Category: Music

Kanye West Performing at Call of Duty XP Convention

As we discussed in yesterday’s Coffee Talk, renowned hip-hop artist and producer Kanye West will be performing at Activision’s Call of Duty XP convention. He’ll be taking the stage on September 3, 2011. My personal dream is that Taylor Swift shows up and interrupts his show…but I don’t see that happening. Here’s a clip from the press release:

In his first public performance since the release of his fifth #1 album, the global smash “Watch the Throne,” Kanye West is set to close Call of Duty XP, the only full-immersion fan experience for Call of Duty gamers. West will take the stage at 8PM on Saturday, September 3rd, capping an impressive roster of firsts for casual and hardcore Call of Duty fans alike, including the world premiere of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer, the first public hands-on with the title, the finals of the Call of Duty $1 Million tournament sponsored by Xbox 360, Call of Duty-inspired live action-experiences and much more. Call of Duty XP takes place September 2nd and 3rd, 2011, in Los Angeles, California.

What do you think of Kanye performing at a Call of Duty convention? Are there any recording artists that you think match up well with certain games? As I mentioned yesterday, Yasumi Matsuno is a Queen mark and litters his game with all sorts of Queen references. Ice-T has a connection with Gears of War. Jack Black is a known Grand Theft Auto homer. Name some recording artists and match ’em up with games (please)!

Muppets: The Green Album Totally Rocks!

The soundtrack for The Muppets, titled Muppets: The Green Album, looks fantastic! It’s a bunch of contemporary artists doing updated versions of classic Muppets songs. The talent includes Weezer, My Morning Jacket, Brandon Saller (Atreyu), and OK Go. I’m completely psyched that Rachael Yamagata is in the mix too! Her 2004 album Happenstance is one of my favorites of the last decade.

The initial trailer for The Muppets had me looking forward to the movie. The soundtrack just sealed the deal!

If you have a chance, head on over to the track listing page and listen to the samples. Let me know if you’re digging any of the songs on Muppets: The Green Album. Mahna mahna!!!

[I wanted to post this story yesterday, but my crap web host decided to take the day off. Never use AnHosting.]

Noel Gallagher (Oasis) Blames London Riots on Videogames

Former Oasis lead singer Noel Gallagher knows the cause of the London riots — violent television and videogames. It’s fantastic that geniuses like Gallagher are providing astute analysis of the London riots, while Mensa members like Hulk Hogan are offering solutions. In a recent interview with Bang Showbiz Gallagher said:

We live in this age of violence — and I don’t care what other people say: Brutal TV and brutal video games are a reason for this pointless violence as well. The people are immune to violence, they are used to it.

As much as I’ve enjoyed Oasis music in the past, I’ve always thought that Noel Gallagher was a prick. His take on the London riots confirms his dickishness, as well as his idiocy. Also, he looks like Mr. Bean.

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R.I.P. Jani Lane (Lead Singer of Warrant)

My friend Parisi posted a link to this story about Jani Lane’s deceased body being found at a  Comfort Inn in Woodland Hills, CA. The news bummed me out more than I thought it would and I was genuinely surprised by how sad I felt. After thinking about it for a few minutes, I shouldn’t have been surprised at all. I loved Warrant as a youngster. “Heaven” was one of the first songs I learned how to play on guitar from start to finish. Yeah, they weren’t the greatest band in the world, but they were fun and they were definitely a big part of my youth. The band became part of my adult life too. My BB Zoe Flower and I usually perform “Heaven” during videogame industry karaoke. (We’re awesome at it, btw.)

I know that RPadholic N8R got to meet Jani Lane. Any of you get to meet him? Any other Warrant fans out there?

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HTC Teaming Up with Dr. Dre, Beats Audio in Phones Coming

[Updated 8/11 with awesome PR photo.] HTC CEO Peter Chou has revealed that his company is investing $300-million in Beats Electronics. Some of you will remember Beats as the high-end audio company founded by hip-hop legend Dr. Dre and Interscope super-producer Jimmy Iovine. The goal is to improve the audio quality of HTC phones and leverage the Beats brand. AllThingsDigital had more from Iovine:

Beats CEO (and legendary music producer) Jimmy Iovine told AllThingsD that the partnership with HTC is just the latest piece of his crusade to improve the sound in modern electronics. Iovine said that the shift from listening to music on stereos to one where MP3s are played on computers has led to “an entire generation lost to bad-sounding music.”

There’s no denying that Beats has a certain cachet and will be useful for marketing purposes, but I wouldn’t expect HTC phones to suddenly have magical audio quality. Current Beats products, like Beats by Dre from Monster Cable, are decent goods that are also overpriced and overrated. I’m sure Beats Electronics will help improve the audio quality of HTC phones, but I mostly see this as a really expensive marketing move.

HTC phones with Beats technology are expected to arrive in late 2011.

What do you think of HTC teaming up with Beats? Does it make you more interested in HTC phones? Or is it just a marketing ploy to you?

[Update: Below is an amazing photo of Chou, Dre, and Iovine. This was, by far, the best part of the press release.]

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Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan Launching Resistance Pro

The word on the street is that Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan will be announcing a new indie-wrestling promotion at Chicago Comic Con. According to AV Club, Corgan will be the creative director of the upcoming Resistance Pro wrestling promotion. Corgan is a lifelong wrestling fan that has appeared at numerous ECW and WWE events.

In my head Resistance Pro sounds awesome. I envision the wrestlers using Smashing Pumpkins tracks as entrance music and being escorted to the ring by the numerous hot bass players that have performed with Corgan over the years. Of course that’s probably not going to happen, but I’ll keep dreaming about it.

Resistance Pro is slated to ring its first bell this fall. It will be based in the Mid-West and hopefully use some of the excellent talent from local Ring of Honor shows.

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Three Awesome Game of Thrones Music Performances

Let’s celebrate the release of George R.R. Martin’s A Dance with Dragons by listening to these three awesome performances of the intro to Game of Thrones. First up is a slick acoustic mix. Next is a classical performance using acoustic and electric violin sounds. Capping it off is a rock version featuring heavy drums and electric guitar.

If you have a chance to listen to all three tracks, please let me know which one is your favorite. Thanks to Joey and Parisi for sharing these on Google+!

Coffee Talk #372: My “Weird” Al Accordion Confession

I recently downloaded every polka by “Weird” Al Yankovic to serve as my soundtrack for my trip to Hawaii. And really, nothing says tropical island fun or celebrating your brother’s wedding like…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Novak Djokovic’s Wimbledon victory, your favorite BBQ food, or looking forward to airplane movies, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I recently downloaded every polka medley by “Weird” Al Yankovic to serve as my soundtrack for my trip to Hawaii. And really, nothing says tropical island fun or celebrating your brother’s wedding like a “Weird” Al polka. I’ve always loved “Weird” Al. When I was a kid, I thought he was hilarious. As I grew older, I learned to appreciate his witty parodies and his clever polka arrangements. He’s just awesome.

“Weird” Al is so awesome that he inspired me to learn how to play the accordion in grade school. I defy you to think of three instruments lamer than the accordion. (You can’t.) That didn’t matter to me. The accordion was one of Al’s most potent weapons and I wanted to be more like him. Who doesn’t?!?

Today I have two questions for you. 1) Have you ever been inspired to do something silly or lame because of music, movies, or games? 2) Which “Weird” Al polka medley is best? Click on the links below for samples!

These polkas are fantastic. The arrangements are funny and expertly done. The song choices do a great job of reminding you of popular songs of a certain era. “Weird” Al 4 life!!!

Beats, Rhymes, and Life Trailer (A Tribe Called Quest)

I’m so psyched for Beats, Rhymes, and Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest. The documentary will see a limited release on July 8, 2011 and I plan on catching it as soon as I can (I’ll be in Hawaii and I’m not sure where it’ll be playing or how I can get there.). I love A Tribe Called Quest. I love that era of hip-hop. Groups like Tribe and Diggable Planets made for a cool and stylish hip-hop period. It wasn’t about pimps, gangs, coastal warfare, etc. It was all about slick beats, sweet samples, and smooth lyrics. I’m looking forward to reliving those times and seeing today’s hip-hop stars pay tribute to A Tribe Called Quest (represent, represent!).

Check out the trailer when you have a chance and let me know what you think (please)!

Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Aniston Get Hollywood Stars

The Hollywood Walk of Fame has announced the latest entertainers to get their very own stars on the world famous Hollywood sidewalk. The list is lead by hotties Scarlett Johansson and Jennifer Aniston (in my head anyway). Naturally I saw this announcement as an opportunity to post sexy photos! Other honorees include the late, great Richard Burton, D&D fan Vin Diesel, Matt Groening, and Adam West. Here’s the full list from E!:

Movies

  • Jennifer Aniston
  • Vin Diesel
  • Scarlett Johansson
  • John Lasseter
  • Malcolm McDowell
  • Sumner Redstone
  • Kate Winslet
  • Richard Burton (posthumous)

TV

  • Valerie Bertinelli
  • Matt Groening
  • Mariska Hargitay
  • Patricia Heaton
  • Marg Helgenberger
  • Walter Koenig
  • Adam West

Music

  • Pepe Aguilar
  • AMERICA
  • Boyz II Men
  • Hal David
  • David Foster
  • Vince Gill
  • Jennifer Lopez
  • Ann and Nancy Wilson (Heart)
  • Barry White (posthumous)

Radio

  • Ellen K.

Now onto the photos!

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