uTunes Official Blog

UTunes will be the one stop shop for music lovers, they can stream their favorite song or track as many times as they like in a row without interruption. Users can go to the website to find fascinating info about the artist that they are listening to, they can find info on upcoming shows about the bands they are interested in and in future releases of the site users will be able to per purchase drink or food coupons for the venues that are hosting the users favorite band.

Friday, September 12, 2014

The 65 best band names of all time.

There comes a seminal moment in every band's formation, a right of passage that will change the course of their destiny forever. No, I'm not talking about when they score their first gaggle of groupies - I mean something even more important. Giving your own band a name must be the most fun and exciting decisions you'll every make, even better than naming your baby. Don't believe me? You can't really name your baby Hoobastank or Chumbawamba, now can you?! But of course some very talented (and very high) musicians thought those band names would lead them to fame and fortune one day.

So in honor of the the time honored practice of naming your band something wild and crazy, I compiled my list of the 65 best band names. Why 65? Aren't all generic internet blogs supposed to be 50 or 100 or at least 75? Well, yes, but when I started compiling awesome band names, I ran out of steam at 65 and didn't want to start adding bands just to do so. But the fun part is that YOU are going to help me fill in the last 10, or 35! My other criteria? It has to be a band that's reasonably well known (there are TONS of wild and crazy names from little-known bands) and I tried to stay away from just one person's name. Of course it doesn't matter if you like the band at all - just the name. Ready? Here are the 65 best band names (in no particular order)…plus room for your suggestions. Feel free to comment how awesome (or stupid) I am and which ones I missed!

MF Doom
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
De La Soul
Meat Puppets
The Velvet Underground
Talking Heads
The Samples
The Killers
Artic Monkeys
Bad Brains
The Beastie Boys
Black Eyed Peas
The Replacements
Mazzy Star
The Wu Tang Clan
System of a Down
Vampire Weekend
SpearHead
Death Cab for Cutie
A Tribe Called Quest
The Flaming Lips
John Brown’s Body
The Sex Pistols
Blue Öyster Cult
The Lost Boyz
Green Day
Jurassic 5
The Who
Led Zeppelin
Toots and the Maytals
Violent Femmes
Portishead
The Tallest Man on Earth
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Sublime
Boogie Down Productions
Social Distortion
Kool and the Gang
Massive Attack
Mobb Deep
The Dropkick Murphys
Radiohead
NWA - Niggas With Attitude
Echo & The Bunnymen
The Disposable Heroes of Hypocrisy
10,000 Maniacs
Hootie and the Blowfish
Dead Kennedys
The Grateful Dead
Rage Against the Machine
Buthole surfers
Gnarls Barkley
Eek-a-Mouse
Zap Mama
Das Racist
The White Stripes
Digital Underground
The Fugees
Goodie Mob
Imogen Heap
Guns n Roses
The Clash
The Cure
Blackstar
The Brand New Heavies

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Musicians who achieved super stardom through YouTube.

Esmee Denters

The Dutch singer caught Justin Timberlake’s attention on YouTube and became the first artist signed to his record label. She released her first album in 2008, which hit it big in the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, and the US. Since then, she’s toured around the world as an opening act for Timberlake as well as Ne-Yo and Enrique Iglasias.

You can watch the first 3 videos she ever uploaded here.

Austin Mahone

Ordained the “Baby Bieber,” the 16-year old Mahone was first discovered on YouTube before signing to Young Money, Cash Money records. His self-titled album was released in 2013 and blew up the charts. He also recently won a VMA award for Artist To Watch This Year. He’s so popular with his 7 gazilion Twitter followers that he Skypes with girls for money!

Arnel Pineda

The Philippines born Pineda was born of humble origins in the poor Asian country of 7,000 islands. Like many Filipinos, he loved singing and had plenty of musical talents. Starting in 2007, he began videoing his karaoke performances and uploading them to YouTube. No matter if it was Aerosmith, Led Zepplin, Survivor, the Eagles, or yes – Journey – he was singing, Pineda sounded flawless. His videos caught notice and he was soon asked to audition for Journey. By the end of that year, he was the official front man of that band. What an incredible rise to stardom!

Charice Pompengo

Another Filipino with a crystalline, emboldened voice, the tiny Charice first caught notice through her YouTube videos. She was soon invited to the Oprah Show, where the Big O called her, “The most talented girl in the world.” That’s about all the endorsement you need to make it in the entertainment business, and Pompengo was signed to a label, made an album, had a hit song, joined the cast of Glee, and signed on to be a judge on the Filipino version of X Factor. Not a bad run!

You can watch her video here.

Greyson Chance

Greyson was even younger than most of his YouTube star cohorts when he caught the world’s attention. Only in 6th grade, he played piano and sang Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” at a school talent show. It was videos and uploaded to YouTube and before he knew it, the world had fallen in love with his golden voice. Ellen DeGeneres heard about the video and invited him to her show to perform. Ellen knew she was on to something huge so she formed her own record label– just for Greyson – and signed him as the first and only act! Since then, he’s peaked at #29 on the US album charts and toured all over the world.

You can watch his 6th grade video here.

Justin Bieber

Before the snarling attitude and annoying condescension, Bieber was just another Canadian kid, albeit with heaps of musical talent. He started in local talent competitions at the age of 12. In 2007, his mother started uploading videos of him singing to YouTube so his family and friends come enjoy his performances. His YouTube account took off and soon Scooter Braun noticed, who later became his manager. Braun flew him to Atlanta where he met with Usher, signed, and the rest is history!

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There are plenty of other YouTube musical sensations, like Andy McKee, Julia Nunes, Chantelle Redman, Avery, Alyssa Bernal, Terra Naomi, Sam Tsui, Cimorelli, Dondria, Boyce Avenue, Ysabella Brave, Cody Simpson, and about 100 more that have achieved superstardom in the time it took you to read this post! Feel free to comment or email us about your favorite YouTube stars!

Friday, September 5, 2014

The 7 best U.S. cities for music.

Austin, Texas.

Although it seems like there are a million rooftop bars with live music in Austin, at last count there were 75 live music venues in the city limits. Add in the annual South By Southwest music festival in March, where hundreds of live shows are played every day for five days straight, and Austin is truly a music mecca.

New York, NY.

From Broadway to the jazz clubs of Harlem to the Metropolitan Opera to hip hop shows selling out Madison Square Garden, New York is the city that never sleeps – and never stops listening to music. There may be other funky musical cities, but none that match the sheer volume of music in NYC.

San Francisco, California.

The Bay Area is where you can let your freak flag fly, and the music scene is a big part of that. A tour around the city is like taking a musical tour of different cultures – with Brazilian samba, Mexican salsa, hippies dancing on Haight street, ravers at 1015 Folsom, and plenty of underground trance, dub, house, and hip hop South of Market. Don’t forget some of the best live music venues in the country – like the Independent – and the annual Outsidelands music festival in Golden Gate Park.

New Orleans, Louisiana.

“N’awleans” is home to Jazz Fest, Mardi Gras, dancing in the street all night on Bourbon Street, marching bands, a rich tradition of Afro Cuban music, Jazz, hip hop, and even its own musical off springs like Bounce. Need I say more?

Nashville, Tennessee.

If paying homage to Elvis isn’t enough, you can check out the best country music in the world at the historic Grand Ole Opry or tour the Musician’s Hall of Fame. Nashville isn’t just about enjoying music, it IS music!

Chicago, Illinois.

The home of the blues, Chi-town offers plenty of music to warm you up even when the weather is brutally cold. But when it’s summertime watch out! Chicagoans love their outdoor concerts, beer festivals with live bands, and of course Lollapalooza in Grant Park.

Denver, Colorado.

As bands tour the country and make their way west toward California, there are a few stops they have to make along the way – and Denver is a must. Venues like the Fox Theater in Denver get just about every band coming through their doors at some time, playing for the Rocky Mountain faithful. Or you can drive up to the nearby Red Rocks amphitheater and see live performances and music festivals at one of the most incredible places on earth.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Take a tour of hip hop music around the world.

I've heard that Jazz and Rhythm & Blues are the only true American art forms, but you can now unequivocally add hip hop to that list. And if the worldwide rap scene is any indication, it's one cultural art form we're exporting in abundance.

I’m not just talking about people from other countries listening to U.S. hip hop – which has been going on for decades now. Foreign MC’s are making some serious noise in the music world, flows that would make any rap innovator, creator, and soul-shaker extremely proud. Though they come from every background, race, language, and corner of the world imaginable, international MC's are serving notice that the mic check is over.

Whether we realize it or not, the world has their own love affair with hip hop. They come to it from different places – those who have achieved some worldwide popularity like MIA from Sri Lanka, The Streets from the UK, and Die Antwoord reppin' South Africa; the voices of poverty and oppression like Youngsta from the streets of South Africa or the Khmer Rap Boyz from my beloved Cambodia. Whether just over our border, like mega-talented Canadian female rapper Eternia, or on the other side of the world like Drunken Tiger from Korea, international rappers stretch and expand our cultural experience and even shatter our ideas about self-identity. But whether they’ve achieved enough legitimacy to have Nas or Snoop rapping alongside on their videos, called the JZ of Brazil (Emicida,) or singing about the Iranian revolution (like Erfan) they always have us getting’ down!

So sit back with a great set of headphones, clear your schedule, and get ready for a trip around the world – courtesy of hip hop.