unprofessional as it may sound from a critical standpoint, I really tried to not like this album. I tried to dismiss the infectious bubblegum pop songcraft and titillating synths. I tried to find fault in the high pitched teenage vocals which are used unflinchingly in nearly every track. I was originally tempted to give this a low(er) score because of how corny and sour tasting the tracks can be, but if I’m being honest, through all of these critical thoughts, in the back of my mind I was thinking about how I couldn’t wait to play this music at a party. With mind blowing production and a plentiful amount of singles, this is a release you will want to test out in large groups at preferably spacious arenas. While previous full lengths “Causers of This” and “Underneath the Pine” may have been more visionary, this is more impressive, ambitious and massive.

With 3^rd album, “Anything in Return”, Chaz Bundwick has reestablished himself as a bona-fide pop star comparable to contemporary R&B acts “Miguel” and “The-Dream”. His voice has never sounded this spot-on and confident. One could imagine hearing many of these tracks on the radio, which couldn’t be said about Toro y Moi’s bedroom-leaning previous work. This new found radio-friendly style may cause some detractors, but will undoubtedly gain him more fans than he will lose. Much like Daft Punk’s move from Homework to Discovery, Toro y Moi is on his way from being an indie producer to a sold-out stadium act.

Chaz Bundwick has never quite fit in with his peers of the so-called “Chillwave” micro genre (a tag which he of course hates, despite the fact that he is known as one of its progenitors). He is too disco to be compared to Panda Bear, too hi-fi to be compared with Neon Indian, and way too serious and non self parodical to be compared to Ariel Pink. Although on first listen one might feel that Chaz is “having a laugh” when a track’s influences span five decades worth of pop music, you will soon realize there is no irony. This is both a positive and a negative, for it is what makes Toro y Moi original as well as why the music can be so off putting.

The album doesn’t quite have filler, but the first four tracks pretty much sum up the variety and breadth of influences offered throughout. The first of these, “Harm in Change”, contains shimmering piano chords reminiscent of something off of a “How to Dress Well” LP. First single, “Say That” is brilliant funk pop that exists as the album’s danciest moment. “So Many Details” is a few shades darker, and although its rhythms are not nearly as avant as its creator believes they are, it is still a welcome and memorable track. “Rose Quartz” mixes an assortment of perfectly placed vocal samples with a steady drum pulse and trance synths. If these first tracks are deemed the most exciting, the remaining nine are comparatively chill (save the emotional bombast of the last two).

So it turns out that I do like this album. Perhaps it is a testament to its artist’s supreme confidence that “Anything In Return” can exist outside its noticeable flaws and be seen as a perfect party record. When I listen on in the future, I’m not going to be thinking about what this album doesn’t have, I’ll be too busy enjoying it as the complete statement it is.

Track Listing:

1.) Harm In Change*

2.) Say That*

3.) So Many Details

4.) Rose Quartz*

5.) Touch

6.) Cola

7.) Studies

8.) High Living

9.) Grown up Calls

10.) Cake

11.) Day One

12.) Never Matter*

13.) How’s it Wrong*

* – Album Highlight

MUSIC

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