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Eminem, Foo Fighters Headline Lollapalooza’s Big 20
04.26.11
Twenty years has been kind to Lollapalooza. Over that span the festival has managed to accumulate some serious cred within the music world, enough so that they could hook Coldplay, Eminem, Foo Fighters and Muse to play their 20th anniversary this year. The lineup also includes Death From Above 1979, Arctic Monkeys, Local Natives, Cee Lo Green, Titus Andronicus, Bright Eyes, Lykke Li, The Kills and Nas and Damian Marley. Them and a busload more bands will be in Chicago’s Grant Park from August 5th-7th. The big question is, will you be there as well? Full line-up and ticket-purchase details can be seen on the festival site right here.

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Arcade Fire, Cee-Lo, Eminem Take Home GRAMMYs
02.14.11
The GRAMMYs actually succeeded in keeping us on our toes with a few surprise winners (and losers) this year. With all Canadian eyes on the Biebs as our country’s hope for a big trophy win, it was actually the Arcade Fire who brought home the biggest trophy of them all: album of the year for The Suburbs. The other eye-brow raiser on the night (not that we’re complaining) was Esperanza Spalding who beat out a stacked field for best new artist, including Bieber, Drake, Mumford & Sons and Florence and The Machine. Of the other winners, some notable artists who went home with heavy pockets include Lady Antebellum (Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Best Country Album), Cee-Lo (Best Urban/Alternative Performance) and Eminem (Best Rap Album). Poor ol’ Biebs and Drake. The night also saw performances by Gwyneth Paltrow and Cee-Lo (seriously weird attire), Drake and Rihanna (not much attire) and a medley with Janelle Monáe, Bruno Mars and B.o.B. Here’s the list of broadcast winners, but the pages and pages of other winners in every category can be seen on the GRAMMY site. (more…)
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Concert Reviews and Photos, News
cornershopstudios’ Top Ten Concerts of 2010
12.31.10
Another year has expired and once again more shows came down the hatch then any one concert goer could have imagined. But which ones stood out above the rest? Which ones made us stand up and take notice? Which ones earned the right to say they made the Top Ten Shows of 2010?!

1. The Flaming Lips @ Metropolis – 07.07.10

P.T. Barnum once said, “I am a showman by profession…and all the gilding shall make nothing else of me.” History credits Barnum with creating “The Greatest Show on Earth”… I guess history didn’t watch Metropolis explode on July 7th. The true ringmaster? Wayne Coyne. In first place for 2010? The Flaming Lips.

2. Melvins @ Club Soda – 09.03.10

After nearly thirty years in action, the godfathers of grunge and every goddamn thing we quirkily slam our heads to now, schooled… nay… owned… nay violated Montreal’s Club Soda with almost everything a live act could hope to bring to the table! Any questions?! Didn’t think so! Next!

3. Rammstein @ Centre Bell – 12.09.10

Like a big cock with no stamina, Germany’s Rammstein masked their mediocre talent and stage presence with so many explosions they could have turned a Stephen Harper speech into an exciting event. For their virtually unparalleled visuals, the deutschmen make number three. (more…)
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Muse, Foo Fighters, Cee-Lo Auction Goods for Fallen Sup Pop VP
11.23.10
Since the untimely passing of Sub Pop’s Vice President of Sales and Director of Marketing Andy Kotowicz last month, many artists have answered the call to help raise money for his family. The Rolling Stones, Pearl Jam, Muse, the Foo Fighters, Band of Horses and many more artists have donated signed memorabilia to an auction to benefit the Kotowicz family. In addition, Sub Pop has put together two benefit concerts, also to raise a little money for Kotowicz’s loved ones. On Dec. 4th, Mudhoney, Wolf Eyes, Shabazz Palaces and Vetiver will headline the first show at Showbox at the Market in Seattle. The second gig will come four days later with the Secret Twins, Swimsuit, Rogue Satellites and a few other bands hitting up Savoy, in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Kotowicz’s hometown. All items up for auction can be found at charitybuzz here, with the bidding set to close on Dec. 14th. More information can be found on the Sup Pop website.

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Gaga Breaks MTV’s VMA Nomination Record, Leads the Way with 13
08.03.10
Today MTV released the nominee list for the 2010 edition of the Video Music Awards, and the phenomena that is Lady Gaga has once again stolen the show. With 13 nomination, Gaga broke the record for the most ever, and also became the first artist to have two videos up for Video Of The Year. But enough about Mother Monster, other people were nominated too. Leading the underdog pack is Eminem, who managed to land eight noms on his comeback trail. The nominee list, which you can check out in full right here, also includes, the Biebs, B.o.B, Katy Perry, MGMT, Muse and much, much more. I’d like to point out that the awards are given out based on fan-voting, so if you wanted you could try and assure that Gaga breaks another record at the Sept. 12th ceremony in Los Angeles: most nominations without winning an award.

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Summer Sounds From Across the Pond
05.14.10
As if you need any more convincing that these 10 mind-blowing festivals are worth the trip to Europe, here’s another reason to add to your list: luxury “camping”. These accommodations located on the festival sites are all the rage right now: huts, cabins, pods, tipis and capsules, all with a variety of decadent amenities such as flat screen TVs, refrigerators, iPod docks and speakers. Check out the list below to be tempted further… (more…)
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90-Minute Muse Concert Now Available Online
05.05.10
Choosing a date at Seattle’s Key Arena during their Resistance Tour in early 2010, Muse have made the 90-minute Washington show, complete with it’s staggering sized stage, spectacular light show and viciously sizable screens, available on their MySpace for your undying viewing pleasure. Furthermore the audio heavyweights will hurl back on tour in North America starting September 22nd. See dates below. (more…)
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Concert Reviews and Photos
Muse @ Centre Bell – 03.10.10
03.16.10
What to make of Muse? The British power trio is huge in every way: wildly over-the-top, theatrical, and judging by the rapturous crowd that packed the Centre Bell on Wednesday night, immensely popular. (more…)
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Muse – Last Night @ Centre Bell
03.11.10
Muse lulled the Centre Bell crowd with a gentle acoustic set that subtly paid tribute to world leaders and the virtues of political jingoism. Did I say Muse? Sorry, I was thinking of Toby Keith on a Benzedrine come down. Muse tore it up. Check back soon for a full review and pictures galore.
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Coming Soon… Muse
03.03.10
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Opera Superstar Tackles a Set of Rock Songs on New Album
02.25.10
When you think of the term ‘Rock Opera’, most likely your mind will spring to The Who’s classic Tommy, or more recently Green Day’s American Idiot. You’d also be forgiven for thinking that reversing the equation, and having an actual opera singer covering rock songs would be a bad, no wait, very bad idea. Not so Renee Fleming, superstar of the operatic world. The American singer and former Fulbright scholar is set to tackle a grip of rock ‘classics’ by Band of Horses, Arcade Fire, Muse, Death Cab for Cutie, Peter Gabriel, Leonard Cohen (as well as bunch of others) on her latest album Dark Hope. Says Fleming, “I’ve always been inspired by artists who have shown musical and intellectual curiosity and the courage to take risks… because everything about the voice interests me, I felt it would be fascinating to learn a completely different style of singing.” Fair enough. Just don’t expect anyone to get too enthusiastic about (yet another) cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah… OK?
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Warner And Hulu Team Up
12.23.09
Warner Music Group and video streaming site Hulu have joined forces to deliver the label’s artists to Hulu’s online portal. The first band to feel the warmth of said deal will be Muse, followed by calls for artist page creations by Jason Mraz and Paramore. Warner’s team up with Hulu is yet another punctuation on their aversion to VEVO, a new streaming site seeing handshakes between YouTube, EMI, Universal and Sony. Warner is not the first record house to field some contract ink with Hulu, as EMI saw talks with the streaming site in November, with Norah Jones lighting the candle by being the first singer to have her own artist page.
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Vatican’s MySpace Sports Fleet Foxes, Muse & More?
12.07.09
If you’ve visited the Vatican’s MySpace recently you may have noticed the addition of some otherwise unexpected music. The holy association has added Fleet Foxes’ He Doesn’t Know Why, Muse’s Uprising and last but not least 2Pac’s Changes to their music playlist. According to the page itself, the added tunes are said to be songs that “share the aim to reach the heart of good minded people.” Wow… We may have very well misjudged the Catholic Church. Now if we can just get Pope Benedict XVI to rap.
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CD Reviews
Muse – The Resistance
09.19.09
To Muse, to ponder, to mull over, to ruminate… Eclecticists Matthew Bellamy, Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard have been thinking to the brink of lunacy, albeit there is method to their madness. The Resistance is an orchestral hotchpotch with throwbacks to the greatest of composers which, at the same time, manages to retain a stadium rock royalty We Are the Champions feel. (more…)
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