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B-Sides Report for 09/28/2015



Drake Declares That Meek Mill Is Dead

(Radio.com) The Drake/Meek Mill clash is still a thing apparently. Many fans have not been able to drop what is being referred to as the most entertaining hip-hop beef in years. And as producer and Meek Mill's friend Jahlil Beats told Radio.com's Brown and Scoop Play.It Podcast," It's not over. I don't think it's over. I know Meek Mill."

In an interview with The Fader, Drake recently criticized Meek and Meek's whole team on how they handled the lyrical battle, saying, "You guys didn't think this through at all-nobody? You guys have high-ranking members watching over you. Nobody told you that this was a bad idea, to engage in this and not have something? You're gonna engage in a conversation about writing music, and delivering music, with me? And not have anything to put forth on the table?" The interview had the tone of a post-game wrap-up.

But on Saturday night, fans egged on Drizzy, en masse, to diss his Philly-based rival at least one more time. The scene was Drake's headlining performance at the Landmark Music Festival at the National Mall in Washington DC. Fans chanted "F- Meek Mill," and the Canadian MC brushed it off, saying, "Don't worry, he's dead already." Watch the NSFW video here.

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Fetty Wap Hospitalized After Motorcycle Accident

(Radio.com) Fetty Wap was injured in a motorcycle accident and rushed to the hospital on Saturday (Sept. 26), while riding in his hometown of Paterson, New Jersey.

Celebrity gossip website TMZ reports the accident occurred when Fetty Wap tried to pass a car while another vehicle, out of his view, was traveling toward him.

According to TMZ sources, Fetty is "awake and talking at the hospital and appears to be OK�we're told doctors are running tests for any possible fractures."

He had no passenger riding with him when he collided with the car. Read more here.

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Kenny Rogers Retiring After Final Tour Next Year

(Radio.com) Country music legend Kenny Rogers announced that he is retiring and revealed that he plans to embark on a world next year that will also be the final trek of his 57-year music career.

Rogers made the announcement during an appearance on The Today Show on Friday morning (September 25th). He appeared on the show to promote the release of his brand new Christmas album "Once Again It's Christmas".

The music legend said, "I've done this long enough. Sometimes there's a fine line between being driven and being selfish, and I think I crossed that line when I was younger. I really want to be there with my kids and my wife. I don't see enough of them. And I have some things on my bucket list."

He will announce the details for his farewell tour soon. Watch his appearance on the Today Show here.

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Sam Smith Releases New James Bond Theme 'Writing's On The Wall'

(Radio.com) Sam Smith has finally unveiled "Writing's On The Wall," the theme song for the upcoming James Bond film Spectre. The top secret song was announced early in September, and now fans can finally get the Bond experience ahead of the film, which is due out November 6th.

Smith delivers his textured falsetto over the sweeping strings and warm keys that deepen and refrain to bring a deep emotion to the track. "I've been here before," he sings, "But always hit the floor / I've spent a lifetime running / And I always get away/ But with you I'm feeling something that makes me want to stay"

Smith tweeted his fans a note about on Friday (Sept. 25) that also extended to fans of the Bond Franchise. "I have been dreaming of this moment for a long long time," he said.

Listen to "Writing's on the Wall" here.

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Mick Jagger Rocks Rolling Stones 'Satisfaction' With Taylor Swift

(hennemusic) Mick Jagger teamed up with Taylor Swift to perform the Rolling Stones signature tune, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", in Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday night and video of the performance has been posted online.

"The person I'm about to bring out has been so incredibly kind to me over the years," said Swift in her introduction. "This person is one of the greatest entertainers of all time � This person has been knighted."

Swift previously joined the Rolling Stones in Chicago in 2013 for their 1965 single, "As Tears Go By." Keith Richards recently confirmed the band has plans to regroup to record their first new album in a decade.

"I was at a meeting with the lads three or four days ago where everybody said, 'Yes! We must go in the studio!'", said Richards. "Where or when I can't yet say but in the near future. At last I've got the boys wanting to get into the studio.

"They all have to want to do it at the same time. That's the thing with guys - you can't drag 'em in at gunpoint - but I've got the message that they want to. I'm hopeful, y'know?" Watch the Jagger and Swift performance here.

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New Eazy-E Death Conspiracy Theory Floated By Frost

(Radio.com) A new interview with former Ruthless Records hip-hop artists Frost adds to the ongoing conspiracy theory surrounding the death of Eazy-E. Frost, who was born Arturo Molina Jr., claims that the late N.W.A. rapper was infected with AIDS via infected acupuncture needles. "They gave him tainted needles with acupuncture. Needles that tainted him, they gave it to him," Frost said.

The rapper doesn't call out Suge Knight by name, but says a rap icon he refers to as "the devil" intentionally gave Eazy-E the disease that quickly took his life.

Frost said, "If you know the history of Rap, West Coast Rap, you know who I'm saying. I was told even in my last conversation from Eazy not to even talk to that man. Not only that, but I think that they really had a stronghold of giving him tainted needles with the AIDS virus in him with acupuncture."

He explained that Eazy-E sought acupuncture after injuring his back riding quads. Frost also noted that no women have come forward saying that Eazy gave them AIDS. He concluded saying, "Have you even heard of somebody dying in two weeks of AIDS? It's unheard of." Read more and watch the interview with Frost here.

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Pope Francis Releases Pop Music Song, Plans Full Album

(Radio.com) Hot on the heels of Pope Francis' historic visit to the United States comes news that he will release an 11-track album in late November and the release of the first track off the album "Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!", according to Rolling Stone.

Popes in the past have made their sermons and special hymns available and Pope Francis is no different, except his album will include more contemporary sounds.

Alongside traditional Gregorian chants, the album will feature pop and prog-rock sounds mixed against Pope Francis' more famous speeches and hymns. The first single "Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!" launches with a powerful guitar riff before leading into a speech Pope Francis gave to a South Korean audience in English.

"Wake up / Wake up," Pope Francis says, "The Lord speaks of a responsibility that the Lord gives you / It is a duty to be vigilant / Not to allow the pressures, the temptations and the sins to dull our sensibility of the beauty of holiness." Read more and listen to the track here.

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Janet Jackson Recruits Missy Elliot For New Track 'BURNITUP'

(Radio.com) Janet Jackson has revealed another song from Unbreakable. This time, she enlists Missy Elliott to "BURNITUP!" Early in September Jackson alerted fans to the Unbreakable track list, which showed Missy as one of only two featured acts (the other is J. Cole).

And on Friday (Sept. 25), Jackson released the song on social media with a message to her fans. "Hey you guys," she wrote. "I've been listening and now, so can you� Enjoy! #BURNITUP! #Unbreakable #ConversationsInACafe"

The song is a blend of Elliott's dance-floor high jinx and Jacksons straight-faced R&B. For her part, Elliot expressed a deep appreciation for working with an R&B Icon.

"Working with Janet is unbelievable. Although we are great friends and have been for so long, I am still her biggest fan," says Missy Elliott in a press release. "Sometimes, I still have to pinch myself when I call her and she picks up the phone or texts me because she is still Janet Jackson! The superstar that I would run to the TV to watch her videos and dance moves, so for me I'm honored to be on any Janet record. I'm humbled whenever she asks because she inspires and continues to inspire me, always!" Check it out here.

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Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit Declared Most Iconic Song Ever

(Classic Rock) Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit has been declared the most iconic song ever written in research commissioned by Fiat. The car manufacturers were trying to work out which song to use in promotional material for the Fiat 500 and asked boffins at the University of London to help.

Dr Mick Grierson's team analyzed the tracks most often singled out by critics, with the Nirvana smash hit coming out on top ahead of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, Guns N' Roses classic Sweet Child O' Mine and God Save The Queen by the Sex Pistols.

Dr Grierson tells the Daily Mail: "We looked at a range of measures for each song and compared them to see if there were similarities in these recordings which occur less in other songs.

"We found the most significant thing these songs have in common is that most of them use sound in a very varied, dynamic way when compared to other records.

"This makes the sound of the record exciting, holding the listeners' attention. By the same token, the sounds these songs use and the way they are combined is highly unique in each case." See the top 10 list here.

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Sara Bareilles Reveals New Song 'She Used to Be Mine'

(Radio.com) Sara Bareilles is headed for Broadway. While she won't be seen on stage, she'll certainly be heard. Bareilles wrote original songs for the 2016 Broadway musical Waitress, based on the 2007 film by the same name starring Keri Russell.

Now, listeners get a hint of what's to come. Bareilles released the track "She Used to Be Mine." The slow-building, anthemic song has a melancholy tinge about it, but in Bareilles' hands it's easy to see how this will translate to a powerful performance on the Great White Way.

The play won't open in New York until April 2016, but Bareilles will release What's Inside: Songs from Waitress on November 6th. Listen to the track here.

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New Weezer Release Date Leaked?

(Radio.com) Weezer fans, rejoice! New music is in the works, according to NME. Industry sites point to a late October release, though no official word has come from the band yet.

Although AllAccess.com listed Weezer's release on October 27th under the site's "Future Releases" section, that information has since been removed from the site.

Rivers Cuomo did allegedly tweet "who's ready for new Wheezer?" (sic) recently, but that mysterious tweet has also been deleted. Fansites picked up on the teasing tweet before it disappeared from the musician's official Twitter account.

The first single off the band's tenth studio album is purported to be "Thank God for Girls," but this is also speculation. Read more here.

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Kendrick Lamar and George Clinton Release New Remix

(Radio.com) George Clinton's pioneering funk band, Funkadelic, has released a remix for their latest song that includes an assist from the funky Compton rapper, Kendrick Lamar.

Funkadelic released a new EP on Friday (Sept. 25) called Ain't That Funkin' Kinda Hard on You? that includes a remix of the title track that give the funk sound a hip-hop upgrade.

It's a likely collaboration as Clinton appeared on Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly, giving the young rapper some funky advice on the opening track Wesley's Theory. This time Kendrick jumps on the P-Funk's crew's jam, with a few heavy lyrics of his own.

"See a nine to five was so jive turkey," Kendrick raps, "But when Thanksgiving came that check didn't hurt me / You plead the fifth, I read the fifth amendment/We both criminals with bad intention / They say time heals all, but if I could short cut my success mother funk all y'all"

Check out the track here.

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Halsey Releases 'New Americana' Video

(Radio.com) In Radio.com's recent interview with Halsey, the singer/songwriter told the site about her "New Americana" video. "I shot in it Hawaii, and I was an action hero for three days," she said.

"Some of the scenes were so intense that I was leaving the set to go throw up, because of how physically strenuous it was. I was covered in blood and bruises."

Now we know why, as the video was just released on Friday(September 25). In the video, Halsey seems to be a part of a group of twenty-somethings living off the grid; they are eventually captured by some fascist-looking police. Soon, the bad guys prepare to burn Halsey at the stake, but there's a rebellion and she and her friends escape. Read more and watch the video here.

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CeeLo Green Announces New Album And Jimmy Fallon Performance

CeeLo Green has announced that he will be releasing his new album "Heart Blanche" on November 13th and also announced that he will be performing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon next month.

The new album is Green's first new studio effort in almost half a decade and includes the previously released singles "Robin Williams," "Sign Of The Times," as well as the latest track "Music To My Soul", which had a video premiere last week.

CeeLo will be performing "Music To My Soul" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, October 8th with the show's house band The Roots. Check out the new video here.

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Big Big Train Release Live 'Victorian Brickwork' Video

(Prog) Big Big Train have released a video of them performing Victorian Brickwork live in London. The performance was captured during the band's show at King's Place last month, one of three shows at the venue - the band's first gigs in 17 years.

Keyboard player Danny Manners says: "We were overwhelmed with the audience response to what were the band's first gigs in 17 years, and how far some of them were willing to travel from all over the world. We hope the video will give the wider public a taste of what Big Big Train is like live."

BBT will release a live-in-the-studio DVD, Stone And Steel, in the coming weeks and are currently working on a new album called Folklore, set for release next year. Watch the video here.

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Singled Out: BZRK's Interpersonal Ethic

Today Nashville hip-hop group BZRK tell us about what inspired their track "Interpersonal Ethic," which is the latest single/video from their recently released album "Crop Circles." Here is the story:

Interpersonal Ethic is essentially the "culmination" track that sums up the theme of the album Crop Circles. It focuses on how one should never let their vices or worries or inhibitions get in the way of realizing their dreams. We (ThirdEye G and MacDon) focused our verses around how we have no other option but to work as hard as we can to succeed in today's rap game.

Though we have vices of our own, we stress that recognizing these vices and using them to our own advantage has made us stronger and more prolific in our art. Interpersonal Ethic was a track that came together much quicker than the rest of the album because we felt this notion is one we could get across in one full swoop. Every line is a situation or feeling we've experienced personally in the making of this album, so nitpicking and multiple listens may be necessary for the entire idea of the song/album to be recognized.

Long story short, don't let your dreams be dreams. Life can seem very slow at times, but the point is to always look at the big picture. Make small achievements every day, even if you can't get off the couch because you're too lit listening to our album. Every step towards your dreams, big or small, is worth it in the long run. BZRK fully stands by the last line of Interpersonal Ethic. "Do it big like I'm 'posed to"

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

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