Posts Tagged ‘Music’

What Will Be the Song of the Summer?

What will be the song of the summer for 2010? Well, your vote counts and you can help determine the song for the summer of 2010! Kind of, anyway. Billboard composes a chart every year for the songs of the summer and actually has quite a collection from 1985 until today. The chart is based on actual airplay and performances on the Billboard’s “hot” charts. So, the more people that buy the songs and the more they get played on the radio (as well as some other factors) determines how well an artist and a song does on the charts.

What is the most popular song so far for 2010? Well, if you sit back and think about it for a moment, you will probably come to the conclusion that the most popular, “hot” song of the summer is “California Gurls” by Katy Perry. Don’t like Katy Perry? Unless there is some major change, you will more-than-likely have to deal with the fact that she will have the song of the summer. But, you can always go to Billboard and “Show your love for the song” or “No love for this song.”

It might make you feel better to think you actually have a part in the music industry.

Here are the current top 5 songs, in order, of the summer:
1. “California Gurls” Katy Perry ft. Snoop Dogg
2. “OMG” Usher ft. will.i.am
3. “Airplanes” B.o.B ft. Hayley Williams
4. “Billionaire” Travie McCoy ft Bruno Mars
5. “Your Love is My Drug” Ke$ha

You can check out the complete list at Billboard.com.

New Releases – June 29th

Here are the notable albums released this week – June 29, 2010. You can now click on the artist and album to go directly to amazon to buy the album! If pick up the albums now, you can get some great deals. You can grab some of the other albums are as low as $7.99. Let me know what you are getting and what you like this week.

3OH!3, ‘Streets of Gold’
Alex Band (of The Calling), ‘We’ve All Been There’
Haste the Day, ‘Attack of the Wolf King’
Mr. Hudson, ‘Straight, No Chaser’
Kenny G, ‘Heart and Soul’
Indigo Girls, ‘Staring Down the Brilliant Dream’
Mastodon, ‘Jonah Hex: Original Score’
To Rococo Rot, ‘Speculation’
Kate Tucker, ‘White Horse’
We Were Skeletons, ‘We Were Skeletons’
Jimmy Webb, ‘Just Across the River’
Wolf Parade, ‘Expo 86′
Adam Franklin and the Bolts of Melody, ‘I Could Sleep for a Thousand Years’

As always, you can also head over to itunes to pick up your latest and favorite albums or songs. Check back next week for more new releases!

Crushing Juliet’s Next Memphis Show – July 30th

Crushing Juliet last show at Minglewood Hall in Memphis, TN on June 5th went great. Besides from working on some other stuff, we got another show in Memphis on July 30th at Newby’s. The show will be 18 and up and will only be $5 dollars to get in. We have been putting in a lot of work to get this show together and to do it for a cheap price so more people can make it out to enjoy the show (Hopefully!). If you haven’t had the chance to check out the debut album “Broken Cadillac” definitely look it up. You can buy all the songs on iTunes as well as on Amazon! If you got Amazon.com today, you can get the whole album for only $8.99! Or if you just wanna test the waters with Crushing Juliet, you can just pick up a song for only 99 cents! (King And Queen, Not Losing You, Round And Round… )

Anyway, hopefully you will be able to make it on July 30th to see Crushing Juliet at Newby’s! It will be your last chance to see the band in Memphis for a long while, so be sure to check it out! And check out the new album, Broken Cadillac, as well.

Check Crushing Juliet out on Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter!

Listen to the New STP Album Now – For Free!

Want to listen to the New Stone Temple Pilots’ Album that is set for release tomorrow, May 25? Well, thanks to Billboard.com, you can! STP is their self-titled album that has been nine years in the making. This album has already released one Number one single on the Rock Charts and with 12 tracks total, it is destined to have another single up there soon.

Scott Weiland says that the new album is good old straightforward Stone Temple Pilots Rock N’ Roll. If you want to hear the album right now, you can exclusively on Billboard.com. It has been nine years in the making and it is well worth the wait.

Plan on head over to iTunes tomorrow to pick up the new STP album.

Youtube Sensation – Greyson Michael Chance

I am sure that by now you know that the internet can be a powerful tool – especially for music. People have been discovered through the likes of Myspace and Youtube. Take, for example, Justin Bieber – without Youtube and the internet he would be the rising star that everyone says he is. He would be sitting at home like the rest of us.

Well, luckily for teens everywhere Justin Bieber did what he did. He paved the way for every little 12 and 13 year old to post their videos on youtube, wait a day or two, and then be flown across the United States and handed a record deal. Don’t worry if they have never been on stage or have a clue what they are doing, they will teach them that as long as they can pocket some quick cash off of them. And they will. Not to say that these teen prodigies and talented singers don’t deserve the recognition that they are getting. I am just saying that the internet has made it very easy to gain your 15 minutes of fame without putting in the hard work first.

But, let’s move on. Let’s look at the next possible candidate to take over Bieber’s spot, 12-year-old Greyson Michael Chance of Edmond, Okla. He performed a soulful rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” on the piano at his school’s talent show that rivals the original acoustic performances of the song Gaga herself has done. And naturally, they videoed the talent show and posted it on Youtube – then it spread like wildfire. He doesn’t just put his own spin on Gaga hits, either. Greyson writes and composes original songs about some pretty deep subject matter.

His Facebook page acquired over 10,000 fans in 36 hours. Ryan Seacrest and Ashton Kutcher were tweeting about him. He’s going to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show today. Tomorrow night, he’ll appear on the Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson. He has talent and he deserves the attention he is getting. Yesterday he was a boy from Edmond, tomorrow he is the next big thing.

I hope that you see the importance and value of the internet and the impact that it has had – and will have – on the music business. So, go promote yourself – who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Personal Update

As you know, I like to stay away from talking about myself too much (maybe that should change – after all, it is STEVEHATMAKER.com, right?) but I would just like to let everyone in on why I have been slackin’ on the updates lately (as if you cared). I have been busy getting some new stuff in the works for the website and some of the other sites that I own – it is going to be great! Also, I have been working on getting all the leg work done that goes with getting a CD mass produced and setting up a publishing company – much less trying to find a way to pay for it all. Luckily, I will have lots and lots of blog post in the near future with ways to get through all of the music related things I have been going through – easily and more effectively then I have been going about it… because I didn’t know and wish I had some of the info before hand. I have a couple of other song-writing and recording projects that I have been fitting in between everything else.

Anyway, I will be enjoying Memphis in May as well as playing a few shows with the good old cover band this weekend. I will be sure to keep everyone updated on Memphis in May as well as have some great articles and useful information start flowing into the website. I also plan on doing a reviews section on this website, which if you are interested in guitar effects and guitar reviews be sure to check out my other site – thegitfiddle.com, and on the reviews section I will post reviews about music gear and books as well as just plain old music – when I have time. I just thought it would give everyone a little more insight on how my beautiful, yet complex, brain works.. or something like that.

So, keep checking back and looking for some great, new music information as well as the entertaining nonsense that I post on otherwise horribly boring subjects such as American Idol. Be sure to jump over to twitter and follow me (@stevehatmaker) as I will be talking about how great, or not great, music fest is going. Unless, of course, it is horribly rainy as I don’t won’t to ruin my already crappy Blackberry.

I take that back, I will do it anyway.

And if you have anything that you want to know about that pertains to the music industry, be sure to just ask and I will probably have to let you know that I am unaware of the answer. But, it never hurts to ask.

Thanks!

Bullet For My Valentine Has Fever

Bullet for My Valentine has a new album, Fever, coming out this Tuesday, April 27. The album is great. It is one of those albums that you can listen to from the beginning of the CD to the end and you don’t have to skip any songs. It seems very hard to find CDs like that now-a-days.

Bullet for My Valentine is one of my favorite bands of the day. They have guitar harmonies and big angelic choruses. Anyway, here is one of the songs from the album called “Betrayal.”

What did you think of the song? Are you going to pick up the album? If you plan too pick it up, be sure you head over to iTunes and get Fever from Bullet for My Valentine!

Using iPhone Apps for a Song

So, we have decided when you want to do something and be recognized you have to do something unique. Well, this girl in the video is definitely doing something unique. She has, um, talent. At least more talent then those kids who get can perfect scores on Guitar Hero on the expert level. But really, this is pretty neat and if you have a bunch of iPhones just lying around – you should try it! I definitely have some iPhone apps to download – oh, and an iPhone to buy.

I would expect the first all iPhone band sometime in the next year. So, what do you think?

Memphis in May 2010 Lineup with Times

Here is the line-up for Memphis in May 2010 and the times. I only included the 3 main stages – I did not include the blues tent. If you are interested in the times for that, go the the official festival page. Here is the Memphis in May 2010 line-up:

FRIDAY, April 30
6:00PM: Neon Trees – Cellular South Stage
6:10PM: Al Kapone – Budweiser Stage
6:30PM: Blues Traveler – Sam’s Town Stage
7:35PM: Mute Math – Cellular South Stage
8:15PM: Jeff Beck – Sam’s Town Stage
9:15PM: 30 Seconds To Mars – Cellular South Stage
9:30PM: Goo Goo Dolls – Budweiser Stage
10:55PM: Limp Bizkit – Cellular South Stage

SATURDAY, May 1
2:20PM: Joan Red – Cellular South Stage
2:35PM: Balti – Sam’s Town Stage
4:00PM: Constellations – Cellular South Stage
4:00PM: North Mississippi Allstars – Budweiser Stage
4:25PM: Colbie Caillat – Sam’s Town Stage
5:40PM: Yo Gotti – Cellular South Stage
5:50PM: Drive By Truckers – Budweiser Stage
6:10PM: Jerry Lee Lewis – Sam’s town Stage
7:15PM: Puddle of Mudd – Cellular South Stage
7:40PM: Michael McDonald – Sam’s Town Stage
7:45PM: Gov’t Mule – Budweiser Stage
9:10PM: Seether – Cellular South Stage
9:30PM: Hall & Oates – Sam’s Town Stage
9:45PM: Flaming Lips – Budweiser Stage
10:55PM: Alice in chains – Cellular South Stage

SUNDAY, May 1
2:00PM: Truth & Salvage – Budweiser Stage
2:10PM: Rock Sugar – Sam’s Town Stage
2:15PM: Sore Eyes – Cellular South Stage
3:30PM: Bret Michaels – Sam’s town Stage
3:35PM: John Hiatt – Budweiser Stage
3:50PM: Boys Like Girls – Cellular South Stage
5:15PM: Booker T & the MG’S – Sam’s Town Stage
5:25PM: Five Finger Death Punch – Cellular South Stage
5:35PM: Band of Horses – Budweiser Stage
7:00PM: Earth, Wind & Fire – Sam’s Town Stage
7:05PM: Chevelle – Cellular South Stage
7:20PM: Alison Krauss – Budweiser Stage
8:45PM: 3 Doors Down – Cellular South Stage

New Releases – March 16

Here are the new music releases for the week of March 16. There is a live album from The White Stripes, which I can say will be interesting. Then there is a new album from the Flobots and Drive By Truckers. Not really much that interest me this week. Here is your releases:

Angus & Julia Stone, ‘Down The Way’
Armored Saint, ‘La Raza’
Drive By Truckers, ‘The Big To-Do’
Ella Fitzgerald, ‘The Best of Twelve Nights in Hollywood’
Fates Warning, ‘Parallels’
Flobots, ‘Survival Story’
Reni Lane, ‘Ready’
Neon Trees, ‘Habits’
The Runaways,’The Mercury Albums Anthology’
The White Stripes, ‘Under Great White Northern Lights’
Gin Wigmore, ‘Holy Smoke’

Please let me know if you see something I should know about! Be sure to check out Music on Amazon.com to buy or download your favorite new album. Also, you can subscribe to my feed and get the weekly release updates.