TwinsthenewTrend listened to Bob Dylan, the 60’s counter-culture icon, after seeing his name mentioned in President Obama’s book A Promised Land. They also got to ask President Obama a few questions, and they’ll ask him even more on the December episode of BookTube only on YouTube December 16, 2020.
Video: Grover meets Deputy Secretary Tony Blinken to talk about refugees.
Sesame Street’s Grover and the then-U.S. State Department’s Deputy Secretary, now the next US secretary of state, Tony Blinken meet up at the United Nations in New York City to talk about refugees.
11-Year-Old Bjork Sings At A School Recital
Here’s Bjork, at 11-years old in 1976, singing the Tina Charles song “I Love to Love” for a school recital.
Foo Fighters Release Amazon Original EP Live On the Radio 1996
Foo Fighters have released a new Amazon Original EP, Live On the Radio 1996, available to stream and purchase only on Amazon Music. The four songs that comprise Live On the Radio 1996 were originally recorded in 1996 as part of the ROCKLINE radio show by producer Scott Weiss. Now a digital audio producer for Amazon Music, Weiss recently rediscovered the long forgotten recordings and, thanks to Bob Coburn and the ROCKLINE crew, prepared them for re-release.
The EP features acoustic versions of songs culled from the band’s eponymous debut and 1997’s The Colour and the Shape, as well as the non-LP track “How I Miss You.” The final song is a never-before-released version of “Wattershed” that features Dave Grohl replacing the song’s lyrics with the retelling of a recent trip to Canada, sung in the style of Fred Schneider of the B-52s.
“The band laughed and then dove in and started to work up the idea. The show would cut away for commercials and [Foo Fighters] would practice the new Wattershed idea,” said Weiss of the moment. “The version of Wattershed that would soon be known as ‘Water Fred’ was born.” Fans can read Weiss’ full account of the recording session here as a part of People of Rock And Roll, an ongoing project where fans share personal memories of their Foo Fighters experiences over the years.
The EP arrives as the Foo Fighters celebrate their 25 year anniversary as a band. Last week, they performed their 1999 hit “Learn To Fly” from The Troubadour in Los Angeles on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The band were scheduled to mark their quarter century milestone with The Van tour, which was canceled in August due to COVID-19. Recently, the band announced a new line of merch offerings commemorating each of their studio albums released during their career.
To listen to Live On the Radio 1996 (Amazon Original), Amazon Music listeners can simply ask, “Alexa play the Amazon Original by the Foo Fighters” in the Amazon app for iOS and Android and on Alexa-enabled devices. In addition to the Foo Fighters, Amazon Music listeners can access hundreds of Amazon Originals featuring both emerging and established artists across numerous genres, available to stream and purchase only on Amazon Music.
Rockline ‘96 tracklist:
1) How I Miss You (Amazon Original)
2) Up In Arms (Amazon Original)
3) For All the Cows (Amazon Original)
4) Wattershed (Amazon Original)
Ani Di Franco To Release Revolutionary Love January 29, 2021
Today, singer/songwriter/feminist/activist/author DIY icon Ani Di Franco announces her twenty-second album Revolutionary Love, set for release January 29, 2021 on her Righteous Babe Records label. Revolutionary Love is Di Franco’s first studio album since her acclaimed 2019 memoir No Walls and the Recurring Dream. Rooted in her poetic lyricism and ever-commanding vocal work, the album unfolds in an understated yet captivating alchemy of folk and soul and lushly textured jazz-pop. The title track, a bold message of irrepressible hope, is available today, along with previously released songs “Do or Die” and “Contagious.”
Revolutionary Love (inspired by Valarie Kaur’s book See No Stranger) is a natural evolution for Di Franco, who has often seen her songs as reflections of not only her personal life but also society at large. With the current divisions and strife in our world, Di Franco sees “Revolutionary Love” as a vital next step. She says, “It’s about carrying the energy of love and compassion into the center of our social movements and making it the driving force. It’s about finding it within ourselves to stay curious about our opponents instead of shutting down.”
Di Franco wrote many of the new tracks on the road prior to returning home to New Orleans in February 2020. While the country soon encountered COVID and solitary lives, Di Franco felt the urgent need to collaborate creatively and record. With her activism at the forefront, she recalls, “I felt very strongly that I needed a horse to ride to try to help get out the vote—to get people inspired and get them believing in democracy, believing in each other and in themselves.”
Di Franco headed to Durham NC, where she teamed up with Brad Cook to record Revolutionary Love with an eclectic group of musicians. The lineup included percussionist Brevan Hampden (Hiss Golden Messenger, Milton Suggs), horn/flute player Matt Douglas (The Mountain Goats, Josh Ritter), keyboardist Phil Cook (Megafaun, Shouting Matches), drummer Yan Westerlund (Quetico, Mipso) and Di Franco’s longtime touring band Terence Higgins on percussion and Todd Sickafoose on bass. With many of the performances captured in one or two takes, Revolutionary Love reveals Di Franco’s tremendous gift for seizing the moment of performance and transforming confusion into clarity, pain into perseverance.
Widely considered a feminist icon, Grammy winner Ani Di Franco is the mother of the DIY movement, being one of the first artists to create her own record label in 1990. While she has been known as the “Little Folksinger,” her music has embraced punk, funk, hip hop, jazz, soul, electronica and even more distant sounds. Her collaborators have included everyone from Utah Phillips to legendary R&B saxophonist Maceo Parker to Prince. She has shared stages with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger, Kris Kristofferson, Greg Brown, Billy Bragg, Michael Franti, Chuck D., and many more. Her last studio album Binary was released in June 2017 on Righteous Babe Records. Her memoir No Walls and the Recurring Dream was released in May 2019, and Di Franco released a No Walls Mixtape alongside the book, offering a new take on songs related to the memoir.
National Music Centre Announces Virtual Gala on December 4 featuring Jann Arden, Brett Kissel, Corb Lund, and more
The National Music Centre (NMC) will present its annual fundraising gala as a virtual event on December 4, sponsored by Mawer Investment Management and EY. This year’s gala is also in association with RISE UP! Calgary.
The 2020 NMC gala, RISE UP! A Celebration of Resilience, filmed from the Studio Bell Performance Hall and the King Eddy, will premiere for free at 7:00 pm MT at studiobell.ca/gala2020 and on NMC’s Facebook, Vimeo, and YouTube channels, and will feature a star-studded lineup.
Hosted by CCMA Award-winning country artist Brett Kissel and Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inducted broadcaster Jackie Rae Greening, the event will include performances by Jann Arden, Brett Kissel, Corb Lund, Tanika Charles, Louis-Jean Cormier, Celeigh Cardinal, Jan Lisiecki, and the Marcus Trummer Band. Amber Marshall of CBC’s long-running CBC series Heartland will also make an appearance.
“We are proud to contribute to this initiative from the NMC. We’re long-time supporters of theirs, not to mention passionate music fans ourselves.” said Craig Senyk, President and Vice Chair of Mawer Investment Management. “We applaud NMC’s innovation and ability to pivot to virtual events, as well as their continuous efforts to amplify positivity in our community through sharing music. COVID-19 has hit the performing arts sector hard; events like RISE UP! will help us get through these difficult times, together.”
“Our re-imagined virtual event will recognize and celebrate resilience and innovation as an organizational theme for 2020 and beyond,” said Andrew Mosker, NMC President and CEO. “COVID-19 has forced those who work in the music sector to adjust to ever-changing new realities. NMC has done this knowing the vital role that music has played in healing and bringing people together during the pandemic, and how music can play a critical role in the recovery of our city, province, and country after the pandemic is over.”
Since the start of the pandemic, NMC has pivoted to bring its programs online and keep audiences connected through music, launching the virtual NMC Learning at Home series that features lessons on science and sound; and its first ever online exhibit, Speak Up!, honouring 13 powerful Indigenous voices in music. The National Music Centre has also continued to find opportunities for artists to perform, bringing a wide array of musical genres into homes through livestream programs and partnerships, such as Alberta Spotlight, Stingray Classical Live from the King Eddy, and more.
“NMC is demonstrating community leadership and business resilience by providing entertainment and musical content in innovative ways—in a time when people arguably need it most,” says Jaimie Dawson, Partner at EY Canada. “We’re proud to support this year’s gala to help bring people and local artists together through the universal love of music.”
NMC has made many significant impacts on the community since opening Studio Bell in 2016. In 2019 alone, NMC welcomed nearly 183,000 guest visits to Studio Bell (up 21% from 2018), enriching the lives of visitors through music and drawing cultural tourism to the city. NMC inspired over 15,500 school students to learn through music, presented over 240 concerts and events, hosted over 40 artists for professional development programs and residencies, and launched seven exhibitions, among many other achievements.
The organization’s tireless commitment to building community locally and nationally, and supporting artists has not gone unnoticed. NMC was honoured with two Western Canadian Music Awards in 2020 for Community Excellence and Impact in Artist Development.
NMC supporters are encouraged to tune into the virtual event on December 4 at 7:00 pm MT, and to make a donation to support the future of NMC at studiobell.ca/gala2020.
NMC is a non-governmental, non-profit registered charitable organization that relies on earned revenue and donations to keep sharing and developing Canada’s national music story from our home base in Calgary, Alberta. By supporting NMC’s charitable efforts, you are helping to ensure a sustainable future for National Music Centre and its programs that bring people together through the power and spirit of music.
Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Main Source, and Buffy Sainte-Marie Albums Receive 2020 Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize Designation
The Polaris Music Prize has announced albums from Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Main Source and Buffy Sainte-Marie have received 2020 Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize designation.
Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s influential, Keyboard Fantasies, new age/electronic album from 1986 was chosen in the Re:Sound-supported Heritage Prize public voting category, which ran this year from October 19 to November 9. Additionally, Buffy Sainte-Marie’s 1964 debut album, It’s My Way!, and Main Source’s ground-breaking 1991 hip-hop album, Breaking Atoms, both received Heritage designation by the 10-member Polaris Heritage Prize jury owing to a tie vote.
“Congratulations to these three winning artists. You’ve created important, memorable recordings that show the vast range of Canadian musical excellence. I have tremendous appreciation for the work that has gone into making these timeless albums,” said Gary Slaight, President and CEO of Slaight Communications.
The winners appreciated that these albums remain so relevant with the jury and the public decades after their initial releases.
“I am deeply grateful to be the recipient of the Polaris Heritage Prize for Keyboard Fantasies in 2020,” said Glenn-Copeland. “All those years ago when I wrote this music my wish was that I might be able to sell the few copies my little company was able to press. I could not have known that 35 years later this music would be reaching people worldwide, much less receiving this award. Thank you to those now gone and those still living who helped make the recording possible. Thank you to all of you who voted for this music. Thank you to those providing me with professional music business guidance at this time. And my special thanks to my dear wife Elizabeth Glenn-Copeland, my partner in all things. Her tireless efforts over many years helped make this award possible. Blessings one and all.”
“We would like to take a moment to thank Polaris for recognizing Main Source and the album Breaking Atoms,” said Main Source’s K-Cut. “We are very humbled and honoured to have put out something that has been recognized around the world. 2021 will be 30 years of Breaking Atoms and when we made this album we never expected two Canadian kids growing up in Queens, New York would be part of hip-hop culture and history. It’s amazing to see the influence Breaking Atoms has had on hip-hop heads new and old as well as breaking the careers of artists we know today (Nas). This album allowed us to bring the Main Source production and sound to the likes of Queen Latifah, Busta Rhymes, Shaq, A Tribe Called Quest, Ice-T, Maestro, MC Lyte, Pharoahe Monch and Common. Thanks to everyone who supported us to this day and who continue to support us.”
This year’s Heritage Prize jury had a daunting task trying to narrow down its selections.
“It’s not easy to pick one, two or three albums to be honoured with the Polaris Heritage Prize from the hundreds of brilliant, ground-breaking recordings released in Canada over the past 60 years,” said Heritage Jury foreperson Mary Dickie. “But I can’t think of any three that could represent the breadth and diversity of the talent in this country as well as these towering achievements. Congratulations to our winners!”
Heritage Prize juror, Andrea Warner, says Sainte-Marie’s debut was unique in its field.
“It’s My Way! is a powerful and peerless debut,” said Warner. “It was 1964 and while almost every other folk singer swaddled themselves in metaphor Buffy Sainte-Marie was writing incisive, compassionate calls to action. Side one begins with ‘Now That the Buffalo’s Gone’ reaches ‘Cod’ine’ and ends with ‘Universal Soldier.’ That’s just SIDE ONE. It’s My Way! is as remarkable now in 2020 as it was in 1964. It’s a collection of songs shaped by lived experience, injustice, and radical hope, and delivered as witness, survivor, and truth teller.”
The trio of new Heritage Prize-winning albums join D.O.A.’s Hardcore ‘81 and the Oscar Peterson Trio’s Night Train albums, which received their designation in 2019. Other past Heritage Prize winners include the likes of Arcade Fire, Blue Rodeo, Jean-Pierre Ferland, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Rush as well as 22 others.
“The Polaris Heritage Prize continues to showcase the exceptional talent, dynamism and diversity of Canadian music over the years,” said Lou Ragagnin, President and CEO, of Re:Sound. “We are proud to sponsor the Heritage Prize, and extend our congratulations to Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Main Source.”
Like the Polaris Music Prize, winners and nominees for the Heritage Prize are Canadian albums of the artistic distinction, without regard to musical genre or commercial popularity. This is the Polaris version of a hall of fame where we try to determine who would have been nominated or won the Prize before it began in 2006.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s Isolated Vocals For The Beatles’ “If I Fell”
If I Fell by The Beatles which first appeared in 1964 on the album A Hard Day’s Night in the United Kingdom and United States, and on the North American album Something New. It was written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. “That’s my first attempt at a ballad proper. … It shows that I wrote sentimental love ballads way back when”, Lennon stated in his 1980 Playboy interview.
How to Choose the Right Audio Recording Equipment
Podcasting and other types of audio recording are becoming increasingly popular. They’re a great way to help you market yourself and your business. It’s important that if you do go down this route, you do so with professionalism. This not only means writing a good script but buying the right equipment as well.
This article explains what kind of equipment you might need and how you can go about choosing it.
1. High-Quality Microphone
When conducting an audio recording, you need to make sure you have a high-quality microphone. Depending on what type of sound you’re recording, you’ll need to do a mic comparison and choose the best product for you.
When choosing a product, you need to consider factors such as cost, material, weight, and recording quality. The latter is most important in terms of the sound you’re going to create.
Condenser and XLR microphones are the most sophisticated types, used for professional recordings. Dynamic brands are more reliable and durable but are better for intermediate recordings. Finally, USB mics are the easiest to use and great for beginners.
2. Proper Headphones
To record the best quality sound, you need a decent set of headphones. Headphones give you an idea of how clear and audible you are during the recording process and are an absolute must.
Comfortable headphones with accurate frequencies are a must-have if you want to create professional audio recordings.
Closed-back headphones keep the sound contained within your ears. This means no sound can escape into the rest of the room and provide awkward feedback on the microphone. These are the type of headphones recommended for high-quality Podcasting.
3. Professional Editing Software
When creating a podcast or an audio recording, having the right editing software is essential. Sound doesn’t always record perfectly, so having the right equipment to alter it is always useful.
If you are a beginner, then you might not have to worry about the details as much. If you run regular podcasts however and want to achieve a high level of professionalism, then get the right editing software.
The most common podcast editing tool is called a DAW — Digital Audio Workstation. There are however many other editing resources — both sites and apps — that can help you out, it really depends on your preferences and skill level.
4. Functioning Mixers
Mixers are an important part of the audio recording process. They aren’t essential, but they can be useful, especially if you’re looking to take your recordings to a professional level.
Your mics plug into the mixer and this gives you more control over input and output levels. You can use the mixer to alter someone’s voice to sound louder or quieter. This can save a lot of time during the recording process.
When looking for a mixer, you need to consider the number of channels available, output socket and control types, and different processing features.
5. Up to Date Recording Software
Having the right recording software is just as important as every other factor which has been discussed. There are different types of software you can use, and each has its own style.
For solo recording, you can choose a computer or web-based software. Web-based is more flexible, especially if you’re going to be changing where and when you record.
For an interview recording, you can again use a web-based system or go for something simple such as Skype or mobile recording. The latter two are perhaps less professional, but with the right equipment, the sound can be good.
1-minute tip for artists: Playlisted? Do this next.
Here’s what to do when you’ve just been playlisted. And don’t forget your website – your news section misses you.