BuzzSugar

Buzz In: What Were Your Favorite Grammy Moments?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:31:49 -0800

Sunday night's Grammy Awards were so full of performances, I kept forgetting that awards were actually being handed out! My personal highlight reel? Like Pop, I loved watching a very pregnant MIA getting her swagga on with Kanye, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and TI. Lucky TI, he's actually in two of my favorite moments of the night - his duet with Justin Timberlake's the other. I also got a kick out of watching the USC marching band backing up Thom Yorke during Radiohead's performance. And I'm still wondering this morning what all that background noise was when Robert Plant and Alison Krauss accepted their final award - it couldn't have actually been booing, right?

Your turn! What were your favorite Grammy moments?

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Buzz News Roundup, 6/16

BuzzSugar — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:36:25 -0700

M.I.A. announced her retirement from live shows at Bonnaroo, NME reports - while the Associated Press details how Kanye West angered the crowd by delaying his show till 4:25 a.m.
Veteran screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan (Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Big Chill) will write the script for a film adaptation of the 1980s cartoon Robotech, with Tobey Maguire producing, writes Hollywood Reporter.
Speaking of The Big Chill, its star William Hurt will reunite with Glenn Close in season two of Damages, Variety reports.
According to ComingSoon the voice cast for a CG-animated movie version of Astro Boy has been announced, with Freddie Highmore in the main role and Bill Nighy, Donald Sutherland and Nathan Lane (among others) supporting.
West Wing star Janel Moloney is among four actors cast in an ABC fantasy pilot called Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas, reports Zap2it.
Variety reports that while The Incredible Hulk reigned supreme in U.S. theaters over the weekend, The Happening was No. 1 at the box office overseas.
Jason Bateman has scored a deal to develop series at Fox, writes the Hollywood Reporter. Meanwhile, in other Arrested Development alumni news, writers of Mitchell Hurwitz's show Sit Down, Shut Up are striking to get WGA benefits.
Coldplay's latest album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends "raced" to the top spot on U.K. charts, writes Billboard.

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Sasquatch: Mythic Creature With Great Taste in Music

BuzzSugar — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:30:00 -0800

The Sasquatch Music Festival, held annually at a gorgeous outdoor amphitheater in George, Washington, has just released this year's lineup, and at first glance I'm liking what I see. R.E.M. and The Cure are the big headliners, which, like Coachella where they're spotlighting Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, is in keeping with this year's trend of bringing back older bands. At least with Sasquatch I don't have to go as far back as bell bottoms; I just have to dig out my Doc Martens (or find new versions of my old Docs!).

Billboard reports that The Flaming Lips will premiere their anticipated film Christmas on Mars at Sasquatch. They'll also perform their U.F.O. Show in which the band emerges from a giant U.F.O. and then one of them finds himself in a hamster ball of some sort. I've seen these guys live, and it's super fun.

For more bands in the lineup and ticket information, read more.

The festival is held on Memorial Day weekend, May 24-26 and tickets go on sale March 8th for $56.50 per day. The price increases two days later. Also, this is a camping event so you have to plan for that as well. More info is available here.

A good chunk of the lineup is what I would describe as "Northwesty" as many of them hail from that part of the map, including Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie, Built to Spill, The New Pornographers, and Kinski. In addition to those bands M.I.A., the Hives, Tegan & Sara, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and the Breeders will be there, along with Flight of the Conchords! I'd also love to check out power-bop band The Cops that I've heard a lot of good things about.

A little something for everybody, no? What do you guys think of this lineup?

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Coachella Music Fest Lineup: Hipsters, Start Your Engines!

BuzzSugar — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 07:30:56 -0800

While the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival has become a giant, crowded experience that has gone increasingly Hollywood over the years, the festival still continues to book some pretty excellent bands. At first glance, this year's lineup, announced Monday at a press conference in Mexico City, has some folks feeling underwhelmed. Still, there's enough good stuff planned for the three days of fun in the Southern California desert that music fans like myself will still want to get busy mapping out the bands they want to see from April 25 to 27.

The big news this year is a performance by Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, who will re-create Dark Side of the Moon, as well as a Portishead reunion, according to the LA Times. The festival organizers also confirmed what had been rumored for months: They're bringing a Coachella-style music festival to the East Coast. On Aug. 8 to 10, the first All Points West Music & Arts Festival will take place at Liberty State Park in New Jersey. This might be a good option for the not-so-outdoorsy music lover, because it won't have camping a la Cochella.

For more information about how to get tickets and to hear about some of the bands from the 125-act lineup that caught my eye, read more.

Tickets for Coachella will go on sale at 10 a.m. this Friday, Jan. 26. Three-day passes are $269 plus taxes and fees, and single-day tickets are $90 each. More info is available here.

It's pretty hard to top the earth-shattering Rage Against the Machine reunion from last year; however, there are some pretty cool recently united bands performing this year, including the Verve and the Breeders. I'd love to see Death Cab for Cutie, My Morning Jacket, M.I.A., Fat Boy Slim, and Rilo Kiley. I'm also really curious about how bands like Vampire Weekend sound live.

As festival season continues to ramp up, there will be a lot more news out of Coachella and other music festivals, including more details on ticket sales and lineup for All Points West, so stay tuned!

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Beastie Boys Hope to Add Lily Allen, Jarvis Cocker to The Mix-Up

BuzzSugar — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 16:59:21 -0700

The Beastie Boys are looking to mix things up for their vocal version of the all-instrumental already released album The Mix-Up, and are hoping to tap some outside voices to join them, reports Billboard.

According to Adam "MCA" Yauch, the Boys are "talking to some different artists who might do kinda like remixes and put vocals on it, so it wouldn't be us doing vocals on it. It would be kind of like a different version of the album, with a bunch of people guesting on it." Among the artists they're checking out for the project are Lily Allen, M.I.A. and Pulp's Jarvis Cocker.

But that's not all! The band also hopes to add a visual aspect to the next incarnation of The Mix-Up. Yach said, "We've been traveling with a Super 8 camera, and a lot of times we'll just make something. While we were in Singapore we filmed stuff, and in Australia and different places. We're talking about cutting it together into a full-length film that kinda goes the length of the album."

Awesome. This is so much cooler than doing an album and then just doing club remixes of all the songs. I can't wait for the next Mix-Up!

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Treasure Island Music Festival Recap, Part II

BuzzSugar — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:02:14 -0700

I was downright giddy to attend the first-ever Treasure Island Music Festival this weekend, and the two-day event far exceeded my expectations. Yesterday, I gave you a gallery and my thoughts on the fest, and today, I'm breaking down the highs and lows of the performances.

As with any festival, it was fun to get turned on to some new artists. In the discovery department, I was probably most charmed by the cello-buttressed indie rock of Sea Wolf, while YumSugar was impressed by the tango revisionists Gotan Project. It was also pretty awesome to see the newest Modest Mouse member, Johnny Marr of the Smiths, tearing it up again. For all of my highlights and disappointments, read more

The Highlights

M.I.A.: I expected this to be one of the highest-energy shows at TI Fest, and the Sri Lankan rapper and her crowd did not disappoint. During "Paper Planes," M.I.A. started scaling the stage, and at another point, about 30 women from the audience joined her for a wicked group dance.
Funny aside: My friend Phil, who snapped the photo below, overheard one pair of girls debating whether or not to go on stage to dance. Girl #1: "Come on, let's go!" Girl #2: "But what am I going to do with my bag?" Girl #1: "Just leave it!" Girl #2: "This bag was $4,000 dollars. I am not leaving it!" Ok, If you want to spend $4,000 on a bag, that's your business, but why would you bring it to an outdoor music festival?

Spoon: As you may remember, I'm rather obsessed with the new Spoon album, and I couldn't wait to see how the dance-inducing songs sounded live. The energy was infectious and, even better, the musicians also brought out the music's slightly bizarre, trippier vibe during a few stretches.
M. Ward: The last time I saw M. Ward, his performance was a bit too folksy and subdued to hook me. But in this early afternoon show on Sunday, he was powerfully channeling every bit of his ragged blues influence, pounding on a grand piano and coming off like a soulful veteran.

The Disappointments

DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist: Even YumSugar, who is a huge DJ Shadow fan, agreed that this set was disappointingly dull. Given, there's something kind of wrong about seeing a DJ set in the middle of the day, but the concept - dueling DJs using on 45s - sounded awesome. Unfortunately, the music choices were pretty lackluster.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: I really adore this band's beautifully unbalanced music, but both times I've seen CYHSY live, the off-kilter charm has translated into too-rough performances. The songs lacked focus, and the sound regulation was all over the map.

Treasure Island Music Festival Recap, Part I

BuzzSugar — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 15:03:32 -0700

I was downright giddy to attend the first-ever Treasure Island Music Festival this weekend, and the two-day event far exceeded my expectations. Of course, there was killer music - with M.I.A. scaling the stage towers and Built to Spill inspiring one dude to headbang - but there was also a Ferris wheel, an arcade full of retro video games, and stunning views of the San Francisco skyline.

The fest was cleverly split into an electronic day - with artists like Thievery Corporation and DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist - followed by a rock day, featuring M. Ward, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Spoon, and Modest Mouse. Each day packed in a total of 14 bands on two different stages with no overlap, so it was easy to get your money's worth and see every artist. YumSugar and I were there taking tons of photos, and we both agreed that the fest was awesome. Tune in tomorrow for a roundup of my favorite shows, and for my initial thoughts and a gallery of the fest in pictures, read more

Considering this was the first year of the TI Fest, I was really impressed with how the organizers pulled everything off; aside from some sound-mixing issues, everything seemed to go very smoothly. More important, I had a blast. Some observations:

The eco-effort paid off. TI Fest set out to be as "green" as possible, with on-site recycling and composting, biodiesel buses to the island, and prizes for people who picked up litter. It was great to see indie-rockers digging through the trash for recyclables, and as a result, the grounds were amazingly clean.

Big trend: babes in headphones. I noticed tons of moms carrying babies outfitted with giant padded headphones to protect their precious ears.

Indie rockers make for less interesting people-watching. Splitting the festival into an electronica day and an indie-rock day definitely affected the crowd. Day one definitely had more of a Burning Man vibe, while Day Two's attendees were better dressed but less fun to watch. One exception: This pair of dudes, one in a "Cougar Bait" tshirt and the other who insisted on standing up and flexing throughout the show.

For the rest of my photos, check out the gallery below. And tune in tomorrow for more highlights!

View 56 Photos ›

Treasure Island Music Festival: A Wealth of Awesomeness

BuzzSugar — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 12:26:24 -0700

Forget sex and drugs; these days, it is possible to overdose on music festivals. This Summer, you could probably attend a different fest every weekend and discover something new every time. Meanwhile, I've just been pining for the amazing shows I'm missing in countless other cities.

So, I'm delighted to announce that on Sept. 15 and 16, I'll be attending San Francisco's very own Treasure Island Festival in its inaugural year and bringing you all sorts of coverage of the superb lineup.

Held on an under-utilized island in the Bay and presented by the folks behind Noise Pop and Another Planet Entertainment, the two-day festival is cleverly split into a electronic day and a rock-centric day, each one featuring 14 bands. Treasure Island is also making a major effort to be green: The festival will offer zero-emissions shuttles from San Francisco to the island, which looks like this:

But the most exciting part, of course, is the music. For more details and my must-see bands, read more

Ok, so I'm giddy just thinking about the artists playing this fest, including Modest Mouse, M. Ward, and Spoon, who recently won me over with their infectious Summertime album.

I can't wait to see sassy hip-hopper MIA do her thing live, and I hope to find some new favorites too. I'm not all that familiar with Ghostland Observatory, but I have a good friend who claims that seeing them in concert is a near-religious experience. Here's the full lineup:

Saturday, 9/15

Thievery Corporation
Gotan Project
DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist
M.I.A.
Ghostland Observatory
Kinky
Zion I
Flosstradamus
Dengue Fever
Honeycut
West Indian Girl
Mocean Worker
Kid Beyond

Sunday, 9/16

Modest Mouse
Spoon
Built To Spill
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
M.Ward
Two Gallants
Earlimart
Au Revoir Simone
Film School
Devil Makes Three
Sea Wolf
Street To Nowhere
Trainwreck Riders

If you're interested in attending, tickets are available online for $58.50 per day or $110 for a two-day pass. Tell me which artists you're most interested in hearing about, and I'll be sure to tell you all about the shows.

Buzz News Roundup, 6/11

BuzzSugar — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 13:41:43 -0700

Tyler, Texas isn't thrilled about hosting "Anchorwoman," the Fox reality show where a model will try to make it as a journalist, writes the Hollywood Reporter.
Tom Wolfe's hallucinogenic book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test will be made into a movie with Good Will Hunting director Gus Van Sant spearheading, Variety reports.
According to Reuters, The Pink Panther 2 has a director (Harald Zwart, of Agent Cody Banks fame), and Steve Martin reprising his lead role.
Basically, Big Brother is going to be everywhere this summer, the Futon Critic says.
Jive Records wasn't happy about the leak of a new Chris Brown song, Billboard says - until it started climbing the charts.
Comedic lady Elizabeth Banks will next star in a remake of the Korean horror film A Tale of Two Sisters, says Hollywood Reporter.
Tim Story, director of Barbershop and both Fantastic Four movies, will direct The Losers, which is based on a non-superhero-themed comic book, Variety says.
In a pact with Bollywood studio Yash Raj Films, Disney is readying to sign an agreement to make at least one animated feature film voiced by Indian movie stars per year, Reuters reports.
Pitchfork reveals the tracklist for the new M.I.A. album, Kala, featuring Timbaland.

Photo courtesy of Fox

Song of the Day: M.I.A. Feat. Timbaland, "Come Around"

BuzzSugar — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 08:10:34 -0700

Everyone - from millions of Justin Timberlake fans to the New York Times - is wondering what superstar producer Timbaland will do for his highly anticipated solo album, Timbaland Presents Shock Value, which comes out tomorrow. But potential super-stardom aside, Timbaland still has plenty of production jobs on his plate, including work on the forthcoming album by London-based Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A.

On the one hand, I'm glad Tim is working with M.I.A., because I think she deserves to be way more famous, and Timbaland might be able to help her get there. Plus, his use of tablas and other exotic instruments jives well with her sound. But I'm dismayed that this track feels flat compared to the killer beats on her debut album, Arular. Listen up and tell me what you think after you read more

Thanks to Distortion Disco for posting the track.