Filed under: Video of the Day

Artist: Louise Burns
Video: 'Drop Names Not Bombs'
Highlight: "We liked the idea of doing a 'fun' video, as in getting our friends drunk and doing karaoke, but also tapping into a darker side; where something feels a bit off," Louise Burns tells Spinner. "Kind of like the little girl in 'Poltergeist' watching static on her TV. In our case, there's a poltergeist in the karaoke video in the form of me (haha). The contrast between brightness and creepiness unintentionally reflects the song as well, which sounds like a happy pop jam but was actually written from a pretty dark place."

Watch Louise Burns' 'Drop Names Not Bombs' Video

Filed under: News, Twisted Tales

YouTube

Here at Spinner, we feel like we've done a pretty good job of documenting the whole Lana Del Rey debacle (even asking, can artifice survive in the age of Adele?). But we've been one-upped by Taiwan's Next Media Animation studio.

No amount of jazzy alliteration or hilarious hyperbole can compare to their kooky CGI Lizzie Grant news story.

Yes, watch Lana Del Rey's fame-bubble burst into a flames as the singer plunges back to earth complete with wacky sound effects. Follow our poor little indie star as she morphs -- complete with magical chimes and smoke! -- into a "gangsta Nancy Sinatra" on the 'SNL' stage as music industry suits snooze (check out those ZZZZZs!) in their plush studio seats. There's more flames, obviously, as the video continues and we're left with one final insightful subtitle: "Bigger and Bigger... when will it finally explode?"

Filed under: News

Glassnote

I'm a huge fan of Spotify and tend to be outspoken when technophobes in the music industry make things difficult for companies helping to develop solutions for the broken system.

Remember Lars Ulrich's anti-Napster commercials? He's since learned a thing or two about the web, yet somehow Coldplay still choose money over access. Isn't it a bit ironic that Daughtry was the first band to incorporate Spotify's API into their site, while the Black Keys withheld their new album from the service?

As I see it, if you don't embrace Spotify (or any streaming service for that matter), you're fighting the future. You're either ignorant or you're selfish, but you can't hold on. But as I'm no Bob Lefsetz, I'll get off my high horse and let you hear it from a guy who has had more success than most these days: Daniel Glass.

As the founder of Glassnote Records, Daniel has been responsible for artists such as Mumford and Sons, Phoenix, Temper Trap, Two Door Cinema Club, GIVERS and several others. His success is not a fluke, however. He gets it.

I had the chance to catch up with Daniel recently to get his thoughts on Spotify and pick his brain a bit about Glassnote's artist strategy. Take notes.

From a label perspective, what's your take is on Spotify so far?

I enjoy, appreciate and embrace anything that gets people to discover music. So I would say in the last 12 months, from the United States perspective, Spotify has been one of the most exciting places to discover music.

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News

AFP, Getty Images

Bryan Adams is coming home -- well, at least for the duration of his long-overdue coast-to-coast Canadian tour this spring. The longtime Vancouverite, now living abroad in England, will bring his classic rock anthems back to his homeland on April 11, kicking off the 20-date arena tour on the far side of the country in St. John's, Nfld.

A tour like this is sure to bring out all walks of life. Everyone from blue-collar cougars and classic-rock revivalists to the Gen Xers and baby boomers who remember when he ruled radio will want to grab their first real six-string and get their 'Summer of '69' on.

Adams has indeed toured Canada in recent years in support of 2010's acoustic 'Bare Bones,' but it's been ages since the 'Cuts Like a Knife' rocker delivered his booming hits on a full-fledged arena rock tour.

Filed under: News, New Music, Exclusive, Q + A

Herfitz PR

On May 22, the Cult will be releasing 'Choice of Weapon,' the group's first studio album in five years. For the new collection, they started the project with producer Chris Goss (Queens of the Stone Age) and closed it out with their longtime collaborator Bob Rock (Metallica, Bon Jovi), who also produced one of band's most successful albums, 1989's 'Sonic Temple.'

The Cult vocalist Ian Astbury spoke with Spinner about the new album and how living in New York City inspired it.

The last thing The Cult released was a "capsule," featuring two new songs, live recordings of some of the band's huge hits and exclusive video footage, in 2010. Can you reiterate why you did that then and chose to do an album now?

We wanted to release music, but didn't want to get entrenched in the process. We didn't want to go back to a label and were not in the space to do an entire album. We were accumulating material, and wanted to get songs out there and the idea of an EP didn't fit contemporary modality of the digital realm. I was looking at fashion collections, in high-end street fashion, where branded designer labels did smaller collections.

Filed under: News, Exclusive, Q + A

Deborah Lopez

Mike Doughty isn't going to kid you: "I can't renounce drugs. I love drugs," he writes early in his new memoir, 'The Book of Drugs.' It's a frank chronicle of the early part of Doughty's career, from working as a doorman at the Knitting Factory in the early '90s to assembling, almost by accident, the musicians who became Soul Coughing to his deep and abiding dislike of the music they made together, all filtered through the lens of drugs. And a fair bit of sex. But mostly drugs, sometimes at the expense of sex.

Doughty's been clean now for years, and writing the memoir was more of an effort to collect "funny stories" than attempting to come to terms with his past -- which is not to say there's no introspection in 'The Book of Drugs.'

"I really tried to talk about all the bad s--- that I did or that I was involved with, just lapses of character and terrible moments that I totally engendered," Doughty tells Spinner. "So much of it is really salacious that I felt like, I've got to be hard on myself or I don't deserve to be writing this thing."

Doughty went on to tell us about sifting through his own (sometimes hazy) memories and how he feels, all these years later, about Soul Coughing.

Do you think the book glorifies drug use for all the impressionable children out there listening to singer-songwriters?

I don't know. From my own viewpoint, I didn't need to glorify it. They were glorious enough by themselves. I find the public-service stuff to talk people out of doing drugs very sad. People who want drugs will find drugs. There was an ad campaign in the subway, right before New Year's, there was a guy in a stretcher with a neck brace on and his face bloody, and it said, "This is not what he wanted to do three drinks ago." But if you drink like that, you are going to drink like that. It's very unlikely that the voice is going to intervene and go, 'Well, let's be nice to ourselves.' It's a compulsion.

Filed under: News

Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

You can now add Survivor to the list of artists (Tom Petty, Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp and the New Pornographers to name a few) irked by politicians using their songs during election campaigns.

According to The Guardian, Newt Gingrich is being sued by Frankie Sullivan, co-writer of Survivor's classic '80s rock staple 'Eye of the Tiger,' for using the song repeatedly during campaign rallies.

"I'm sure many of you have heard the news about the request for Newt Gingrich to stop using 'Eye of the Tiger' as his campaign song," says a Facebook post by the band, who earned a Grammy Award for their 1982 hit as well as an Academy Award nomination for its use in the film 'Rocky III.'

Filed under: News

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

The Beatles' legendary rooftop concert at Abbey Road is one of the most iconic moments in rock 'n' roll history, but the Fab Four originally had other plans for their last performance.

Ringo Starr stopped by SiriusXM's Town Hall event on Jan. 30 to promote his 17th studio album, 'Ringo 2012,' which is out now. After being introduced by jester Russel Brand, Starr was reminded by an astute audience member that it was the anniversary of the Beatles' final concert.

Filed under: News

Jonathan Short, AP

Florence Welch doesn't need to watch those 'Hangover' movies -- while she's on tour, she lives them. Consider a recent trip to New York City, where she turned into Florence the Drinking Machine, left a tea light burning overnight and nearly burned down the Bowery Hotel.

"I think I must have had about 17 dirty martinis," the Florence and the Machine singer told Q magazine, according to the Belfast Telegraph. I lost my phone and ripped my dress very badly.

"I came back to the hotel, passed out in my ripped dress -- no phone, chipped tooth -- came round and there was black stuff all over the wall, my book had melted on the bedside table and there was a bucket of water on the floor," she added.

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, Awards, Television

Getty Images

Hey, remember Adele? Well, she's back! And she'll be making her way stateside to sing at the upcoming 54th Annual Grammy Awards. This will be the British beauty's first live performance in almost five months, following surgery to repair her vocal cords.

As Spinner previously reported, Adele was forced to cancel her last U.S. tour when her voice was unable to support her live. Now that the singer has healed and is sporting a slimmer figure and a new boyfriend, she will debut her rehabbed pipes on music's biggest night.

Filed under: News, Exclusive, New Music, New Releases

Joel Sage, AFP/Getty Images

If a cover is the highest compliment one songwriter can bestow upon another, then few songwriters command as much respect as Leonard Cohen. It seems like thousands of artists have interpreted his work, especially his signature late-career song 'Hallelujah' which Cohen once told the CBC could use "a break."

With the release of 'Old Ideas,' his 12th studio album and first since 2004's 'Dear Heather,' the 77-year-old icon adds 10 original compositions to his illustrious canon. Critics and bloggers are calling the album his best since 1984's 'Various Positions,' even comparing it to Bob Dylan's comeback, 'Time Out of Mind.'

Has a senior citizen ever created such a hullabaloo amongst the indie rock crowd?

Amazon

Listen to Leonard Cohen's 'Old Ideas'

Cohen isn't doing much press for the album -- and he doesn't have to because other artists are more than happy to promote his album for him. Spinner chatted with three singer-songwriters (including Rufus Wainwright, the father to Cohen's granddaughter) and one rapper about the man's infamous baritone and how, despite his age, Cohen still delivers the goods.

Filed under: News

Larry Busacca, Getty Images

Being a coffee connoisseur has become all the rage among the creative set with folks like Bonnie Prince Billy and David Lynch getting their brew on. Now former LCD Soundsystem main man James Murphy wants in on the coffee craze so he's developing his own signature espresso blend.

"I make a lot of coffee," Murphy told New York Magazine's Grub Street blog. "For my birthday, my girlfriend got me a training course with the world champion. That's what I'm going to do when I get back to London."

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, Television

Kevin Winter, NBCUniversal/Getty Images

If you're betting on a nipple flash during this year's Super Bowl halftime show, you should probably put your money on Nicki Minaj instead of Madonna.

During an appearance on 'The Tonight Show,' Madonna told Jay Leno that her performance at Sunday's big event will be decidedly nip-free. When Leno asked what rules she'd have to follow, the 53-year-old pop legend said, "Well, for sure no nipples. But I wasn't gonna go there. I mean, I don't like to repeat myself, or do what other people have done before me," she joked, obviously referencing her own scantily clad past and Janet Jackson's infamous wardrobe malfunction.

Filed under: Video of the Day

Artist: Colin Schiller and The Reactions
Video: 'Dizzy'
Highlight: "'Dizzy' is a song about having a super crush on someone who you only get to see in short spurts," Colin Schiller tells Spinner. "When she's around it's intoxicating and when she's not the mind goes wild with fantasies! Who knows if she notices but it's more about the chase and the eventual victory! The video brings the song into a visual experience and focuses on the fantasy in the form of an actual dream. I really wanted to get across the good-natured intentions I had in my mind when I wrote this autobiographical song. My good friend Kenley Collins (Project Runway Allstar) was my obvious choice for the leading lady! Christie Brinkley and Billy Joel, eat your heart out!!"

Watch Colin Schiller and The Reactions's 'Dizzy' Video

Filed under: Exclusive, RPM, New Music

Jonathan Mannion

Artist: Yuna
Hails From: Malaysia
Song: 'Live Your Life' Prod. Pharrell Williams
Sounds Like: Little Dragon, Fiona Apple
In Their Words: "Working on 'Live Your Life' was a lot of fun. It was really spontaneous how the song came about -- I walked into the studio one day and I heard Pharrell making this beat and I really didn't know he was making it for me! He was a really cool guy, I had a lot of fun working with him and on the song. 'Live Your Life' is about taking charge of your life. A lot of people out there have no control over their own lives and they spiral down into a dark place. Basically, I'm just trying to get people to believe in their dreams again." -- Yuna
Listen to Yuna's 'Live Your Life'


Download 'Live Your Life'

Filed under: News, Video

Steve Jennings, WireImage

The last time we saw Feist she was wandering around a black and white forest with Rapunzel-like locks kickin' it to 'How Come You Never Go There.'

For her latest video, though, she's turned up the Technicolor and seemingly taken a page from 'No Country for Old Men.' (Come on, don't you half expect Javier Bardem and his homicidal haircut to sneak up behind the main character in the first few seconds?)

A post on Feist's website offers some insight into her 'The Bad in Each Other' video, which was partly shot in Mexico by Martin De Thurah and is the second video from her recent album, 'Metals.'

"This video captures glimpses of something human, we get a peek inside something real between people -- could be loss, longing and love. A lot of things which is about being a human being ... It is told in a way where it opens up more aspects than it concludes.

Filed under: News, R.I.P.

AP Photo, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music

Camilla Williams, the first African-American singer to appear with a major American opera company, died at 92 in Bloomington, Ill., according to the Associated Press. The soprano singer passed away on Jan. 29 due to cancer-related complications.

The opera pioneer made her historic debut on May 15, 1946 with the New York City Opera performing the title role in Puccini's 'Madama Butterfly.'

Filed under: Exclusive, RPM, Movies, Q + A

Hamish Brown

For the forthcoming Chemical Brothers concert film 'Don't Think,' shot at the 2011 Fuji Rock Festival in Japan, longtime visual collaborator Adam Smith used 20 cameras and employed avant-garde techniques. His goal was "to perfectly capture a fan's-eye view of the heightened emotional reactions of the audience seeing the band at their very best."

As the Chemicals prepare to open 'Don't Think' on more than 500 screens worldwide, we sat down with Ed Simons, one-half of the British electronic duo, to talk about what it was like watching himself perform from the crowd. Simons also shared his thoughts on America's current obsession with dance music, a phenomenon that comes some 20 years after he and his lifelong friend and partner Tom Rowlands started DJing.

How did the concept for the film arise?

Adam and Tom have always wanted to film the show, just as a record for ourselves, and the show we've been doing, we're really proud of. It felt like a pinnacle, so it came down to me saying, "Yeah, OK. We'll do it," because I really don't like the cameras. I feel like it gets in the way for for the audience who've actually paid money to see the show. I always thought that there's no way to really capture what it is to feel the real pulse of the music and the strength of the bass and the vividness of the colors and the visuals, and the whole atmosphere in the air -- that kind of intangible thing. But Adam has somehow managed to capture what it's like to be in the audience, and to be distracted sometimes, sometimes be into whats happening.

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News

WireImage (2)

Elton John has some advice for Madonna concerning this Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show: "Make sure you lip-sync good." Yes, the Rocket Man chose that pearl of wisdom when asked by 'Good Morning America' host Chris Connelly if he had any insight for Madge.

"I've never seen a decent one -- never ever," he told Connelly Jan. 30. "Of course you have to play live, but I don't think you can. In all fairness to everyone who's done one before, you may be able to sing live but it's really hard to play live. Actually, to be honest with you I saw the Stones and I saw Prince and I thought they were pretty good."

John -- dressed in a huge robe during the interview -- is appearing in a Pepsi advertisement along with 'X Factor' winner Melanie Amaro which will air during the Super Bowl. In the ad, John portrays a king who decides whether or not he likes the talent before him.

Filed under: News

Nasty Little Man

Jack White is perhaps the busiest dude in music. Since the White Stripes went on a hiatus that eventually ended in their dissolution, White has engaged himself in numerous collaborations and side projects, as well as plenty of Third Man projects ranging from inventing new types of vinyl to creating tons and tons of tchotchkes.

White has been so ubiquitous in the music scene we almost forgot about one major thing the world was still missing: A Jack White solo album.