Music News

Blur's Graham Coxon thinks Kanye West is an "idiot".
The guitarist has blasted the 'All Day' rapper and even questioned whether he writes the music which has featured on his six studio records.
Asked what he thinks about the musician, he raged: "He's a f**king idiot, isn't he? Does he even make his own albums?"
The 46-year-old musician continued to attack the controversial star - who has two-year-old daughter North with his wife, Kim Kardashian West - by insisting "there's no shape" to his music and rubbishing his lyric-writing ability as "idiotic".
He said: "People aren't interested in learning instruments and putting effort and time into it. They want it immediately. It's McDonald's, isn't it? It's convenient.
"But all I hear is a loop starting, some bloke starts to sing or rap, and the loop finishes. There's no shape to this stuff. And the lyrics just seem to be idiotic."
And after laying into the star, the rocker slammed the wider music industry by insisting all modern music is "boring".
He ranted to The Guardian newspaper: "Really, the whole music business is s**t, isn't it?
"We need more groups that have a bit more passion or sexiness or politics or something going for them.
"Instead, it just seems like a splurge of s**t all over the internet. And it's just so boring - people in too much make-up with session musicians."

Mark Ronson misses the "vibe" of DJing at house parties.
The 'Uptown Funk' hitmaker has fond memories of his early gigs because they always felt so "special".
He said: "House parties and basement clubs were the things I used to have the most fun DJing when I was starting off...
"I played a lot of house parties over the years, I remember the early ones were just some little loft in downtown New York, where you'd just come in with a PA.
"I miss those days of playing house parties because there is a vibe, and there is something special when you play."
Mark is teaming up with DJ A-Trak at the Virgin Media V Festival next month and hopes their set at Our House - which will be streamed live - will recapture his house party sessions.
He said: "When you're playing by yourself, you kind of have your sets you know that work but when you play with someone else you don't usually play with, they might play something that takes you down another lane, and that's what I love about playing with A-Trak, he might play something that takes me somewhere completely different...
"I guess the set at Virgin Media Our House will take people on a musical journey, but you still want people banging on the walls and playing the things that they love. But that's the thing about house parties."
And because he knows he's performing to such a wide audience via the Internet, he'll also be sharing some of his favourite tracks.
He added "Virgin Media's Our House - a million people might be streaming it so it gives us a reason to play the things that we love."
For music fans who can't be in Chelmsford on August 23, Mark's set will be live-streamed from the festival on Virgin Media's YouTube channel, while the telecommunications company will also provide free WiFi across the festival sites.
Virgin Media V Festival takes places at Hylands Park in Chelmsford, Essex, and Weston Park in Staffordshire from August 22 - 23 2015.
See Mark and A-Trak's video interview about their Virgin Media Our House set at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAGOJGZeYPY&feature=youtu.be.

Redfoo has promised his debut solo album will feature "romantic songs".
The former LMFAO star - who shot to fame with singles including 'Party Rock Anthem' and 'Sexy and I Know It' - is gearing up to release 'Where the Sun Goes' and has promised to show his softer side on the collection.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, he revealed: "It has a summertime attitude and the songs are fun. I do have some romantic songs on there. I actually have a love ballad."
Although he has been hard at work on the LP, the 39-year-old singer has recently been spending time presenting new TV show 'Say It In Song', which shows people surprising their pals with special musical messages.
And Redfoo believes the programme - which premieres on Monday August 3 at 8pm, only on MTV - is another way in which he is portraying "a different side" to his personality.
He explained: "It's about dealing with people and relationships, and communicating their feelings and using song to do that, because you can kinda do more with song. And there are some pretty inspiring stories so there are definitely some serious moments. It's a little bit of a different side for me."
But after working on the programme, the 'New Thang' hitmaker has vowed to focus on his music, following other TV jobs including a two-year stint as a judge on 'The X Factor Australia'.
Asked if he had more television plans in the pipeline, he added: "Not at the moment. There's a couple of things in the early stages of development but I've really just been focusing on finishing my album and have just been in the studio a lot."

Janet Jackson, Kanye West and The Who are among performers announced for 2015's iHeartRadio Music Festival. The iconic artists will all take to the stage at the two-day event which will take place at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas this September....

Oasis creator Alan McGee thinks Liam Gallagher should record a song with Neil Young.
Alan, 54, believes the rocker is in need of a one-off collaboration to revive his career and thinks it would be "amazing" for him to work with the 69-year-old singer/songwriter.
He said: "Liam can look after himself now. But a collaboration with Neil Young would be amazing. He's a brilliant songwriter, that could help Liam a lot."
And the music industry executive believes such a track might be the only music Liam releases as his estranged brother and former bandmate Noel Gallagher has no interest in reforming the band.
He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "I don't think Noel will reform Oasis. He is in the happiest place I've ever seen him."
Liam surprised fans last weekend when he decided to perform several songs, including a brand new track, at a pub on the west coast of Ireland prompting people to wonder whether the track meant he would be following in Noel's footsteps by releasing solo material.
However, a representative for the 42-year-old musician denied the claims.

Sir Paul McCartney believes he lost "dozens" of potential Beatles songs.
The 73-year-old musician has revealed he completely forgot numerous tracks he thought up with his bandmate John Lennon in the 1960s because they had no method of recording the melodies and would forget them by the time they reached the studio.
He explained: "Things have changed quite a bit.
"You've got recording devices now which change the songwriting process. For instance, John and I didn't have them when we first started writing, we would write a song and just have to remember it.
"And there was always the risk that we'd just forget it. If the next morning you couldn't remember it - it was gone. In actual fact you had to write songs that were memorable, because you had to remember them or they were lost! There must have been dozens lost this way."
The rocker - who has most recently been working with rapper Kanye West - continued to say he has "millions" of songs ready to be recorded nowadays because the advancement in technology allows him to make a note of his ideas.
He told the Evening Standard newspaper: "We didn't have tape recorders. Now you can do it on your phone. So you would have to form the thing, have it all finished, remember it all, go in pretty quickly and record it. Now, because you can get things down on a device, I've got millions of things I want to record and do."

One Direction have surprised fans by releasing a new single.
The track, title 'Drag Me Down', was dropped on iTunes and Spotify worldwide at 6.30am (GMT) this morning (31.07.15) and is the first song they have released as a four-piece, following the departure of Zayn Malik in March.
Announcing the news on Twitter, band member Liam Payne wrote: "Bit of a surprise ! Check out our new single! It's called Drag Me Down & I hope you love it as much as we do (sic)."
Niall Horan also tweeted: "Finally we get to say this ! have waited a long time but our new single Drag Me Down is out !!! (sic)"
The song will feature on the band's forthcoming fifth studio album which is expected to be released in November.
The group - also featuring Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson - are currently on the US leg of their 'On The Road Again' stadium tour.
The release of the surprise single - which is available to buy now - comes just a day after former band member Zayn Malik signed a solo record deal and suggested he was never allowed to be himself during his four years in the band.
He tweeted: "I guess I never explained why I left , it was for this moment to be given the opportunity to show you who i really am! #realmusic #RCA !! ... #REALME (sic)"

Calvin Harris has written and performed a song to girlfriend Taylor Swift about her "perfect toes".
The Scottish DJ - who has been dating Taylor since February of this year - performed with just "an acoustic guitar" about how the 'Bad Blood' singer is "rare in their world" and that it was "love at first sight" and while serenading her, he complimented her feet.
A source revealed: "It was really romantic, just him and an acoustic guitar, about how she's so rare in their world, love at first sight. there's a funny line in there about how even her toes are perfect!'
The 25-year-old superstar is believed to have "laughed so hard because she thinks they're her worst feature and he think's "l9#6she's crazy".
A source told America's OK! Magazine: "She laughed so hard because she thinks they're her worst feature and he thinks she's crazy."
The blonde beauty is said to be "very much in love" with Calvin and is "convinced she's finally found Mr. Right", according the source.
The source added: "'They're very much in love and she's convinced she's finally found Mr. Right."

Steve Aoki thinks EDM still has "a long way" to go.
The 'Boneless' hitmaker has confessed that although electronic dance music has become more popular in the charts over the past few years, he believes there's still a lot of work to be done.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz at London's Hard Rock Café, he explained: "In America, as far as commercial radio is concerned, it's [EDM] not dominating. Maybe one or two songs will come and really dominate, like a Calvin Harris song, an Avicii song, this Major Lazer song ['Lean On'], which has been a number one song ... But it's very rare. I still feel like there's a long way for us to go.
"At the end of the day pop is called pop, it's popular. So when people write that kind of music, it's always going to be the dominant kind of music in the commercial space."
The 37-year-old star - who is famous for launching cakes at people in the crowds at his gigs - also claimed he tries to "think outside the box" when it comes to collaborations.
Asked who he'd like to work with, he added: "There's a lot, because when I approach an album I'm always thinking about what artist I can work with outside of the dance space and I really reach out to the bands and the rappers and the singers who would not normally sing a club record.
"I'm always trying to think outside of the box, like who can I work with who hasn't worked in the electronic space that could add a completely different angle."
Steve donated items including clothes, shoes and musical equipment to the Hard Rock Café's world famous memorabilia collection in return for a $50,000 donation to the Steve Aoki Charitable Fund.