Artist: Hitlist

Filed under: The Hit List A musician with a theme song? Don't all artists' songs represent? While that might be the case, so many of our favorite bands rep themselves and reference themselves in their lyrics, we thought we'd take a look at the different strategies performers enlisted to define themselves, describe themselves and make their mark. 'Theme From The Monkees,' The Monkees "Hey, hey, we're the Monkees" states [...]

Filed under: The Hit List , Free MP3 Download of the Day Who doesn't love free music? No one, that's who. Every day, Spinner is proud to feed the music-hungry masses with free tunes from some of our favorite artists, and this year we've featured everything from Miike Snow 's exuberant electro-pop to the timeless rocking of punk veteran Bob Mould . Help yourself to the 10 most downloaded MP3s of 2009 from our 'Free MP3 of the Day' feature. [...]

Filed under: The Hit List They wanna rock 'n' roll all night -- and study every day. These rock stars by trade are also professors, scientists, authors, techies and, most of all, nerds by design. From past pioneers to today's trailblazers, guitars and geeks go together like eyeglasses and tape. Back by popular demand, from your comments to our ears, it's Revenge of the Rock Nerds Part 2. Henry Rollins [...]

Filed under: The Hit List Perfectly matching a song with a scene is nothing new (see: Scorsese, Martin ), but Wes Anderson takes the movie soundtrack to new levels of artistry. In all his films, the young writer-director displayed a record geek's ability to wow viewers with a song that's not only enjoyable but, at its best, makes a scene instantly memorable. With the release of ' Fantastic Mr. Fox ,' Anderson's first animated feature, Spinner picked the director's 10 best music moments. [...]

Filed under: Video , The Hit List Ever since 'Weird Al' Yankovic instructed the public to ' Eat It ,' music videos have been ripe for mockery. And rightly so: The line between hip and hilarious is a fine one, indeed. For comedians, the rabid pursuit of cool on constant display in music videos is easy pickings. And maybe it's because comics secretly want to be pop stars, but some of the [...]

Filed under: The Hit List After posting our take on the very best and worst Beatles covers of all time, we took to Twitter to ask our readers to name their favorite Fab Four tributes. Take a look at some of the most popular submissions below. Don't see your cherished cover here? Leave it in the comments below! [...]

Filed under: The Hit List It's always been a tall task to cover the Beatles . Frank Sinatra called 'Something' "the greatest love song ever written," then went out, night after night, and put a hurting on it: "You stick around, Jack, it might show." If the Chairman of the Board couldn't do the song justice, where does that leave Telly Savalas ? Goldie Hawn, ' A Hard Day's Night ' [...]

Filed under: The Hit List Covering a Beatles song is like taking up residence in the Great Pyramid: The foundation is unshakable, but anything you bring along for decoration is bound to lower the property value. Of the thousands of artists who have tried, only a few have made themselves at home in the band's music. The Jam, ' And Your Bird Can Sing ' The Clash may have [...]

Filed under: The Hit List Man, those FreeCreditReport.com jingles can be pretty annoying. But the thing is -- and we hate to admit this -- they're also kind of catchy. Though classic-rock hits have nudged out original jingles as the primary musical vehicle for selling stuff, the very best advertising songs are synonymous with their products -- and have become burned into our brains. Here are our favorite commercial tunes throughout the years: Subway, 'Five-Dollar Footlong' [...]

Filed under: The Hit List With Major League Baseball's World Series between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies beginning Wednesday night, viewers each night will hear at least four renditions of 'The Star-Spangled Banner,' but the quality of the singing isn't guaranteed. America's national anthem has been butchered repeatedly at sporting events by everyone from athletes to amateurs to top recording artists. Hopefully, this series' baseball fans won't be subjected to anything as wretched as these 10 renditions. Carl Lewis [...]

Filed under: The Hit List Halloween is the time of year to welcome the spirits of those who have gone before us. In the music industry, though, every day is El Dia de los Muertos , especially when los muertos can be reanimated to ensure more record sales. "It's f---ing weird to be doing a song with someone who is deceased," as Korn 's Jonathan Davis once said. Give [...]

Filed under: The Hit List George Harrison seemed like the gentle Beatle , but even he reserved special animosity for the one figure we all love to hate -- the taxman. Here's a list of vocalists, from Nas to Luciano Pavarotti , who have sung the blues over their failure to pay their back taxes. Nas In October 2009, the Queens, N.Y. rapper [...]

Filed under: The Hit List Do you remember that Madonna song 'Hollywood'? Neither do we. Which is why it's surprising to see it on her recent greatest-hits collection, 'Celebration.' Of course, it's not the first time an artist has messed with the best. Now, best-of records can be wonderful. And they simplify life by keeping us from buying more than one Steve Miller record. Still, performers and labels often find ways to take the "great" out of greatest hits, which is why we count down the 10 [...]

Filed under: The Hit List Psychotic, axe-wielding children. Gore-streaked dancing zombies. A troubled teen with a razor, a death wish and a TV set filled with skeletons -- artists have long mined the depths of the dark side when putting pictures to their music. And whether your youthful memories of Halloween are of tricks (packets of raisins polluting your candy bag) or treats (a randy game of bobbing for apples), most of us are always up for a good shiver come October 31. So to [...]

Filed under: The Hit List Rock is all about selling a persona, and sometimes you have to change more than just your haircut. Whether it's to seem more "real," to appeal to bigger audiences or just for fun, musicians have been rocking altered accents for ages. Here are some of our favorite fakers of dubious dialects. Shania Twain It's a scientific fact that Canadians are virtually indistinguishable from Americans [...]

Filed under: The Hit List First comes love, then comes marriage. Then comes sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Sometimes a romance between band members can come crashing in a dreary haze of booze and broken hearts. This is the story of the bands that stick it out because the bonds of music are stronger than any love affair -- though the royalty checks can't hurt, either. Fleetwood Mac [...]

Filed under: The Hit List The Peace Bell will be rung at the United Nations on Monday, Sept. 21, officially commemorating this year's International Day of Peace. The lofty ideal of world harmony has been a common theme for songwriters throughout music history, with particular urgency during the conflict-challenged 1960s and '70s. The fact that there's been a recent resurgence in peace-loving lyrics only means that we're still a long way off from the goal. [...]

Filed under: The Hit List , Canada Now in its fourth year, the Polaris Music Prize has gone from upstart award to much-coveted honour within the Canadian music scene. While still largely rooted within the "indie" milieu, this year's nominees run the gamut from Metric 's sleek alt-pop to F---ed Up 's power-punk to K'naan 's world-hop. In the run-up to Monday's live-to-air ceremony (all 10 nominated acts are performing at the awards for the first time) there's been much debate over who will take [...]

Filed under: Exclusive , The Hit List , Movies Toronto may be filled with movie stars this week, but there's also a metric ton of musicians appearing onscreen at the Toronto International Film Festival . V ampire-rock comedy 'Suck,' about a band that sells its collective soul to get a gig during New York's CMJ Music Marathon , premiered at TIFF with the most musician cameos per frame, boasting appearances by Iggy Pop , Moby , Henry Rollins , Rush [...]

Filed under: The Hit List They say winners never quit, but in the music biz there's something to be said for going out at the top of your game. Whether they left for greener pastures, fled amid feuds and controversy, or just dropped off the face of the earth, here are some of the biggest quitters in rock music history. D'Arcy Quits the Smashing Pumpkins : After five albums with the [...]