The Four Tops Pictures

Hype Monitor: Mayer Hawthorne, Box Elders, Speech Debelle

The Band: Mayer Hawthorne The Buzz: After years of behind-the-scenes work as a hip-hop producer, along with manning turntables under the alias DJ Haircut, Hawthorne emerges with a jaw-dropping collection of classic soul, with a pillowy falsetto that would have impressed Curtis Mayfield. Listen If: Your torrent tracker is automatically set to track down Smokey & the Miracles outtakes Key Track: The Four Tops-aping “Love is Alright,” where Hawthorne opts out of the high notes in favor the kind of

Published: 2009-07-23 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

Common Tops the Charts, Joy Division Gets Reissued, Amy Winehouse Heads to Springfield

Common enjoyed his best week on the Billboard chart, as Finding Forever debuts in the number-one spot with 155,000 copies. Korn’s Untitled comes in at number two with 123,000 copies, giving the band seven straight top-ten releases. Last week’s champ NOW! 25 moves down to number three, while RS cover boy Zac Efron’s Hairspray soundtrack comes in at number four. To coincide with the release of Control, Joy Division will have their catalogue reissued with bonus tracks, live performances and hopefully better sound quality. Carbon/Silicon, a band comprised of the Clash’s Mick Jones and Generation X’s Tony James, will release their first physical album, titled The Last Post, on October 8th. When he wasn’t trying to wipe out their entire race, Adolf Hitler liked to kick back and listen to records by Jewish composers. Amy Winehouse has reportedly agreed to appear on an episode of The Simpsons, testing the cartoonists’ abilities to properly animate her tattoos.

Published: 2007-08-09 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Chart Roundup, Afternoon News Roundup

On the Charts: Kanye West, 50 Cent, Kenny Chesney Lead the Way to Monster Sales Week

The Big News: As you already know, Kanye West beat 50 Cent in their debut-week sales showdown, but the real winner is the music industry. Kanye’s Graduation sold 957,000, the biggest single week tally since 2005, when 50’s The Massacre sold 1.1 million in its debut week. According to Billboard, it’s the 15th biggest sales week since Nielsen began tracking sales in 1991. 50’s Curtis moved 691,000, which, despite losing to Kanye, easily tops the year’s previous top debut (Linkin Park’s 623,000). The only other time since 1991 that the top two albums each sold more than 600,000 each came in September of that year, when Guns N’ Roses’ Use Your Illusion I and II sold 770,000 and 685,000 respectively. Country star Kenny Chesney’s latest sold 387,000, finishing number three with a figure that would earn him the number one spot almost any other week. Just to give you an idea what a departure these numbers are from the industry’s endless sales drought: When you add up the top four — including last week’s number one High School Musical 2 soundtrack, which sold 133,000 this week — you get 2.2 million CDs sold, which is more than the top 200 albums combined sold last week. The Debuts: After the top three, it’s a long drop to the next new record: A third Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack landed at number sixteen, moving a comparatively paltry 27,000 units; Trisha Yearwood’s Greatest Hits debuted at number twenty-two with 22,000; And R&B-boy band B5 sold 19,000 and hit number twenty-seven. Last Week’s Sales Heroes: Perennial top-tenners, including the HSM2 and Hannah Montana 2 soundtracks, Fergie, and Now! 25 all dropped back a few slots to make room for the newcomers. MySpace-made star Colbie Caillat continues to scale the charts, with a 25 percent jump in sales and a corresponding leap from number fourteen to eight.

Published: 2007-09-20 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Chart Roundup

Gwyneth on Moses and Apple's playtime

As a big sister, Apple Martin is the boss of little brother Moses -- especially when it comes to games like dress-up. Mom Gwyneth Paltrow, 35, tells People.com, "She makes [Moses, 2] cross-dress, but she doesn't put makeup on him!" Four-year-old Apple seems to already be following in her mother's fashionable footsteps. "My daughter plays with anything that's girly. She loves makeup," Gwyneth shared. "She puts on the eye shadow and my high heels. She likes to take my tank tops and make them a dress. And then she asks me to tie a rubber band on the back so they stay up." The one thing Apple can't touch? Mom's signature fragrance, Estée Lauder's Pleasures. "I don't like her to spray perfume on herself because she's so little," says Gwyneth, "but she likes to spray it on me." Source: People.com; Photo by Ramey.

Published: 2008-07-10 Provider: Celebrity Baby Blog Keywords: Quotable quotes