Music news

• Mayer Hawthorne: Man About Town review – kitsch soul nails 70s sound

  07-04-2016 23:00
  
  (BMG)As a young, LA-based purveyor of kitschy funk and soul, Mayer Hawthorne treads a fine line between parody and sincerity. Out-and-out comedy acts such as Flight of the Conchords have plundered a similar tranche of 70s styles in order to cast themselves as hilariously grotesque singer-seducers; but when Hawthorne samples orgasmic moaning, it serves more as a knowing wink than an actual joke. For the most part, he remains in relatively banal lyrical territory on this fourth album, but what he&
  
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• Ben Watt: Fever Dream review – keen-eyed songs about human relationships

  07-04-2016 23:00
  
  (Unmade Road) Related: Romany and Tom by Ben Watt – review Ben Watt’s stunning 2014 album, Hendra, saw the Everything But the Girl man combine superb songwriting with emotional edge, in lyrics that dealt with the deaths of his father and half-sister, and his mother’s slide into dementia. Fever Dream has a similarly understated, eerie intensity, and Bernard Butler’s hazy, Isley Brothers-like guitar playing is again ever-present, as Watt sticks with what he calls
  
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• Deftones: Gore review – metal that seduces instead of assails

  07-04-2016 22:45
  
  (Reprise)Long since distanced from their early nu-metal roots, Deftones are these days a far more intriguing proposition: a metal band more than happy to dip their toes into the ambient and experimental genres. Gore is the group’s first album since the death of bassist Chi Cheng in 2013, though those looking for some sort of direct reckoning with his passing will likely come away unfulfilled. Instead the preoccupation here is with tone and atmosphere, with the band continuing to explore th
  
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• M83: Junk review – nostalgia electronica, cheesy but refined

  07-04-2016 22:30
  
  (Naive)It’s an odd world that Anthony Gonzalez lives in. The Frenchman, releasing his sixth album as M83, writes songs full of nostalgia for an age that existed only on record. The 35-year-old claims to be fascinated by the years of his youth, and yet the music he makes refrains from the personal and cloaks itself instead in irony and appropriation. Here the points of reference are from the 70s and 80s. Atlantique Sud is a piano crooner that sounds like something Daft Punk might
  
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• The Voice 2016: Kevin Simm says he is being 'realistic' about life after the show

  07-04-2016 21:34
  
  As the only finalist in The Voice over 30, Kevin Simm is taking inspiration from 40-year-old Australian pop singer Sia.
  
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• Readers recommend: share your songs with schadenfreude

  07-04-2016 21:00
  
  What songs take malicious pleasure in the misfortune of others? Make your suggestions in the comments by Monday 11 April
  For this week’s readers recommend we want your nominations to be songs about – or including – schadenfreude.You have until 11pm on Monday 11 April to post your nomination and make your justification in the comments. Continue reading...
  
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• The 50 most amazing moments in pop history (that never actually happened)

  07-04-2016 20:17
  
  Bowie producing Elvis, Pharrell saving Jacko, Kanye and Lady Gaga’s Fame Kills tour. The history of music is littered with what-might-have-beens. Here are some of the best ...It’s only natural to celebrate the music world’s towering achievements. The greatest albums ever released? Let’s have a list. The most thrilling tours and collaborations the world has ever seen? It’s time for a countdown. The most exciting singles in the history of human endeavour? Sounds great
  
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• Kero Kero Bonito: ‘It’s just a bassline, vocals, super clear message and that’s it’

  07-04-2016 19:47
  
  The south London trio revere the Pop Group, PiL, Devo and the B-52s, hate Four Tet and Burial – and aspire to make ‘the perfect music’‘I think being jarred is pretty dope,” says Gus Lobban, one third of the London band Kero Kero Bonito. I’ve described his group’s brazen, gleamingly awkward J-pop and dancehall-inspired sound as jarring – actually intended as a compliment – but it has prompted Lobban and bandmate Jamie Bulled to leap to the def
  
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• No Chill [Explicit]

  07-04-2016 16:53 via mtv.co.uk
  
  No Chill
  
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• Here's What The Guys From NSYNC Are Up To Now

  07-04-2016 16:52
  
  They're all pretty busy...
  
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• Duncan Sheik reconsiders a psycho and makes beautiful music

  07-04-2016 16:27
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — The first time Duncan Sheik read the disturbingly gory novel "American Psycho," it didn't go well. He got halfway through the book before throwing it across his dorm room in disgust.
  
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• Cheap Thrills (Performance Edit)

  07-04-2016 16:26 via mtv.co.uk
  
  Cheap Thrills (Performance Edit)
  
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• BeFoUr

  07-04-2016 16:15 via mtv.co.uk
  
  BeFoUr
  
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• #indieamnesty: how a hashtag revived the last great pre-social media music scene

  07-04-2016 16:12
  
  After #indieamnesty took us down a mid-noughties wormhole of anecdotes, Spector’s Fred Macpherson reflects on the scene that was as unglamorous and idiotic as it was majesticWhen Rowan Martin of the brilliant Rhythm Method started the #indieamnesty hashtag on Wednesday morning, he probably didn’t know quite how deep the well would go. People were soon stepping forward with their deepest darkest indie confessions, from the laconic (“Was in the coral #indieamnesty” - @bryde
  
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• Denmark's Lukas Graham makes US mark with '7 Years'

  07-04-2016 16:04
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lukas Graham Forchhammer has an American dream. The Danish singer-songwriter from the pop-soul band Lukas Graham has topped charts in Europe and Australia, but he always hoped to reach audiences in the United States.
  
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• YES! will.i.am Confirms Black Eyed Peas Reunion

  07-04-2016 15:53
  
  No, no, no, no don't lieeee...
  
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• Jake Gyllenhaal Opens Up About Heath Ledger's Death In Incredibly Emotional Interview

  07-04-2016 15:48
  
  He was just 27 when Heath died.
  
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• Here Are 5 Seconds Of Summer's Cutest Selfies EVER

  07-04-2016 15:38
  
  It was SO hard to choose...
  
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• Interview: Ty Dolla $ign on Krept & Konan, The UK Scene & More

  07-04-2016 15:25
  
  It was refreshing to hear an American rapper talk about UK music with a decent knowledge of the scene,
  
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• Video Premiere | Bebe Rexha & Nicki Minaj Reunite For The Super Sexy 'No Broken Hearts'

  07-04-2016 15:00
  
  Booty booty booty booty booty.
  
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• No Broken Hearts (Ft. Nicki Minaj) [Explicit]

  07-04-2016 14:43 via mtv.co.uk
  
  No Broken Hearts (Ft. Nicki Minaj)
  
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• Why country music pioneer Merle Haggard will be missed – video obituary

  07-04-2016 13:47
  
  Merle Haggard died aged 79 on Wednesday, also the day of date of his birth. Haggard was one of the most resonant and pioneering figures in country music. As well as being a blue-collar hero, he was a complex and innovative artist. Haggard helped developed the Bakersfield sound, a reaction against the slickly produced, string orchestra-laden Nashville soundpopular in the late 1950s. He recorded for more than 40 years, releasing dozens of albums and No 1 hits including Okie From Muskogee which sol
  
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• Ex On The Beach's Megan McKenna And Jordan Davies Are In A War Of Words About THAT On-Air Proposal

  07-04-2016 13:38
  
  The former King and Queen of the Villa speak out about Jordan's decision to propose on-camera...
  
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• Teen Mom OG Star Catelynn Lowell Updates Fans A Month After Entering Mental Health Facility

  07-04-2016 13:28
  
  "I'm doing great!"
  
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• The Brink: Ms Banks

  07-04-2016 13:15
  
  she was raw, uncensored and stunningly beautiful which as much as it has played in her favour as an artist it also leaves Ms banks faced with adversity
  
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• Readers recommend playlist: songs with girls' names

  07-04-2016 13:00
  
  Chapter by chapter, our reader takes us through the story of her choices for this week’s emotionally charged playlist – from Maggie May to Springsteen’s Rosalita
  Below is this week’s playlist – picked by a reader from the comments on last week’s blog, which sought songs with titles including girls’ names. Thanks for your suggestions. Read more about the weekly format of the Readers recommend series at the end of the piece.Our emotionally charged story th
  
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• Khloe Kardashian Can't Help But Slam Kim Kardashian's 'F**king Joke' Ex Kris Humphries

  07-04-2016 12:37
  
  This is why we love her.
  
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• Ricky Gervais revives David Brent as a rep launching a music career in new film

  07-04-2016 12:33
  
  Ricky Gervais's popular TV character David Brent is back and he is launching a music career.
  
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• Country music star Merle Haggard dies aged 79

  07-04-2016 09:50
  
  The White House called Merle a “legend” of country music.
  
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• Vice president, Lady Gaga again team up against sex assault

  07-04-2016 08:24
  
  LAS VEGAS (AP) — Expect plenty of applause for Vice President Joe Biden and superstar singer Lady Gaga when they take the stage Thursday at an event in Las Vegas to raise awareness about sexual assault on college campuses.
  
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• Country Music Star Merle Haggard Dies

  07-04-2016 06:31
  
  Country music icon Merle Haggard has died in California, his manager has said. Haggard was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1994. In 2010, Haggard was among several artists, including Sir Paul McCartney, to be honoured at the White House by President Barack Obama at the annual Kennedy Center Honors.
  
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• Judge dismisses Kesha's bid for release from recording contract

  07-04-2016 04:07
  (Reuters) - A New York judge on Wednesday threw out pop star Kesha's legal bid to scrap her recording contract with Sony Music and her producer, Dr. Luke, whom the singer has accused of rape and other forms of abuse. Kesha, 29, last month appealed New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich's decision to refuse to release her from a six-album contract with Sony, after the singer filing a sexual assault lawsuit against Dr. Luke in 2014. Kornreich found in February that Kesha was free
  
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• Kesha 'Slavery' Appeal Thrown Out Of Court

  07-04-2016 01:54
  
  Kesha has lost an appeal against a decision that she must honour a contract with a producer she has accused of sexually assaulting her. The Tik Tok singer claims she is a "slave" to Sony and that Dr Luke committed a hate crime against her. Kesha says she was drugged and sexually and emotionally abused by the producer during 10 years of working together.
  
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• Judge nixes singer Kesha's sexual abuse claims vs. producer

  07-04-2016 01:11
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Pop star Kesha's claims that producer Dr. Luke violated human rights and hate crime laws by drugging, sexually abusing and emotionally tormenting her were dismissed Wednesday, with a judge saying that rape isn't necessarily an act of gender hatred.
  
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