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My Next Read: “It’s The World’s Birthday Today” By Christian “Flake” Lorenz & Tim Mohr

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I have no idea how late it actually is. We flew off somewhere this morning, and my cell phone automatically turns off the clock if we’re getting close to a new time zone by plane. Mile by mile, the bus pushes through the inner city. Budapest seems to be quite big. We are in the middle of rush hour traffic. As it is Friday, everyone wants to get out of the city very quickly. But nothing works quickly here at all.”

Flake, the legendary keyboardist for the German band Rammstein, takes readers on a journey of what it is to be a touring musician. The excitement, the boredom, the moments that will be remembered and those that are forgotten. It’s The World’s Birthday Today is a strange and moody book about life on the road.

The Music of Nintendo Played On Steel Drums

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Steeldrumbands deserve your attention as they perform cover versions of video game music on steel drums and bongos.

Photo Gallery: Big Wreck with Stuck On Planet Earth at Toronto’s OLG Play Stage

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All photos by Mini’s Memories. You can contact her at minismemories@hotmail.com

Big Wreck
Big Wreck
Big Wreck
Big Wreck
Big Wreck
Big Wreck
Big Wreck
Big Wreck
Big Wreck
Stuck On Planet Earth
Stuck On Planet Earth
Stuck On Planet Earth
Stuck On Planet Earth
Stuck On Planet Earth
Stuck On Planet Earth
Stuck On Planet Earth

ZZ TOP “Live From Texas” 2LP re-issue out September 25, 2020

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On September 25, Eagle Rock Entertainment is proud to release ZZ Top: Live From Texas — a reissue of the 2 LP set, originally released in 2010. Now, a decade later, this classic concert will be available as a special limited run of 1,000 copies, pressed on white vinyl.

ZZ Top: Live From Texas features audio from the certified double-platinum 2008 Live From Texas DVD / Blu-ray / CD release. Additionally, “Heard It On The X” is included as a vinyl-exclusive track, an extra bonus to the original CD release.

Live From Texas captures ZZ Top performing a stacked setlist of their celebrated songs, including tracks from their 10x platinum 1983 masterpiece Eliminator. “Tush,” “La Grange,” “Legs,” “Cheap Sunglasses,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’”, “Sharp Dressed Man”…these songs go beyond the title of “hits” — they are classic anthems, woven into the fabric of both Rock and Roll and American culture. Recorded in Texas in 2007, this 2 LP sonically showcases Billy F Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard delivering their songs with the sound, spirit, and swagger, establishing them as international superstars.

Five decades following their inception, the “Little Ol’ Band From Texas” continues to inspire and thrill fans worldwide. One of the most instantly recognizable music outfits in history, their rhythm-driven, big brand of blues-rock and distinct image made them inimitable entertainers and cemented their legacy in the Rock and Roll zeitgeist. ZZ Top: Live From Texas proves that prowess in spades.

Track Listing:

Side A:
A1: Got Me Under Pressure
A2: Waitin’ For The Bus
A3: Jesus Just Left Chicago
A4: I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide
A5: Cheap Sunglasses

Side B:
B1: Pearl Necklace
B2: Heard It On The X
B3: Just Got Paid
B4: Rough Boy

Side C:
C1: Blues Intro
C2: Blue Jean Blues
C3: Gimme All Your Lovin’
C4: Sharp Dressed Man

Side D:
D1: Legs
D2: Tube Snake Boogie
D3: La Grange
D4: Tush

©2020 Kayos Productions, Inc. | Kayos Productions, Inc. 25 East 21st Street, Suite 900, New York, NY 10010

Bruce Springsteen’s New Album ‘Letter To You’ Coming October 23

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Bruce Springsteen’s new studio album with the E Street Band, Letter To You, will be released on October 23. A rock album fueled by the band’s heart-stopping, house-rocking signature sound, the 12 track Letter To You is Bruce’s 20th studio album, and was recorded at his home studio in New Jersey.

Listen to the album’s title track and watch the new video below.

“I love the emotional nature of Letter To You,” says Bruce. “And I love the sound of the E Street Band playing completely live in the studio, in a way we’ve never done before, and with no overdubs. We made the album in only five days, and it turned out to be one of the greatest recording experiences I’ve ever had.”

Letter to You includes nine recently written Springsteen songs, as well as new recordings of three of his legendary, but previously unreleased, compositions from the 1970s. Produced by Ron Aniello with Bruce Springsteen, Letter To You is Bruce’s first time performing with the E Street Band since The River 2016 tour.

Tracklist
One Minute You’re Here
Letter To You
Burnin’ Train
Janey Needs A Shooter
Last Man Standing
The Power Of Prayer
House Of A Thousand Guitars
Rainmaker
If I Was The Priest
Ghosts
Song For Orphans
I’ll See You In My Dreams

Amazon Music and Twitch partner to combine live streaming with on-demand listening

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Today, Amazon Music and Twitch have partnered to announce the incorporation of Twitch’s live streaming functionality into the Amazon Music app, enabling fans to engage with artists in brand-new ways and move seamlessly between live streams and recorded music. Launching today on iOS and Android, artists across the globe will now be able to connect live with Amazon Music’s more than 55 million customers across all streaming tiers. Learn more at https://artists.amazonmusic.com/live.

At a time when in-person events are limited, artists will for the first time be able to establish a real-time connection with their existing fans on Amazon Music. Artists from superstars to those emerging in their careers can now leverage Twitch and Amazon Music to engage with stadium-size audiences.

Amazon Music and Twitch are committed to developing new and improved ways to help artists engage with their fans and are excited to offer this feature to music creators. Twitch has long been at the forefront of connecting creators and fans through live streaming experiences, and Amazon Music has worked extensively with Twitch and with artists and labels to help them utilize live streaming to connect more deeply with fans, including developing innovative ways to incorporate live streaming into release campaigns; creating a virtual stage for festivals and charitable fundraising events; and providing more intimate moments for artist Q&As. This year, Twitch and Amazon Music have also worked with artists across all genres to support and produce livestreams to raise millions of dollars for COVID-19 Relief efforts including Twitch StreamAid, Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion, and more.

Fans will have a variety of ways to discover artist live streams within the Amazon Music app, including a push notification from artists they follow when they go live on Twitch; and through Amazon Music’s new “Live” browse page. Amazon Music has also made it simple for artists to link their Twitch channel with Amazon Music, using the newly-launched Amazon Music for Artists app. Artists can visit artists.amazonmusic.com/live for more information about the feature, step-by-step visuals outlining how to connect their Twitch channel, and more.

Starting this week, fans can check out artists spanning all different genres who are taking advantage of the feature and finding new and innovative ways to connect with audiences live on Amazon Music’s Twitch channel, including:

  • The Killers’ Brandon Flowers and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. will join Amazon Music September 4th at 1PM ET to answer fan questions about their latest album, Imploding the Mirage.
  • Soul singer and storyteller Nicole Atkins will host a variety series Wednesdays at 7PM ET with performances and interviews with friends and artists including Elle King, Cut Worms and Whitney.
  • Amazon Music UK will stream the Heavy Music Awards 2020 live from the HMA’s London offices September 3, 2020 at 8:30pm BST / 3:30pm ET and feature performances from The HunnaHolding AbsenceHeart Of A CowardWargasm, Coldbones and HAWXX.
  • Capital One City Parks Foundation’s SummerStage Anywhere will stream exclusive digital performances (Tuesday’s at 7PM EST) spanning Latin, World, Hip-Hop, Jazz and more for its weekly concert series.

 

Amazon Music Introduces Highest Quality Audio for Streaming with Amazon Music HD

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Amazon Music today announced the launch of Amazon Music HD for Canada, a new tier of premium quality music with millions of songs in High Definition, and more than one million songs in Ultra High Definition – the highest quality streaming audio available –  plus a growing catalogue of 3D audio when listening on Amazon’s Echo Studio device. Starting at just $12.99/month, or an additional $5/month for current Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers (Individual or Family Plan), Amazon Music HD makes high quality, lossless audio accessible to all music fans. Amazon Music HD is now available to stream in the US, UK, Germany, Austria, Japan, France, Italy, Spain, and now Canada. Eligible new subscribers to Amazon Music can receive a 90-day free trial, and eligible current subscribers can try Amazon Music HD at no additional cost for 90 days at https://www.amazon.ca/music/unlimited/hd.

“We spoke with many artists while developing Amazon Music HD, who were excited about the potential for fans to be able to stream their favorite music, and hear it as it was originally recorded,” said Steve Boom, VP of Amazon Music. “From rock to hip-hop to classical and pop, we believe listening to music at this level of sound will make customers fall in love again with their favorite music and artists. As we usher in a new listening experience for our customers and the industry, we’re combining the convenience of streaming with all of the emotion, power, clarity and nuance of the original recordings.”

Amazon Music HD will always offer customers the best quality recording available on our service for streaming, providing an unparalleled listening experience. Legendary albums including Neil Young’s Harvest and Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue become revelatory new experiences, almost as if the listener is sitting in on these storied studio sessions. Songs like Dua Lipa’s “Break My Heart” and The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” are also now available in Ultra HD, revealing nuances that were once flattened in files compressed for digital streaming. A growing catalogue of 3D audio is also available via Amazon Music HD.

Neil Young has said of Amazon Music HD, “Earth will be changed forever when Amazon introduces high quality streaming to the masses. This will be the biggest thing to happen in music since the introduction of digital audio 40 years ago.”

Amazon Music HD offers customers millions of lossless HD songs, with a bit depth of 16 bits and a sample rate of 44.1kHz (CD quality). In addition, customers can stream more than one million songs in Ultra HD (better than CD quality), with a bit depth of 24 bits and a sample rate up to 192 kHz.

Amazon Music HD will play the highest quality audio the customer’s device and network conditions will support, and is compatible with a wide variety of devices, including desktop, mobile (iOS & Android), select Echo devices, Fire TV, and Fire Tablets. Amazon Music HD is also compatible with many third-party devices, including most products from Denon and Marantz with HEOS Built-in, Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, Sonos, McIntosh, Sennheiser, and many more. To learn more about Amazon Music HD, visit https://www.amazon.ca/music/unlimited/hd.

MusiCounts Band Aid Program Applications & The Canadian Music Playlist Challenge Are Now Open.

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Through offering hundreds of thousands of dollars to help keep music alive in schools, and by providing a brand new learning resource program, MusiCounts is here to support music education in this critical time of need.

 

APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN:

2020/21 MusiCounts Band Aid Program 

The MusiCounts Band Aid Program is back this year to provide schools with whatever instruments, equipment & resources they need to help keep music education thriving at their school.

From ukuleles to Powwow drums to air filters to turntables. schools can request up to $15,000 in equipment to keep music class inclusive and sustainable in these challenging times.

The final deadline to apply is November 19. Applications received before October 20 will be entered for a chance to receive 1 of 2 Peace Paragon Stage II Maple Drum kits, each valued at more than $3,000.

To learn more and get started on your application, click here.

CANADIAN MUSIC PLAYLIST CHALLENGE 

We know this fall is going to be different and difficult for music education. That’s why CBC Music & MusiCounts have teamed up to offer the Canadian Music Playlist Challenge: a national celebration of Canadian music that ANY class in Canada can take part in, regardless of what restrictions you might be faced with. Plus, by participating you could receive 1 of 10 $1,000 MusiCounts grants for your school!

MusiCounts worked with a team of educators across Canada to create this brand new learning resource. Through the creation of student-curated playlists, classes will explore Canadian music, Canadian musicians, and what it means to share musical tastes. Whether you’re teaching music in-person, or teaching social studies remotely: the Canadian Music Playlist Challenge is for you!

To learn more, to register to participate, and to download the resource, click here.

Winning at Solitaire: Skills or Luck?

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Introduction

How many games have you come across that allow you to feel the worth of winning? Solitaire may appear basic but remains sophisticated. When talking about whether gaining is about skills or luck, it might become hard to answer. Therefore, let us analyze and see what the answer is.

Strategies for Playing Solitaire Games

Klondike is the basic Solitaire game but winning the second game will not be easy. A casino easily can make sure you lose it. Here is a case study: Klondike games have 52 cards. Once you have played the first game, seven cards remain from the first game. The dealer arranges another eight cards on the table which are face-up. This implies that there are now 15 cards that you already know. The remaining ones are 21, which are face down, and another 16 on the decks. The result is that only 15 cards are available to you, and 37 are not known to you. Guessing 37 cards really is hard. Only luck can save you here https://www.solitaire-masters.com/ .

The 37 unavailable cards consist of 28 “odd” cards and 9 “even” cards. When the cards are turned over, they are either even or odd, and therefore no play. For most people, they have to cheat to gain this one. A Monte Carlo research shows that at 0.25%, only 2.5 to 10 percent of the games are unwinnable. Therefore, you will win most of the games due to your skills, but the rest out of luck, or ill-gotten.

Spider Solitaire has a loophole that makes it unwinnable in some cases. A case is whereby, when all the cards are either all odd or all even, there is no possible play. This implies that you start a new session with no skill or luck making the game more difficult to win.

When it comes to Free Cell, it is possible to gain every game. Any game that allows you to make one more move is winnable. FreeCell falls in this category. However, experts believe that one game out of 400 does not allow any moves, but the right things can make the other 399 games playable. This implies that one has to be skillful to win any of those. When you play any Solitaire game on a computer, it is predetermined as a playable one. If there are no aces on top, it means the game is unplayable.

How You Can Gain Solitaire Card Game

It is possible that many top players have practiced constantly and therefore they honed their skills. Sometimes, the secret to winning is to hold and wait for a while. If you play cards all the time, you reduce the chances to win in greatly. For this reason, the players cannot hold because the game becomes boring. The best thing to do is to have a strategy and implement it while playing the game correctly, in this case, you might win.

Let’s look at it this way, all the aces are deep in the piles and there are three cards above them. Certainly, this game is unwinnable. As good as you may be, the game of Solitaire is a great one for your memory. It teaches you to recognize and memorize the available cards as well as those that are not available.

Everyone has heard about fortune and most beginners are waiting for it, still, it can smile upon those who don’t even expect. In addition, it comes to players regardless of their skills level. The best piece of advice is to meet this welcomed guest and let it go without regret. Don’t rely on fortune completely as you’ll gamble away.

To sum up, winning in the solitaire game mostly depends on your skills, how long and often you practice, but also consider the percentage of fortune as this guest is really a sudden one.

Reasons for Playing Solitaire Game

Some people prefer spending their time around others. This is the time when they enjoy that cigar or tequila, have a rest, communicate. Some may want to spend most of their evening relaxing. Others are bored and need entertainment, or are forgetful and feel they need to train the brain. The reasons why different people decide to play Solitaire games are various.

Anyway, you can play it on any device, and due to the modern technology, even on-the-go. If you are playing the game on your PC, you will have an easy time in the beginning. There are tons of online gaming sites that offer free solitaire games, including classic Klondike as well as variants like Spider Solitaire. This can allow you to try out different versions of the classic game, learn the rules,and develop strategies as you work your way up to more difficult games. As the game becomes challenging adjusts, it could take you more time to be good at it. So, you can download the app like Solitaire Masters and sharpen your skills at your break, in a long queue, or even at the boring meeting. There is a chance you might win more on your PC or mobile device than in a real casino. The aim of casinos is to earn money and these enterprises need to make something at the end of each day. The croupier (person shuffling the cards) has your fate in his/her hands and can trick you even if you see the cards. Playing on mobile it is you who win or lose, as you take actions and implement the chosen strategy. So, it’s for you to decide where and how to play.

Conclusion

Solitaire is an exciting and smart game, so, to win it you need to have both skills and luck. If you are skilled, you can play against many opponents and win. Luck can also be on your side, but it doesn’t depend on you. The possibility of winning by skill or luck boils down to the many issues that come into play. If you’ve decided to grow your skills, play the Solitaire Masters game which will give you a great opportunity to become a real solitaire pro.

Limited Lenticular Version Of A Charlie Brown Christmas Celebrates The 70th Anniversary Of Peanuts And Vince Guaraldi’s Timeless Holiday Classic Now Available

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Craft Recordings is pleased to announce a one-time vinyl pressing of the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s beloved jazz and holiday album, A Charlie Brown Christmas, which will include a bonus lenticular print of the original 1965 album cover featuring Charles Schulz’s iconic illustration to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Peanuts.  Immediately available for pre-order or purchase, the LP has been pressed on a range of colors and picture discs for participating retailers.

A Charlie Brown Christmas, certified 4X Platinum by the RIAA in 2016, is one of the best-selling jazz albums in history, second only to Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue; and it’s no surprise—Guaraldi’s engaging score to the synonymous holiday television special has introduced generations of children and their parents to the joys of jazz music, with tracks like the instantly recognizable “Linus and Lucy,” and yuletide favorite “Christmas Time Is Here.” The album was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry five years later, and continues to be a perennial favorite, thanks to annual airings of the Christmas TV special.

A native of San Francisco, Vince Guaraldi became one of America’s most successful jazz artists during the course of his lifetime. Though Guaraldi’s legacy is most famously tied to his association with Peanuts, he was already an established, GRAMMY Award-winning artist by the time that producer Lee Mendelson tapped him to score the first of many animated specials based on the comic strip by Charles Schulz. In a 2003 interview, excerpted from the biography Vince Guaraldi at the Piano (Derrick Bang; McFarland Books), Mendelson declared, “There was no doubt in my mind that if we hadn’t had that Guaraldi score, we wouldn’t have had the franchise we later enjoyed.”

A Charlie Brown Christmas Tracklist:

Side A

  1. O Tannenbaum
  2. What Child Is This
  3. My Little Drum
  4. Linus & Lucy
  5. Christmas Time Is Here (instrumental)

Side B

  1. Christmas Time Is Here (vocal)
  2. Skating
  3. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
  4. Christmas Is Coming
  5. Für Elise
  6. The Christmas Song
  7. Greensleeves