Take ‘Personal Jesus’ and mix it with ‘Happy Together’ to get ‘Happy with Jesus.’
DJ Cummerbund is legendary on YouTube for his mash-ups of classic songs that really don’t belong together but work so well, they’re so happy together.
Playing Hip Hop Music Makes Cheese Taste Better
When searching a fromagerie for the perfect chunk of cheddar or parmesan, cheese aficionados have probably never grilled vendors over what kind of music was played to their cheeses. But a Swiss cheesemaker has embarked on an experiment to test the impact of music on Emmental, one of the most famous cheeses in Switzerland, even if it prompts pundits to write such grating remarks as: you gouda brie kidding!
A unique study by the Bern University of the Arts claims music can impact the taste of cheese, and it seems to indicate Hip hop music in particular makes cheese taste best.
Here’s That Sax Solo from Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street” On A 10-Hour Loop
“Baker Street” by Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty and features one of the most popular sax solos, ever, as a prominent eight-bar saxophone riff played as a break between verses, by Raphael Ravenscroft.
In January 2011, radio presenter Simon Lederman revealed that Ravenscroft thought the solo was out of tune. When asked during a live radio interview on BBC Radio London, “What do you think when you hear the sax solo now?” Ravenscroft replied, “I’m irritated because it’s out of tune; yeah it’s flat; by enough of a degree that it irritates me at best”, and admitted he was “gutted” when he heard it played back. He added that he had not been able to re-record the take, as he was not involved when the song was mixed.
Here’s that solo, for 10 hours. Because, internet.
Hugh Masekela-The Father of South African Jazz
Hugh Masekela is a renowned composer, singer, and trumpeter. He is popularly known as the father of South African jazz. During his lifetime, Hugh made exceptional jazz compositions. He wrote a variety of anti-apartheid songs including Bring Him Back Home and Soweto Blues. Hugh passed away in January 2018 at the age of 78. In this post, we highlight the early life, music career and achievements of the legendary Hugh Masekela.
Early Life
Hugh Masekela was born in April 1939 in KwaGuga Township, Witbank. His parents were Thomas Selena and Pauline Bowsers his father worked as a health inspector while his mother was a social worker. Hugh spent most of his early life with his grandmother where he developed an interest in playing piano and singing.
Hugh started playing the trumpet when he was 14 years old. Archbishop Trevor Huddleston bought him the first trumpet. Trevor was a chaplain at St. Martin’s School. He requested Uncle Sauda, the leader of the Johannesburg brass band to teach Hugh the fundamentals of playing trumpets. Masekela was a quick learner. Some of Hugh’s classmates started playing different instruments thus forming the famous Huddleston Jazz Band.
Upon hearing about the band, Louis Armstrong sent a trumpet to Hugh as a gift. Masekela led his bandmates until 1956 before joining the African Jazz Revue. Hugh composed several anti-apartheid South African jazz songs between 1950 and 1968. They enabled him to reach a huge population. In 1958, the Manhattan Brothers toured South Africa. Hugh produced the King Kong which Todd Matshikiza had written. He toured the country for a year together with Nathan Mdledle and Miriam Makeba.
Musical Career
Hugh joined Johnny Gertze, Kippie Moeketsi, Makhaya Ntshoko, and Dollar Brand to form the Jazz Epistles in 1959. They performed in several concerts in Cape Town and Johannesburg for a year. However, in March 1960, more than 65 people were killed in the Sharpeville. The government banned people from assembling in groups of 10 or more. Trevor Huddleston helped Hugh to leave the country. John Dankworth and Yehudi Menuhin helped him get admission into the Guildhall School of Music.
Masekela joined the Manhattan School of Music in 1960 to study classical trumpet. He married Mariam Makeba in 1964. However, they divorced in 1966. Several years later, Hugh, collaborated with Central and West African musicians. He re-absorbed mbaqanga strains after returning to South Africa. During his lifetime, High received many honors including the Doctors of Music in Rhodes University, an Honorary Doctorate in Music in the University of York and the Legend Award during the 2016 MTV Africa Music Awards.
Hugh Masekela’s Best Songs
Hugh produced several South African jazz songs such as:
- Chileshe
- Grazing in the Grass
- Going’ Back to New Orleans
- Stimela
- Khawuleza
- Thuma Mina
- Mafikizolo feat. Hugh Masekela
- Thanayi feat. Thandiswa Mazwai
Hugh Masekela will be remembered for his amazing South African jazz songs. He fought for the rights of oppressed South Africans by taking part in different anti-apartheid campaigns. The ruling government exiled him for 30 years. Hugh returned to South Africa in 1990 after the release of Nelson Mandela. He succumbed to prostate cancer in January 2018 in Johannesburg at the age of 78.
Tim Baker Releases Nostalgia Anthem “All Hands” From New Solo Album “Forever Overhead”
Forever Overhead, the debut album from singer-songwriter Tim Baker, features eleven songs that centre on kinship. His buoyant first single “Dance” was about a longing for connection and feeling close to, but ultimately separated from, love. “All Hands,” his joyous indie-folk single, again explores connections, but is less of a lament than a thank you letter, dedicated to the people who have helped Baker throughout his career, and part nostalgic anthem about his Newfoundland home.
“This is a song about my past,” says Baker who grew up in the small maritime town of St. John’s before moving to Toronto, the 4th largest city in North America, in 2018. “It’s a song of homesickness that grew into a nostalgic anthem. I was thinking of the Newfoundland diaspora (or any diaspora, really). And it turned out celebratory – sort of revelling in the fact that there is this place that is an inescapable part of me, along with all the people there that I’ve loved and learned from and been shaped by. One of my favourite things is when a reason for despair turns out to also be a reason for celebration, almost simultaneously. It feels good to sing.”
Forever Overhead, is produced by Marcus Paquin (The National, Local Natives), and set for release on April 19, 2019 via Arts & Crafts.
For his debut solo album, Tim Baker, formerly the songwriter and lead vocalist of beloved Canadian indie rock band Hey Rosetta!, took his inspiration from ‘70s songwriters, like Jackson Browne and Randy Newman, whose music filled his childhood home, and from his contemporaries (Feist, Bahamas, Andy Shauf). The resulting blend of piano ballads, pop grooves, and ebullient folk-rock is straightforward with curious undertones that provides a timeless backdrop for Baker’s vibrant lyricism.
The album was announced in February alongside the breezy lead single “Dance” with a beautiful video directed by Tim’s long-time friend and fellow Newfoundlander Jordan Canning (Schitt’s Creek, Baroness Von Sketch). The video, shot in the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, further examined our modern dissociation and desire. Drawing upon this unique setting where nature is frozen in time behind glass, the video speaks to how increasingly disconnected we are from nature and the people in our lives, even when they are right in front of us.
The search for personal connection is a recurring theme in both Tim Baker’s songwriting as well as his approach to live performance. In February of 2018, he travelled across Canada solo to play a handful of intimate shows in some of the oddest venues: a book store, living rooms, a ski lodge, the rink bar during a curling tournament and a hotel room Tim lived in for a week. This intentional, unconventional approach allowed him to distill the purest elements of these songs by road-testing them in the most challenging of circumstances – alone in front of silent, small, attentive audiences. All delivered from the heart and either by piano or guitar and most of which will comprise a 5 song live video EP/doc style mini series entitled “The Side Door Sessions.”
TIM BAKER – HEADLINE SHOWS 2019:
04/17/19 Hamilton, ON The Casbah (All Ages)
04/19/19 St. John’s, NL Holy Heart Theatre* (second show added)
04/20/19 St. John’s, NL Holy Heart Theatre*
04/23/19 Toronto, ON Great Hall* SOLD OUT
04/24/19 Toronto, ON Great Hall* (second show added) SOLD OUT
04/25/19 Toronto, ON Great Hall* (third show added)
04/26/19 Ottawa, ON Bronson Centre*
04/28/19 Quebec City, QC Maelstrom* (new date)
04/29/19 Fredericton, NB Wilmot United Church*
04/30/19 Moncton, NB Tide and Boar Ballroom*
05/02/19 Charlottetown, PE ECMAs
05/03/19 Halifax, NS St. Matthew’s United Church (second show added)* SOLD OUT
05/04/19 Halifax, NS St. Matthew’s United Church* SOLD OUT
05/07/19 Montreal, QC Le Ministère*
05/08/19 NYC, NY Rockwood Music Hall
05/11/19 Brooklyn, NY Jalopy Theatre
05/13/19 Asbury Park, NJ Danny Clinch Gallery
05/14/19 Vienna, VA Jammin Java
05/16/19 Boston, MA Cafe 939
05/18/19 Burlington, VT Higher Ground Showcase
05/20/19 Buffalo, NY Leopard Lounge at Town Ballroom
05/29/19 Edmonton, AB The Station on Jasper*
05/30/19 Calgary, AB Commonwealth Bar & Stage*
06/01/19 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom* (venue change)
06/03/19 Seattle, WA Columbia City Theater*
06/04/19 Portland, OR The Old Church*
06/07/19 Los Angeles, CA The Hotel Cafe*
06/08/19 San Francisco, CA Hotel Utah*
*with Charlotte Cornfield
Tom Wilson’s Lee Harvey Osmond Announces Spring Tour Dates, Shares New Video For “Forty Light Years”
Today, Lee Harvey Osmond (aka Tom Wilson) is sharing the new video for “Forty Light Years”, a song that’s been steadily moving its way up the CBC Music Top 20 for the past few weeks and has now hit #3. His fourth Lee Harvey Osmond album, Mohawk, centres around the discovery of Wilson’s true heritage and the culture, and has been holding the #1 spot on Earshot’s Folk & Roots chart for the past five weeks.
This week, Wilson begins a string of tour dates supporting his new record Mohawk and autobiography, Beautiful Scars. Full tour dates can be found below.
When Wilson created the moniker Lee Harvey Osmond he wasn’t entirely certain if this was a new stage name or merely a provocative handle for the musician/artist collective assembled by producer Michael Timmins to record a collection of Tom Wilson songs that would become A Quiet Evil. This was the first of four albums bearing the featured artist Lee Harvey Osmond. The Folk Sinner was next, followed by the break through Beautiful Scars. It was during this time between releasing Beautiful Scars and recording Kings and Kings with Blackie and The Rodeo Kings that Wilson went public with his recent discovery. He was not exactly the person he thought he was.
In his 50s, Wilson learned that the parents who raised him were not his birth parents; that, in fact, he was adopted and that his biological mother and father were Mohawk from the Kahnawake reserve, just outside of Montreal. Grappling with this newfound sense of himself plunged Wilson into a quest for his heritage and his truth, and led to the writing of his bestselling autobiography, Beautiful Scars (Doubleday Canada). The book is a colourful and truthful tale of this quest, and his life’s tribulations and successes along the path.
“It is a story of finding your way home,” he says. “It’s a story of adoption, of growing up thinking you’re a big, sweaty, Irish guy, and finding out at the age of 53 that you’re a Mohawk.”
Under the steady hand of producer Michael Timmins, the musician collective Lee Harvey Osmond revives the origins of ‘Acid Folk’ with appearances from old friends Ray Farrugia (percussion), Aaron Goldstein (steel guitar), Jesse O’Brien (keyboards) and introduces Anna Reddick (bass). The expanded use of Darcy Hepner’s brass and baritone sax and brilliant harmonica flashes from blues veteran Paul Reddick and Wilson’s son, Thompson Wilson, sound as guideposts behind the moody grooves of Wilson’s literary recital. Suzie Ungerleider (Oh Susanna) provides the perfect backing vocal ingredient for Wilson’s baritone.
Wilson’s life has been an ongoing quest so it is perhaps inevitable that after decades immersed in poetry, literature and music he would turn attention to visual art, a language that transcends the verbal and the written. The packaging and visual elements of Mohawk incorporate Tom Wilson creations. In particular a painting of the same name from his collection Beautiful Scars: Mohawk Warriors, Hunter and Chiefs
He is still driven to ask questions, to seek meaning from the elusive mysteries hidden beneath the surface of everyday existence, to come to terms with his history, his identity; to aspire to higher truths and to understand his place in the world. “If I have 20 more years on this planet, I hope to keep becoming a Mohawk, because I can’t become a Mohawk the way my brothers and sisters and ancestors did.”
LEE HARVEY OSMOND TOUR DATES
April 10 Grand Prairie Live Theatre, Grande Prairie, AB
April 26 Mount Tabor Theatre, Milford,ON
April 27 1000 Islands Writers Festival 2019 (Thousand Islands Playhouse) Gananoque, ON
May 1 First Ontario PAC, St. Catherines, ON
May 2 First Ontario PAC, St. Catherines, ON
May 3 Koerner Hall, Toronto, ON
May 16 Hugh’s Room , Toronto, ON
May 25 Blacksheep Inn, Wakefield, QC
Lemmy gives advice to an African-American kid who is being picked on for liking metal
“Should you be penalized for giving people joy? Screw ’em. Do what you want.” Truer words have never been spoken.
Long John Silver’s Launches Record Label, Issues Audio Coupons for Lent
Long John Silver’s is offering more than just tasty seafood this Lent season. The nation’s largest quick-service seafood restaurant company is now offering — one could say — dinner and a show for its most loyal followers. The company recently launched its own record label, Fish Yeah! Records, and signed the DC-native “surfgaze” band, the Coral Benders, just in time for the busy, fish fest season of Lent.
In celebration of the new venture, Long John Silver’s is today releasing audio coupons for stores nationwide. The coupons can be redeemed by playing one of the ocean-themed songs by The Coral Benders from the freshman record dropped on #NewMusicFridays on Soundcloud.
New songs from the freshman album, complemented by original artwork, are announced via Twitter, can be heard on Soundcloud each Friday, and will be trailed by a new audio coupon the following week.
Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan Releases “Chip Away” And Announces May 31st Release For Solo Album “TENDERNESS”
Guns N’ Roses bassist and New York Times bestselling author DUFF McKAGAN has released “Chip Away,” a new track from his much-anticipated solo album, TENDERNESS ahead of its May 31st release.
“‘Chip Away’ is somewhat of a rail against cable news and divisive agendas…all for the almighty dollar,” says McKagan. “The song also highlights the fact that history repeats itself over and over, and that we will all get past this, together.”
The full track listing for TENDERNESS is as follows:
“Tenderness”
“It’s Not Too Late”
“Wasted Heart”
“Falling Down”
“Last September”
“Chip Away”
“Cold Outside”
“Feel”
“Breaking Rocks”
“Parkland”
“Don’t Look Behind You”
Also available for pre-order is a special limited edition TENDERNESS deluxe book, which includes the album on 180-gram yellow & red starburst vinyl, the CD, and features an exclusive lithograph signed and numbered by McKagan. The hard cover book contains 40-pages of photos from the recording sessions and also presents liner notes written by Duff detailing his experiences with each song and the project as a whole. The vinyl features 10 tracks and a unique sequence carefully selected by McKagan and the album’s GRAMMY-winning producer Shooter Jennings, while the CD includes 11 tracks.
TENDERNESS sees McKagan reflecting on his experiences traveling the globe over two and a half years on Guns N’ Roses’ Not In This Lifetime tour. Encountering heartbreak, anger, fear, confusion and divide on his travels during this tumultuous time in our world history, McKagan channeled a collective hurt into songs of monolithic power.
“We’re becoming divided at a time when we need each other most,” says McKagan. “When huge industries get replaced because of modernization, it’s time to retrain and bolster up those who get swept aside. Homelessness and drug addiction are avoidable in this country if we come together and get private and public cogs turning together in a positive direction. We can at least try to tackle mental illness while we’re at it. But alas, we stump and lie, point fingers and divide. We’re way better than this. As a father, I must say and do something now because I love my girls and my wife, and I love my country, and I feel I must be strong and use my voice now, do it while I’m able or perhaps never get a chance ever again.”
McKagan and Jennings began recording Tenderness a year ago this month, working out of Station House studios, located in Echo Park, CA, where they wrote and recorded in-between McKagan’s tour with seminal rock band Guns N’ Roses and the release of Jennings’ eponymous album, Shooter. TENDERNESS features Jennings and his band along with appearances by The Waters and The Suicide Horn Section (which features Duff’s brother Matt McKagan on trombone), amongst others.
Twelve months later, they’re gearing up to take these songs on the road for a North American tour that kicks off May 30at TLA in Philadelphia. Prior to the tour’s launch, Los Angeles-based fans can catch McKagan and Jennings discussing the album and giving a special performance at the GRAMMY Museum in downtown LA.
Duff McKagan 2019 U.S. Tour
May 30 — Philadelphia, PA @ TLA
May 31 — Washington, DC @ City Winery
June 1 — Boston, MA @ City Winery
June 3 — New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
June 6 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
June 8 — Nashville, TN @ The Cannery
June 10 — Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn
June 13 — Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theater
June 14 — San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
June 15 — Portland, OR @ Aladdin
June 16 — Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
The Killers, Miley Cyrus, Santana, Jay-Z Headline Woodstock 50 Festival
Woodstock 50 Music and Arts Fair announced the official lineup of its three-day 50th anniversary celebration today, with more than 80 musical acts. Taking place on its 50th anniversary weekend, Aug. 16-18, in Watkins Glen, N.Y. The most iconic music festival in American history is bringing peace, love and music back for a new generation of fans. Woodstock 50’s lineup reflects its mission –uniting people in a shared experience with great artists and encouraging active support of equality, inclusion and a shared sustainable future.
Legacy acts, in addition to original Woodstock ’69 icons Santana and Dead & Company, include Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters, David Crosby and Friends, John Fogerty, Canned Heat, Country Joe McDonald, John Sebastian and Melanie.
Scheduled on Aug. 16, Friday: The Killers, Miley Cyrus, The Lumineers, The Raconteurs, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats, Run The Jewels, The Head and The Heart, Maggie Rogers, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Bishop Briggs, Anderson East, Akon, Princess Nokia, Grandson, Fever 333, Larkin Poe, Dorothy, Flora Cash, Brian Cadd, Ninet Tayeband more.
Scheduled on Aug. 17, Saturday: Chance The Rapper, The Black Keys, Sturgill Simpson, Greta Van Fleet, Portugal. The Man, Leon Bridges, Gary Clark Jr., Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Dawes, Margo Price, Nahko And Medicine For The People, India.Arie, Jade Bird, Rival Sons, Emily King, Soccer Mommy, SiR, Taylor Bennett, Amy Helm, Courtney Hadwin, Pearl, John-Robert, IAMDDB. and more.
Scheduled on Aug. 18, Sunday: Jay-Z, Imagine Dragons, Halsey, Cage the Elephant, Brandi Carlile, Janelle Monáe, Young the Giant, Courtney Barnett, Common, Vince Staples, Judah and The Lion, Earl Sweatshirt, Boygenius, Reignwolf, The Zombies, Pussy Riot, Cherry Glazerr, Leven Kali, The Marcus King Band, Victory, Hollis Brown, John Craigie, Amigo The Devil, Liz Brasher and more.
“We’ve lined up artists who won’t just entertain but will remind the world that music has the power to bring people together, to heal, to move us to action and to tell the stories of a generation,” said Michael Lang, co-founder and producer of the 1969 and 2019 Woodstock festivals. “Our hope is that today, just as in 1969, music will be the constant that can inspire positive change.”
Woodstock 50 also announced the lineup of some of its nonprofit cause partners addressing issues that impact all generations.
- Conservation International has been protecting nature for 30 years. Today it continues its work to build a healthier more prosperous and productive planet through science, policy and partnerships with countries, communities and companies.
- Dolphin Project is dedicated to the welfare and protection of dolphins worldwide, and aims to educate the public about captivity, and where feasible, retire and/or release captive dolphins.
- Felix Organization provides inspiring opportunities and new experiences to enrich the lives of children who are growing up in the foster care system.
- Happy Hippie Foundation rallies young people to find injustice facing homeless youth, LGBTQ youth and other vulnerable populations.
- HeadCount is a non-partisan organization that works with musicians to promote participation in democracy by staging voter registration drives at concerts.
- Hiring America is dedicated to helping veterans find jobs – providing valuable information to help ease the transition for veterans entering the civilian workforce.
- March For Our Lives was started by students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., with a mission to end gun violence.
- REFORM Alliance exists to dramatically reduce the number of people who are unjustly under the control of the criminal justice system.
- Seva Foundation is a global eye care organization that transforms lives and strengthens communities by restoring sight and preventing blindness.
- SocialWorks aims to empower youth through the arts, education, and civic engagement while fostering leadership, accessibility, and positivity within Chicago.
Lang shared that the festival will also include highly curated neighborhoods that celebrate unique experiences in all the arts – including emerging talent, specialty food offerings, workshops and crafts – as well as a dedicated “Kidstock” area.
Tickets to this once-in-a-lifetime event will go on sale on Earth Day, April 22.