Playlist

Bonnaroo 2010 lineup announced

2010-02-09T20:56:47Z

Bonnaroo's 2010 lineup was announced today... actually, it's still being announced right now at their MySpace page. Check it out.

Get tickets here for the June 10 - 13 festival.

So far, the lineup includes...

]]> The Avett Brothers
The Flaming Lips with Stardeath and White Dwarfs perform "Dark Side of the Moon"
Weezer
Medeski Martin and Wood
John Fogerty
Cross Canadian Ragweed
Ingrid Michaelson
Phoenix
The xx
Regina Spektor
Mayer Hawthorne & the County
Wale
Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers
Norah Jones
Bassnectar
OK Go
Monte Montgomery
Jay-Z
Punch Brothers
Thievery Corporation
GWAR
She & Him
Jimmy Cliff
Tokyo Police Club
Kid Cudi
Japandroids
Dr. Dog

Online: 'Almost Alice' streaming at Disney.go.com

2010-02-09T16:00:00Z

The trailers for Disney and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland don't have me hooked yet. (Seriously... another Tim Burton directed fantasy film with dark undertones and an "out-there" performance from Johnny Depp? Yawn.)

I'm much more excited for the companion album that will accompany Danny Elfman's score for the film. The album's called Almost Alice and will be released March 2. Disney seems to have taken a page out of the Twilight playbook and compiled an eclectic soundtrack full of indie or lesser known acts.

Disney's site is streaming the entire lead track from the disc, an Avril Lavigne song called "Alice." The site also offers previews of the other tracks from the likes of Owl City, Shinedown, Metro Station, Tokio Hotel and Kerli, The All-American Rejects, 3OH!3, All Time Low, Robert Smith, Mark Hoppus and Pete Wentz, Plain White T's, Franz Ferdinand, Motion City Soundtrack, and Wolfmother.

The songs from Wolfmother, Motion City Soundtrack and Owl City are already my favorites. Listen to the previews here.

Who should perform at next year's Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium?

2010-02-08T16:25:08Z

Now that the Super Bowl is over and gone, North Texas can turn its attention to next year. Who should perform during halftime at the Super Bowl in Cowboys Stadium? Should it be a younger, more relevant act like some of the recent Grammy winners? Or should it be a group of seasoned veterans, like last night's performers, The Who? Maybe we should give Janet Jackson another chance. Sound off in the comments section!

We were there: David Cassidy and Davy Jones at Nokia

2010-02-07T06:32:17Z

I did not "come on, get happy," at Nokia Theatre on Saturday night. Nor did I wake up in love this evening. If you're a Partridge Family fan who attended the David Cassidy concert, I suspect you feel the same; Cassidy did plenty from the PF catalog, but at least half the songs were with new arrangements that did nothing for them. Do I really want to hear a disco-ized version of "I'll Meet You Halfway" or a jazzy "C'mon Get Happy"? I do not. All was almost -- but not completely -- forgiven at the end, with a mostly traditional "I Woke Up in Love This Morning."

Honestly, I understand Cassidy and other pop stars wanting to move beyond the 60s or 70s or whenever their heydey was ... but I also think you should respect the audience that's paying $50 or $70 to see you. During Saturday's concert, Cassidy kept telling the crowd how much he loves and adores them and how we got him there, etc., but he also kept going on about how he doesn't rehearse. No kidding. I would think that if everyone in the audience knows the lyrics to "Point Me in the Direction of Albuquerque," the guy who made it a hit could be bothered to remember them. And it's really, really bad form to proclaim that seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan changed your life, and how John Lennon has made "more of a difference than any other human being in the world" (really?) and then not be able to get through "In My Life" without flubs. Cassidy had a number of sound problems, including a dead electric guitar, but we could have forgiven that. It happens. It was his willful, downright boastful lack of personal preparation that grated.

On the up side, Cassidy's voice was in fine form, and he's still got the sexy moves. Ditto Davy Jones of the Monkees, who seemed more genuine in his appreciation of the fans, and never once forgot his lyrics. Nor did he mess with the arrangements of treasured Monkees classics like "I'm a Believer" and "Daydream Believer." Jones was billed as an opening act, but he sang just as long as Cassidy did, and delivered more of what the audience craved.

Check here Sunday evening for our full review.

PHOTO of David Cassidy: Bobby Bank/WireImage

"Music's lost decade:" A tale of declining sales

2010-02-03T17:25:30Z

CNN Money has a story on "Music's lost decade: sales cut in half" that claims the music industry is only worth half of what it was 10 years ago.

That's not exactly big news - the ability to get music for free online was basically the death of how the recording industry had been used to operating.

What about you? Do you still buy CDs from a music store or big box chain?

Online: Jonathan Coulton

2010-02-02T20:02:02Z

I first heard Jonathan Coulton on the G4 8-bit animated series Code Monkeys - his song of the same name was the theme song. That led me to his "Thing A Week" project, in which he released a new song every week for a year in 2005/06.

Coulton will be playing at the Granada this Thursday - check him out!

On a completely unrelated note, and because it's Tuesday, here's your free music for the day: a cover of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" by New York singer/songwriter Zack Borer. Enjoy!

Alicia Keys, Shakira and Usher to perform at the 2010 NBA All-Star Game

2010-02-02T14:00:00Z

The musical star wattage will be high during the NBA All-Star Game on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. Basketball fans will be treated to performances by Alicia Keys, Shakira and Usher. Keys headlines the half-time show with three songs - "No One" from 2007's As I Am, as well as "Empire State of Mind" and "Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart," both from her latest CD, The Element of Freedom.

Colombia's Shakira takes the stage to perform "Give It Up to Me" and "She Wolf," two tracks from her new disc, She Wolf.

Finally, Usher treats the crowd to "More," his new single, during the intros of the 2010 NBA All-Stars. He'll also sing "Yeah!" from 2004's mega-hit album, Confessions. By the way, TNT filmed a music video for Usher's "More" currently running in 600 Regal Cinemas. It also serves as a promo clip for the 2010 NBA All-Star.

The 59th NBA All-Star Game is expected to draw more than 80,000 people, which is being touted as "the largest group ever to witness a live basketball game." The game will be televised on TNT.

For more information, visit the NBA website.

Photo: Keys performs during a show last month in Spain (JAVIER SORIANO/AFP/Getty Images).

Five local bands compete for a spot on the Wakarusa Music Festival

2010-02-02T00:23:20Z

Five local bands - Fatty Lumpkin , Dirty Little Mouth, 2 Dollar Sound, Shuttle and Bronze Whaler - compete for a chance to play the upcoming Wakarusa Music Festival, which will be held in June at Mulberry Mountain in Ozark, Arkansas. The showdown takes place Saturday at Poor David's Pub, 1313 S. Lamar St. The music starts at 8:30 p.m. and each band has 40 minutes onstage time. Cover charge is $5. For more info, call 214-565-1295 or go to www.poordavidspub.com.

The Poor David's Pub event is part of the Waka Winter Classic tour. That tour travels to 21 different cities for similar battle of the band competitions with five local groups in the running. The winner of each city gets an automatic slot in the festival.

Photo: Dirty Little Mouth in action (Mike Brooks Photography).

Grammys 2010 wrap-up

2010-02-01T05:35:19Z

It was a veritable ladies' night as Taylor Swift took home the award for Album of the Year while Beyonce picked up a record-breaking six Grammy awards. Read Mario Tarradell's story on Sunday's Grammys.

Relive the Grammys by reading our official live-chat | Read our fashion writers' views on the red carpet looks | neighborsgo's Collin Quick provides Grammys commentary | Official Grammys Web site | Latest Grammy Awards headlines | A list of Grammy nominees and winners

We were there: Tom Jones at the Meyerson

2010-02-01T05:33:34Z

Tom Jones was feisty as ever Sunday night at the Meyerson, performing a two-hour show before a full house that left him drenched in sweat and any number of the women in the audience likewise. It seems that when Tom Jones is involved, normally circumspect (well, one assumes) Dallas women are more than willing to relinquish dignity for the cause. Yes, many lacy bits of underwear were tossed onstage. Yes, more than one declaration of love was shouted. And Jones took it all in stride, at one point bemusedly talking about his age (He'll be 70 in June! Yes, 70!) as if daring anyone in the audience to challenge his sex-symbol creds. No worries on that one when you're in Dallas, Tom.

PHOTO by Nathan Hunsinger/Staff Photographer

]]> Jones sang a handful of songs from his latest CD, 2008's 24 Hours, including the show-opening rocker "Sugar Daddy," written by Bono. The audience seemed to crave the old hits, though, doing that back-and-forth arm-wave thing to "Delilah" and finally coming to its feet for "What's New Pussycat," more than halfway through the concert. Jones' versions of Joe Cocker's sultry "You Can Leave Your Hat On" and Prince's "Kiss" were also crowd favorites.

The music was great throughout -- Jones' gorgeous, rich baritone has just gotten better with the years, and his 10-piece backup band was superb. The lighting was odd at times -- one rock number was supplemented with lighting effects showing yellow, purple and gold pill-shaped thingies that reminded me of bacteria in a petri dish.

One thing: PLEASE, PLEASE, Meyerson management: Enough with the cellphone/camera Nazis. There was no "no photos" announcement, nothing on the tickets, and folks were taking a few innocent snaps. It wasn't like people were balancing on their partners' shoulders trying to get a Rolling Stone cover shot, for heaven's sake. But every time someone pointed a cellphone, an usher would run down the aisle, gesturing wildly in that oh-so-friendly throat-slashing "don't do that" motion. By song No. 10, two ushers on the left side of the house had been up and down the aisle at least 15 times, which was a LOT more distracting than the picture-takers themselves.

Here's an idea for all venues, not just the Meyerson: If you don't want people taking photos, make it clear from the outset. Print it on the tickets, put it on a sign at all the doors, make an announcement immediately before the show when most everyone is in their seats. Threaten to confiscate the cellphone/camera of any disobedient audience members, and then have the guts to do just that. People will figure it out and cease their snapping, leaving the rest of us to enjoy the show without ushers interrupting our view. If that's too much trouble for the venues, just accept that EVERYONE has cameras on their cellphones nowadays, and live with it. You absolutely CANNOT stop people from taking pictures; you can only tick off the ones you happen to catch. (Oddly, people in the choir loft Sunday night snapped away unimpeded, with their flashbulbs going off in our eyes. I'm sure that went over well with the people who got verbally smacked by the ushers downstairs.)

Relive the Grammys: Read Sunday's chat

2010-01-29T20:59:50Z

Relive the Grammy Awards with music critic Mario Tarradell, Dawn Burkes, Erika Nunez and Anthony Williams. Read our live chat from Sunday night and post comments with your thoughts on the awards.

Grammy Awards 2010

We've compiled a list of nominees and winners, too.

Grammy poll results are in!

2010-01-29T20:43:54Z

We've been conducting our Grammy poll all month to see who our readers think deserve Grammys. And boy, do you guys like Taylor Swift! (The results of the poll are after the jump.)

Do you think Swift will sweep at the Grammys on Sunday night? Join Mario Tarradell and other DMN staffers during the show right here on the Playlist blog as we chat live during the Grammys.

]]> Record of the Year

Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me

Album of the Year

Lady Gaga -- The Fame and Taylor Swift -- Fearless (tie)

Best New Artist

Zac Brown Band

Best Male Pop Performance

Jason Mraz -- Make It Mine and Maxwell -- Love You (tie)

Best Female Pop Performance

Pink -- Sober

Best Dance Recording

Lady Gaga -- Poker Face and The Black Eyed Peas -- Boom Boom Pow (tie)

Best Rock Song

Green Day -- 21 Guns, Kings of Leon -- Use Somebody, U2 -- I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (tie)

Best R&B Song

Beyonce -- Single Ladies

Best Rap Song

Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West -- Run This Town

Best Country Song

Taylor Swift -- White Horse

Online: New Joanna Newsom, "81"

2010-01-26T19:34:39Z

Looking to chill in the middle of the week? A new song from Joanna Newsom is streaming at Drag City and Stereogum.

It's got an almost off-puttingly peaceful sound that's somewhere between New Age and medieval. Her next album is a three CD set that's due Feb. 23, so I don't know if this taste is enough to make me want that much more. (But then, I don't know if many artists could keep me entertained for three CDs.) Still, I appreciate the harp skills going on here.

Rock band Scorpions bids farewell with album and tour

2010-01-26T17:28:24Z

For veteran rock band Scorpions, the end of an era is near. The March 23 release of Sting In the Tail (Universal Music Enterprises) will be the German group's newly recorded swan song. The release of the record will be followed by a three-year farewell tour that will take them across five continents.

This from longtime Scorpions leader Klaus Meine: "While we were working on our album these past few months, we could literally feel how powerful and creative our work was - and how much fun we were still having, in the process," he said on the band's website. "We want to end the Scorpion's extraordinary career on a high note. We are extremely gracious for the fact that we still have the same passion for music we've always had since the beginning."

The beginning was more than 40 years ago, with more than 100 million albums sold during that time. Scorpions are, of course, best known for the piercing 1984 anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and the sweeping 1991 power ballad "Wind of Change." The goodbye tour launches in May in Germany and continues through 2012.

Photo: Scorpions at the Echo Awards in Germany last February (Michael Sohn).

Grammys: Record, Album of the Year

2010-01-26T15:00:00Z

The Grammy Awards will be held on Jan. 31. We've been keeping the nominees fresh in your mind with our Grammy nominees series in which I discussed a Grammy category each Tuesday leading up to the big show. This week: Record of the Year and Album of the Year.

Knowledge is power: Record of the Year is awarded for a single or for one track from an album. This award goes to the performing artist, the producer, recording engineer, and/or mixer for that song. Album of the Year is awarded for a whole album, and the award is presented to the artist, producer, recording engineer, and mastering engineer for that album.

The nominees for Record of the Year are Beyonce's "Halo," The Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling," Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody," Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" and Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me." (Listen to these songs on GuideLive's Blip.fm channel.)

The nominees for Album of the Year are Beyonce's I Am... Sasha Fierce, The Black Eyed Peas' The E.N.D., Lady Gaga's The Fame, Dave Matthews Band's Big Whiskey And The GrooGrux King and Taylor Swift's Fearless.

]]> Just looking at the list of nominees for Record of the Year makes me think they should have renamed the category "Top 40 Hit of the Year." Are we really supposed to believe that these radio hits were the absolute best songs this year? Sure, they're popular for a reason, but still... the lack of diversity is kinda lame.

So let's operate on the assumption that whichever song wins is the song that kind of defined 2009. "I Gotta Feeling" was definitely THE party song of '09, while "Use Somebody" was probably the most played rock anthem of the angsty variety we've had in some time.

Beyonce's "Single Ladies" seems like a more logical nomination than "Halo" - one went viral, one didn't. But her performance on "Halo" is certainly impressive. But in terms of limelight, Taylor Swift got much more attention for being young, squeaky clean and for (gasp) writing her own songs! (The Kanye thing didn't hurt either.) Swift and Knowles are leading the race in terms of number of nominations... but I think the real record of the year was "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga. "Poker Face" was the song that launched Lady Gaga's career and we haven't stopped hearing about her since. If she were eligible for Best New Artist, she'd win that, too.

As for Album of the Year, if we go on the same criteria, Dave Matthews Band's album is almost immediately out of the running just for being unexpected and relatively unplayed.

As an album, Sasha Fierce might be too old (It feels like its been out for two years already) and as an artist, Taylor Swift might be too young with Fearless. (I'm excited about her future endeavors.) The contest is likely between The Fame and The E.N.D. How interesting.

Who do you think should win the Grammy for Record of the Year and Album of the Year? Leave your comments below - and keep it friendly, people! And don't forget to vote for your favorite Grammy nominees in our poll - I'll announce the results before the Jan. 31 show.