Watch as Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine discusses his Jazzmaster collection, approach to music creation, and his legendary strumming technique.
Today I Found Out More About “The Far Side” Creator Gary Larson
For 15 years, Gary Larson took millions of readers over to the “Far Side.” Using anamorphic animals, chubby teenagers, universal emotions, a simple drawing style and a really bizarre, morbid sense of humor, The Far Side became one of the most successful – and praised – comic strips of all time.
But do you actually know anything about Larsen, the man? His life outside of The Far Side has been really interesting. He plays the banjo, and almost had a career in jazz, too. He keeps exotic animals. And there’s more, all in this video from Today I Found Out.
German Shepherd Drummer Plays A Bluegrass Beat
YouTube user ILL Fonic shared this short but hilarious mashup video of a dog scratching a glass door in rhythm to man singing Mel McDaniel’s bluegrass classic, Louisiana Saturday Night.
Watch Televangelists Play Led Zeppelin Backward In 1983
Playing some of your favourite vinyl records backwards sometimes reveal messages that don’t exactly tell you to keep brushing your teeth, or call your mother. Oh no, dear reader, this is heavy stuff, like we’re all going to hell, or smoke a lot of dope. Not entirely surprisingly, famed occultist and Fundamentalist bugaboo Aleister Crowley is credited with starting the whole thing. In his 1913 essay on meditation, Magick: Book 4, Crowley promoted the idea of “listen[ing] to phonograph records, reversed,” to train one’s brain to think backward.
The Beatles allegedly, used this technique to let the world know Paul McCartney was dead, because, well, I guess they couldn’t do a press release. Jimi Hendrix gave a hint on And the Gods Made Love that he understands…something when he is heard to say “Yes, yes, yes, I get it. Okay, one, okay, one more time.” Electric Light Orchestra on Can’t Get It Out of My Head goes all out and is heard to sing, “Here it comes, another lonely day / Playing the game. I’ll sail away / On a voyage of no return to see” backward and heard “He is the nasty one — Christ you’re infernal — It is said we’re dead men — Everyone who has the mark will live.” OK, then.
The backwards hits just kept coming and being revealed, long after that album was released, too, continuing in the 1980s, thanks to these televangelists.
“Ringo”, a Ringo Starr US TV special, aired April 26, 1978
Ringo is a 1978 American made-for-television comedy film starring Ringo Starr as both a fictionalised version of himself and his fictional half-brother “Ognir Rrats”. Ringo, stressed out by fame, trades places with a schmuck who looks exactly like him. Then the problems start.
It was broadcast on the US NBC network on 26 April 1978. This 44-minute film features an all-star cast, including Art Carney, Carrie Fisher and Harrison. Starr performs songs from his concurrent album, Bad Boy, and older material.
CHUM FM’s Roger Ashby’s Advice To Future Radio Hosts
The key word to success on the air is – connect. You must connect. You sometimes hear people on the air and think that person doesn’t have a very good voice, but they connect. Human to human. You should always imagine you are always speaking to one person, not a group of people. I never use the word “everybody” or “folks” because you are talking to individuals. People are listening with their own two ears. I’m always conscious what the people listening to me are perceiving. Have I been clear? Have I given them the details? Did I put the right emphasis in the right place?
I remember one time we got an email from somebody who said, ‘I feel like I’m at a party eavesdropping’. That devastated me. That’s not what I wanted. I think what they were referring to is we did something that was too inside amongst ourselves and the listener had no idea what was going on. It’s easy to fall into that trap.
– Roger Ashby, DJ, retiring after 50 years working in Toronto radio. Read the rest of the interview here.
Ben Stiller’s High School Band Is Back Together
‘Escape at Dannemora’ director Ben Stiller reunited with his high school punk band, Capital Punishment, to create a new album that’s set to release on Black Friday.
Steve Carell was nervous meeting Kelly Clarkson after 40-Year-Old Virgin
Welcome to Marwen star Steve Carell talks about returning to host SNL after a decade and why he was scared to meet Kelly Clarkson in person after screaming her name in THAT classic 40-Year-Old Virgin scene.