Prince rarely gave live interviews, so check out this clip from 1985 when he agreed to answer questions sent by MTV. So many artists want to be this mysterious and vague to let the music do the talking, but nobody comes close to him.
My Next Read: “Rock Covers. 40th Anniversary Edition”
Album art is indelibly linked to our collective musical memories; when you think of your favorite albums, you picture the covers. Many photographers, illustrators, and art directors have become celebrities from their album artworks―the best examples of which will go down in history as permanent fixtures in popular culture.
Paying tribute to this art form, Rock Covers brings you a compilation of more than 750 remarkable album covers, from legendary to rare record releases. Artists as varied as Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Sex Pistols, Pink Floyd, The Cure, Iron Maiden, and Sonic Youth are gathered together in celebration of the cover art that defined their albums and their cult status. Each cover is accompanied by a fact sheet listing the art director, photographer or illustrator, year, label, and more, while nearly 250 records that marked particular turning points for a band, an artist, or the music genre, are highlighted with short descriptions.
This far-reaching catalog of visualized rock is contextualized with insider interviews with professionals who shaped the history of rock, and by top-10 record lists from ten leading rock collectors.
David Bowie Gets Animated Talking About Being A Clown In The “Ashes To Ashes” Video
Comedian Adam Buxton wrote, directed and provided the audio for a wonderful anecdote about David Bowie that director Michael Dignum had shared on Facebook, and turned into an animation.
…and here’s the original video.
Are you a YouTuber Looking to Make Money? Here’s Some Free Advice
The internet has given people worldwide access to an enormous platform, and YouTube is one of its biggest stages. It doesn’t matter what you’re interested in – music, politics, even chess — YouTube has videos of it and other people dissecting it.
If you’re interested in making YouTube videos and turning them into a source of income, there are a few things you should know.
Printing Merch
One sure-fire online business model is selling merchandise to fans and supporters. YouTube is a free platform, so you can’t charge them to access videos, but you will find many buyers if you offer thoughtful merchandise.
The best Canadian print on demand platforms let you choose from hundreds of products, from traditional things like t-shirts and hoodies to mugs and tote bags. It’s a Green approach, as there’s no waste in the business model.
Plus, because the platform will handle dropshipping and order fulfillment, you can make money while focusing your energies on creating your next video. Just like the content of your videos is meant for your audience, merchandise gives them a creative part of you that helps to cement a long-term connection.
Sponsorships
Sometimes a company will approach you to make a deal to promote their product. The way you handle this choice will depend on the nature of your videos and what your end-goal is.
For example, if you’re a fashionista, you can take sponsorships and still make videos about things like street style or high-end fashion. However, disclose your financial relationship with the company to your audience. Issues surrounding conflict of interest on YouTube get thornier if you’re commenting on removing corruption from politics, and you’re seen taking money from somewhere shady.
How you navigate this issue depends on the subject you’re covering and a matrix of the values that surrounds that topic. Some benign topics like cleaning your home are not fraught with corruption but can be lucrative.
Advertisements
Getting a cut of the ad money is another common way YouTubers make money, but there is more than one approach. If you’re taking a certain amount of money per view, the amount will depend on who you are and your pull in the industry.
You can sign up for monetization with the site, and it’s that simple. But if you don’t have a large following, this approach may not yield a fortune right away. Posting hateful content is obviously bad for its own sake, but YouTube also removes such videos.
Which fork you decide to take on the road to advertising dollars is up to you. Like other things in business, it will depend on your relative position and how much you can command and what your end-goals are.
People have had to stay mostly at home for over a year now, so YouTube is a natural way to connect with the community at large. Whatever you’re using the platform for, it’s good to know that you can make some money from sharing your passions, so consider the options and do what’s best for you.
7 Key Tips for Starting a Bodybuilding Career
Before starting bodybuilding, you need to know how to set yourself up for success.
Many men and women are intrigued by bodybuilding lifts and making their way toward a muscular physique. However, they do so without doing the necessary research.
Without learning the top bodybuilding tips, they often set themselves up for failure or for very slow success.
To help with this, we’ve combined all the information you need to start your bodybuilding career. Continue reading to find out how to get started.
- Invest in a Coach or Trainer
If you want to start your bodybuilding journey, you need to gain confidence in the gym and utilize proper techniques. This is where a coach or personal trainer comes in handy.
A trainer will teach you proper form, how to prevent injuries, and how to create a personalized workout program.
They can also help keep you accountable and on track. We all make mistakes, but it’s easier if you have someone to support you when working on your goals.
- Work on Your Form
Bodybuilding lifts are great, but not if you don’t use proper form. Using bad form leads to unwanted results and could even cause serious injury.
The more time you spend on learning the proper form and perfecting it in practice, the better your results will be.
Plus, the more you use bad form, the more likely you are to develop bad habits. These bad habits are hard to break down the line. That’s why one of our top bodybuilding tips is that it’s far easier to start off by doing it right.
- Talk with Your Doctor
Before you really commit to a bodybuilding career, you should get checked out by your physician. This is especially necessary if it’s been a while since your last routine checkup.
Your doctor can tell you if there are any health concerns that might affect your progress. Plus, they can help you figure out the safest way to get the results you need.
It’s also worth discussing dietary needs. While your doctor will be fully on board with cutting out junk food, they may have some advice on other aspects of your diet.
A muscular physique requires a healthy diet. However, drastically changing your normal diet by adding in a lot of protein may not be the best option for you. Talking with your doctor will give you the guidance you need for success.
- Identify Your Goals
Setting goals helps you stay accountable. Especially when you are just starting bodybuilding. There will be hard days where you don’t feel like going to the gym or are feeling worn out.
Don’t limit yourself to one type of goal either. Set goals like losing 5lb of fat, adding 10 pounds to your squats, or eating more vegetables at dinner.
Bodybuilding is a complex process that involves all kinds of achievements. It’s not just about gaining muscle and it’s not just about how much you can lift, so set goals for all the different aspects.
Adding in Umbrella Labs SARMs can catapult your bodybuilding career by giving you an extra boost.
The more goals you meet, the greater your success will be. If you make mistakes along the way, learn from them and do better next time.
- Focus on Balance
One common mistake we see at the start of a bodybuilding journey is too much focus on areas of strength. You might have a certain set of workouts that you excel at and that you enjoy.
However, this likely means you’re ignoring your areas of improvement. For example, focusing too much on your upper body and neglecting leg workouts is detrimental to your process.
Focusing on balance helps you achieve your goals faster. Continue working on your upper body, but don’t neglect your legs. Work on bodybuilding lifts, but don’t overlook the importance of stretches.
- Be Consistent
One of our top bodybuilding tips relates to consistency. If you are starting bodybuilding and developing a muscular physique, dedication to the journey is essential. This is a long and, oftentimes, difficult process.
To achieve significant results, you need to put in significant effort. If you routinely skip workouts or eat junk food, you’re going to drag out the process and have a difficult time achieving your goals.
Don’t let yourself make excuses. You might be tired and not feel like going to the gym, but you won’t be sorry you pushed through.
- Track Your Progress
We discussed setting goals, but part of that is developing a long-term plan for success and tracking that progress when starting bodybuilding.
Keep a track of your fat loss and muscle gain. Keep an eye on what you’re eating and how that’s affecting your goals.
Review your progress from previous weeks and months to find ways to improve this week.
The more you track, the more you’ll see the progress you’re making. This is great for stagnant weeks. It may feel like you aren’t achieving anything, but when you look back on where you started, you’ll be pleased with your progress.
Starting BodyBuilding with Confidence
A bodybuilding career is an uphill climb. But starting bodybuilding is a rewarding process as long as you remain dedicated and focus on doing the best work possible.
Don’t allow yourself to fall short of your goals or make excuses. If you want to create a muscular physique, you need to put in the work.
For more articles on everything from lifestyle to the music industry, head to our blog.
Prince’s Sound Engineer On ‘Purple Rain’ On Why ‘When Doves Cry’ Doesn’t Have A Bass Line
Peggy McCreary, an audio engineer at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, reveals insight on the recording session of “When Doves Cry” and how they got that song to be so funky with no bass guitar.
SOCAN Brings Added Relief Through Expanded Online Concert Royalties for Music Creators and Publishers
While music has provided invaluable spiritual help to get Canadians through the pandemic, the pandemic has wreaked havoc on musicians who rely on in-person concerts and touring to help sustain their livelihood. Today, SOCAN announced an expanded program to enable music creators and publishers to earn more of what they deserve from online performances.
SOCAN members will now be able to receive royalties from both free and ticketed online concerts on more digital platforms. Both “performance” and “reproduction” rights royalties will be paid for, respectively, one-time live digital broadcasts and copies of music.
The permanent change replaces SOCAN’s well received “Encore” initiative launched last May in which royalties were paid for live performances on Facebook and Facebook-owned Instagram.
“Over the past year, online concerts have become an essential way for SOCAN members to connect with their fans and earn income,” said Jennifer Brown, Interim-CEO of SOCAN. “Our expanded distribution will return more royalties to those who have rightfully earned them for their work, helping music creators and publishers through this difficult period.”
For qualifying free online concerts, including those on Facebook Live, Instagram Live, YouTube and Twitch, $75 will be distributed. This applies to all setlists provided and to a maximum of 30 concerts per quarter per performer. The funds will be distributed to the music creator and publisher rightsholders of the music performed. More digital platforms will be added as they become licensed with SOCAN.
For paid/ticketed online concerts on any digital platform, performance royalties will be distributed to rights holders as they would be for in-person concerts. Reproduction royalties will begin to be distributed later in 2021. The new online concert distribution rules will remain in effect post-pandemic.
“Even when the time comes to welcome the return of in-person live performances, online concerts will continue to be an important source of music creators and publishers’ royalties, as our members realize new ways to bring their invaluable music to all to enjoy,” Brown added.
Anti-Apathy Song “I Go Blind” by 54-40 Joins the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame
The SOCAN Classic song, I Go Blind, by the popular alt-rock group 54-40, enjoyed success twice: the first time as recorded and released by the band in 1986, and the second time a decade later when a cover by Hootie & The Blowfish unexpectedly became a Billboard Top 5 hit. The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame will induct the song into its permanent and interactive exhibition at the National Music Centre in Calgary.
I Go Blind, written by 54-40 members Neil Osborne, Philip Comparelli, Brad Merritt, and Darryl Neudorf, continues to enjoy success, with a delightful rootsy re-do appearing on 54-40’s 2016 unplugged album “La Difference.” As Osborne reflects, “It’s a great feeling when you can present a song in a different light and it still translates.”
However, success didn’t come right out the gate. Formed in 1981 in Vancouver, the band often recorded songs in the middle of the night since they all had day jobs. Following the single’s release of their 1986 self-titled independent album, 54-40 was signed by Warner/Reprise Records, but the label disappointingly chose to distribute I Go Blind in Canada only. Undeterred, 54-40 forged on with other projects, steadily increasing their fan base and album sales over the ensuing decade.
Then, I Go Blind took a new lease on life when in 1994 Hootie & The Blowfish recorded a faithful cover as the B side to the single Hold My Hand. After this version was featured on the hit television sitcom “Friends” and the show’s soundtrack album, it skyrocketed to the top of the charts.
“When the Hootie version of I Go Blind came out it was a bit of vindication for us,” Brad Merritt proudly explains. “Here’s a song that the label was not going to release in the U.S., but radio started playing it on their own. Without any kind of radio promotion, it got to No. 2 in the country with zero push. That tells you something. That’s a really strong song.”
I Go Blind is essentially folk-roots with an edge; Neil Osborne describes its riffs and unconventional structure as an “organic mash-up.” There’s a hypnotic feel in the insistent guitar riff and the repetition of the words “I go blind.” The meaning of its lyrics is revealed in the song’s music video that contains images of war and Third World poverty; and that seeing and hearing these issues in news reports hourly, can drive us to the point that we become blind to its significance.
By February 1997, the song that 54-40’s label had deemed unworthy of support was charting on not just one, but several Billboard charts. It peaked at No. 2 Adult Top 40 and hit No. 13 (Hot 100), No. 17 (Mainstream Top 40 Airplay) and No. 22 (Adult Contemporary), and reached No. 13 on Canada’s RPM chart. The royalties enabled 54-40 to build their own Vancouver recording studio. It also appeared on Hootie & The Blowfish’s “Scattered, Smothered and Covered” album in 2000.
54-40 has had a string of gold and platinum albums, a B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame Star, and has been inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame. The band has won two West Coast Music Awards and several JUNO nominations.
Expanded Digital Editions of The Jacksons Studio Albums of ‘Triumph,’ ‘Victory,’ and ‘2300 Jackson Street’ Out April 30
Epic Records and Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, announce the second wave of titles in The Jacksons definitive album project. Expanded digital editions (featuring bonus tracks) of the group’s last three Epic studio albums–Triumph (1980), Victory (1984) and 2300 Jackson Street (1989) –will be released Friday, April 30 and available for pre-order starting today. Each album comes with three ‘instant grat’ tracks when preordered.
As part of the project, an exciting new remix of “Can You Feel It” was created by producer/composer Greg Curtis (engineered by Jon Nettlesbey) and executive produced by John McClain:
Can You Feel It: The Jacksons X MLK Remix: Greg Curtis kicks off his production with a roaring drum line and bookends the mix with recordings from the late Martin Luther King’s acclaimed 1968 The Drum Major Instinct speech at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Midway, excerpts from the great Barack Obama’s first inauguration speech inspire. The production is capped with King’s words, “Free at last, Free at last; Thank God Almighty, Free at last.”
The expanded digital releases of Triumph, Victory and 2300 Jackson Street are available alongside The Jacksons (1976), Goin’ Places (1977) and Destiny (1978), released February 12. The six studio albums recorded by The Jacksons for Epic Records trace the group’s spectacular leap from their Jackson 5 boy band roots to their role as avatars of an R&B/pop revolution (1976-1989).
A 2LP 12″ vinyl edition of The Jacksons Live! (recorded during their 1981 North American Triumph Tour) will be released on Friday, March 26, and is available for pre-order here.
Queen’s Brian May And Kerry Ellis Release New Stress-busting Track “Panic Attack 2021”
Regularly recording and performing together since he produced her first “Anthems” album, Queen’s Brian May and West End and Broadway actress/singer Kerry Ellis have come together once more for a new track created especially to bring some optimism and hope in today’s challenging times.
Brian and Kerry’s relentlessly positive new track “Panic Attack 2021” track is officially released internationally today, now available to download and stream after setting the internet alight when the pair launched it live on their Instagram feeds along with a new music video created using the two artists’ personal iPhone footage.
The international release also sees the arrival of a brand new special re-mix video created by legendary Pixar Animation Studios’ 3D supervisor Bob Whitehill.
“PANIC ATTACK 2021” is a bold reimagining of 2017’s Ellis/May classic “It’s Gonna Be All Right (The Panic Attack Song)” written from a personal standpoint by Brian May long before the world buckled under the heel of the Covid-19, and originally featured on the duo’s 2017 Golden Days album.
Sharing how the new version came about, Brian said: “At the close of 2020 there was a feeling that perhaps saying goodbye to that year would bring relief from the pandemic and a new era of hope would now begin. Sadly, following a very muted and restricted celebration of Christmas, the New Year dawned with the realization that the mankind’s struggle was probably going to get worse before it got better. Kerry and I realized that The Panic Attack song now potentially had a whole new meaning to literally millions of people around the world who felt a growing sense of panic. In the UK, there was definitely a feeling that we had all been cheated of our Happy New Year. So we wanted to mark the occasion in a completely real and transparent way.”
With Brian hurriedly rewriting the lyrics with a new inspiration, a work-in progress version of Panic Attack 2021 was first aired via the pair’s ambitious live link-up on Instagram for New Year’s Eve. “We knew it had to be a train wreck because the delays in this link situation make it impossible for two players at opposite ends of it to be synchronized. Nevertheless we went for it – out of sheer stubbornness really.”
With Britain now headed back into another lockdown, getting back into the studio to remake the track was impossible for many weeks. Brian finished the new lyrics and Kerry stepped up to create a new vocal performance recording on the only equipment she had – a microphone hooked up to Garage Band on her laptop in her home kitchen!
By e-mailed updates and Zoom discussions, the pair created a new Panic Attack vocal track, while assembling ideas for a new mix and ground-breaking video. Driving the whole project was a desire to create something that would actually rekindle some hope, reminding listeners that in spite of endless wrong turns – and in the words of the song – things WERE, somehow going to be ALL RIGHT !!!
Finally, after wrestling further with home recording, restrictions were relaxed to the point where Brian and Kerry were able to meet for a couple of days socially distanced work in Brian’s studio. Long-time Queen and BM engineer and co-producer Justin Shirley Smith – himself newly recovered from Covid – worked alongside Brian on extensive new guitar work, including a wild new solo, and a dynamic mix. In a few days, again swapping ideas with Kerry through digital media, the new track was finished.
A video ? Essential to get the poignancy of the new lyrics across. Once again, the pair took a DIY approach – this time self-taping in their separate homes using iPhones. The job of assembling the footage and producing the video fell to Queen’s staunch friend and prolific video producer Simon Lupton who is currently producing FIFTY episodes of “Queen – The Greatest” – a series of video podcasts highlighting Queen’s defining moments through the years.
“Brian and Kerry’s self-filmed videos were amazing, and the perfect material for this video,” says Simon, “but ultimately it’s the brilliance of their respective performances that shine through and make this so compelling to watch. We were fortunate enough to have Jake McBride from Animind Studios work his magic to help highlight the energy and joy that’s bursting out of this song.”
A second video – a remix of their original by legendary Pixar Animation Studios Stereoscopic Supervisor Bob Whitehill in response to him hearing the track – has also now become available. Says the Pixar legend:
“I loved hearing Brian and Kerry’s re-imagining of Panic Attack to signal hopeful, re-connected days ahead. In such a dispiriting and heart-breaking time, I didn’t realize how badly I needed this re-assurance from two of my favourite artists. ‘It’s going to be all right!’.
“Working with Brian to visually capture a bit of the painful journey we’ve all shared and to glimpse the joy that lies ahead, has been a blast. Hope you enjoy this “video re-mix” of what we’ve endured and what will hopefully be a much brighter tomorrow. Rock on!”
“I am beyond excited to kick off this year with a song full of hope,” says Kerry.
“Putting Panic Attack 2021 together during a lockdown has had its challenges, but that has also been the beauty of it. Music is so powerful and it’s amazing what you can still create with so many restrictions. I hope this song and video gives people as much hope and joy as it did for me and Brian making it. We have all had quite a tough year but remember: ‘it’s gonna be all right!’”
“We’ve all come through some dark times,” says Brian May. “Now we want to give hope for brighter days to come.”