Zach Galifianakis, like many other comics, dreamt of being a cast member on SNL, and despite some miscommunication about his placement in the crew, he got the chance to work there for a little while. Unfortunately he didn’t last very long. But Tina Fey saves the day.
VEVO reveals most watched artists in the past decade
VEVO has just released the most watched artists on YouTube in the past decade (2009-2019) in the United States and worldwide.
Most Watched Artists in USA (2009-2019)
1. Taylor Swift
2. Eminem
3. Chris Brown
4. Justin Bieber
5. Katy Perry
6. Beyonce
7. Rihanna
8. Ariana Grande
9. Nicki Minaj
10. The Weeknd
Most Watched Artists Globally (2009-2019)
1. Justin Bieber
2. Taylor Swift
3. Katy Perry
4. Sharika
5. Rihanna
6. Eminem
7. Maroon 5
8. Ariana Grande
9. J Balvin
10. Enrique Iglesias
Thom Yorke’s “Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes” Tour Extended Into 2020
Thom Yorke has extended Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes—the touring entity comprised of Thom, Nigel Godrich and visual artist Tarik Barri—to include new dates across the U.S., UK and Europe beginning March 28 and running through July 13, 2020.
Currently playing in the U.S. through its October 29-30 two-night stand at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes features the trio of Thom, Nigel and Tarik performing songs spanning Thom’s solo works, including The Eraser, Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes, Atoms For Peace’s Amok, and of course his recently released ANIMA.
Additionally, ANIMA material will receive its first U.S. network television airing tomorrow night when Thom makes his debut appearance on JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!.
ANIMA was released June 27, accompanied by a Paul Thomas Anderson-directed “one-reeler,” also titled ANIMA, exclusively viewable on Netflix. Both the album and the short film set to three of its songs have received overwhelmingly positive response, including The New York Times noting both the album’s “subtle, complex, changeable layerings and richly shadowy sounds” and praising the film as “elusive, dreamlike and worthy of its leading man: a singer who knows how to move.” Featuring several songs debuted live over the course of previous Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes performances, ANIMAwas written by Yorke, produced by Godrich and features the London Contemporary Orchestra on all nine tracks.
Reaction to the first few Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes U.S. performances in the wake of ANIMA’s release has been borderline ecstatic. Stereogum raved, “Complex programmed beats plus heavy rhythmic guitar and bass work added up to a powerful launchpad for Yorke’s one-of-a-kind voice, which performed its usual heavenly acrobatics Monday. What often scans as textural on record was much more visceral on stage… this was not a chin-stroking intellectual exercise. Yorke and company were putting on a goddamn show,” while the Columbus Dispatch described TMB as “an immensely effective immersive experience” and Pittsburgh Music Magazine praised the show’s “rave-like atmosphere with visuals that were stunning, dizzying, and dreamlike.”
THOM YORKE: Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes
New Headline Dates 2020
March 28 — Fairfax VA – EagleBank Arena
March 30 — New York NY – Radio City Music Hall
April 4 — Chicago IL – United Center
April 5 — St. Paul MN – Xcel Energy Centre
April 8 — Denver CO – Mission Ballroom
June 19 — Glasgow, UK – SEC (Scottish Events Centre) Hall 3
June 20 — Manchester, UK – O2 Victoria Warehouse
June 23 — London, UK – Eventim Apollo
June 24 — London, UK – Eventim Apollo
July 1 — Poland – Opener Festival * previously announced
July 1-4 — Denmark – Roskilde Festival * previously announced
July 6 — Amsterdam, Netherlands – AFAS Live
July 9 — Milan, Italy – Ippodromo del Galoppo di San Siro
July 11 — Slovakia – Pohoda Festival
July 12 — Prague, Czech Republic – Karlin Hall
July 13 — Berlin, Germany – Max-Schmeling-Halle
Video: Giles Martin on Remixing The Beatles’ ‘Abbey Road’
Multi Grammy award-winning Giles Martin is a key part of the Abbey Road family, having produced and mixed many projects at the studios, with one of his most recent being the highly-anticipated Abbey Road 50th anniversary reissue.
In this video produced by Abbey Road Studios, Giles talks about the process behind remixing The Beatles’ last recorded album, what fans can expect from the project and his work at the studios.
Here’s the full version of The Carpenters’ “Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft” from 1977
Klaatu’s Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft was originally released in 1976 on their first album 3:47 EST. The song would open night transmission of the pirate radio station Radio Caroline. The year following its release, the Carpenters covered the song, using a crew of 160 musicians, and their version reached the top 10 in the UK and Canada, and charted at number 1 in Ireland.
Alice Cooper Extends “Ol’ Black Eyes Is Black” Tour Into 2020
Following on his just-concluded wildly successful UK arena tour, Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Alice Cooper has just announced his Spring 2020 tour plans. He will extend the “Ol’ Black Eyes Is Back” show, which debuted in Summer 2019 to the delight of fans, into the new year. The Spring 2020 leg of the tour kicks off on April 1 in Peterborough, Ontario and runs through April 22 in Portland, Oregon. The tour will feature special guest Lita Ford.
The legendary rocker will also return to the road for the Fall 2019 leg of the tour. The trek begins on November 3 in Florida before wrapping on November 30 in Illinois.
After a break for the holiday season, Alice will take “Ol’ Black Eyes Is Back” to Australia and New Zealand in February 2020.
All North American Alice Cooper tour dates are below. Tickets are available here.
In other Alice Cooper news, the artist released his The Breadcrumbs EP, a tribute to some of the garage rock heroes from his hometown Detroit, on September 13 via earMUSIC. Inspired by the city’s punk scene in the late ’60s and early ’70s, the Detroit-born icon returned to his roots and the raw garage sound his fans love. The Bob Ezrin-produced EP consists of six brand new recordings, featuring legendary Detroit musicians, including Johnny “Bee” Badanjek from the Detroit Wheels, Grand Funk’s Mark Farner, and MC5’s Wayne Kramer. It was recorded at Rust Belt Studios in Detroit. The opener “Detroit City 2020” is an updated rewrite of “Detroit City” from 2003’s The Eyes of Alice Cooper and it sets the tone for the EP. Along with Cooper’s own take on Detroit rock classics such as Suzi Quatro’s “Your Mama Won’t Like Me,” Bob Seger’s “East Side Story,” the MC5’s “Sister Anne,” and Shorty Long’s “Devil With a Blue Dress On,” as well as The Dirtbombs’ “Chains of Love,” the EP also features the brand-new Alice Cooper original “Go Man Go.”
ALICE COOPER ON TOUR:
SPRING 2020:
April 1—Peterbrorough, ON—Memorial Centre
April 3—Grand Rapids, MI—DeVos Music Hall
April 5—Appleton, WI—Fox Performing Arts Center
April 7—Omaha, NE—Orpheum Theatre
April 8—Davenport, IA—Adler Theatre
April 10—Grand Forks, ND—Alerus Center
April 11—Winnipeg, MB—Centennial Concert Hall
April 13—Regina, SK—Conexus Arts Centre
April 15—Edmonton, AB—Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
April 16—Prince George, BC—CN Centre
April 18—Abbotsford, BC—Abbotsford Centre
April 19—Penticton, BC—South Okanagan Events Centre
April 20—Seattle, WA—McCaw Hall
April 22—Portland, OR—Keller Auditorium
ALICE COOPER ON TOUR:
FALL 2019:
November 3—Ft. Myers, FL—Barbara B Mann Performing Arts Hall
November 5—Melbourne, FL—King Center
November 6—Orlando, FL—Hard Rock Live
November 7—Clearwater, FL—Ruth Eckerd Hall
November 9—Biloxi, MS—Beau Rivage
November 10—Montgomery, AL—Montgomery PAC
November 12—Huntsville, AL—Von Braun Center
November 14—North Charleston, SC—North Charleston Performing Arts Center
November 15—Greenville, SC—Peace Concert Hall
November 16—Roanoke, VA—Berglund Perf Arts Center
November 18—Richmond, KY—EKU Center for the Arts
November 19—Louisville, KY—Palace Theatre
November 21—Glen Falls, NY—Cool Insuring Arena
November 22—Brookville, NY—Tilles Center for the Performing Arts
November 23—Atlantic City, NJ—Ocean Resort Casino / Ovation Hall
November 25—Indianapolis, IN—Murat Theatre
November 26—Toledo, OH—Stranahan Theatre
November 27—Evansville, IN—Old National Events Plaza
November 29—Prior Lake, MN—Mystic Lake Casino Showroom
November 30—Waukegan, IL—Genesee Theatre
The 16 Nominees In The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Class Of 2020
The Class of 2020 Nominees includes 9 artists on the ballot for the first time: Dave Matthews Band, The Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston, Motörhead, The Notorious B.I.G., Pat Benatar, Soundgarden, T. Rex and Thin Lizzy.
The 2020 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, presented by Klipsch Audio, will be held at Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio on May 2, 2020 and will be preceded by Induction Week with celebratory events and the opening of the 2020 Inductee exhibit.
Rock Hall donors and members get exclusive Induction ticket opportunities. Donate or join by January 31, 2020 to be eligible. Visit www.rockhall.com/support to learn more.
Red Bull Basement University invites Canadian students to submit their tech solutions to create a better student life
Red Bull Basement University a global platform for students to innovate and co-create positive change has opened applications for student teams, from 27 countries, to submit their ideas for how to improve student life. Finalists with the top-voted ideas from each country will be invited to the Red Bull Basement University Global Workshop 2019 this December in Toronto, Canada home to the Global Workshop 2018 winner, VACANT. The four-day event will be packed with lectures, workshops, and mentorship sessions; all leading up to a final pitching competition where the Global Workshop 2019 winner will be chosen.
“As students, we found that study space inefficiency was an issue on campus, and we wanted to bring our peers a better environment to learn, socialize and grow,” said Anna Pogossyan, who won the Red Bull Basement Global Workshop 2018 with her co-creator, Temirlan Toktabek. “Red Bull Basement University gave us the resources we needed to take our idea to the next level. Through the experience, we realized that we don’t have to stop at study spaces we can use technology to revolutionize human-centered design.”
All university students aged 18 years and older in any participating country who are interested in applying must fill out an online submission form by October 29, 2019, and include a 60-second video describing their idea to drive positive change. Through a voting and judging process, Red Bull Basement University will select one winning team from student innovators in each country and help them to bring those ideas to life. The winning teams from each country will enter a six-week development phase to further evolve their idea with the support of designated international mentors and a dedicated team. During this phase, Red Bull will also provide funding, international mentorship, networking opportunities, and well-equipped workspaces.
“During our development process, the calls with our appointed mentors really gave us the necessary feedback and critique to show us where we were and where we needed to be,² said Leonard Kracik and Mark Vincent Dinkel, co-founders of UniVote, the 2018 country-winning team from Germany. “What really stuck out was how incredibly close you can get with people from all over the world when you spend such an intense moment with them. Language, religion, race or gender, none of these play a role when you¹re working together to achieve the same goal.”
At the conclusion of the development phase, each winning team will be flown to the Red Bull Basement University Global Workshop 2019 to attend a four-day event comprised of lectures, workshops and mentorship sessions. This event will be held December 12 – 15, 2019 in Toronto, Canada, and will all lead up to a final pitching competition and the selection of the global winner. It will be the opportunity of a lifetime to meet some of the world’s most brilliant student innovators from around the world.
Need inspiration for your submission? Here are some words of wisdom and advice from the panel during a recent Red Bull Basement University event that might help.
For more information, please visit: https://www.redbull.com/int-en/projects/red-bull-basement or visit the Red Bull Basement University content pool, here.
The Jungle Giants Return to the U.S. with New Tour
With more than 150 million streams to date and sold out tours all across their home country, Australian band The Jungle Giants will return to the States next year. Their U.S. tour kicks off this February in Boston and includes stops in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles and more.
The Jungle Giants are vocalist/guitarist Sam Hales, lead guitarist Cesira Aitken, bassist Andrew Dooris and drummer Keelan Bijker. Together they have released three LPs, Learn to Exist(2013), Speakerzoid (2015) and Quiet Ferocity (2017), the latter of which produced the ARIA-certified Platinum single “Feel The Way I Do” as well as three ARIA-certified Gold singles: “Used To Be In Love,” “Bad Dream” and “On Your Way Down.”
Produced entirely by Hales, their third album saw The Jungle Giants land at the top of multiple Best of 2017 lists, complete two mammoth sold out national tours, and deliver electric sets at a raft of festivals including Splendour in the Grass, Falls Festival and many more around the world including the US, Canada, New Zealand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
THE JUNGLE GIANTS TOUR
| February 6 | Sonia | Boston, MA |
| February 7 | Bowery Ballroom | New York, NY |
| February 8 | Union Stage | Washington DC |
| February 9 | Johnny Brenda’s | Philadelphia, PA |
| February 11 | The Drake | Toronto, ON |
| February 13 | Lincoln Hall | Chicago, IL |
| February 15 | Club Dada | Dallas, TX |
| February 16 | Stubb’s Indoor | Austin, TX |
| February 18 | Larimer Lounge | Denver, CO |
| February 21 | Doug Fir | Portland, OR |
| February 22 | Imperial | Vancouver, BC |
| February 23 | The Crocodile | Seattle, WA |
| February 25 | TBA | San Francisco, CA |
| February 26 | Troubadour | Los Angeles, CA |
| February 29 | Foro Indie Rocks | Mexico City, MX |
Echosmith Announces New Studio Album Lonely Generation Out January 10
Today, multi-platinum trio Echosmith – Sydney Sierota [lead vocals], Noah Sierota [vocals, bass], and Graham Sierota [drums] – have announced their new studio album Lonely Generation, set for release on January 10th. They have also unveiled the music video for the title track and brand new single “Lonely Generation” directed by Danny Drysdale (The Killers, which happens to be Echosmith’s all-time favorite band.) The “Lonely Generation” video also serves as a sneak peek to the 11 additional music videos that the band has coming to support each song on the album. Inspired by the song’s message about how lonely and isolating it can feel in our hyper-connected digital world, serving as a reminder to focus on real-life connection with each other, the colorful and quirky video follows the band as they encounter people stuck in the digital world in various settings, from an aerobics class to the beach, and even to the Wild West. The bouncy alt-pop anthem, features a glistening neon beat, a sunny chant and acoustic guitar, and is the first taste of the band’s sophomore album.
“When Echosmith first reached out to me to see if I would consider directing a video for each song on their new album, fascinated, I asked to hear the music first,” says Danny Drysdale, the video’s director, “Needless to say I was really moved by the tracks and was flooded with so many ideas. The songwriting and the emotion and message of the album just drew me in. I hurried and called them to say I was hooked, ‘let’s do this thing!’ When we got into the weeds of shooting and the nitty gritty creative, it was a miracle to find that we see the world in many of the same colorful, cool, absurd, and beautiful ways. We shot all these videos in various parts of Utah with an incredible team, and I gotta say that working with this band has been one of my most favorite projects. I can’t wait for you to go see the finished videos very soon and then direct the next 12. Hint, hint.”
Beginning February 12th in Washington, DC, Echosmith will embark on their North American Lonely Generation Tour which will bring them to major cities from coast to coast before wrapping in Los Angeles on March 5th. Pre-sale tickets will be available October 16th at 10am local, with general on-sale beginning October 18th at 10am local.
Echosmith has also announced a very special Live from the Artists Den performance set for October 22nd at a secret venue in NYC at 7:30pm ET. The first 200 fans to purchase a ticket to Echosmith’s February 13th show in New York City at Le Poisson Rouge will automatically receive a free ticket to attend the band’s Live from the Artists Den show. Fans can also enter HERE for a chance to win a free ticket to the performance, which will air at a later date on American Public Television. The Artists Den is a critically acclaimed television and digital music series best known for presenting intimate, secret concerts by extraordinary artists in non-traditional, often historic settings. The show connects fans with a unique and intimate musical experience for some of the industry’s finest acts.
As Echosmith embarks on their next musical chapter, they continue to encourage hope, love and camaraderie amidst the growing pains and the happy moments that come with growing up. An uplifting and honest coming-of-age soundtrack, Lonely Generation incorporates vintage synthesizers and upright piano into a framework threaded together by inventive guitar work. “Everyone Cries” makes feeling sad okay, while “Shut Up and Kiss Me,” produced by Tim Pagnotta (Walk The Moon, Blink 182), is a danceable romp and “Diamonds” shines a light on the value of individuality. Meanwhile, “Follow You” holds a very deep significance for Sydney – she penned the acoustic love letter to her husband for their first dance at their 2019 wedding.
“We are a band, but we’re family first, which is a special and rare gift,” says Noah. “We get to learn and evolve together. The album is about trying to care for each other, grow, and experience joy and heartache in the internet age. It’s like a diary. We’re showing a piece of who we are that we’ve never shown before. We pushed ourselves to try new things and reflect our experiences in a fresh way,” shares Noah.
“We were just honest about happiness, love, and even being truly broken,” says Sydney. “We’re growing up in our own ways. We’re siblings and close friends, but we have our own lives too. There are a lot of different flavors to it. We got to be really vulnerable for the first time.”
Lonely Generation, produced by Jeffery David (Seal, Zedd, for King & Country), will be the band’s first release on their newly formed record label, Echosmith Music, created in 2018 with Warner/ADA.
LONELY GENERATION TRACK LISTING
Lonely Generation
Diamonds
Untitled
Shut Up and Kiss Me
Stuck
Last Forever
Everyone Cries
Scared To Be Alone
Lost Somebody
Love You Better
Follow You
I Don’t Wanna Lose My Love
ECHOSMITH’S LONELY GENERATION TOUR DATES
February 12 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
February 13 New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
February 14 Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
February 15 Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live
February 17 Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
February 18 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
February 20 Chicago, IL @ Park West
February 21 Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Café
February 23 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre
February 26 Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre
February 27 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
February 29 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
March 1 Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
March 3 San Francisco, CA @ August Hall
March 5 Los Angeles, CA @ Henry Fonda