Whiplash is electrifying! Intense, inspiring and compelling this film pulses to a dazzling and irresistible beat, and is a brilliant sophomore effort from director Damien Chazell. The film picked up two awards at the Sundance Film Festival – the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Prize. It’s doing pretty well on the internet too, IMDB gave it an 8.2 score and it’s rated ‘fresh’ on Rotten Tomatoes with a whopping 8.6 score.
What is so wonderful about this story, and what makes it so compelling to watch is the striving for greatness. We live in a world that worships excellence but runs on mediocrity and most of us will never feel the thrill of high flying achievement. There is such a great difference between trying your best and being the best at something. And this fact is the subject of Whiplash.
The basic storyline ((C) Sony Classics): Andrew Neyman (Miles Teller) is an ambitious young jazz drummer, single-minded in his pursuit to rise to the top of his elite east coast music conservatory. Plagued by the failed writing career of his father, Andrew hungers day and night to become one of the greats. Terence Fletcher (J. K. Simmons), an instructor equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods, leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into his band, forever changing the young man’s life. Andrew’s passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into obsession, as his ruthless teacher continues to push him to the brink of both his ability-and his sanity.
Highly acclaimed by critics and the press this is a must-watch movie. Rolling Stone put it rather perfectly: “Beat the drums for a Simmons Oscar, and add a cymbal crash for ‘Whiplash.’ It’s electrifying.”
Limited Release: October 2014 Worldwide release: January 2015
Pentatonix have covered Clean Bandit’s hit song Rather Be. They flew to Japan to make the cover authentic and just using their voices they really knock the socks off the song! Fantastic!
Rather Be is the fourth single from their chart topping EP PTX Vol III which debuted at Nº5 on the Billboard 200 chart ahead of albums from veteran stars such as Jennifer Hudson and Lenny Kravitz. PTX Vol. III is the 4th extended play album by the group and was released on September 23, 2014 by RCA Records. It contains four covers as well as three original tracks (On My Way Home, See Through and Standing By).
Pentatonix consists of lead vocalists Scott Hoying, 23, Kirstie Maldonado, 22, and Mitch Grassi, 21, along with vocal bass Avi Kaplan, 25, and beatboxer Kevin Olusola, 25. They won Season 3 of NBC’s The Sing-Off in 2011 and had no idea that they were destined to become such big stars. Now, three years later their YouTube channel has more subscriber’s than Beyoncé’s!
Look out for their seasonal Christmas offering That’s Christmas To Me which will be released on October 21.
SHOWTIME! We continue our series of ‘In Performance at the White House’ – a series of concerts created to showcase the rich fabric of American culture in the exclusive setting of the nation’s most famous home. To see last week’s post, Fiesta Latina, click here.
Burt Bacharach & Hal David “In Performance at the White House: Burt Bacharach & Hal David, The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song” was a concert hosted by President and Mrs. Obama in the East Room of the White House. The concert included performances from Sheryl Crow, Michael Feinstein, Diana Krall, Lyle Lovett, Mike Myers, Rumer, Arturo Sandoval, Sheléa and Stevie Wonder. President Obama presents the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song to Bacharach during the event.
This legendary concert was the first time that the Gershwin Prize honor has been awarded to a songwriting team. Just like the siblings for whom the Gershwin Prize is named, Bacharach and David are a pianist and lyricist respectively. The Grammy- and Academy Award-winning pair have collaborated for more than a half-century, since their first hit together, “The Story of My Life” in 1957, both have been nominated and honored with every major award bestowed by the music industry. Today, their songs continue to be recorded by such artists as Diana Krall, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Cyndi Lauper and the cast of the television show Glee.
Burt Bacharach has been for six decades one of the most-honored and successful composers of our times with three Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, 48 Top Ten hits and nine number one songs including Alfie, Arthur’s Theme, Close To You, Do You Know The Way To San Jose, I Say A Little Prayer, Walk On By, What The World Needs Now Is Love and Wishin’ And Hopin’.
Hal David was one of the greatest American songwriters of the postwar era. Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head, This Guy’s in Love With You and I’ll Never Fall in Love Again are just three of the hits in a string of standards written by this Academy Award and Grammy Award winner.
Download these shows and add them to your music library This is part of a 10-week series that we will be running on our blog, with the music videos conveniently separated into individual performances so that you can save and download your favourite artists, or the whole show if your prefer. Creation 5’s YouTube feature lets you download videos so you can watch offline when you’re travelling and enjoy great music on-the-go. Don’t forget that you can download Creation 5’s YouTube In-app purchase absolutely FREE, which normally costs €4.49 ($4.99), as we currently have a promotion running in celebration of hitting 450,000 downloads on the App Store!
In Performance at the White House: Burt Bacharach & Hal David: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song (2012) 01. Sheryl Crow and Lyle Lovett – I’ll Never Fall In Love Again 02. Arturo Sandoval and Stevie Wonder – Make It Easy on Yourself 03. Diana Krall – The Look of Love 04. Sheléa and Arturo Sandoval – Anyone Who Had a Heart 05. Mike Myers – What’s New Pussy Cat 06. Rumer – A House is Not a Home 07. Lyle Lovett – Always Something There to Remind Me 08. Sheryl Crow – Walk On By 09. Michael Feinstein – Close to You 10. Stevie Wonder – Alfie 11. President Obama awards the Gershwin Prize to Burt Bacharach and Hal David 12. Burt Bacharach and All Performers – What the World Needs Now is Love
Jessie J shows off some killer dance moves in the new music video for Burnin’ Up. Featuring 2 Chainz, the 4 minute clip is pure eye candy – for girls and guys! The video was shot in a luxurious LA mansion and directed by Hannah Lux Davis. The dancing is incredible – Jessie leads a group of dancers with military precision, she wasn’t joking when she said we’d see some five-syllable cho-re-og-raph-y. This is the first time that we’ve seen Jessie perform a choreographed dance routine and it’s pretty impressive!
Burnin’ Up was written by Jessie J and produced by legendary Swedish producer Max Martin. The video premiered on Vevo yesterday (October 8) and is the latest single from Jessie’s third studio album Sweet Talker which is slated for an October 13 release via Lava and Republic Records.
In a recent interview with Cosmopolitan UK, the 26-year-old said that she was very much looking forward to the next chapter in her career. “My focus is music – that’s the reason people know of me and I feel like with this album they can get to know me properly,” she said. Before adding: “I’m 26 and I want to have kids in the next four to eight years – obviously not right now.”
Despite the fact that we live in an increasingly on-demand entertainment culture of streaming and DVRs, the live music business continues to thrive. Fans dream of their once-in-a-lifetime experience to see one of their favourite artists bestow the world with their magic in an intimate venue in front of a small but precious crowd. Those of you who have experienced it first hand can concur that it’s the ultimate fulfillment, magical and unexplainable, it leaves you on a massive high.
Although investors refer to live shows as a “perishable experience”, they also know that the experience is a high yielding one too. In 2013, Live Nation reported $2 billion in revenue. In 2014, House of Blues Entertainment CEO Ron Bension admitted “overall for our portfolio, we’re up in show and ticket sales… it’s a good business if you can withstand the cycles, and we’ve been able to do that”.
More than just doubling their portfolio in the last three years, Live Nation has “made a huge commitment to artist development”, Bension continues. “We’re starting to help [developing acts], and we’re seeing evidence of that as we see bands work with us from 300-capacity rooms to 3,000-seat rooms”.
The Live Nation portfolio includes about 80 clubs and theatres, including House of Blues, Fillmore, Tabernacle, Palladium and Irving Plaza. According to Billboard, Live Nation clubs’ annual ticket sales amount to an approximate $300 million. Two words: Holy Moly!
1. The House of Blues, Orlando, Florida
The House of Blues grew out of Isaac Tigrett’s (founder of The House of Blues) deep love for “the Blues”. Isaac’s goal was to make the music of the rural south, including Blues, Rhythm and Blues, Gospel, Jazz and Roots-based Rock & Roll, known to the world. The very first House of Blues opened in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1992. Dedicated to “education and celebrating the history of Southern Culture and African American artistic contribution to music and art”, today, The House of Blues is located across the US, with venues in Orlando, Washington, Dallas, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and more.
The Tabby, first established in 1996 as a music venue, was originally a Baptist Church. The 106-year-old historical building was converted into one of the most popular music concert halls in the US and is known today for having showcased some of the hottest acts of our time, including Guns N’ Roses, Bob Dylan, Prince, Robbie Williams and Adele amongst many more.
In the mid 1960s, The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco became the centre point for psychedelic music and counterculture in general. “For more than 40 years, the legendary Fillmore name has stood as the link between some of the most influential artists in music and their fans”. Pink Floyd, Santana, Cream, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin and Miles Davis. The Silver Springs, Maryland, venue opened in 2010 as part of a campaign to extend the original San Francisco Fillmore Auditorium’s brand across the US – You can now find a Fillmore venue in San Francisco, North Carolina, Detroit, and Denver.
The Hollywood Palladium is located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard, famous worldwide for being the epitome of a place where dream comes true. First opened in 1940, the killer venue has housed the most legendary acts around. Today, the venue continues to be a major pop reference in TV and film and a place where you can enjoy live music every night of the week.
The world famous ballroom-style music venue, Irving Plaza, has served as a Polish Army veterans’ headquarters, a swing music ballroom, a rock venue, and has also hosted church services. It was in 1978 that the hall was converted into a rock music venue and saw the likes of B-52, Ramones, Talking Heads, U2, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band and Red Hot Chili Peppers rock the club, establishing the venue as a premium location for punk and new wave in the US.
We’re loving the new Pharrell & Daft Punk collaboration – Gust of Wind. The video dropped yesterday and it’s absolutely beautiful! It sees Pharrell wandering through autumn-tinged woods and discovering the Daft Punk helmets in a clearing. Directed by British filmmaker and director Edgar Wright (Shaun Of The Dead, Spaced), the video is stunning – the autumn colours and the swirls and twirls of the dancers and their costumes create the perfect visual for the song.
Pharrell announced the release of the video on Twitter last night (October 7) using the lyrics to announce the song’s arrival: Cause when I’m feeling real low, I remember I love you, I put my hands in the air and you are there…
The vibe and energy of this collaboration reminds us so much of Get Lucky– Pharrell and the electronic masterminds just go so well together.
Pharrell is riding on such a high at the moment – which all began with Get Lucky and was followed by the even bigger hit Happy. He is also the judge of the US top TV show – The Voice – and is working on a project with fellow judge Gwen Stefani. If that isn’t enough to keep anyone busy he is about to launch (late October) a collection of train-themed bags and accessories alongside French luxury leather goods brand Moynat.
BBC Music launched last night and 27 global stars came together to cover ‘God Only Knows’.
The ensemble – named ‘The Impossible Orchestra’ – were revealed last night (October 7) at 8pm when all of the BBC – television, radio and online sites – premiered the track.
Pharrell Williams, Sir Elton John, Stevie Wonder, One Direction and Sam Smith were among the iconic artists that came together to perform a a cover of the Beach Boys’ classic 1966 hit ‘God Only Knows’.
Brian Wilson – Beach Boys star and writer of the song said: “I just feel so incredibly humbled that the BBC would choose ‘God Only Knows’ to promote their new music initiative. All of the artists did such a beautiful job I can’t thank them enough. I’m just honoured that ‘God Only Knows’ was chosen. ‘God Only Knows’ is a very special song. An extremely spiritual song and one of the best I’ve ever written.”
The launch of ‘God Only Knows’ is a very significant moment for the BBC, and BBC Music is their strongest commitment to music in 30 years. Bob Shennan, Director of BBC Music said of the song: “God Only Knows showcases the power and potential of music – a modern masterpiece which inspired musicians and music fans nearly 50 years ago, but which continues to inspire today with its timeless beauty and quality…What’s more, the recording will be sold to raise funds for Children in Need, which makes this project even more worthwhile.”
The performance was brilliantly led by my music producer Ethan Johns and performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra. All the artists involved performed free of charge. Bob Shennan commented, “This ‘impossible’ orchestra is a celebration of all the talent, diversity and musical passion found every single day throughout the BBC. Our audiences are very clear in their passion for music and that’s why BBC Music exists: to create, curate and celebrate music – for the love of it.”
We can look forward to the BBC Music Awards on December 11 which is a return of landmark music content on BBC One. The BBC already churns out over 41,000 hours of music a year across TV, Radio and Online, spanning all genres, but this moment is still a very special one and confirms the BBC’s supportive role in the UK music industry.
Who stars in the video? Brian Wilson, Beach Boys star, composer and producer of original song, is joined by: Sir Elton John, One Direction, Pharrell Williams, Stevie Wonder, Jake Bugg, Lorde, Emeli Sandé, Chris Martin, Kylie Minogue, Paloma Faith, Sam Smith, Florence Welch, Chrissie Hynde, Brian May, Dave Grohl; classical musicians Alison Balsom, Martin James Bartlett, Danielle de Niese and Nicola Benedetti; folk performer Eliza Carthy; Senegalese singer Baaba Maal; jazz performer Jamie Cullum; British Asian Music star Jaz Dhami; the BBC’s Zane Lowe, Lauren Laverne, Katie Derham, Gareth Malone and Jools Holland; and the wonderful vocals of the Tees Valley Youth Choir and of course, the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Ed Sheeran, singer, songwriter, musician and now….dancer! Watch Ed’s stunning new video for his gorgeous love song Thinking Out Loud. Dancing With the Stars eat your heart out!
Unlike the music videos for other songs on Ed’s chart topping album X which paint quite colourful stories, this video is incredibly simple and very sweet. Sheeran just dances with an unnamed incredibly skilled dancer for the whole 4 minute track. They zoom back and forth in a perfectly choreographed dance routine in a stunning, old-school-romantic setting, complete with chandelier’s, high ceilings and opulent furniture.
It’s the perfect visual for such a romantic song. And boy is it romantic! With lyrics like: “Take me into your loving arms / Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars / Place your head on my beating heart” surely it will be played at every wedding from now on. Sheeran says he thinks the romantic ballad has what it takes to become a fan-favorite love song. “I think this is gonna be one of those songs that gets played to death,” he joked. “Then no one wants it at their wedding because they’re just like, ‘Oh yeah, that song’s not special anymore.””
“Thinking Out Loud is one of my favorite tracks on the album, if not my favorite,” Ed commented in a press release for the video. “It’s a great one to perform live and means a lot to me. I wanted the video to be a little different, so I opted for ballroom dancing. I had lessons for 5 hours a day when I was on my US tour last month.”
We all knew he was talented but this takes things to another level. He trained very hard to get this right and even went on a special diet (no beer!). “I can see why dancers are in such good shape. I’ve dropped 35 pounds in like, three months just from not drinking beer.”
Ed is currently on a huge 67 date tour across 3 continents that started on August 6, 2014 in Japan and won’t end until April 11, 2015.
Beyoncé has finally released a music video of her surprise Flawless performance with Nicki Minaj in Paris! The power-house pair recreate the vibe and energy of Beyoncé’s jaw-dropping feminist moment at the VMAs this summer.
Beyoncé and Jay Z might have been the headliners on their On The Run tour but anyone who watched the Paris show will know that the real show-stopping moment occurred when Beyoncé invited Nicki Minaj to perform Flawless with her. The concert special recently aired on HBO – but fortunately Queen Bey decided to upload the HD quality Flawless moment to YouTube so now everyone can see it.
In this 5 minute clip we see Beyoncé rap about the much talked about and hyped “billion dollars on the elevator” line and she then summons Minaj to the stage, calling her by her real name Onika.
We’re loving Avicii’s new single The Days featuring UK superstar Robbie Williams. The lyric video is now out and is a testament to the creative power of words.
The Days refuses to stick to one particular sound – it opens with acoustic guitar strums before the synths start kicking in, it then moves into a piano-led pre chorus before turning into a poppy, dancy breakdown. Just like his past single Wake Me Up!, the lyrics are inspirational – encouraging you to focus on the present moment and to squeeze all the juice out of life. The chorus: “These are the days we’ve been waiting for / And days like these you couldn’t ask for more / Keep them coming ’cause we’re not done yet / These are the days we won’t regret.”
The Days is the first single from Avicii’s new album, due out in Spring 2015. He told Billboard in a recent interview that the new album is more rock driven and will not follow on the folky influences of some of his past work. “I wanted to take a step away from ‘Wake Me Up!’ and the folky stuff to explore my influences growing up,” he said, citing Toto and Queen. “There’s no limitations.” The 25-year-old the Swedish DJ/producer is teaming up with other stars like Chris Martin from Coldplay, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and many more.
It will be interesting to see if this collaboration gives Williams the boost he needs to move into the spotlight stateside. Williams is a superstar throughout Europe and holds the records for the most tour tickets sold in a day. Avicii holds the records for the most streamed song ever on Spotify, so this seems to be a perfect combination.
