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What to Download: New Music Today

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:30:59 -0700

It's Tuesday! I've already given you some picks to beef up your Netflix queue, but now it's time for your iPod. Check out today's new music releases for what you should download.

The birth of new sound: The latest from The Flaming Lips, Embryonic, is the musical equivalent of an acid trip. The band reportedly improvised a lot in the studio, so the entire album feels raw and pretty much all over the place. MGMT joins in on the track Worm Mountain, Karen O lends silly animal noises (yes, really) to I Can Be a Frog, and a mathematician spouts out equation, x=y type stuff on Gemini Syringes. Weird? You bet. Every track is experimental, which means you'll either embrace it for its free-spirited creativity, or write it off as too strange. Either way, it's worth checking out.

Pop culture candy: Hell has frozen over - Jack White is on the 90210 soundtrack. Hey, I'm not knocking TV music - I've already professed my love for it - but I was surprised to see The Raconteurs associated with a CW show. The band lends a wicked guitar riff to the first track Many Shades of Black (featuring soulful singer Adele) to start the album off. The rest of the playlist includes a mix of new offerings from indie artists and more mainstream pop, but my favorites are the sleepy Valium by MuteMath and the Postal Service-ish Sunburn by Owl City.

See one more release when you read more.

Bah-hum-blah: I was pumped when I heard that Bob Dylan was making a holiday album. It may be Halloween time now, but I always love a good carol, and Christmas in the Heart includes 15 of my favorites. But that's where my excitement ended. Dylan's voice will always be uniquely his, but the throaty quality seems out of place here, singing famous ditties like Here Comes Santa Claus. It's almost like your uncle had too many spiked ciders and started caroling. Even so, I'll probably still download I'll Be Home For Christmas or Winter Wonderland just so I'm not a total Scrooge - the proceeds go to the charity Feeding America.

Buzz News Roundup, 4/27

BuzzSugar — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:30:51 -0700

Chuck, Privileged, Life, Dollhouse, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles are the five finalists in E!'s Save One Show competition. - E!
Meet Susan Boyle's latest Britain's Got Talent competition: a 10-year-old girl. - TV.com
After much controversy, The Flaming Lips' "Do You Realize??" will be named the official rock song of Oklahoma this week. - Billboard
Warner Bros. is developing a big-screen version of Odysseus, written by the screenwriter of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. - Variety
Acting couple Jon Hamm and Jennifer Westfeldt have formed a production company. - The Hollywood Reporter
Fox is holding a script contest to find new writing talent. - New York Times
Maria Bello and Craig T. Nelson have joined the cast of The Company Men, which also stars Ben Affleck and Tommy Lee Jones. - Variety

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NBC's Even Remaking Its Chimes

BuzzSugar — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:36:09 -0700

From Knight Rider to The Partridge Family, NBC under entertainment president Ben Silverman has been a remake-happy network. So is it any wonder that NBC's signature chime sound (you know, the "boooo-beeeee-boooooh" that plays alongside the peacock logo) is also getting a reinvention?

The B-52s, The Flaming Lips, and B.B. King are among the musicians redoing the signature tones (apparently it's the notes G-E-C) as part of a new ad campaign. The eight-second spots will air at the top and bottom of every hour.

This music player has some snippets of what the new tones will sound like, plus a mini-interview with the B-52s talking about how funny it was to receive a call about doing the campaign. Even better is this Entertainment Weekly video from the promo shoot that has Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne saying there was no way he could turn down an opportunity to do something this bizarre.

The promos should start airing around Thanksgiving, and while they might be doomed like so many other NBC remakes these days, I still can't help but think it's sort of clever. What's your take?

Buzz In: What Should Be Your State's Rock Song?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:30:52 -0700

In charming civic-type news, The Flaming Lips' "Do You Realize??" has been nominated for official Oklahoma rock song, apparently the token indie rock entry in a list that includes the likes of Elvis Presley and, well, Oklahoma. As Pitchfork writes:

"Oklahoma already has an official state song ("Oklahoma," from the musical, natch), a state folk song, and a state country-and-western tune. What they don't have just yet is an official state rock'n'roll song. And that is where you come in."

The state legislature has ordered Oklahomans to vote here before Nov. 15 - though as far as I can tell, anyone can vote, 'cause the computer has no way of knowing whether or not you're an Oklahoman - for whichever rock song you like.

This is a pretty fun idea, so I think we should start thinking of the official rock songs for the rest of the 49 states! For example, it seems to me Washington should probably at least nominate "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana as one of theirs (it seems the Evergreen State only has a state folk song). Maybe something from my 50 Songs for 50 States challenge could get you started.

What do you think? What other songs would you nominate for which states?

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Buzz News Roundup, 7/7

BuzzSugar — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:30:03 -0700

The Wire's David Simon has told Broadcasting & Cable that he wants to make a movie about Donnie Andrews, the real-life Omar who robbed drug dealers.
Reuters reports that Bill Clinton will be among the first guests on Elvis Costello's talk/music show.
The Osbournes are headed to Fox for a new variety show that might be paired with American Idol next year, TV Week reports.
According to Billboard, the Flaming Lips are showing their Christmas movie, Christmas on Mars, at the festivals they're playing up until the movie is released on DVD later this year.
E! reports that Jamie-Lynn Sigler will join the cast of Entourage for a few episodes, playing herself.
The Hollywood Reporter has the news that the Sundance Institute has established a submission deadline for the 2009 festival: September 8, 2008.
Spike Lee is on board to film performances of the Broadway show Passing Strange, writes Variety.
90210 has added two new members to its cast, Zap2it reports - including the actress currently best known for modeling Case 24 on Deal or No Deal.

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Turning Songs Into Film: "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown"

BuzzSugar — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:30:01 -0700

The inspiration for a movie premise can come from anywhere and in the case of one news item today, it's in the Jim Croce song "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown." According to the Hollywood Reporter, producer Warren Zide (co-executive producer of American Pie) picked up the rights to the song with the intention of turning it into an "action-comedy franchise."

Zide said when he reached out to the Croce family for the rights to develop this project, they struck up a partnership and the family gave Zide their blessing. Jim Croce died tragically in a plane crash in 1973 , the same year "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" was No. 1 on US music charts, and his career was just beginning to really take off. The movie would not be a biopic but instead would tell the story of the guy in the song, Leroy Brown, "the baddest man in the whole damn town/ badder than old King Kong/ and meaner than a junkyard dog."

What do you think of developing an entire movie out of a character from a song? I would love to watch the Flaming Lips' Yoshimi battle the pink robots (although that might actually go to stage instead of a movie). Are there any song characters you think would make a good movie?

To see a clip of Croce describing the real Leroy Brown and performing the song live, read more.

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Buzz News Roundup, 12/8

BuzzSugar — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 12:09:26 -0800

The Grammy nominations range from the deserving (Gnarls Barkley) to the dreadful (seriously, we really want to immortalize "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter?) - Associated Press
On a related note, this round-up of the 89 biggest cliches in rock is pretty damn funny (#19: dating Winona Ryder) - AOL Music
The brilliant pair behind Little Miss Sunshine are in talks to make another feature film - Variety
The Seminole Indian tribe buys the Hard Rock hotel and casino chain for a whopping $965 million - Associated Press
Rebecca Romijin will join the cast of "Ugly Betty" just in time for sweeps week - Variety
Hip-hop darling Lily Allen admits to a drug-dealing past-but don't worry, she wasn't very good at it - NME
Talk about an all-star team: Andre 3000 will star in a basketball drama with Will Ferrell - Zap2It
Wednesday's season finale of "America's Next Top Model" propels the CW past ABC and Fox in the ratings - TV Week
The Flaming Lips get a street named after them in Oklahoma City; look out for guys in bunny costumes - NME

Highlights From the 2009 Treasure Island Music Festival

BuzzSugar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:30:05 -0700

As expected, this year's Treasure Island Music Festival was a well-rounded weekend of awesome live music, dancing, and pretty views of San Francisco. The gorgeous and warm weather on Saturday fit the bill for the lineup that had a heavier concentration of electronic music and DJs (like MGMT and Girl Talk), while on Sunday I bundled up and chilled out to The Decemberists and Grizzly Bear. All in all it was an awesome weekend that ended with a bang as The Flaming Lips closed down the party. Check out some photos of my favorite acts from the weekend.

View Slideshow ›

Video of the Day: Summer Lives on Thanks to Thao With the Get Down Stay Down

BuzzSugar — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:15:16 -0700

This weekend I'll be heading to the Treasure Island Music Festival for two days of music just outside of San Francisco. The awesome lineup includes MGMT, The Flaming Lips, The Decemberists, and Yo La Tengo just to name a few. I'm also excited to see Thao With the Get Down Stay Down, whose front-runner rocks out on her guitar to catchy, upbeat tunes that always make for a fun live show. In a new video for "When We Swarm," the band dances happily lakeside with a bunch of friends, making it the perfect pick-me-up if you're still in denial that Summer is long gone and Fall is here. Check it out below.

For more on the latest music, check out the Music Review group in the Buzz Community - and be sure to check back for updates on my Treasure Island weekend!

What to TiVo: Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:50:30 -0700

ABC is new with Shark Tank, Dancing With the Stars, and The Forgotten
CBS is new with NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, and The Good Wife
FOX is new with Hell's Kitchen
NBC is new with The Biggest Loser
The CW is new with 90210 and Melrose Place
VH1 is new with Behind the Music: 50 Cent and 2009 Hip Hop Honors
Bravo is new with Flipping Out
Comedy Central is new with The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report
FX is new with Sons of Anarchy
MTV is new with The Hills and The City
Late-night highlights include Sienna Miller on The Late Show With David Letterman on CBS; John C. Reilly on The Jay Leno Show on NBC; The Flaming Lips on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien on NBC; Jack Black and Cobra Starship on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC; Andy Samberg on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on NBC; and Chris Kattan and Lily Allen on Last Call With Carson Daly on NBC