This is Motörhead’s little heard cover from 1998 of Metallica’s huge global hit, ‘Enter Sandman’ – a loving homage to arguably the most recognizable heavy metal song of all time.
Rick Astley Explains Why He Loves Music So Much
Rick Astley talks about music, still being a listener and a fan, and also recommends the best album for beginner drummers to start rocking out to, revealing how a drum machine changed his life.
My Next Read: “Arrow Through the Heart: The Biography of Andy Gibb” By Matthew Hild
Andy Gibb was one of the biggest pop stars of the disco era. His first three singles – “I Just Want To Be Your Everything,” “(Love Is) Thicker Than Water,” and “Shadow Dancing” – reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 during 1977-78, and he became a fixture on television specials, appearing alongside legends such as Bob Hope, George Burns, and Dean Martin. In 1981 he became the co-host of the iconic Solid Gold television series, and a year later he starred in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on Broadway. But despite his enormous success, he battled with insecurity, depression, and substance abuse, causing his career to flounder and leaving him bankrupt by 1987. By then, he seemed ready to start anew and launch a comeback, but he died suddenly in 1988, five days after his thirtieth birthday.
Despite the tragic brevity of his career and life, Andy Gibb still has a strong fan base around the world, but his story has never been told – until now. Arrow Through the Heart: The Biography of Andy Gibb draws upon extensive research, rare archival interviews with Andy Gibb and members of his family, and interviews conducted by the author with nearly fifty of Andy’s friends and associates to examine the life and career of this beloved pop idol.
Watch This Musician Play A Solo On A Record-Breaking 69-String Bass Guitar
Youtuber Davie504 broke a world record for playing the most strings possible on a single bass guitar. Playing a solo on a 69-string bass guitar would require a high level of skill and dexterity. The musician would need to have a strong understanding of music theory, as well as excellent technique and coordination to navigate such a vast number of strings.
Benedict Cumberbatch Reads Nick Cave’s Astonishing Letter About Grief
In 2018, a letter was sent to Nick Cave from someone named Cynthia. It read:
I have experienced the death of my father, my sister, and my first love in the past few years and feel that I have some communication with them, mostly through dreams. They are helping me. Are you and Susie feeling that your son Arthur is with you and communicating in some way?
Arthur was Nick Cave’s late son. He died in 2015 aged fifteen. This letter was Cave’s reply, read here by Benedict Cumberbatch at Letters Live at London’s Roundhouse in July 2021.
Mental Health Foundation Commissions Music To Relieve Anxiety From Chart-topping Pianist-Composer RIOPY
The Mental Health Foundation has commissioned the chart-topping pianist-composer RIOPY – saved by music after a traumatic and abusive childhood – to write a new piano piece for Mental Health Awareness Week (15-21 May) to help people to soothe anxiety. The piece, called Meditation 111, is intended to be so simple that anyone can learn to play it, regardless of musical ability.
Mental Health Awareness Week, established in 2001, brings the UK together to talk about mental health and aims to tackle stigma and help people understand and prioritise their and others’ mental health. This year the focus is on anxiety, one of the most common mental health problems in the UK.
RIOPY, himself a self-taught pianist, discovered the piano as a source of comfort in a traumatic childhood and has long relied on music to manage his anxiety, depression and OCD. He grew up in an oppressive French cult, where secret improvisation sessions on a disused piano provided him with comfort and hope until he escaped aged 18. RIOPY settled in the UK and, following bouts of drug and alcohol abuse and homelessness, eventually earned a scholarship to study music at university. He was later gifted a piano from none other than Coldplay’s Chris Martin. RIOPY has since channelled his troubled past into his music, which now serves as a source of solace to millions around the world.
The Mental Health Foundation has now called upon RIOPY to write a new work to help people tackle their anxiety at home, either by listening to it or learning to play it themselves. The campaign is intended to encourage participants to engage in music-making and creative expression, both of which are widely acknowledged to have mental health benefits.
Meditation 111 is a repetitive, simple composition conceived to inspire a meditative state in the performer. The entire piece can be played with just three fingers and can be learned in one hour, making it accessible for all, even those with no previous musical training. The ‘111’ is intended as a reminder of the NHS 111 helpline, which UK residents can call for urgent mental health support. The motif is derived from ‘Essence of Light’, an ode to serenity inspired by Debussy’s timeless Clair de Lune which featured on RIOPY’s latest album, THRIVE.
During Mental Health Awareness Week, RIOPY and Mental Health Foundation will invite audiences to join in via social media, either from pianos at home, or public pianos in schools, churches, malls and train stations. Participants are invited to learn the piece by the end of Mental Health Awareness Week, which runs from 15-21 May this year, with the help of tutorial videos, lessons and tips from RIOPY himself. RIOPY also calls on participants to reinterpret and improvise over the work and share their creations with him on social media, using the hashtags #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek and #ToHelpMyAnxiety, and tagging @riopymusic and @mentalhealthfoundation
The Meditation 111 music video, with free sheet music download and video tutorials to guide those wishing to learn by ear, has been posted online today [11 May] at https://www.riopymusic.com/pages/111. Further tips will be posted on RIOPY and the Foundation’s social media channels throughout Mental Health Awareness Week
RIOPY said of the commission: “It is an honour to partner with the Mental Health Foundation for Mental Health Awareness Week this year. As someone who has struggled with poor mental health for most of my life, music has been a great source of solace and calm. It is not an exaggeration to say that the piano saved my life. I hope that, by sharing this piece with the world, I can bring the restorative power of music to others who are also suffering.
Mark Rowland, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said: “We are privileged to have RIOPY supporting us this Mental Health Awareness week by sharing his experiences of anxiety and expressing these feelings through the composition of Meditation 111.
“It is well known that the arts, including music, can be good for our mental health. It offers people the opportunity to explore their feelings and emotions creatively and can have a powerful and lasting effect on a person’s health. It can help to protect against a range of mental health conditions, help us to manage ill health and support recovery.
“Connecting with others helps to reduce feelings of anxiety and we want to encourage as many people as we can to join the Foundation and RIOPY this Mental Health Awareness Week.”
More information on Mental Health Awareness Week and how to get involved can be found at www.mentalhealth.org.uk/mhaw.
Ed Sheeran Releases New Version Of “Life Goes On (Featuring Luke Combs)”
Global superstar Ed Sheeran has released a studio recording of “Life Goes On (featuring Luke Combs)” available everywhere now.
Sheeran and Combs revealed the surprise release after their show-stopping, live performance of “Life Goes On” on the 2023 Academy of Country Music Awards tonight. The original version of the track appears on Sheeran’s sixth studio album, “ – “ which also features lead single “Eyes Closed.” Combs, is currently celebrating the release of his new album “Getting’ Old” – a companion piece to his acclaimed 2022 record “Growin’ Up.”
Released last week, “ – “ is the result of Sheeran pushing the boundaries of his songcraft, as he delivers the most profound songwriting of his career. Teaming-up with Aaron Dessner (The National) on writing and production after the pair joined forces following an introduction from mutual friend Taylor Swift, Ed and Aaron began crafting the album in February last year. Writing over 30 songs during their month-long studio stint in Kent, UK, the album’s fourteen tracks are seamlessly tied together by exquisite production from paired back, folk-leaning textures to bolder, full-band/orchestral arrangements.
Blending never-before-seen personal archive, interviews and performances, the four-part docu-series “Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All” is streaming on Disney+ now. Timed with the arrival of “ – ,” the intimate documentary explores how his personal experiences have shaped him to become the artist he is today.
Ed is currently amid his massive “+ – = ÷ x TOUR”, hitting stadiums across North America now. Fourteen of these stops will coincide with his recently announced “- TOUR”, a run of intimate shows in theaters and auditoriums across 14 cities in North America. These shows coincide with the previously announced tour.
Remember This Name – Preston Pablo – You’re Going To Hear A LOT From Him This Year
Out of the small town of Timmins, Ontario, Preston Pablo has emerged as one of the most exciting new voices in pop and R&B, and he’s wrapped up a deal with Universal Music. In his tiny rural community of 42,000, music provided a window to a much bigger world. “I grew up very differently from most artists in today’s age,” he shares. “My music is raw, because I was so isolated.”
In senior year of high school, Preston dropped his debut solo single “OMO” and amassed over half a million Spotify streams right out of the gate. In 2021, Preston signed to 31 East Inc./Universal Music Canada and released his major label debut “Flowers Need Rain” in 2022, in collaboration with production duo Banx & Ranx. The song has since gone triple platinum, amassed over 26M global streams, and reached the #1 spot at Mainstream AC radio in Canada. Most recently, Preston performed “Flowers Need Rain” at the 2023 JUNO Awards where he was named Breakthrough Artist Of The Year.
This begs the question “how could Preston possibly follow up such a massive hit?” Of course, the answer is simple: with another one.
Today Preston Pablo drops his summer-ready smash “For Keeps.” “This song is about shooting your shot,” says Preston. “Even after you’ve been constantly missing. It’s a very lighthearted and playful take on a classic love story. When someone is playing hard to get it typically makes the one who’s chasing work a little harder to get what they want. That’s the motive behind this record.” The song arrives with a music video shot at Niagara Falls’ legendary arcade, the Great Canadian Midway.
Preston just wrapped up a ten-city supporting tour across Canada, a sold-out headline concert in Toronto, and performed on the season finale of La Voix. You can catch him performing on some huge stages this summer, supporting Johnny Orlando and Walk Off The Earth at Budweiser Stage and his debut performance at this year’s Osheaga Festival in Montreal.
Musician Created A New Song After Asking People – And A Dog – To Just Submit One Note
Lous Zong sorted notes by pitch, converted the videos into wavs and grouped them into a single file in audacity then by dropping them into the Slicex plugin in FL Studio and matching his MIDI keyboard with the slices he could play them like a keyboard.
In other words, he took over 200 submissions of people and – wait for it – one dog, and mashed them to make a single song.
Spotify Original Podcast ‘Stolen’ Adds a Pulitzer and Peabody
Earlier this year, thanks to its impactful reporting, the Spotify Original podcast Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s won an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award. Now the series is adding the prestigious Pulitzer and Peabody awards to its list. Stolen is the first podcast series to win both a Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award in the same year.
Photo credit: Robert McGee
“Honestly, I’ve been pinching myself over this news. It is such an incredible honor for our work on Surviving St. Michael’s to receive this recognition. It feels like proof that Indigenous stories matter and that Indigenous people should be supported to help tell them,” said Connie Walker, an Okanese First Nation (Cree) investigative reporter and the host of Stolen. “Above all, our team hopes that this means that more people will hear the stories of the survivors who bravely shared their experiences with us and recognize that this is just the beginning in terms of what it means to learn the truth and try to collectively grow and heal from our past.”
Connie and Spotify’s Gimlet Media team were awarded a 2023 Pulitzer Prize in the Audio Reporting category. The Pulitzer Prize marks excellence in the fields of newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition.
Peabody Awards are also a great honor, given to the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and online media. Stolen won in the Podcast and Radio category.
“It’s an honor to receive any recognition for the work our teams produce at Spotify, but for Stolen to achieve the highest level of recognition with both a Pulitzer Prize and a Peabody is an incredible feat,” shared Julie McNamara, Head of Global Podcast Studios at Spotify. “Connie has given a voice to the victims of Canada’s Indian residential schools and to Indigenous communities. She and the Gimlet team worked tirelessly to earn the respect of the victims in order to tell their stories and offer a path toward healing and hope. We’re incredibly proud of Connie and the entire Stolen team.”
Photo credit: Connie Walker
Stolen follows Connie as she looks into her father’s harrowing experiences at a Canadian residential school in the 1960s. Throughout the season, she uncovers deep abuses at the hands of school administrators that led to childhood death and adulthood trauma—outcomes that were not unique to St. Michael’s.
The podcast also received an honorable mention at the Dart Awards, which recognizes outstanding reporting in all media that portrays traumatic events and their aftermath with accuracy, insight, and sensitivity while illuminating the effects of violence and tragedy on victims’ lives.
This fall, the third season of Stolen will take listeners to the Navajo Nation as Connie and team investigate the case of two missing Navajo women. “It’s huge—27,000 square miles of remote terrain with fewer than 200 tribal police officers,” explained Connie. “One thing I’ve learned so far is that on the Navajo Nation, the line between missing and murdered is often difficult to prove. In many ways, this season builds on the themes we’ve explored in previous seasons, but hopefully in a way that feels different and exciting to our listeners.”