Beck joins Cage on the countdown.
The Alternative 40
Author Archives: Jennifer White
Weekly Country Countdown
Brett Young makes a move on the top spot.
‘Ye Takes Sunday Service To The Skies
It took a minute, but Kanye West finally showed up this week with Jesus Is King, his long-awaited, much-delayed album. The project leans heavily toward gospel and praise music, which is in line with Kanye’s Sunday Service gatherings over the past year.
He joined James Corden this week, but you know ‘Ye’s got to keep it unique. So instead of singing in the car, they move it all the way up to a 747. And since there are so many seats, an entire gospel choir is able to join them!
Kanye seems slightly uncomfortable and not entirely on board for the first few minutes, but James is able to loosen him up before we get an unbelievable version of “Jesus Walks”… with some notable lyric changes.
‘Ye spends a lot of time talking about his spiritual awakening, but also boosts his Yeezy line and insists his marriage to Kim Kardashian is “heavenly”. In fact, he reveals that their family won’t be complete until they have 7 children.
Throughout the clip, Kanye looks on edge and kind of tired. But the experience of a full choir flying the friendly skies is unforgettable. Check out the clip above, and listen to Jesus Is King now, or check out his biggest hits ranked according to your listens, hearts, and shares on Kanye West: DNA!
Five Octobers Ago…
What happened in music and pop culture five years ago this month? Let’s break down the big stories:
Taylor’s Big Release: Taylor Swift dropped her fifth studio album on Octber 27th, 2014, and it marked the beginning of a massive new era: Taylor the pop star. Up until then, she was hugely popular with the country crowd, but the #1 debut of “1989” cemented her status as a crossover queen.
Katy’s Dirty 30: Katy Perry turned 30 on October 25th, 2014, and at that point in time, she was on top of the world. Riding high on the wake of her smash album “Prism,” Katy was in the planning stages of her performance at the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show.
Top Halloween Costumes: 2014 Halloween costumes were all about the movies: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Captain America, Groot, Maleficent, Black Widow, and the characters from “Frozen” all wandered the streets asking for candy five years ago. For these stories, and more—including the top 30 songs of October 2014, check out the latest episode of LiveXLive’s Throwback Thirty!
A New Look At Abbey Road
50 years ago, The Beatles unveiled what was essentially their last album. Yes, “Let It Be” was released last, but “Abbey Road” was the final one they recorded. It remains their top-selling record and now, to celebrate its golden anniversary, it’s being reissued in the same epic manner that we saw last year with the "White Album” and the previous year with “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.” In other words, if you’re a Beatles’ freak, this will blow your mind. Again.
And, because we love you, LiveXLive is offering you the chance to listen to the entire thing, on-demand, whenever you want.
The original release boasted 10 songs, including the legendary medley and :23-seconds of “Her Majesty.” The reissue has no less than 38 tracks, including never-before-heard alternative takes and demos and some songs that have never been released previously.
Beatle producer George Martin’s son Giles has overseen a a new mix in stereo, 5.1 surround sound and Dolby Atmos. There’s an amazing alternate version of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” from Trident Studios in London, where the band were interrupted by angry complaints about noise from the neighbors. John turned down the volume—but only after one final take. "“Last chance to be loud!” he said.With that in mind, join us in returning to Abbey Road…and crank it up!
FINAL: Summer Songs
Summer is HERE! Pool parties, BBQ's, and sunscreen are in full effect. With this in mind, we've put together your official summer soundtrack to get you in the mood to bare a little skin: The Top 44 Songs of Summer features the biggest summertime hits, tunes about the beach, and music that just FEELS like the best season ever. From Katy’s “California Gurls” to “Summertime” from DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, we’ve got you covered like SPF 50. Every genre, every era.
The Story of KoRn
"All I can really say is…thanks for 'The Nothing,'” KoRn.
“Deep, within our Earth lives an extraordinary force. Very few are aware of the magnitude and significance of this place where good/evil, dark/light, bliss/torment, loss/gain and hope/despair all exist as one, pulling at us every moment of our lives. It’s not something we can choose to navigate, but rather an awareness of this ‘presence’ that surrounds us with every breath, as if we are being watched at every moment. It’s the place where black and white energies attach themselves to our souls, and shape our emotion, choices, perspective and ultimately our very existence. There is a miraculous and small realm within this vortex and it’s the only place where balance between these dynamic and polarizing forces exists -where the soul finds its refuge. Welcome to…..THE NOTHING.”
Those were the very words that KoRn front man, Jonathan Davis, used to describe their new album, titled THE NOTHING. With so much hype around the highly anticipated album, we here at LixeXLive had to create a special station for such an event. That’s right, we forged the KoRn DNA! Expect everything from deep cuts, the band’s influences, side projects, and you know as LiveXLife’s residential metal guy… I’m going to bring in some good KoRn stories as well! With a history like their's, expect some strange ones.
It’s A Big Week For Kelly Clarkson!
If you sometimes feel like you just can’t get enough Kelly Clarkson, you’re in luck, because starting today she’s got her very own talk show on NBC! The Kelly Clarkson Show premiered with Dwayne Johnson as her first guest after scheduled guest Kevin Hart was injured in a car crash (the good news – he’s doing ok!)
She’s been all over the place promoting her new gig – chatting with The Today Show, competing in a “beat battle” with Jimmy Fallon, even crashing the sets of her “neighbors”, America’s Got Talent and This Is Us.
She’s also winding up for another season of The Voice! Kelly announced this week that Normani will join Team Kelly as a Battle Advisor. Season 17 premieres later this month, September 23rd.
And if all this still isn’t enough Kelly, you can always check out our up-close-and-personal station co-hosted by one of our favorite acs of all time – listen to Kelly Clarkson: Goes To 11 now!
Summer 2019: The Hot 25
I know, I’m not ready either, but it’s time to wrap up the Summer of 2019. It was a pretty epic #HotGirlSummer, with celebs and fans alike participating in viral challenges, the end of TV shows we loved, big name hook ups… and breakups, plus - of course - some of our favorite music.
So many big moments that you might have already forgotten some of them, so we’re looking back at the 25 songs you listened to, hearted & shared the most all summer long, AND reviewing moments like the women’s World Cup win, that time Justin Bieber challenged Tom Cruise to a fight, then immediately un-challenged him, and Lizzo… you know just being Lizzo.
Vote for your favorite song of the summer on my twitter feed – follow @ParkerKnowsPop – and check out Summer 2019: The Hot 25 over Labor Day Weekend!
2019 VMAs: The Aftermath
We pretty much wrapped up the summer with one of the biggest parties of the year – the 2019 VMAs! This was the 35th anniversary of the MTV Video Music Awards, and with the history of partial nudity, artist beefs being aired during the show, and iconic artist performances – not to mention hosts completely blowing it – there was a lot on the line.
This year’s awards came to us live from New Jersey, with host comedian Sebastian Maniscalco. Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande were tied for the most nominations with 10 each, but Lil Nas X and Billie Eilish weren’t far behind with 9 and 8 nods, respectively. Taylor took home the big prize for video of the year but, really, everyone went home happy, as the "big four" all snagged multiple moon men.
The performer line up was HUGE this year - Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello showed off their chemistry onstage with a performance of “Señorita”, The Jonas Brothers returned to the VMAs stage after 11 years, and Taylor celebrated her new album Lover with her first performance since 2015.
The most exciting part of Monday night’s show was arguable Missy Elliott’s performance. She also accepted the Video Vanguard award and showed off some new music from her surprise album Iconography!