Soul Asylum, currently riding its MTV hit “Runaway Train” to stardom, wowed the cheering crowd back in 1993 as they performed on The White House lawn.
Sesame Street Perform a Tiny Desk Concert
And here they are at the Tiny Desk: Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Rosita, Abby Cadabby, and Cookie Monster, all singing about a sunny day and how everything is A-OK. The Sesame Street crew — including Elmo, Grover, and other surprise guests — visited NPR’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., to celebrate Sesame Street’s 50 years of teaching the world its A-B-Cs, its 1-2-3s, how to be kind and how to be proud, all while spreading love and joy.
ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man” Played On The Gayageum
Musician Luna Lee is back with another fun cover track performed on the Gayageum – the 1983 pop/rock hit Sharp Dressed Man from ZZ Top.
Stream Michael Stipe’s Debut Solo Single, Your Capricious Soul
Michael Stipe has released his new song Your Capricious Soul, his first release since the breakup of R.E.M. in 2011. The song is available to download now exclusively through his website, with proceeds from the 77-cent download benefitting Extinction Rebellion. So, if you watch the video below, head to the site and donate, cool?
Michael says, “I took a long break from music, and I wanted to jump back in. I love “Your Capricious Soul”—it’s my first solo work. I want to add my voice to this exciting shift in consciousness. Extinction Rebellion gave me the incentive to push the release and not wait. Our relationship to the environment has been a lifelong concern, and I now feel hopeful—optimistic, even. I believe we can bring the kind of change needed to improve our beautiful planet earth, our standing and our place on it.”
Listen To Liz Phair Read From Her New Memoir ‘Horror Stories’
The two-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter behind the groundbreaking album Exile in Guyville traces her life and career in Horror Stories: A Memoir about the pivotal moments that haunt her.
When Liz Phair shook things up with her musical debut, Exile in Guyville—making her as much a cultural figure as a feminist pioneer and rock star—her raw candor, uncompromising authenticity, and deft storytelling inspired a legion of critics, songwriters, musicians, and fans alike. Now, like a Gen X Patti Smith, Liz Phair reflects on the path she has taken in these piercing essays that reveal the indelible memories that have stayed with her.
For Phair, horror is in the eye of the beholder—in the often unrecognized universal experiences of daily pain, guilt, and fear that make up our humanity. Illuminating despair with hope and consolation, tempering it all with her signature wit, Horror Stories is immersive, taking readers inside the most intimate junctures of Phair’s life, from facing her own bad behavior and the repercussions of betraying her fundamental values, to watching her beloved grandmother inevitably fade, to undergoing the beauty of childbirth while being hit up for an autograph by the anesthesiologist.
Horror Stories is a literary accomplishment that reads like the confessions of a friend. It gathers up all of our isolated shames and draws them out into the light, uniting us in our shared imperfection, our uncertainty and our cowardice, smashing the stigma of not being in control. But most importantly, the uncompromising precision and candor of Horror Stories transforms these deeply personal experiences into tales about each and every one of us.
Alan Rickman on the importance of listening as an actor
In a 2010 interview with the BBC, Alan Rickman talked about the importance of listening as an actor:
You only speak because you wish to respond to something you’ve heard. So the notion of an actor going away and looking at a speech they have in their bedroom alone at night is a complete nonsense to me. What you have to say is completely incidental. All I want to see from an actor is the intensity and accuracy of their listening. And then what you have to say will become automatic.
Lizzo vs. The Aristocats
Brendan Carey took footage from the 1970 animated movie The Aristocats and dubbed over Lizzo’s Truth Hurts to make this tiny masterpiece worthy of a mini Oscar.
Why this chair is on so many album covers
The golden age of album cover design doesn’t have a specific start and end date, but many regard the late 1960s to 1970s as one of the field’s most exciting times. From the psychedelic rock covers of the ’60s to glistening airbrush covers of the ’70s, the era was a kaleidoscope of colors worthy of placement in modern art museums.
But there’s one genre of cover so ubiquitous it almost flew under the radar. The covers typically featured a wide shot of the artist sitting on a throne-like wicker chair, like a king or queen. Usually, the artist looked casual and relaxed; sometimes props would sit around them to decorate the scene. No matter what, the oversized woven chair was the main feature. This was the peacock chair album cover, and it was everywhere: Dolly Parton, Al Green, and Cher all sat in it.
The Beatles’ Isolated Vocals For “Don’t Let Me Down”
The Beatles’ “Don’t Let Me Down” was recorded in 1969 during the Let It Be sessions. It was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The band recorded the song with Billy Preston, and the single release with “Get Back” was credited to “the Beatles with Billy Preston.”
Adele’s Isolated Vocals For “Skyfall”
Adele’s “Skyfall” received various accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song, Brit Award for British Single of the Year, Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Song, Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media, thus making it the first Bond theme to win all the aforementioned awards. During the 85th Academy Awards, Adele performed the song live for the first time.