Music Videos

Irish band The Script have just released a space-age-themed music video for their latest single No Good in Goodbye. It’s an intergalactic experience with an Avatar vibe.

Directed by Charlie Lightning the visual has some pretty cool lighting effects and begins with light shining down on frontman Danny O’Donoghue as he sings of mistakes he’s made in past relationships. Later you see a hologram of a group of women that look like they are frozen in time. O’Donoghue sings to one woman and she slowly comes to life.

We happen to agree with these lyrics – just exactly where is the GOOD in Goodbye?

Where’s the “good” in “goodbye”?
Where’s the “nice” in “nice try”?
Where’s the “us” in “trust” gone?
Where’s the “soul” in “soldier on”?

No Good In Goodbye follows the band’s huge hit Superheroes and comes from their 4th studio album, No Sound Without Silence, released in September this year. The group have described the album as a prequel to their debut album. It was largely recorded on the road while on tour in a mobile recording studio.

Lindsey Stirling fights dragons with the power of music in her amazing new video for Dragon Age. The hugely popular fantasy game Dragon Age: Inquisition landed in stores on November 18 and all reviews are saying it’s well worth the 60 dollars. If you’re not sure about it, this video might put your doubts to rest. The video follows Lindsey across a landscape devastated by the infamous Breach that lies at the centre of Inquisition’s narrative. She does battle with a ferocious fire breathing dragon who is no match for the power of music!

Directed by Joe Still, the special effects are awesome and the cool looking graphics compliment Stirling’s rendition of the Dragon Age theme perfectly. She teamed up with the Los Angeles-based Everdream digital studio to create it. Judging by the official Dragon Age: Inquisition branding at the end we can only assume that Electronic Arts was also involved in an official capacity.

This isn’t the first time that Stirling has turned her attention towards the world of video gaming. In the past she has released covers and tributes associated with franchises like Skyrim, Zelda, Halo and Child of Light.

Stirling has sold more than 1 million singles worldwide and on May 2014 her second studio album Shatter Me peaked at Nº2 on the Billboard 200 chart. Her YouTube channel has more than 5.4 million subscribers and 735 million total views. The deluxe version of the Shatter Me album comes out on November 28 and includes an acoustic version of Shatter Me, a full-color 48-page magazine with exclusive interviews and photos, plus word magnets!

Here’s the official trailer for the game – Dragon Age: Inquisition – The Hero of Thedas 

#ThrowbackThursday We go back to 1989 when Janet Jackson started a 4 week run at Nº1 on the US album charts with Rhythm Nation 1814. This iconic album produced 7 top 10 singles! From one album! The album’s opening pledge states, “We are a nation with no geographic boundaries, bound together through our beliefs. We are like-minded individuals, sharing a common vision, pushing toward a world rid of color-lines.” Even though record label executives wanted material similar to her previous album, Control, Jackson insisted on a concept album addressing social change – she delivers an urgent cry, calling for racial harmony through “compassionate, dedicated people power.”

Jackson related the theme of the album as a means of creating a common identity, “I thought it would be great if we could create our own nation… one that would have a positive message and that everyone would be free to join.” The album blends dance-pop and rhythm and blues with industrial music and funk and is seen as one of the defining examples of dance-oriented pop music of its time.

It is the only album to achieve Nº1 hits in three separate calendar years. Jackson received 9 Grammy Award nominations, winning Best Long Form Music Video for Rhythm Nation. For promotion, Jackson released the Rhythm Nation 1814 Film and was presented the MTV Video Vanguard Award for her significant contributions to popular culture. Her Rhythm Nation Tour became the world’s most successful debut concert tour and Miss Jackson became quite a fashion icon, with “Rhythm Nation” attire copied by fans worldwide.

The following year after the album was launched the inaugural Billboard Music Awards were held in Santa Monica, California. Jackson was the main winner of the night, winning in eight categories, including Top Pop Album, Top R&B Album and Top R&B Artist.

Jackson talked about how important the lyrics are: “I’m not naive—I know an album or a song can’t change the world. I just want my music and my dance to catch the audience’s attention, and to hold it long enough for them to listen to the lyrics and what we’re saying. Hopefully that will inspire them, make them want to join hands … and make some sort of difference. […] If I just touched one person, just to make that difference, make them change for the better, that’s an accomplishment.”

Watch the new trailer for the Michael Bay time travel movie Project Almanac. Presented in a semi-found footage style it poses the fascinating question, ‘Would today be better the second time around’?

Previously titled Welcome to Yesterday the film follows a group of friends who discover plans for a time machine. And because they can’t resist tinkering with the past they end up manipulating things to further their own gain. One character even comes face to face with his past self. As you might expect, things go dreadfully wrong.

This sci fi adventure is another great attempt by Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes team to extend their reach beyond blood and horror, and from the looks of the trailer, the film has a lot of heart and a very cool chronicle-like vibe.

Directed by Dean Israelite, the film features Jonny Weston, Amy Landecker, Sofia Black-Delia, Gary Grubbs and Virginia Gardner.

Project Almanac hits US cinemas on January 30, 2015 and not until February 6 in the UK.

Reggae legend Bob Marley is to become the face of the world’s first global marijuana brand called Marley Natural. The late singer’s family are launching a range of cannabis, topicals and accessories, that will go on sale in the US (in states where it is legal) at the end of next year and in all probability will expand globally later. The products will include some of Marley’s favourite “heirloom cannabis strains” and the brand identity will reflect Marley’s belief in the healing power of cannabis.

Marley’s daughter Cedella said “My dad would be so happy to see people understanding the healing power of the herb. Marley Natural is an authentic way to honour his legacy by adding his voice to the conversation about cannabis and helping end the social harms caused by prohibition.”

Wife Rita Marley added: “My husband believed ‘the herb’ was a natural and positive part of life, and he felt it was important to the world. He looked forward to this day.”

Marley Natural is being created with the help of private equity firm Privateer Holdings. Their chief executive Brendan Kennedy commented: “Bob was someone who, in many ways, helped start the movement to end cannabis prohibition 50 years ago. It was just a natural fit between Bob Marley and this product. You know if you were to look for the most famous human being who ever walked the face of the earth related to cannabis, it would be Bob Marley.”

As the promotional video said – “Make way for a positive day”. 🙂

Family Reflections on Bob Marley and “The Herb”

If you managed to get through last week without listening to the infectious, funky jam that is Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson with Bruno Mars, watch the new music video now! It’s impossibly cool! It’s one of the most joyous songs to be released this year and the video is equally uppy! You’ll be jiving in the streets like the rest of them – or wishing you could.

Grammy-winning producer Mark Ronson takes the back seat in this retro video but is still there lingering in the background, while Mars is in the spotlight belting out the feel-good lyrics. The visual was co-directed by Mars and Cameron Duddy and they jive across town, check out the passing girls, get their shoes shined and even their hair permed. “Girls, Hit Your hallelujah: ‘Cause Uptown Funk Gon’ Give It To You …”

Ronson spoke to Ryan Seacrest about the track: “That song took a lot of work, it took seven months of chasing Bruno around the world on tour and a lot of blood sweat and tears, but I’m very proud of it. I love it. It’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever done … I think that Bruno just — with the lyrics and the vocal delivery — he makes it so it’s not too throwback-y. I guess I love all those things. I guess love live instruments, I love horns, but I also love DJing and playing records in the club that sound amazing. So, we tried to make a hybrid of all those things.”

Uptown Funk is the first single to be cut from Mark Ronson’s upcoming album, Uptown Special, which will be released on January 27, 2015 by RCA Records. Tune into to Saturday Night Live on November 22nd and you can watch them perform it live.

Here is the new Band Aid 30 song which is raising funds to stop the Ebola virus. Featuring an all-star lineup of more than 30 artists it premiered last night on the X Factor.

Bob Geldolf introduced the track on the X Factor, describing Ebola as “the most anti-human disease”.

“We can stop it, and we will stop it, and we will support those immensely brave 1,000 NHS workers, those young doctors and nurses who are going down there, those young soldiers… and the governments who are leading the world on this,” he said.

The video shows the stars arriving at the studios and recording the track but preceding this you see 16 seconds of footage that shows aid workers tending to a seriously ill woman. Geldof explained: “We wanted to show you the context in which this was done yesterday. It’s harrowing. It’s not meant for an entertainment show, but we need you to see this…

“We’re going to stop this thing. Buy this song.”

The first version of the song raised £8m for famine relief in Ethiopia and was recorded again in 1989 and 2004. The new version of the song includes updated lyrics to reflect the struggle against Ebola and the utter devastation it is causing in Africa.

The song is available to download from today (Monday November 17) costing 99p (1.29 euros) and a CD version will be released in three weeks, costing £4.

Download now on iTunes – http://po.st/DoTheyKnow
Google Play – http://po.st/DoTheyKnowGp

You can donate here: http://www.bandaid30.com/donate

The physical CD single is available to pre-order here: http://po.st/CDsingle
Or you can pre-order it on Amazon here: http://po.st/DoTheyKnowAm

Full list of participating artists: Midge Ure / Clean Bandit / Sam Smith / One Direction / Ellie Goulding / Sinead O’Connor / Underworld / Roger Taylor / Paul Epworth / Ed Sheeran / Robert Plant / Disclosure / Olly Murs / Jimmy Napes / Elbow / Emeli Sande / Angélique Kidjo / Rita Ora / Paloma Faith / Chris Martin / Bono / Bastille / Jessie Ware / Fuse ODG /Seal and YouTube stars : Zoella, Alfie Deyes and Joe Sugg.

Legendary rock group Pink Floyd is on track for their first Nº1 album in nearly 20 years! One of the tracks Louder than Words, the only song on the album that has any lyrics, has a powerful music video filmed in Chernobyl, Ukraine. The song is seen by many as a tribute to the friendship among the members of Pink Floyd. “It’s certainly a strong suggestion that that could be, that it is about the band, but it could also be seen as a couple and their relationship,” band member Nick Mason said.

The video has a strong environmental message as well, filmed around what was once the Aral Sea. In days gone by the Aral Sea was the fourth-largest inland body of water in the world. The diversion of water during Soviet times from Central Asia’s two great rivers — the Syr-Darya and Amu-Darya – into the cotton fields of the region have shrunk the lake to some 10 percent of its original size in less than 100 years. Fishing boats that were once active now lay rusting in the desert many kilometers from where the shores of the lake are now.

Aubrey Powell, the creative director for Pink Floyd (working with the band since 1967) said that it was the surreal quality of the ships that appealed to him visually. Powell said the video is “not so much about the disaster – that’s been written about endlessly – but more about a generational thing, more about what it means to the younger generation, the children of the impoverished and disenfranchised communities around the Aral Sea that have lost fishing and culture.”

The end of the video is dominated by children playing in lost ships in a completely desolate landscape. Powell said, “that’s in part what the film is about and it’s about the fact of their loss and their only knowledge of the sea, and the beauty of that sea, and what it represented to their community, is through their grandparents or their parents, but they [the children] will never know.”