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Music

  • Remember Amy Winehouse with this epic 46-track YouTube playlist

    By on 24 July, 2017

    Even if you weren't held by her eclectic charm, raspy voice and larger-than-life hairdos, there was probably an Amy Winehouse track that you've heard and hummed along to. 23 July marked six years since the English songstress died, and the world of music is still feeling her loss. And in a week that has seen two other great musicians part us -- South African jazz great Ray Phiri and Linkin Park's Chester Bennington -- it's only fitting to remember these greats for their influence. Thankfully, the internet has largely memorialised their works in glorious high-def video and audio. For Amy Winehouse, this means...

  • Linkin Park’s lead singer Chester Bennington commits suicide

    By on 21 July, 2017

    Chester Bennington, the lead singer of nu-metal band Linkin Park, has died in an apparent suicide at his home in Los Angeles. News broke Thursday evening SAST, just a few hours after Linkin Park's latest music video "Talking To Myself" debuted on YouTube. Bennington, who led Linkin Park's vocal ensemble for much of his career, helped the band to 70-million album sales and two Grammy Awards. He also formed the electronic rock ensemble Dead By Sunrise in 2005. Mike Shinoda, Linkin Park's chief songwriter, took to Twitter to confirm the news. Shocked and heartbroken, but it's true. An official statement will come out...

  • Jay Z’s 4:44 no longer a Tidal exclusive as Kanye West ditches service

    By on 7 July, 2017

    Jay Z's first album in four years, 4:44, launched as a Tidal and Sprint exclusive earlier this week. Today though, the album is available to listen to on Apple Music, Google Play and Amazon Music. Although many online suggested that the album would likely arrive on the other music streaming services before long, neither Roc Nation nor Jay Z confirmed this. Today though it is official. Jay Z's 4:44 is now available on Apple Music, Google Play Music and Amazon Music... but not Spotify Incidentally, if you're a Spotify user, you'll still be left out in the cold. The album isn't yet available...

  • Kesha’s ‘Praying’ music video gets all the praise on YouTube and Twitter

    By on 6 July, 2017

    After teasing her new album on Instagram earlier this week, singer-songwriter Kesha has finally released her new track to YouTube. And it's going viral. Dubbed "Praying", the track is the first off her upcoming album Rainbow, set to be her first released in close to five years. "Praying" might be a little slower and more melodic than Kesha's previous records, but the subject matter is markedly more serious than the likes of "Timber" or "Your Love is My Drug". In "Praying", Kesha sings: Well, you almost had me fooled Told me that I was nothing without you Oh, but after everything you've done I can thank you...

  • Jay Z’s new album hits Tidal, gives the internet plenty to talk about

    By on 30 June, 2017

    Hip-hop heavyweight Jay Z has today dropped his first full-length album in four years, and the internet can barely contain its excitement. For hip-hop fans, you're getting to a 10-track, 36-minute-long reel titled 4:44 produced by No I.D. entirely. For everyone else, it's a chance to comment on the artist's relationship with Beyonce, his kids, and of course, the Kardashians. In terms of 4:44's impact on the internet, Google Trends today shows a marked jump in search for Jay Z and Tidal -- the rapper's music streaming service. More interestingly, the likes of Lemonade -- Beyonce's last album -- has seen a...

  • #RTD2017: Rocking the Daisies announces lineup in annoying Twitter campaign

    By on 26 June, 2017

    There's nothing I hate more than a clever advertising campaign that forces me to tarnish my already messy social media brand. Local music festival Rocking the Daisies has just announced its 2017 lineup -- but on Twitter, it's forcing users to 'tweet to reveal.' All it reveals? A shortened link to RockingtheDaisies.com that disappears once you hit tweet. But don't worry: I took one for the team and tweeted against my better judgment so that no one else has to. Does this make me a martyr? Almost certainly. I'm about to see the @RockingtheDaisy line-up, and you can too! #RTD2017https://t.co/UJoN1KWxsr — Jules (@breakeypls) June 26,...

  • Katy Perry, Taylor Swift’s latest tiff spills over onto Spotify and Twitter

    By on 9 June, 2017

    Taylor Swift has caused quite a stir after releasing her discography to Spotify years after claiming she never would -- and just in time to coincide with the release of Katy Perry's new album. Swift has had beef with Spotify's free tier in the past, claiming that musicians didn't work hard just to give their music away for free. Her official fan Instagram claimed that this derision had been set aside to celebrate 1989's 10-million worldwide sales. In celebration of 1989 selling over 10 Million Albums Worldwide and the RIAA's 100 Million Song Certification announcement, Taylor wants to thank her fans by making...

  • Rewatch Ariana Grande’s #OneLoveManchester concert on YouTube

    By on 5 June, 2017

    Update, 5 June, 12pm: if you missed last night's concert in Manchester, it's now available in its entirety on Ariana Grande's YouTube channel, embedded below. The full concert's around 210 minutes long, so you might want to take an extra-long lunch break for this one. Original article: Just over two weeks since a suicide bombing after her Manchester concert claimed the lives of 22 people, Floridian singer Ariana Grande will tonight perform a benefit concert at Old Trafford cricket ground. The concert will also be livestreamed to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and iHeartRadio. In a statement issued soon after the 22 May incident,...

  • South Africa: here’s how to get four free months on Google Play Music

    By on 30 May, 2017

    Google Play Music now offers a four-month free trial for those subscribing to its service. The streaming music platform headed by the Mountain View company houses over 30-million tracks, and allows users to upload their own to the cloud, usually comes with a two- or three-month trial. But Google's seemingly feeling a bit generous this week. First spotted by Android Police last week, the deal is still ongoing at the time of writing. And yes, it's available to those within South Africa's borders too. Interestingly, it seems that the deal comes in tow with South Africa's addition to Google Play promo codes supported...

  • SoundCloud now features Spotify-like personal, curated playlists

    By on 4 May, 2017

    SoundCloud has long been known as a portal for recording artists to upload their tracks, and listeners to indulge in them gratis. But it's also becoming a key player in the content discovery race. The company's new feature, dubbed The Upload, takes a leaf out of Spotify's personal playlist curation handbook. SoundCloud will now provide listeners with a "regularly updated, bespoke playlist of new music relevant to you". "With a constantly expanding mix of music uploaded to SoundCloud every day, we've now made it easier to filter through it all," the company writes in its blog. SoundCloud now features a Spotify-like curated, regularly...

  • ‘Disaster’ Fyre Festival likened to ‘that alien movie in South Africa’ on social media

    By on 28 April, 2017

    If you pay US$12 000 for a ticket to a music festival, you'd probably expect... well, a music festival, right? That's not what attendees to Ja Rule's Fyre Festival experienced this weekend. The new luxury music extravaganza, which was supposed to kick off in the Bahamas this weekend, was met with a cascading comedy of errors. According to reports by attendees on Twitter and Instagram, festival goers arrived in the island country to find a "a disaster tent city". "So Fyre Fest is a complete disaster. Mass chaos. No organization. No one knows where to go," tweets William N. Finley, who's documenting...

  • Here’s how to write a Chainsmokers chart-topper in just 60 minutes

    By on 19 April, 2017

    Dance music duo The Chainsmokers have built a reputation on crafting catchy-as-hell tunes often mocking culture's silliest moments... like #SELFIE. Remember that tune? But since that track debuted in 2013, the duo have exploded in popularity, seeing massive hits on streaming video and audio services, including a breakthrough live show on SNL a few weeks ago. They also launched a full length album, which shot to number one on the Billboard Albums Chart. If that isn't impressive enough, the duo have also shattered a Billboard Hot 100 chart record, owning a spot in the top 10 for close to a year. But...

  • 10 Instagram snaps of people living life at Splashy Fen 2017

    By on 18 April, 2017

    So how did you spend your long Easter weekend, South Africa? If you were at Splashy Fen, you probably had quite the time... at least judging by my Instagram feed. #Splashy was the hashtag of choice for the festival this year, racking up over 20 000 images according to the social networking site. Not all of these were snapped by people enjoying themselves in the green, green Underberg though, but a vast majority were. Splashy Fen first took place in South Africa back in 1990, a full four years before OppiKoppi made its mark The oldest annual music festival in the country...

  • #BlackCoffeeftYoza: Twitter user scores collab with Black Coffee

    By on 24 February, 2017

    Yesterday was Yoza Mnyanda's crown birthday and she decided to shoot her shot. Mnyanda -- a recent University of Cape Town film grad and aspiring cinematographer with the voice of an angel -- seized the day and tweeted South African DJ and producer Black Coffee, asking how many retweets she'd need for him to make a song with her. @RealBlackCoffee how many RT's do I need for you to make a song with me? It's also my birthday today. 😊👑🙂https://t.co/tRidKs3Ger — needacameraplzhelp (@YozaMnyanda) February 23, 2017 Attached was a performance she did last year for UCT's Live Room. Black Coffee was so impressed he...

  • Apple iTunes to debut James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke: The Series

    By on 13 February, 2017

    Apple revealed last night that it has finally picked up Carpool Karaoke as a stand-alone series. The Late Late Show with James Corden's segment has garnered around 1.2-billion views on YouTube, and the episode with Adele was the most watched YouTube video of 2016. The segment features the charismatic James Corden driving through the streets of Los Angeles with A-list musicians, belting out their greatest hits. It provides another side to major celebrities, away from the audiences and publicists that usually surround them. Carpool Karaoke: The Series will be produced by CBS but feature on Apple's iTunes Watching Adele rap Nicki Minaj's verse in 'Monster' or ordering...