“Black Skinhead” – Kanye West
Kanye West’s upcoming album Yeezus is getting quite a bit of buzz, and the rapper just premiered another track on Saturday Night Live to amp up the publicity. The track deals with some pretty heavy topics including consumerism and racism, but Kanye’s lyricism is smart and on point. The track is pretty dark with tribal grunting, a screaming Kanye, and a heavy beat layered over opera music, but as usual, Kanye manages to pull it off.
“Don’t Wait Up” – Tweens
Sometimes it can be hard for bands to get that perfect marriage between clean and crisp, and a low-fi, garage sound, but Ohio indie rockers Tweens manage to create it quite well in their latest track “Don’t Wait Up.” The Tweens may not be as established as other rock bands yet, but with in your face lyrics and a fresh attitude, I can see good things happening for them.
Details of comedy music group The Lonely Island’s next album The Wack Album have finally surfaced and it’s starting to look like a who’s who of music. But first up is the music video for their next big hit, “Spring Break Anthem.”
Disguised within a new episode of Between Two Ferns, the boys of The Lonely Island (Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone and Andy Samberg) get a little help from the show’s host, Zach Galifianakis, and his guest, James Franco, with a surprise appearance from actor Ed Norton.
While I would’ve been absolutely content with Between Two Ferns as Galifianakis sends out zingers like, “I don’t consider what you did at the Oscars hosting the Oscars,” this is much better. The guys all end up marrying each other because that’s the logical thing to do right in the middle of spring break (got to get all the crazy out of your system before settling down, right?).
On the music side, super heavy weights Justin Timberlake, Solange, Lady Gaga, Pharrell Williams, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and T-Pain are set to appear on the upcoming The Wack Album. “YOLO” featuring Adam Levine and Kendrick Lamar (which previously premiered on Saturday Night Live) will also be included in their new effort. The Wack Album is set to drop June 11.
Last night’s episode of SNL not only marked the moment when Maroon 5’s Adam Levine “overreached and tried acting” (his words, not mine) to host the live sketch show, but also the return of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer, a.k.a. the Lonely Island.
And hallelujah and thank the lords because there hasn’t been a good digital short since Samberg and crew left the show last year (except for maybe Taran Killam’s “Sloppy Swish”).
This time around, the boys of Lonely Island turned the tables on last year’s beloved catchphrase, “YOLO,” with assistance from Levine and musical guest Kendrick Lamar. Though instead of going balls to the wall, they advise against stupidity because hey, you only live once, right?
Their sage wisdom via song includes:
Thanks Lonely Island, for digging deep into my paranoia. It only justifies my reasoning to stay at home because a piano might just fall on my head the moment I walk out the door.
Watch “YOLO” by Lonely Island feat. Adam Levine and Kendrick Lamar below:
Looks like a lot of our favourite SNL cast members are leaving the show.
First it was Kristen Wiig…and now Andy Samberg.
After much speculation, the comedian confirmed the rumours to the New York Times
that he won’t be returning next season.
“It’s an incredibly emotional and strange moment in my life,” Andy said. “Obviously it’s not a huge shock, but I did officially decide not to come back.”
From one of the guys who brought us The Lonely Island, he will certainly be missed!
So to remember some classic Samberg, here is a video of him and Justin Timberlake singing about 3-ways with Lady Gaga.
The 54th Grammys are on tomorrow night and is hosted by none-other than hip-hop legend LL Cool J – and if you can’t be there, might as well stalk those who are via Twitter.
We pulled together a little list of musicians, music critics, comedians and other accounts that are essential to give an inside look at music’s biggest night. Check them out below:
THE MUSICIANS:
@AdamLevine: Maroon 5′s frontman and The Voice judge is performing with the freakin’ Beach Boys and Foster The People.
@BlobTower: Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon – a Twitterholic and up for two major awards.
@BrunoMars: He’d catch a grenade for you and he snagged a few nods.
@CoryMonteith: That Canadian dude from Glee tweets as much as sings.
@Deadmau5: Toronto’s DJ with a nod and a performance this weekend.
@Drake: Stay tuned for lonely thoughts at the after parties.
@JustinBieber: An up-and-coming tween sensation that has some potential.
@KanyeWest: He’s up for seven awards and he likes to talk. A lot.
@KatyPerry: She’s performing, up for a few awards – and she’s Katy Perry.
@LadyGaga: Mother Monster is performing, up for a few awards.
@LLCoolJ: Host for the evening; stay tuned for a snapshot or two from behind the scenes.
@TheLonelyIsland: Everyone’s favourite SNL-group headed by Andy Samberg.
@LupeFiasco: Nominated for Best Rap Performance.
@MileyCyrus: She will be in attendance.
@NickiMinaj: She’ll be performing, nods for her collab with Drake and Best New Artist.
@Questlove: The Roots’ drummer that is “your favourite twitterer’s music critic.”
@Rihanna: She likes to Tweet That Tweet – let’s see what she has to say about Chris Brown’s performance.
@Skrillex: 24-year-old producer is up for Best New Artist.
@TaylorSwift13: No doubt this nominee will be Instagraming all night long.
@WizardCud: Kid Cudi might not be as philosophical since quitting weed, but remains vocal.
@ZooeyDeschenel: Fresh from her SNL-hosting gig Saturday, she’ll be all adorkable at the award show.
THE MUSIC CRITICS:
@AlanCross: Canadian music-history icon will keep us confirmed.
@GerrickKennedy: Music writer for the Los Angeles Times likes to tweeter.
@JianGhomeshi: Canadian radio personality loves his music.
@RobSheff: Rolling Stone’s resident music critic – knows a thing or two about the industry.
@RyanSeacrest: This guy is so addicted to hosting things that he’ll likely tweet as if he is hosting the damn show.
THE COMEDIANS:
@JimmyFallon: The Late Night host that’s a fan of everything – especially music.
@NealBrennan: New York comedian that is worth following year-round.
@RobDelaney: He tweets like breathing – why aren’t you following him already?
THE OTHERS:
@TheGrammys: Pretty self-explanatory
@Fave: One of the official Grammy bloggers.
@KickKickSnare: An official blogger for the Grammys – been snapping a lot of candid pics of the parties thus far.
@RedCarpet: E! Channel’s official red carpet twitter account with photos and commentary for every major red carpet event.
“I’m on a boat, I’m on a boat. Everybody look at me cause …I’m hosting Shark Week!”
Okay, that was incredibly lame…but how can I hide my excitement?!
Discovery Channel announced Wednesday that Andy Samberg will host the annual “Shark Week” this summer. Serving as the network’s first Chief Shark Officer, the Saturday Night Live star will take over for last year’s host Craig Ferguson, who racked up 31 million viewers for the network.
“I’m overjoyed about being appointed CSO. Everyone loves Shark Week. It’s the Bill Cosby of week-long television blocks dedicated to sea animals,” Samberg said in a statement.
Shark Week won’t be the only thing keeping Samberg busy this summer. With yet another season of SNL wrapping up, his comedy rap group, The Lonely Island, will be releasing their new album “Turtleneck and Chain” in May.
Sounds like big news!!
Hopefully, The Lonely Island makes a cameo…this time singing about …sharks?
