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Let’s Have A Laugh: 40th Anniversary AMAs Release Nominations

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It’s nearing that time again when the music industry collectively pat each other on the backs and present awards to artists who already have shelves devoted to little statues that they earned based on record sales and not any sort of artistic merit. Yup, I’m talking about the AMAs (American Music Awards). But, before we get our panties in a bunch, let’s actually look at what the AMAs were created for. You see, according to a press release, Dick Clark created the AMAs in 1973 as a means of paying “…tribute to popular musicians from various genres of music and to put audiences in touch with the latest phenomena in American music. Since its founding, the AMAs have honored and showcased the talents of some of the biggest names in the music industry.

So, I’m left scratching my head. Why even create such an event? What is the purpose? I mean, aside from the collective back patting and sycophantic groveling that I mentioned above, is there a point to these shows? Well, obviously ratings. People are gonna tune in to see over-the-top performances (where their favorite artist will no doubt be lip syncing) so they can gush about them to their friends via Facebook and Twitter (who talks on a phone anymore, right?). It’s also a status symbol: “My favorite artist won an award, meaning that he/she/they HAVE to be respected and lauded!”

Whatever. As per my thoughts on ANY award ceremony, I don’t think they do a damn thing. The only people that tune in are those that have a vested interest. No one that is seeking avenues to find new music will even consider watching. What’s the point? They’ve already heard it all before.

If you want to see the list of AMA nominations, check it out below. It’ll be a really recognizable and familiar list.

2012 American Music Awards Nominees:

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Justin Bieber
Drake
Maroon 5
Katy Perry
Rihanna

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
J. Cole
fun.
Gotye
Carly Rae Jepsen
One Direction

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Justin Bieber
Flo Rida
Pitbull
Usher

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Kelly Clarkson
Nicki Minaj
Katy Perry
Rihanna

FAVORITE BAND, DUO OR GROUP – POP/ROCK
fun.
Maroon 5
One Direction
The Wanted

FAVORITE ALBUM – POP/ROCK
Justin Bieber /Believe
Maroon 5/Overexposed
Nicki Minaj/Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
One Direction/Up All Night

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Eric Church

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Miranda Lambert
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

FAVORITE BAND, DUO or GROUP – COUNTRY
Zac Brown Band
Lady Antebellum
Rascal Flatts

FAVORITE ALBUM – COUNTRY
Luke Bryan/Tailgates & Tanlines
Lionel Richie/Tuskegee
Carrie Underwood/Blown Away

FAVORITE ARTIST – RAP/HIP-HOP
Drake
Nicki Minaj
Tyga

FAVORITE ALBUM – RAP/HIP-HOP
J. Cole/Cole World: The Sideline Story
Drake/Take Care
Nicki Minaj/Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown
Trey Songz
Usher

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Beyoncé
Mary J. Blige
Rihanna

FAVORITE ALBUM – SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown/Fortune
Rihanna/Talk That Talk
Usher/Looking 4 Myself

FAVORITE ARTIST – ALTERNATIVE ROCK
The Black Keys
Gotye
Linkin Park

FAVORITE ARTIST – ADULT CONTEMPORARY
Adele
Kelly Clarkson
Train

FAVORITE ARTIST – LATIN
Don Omar
Pitbull
Shakira

FAVORITE ARTIST – CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Jeremy Camp
Newsboys
tobyMac

FAVORITE ARTIST – ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC (EDM)
David Guetta
Calvin Harris
Skrillex

Got any thoughts/questions/concerns for Jonathan Barkan? Shoot him a message on Twitter or on Bloody-Disgusting!

Music

‘Lost Themes IV: Noir’ – John Carpenter Announces New Album & Releases New Music Video!

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Lost Themes IV
(l-r) Cody Carpenter, John Carpenter, Daniel Davies - Photo Credit: Sophie Gransard

John Carpenter has been teasing big news for a couple weeks now and all has been revealed this morning. Carpenter is back with Lost Themes IV: Noir from Sacred Bones Records!

Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.

John Carpenter called the first Lost Themes album “a soundtrack for the movies in your mind.”

From John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies, Lost Themes IV: Noir is set for release on May 3 via Sacred Bones Records. The album pays tribute to Noir cinema!

In conjunction with the announcement, they’ve shared a music video for the album’s first single, “My Name Is Death”, a miniature noir film directed by Ambar Navarro, starring Natalie Mering (Weyes Blood), Staz Lindes (The Paranoyds) and Misha Lindes (SadGirl). “Noir is a uniquely American genre born in post-war cinema,” states Carpenter. “ We grew up loving Noir and were influenced by it for this new album. The video celebrates this style and our new song, My Name is Death.”

Sacred Bones previews, “The scene-setting new single marks new territory for Carpenter and his cohorts, propelled by a driving post-punk bassline that is embellished by washes of atmospheric synth, pulsing drum machine, and, at the song’s climax, a smoldering guitar solo.”

“Sandy [King, John’s wife and producer] had given John a book for Christmas, of pictures from noir films, all stills from that era,” Davies says of the lightbulb moment for Lost Themes IV. “I was looking through it, and I thought, ‘I like that imagery, and what those titles make me think of. What if we loosely based it around that? What if the titles were of some of John’s favorite noir films?’ Some of the music is heavy guitar riffs, which is not in old noir films. But somehow, it’s connected in an emotional way.”

Sacred Bones notes, “Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes the songs on Lost Themes IV ‘noirish’ is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone. The noir quality, then, is something you understand instinctively when you hear it.”

“It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that became the initial Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts,” the label explains. “Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. In the years since, Carpenter, Carpenter, and Davies have released close to a dozen musical projects, including a growing library of studio albums and the scores for David Gordon Green’s trilogy of Halloween reboots. It helped that they grew up in a musical environment. Daniel’s dad is The Kinks’ Dave Davies, and he would pop by the L.A. studio – the same one the Lost Themes records are made in today – to jam, or to perform at wrap parties for John’s films. That innate free-flowing chemistry helps Lost Themes IV: Noir run like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”

Here’s the full Lost Themes IV: Noir track list:

1. My Name is Death
2. Machine Fear
3. Last Rites
4. The Burning Door
5. He Walks By Night
6. Beyond The Gallows
7. Kiss The Blood Off My Fingers
8. Guillotine
9. The Demon’s Shadow
10. Shadows Have A Thousand Eyes

The following physical variants will be available:

  • Sacred Bones Exclusive Red on Clear Splatter vinyl w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Silver Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
  • Sacred Bones Society Exclusive on Black and White Splatter on Clear w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Silver Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
  • All retail Transparent Red, with a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
  • Indie Exclusive Tan and Black Marble, w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
  • Rough Trade Exclusive Oxblood Red and Black Splatter, w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
  • Shout Exclusive Black and Clear cloudy, w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
  • Black LP, with a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.
  • CD
  • Tape

You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now!

Lost Themes IV Noir

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