What's New(s)?

Ticket prices for Beyoncé/Jay Z "On the Run" have dropped

 
While speculation continues to run rampant about the Knowles/Carter family elevator incident, Forbes is reporting that resale ticket prices for their massive summer tour have fallen since the footage was first released by TMZ. Culling from TiqIq, Forbes' Jess Lawrence writes that "average price across all "On the Run" tour dates was $306.22, behind only Justin Timberlake and Paul McCartney for the most expensive tour of the summer on the secondary market." Since last Monday, that $306.22 price tag has dipped to $264.73, which still sits in the top 5 for summer tours, but represents a 13.5% decrease in just over a week's time.

That decline comes despite a pubic statement intended to quash the story and a recent promo video which features everyone from Sean Penn to Don Cheadle and Rashida Jones. While the statement has seen mixed success at best, the fake trailer promo has been popular enough that fans are asking for the married couple to make it into an actual movie. So yet again, Ann Perkins maybe the one who saves the day after all.

(The tour kicks off June 25 and tour dates can be found below, along with the "Run" video.)

Tour Dates:
6/25 Miami, FL- Sun Life Stadium
6/28 Cincinnati, OH- Great American Ballpark
7/1 Foxborough, MA- Gillette Stadium
7/5 Philadelphia, PA- Citizen's Bank Park 
7/7 Baltimore, MD- M&T Bank Stadium
7/9 Toronto, ON- Rogers Centre
7/11 East Rutherford, NJ- Met Life Stadium
7/15 Atlanta, GA- Georgia Dome
7/18 Houston, TX- Minute Maid Park
7/20 New Orleans, LA- Mercedez-Benz Superdome
7/22  Dallas, TX- AT&T Stadium
7/24 Chicago, IL- Soldier Field
7/27- Winnipeg, MB- Investors Group Field
7/30 Seattle, WA- Safeco Field
8/2-8/3 Los Angeles, CA- Rose Bowl
8/5-8/6 San Francisco, CA- AT&T Park

Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis set to release a new solo album

 




 
 




 

Nearly three years have passed since Dinosaur Jr. guitarist J Mascis released his gorgeous debut solo album Several Shades of Why, and now fans of the LP have follow-up Tied To A Star to look forward to. While guesting on Late Night with Seth Myers, the traditionally reserved Mascis let Myers break the news that the new LP would be "out this summer" on Sub-Pop. Other than that small bit of info and the above album cover, there isn't much known about the album, but Mascis' week-long stint with Late Night bandleader Fred Armisen and the 8G Band may lead to more details. 

As for Dinosaur Jr., the indie rock guitar gods will be headlining New York's 4 Knots Festival on July 12, as a replacement for the Julie Ruin whose lead singer Kathleen Hanna is currently battling Lyme's Disease. Dates for the trio can be seen below and you can watch the Late Night clip here (Mascis begins near the 4:40 mark).

Tour Dates:
5/28 New York City, NY- Music Hall of Williamsburg
5/30 Nelsonville, OH- Nelsonville Music Festival
7/12 New York City, NY- 4 Knots Festival
7/18-7/20 Pemberton, BC- Pemberton Music Festival
11/7-11/9 Austin, TX- Fun Fun Fun Fest


Check back tomorrow for more of the newest in new(s) and follow AllFreshSounds on Twitter for updates throughout the day.

"We Made It" ft. Jay Z-Jay Electronica

"Apologies go out to all my fans cause they waited so patiently," enigmatic New Orleans rapper Jay Electronica delivers early in his verse from a remix of Soulja Boy's booming "We Made It". Considering the beautifully elegiac "Better In Tune with the Infinite" he released last week and now this, he no longer has anything to apologize for.

And while everyone is already focusing on label-boss Jay Z's shots thrown at Drake, Jay Elec's take on the pure giddiness that is "We Made It" is an unqualified success. Contorting his voice into the much discussed "Migos flow" Electronica gets sociological early and often. He plots a line of black heroes from "Solomon to Sambo to Django" while discussing the suffering that dogged all of them. "Obamacare won't heal all that anguish" he starkly reminds everyone, the roots of the pain go much deeper than that. What keeps Electronica upright in spite of that overwhelming pain is an unflinching motivation, carrying him from "from the cotton fields, straight to spaceship."

That said, it's impossible not to discuss "We Made It" without dissecting what's motivating Jay Z on the song. Apparently Drizzy's comments "Hov can’t drop bars these days without at least four art references," light a fire under Jay to respond. "Sorry Mrs. Drizzy for so much art talk, silly me rapping 'bout s*** that I really bought," Hova raps with an audible smirk over the shifty trap beat. It's not a shot fired, so much as it is a lyrical autocorrect. Most rappers are stuck living in the land of imagination, Jay's successful enough to make his dreams a reality. He's already hopped off the slave ship and can now be seen "stuntin' on stage" with a black tux befitting John Gotti. In "We Made It"'s interlude the loathsome Kenny Powers wonders aloud "why the hell are so many people trying to tell me to slow down? Seems like motherf***ers should be shutting the hell up and enjoying the show." Stop focusing so much on album delays and disses, instead just kick back and relax. 

Still no recent date for Jay Electronica's Act II though one may be coming very soon with this recent uptick in material.

 

What's New(s)?

T.I., Katy B cover "Drunk in Love"

With the number of covers of Beyoncé's giddy "Drunk in Love", it's only a matter of time before I somehow end up on a remix. Last week alone yielded the official "Drunken Love" remix, along with takes by Kanye West and the Weeknd. A little more than two weeks ago we saw Future hop on and offer up his own slurred reworking of the tune. 

Today that ever-widening list expanded again with performances by rapper T.I. and dubstep/R&B singer Katy B. Somewhat paradoxically, B's version which co-mingles with a cover is the more organic of the two with only piano and the soft pattering of drums to prop it up. T.I. meanwhile snarls over a hyper-kinetic "EDM remix" where vocal samples stutter ad infinitum and the music seems to shift gears every 30 seconds. If its on anything at all, odds are it isn't alcohol.

"Drunk in Love"- Katy B

Morning Phase streaming now

Early returns on Beck's 12th studio album Morning Phase have been nothing short of laudatory. Today, courtesy of NPR, one of Spin Magazine's "50 Albums You Gotta Hear" has been made available for streaming. Beck has been touting this record as a spiritual companion/sequel to 2002's Sea Change and from the first few string-laden moments of "Morning" which drift into rustic guitar you know exactly what he means. I haven't had time to process everything yet, but what I've heard is absolutely gorgeous and fully deserving of the Sea Change comparisons. 

 

As mentioned last week, Morning Phase is just one of two LPs Beck hopes to release in 2014. The other, which has an extremely tentative fall release date may or may not be a dance record and feature the omnipresent Pharrell on it.


For news updates throughout the day, follow @AllFreshSounds on Twitter and check back in tomorrow for more of the newest in new(s).

What's New(s)?

Beck working with Pharrell

At this point, I'm convinced that Pharrell Williams is a robot. There's no other conceivable explanation as to how one man could hold up to such an endless workload. Last week he popped up on the monstrous posse cut "Move That Dope". Two-and-a-half weeks before he was snatching up Grammys and rocking a hat that would make Dudley Do Right envious. Last year, he crafted a 24-hour music video and managed turns on two of the biggest hooks of the summer ("Feds Watching" should've been a clear-cut third). And somewhere in there, he was caught up in the midst of Clipse rumors that appear not to be true.

So why not work with Beck? The indie-chameleon has a new album coming out February 25th entitled Morning Phase, but that's just one of two albums he's been promising for 2014. Now according to a recent interview with Billboard, Beck's detailing that the omnipresent Pharrell will be involved with the other project along with "other high-profile collaborators."

There's no details on that album yet, other than a tentative 2014 release. But as previously mentioned, Morning Phase is out February 25th through Capitol.

"Blue Moon"

"Drunken Love" remix

It seems blasphemous to ask how Beyoncé's soaring "Drunk in Love" could become anymore captivating, but producer Noel "Detail" Fisher had the bravery to. At Complex, he debuted his official remix of the song, appropriately entitled "Drunken Love". And while the original was chugging down thunderous drums and bass, the remix gingerly sips on orchestral flourishes and floating choral vocals. Bey's voice doesn't soar now, it seemingly glides; curlicuing into every line. And Jay's verse, which felt shoehorned into the original, is far less harried her and better for it. If "Drunk in Love" was a full-on body-rush, this is the heady feeling that comes later. 

You can hear the song below and check out of video of Detail describing both the original and the bold reworking here.

For news updates throughout the day, follow @AllFreshSounds on Twitter and check back in Monday for more of the newest in new(s).

What's New(s)?

Watch/listen to Lana Del Rey's theme for Maleficent

Lana Del Rey's yearning, pop ballads always felt like fairytales set to music, so it's no real surprise she'd be tapped to record the theme-song for Disney's upcoming Maleficent. A re-imagining of the 1959 classic Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent delivers the point-of-view of the "tragically misunderstood" titular character as played by Angelina Jolie. Reportedly Jolie herself handpicked Del Ray for the job of updating the Sleeping Beauty tune, which first aired last night during the Grammys. All of the benchmarks of Del Rey are present in "Once Upon a Dream" from breathless vocals to elegiac strings that float like clouds of smoke. If dream weren't already in the title, it'd be one of the first few words that comes to mind.

You can download "Once Upon A Dream" via Google Play and view the trailer for the film which opens in theaters May 30.

Chvrches cover "Bela Lugosi's Dead" for Vampire Academy soundtrack

I've never been a staunch advocate for covers. In most cases it's a lose-lose situation, particularly when an artist is tackling a bonafide classic. Bahaus' 1979 single "Bela Lugosi's Dead" falls into "classic" category, cloaked in scraping guitars and unstable drums it essentially launched the goth-rock genre.

Scottish synthpop trio Chvrches apparently could not care less about the song's mythic stature based on their decision to resurrect the number for the Vampire Academy soundtrack. Lauren Mayberry and company already proved their chops with their wistful take on Janelle Monáe's "Tightrope", so this seismic offering feels like a victory lap for the group. "Driving" is a word unlikely to appear in the same paragraph as "goth-rock" but Chvrches' effort is marked by electronic propulsion. Peter Murphy's tombstone croon is swapped for Mayberry's longing chirp, and unsettled guitar sounds tag out for warm synths. Where the original seemed terrified of the fallen horror legend, Chvrches cover scans as celebratory.

The soundtrack which also features music from: Sky Ferreira, Bear in Heaven, Au Revoir, Simone, and more is out February 4th via Universal.

2014 Grammys Round-up

Anyone fearing a rise of the machines was in full-panic mode last night, as robotic French duo Daft Punk took home "Album of the Year" for the career defining Random Access Memories. Robots Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo also nabbed Grammys for "Record of the Year" and "Best Pop Duo/Group Performance" for effortless disco hit "Get Lucky", which they shared with Nile Rodgers and Pharrell.

Another big winner of the night was New Zealand teen Lorde who took home "Song of the Year" and "Best Pop Solo Performance" for the effervescent, beat-driven "Royals". Jay Z/Justin Timberlake partnering "Holy Grail" won "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration", while Macklemore & Ryan Lewis cleaned up in the rest of the category winning for: "Best Rap Performance", "Best Rap Song", and "Best Rap Album" (More on that tomorrow).  

Elsewhere Vampire Weekend captured a win for "Best Alternative Music Album" in a crowded field that also featured Neko Case, the National, Nine Inch Nails, and Tame Impala. And in one of the night's biggest surprises, Taylor Swift was shut out of all country categories, including "Best Country Album" which she lost to Kacey Musgraves. 

There are too many great moments to list (Yoko Ono getting down to Daft Punk and Jay Z/Beyonce swaying to Kendrick stand among them), so check out a few of the choice performances here.


Check back in tomorrow for more of the newest in new(s) and follow @AllFreshSounds on Twitter for updates throughout the day.

What's New(s)?

Queens of the Stone Age throw shots at Jigga

Though it's hard to imagine them inspiring a "Takeover" like response, Queens of the Stone Age had some less than kind things to say about "the God MC" in light of their recent performance at the Jay curated Made in America Festival. In an interview with the CBC 2's "Strombo Show" frontman Josh Homme referred to Jay Z as a "kook", saying "He has his security frisking the bands on the way in." When the festival security asked to look through his own bag, Homme threatened not to play, intonating "no one's ever done that." Apparently the band was also given a bottle of Jay Z's champagne, which they later broke tagging it as nothing more than "a marketing tool". Listen at around the 1:56:00 and 2:16:00 marks for QOTSA's commentary on the incident, where Homme also wonders aloud "people never say anything bad about Jay Z do they?", not unless your Lil Wayne or Nas.


  




Beck debuts "Gimme"

Rounding out this summer's trilogy of stand-alone singles, Beck has released "Gimme" to follow-up previous entries "Defriended" and "I Won't Be Long". According to NPR affiliate WXPN, none of the songs will feature on his forthcoming full length LP or his rumored acoustic album. "Gimme" tows the line between the two, feature an organic gamelan like sound before rapidly mutating into mechanical pitch-shifting vocals. The song is now available as a 12'' on Beck's website backed by a 30 minute extended mix B-side.

James Blake teams up with Chance the Rapper

James Blake's original "Life Round Here" distinctively recalled the "rainy days" he detailed in the overcast number; a dour keyboard providing the cloud coverage and Blake's cascading digital voice supplying the downpour. The song appeared before the RZA feature "Take A Fall For Me" on the excellent sophomore release Overgrown. Since then, Blake has logged studio time with Drake, Kanye West, and now Chicago upstart Chance the Rapper. Before debuting the remix on BBC 1 Radio, Blake fittingly called from Trent, England standing in the rain shooting a video with Chance for the new version. When asked by DJ Zane Lowe how the collabo came about, Blake spotlighted Chance's SXSW performance and said "I never really felt the track was finished, even when it went on the album, I just felt there was this space". Chance fills in that space with a dizzying verse that scurries through "roundabouts" and chips in for another round. The exuberant touchdown Blake dejectedly referenced is reinvigorated by Chance's own take on the Ickey Shuffle. 

Look for the video to appear in a future edition of "What's New(s)?" which is said to feature everything from "Somalia Pirates to Chevy Impalas." 

What's New(s)?

 Yoko Ono & the RZA team-up

In 2010 Wu-Tang masterming the RZA and Yoko Ono took to the stage in Los Angeles to play chess and do duets in what is easily one of the most unexpected collaborative efforts ever. Now that piece of "performance-art" will be permanently emblazoned on a 10'' single commemorating the event. The record will feature live recordings of the lurching fertilization cycle saga "Seed of Joy/Life Is A Struggle" backed by Yoko Ono's Plastic Band's "Greenfield Morning I Pushed An Empty Baby Carriage All Over The City". Reportedly this is round one in a series of collaborative releases from Ono, so I can only imagine the artists we've yet to hear team-up with Yoko.

"Seed of Joy/Life Is A Struggle"

Coldplay contributes to Catching Fire

Catching Fire is bound to see one of the biggest releases of 2013, so it's only appropriate that one of the biggest bands in music (whatever that designation means circa 2013 is up for debate) Coldplay is contributing to the mammoth undertaking. "Atlas" is Chris Martin and company's first new music since 2011's kaleidoscopic "concept-album" Mylo Xyloto. The song begins grounded by Martin's restrained piano and muted vocals before breaking free and ascending for the heavens in typical Coldplay fashion. In other words, it'll sound great during a cinematic experience. 

Catching Fire hits theaters November 22, so look for the soundtrack to hit shelves around the same time.

Arcade Fire...The Plot Thickens

 

  

 
Arcade Fire continues to borrow further down the rabbit hole as the October 29 crawls closer. Wednesday, the blog was reporting the band was definitely doing something at 9pm on September 9 and now it appears their plan is to release a new single entitled "Reflektor" accompanied by a video directed by Anton Corbijn. But that's not all. Arcade Fire Tube is indicating plans to release a "Reflektor" 12'' with the above artwork (a possible callback to the Stones Some Girls) in select record stores throughout the U.S. on September 9. 
 Pictures of a tracklist on the back of the release have also been circulating, and are yet to be confirmed. 

And if all that weren't enough to satiate your appetite, the Canadian septet is believed to have played a secret show at a small salsa club in Montreal on Wednesday. No video/pictures of the set have circulated, though Montreal blog The Main is reporting the band debuted a bevy of new tempo shifting songs that: "Imagine the Talking Heads’ "Once in a Lifetime", but if David Bowie had written it while on vacation." Again much of this is still conjecture at this point, but come Monday a part of this ever-growing mystery will be solved. 

Reflektor trailer
 

Jay Z and Kanye West hit the road

 

In support of their respective new albums, Jay Z (it doesn't get any easier typing that without the hyphen) and Kanye West will be trekking across North American for much of the rest of 2013. Kanye's maiden Yeezus voyage sets sail on October 19 with Kendrick Lamar while Hov' embarks on the Magna Carter World Tour beginning November 30. Tickets for Jay's shows go on sale September 12, just one day before little brother Kanye's. Check out the tour dates for each artist below, as well as the phenomenal "Holy Grail" video and a taste of what Kanye's latest live show could like in a performance from this year's NY Governor's Ball. 

Jay Z tour dates:

11-30 St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
12-1 Lincoln, NE - Pinnacle Bank Arena
12-2 Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
12-6 Anaheim, CA - Honda Center
12-7 San Diego, CA - Valley View Casino Center
12-9 Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center
12-10 Fresno, CA - Save Mart Center
12-11 San Jose, CA - SAP Center at San Jose
12-13 Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay Events Center
12-18 Oklahoma City, OK - Chesapeake Energy Arena
12-19 Houston, TX - Toyota Center
12-20 San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center
12-21 Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
12-27 Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena
12-28 Birmingham, AL - BJCC Arena

1-2 Ft. Lauderdale, FL - BB&T Center

1-4 Charlotte, NC - Time Warner Cable Arena

1-5 Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum Complex

1-8 Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena

1-9 Chicago, IL - United Center

1-10 Detroit, MI - The Palace of Auburn Hills

1-12 Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center

1-13 Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center

1-16 Washington, DC - Verizon Center

1-17 Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena

1-18 Boston, MA - TD Garden

1-19 Uniondale, NY - Nassau Coliseum

1-21 Pittsburgh, PA - CONSOL Energy Center

1-22 Newark, NJ - Prudential Center

1-24 Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre

1-27 Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre

1-29 Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center

1-30 Buffalo, NY - First Niagara Center

1-31 State College, PA - Bryce Jordan Center

Holy Grail ft. Justin Timberlake

Kanye West tour dates: 

10-19 Seattle, WA - KeyArena #
10-20 Vancouver, British Columbia - Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena #
10-22 San Jose, CA - SAP Center #
10-23 Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena #
10-25 Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden Arena
10-26 Los Angeles, CA - STAPLES Center #
11-1 Salt Lake City, UT - EnergySolutions Arena #
11-3  Denver, CO -  Pepsi Center #
11-5  Minneapolis, MN - Target Center #
11-7  Chicago, IL - United Center #
11-10  Detroit, MI - Palace of Auburn Hills #
11-12  Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre #
11-14  Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre #
11-16  Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center
11-17  Boston, MA - TD Garden #
11-19  Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center 
11-21  Washington, DC - Verizon Center #
11-23  New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
11-29  Miami, FL - AmericanAirlines Arena  #
11-30  Tampa, FL - Tampa Bay Times Forum
12-1 Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena #
12-6 Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center #
12-7 Houston, TX - Toyota Center #

Check back in Monday for more of the newest in new(s).