We run down the surprising losses (and wins) over the years at the music industry's big show
Fabio resigns as England manager Your Views: Newsbeat listeners have their say on who should be new England manager after the Italian steps down.
Medical drama House to end run The show, which stars British actor Hugh Laurie, will finish after the current eighth season ends.
Katy Perry divorce finalised A judge has granted a quick divorce for Katy Perry and Russell Brand after just over a year of marriage.
Deadly shelling hits Syrian city Syria's army again bombards the restive city of Homs and kills at least 50 people, activists say, after the UN criticised the attack's "appalling brutality".
On "Les Plus Beaux," from E Volo Love, cosmopolitan-pop quartet Francois & the Atlas Mountains execute a nice little cultural tip of the cap. It's common to hear West African musicians sing en Francais, sending vocal melodies skittering over their trademark shimmering guitar lines. Here, though, Francois, a native of France, sings a winsome, irresistible melody in his mother tongue while the Atlas Mountain work up a gorgeously lolling Malian-influenced groove. The band's album is out February 14 on Domino.
If you live somewhere in the continental United States, much of the scrolling scenery that comprises the Head and the Heart's E. Ryan McMackin-directed clip for "Down in the Valley" will feel equal parts familiar and foreign. That's because these snippets of the American road and landscape — captured during the Seattle roots-rock outfit's most recent tour — have been sewn together like all the strangely recognizable verses and choruses that populate their hugely successful self-titled debut: with warmth. One thing this band knows about the paradigm they've made their home is that it's rooted in sharing. And that's exactly what you can see them do again and again in the clip's final phase.
iTunes will live-stream a concert by Sir Paul McCartney at Capitol Studios in Hollywood tomorrow night (February 9) where he'll play the entirety of his new record Kisses on the Bottom. This has led some observers to speculate that the ex-Beatle has wiped his catalog from streaming services in order to give iTunes a big exclusive — his music is mostly missing from Spotify, but his solo work is still, for the most part, fully available to subscribers on streaming sites like Rdio and Rhapsody.
According to a report from Digital Music News, most of McCartney's releases were removed from Spotify two years ago. The move wasn't out of character for the knight; the Beatles have a long-standing history of digital curmudgeonry (they're not available on Spotify, either). Could McCartney's camp also be of the mindset that streaming music cannibalizes sales? Considering McCartney's own catalog has been available via iTunes since as early as 2007 (it took the Beatles three years longer to follow suit), we doubt it. His reps couldn't be reached for comment for the time being, but we're guessing the live-streamed performance, at least, is the next step in the artist's slow chug toward the future — the man is pushing 70, for heaven's sake, not 40. Baby steps, Paul.
The only solo McCartney material you can hear on Spotify includes tracks that have been licensed via a handful of compilations (like last year's Rave On, Buddy Holly and an album of James Bond theme songs). Scan a Paul McCartney Pandora or Last.fm station and you're likely to only get a handful of tracks off All the Best (though discerning whether something has been pulled from a radio service is trickier than a simple library site like Spotify).
Below is a list of albums that have supposedly been pulled, and where to find them:
Paul McCartney:
All The Best (available via Rdio)
Driving Rain (available via Rdio)
Flaming Pie (available via Rdio)
McCartney II (available via Rdio, Rhapsody)
Off the Ground (available via Rdio)
Paul is Live (available via Rdio, Rhapsody)
Run Devil Run (available via Rdio)
Tripping the Live Fantastic (available via Rdio, Rhapsody)
Tripping the Live Fantastic Highlights! (no sign of this one)
Tug of War (available via Rdio, Rhapsody)
Unplugged: The Official Soundtrack (the Bootleg available via Rhapsody)
Wingspan (available via Rhapsody)
Wings:
Back to the Egg (available via Rdio)
London Town (available via Rdio)
Wings Over America (available via Rdio)
Wings at the Speed of Sound (available via Rhapsody)
Paul McCartney and Wings:
Red Rose Speedway (available via Rhapsody)
First! Adele held on to the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Top 200 albums chart for a 19th non-consecutive week. The British singer's 21 sold 122,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That means Adele's sophomore LP has now spent more weeks atop the chart than any album other than The Bodyguard soundtrack, whose 20-week mark she can match if she holds off this week's releases by Van Halen and the Fray to keep the top spot next week. But remember, this isn't consecutive, so Adele could still keep setting records even if 21 falters for one week.
2 Through 10: And the winner of this week's Best-Selling Non-Adele Album honors is... Lana Del Rey. The "Video Games" singer's Born to Die debuted at No. 2 with 77,000 copies sold. That's the highest first-week chart placement for a female artist's major-label debut since America's Got Talent contestant Jackie Evancho's Dream With Me entered at No. 2 last July. (Hey, Saturday Night Live bookers: Jackie wuz ROBBED.) Behind Del Rey was Leonard Cohen, who scored his highest chart placement ever as his Old Ideas bowed at No. 3 (41,000). Gospel artist Fred Hammond's God, Love & Romance debuted at No. 8 (26,000), but otherwise the charts were filled with returning albums. The 2012 Grammy Nominees compilation sat tight at No. 4 (34,000), followed by Kidz Bop 21 (30,000), Drake's Take Care (slightly less than 30,000), and Tim McGraw's Emotional Traffic (29,000). Rounding out the Top 10 were Super Bowl performers LMFAO's WalMart- and iTunes-discounted Sorry for Party Rocking (22,000) along with Rihanna's Target-discounted Talk That Talk (22,000). Let's hear it for commoditization, people.
'Stronger,' After All: Kelly Clarkson's "What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)" continued its surge up Billboard's Hot 100 songs chart, bumping Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain" to claim the No. 1 spot. The former American Idol contestant's third chart-topping hit follows her Super Bowl rendition of the national anthem. "Stronger" also features in a new Toyota TV commercial. Both Clarkson and Adele are slated to perform at Sunday's Grammy Awards ceremony, thus putting them in direct competition. See, pop music can be like sports!
What About Madonna? Don't worry, the Material Girl got plenty of attention last week. "Give Me All Your Luvin'," which Madonna performed at the Super Bowl halftime show with Nicki Minaj and (fake scandal alert!) M.I.A., entered the Hot 100 at No. 13. The song is the first single from Madonna's upcoming 12th album, MDNA, but does anybody else think "Gimme All Your Luvin'" would've been a catchier title? I mean, we've already got "luvin," so Madge ain't exactly using W.E.'s English here. Anyway, the pop queen's Celebration greatest hits album also re-entered the Top 200 albums chart, at No. 24 (16,000).
Feeling Better: Eclectic Belgian-Australian artist Gotye's Making Mirrors jumped from No. 45 to No. 20 (18,000) upon finally receiving a physical CD release — and that famous JimmyKimmel bump.
The good news: The recently reunited surviving members of the Beach Boys just announced that they will perform for the first time in nearly 20 years at the Grammys on Sunday. The bad news: despite having a sheer plethora of nominated artists at their disposal for collaboration, the band (now consisting of Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, and early members David Marks and Bruce Johnston) will be performing with, amazingly, Maroon 5 and Foster the People.
In terms of broadcast viewership for the event, the pairing makes sense: both Foster and Maroon 5 had an inexplicably fantastic 2011 with their respective inescapable singles, "Pumped Up Kicks" and "Moves Like Jagger." One could also loosely associate both acts with the Beach Boys in terms of their Southern California roots, and think, OK, maybe the younguns will tone down their indie-bro-pop and defer to the masters (whose latest release, Smile Sessions, is divine, we might add) for the occasion.
But then one considers all the other acts that will be at the Grammys, and?wait, seriously? We have to believe that Foster the People and Maroon 5 weren't the first choices on this momentous occasion that has not happened for 20 years. It's like the Halley's Comet of live music. What were Foo Fighters, who are nominated for Best Rock Album and Album of the Year, doing on Grammy night that rendered the heartbreakingly adorable mashup of "Best of You" and "God Only Knows" we've imagined in our brains totally out of the question? Bruno Mars is performing solo; couldn't the vintage-infused crooner have mixed his doo-wop with the Beach Boys' surf harmonies better than the Voice judge whose own music gets made fun of by even Fox News? And come on — not even Taylor Swift? (And we can't say for certain, but we're pretty sure that Bon Iver wouldn't have turned down the chance to perform with legends, so we'll just continue believing the National Academy of the Recording Arts and Sciences wanted them to play with Foster the People, too.) Who let this happen?
We're praying the world won't have to witness poor Brian Wilson singing "Take me by the tongue / And I'll know you / Kiss me 'til you're drunk / And I'll show you." But hey, at least it's not more Chris Brown. Or, heaven forbid, more Hootie.
