One month and some change after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, an all-star lineup of musicians gathered at New York’s Madison Square Garden to raise money for charity and honor those affected by the attacks. Among the superstars on the bill that night: Paul McCartney, the Who, the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Billy … Continue Reading →
The news trickled out slowly, no doubt because Mickey Baker, the famed session guitarist of the 1950′s and half of the duo “Mickey and Sylvia” (“Love is Strange,” recorded with Sylvia Vanderpool Robinson in 1956) had lived outside of the United States for decades, in purposeful obscurity. But it was confirmed that Mickey, a true … Continue Reading →
Taylor Swift’s “Red” reassumes its position on top of Billboard’s Top 200 albums chart this week, as the set added an additional 167,000 copies to its sales cume, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The album, which has been No. 1 for four non-consecutive weeks, has now sold 2.4 million copies, easily making it one of the … Continue Reading →
Eminem and Skylar Grey take a romp through the trailer park in the newly released video for Grey’s song “C’mon Let Me Ride,” which premieres today. Take a look (warning, explicit lyrics and content): The video, which was shot this fall in a Metro Detroit trailer park, tees off on trailer park culture. There … Continue Reading →
This year’s Grammy theme song is “We Are Young.” Not only is the song by Fun. — man, that period in their name is not getting any less annoying — up for Record and Song of the Year trophies, it’s the prevailing wisdom among the year’s top nominees. Among the Album of the Year contenders … Continue Reading →
As the news sinks in that jazz great Dave Brubeck has died at 91, I can’t help but think of one of the most beautiful, transcendent evenings of music I’ve experienced in recent years. It was Brubeck’s performance at the piano, with his sons Chris and Dan backing him (on bass and drums respectively) in … Continue Reading →
This… girl… is… on… FIYAH!!! Well, sort of. Alicia Keys debuts at No. 1 on this week’s Billboard Top 200 albums chart with that guy from the Citi Points commercial’s favorite album of 2012, “Girl on Fire.” The set sold 159,000 copies its first week in stores, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which is a steep … Continue Reading →
Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones, the three surviving members of Led Zeppelin, visited David Letterman’s “Late Show” Monday night, a first time appearance for Page and Jones to the late night host. The band admitted that they didn’t know what was in store for them at the Honors, that others would be … Continue Reading →
Kelly Clarkson’s “Greatest Hits – Chapter 1″ set failed to crack the Top 10 on this week’s chart but lands at No. 11. That’s not bad for a repackaged set.
Rihanna shines bright like a diamond on this week’s Billboard 200, as she scores her first No. 1 album — how has she not hit No. 1 before? — with “Unapologetic,” her seventh studio set. “Unapologetic” sold 238,000 copies its first week. That tally bests last year’s “Talk That Talk,” which arrived at No. 3 … Continue Reading →