• Governors Ball 2015: Best, Worst & Biggest Moments from Deadmau5, Florence + The Machine, The War on Drugs & More

    It's Monday morning now, and Governors Ball 2015 has finally come to an end. Over the weekend of June 5, countless rock, EDM and rap acts took to the stage at New York's City's Randall's Island to play for crowds of adoring fans. But, with the best of the fest which ranges from free chips to Florence + The Machine to SBTRKT, we also got sound issues, long lines for burgers and big ol' mud pits. In all its glory, Music Times was there to take in it all. See our best of the fest superlatives!
  • Mixtape Monday: This Week's Newest Tracks For Sharing

    Each and every week we put together our favorite tracks that had premiered a few days prior into one magnificent mixtape to share with you and your friends. This time around we've decided to share new songs from Eminem, Chelsea Wolfe, FIDLAR, Metric and more right here!
  • Billboard Hot 100 vs. Official Charts Company: Mariah Carey, Wiz Khalifa and 40 Years of No. 1s

    Few people realize just how different the music across the pond is from that we listen to in America, that the Hot 100 doesn't exist in the UK, and that its equivalent to our singles chart doesn't just feature a whole bunch of American artists with even more One Direction and Ellie Goulding tracks. Music Times is looking back at the last five decades of music, and at the no. 1 hits on April 2 every ten years on the spot, going back to 1975. The ultimate contest, of course, is which country has better taste. Last month the win went to the UK in the best-of-five showdown. This month features Wiz Khalifa, Jason Derulo, Mariah Carey and more in the field.
  • Cleveland Rap Songs: T-Pain, Milford Jerome (and Iman Shumpert?) Get Behind Cavaliers

    Tonight the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James will go up against Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors for the first game of the NBA championship. To get revved up for the series, Music Times has assembled hip-hop songs about each of the respective teams, as few musicians get as amped for their local sports teams as rappers (the number of songs/mixtapes named "Beast Mode" after Marshawn Lynch is astounding). We'll start with the Eastern Conference and Cleveland, perhaps ground zero for the hip-hop-meets-harmony movement thanks to the city's much loved Bone Thugs.
  • Golden State Rap Songs: E-40, Mistah F.A.B. (and Lil B?) Get Behind Warriors

    Tonight the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James will go up against Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors for the first game of the NBA championship. To get revved up for the series, Music Times has assembled hip-hop songs about each of the respective teams, as few musicians get as amped for their local sports teams as rappers (the number of songs/mixtapes named "Beast Mode" after Marshawn Lynch is astounding). We'll start with the Western Conference and Golden State, representing Oakland and its hyphy hip-hoppers. And no: "CoCo" by O.T. Genasis doesn't count...regardless of how often the team sings it.
  • Where Next For Third Man Records? Our Predictions: London, Austin and...Malta?

    Jack White has always had his hometown Detroit's back, whether that means building baseball fields, paying off the debts of the local Masonic temple or—in this case—opening a new location for his Third Man Records. The rocker made headlines all over the nation yesterday when he announced that his label would be opening a new retail store (with office space) in Michigan, expanding from its current headquarters in Nashville. It got us at Music Times wondering, where is he likely to expand to next? Here are five cities that may be the next place to open a Third Man Records location (hint: New York City ain't one of them. White noted recently that he dislikes the city strongly).
  • 5 Incredible Transgender Musicians: Wendy Carlos, Antony, Laura Jane Grace and More

    The world has been fixed on Caitlyn Jenner this week, after the former Olympic champion and current Keeping Up With The Kardashians star revealed her new feminine identity on the cover of Vanity Fair this week. News that might have provoked shock in recent years, and even months, was greeted largely with acceptance and praise. Hopefully this will help usher in a new era where transgender individuals will be acknowledged simply as human beings. Music Times hopes to help by saluting musicians such as these, who are far more notable for the music they produce than the gender they represent.
  • Young Thug, Lil Wayne, Travis Barker and More: Face and Head Tattoos in Music

    Young Thug shocked the world when he revealed that he had gotten an ice cream cone tattooed on his face in tribute to Gucci Mane. "Shocked" might be a bit of a stretch, considering that the rapper has been on a tear of unpredictable behavior since the release of his Barter 6 album. First he tried to cop the name Tha Carter 6 from Lil Wayne (and in an "unrelated" incident, his road manager was just arrested for allegedly shooting at Weezy's tour bus). The he got the "tribute" tattoo. What next? Will he start wearing clocks on chains as a "tribute" to Flava Flav? Anyway, all we have right now is that Young Thug got some fresh ink, and it's on his face. Here are six other prominent musicians that have used their heads as showcases for questionable art installations.
  • Ranking New Wave Vocalist Solo Debuts: Sting, Debbie Harry, David Byrne and More

    On this date 30 years ago, Sting released his first solo album—The Dream of The Blue Turtles—after the inevitable split of the feuding Police. Some band vocalists have the chops to make it on their own, and some don't. Based on how Turtles did, we'd say that the bassist was doing alright, and since then he's been nominated as a solo performer for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...so it seems both fans and critics have taken a liking. You can argue that Sting's solo debut has nothing on Synchronicity, The Police's last album (and tough competition), but it deserved kudos nevertheless. Music Times looked at the first album from a number of other New Wave vocalists and ranked them, from best to "shoulda never left." Check out individual releases from David Byrne, Debbie Harry, Ric Ocasek and more.
  • Mixtape Monday: This Week's Newest Tracks for Sharing

    Each and every week we put together our favorite tracks that had premiered a few days prior into one magnificent mixtape to share with you and your friends. This time around we've decided to share new songs from Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, Creepoid and more right here!
  • The Rolling Stones and University Songs: Will Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and NC State Get Tributes?

    The Rolling Stones made every Ohio State Buckeye fan go nuts (pun intended) when the band performed "Hang On Sloopy" at Ohio Stadium in Columbus last night. The band, probably the biggest touring act in the world aside from Paul McCartney, has a host of huge venues hosting it throughout the "Zip Codes" tour. Several of these, like Ohio Stadium, also play host to NCAA football programs throughout the year, so Music Times decided to check out what the official songs of those programs are, just in case the Stones might think about busting them out during forthcoming live performances.
  • Joe Jackson, Murry Wilson, Marvin Gaye Sr. and Other Awful Music Parents

    Today marks the 50th anniversary of The Beach Boys' "Help Me Rhonda" reaching no. 1 on the Billboard charts. Although the song is of course a favorite of Boys fans, it's noted by more engaged followers of the group for its famous recording session. During the recording of the vocals, the father of Brian Wilson and the rest of the Wilson brothers, Murry Wilson, burst into the studio to lambast the group for what he perceived to be a lack of enthusiasm. The reel kept rolling as frontman Brian tried to calm his father down, and now copies of that version are coveted by those in-the-know. Murry was one of the most notorious parents in music history, working on his sons' behalf as a manager and coproducer, but ultimately making their lives worse because of it. He manipulated his children and reportedly hit Brian upside the head with a 2x4, causing the legendary musician to lose his hearing on that side of his head. Needless to say, many have blamed Brian's self-destructive habits and unhealthy obsession with music on Murry's callous handling. Here are five other notorious parents in the music industry.
  • 10 Years of YouTube: Most Watched Music Videos, from Taylor Swift to Justin Bieber

    It's the tenth birthday of YouTube and no media site should be more excited than Music Times. After all, of all the viral material that gets put on the world's busiest video site every day, so much of the service's biggest hitters are music videos. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the site, we've gathered the most popular music video from every year of its existence, starting with Taylor Swift in 2015 and counting down to...who knows? Something throwback for sure.
  • Madonna, Janet Jackson vs Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj; Two Women-Dominated Hot 100s 25 Years apart

    This week during 1990 marked a new high for female musicians everywhere, as all five of the top songs on the Hot 100 were performed by women. That sounds impressive but female performers have been getting their due even more so in recent years: During 2014, the Top 5 of the Hot 100 was held down by women for seven consecutive weeks. Music Times figured it'd be fun to compare the hits of yesteryear to today, having the Top 5 from this week during 1990 face off with September of 2014...Madonna, Taylor Swift, Janet Jackson, Nicki Minaj and more.
Real Time Analytics