Artist: The Hit List

Filed under: News , Exclusive , Holy Hell , The Hit List AFP Music has a peculiar power. It's long been known that listening to classical music -- the Mozart Effect -- can help students preparing for exams. And a gardening expert recently discovered that plants actually become stronger and more disease resistant if they're exposed to Black Sabbath 's "Sweat Leaf" and other rockers. [...]

Filed under: The Hit List HENRY DILTZ, AFP/Getty Images When Rhode Island's Newport Jazz Festival debuted in 1954, audience members sat in neat rows of folding chairs and applauded politely for acts like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet. Six years later, fans were so anxious to get into the festival, a riot occurred as ticket-less music lovers stormed the gates during a Ray Charles set, prompting a visit from the National Guard. [...]

Filed under: News , Exclusive , The Hit List , Music Appreciation PA The sea has long been a source of inspiration for poets and musicians. From Samuel Taylor Coleridge's lyrical ballad, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" to Iron Maiden 's metal ballad "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," every musical genre and permutation of the art form has been entranced by the romance, the adventures and the misadventures that can happen when a [...]

Filed under: Concerts and Tours , News , Exclusive , The Hit List Getty The documentary " Searching For Sugar Man " received the Oscar for Best Documentary in February. It's about a singer named Rodriguez who was virtually unknown in his home country of the U.S., but was incredibly popular in South Africa and it's only now thanks to the movie's success that North Americans are doubling back and figuring [...]

Filed under: News , Exclusive , The Hit List , Television , Music Appreciation Mad Men Facebook After what feels like an eternity, Mad Men is finally coming back to cable. To celebrate, we used Sunday's season six premiere as an excuse to re-watch last season, over-analyze it for potential upcoming spoilers and listen to the soundtrack several times. Clearly, due to awesomeness, this led to us losing our minds. [...]

Filed under: News , Exclusive , The Hit List PA The music industry has been in a financial free-fall since the turn of the millennium, which has forced many a musician to look into alternative ways to pay for their drugs. One of these ways is to throw their famous name behind some pretty weird products. Most recently, Courtney Love , who hasn't managed her portion of Nirvana 's royalties particularly well , appeared in [...]

Filed under: News , The Hit List , Music Appreciation PA The modern music world is no stranger to scandal and weirdness. Chris Brown hitting Rihanna. Ozzy Osbourne biting the head off a bat. Phil Spector's murder trial. But stuff like that isn't limited to the modern day. Pre-21st century composers may seem boring, but sometimes they were anything but. From mysterious deaths, to visions of ghosts, to crazy fans, the lives of composers were fraught with drama. [...]

Filed under: The Hit List , Spinner Says Spinner There are so many beautiful women in indie. Way more than 41, actually. And plenty of attractive guys, too. Too many, in fact, to list in one highly subjective article written by someone like us, who has no business writing about such things in the first place. When it comes to judging musicians by their art and/or looks, you have your favorites. We have our favorites. [...]

Filed under: News , Exclusive , The Hit List , Music Appreciation Brad Barket, Getty This week in music history is all about controversy, conflict and untimely death -- with a little something in the middle of the week to lighten the mood . It's a big week for Motown history, and on the other end of the spectrum we've got Korn and the Dixie Chicks dealing with [...]

Filed under: News , Exclusive , The Hit List John Sciulli, Getty Images I've only been going to SXSW for a few years, but I've learned a lot of lessons the hard way. This year, I'm taking all the precautions so as not to end up with blistered feet, a nasty head cold, laryngitis and the suspicions of a police officer who probably thought I was trying to find a prostitute at 3AM while I [...]

Filed under: Exclusive , The Hit List , Music Appreciation Hulton Archive Did you know that Neil Young has only ever won two Grammy Awards ? In 2009 he scored Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package for that Neil Young Archives Vol. I (1963-1972) box set, then a year later he won Best Rock Song for "Angry World." We'll let that sink in a bit. [...]

Filed under: News , Exclusive , The Hit List , Music Appreciation whoisarcadefire.tumblr.com Does anyone actually know how to use Tumblr ? Like really know how to use Tumblr? Because even though we're well and capable of identifying the best things about it , it still remains kinda baffling. Except where the Arcade Fire are concerned, that is. See, we know exactly who they [...]

Filed under: News , Exclusive , The Hit List , Music Appreciation Getty | Getty It's that time of year again when candlelit dinners are more than just a fire hazard. But maybe your idea of dating is more tragedy than fairy tale, and Valentine's Day has you feeling decidedly unromantic. Well, have we got a playlist for you. From Nine Inch [...]

Filed under: News , Exclusive , The Hit List SGranitz, WireImage Anyone with " Grammy -winning artist" in their bio is bound to have an edge. The music industry's ultimate award, after all, affords prestige and opens doors. Yet, since the industry began handing out the golden gramophone trophies in 1959, artists have kept them in a variety of places. While Alicia Keys recently told reporters she kept her [...]

Filed under: Exclusive , The Hit List WireImage, Getty Images The Grammy Awards have seen their fair share of wardrobe malfunctions and fashion faux pas. Yes, music's biggest night has been plagued by ill-fitting designer dresses, disastrous color clashing and outdated outfits since its inception in 1959. Thankfully, we've got photographic proof of all the hilariously horrendous style choices made on the red carpet. In celebration of the 2013 Grammy Awards, we looked [...]

Filed under: News , Exclusive , The Hit List , Music Appreciation Everett Collection There are lots and lots of good musicians. Go to any local pub on a Friday night and there's a decent chance you'll be able to see a halfway entertaining singer. The difference between that guy at the pub and the legends known around world are many. There's the hit songs, mainly, but there's also the bizarre, ridiculous and [...]

Filed under: News , Exclusive , The Hit List , New Music , New Releases Anton Corbijn Funeral was released in 2004, Neon Bible was released in 2007 and The Suburbs came out in 2010. Thus being 2013 and going by their history it seems apparent a new Arcade Fire studio album will be out this year. And while there have been confirmations the Montreal band are working on [...]

Filed under: The Hit List , Spinner Says Spinner It's that time of year again. After collectively listening to hundreds of records, the Spinner and AOL Music editors cast their votes on the 50 best albums of 2012. It's quite the mixed bag this year, with classic rockers, indie darlings, R&B rookies, electronica wizards, hip-hop heavies and more making the cut. Take a look at our picks below, and if you have some opinions on [...]

Filed under: News , Exclusive , Pop Culture , The Hit List , Music Appreciation , EDM Dimitrios Kambouris, Getty It's not just the gaming -- the hyper-jumping, mega-blaster shooting, sword-fighting or robot-crashing action -- that makes a great video game. The best video games also have rich characters you feel emotionally invested in, smart plotlines that keep your attention, and, in an area that's constantly underrated, great musical scores. [...]

Filed under: News , Exclusive , The Hit List , Music Appreciation Sean Gallup, Getty Zombie-mania is running as fast and wild as the super-charged version that ate (almost) everyone in 28 Days Later . Between the imminent mid-season finale of The Walking Dead , the new trailer for World War Z starring Brad Pitt , and general Mayan [...]