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Pearl Jam Fans: Do You Like the New Songs?
Music

Pearl Jam Fans: Do You Like the New Songs?

Pearl Jam's next album, Backspacer, will be released on Sept.
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Pearl Jam's next album, Backspacer, will be released on Sept. 20 and we've already gotten a little taste of what to expect. I've heard "The Fixer" on the radio all the time recently, and earlier this week a b-side track to "The Fixer," titled "Supersonic," came online (check it out below).

As a Pearl Jam fan (I get to see the band this weekend at Outside Lands!), I'm mostly digging the new stuff, though it's also sort of just frantic. I'll be very interested to see what else the band has in store for us when Backspacer comes out.

What do you think of Pearl Jam's latest stuff?

Love Him or Leave Him: Jason Mraz
Music

Love Him or Leave Him: Jason Mraz

Singer-songwriter Jason Mraz has apparently made history with his single "I'm Yours."
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Singer-songwriter Jason Mraz has apparently made history with his single "I'm Yours." The song has spent 70 weeks on Billboard's "Hot 100," making it the longest-running song in the chart's 51-year history. Previously, LeAnn Rimes held the record with her 1998 song "How Do I Live."

So, are you one of the many people listening to Mraz's music? If so, what do you like about it? I myself think his stuff's a little on the cheesy side, but I enjoy it anyway. You can take a listen to part of "I'm Yours" below and tell me: What do you think of the record-breaking Jason Mraz?




Im Yours - Jason Mraz

Should MTV Just Change Its Name Already?
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Should MTV Just Change Its Name Already?

On Tuesday, MTV execs announced that they are renewing some shows, like Teen Cribs and Is She Really Going Out With Him?, and picking up a bunch of new series as well, like "the Ashton Kutcher-produced American Idiots, the scripted comedy Hard Times and an untitled comedy/variety project starring Rob Hoffman."
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On Tuesday, MTV execs announced that they are renewing some shows, like Teen Cribs and Is She Really Going Out With Him?, and picking up a bunch of new series as well, like "the Ashton Kutcher-produced American Idiots, the scripted comedy Hard Times and an untitled comedy/variety project starring Rob Hoffman."

Perhaps I'm dating myself here, but I recall when MTV, or "Music Television," was a network devoted to a lot of music-related things. Doing a word search for "music" in this article about MTV's next season brought up exactly one result, when the word is used to describe one of the reality show members as a "hip music executive."

Everyone knows MTV has lacked actual music for a long time now. Should the network just change the name already?

Did You Ever Record Songs Off the Radio?
Music

Did You Ever Record Songs Off the Radio?

Recently I asked you if you used to listen to Casey Kasem's radio shows and several commenters reminded me of a bygone practice in which I, too, took part: recording songs off the radio.
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Recently I asked you if you used to listen to Casey Kasem's radio shows and several commenters reminded me of a bygone practice in which I, too, took part: recording songs off the radio. Back in the cassette tape's heyday, I would try to obtain my favorite songs on the radio by pressing the "Record" button on my radio/cassette player as close to the beginning of the song as possible. Timing was everything with this, since you didn't want all the DJ chatter on the tape, and having clean transitions from recorded song to recorded song was the ultimate goal. Thank goodness iTunes eventually came along. Recording songs off the radio now seems frustrating and ridiculous!

I know many of you still own cassette players — are these the same ones that you used to record songs off the radio, perhaps? Or did you never do this back in the day?

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Are You Interested in a Streisand/Krall Jazz Album?
Music

Are You Interested in a Streisand/Krall Jazz Album?

For her first studio album in four years, Barbra Streisand is teaming up with jazz singer-pianist Diana Krall to release a collection of jazz tunes.
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For her first studio album in four years, Barbra Streisand is teaming up with jazz singer-pianist Diana Krall to release a collection of jazz tunes. Columbia Records has stated that the album, scheduled to hit stores on Sept. 29 and titled Love Is the Answer, "presents the artist as a cabaret and jazz singer of emotional clarity, depth and maturity."

Are you glad to see Streisand back in action? Do you think this is a good pairing?

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Pay-What-You-Want For Albums: Great Idea or "Idiotic"?
Music

Pay-What-You-Want For Albums: Great Idea or "Idiotic"?

Remember back when Radiohead allowed listeners to pay whatever they wanted for the In Rainbows album?
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Remember back when Radiohead allowed listeners to pay whatever they wanted for the In Rainbows album? That was pretty cool, right? Well, Robert Smith of the Cure disagrees. He told the following to Music Radar:

You can't allow other people to put a price on what you do, otherwise you don't consider what you do to have any value at all and that's nonsense. If I put a value on my music and no one's prepared to pay that, then more fool me, but the idea that the value is created by the consumer is an idiot plan, it can't work.

What do you think of this? Is the pay-what-you-want tactic foolish? Or a cool idea?

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Love It or Leave It: TV on the Radio Covering Bowie's "Heroes"
Love It or Leave It

Love It or Leave It: TV on the Radio Covering Bowie's "Heroes"

Normally, I'm nowhere near as fond of a cover as I am of the original song (few people are, I'd wager).
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Normally, I'm nowhere near as fond of a cover as I am of the original song (few people are, I'd wager). Usually they just sound like cheap knockoffs. So I expected little of TV on the Radio's cover of David Bowie's "Heroes," and maybe that's partially why I liked it so much. It's different from Bowie's but familiar enough to not destroy the memory of the original. Also, I'm intrigued by the fact that Bowie himself chose both the band and the song of his that they should cover for the title track of this benefit album of covers.

Take a listen and tell me: Do you dig it? Or not so much?

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Heroes - TV On The Radio

Which Do You Prefer: No Doubt or Gwen Stefani's Solo Stuff?
Music

Which Do You Prefer: No Doubt or Gwen Stefani's Solo Stuff?

Some music news today: No Doubt is planning to regroup for an album and a tour.
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Some music news today: No Doubt is planning to regroup for an album and a tour. In an IM conversation on their site, guitarist Tom Dumont wrote "I have cabin fever. Maybe we should play some shows or something," to which Gwen Stefani responded, "I think we should go out now. I don't think we should wait. Pack up the babies and get a bunch of nannies. So fun! Would be so inspiring to get out there and play all those songs again."

This sounds great to me, as I used to have No Doubt in constant rotation on my stereo way back when. I've liked some of Gwen Stefani's solo stuff, but not as much as songs like "Just a Girl."

Whose music do you like better: Stefani on her own or No Doubt?

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Devendra Banhart Video With Natalie Portman
Love It or Leave It

Love It or Leave It: Devendra Banhart Video With Natalie Portman

Before being known to most as Natalie Portman's boyfriend, Devendra Banhart was famous in certain circles for turning out interesting neo-folk music and has been a mainstay in the independent music scene for a little while now.
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Before being known to most as Natalie Portman's boyfriend, Devendra Banhart was famous in certain circles for turning out interesting neo-folk music and has been a mainstay in the independent music scene for a little while now.

His new video for his Spanish language song "Carmensita," has people talking partly because Ms. Portman's in it but also because some people aren't sure how awesome this cheeky swipe at Bollywood-style productions is. Do you find this video a fun rush to the senses, or totally forgettable?

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