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Leanne Pearson Releases Heartfelt Ode to Love and Marriage In “I Do Again”

Eric Alper
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Leanne Pearson Releases Heartfelt Ode to Love and Marriage In “I Do Again”

Winnipeg, MB-born, Nashville, TN-based songwriting force Leanne Pearson has done it again with her new single. A culmination of her songwriting spark, notorious humor, and unique lyricism, “I Do Again” is a fresh ode to marriage and love.

The talented, multidimensional writer brings to the song the deeply personal story of the tumultuous journey she and her husband embarked upon as they planned their wedding nearly four years ago. But the restrictions of the 2020 global pandemic caused them to reschedule three times before finally canceling their big day and eloping—with an Elvis-themed ceremony, no less! In the fall of 2023, though, they finally got the wedding of their dreams, with friends and family in attendance.

The single speaks to the unconditional love the couple has for one another; despite the obstacles they faced, Pearson and her husband have learned to roll with the punches and take each challenging moment as a lesson in commitment and perseverance. And at the end of the day, Pearson found herself saying “I do” no less than three times.

“Now I got 3 rings for each time I said yes / No there ain’t nothing I’d change about it / I said it then, and I’ll say it now / I’ll take you by the hand and say I do again,” she writes in the new single.

Pearson’s country roots shine through as the singer sets a lyrical storyline to a traditionally twangy musical backdrop. Her ability to craft a compelling and emotional story through song has been recognized time and time again with a Top 50 and multiple Top 100 songs at Canadian Country Radio. This songwriting expertise takes the spotlight once more in “I Do Again.”

Pearson hasn’t stopped writing music since she wrote her first song at age 10. Now, years later, she’s still weaving stories with her words, and “I Do Again” places her talent, creativity, and passion for writing (and for her husband) center stage. It’s a single listeners will no doubt return to, time and time again.

Mockumentary/Spy Caper/Concert Video/Mashup Film “Mantrap” Made By Pop Group ABC To Promote Their Album The Lexicon Of Love In 1983

Eric Alper
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Mockumentary/Spy Caper/Concert Video/Mashup Film “Mantrap” Made By Pop Group ABC To Promote Their Album The Lexicon Of Love In 1983

A longform video that showcases the British pop group ABC, using songs from their album “The Lexicon of Love” to tell a spy-caper story of how the unsuspecting lead singer, Martin Fry, is duped into fronting the band because of his striking resemblance to another man associated with espionage. Will he stumble onto the deception before it is too late for him?

Woodsy Owl In the Anti-Pollution Short Film “Help Woodsy Spread the Word” From 1977

Eric Alper
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Woodsy Owl In the Anti-Pollution Short Film “Help Woodsy Spread the Word” From 1977

This is a musical film starring Woodsy Owl. It was designed to help elementary school children recognize pollution problems and their solutions. And because you’re watching it here, you know it’ll be…different.

French-Canadian Commercial for the Plymouth Laser Featuring Celine Dion In 1989

Eric Alper
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French-Canadian Commercial for the Plymouth Laser Featuring Celine Dion In 1989

Known for her powerful vocals and international success, Dion’s involvement in a commercial for the Plymouth Laser in 1989 was a great strategic move by the automobile company to leverage her rising star power. Combining the allure of a popular Canadian singer with the promotion of a car like the Plymouth Laser would likely have captured the attention of the French-Canadian audience, creating a memorable and impactful marketing moment during that era.

Singer-Songwriter Ryan Burger Chronicles a Lifetime in Two Years with Sophomore Album The More They Stay The Same

Eric Alper
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Singer-Songwriter Ryan Burger Chronicles a Lifetime in Two Years with Sophomore Album The More They Stay The Same

Toronto singer-songwriter Ryan Burger has lived more lifetimes in the past two years than most people ever will. On his sophomore album The More They Stay The Same, he offers listeners his gentle epiphanies from the road trip of a lifetime. The record, featuring lead single “Running Through Your Heart,” is everywhere now.

Burger embarked on his adventure amidst the 2021 lockdown, initially seeking solace at a homesteading festival in Michigan. Several chance encounters propelled him through a whirlwind journey across the Midwest USA. After accepting an invitation to an Ohio pig roast, he traversed Western Michigan, and detoured to Nashville and Franklin, Tennessee, where he indulged in a Titans game and found meaningful connections with fellow musicians. A missed connection during his flight to Cleveland briefly stranded him in Orlando, yet he eventually made it to the long-awaited pig roast. Finally, he found his way to Arrowhill Farm in New Era, Michigan, where Troy—a farmer, musician, producer, and recording engineer—welcomed him despite not actively seeking assistance at the time.

“After a couple of months, when it was evident that I would be there a while, Troy and I started discussing making a record,” Burger recalls. “One thing led to another and next thing I know I’m shoveling goat crap by day and creating an album by night. We finished the album just in the knick of time before my visa expired and almost exactly 2 years later here we are with the finished product!”

As he was working on the album, Burger began realizing that he was inadvertently creating a spiritual sequel to his debut album Everything Must Change. Despite intending a fresh chapter, Burger grappled with an essential core to his work.

“There were things I did on my first album, both good and bad, that I did again on this album,” he explains. “Whether it was vocally, or with arrangement or production decisions, I found myself feeling that perhaps I hadn’t changed as much as I thought I had. Not just musically, but as a person as well. I grow and I adapt and I develop but at the end of the day I am still me and my past is always my past.”

Where Everything Must Change saw Burger looking for purpose and fulfillment in all sorts of vices, The More They Stay The Same kicks off with him showing those old ways out the door. Indeed, on the opening track he simply throws up “Deuces” to the dead-end passions of his youth, before then steering in a more wholesome, entirely new direction. Burger sings about the transformed heart of a man who adopts a daughter on standout track two “I’ll Raise You As My Own”, followed by his best advice and wishes for little ones everywhere on “Before You Lay Your Head.”

The next four songs wind through his personal accounts of love lost and found (“Dance With Me,” “Running Through Your Heart”), then hope acquired and strenuously maintained (“Groundwork for Love” and “My Rightful Place”). Finally, Burger turns the lens lyrically on his audience, closing with the question, “What Have You Got To Lose”– That is, where does fear of the unknown keep you from setting off on a similar great adventure of your own?

“Just like my musical style, my writing covers a wide range of topics,” says Burger, “From love and romance to deeper musings about the meaning of life and the state of the world. I often attempt to be self aware and analytical of my thoughts and behaviour in my writing. It acts as a form of therapy, but also a way to hold myself accountable, and to hopefully encourage the listener to really look within and engage with the things they need to change in order to grow. I hope that my music is first of all enjoyable, but that it also somehow can improve listeners’ lives.”

All at once introspective, optimistic, and seasoned by life, Ryan Burger’s music is an offering and a gift. The More They Stay The Same is a must listen.

Singer/Songwriter Erika Kulnys Releases Double-A Side “Alcanzando la Rosa” and “Fantasma” From Forthcoming Stand Together Album

Eric Alper
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Singer/Songwriter Erika Kulnys Releases Double-A Side “Alcanzando la Rosa” and “Fantasma” From Forthcoming Stand Together Album

Singer/songwriter Erika Kulnys is sharing her latest cross-cultural collaboration with a double-A side release of her singles “Alcanzando la Rosa” and “Fantasma” from her forthcoming album, Stand Together.

Both tracks were recorded with all-star Cuban bands in Habana at the premier EGREM studios, as well as Ojalá, Cuban music legend Silvio Rodriguez’ personal recording studio. Consistent with Kulnys’ larger discography and life’s work, both songs speak to larger themes of love, social justice, and human’s inescapable interconnection to the earth and one another.

Kulnys describes “Fantasma” as “a call to action to listen to the voice in our hearts that tells us to rise up against fascism, patriarchy and destruction of Mother Earth for corporate gain.” The sensual track was co-written with Cuban artist Jeniffer Dalía Morales Rodriguez, inspired by an original idea from Dariel Milan.

Alternatively, “Alcanzando la Rosa” is a love song Kulnys originally wrote in Belfast with Gareth Dunlop which her Cuban drummer El Pulpo and friend Josue Taboada later translated to Spanish. Though she describes the original English “Reaching for the Rose” as a song “about a broken heart,” she now contends that it “has evolved into an anthem about longing for love and seeking it despite the thorns that cross its path.”

Originally from Nova Scotia and now Berlin-based, Erika Kulnys is no stranger to music as a vehicle for international diplomacy. A recipient of the prestigious Watson fellowship, she has played alongside revolutionary bands in Venezuela, performed samba-influenced hip hop alongside Brazilian youth, taught music to disabled children in India, and researched folk music’s influence on the peace movement in Northern Ireland.

Kulnys recently participated in the Folk Alliance International Private Showcases following her mainstage performances at the 2019 Copenhagen Geyser Festival, the 2017 Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival, and the 2016 Copenhagen Pride Mainstage. Her music has been played internationally on the CBC, NPR, Sirius XM, and BBC.

My Next Read: “FINGERS CROSSED” By Miki Berenyi

Eric Alper
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My Next Read: “FINGERS CROSSED” By Miki Berenyi

The extraordinary and searingly honest personal story of musician Miki Berenyi, revealing the highs and lows of navigating the madness of the ’90s music industry.

Formed in 1988, Lush were part of the London gig scene during one of the most vibrant and creative periods in UK music. Now, Miki Berenyi tells all.

The book begins with her childhood of extremes. From the bohemian lifestyle of her father’s social circle to the privileged glamour of her mother’s acting career, Miki’s young life was a blur of travel, celebrities and private schooling. But frequent relocation, parental neglect and the dark presence of her abusive grandmother resulted in crippling shyness, mental-health issues and a vulnerability to exploitation. The route out of this hole was music – a passion shared by schoolmate Emma Anderson. The teenagers began attending gigs together and would eventually go on to form Lush.

Peppered with anecdotes involving a cast of hundreds (including Blur, Sean Connery, Tracey Emin, Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers), this uncompromising autobiography documents Lush’s thrilling rise, dispiriting fall and subsequent bounceback, reliving the tours, recording sessions and problematic managers they experienced along the way. But at the heart of the book are Miki’s own battles: the conflict between her mouthy public persona and her thin-skinned private identity; the trials of being a woman in an infuriatingly male world; the struggle to find a middle ground between safe indie obscurity and sellout international success. The memoir also explores Miki’s complex relationship with Emma – one that has fluctuated between camaraderie and rivalry over the years – and addresses the most devastating tragedy of all: the suicide of her soulmate, Lush drummer Chris Acland.

Told through frank confession, wry humour and emotional honesty, this is the incredible tale of a trailblazing woman and a seminal band.

The Rolling Stones Announce ‘Live At The Wiltern’ Out March 8

Eric Alper
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The Rolling Stones Announce ‘Live At The Wiltern’ Out March 8

The Rolling Stones and Mercury Studios proudly release The Rolling Stones Live At The Wiltern on DVD + 2CD; Blu-Ray + 2CD, 2CD, 3LP (3 variants: Black, Gold (D2C Exclusive), and Black & Bronze Swirl (local retail Exclusive) on March 8, 2024.

One of the greatest box-office successes of 2002/2003, 117 shows grossing over $300 million, The Rolling Stones’ “Licks World Tour”—in support of their 40 Licks compilation—celebrated the band’s 40th Anniversary in splendid fashion, highlighted by this intimate Nov. 22 L.os Angeles show at The Wiltern. With its 2,000+-seat capacity, it would prove to be a welcome respite from the global stadiums and arenas. Fans knew they were in for something special when gems like “Stray Cat Blues,” “No Expectations” and “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love” (complete with the co-author of this 1964 Soul Classic, Soloman Burke) rocked the house.

Over 80 songs were performed on this tour from all eras of the band’s glorious one-of-a-kind history. Mick Jagger played guitar, harmonica and keyboards at various stops. Keith Richards, stellar on guitar and vocals, provided both visual and musical highlights throughout the night. On stage right, Ron Wood’s complimentary guitar work weaves seamlessly with Richards’ playing. Drummer Charlie Watts [1941-2021], as always, was the heart’n’soul backbeat that drove the band forward. A-List musicians bassist Darryl Jones, keyboardist Chuck Leavell, saxophonist Bobby Keys and backing vocalists Lisa Fischer, Bernard Fowler and Blondie Chaplin added immeasurable flourishes.

With Tom Petty, Neil Young, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Depp, Stephen Sills and Eddie Murphy in the audience, The Rolling Stones proceeded to raise the roof to put on arguably one of their best shows ever.

Ron Wood states “We couldn’t really go through a whole tour doig predictable shows. We’ve got to have songs out of the blue.” Adds Mick Jagger “…it makes it interesting for the audience and the band. I’ve got to think a lot more about set lsts than I’ve ever done.” Enthuses Keith Richards: “Sometimes on the road, the weather’s bad and half the band’s down with something, but apart from those obvious blue days, there’s an amazing freshness about these guys.”

3LP Track Listing
Side A:
Jumpin’ Jack Flash
Live With Me
Neighbours
Hand of Fate

Side B:
No Expectations
Beast of Burden
Stray Cat Blues

Side C:
Dance, Part 1
Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (with Solomon Burke)
That’s How Strong My Love Is
Going To A Go-Go

Side D:
Thru And Thru
You Don’t Have To Mean It
Can’t You Hear Me Knocking

Side E:
Rock Me Baby
Bitch
Honky Tonk Women
Start Me Up

Side F:
Brown Sugar
Tumbling Dice

2CD Tracklisting:
CD1:
Jumpin’ Jack Flash
Live With Me
Neighbours
Hand of Fate
No Expectations
Beast of Burden
Stray Cat Blues
Dance, Part 1
Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (with Solomon Burke)
That’s How Strong My Love Is
Going To A Go-Go
Band Introductions

CD2:
Thru And Thru
You Don’t Have To Mean It
Can’t You Hear Me Knocking
Rock Me Baby
Bitch
Honky Tonk Women
Start Me Up
Brown Sugar
Tumbling Dice

DVD & Blu-ray have the same tracklisting as both the 3LP and 2CD

Reneé Rapp Unveils New Song “World Burn” From The Official Mean Girls Soundtrack

Eric Alper
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0
Reneé Rapp Unveils New Song “World Burn” From The Official Mean Girls Soundtrack

The latest single from the official soundtrack to Paramount’s upcoming MEAN GIRLS movie, “World Burn” sung by Reneé Rapp and The Cast of Mean Girls is out now. Rapp’s powerful performance of the song was first seen during her breakout role playing Regina George in Mean Girls on Broadway. Rapp’s rendition quickly caught the attention of fans not only for her incredible display of vocal talent, but also the ability to bring both vulnerability and authenticity to the character through her singing. Now, reprising her Broadway debut in the movie adaptation of the 2018 Broadway musical, Rapp brings the iconic performance to the silver screen. Stream “World Burn” by Reneé Rapp and The Cast of Mean Girls here.

The MEAN GIRLS soundtrack will feature songs from a number of the movie’s stars, including Rapp as Regina George, Angourie Rice as Cady Heron, Auli’i Cravalho as Janis ‘Imi’ike, Jaquel Spivey as Damian Hubbard, Avantika as Karen Shetty, Bebe Wood as Gretchen Wieners, and more. The soundtrack will also feature hit record “Not My Fault” by Reneé Rapp and Megan Thee Stallion, which was released in December of last year to widespread acclaim. “Not My Fault” earned Rapp’s highest ever day one streams on Spotify to date with over 984,000 streams within the first 24 hours, 5M streams within the first weekend globally, and now at over 10M streams across all platforms. Watch the track’s official music video, which released last Friday, HERE. The MEAN GIRLS soundtrack is set for release via Interscope Records/Universal Music Canada on Friday, January 12th alongside the film’s theatrical release. See below for track-listing and pre-save album HERE.

MEAN GIRLS Soundtrack Track-listing:
A Cautionary Tale – Auli’i Cravalho & Jaquel Spivey
What Ifs – Angourie Rice
Meet The Plastics – Reneé Rapp
Stupid With Love – Angourie Rice & The Cast of Mean Girls
Apex Predator – Auli’i Cravalho & Jaquel Spivey
What’s Wrong With Me – Bebe Wood
Sexy – Avantika
Someone Gets Hurt – Reneé Rapp
Revenge Party – Ali’i Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Angourie Rice, Tim Meadows & The Cast of Mean Girls
World Burn – Reneé Rapp & The Cast of Mean Girls
I’d Rather Be Me – Auli’i Cravalho & The Cast of Mean Girls
I See Stars – Angourie Rice & The Cast of Mean Girls
Not My Fault – Reneé Rapp & Megan Thee Stallion

In December, it was also announced that Rapp will perform on the January 20th episode of Saturday Night Live with Jacob Elordi as the host. This capped off an explosive year for the singer-songwriter / actress, from the release of her debut album Snow Angel earning the largest first-week sales for a female artist’s debut album, to her star-studded sold-out Snow Hard Feelings Tour. The run of dates included stops in all major cities including Chicago, Detroit, and Atlanta while boasting surprise appearances from Bryson Tiller, Lizzy McAlpine, Kesha, and more. Recently, Rapp released the deluxe version of Snow Angel, featuring four new songs including a remix of standout track “Tummy Hurts” featuring Coco Jones. Snow Angel was noted as one of the best albums of 2023 by BILLBOARD and “Tummy Hurts” (Remix) with Coco Jones noted one of the best songs of the year by ROLLING STONE.

Reneé Rapp is a critically acclaimed multi-hyphenate with experience in music, film and TV acting, and Broadway. Her debut album Snow Angel, released on August 18th, earned the biggest US first-week sales for a debut female album in 2023.

After landing her breakout role as Regina George in Mean Girls on Broadway, she eventually turned her attention to her solo music career in 2022. To date, the multi-hyphenate’s entire discography has amassed over 300 million streams and counting. She was recently nominated for two MTV VMA Awards, in the categories of ‘Best New Artist’ and ‘PUSH Performance of the Year’, performed to a packed crowd for The Today Show’s Summer Concert Series, and was noted by TIME Magazine as “a powerful vocalist with the confidence to back it up”. She recently wrapped up the North American leg of her sold out ‘Snow Hard Feelings’ Tour – which sold over 65,000 tickets within the first 24 hours alone (and over 100,000 worldwide). In addition to her own music, Rapp will reprise the role of Regina George in the forthcoming Paramount feature film MEAN GIRLS.

From the comedic mind of Tina Fey comes a new twist on the modern classic, MEAN GIRLS. New student Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) is welcomed into the top of the social food chain by the elite group of popular girls called “The Plastics,” ruled by the conniving queen bee Regina George (Reneé Rapp) and her minions Gretchen (Bebe Wood) and Karen (Avantika). However, when Cady makes the major misstep of falling for Regina’s ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), she finds herself prey in Regina’s crosshairs. As Cady sets to take down the group’s apex predator with the help of her outcast friends Janis (Auli’i Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey), she must learn how to stay true to herself while navigating the most cutthroat jungle of all: high school.

David Bowie’s “Waiting In The Sky (Before The Starman Came To Earth)” Limited 11-Track Vinyl Album Released Exclusively For Record Store Day

Eric Alper
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David Bowie’s “Waiting In The Sky (Before The Starman Came To Earth)” Limited 11-Track Vinyl Album Released Exclusively For Record Store Day

Parlophone Records are proud to announce the release of a very special David Bowie limited vinyl LP, WAITING IN THE SKY (BEFORE THE STARMAN CAME TO EARTH) which will be released on 20th April, 2024 for Record Store Day.

The album is taken from the Trident Studios 1/4” stereo tapes dated 15th December, 1971, which were created for the then provisional tracklisting for what would become THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS album.

The tracklisting for WAITING IN THE SKY (BEFORE THE STARMAN CAME TO EARTH) runs differently from the ZIGGY STARDUST album and features four songs that didn’t make the final album.

On Side 1, in the place of ‘STARMAN’, one of the last three tracks recorded for the album in February 1972, is ‘ROUND AND ROUND’, a Chuck Berry cover. The track was finally released on a single as the B-side to ‘DRIVE-IN SATURDAY’ on 6th April, 1973. Initially, closing Side 1 of the album was Bowie's version of Jacques Brel’s ‘AMSTERDAM’, which would later appear as the B-side of ‘SORROW’ on 12th October, 1973.

Side 2 of the 15th December, 1971 tracklisting features two long-time non-LP fan favourites, ‘HOLY HOLY’ and ‘VELVET GOLDMINE’. The former is a re-recording with The Spiders of David’s 1971 single. Again, this version of the track had to wait several years before surfacing as the B-side of ‘DIAMOND DOGS’ on 14th June, 1974.

‘VELVET GOLDMINE’ is considered by many to be a lost Ziggy era classic, one Bowie often referred to as ‘He’s A Goldmine’ or ‘She’s A Goldmine’ in his notebooks and interviews. The track was recorded during the Ziggy sessions but was not released until 26th September, 1975, alongside ‘CHANGES’ backing the re-released album version of ‘SPACE ODDITY’, which peaked at no. 1 in the U.K. singles chart in November 1975.

The cover of WAITING IN THE SKY (BEFORE THE STARMAN CAME TO EARTH) features a photo of David taken at an early Ziggy Stardust period session by Brian Ward, and the two sides of the inner bags are the fronts of the two Trident Studios tape boxes. The album’s title comes from the lyrics of ‘STARMAN’, which, along with ‘ROCK ’N’ ROLL SUICIDE’ and ‘SUFFRAGETTE CITY’, had not yet been recorded when this variation of the album was compiled.

WAITING IN THE SKY (BEFORE THE STARMAN CAME TO EARTH) was cut on a customised late Neumann VMS80 lathe with fully recapped electronics from 192kHz restored masters of the original Trident Studios master tapes, with no additional processing on transfer. The half-speed vinyl cut was by engineer John Webber at AIR Studios, London.

DAVID BOWIE/WAITING IN THE SKY (BEFORE THE STARMAN CAME TO EARTH)
Side 1
Five Years
Soul Love
Moonage Daydream
Round And Round
Amsterdam
Side 2
Hang On To Yourself
Ziggy Stardust
Velvet Goldmine
Holy Holy
Star
Lady Stardust

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That Eric Alper

Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.

Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com

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