I should probably give you some music related news seeing as how it's Monday and all.
- Phil Everly passed away Friday (January 3) and, if you haven't been walking around with the likes of "When Will I Be Loved" or "All I Have To Do Is Dream" (or any of their other myriad hits) running through your head over the weekend, you should have been. These guys pulled together country and R&B and pioneered the move towards our beloved modern rock genre and, with great artists like The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel taking their early inspiration from these guys' music, we owe The Everly Brothers and their work more than we could ever give (plus, people just don't make love songs like this anymore).
- Palaye Royale released another art film, this time for their track "Cemeteries No. 1 (Running)" from their The Ends Beginning EP. I think it goes without saying that this band only puts out perfection so the video and track need to be watched/listened to on repeat and loved for their gorgeous composition and rough vocals (it's just become redundant to follow up 'Palaye Royale' with 'perfection').
- U2 premiered their video for their song "Ordinary Love" this week and it's great. Seriously, U2 is simultaneously classic and constant and it's amazing how much they have dominated music over the past several decades. The song was dedicated to the memory of Nelson Mandela and the video and song are gorgeous. Listen to it, love it, and accept that U2 will always be great (whether or not you like them).
- There was a minor [non-]scandal when Hollywoodlive.com claimed that Miley Cyrus told LOVE magazine that she was going to fill the void left by Beyoncé's absence (this was in March, back before Beyoncé happened). Of course, and unsurprisingly (seeing as how it came from a gossip website), the claims were falsified and proven to be such and everyone still loves Beyoncé (which is great for Cyrus, because going up against Bey would have ended her career [at least for the time being]).
- Ke$ha has entered rehab for an eating disorder saying that "I'm a crusader for being yourself and loving yourself, but I've found it hard to practice". I previously, briefly, mentioned my own troubles with that so good for her for realizing the issue and going in before it had gone too far; that takes balls and it only makes her more like-able (some people like Perry, others prefer Gaga, but Ke$ha's always my first choice). Watch the video for "Dirty Love", directed by Ke$ha, because it somehow makes the greatly fun song even better.
- Lady Gaga ranted about something pertaining to her "Do What U Want" video being put up late; I've never been a real fan so I didn't bother reading it in its entirety, but click on this link if you're a 'little monster' and want to know all about it.
- The audio for "Digital Witness" from St. Vincent's forthcoming St. Vincent (due for release in February) was released today.
- Bille Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones had put out a tribute album for The Everly Brothers in November (titled Foreverly) and, with the death of Phil Everly this past week, Armstrong has stated that "those harmonies will live on forever" and Jones summed up everyone's thoughts with "The Everly's had a huge influence on all kinds of musicians. The high harmonies Phil sang were fluid and so beautiful and always sound effortless in a way that just washes over the listener. He was one of our greats and it's very sad to lose him.".
- James Vincent McMorrow's Post Tropical is now available for pre-order on iTunes and, with the available single, "Cavalier", featuring his always stripped down and honest lyrics next to an expectedly gorgeous piano based composition, it promises to be just as beautiful as ever and worth the pre-order (if his voice and piano melodies could just stop being perfect for a bit, I could get back on track and finish this post; listen to "We Don't Eat" and "Breaking Hearts" to see why he's so amazing. This post will be late because of these vocals).
- Led Zeppelin fans can rejoice in the fact that Page has confirmed that Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II, and Led Zeppelin III will be reissued in 2014, along with some of Jimmy Page's other material from the archives, alternate mixes of the band's tracks, and never before released concert recordings. The songs should be in a better, updated, format to better hear every track you've ever loved from these guys.
- You can, and should, vote for City Rain's "The Optimist" to be featured on mtvU. Seriously though, pick "The Optimist" because it's definitely the best video there and the guys are cool and deserve it. Vote now (and often).
- Lucy Hale released her single "You Sound Good to Me". Were I her, I would have stuck to acting since that seems to be going kind of okay, but I guess you can do what you want once you have that exposure (even if you really should have let someone else write something better for you).
- Ed Sheeran has finished his untitled and due out this year album and, while no singles have yet to be released, he has stated that the album was inspired by pizza, proving that Sheeran is perfect. I cannot wait to hear the awesome tracks that were born out of this metaphor.
There will probably (possibly) be an interview showing up later this week, I'm really not sure in which order I should lay these out; maybe I'll just do an interview with a cool band this week and decide that should go up instead of one of the earlier ones that are set to go up this week... I'm fairly unorganized with those right now. As always though, check back for good music.
- E