Taking Back Sunday is an American alternative rock/emo band from Long Island, New York. The band was formed by guitarist Eddie Reyes in 1999. The band's members are Adam Lazzara, John Nolan, Shaun Cooper, and Mark O'Connell (drums), accompanied by Nathan Cogan (guitar) for their live performances. Nolan and Cooper left the group in 2003 before rejoining in 2010.
Carl Terrell Mitchell, better known mononymously as Twista, is an American rapper. He is best known for his chopper style of rapping and for once holding the title of fastest rapper in the world according to Guinness World Records in 1992, being able to pronounce 598 syllables in 55 seconds.
Irish hip hop is the response to the hip hop cultural movement that originated in New York City in the 1970s which, at that time, was most popular in the borough of The Bronx. In the 1980s, breakdancing and graffiti were the first elements of hip hop culture to preface the Irish hip hop movement, which had started to emerge in Ireland.
Mastodon is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2000. The group is composed of Troy Sanders (bass/vocals), Brent Hinds, Bill Kelliher, and Brann Dailor (drums/vocals). Mastodon has released seven studio albums, as well as a number of other releases. The band's 2002 debut album, Remission, garnered significant critical acclaim for its unique sound. Mastodon's second full-length release, Leviathan, is a concept album based on the novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. Three magazines awarded the record Album of the Year in 2004: Revolver, Kerrang! and Terrorizer.
Tenacious D is the first studio album by American comedy rock band Tenacious D, released on September 25, 2001 by Epic Records. The album's polished production was a departure from the band's acoustic origins, due in part to the production of the Dust Brothers.
Republic of Loose were an Irish funk rock band from Dublin. Formed in 2001, the band formerly consisted of lead vocalist Mick Pyro, bass guitarist and vocalist Benjamin Loose, keyboardist Darragh, guitarists and vocalists Dave Pyro and Darach O' Laoire and drummer and percussionist Coz Noelen. Additional percussion and vocals were provided by Orla La and Emily Rose.
"Where the Streets Have No Name" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1987 album The Joshua Tree and was released as the album's third single in August 1987. The song's hook is a repeating guitar arpeggio using a delay effect, played during the song's introduction and again at the end. Lead vocalist Bono wrote the lyrics in response to the notion that it is possible to identify a person's religion and income based on the street on which they lived, particularly in Belfast. During the band's difficulties recording the song, producer Brian Eno considered erasing the song's tapes to have them start from scratch.
"Heard 'Em Say" is a song by American hip-hop recording artist and record producer Kanye West. It was included as the opening song on the track-listing of his second studio album Late Registration (2005). The track was produced by West with Jon Brion and contains excerpts of "Someone That I Used to Love" as performed by Natalie Cole. The song features a guest appearance from Adam Levine, lead vocalist of the American pop rock band Maroon 5. West and Levine met for the first time and forged a friendship during a flight to Rome set for the 2004 MTV Europe Music Awards. West introduced himself to Levine and played tracks from his forthcoming sophomore album on his iPod. When they came across a demo for "Heard 'Em Say," the singer had ready an unused chorus he'd written for his band that he felt was perfect for it. The two artists decided to collaborate, working together to write the song on the same plane.
Brian Edward Patrick Kennedy is an Irish singer-songwriter and author from Belfast. He scored a number of hit singles and albums in the UK and RoI during the 1990s and 2000s. He represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 and finished in 10th place. Brian is the younger brother of the late musician Bap Kennedy.
"Hangar 18" is a song by American thrash metal band Megadeth from the 1990 album Rust in Peace. UFO conspiracy theories, or possibly Hangar 18, the 1980 film based on those theories, inspired drummer Nick Menza to write the lyrics. Shortly thereafter, frontman Dave Mustaine composed the bulk of the music. The intro is a rapidly strummed version of the D minor arpeggio that Mustaine wrote for the Metallica instrumental track "The Call of Ktulu", which was the final Metallica song for which he was given writing credit. Hangar 18 is located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, and it is speculated that an alien aircraft was brought there from Roswell in 1947. The song reached number #25 on the Irish Singles Chart, also reached number #26 on the UK Singles Chart.
Delorentos are a Dublin-based Irish alternative rock band, formed in 2005. They consist of Rónan Yourell, Kieran McGuinness, Níal Conlan and Ross McCormick. The band's debut album In Love with Detail was critically acclaimed in Ireland, being nominated for the Choice Music Prize and in the Best Irish Album category at the 2007 Meteor Awards, at which Delorentos were also nominated for Best New Irish Band. Two extended plays have also been released; their debut release, titled Leave It On, in October 2005, and the follow-up EP, titled Do You Realise, came out in November 2007. The Delorentos discography consists of a selection of singles which impacted on the Irish Singles Chart, such as "The Rules" in May 2006 and "Stop" in July 2007.
Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings is the fifth studio album by Counting Crows, released in the United States on March 25, 2008. It is thematically divided into two sides: the rock music of Saturday Nights and the more country-influenced Sunday Mornings. Vocalist and lyricist Adam Duritz states that the album "is about really wanting to mean something and failing to do it. You want your life to mean something. You want to be somebody and then what you turn out to be is so much less than what you thought you were going to be."
This is a summary of the year 2008 in the Irish music industry.
"Eve, the Apple of My Eye" is a single by the Irish indie rock band, Bell X1, taken from the band's second album Music in Mouth.
Tramar Lacel Dillard, better known by his stage name Flo Rida, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Carol City, Florida. His 2007 breakout single "Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital download sales at the time of its release.
"Homecoming" is a song by American hip-hop recording artist and record producer Kanye West. It was included as the twelfth song on the track-listing of his third studio album Graduation (2007). The track was produced by West with Warryn Campbell and features a guest appearance from Chris Martin, lead vocalist of the British alternative rock band Coldplay. Chris Martin sings the song's chorus and outro and provides a piano-driven motif. The instrumentation combines rhythmic, gospel style piano riffs with spare, reggae-tinged grooves of a heavy yet buoyant drumbeat and ponderous bass line. The song features pop-oriented refrains while also integrating elements of post-punk and new wave with arena rock sensibilities. "Homecoming" is written as a tribute dedicated to West's hometown of Chicago, Illinois. His conceptual lyricism expresses an extended metaphor where he personifies Chicago as a childhood sweetheart to convey his relationship with the city.
Sea Sew is the debut studio album released by Lisa Hannigan. It was released in Ireland on 12 September 2008, with the lead single, "Lille", made available as a free download on lisahannigan.ie on 25 August.
Shock Value II is the third studio album by American record producer and rapper Timbaland. It serves as the second volume of the platinum-selling Shock Value (2007) which topped charts worldwide and received 16 platinum certifications.
Going Out in Style is the seventh studio album by the Dropkick Murphys and was released on March 1, 2011. It was the band's second studio release on their Born & Bred Records label. The album is the band's highest charting to date making its debut at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 200 album charts. It was also the first to feature new member Jeff DaRosa.
