Can you imagine that marketing boardroom when David Lynch showed his work? The line in the sand of the bizarre and amazing has been drawn here.
Commercial for iTunes featuring Smash Mouth, Iggy Pop, Lil Kim and more.
Rip, mix, burn, baby. The iTunes Store opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs’ push to open a digital marketplace for music, and I’m going to guess this commercial aired just afterwards. As of January 2017, iTunes offered over 35 – 40 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,000 TV shows, and 65,000 films.
Understanding The Musical and Lyrical Brilliance of The Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”
It’s the 50th anniversary of the White Album! The Beatles’ most famous (and infamous) release is probably one of the most important albums in the history of popular music, and certainly one of the most important in rock and roll, so to celebrate its 50th birthday, 12tone teamed up with Apple Corps, the record label that released it, to take a look at one of its most enduring classics, While My Guitar Gently Weeps. It’s arguably one of the best songs the Beatles ever wrote, so there’s plenty of cool stuff to dig into!
Why Are So Many Rappers Singing Offbeat These Days?
The prevalence of this flow can be traced back to Northern California rap in the late ’80s.
Chubby Checker’s song about the video game Dig Dug from 1982
The father of”The Twist, Chubby Checker once recorded a song about the video game Dig Dug for a television commercial in 1982. It was never used, and the track was unheard by the public until a cassette tape was rediscovered over 30 years later.
Imogen Heap Announces “Mycelia” World Tour
Globally renowned tech innovator and award-winning recording artist Imogen Heap, recognized for creative works including Hide and Seek and Tiny Human, has announced her first world tour in eight years, which will bring together content creators, fans and the industry in a unique and innovative format.
Comprising of concerts, talks and workshops, the 40-city tour will be used as a platform to officially launch Mycelia’s ‘Creative Passport’ – realising a vision of the future which sees music makers connected through a verified and decentralised ecosystem, promoting artist-led, fair and sustainable operating practices.
Using emergent blockchain technology, the ‘Creative Passport’ – which is unique to each music maker and empowers them to be ‘open for business’ – contains personal information, existing IDs, acknowledgements, works and business partners. Featuring template ‘smart contracts’, it enables quick and easy direct payments to simplify and democratise collaboration from meaningful commercial partnerships to creativity.
After a vibrant and successful 2018 around Europe, Mycelia is embarking on its 9-city North American leg of its world tour from April – June of 2019. The tour kicks off in Miami and will pass through Washington, DC, New York, Chicago, Toronto, Boston, Austin, Seattle and San Francisco.
Events in each city will feature some or all of these elements:
• Live concerts performed both solo by Imogen Heap and with Guy Sigsworth. Reuniting to play together for the first time since 2003 as electronic duo Frou Frou
• Music maker workshops connecting the Mycelia tour with local music makers, technologists and industry influencers to profile the development of the ‘Creative Passport’
• Family workshops which will include children building and coding their own MIni.MU Gloves
• Talks at leading industry conferences where Imogen will speak on the technologies which are positively shaping the future of the music ecosystem, building better business and audience relations with music makers
As part of her involvement in making music, Heap has pioneered technologies to humanise the technology surrounding creation, performance business operations for her 20+ year career in music and better reward artists for their work. These include her MI.MU gloves, a gestural music making system, and Mycelia’s ‘Creative Passport’.
North America 2019 Tour Dates:
4/28: Miami, FL @ Fillmore
5/3: Washington, DC @ Lincoln
5/8: New York, NY @ Town Hall Theatre
5/14: Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre
5/17: Toronto, ON @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
5/24: Boston, MA @ Emerson Colonial Theatre
6/1: Austin, TX @ The Moody Theatre
6/5: Seattle, WA @ The Moore Theatre
6/8: San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic
Ariana Grande Announces New Dates For “The Sweetener” World Tour
Multiplatinum superstar Ariana Grande expands her upcoming North American The Sweetener World Tour. Second arena shows have been added in major cities including Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and more due to overwhelming demand.
Produced by Live Nation, The Sweetener World Tour kicks off March 18 in Albany, NY and will cross North America through June 26 in Toronto, ON. Previously revealed special guests Normani and Social House will also perform on each stop.
American Express Card Members can purchase tickets before the general public beginning Tuesday, December 11 at 10am local time through Thursday, December 13 at 10pm local time. Tickets for the newly added dates will go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, December 14 at 10am local time at Ticketmaster.com. All other previously announced shows are on sale now.
2018 marks yet another historic year for GRANDE. She concluded a banner twelve months with the distinction of being named Billboard’s “Woman of the Year” and receiving a pair of GRAMMY® Award nominations in the categories of “Best Pop Vocal Album” for her latest album Sweetener and “Best Pop Solo Performance” for “God Is A Woman.” Simultaneously, her recent single “thank u, next” bowed at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and smashed the record for “Most Spotify Streams for a Song By A Female Artist in a Single Week.”
Full tour routing below. Additional international tour dates to be announced.
THE SWEETENER WORLD TOUR
*New dates bolded
March 18 – Albany, NY – Times Union Center
March 20 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
March 22 – Buffalo, NY – KeyBank Center
March 25 – Washington, DC – Capitol One Arena
March 26 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
March 28 – Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena
March 30 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
April 1 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
April 3 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
April 5 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
April 7 – Chicago, IL – United Center
April 8 – Chicago, IL – United Center
April 10 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center
April 12 – Indianapolis, IN – Bankers Life Fieldhouse
April 13 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
April 15 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum
April 17 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
April 18 – Omaha, NE – CHI Health Center
April 20 – Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
April 22 – Salt Lake City, UT – Vivint Smart Home Arena
April 25 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
April 27 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
April 30 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
May 2 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center
May 3 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
May 6 – Los Angeles, CA – STAPLES Center
May 7 – Los Angeles, CA – STAPLES Center
May 10 – Los Angeles, CA – The Forum
May 14 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Arena
May 17 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center
May 19 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
May 21 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
May 23 – Oklahoma City, OK – Chesapeake Energy Arena
May 25 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
May 28 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
May 29 – Orlando, FL – Amway Center
May 31 – Miami, FL – American Airlines Arena
June 1 – Miami, FL – American Airlines Arena
June 4 – Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena
June 7 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
June 8 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
June 10 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
June 12 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
June 14 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
June 15 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
June 18 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
June 19 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
June 21 – Washington, DC – Capitol One Arena
June 22 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
June 24 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
June 26 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
Slayer Announces Leg Five: North America, Of The Band’s Final World Tour
With Leg Three: Europe of Slayer’s Final World Tour having wrapped up this past Saturday, dates in Australia, Japan, the South Pacific, and the final European dates announced in the past weeks, today Slayer announces Leg Five: North America of its Final World Tour. Maintaining the band’s ethos of “play as many places as possible to make it easier for everyone to see the band one last time,” Leg Five will kick off May 2, 2019 at the Ak-Chin Amphitheatre in Phoenix AZ and see the band performing 16 shows across the Southern states and then up the east coast, culminating at the Xfinity Center Amphitheatre in Mansfield, MA on May 25. Lamb of God, Amon Amarth and Cannibal Corpse will support Slayer on all Leg 5 dates.
Also today, Episode 3 of “Slayer Looks Back on 37 Years” video interview series is released. Tom Araya and Kerry King talk about getting their first record deal and the release of Show No Mercy; Tom, Kerry and Paul Bostaph remember Paul’s first meeting with the band and his subsequent audition to be Slayer’s drummer.
With still more dates coming – it’s a big world and it takes time to transverse it – confirmed 2019 dates for Slayer’s Final World Tour are as follows:
MARCH
Leg Four: Australia, Japan, South Pacific
(Anthrax and Behemoth will support on headline dates)
7 Brisbane Riverstage, Brisbane, Australia
9 Download Festival, Sydney, Australia
11 Download Festival, Melbourne, Australia
15 Eventfinda Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand
17 Horncastle Arena, Christchurch, New Zealand
21 Download Festival, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
23 Pulp Summer Slam, Manila, Philippines (support TBA)
MAY
Leg Five: North America
(Lamb of God, Amon Amarth and Cannibal Corpse will support on all dates)
2 Ak-Chin Amphitheatre, Phoenix, AZ
3 Isleta Amphitheatre, Albuquerque, NM
5 UTEP/Don Haskins Center, El Paso, TX
7 Bert Ogden Arena, Edinburg, TX
8 The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, Dallas, TX
10 MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa, FL
11 Coral Sky Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach, Florida
13 Big Sandy Superstore Arena, Huntington, WVa
14 Merriweasther Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD
16 Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center, Noblesville, IN
17 Providence Medical Center Amphitheatre, Bonner Springs, KS
19 DTE Energy Mush Center, Clarkston, MI
20 Covel Centre, Youngstown, OH
22 Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, ON CANADA
24 BB&T Pavilion, Camden, NJ
25 Xfinity Center, Mansfield, MA
JUNE
Leg Six: Europe
(Support acts for headline dates TBA)
4 Arena Gilwice, Gilwice, Poland
6 Sweden Rock, Solvesborg, Sweden
8 Rock Am Ring, Nurburgring, Germany
9 Rock im Park, Nurnberg, Germany
11 Sports Arena, Budapest, Hungary
13 Leipzig Arena, Leipzig, Germany
14 Nova Rock, Nickelsdorf, Austria
Weekend of June 14-16*
Download, Donington Park, UK
19 Arena, Geneva, Switzerland
21 Graspop Metal Meeting, Dessel, Belgium
23 Hellfest, Clisson, France
25 Tipsport Arena, Prague, Czechoslovakia
28 Tons of Rock, Oslo, Norway
29 Tuska Open Air, Helsinki, Finland
JULY
July 3-6*
Resurrection Festival, Viviero, Spain
5 VOA Heavy Rock Festival, Lisbon, Portugal
7 Rock The Castle, Verona, Italy
10 Metalheadmeeting, Bucharest, Romania
11 Airport Park, Sofia, Bulgaria
13 Rockwave Festival, Athens, Greece
Weekend of July 27-28*
Heavy Montreal, Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, QC
AUGUST
3 Messegelande, Balingen, Germany
*Exact performance date to be announced.
Rodriguez Announces Canadian Tour
Rodriguez, the legendary singer-songwriter known only by his surname, is a self-taught guitarist. He began performing in bars and clubs around the city of Detroit in the 1960s, as the city suffered postindustrial urban decay. It was there that he recorded two studio albums, Cold Fact in 1969 and Coming from Reality in 1971 released on Sussex records. These recordings went unnoticed in the U.S. and Rodriguez eventually turned his efforts elsewhere, earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Wayne State University, running for political office and working construction and factory jobs to support
his family.
In the mid-1970s, his music gained airplay in Australia and New Zealand. He has since toured there several times, to play festivals, arenas & theaters. He released “Rodriguez Rocks – Live In Australia “ in 2016 on Light in the Attic Records and has completed a multi-city tour of Australia in November/December of 2016.
In the late 1990s, South African fans finally sought him out, leading to the unanticipated renaissance of his music career. Their story is told in the 2012 Oscar award-winning documentary, Searching for Sugar Man, directed by Malik Bendjelloul, which has given Rodriguez a new measure of fame in the U.S. with his music and story now reaching audiences worldwide. The film has been aired multiple times on PBS and public TV worldwide and is available on DVD and streaming TV.
Rodriguez was unaware that he had reached legendary folk-rocksuper stardom status in South Africa, where mistaken rumors circulated that he had perished. As it turns out, South African anti-Apartheid activists and musicians alike were inspired by his counterculture lyrics. At the beginning of 2016 he went on a multi-city tour of South Africa, often playing multiple nights in arenas.
Rodriguez now tours extensively in South Africa, Australia, Europe, Canadaand the U.S., where he takes thoughtful appreciation in greeting longtime fans, and a new generation of listeners who find common ground in his music. His albums, Cold Fact and Coming from Reality have been re-released on Light in the Attic Records and the Searching for Sugar Man soundtrack is available on Sony Legacy. International media attention, awareness and accolades have since been bestowed upon both the documentary – Searching for Sugar Man and Rodriguez’s music.
He has perhaps one of the most unique true music business stories of fleeting fame finally realized.
Rodriguez is enjoying the collective heartfelt dream of a musician, beating the odds and finding a place in music history. With a music career that has withstood the test of time; the story of Rodriguez is one of sweet success.
05/08 Winnipeg, MB – Burton Cummings Theatre
05/10 Calgary, AB – Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
05/12 Vancouver, BC – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
05/15 Edmonton, AB – Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
06/15 Toronto, ON – Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
What does an ear pick piano sound like? Just like the chopstick piano.
Tokyo musician Sami Elu played an original song called The Accountant on an Ear Pick Piano, an instrument he created made out of recycled materials.