Music Industry

Celebrities Decamp Hollywood for Denver & DNC
By Jacob S. Lybbert | August 25, 2008 | 4:28 AM EDT

Obama/ScarlettAs the city of Denver prepares for this week's Democratic convention, numerous Hollywood celebs are planning to attend in support of Barack Obama and to advocate for pet issues. Gushes Variety,

When Barack Obama accepts the nomination before some 75,000 people at a Denver stadium on Thursday, he'll be surrounded by a contingent of average Americans from all walks of life --- just not Hollywood performers, musicians and other famous figures who have so publicly championed his candidacy.

So what, exactly, will be the role of celebrity during the week of the Democratic National Convention?

Madonna Compares McCain to Hitler, Obama to Gandhi (w/video!)
By Noel Sheppard | August 24, 2008 | 11:00 AM EDT

UPDATED with video at end of post.

n case you missed it with the Olympics going on, Russia invading Georgia, and the campaign for president in full swing, pop star Madonna started her much-awaited tour in Wales Saturday.

Amidst the requisite autoerotic writhing and gyrating, Madonna managed to bash John McCain -- actually equating him to Adolf Hitler and Robert Mugabe! -- while comparing Barack Obama to Mahatma Gandhi.

I kid you not.

As reported by the Associated Press Saturday (emphasis added, photo courtesy Getty Images, h/t RightPundits via Marc Morano):

Bozell Column: Obama and the Hip-Hop Problem
By Brent Bozell | April 26, 2008 | 9:14 AM EDT

Young black activists roared their approval when Barack Obama recently greeted criticism on the trail by dusting off his shoulders, a reference to a rap song by Jay-Z called "Dirt Off Your Shoulder." The media covering the moment went crazy, too.

Alicia Keys, Racial Paranoid
By Matthew Sheffield | April 12, 2008 | 2:35 PM EDT

If you've always thought her music was hackneyed and dull now you may have another reason to dislike Alicia Keys: she's apparently a racist conspiracymonger:

There's another side to Alicia Keys: conspiracy theorist. The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter tells Blender magazine: "'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other."[...]

Conservative Rapper Takes on Barack Obama
By Matthew Sheffield | April 9, 2008 | 10:44 AM EDT

Showing that the left doesn't have a monopoly on political music or political videos, a rapper going by the handle DJ Clayvis released an anti-Barack Obama video, inspired in part by Rush Limbaugh's Operation Chaos.

Here it is:

Obama Beats Out Clinton and Carter for Second Grammy
By Noel Sheppard | February 10, 2008 | 10:14 PM EST

NewsBusters.org -- Media Research CenterSo, you think Nobel Laureate Al Gore is the only Democrat that can win meaningless awards from sycophantic Hollywoodans?

Well, think again, for on Sunday evening, presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-Ill.) won his second Grammy in three years (first win pictured to the right).

Deliciously, and possibly a foreshadowing of things to come, Obama's victory came at the expense of a Clinton.

As reported by Reuters moments ago (emphasis added throughout):

Johnny Cougar MellenCAN'T
By Warner Todd Huston | February 5, 2008 | 12:36 PM EST

I am hard pressed to call anything that happens in the Entertainment media "news," but Rolling Stone is reporting that singer John Cougar Mellencamp has told John McCain to stop using his music during McCain's campaign rallies.

At some recent John McCain campaign rallies, John Mellencamp’s “Our Country” and “Pink Houses” have been booming out over the speakers. Uplifting heartland rock must have seemed like a smart pick, but there’s just one problem: Mellencamp is an ardent Democrat. And, until recently, he supported John Edwards – who had been playing “Our Country” and “Small Town” at his rallies. Mellencamp hasn’t yet made a public response, but his reps are quietly reaching out to McCain and asking him to stop playing his tunes.

Aside from the general "who cares" of this incident, it is just one more example of the intolerance of the left in America today.Then again Johnny Cougar always was a guy that took himself waaaay too seriously.

Will MSM Ignore Rap Song Promoting Maturity, Responsibility?
By Warner Todd Huston | February 3, 2008 | 12:07 AM EST

<p><img src="http://static.blogo.it/soundsblog/BomaniArmah.jpg" align="right" border="0" height="150" hspace="0" width="147" />Will this rap song with a positive message get any play in the MSM? Will a rapper that is telling kids to quit acting like a punk and grow up resonate?</p> <p>Okay, I'm a nearly 50 year-old white dude, so you won't catch me trying to be &quot;all that&quot; with the kid's rap music. In fact, I hate the stuff. [I was listening to Beethoven, Glenn Miller, U2 and The Police today, if that helps pinpoint me] HOWEVER... and this is a big one, too... I am compelled to pass on the latest tune from <a href="http://notarapper.com/">Mr. Bomani D. Armah</a>, the self-proclaimed &quot;not a rapper&quot; rapper. </p> <p>You may recall the last time Mr. Armah appeared on Newsbusters? He wrote a tune that appeared on BET TV called <a href="/blogs/warner-todd-huston/2007/08/12/bet-tv-playing-psa-telling-kids-read-mo-fn-book">&quot;Read a Mo F***ing Book&quot;</a>. It was a tune that featured Mr. Armah seeming to attack the thug lifestyle and telling black kids to read a &quot;Mo F'ing&quot; book, brush their teeth, wear deodorant and to raise their own children, etc. It raised quite a stir last year. </p>

Washington Post Yawns at 'Tame' Song 'Fascist Christ'
By Tim Graham | December 19, 2007 | 12:39 PM EST

Rock musician Todd Rundgren hasn't been prominent as a performer since the 1970s, but his Sunday concert at the Birchmere here in MRC's hometown of Alexandria drew a mixed review in the Washington Post. Tuesday's review by Stephen Brookes ended with this strange paragraph about Rundgren's failure to offend people:

Live Earth II: The Concert to Honor Nobel Laureate Al Gore
By Noel Sheppard | November 14, 2007 | 1:12 PM EST

The torture never stops!

As if the failure of Al Gore's Live Earth concerts in July wasn't enough, a musical fiesta is being prepared to honor the new Nobel Laureate after he receives his Peace prize in December.

I don't know about you, but I can't wait!

As hysterically announced by Star Pulse Wednesday (h/t Ecorazzi, emphasis added):

‘70s Rockers Turn to YouTube to Renew Nuclear Energy Protest
By Genevieve Ebel | November 8, 2007 | 4:09 PM EST

"Stop, hey, what's that sound?" Nuclear power getting put down. Again.

In 1979, musicians such as Bonnie Raitt, Graham Nash, and Jackson Browne were hailed "the energy source everyone had been looking for" to fight against nuclear power. The result of their support was termed a "chain reaction." The group has returned, picking up where it left off nearly 30 years ago.

And what better to bridge the gap into the new millennium than YouTube. (Video after the break)

New Eagles Album: Slamming America Throughout
By Warner Todd Huston | November 5, 2007 | 4:20 AM EST
With Update- Welcome Wonkette Readers The new album from The Eagles, Long Road Out of Eden, is just one long, sustained attack on the integrity of the United States and is as bad as any loud-mouthed Dixie Chicks diatribe. With songs prosaically about Global Warming and the evil American “empire,” seemingly the only one of the band who just wanted to entertain the fans was Joe Walsh, the others too puffed up with their own sense of superiority to bother. Unfortunately, what we have here just another exclamation from pampered rock stars that they are smarter, more environmentally friendly and more caring than the rest of us... but be sure and buy more albums for gifts folks! This album should have been titled “Long Trip to the Bank” because for much of it the band seems to be on autopilot and too much of it seems like a cynically geared ploy to sell plastic as opposed to a solid attempt to entertain. It seems that they consciously wrote this one to appeal to sectors of the radio market -- the country market, adult contemporary -- so much so that the album lacks freshness. Several of the songs are so obviously written to have a country sound in an effort to get airplay on America’s country stations, for instance, that it’s a bit hard to get past the obvious ploy to enjoy the tunes.