• 11 Great Albums With 11 Songs: Fleetwood Mac, Radiohead, And More

    If you're obsessed with albums like I am, the number of songs in a tracklist has an inexplicable significance. While having 10, 12, or 15 tracks seems very neat and tidy, and having nine or less seems vaguely progressive, 11 tracks bursts with confidence, as if the artist had too many good songs for 10, but didn't want to pad it with 12. In honor of Nov. 11 (11/11!), here are the 11 best albums with 11 tracks.
  • Dave Grohl: Lorde's 'Royals' Is a 'Revolution in a Sea of Bulls--t,' Foo Fighters Frontman Slams Pop Music

    Dave Grohl established that he was a fan of Lorde earlier this year, and he even invited the New Zealand singer to perform with Nirvana at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in April. The Foo Fighters frontman continued to praise the singer-songwriter in a new interview, especially her "Pure Heroine" hit "Royals."In an interview with the Red Bulletin, Grohl talked about why he and Krist Novoselic chose to perform with female lead vocalists for their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performance."Because Kurt was a feminist," he said about the band's deceased leader, Kurt Cobain. "And someone suggested Joan Jett. I mean, Joan Jett, she's the first lady of rock 'n' roll. She's the one. Then it was like, 'What about Kim Gordon?' She and Kurt were great friends, they loved each other and Sonic Youth were our heroes. 'Yeah, let's get Kim.'""Lorde was my idea," he added about the pop singer who performed "All Apologies" with the band. "Her song 'Royals' is its own little revolution in the sea of bulls--t."Grohl went on to call today's pop music "superficial" and "devoid of meaning."
  • Sam Smith Explains Why He Made His Sexuality Public For 'Out' Magazine: "My Aim Is To Tell People How Good It's Been For Me"

    Sam Smith was named the breakout of the year by Out magazine. He spoke about his experience coming out and the reasons behind why he made his sexuality public. "My aim is to tell people how good it's been for me so that, hopefully, gay men or parents with gay children can look at my story and think, 'Wow, that's how it should be. That's what we can work towards.' That's been my whole motive — to not make it a talking point," Smith told them. "My music should be a talking point. My voice should be a talking point."
  • Katy Perry 'Follow Your Arrow': Pop Star Passed on CMA Award-Winning Song

    Kacey Musgraves just won Song of the Year at the CMA Awards for her open-minded tune "Follow Your Arrow."But she says former tourmate Katy Perry initially turned the song down."Honestly, it sounds like something you would sing," Perry said, according to Musgrave in an interview with "People." "You should keep it."The song touches on a couple controversial topics — same-sex marriage and marijuana use — so Musgraves did not expect much airplay."I knew it wasn't going to be a radio song — and it was banned in a lot of places — so it's kind of crazy to me that it's nominated for a CMA," she said before the song won. "But if there are kids in small towns — or big towns — who don't feel like they belong, and this song gives them courage to walk taller, that's better than any award I can ever hope to win."
  • The Bestiary Tour: Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic Announce US Dates [SCHEDULE]

    Aesop Rock and Rob Sonic have been doing their thing under the Hail Mary Mallon moniker for a few years, and the duo will release their second album, "Bestiary," Nov. 14.AR is a slippery guy: He does not do many interviews. But Rob recently spoke with Potholes in My Blog about his sound:"I do sample, but never too much of one thing," Sonic said. "I do not loop things longer than a few seconds, outside of what I play on my own. I have things like melodies and bass lines already in my head. The samples [of other people] just help me get to that point. Kind of.
  • Henry “Big Bank Hank” Jackson Of Sugarhill Gang Dies At 57

    Sugarhill Gang founding member Henry "Big Bank Hank" Jackson died today (Nov. 11) at the age of 57. The New York rapper suffered kidney complications due to cancer, which he had been battling for some time, according to Fox News. Jackson formed the Sugarhill hang with Master Gee and Wonder Mic and recorded the hit 1979 song "Rapper's Delight," which is largely regarded as the first rap record and sold several million copies worldwide, establishing rap as the mainstream genre it is today.
  • Usher, Nick Jonas and Jeff Daniels Played 'Pyramid' with Jimmy Fallon on 'The Tonight Show' [WATCH]

    The star-studded lineup of Usher, Nick Jonas and Jeff Daniels stopped by "The Tonight Show" last night, Nov. 10, to play the old TV game show classic "Pyramid" with Jimmy Fallon. The "Yeah" singer teamed up the "Dumb and Dumber To" star while Jonas joined Fallon.Here is what we learned from the bout in the video below:1. Daniels cannot dance (2:20).2. Jonas does not know a single gangster film because, as Fallon says, "He's 15 years old" (3:20).3. Fallon picked some bad lines to reference "Goodfellas" (3:48).4. Jonas takes a canteen to work (6:12).5. Daniels does not know much about R&B/soul music, which is probably a good thing since he cannot dance (7:19).
  • Spotify Co-Founder Responds to Taylor Swift, Says Singer Could've Made $6 Million from Streaming

    Taylor Swift pulled her catalogue from Spotify last week, which set off a nationwide debate over the music streaming service."If I had streamed the new album, it's impossible to try to speculate what would have happened," Swift said. "But all I can say is that music is changing so quickly, and the landscape of the music industry itself is changing so quickly, that everything new, like Spotify, all feels to me a bit like a grand experiment. And I'm not willing to contribute my life's work to an experiment that I don't feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists and creators of this music. And I just don't agree with perpetuating the perception that music has no value and should be free."On Tuesday, Nov. 11, Spotify co-founder Daniel Elk offered a rebuttal and estimated that Swift would have made $6 million from Spotify streaming by the end of the year.His argument included "three myths," including "free music for fans means artists don't get paid."Elk believes that Spotify's free service leads to more premium subscribers, and therefore more cash for artists.
  • Ne-Yo Says Rihanna's New Album Is 'Absolutely Incredible'

    Speaking on U.K. radio station Capital XTRA in London over the weekend after a performance at London's Royal Albert Hall during the week, singer/songwriter Ne-Yo spoke about his work, past and present, with Rihanna. They get him on the record on a variety of topics, including various beefs between artists, but get to focus on future Rihanna music and what his involvement in it might be.He is coy in his response, as always, because he does not want to divulge too many details, but gives us his impression on some of the new material he has heard. He reveals he has done some sessions for her, but does not know whether or not they will make the final cut of the album. Giving his overall impression of the work he has heard, he says it is "absolutely incredible."