Remembering George Martin

I’m so sad to hear the news of the passing of dear George Martin. I have so many wonderful memories of this great man that will be with me forever. He was a true gentleman and like a second father to me. He guided the career of The Beatles with such skill and good humour that he became a true friend to me and my family. If anyone earned the title of the fifth Beatle it was George. From the day that he gave The Beatles our first recording contract, to the last time I saw him, he was the most generous, intelligent and musical person I’ve ever had the pleasure to know... Full statement at PaulMcCartney.com [link in the bio] #PaulMcCartney #GeorgeMartin

A photo posted by Paul McCartney (@paulmccartney) on Mar 9, 2016 at 2:49am PST

The man who was called "The Fifth Beatle," Sir George Martin passed away at 90. While the cause of his death is unknown, what is known is the treasure of music he gave the world.

Martin was born in London in 1926 and fought in World War II in the Royal Navy. After leaving his military services in 1947, he studied piano and oboe. By the 1950s, he was recording jazz and comedy records for Parlophone Records where he would become the head of A&R.

In 1962, he met Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ manager, who introduced him to the band. After hearing the Fab Four, he would eventually sign them to his label and produce all of their albums, except for Let It Be, which was produced by Phil Spector.

He guided The Beatles inside the studio and out. Paul McCartney described him as his "second father" and while the band would go on to change music history, one of the reasons was due to Martin being behind the decks. From the opening chords of "A Hard Day's Night" to his string arraignments on "Yesterday," "Elenore Rigby," and "The End." As well as asking an orchestra to play out of tune for "A Day in the Life," the mark on not just the Liverpool band's music he had would stretch onto the rest of music forever.

After the Beatles split in 1970, he continued to work as a producer. He would go on to produce the score and theme song of the James Bond film, Live and Let Die, which McCartney recorded with his post-Beatles band Wings. He also worked The Who, Jeff Beck, Cheap Trick, Celine Dion, some of the solo work of McCartney and Ringo Starr. In 1997, he worked with Elton John and produced “Candle In the Wind,” which was a tribute to Princess Diana and would go on to become one of the biggest selling singles of all time.

As tributes pour into the man who passed away on Tuesday night, the world will now remember the mark and legacy of someone who shaped the soundtrack of our lives.

God bless George Martin peace and love to Judy and his family love Ringo and Barbara George will be missed xxx 😎✌️🌟💖☮

— #RingoStarr (@ringostarrmusic) March 9, 2016

Thank you for all your love and kindness George peace and love xx😎✌️🌟💖 pic.twitter.com/um2hRFB7qF

— #RingoStarr (@ringostarrmusic) March 9, 2016

RIP Sir George Martin and condolences to his extended family @AbbeyRoad. https://t.co/hA42ERqXQ0

— George Harrison (@GeorgeHarrison) March 9, 2016

George Martin was a gentleman above all. May he rest in peace. Our thoughts are with Judy & the family at this sad time. -Olivia and Dhani

— George Harrison (@GeorgeHarrison) March 9, 2016

R.I.P. George Martin. I'm so gutted I don't have many words. Thinking of Judy and Giles and family. Love Always, Sean

A photo posted by Sean Ono Lennon (@sean_ono_lennon) on Mar 8, 2016 at 9:06pm PST

Thank you so much for the messages. They'd mean so much to dad. He would be typically humbled by the love shown, the fuss made of it all.

— Giles Martin (@mashupmartin) March 9, 2016

Started out as my dad. Ended as my best friend. Love is all you need X pic.twitter.com/SVzuCzKKNM

— Giles Martin (@mashupmartin) March 9, 2016

RIP dad. I love you. I'm so proud to have been your son. I'll miss you more than words can say. Thank you for the all times we had together.

— Giles Martin (@mashupmartin) March 9, 2016

10 Artists That Should Do a James Bond Theme

Now that Sam Smith's James Bond song, "The Writing's on the Wall," the theme to the upcoming SPECTRE has been released, we look at 10 other artists that have not done a Bond theme and deserve one just as much as Idris Elba deserves to be the most famous spy in all of cinema once Daniel Craig hangs up his tux.

Read: The 10 Best James Bond Themes 

10 - Depeche Mode 

The British doom-and-gloom electro rockers have been reinventing themselves for over 30 years and have appealed to generations, so not only would it be fitting and ideal, just think of the sexy, mysterious, and compelling song they would make?! It would be the ethos on Bond in under five minutes.

9 - Noel Gallagher  

Earlier this year, Noel Gallagher told Digital Spy he would write the next Bond tune "In a heartbeat," so with his songwriting chops, popularity, and Bond-esque swagger, why are we dragging our feet on picking him?

8 - The Chemical Brothers

How much fund would a Chemical Brothers 007 tune be? It would be as adventurous as one of the spy's many missions around the globe. Given their dabbling into the soundtrack world with Hanna, they would be a solid choice.

7 - Lana Del Rey 

With Adele and Sam Smith's Bond themes, it seems as if producers are going back to the cinematic, brooding style of songs of old. As Lana Del Rey's latest, Honeymoon, shows, she can do all of those styles and would make an interesting choice. 

6 - Rihanna  

Sexy, stylish, seductive -- That is how you can describe both Rihanna and James Bond. Since she shares so many of the same traits as the character, she would seamlessly fit into the character's universe as a performer and could even be a Bond girl.

5 - David Bowie 

Now that the Thin White Duke is back writing songs for film and TV, there really is no explanation needed as to why he would be the perfect choice to do a theme song.

4 - Frank Ocean 

Daniel Craig gave 007 a certain vulnerability and that mood can get tapped into and transformed into music thanks to Frank Ocean. With his R&B and mellow hip-hop style, Ocean can make Bond walk on water.

3 - Florence and the Machine 

While most of Florence's music feels like it belongs in a film and has such a grand nature to it, her Bond theme would be just as epic as one of his missions.

2 - James Blake 

While every man wants to be Bond and women want Bond, he is a moody bastard. Which is why James Blake could make a winning theme thanks to his moody yet brilliant delivery.

1 - Arctic Monkeys  

Many artists try and go for a Bond theme that will be remembered and be embraced by all. Arctic Monkeys would want none of that. In fact, the Sheffield band would probably try and craft the loudest and fastest Bond theme around and make it one sexy number.

The 10 Best Bond Themes

As Sam Smith was tapped to sing the upcoming 007 theme to SPECTRE, "Writing's on the Wall," we look back at the 10 best James Bond themes ahead of Smith's release. 

10. Nancy Sinatra - "You Only Live Twice"

To many, Nancy's father, Old Blue Eyes himself, Frank, could have been considered an American James Bond, so it was only par for the course she would have theme song. Even though it comes as a surprise he never sang one.

9. Tina Turner - "Golden Eye"


When Pierce Bronsan finally stepped into the tux to play Bond, he was introduced in Golden Eye and the Bono / Edge-penned theme by one of the greatest voices ever sang the life out of it and left audiences gasping like Famke Janssen did when she squeezed her prey in the film.

8. Jack White & Alicia Keys - "Another Way to Die" from Quantum of Solace 

It could have been a tune that White released on his own, but he and Keys collaborated on this sexy R&B meets garage rock number for Daniel Craig's second outing as the world's favorite secret agent.

7. Shirley Bassey  - "Diamonds Are Forever"



Dame Shirley Bassey has been the unofficial Bond girl and voice of the series since the world heard her belt out "Goldfinger." This song may have actually been the best part to this Bond caper as well.  Even Kanye sampled the track for his 2005 single "Diamonds (From Sierra Leone)."

6. Madonna - "Die Another Day"


Like Bassey's song for Diamonds Are Forever, the only decent part of Brosnan's final outing as 007 was the theme song. When it was released in 2003, the song even burned up dance floors as was the first time Bond went disco.

5. Tom Jones - "Thunderball"


Tom Jones has got as much swagger as James Bond himself, so it was no surprise that this tune stands the test of time.

4. Adele - "Skyfall"


It may have been the last thing Adele has released but this Oscar winner song still resonates with fans and as Sam Smith is considered to be "The male Adele," this song helped usher in how he continues to follow her footsteps.

3. Duran Duran - "A View to a Kill"


An instant classic when it came out. The New Wave giants found their way to outdo themselves in their hayday with this number that still raises the bar for rock-like Bond themes.

2. Paul McCartney & Wings - "Live and Let Die" 

Now a staple to his live shows, this stadium anthem proved that Macca could do it on his own after The Beatles break-up.

1. Shirley Bassey - "Goldfinger"

We hinted earlier at this one, but no one does it better or did it better and this was the first Bond song to prove it.

Quick News

Taking to Twitter, Kid Cudi revealed he auditioned for the upcoming Star Wars film, The Force Awakens. The Chicago rapper said:

I auditioned!! That whole experience alone was WILD. Happy I was able to get in the room and try! Blessed! https://t.co/fWF1U0sUNb

— The Chosen One (@KidCudi) September 7, 2015

While Kudi did not get the part, he seemed excited to have even had a chance to show off his chops.

Sam Smith has been tapped to sing the new 007 theme in James Bond's upcoming adventure SPECTRE, which is out in November. The song, "Writing's on the Wall" was produced by Disclosure and will be out later this month.

Darkstar have revealed that they will release their new album, Foam Island, next month. Take a look at the cover, below:

Quick News

After loosing Sascha Baron-Cohen to the upcoming Freddie Mercury biopic, it is now been confirmed that British actor Ben Winshaw (The Hour, Skyfall), will take over as Mercury. The film has no release date.

A lost Johnny Cash album called Out Among the Stars, will be released in March, nearly 30 years after it was initially recorded. The album was recorded between 1981-1984 with producer Billy Sherrill, but was never released by the Man in Black's then label Columbia Records and subsequently disappeared after the singer was dropped from the label. According to Cash's estate, the tapes of the sessions were kept by Johnny's wife, June Carter Cash. Despite Columbia’s original refusal to release the tapes back in the 80s, Johnny's son, John Carter Cash has pressed it for released.

Flying Lotus took to Twitter on Tuesday to release an outtakes mixtapes called, Ideas+Drafts+Loops. The album features outtakes from all of his studio recordings and features work with Thundercat, Mapei, Earl Sweatshirt, Baths, DJ Mehdi, Niki Randa, the Underachievers, Andreya Triana, Viktor Vaughn, as well as Lotus' hip-hop alter ego, Captain Murphy. You can download the free mixtape HERE.

Quick News

After the success of Record Store Day, the first ever Cassette Store Day will take place on September 7 around the world. The purpose is to make new and classic albums available on tape format for one day only. So far artists like Fucked Up, Los Campesinos!, At the Drive-in, The Flaming Lips, Deerhunter and more are releasing albums on the old format.

In an interview with James Bond himself, Thom Yorke spoke to Daniel Craig for a piece in Interview magazine and gave an update on what is happening with Radiohead. Yorke said, "God, I so wish I had a plan. [laughs] The only plan that we've had recently was to take a year off, which was something that Ed wanted to do. Ed wanted to go live somewhere else and switch off." Craig replied, "And have a life," Yorke replied, "Something like that, yeah. Just like, 'Hey, how about we have 12 months where we don't commit to anything at all?' – which is an interesting prospect."

Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne will release his first ever comic book called, The Sun is Sick. The adult comic will make its debut this weekend at San Diego Comic-Con.

Stone Temple Pilots with new frontman Chester Bennington of Linkin Park will release an EP this fall.

Incubus' Brandon Boyd will release his debut album with his new project, Sons of the Sea, this fall.

Arctic Monkeys revealed the cover to their forthcoming fifth album, AM. Take a look at it below, the album arrives in September:

Quick News

The video for Bjork's "Mutual Core" will be shown each night this month as a countdown to midnight in New York City's Times Square.

According to reports Adele has signed on to sing the next James Bond theme. The British singer, who just won an Oscar for her 007 tune for Skyfall is allegedly going to belt out the next films theme. A source told The Sun, "Producers are thrilled by how well the song has been received and hope Adele’s presence on the next film will replicate that success. They want her to become as synonymous with Bond as Dame Shirley."

The White Stripes will release a special 10th Anniversary edition of their groundbreaking 2003 album, Elephant, for Record Store Day. White Stripes main man and Third Man Records owner Jack White has been named the ambassador of this years Record Store Day which will take place on April 20.

Quick News

Congrats to Adele for taking home Best Original Song Oscar for her title track to the latest James Bonds adventure, Skyfall.

Elton John will release his new album, The Diving Board, in September.

Major Lazer have pushed the release of their new album, Free the Universe. The record, which was supposed to arrive this Tuesday, has been pushed and will be released later this year. No exact date has been given.

The National will release their yet-to-be-titled new album in May.

New York City electro-rockers Stellastarr* have been on hiatus since 2009, yet, the front man of the band has been busy. The bands singer, Shawn Christensen is now an Oscar winner. Christensen took home an Oscar for directing the Best Action Short Film, Curfew. In 2008 we interviewed Stellastarr* you can see that interview HERE.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs revealed the tracklisting to their new album, Mosquito, which arrives April 16. The album was produced by TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek, who is also working on the new Beady Eye record. One of the tracks was produced by James Murphy. Take a look at the tracklisting below:
01 Sacrilege
02 Subway
03 Mosquito
04 Under the Earth
05 Slave
06 These Paths
07 Area 52
08 Buried Alive [ft. Dr. Octagon]
09 Always
10 Despair
11 Wedding Song

The legendary Iggy and the Stooges will return April 30 with their new album, Ready to Die. Take a look at the cover below:

Road to the Oscars® 2013

This is it! Tonight is the night! Seth McFarlane will host this years Academy Awards and while many are still talking about the Katheryn Bigelow, Ben Affleck, and Quentin Tarantino snubs for Best Director, it still seems as if the race is still wide open thanks to Spirit Award wins for Silver Linings Playbook, Golden Globe, BAFTA wins for Les Mis, and Golden Globe, DGA, BAFTA, and SAG wins for Argo. We shall have to wait and see.

It was an interesting year in cinema as no single narrative film really seemed to capture and inspire audiences like in recent years with films like The Artist, The Kings Speech, Slumdog Millionaire, The Departed. While the narrative films left this years race to be anyone's guess, it was a particular documentary coming out of South Africa that had audiences around the globe, not only in tears, but jumping for joy. Searching For Sugar Man, the story of obscure 1960's/70's singer/songwriter Rodriguez had crowds at their feet. For years documentaries have really become one cinema's greatest art forms and alternative voices, but it has been the last few years where docs like Cocaine Cowboys, Exit Through the Gift Shop, The Two Escobars, Senna, Beats, Rhymes, and Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, have really turned heads, hearts, and minds the way a powerful narrative film would thanks to their brilliant storylines.

As we do every year, here is our list of the 10 Best Films of the Year as well as some Oscar® picks in the major categories, however, this year is different, we are now including documentaries in our list and it should come as no surprise which doc topped our 10 Best list. Tune in to ABC tonight at 7 to see how we did and who won.

10 Best Films of 2012

1 - Searching For Sugar Man 
2- Les Miserables
3- Argo
4- Django Unchained
5 - Zero Dark Thirty
6 - Prometheus 
7- The Sessions
8 - Skyfall
9 - To Rome With Love
10 - The Dark Knight Rises 

Oscar® Picks in 10 Categories:

Best Motion Picture of the Year:
Argo

Best Director:
Steven Speilberg, Lincoln

Best Actor:
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

Best Actress:
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Supporting Actor:
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Best Supporting Actress:
Anne Hathaway, Les Mis

Achievement in Cinematography:
Claudio Miranda, Life of Pi

Original Screenplay:
Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Argo, Chris Terrio

Best Original Score:
Anna Karenina, Dario Marianelli 

Quick News

Joining the line-up of the 50 years of James Bond tribute at the Oscars® will be Ms. Goldfinger herself, Dame Shirley Bassey. Bassey will perform during the 007 tribute with Adele.

Benjamin Curtis of School of Seven Bells has been diagnosed with cancer. The singer / guitarist of the cold-wave band announced the news via their Facebook page. Curtis will need aggressive chemotherapy, but according to his bandmate Alley Deheza, she said, "the good news is that it's TREATABLE." We wish Curtis a speedy and comfortable recovery.

Lupe Fiasco announced his new album title via Twitter, his new record will be called, TETSUO & YOUTH. In case you were wondering Tetsuo is the name of a Japaname character.

So much for taking a break, Dave Grohl announced via a Reddit session that Foo Fighters are writing a new record.

OFF! has been forced to cancel their current West Coast tour as singer Keith Morris recovers from a diabetic coma. We wish Keith a speedy recovery!

Quick News

Due to financial reasons, Lollapalooza Israel, which was set to take place in August, has been postponed indefinitely.

The Academy Awards confirmed that Adele will perform the theme to the latest James Bond film, Skyfall, at this years awards in February.

Speaking to MTV News at Sundance, Dave Grohl has confirmed there will be a new Foo Fighters record, despite the fact that the band are on hiatus, a new record will be released and it is unknown when. Grohl said, "We have a plan, we know exactly what's coming next, and I have the music for the next record and we're going to start working on it once we finish doing all this stuff. And we have really awesome, big plans for the next album and I'm really excited about it. If I give you something now, it means I'll actually have to make that deadline."

Post-punk legends Wire will release their new album, Change Becomes Us in March. Take a look at the tracklisting below:
'Doubles & Trebles'
'Keep Exhaling'
'Adore Your Island'
'Re-invent Your Second Wheel'
'Stealth Of A Stork'
'B/W Silence
'Time Lock Fog'
'Magic Bullet'
'Eels Sang'
'Love Bends'
'As We Go'
'& Much Besides'
'Attractive Space'

Quick News

Taking to social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, Sparta have announced they working on their fourth album.

Mona have announced they are demoing new material for their new record that they hope to record and release this year.

The Airborne Toxic Event will release their third record, Such Hot Blood, this spring.

After a successful reunion in 2010, pioneering English electro-rockers Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark (OMD), will release their new album, English Electric on April 9.

After teasing fans last week in a teaser trailer, Justin Timberlake announced he will be releasing a new album called 20/20 Experience at some point in 2013.

For the first time, Flying Lotus is breaking his silence on his alter ego, Captain Murphy. Speaking to XXL, Lotus/Murphy said, "I feel like the people made me tell them who I was. They made me reveal my fucking identity. There are some people who were like, 'Oh, you shouldn’t have done it. You should have kept it going.' I was like, Nah, man. All you motherfuckers making websites and shit about who I am and all this shit made it this way." He also spoke about new Murphy material that is on the way and says it will be "A lot darker," than what he has already released.

At Sunday nights Golden Globe awards, Adele, making her first public appearance since giving birth to her daughter, won Best Song for the title track to the latest James Bond thriller, Skyfall.

VINTAGE CLIP - JOHNNY CASH'S Thunderball Track That Never Was

 Last week, we posted about Pulp's theme to the 007 film, Tomorrow Never Dies, that was written and recorded but was passed on by the films people and that theme eventually went to Sheryl Crowe. 

Now, did you know a similar thing happened to Johnny Cash? Indeed, The Man in Black recorded a theme to Thunderball but sounded "Too American," according to the films producers. So the theme eventually went to Tom Jones, but Cash had gotten a crack at it. Take a listen to Cash, Johnny Cash.

VINTAGE CLIP - Pulp's Tomorrow Never Dies Theme That Never Was

As we celebrated the 50th anniversary of one of the greatest film and literature character ever, 007 himself --Bond, James Bond, we are looking back at some of the Bond themes songs that were considered but never made it. For instance, Pulp's swooning version of "Tomorrow Never Dies," which was recorded under the 1998 Pierce Brosnan films original title, "Tomorrow Never Lies." The song, of course, eventually went to Sheryl Crowe who took a debonair approach to her version.

Quick News

Great news for audiophiles, fans of nostalgia and the greatest band that ever was - The Beatles are coming to vinyl - again! The Fab Four will get the 180-gram vinyl treatment and their entire back catalogue will be remastered and released on November 13.

Speaking to Drowned in the Sound, Beady Eye guitarist and former Oasis bassist, Andy Bell, would welcome the reunion of the Gallagher brothers in the future. Bell said, "I'd love it to happen. I think that life's too short for it not to happen. But, in reality, do I see it happening? At this point, no I don't. The matter rests entirely with the two brothers. It probably should happen at some point but if they can't make it happen, no one should force them to."

Speaking for the first time about the death of Kurt Cobain and being mentioned in his suicide note, Neil Young wrote in his autobiography, Waging Heavy Peace, that when the Nirvana frontman mentioned him and his words, Young wrote, "When he died and left that note, it struck a deep chord inside of me. It fucked with me."

The title of Adele's forthcoming song for the latest James Bond adventure, Skyfall, will be called "Let the Sky Fall."

On the forthcoming Bad Brains album, Into the Future, the DC hardcore legends will pay tribute to one of their biggest fans and friends, the late Adam "MCA" Yauch of Beastie Boys. The record will feature a remix to the song, "Peace Be Unto Thee," as a tribute to Yauch who died of cancer in May.

Cody ChestnuTT released the cover to his new album, Landing On A Hundred, which arrives on October 30. Take a look at the cover below:

Quick News

Adele has been confirmed as to record the theme to this years 007 film, Skyfall, which hits theaters this November.

Thin Lizzy will release their first album in 29 years. The band which consists of Scott Gorham, Brian Downey, Darren Wharton, Ricky Warwick, Marco Mendoza and Damon Johnson—will finally follow-up 1983's Thunder and Lightning with their 12th studio album. The band plan to start recording next month and have the record out next year.

New Order's Bernie Sumner has confirmed that the band will record new material in early 2013. Sumner told BBC6 Music, "We finish touring at the end of October and then we've got November off. After Christmas, we're going to have a meeting about writing some new stuff."

Legendary LA punk band, FEAR will rerecord their seminal 1979 debut, The Record. The band will release, The FEAR Record, will be reworked songs and will be released in November.

On November 6, Mike Doughty will release a covers record called, The Flip is Another Honey. On the record Doughty will cover The Stone Roses, Cheap Trick, Doveman, John Denver, Randy Newman and Broadway classics.

Quantum of Solace

In a week from today Bond returns to US theaters!

Quantum of Awesomeness!

From a slick poster to a sick trailer and now a great song. Can this latest 007 installment be the best yet? Jack White and Alica Keys posted their song "Another Way to Die," the theme to Quantum of Solace online...listen to it HERE

New Bond Trailer!!!

All I can say is .... How far is November?!!

Quick News

The Killers gave a secret show last night in New York City at the Highline Ballroom. This fan club exclusive show gave the band an opportunity to break out new songs and play some old favorites. Check out NME for more info HERE

Alicia Keys and Jack White have been tapped to be the voices behind the latest James Bond theme song for Quantum of Solace. I can't wait to hear what creativity will come out of those sessions!

****I am off to cover Lollapalooza for this site, stay tuned as when I come back with a ton of updates!!******