Kanye West | ChinaShop

Social Media Twitter Saves Music at SMW

February 15, 2011 - 9:52 am

If Day 1 was all about singing Facebook’s praises, Day 2 was all about how Twitter kicks Facebook’s ass; at least as far as the music industry is concerned…

Is Social Media Music’s Savior?

BUZZMEDIA hosted an event with the Kanye-inspired title, The Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy of Social Media as Music’s Savior, which featured a panel of respected music curators and promoters: Angel Laws (ConcreteLoop.com), Jessica Suarez (Stereogum), Tamar Anitai (MTV.com/MTV Buzzworthy), Rob Bonstein (Epic Records) and moderated by Jeff Leeds, Editor in Chief for Music at BUZZMEDIA.

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Film Gallery Los Angeles Music Video Festival

by Nicole Pajer and Dustin Downing

February 1, 2011 - 11:59 am

The First Annual Los Angeles Music Video Festival (LAMVF) took place January 23rd at the Downtown Independent Theater in Los Angeles. To celebrate a communal love of music videos, guests spent the day watching screenings, listening intently to speakers, and participating in discussions.

Out of 200 submissions from directors in over 16 countries, the screenings for student and independent videos resulted in awards being offered to:

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Music Mandy’s Music Mail 1/14/11

by Amanda Boyd

January 14, 2011 - 9:16 am

And how is everyone doing on this fine Friday? Doubtless even better now that you’re reading this gloriousness, no?

So the first single off Watch The Throne, the collaboration album between Jay-Z and Kanye West, “H.A.M.”, was released this week and it’s such a let down. The beat, produced by 19 year old Lex Luger, (I know, ridic.) is gorgeous but Kanye’s first verse doesn’t flow with it at all, Jay’s was good but nothing spectacular… I don’t know, I guess considering the immense talent these boys possess, I expected something better. Paws crossed the rest of Watch The Throne is far better. Check it out for yourself below.

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Music Mandy’s Music Mail 1/7/11

by Amanda Boyd

January 7, 2011 - 9:21 am

I’m a week into my three-week holiday in lovely London Town, and though I didn’t think it possible, I’ve fallen even more in love with this city (which is quite something considering it was rather stressful to begin with: first and second flights canceled due to the epic blizzard in New York; third flight massively delayed; didn’t get my luggage until this past Monday; phone completely broke – yay for my friend having a spare Blackberry). However, overall it’s been wonderful and me and London seem to get on pretty damn well. But more on my adventures later, let’s get to this week’s music news, shall we?

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Music Kanye West’s Top 10 Producing Credits

by Shop Keeper

January 4, 2011 - 11:36 am

Before he was throwing temper tantrums at the MTV VMAs and being labeled the biggest jerk in the history of hip hop, and before he released his critically acclaimed My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West was producing some of the dopest beats the game has ever heard.

Kanye’s career as a rap artist didn’t exactly take off like a Gulfstream en route to the south of France. Prior to reaching superstar status as a rap artist, many labels were reluctant to sign Kanye West “the producer” to a record deal.

It took a 2003 car accident to inspire Kanye to write and produce “Through the Wire”, a track he recorded with his jaw wired shut. With critical acclaim, his career as a respected rap artist and eventual superstar was launched. For Mr. West, there was no looking back.

Luckily for you, we enjoyed history class in high school. So much so that we decided to take a look back and list our favorite pre-superstar Kanye-produced tracks:

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Music Mandy’s Music Mail 2011

by Amanda Boyd

January 3, 2011 - 12:23 pm

Welcome back party people! and welcome to 2011! I’d like to kick off the new year with some freebies, some semi-freebies, and some new music. Enjoy.

The Gorillaz are giving away their album The Fall for free! (Well, you have to join their fan club… which costs money ($45). So if you’re already a member, than – magic! – it’s free. If not, well, yeah…). The boys wrote and recorded this on an iPad whilst on tour earlier this year – apparently iPads aren’t just great for Angry Birds, but recording albums too? Who knew? Stream it below or head on over to their website to download it.

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Music The Best Music Videos of 2010

by Rich Thomas

December 31, 2010 - 11:00 am

In the continuing spirit of our big 2010 send-off, we’d like to present you with another Top 10 list that celebrates the best of what music had to offer this past year, this time in the form of music videos. Some of these are beautifully stunning creations, many of them will cause you to LOL, but whatever their intent, chances are you’ve wasted a substantial portion of your work day checking them out at some point over the last 365 days. We just thought we’d pick the best and put ‘em in one place.

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Music Merry Music Magic 12/24/10

by Amanda Boyd

December 24, 2010 - 11:16 am

The fire’s a blazing here at Boyd Manor and my whisky is a waiting, so let’s get right into this week’s magical music, shall we?

Iron & Wine are giving away “Tree By The River,” a track off their upcoming album Kiss Each Other Clean which you can grab here. It’s your standard Iron & Wine tune, by which I mean it’s completely gorgeous and I’m totally in love with it. Kiss Each Other Clean is out January 25^th; really looking forward to checking out the rest of this sure-to-be gem.

Iron & Wine – Tree By the River (Radio edit)

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Featured interview Setting Sail with the Captains of Industry

by Rich Thomas

December 24, 2010 - 11:09 am

The two gentlemen you see before you are Graham Funke and StoneRokk. Like Mixmaster and Long Haul (of the infamous Constructicons posse), they are strong and capable individuals known to shake the floor and break ground. And like their transforming robot counterparts, they form a devastating mix of talent and dexterity when joined together. They are The Captains of Industry, silver-tongued mixologists whose reverence for party rocking and true school DJ skills may only be matched by their love of irony, eyewear and well groomed facial hair. In 2010, they brought you some of the illest DJ mixes on the planet: Ditch Fridays and Trabajo, both of which can be downloaded here. In 2011, they will bless you with a whole lot more.

The venerable Captains took some time out of their busy yule-logging and egg-nogging schedules to chat with us about Money Shots, $6,000 coats, and what it takes to put fickle Vegas and LA crowds in the palm of your hand. Read on, my friends. Read on.

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Music The Best of 2010…According to Geo Hagan

by Geo Hagan

December 22, 2010 - 10:36 am

2010 was a banner year for music in general, and it’s now clear that the doomsayer rumors about the inevitable implosion of the industry were greatly exaggerated. Being a dedicated devotee to the mid-’90s, true-school era of hip-hop, it was great to see that the resurgence of supreme lyrics and raw beats started by Raekwon’s excellent OB4CL2 continued all the way through 2010. Overall, it seems a taste level and “hunger for more” has crept back into the music game, and as you’ll see in my Best Of list, I give massive props to quite a few deserving overachievers. It’s fun being a music fan again and let’s hope this trend continues into the new year. What are you waiting for? Pop the lid below to see who rocked my eardrums the hardest this year.

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