It’s the end of April and you know what that means! It’s time for April’s fail compilation. We also watch Tom Parker’s sort-of apology to Christina Aguilera after The Wanted called her a b*tch. Finally, we talk about Justin Bieber kissing college girls at NYU.
Metric – Youth Without Youth
I’ve been a Metric fan since I was 14 so I’ve been waiting anxiously these past three years for some new Metric music and FINALLY “Youth Without Youth” is here to cure my Metric withdrawal! The first single off their upcoming album Synthetica is a great guitar driven track. It’s faster and louder than most of Metric’s other music and it’s nice to hear lead singer Emily Haines using her voice to its full potential. I could see this being a serious song to jam out to during one of their upcoming concerts. You can pick up Synthetica on June 12.
Santigold – Proud Mary
I had the good fortune of seeing Santigold at Coachella and this woman has some serious talent. In her cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s famous “Proud Mary,” Santi White adds her own flavour to the jam. Instead of a straight up cover of the song, she adds some synth, African beats, and belts the song in her own robotic style. I’m loving this new take on a classic track.
Foster the People – Houdini Read more…
After three behind the scenes videos we’re finally granted the final visuals for Rihanna’s “Where Have You Been.” RiRi is a tribal, voodoo hunter prowling for her mate in the Dave Meyers directed video.
Here are five key scenes:
The Swamp
The music video opens in a foggy, moss-strewn pond with a submerged Rihanna peering above the waterline and diving back down like an alligator. When she comes up completely she’s naked except for the scaly pasties covering her lady bits.
The Desert
Next, Rihanna is the only lady leading a crew of warriors in the sandy, rocky desert. Everyone wears tribal or animal prints and Rihanna rocks red Hammer pants that sway perfectly with her dance moves.
The Cave
Next, Rihanna is in a dark cave, sitting on a zebra-print carpet in a black lacy dress. She dances gracefully with the other ladies, sometimes prowling so low she looks like a tiger stalking prey. The best part is when she huddles with the dancers and they create a giant, blinking eye with their arms.
The Owl Nest
Rihanna nests on a gigantic, twiggy patch, shaded by pink blossoms, calling for her mate.
Kaleidoscopic Forest
We saw kaleidoscopic scenes in Nicki Minaj’s video for “Starships” and now Rihanna pulls the same trippy moves. Her eyes are framed by a gold mask and her body doubles and triples with every movement.
Rihanna returns to her mossy swamp at the end of the video to continue searching for her lost companion.
Watch it here:
All the images of Nicki Minaj flipping back her green sea monster hair and the Twitpics of those buff Hawaiian men in pink bowler hats and sarongs are totally making sense now. It’s finally confirmed in her new “Starships” video that Minaj is indeed an alien from another planet that teleports from her schmancy flying starship. A party-ready Minaj beams down from the spaceship showing plenty of skin.
Minaj starts the day dancing in a pink bathing on the beach before changing into a different (and slightly more PG) suit and rapping in front of a trippy kaleidoscopic backdrop. There’s a look for everyone in Minaj’s video and the third one is definitely my favourite, if only because it reinforces the fact that a dark part of me is tempted to die my hair purple. Actually.
In the final scene, a nearly white-haired Minaj dances fireside at the beach with her worshipers. The Anthony Mandler-directed clip is exactly what we thought it would be, a good old fist-pumping time and a summer catalog for bikini fashions.
Watch it here:
By Galen Simmons
In the criminal justice system at Greendale, there are two types of people; those who cause trouble and those who try to bring the troublemakers to justice. This is a story of the latter.
The crime scene is Greendale’s biology lab, where a yam (alias Sweet Potato) had been brutally dropped on the floor and stepped on. The case was time-sensitive, as the Greendale study group charged with solving the crime had to prove someone sabotaged their biology project by class on the following day.
The case was a tough one, possibly the toughest of their careers. But with special investigators Troy Barnes and Abed Nadir beating the pavement for hard evidence and district attorney Jeff Winger fighting for the chance to plead the case to the biology class, it should have been an open and shut case. Instead, Sargent Annie Edison and her team uncovered a plot to take down the yams of an entire biology class in the Case of the Smashed Yam.
With that in mind, five things I learned on last night’s episode, “Basic Lupine Urology” are:
1) Starburns is dead. Or maybe he’s not, we’ll have to wait until next episode. But for now, let’s remember him as he was, a conscientious young student who worked hard in school, had a minor kleptomania problem, and whose life was tragically cut short by a freak meth-lab explosion in the trunk of his car. Who’s to say it couldn’t happen to any one of us?
2) Apparently the United States army takes time out of its busy schedule to defend its former soldiers in front of their community college biology classes in cases where yams and honour are involved. I can’t be sure the army defends solely in cases with yams, but I’ve yet to see an instance without one. Read more…
Not many people get to say: my Mom’s a rockstar and I spent a lot of my childhood on a tour bus. You would think the lifestyle of a musician would make it hard to bring a baby on the road, however, some how Dev makes it work. She talks about changing diapers, how she met her fiancé and we get to see her “nipples.”
Have you met Daveedo Jones? If you’ve heard of him chances are Dave Lingwood is messing with you because he doesn’t really exist. We asked our peeps on Twitter to submit their friends’ phone numbers so we could mess with them (this is why you should follow @andPOP) and we got a bunch of responses. Naturally, the unsuspecting person we called was thrilled, and coincidentally, asked for some help with her own bucket list!
Watch the interview here:
We finally reveal the lucky winners of our Hot Chelle Rae video message competition and watch the band’s reaction to the heartfelt video. Then we watch bra unhooking artiste Zac Efron destroy Jimmy Kimmel in a friendly competition.
Victoria Abraham defines one up and coming artist each week so you can impress your friends with your musical brilliance. This week, she tackles Diggy Simmons, a rapper from New York.
This 17-year old up and comer has hip-hop in his genes. He’s the fourth child of Joseph Ward Simmons, better known as Rev. Run, a founding member of the influential hip-hop group Run-D.M.C. Maybe you’ve heard of it?
The celebrity DNA doesn’t stop there, as Diggy’s uncle is Russell Simmons, the co-founder of Def Jam Records. With a family tree like that, its no wonder Diggy’s on his way to becoming hip-hop royalty.
Origins: Queens, New York.
Real name: Daniel Dwayne Simmons III, but he is better known by his stage name Diggy Simmons.
Known for: The teen heartthrob is known for his mad freestyling skills and lyrics that make the ladies swoon.
Used in a sentence: “Diggy Simmons has swag and will make his hip hop family proud.”
File next to: Jerimih
Download now: Although his arrival may have been unexpected, his success isn’t. Listen to “Do It Like You” now.
Watch it here:
We’re interviewing flame-haired acoustic troubadour Ed Sheeran, who was recently named best male breakthrough artist for his debut album at the Brit Awards. We love his eclectic blend of acoustic pop, folk and hip hop. If you’re dying to ask him any questions, send them our way via Twitter @andPOP. But make sure to get them in before Wednesday, April 18, when @Jordans_Life will be sitting down with him.
One Direction’s Liam Payne shared his number one tip for prospective singers: don’t forget the lyrics. It sounds simple, but when you’re in front of 28,000 people that’s the main thing that’s running through your mind.
In a solo interview with VEVO, Payne said he originally tried out for X Factor at age 14, because his dad inspired him too. Though Simon Cowell said he was too young, he knew his hobby was turning into something more serious. Thankfully Simon was wrong, can you imagine anyone else as first verse-man?
Watch the interview here:
One Direction is being sued by none other than One Direction, an American band with the exact same name. The andPOP crew talks about this and Zac Efron’s technique to unhook bras, aka the “pinch and slide.”
Today andPOP presents our very own special report in honour of CBC’s unnecessary wedding coverage of two local reporters. We investigate what colleague Jordan Darville ate for lunch. Groundbreaking. Then we have a heated discussion about whether cats or dogs are better.
The andPOP crew talks about a recent social experiment that turned a regular guy into a celebrity for a day. Then we talk about Kesha’s freaky collaboration with the Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne. Finally, we watch Internet crack gold, a duck that thinks it’s a dog. Win.
The andPOP crew watches and discusses videos of the creepiest Easter bunny ever and a cat with an unhealthy addiction to catnip. Then we brainstorm prank call ideas for our interview with the guys from The Buried Life tonight.
The boys from The Buried Life are stopping by andPOP Monday April 9 @ 5:30pm EST for a live interview. The guys have a new called What Do You Want To Do Before Your Die? Send us questions via Facebook and Twitter and tune in live!
By Galen Simmons
I knew something like this would happen, I just didn’t know it would happen so soon. After last night’s episode, Troy and Abed have declared war on one another, threatening the very fabric that holds Greendale together. While Annie and Jeff struggle to come to terms with gender issues, and Shirley and Pierce meddle in Britta’s love affair with a personified sandwich shop, Troy and Abed’s friendship is torn apart in the wake of a pillow versus blanket fort competition.
Seeing his advantage, Vice Dean Laybourne (guest star John Goodman) takes the opportunity to secretly push the boys farther apart, in hopes that Troy is pushed away from Abed and toward the Air Conditioning Repair Annex.
So, with that in mind, here are five things I learned from last night’s episode “Digital Exploration of Interior Design.”
1) Subway is involved in some sort of KGB-style advertising. They’ve placed an agent in Greendale to ensure that their sandwich shop is legitimate within Greendale’s bylaws. The agent, as far as he or anyone else in Greendale knows, has no identity other than Subway. He doesn’t remember his former life, he can’t fraternize with the student body, and he can’t show real human emotion. To top it off, when code name “Subway” is compromised by Britta’s feminine wiles, he is “disappeared” by an unknown agent from Subway headquarters.
2) Jeff seems to be narcissistic to the point of senility. Apparently, if your name does not relate well to your gender, Jeff will probably not remember meeting you, even after ten introductions over the space of a year. It’s sad really. Jeff didn’t even remember meeting Kim, after spending the entire episode trying to make amends for being inconsiderate.
3) Pierce has an ink problem. No, he doesn’t have an addiction to getting tattoos. Instead, Pierce has taken to drinking the ink out of pens. I’m not a doctor, but I don’t think consuming ink on a regular basis can be good for anyone. I think he needs to be a case study on My Strange Addiction.
4) Abed is a much better architect than Troy. When war first broke out, both Troy’s blanket fort and Abed’s pillow fort took some serious hits. While Troy’s blanket fort all but collapsed under fire, Abed’s pillow fort was able to maintain structural stability despite losing some support pillows. Something tells me Troy should have put more buttresses in.
5) John Goodman looks awesome with a ponytail and a beard. He’s like some sort of air conditioning repair Jedi master.
Columnist Victoria Abraham defines one artist each week so you can impress your friends with your musical brilliance. This week, she tackles The Arkells, a rock band from Hamilton, Ontario.
It’s JUNO week baby, so in light of all the Canada lovin’ that will go down on April 1, this week’s column is devoted to The Arkells. This round, they’re nominated for “Group of the Year.” The band will also perform at Montreal’s Osheaga this August.
Origins: Hamilton, Ontario
Known for: The Arkells are known for their foot stomping, heart pounding, hands in the air, sing along performances. Their second album, Michigan Left, combines the sounds of Bruce Springsteen, Spoon, and Hall & Oates, aka they’re a smorgasbord of awesomeness.
Used in a sentence: “The Arkells rescued Canadian rock from the dark days of Nickelback.”
File next to: Cage the Elephant
Download now: Listen to “Michigan Left” and be prepared to have your mind blown.
Listen to it here:
Notable lyrics: The Arkells sing about song writing and inspiration in their newest single, “Whistleblower.”
“Words, they keep dropping/ They keep spilling from my hands on to paper/ I’m in Virginia/ It’s 3am and I can’t fall asleep/ Just a little bit of faith is what I want/ It’s what I need in my institutions/ So I wait, so patiently…/ But when it happens, over and over…/ Can we hear it for the whistleblower?”
Listen to it here:
Fun facts: In 2006, The Arkells were signed with Dine Alone Records, the label of other Canadian artists such as Alexisonfire, and City and Colour.
The band did a popular cover of Outkast’s “Ms. Jackson” with Kesha and Shad at the Much Music Video Awards in 2010. The next year, Dan Griffin announced he would be leaving the band temporarily to go back to school so Anthony Carone has replaced him for the time being.
Career highlights: Their debut album called Jackson Square earned the band a top 10 Canadian rock radio hit with “Oh, the Boss is Coming!” This same hit led to them winning “New Band of the Year” at the 2010 JUNO Awards.
In 2011, CBC Radio 3 named The Arkells “best live act.”
Columnist Victoria Abraham defines one artist each week so you can impress your friends with your musical brilliance. This week, she tackles Boy & Bear, an indie rock band from Australia.
Australia is the birthplace of so much musical awesomeness. AC/DC, Kylie Minogue and the Bee Gees are just a few examples of famous musicians who come from the land down under. So it’s only natural that Sydney’s Boy & Bear would carry on the reputation of these national treasures. The five-person band is going on tour in Australia this April and with any luck they’ll be coming to Canada soon.
Origins: Yagoona, Sydney, Australia
Known for: The band describes their sound as “a combination of drivey indie folk and choral harmonies.”
Fun facts: Boy & Bear started out as a solo project for Dave Hosking in 2009. All the bands’ members, with the exception of Jon Hart, originally fronted their own groups, but then became friends and decided to form a band together.
Their song “Mexican Mavis” was featured on the 90210 episode, “Nerdy Little Secrets.”
Used in a sentence: “Each member of Boy & Bear looks like someone you wouldn’t be scared to introduce to your parents, plus they make folk flavoured indie rock cool again.”
File next to: Mumford & Sons
Download now: Listen to ”Feeding Line” below.
Notable lyrics: Boy & Bear sing about the struggle to remain original and figure out who you are in their song “Feeding Line,” which is just teenage-angsty enough to be awesome. Consider the lyrics below:
“My body moves in time/ We’re begging on the feeding line/ We’re lifting out above this head space/ See my body over flows/ But I got my whole damn life/ Caught up in moments entirely of yours/ But I’m finding it harder to reason in order to grow/ And finding it hard is a feeling that all of you know/ Know know.”
Career highlights: In 2009, Boy & Bear signed with Universal and in 2010, they released their debut EP, With Emperor Antarctica. They next year, they released their debut album, Moonfire, which reached number two on the ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart.
Their musical stylings won them five ARIA awards: Group of the Year, Breakthrough Artist – Single, for their leading single “Feeding Line,” and Breakthrough Artist – Album, Best Adult Alternative Album and the Album of the Year award for their debut album. Okay, you can take a breath now…
