April 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of David Bowie’s ALADDIN SANE, which was released only ten months after his breakthrough album THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS. The title track and songs such as ‘Lady Grinning Soul’ and ‘Time’ marked a significant musical progression from its predecessor, adding brass, woodwind, soulful backing vocals and the distinctive piano playing of Mike Garson.
On 14th April, 2023, one week before its Golden Jubilee ALADDIN SANE will be issued as a limited edition 50th anniversary half-speed mastered LP and a picture disc LP pressed from the same master.
The album was preceded by two singles ‘The Jean Genie’ and ‘Drive-In Saturday’, peaking in the U.K. singles chart at numbers 2 and 3 respectively, and was the first time he topped the U.K. album charts. It also marked his debut on the U.S. charts reaching the top 20 album chart there, where an edited version of ‘Time’ was released as a single.
The cover artwork has become one of the most famous sleeves of all time and was rumoured to be the most expensive produced up to that point. The cover photograph was taken by Brian Duffy, who would also shoot the sleeves for 1979’s LODGER and 1980’s SCARY MONSTERS (AND SUPER CREEPS) and features Bowie with the iconic red and blue lightning bolt make-up, an image which has now entered the planet’s cultural lexicon.
This new pressing of ALADDIN SANE was cut on a customised late Neumann VMS80 lathe with fully recapped electronics from 192kHz restored masters of the original master tapes, with no additional processing on transfer. The half-speed was cut by John Webber at AIR Studios.
Bowie described ALADDIN SANE as ‘Ziggy Goes To Washington: Ziggy under the influence of America’. The album was to be Ziggy Stardust’s last stand, and the persona was laid to rest three months after the album’s release in July 1973 at the infamous final show with the Spiders From Mars at London’s Hammersmith Odeon.
DAVID BOWIE – ALADDIN SANE TRACKLISTING
SIDE ONE
Watch That Man – 4:30
Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?) – 5:06
Drive-In Saturday – 4:33
Panic In Detroit – 4:25
Cracked Actor – 3:01
SIDE TWO
Time – 5.15
The Prettiest Star – 3:31
Let’s Spend The Night Together – 3:10
The Jean Genie – 4:07
Lady Grinning Soul – 3:45
GRAMMY Award winning duo Twenty One Pilots celebrate a decade of their seminal multiplatinum Fueled By Ramen debut album with the release of the Vessel 10 Year Anniversary Limited Edition Boxset. The limited one-time pressing includes a stunning candy-style deluxe box set housing a double-LP (140g) with printed sleeves and tri-fold jackets as well as a lenticular insert and faux-Polaroid photos. Side A and Side B comprised the original album tracklisting. Side C includes four showstopping live songs recorded Live At The LC during a rapturous hometown gig at The LC Pavilion in Columbus, OH. Meanwhile, Side D includes songs initially released on the independent favorite Regional At Best: “forest,” “glowing eyes,” “kitchen sink,” and “lovely” [full tracklisting below].
To accompany the Vessel 10 Year Anniversary Limited Edition Boxset, Twenty One Pilots have unveiled a new Vessel 10 Year merch collection. Inspired by the album artwork and era of the band’s history, the drop consists of t-shirts, hoodies, and sweatshirts. The capsule is available now on the band’s official store for fans to shop.
The band celebrated the anniversary yesterday, January 8th (10 years to the exact date of Vessel’s initial release) with a special three hour 10th Anniversary Variety Stream live on YouTube where the band revisited archived never before seen footage, shared memories, and entertained fans with games and spontaneous ukulele performances of tracks from the Vessel era – watch it HERE. The livestream also included a charity component, collecting donations for the Make-A-Wish Foundation which raised over $45,000.00 throughout the stream broadcast.
Vessel marked a monumental moment in the trajectory of Twenty One Pilots. All of the original edition’s tracks achieved at least a Gold certification from the RIAA, later enshrining them as “the first group or artist to achieve this feat with two separate albums.” Among many standouts, it boasted the double-platinum “Car Radio,” platinum “House of Gold,” and more. In retrospect, KERRANG! placed it at #1 when ranking their albums thus far, hailing it as “pretty damn faultless” and attesting, “It’s no wonder that Twenty One Pilots have gone on to have one of the most fiercely dedicated, passionate fanbases on the planet.” Rating it “4.5-out-of-5 stars” upon initial arrival, Alternative Press declared, “their songs just signed a long-term lease in your brain.” It codified their signature genre alchemy, weaving together alternative, electronic, hip-hop, rock, and indie into the soundtrack for the future.
Capping off 2022, Twenty One Pilots received multiple new RIAA certifications ahead of their sold-out headline show at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. The new awards recognized the Gold certification of their latest album Scaled And Icy, Gold certification of their single “Shy Away,” Platinum certification of their single “Jumpsuit,” and a Diamond certification for their generational anthem “Heathens.” This notably marked the group’s second Diamond award elevating them to rarified air as one of only 18 artists ever to earn multiple Diamond singles certifications.
Twenty One Pilots previously made RIAA history in 2018 when their 5x Platinum 2015 full-length, BLURRYFACE, which features the Diamond certified smash hit “Stressed Out,” became the first album in the digital era with every song receiving a Gold, Platinum, or Multi-Platinum certification from the RIAA. A year later, its 2013 predecessor Vessel repeated the same feat making Twenty One Pilots the first artist / group with two albums to reach this landmark achievement.
Twenty One Pilots traversed North America on “THE ICY TOUR 2022,” headlining arenas coast to coast. This past summer Twenty One Pilots headlined festivals around the globe and shared a special live version “Heathens,” inspired by the opportunity to reimagine the song within the fitting world of Netflix’s original hit series Stranger Things. Filmed on the last stop of their European festival run at Romania’s Electric Castle festival, “Stranger Things // Heathens” (Live from Romania) is joined by an official performance video capturing the surprise live moment from the festival ground’s historic Bánffy Castle – watch it HERE.
They also featured on the iconic MTV Unplugged series where they delivered reimagined versions of some of their biggest and most beloved songs from their catalog – Watch it HERE. Furthermore, the duo also hosted the “Twenty One Pilots Cinema Experience” film event, which gathered fans in sold-out cinemas around the globe to watch an extended cut of the duo’s 2021 epic Scaled And Icy album release livestream performance featuring remastered audio / video, and more than 20 minutes of never-before-seen footage.
Scaled And Icy debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top “Rock Albums” and “Alternative Albums” charts while landing at No. 3 on the “Billboard 200,” marking the biggest opening week for a rock album in 2021. The record is highlighted by the #1 Alternative Radio hits “The Outside,” “Saturday,” and “Shy Away,” the latter of which ascended to #1 at the format in just three weeks, placing the duo in an elite group of acts with multiple songs to rise to #1 at the format in three weeks or less including: U2, R.E.M., The Cure, Linkin Park, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Foo Fighters.
Written and largely produced by Tyler Joseph in isolation over the course of 2020 at his home studio, with Dun engineering the album’s drums from across the country, Scaled And Icy is the product of long-distance virtual sessions and finds the duo processing their upended routines along with the prevailing emotions of 2020 – anxiety, loneliness, boredom, and doubt. The duo had to forgo their normal studio sessions but reached a new of level of introspection in the process, adopting a more imaginative and bold approach to their songwriting. The result is a collection of songs that push forward through setbacks and focus on the possibilities worth remembering. Scaled And Icy is Twenty One Pilots’ first studio album in three years and follows their RIAA Platinum certified LP, Trench.
GRAMMY Award-winning Twenty One Pilots quietly emerged as one of the most successful bands of the 21st century and redefined the sound of a generation. After billions of streams and dozens of multi-Platinum certifications around the world, the history-making Columbus, OH duo—Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun—ascended to a creative and critical high watermark on their new full-length album, Scaled And Icy. The album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top “Rock Albums” and “Alternative Albums” charts, while landing at No. 3 on the “Billboard 200,” marking the biggest opening week for a rock album in 2021. Among a collection of anthems, Scaled And Icy spawned “Shy Away,” which spent eight consecutive weeks at #1 at Alternative Radio, as well as “Saturday” and “The Outside,” both of which also climbed to #1 at Alternative Radio. The RIAA Gold certified Scaled And Icy follows Twenty One Pilots’ 2018 Platinum certified album TRENCH, which features the Platinum singles: “Chlorine,” “My Blood,” and the GRAMMY Award-nominated Platinum song “Jumpsuit.” The album graced spots on “Best of” year-end lists by Billboard, KERRANG!, Alternative Press, and Rock Sound—who placed it at #1. Formed in 2009, the guys grinded towards this moment following the mainstream breakout of 2015’s BLURRYFACE. Certified 4x Platinum in the U.S., it was declared the first album ever to have every one of its songs certified Gold or Platinum by the RIAA, and garnered a GRAMMY Award for the Diamond certified “Stressed Out.” In 2019 Twenty One Pilots announced that their 2013 LP Vessel achieved the same Gold & Platinum milestone with every individual track from the album receiving Gold, Platinum or Multi-Platinum certification from the RIAA, making the duo the first artist / group with two albums to reach this landmark achievement. With their second Diamond certification in 2022 for “Heathens,” they also stand out as one of only 18 artists to earn multiple Diamond singles certifications. They launched “THE ICY TOUR 2022” and kicked off another era this year.
TRACKLISTING
Side A:
1. “ode to sleep”
2. “holding on to you”
3. “migraine”
4. “house of gold”
5. “car radio”
6. “semi-automatic”
Side B:
1. “screen”
2.“the run and go”
3. “fake you out”
4. “guns for hands”
5. “trees”
6.“truce”
Side C:
1.“holding on to you” (live at the LC)
2. “trees” (live at the LC)
3.“guns for hands” (live at the LC)
4. “migraine” (live at the LC)
Side D:
1. “forest”
2. “glowing eyes”
3. “kitchen sink”
4. “lovely”
D2UR are firing up the amplifiers with their latest rock offering, “Live Again” – available now.
Following up their smash, “Right Now”, D2UR are turning up the volume on their newest single. “Live Again” features Diane Isbister’s powerhouse vocals, mingled with husband Mike’s rock riffs. The track is an open highway fist pump – the unleashing of a former life and heading out to find a new one.
“Diane, who had found some of my old lyrics, conjured up this song,” explains Mike, adding: “The foundations for the song were strummed on her acoustic guitar, and then the parts were performed and recorded by myself and Diane in our demo studio using our editing software.” John Colborn and David Sikorski would round out the track before it headed into production.
“‘Live Again’ is about us getting back on our feet after a long run with the pandemic, and our desire to restore things back to the norm. As we rise again, we hope to unleash ourselves from all the rules and fight to restore our lives. We all want to live again … some of us want to live on forever,” the band says.
“Unleash yourself, we gotta fight to the finish
Unleash yourself take my hand, show me
Unleash yourself cause I’m ready to live again
Yeah I’m ready … to live …”
The track bursts out of its seam; building to a crescendo that tears apart conventionality or conformity. As is the messaging of D2UR music, “Live Again” takes no prisoners. From the lyrics to the harmony, layering of rock elements, Mike’s slide, and the electric riffs, “Live Again” forges forward and unbending in its delivery. D2UR lace the track with a southern rock punch, and alternative flair. It leaps from the speakers, and requests you play it on repeat.
Whether your headphones, or car stereo speakers – enjoy two tickets to the D2UR show. This rock outfit is prepared to make you want to “Live Again”.
Bringing life to the adage “less is more,” Bryce Luckie master’s the concept of minimalism as he delivers perfect flow. Clean cut 808’s and driving trap cadence is the foundation of his newest single, “Levytate.”– and it’s available now.
Signaling the release of his debut album, Bryce Luckie unveils his prowess for musicianship through the release of H Y M.
However, choosing “Levytate” as the catalyst for success is no easy feat. One listen through Bryce’s inaugural album uncovers a well of sonic pleasure. Staying true to minimalist productions in order to remain in tune with his true feelings, Bryce chases the rawness that comes with simplicity.
“The album was recorded over the course of about a year and a half. I was beating myself up trying to conceptualize a cohesive project, scrapping idea after idea. All the while, I was continuously creating new stuff; some of the ideas came much more naturally than others. It wasn’t until the second week of October I realized that the cohesiveness that I was looking for was rooted in these nine songs that I had created.”
“Levytate” is the opening track on Bryce’s nine-track album, teasing what is to come at the starting point of this breakthrough artist’s story.
The clean production value adds to the natural abilities Bryce possesses when it comes to studio time. Emboding the spirit of a true party anthem, “Levytate” feels like something that would be featured in Euphoria’s classic party scenes. A humble fusion of The Weeknd and Frank Ocean brings us to Bryce’s signature style of bare-bones productions.
Bryce reflects on the production of “Levytate,”
“Up until this point, it had been quite some time since I had made a rap song. But being so directly inspired by a night of bottle service, heavy bass, and dancing on couches in the section, I felt it was too true to where I was to avoid. ‘Levytate” sets up the theme of the project perfectly. Every time we did a take, I was covered in goosebumps purely off the energy of the song. It’s raw, but it is an egocentric eruption that I am both proud and concerned about. It’s one of those things where I listen to it, I can’t believe it’s me. Especially when it is lined up to the rest of the songs…”
In his own words, Bryce describes his music as “I have no idea what the hell is going on anymore” type beats.
The Huron Carole has joined forces once again with the Red Cross, this time to help raise funds for winterization needs across Ukraine. Right now, 4 million people in Ukraine urgently need winter relief items like stoves, fuel, and warm clothing to survive the winter as temperatures begin to plummet. Generators are also needed to give power to vital infrastructure like hospitals and train stations. Money raised will enable the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to respond to humanitarian needs generated by almost eight years of conflict, as well as preparedness and response efforts due to heightened tensions in Ukraine.
Featuring ‘best of’ performances from the 2020 and 2021 virtual programs, settle in to view this legendary variety show layered with Christmas classics and timeless stories from host, Huron Carole founder and Canadian Red Cross Ambassador, Tom Jackson. Enjoy toe-tapping, sing and play-along moments with unlimited viewing until the close of Ukrainian Christmas (January 19, 2023). Watch it here.
“We are encouraging donations to our campaign ‘Give the Gift of Warmth in Ukraine’. We chose to make the show available until the close of Ukrainian Christmas as a sign of solidarity and commitment to alleviate suffering. Compassion comes in many forms,” says Tom.
Produced by Joe Media Group and Tomali Pictures Ltd. Ukraine winterization footage courtesy Canadian Red Cross. Enormous gratitude to National Sponsor, Canada Life
2022 marks 35 years of Tom’s storied steps into humanitarian efforts that have resulted in coordinating more than $250 million in funds and in-kind services to an abundance of charities and relief organizations including food banks, women’s shelters, mental health programs and other initiatives in the communities he visits coast to coast.
The EARPEACE PRO Limited Edition box featuring their patented hearing protection is ideal for those who love live music and concerts, loud sporting events, traveling and any other activity where the noise exceeds safe levels. You can get it here and well worth your while.
According to the National Institute of Health, long or repeated exposure to sounds at, or above, 85 decibels (dBA) can cause hearing loss. The louder the sound, the shorter the amount of time it takes for Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) to happen. Of note, some of the loudest football stadiums reach 100-130+ decibels.
EARPEACE reduces the decibels and NOT the experience. They allow people to hear clearly without damaging their hearing and are small enough to throw in your sweatshirt, pocket, or purse, EARPEACE is an everyday essential item that people can carry while on-the-go.
Offering a convenient, and easy solution that helps people prevent NIHL, the EARPEACE PRO Limited Edition includes the following:
● 1 set of 20dB PRO filters
● 1 set of 27dB PRO filters
● All 3 Plugs sizes: Small, Standard, Large
● Gold carrying case
Today, Bobby Weir shares a live version of “Greatest Story Ever Told” featuring Tyler Childers, recorded at the very special Radio City Music Hall performances last year celebrating his beloved debut solo album, Ace. For two nights at the legendary venue, Weir and his band—Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros featuring The Wolfpack and Barry Sless on pedal steel—performed the entire album live and welcomed a number of special guests, including Childers and Brittney Spencer.
The song is featured on the upcoming Ace: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition. Set for release January 13 as a double CD and available from digital and streaming services, the album includes one of the Radio City performances in full and a remastered new mix of Ace. The newly remastered album will also be released on custom “high roller” pearl white vinyl exclusively from Dead.net—Pre-order HERE. A black vinyl version will be following on February 3.
When Weir started working on Ace at Wally Heider’s Studio in San Francisco in early 1972, he wasn’t planning for the Grateful Dead to be his backing band. It just happened. “I pretty much knew in the back of my mind what would happen,” Weir told Crawdaddy a few months after the sessions. “I go and get the time booked and start putting the material together. Everybody gets wind of the fact I got the time booked and I may be going into the studio. So, one by one, they start coming around…”
It made sense, the band was already familiar with most of the music, having road-tested six of the album’s eight songs, including “Greatest Story Ever Told,” “Mexicali Blues,” and “Playing In The Band,” destined to become one of Weir’s signature tunes. Ace also marked the beginning of Weir’s long-running collaboration with lyricist John Perry Barlow and includes early standouts “Cassidy” and “Looks Like Rain.”
The liner notes that accompany the new anniversary edition were written by Jesse Jarnow, co-host of The Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast and author of Heads: A Biography Of Psychedelic America. He writes about Weir realizing his 50-year dream of touring with strings and horns in 2021 when the Wolfpack joined him and the Wolf Bros on the road.
Jarnow writes: “By the time they played a pair of nights at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in April 2022 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ace, Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros featuring The Wolfpack had found their flow at the thrilling, porous border of improvisation and arrangement. In the eternal present-tense of the Grateful Dead’s music, none of the songs had stopped evolving in the previous 50 years… At Radio City, everything was heard in its newest (and perhaps already outdated) incarnations, the evolutions acting as a progress report on the ensuing half-century of Weir’s life, musical and otherwise.”
Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros are hitting the road this winter, kicking off February 2 in North Charleston, SC and concluding with two nights, March 11 and 12, at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. The tour also includes four nights at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY, as well as three nights alongside the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
ACE: 50TH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION CD TRACK LISTING
Disc One: Original Album (2023 Remaster)
1. Greatest Story Ever Told
2. Black-Throated Wind
3. Walk In The Sunshine
4. Playing In The Band
5. Looks Like Rain
6. Mexicali Blues
7. One More Saturday Night
8. Cassidy
Disc Two: Live at Radio City Music Hall, New York NY (4/3/22)
1. Greatest Story Ever Told (featuring Tyler Childers)
2. Black-Throated Wind
3. Walk In The Sunshine (featuring Brittney Spencer)
4. Playing In The Band
5. Looks Like Rain (featuring Brittney Spencer)
6. Mexicali Blues – Intro
7. Mexicali Blues
8. One More Saturday Night
9. Cassidy
Qattuu (pronounced “KAT-suu”) is a singer, throat singer, songwriter, performing artist, and experimental Indigenous expressionist, originally from Pangnirtung, Nunavut, currently living in Ottawa, Ontario.
On January 4, 2023, Qattuu will release her much-anticipated first single as a solo vocalist and throat singer.
The song’s title, Panikuluuk (pronounced “PAH-nee-kulu”) means “little daughter” in Inuktitut, and is an emotional, authentic musical expression of the experience of motherhood.
It begins with a mother’s heartbeat in an ultrasound, followed by gentle strums on the guitar. Qattuu’s throat singing and Inuit drumming grows as the song progresses, and she sings a simple melody, accompanied by audio clips of her young daughter, Aleah, to whom the song is dedicated.
In the song, Qattuu speaks in Inuktitut, roughly translated to: “My daughter, I love you; I want the best for you; I will take good care of you; I will lead you hand-in-hand, for one day you will also lead my hand when I need you.”
In addition to being a tribute to Qattuu’s daughter – her panik (“PAH-nik”), as young girls are called in Inuktitut – the song is also an expression of gratitude towards her own mother, and the song’s release date was planned to coincide with her Mom’s birthday.
Panikuluuk was produced by Grammy-, Juno-, and Polaris Prize-winning music producer Chris Birkett, whose previous work includes Buffy Sainte-Marie, Sinéad O’Connor, Sting, Quincy Jones, Peter Gabriel, and many others.
The album’s creative process was guided by fellow Juno-nominated Inuk artist, Looee Arreak (who also provided some of the Inuktitut lyrics) and released on the Nunavut-based record label, Hitmakerz. The album was made possible with financial support from Canada Council for the Arts and Ontario Arts Council.
Qattuu has long been part of the Nunavut and Ottawa music scene. Her passion began at the tender young age of 6, after her mother showed her a cassette tape of an Inuk singer performing throat singing.
Largely self-taught, Qattuu honed her craft over many years. As a child, she was motivated to succeed, and remembers crying from the physical pain in her throat. Despite the pain, she never regretted a single moment, as she was determined to learn the ancient art of katajjaq.
From 2020 to 2022, Qattuu formed part of the Juno-nominated group, Silla & Rise, and co-wrote their 2021 album Silarjuaq. Qattuu has also been a featured artist on popular songs by fellow Nunavut artists, such as Joey Nowyuk and Angela Amarualik.
As a soloist, Qattuu has performed internationally many times, and represented Inuit culture on stages around the world, including in France, Belgium, and the Philippines.
For many years, Qattuu has also delivered cultural workshops and helped others learn about Inuit throat singing. She is considered by many to be an experienced throat singer and leading performer.
Panikuluuk is the first single by Qattuu ahead of her highly anticipated debut album, Midnight Sun, planned for release in 2023.
The song is available now on all streaming platforms. Click here to listen on Spotify. To learn more about Qattuu, follow her on social media or check out her website at http://qattuu.com/
