The NEW New Power Generation?

​The Voice recently announced that its celeb judges -- Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Blake Shelton, and Maroon 5's Adam Levine -- would attempt a medley of Prince tunes in its second episode this season.

No word on a guest appearance by the celebrated songwriter himself, but this is a refreshing move for a show fighting to top American Idol/X Factor with Kelly Clarkson, Ne-Yo, Miranda Lambert, Alanis Morissette, Lionel Richie, Robin Thicke, Babyface, and Jewel entering the fold as judges. Based upon what we know, it's just our original four combining for a Prince party. Obviously, none of them should perform "Purple Rain," but here are a few selections (not easy to find on YouTube, obviously) that would go a long way in protecting the purple brand.
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​If you haven't heard by now, the Twin Cities Hip-Hop Awards recently celebrated it's sixth year. What started out as a simple MySpace poll back in 2007 had turned into a semi-respectable affair -- often selling out venues filled with local heads connecting and having a good time -- but times have changed. More >>

SoulTrain.com

​There's one fewer soul survivor now that Don Cornelius has passed. The producer, creator, and host of Soul Train was found dead Wednesday morning at his Los Angeles home. He was 75, and his death was reportedly a suicide by self-inflicted gunshot wound.

There really should be a movie about Cornelius and Soul Train because this show served as one of the only portals into the realm of black culture in American music found on syndicated television. Not only was it a trend-spotting locus for the best in current sounds, but the politics of dancing, and the fashion not on display in the windows of Sears figured heavily into Cornelius' formula.
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​Yes, Craig Finn week has arrived in the Twin Cities. In celebration of the release of his new solo album, Clear Heart Full Eyes, the Hold Steady's good-timing frontman is in town this weekend. He's got gigs at the Triple Rock, Treehouse, and the Current's UBS Forum to put an enormous, declaratory mark on the days ahead.

City Pages spoke to Finn recently, and a portion of the conversation appears in this week's print edition. One exchange that didn't make it in was regarding book/movie/TV series Friday Night Lights, which proved inspiring in this album's creation. Read Finn's insights below.
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Photo by Tony Nelson

​The Supersuckers
7th St. Entry, Minneapolis
January 31, 2012

In less capable hands, this would have been just another aging, veteran rock band rolling through Minneapolis, looking to get paid for nothing, and eager to get the hell out of the Minnesota winter as quickly as possible. But we're talking about the Supersuckers here, the self-proclaimed Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band In the World, and they clearly don't go out like that. The seasoned Seattle quartet came to entertain the raucous, sold-out Entry crowd with everything they had, delivering rousing new songs as well as digging deep in their back catalog during their boisterous 80-minute set. More >>

Photo by B Fresh

​Twin Cities, meet Collin Ward. He's the entire cast of Observer Drift at this point, and things are blossoming nicely for him at the moment. Add him to the exciting stories that originate from just a Bandcamp site and a dream. In Jonathan Garrett's piece in this week's issue, we find that Ward is only 20, and isn't much different than any number of post-teens crashing with their parents. Except that he toiled away to create his stellar debut, Corridors, instead of waiting around for a band to help him out. Today, Gimme Noise is pleased to point a few more eyeballs to "Warm Waves," an undeniable breath of fresh, synth-fused air.
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​The exuberant Detroit party band Electric Six returns First Avenue, a room that they claim is one of their "favorite venues in the world," on May 11. And to prove just how special the legendary local club and their Twin Cities fans are to them, the band will be recording this show (as well as the next night at the Double Door in Chicago) as part of a planned live double-album.
 

Unsurprisingly, the first disc will feature the band's celebrated debut album, Fire, in its entirety, which they will play front-to-back during their second set at the Ave. The second disc will feature non-Fire material culled from the band's other albums, and these songs will be part of the first set that E6 plays at First Avenue. Now Fire has a majority of the band's big hits, so "Danger! High Voltage" and "Gay Bar" will obviously be played. But here are five Electric Six's lesser-known, but still explosive, songs that we hope still find their way into their first set.

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​Fresh off of bringing Wednesday night's Best New Bands showcase to a triumphant close at First Avenue, local MC MaLLy gives his fans a taste of what his hotly anticipated forthcoming LP will sound like with the brand new track "Future's Classic." The fresh, throwback beats were laid down by Miami producer Rem', but MaLLy truly carries the track with his spirited, emphatic verses and clever wordplay, giving everyone lyrical proof of why he was tabbed to be a big part of Atmosphere's sold-out Welcome to Minnesota Tour in February.

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​Add another annoying item to the list of things Justin Vernon had nothing to do with leading up to the February 12 Grammy Awards. First, there was this treacherous ice sculpture of a poster, and now there's a 30-second ad trumpeting Bon Iver's involvement the We Are Music campaign yet again, featuring a snippet of "Holocene."

It plays out basically the way the Grammys people seem to want to pigeonhole this guy: Some animated snow, some trees, and a stiff breeze. And as you can see from the image on the right, it forever links Vernon to the late-'70s Kansas power ballad "Dust in the Wind."
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​Cinephiles who appreciate a 110-137 BPM range take note: The Chemical Brothers: Don't Think concert film is in movie theaters for an exclusive one-night showing Wednesday, February 1. Popcorn-rockin' beats? You bet. And the best thing about this news locally is that Gimme Noise has a pair of tickets to the showing at Block E that you can win without really having to think much about it at all.
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