Back in 1995, a pre-CNN Anderson Cooper was a correspondent for ABC News, and filed this news story on Justin O’Hare of Green Rage and his brother Trevor focusing on straight edge and veganism.
By the way, in 2000, Anderson switched career paths, taking a job as the host of ABC’s reality show The Mole, one of the greatest television shows ever aired. Anderson can do absolutely no wrong by me.
Have you ever thought about how The Beatles got their logo? Well wonder no more, The Vinyl Geek did the research for you!
“More popular than Jesus” was part of a longer remark made by John Lennon during a 1966 interview in which he argued that the public was more infatuated with the Beatles than with Jesus, and that rock music might outlast Christianity. His opinions drew no controversy when originally published in the United Kingdom, but when they were republished in the United States a few months later, angry reactions flared up in Christian communities. The full quotation was:
Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I’ll be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first – rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them twisting it that ruins it for me.
The statement originates from a March 1966 article for the London newspaper the Evening Standard. When Datebook, a US teen magazine, quoted Lennon’s comments in July, extensive protests broke out in the US, particularly throughout the Bible Belt. Some radio stations stopped playing Beatles songs, their records were publicly burned, press conferences were cancelled, and threats were made. The controversy coincided with the group’s US tour in August 1966, and Lennon and Brian Epstein attempted to quell the dispute at a series of press conferences. Some tour events experienced disruption and intimidation, including a picketing by the Ku Klux Klan. Press coverage of their just-released album Revolver was also overshadowed by the controversy.
And yet, here we are today. The KKK are still in the news. More focus on The Beatles, less on the KKK in the future, ok?
Nothing wrong with headphones. Nothing wrong with blasting music a few decibles higher than your average airplane, too.
Sometimes. Looks like a few people in New York City back in 1981 had a problem with boom boxes.
And hey, I know the original term Ghettoblaster is used in the segment, now considered insulting or complimentary depending on the context. The word originated in the US, apparently reflecting the belief that they are popular in poor inner-city neighborhoods (ghettos), especially those populated by black Americans. Ghettoblaster rather than boom box became the common term in the UK and Australia for large portable stereos, perhaps because it carried less meaning.
Shawn Mendes joins Jimmy Fallon and The Roots to perform his hit “Treat You Better” with classroom instruments. The original version peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it Mendes’ second top 10 single. In Canada, the song has peaked at number seven on the Canadian Hot 100.
https://youtu.be/-2p5OnYcjY8
In late 1997, an aptly-named teen trio called 400 Pounds of Punk recorded a handful of tracks in a makeshift home studio at 1203 Ferdinand Street in Southwest Detroit. The track list is a sparse four songs. An unlisted hidden fifth track is a rude cover of Blondie’s “One Way Or Another” with vocal duties shared by the band’s lead singer Jamie Cherry and one of the session engineers, a then-unknown Jack White.
The cassette, titled “He Once Ate A Small Child,” is as far as I can tell the rarest physical release of a Jack White performance.
The highest vocal note by a male is E in the 8th octave – that’s 8, 5243 Hz – and was achieved by Wang Xiaolong on the set of Happy Camp of Hunan TV Station in Changsha, Hunan, China, on December 27, 2017.
The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Bob Ezrin, the legendary music and entertainment producer and entrepreneur, to its Board of Directors.
“Bob Ezrin cares deeply about the state of our national conversation,” says David Walmsley, CJF chair and editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail. “His accomplishments across the cultural scene speak for themselves, and we are proud to have attracted someone as passionate, talented and determined as Bob to our Board to ensure journalism flourishes in this country.”
For his part, Ezrin says: “Our fate as a civilization depends more now on a free and principled press than on any other institution. With so much being done in both the foreground and the background by governments, multinational corporations and powerful entities and individuals that can impact the entire world, we absolutely require the watchful eye of an unfettered press to help to keep them all honest, and when necessary to expose any improprieties.”
In a career spanning nearly 50 years, Toronto-born Ezrin has worked around the world on recordings, TV, film and live events with artists including Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, U2, Taylor Swift, Kiss, Lou Reed, Andrea Bocelli, Kristin Chenoweth, Aerosmith, Jay-Z, Peter Gabriel, Rod Stewart, Lang Lang, Nine Inch Nails and Pete Seeger, among many others.
He is a co-founder of The Nimbus School of Media Arts and Wow Unlimited Media Inc, both in Vancouver.
For his contributions, Ezrin is an inductee into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame and Canada’s Walk of Fame. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
Says Ezrin: “I worry now that, with all the unverified and sometimes completely fabricated information being disseminated via both new and old media, the truth is harder for the general public to recognize. And that is why it is more important than ever to promote and celebrate true journalism and to rebuild the trust that has been eroded in the misinformation age.”
Founded in 1990, The Canadian Journalism Foundation promotes, celebrates and facilitates excellence in journalism. The foundation runs a prestigious awards and fellowships program featuring an industry gala where news leaders, journalists and corporate Canada gather to celebrate outstanding journalistic achievement and the value of professional journalism. Through monthly J-Talks, a public speakers’ series, the CJF facilitates dialogue among journalists, business people, academics and students about the role of the media in Canadian society and the ongoing challenges for media in the digital era. The foundation also fosters opportunities for journalism education, training and research.
The first video recording released on The Cave from SXSW. Later re-recorded and released as third single from Sigh No More from 2009, which went on to win Album of the Year win at the Brit Awards later that year.
All photos by Mini’s Memories. You can contact her at minismemories@hotmail.com
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Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.
Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com
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