Posted by Alexandra Green on May 13, 2019 · Leave a Comment
“But I think the most controversial thing I have ever done is to stick around.”
This was the Madonna that was launched upon an unsuspecting world in 1982. Her characteristic look – a melange of second-hand threads, dyed hair, often with a hat perched on top – accompanied a raft of dance pop songs (Everybody, Lucky Star, Holiday) that quietly revolutionised pop music for the next decade. There were hints, too, of something more underground. Madonna, by then 24, had spent the last few years dancing in clubs like New York’s Fun House – in the images shot for her self-titled debut, there’s a chain around her neck. Even amid the pop fluff, there’s a hint of the magpie Madonna.
Prancing around a red velvet set nicked straight out of Marilyn Monroe’s ‘Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend’ Madonna – complete with shimmering diamond jewellery and an entourage of adoring men – is lavished with gifts and attention in one of her best known videos. Parodying the superficiality of fame, Madge might coyly declare that she’s a ‘Material Girl’ over a Nile Rodgers-produced beat, but this isn’t a superficial song about being wooed by expensive gestures and cash-grabbing from hapless men. Instead, Madonna’s singing about mastering the rules of our greedy society, playing its lead culprits at their own game, and ensuring that she gets every single penny she’s owed.“Experience has made me rich, and now they’re after me,” she sings sweetly. “I don’t let them play, no way,” she warns elsewhere.
With its house and disco beats, Madonna’s “Vogue” from her I’m Breathless (1990) album became one of the biggest hits of her career. In addition to the music, the track’s lyrics also gave way to nostalgia, harkening back to the Golden Age of Hollywood as evident in Madonna’s spoken rap section in the bridge where she name-drops a bevy of cultural icons:
Greta Garbo, and Monroe
Dietrich and DiMaggio
Marlon Brando, Jimmy Dean
On the cover of a magazine
Grace Kelly; Harlow, Jean
Picture of a beauty queen
Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire
Ginger Rogers, dance on air
They had style, they had grace
Rita Hayworth gave good face
Lauren, Katherine, Lana too
Bette Davis, we love you
Ladies with an attitude
Fellows that were in the mood
Don’t just stand there, let’s get to it
Strike a pose, there’s nothing to it
Vogue, vogue
Posted by Alexandra Green on May 13, 2019 · Leave a Comment
“Designing a line like this with LVMH is an incredibly special moment for us.”
Rihanna has officially confirmed she is launching her own fashion label with LVMH, with the same name as her popular beauty line, Fenty.
She will become the first woman of colour to lead a house under the LVMH brand, and the first woman to create an original brand for the group.
The 31-year-old singer has partnered with LVMH to create a new luxury fashion line called Fenty. The label will include shoes, accessories and ready-to-wear and is expected to debut in the spring of 2019.
The new Fenty label will be based in Paris.
Posted by Alexandra Green on May 13, 2019 · Leave a Comment
“They had played small shows before but this was the first gig I’d seen where they were not only going to play in front of their parents but also, possibly more importantly, their friends. They may have also been slightly nervous knowing that I was there.”
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Early in Maroon 5’s career, the Los Angeles band played a version of itself on the 8th season of television’s “Beverly Hills 90210” in an episode that aired in September of 1997. The group went by the name Kara’s Flowers at the time, a high school band struggling to make it in actual reality but seemingly loved within the safe confines of a fictional TV venue. Nearly 22 years later, Maroon 5 performed at the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show to a global audience of many millions. On Sunday, as on the set of “Beverly Hills,” a built-in crowd placed in front of the stage cheered the band on, blurring the line between real fan and paid actor.
While most reviewers panned the halftime show as boring, it works as a symbol of Adam Levine and company’s unlikely career arc
The artists who took the field before the kickoff of the slog of a game between the Patriots and the Rams fared much better. Atlanta’s Chloe x Halle delivered a mellifluous duet arrangement of “America the Beautiful”; and the 74-year-old Gladys Knight, aptly introduced as “the Empress of Soul,” brought her trademark smooth power to the National Anthem. (Pitchfork)
Then there were the ads. Cardi B and Lil Jon lit up a diner to shill Pepsi; Chance the Rapper added some flair to the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way” (for Doritos); Levine and John Legend went on diaper duty for Pampers; and Bob Dylan’s music showed up twice. There was the Budweiser ad featuring windmills and “Blowin’ in the Wind,” and then there was the Stella Artois clip that featured both Sarah Jessica Parker in character as Carrie from Sex and the City, joined by Jeff Bridges as the Dude from The Big Lebowskias that movie’s opening song, “The Man in Me,” played in the background. (Billboard)
Category: Music, News · Tags: Maroon5, music, music news, news, super bowl, The Beatles
Posted by Alexandra Green on May 10, 2019 · Leave a Comment
“She created an entire world to encompass the music that she’s put out over the last two decades of her career. “
Beyonce fans staying awake to catch her documentary drop on Netflix, “Homecoming: A Film by Beyonce,” were gifted another treat in the form of a huge live album.
Released at midnight, Queen Bey dropped the 40-track album with no advance warning. The majority of “Homecoming: The Live Album” takes fans track by track through her instantly iconic Coachella performance from last year, which quickly become the most-viewed live music festival performance ever on YouTube, per TMZ.
The new album features the original instrumentations used for the show—which, as Beyoncé explains during her new documentary, looked to honor Black culture and included a Black marching band orchestra as an ode to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In total, fans can now listen to 40 tracks from the show, for a total of one hour and 49 minutes. The record also features a cover of Frankie Beverly & Maze’s “Before I Let Go,” a 1981 track that’s become a staple at Black family events and gatherings, yet another nod to Black culture that’s resulted from Homecoming.
The artist absolutely dominated the scene a year ago when she became the first black woman to headline the festival. Her performances took over the social media conversation for two weeks and fans have been clamoring for more ever since.
Now, they get to not only enjoy Beyonce’s documentary treatment of her groundbreaking performance, but they can relive it at any time through the massive album release the singer announced herself via Twitter.
The album is available for purchase via iTune, or streaming on multiple platforms including Tidal, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube Music. Bey was even kind enough to provide all the links on her official website, along with samples of all 40 tracks.
Check out the full track list below:
Posted by Alexandra Green on May 10, 2019 · Leave a Comment
Timberlake also teased the idea of a possible group name for the duo called “Ballin’ Oats.” Paak replied in the comments, “COMIN THRU WT THE HARMONIES!”
Anderson .Paak may be fresh off dropping two albums in five months, but he’s not resting just yet.
The Aftermath artist took to his Instagram story last night to post a video of him in the studio with Justin Timberlake. Considering JT has been working with Timbaland recently, there’s a chance a collaboration could end up on his upcoming album.
Check out the clip below.
Having just released his Ventura record last month, Anderson .Paak is already back in the studio, this time with Justin Timberlake.
Timberlake shared a snap of the two of them, captioned, “New group. Ballin’ Oats.”
Paak — who recently released his Ventura album — also put up footage from the studio on his Instagram story featuring the pair grooving to some tunes. We still don’t know for sure if any of the music they created will be let out of the vault at some point. Either way, fans’ mouths are watering at the idea of a potential collaboration. “If they collab, I’ll die. Good bye,” IG user @JZTNKid wrote.
Check out some clips of Justin Timberlake and Anderson .Paak in the studio below.
Category: Music, News · Tags: collaborative, Justin Timberlake, music, news, paak
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