I Get Knocked Down is the untold story of Leeds-based anarcho-pop band Chumbawamba. Founding band-member Dunstan Bruce is 59, and he is struggling with the fact that the world seems to be going to hell in a handcart. Twenty years after his fall from grace, Bruce is angry and frustrated, but how does a retired middle-aged radical get back up again? In this punk version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Dunstan is visited by the antagonistic ghost of his anarchist past – his alter ego, ‘Babyhead’ – who forces him to question his own life, sending him on a search for his long-lost anarchist mojo. Following Bruce’s personal voyage of rediscovery, redemption, and reawakening, I Get Knocked Down acts as a call to arms to those who think activism is best undertaken by someone else.
Maroon 5 gets Megan Thee Stallion, Stevie Nicks, H.E.R., Juice Wrld, Nipsey Hussle for Jordi Album
Today, three-time GRAMMY Award-winning multi-platinum band Maroon 5 unveils the tracklisting and special guests for their latest full-length album, JORDI. The group’s seventh full-length record arrives in stores and at all DSPs on June 11, 2021.
This time around, a bevy of legendary guests and high-profile friends join Maroon 5. The first release off the album, “Beautiful Mistakes” features Megan Thee Stallion. blackbear joins the band on “Echo,” while the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Stevie Nicks teams up with the group for “Remedy.” Next up, Academy® Award winner H.E.R. guests on “Convince Me Otherwise,” and the late Juice WRLD makes a posthumous appearance on “Can’t Leave You Alone.” The album will also include the band’s triple-platinum “Memories” and a “Memories” remix featuring late legend Nipsey Hussle and superstar rapper YG. Up and coming Zimbabwean artist Bantu is also featured on “One Light.”
The album will be available in Standard and Deluxe configurations. The physical Deluxe will be available exclusively at Target and includes “Button” [feat. Anuel AA, Tainy] and Jason Derulo’s “Lifestyle” [feat. Adam Levine]. The Target version also boasts a limited-edition cover and poster. All deluxe formats (physical and digital) will also include the original version of “Memories”
As Maroon 5’s most personal offering to date, the title nods to the group’s original manager Jordan Feldstein.
Frontman Adam Levine shared the following on Instagram: “I miss him every single day. And I’m proud to have etched his name into the history of this band that he helped build from the ground up…every step of the way. We love you Jordi.”
The band will perform their latest hit single from JORDI on NBC’s The Voice Tuesday May 25th. The single, “Beautiful Mistakes” ft Megan Thee Stallion, is currently #10 on Top 40 and #2 on Hot AC. They’ve also rejoined with AMEX to release an Encore UNSTAGED Performance with some new material on June 4th. On release day, June 11th, the guys hit the stage at NBC’s TODAY Summer Concert Series for a performance.
Maroon 5 stands out as not only one of pop music’s most enduring artists, but also one of the 21st century’s biggest acts. The band’s new album, JORDI, will be executive produced by J Kash, and in addition to “Beautiful Mistakes” will also include the band’s recent hits “Memories” and “Nobody’s Love.“
To date, the universally renowned Los Angeles band have achieved three GRAMMY® Awards, over 75 million in album sales, 400 million singles worldwide and earned gold and platinum certifications in more than 35 countries. Maroon 5’s last studio album, Red Pill Blues (222/ Interscope) featured the global hit single “Girls Like You,” which reached #1 at Top 40, #1 at Adult Pop, #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven consecutive weeks. The track accumulated over 1.2 Billion Spotify streams and over 3 Billion YouTube/ VEVO views; notably becoming the most-watched video on VEVO in 2018. The band’s last #1 pop single “Memories” has also surpassed 1 Billion Spotify streams and amassed over 725 million YouTube views. Maroon 5 has over 50 million monthly Spotify listeners, and have played over 120 concerts in 30+ countries selling over 6,750,000 tickets worldwide.
DELUXE TRACKLISTING:
“Beautiful Mistakes” feat. Megan thee Stallion
“Lost”
“Echo” feat. blackbear
“Lovesick”
“Remedy” feat. Stevie Nicks
“Seasons”
“One Light” feat. Bantu
“Convince Me Otherwise” feat. H.E.R.
“Nobody’s Love”
“Can’t Leave You Alone” feat. Juice WRLD
“Memories“
“Memories (Remix)” feat. Nipsey Hussle & YG
“Button” [feat. Anuel AA, Tainy]*
“Lifestyle” (Jason Derulo feat. Adam Levine)*
*Bonus tracks on the Target physical version
Sonic Reducers: The Grammys Have Made Some Changes…
Sonic Reducers: Your daily big music news story you need to know!
Join Darryl Sterdan of Tinnitist and I as we discuss the newest changes to the Grammy Awards and whether the pizza delivery guy really deserves that Album Of The Year nomination.
Jann Arden to perform from The Canadian Music Hall of Fame at The 2021 JUNO Awards
The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences today announced that multi-platinum award-winning artist and Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee, Jann Arden, will hit the stage to perform from her hometown at Calgary’s Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre, during The 50th Annual JUNO Awards Broadcast. Canada’s “Songbird” Anne Murray will induct Arden, whose Canadian Music Hall of Fame Inductee Award Presentation and Performance is Presented by TD. The 2021 JUNO Awards will be broadcast nationwide Sunday, June 6 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music, CBC Listen, globally on CBCMusic.ca/junos and livestreamed on CBC Music’s TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter pages.
“I am honoured to join the celebrated list of artists who have been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame before me,” said Jann Arden. “This past year has reminded us all of the enduring Canadian spirit. I look forward to taking the stage and celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the JUNO Awards the best way I know how…through song.”
“We are thrilled to finally welcome Jann Arden into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame,” said Allan Reid, President & CEO, CARAS/The JUNO Awards & MusiCounts. “For over 25 years she has been a much-loved staple on the Canadian music scene, producing and performing songs that speak to the heart. Through her catalogue of multi-platinum award-winning music, her witty personality and ability to entertain, Jann is beloved by Canadians and so deserving of this honour.”
TD Bank Group is proud to be a lead sponsor of the JUNO Awards, and believes in the power of music to unite, create a sense of community and inspire confidence and belonging. TD has continuously supported Canadian music through a variety of events and initiatives across the country, and this year, are honoured to celebrate a decade of partnership with the JUNOS by presenting the Canadian Music Hall of Fame Inductee Award Presentation and Performance on The JUNO Awards Broadcast for the first time in JUNO history.
“TD is proud to be the presenting sponsor of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame Inductee Award Presentation and Performance,” said Michael Armstrong, Vice President, Brand & Corporate Sponsorships, TD. “Congratulations to Jann Arden on this exciting honour. We can’t wait to celebrate her achievement and recognize all the artists who have powerful roles in shaping a more inclusive society.”
Arden is an acclaimed singer, songwriter, actress, broadcaster and author. Her impressive list of accolades includes nine JUNO Awards including the Canadian Music Hall of Fame honour, 10 SOCAN Awards, four Western Canadian Music Awards, a Much Music Video Award, three Prairie Music Awards and an Alberta Recording Industry Association Award. Arden has also been honoured with a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame, inducted into the Western Canadian Music Alliance Hall of Fame and Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, as well as the Order of Canada.
My Next Read: “Songbooks: The Literature of American Popular Music (Refiguring American Music)” by Eric Weisbard
In Songbooks, critic and scholar Eric Weisbard offers a critical guide to books on American popular music from William Billings’s 1770 New-England Psalm-Singer to Jay-Z’s 2010 memoir Decoded. Drawing on his background editing the Village Voice music section, coediting the Journal of Popular Music Studies, and organizing the Pop Conference, Weisbard connects American music writing from memoirs, biographies, and song compilations to blues novels, magazine essays, and academic studies. The authors of these works are as diverse as the music itself: women, people of color, queer writers, self-educated scholars, poets, musicians, and elites discarding their social norms. Whether analyzing books on Louis Armstrong, the Beatles, and Madonna; the novels of Theodore Dreiser, Gayl Jones, and Jennifer Egan; or varying takes on blackface minstrelsy, Weisbard charts an alternative history of American music as told through its writing. As Weisbard demonstrates, the most enduring work pursues questions that linger across time period and genre—cultural studies in the form of notes on the fly, on sounds that never cease to change meaning.
Music Publishers Canada Announces Participants of 2021 Women in the Studio National Accelerator Program
Music Publishers Canada is thrilled to unveil the 10 participants of its Women in the Studio National Accelerator 2021, which advances the career development of talented producer-songwriters from across Canada.
First launched regionally in 2019 and expanded nationally in 2020, the Women in the Studio program offers women, gender fluid, non-binary and gender non-conforming participants a series of curated workshops, educational sessions, and networking opportunities with music industry leaders. Music Publishers Canada is committed to helping right the imbalance in the industry that exists for these producers, and supporting a creative community that will keep growing each year.
The Accelerator is designed to provide the cohort with opportunities for skills development and networking that they may otherwise be unable to access. Participants will gain valuable insights from mentors and industry experts for the duration of the program starting with virtual sessions in June through to January 2022. The program will focus on topics including technical skills, financial literacy, music business skills, and branding and will offer opportunities for creative collaborations. Each producer, as a condition of acceptance, has also agreed to explore volunteer opportunities in their own community.
“On behalf of Music Publishers Canada, I am excited to welcome these ten exceptional producers into our 2021 Accelerator. Thanks to our partners, we are able to grow the program to help advance the careers of women, gender fluid, non-binary and gender non-conforming producers in an industry where they often face more barriers than their male colleagues,” says Margaret McGuffin, Music Publishers Canada Chief Executive Officer. “I would also like to thank the many volunteers who contribute their time and energy to make this program a reality.”
The Music Publisher’s Canada 2021 Women in the Studio National Accelerator Participants:
Ava Kay – Toronto, ON
DJ Killa-Jewel (Julie Fainer) – Montreal, QC
Elisa Pangsaeng – Vancouver, BC
Lana Winterhalt – Winnipeg, MB
Mour (Cassandra Zingone) – Toronto, ON
OBUXUM (Muxubo Mohamed) – Toronto, ON
Sadé Awele (Folasade Akinbami) – Vancouver, BC
Sarah MacDougall – London, ON
Sierra Noble – Winnipeg, MB
Steph Copeland – Toronto, ON
The Women in the Studio National Accelerator is presented by Music Publishers Canada, and generously supported by the RBC Emerging Artist Project, FACTOR/Government of Canada, and Ontario Creates. With this incredible support, Music Publishers Canada was excited to expand the program from eight participants in 2020 to 10 participants in 2021.
“During these evolving times, RBC continues to be guided by our purpose of helping our clients thrive and our communities prosper,” said Valerie Chort, Vice-President, Corporate Citizenship & Sustainability, RBC. “Emerging artists across Canada are inspiring us with their creativity, resilience, and commitment to their craft in the face of immense challenges. We are proud to partner with the Music Publishers Canada to advance women in the music industry – and continue providing all artists with the right support, where it’s needed most.”
Past Music Publishers Canada Women in the Studio participants have leveraged their experience in the program to further their careers with publishing deals, co-writing and producing sessions, sync placements, and opportunities to score for film and television.
EDM Rockers ROGUE PROXY Continue to Defy Genre Norms with New Single “Solitary Confinement”
The two Canadian EDM rockers behind Rogue Proxy have let their latest genre-defying, electro-grooving, and high-energy track loose with this, the release of “Solitary Confinement” — available now.
With a sound best described as the illegitimate love child between the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Daft Punk — and an origin story stemming from two childhood friends — Rogue Proxy’s driven guitar tones, phat bass grooves, pumping punchy drums, and creative, multi-styled vocals deliver an inimitable signature sound rife with memorable melodies and head-turning riffs.
Lyrics like ‘I found myself in solitary confinement’ speak to the duo’s exploration of the paradox that is feeling isolated through gradual, unwanted aspects of life — yet, how sometimes being alone is key to truly discover our inner selves.
“Not to mention that it is quite à propos in these times of constant lockdown!” they add.
One listen to the track’s non-standard chords reveals why “Solitary Confinement” once had a working title of “Busy Beat,” the pair share. Their fifth release, the song adds to their 85,000+ streams, and follows previous 2020 breakthrough offerings of “Pump The Hype,” “Old Show,” “To The Nines,” and “Dirty Pool” — the latter of which hit #1 on the Cool Top 20 blog and Spotify chart, and the former being named among the Top 10 Indie Singles of 2020 by Other Side Reviews.
“We reunited in our friendship to produce a new sound that blended vintage tones and styles with modern production techniques,” the co-fronts share. “While working on perfecting it, tube amps were overdriven to their limits, compressors were hit way too hard, and saturation was pushed too high into the red.
“Things got out of control and we say a freak accident occured; something unknown appeared; it hacked itself into the session, and took over all production… We called it Rogue Proxy and, with it, a new flavour of rock was born.
“The Rogue Proxy icon is more than an image,” they continue. “It’s the alter-ego and ‘artificial intelligence’ behind the music and, most importantly, the face of all visual media. Rogue Proxy became our conduit to transmit sound, energy and visual wildness.
“‘Rogue’ doesn’t follow rules or formulas during songwriting or production, but is driven instead by an ever-evolving AI and complex algorithm with one goal: to produce a new, genre-defying, and exciting musical experience.
“Our mantra is: Rogue Proxy lives in your speakers. Rogue Proxy lives in your T.V. Rogue Proxy is anywhere and everywhere it wants to be!”
Even in “Solitary Confinement.”
“Solitary Confinement” is available now.
JUNO Winning Artist CHIN INJETI is “Golden” with New Single Featuring Thieves Like Us
JUNO Award-winning artist Chin Injeti is shining a light on the pure power of music to heal and uplift with his new single “Golden” — available now.
If there ever was a time when we could all use a soothing sonic shot of hope, it’s now during these days of pandemic-shadowed uncertainty. With “Golden,” Injeti and co-writer/producer Brian West are delivering a much needed dose that will certainly travel from the ears directly to the heart with its message of self-forgiveness and redemption.
Maybe there’s a way to fall gracefully
Maybe there’s a place that’s safe for me
“To me, those two lines pretty much sum up what the song is about,” notes the Vancouver-based Injeti. “I’ve come to know so many people that are in deep depression, that have been abused when they were younger, that for some crazy ass reason carry a lot of blame with them.”
More than simply recognizing those who struggle with these heavy burdens, “Golden” is a modern hymn of hopefulness. “This is a message to tell those people that there is a good place, a safe place, a place of peace, a place where they can start over again,” explains Injeti. “There’s no reason to carry this weight because the truth is we never get rid of our demons. We just need to learn to live above them.”
For Injeti, the worrisome weight and upheaval of the past year and a half also inspired a string of songwriting and producing creativity. With the onset of COVID-19, he found himself self-isolating in Toronto with his mother for three months and set up a remote home studio to stay immersed in his musical passions while staying safe.
Additionally, the past year and a half has seen the re-ignition of Injeti’s artist career with the release of six singles, some of which were partially born during his Toronto self-isolation. “On My Own,” “Let Go,” “Serious,” “Falling” featuring Esthero on vocals and Delhi 2 Dublin’s Tarun Nayer on tabla, “For the Love of Life” featuring Teon Gibbs and now, “Golden” featuring Thieves Like Us. These releases have together racked up 280,000+ streams on Spotify alone to date.
Thieves Like Us is an ongoing creative collaboration between Injeti and Grammy winning songwriter and producer Brian West. Injeti and West had their first tastes of international success while both living in Toronto in the ‘90s. Injeti fronted the JUNO and Much Music Video Award-winning band Bass is Base, won SOCAN’s Songwriter of the Year Award, and then enjoyed years of creating, touring and performing with the likes of The Fugees, The Roots, Jamiroquoi, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and more. West was a member of the JUNO winning band The Philosopher Kings and went on to co-write and co-produce several songs with fellow Philosopher King Gerald Eaton/Jarvis Church for Nelly Furtado’s multi-platinum debut album Whoa, Nelly!.
Injeti has also created and taught curriculum for Vancouver’s NIMBUS, been a featured speaker at TEDx discussing the healing properties of music, and long recognized for his life’s work as an inspiration, teacher, mentor, leader, innovator, singer, multi-instrumentalist, writer, collaborator, student, and yes, icon, with a star on Vancouver’s prestigious Walk of Fame.
It’s that drive to inspire and highlight the healing properties of music that is continuously infused in Chin Injeti’s songs including his latest.
“Golden” is available now.
Metallica Scholars Initiative Expands Into Eight New Schools
In a year fraught with uncertainty, the Metallica Scholars Initiative outpaced expectations, prompting a unanimous decision by the Board of Directors to expand the nationwide program from 15 community colleges to 23 in 2021. The Foundation plans to donate $1.6 Million in funding with the goal of reinvesting in communities that have supported the band over the last four decades.
The Metallica Scholars Initiative was created in 2019 through a partnership between the band’s All Within My Hands Foundation (AWMH) and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), a Washington, D.C. based organization representing the country’s nearly 1,200 community colleges. Starting with 10 colleges located in communities that supported Metallica on tour, schools were selected via a competitive application process, each receiving $100,000 toward programs designed to support students training to enter the American workforce.
The Metallica Scholars Initiative has found success by connecting students to skill-building opportunities in their local communities, bridging the talent needs of the American workforce through the community college system. Kicking off the third year of the program, AWMH will be joined once again by Rockford, Michigan-based Wolverine Boots and Apparel, along with other notable partners to be announced, supplementing All Within My Hands’ cumulative $1.6 million contribution. Wolverine VP of Marketing Andrew Shripka commented, “Wolverine is dedicated to supporting the people who have the grit and work ethic it takes to pursue a career in the trades, and we are excited to join forces again with All Within My Hands to support the next class of Metallica Scholars.”
Final reports from all 15 schools in 2020 proved that, even with the obvious complications presented by a pandemic, each school selected for the Metallica Scholars grant successfully modified programming to provide students with industry-relevant applied learning programs based on local demands. Funding served over 1,000 students at community colleges across the US in career and technical training programs last year, and outcomes exceeded expectations.
From Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte: “97.6% of the Metallica Scholars scheduled to graduate in the spring or summer 2020 semesters were successful. Students across ten different academic health programs were supported by Metallica Scholars funds. Certification exam pass rates and employment rates of those who were eligible exceeded 90%.”
While high rates of achievement are certainly proof that the Metallica Scholars Initiative is accomplishing its goals, the Foundation finds inspiration from personal anecdotes shared by the students themselves. Emma-Lynn Ponds, a welding scholar from Valencia College, articulates how her training goes beyond establishing a career path when she says, “The whole reason I’m doing this is because I wanna be the first in my family to break the cycle of poverty.”
Jennifer Worth, Senior Vice President of Workforce and Economic Development at the American Association of Community Colleges, works closely with AWMH to connect students with employment opportunities. She speaks to the relationships between Metallica/AWMH and AACC as well as that between the scholars and the growing workforce in communities across the country saying, “AACC is honored to manage the All Within My Hands’ Metallica Scholars Initiative. As we engage more communities, we have the opportunity to connect with more industry partners, each of which affirms that high-quality, skilled trade jobs are available, and community colleges are the premier places to train and amass talent. We will not stop doing this work until that recognition is as awesomely global as the band’s trust in us, our colleges, and the students with whom we work.”
This announcement comes on the heels of a special Metallica Mondays concert, streamed on YouTube as a part of the Foundation’s Month of Giving supporting Direct Relief and Feeding America. The fundraising efforts throughout May have included specially designed merchandise, a fan fundraising contest, and an autographed guitar auction. Conceived within the restrictions of COVID-19 and designed to adhere to the Foundation’s mission dedicated to creating sustainable communities by supporting workforce education, the fight against hunger, and critical local services, this was All Within My Hands’ second Month of Giving.
The Linda Lindas are signed to Epitaph Records!
Sonic Reducers: Join Darryl Sterdan of Tinnitist and I as we celebrate the general wonderfulness of newly crowned young phenoms The Linda Lindas, take delight in their warp-speed success, and debate how long it will take them to get huge, break up and reform for a reunion tour.