Category — Exclusive

For those of you who are still fussing over Glee, please stop and pay attention. There is a new TV series that is a million times better (I may or may not be exaggerating here) in terms of the cast’ acting and singing abilities, called SMASH.

SMASH is a musical drama that celebrates the beauty and heartbreak of the Broadway theater, as it centers on a desire to create a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. With a star-studded cast, including the likes of Tony Award nominee Christian Borle (Legally Blonde: The Musical), Emmy Award winner Debra Messing (Will & Grace), Katharine McPhee (American Idol) and Oscar winner Anjelica Huston (Prizzi’s Honor), SMASH stemmed from an idea of executive producer and multiple Emmy and Oscar winner Steven Spielberg.

The music on SMASH has a fantastic mix of original Broadway music from from Tony-winners Mark Shaiman and Scott Wittman, as well as covers such as Florence and The Machine’s Shake It Out.

Pardon my fangirl-ism, but as a HUGE fan of SMASH, it is my greatest pleasure to announce that Spin or Bin Music is streaming the FULL album of The Music of SMASH exclusively on the site! Sit back, relax and enjoy the musical kaleidoscope that you are about to experience!

P.S. My favourite track is History Is Made At Night. Love love love the harmonies and dynamics of the song!

American pop rock band Train who dazzled us at the UPHORIA concert in Singapore last year has a brand new album coming out next week, but you can hear all of California 37 exclusively on Spin or Bin Music!

The eleven-track album, which will be released via Sony Music Singapore, follows the band’s fifth studio album, Save Me, San Francisco, which they released in October 2009.

I was lucky enough to hear the album earlier today – definitely one of their more cohesive albums. It’s pretty brillant with catchiness for every song, and even though the lyrics aren’t exactly fantastic, the great production makes up for it. This album goes in a multitude of directions. There’s some Country on the only duet in the album, there’s some strong slow songs (none are really ballads, which surprised me, but enthused me, too), and there’s a few real ear worms.

Verdict: Lead single Drive By will get this album a great debut on the charts, but I think they may have an enormous Summer smash on their hands with 50 Ways to Say Goodbye. It’s one of the best Train upbeats I’ve heard in quite some time, and the chorus is simply infectious!

This album might be a grower to some, but it’s a very strong effort, nonetheless. It should keep Train on the map again, and might even give them another follow-up Pop hit to Hey, Soul Sister.

Stream the full album now by clicking on the player below!

Train’s California 37 album will be available from April 17 at all good music retailers and online music stores:

bandit.fm
SingTel Amped
StarHub
M1

Miami’s very own hard rock group, Black Tide, has returned to the scene with its long-awaited sophomore album, Post Mortem, after an impressive debut album, 2008′s Light From Above. Post Mortem was recorded with Garth Richardson (Atreyu, Rage Against The Machine) and Josh Wilbur (Lamb Of God) and features 10 new originals, including the current single, That Fire.

There are a couple of surprises in the new record, the first being the noticeable change of direction with regards to the band’s sound – the songs have a more polished production quality, but it did not mean that the energy that Black Tide has always been known for, has been diminished.  Another surprise is the guest vocal appearance by Matt Tuck from Bullet for My Valentine, on the track, Ashes.

Post Mortem is available in stores and online via digital download through iTunes. For tour dates and other information on Black Tide, head on over to the band’s official website, Facebook and Twitter.

Now here comes the fun part!

Spin or Bin Music has an autographed copy of Post Mortem, as well as a Black Tide t-shirt, to give away. All you have to do is to answer this very simple question:

Email your answer, name and contact information to spinorbinmusic (at) gmail dot com by 8pm on Saturday, 24 September. Fastest fingers first, good luck!

Can’t get enough of Glee actor Darren Criss, who happens to play the suave male lead vocal of acapella group The Warblers? Well then, feast your eyes on this: the final part of a four-part series with him explaining all the reasons and interesting tidbits about the song choices track by track on the latest Glee album, Glee: The Music Presents The Warblers.

I really think that Gleeks will totally love Darren’s anecdotal spiels to try to rope you into listening to the songs, and his facial expressions and hand gestures only add to his aura of sincerity. He’s such a brilliant man!

So watch the video if you want to know more about how the song Somewhere Only We Know was chosen for the goodbye scene between Kurt and Blaine (Kurt went back to join the New Directions), and of his experience serenading Barbra Streisand! I promise you’ll be smiling the whole time!

Glad Mike Posner had a fantastic time in Taipei and Hong Kong! He needs to visit Singapore soon because our country is remarkably green, lickably clean and we have the most marvelous food around! And yeah, Mike Posner has the warmest fans in Singapore too!

… virtual tour that is

Come November 5, Mike Posner will make an exclusive stopover on Spin or Bin Music as part of his virtual world tour. Mr. Cooler Than Me is gonna turn Spin or Bin Music into Spin City as he dishes on the inspiration and meaning of each track from the second half of his debut album 31 Minutes to Takeoff.

The 22-year-old has already embarked on a virtual tour around the cyber world. Besides track by track commentary, Mike Posner will be putting up exclusive never before seen concert footage, interviews etc at each stopover.

Join the virtual street team to help poster Mike’s upcoming tour stop for a chance to win great Posner prizes. The Top 10 Posterers for each stop will win a Virtual World Tour T-Shirt. Top Posterers are those that get the most clicks on the banners they place around the web. What’s more? The Top Posterer (and guest) across the entire tour will win a fly away to a destination in Europe to meet Mike there during his Jan/Feb 2011 promo trip!

So what are you waiting for? Jump on board the plane with Mike for his virtual tour around the cyber world now!

Spin or Bin Music is proud to be the only South East Asia stop on Mike Posner’s virtual tour.