Rihanna

Beyonce's "Bow Down": How Did She Go So Wrong?

You may have noticed, if you saw our Superbowl Halftime coverage, that we're quite enamored with Beyonce. We said things like: "If there is a more compelling pop performer than Beyonce on Earth right now, we have yet to find them," and: "Bey is living, kicking proof that wearing revealing, leathery ... More >>

How a J-Pop Sex Scandal Reflects Our Own Music Culture

Late last month, Minami Minegishi, a 20-year-old singer with the Tokyo-based supergroup AKB48, uploaded a video to YouTube. On its surface, Minegishi's video was strikingly different from the hundreds of other videos already published to AKB48's official channel. Rather than depict Minegishi in a st ... More >>

With Cassadee Pope, The Voice Has Anointed a True Star

As it's done all season, The Voice dragged out its results show to a degree that was at best arduous and at worst excruciating. So, after two hours of performances from bus-loads of people -- including Rihanna (who had actual clothes on, miraculously), Smokey Robinson, Kelly Clarkson, The Killers, P ... More >>

Madonna Does MDNA at HP Pavilion, 10/6/12

Madonna October 6, 2012 HP Pavilion Better than: Doing the "Lucky Star" dance at home. Madonna's MDNA Tour has been protested across the globe almost steadily since it began last May. In Warsaw, public exorcisms were conducted in order to expel Satan from the star's lithe body and punish her for p ... More >>

Christina Aguilera's "Your Body": Even Tackier Than "Dirrty"

Remember when Christina Aguilera was all oily and gross and rolling around with her crotch out all the time? Talking about wanting to get "Dirrty" and stuff? And how depressing it was because she was so young? Well, new single "Your Body" proudly harks back to Xtina's days of filth -- it's as if Bac ... More >>

Top 10 Black Pop Stars Who Should Go Country

With the nation's major-party political conventions recently drawing to a close with a rousing reelection appeal from the nation's first black president, it seems fitting to cast a spotlight on an equally rare profession: the black country music artist. Or, rather, the former black pop star seeking ... More >>

Summer Audio Roundup: Headphones and Amps For Out-and-About Listening

Summer is the season of getting pumped, and that doesn't just mean showing off all the work you put into getting in swimsuit shape. Summer is the season of the pop song, of high energy exploding from every open window, of Carly Rae Jepsen and Japandroids and Rita Ora and Calvin Harris and Passion Pi ... More >>

Lady Gaga Gets Her Own Social Network, Because You Don't Already Hear Enough About Her

Because some 52 million Facebook fans and 26 million Twitter followers -- and y'know, absolute cultural ubiquity -- apparently aren't enough, Lady Gaga and her army of publicists now have a new tool for world domination: Their very own social network. Yesterday saw the public launch of LittleMonste ... More >>

Five Awful Attempts at Making Music by Rich, Beautiful, Famous People

As we all know, it's easy to take pot-shots at stupid, beautiful people. Incredibly entertaining, yes, but easy nonetheless. Honestly, we would stop doing it altogether, if only these clueless floozies would stick to having ridiculous incompetence levels in only their general lives, rather than step ... More >>

EDC 2012: Calvin Harris Plays CDs of Himself Singing

Dance music is fighting for its soul. The charts are filled with tracks (Rihanna, Flo Rida) that borrow from the ecstatic trance and pulsing grooves of electronic dance music. The last time pop was so infatuated with the dance floor was 1979, the year disco died. This time around fans are more sa ... More >>

The Associated Press Has Just Now Discovered the Popularity of Electronic Dance Music

Have you heard of Skrillex? David Guetta? Deadmau5? Did you know that they have, like lots of fans? Well, today, the Associated Press finally caught up with you. Its report about the popularity of dance music on American shores is a carnival of unintentional hilarity dressed up as a long-expired mu ... More >>

The Best of SXSW Music: Wednesday 3/14/2012

​If you're familiar with chaos theory, which in its basic form is the attempt to find patterns in the random acts of shit on Earth, then you may understand the difficulty that comes with describing a full day at SXSW. To break down the bright, scintillating chaos, Village Voice Media's roving musi ... More >>

The Grammys: A Timeline of Madness and Misery

The 54th Annual Grammy Awards happened yesterday. Which we're sure you know already. If you missed it, however, you may have missed some of the weirdest details. So here, for your convenience, is a timeline of events. Get comfortable, 'cause this thing was a three-and-a-half-hour carnival of absurdi ... More >>

Live Review, 2/9/12: Lana Del Rey Impresses Skeptics, Delights Fans at Amoeba S.F.

Lana Del Rey Feb. 9, 2012 Amoeba Music Better than: Going to class, according to teenage fans. "I only sing for you," Lana Del Rey said to the throng of screaming fans at Amoeba Music yesterday evening, during a free performance and record-signing promoting her debut album, Born to Die. Turns ou ... More >>

Awkward! The Top Five Most Uncomfortable Grammy Moments

​This Sunday, Rihanna and Chris Brown are both going to be present at the always-prestigious Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. It's been just three years since they both were forced to drop out of the show last minute, due to Brown having beaten the crap out of Ri-Ri on their way over. We kno ... More >>

How Oakland's Wallpaper. Graduated to a Major Label

'James Hetfield Is a Rapper,' and Other Awesomely Blasphemous Metallica Mashups

Onemoredisco.comOne More Disco's Metallica remix contest drew intriguing entries.​ See more of our Metallica Week coverage: Metallica Brings Out Lou Reed, Kid Rock, Mercyful Fate, and More as the 30th Anniversary Party Continues Author Brian Lew on the Early Days of Metallica and the Bay Ar ... More >>

The Stop Online Piracy Act: The Owner of San Francisco's Burning House Records Explains His Support

​You've probably heard some rumblings about the Stop Online Piracy Act recently. And in all likelihood -- especially if you watch major news channels like CNN -- it's probably all sounded pretty bad and pretty scary. Casey Shafer owns and runs Burning House Records -- an independent, San Francisco ... More >>

Katy Perry Plays the Everyday Sweet Treat at Oracle Arena

Christopher VictorioKaty Perry at Oracle Arena last night.​ Katy Perry Monday, Nov. 21, 2011 Oracle Arena Better than: Cavities. Katy Perry is a piece of candy. Or perhaps a cupcake. She's a short, sweet, delicious treat that you can have every day, or at least on a fairly regular basis. She ... More >>

Things Music Critics Hate: Foster the People, Cage the Elephant, Young the Giant, Portugal. The Man, Etc.

Foster the People: Not bad. But also not that good.​ Music criticism is as much an affliction as an occupation -- especially these days, it's far more reliable as a sickness than a paycheck. Things Music Critics Hate is an occasional series that will attempt to diagnose and explain the broadly ... More >>

The Coup's Boots Riley on His Next Record, Hip-Hop for White Kids, and Loving Battlestar Galactia

The Coup's Boots Riley​ It's been almost a decade since 9/11 -- which means (among other things) that it's been 10 years since Boots Riley was seemingly everywhere, coolly responding to outrage over some extremely ill-timed album art depicting explosions at World Trade Center. It's also been f ... More >>

Can Rising Rapper J Cole Overcome Jay-Z's A&R Curse?

J Cole​ "Jay-Z is the reason I signed to RocNation. It's very hard to say no to the opportunity when Jay-Z is involved." That's J Cole, talking optimistically about his status as the first signing to Jay-Z's RocNation label venture with concert giant LiveNation. But with Cole's debut album now ... More >>

Train Releases a Signature Wine, Becomes Instantly More Irritating

​ Prepare to be hit by a tsunami of nausea as we inform you that Train -- probably the most insipid band from the Bay Area -- is bringing out a wine (called "Drops Of Jupiter" -- after one of its biggest songs -- just to annoy us that little bit more), apparently aided by San Francisco Wine Co. Th ... More >>

Six Child Musicians It's Okay To Like. No, Really.

​Remember that guy in OutKast that isn't Andre 3000? Big Boi is his name. Well, he's just announced some musical news that will probably make you frown, curl up your top lip and ask a bemused: "But why?" That's right! Try not to recoil at the fact that Big Boi has started a record la ... More >>

Why You Should Love Ke$ha

The Billboard Social 50 Proves Internet Fame Can Only Get You So Far

Bieber: Fame via YouTube​In early December, Billboard launched a new chart called The Social 50. It factors in all the times an artist is mentioned across various social media outlets and ranks them accordingly. When I heard about this, I was expecting to see a mix of both big name artists and a ... More >>

The Chatroulette Show at the Make-Out Room: Laughs, Music and Masturbation

John Staedler hooks a fan.​The Chatroulette Show July 22, 2010@The Make-Out Room Better than: Pretty much any other use of Chatroulette. (Unless you really just like looking at genitalia.)Penises, boobs, cocks, phone sex ladies, tits, schlongs, vaginas, pubes, porn ads, and more penises. Bored-lo ... More >>

Why The Critics Are Wrong: Rap Albums You Probably Don't Know But Should, Part II

​Since many recent Next Big Things in rap have proven disappointing -- see Wale, Asher Roth and B.o.B. -- it might be time to consider the possibility that hip-hop tastemakers don't know what to look for in the first place. Here's an alternative to the critical consensus on rap. Yesterday, we ... More >>

Stereolab

Chemical Chords (4AD)

Donna Summer relaces her dancing shoes

The Cataracs have the fans, lack the lyrics

JUSTICE Up For MTV Award: Tweens Discover Coke