Prefix Mag has Q-Tip's contribution to the Smirnoff Signature Mix Series, "Midnight '08," (head over here for our download of Common's entry - "The Light" 2008 remix) and we're all over it today. The classic blueprint (each track pairs old-school heroes with the hottest new producers) reminds us how great hip hop once was, and still could be. Dig it.
Check out a brief live clip of Q-Tip at the kick-off party after the jump.
Woo hoo! That loooong gestating Stephen King/John Mellencamp collaboration, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, finally has a release date.
Described as "a sultry Southern gothic mystery with a blues-tinged, guitar-driven score," the play will open at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre in April 2009, with the object of getting it ready for a Broadway run.
Mellencamp, who contributed all original music for the production, originally conceived the idea before passing it along to King for scripting. The story centers on the mysterious 1957 death of two Mississippi brothers and one young girl, and the legend that grows from the tragedy. Sounds like classic King stuff. Let's hope Mellencamp has provided some appropriately dark music, but anyone who heard the ironically-titled Mr. Happy Go-Lucky should know he's up to the task.
Rumor has it the Jigga Man is working on a collaborative disc with Nas called the Kings of Hip Hop. Holy crap, talk about starting off your new label with a bang.
Jay-Z has some experience with the tag-team LP, though not the type that's likely to raise pulses in the hard-core hip hop community. In 2004 he traded rhymes with Linkin Park on the Collision Course EP.
Nothing confirmed yet for this one, but if anything can dig rap out of its current commercial doldrums, this is freakin' it.
Looks like we might have one less reason to catch that REM '08 tour. Smiths legend Johnny Marr, most recently of Modest Mouse, has apparently jumped ship to an act even more his junior - England's The Cribs.
No official word on how this affects Marr's gig with Modest Mouse, but Cribs bassist Gary Jarman does hope recent sessions with Marr will blossom into an EP or possible a full LP.
In other news, The Cribs recently co-hosted Radio 1 with Zane Lowe, talking about their latest plans and spinning some favorite tunes. Check out the audio here.
"You Hurt the Ones You Love" is the name of the Pete Doherty/Amy Winehouse collaboration we've been worried about. Rumor has it that this unholy union has also spawned a cover of, *shudder*, "You're The One That I Want," originally made annoying by the movie Grease.
Well, at least they're working and not...oh forget it.
Between recordings, Pete's also made time for cat abuse, assault, and hosting parties. Dude keeps busy; we'll give him that.
To cap off the week on a positive note:
Annie Lennox (who BTW, looks great at nearly 53) teamed up with 23 of the world’s most acclaimed female superstar voices for the charity record "Sing," to raise money and awareness for the HIV/AIDS organisation, Treatment Action Campaign (TAC). The track, already available to download through iTunes and other online outlets, will be physically released along with special remixes THIS SATURDAY DECEMBER 1st – WORLD AIDS DAY.
As charity singles go, the song ain't half-bad, and there's no denying the worthiness of the cause, so download it, along with those remixes at iTunes. Watch the clip for "Sing" featuring Annie Lennox, Madonna and others, after the jump.
Continue reading "Annie Lennox "Sings" for AIDS Awareness" »
In a move that recalls the Wilco/Billy Bragg Mermaid Avenue discs (Woody Guthrie lyrics set to an alt-country tune), Bob Dylan and Jack White are reportedly working together on a set of "lost" Hank Williams tunes. Though the collaboration has yet to yield a joint recording session between the two, a source close to the White Stripes frontman (and occasional White bassist) expects the kindred spirits to hit the studio together shortly: “I wouldn't put it past either of them. They seem to be cut from the same cloth, sort of misplaced Midwestern brothers."
Normally we might not have given The Reason's inoffensive pop punk a second look, but Sara Quin's duet with lead singer Adam White in "We're So Beyond This" makes for one of our favorite videos in a while. With a Hives-like juxtaposition of black and white and Quin's adorable emoting, a well-worn source of musical angst (chicks just don't get me man!) actually works.
Continue reading "The Reason ft. Sara Quin - "We're So Beyond This"" »
A collaboration like the one brewing between the White Stripes and Beck is the sort of thing that keeps bloggers in business - But couldn't they have chosen a better track than "Conquest?" Don't get us wrong, we sure want to be excited over what Mr. Hansen can do here with two turn tables and a microphone, but the song isn't among Jack White's best.
On the other hand, we are excited about the accompanying video on the way (via the band's official site): "The video follows an explosive - if unconventional - love story that pits man against bull in the ultimate conquest. To make his performance as authentic as possible, Jack White trained extensively with famed bullfighter Dennis Borba."
So this new Killers/Lou Reed collaboration is getting savaged today, and we wanted to buck the trend and cull something a bit redeeming from the latest track off Sawdust, the upcoming B-side collection (due November 13). But no. It's awful. Just awful. Like, Sam's Town is genius by comparison awful. Dudes, just put on some eyeliner and play some serviceable Duran Duran knockoffs (Hot Fuss is still great!), or call it a day.
Check out the clip for "Tranquilize" after the jump.
Continue reading "The Killers ft. Lou Reed - "Tranquilize"" »
Hard Rock International has put together one of the more random compilation discs in recent memory, but since it's all for charity we'll try to keep an open mind. But pairing Springsteen and The Hold Steady with O.A.R, Natasha Bedingfield, KT Tunstall and Andrew W.K. Ummm, yeah.
Anyway, the disc is called SERVE2 and goes to benefit Artists Against Hunger and Poverty, an offshoot of the World Hunger Year project. The disc will be available at Hard Rock Cafe locations in addition to a digital download version featuring several bonus tracks. See the full list after the jump.
Since there's so little truly exciting news in mainstream hip hop these days, this post on Billboard had us positively giddy:
"Having already released one song via an online mixtape, CRS (Child Rebel Soldiers), the hip-hop supergroup featuring Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams, is hoping to find time to craft an entire album."
If you haven't heard "Us Placers," the group's only single to date which samples Thom Yorke's "The Eraser" and was performed by Fiasco during his set at Lollapalooza, check it out below.
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