Hi! If you’ve got an iPad – we’ve got the player for you! Shazam Player – our great new music player App – is now iPad optimized and FREE to download at iTunes App Store.
The iPad’s larger screen size comes into its own – so you can see and do more while listening to your music. Like manage your current playlist while browsing your music library and see the album artwork of the track that’s currently playing! All on one single screen.
Plus if you’ve got an Apple TV, use AirPlay to mirror streaming lyrics onto the TV screen – perfect for when your friends come over and you want to sing along to your favorite songs.
Download Shazam Player for iPad for free on App Store and try it out for yourself!
Today’s Vaults is a choice cut from the eponymous debut album by alternative rock group, Foo Fighters ‘Alone + Easy Target’. When the album was released, there was band, as such – the project was the brainchild and baby of just one man – Dave Grohl.
After Nirvana ended so abruptly, Grohl suffered a bout of depression, and couldn’t decide whether or not he could face returning to music. He decided to make a collection of songs where he would play every musical part, and release them under a pseudonym so no-one would know it was him. Grohl was initially insecure about his voice – though you might not think that from the thundering rock-screams he manages on stage these days – so he made sure all the vocals on the album were either quadrupled or had effects added to them.
Though Grohl wasn’t sure about the quality of the music, the collection of songs – that went on to form Foo Fighters debut eponymous album – were received positively by critics and by 2011, the album had sold 1.468 million units in North America, and certified Platinum in Canada and Gold in the UK.
There were four singles released from the album but it was far more than just four singles and some filler. Tracks like ‘Exhausted’ and ‘Alone + Easy Target’ are still among some of the best Foo Fighters material to date (though there’s a mammoth back catalogue to search through before you can come to that conclusion). Grohl had written both tracks when he was still with Nirvana, and had played a demo of ‘Alone + Easy Target’ to Kurt Cobain back in December 1991. “Kurt was staying in a hotel in Seattle at the time, as by then he’d moved to LA,” Grohl said later to MOJO. “I’d told him I was recording and he said, ‘Oh, I wanna hear it, bring it by…’ He was sitting in the bath-tub with a Walkman on, listening to the song, and when the tape ended he took the headphones off and kissed me and said, ‘Oh, finally, now I don’t have to be the only songwriter in the band!’ I said, No, no, no, I think we’re doing just fine with your songs.”
As it happened, ‘Alone + Easy Target’ was just never meant to be a Nirvana track. But it’s perfectly Foo Fighters. Though they’re a mega popular rock band these days, you’re just as likely to come across Dave Grohl’s name in the gossip columns as Kurt Cobain’s widow Courtney Love accuses him of any number of things (currently, it’s of trying to hit on her daughter Frances Bean – which everyone – including Frances – deny to be true).
What happened to the days when it was all about the music, eh? Just forget about all that stuff, put your headphones up and remember rock like it was 1995.
Quite simply, ‘The Power’ is the aural equivalent of having a gallon of Red Bull squirted down your throat. On a trampoline. In space. What we’re getting at, is that it’s pretty upbeat.
From the phased vocal opening and glittery disco guitar flicks, the track starts as it means to go on. By the time it builds to its first crescendo, you’ll already be grinning like a maniac and doing whatever passes for dancing where you’re from. It doesn’t let off while Dizzee’s on the mic either, layering the sonic backdrop with more swoops, bleeps and bass squiggles than you would have thought possible.
It’s a long way to ‘The Power’ from DJ Fresh’s drum’n’bass beginnings. This is an unashamed pop record which seems destined to be playing anywhere that speakers can be found over the next few months. Fresh’s collaborator has gone through a similar career trajectory. When he first emerged with ‘Boy in Da Corner’, Dizzee Rascal was a subversive and slightly unnerving presence. More recently he’s been a guest on Newsnight, where Jeremy Paxman referred to him as “Mr Rascal”.
But any quibbles over authenticity have no place here. There is little doubt that both Fresh and Dizzee believe completely in what they’re doing. It’s hard to imagine them coming up with something as joyous and straight-up fun as ‘The Power’ otherwise. And if it makes them a ton of money, that’s just a bonus.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Trey Songz’ latest isn’t about the dangers of a diet that’s too high in cholesterol. No, the heart attack being discussed here isn’t the kind that’ll leave you full of tubes in a hospital ward, it’s the sort that’ll leave you staring mournfully out of a window. Quite possibly during a rainstorm.
It’s basically Trey’s contention that metaphorical heartbreak hurts just as much as the physical kind. While it’s unlikely that many trained medical practitioners would agree with him, he lays out a compelling case.
“In too deep, can’t think about giving it up/I never knew love would feel like a heart attack/It’s killing me, swear I never cried so much/Cause I never knew Love would hurt this f***in bad/ The worst pain I ever had.”
Even if it isn’t a medical emergency, he’s clearly feeling something pretty intense. He delivers his words over a background of minimal, bleepily modern R&B. It’s a subtle approach, something which is reflected in an urgent but restrained vocal performance. There’s often the temptation with this type of song to signify emotion by indulging in needless vocal gymnastics. That Trey keeps it all together is a very nice touch.
‘Heart Attack’ precedes Songz’ – real name, the almost as good Tremaine Aldon Neverson – forthcoming fifth album, the aptly named ‘Chapter 5’. It’s been lurking in the shadows for a while but now looks to be on the verge of release. In a perfect world, it will be a concept record where different medical conditions are used as metaphors for various matters of the heart. It seems unlikely, but a man has to dream.
You may not have had electro pop act Hot Chip down as a religious bunch, but let’s look at the evidence. There’s the choir boy vocals that feature on a number of their tracks (most effectively on ‘Boy From School’ or ‘Privacy Of Our Love’). And when the Chippers are off doing their own thang, there’s a weird theological vibe that follows them around. Maybe as Faithless suggest, the nearest club is indeed a church – and who better to run the holy service than Joe Goddard. His single ‘Gabriel’ is pure dancefloor, with a chorus and breakdown that verges on epic – but the constant refrain of the title of the track brings you back into Goddard’s holy place.
The vocalist featured on the track is the ably-lunged Valentina, who is also signed to Goddard’s own Greco-Roman record label. So yes, as well as being writer and producer of the acclaimed group Hot Chip, releasing a solo album in 2009 (the wonderful Harvest Festival), and being half of group the 2 Bears, Goddard also runs his own label. Officially, he is one of the busiest men in London. And arguably, the most prolific.
Compared to much of his solo material, ‘Gabriel’ feels more grown up, more mature. It’s proper house music, with less of the gimmicks that sometimes go along with indie-electro. But if you’re looking for some memorable, intelligent dance music with a lovely gospel backing and a great beat, then look no further. It also comes backed with some ace remixes from Calibre and a typically room shaking refix from Soulwax. Check them out here.
Can it really be that time again? Yes, it seems that it’s true – it’s April, and just as we were brushing the winter blues away, Coachella is back to force us back into the desert with our dancing shoes on.
For the first time since the festival started back in 1999, Coachella is expanding its original three-day weekend experience to take place over two consecutive weekends – with identical lineups. Though some critics have said the second weekend will just be a poor copy of the first, Coachella’s ticket sales say otherwise, with both weekends completely sold out (and considering the festival attracts 75,000 people a day, that’s a lot of party-goers).
The festival usually enjoys hot desert weather, but this year there’s a 70 percent chance of rain to dampen spirits at the first Coachella weekend, with temperatures looking like they will only reach into the 60s with wind gusts of around 40 mph, although Saturday and Sunday are looking warmer and dry. Music lovers will no doubt be hoping to avoid scenes of mud baths that are fairly regular fixtures at events like Glastonbury Festival.
Line up
The headliners for this year’s festival are about as diverse as you can get when it comes to mammoth events these days. Friday will be headlined by The Black Keys, Saturday by Radiohead, and Sunday by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Radiohead’s last performance at Coachella was in 2004 (the first year that the festival sold out in advance, as it has done since).
The Black Keys will undoubtedly remember 2012 as the year they crossed into the mainstream with their first year as Coachella headliners (despite having played numerous times before as a support act). When asked what sets the Coachella festival experience apart, singer Dan Auerbach said: “It’s got palm trees first of all. That’s the biggest difference. I’ve never been to another festival with palm trees!”
Besides the headliners, there are a number of performers that have been picked out as ‘ones to watch’ for this year’s festival: look out for Florence and the Machine, Miike Snow, Azealia Banks, M.Ward, Gotye and Pulp. There are rumours afoot of special guests for the Sunday headlining slot, with some saying Eminem, Warren G and Wiz Khalifa are set to make appearances. And if your thing is celeb spotting, there’s never any lack of A, B, or even C listers hanging around at the celeb parties after the festival. So watch this space…
If you’re going to Coachella and looking for something to do while you’re not at the festival, the LA Times have published some activities you might undertake when the festival is over, like take a rock’n'roll pilgrimage, find U2′s Joshua Tree or go day tripping (not that kind of tripping!). If you need convincing to get yourself to the Coachella Valley in the first place, the LA Times blog has come up with a nifty Ten Reasons to Visit the Coachella Valley (including offbeat lodgings, gigantic dinosaurs, outlet malls, the great outdoors, film festivals and modern art!).
Conor Maynard is relatively new to the pop game but he is already making waves on both sides of the pond. We managed to catch up with him and have a chat about his rise to stardom, being compared to Justin Bieber and working with legendary producer Pharrell Williams.
How would you describe yourself to someone who might not have heard of you before?
Well obviously my name is Conor Maynard and I’m originally from Brighton and I suppose you could say I’m part of the whole new internet phenomenon thing. I was first noticed posting covers on to Youtube and things kind of blew up from there and they starting getting millions of hits. Luckily one of the first people to reach out to me was Ne-Yo and that’s how it all started really. Now I’ve been signed by EMI and I’m working on my first album, with my first single ‘Got To Know’ is ready to be released, so all is good.
If you fancy playing a game that’ll keep you busy for a few hours, have a crack at pigeonholing Santigold. Starting out in punk rock, she’s cut a winding path through the musical landscape to occupy today’s peculiarly unclassifiable niche. She’s big with critics and indie kids, but also writes unashamedly ‘pop’ songs that sound great on the radio. Best of all, she seems pretty much unconcerned with how she’s perceived.
Anyone who’s found time to collaborate with RZA and GZA of the Wu Tang Clan, Talking Heads’ David Byrne and musical comedy troupe The Lonely Island – before even releasing their second album – is clearly approaching the business in a different way. She’s even going on tour with freaking Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Of course, all this would count for nothing if she wasn’t able to back her eclecticism up with some solid tunes. Thankfully, the dancehall-inflected ‘Disparate Youth’ lives up to its promise. Propelled by fluttering steel drums and some slippery, skittering beats, it’s staking an early claim to being the soundtrack of our collective summer.
‘Disparate Youth’ is taken from Santigold’s forthcoming second album ‘Master of My Make-Believe’, the follow up to 2008’s ‘Santogold’. The comparatively long gap between records has clearly had an impact on the creative process.
If it were anybody else, conflating global natural catastrophies with the production of a new album might seem a little, well, deluded. In Santigold’s case, it’s just testament to her ambition.
