Ryan Book, The Music Times

Latest from this author

  • Steve Strange, Vocalist for Visage and Icon of New Romantic Fashion, Dies in Egypt at 55

    Steve Strange, frontman of Visage and an icon for both the music and fashion of the '80s New Romantic movement, died Thursday of a heart attack. The vocalist was in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt when he suffered a heart attack and was rushed to a hospital. He had been hospitalized in Wales during December for breathing difficulties that were attributed to bronchial infection.

  • Drake Drops Surprise New Album 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late' Featuring Lil Wayne, Travi$ Scott and More

    Drake has surprised the music world by releasing a new album on iTunes last night. The most recent representative in the surprise-album market is 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late,' a somewhat snarky title taking aim at the way in which it was released. This comes on the heels of yesterday's news that the emcee had released a 14-minute film titled 'Jungle,' which features a rather depressive Drake reflecting on his current status, plus archival footage of his life in Toronto. We can't comment as of yet if this mood carries over to the new album.

  • Ukraine and 5 Other (Band) Situations Bound to Fall Apart: The Wu-Tang Clan, The Libertines and Everything Scott Weiland

    Good news out of Eastern Europe today, as a group of the continent's leaders announced that a ceasefire had been reached between the government of Ukraine and the rebellious faction in the southeast of the country. You can probably hedge bets that shots will be fired soon enough however. After all, the last time the parties arrived at a ceasefire (September of 2014), it had collapsed by the end of the year. Other things that won't be surprising when they collapse: The reunions of these beloved bands.

  • Jackie Robinson West Has Regional Championship Revoked: Awards Lost in Music, from Miley Cyus, Milli Vanilli and More

    The Little League world took a turn for the sadder yesterday when it was announced that Jackie Robinson West, a team of youth baseball players from the South Side of Chicago, would have its 2014 Great Lakes Regional title revoked. In other words, the coach and other scheming adults incorporated children into a super-team. The players weren't aware what was going on but now they'll suffer the most disappointment, as will their hometown. The revocation of awards is more rare in the entertainment industry than the athletic industry. There are just only so many ways you can cheat. Nonetheless, it's happened. Here are five cases of an award or nomination being revoked in music.

  • Deluxe Packaging Damages Vinyl for Father John Misty's 'I Love You, Honeybear'; Sub Pop Promises New Pressing

    The appeal in vinyl is that it's just much more fun to hold, and the possibilities for packaging stretch much farther. But only so far, as Sub Pop Records and Father John Misty found out when they built an elaborate pop-up art installation into a deluxe edition of the performer's new album 'I Love You, Honeybear.' Turns out that all the aesthetics ended up damaging the actual disco holding the music

  • Now 53 Outsells Taylor Swift, Becomes First Record to Top Albums Chart but Not Billboard 200; Kid Ink Cracks Top 10

    The new Billboard 200 format has been hot on its incorporation of streams and single downloads into arranging the most relevant chart in music, yet the folks at Billboard failed to notice one thing this past week: For the first time ever, the top of the 200 was different than the album at the top of the albums chart. Although Taylor Swift and 1989 was no. 1 on the chart everyone was watching, it only sold 77,000 actual copies. That's a boost from last week, but not enough to take no. 1 on the albums chart from Now 53, which sold 98,000 copies.

  • Johnny Cash Wins Poll of Best Love Letters Ever; Read Excerpts of Romantic Birthday Note to June Carter Cash

    Johnny Cash has been awarded with a posthumous title for the "greatest love letter of all time," because, you know, we live in an era where such things need to be ranked. Everyone knows a love song or two by the Man ink Black ("I Walk The Line" being one of the more confusing) and everybody knows about his marriage to June Carter Cash, thanks to the film with almost the exact title. Even the most cynical among us (aka your correspondent) will find a bit of relief in the form of Cash's letter to his wife, which he wrote her during 1964 for her 65th birthday.

  • 5 Active Underground Hip-Hop Supergroups That AREN'T Run The Jewels: Hail Mary Mallon, Deltron 3030 and More

    The Run The Jewels craze has gotten out of hand. The gun-and-fist logo is showing up everywhere, from Instagram to the cover of Howard The Duck comics. Seriously though: Supergroups among underground hip-hop groups aren't a new thing. Run The Jewels just happens to be the one that has gotten everyone's attention at every magazine. Deservedly so. But we advise you check out some other off-the-wall acts in existence (or hopefully still in existence) that are well worth your time.

  • 5 Musical Misremberings: Vanilla Ice, Nicki Minaj and More Astonishing Misleading Music Stories a la Brian Williams

    Brian Williams has been having a bad last few weeks but you can't say he didn't have it coming: The NBC Nightly News host has taken a six month unpaid suspension with regard to a "misremembering" he reported, claiming to have been aboard a helicopter shot down by an RPG during his coverage of the Iraq war more than a decade previously. To what extent his story is false remains to be seen—was the helicopter right in front of him the one to actually be brought down, or was he more than half an hour behind?—but let it be known that we wasn't the first, nor probably the last celebrity, to tell a fat one. Here are but five musical performers who wove tall tales, some of which weren't figured out for quite a while.

  • Taylor Swift Tops Billboard 200 Again, Fifth Harmony Shows Up, Bob Dylan and Diana Krall Cover, Nicki Minaj Sets Interesting Mark

    Taylor Swift and 1989 is at no. 1 in the Billboard 200 for the 11th time, tying Fearless for the performer's most weeks at the top of the charts with one album. The record shifted 108,000 equivalent units, a slight uptick from last week. 1989 is one of four albums that have spent at least ten weeks at no. 1 since 2010, the others being Fearless, the Frozen soundtrack as well as Adele's 21. Swift's album is followed this week by Now 53, the newest edition of the hits collection, at no. 2 with 99,000 units moved.
View More
Festivals
Popular Now
Real Time Analytics