Archive for the ‘Music’ Category

By: Maria Ciezak
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Nothing else enhances my week quite like discovering free singles on iTunes. This week, it’s Swedish duo First Aid Kit, and their single Emmylou (off of their record Lion’s Roar). I am totally intrigued with this number. The single pays tribute to some of the girls’ favorite country musicians, including: Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, June Carter and Johnny Cash.

Two sisters with a robust love for folk, indie, country, and most of all, kick ass harmony. I recollect hearing of these girls when they did a stunning cover of The Fleet Foxes, resulting in a huge internet fan base. Maybe it’s me, but this tune puts me in a state of widespread calmness. Check it out.

By: Caitlin Hoffman
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

My favourite Canadian rock boys are back with a new single, and a new break onto the charts. Their latest splash in the sea, Am I Wasting My Life, is a throbbing, honest piece.

My Sister Ocean has injected me with musical morphine. Again.

This song is an affront on apathy; the listener is forced to reconsider, reevaluate. The vocals hit you like air-borne alcohol. From the tip of the drumsticks to the vibrating guitar, all resonates with a heavy dose of reality. The song makes me taste smoke. I see lonely roadways lit up with the eerie glow of streetlights. I hear a soul seeking clarification. It’s the purest beauty, and the most devastating pain.

Thus far, the single has hit #50 on the Canadian Active Rock Charts, a first for this budding talent. Let’s push them even higher up the scale.

[Related Post: Duo To Watch: My Sister Ocean]

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

I’ve been wanting to share this for awhile but never knew when the moment was right. Today feels right.

2 years or so ago, I asked a close friend about how he felt when Obama was elected and I remember his exact words because they moved me so much: “You know when you’re a kid and you’re told you can be anything you want to be when you grow up? Well, being black, I knew that was a lie because I could never be President. But then Obama showed up and he changed all that.”

Today we celebrate more than equality. We celebrate the freedom to choose.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

At less than a week old, Blue Ivy Carter is already making chart history, thanks to a slick feature on daddy Jay-Z’s Glory. (Some kids have all the luck.)

According to Billboard, Baby Blue (or B.I.C., as Beyonce/Jay-Z’s daughter is credited on the track) is the youngest person to ever land on the chart in history. The track is currently sitting at #74 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Since Blue Ivy was born late on Saturday, it is likely that she was only hours old when her voice was recorded for the song.

The heartfelt song about fatherhood was produced by Pharrell.

With references to Bey’s previous miscarriage and his own absent father, Jay-Z doesn’t hold back the heartbreak on the otherwise joyous tune.

Personally, I find this vulnerable side of Jay-Z to be completely refreshing!

Congrats to Beyonce and Jay-Z on the birth of their baby girl!

Get More: Music News

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

So, I just finished watching the new chick flick, New Year’s Eve, and it was super cute. Judge me all you want, I really don’t care. Talk to the hand cuzthafacedontgiveadamn!

Anyways, the reason I am posting this is because during the opening credits, I almost exploded with excitement to hear Ian Axel being played. Yup, I had one of those loose cannon popcorn moments.

Ian was the first artist I interviewed on this blog. His music is incredibly genuine and honest and it just warms my heart to know his fro is rising to new levels. I knew the minute that I first stumbled upon Ian that he was destined for baller status.

Support Ian Axel.

Support quality indie artists.

Support us, dammit. No, really. Get a tattoo or something.

[Related Post: In-Sight Dance Company's Original Ballet Feat. The Music Of Ian Axel]

By: Maria Ciezak
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

In the words on my homeboy Albert Einstein, “Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler.” One of my favorite bands on the planet, The Shins, have released Simple Song, the leadoff single taken from their upcoming fourth studio album Port of Morrow, expected to be released on March 20th. This is the first record to be released from frontman Mercer’s own record label, Aural Apothecary, after parting ways with longtime label Sub Pop in 2008.

While mastermind James Mercer has had some Shins downtime since their 2007 release, he earned himself a Grammy nod as half of BTB favorite Broken Bells. Time well spent, my friend. In distinctive Mercer fashion, he wrote all of the songs on Port of Morrow, sang every vocal, and played almost all of the instruments (assisted by previous Shins members Dave Hernandez and Marty Crandal, who are no longer featured in the touring aspect of the band).

Simple Song is the picture-perfect choice for a leadoff single, for it is effortlessly understood. With its intricate modern spin, you cannot go wrong with this one. There is such a sweetness to this track; that gentile sweetness with melodious quality than can be found on 2001’s Oh, Inverted World through to their last release, 2007’s Wincing the Night Away. That being said, it’s doesn’t personify a newfangled course or style for the Shins, but after Mercer’s Broken Bells experimentation with Danger Mouse (as well as his backup vocal turns for Modest Mouse), it’s pleasant to hear James in the vanguard musically once again (in addition you can somewhat hear some Bells influence in there — with Mercer’s charming cry — linking piano, flute, soaring choral voices, and one gnarly guitar line). After a five year hiatus, this is what every Shins fan has been waiting for.

All one can do now is put this single on repeat until March 20th.

It’s that simple.

By: Caitlin Hoffman
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Who’s ready to get their party on? Don’t fret if you’re new on the club scene. Blood On the Dance Floor has all the equipment necessary for a bring-the-house-down bash. They are a yummy mix of emo pop and dubstep. Yes, they mostly channel pure cheek and trance melodies. You may not be able to listen to them lest you’re raving it up or partaking in substances that we’ll leave unnamed. They’ve got enough songs to last the night, and then some.

I will always be a sucker for bands that deliver heavy messages in their tunes. But in these troubling times, escapism is a valid element as well. We will always need songs that help us smile and get up and dance, especially on those low days.

It surprises me that they’re not signed yet.

Their fashion sense is chic, unique, and screams counter culture. They definitely have room to grow, but what band doesn’t?

Blood On the Dance Floor is recruiting. Bring your own glow sticks.

I leave you with my favourite song of theirs, Find Your Way. It delivers a serious message in between razzle-dazzle instrumentals. They talk on gay rights, how messed up the world is, and how each individual has the power to fix things.

By: Maria Ciezak
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Happy 2012; I hope you all had a magic New Year’s Eve, filled with champagne wishes and caviar dreams. I am never one to look back, but sometimes we need to reflect on the positive things in life; things like music. Way back when in 2011, some fortunate Chicago music buffs got to spend the night with one of my favorite groups, Cage the Elephant (the band also spent their New Year’s in the same town, only this time playing with friends at Aragon Ballroom). Now, if you have never seen this band live, please do yourself a favor and stop what you are doing to look up some tour dates; it is worth every penny. Then, please proceed so I can give you what you need.

I have heard time after time from several friends that Cage tore down The Vic in Chicago with one of their best performances to date. As I sat in utter jealousy crying the blues wishing I had taken some vacation time and been on site, it then took me by pleasant surprise that the band released the entire show, not only on DVD, but on iTunes as well. Happy New Year to me? I think so!

The energy of Cage the Elephant is like nothing out in the modern concert scene. Song by song on the DVD takes you closer and closer, making you feel not only as if you are front and center, but like you are surfing along the waves of the crowd. Nineteen tracks of pure adrenaline and head bobbing is a great way to start off the new year if you ask me. They were even nice enough to release their performance of Aberdeen (one of the many numbers from their Live From The Vic In Chicago DVD) to help convince us even more to own it.

Do yourself a favor in 2012; make it out to a live Cage the Elephant show. But in the meantime, purchase the band’s Live From The Vic In Chicago on iTunes for your ears, and the live DVD set for your eyes. In fact, do all three. Enjoy!

Cage The Elephant – Aberdeen (Live) – Music – More Music Videos

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

This is my jam!!!

Before B.o.B exploded all over radio, back in the early mixtape days, the rapper drew comparisons to hip hop prodigy Andre 3000 — and finally, on B.o.B’s latest single, Play the Guitar, you can hear the two forces collide.

Sampling Bob Marley’s 1973 classic I Shot the Sheriff and T.I.’s verse on Drake’s Fancy, the rambunctious track (produced by Salaam Remi) is pure gold. The song was recently released on iTunes and is the next single off of Bobby Ray’s upcoming Strange Clouds LP.

And to finalize the glory of this tune, while keeping it brief: 3000 got a big ol’ rap d*ck. (Listen to the song, people. Only then will this make sense!)

Play. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Fresh interview + official audio following.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

“My New Year’s resolution was to stop saying “you go, girl” to myself.”

-Zach Galifianakis

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Lesson of the day, cumquats!

Fact: This is how Lana Del Rey got her name.

Lana Turner + Ford Del Rey. Very hipster-y, of course.

That’s it, kids. See, learn something new every damn day if you read BTB!

[Related Post: Brooklyn Is The Bee's Knees, Obvi]

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Today marks BTB’s thousandth (yes, thousandth!) post! So to celebrate, I thought it felt necessary to post something that would mesh with what inspired the site’s creation to begin with, and that is shining the spotlight on quality independent artists.

Also, since it’s a mini celebration, it kinda helps when there’s free music involved…

Sexy Jersey pop prodigy, KDrew, has dropped his Free Volume 2 EP for FREE mp3 download. The second of seven consecutive self-produced EP’s, Free Volumes 1-7 presents KDrew’s swagger as singer/songwriter, producer, and performer.

He will be releasing five more EP’s on the first of each month through May 1st of 2012.

His music is like Pringles… once you pop! Lame description but whatevs.

Freakin’ love some KDrew!

Oh yeah, check out my exclusive interview with the dude himself, HERE.

KDrew Free EP Vol. 1&2 by KDrewMusic

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Welcome back, kiddo.

“It really is a dream job, and it’s really cool. I do stop and keep it all in perspective. This is pop music, and it’s not f*cking brain surgery. I mean, some of it’s serious…but some of it’s just really fun dance music. And I’m wearing eight pounds of makeup because I f*cking want to. Why not?”

–Adam Lambert

By: Maria Ciezak
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

I’ve been scoping out some fresh talent these days and pleasingly landed on a British dynamic duo (Jeremy and Elizabeth) called Summer Camp. Their album Welcome to Condale was released in November and has received great reviews as one of the best albums of the year in many musical publications. It’s got that glow sound of the ’80s, all while keeping it current and fresh at the same time.

Check out one of the many attractive tracks off of this release, called Down. The video is just as cool as the jam!

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Last night on the subway, I sat across from an elderly homeless woman who spoke only Spanish. She had on flip flops with old socks, a thin dirty dress and several t-shirts with holes. Her legs were something awful because of the cold and living conditions she’s had to endure. Every other stop she would raise her head from slumber to ask for pesos. It actually made me tear up. I guess because seeing this really put Christmas into perspective. Everyone around her was so busy with their shopping bags and iPods and comfortable lives.

This is just a note to remind you that the magic of Christmas has nothing to do with wrapping paper or bows. And the next time you complain when you get a pack of socks for Christmas, remember that some would consider that gold.

(BTW, beware… cuteness coma ahead!)

[Related Post: It's Time We Shift Our Focus]