The best of the year’s music books tell all about good tunes and bad behavior Source: Yahoo Music Link: Best of 2014: Top 10 Music Books

Empire, Fox's upcoming hip-hop soap opera, is aiming to win over radio programmers and music fans when it premieres on Jan. 7 . Unlike the network's Glee, Fox's last big scripted musical, Empire will feature almost all original songs instead of covers."That presents a whole lot of new challenges," says Geoff Bywater, senior vice president […]

It seems any year that Taylor Swift releases a new album becomes Taylor Swift’s year. Since her 2006 debut, she’s dropped an LP every other autumn, capping off the year with a new entry in her public diary, a young person falling in and out of love with herself and others……. Source: RollingStone Link: 2014: The […]

REMEMBER WHEN THERE WERE 10 OR 20 TAYLOR SWIFTS EVERY YEAR?: There is Taylor Swift, and there is everybody else. Adele, Beyonce and the Frozen soundtrack have managed to sell a lot of albums, but only Swift’s 1989 is a reminder of the old days — according to Billboard, it’s…… Source: RollingStone Link: On the […]

When Mickey Jack Cones moved to Nashville in 1996, he was a twentysomething Texan who’d already spent more than half his life onstage. As a pre-teen, he had landed a gig playing guitar in his mom’s vocal group, opening for bands like the Platters along the way. Later, he became…… Source: RollingStone Link: Dustin Lynch […]

If you went to a concert in 2014 you may have noticed that country music is a drunken mess. The year was country’s Summer of Lush and nowhere was the stumbling state of the bro-dominated genre more on display than at Luke Bryan’s Pittsburgh stadium show on June 21. Sure,…… Source: RollingStone Link: Why Country […]

Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams inhabit the mind of a soul-searching bear on “Shine,” a breezy ballad written for the computer-animated film comedy Paddington. “One thing about me / I’ll be there for my team,” Stefani croons over acoustic guitars and horn blasts. “I’ll do anything to protect my people’s dreams.” Pharrell makes a vocal…… Source: RollingStone Link: Hear Gwen […]

A previously unreleased song performed entirely by Pantera and Damageplan guitarist Dimebag Darrell, “Whiskey Road,” is now streaming online. The guitarist, who died 10 years ago this month, recorded the tune in 2001, when Pantera were wrapping up what was to be their final U.S. tour. Guitar World, which premiered…… Source: RollingStone Link: Hear Pantera […]

Sting waved his fists victoriously in the air and grinned from ear to ear when Bruce Springsteen took the stage to pay tribute to the former Policeman at this year’s Kennedy Center Honors, broadcast Tuesday night. The other honorees of the evening were Al Green, Tom Hanks, Lily Tomlin and ballerina…… Source: RollingStone Link: See Bruce […]

Dig if you will the picture: 2014 marked the 30th anniversary of Purple Rain, and the glorious summer when Prince simultaneously had the Number One single, album and movie in the USA. Alan Light (author of The Holy or the Broken, and a Rolling Stone veteran) celebrated the occasion with…… Source: RollingStone Link: 10 Things […]