• Belle & Sebastian Share New Song "The Cat With The Cream" From Upcoming Album "Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance" [LISTEN]

    Scottish indie pop legends Belle & Sebastian have shared another track from their upcoming album Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance, titled "The Cat with the Cream," which you can check out below. Though the previous songs that have been shared so far from the album have been pretty upbeat and fun, "The Cat with the Cream" is far more dramatic and low-key, with a prominent string section and almost no percussion other than a steady kick drum. The lyrics are also more political than we're used to hearing from frontman Stuart Murdoch, with lines about Tories and the boom/bust nature of capitalist economies.
  • Taylor Swift and '1989' Take Eighth Billboard 200 No. 1 Spot; Nicki Minaj Remains No. 2, 'Into The Woods' Soundtrack Gets Only Sales Increase

    It's still cold out there for new music releases after the first full week of album sales during 2015, so it's not surprise that Taylor Swift was still on top of the Billboard 200 when today's numbers came out. It's the eighth week of ten that 1989 has been available where the record ended up on top, which makes it her second most-decorated album yet (Fearless spent 13 nonconsecutive weeks at no. 1 during 2008-'09). It moved 244,000 equivalent albums last week.
  • Taylor Swift No. 2 All Time for Weeks at No. 1; No New Albums to Interrupt Nicki Minaj, Pentatonix and One Direction Post-Christmas

    Another week and another run at history by Taylor Swift: Her album 1989 managed to top the Billboard 200 for the seventh time during its nine weeks on the charts, selling 326,000 full copies and generating 430 multi-metric equivalent albums (MME's). That no. 1 spot moves her into second place all-time for women atop the Billboard 200 with 31 weeks at no. 1, trailing only Whitney Houston and her crazy 46 week total.
  • 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.
  • Taylor Swift Tweets Out Favorite Cover of 'Shake It Off' by Jesse Will: [LISTEN]

    Cover songs are tricky animals. Some are done better than the original; others are the same. The best are complete reinventions. Jesse Will pulled off a superb cover of Taylor Swift's pop smash "Shake It Off," turning the upbeat number into a slow-burning epic complete with violin. Even T. Swift loved it. "My favorite covers are the ones where the artist has made it their own, changing the way the song makes you feel," she tweeted to her nearly 50 million followers along with a video of the performance.
  • Black Friday Music Sales Numbers Down; Pentatonix 'That's Christmas to Me' Most Popular Release

    The music industry has taken a few hits over the past few years with physical CD sales continually decreasing. Merchants were hoping for a successful Black Friday, but they were met with disappointment. Album sales were down 15 percent from last year, Neilsen Music reports. On the positive side, online CD sales were up 16 percent while vinyl nearly doubled its numbers from last year thanks to Record Store Day's "Back to Black" promotion. Pentatonix was the clear Christmas winner, having sold 217,000 units of "That's Christmas to Me." Here is a breakdown of the numbers via "Billboard": Retailer CD sales: 7.28 million units — down from 8.6 million last year Online CD sales: More than 1 million units — up 16.5 percent from last year Vinyl LP sales: 259,000 units — up from 173,000 last year
  • DJ Earworm Releases "United State of Pop 2014" Featuring Taylor Swift, Hozier, Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea & More [LISTEN]

    2014 is coming to a close, and you know what that means...year-end music wrap ups! In the world of mashups, there is no better summation of any given year than DJ Earworm's "United State of Pop" series. Yesterday (Dec. 3), Earworm released "United State of Pop 2014," featuring 25 of this year's biggest hits from the likes of Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, Iggy Azalea and Ariana Grande in one four-minute extravaganza.
  • Taylor Swift "Blank Space" Crowns Hot 100: Selena Gomez "The Heart Wants What It Wants" & Mark Ronson "Uptown Funk" Crack Top 10

    Be assured, there is no "Blank Space" available at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. For the third week in a row, Taylor Swift's new single from 1989 tops the charts. While she sits snuggly atop the U.S. music radar, two new songs have cracked the top 10, with Selena Gomez's "The Heart Wants What It Wants" and Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk" (feat. Bruno Mars) vaulting up the charts.
  • Taylor Swift and "Blank Space" Hold Off Hozier on Digital Downloads Charts; Still No "Do They Know It's Christmas?" to Be Seen

    For some reason we had the misguided impression that the new "Do They Know It's Christmas?," celebrating the 30th anniversary of the original Band Aid single with contributions from One Direction and Chris Martin (for charity), would easily take the top spot on this week's Digital Downloads chart. We were wrong. Taylor Swift's single "Blank Space," which is most certainly not for charity, took the no. 1 position again, moving 302,000 copies.
  • 1D, Nicki Minaj, Charli XCX Will Be Final Musical Guests on 'SNL' for '14

    "Saturday Night Live" has some big things planned for the end of 2014. Not only will James Franco, Martin Freeman and Amy Adams be hosting the final three episodes of the year, but they will be joined by Nicki Minaj, Charli XCX and One Direction. Fans can expect holiday hijinks the entire month of December, especially the Dec. 20 episode with Adams and "Story of My Life" singers 1D. The group performed on the show last December, joining host Paul Rudd (below), "Billboard" noted. Minaj made her last SNL appearance in 2011, when she guested on The Lonely Island's song "The Creep." Dec. 13 will mark XCX's first time on the show. December 20, Amy Adams returns to host #SNL for the 2nd time, and is joined by musical guest @onedirection! #SNL40 pic.twitter.com/x6lbCsFVJl — Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) November 20, 2014
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