You don't need to be a sports fan, or even a video game fan, to agree that what this marching band can do is pretty amazing. Watch the clip from Saturday's Ohio/Nebraska halftime show, below...

Continue reading "VIDEO: watch the Ohio State Marching Band pay tribute to classic video games at Halftime (Mario, Zelda, Pac-Man, Pokemon & more)"

cheerleader M.I.A., as seen in the new Madonna video

As M.I.A.'s Universal Records labelmate Lana Del Rey knows now too, a shitstorm of bad press and reviews can be a painful sting. M.I.A. went from much-loved to much-hated almost overnight after the release of her last album. And like L.D.R., a lot of the negativity towards M.I.A. focused on her being fake and rich. Who knew what the future would hold for the northern Sri Lankan South London rebel activist rapper.

Things have been quiet on the M.I.A. front for a year, but then came "new" song "Bad Girls" which "premiered" on Pitchfork last week along with the tag "Best New Track" (a title that was also awarded to "Video Games" in 2011), followed by a new video for the song which has already racked up over 3 million views on YouTube in less than three days. Why did I put "new" in quotes? Well, because Pitchfork actually gave the same song "Best New Track" when it first appeared on Vicki Leekx, a mixtape M.I.A. released at the end of 2010, though the 2010/2011 version was not exactly the same song. It has been reworked a bit, and is now "complete". Watch and listen below.

Meanwhile, M.I.A.' Universal Records labelmate Madonna went ahead and announced a new album called MDNA which features a couple of guest singers, or more specifically: Nicki Minaj, and yep, M.I.A. Madonna also packaged this I'll-show-Lady-Gaga-who's-boss-return with a spot as Superbowl Halftime performer which came with the news that Madonna would be bringing along some friends (yep, Niki Minaj and M.I.A) (and maybe LMFAO and Cee-Lo). We'll find out exactly what goes down with that today.

UPDATE: Cee-Lo & LMFAO were in fact there, and this happened:

M.I.A. flips the world the bird on the Superbowl

Watch the new Madonna video for "Give Me All Your Luvin'" (Feat. M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj), which has over 6 million views in three days (and has football players in it too), with the new M.I.A. video too, below...

Continue reading "the return of MIA ('new' song, video, Madonna, the Superbowl)"

by Ryan Barkan

Super Bowl XLV (45): Dallas Cowboys vs...oh wait....The Green Bay Packers vs the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dallas' brand new, state of the art, big ass stadium. The Packers won, bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to small town America and less sales back to Wiz Khalifa. I wonder if Jerry Jones was faking all of those smiles? Enough of the sports talk. This feature is the return of the long lost "Week In Music Licensing" post.

The real winner tonight - Detroit. A town that has been down on its luck, due for something inspiring to happen. Well here you go. Laura R. Charron tweeted that "#Detroit area agrees that #Chrysler200 had THE BEST commercial." Decide for yourself:

Continue reading "music & commercials of Super Bowl XLV (Eminem, Jon Spencer, Ozzy, Bieber, Bowie, RAC, Kenny G & more)"

Waterloo Park on Sunday (more)

The Who will perform at Superbowl XLIV, marking the British band's first performance in North America since 2008.

According to a report on SI.com, the Sports Illustrated website, the veteran band will take the stage during the halftime show of the 2010 National Football League championship game, scheduled for February 7 in Miami.

The NFL has yet to officially confirm the report, saying, "When we have something to announce, we'll announce it."

During a recent stop on his "Use It or Lose It" solo tour, frontman Roger Daltrey told Billboard.com that he and bandmate/composer Pete Townshend were working on new material for the Who's followup to 2006's "Endless Wire."[Reuters/Billboard]

In unrelated news, a new remix of WHY?'s "One Rose" was posted to RCRD LBL.

Hello, this is Ticketmaster Customer Service with an important alert for your upcoming event.

U2 360° Tour, scheduled at the Giants Stadium on Friday, September 25, 2009, at 7:00PM, has been rescheduled. The new date is Wednesday, September 23, 2009, at 7:00PM. The U2 performance on Thursday, September 24th will proceed as scheduled. The change was necessitated by the rescheduling of the New York Jets football game later that week. We regret the inconvenience to U2 fans.

Original tickets will be honored for the new date. If needed you may obtain a refund by following the instructions below for your applicable delivery method.

U2 are also playing MSG on October 30th as part of the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary show.

Phil Collins told Playboy in 1986, "I've always liked the idea of Springsteen - everyman's music for every-man, you know; it captures the imagina-tion of the workingman. Chuck Berry did the same thing. I don't know that much about Springsteen's older songs, but I like what he stands for. Born in the U.S.A. is just fantastic. It has great atmosphere and it's a great song."

Bruce Springsteen & E Street Band @ Giants Stadium (more by Eric Townsend)

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND will perform in the BRIDGESTONE SUPER BOWL XLIII HALFTIME SHOW on NBC Sports at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Sunday, February 1, the NFL announced today.

The Super Bowl halftime show is annually the most-watched musical performance. More than 148 million viewers in the U.S. watched last year's show. The Super Bowl and halftime show will be broadcast worldwide in more than 230 countries and territories.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band join an esteemed list of recent halftime acts that includes the Rolling Stones, U2, Paul McCartney, Prince and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. [The Boss]

Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, Toni Braxton, an 80-person choir and Phil Collins performed at the Superbowl in 2000. Sufjan Stevens and St Vincent performed a Phil Collins song this past Saturday night. Video of Bruce Springsteen and Axl Rose performing together below...

Continue reading "Bruce Springsteen to play 2009 Superbowl halftime show"

"Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will play the coveted halftime slot at the Super Bowl in Arizona on February 3, organizers of the year's No. 1 television event said on Sunday." [Yahoo]