This weekend's Emma Stone-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live featured musical guest Garth, Kat, and Jan Pockabook, a folk trio who shared a handful of made-up Thanksgiving songs during the Weekend Update. Also, Coldplay were there to perform a pair of tracks from their new album Mylo Xyloto. Even though it wasn't the strongest episode of the season, Stone has been receiving rave reviews for her hosting job, but how did Coldplay fare?
Read More »from SNL GPA: Chris Martin’s Folk Side Project Outshines ColdplaySNL GPA: Chris Martin’s Folk Side Project Outshines Coldplay
By Daniel Kreps | Amplifier – Mon, Nov 14, 2011 9:21 AM ESTKaty Perry Goes All ‘Up’ for ‘The One That Got Away’ Video
By Daniel Kreps | Amplifier – Fri, Nov 11, 2011 5:35 PM ESTFifteen months and five Hot 100-topping singles after Katy Perry released her Teenage Dream, the album keeps yielding new music videos. This time it's for "The One That Got Away," which features Perry in some hardcore Benjamin Button makeup. The video is like the ultra-sad opening scene from Up combined with the ultra-confusing final scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey with a whole bunch of flashbacks tossed in.
Read More »from Katy Perry Goes All ‘Up’ for ‘The One That Got Away’ VideoParanoid, Again: Black Sabbath Reuniting for New Album, Tour in 2012
By Daniel Kreps | Amplifier – Fri, Nov 11, 2011 4:01 PM ESTThe second-worst-kept secret reunion in music was confirmed at 11:11 a.m. PST today as Black Sabbath's original members — Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward — finally confirmed that they are reuniting for a new Rick Rubin-produced album and a long tour in 2012. The band made the announcement at a special press conference at Hollywood's Whisky a Go Go, where Sabbath played their first Los Angeles gig on this date (11/11) in 1970. So far, the band has booked only one concert -- England's Download Festival on June 10, 2012 -- but they'll embark on a massive trek after that. "It's like putting on an old glove. It's fantastic," Iommi said of the reunion.
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EMI Split in Half, Sold to Universal and Sony
By Daniel Kreps | Amplifier – Fri, Nov 11, 2011 2:51 PM EST
Read More »from EMI Split in Half, Sold to Universal and Sony
EMIAnd then there were three major labels: After nine months of Citigroup-owned limbo, the beleaguered EMI, which was the most successful of the Big 4 record labels not too long ago, has been split in half and sold off to two of its former competitors, Sony and Universal. According to Billboard.biz, Sony has purchased EMI Music Publishing, while the overgrowing Vivendi/Universal Music Group picked up the crown jewel, the EMI recorded music division, which includes the works of the Beatles, Pink Floyd, pre-2007 Radiohead, and a roster that currently includes Coldplay, Gorillaz, and Katy Perry.Jay-Z Decides It’s Time to Profit From Occupy Wall Street
By Joseph Brannigan Lynch | Amplifier – Fri, Nov 11, 2011 1:30 PM EST
Rocawear.comThanks to Jay-Z, you can now purchase solidarity and wear a mass-distributed symbol of grassroots anger. Always looking for ways to satiate the wealthiest segment of the population, proud 1% member Shawn Carter has created a t-shirt line to capitalize on the headline-grabbing Occupy Wall Street movement. The new Rocawear tee—which comes out today—reads "Occupy Wall Street" in stark white letters but scribbles out the 'W' and throws in a red graffiti-style 'S,' making the message "Occupy All Streets" instead.Business Insider was kind enough to contact Rocawear and determine that the corporation is not familiar with the concept of irony. "At this time we have not made an official commitment to monetarily support the movement," a spokesperson for the $700 million-earning corporation said, although they acknowledged the $22 shirts are "created in support of the 'Occupy Wall Street' movement."
Read More »from Jay-Z Decides It’s Time to Profit From Occupy Wall Street11/11/11 Playlist: The Amp’s 11 Favorite Track 11s
By Daniel Kreps | Amplifier – Fri, Nov 11, 2011 12:08 PM EST
11.11.11It's that time of the century again when the calendar strikes all ones, 11/11/11. To celebrate this momentous, once-in-a-lifetime occasion, The Amp has plunged deep into our iTunes to create this playlist, featuring our favorite Track 11s. By no means is this a "best of" list; it's just our personal picks of those pivotal songs that show up toward the end of albums. It would have been easy to make a list of 100 awesome Track 11s, but keeping with the theme of the day, we painstakingly edited our choices down to a succinct eleven. Enjoy the "Six Ones Day" party with these cuts:Animal Collective's "Brother Sport," 11th song on Merriweather Post Pavilion
The Beatles' "Every Little Thing," 11th song on Beatles for Sale
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Check Out Rihanna’s New Single ‘You Da One’
By Daniel Kreps | Amplifier – Fri, Nov 11, 2011 11:03 AM EST
Read More »from Check Out Rihanna’s New Single ‘You Da One’
You Da OneOutside of first single "We Found Love," Rihanna has kept a tight lid on her upcoming album Talk That Talk. But with the disc due out November 18th, the singer decided to whet the fans' appetite by premiering a new track called "You Da One," one of the few radio-friendly songs on the very dirty TTT. The single is textbook Rihanna with its trademark stuttered hooks, islands-tinged sound, and lyrics about obsessive love. "You the one that I dream about all day, you the one that I think about always," Rihanna sings on the chorus. And like all singles these days, there's the prerequisite dubstep breakdown in the final third of the song. Compared to the universally praised smash "We Found Love," "You Da One" definitely falls into the category of lesser RiRi singles like "Man Down" and "Russian Roulette," but there's no way a song this catchy won't result in yet another Top 10 hit for Rihanna:Watch Michael Stipe, Brian Eno, and Stephen Colbert Sing Bill Withers’ ‘Lean on Me’
By Daniel Kreps | Amplifier – Fri, Nov 11, 2011 9:18 AM ESTWhen it was announced that producer extraordinaire Brian Eno would be the guest on last night's The Colbert Report, no one could have anticipated this would happen: Michael Stipe, Colbert, and Eno singing a rendition of Bill Withers' "Lean On Me" together. With R.E.M. calling it quits, we figured it'd be a while before anyone heard Stipe sing again, but there he was, enshrined on Colbert's Rock & Roll Shelf of Fame, since R.E.M. was the first band to ever perform on Colbert's show. The host does a great job harmonizing with the two vets, but just the image of Eno and Stipe singing together makes this one of the late-night music highlights of 2011. It's just a shame R.E.M. never linked up with the producer during their run.
Read More »from Watch Michael Stipe, Brian Eno, and Stephen Colbert Sing Bill Withers’ ‘Lean on Me’New DVD to Remind American Fans What Adele Is Like in Concert
By Daniel Kreps | Amplifier – Thu, Nov 10, 2011 5:31 PM ESTDid you purchase tickets for an Adele concert that ended up being canceled? Here's a new DVD to rub that disappointing feeling back in your face: On November 29th, the British songstress will release her CD/DVD Live at the Royal Albert Hall, which features her entire September 22, 2011 performance from London's most famous venue. The gig was filmed after Adele canceled her first U.S. tour but before she nixed her second U.S. trek, so it was that brief moment in 2011 when the singer wasn't overly affected by "recurrent vocal cord bleeding from a benign polyp." Lasers have since saved her voice.
Over four million Americans have already purchased Adele's 21 this year, but with Black Friday just weeks away, the singer needed to release something new to capitalize on the sales surge. Unfortunately, because Adele is still recuperating, she won't be able to promote the DVD herself, but her team has figured out a solution: Live at the Royal Albert Hall will premiere at movie theaters in New
Read More »from New DVD to Remind American Fans What Adele Is Like in ConcertHalf-Naked Supermodels Make it Difficult for Kanye West to Watch the Throne
By Daniel Kreps | Amplifier – Thu, Nov 10, 2011 4:06 PM ESTUsually The Amp hates on that person who spends an entire concert filming the gig on their iPhone, but this time we'll make an exception. Kanye West's performance at the Victoria Secret's Fashion Show won't air until November 29th, but you don't have to wait until then to watch the rapper sing "Stronger" while surrounded by scantily clad supermodels. West was originally supposed to perform at the 2007 Victoria's Secret special but he canceled his appearance after the death of his mother Donda. According to MTV Rap Fix reports,West dedicated his two-song Victoria's set to his mom, because nothing says "fitting tribute" like Adriana Lima and Gisele Bundchen traipsing around a runway wearing next to nothing.
As an added bonus, Jay-Z made a surprise cameo to perform a cut off Watch the Throne. Watching cell phone footage from the performance isn't the best way to experience the Throne, but something tells us that the Jigga-half of the appearance won't make it to CBS on November 29th. The song is called "N----- in Paris," and while Kanye rapped a heavily censored version of the track -- "Got my homies in Paris, and they goin' gorillas" -- at the end of the day, it's still called "N----- in Paris," and CBS is still the network that aired Janet Jackson's Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction. Better to err on the side of caution. Also, none of the lingerie-wearing supermodels walked down the runway during the "Paris" performance, another clue that it won't be aired during the Victoria's Secret broadcast. Maybe Jay-Z just stopped by because he loves supermodels; we know supermodels love Jay-Z.
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News for You
- Restaurant learns online reviews can make or break
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — It was the customer service disaster heard around the Internet.
- Attorney: Donald Trump lied on stand
CHICAGO (AP) — The attorney for an 87-year-old woman who accuses Donald Trump of cheating her in a skyscraper condo deal told Chicago jurors on Wednesday that he was personally repulsed by the "Apprentice" star whom he said lied on the witness stand.
- The new consoles from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony
NEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft is the last of the three big video game console makers to unveil its latest gaming system. The unveiling comes nearly eight years after the Xbox 360 went on sale. It follows last fall's debut of Nintendo's Wii U and a preview in February of the upcoming PlayStation 4 from Sony.
- Singer Kellie Pickler named new 'Dancing' champ
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kellie Pickler came into the final "Dancing With the Stars" episode in second place but finished in first.
- Woman on Trump: 'Somebody had to stand up to him'
CHICAGO (AP) — An 87-year-old woman who alleges Donald Trump cheated her in a skyscraper-condo sale told jurors Monday she had qualms about suing the real estate mogul and TV celebrity. But, she quickly added, "Somebody had to stand up to him."
- Douglas, Damon dramatize a steamy showbiz affair
NEW YORK (AP) — The idea of Michael Douglas playing Liberace might seem nearly as outrageous as Liberace himself.
