Macklemore, right, and his producer Ryan Lewis pose for a portrait at Irving Plaza in New York in January 2014. Image: Carlo Allegri/Associated Press Rapper Macklemore preached the virtues of tolerance and acceptance during a rowdy concert Wednesday night in New York City, where he decided not to dwell on the controversy surrounding his outfit choice during a performance in Seattle on Friday. This week, headlines centered on uproar from people who thought Macklemore’s wig, fake beard and fake nose were culturally insensitive toward Jewish people. But on Wednesday, the 30-year-old rapper kept the focus on the music and the empowering messages behind each song. “We believe in love and equality for all people in the world, so now put your hand up like this,” Macklemore screamed, forming a peace sign with two fingers during the same-sex anthem “Same Love” with Ryan Lewis. Macklemore, born Ben Haggerty, publicly apologized online on Monday. “I’ve always loved dressing up and have been doing so my entire career,” he wrote on his blog. “The character I dressed up as on Friday had no intended cultural identity or background. I wasn’t attempting to mimic any culture, nor resemble one. A ‘Jewish stereotype’ never crossed my mind.” A costumed Macklemore performs on May 16 in Seattle. Macklemore reiterated his love of costumes at Wednesday’s show, telling fans a story about himself at 17, when he would buy “weird outfits” from thrift stores and walk the streets of New York City as “Professor Macklemore.” The anecdote fittingly introduced the duo’s smash hit “Thrift Shop.” The show, which was the first for the American Express Membership Experiences Concert Series, wouldn’t be a Macklemore concert without a transformation into his British alter ego Raven Bowie for “And We Danced.” Raven Bowie debuted in 2011 in this sex-fueled video. So at the end of the day, fans anticipating a Macklemore costume did indeed see one — just not the controversial one consuming the celebrity scandal mill. BONUS: Surprise! 12 Musicians Who Ignore Traditional Publicity Surprising Musician Promotions 1. Beyoncé Years from now, people will remember where they were when Beyoncé dropped her surprise, self-titled album in December 2013. For two years, the pop artist was quiet on the album front, though she was still a major player in the industry (performing the Super Bowl halftime show, singing the National Anthem at the presidential inauguration, you get the drift). But on Dec. 12, she surprised fans and uploaded a brand new album on iTunes, complete with 17 music videos. And it really, really worked. Video: YouTube, Beyonce 2. Kid Cudi The rapper (real name Scott Mescudi) has been on an experimental spree. After releasing two well-received albums, he spaced out, dropping material that ran far away from traditional hip-hop. On Feb. 24, he surprised fans with Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon on iTunes, notifying audiences only two hours beforehand via Twitter. Image: Flickr, Laurence Barnes 3. Death Grips Before Beyoncé and Kid Cudi, there were Death Grips. The […]
The manically paced new music video for Will.i.am and Britney Spears‘s “Scream and Shout” throws in cameos from several gadgets, including an iPhone, an i-limb ultra prosthetic hand and the new Beats Pill speaker. A snippet of the video premiered Wednesday during The X Factor, followed by its full-length release online. It’s no surprise that a Beats by Dre product got some play in the video, as “Scream and Shout” is the song used in the brand’s most-recent commercial, which stars will.i.am and a slew of other celebrities. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/11/29/will-i-am-britney-spears-scream-and-shout-gadgets/
Daniel “Homeless” Mustard needs $15,000 in spare change. The musician, whose cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” went viral in 2009 when he was homeless, is asking for money to fund an album. Mustard no longer lives on New York City street or in parks, having found temporary housing at homeless shelters and Internet access to mingle with fans at Apple stores. “When you are homeless you usually have lost some sort of your will to live,” Mustard tells Mashable. “A big part of me getting my shit together has been getting that back. “And in a big way, getting exposure from the ‘Creep’ video (listen below) and all the support I’ve gotten on social media, and the making of the new record, has helped me get that back.” “When you are homeless you usually have lost some sort of your will to live.” This month, Mustard launched a project on crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to pay for the cost of producing and distributing his Fragments of Bone EP and supplemental merchandise. Mustard’s Kickstarter page lists unique rewards for people who pledge money to his project. So far, 92 people have given $2,903 in four days. There are 46 days left to meet his $15,000 funding goal He will perform via Skype for backers who dish $110 or more and create cover song videos for at least $250. He’ll also do a live performance anywhere within a 120 miles of NYC for $1,500 and one anywhere outside of that distance in the U.S. for $2,500 or more. At $450, he’ll give a “homeless walking tour” of lower Manhattan. “Well, in my mind, the things to be showing people are the places I used to sleep,” Mustard says. “Washington Square Park was a huge part of my life, and talking about how the park has changed over the years,” he adds. “It’s more about telling the stories than the actual places — places where we got hassled by the police, attacked, all that fun stuff.” He has many stories to tell, the narrative of being homeless with mental health issues and a drinking problem. “Getting sober, staying sober, is a process, not an overnight thing.” “Getting sober, staying sober, is a process, not an overnight thing,” he says. “I’m also going back to school and doing other things to better my situation.” People will hear tinges of his struggles, recovery and dreams in his new music. The yet-to-funded EP, Fragments of Bone, is named after a lyric in the forthcoming song “Vanity Plate”: “Like fragments of bone, scattered across the sky.” The line describes the sky’s stars. Having gained Internet fame with covers of other people’s songs, Mustard has established a flexible strategy. “When I think about covers, as far as what I would like to do, is covers of songs that people would never think I would actually sing,” such as “Hit Me Baby One More Time” from Britney Spears, he says. Mustard performed the Spears single and “Creep” on The Opie & […]
The final 13 contestants on American Idol’s season 13 celebrate becoming finalists.Image: Jordan Strauss/Associated Press Fox’s singing competition American Idol is joining forces with search behemoth Google to give viewers a new way to vote for their favorite contestants, starting on Wednesday. Looking up “American Idol” or “Idol” via Google Search on desktop or mobile during voting time periods now allows users to vote for multiple finalists as frequently as 50 times. Image: Fox Broadcasting/Mashable Composite Viewers already could vote by phone call, text message or American Idol app as well as on Idol‘s website using a Facebook account — a method Fox added in 2011 for season 10. Rival shows The Voice and X Factor have also toyed with fresh social media-driven voting methods. In 2011, for example, The Voice became the first televised singing competition in the U.S. to allow iTunes sales to count as votes. Meanwhile, X Factor began allowing votes to come in from direct messages on Twitter in 2011. Also new to Idol‘s season 13 is Harry Connick Jr., who is Idol‘s eleventh judge since the show debuted in 2002. This year, Fox also brought back former judge Jennifer Lopez, who was on the panel for seasons 10 and 11. The network replaced Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj to join the only returning judge from season 12’s panel, Keith Urban. Randy Jackson, who had been on the judges’ panel for seasons 1 through 12, returned as a behind-the-scenes mentor. BONUS: 20 Songs Turning 20 in 2014 20 Songs Turning 20 in 2014 1. “Buddy Holly” by Weezer Video: YouTube, WeezerVEVO 2. “I Swear” by All 4 One Video: YouTube, VIETNAMESEPORKROLLS 3. “Gin & Juice” by Snoop Doggy Dogg Video: YouTube, hemoglobian 4. “Crazy” by Aerosmith Video: YouTube, AerosmithVEVO 5. “Come Out and Play” by The Offspring Video: YouTube, EpitaphRecords 6. “I Wanna Be Down” by Brandy Video: YouTube, Atlantic Records 7. “All I Wanna Do” by Sheryl Crow Video: YouTube, Matias 8. “I’ll Make Love to You” by Boyz II Men Video: YouTube, BoyzIIMenVEVO 9. “Sabotage” by Beastie Boys Video: YouTube, turboEF 10. “Back & Forth” by Aaliyah Video: YouTube, Aaliyah Shakur 11. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” by Elton John Video: YouTube, WaItDisneyWorId 12. “Zombie” by The Cranberries Video: YouTube, TheCranberriesVEVO 13. “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden Video: YouTube, SoundgardenVEVO 14. “Basket Case” by Green Day Video: YouTube, greenday 15. “Turn the Beat Around” by Gloria Estefan Video: YouTube, GloriaEstefanVEVO 16. “Stay (I Missed You)” by Lisa Loeb Video: YouTube, LLOnline 17. “I’ll Stand By You” by The Pretenders Video: YouTube, Javipy3 18. “Come to My Window” by Melissa Etheridge Video: YouTube, melissaetheridge1988 19. “Hold My Hand” by Hootie and the Blowfish Video: YouTube, Atlantic Records 20. “Cotton Eye Joe” by Rednex Video: YouTube, RednexVEVO Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/02/26/american-idol-google-search-voting/
They call songs oldies but goodies for a reason — they’re classics and will probably never go out of style. But what happens when your vintage records with priceless tunes on them start to show their age? You could bite the bullet and buy digitized versions of your favorite songs…but there’s something off about that. Instead of losing the authenticity, give your records a good cleaning. Leave the professionals out of it — just grab some wood glue! Not only does this get rid of dust and grime, it also vastly improves the sound quality of your records. Who knew that all you needed was some glue?! Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/wood-glue-record/
The Rolling Stones, who played their first gig 50 years ago, have returned after a seven-year hiatus. The English rockers debuted a new single, “Doom and Gloom,” Thursday on BBC Radio 2. A mopey lyric video accompanies the release and draws even more attention to the band’s zombie reference: “I had a dream last night I was piloting a plane, and all the passengers were drunk and insane,” Mick Jagger belts. “I crash landed in a Louisiana swamp, shot up a horde of zombies but I come out on top.” Zombies and exploding heads aside, “Doom and Gloom” is a track from GRRR!, the group’s forthcoming three-disc greatest hits compilation due out Nov. 12. The Rolling Stones made headlines in the tech world earlier this year when a clever 404 error message on its website surfaced. Are you digging the band’s new tune? Does it make you want to watch The Walking Dead right now, too? BONUS: 9 Celebrity Zombies Show Brain-Eating Side of Fame Zombie Celebrities 1. Lady Gaga You can’t read my Zombie Face. Image used with permission, Rob Sacchetto 2. Clint Eastwood Go ahead, eat my brain. Image used with permission, Rob Sacchetto 3. Scarlett Johansson On the cover of ‘Undead Weekly.’ Image used with permission, Rob Sacchetto 4. Daniel Craig Dead. Living Dead. Image used with permission, Rob Sacchetto 5. Paul McCartney Let it feed. Image used with permission, Rob Sacchetto 6. Rihanna S.O.S. No, seriously. Image used with permission, Rob Sacchetto 7. Sylvester Stallone “The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s also zombies.” Image used with permission, Rob Sacchetto 8. Stan Lee Superheroes can’t save you. Image used with permission, Rob Sacchetto 9. Hugh Hefner Bunnies and brains. Image used with permission, Rob Sacchetto Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/10/11/rolling-stones-doom-gloom-zombies/
English singer Conor Maynard, whose first album Contrast debuted on top of the UK Albums Chart in August, is tapping into his social media-hungry fan base to help him decide where in the United States he should perform this winter. To determine the five cities in which the 19-year-old will give free concerts, his label EMI Music has created MayniacMap. MayniacMap lets his fans (a.k.a. “Mayniacs”) earn points for their respective cities. Users rack up points by connecting their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare, Tumblr and GetGlue accounts, and performing activities — such as following, Liking, commenting and sharing. So far, New York, San Francisco, Houston, Detroit and Tampa, Fla., have accumulated the most points so far. Maynard hails from Brighton and has experienced a similar rise to fame as Justin Bieber, having built a rabid global audience online with soulful YouTube cover videos starting in 2008 before earning a record deal. “It’s flattering to be compared to someone so big, but we have different sounds,” Maynard tells Mashable. His cover of Ne-Yo’s “Beautiful Monster” eventually caught Ne-Yo’s attention, and the two talked via Skype about Maynard’s future. The chat sparked media buzz in the UK, and EMI’s Parlophone label signed him. Maynard’s music video (watch below) for “Turn Around,” which came out in September, features Ne-Yo. Other musicians have also leveraged their online fans to propel projects. Most recently, American folk band Bon Iver asked people to remix songs from its album Bon Iver, Bon Iver; the songs are now on a Spotify album. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/10/08/conor-maynard-mayniacmap-concerts/
Katy Perry has found an era that suits her perfectly — Victorian. The pop star went retro-chic in a visually stunning music video for power ballad “Unconditionally,” the second single from her “Prism” album. There are gowns, snow, pearls, flower petals, an owl, underwater scenes and a bed on fire — so nothing really out of the ordinary for Perry. Yes, unconditional love sometimes feels like being hit by a car… Or being on fire… How does it feel to you? — Katy Perry (@katyperry) November 20, 2013 The singer recently told MTV that this music video would be a departure from her other videos because it “doesn’t have a complete narrative.” “I usually have quite a big story line,” she said. “This time I wanted to give a lot of gorgeous, beautiful looks, which I don’t usually go for. But it’s mostly just a beautiful video that is supposed to evoke this power of love.” Mission accomplished, Katy. Image: Tumblr, iheartkatyperry Image: Tumblr, iheartkatyperry Image: Tumblr, myhouse-myrules-mypleasure Image: Tumblr, sttifler04 Perry also released a lyric video for the song in October, featuring models Janell Shirtcliff and Erika Linder. BONUS: 14 Ways Katy Perry Can Help You Take Life Less Seriously 14 Ways Katy Perry Can Teach You To Take Life a Little Less Seriously 1. Don’t stress over minor wardrobe malfunctions. Image: Tumblr katyperryphotos1 2. Dance like everyone’s watching, and like everyone thinks you’re an amazing dancer. Image: Tumblr fuck-adriannaa 3. Eat more cupcakes. Image: Tumblr musicvideogifs 4. Simplify your beauty routine and fill your new free time with funny cat videos. Image: Tumblr suckgifs 5. Invest as much time in your friendships as you do your ambitions. Image: Tumblr tigershout 6. Smile when you feel it — you never have to smile because someone tells you to. Image: Tumblr you-choose-which 7. Remember that almost any problem can be solved with a hot shower. Image: Tumblr jasmiinneee 8. If you’re embarrassed by some ridiculous thing you did, think of all the people who make a living that way. Image: Tumblr fuckyouigotohogwarts 9. Try something new, even if think you’ll fail. Image: Tumblr katycat9684 10. Don’t get hung up on other people’s expectations for your life. Image: Tumblr destinychange 11. If you’re over-thinking, draw a mustache on something that traditionally doesn’t have a mustache. It’s a tension breaker. Image: Tumblr mvgifs 12. Throw on an unusual outfit and don’t worry what others will think, concentrate on how it makes you feel. Image: Tumblr hello-katy 13. Don’t worry about how you look in every picture. Funny photos will be more entertaining to look back at than one that’s perfectly posed. Image: Tumblr romimahomie45 14. Make this face, preferably in the mirror. If the action of smiling makes you feel happier, this will make you feel like your problems will work themselves out. Image: Tumblr iheartkatyperry Read more: http://mashable.com/2013/11/20/katy-perry-unconditionally-video/
Today at 3 p.m. ET, Mashable is moderating a Google+ Hangout with best-selling authors Mitch Albom, Dave Barry, Greg Iles, Sam Barry and Ridley Pearson, as well as Lisa Rutherford and Jen Lou from digital publisher Coliloquy. Together, we’ll discuss the future of e-books, the changing role of printed books in today’s digital world and a new interactive e-book called Hard Listening: The Greatest Rock Band Ever (of Authors) Tells All. The story reveals the tale of a garage band called the Rock Bottom Remainders, which consists of the aforementioned authors and other popular writers. It’s told through a collection of essays, stories, musings, group email exchanges, photographs, candid conversations, audio clips, video clips and interactive quizzes. Here’s a full description of the Hangout: In the literary world, they’re rock stars, having sold a combined 350 million books. When they weren’t penning one of their 40 New York Times No. 1 best-sellers, though, they were rocking out as garage band, the Rock Bottom Remainders, created by acclaimed author Stephen King in 1992. Now, King and his bandmates — authors Scott Turow, Amy Tan, Dave and Sam Barry, Roy Blount Jr., Mitch Albom, James McBride, Ridley Pearson, Matt Groening and Greg Iles — are revealing details about their rockin’ private lives in an interactive e-book came out June 18. On June 25 at 3 p.m. ET, +Mashable’s Brian Anthony Hernandez will be moderating a Google+ Hangout with Mitch Albom, Dave Barry, Greg Iles, Sam Barry and Ridley Pearson, plus Writers House agent Amy Berkower and the volumes editor at Coliloquy Jen Lou, to discuss the future of e-books, printed books’ changing role in today’s digital world as well as their new interactive book. Homepage image by Mashable Read more: http://mashable.com/2013/06/25/google-hangout-best-selling-authors-discuss-the-future-of-e-books/
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(‘VN_PG_DTAT_ATF’); }); If you’re a Star Wars fan, you have to see what these two musicians just did. Earlier this month, 13-year-old Bryce Hayashi grabbed his trumpet and a fellow musician and headed down the street. Their goal was to set up shop outside someone’s home, but that house didn’t belong to just anyone. The pair put a stand on the sidewalk near composer John Williams’ property and started playing one of his most famous pieces. You may have heard of it. Williams has had an illustrious career, but this song — which was composed back in 1977 — is probably his most iconic. What a way to honor a music legend! Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/star-wars-john-williams/
