Tegan And Sara

The Lego Movie may not have made it onto the nominees list, but it did make it into the Oscars ceremony and that’s good enough. What better way to revive a stuffy, vaguely morose awards ceremony. Tegan and Sara, plus a massive ensemble cast, took it upon themselves to inject some life back into the night, dominated by heavy social subjects.

Tegan and Sara gave an aptly awesome performance of Everything is Awesome on the Dolby Theater stage.

Better yet, they were joined by Andy Samberg’s comedy-music troupe The Lonely Island, plus Questlove on drums and what looked like Will Arnett in a Batman costume. It’s pretty much your dream Oscars ensemble, right? Or at least a pretty cool NBC alumni reunion.

Continue reading: Tegan And Sara, Questlove And Andy Samberg Revive Oscars With "Everything Is Awesome" Performance

After a whopping 17 years at the forefront of iconic alternative rock band Death Cab For Cutie, lead guitarist and producer Chris Walla has announced his departure from the group. His exit comes after a decision to focus his creative energies towards other avenues. Walla formed the group alongside frontman Ben Gibbard and bassist Nick Harmer, who are now the only original members holding the fort. Together they produced seven albums, six EP’s and toured the world multiple times. Their blend of fragile alternative rock paved the way for what is now commonly known as ‘emo’, winning millions of fans worldwide through their melancholy songs that were often composed of lush instrumentation and unorthodox instruments.

With Walla [L} leaving the group, only two original members will remain. [Getty/Jason Kempin]

But with Walla clearly tiring of the band’s direction, where will Gibbard and Harmer go now? Despite Gibbard, who also fronts the cult indie-electro band The Postal Service with Jimmy Tamborello, acting as the group’s main songwriter, Walla’s contribution to the band cannot be overlooked. He has played an integral role in producing and engineering each of Death Cab’s albums as well as lending his production skills to records by Tegan & Sara, The Decemberists and Hot Hot Heat. With Walla absent, Death Cab will have to seek outside help for future efforts. But the group are currently sitting on a fully completed album that has yet to see release- produced in part by Walla, and which will also see the departing guitarist touring to support the release. To ease the band in to an existence without Walla’s guidance, Death Cab employed co-producer Rich Costey for outside input.

Continue reading: Chris Walla Leaves Death Cab For Cutie, Where Do They Go Now?

Country pop singer Taylor Swift is not only enjoying awards nominations left, right and centre, she's also packing out arenas all over the world and has now earned the unique accolade of artist to sell out Los Angeles' Staples Center the most times.

Taylor Played Three More Sold Out Staples Center Shows.

Swift was presented with a giant picture frame containing records, her albums covers, "Taylor Swift" in huge sparkling letters as well as "11 Record breaking Sold Out Shows" to commemorate the 23 year-old's achievement. She was also presented with an inscribed silver wrist cuff. However, she isn't the only artist to have reached 11 sold out shows at the concert arena: Latin group Mana have also experienced the same popularity in California.

Continue reading: Taylor Swift Smashes Staples Center Sold Out Show Record

Justin Bieber’s keeping the Beliebers appeased whilst they wait for a new studio album, by providing them with his latest offering; an acoustic version of his last album, Believe. There are acoustic versions of the original songs, rearrangements and a couple of new tracks, for added value, too. Just in case you might think this album is something of a cash cow for Bieber. Or possibly a hasty diversion from all of the bad press the young lad’s been getting recently, in light of the drug accusations and the seemingly less-than-pleasant split from Selena Gomez.

A review from Rolling Stone magazine views Believe Acoustic as little more than a “cash-grab” and Washington Post follow suit. the thought of Justin Bieber clutching an acoustic guitar and serenading a young maiden should, on the surface of it, be an appealing thought. Sadly, the sound of the cash register ringing is drowning out the acoustic strum of the album, it seems.

Listen to Justin Bieber's 'Beauty And A Beat' (acoustic) audio

Continue reading: Out Now - US Albums Releases - Is Justin Bieber's Believe Acoustic Just A Money-Spinner? Fleetwood Mac Rejuvenate Rumours, Tegan And Sara Get Poppy