Duffy Goes Acoutsic: Glastonbury

While Amy Winehouse may be busy punching people, and Jay-Z is busy doing novelty covers of Oasis, Duffy got down to business of making great music at England's biggest festival. Enjoy this stripped down version of her tune "Mercy" from Glastonbury 08.

Watch Now: Duffy - "Mercy" (Acoustic)


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The List: Best Summer Songs

With the mercury rising and the Fourth of July weekend bearing down us, the time has come to do what every good music geek does: create a list. We're going to try a game, and if it works, we could make it a weekly thing. So roll open the windows, crack open a cold one, and decide on the best summer songs of all time.

The Criteria: memorable hook, stong dance beat, and/or sing along chrous/lyrics. Here're our to five (in no particular order):

1. Low Rider - War
   
2. Ramblin Man - Allman Brothers
   
3. E-Pro - Beck
4. Summersong - The Decemberists
   
5. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Rolling Stones

Let us know your picks for the top Summer Songs, and don't forget to take the survey!

Livin' la Vida: Coldplay Auditions Opening Acts via YouTube

The internet: the gift that keeps on giving. Radiohead's MySpace Music video contest lead off the week, then Beck leaked two tracks from his upcoming album, followed by Weezer's YouTube single hitting the waves. Now it is Coldplay's turn as they premier a YouTube contest giving unknown groups the opportunity to open for one of the biggest bands in the world during the Viva la Vida tour. The contest is cooperating with radio stations in six markets: Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Hartford, Philadelphia and San Jose, CA, the tour stops scheduled to feature fledgling artists/contest champions.

Contestants are to upload their videos onto YouTube, where a panel of judges of radio station employees will watch them and whittle the field down to fifteen. After that, fan voting reduces the finalists to three (sound familiar?). Coldplay will watch the final trio and give the green light to their favorite. The gran prix: 20 minutes of stage time as Coldplay’s opening act, $2,000 and ten tickets to the concert. To enter, check out Coldplay’s tour page.

New Weezer Track Written With Help from Fans: "Turnin' Turnin'"

Count geek-rockers Weezer among those seeking to give the fans what they want. “Turnin’ Turnin’” written with the assistance of the Weezer faithful hit the interwebs today, the result of Cuomo’s call to fans for songwriting advice. This surprisingly tight, catchy track would have been right at home on “The Red Album” and is certainly better than some of the tracks that made the album.
Watch Now: Weezer - "Turnin' Turnin'"

It is Inevitable: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Trailer Released

The first teaser trailer for Joss Whedon's groundbreaking Internet musical Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog has officially gone online. Though it was scheduled for tomorrow someone "discovered it early", according to Whedon so they went forward with it today. And it's every bit as fantastic as we'd expected.

Neil Patrick Harris's pathetic-loser-neurotic supervillain is clearly done the way Whedon envisioned Buffy's nerd trio originally, and his mad scientist goggles are spot-on. Nathan Fillion seems pretty fantastic as well, and he's most definitely singing in a couple of shots. Click through for more!

Beck "Leaks" Two New Songs, Plans Jukebox Revolution

In keeping with the changing landscape of music distribution, Beck has released the first two cuts ("Orphans", "Gamma Ray") from his upcoming album Modern Guilt via his iLike page. Both tracks are streaming in their entirety alongside the previously-released “Chemtrails.” Modern Guilt is due to drop on July 8. Unless your local bar has TouchTone jukebox that is. Starting on July 1, over 10,000 Touchtone jukeboxes will make the entirety of Modern Guilt available. Because nothing says pub music like Beck.

Sign of the Apocalypse: Beatles Music on Guitar Hero

Following the success of two weeks of the Beatles‘ music on American Idol, the Fab Four’s catalog may be branching out again: Reps for the band are reportedly talking to both Activision and MTV Games about possibly releasing a Guitar Hero or Rock Band based around Beatles’ tunes.

According to a source close to the negotiations, the final deal could be worth millions, but first must get the approval of both Apple Corps. and EMI. Apple Corps’ tight grip on the Beatles catalog has loosened since Jeff Jones became the company’s chief executive, as evidenced by the band’s music appearing in American Idol, Cirque du Soleil Love show and the film Across the Universe.

“To my view, it’s only a matter of time before we see Beatles songs that are the original recordings in motion pictures, in television work, and yes, maybe even one day in a commercial,” said Sony/ATV chief executive Martin Bandier, who holds more than 200 Beatles copyrights. Whichever video game company wins the battle to release a Beatles-themed game, a source says a deal “could be reached in a matter of weeks.”
/via Rolling Stone

Trendsetters: Radiohead Holds Music Video Contest

At last someone is putting MySpace to good use as prog-rockers Radiohead host a unique contest which highlights just why democracy was invented.
It's one thing to let your fans remix your songs, it's quite another to let them direct an offical music video. This kind of risky venture is hardly a first for Radiohead, as evidenced with "In Rainbows" groundbreaking release format, but it takes serious guts to entrust fans with your art, allowing them to dictate its direction. This time quite literally.

This time, Britain's avante-garde art-rockers are clearly up for anything, putting the creation of their next music video in the public's hands. The final field has been narrowed to 13 candidates as the contest draws to a close, with the champion crowned on June 30.

The winner gets a $10,000 prize, with the video becoming a part of the official Radiohead catalogue. Head over to the band's MySpace to vote for your favorite.
/add'l info via Paste.com

Too Sexy for Coldplay

Coldplay recently revealed that they recorded a song with Kylie Minogue, called Lunar, but it was deemed "too sexy" to make the cut for their new album, 'Viva La Vida (Or Death And All His Friends)'.

"At this point we cannot be that sexy," Frontman Chris Martin said, referring to why the track didn't make the cut for the new album. "It's a song called 'Lunar' and Kylie is particularly brilliant on it.

Martin said that the track would appear on an LP the band will release as early as 2009.

"It will be on a record...some time at the end of next year. It will be track nine, I imagine."

Martin went on the say that another song, a full vocal version of Life In Technicolour', an instrumental song on 'Viva…' will also appear on the album.

Found Footage: Star Wars Done Right

Parody is a difficult thing to do. For any pastiche or satire to work, the tone, style, and mood of the original must first be emulated and then expanded upon. Such is the case with this gem from the Sound Advice Archives: "The Saga Begins" a Star Wars themed parody of Don McLean's "American Pie". What might first seem a simple and straightforward mockery, is upon a closer listen a pitch perfect musical re-interpretation and, in a masterful stroke, Yankovic is able to keep McLean's original internal rhyme scheme. Simple proof that a being a talented musician doesn't mean being all angsty and sad. Plus, it's about a billion times better than Madonna's massacre of a cover version. See "The Saga Begins" below in all its satiric majesty.
Weird Al The Saga Begins

Of Bishops and Ninjas: The RZA's WU-Chess

It is extremely difficult to describe this phenomenon any better than it has already been done on the website proper.

"Designed for chess enthusiasts addicted to hip-hop music, WuChess.com is the place where your favorite music, movies and celebs will be all while you get your game on. WuChess members will get exclusive offers such as MP3s you can't get anywhere else, playing a surprise celebrity guest, access to one of a kind video clips and many more surprises. This is hardcore chess with half the stuffiness.

WuChess understands that it is important that today's youth develop life strategy skills, so to help their efforts a portion of WuChess revenue will be donated to the Hip Hop Chess Federation's scholarship fund.

Welcome to the next level."

For those who think that hip hop is about money, bitches, and bling, hopefully this will be an eye opener.