Mark Hamill Made These Star Wars Topps Cards THAT Much Better
Light in the Attic Records announces ‘Somewhere Between: Mutant Pop, Electronic Minimalism & Shadow Sounds of Japan 1980–1988’
Celebrated archival label Light In The Attic Records (LITA) is proud to announce the continuation of their acclaimed Japan Archival Series with Somewhere Between: Mutant Pop, Electronic Minimalism & Shadow Sounds of Japan 1980–1988. Expertly curated by Yosuke Kitazawa and Mark “Frosty” McNeill (dublab), who also penned the liner notes, and featuring cover art by notable Japanese illustrator/designer Koichi Sato, the latest release mines the midpoint between LITA’s GRAMMY-nominated compilation, Kankyō Ongaku: Japanese Ambient, Environmental & New Age Music 1980-1990 and the metropolitan boogie of Pacific Breeze: Japanese City Pop, AOR & Boogie 1976-1986 to create the first–ever officially licensed compilation of this kind. All three albums showcase recordings produced during Japan’s soaring bubble economy of the 1980s, an era in which aesthetic visions and consumerism merged. Music echoed the nation’s prosperity and with financial abundance, came the luxury to dream.
Available for pre-order beginning today and due out January 22nd on double LP, CD, cassette, and digital formats, Somewhere Between brings together sought-after songs, much of which have never been released outside Japan, encompassing ambient pop, underground electronics, liminal minimalism, and shadow sounds—all descriptors emphasizing the hazy nature of the nebula. Out–of–focus rhythms wear ethereal accoutrements, ballads are shrouded in static, and angular drums snake skyward on transcendent tones. From the avant–minimalism of Mkwaju Ensemble, to the left field techno-pop of Mishio Ogawa and Noriko Miyamoto (featuring members of YMO), and highlights from the groundbreaking Osaka underground label Vanity Records, these are blurry constellations defying collective categorization.
While Kankyō Ongaku’s aural atmospheres were attuned to structures, art installations, products and other concrete concepts, and Pacific Breeze soundtracked the personal spaces of the people punch-drunk on prosperity occupying the buildings, Somewhere Between speaks to an undercurrent of dissent. Sato’s cover artwork is emblematic of an eclipse state where affluence and angst are intertwined. The corporation, who originally commissioned Soto’s design for their 1986 calendar, likely expected full-fledged optimism but received something more complex–a horizon filled with glorious gloom. The somber vision encompasses a common idiosyncrasy of Japanese society where hushed malaise gets brushed under gleaming surfaces.
These tracks exist in a space of transition when the major label grip on the Japanese recording market began to give way to the escalation of independents. Thanks to the idyllic economic climate and innovations in domestically manufactured music gear, creators on the edges were empowered to focus on satisfying their artistic visions in the open headspace of home studios. While labels like Warner Music and Nippon Columbia explored new sounds through traditional channels, it was possible for Vanity, Balcony, and other indie labels, not to mention self–released artists like Naoki Asai, to publish their work via affordable media such as cassettes, 7-inch vinyl, and flexi–discs.
Housed in a wide–spine jacket, the double LP is available in different color editions exclusively at LightInTheAttic.net and at independent record stores. The compilation’s first single, Mishio Ogawa’s “Hikari No Ito Kin No Ito”, is available on all digital platforms.
JUNOS hit docuseries Rising relaunches with a focus on Amaal
The JUNO Awards hit docuseries, Rising Presented by TD, is back with a new episode featuring Somali-born, Toronto-raised R&B singer Amaal.
Follow the JUNO nominee as she learns to redefine her identity while also finding ways to honour her roots.
Led Zeppelin As Performed By A Transformers Band… Wait…What?
Robot rockstars in disguise, The Cybertronic Spree pay tribute to all time greats, Led Zeppelin and their Immigrant Song
Video: “The True History Of The Traveling Wilburys” Documentary
‘The True History of The Traveling Wilburys’ was filmed in the spring of 1988 whilst the band were recording ‘Vol. 1’ in Los Angeles, and includes footage shot by Nelson Wilbury.
In trying to explain how the Wilburys originally came together, George Harrison once said, “The thing about the Wilburys for me is—if we’d tried to plan it, or if anybody had said, let’s form this band and get these people in it—it would never happen, it’s impossible. It happened completely, just by magic, just by circumstance. Maybe there was a full moon that night or something like that. It was quite a magical little thing really.”
My Next Read: “Ready Steady Go!: The Weekend Starts Here: The Definitive Story of the Show That Changed Pop” by Andy Neill
The London-based Ready, Steady, Go! began broadcasting in August of 1963 and, within a matter of weeks, became an essential television ritual for the newly confident British teenager. It set trends and became the barometer for popular culture by attracting and presenting anyone who was anyone in popular music: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks, The Animals, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, Otis Redding, and many more. RSG! also provided the first small screen exposure for then-unknowns such as Rod Stewart, Marc Bolan, David Bowie, Donovan, and Jimi Hendrix. Ready, Steady, Go! ran for three and a half years, setting a blueprint for music presentation and production on television that resonated over the following decades and can still be felt today. Featured in this lavishly illustrated and definitive history of the show are hundreds of color and black and white images—the bulk of them previously unpublished—as well as exclusive essays by Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Ray Davies, Eric Burdon, Donovan, Andrew Oldham, Lulu, and others. Also included is a detailed guide to all 173 episodes—with complete artist appearances and the songs they performed—as well as forewords from the show’s original editor Vicki Wickham and acclaimed director Michael Lindsay-Hogg. This is the first full documentation of the show that went from quintessential Swinging London accessory to its current status as the most legendary popular music program of all time.
Casino game review of King Kong cash
Play the fantastic King Kong cash slot today, for the ultimate gaming experience. The objective of the game is to wake up the sleeping King Kong, if you dare, and persuade him to go and unlock some big money prizes for you.
What sets this game apart from Blackjack alongside its unique theme is the amazing bonus rounds which just go on and on, the wilds, and a wide variety of glorious graphics and immersive audio to keep you completely entertained throughout the entirety of the game.
King Kong cash slot takes the serious tone of the King Kong movies and has adapted them to ensure the game is a fun filled experience for every player, and this game is more reminiscent of the Jungle Book than King Kong, thanks to the playful undertones which accompany the game.
Gameplay on this UK slot game
King Kong cash slot is entertaining and comes with various extras, despite not having a progressive jackpot, which not all slot games do, King Kong cash slot gives players 1000 times your bet in bonus rounds and you get the option of choosing from two symbols that are worth much, giving you 500 times you bet placed for five of a kind.
Bonus rounds throughout the game offer the player free spins, with multipliers and expanding wilds which really add more bang to your buck when you win.
So where does one start when there are so many bonuses to choose from with King Kong cash slot. With the base game, you can randomly awake King Kong at any time and get offered a wide variety of win modifiers and multipliers which are enhanced.
All of these are themed to a fun King Kong reference – these are among cannon wilds which feature bananas, golden barrel super spins, bonus boosts, Kong response and a King Kong streak.
King Kong cash slot special features
Taking into account that the base game round has wilds and game logo symbols which offer 500 times your bet, there is an extra bonus given at random to really spice up the player’s overall gaming experience.
With this the win lines are fixed so all you have to do is set up your total bet figure, and hit auto play to watch the fun and games appear right before your very eyes while you just sit back and relax.
But here is where the fun really begins – get more than three of the King Kong bonus scatters and you will trigger an upward escalation to make up a bonus round progression.
First, a reel will spin at random to offer you one of the five bonus rounds, and you can then either gamble to move up the ranks to the next round or you can choose to collect the bonus game which is offered.
Verdict
King Kong cash slot has got everything that the best online slot games should have to offer, including fantastic bonuses and gameplay, a fun theme and you don’t need to download to play either, so there’s no excuse not to give this game a go.
‘Camera Three’ had an awful time slot when airing in the 1960s, so here’s the program with legendary bluesmen Son House & Buddy Guy
Camera Three was an American anthology series devoted to the arts. It began as a Sunday afternoon local program on WCBS-TV in New York before moving to the network on CBS at 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, airing from January 22, 1956, to January 21, 1979, and then moved to PBS in its final year to make way for the then-new CBS News Sunday Morning, which incorporated regular segments devoted to the arts.
Here’s the program from 1968 when legendary blues artists Son House and Buddy Guy performed.
Talking Heads, Selena & more to be honored with Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award
The Recording Academy has announced the honorees for its 2021 Special Merit Awards. The Lifetime Achievement Award honorees are Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Lionel Hampton, Marilyn Horne, Salt-N-Pepa, Selena, and Talking Heads. Ed Cherney, Benny Golson and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds are Trustees Award honorees; and Daniel Weiss is the Technical GRAMMY Award recipient. The honorees will be recognized on the 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards on Jan. 31, 2021. Given the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, more details about the special award presentation event will be announced at a later date.
Formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five are among the pioneers of hip-hop. The group’s use of turntablism, break-beat deejaying, choreographed stage routines, and lyricism was a significant force in the early development of the genre.
Lionel Hampton* started his career as a drummer in Chicago in the 1920s before he played the vibraphone with Louis Armstrong. In the 1930s, he broke barriers with the Benny Goodman Quartet, one of the first integrated jazz bands in America. In the 1940s, he formed his own Lionel Hampton Orchestra, which became one of the longest-running orchestras in jazz history.
Marilyn Horne is one of the most prolific opera singers of our time. Over her six-decade career, she has garnered numerous honors, including four GRAMMY Awards, a Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters from France’s ministry of culture, and a National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors.
As one of the first all-female rap groups, Salt-N-Pepa broke down a number of doors for women in hip-hop. Formed in Queens, New York, in 1985, the group crafted hits such as “Push It,” “Shoop,” “Whatta Man,” and the GRAMMY-winning “None Of Your Business.” They were also one of the first rap artists to crossover, laying the groundwork for the hip-hop’s widespread popularity in the early ’90s.
The Queen of Tejano, Selena became a household name not long after her career took off in the 1980s. Her 1993 album, Live, won Best Mexican-American Album at the 36th Annual GRAMMY Awards, marking the first time a female Tejano artist won the category. Though her life was tragically cut short in 1995, Selena’s crossover album, the posthumously released Dreaming Of You, sold 175,000 on the day of its release, a then record for a female vocalist.
Talking Heads, formed in 1975 in New York City, helped to pioneer new wave music by blending elements of punk, rock, art pop, funk, and world music with an avant-garde aesthetic. In 2002, 11 years after the group disbanded, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Ed Cherney was one of the most sought-after engineers in the industry. His four-decade career began as an assistant engineer working with Bruce Swedien and Quincy Jones on Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall. Cherney went on to record, mix and engineer albums for artists such as the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, and Fleetwood Mac, among others. A four-time GRAMMY winner, he also founded the Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing.
Benny Golson is an international jazz legend who has composed more than 300 works over his 70-year career. He has composed and arranged music for artists such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, and Lionel Hampton, and is the only living artist to write eight jazz standards. His prolific writing also includes scores for many hit TV series and films.
Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds is a poignant tunesmith, prolific producer, superstar recording artist, and revolutionary label owner. An 11-time GRAMMY winner, including a record four Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical awards, Babyface has been instrumental in the careers of artists such as Toni Braxton, Usher and TLC and has crafted hundreds of pop and R&B hits with artists including Whitney Houston, the Whispers, Brandy, Boyz II Men, Madonna, and Eric Clapton.
Daniel Weiss is one of the true pioneers of digital technology. In 1985, he founded Weiss Engineering Ltd. in Zurich, Switzerland. The company has designed and manufactured groundbreaking digital audio equipment for mastering studios, including the IBIS digital mixing console and the ultra-high quality Gambit Series digital products.
The Lifetime Achievement Award celebrates performers who have made outstanding contributions of artistic significance to the field of recording, while the Trustees Award honors such contributions in areas other than performance. The Recording Academy’s National Board of Trustees determines the honorees of both awards. Technical GRAMMY Award recipients are voted on by the Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing Advisory Council and Chapter Committees, and are ratified by the Academy’s Trustees. The award is presented to individuals and companies who have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording industry.