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B-Sides Report for 10/05/2015



Beastie Boys Secretly Inspired Star Wars: The Force Awakens?

Beastie Boys fans are speculating that a character in the upcoming 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' film is based on the three New York rappers. Radio.com has these details:

While the Star Wars franchise has been tight-lipped about details, fans are digging into a theory that a character called Ello Asty could secretly be based on the Beastie Boys.

For one, Beastie Boys' 1998 album Hello Nasty is curiously close to the character's name (take out the H and the N and voila). And while StarWars.com does not display an image of Ello Asty, a new action figure shows the character to have "Born to Ill" inscribed on his helmet, a nod to the Beastie's debut album License to Ill.

Read Geek.com writer Dave Gonzales explain the theory of how the Beastie Boys inspired the character's name here.

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Taylor Swift's Bad Blood Gets Unusual Makeover

Taylor Swift's hit song "Bad Blood" has once again inspired an unusual cover version. This time it was given an orchestral make-over by Grammy winning composer Christopher Tin. Radio.com reports:

Swift herself has bestowed her seal of approval of Tin's orchestral cover version of the track, which sounds like it should be part of a Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack.

"Getting pirate ship/sword fight movie scene vibes from this orchestral version of Bad Blood," Taylor tweeted to fans on Thursday night. "I'm happy about it."

Tin posted the following on YouTube "I had the opportunity to meet Taylor Swift before her concert at Staples Center. I was completely blown away. Not only is she an incredibly gifted musician, songwriter, and businesswoman, but she's one of the most confident and charming people I've ever met." Check it out here.

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Demi Lovato's 'No Makeup, No Clothes, No Retouching' Photoshoot

Popstar Demi Lovato posed for a photo shoot with Vanity Fair showing her newfound confidence in her body image by doing the shoot with "no makeup, no clothes, no retouching." Radio.com reports:

In the Vanity Fair article, photographer Patrick Ecclesine said that the spontaneous nude shoot was Lovato's idea. The singer, who has struggled with body image issues, was inspired by her forthcoming album Confident and felt the time was right to let it all hang out.

In the video, which you can watch on the magazine's website, Lovato opens up about the shoot. "When I think of confident, I think about many things but I think of one thing in particular--is feeling comfortable in your own skin--and I thought there was something incredible about the idea of no make-up what-so-ever, no clothes and no retouching."

The make-up free singer continues, "I would have never thought that I would be in a place in my life where I could feel comfortable doing that. It's empowering and it shows other women you can get to a place where you can overcome the obstacles of body image issues and you can feel comfortable and confident in your skin." Read more here.

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Sam Smith Makes James Bond History With 'Writings on the Wall'

As expected, Sam Smith made chart history in the UK after "Writings On The Wall," his theme to the forthcoming James Bond movie "Specre" became the first song from the long running film franchise to top the Official Top 100 Singles Chart.

Radio.com had these details: The 23-year-old British singer told the Official Charts, 'It was such an honor to be asked to write and record 'Writing's on the Wall,' and it's incredible that it's become the first Number one Bond theme song."

He added, 'It's been an unforgettable experience working with Barbara [Broccoli] and Sam [Mendes] to become part of this British legacy. I couldn't have done this without my fans� this is a special moment I'll never forget."

Smith took to Instagram to share the news with his fans. Check out his post and read more here.

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Run The Jewels Unleash The Oh My Darling (Don't Meow) Video

Run The Jewels continue their cat themed humor with the release of a new lo-fi music video for the track "Oh My Darling (Don't Meow) Just Blaze Remix".

Radio.com has these details: The song comes off of the group's Meow the Jewels album, which remixes Run The Jewels' second album, but with cat noises.

Giant cats run a muck, and lounge, in a mini city filled with toy police cars and helicopters. There are also eye lasers. To our knowledge no innocent bystanders or pets were harmed during the filming. Watch the NSFW video here.

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Will Smith Returns To Rap On New Collaboration

Will Smith has returned to hip-hop by leading his rapping skills to a new collaboration with electro-tropical Bomba Estereo on their new track, "Fiesta", according to Fader. Radio.com reports:

Simon Mejia, who founded and performs in the Columbian band, said in a statement, "When I was told that Will Smith wanted to collaborate on a remix with Bomba, I couldn't believe it. This opportunity to work with Will was beyond anything we have dreamed of�It's just magic."

Smith doesn't sound like he's lost a year, spitting a steady flow in both English and Spanish on "Fiesta." Smith hasn't released a solo rap album since 2005's Lost and Found. Check out the new track here.

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The Game Releases 'Don't Trip' With Ice Cube, will.i.am and Dr. Dre

The Game has revealed the new track "Don't Trip," which features Ice Cube, will.i.am and Dr. Dre and comes from his forthcoming double album "The Documentary 2." Radio.com had these details:

Dre opens the song, which is full of gang banging references and gangster threats, with a message to will.i.am. "Yo, Yo, Will.i.am, my n-. It's your Dre," he said. "I don't think people know that you know how to take it to the streets."

Then the beat drops. The base line thumps. Game drops a few bars before Ice Cube steps in followed by Dre. Compton is on full display on this one. As Will "takes it to the streets," Game outlines his journey on becoming a member of the Blood gang, despite living in the a rival gang territory.

Will.i.am has the final word, one of unification. "What happens when n- unite and start making them moves�Don't trip." Listen to the NSFW song here.

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Ryan Adams Performs Taylor Swift '1989' Covers For The Daily Show

Ryan Adams made a special appearance on the new version of the Daily Show last week where he performed music from his brand new cover album of Taylor Swift's blockbuster "1989".

He performed "Bad Blood," during the broadcast and also two web-exclusives "Style" and "Blank Space." Radio.com reports: Adams had previously explained, on Beats 1, that the songs of 1989 spoke to him on an level similar to those of The Smiths.

"You could kind of hear people going, 'Is this [1989] a dance record? Is this a retro '80s record' But I was hearing all the emotional content here and becoming curious about it," the "Gimme Something Good" singer said. Watch all three performances here.

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Selena Gomez Streams New Track 'Me & The Rhythm'

Selena Gomez surprised fans on Twitter late last week with the release of the new track, "Me & The Rhythm", which is the latest song she has shared from her forthcoming album "Revival." Radio.com reports:

"Me & The Rhythm" is a softer dance track about how music and, you guessed it, rhythm can get you through life's bumpier moments. The chorus features Gomez climbing the vocal scale to nice effect.

Gomez has previously released two other tracks from Revival, including "Good for You (ft. A$AP Rocky)" and "Same Old Love." "Good for You" earned Gomez her first number one hit on the Pop Songs chart. Read more here.

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Lady Gaga Strips Down In Cover Of Chic's 'I Want Your Love'

Fashion designer Tom Ford recruited Lady Gaga to cover Chic's 1978 classic "I Want Your Love" for his Spring/Summer 2016 Collection promotional video where the popstar is seen stripping down to almost nothing. Radio.com reports:

The video features a cast of runway models including Gaga herself who goes through various wardrobe changes and struts for the camera starting about half way through the video. The clip ends with her wearing next to nothing.

"Instead of having a traditional show this season," explains Tom Ford in a post to his website, "I wanted to think about to present a collection in a cinematic way that was designed from its inception to be presented online. I have always loved 'Sound Train' which used to be on TV in the 70's; as it was as much about the clothes as the music.

"I asked Nile Rodgers to collaborate on a new version of his great hits from that time, 'I Want Your Love,' and worked with Gaga to record the vocals. I then staged a full show in Los Angeles and filmed it with Gaga on the runway, Nick Knight directing and Benoit Delhomme as our director of photography."

Listen to the original version of Rodger's classic here.

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Little Mix Release Prom Themed 'Love Me Like You' Video

Little Mix have released a music video for "Love Me Like You," a track that comes from their third album "Get Weird" which is set to be released on November 6th. Radio.com has these details about the clip:

The English Girl Group go back to high school, specifically the prom. The clip, which was directed by Sarah McColgan, includes all your favorite high school dance clich�s including the overzealous chaperone, and spiking the punch.

Each of the girls goes a little boy crazy over their date, but there's a catch, it turns out they've all be conned by the same high school jerk. No happy ending, but perhaps a sequel is in store?

Watch the video here.

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Snoop Dogg Slams Pittsburgh Steelers' Josh Scobee

Pittsburgh Steelers fan Snoop Dogg released a NSFW Instagram post to share his displeasure with kicker Josh Scobee following the football team's three point loss to division rivals the Baltimore Ravens last Thursday (October 1st.)

Radio.com reports: Scobee, the team's third kicker this year, missed two critical field goals late in the fourth quarter. In the short expletive-laced rant, Snoop made it clear that he feels the Steelers need a new kicker.

"I let the team down and [it's] not something I ever want to remember doing. Just a bad feeling. It was a hard fought game on both sides and I wish I would have been able to come through, but it just wasn't my night," Scobee tells CBS Pittsburgh.

Check out Snoop's NSFW rant here.

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Janet Jackson Streaming New Album 'Unbreakable' Online

Janet Jackson released her long awaited album "Unbreakable" on Friday (October 3rd) and fans can also stream the follow-up to 2008's "Discipline" online. Radio.com reports:

Jackson has been steadily building anticipation for the album by offering different pieces of the work in the months leading up to the release. She shared the lyrics to "The Great Forever" in August and in September she offered up the title track.

For the singer's first studio album in seven years, she returned to her long-term collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Now fans can listen to the album in its entirety. Check out the track list and stream here.

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Singled Out: The Von's Cry Of War

The Von vocalist/bassist Luis Bonilla tells us about their brand new single "Cry Of War" from their forthcoming new album "Ei8ht," which is set to be released on November 13th. Here is the story:

This song was conceived at a time when we were playing every single gig we could find. It was the end of summer 2013 and we just wanted to really get going and grow our presence in the South Florida scene. It was hot, muggy, and raining all the time and we were schlepping all our gear to our shows.

We had ourselves a gig. It was one of those things when someone asked us if we would be down to play this 2 day festival at Churchill's in Miami. Churchill's is a famous dive bar and has been there since 1979. It's pretty much Miami's CBGB's. The place itself is not that bad but you wouldn't want to take your mom there to use the toilet.

We get there and we know how it goes. At Churchill's, it's every man/woman/band & beer for themselves, but this night was really one that stood out for all the wrong reasons. The "promoter" and "sound engineer" were nowhere to be seen and all the other annoying bad things that could possibly happen with the other bands did happen. Finally our slot time comes and the band before us just kept on playing like they were headlining Glastonbury. Finally I had had it and I went looking for this "Promoter". I found her at the back bar, drunk and babbling nonsense. After seeing this and being there all night we decided to leave. We never played, we wasted our time, and I left that place boiling with indignation.

The following morning I was still very upset from the disrespect experienced and I had to let it out somehow. I grabbed my acoustic bass, sat down on the couch and uttered the opening melody for "Cry Of War". By noon I had recorded the whole initial idea of the song with vocals, some basic drum loops, and some guitar.

"Cry of War" is a song about going after what you believe in with all your strength and pursuing your dreams no matter what obstacles present themselves. The song is written in first person singular during the first verse and it changes to first person plural during the second verse because I'm referring to all of us in the band and including you, the listener, as part of this battle to succeed in our mission (and/or whatever your dreams in life are).

It also touches on what rock n roll is to me - A giant horse made out of electricity riding on a cloud of smoke. This is also my allegory for THE VON on stage. We give it our all and love doing so. "Cry of War" is the fastest song on the upcoming album and one that definitely transmits the energy I felt the morning after that bad night.

Don't let them put you down, conquer what you're after with a loud Cry of War!


Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself here and learn more about the album and the group right here!

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