Jennifer Lopez Weighs in on Beyonce’s Lip Synching

Since Beyonce’s performance Monday at President Obama’s Inauguration, the singer has faced some serious criticism for allegedly lip synching. Though there hasn’t yet been any official word as to whether the singer pre-recorded the performance, others have had a chance to weigh in on the possibility—including Jennifer Lopez and Aretha Franklin.

Franklin, the Queen of R-E-S-P-E-C-T, laughed the situation off. When she got wind of Beyonce’s alleged lip synching, she said, “I really laughed… I just really cracked up.”

“I thought it was funny because the weather down there was about 46 or 44 degrees and for most singers that is just not good singing weather,” she continued. “I thought it was really funny, but she did a beautiful job with the pre-record… next time I’ll probably do the same.”

Jennifer Lopez was quick to come to Beyonce’s defense as well, pointing out that such a performance could be especially nerve-wracking—not to mention that the venue could have poor acoustics.

“Sometimes it happens, when you’re in certain stadiums and in certain values and stuff, they do pre-record things because you’re going to have that terrible slapback,” Lopez said. She admitted she was once invited to sing at the White House as well, but had to turn the opportunity down.

She added that pre-recording is fairly common and “all performers have to do it at some point.” Beyonce is certainly not the first to do so for a major performance; Lopez points out that Whitney Houston herself once pre-recorded her performance for the Super Bowl. 

New Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductees

The 28^th annual induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be on April 18^th this year. This year, inductees include Heart, Albert King, Randy Newman, Public Enemy, Rush, Donna Summer, Lou Adler and Quincy Jones. Here’s where you might recognize them from:

·      Heart: The four-decade American rock band has sold over 30 million records worldwide. Mainstream successes include “Barracuda,” “Heartless,” and “These Dreams.”

·      Albert King: An American blues guitarist/singer and major influencer on blues guitar playing. His most famous tracks inlud “Born Under a Bad Sign,” “Blues Power,” and “I’ll Play the Blues For You.”

·      Randy Newman: Singer, songwriter, arranger, composer, pianist—you name it, he’s done it. You’ll know him from tunes like “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from Toy Story, “Monsters, Inc.” from Monsters, Inc. and “Short People” from Little Criminals.

·      Public Enemy: An American hip-hop group known for their powerful lyrics and messages in songs like “Bring the Noise,” “Fight the Power,” and “Don’t Believe the Hype.”

·      Rush: A Canadian rock band, Rush is known for its complex compositions and science fiction and fantasy lyrical motifs. Some of their most popular songs include “Tom Sawyer,” “YYZ,” and “Limelight.”

·      Donna Summer: She stole our hearts in the disco era of the 1970s, the first artist to have three consecutive double albums rocket to number one on the Billboard charts in the U.S. Top tracks included “Hot Stuff,” “I Feel Love,” and “Last Dance.”

·      Lou Adler: An American record producer, manager, director and owner of Roxy Theater. He managed groups like The Mamas & the Papas, Johnny Rivers, Carole King, and Cheech and Chong. He also produced cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

·      Quincy Jones: He’s an American record producer, conductor, arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. He has received a record 79 Grammy nominations, 27 Grammy wins, and a Grammy Legend Award in 1991. He worked with artists like Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Lional Hampton, Ray Charles, Dizzy Gillespie, Van Halen, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Will Smith.

Perhaps one of the most exciting parts of this year’s induction ceremony is the fact that its presenters are all impressive musicians themselves: John Mayer, Gary Clark Jr., Christina Aguilera, Don Henley, Dave Grohl, and Taylor Hawkins have all been chosen to hand out the awards.

Indie Music Moving to Mainstream

The movement of indie music to mainstream music has been happening for quite some time. Back in the mid 2000s, underground bands not previously known to mainstream music listeners suddenly found themselves being discovered---for better or worse. The rise of the Internet made it easy to find out about new bands, whether or not they were being played on FM radio stations. TV shows, movies, and businesses started to take notice, and soon some indie bands saw record sales and downloads of their music.

Joan Hiller, who was once a publicist at Sub Pop Records, put it this way: “It was definitely weird a few years ago when it no longer became strange to see your friends on television, or to be in Nordstrom looking for underpants and hearing your friends’ bands getting played.”

But moving from indie to mainstream can present problems for some artists dedicated to the indie ideal. Whereas mainstream music is often criticized for producing music for money, indie music prides itself for creating music that values artistic interest over commercial viability. In other words, these musicians aren’t in it for the money.

One aspect of indie music that’s not often pursued by mainstream labels like Sony is the release of music on LPs. Only a few labels still produce LPs for their artists.  One of these is Brooklyn’s Kemado Records, co-founded by Andres Santo Domingo.*

“I think that vinyl in a way represents slow,” he says of LPs. “And I think that’s something that’s attractive about it maybe on a subliminal level for consumers that are maybe on the internet, to get something that’s really physical, maybe archaic in a way, but the complete antithesis of what the speed of consuming music on the Internet is.”

And it’s not just consumers that like LPs; it’s the musicians, too. “I always have said… that I’ll never really feel like a real band until I can hold a record in my hands and look at it,” saidJenn Wasner of Wye Oak, who recently released their third album digitally, onCD, and as a vinyl LP.

For indie musicians finding themselves in the spotlight, there are both positive and negative aspects. While they may suddenly have more than enough money to get by, there’s also more pressure than ever to focus on their creative expression rather than what FM listeners might want to hear. But these artists are also seasoned from their time underground, which likely means they already know where they want to go with their music—and it has nothing to do with how many people listen to it.

*We have written about vinyl records and Andres Santo Domingo before.  

Mumford & Sons to Perform at GRAMMYs

We’re halfway through January, which means it’s almost time for the GRAMMYs. This year’s stage is set for some great performers, too, like The Black Keys, Mumford & Sons, fun., Taylor Swift, and Rihanna. It’s enough to make anyone wish they were attending in person.

All of the musicians performing this year are up for multiple awards, including Best New Artist, Album of the Year, and Record of the Year. Who’s up for what, you ask? Let’s take a look:

The Black Keys—Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Album

Mumford & Sons—Album of the Year, Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, Best Americana Album, Best Song Written For Visual Media, Producer of the Year (Markus Dravs), and Best Long Form Music Video (Big Easy Express)

fun.—Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Producer of the Year, Non-Classical (Jeff Bhasker)

Taylor Swift—Record of the Year, Best Country Duo/Group Performance, and Best Song Written For Visual Media

Rihanna—Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, and Best Short Form Music Video

The 55^th GRAMMY Awards will take place on February 10^th in Los Angeles at the Staples Center, and will be broadcast via prime-time television. This year’s awards will be hosted by LL Cool J, and we should soon hear about other performances, special presentations, and segments to expect this year. A full listing of all the nominees can be found on the GRAMMYs’ website. 

The Sword’s Poetic Imagery

A song doesn’t have to be a soft, slow lyrical to have some good poetic imagery. In fact, in The Sword’s case, even head-banging music can have some powerful lyrics. The group recently released their latest album, Apocryphon, and they’re at their highest level of success yet. They’ve gone on tour with Metallica and been on stage with the likes of Motorhead and Ozzy Osbourne. Their music has even been used in Guitar Hero and movies like Jennifer’s Body.

And their acclaim from Rolling Stone, Outburn, and The Washington Post adds to their growing success. The group, from Austin, Texas, is a four-man set. They have released four albums thus far through Andres Santo Domingo’s Kemado Records and Cliff Chenfeld’s Razor & Tie.

The group is currently on a European tour, which will last through the end of January. Their last album was based completely on a science fiction narrative written by front man John Cronise. In it, he focused on concepts of light versus dark and the perception of time.

Their newest album has an altogether different sound, taking the band a bit further from doom metal and closer to traditional hard rock. Yet it is still as hard-hitting as ever, even with some of the restructuring that’s taken place (their drummer, Trivett Wingo left after the release of their last album).

The album still has some of its science fiction feel, but the stories have become more personal. “In a way, I realized music was a vessel for expressing my own views and thoughts,” said Cronise. “I shied away from that before in favor of entertaining people with colorful narratives. This is where I’m at.” The new album is somewhere in between the two, more raw than past albums, and full of big riffs and gritty songs.

“Set adrift in the multiverse / By the whims of fate / In thrall to the demiurge / We all await escape,” begins the last song of the new album, and the one for which it is named: “Apocryphon.” Sacrificing none of its usual darkness, The Sword’s newest lyrics have something that speaks to all.

See our previous profile on Andres Santo Domingo and Kemado Records.