• 5 Bad Vocalist Solo Debuts, from David Lee Roth to Nearly All of The Beatles

    On this date 30 years ago, Freddie Mercury of Queen released his first solo album, Mr. Bad Guy...and it failed drastically, at least from a commercial standpoint. It seems odd now—when a solo album from Brandon Flowers or other vocalists attached to a big-name band can release an album by themselves and land in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 without breaking a sweat—that one of the liveliest frontmen in rock history couldn't get into the Top 150 of the album sales charts with his first solo release. That said (and despite the cheesy image of Mercury in shades on the album cover), Mr. Bad Guy ain't a bad record. That can't be said about the solo debuts of these other famous vocalists, from The Beatles' members to David Lee Roth.

  • 5 Live Albums Recorded to No Audience: Pink Floyd, Bjork and More Feel for Baltimore Orioles

    The unfortunate riots in Baltimore have led to a bizarre situation at Camden Yards in Baltimore, where the hometown Orioles have been playing the Chicago White Sox in an empty stadium due to the situation outside. It's clearly had an impact on some of the players...White Sox starter Jeff Samardzija was rocked for six runs in the first inning today, perhaps nervous because the whole world wasn't watching him. It made us baseball fans at Music Times if similar things have ever happened in the music world? Not quite, but we did find a number of "live" albums that were recorded with no actual audience in attendance. Check out a few examples, from Pink Floyd to Björk.

  • Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Drake and More: 7 Stars Attend Prom with Very Lucky High Schoolers

    Justin Bieber and his crew made a stir over the weekend when they appeared at a high school prom in California to surprise the students in attendance. The result was a student body gone mad, resulting in one of the more memorable proms of all time without the pop star actually delivering a single song, reportedly. At least one attendee can tell her future (and possibly current) boyfriend about how she danced with Bieber at prom. Some musical acts have gone far beyond just crashing a prom however, actually attending a dance as someone's date. Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Drake: All have made appearances at high school way after attending high school.

  • The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Amy Winehouse: Documentaries Disapproved by Band and Family

    Amy: The Girl Behind The Name is one of the most anticipated documentaries of the year thus far, set to shed light on the light and mindset of Amy Winehouse, one of the millennium's brightest rising stars before dying of alcohol poisoning during 2011. One party has decided that it doesn't support the content of the film on the eve of its release at the Cannes Film Festival: her family. Father Mitch Winehouse alleges that the film places an undue amount of blame for her lifestyle upon the family, based on interviews with her then-boyfriend Blake Fielder-Civil (who himself was notorious for supplying her habits). Lawsuits for slander may be pending. In the meantime, check out five other music documentaries that the starring performers—such as The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Eric Clapton—don't want you to see.

  • 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 Britney Spears, Mumford & Sons, Father John Misty, My Morning Jacket, and more right here!

  • 75 Years of Al Pacino: The 'Scarface' Actor and Music, from Madonna to Hip-Hop Culture

    A big celebrity birthday today as Al Pacino turns 75 on April 26. Obviously the actor is known for many iconic roles in his Hollywood career—from Michael Corleone in The Godfather franchise, to iconic drug hustler Tony Montana in Scarface, to Satan in The Devil's Advocate—and sometimes he's even played a good guy. One thing that Pacino is less renowned for is his role in music—he's not the kind of guy that starts a band when he's not starring in a blockbuster. Nonetheless, Music Times managed to round up five examples of the actor coming in contact with our subject of choice.

  • 8 Oasis No. 1 UK Hits: 'Don't Look Back In Anger,' 'The Hindu Times,' 'Lyla' and More

    Oasis, the most essentially-British band of the last 30 years (by both their own reckoning and ours), finally topped the charts in the Gallagher brothers' beloved UK 20 years ago today, with the single "Some Might Say," the first song off of the band's beloved album (What's The Story) Morning Glory? The band ended up topping the UK singles charts seven more times throughout its career (and only getting as high as no. 8 on the U.S. charts). Here are those no. 1 singles...be prepared for a few surprises (in terms of what didn't make it, if anything).

  • The Brutality of The Bard: 2Pac, Dethklok and More Celebrate 'Talk Like Shakespeare Day'

    Happy "Talk Like Shakespeare Day" to all of our favorite readers and theatre geeks. We at Music Times tend to write more about Broadway musicals, or the occasional opera based on one of William Shakespeare's works, versus the stage plays themselves (you know...we write about music). There's no denying that the legendary playwright has had an impact on music with his words...in the most brutal way possible. For all of his poetry, the Bard turned out enough gritty one-liners that would have made Robocop a Best Picture nominee without removing any of the bloodshed. Take heed as 2Pac, Iced Earth and more demonstrate how "talk like Shakespeare" means "talk like a badass."

  • Social Media's Biggest Stars: Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, Lana Del Rey and Others Who Broke It Big

    Shawn Mendes in on top of the world (and the Billboard 200 and Album Sales Chart) as his debut LP, Handwritten, sold more than 100,000 copies and confirmed his status as a star. He's the first performer to use the video-sharing service Vine to find fortune, but he's far from the first performer to use social media to grab a record deal. Here are five other recognizable performers who got big on the internet...some of whom who have gotten so big that you may have forgotten they started out by sharing music on YouTube and MySpace, from Lana Del Rey to Justin Bieber.

  • Neil Young, Jerry Garcia, Ozzy Osbourne and Other Sing to Mother Earth on Her Birthday

    METoday is Earth Day and another big day is approaching as well—Mother's Day on May 10 (don't forget to call mom guys) so Music Times decided to bring both together and look up the music acts that have paid tribute to the most important mother of them all: Mother Earth. We've got performances from Grateful Dead affiliates, Neil Young and Ozzy Osbourne.

  • Bryan Price: Lil Jon, Eminem, Dr. Dre and 5 Other Rappers Try to Outcurse Cincinnati Reds Manager

    Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price was having a bad week and he let the world know it by dropping the f-bomb 77 times during an epic rant on Monday afternoon. The rant was around 5:30 long, which comes out to about 14 f*cks a minute. Compare that with 50 Cent's early track "F*ck You," which comes in at about 14.25 f*cks a minute. Here's how Price's rant compares to the most profane hip-hop songs of all time, from Eminem to Dr. Dre and Lil Jon.

  • Mariah and Nick, French and Khloe, Calvin and Rita: 2014's Biggest Musician Breakups

    It's official: Ariana Grande and Big Sean have split as a result of their mutually busy schedules, touring and supporting new albums My Everything and Dark Sky Paradise. The pair had only been dating for eight months but they were one of America's favorite celebrity couples during that span. We're just glad that, for the time being, things seem to be friendly and we hope there won't be another "I Don't F*ck With You" in the future (Sean wrote that about ex Naya Rivera). Music Times is going back to 2014 and ranking the year's biggest musician splits—from Mariah Carey to Katy Perry and Khloe Kardashian—in terms of how heavily it impacted tabloid and media coverage.

  • 4/20: The Beatles, Louis Armstrong and Fabolous: History's Most Notable Marijuana Arrests

    Few industries have been as supportive of the 4/20 holiday as the music business, considering how often our performers (and fans) seem to enjoy the subtle joys of marijuana. If you were around for Record Store Day during 2013, you may have witnessed just how early music fans will both line up and light up. Arrests for marijuana possession are almost a non-news item at this point: Rap performers Migos and Nelly have both been incarcerated for that (and a few other charges) in the last few weeks. The reason why those stories fail to shock us? Although the Reagan administration has been criticized for its "war on drugs," it focused on much more potent drugs while society has eased off on its fear of pot. Some states even allow it to be bought, sold and smoked legally. Here are five cases of musicians who served as martyrs for the cause before we as a society began to relax, including The Beatles, Louis Armstrong and Fabolous.

  • 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 Drake, Hop Along, Best Coast, Crystal Castles and more right here!

  • Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction 2015: Green Day, Ringo Starr and Joan Jett Shine Live

    Ringo Starr. Lou Reed. Joan Jett and The Blackhearts. Green Day. Stevie Ray Vaughan. Bill Withers. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. The "5" Royales. And those were just the acts being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday night in Cleveland, not counting the many members of music royalty who made an appearance to both present and perform alongside their mentors and icons.
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