There are some musical performers that are so dedicated to their performances they will suffer through almost anything to deliver the show they want. When writing about the story of “Through the Wire” by Kanye West I was truly amazed to discover that he recorded the song with his jaw wired shut. This got me to thinking about other musicians who are so dedicated to their music that they preform even when injured.

Keith Emerson, a pianist and composer was best known for his crazy stage performances including playing the piano as it flew around the stage, with pyrotechnics going off. As you may imagine playing a flying piano is very risky business. Emerson confirmed that when once the spinning piano broke his nose, but Keith is a dedicated musician so he just kept on playing as blood got all over the keys. Emerson was injured many times during performances.

Lady Gaga was in the middle of a performance in Barcelona last year when she was feeling a bit under the weather. She vomited on stage in the middle of a song. She and her dancers continued on with the performance as if nothing had happened. Other famous pop stars who have puked during a show and kept performing are Rihanna and Justin Bieber.

http://instagram.com/ladygaga#

Maybe Lady Gaga should think about being more careful on stage, she was also hit in the head with a pole during a performance last year. She suffered a concussion but once again finished the show after leaving the stage briefly.

Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy is dedicated not only to his music but also to his fans, enough so to jump into a brawl between two security guards. Back in 2007 at a Fall Out Boy concert, some security guards from the venue were grabbing fans who got on stage off but the band felt they were doing so too aggressively. One of the bands private security asked one of the venue’s guards to be gentler with the fans and a fist fight broke out. Pete jumped off the stage throwing punches. Later telling the crowd that he was defending his friends.

Drake is another performer that decided to preform even though he had an injury. A few years back he refused to cancel an appearance even though he had hurt his knee. The plan didn’t work out too well for him though, he ended up collapsing on stage in the middle of a song and had to be carried off.

http://instagram.com/champagnepapi#

Sometimes performers get seriously injured on stage. Some artists who took some serious spills on stage, had to go to the hospital and had to cancel shows are Steven Tyler, Pink and Jimmy Buffet.

The post Musicians’ Amazing Acts of Dedication appeared first on iMesh Blog.

Kanye West is at an exciting time in his life. Kim Kardashian is having his baby and his highly anticipated, new album “Yeezus” drops June 18^th. It is hard to remember a time when Kanye West wasn’t an A- list rapper, but Kanye wasn’t always the famous celebrity his is today. Before he was a huge rapper, he was an accomplished but lesser known producer. He produced some very successful hits, including much of Jay-Z’s album “The Blueprint” but he wasn’t a household name.  Kanye wanted more, he once bragged he was going to be more famous than Michael Jackson.

Back in 2002, Kanye was still trying to prove himself as a rapper. Then Kanye recorded a song that would change everything. This song would propel him forward, earn him a Grammy nomination and mark the start of his path to rapper stardom. Craziest part of the story, Kanye recorded the song with his jaw wired shut. He titled the song “Through the Wire” and it detailed what he was going through at the time.

Kanye was in a near fatal accident driving home from the studio is the middle of the night. He made it through the crash, happy to be alive, but in tremendous pain.  He said “The first two or three days were like some of the worst pains in my life.” Kanye had a lot of healing to do after the accident and the surgeries he went through to repair the damage. He was hospitalized for two weeks.

Instead of relaxing at home Kanye went and recorded “Through the Wire” soon after he got out of the hospital. Listening to the recording, you can hear some results of his injuries though he sounds remarkable considering the circumstances.

The song samples Chaka Khan’s “Through the Fire”. Though the song’s overall message is of perseverance through difficult times, it is not depressing or very serious, as you might imagine. It is actually lighthearted and funny. He jokes about what he has to eat saying “I drink a boost for breakfast, and ensure for desert, somebody ordered pancakes I just sip the sizzurp.” He also jokes about complaining to the doctor about getting onto a plane with a metal plate in his chin saying “I said dawg don’t you realize I’ll never make it on the plane now, it’s bad enough I got all this jewelry on, can’t be serious man.”

The song and the music video were huge successes and as they say “the rest is history.” Kanye has come a long way since “Through the Wire” and has certainly made his mark as a rapper. You can download Kanye’s song “Through the Wire” using iMesh and reminisce with us about the beginning of Kanye West – The Superstar Rapper.

The post The Story Behind the Song – Kanye’s Through the Wire appeared first on iMesh Blog.

There are so many music festivals to choose from this summer and unless you have an unlimited budget and whole lot of time on your hands you cannot go to every one of them. There are a few questions you should ask yourself about each festival you are looking into, to help you decide if it is the right for you. Thanks to the internet it is simple to discover music festivals anywhere and pick the perfect one for you.

What music will be playing?  You don’t have to love every single artist that is scheduled to perform but you should try and go to something where you can appreciate the majority or the music available. If you go to a festival for the sole purpose of seeing one band perform you are going to spend a lot time waiting for that one act. This by no way means you should only go to shows where you are a fan of every artist appearing. One of the best parts of music festivals is being introduced to new musical artists. If you live and breathe one type of music you are more likely enjoy a festival specializing in that genre. If you like a broader range of music, look into festivals offering many different genres so you can take in a little bit of everything.

How long is the show? Some festivals take place over a couple of days while other are a single day. Obviously only you can decide how much of your time you can dedicate to the experience. Another factor that you should consider here is the overnight and where you will be sleeping. If the festival involves camping and camping is not your thing, the uncomfortableness could really impact your overall experience. If you love camping, festivals with the option of camping out can be a great way to enjoy multiple days of music without breaking the bank.

How big is the show? If you are new to music festivals, going straight to an enormous show with hundreds of thousands of people may be a bit overwhelming. You should consider starting out smaller. A music festival doesn’t have to have a lineup featuring 100 top musicians in order to be fun. Smaller local festivals can be a fantastic place to discover local bands, and you won’t be overwhelmed by all the stages to choose from. If you are looking to see lots of top bands in one place and aren’t intimidated by a huge festival, consider traveling to one of the major festivals.

Summer music festivals are a special experience, you get to enjoy the sun, the bands and the atmosphere. When it comes to finding the right music festival to go to this summer, you need to look at what best suits you. For a list of upcoming music festivals in the U.S. you can check Music Festival Junkies. If you are going to hit the road to the next summer music festival, you can use iMesh make sure you have plenty of great tunes for the trip.

The post Choosing a Music Festival This Summer appeared first on iMesh Blog.

It’s been a long wait, but it’s finally over. The new Daft Punk album is playing at my house. The french humanoids have swept the world with their album pre-launch campaign. Ads on SNL, mysterious messages, audio snippets of songs floating, celebrity guest stars videos… you name it.

So far, there isn’t an official video for any of the album songs, but here we are giving you a playlist of 2 videos – the first is one of those teasers, where you see Daft Punk unboxing their own new album, followed by the audio for the first single, and probably the biggest hit of the summer, Get Lucky. Featuring Pharrell of the Neptunes, and Nile Rodgers of disco gods, Chic.

Grab the album over at iMesh

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So good to have Queens of the Stone Age back. Arguably, the best rock band on the planet is delivering a new album early next month, called Like Clockwork.

The band has released a series of bloody animated videos for songs from the album, here’s the latest one – My God is the Sun, which is actually the first single as well. All hail the kings of rock and the Queens of the Stone Age..

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David Bowie could have taken the safe route. Release a new album, do a couple of interviews, shoot a few mild videos, and be back home in time for his afternoon tea. But no – even in his 60′s, Bowie likes a bit of a good old controversy. In the video for the title track of his last album, The Next Day, he summons the actors Gary Oldman and Academy winner, Marion Cotillard.

In the video, which has been removed from Youtube, and then brought back, Bowie acts as a sort of Christ and Oldman is christian priest who condemns him. There’s also quite a bit of blood in the chapel. Take a look, and then head over to iMesh to download the entire album.

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Pusha T delivers one of the greatest hip hop tracks we heard in a long time. The Clipse rapper is rhyming over seriously sick beats, which sounds old school as much as it sounds like something totally fresh and futuristic.

The production here is also credited to Kanye West, who proves his heart still beats in the right place.

Check out the track on iMesh too

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30 years in the business, and it looks like the Pet Shop Boys are laughing at the face of laws of physics. The duo has a new album coming out in July, and this track, Axis, sounds totally vibrant and up to date, while drawing from a rich tradition of electronic dance music.

The surprising factor is that we can’t really hear the familiar voice of Neil Tennant, as the track is a pure adrenaline rush of pulsating synthesizers and drum machines. Press play and lose yourself in the music.

The post Never being boring appeared first on iMesh Blog.

Australian pop maestros, Empire of the Sun, are back. 5 years after We Are the People, that timeless slice of pop perfection, they return with Alive, a flamboyant slice of positivity. Check out the song and the video – probably a great way to kick start your week

The post Empire state of mind appeared first on iMesh Blog.

We’re loving this new song by Ciara. There’s something effortless and unpretentious about it. It references the 90′s track, My Boo by Ghostdown DJ’s, which became an often quoted song (Pitbull and Maria Carey for instance).

Check this out, the song is hot!

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