• Ranking '1776' Track-by-Track for July 4th: John Adams, Ben Franklin...America!

    The July 4th weekend approaches and that means your correspondent will engage in his yearly tradition of putting on the soundtrack to the Broadway musical 1776, nothing singing along and thanking the Lord that someone saw fit to give John Adams some credit for his significant role within the creation of this nation. The musical, composed by Sherman Edwards, revolves largely around Adams and Benjamin Franklin as they pressure Thomas Jefferson into writing the Declaration of Independence and the rest of the Continental Congress to sign it. Join as as we count down the tracks from the original Broadway cast, ranking them from least to most excellent.

  • Sam Smith's 'Stay With Me' Under Attack from Another '80s Songwriter...Plaintiff Wants Grammy

    Sam Smith's hit "Stay With Me" is under a new bit of legal pressure as another songwriter has come forward claiming that Smith and his songwriting team stole inspiration. Mark Halper (not the famous Hollywood photographer) claims that during his song "Don't Throw Our Love Away" from 1986, he opens with the phrase "stay with me," which he refers to as a "significant phrase."

  • Tom Petty Issues Statement on Sam Smith "Stay With Me," "I Won't Back Down" Songwriting Credit: "The Word Lawsuit Was Never Even Said"

    It's been a week filled with controversy for Tom Petty and Sam Smith. On Monday (Jan. 26), Petty was given a songwriting credit on Smith's breakout In The Lonely Hour single "Stay With Me," due to similarities between that track and Petty's 1989 single "I Won't Back Down." And despite the flurry of media attention about the news, both Smith and Petty have dismissed the matter as really not a big deal.

  • Sam Smith Calls Tom Petty 'Stay With Me' Drama 'Coincidence'

    Two more co-writers have been given credit for one of 2014's biggest hits, "Stay With Me." Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, of Electric Light Orchestra, were added to the list of song creators after similarities were spotted between the Sam Smith ballad and "I Won't Back Down." Representatives for the young singer admitted to hearing similarities, but they want to make it clear that it is all just a big coincidence, "Rolling Stone" noted. Furthermore, Petty is not eligible for a Grammy.

  • POP ETC. Shares New Song "Running In Circles," Announces New Album [LISTEN]

    Brooklyn-via-Berkeley indie rock group POP ETC (formerly the Morning Benders) have shared a new track titled "Running in Circles," which you can check out here. According to Stereogum, the track is the first to be shared from POP ETC's upcoming studio album, which is set for release later this year. Keeping up with the recent indie rock trend of paying homage to mainstream '80s rock artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley, and Tom Petty (see: The War On Drugs, Ryan Adams), "Running In Circles" is a dancey, synth-heavy track that could easily be spun in a club, with a chorus that could legitimately be mistaken for a top 10 hit from 1985.

  • Music Times 25 Best Songs of 2014: Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Hozier, St. Vincent & More

    2014 was the year of a thousand controversies: Taylor Swift pulled all of her music from Spotify, Sun Kil Moon started a feud with The War On Drugs, Jack White accused The Black Keys of ripping him off (again), and almost nobody went platinum. When you put all of that aside, however, what you're left with is a bunch of incredible songs, which is really what it's all about. Here are the 25 best songs from 2014, as determined by Music Times writers Ryan Book, Caitlin Carter, Joey DeGroot, Kyle Dowling, and Carolyn Menyes.

  • Best Original Holiday Songs That Fit an Artist's Style: Mariah Carey, Joni Mitchell, Queen, More [LISTEN]

    I wonder if when Irving Berlin finished writing "White Christmas" he knew he had created a timeless classic. Holiday music has become its own little business, with artists often taking time out of their recording schedule to put together an album of covers and originals. It has become a bloated industry — every pop star and washed-up rock band has a holiday record. Sometimes they are really just mailing it in for a payday. Other times, though, they create something special. Mariah Carey, Tom Petty and Queen all have original Christmas tunes that fit right into their musical styles. You have to give props to those artists who dare to pen a Christmas tune. It is easy to just put a signature spin on something like "Blue Christmas" or "The Christmas Song." Those are already accepted by throngs of holiday shoppers who hear them every year. But what about Billy Squier thumping on "Christmas Is the Time to Say 'I Love You'"? Or Joni Mitchell's heartbreaking anthem "River"? You certainly hear those ones less than Frank Sinatra singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" while you are driving to work in December. These tunes are significantly younger than most holiday standards, so perhaps one day they will be thought of as classics. Until then, we will just call them good songs.

  • Eddie Vedder: 7 Best Solo Tracks for the Pearl Jam Frontman's 50th Birthday [LISTEN]

    Eddie Vedder will forever be linked to one of America's greatest bands - Pearl Jam. He's been fronting the Seattle alt-rockers since 1990, when the members - Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready and a slew of drummers (currently Matt Cameron) - were just kids leading the then new movement called grunge. Vedder was angry, confused, conflicted and often poetic in the early days. Today (Dec. 23) marks his 50th birthday, and the singer is still at the top of his game vocally and politically.

  • Celebrating 30 Years Since Ringo Starr Debuted on 'Thomas & Friends': Musicans and Animated Shows

    Ringo Starr never got the credit he deserved as a member of The Beatles, always relegated to taking shots from the fans of John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison. He landed the greatest gig of any of them during October of 1984 however: The original narrator for the show Thomas & Friends. Starr would star for three years on the program and profoundly affect thousands of children's lives far more than any Beatles song ever could.

  • 9 Great Cameos from Musicians on 'The Simpsons'

    The cultural impact of The Simpsons is immeasurable, as you can tell from checking out Joey "Sideshow Joe" DeGroot's list on the number of bands that named songs (or themselves) after references to the animated classic. Celebrities of all stripes realize the kind of power that such a program packs so they'll readily appear as guest stars. The number of musical guests in the history of The Simpsons is huge, but we've whittled it down to nine of the best in honor of the current marathon of every episode currently happening on FXX.
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