Category Archives: News

A Fine Frenzy Transports People To A Beautiful Place With Art

Posted on November 14, 2012 by popdirt
A Fine Frenzy with her dog

A Fine Frenzy singer Alison Sudol spoke with Yoga Journal about practicing yoga since she was 15 and how she wanted to build her life around things that made her happy, advice given to the singer songwriter by “very wise people” in her life. The 27-year-old said, “I realized I wanted to make art that would transport people to some beautiful place and that would allow them to feel safe enough to connect.”

Sudol added that writing tracks from her latest album ‘Pines’ “really helped me work through what was blocking my being present.” Alison said she uses yoga as a reinforcement for things she’s learned and to stay connected.

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Tom Fletcher: I Would Never Give One Direction Sh** Songs

Posted on November 12, 2012 by popdirt
One Direction (Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson) live

Tom Fletcher of McFly checked in with his Twitter followers (@tommcfly) moments ago, clarifying a story that was in Metro suggesting that he wrote substandard material for the boys from One Direction.

“It’s hard when you’re writing for someone else. You obviously always want to do your best work but sometimes you write and have a song idea and you’re like, ‘Oh, it’s so good I want to keep it for us’,” Fletcher told the publication, at which point his bandmate Danny Jones jokingly added, “‘You sent that slightly sh**ter one, didn’t ya?”

In response to the story, which apparently got him some heat from fans of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson on the social media web site, Tom said:

So, the stuff in the press today about us giving One Direction our “sh**” songs is obviously completely false.

What Danny said was obviously a joke. We would never, NEVER, give anyone “sh**” songs and as I clearly say in the interview…

“You obviously always want to do your best work”. In fact all 3 songs I’ve written for 1D are some of my favorites I’ve EVER written and…

I genuinely would have kept them for McFly but I have never, and will never give anyone second rate songs.

How would that ever be good for me as a song writer?

And the most important point of all is… I’ve never written a sh** song ;)

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Skylar Grey’s Debut Album To Be Produced By Eminem

Posted on November 3, 2012 by popdirt
Skylar Grey close-up

Eminem has signed on be the executive producer of Skylar Grey’s debut album. Slim also hopped on the album’s first single, ‘C’mon Let Me Ride’. The Alex Da Kid produced track is mixed by both Eminem and Alex and will be released to digitally on December 11th. Grey’s debut album is currently titled ‘Don’t Look Down’ and is set for a Spring 2013 release on KIDinaKORNER/Interscope.

“When I was working on ‘Recovery’ I was introduced to Skylar by Alex Da Kid and I was blown away with her talent as both a songwriter and vocalist,” Eminem said in a press release. “This album is really going to give her a chance to connect with the fans who probably know her music, but might not know her yet. I think they will be as impressed as I am.”

The artist who formerly was known professionally as her given name Holly Brook said, “Putting out a debut album is a bit scary - I want it to be just right so I took some extra time to finish it. Eminem’s increased involvement has been such a blessing; I’m getting guidance from an artist I really admire and trust. Having written many new songs, the album has become a completely different animal, hence the title change. This new single with Em, in particular, is very exciting. We have worked on so many serious songs together - it’s a nice change of pace to do something fun and sarcastic.”

The ‘C’mon Let Me Ride’ music video, featuring Eminem, was shot last week in Detroit and will also be released with the single on December 11th.

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Adam Levine: Christina Aguilera’s Weight Is No One’s Business

Posted on October 31, 2012 by popdirt
Christina Aguilera talks about Secret Potion

Adam Levine is coming to the defense of his fellow judge and mentor on ‘The Voice’, Christina Aguilera. The Maroon 5 singer told reporters that despite the show playing up a feud between the two, they are anything but enemies and he’ll stick up for the ‘Your Body’ singer, especially when the attacks are about her weight.

“The one thing about the culture right now, celebrity culture particularly, is people feel like they can just say nasty things about other people whether it’s Christina or whether it’s me,” said Levine. “She gets a lot and it pisses me off. Of course I have her back and of course I defend her.”

Adam says that people who go after Aguilera about being a bit larger than the Hollywood prototype are engaged in bullying. “It’s not cool, the 33-year-old said. “I’ve never liked it. I think it’s horrible and I’ll totally defend her when people say things like that because it’s no one’s business.”

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Bjork Releasing ‘Biophilia’ Remix Album ‘bastards’ November 19th

Posted on October 27, 2012 by popdirt
Bjork 'bastards' album cover artwork

Bjork is set to release her third remix album ‘bastards’ on November 19th via Little Indian. The 13 tracks are remixed from the Icelandic artist’s ‘Biophilia’ album and includes some of the remixes released in an eight-part series earlier this year, which were selected by Bjork and remastered for the album by Grammy nominee Mandy Parnell. ‘bastards’ includes collaborations with artists and producers chosen by Bjork for this project, including Death Grips, Current Value, Alva Noto, Hudson Mohawke, Matthew Herbert, 16-bit, These New Puritans, Omar Souleyman, and The Slips.

“I felt it important to gather together the essence of the remixes,” Bjork remarked about the project, “so I picked a quarter of them for one CD for people who are perhaps not too sassy downloaders or don’t have the time or energy to partake in the hunter-gathering rituals of the internet. I was incredibly impressed by how the core of the mixes took ‘Biophilia’ somewhere else while still keeping its character, and like they so often do when at their best: the remixes gave the songs more beats; legs to dance on! I spent some time editing together not necessarily the best ones but the ones that made the strongest whole.”

Both the original ‘Biophilia’ and ‘bastards’ will be available on 12″ vinyl as well as CD and digital download.

‘bastards’ Track Listing
1. Crystalline (Omar Souleyman Remix)
2. Virus (Hudson Mohawke “Peaches and Guacamol” Rework)
3. Sacrifice (Death Grips Remix)
4. Sacrifice ((Matthew Herbert’s Pins And Needles Mix) edit)
5. Mutual Core (These New Puritans Remix featuring Soloman Is. Song)
6. Hollow (16-bit Remix)
7. Mutual Core (Matthew Herbert’s “Teutonic Plates” Mix)
8. Thunderbolt (Death Grips Remix)
9. Dark Matter (Alva Noto Remodel)
10. Thunderbolt (Omar Souleyman Remix)
11. Solstice (Current Value Remix)
12. Moon (The Slips Remix)
13. Crystalline (Matthew Herbert Remix)

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Selena Gomez Has UNICEF & ‘Hotel Transylvania’ Themed Twitter Chat

Posted on October 13, 2012 by popdirt

Selena Gomez with her hand on her faceSelena Gomez took the time to answer several fan questions posted her way at Twitter (@selenagomez) a few weeks ago focused on UNICEF, as she’s an ambassador for the children’s rights organization, and ‘Hotel Transylvania’, the computer-animated comedy film where Gomez voices the role of Dracula’s 118 year old “teenage” daughter Mavis.

Among the questions and answers:

@LoveSwiftGomez: Who was your childhood hero and who is your hero now?
Selena: My inspirations when I was a kid were Hilary Duff and Britney Spears and of course my Mom then and now.

@CityOfSelena: What’s your favorite thing about UNICEF ?
Selena: My favorite part is being able to help children in need who need a voice to be heard.

@IrishBieberNavy: Which do you prefer, ‘Hotel Transylvania’ or ‘Spring Breakers’?
Selena: Love them both equally one is for my littles and one is for the older crowd.

@1DBieberGomez: Feeling super proud of you right now, from Wizards to having a number one movie!
Selena: Be sure to watch our reunion show, so excited for that.

@EhBitchPlease: What’s your next UNICEF project?
Selena: I just had a meeting this morning and were planning my third annual acoustic charity show in Jan. and planning a field visit.

@WeDreamSelena: how was it like working with Adam Sandler?
Selena: AMAZING… I remember watching his movies when I was younger and he is just as cool as I thought he would be.

Selena: You will never know how much you all mean to me.

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Christina Perri ‘A Very Merry Perri Christmas’ EP Out Tuesday

Posted on October 13, 2012 by popdirt
Christina Perri 'A Very Merry Perri Christmas' single cover

Christina Perri is set to release her holiday EP ‘A Very Merry Perri Christmas’ on Tuesday (October 16) via Atlantic Records. The disc features the all-new seasonal track ‘Something About December’ along with renditions of holiday tunes like ‘Merry Christmas Darling’ by The Carpenters and ‘Please Come Home For Christmas’ by Charles Brown. The 6-track EP is produced by David Hodges (Evanescence, Kelly Clarkson) and includes a take on the John Lennon and Yoko Ono track ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’, featuring choral contributions from Michelle Branch, LP, Bushwalla, and Boys Like Girls’ Martin Johnson.

“I’ve wanted to make ‘A Very Merry Perri Christmas’ my whole life,” Perri explained. “Christmas is so big in my family, and I’ve been singing these songs since I was three years old. This EP is a collection of my all-time favorite Christmas songs, plus one original, ‘Something About December’, which my brother and I wrote about finding Christmas wherever you are in the world, because it lives in your heart.”

‘A Very Merry Perri Christmas’ Track Listing:
1. There’s Something About December
2. Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
3. Ave Maria
4. Merry Christmas Darling
5. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
6. Please Come Home For Christmas

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Kate Miller-Heidke On Ben Folds, Influences And Opera

Posted on October 13, 2012 by popdirt
Pop artist Kate Miller-Heidke talks about her involvement in opera, gaining an audience in American thanks to touring with Ben Folds and her chance to open for Paul Kelly in London

Tim Martin of the Australian Times chatted with Kate Miller-Heidke about supporting Paul Kelly in London, touring with Ben Folds in America her upcoming album, having some success in America, being influenced by Joni Mitchell and more.

Asked about what she’s currently working on, Kate said, “At the moment I’m in full time rehearsals for an opera with the English National Opera. It’s called ‘Death of Klinghoffer’, and it tells the story of a cruise ship that was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists in the 1980s, so it’s been an incredible experience.”

Questioned about pressure to follow-up ‘Last Day On Earth’, Kate said, “Only the pressure I put on myself I guess. Ever since that happened, we’ve been touring pretty much non-stop around the country, mainly in America but also the UK and Europe and a little bit in Asia. I’m not sure. I feel the pressure myself but I’ve just finished recording the new album and we’re halfway through mixing it now, and I’m really happy with it.”

As for whether she was surprised about finding some success in America, Kate said, “I was lucky enough to be Ben Folds’ opening act for about three or so tours in the States that he did. He’s got this rabid loyal fan base over there, and I think that really helped, as well as a couple of other things.”

On her biggest influences, Kate said, “I started songwriting after discovering the music of Joni Mitchell and she really broadened my horizons a lot. I think my classical training is also an influence. I tried to get away from it for a few years but it’s non negotiable. It’s just there. Music, theater, folk music, and music that tells a story I think.”

The interview at YouTube has since been removed.

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Colbie Caillat ‘Christmas In The Sand’ Album Out October 23rd

Posted on September 19, 2012 by popdirt
Colbie Caillat 'Christmas In The Sand' album cover. The CD, produced by Colbie's father Ken Caillat, is out October 23rd on Republic Records

Colbie Caillat will release her first album of holiday music entitled ‘Christmas In The Sand’ on October 23rd via Republic Records. The album features four original Christmas songs, including the title track, which the Malibu singer songwriter penned along with Jason Reeves and Kara DioGuardi. In addition, Caillat recorded her take on holiday classics such as ‘Merry Christmas Baby’, featuring Brad Paisley on vocals and guitar, and ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’, featuring vocals from Gavin DeGraw. Colbie’s father Ken Caillat produced the album.

“I have so many warm and sunny memories of Christmas, literally and figuratively,” Colbie said. “Christmas means family, tradition, and the spirit of giving and sharing, but when you grow up in California, it can also mean sunshine and a beach day! I wanted to share all these wonderful feelings with my fans. It’s an album I’ve always wanted to make and was it was more gratifying having made it with my dad.”

Colbie made the song choices while vacationing a small island in Bali. “I was staying in this tiny hut,” Colbie explained. “It was beautiful and sunny and the people were warm and wonderful. But I spent a lot of time listening to Christmas songs – and picked the ones I love to sing most of all. It was perfect for an album called Christmas in the Sand.” Other originals on the album are ‘Mistletoe’, written by Colbie, Stacy Blue and Mikal Blue, ‘Everyday is Christmas’, written by Colbie, Jason and Kara, and Happy Christmas, written by Colbie and Toby Gad.

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One Direction’s Harry Styles Victim Of Drive-By Water Squirting

Posted on September 14, 2012 by popdirt
Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson of One Direction, seen here performing live in Toronto, discuss the Radio 1 Teen Awards performance and an incident where Harry was oddly squirted with water while driving by two men

Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson of One Direction were in the studio with Scott Mills on Radio 1 in London, England on Auguust 20th. The boyband talked about their Teen Awards gig on October 7th, Louis wanting to sleep, joked about performing outside the studio for free to cause some chaos at the station, and Harry talked about getting squirted with water while driving the prior day.

“I got squired yesterday,” Harry explained. “I was driving and these two guys pulled up next to me at a traffic light, and just squirted me in the face and drove off. It was the weirdest thing. These two grown men. I felt so degraded afterwards. I got squirted in the face.”

The interview audio, featuring the DJ’s doing a vast majority of the talking for some reason, at YouTube has since been removed.

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