• The Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man" at 50: Ranking The Original (Bob Dylan) and Covers (Stevie Wonder, William Shatner, More)

    On this date 50 years ago The Byrds recorded "Mr. Tambourine Man." That band wasn't the first to do it—Bob Dylan wrote the original version of the song and recorded it just five days prior to The Byrds entering the studio with it—but it would end up that the latter ended up more famous than the first. The song reached no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has been cited as the birthplace of "folk rock" (fans of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and everything to follow are thankful). Many acts have gone on to cover the track (aside from The Byrds) so Music Times gathered a few of the more famous versions and ranked them accordingly.
  • Misty Boyce Talks New Album 'The Life,' Touring With Sara Bareilles, Moving to L.A. & More [EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW]

    Experimental singer-songwriter Misty Boyce got her start backing artists such as Ingrid Michaelson, The Naked Brothers Band and most recently, Sara Bareilles, on stage but now it's Boyce's turn to be front and center. A formally trained and highly versatile artist in her own right, Boyce followed up her debut album with her second full-length, 'The Life.' The album is out today on Bandcamp. Ahead of its release, we caught up with Boyce to talk about inspirations behind the album, her favorite memories on tour with Sara Bareilles, adjusting to life in L.A. after moving from New York, and more. Here's what she had to say:
  • Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream Speech" and The Opening Acts: Mahalia Jackson, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and More

    Go to any concert, any music festival, and there will be scores of opening acts. They serve to get the crowd warmed up, get the crowd ready to rock with the headliners at the end of the night. This same thing used to happen at political events: Sometimes other political figures aside from the "headliner" would give speeches of their own for the cause and often musicians with sympathizing views would perform as well. This same thing happened at the conclusion of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which culminated in Martin Luther King's famous "I Have A Dream" Speech. There was no doubt that King was the "headliner," but he had a heck of an opening set from a series of iconic musicians. Here's a list of the esteemed performers who played at the same podium as Dr. King that did.
  • Martin Luther King Speeches Sampled in Popular Music: Gwen Stefani, Andre 3000, Common, Will.i.am and More

    No one was a better narrator or public speaker during the 20th Century than Martin Luther King Jr., and no speech was better than his landmark "I Have A Dream" speech, the work that best sums up the goals and ideals of the Civil Rights leader. Understandably, the hip-hop community and the rest of popular music respects the accomplishments of Dr. King and the impact he's had on the world, in entertainment and otherwise. Check out these six tracks that pay tribute to King as we celebrate martin Luther King Day at Music Times.
  • Bob Dylan's 'Blood On The Tracks': 10 Songs Ranked For Its 40th Anniversary

    Today, Jan. 20, marks the 40th anniversary of Bob Dylan's classic album Blood On The Tracks, a highly emotional and devastating set of songs which was seen by many as a stellar return to form for the iconic singer-songwriter, and is arguably his last truly great album. In celebration of this incredible album, here are its 10 songs ranked, from weakest to best.
  • The Pretenders' Debut Album: 12 Songs Ranked For Its 35th Anniversary

    Today, Jan. 19, marks the 35th anniversary of the Pretenders' classic self-titled debut album, which bridged punk rock to new wave and set the course for many other guitar pop bands to come over the course of the '80s, including the Go-Gos, R.E.M., The Sugarcubes, and many more. In honor of this incredible album, here are its 12 tracks ranked, from weakest to best.
  • AFC Championship, NFC Championship and Super Bowl: Music Times Picks The Winners With Help from Hometown Musicians

    Music Times came up a bit short in our prediction of the NCAA College Football Playoff. We attempt to make amends by picking the winners of this weekend's AFC and NFC Championship Games—New England versus Indianapolis and Seattle versus Green Bay—as well as the winner of the eventual Super Bowl XLIX...by looking at the best music to come out those respective cities during 2014.
  • 7 Solo Artists Who Have Performed Under Multiple Names

    As good as your music may be, one of the most important aspects of "making it" in the music business is simply getting your name out there, and making sure people remember it. These seven artists, however, decided to switch between multiple aliases, largely for artistic reasons, which probably makes organizing their albums in a record store a huge pain.
  • Ranking The 2015 Academy Awards' Best Original Song Nominees

    This morning, the nominees for the 87th Annual Academy Awards were revealed, including the nominees for Best Original Song. Though there were plenty of songs that were widely assumed to be shoo-ins, such as Lana Del Rey's "Big Eyes" and Lorde's "Yellow Flicker Beat," they were passed over for some pretty left-field choices (most surprisingly, only one of the songs on this list was also nominated for a Golden Globe). Here are the five Academy Award nominees for Best Original Song ranked, from worst to best.
  • 6 Hip-Hop Performers Whose Second Album Is Best: Beastie Boys, Ice Cube, A Tribe Called Quest and More

    Rumors are swirling around the GOP that Mitt Romney might seek the Presidency once again during the 2016 election, granted he can secure the Republican nomination. It's rare to see failed candidates attempt to run again-we haven't had a second-run candidate win since Richard Nixon in 1968-but that doesn't mean he can't do better this time around. To highlight this potential we at Music Times have selected six performers from Romney's favorite genre, hip-hop (EDITOR'S NOTE: we have since realized that the comment from Editor in Chief Emily "Witty" Wittman was in fact a joke. However we've already done all the research so we're running with it), who released their best album during their second try.
Real Time Analytics