The New Now
  • All Smiles With My Crocodiles

    I'd heard the name Crocodiles before, but it wasn't until I read that it was inspired by the title of Echo & the Bunnymen's 1980 debut--one of my all-time favorite albums--that I had to hear the band.

    Luckily I had received an email from a publicist working the band last month, so I sent a belated reply requesting a copy of Summer Of Hate, the band's just-released debut effort. The publicist was nice enough to offer me a link to download a digital copy within minutes, which was great for immediate satisfaction, but I must admit, I'm still on the fence on the digital vs. physical dilemma. I love the convenience and immediacy of digital downloads, but if it's an album I really love, I like to have the physical item to hold in my hands, scour the liner notes, and eventually store in my collection.

    Still, I was happy to have Crocodiles' Summer Of Hate loaded to my hard drive and it arrived at the perfect time. I was feeling slightly stir crazy and needed to get away from the computer and

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  • One of the things they'd probably teach in Rock Enthusiast 101, if there were such a class, is to not get too hung up on a band name. For example, one might hear the band name Heartless Bastards and assume it's a group of guys that play country-influenced rock. The word "bastard" is defined as "a child born out of wedlock" or as slang for "a person, especially one who is held to be mean or disagreeable." For some reason I assume a "bastard" is a male, although there is no gender necessarily associated with the term. This differs from "bitch," which I consider to be a sister word of sorts to "bastard." The former is commonly used to describe a "female dog" or a "spiteful, overbearing or lewd woman," but it can also be used as a derogatory term for a "weak or contemptible male."

    The point of all this is for you to set your preconceived notions about a band's name aside. Although the Heartless Bastards include three men, their singer, primary songwriter and guitarist is a woman. Her

    Read More »from Heartless Bastards: How Could They Be So…
  • If you need proof that things are moving at warp speed these days, look no further than Kid Cudi. This Cleveland, Ohio-spawned rapper, born Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, has already threaten to retire at least twice in recent months. The strange thing is that his debut album, Man On The Moon: The Guardians, isn't expected to street until summer.

    Cudi has been receiving plenty of buzz over the last several months and with that attention comes the pressure to deliver and the scrutiny from fans and bloggers. Here's the video clip for "Day 'N' Nite," a track that's currently in the top 10 of Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart.

    While that version is pretty good, Italian DJ duo the Crookers did a remix of that track that's even better. Earlier this year, the Crookers remix debuted at No. 2 of the British singles chart, which undoubtedly pleased Cudi. "I immediately loved it. I thought [the Crookers] did an amazing job," he told the Guardian. "I didn't think it was going to be as ill as it

    Read More »from Kanye Protégé Kid Cudi Brings The Buzz ‘N’ Drama
  • It's always refreshing when you discover a band with a great tune and find that they're more than another one-hit wonder. That's the case with Cage The Elephant, a quintet out of Bowling Green, Kentucky. The first time I heard the band's "Ain't No Rest For The Wicked," with its bluesy slide guitar riff, it immediately appealed to me and reminded me of a few other things I like--the White Stripes and early Aerosmith. Check out the video clip below.

    Eons ago, when I worked at the entertainment trade publication many call the Bible of the music industry, the staff met on a conference call one day to try and coin a name for the mix of punk, rock and funk that was then burgeoning on the music scene. Coining such a term might seem like a lofty goal, but there was historic precedent. Decades earlier while he was working at Billboard, a fellow named Jerry Wexler coined the term "Rhythm and Blues" for a genre of music that had been previously known as "Race Music." While all the people on the

    Read More »from Cage The Elephant: Ragin’ Funk ‘n’ Roll?
  • I was all set to start researching and write about Cage The Elephant, which I've been meaning to do for since I first Shazamed "Ain't No Rest For The Wicked" back in early March. Then I stumbled upon a new video by Brooklyn, N.Y.-based duo Matt & Kim that's creating a stir on the Internet. I figure Cage The Elephant can wait a few more days, because this clip is heating up the web now. Rather than fill your head with preconceived notions, take a look at the video below.

    Now that you've seen it, what do you think? Some other bloggers have called the duo's decision to strip off their clothes in a music video a cheap publicity stunt to drum up interest in their music. I suppose, if that was their intent, they've succeeded. Stripping down in a video to garner some buzz is certainly nothing new, but Matt & Kim--along with the clip's directors Taylor Cohen and Otto Arsenault, cinematograper Ben Wolf and visual effects artist Steve Ilou--have delivered an interesting take.

    The opening

    Read More »from Matt & Kim Get Naked: Cheap Trick Or Artful Marketing Ploy?
  • Welcome To The New Now

    Discovering new music is one of the most exciting aspects of music fandom. Sure, everyone has old favorites that you've listened to million times and can probably hum in your sleep, but nothing turns you on more than something fresh and new that's yet to be discovered by the great unwashed masses.

    Yahoo! Music has a long tradition of turning music fans onto new artists. It's a tradition that's so old, it dates back to the days of LAUNCH, the multimedia company acquired by Yahoo! that evolved into the Yahoo! Music you know and love today. At one point, LAUNCH--which began life as a CD-ROM magazine before it moved to the web--used the very tagline "Discover New Music." It's with that spirit that we bring you Yahoo! Music's brand-spanking-new emerging artist spotlight The New Now.

    In this space, we'll feature exclusive live performances and video interviews on a regular basis, blog about the hottest new acts every weekday, feature free MP3s by some exciting new talents on a regular basis.

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  • Many times young bands will cite their influences as a tip of the hat to the musicians that shaped their sound and musical tastes. Yet it's not every day that a veteran band goes out of its way to give props to some young bucks new to the scene. That was the case when Yahoo! Music Managing Editor/Reality Rocks blogger Lyndsey Parker recently sat down for an interview with the men from Depeche Mode, whose 12th studio effort, Sounds Of The Universe, was just released. During the interview, D. Mode main man Dave Gahan went out of his way to give effusive praise to MGMT, which in turn left Ms. Parker very excited and me writing about it in this very blog. Check out Gahan testifying about MGMT below.

    While MGMT's best-known tracks "Kids," "Electric Feel," and "Time To Pretend" feature the undeniable influence of electronic acts such as Depeche Mode, the band is more than just some blokes fiddling around with keyboards and computers. I

    Read More »from MGMT A La Mode: Props From Pops & A Little Prog
  • Since Yahoo! Music first showcased Lady Gaga in its emerging artists program last year, the Lady has taken over the world. That may be a slight overstatement, but it's safe to say she's had a huge impact on the pop charts. Her debut single, "Just Dance," hit No. 1 on the pop charts and was followed by another chart-topper, "Poker Face," while her album, The Fame, has climbed to the upper regions of the album chart.

    We were lucky enough to snare the Lady for an exclusive performance of "Just Dance" and "Love Game," the latter which we're premiering for you now. It's the brilliant track in which the Lady sings the immortal words, "Let's have some fun / This beat is sick / I wanna take a ride on your disco stick." Check it out below.

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    As you saw and heard by watching that clip, Lady Gaga has once again delivered all the elements for pure pop perfection. "Love Game" passes the old dance-club test with flying colors. It's got a good beat and you can dance to it,

    Read More »from Lady Gaga Wants To Ride Your Disco Stick, But Don’t Mess With Her Teacup!!!
  • Nina Persson Goes To A Camp

    Nina Persson is no newcomer. Beginning in the early '90s, the sweet-voice Swedish beauty fronted the Cardigans, a band probably best known for its 1996 hit "Lovefool," as well as for its drowsy take of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man." At the height of the Cardigans' success, Persson took a break from the band and launched A Camp, a band that lends itself to numerous "Who's on first"-type jokes, but I'll spare you from those. A Camp released its self-titled debut in 2001, but then disappeared. Now, I'm happy to report the band has resurfaced with a new album due on April 28.

    Originally, Persson started A Camp with Niclas Frisk and called upon Sparklehorse mastermind Mark Linkous to produce its self-titled effort. That album included such gems as "I Can Buy You," as well as the band's cover of the Replacements' "Rock 'N' Roll Ghost." Check out the video for the former track below.

    With its debut album, A Camp also created a dilemma for anal record collectors worldwide--should the band's

    Read More »from Nina Persson Goes To A Camp
  • There I was sitting in my TV room watching the cinematic masterpiece known as Baby Mamawhen I heard a song that caught my ear. I quickly sprung into action,grabbed my iPhone and used my handy-dandy Shazam app to identify thesong and the artist. Turns out the song in question was "Be Gently WithMe" by a band called The Boy Least Likely To. Check out the video below, which features Rashida Jones, the actress daughter of Quincy Jones, who stars alongside Amy Poehler in the new NBC sitcom Parks & Recreation. That's the same Amy Poehler that was in Baby Mama. Coincidence? Perhaps.

    Strangely enough, days after hearing that song in the movie I discovered that The Boy Least Likely To had a new album, The Law Of The Playground, which has since been released. Here's the clip for "A Balloon On A Broken String," a fine track from the new album.

    Formedin 2002, The Boy Least Likely To is a British duo comprisingsinger/lyricist Jof Owen and multi-instrumentalist/composer Pete Hobbs.In order to

    Read More »from Let’s Hear It For The Boy Least Likely To

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News for You

  • Germans blame euro zone crisis for Eurovision debacle

    BERLIN (Reuters) - Germans lamented their unexpectedly poor showing at the Eurovision Song Contest, blaming Chancellor Angela Merkel's tough stance in the euro zone crisis for their failure to win any points from 34 of the 39 countries voting. Denmark's Emmelie de Forest won the event, watched by around 125 million people across Europe, with 281 points while German act Cascada was 21st out of 26 countries, getting just 18 points from Austria, Israel, Spain, Albania and Switzerland. ...

  • OJ Simpson lawyers say he is closer to freedom

    LAS VEGAS (AP) — The latest high-stakes court hearing for O.J. Simpson in the glitzy capital of big gambles has come to a close with the former football star's defense team feeling confident that their client is closer to getting out of prison.

  • Dior presents cruise fashions amid stars in Monaco

    MONACO (AP) — The glittering star power of Cannes migrated up the coast to Monaco for front-row seats at Dior's colorful, sexy cruise fashion show.

  • 'Trek' does $70.6M but falls short of studio hopes

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — "Star Trek: Into Darkness" has warped its way to a $70.6 million domestic launch from Friday to Sunday, though it's not setting any light-speed records with a debut that's lower than the studio's expectations.

  • 'Star Trek' sequel tops weekend box office in North America

    By Lisa Richwine and Andrea Burzynski (Reuters) - "Star Trek Into Darkness," the newest installment in the classic intergalactic franchise, blasted to the top of movie box office charts with $70.6 million in weekend ticket sales at theaters in the United States and Canada. The new 3D voyage for Captain Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise knocked mighty "Iron Man 3" into second place, while the Marvel superhero sequel grabbed $35.2 million. Jazz Age drama "The Great Gatsby" finished third with $23.4 million, according to studio estimates. ...

  • Denmark's de Forest wins Eurovision song contest

    MALMO, Sweden (AP) — Denmark's Emmelie de Forest has won this year's Eurovision Song Contest with her ethno-inspired flute and drum tune "Only Teardrops," despite tough competition from spectacular stage shows by performers from Azerbaijan and Ukraine.

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