Tom Waits for No One is a rotoscoped short film starring Tom Waits, singing “The One That Got Away” to an apparition. Directed in 1979 by John Lamb of Lyon Lamb, it was among the first music videos of its kind, and nearly two years before the advent of MTV. The film, inspired by a performance of Waits at the Roxy in May 1977, captured a first place award at the first Hollywood Erotic Film and Video Festival in 1980. The film never saw commercial release and sat in obscurity for 30 years, when it went quietly viral on YouTube. Filmed live at the La Brea Stage in Hollywood in six takes and edited down to five and a half minutes, the live frames were then traced using a “video rotoscope” and then converted by hand into animation. This particular combination of rotoscoping and pencil test, originally developed for Ralph Bakshi’s American Pop, was considered innovative at the time, and assisted in winning Lyon Lamb a 1980 Academy Award for Scientific and Technical Achievement.
Square Peg Round Hole Plays Ringing Rocks
Ringing Rocks Park is a 128 acre park located in Upper Black Eddy. Inside the park is an 8 acre field of boulders that, when struck with a hammer, sound resonant and reverberant; almost like a metal pipe. When The percussionists of Square Peg Round Hole discovered Ringing Rocks Park, they knew that it would be an inspiring place for them to write and play music. As percussionists, they’re always searching for unorthodox sound sources, and are often finding new instruments in unexpected places. The group traveled to Ringing Rocks Park with filmmaker Kevin Eikenberg and documented the writing process of a song played solely on boulders.
Battle of the Strings: Guitarist Joe Bonamassa takes on cellist Tina Guo
Guitarist Joe Bonamassa takes on cellist Tina Guo in an epic speed battle for the applause of the audience. They begin with Flight of the Bumblebee and then into Woke Up Dreaming. If you dig this, check out Joe’s Live at Carnegie Hall – An Acoustic Evening.
Slowdive: NPR Music Field Recordings
Before a month-and-change ago, Slowdive hadn’t released an album in 22 years. So you’d be forgiven for watching the band perform “Sugar For The Pill” and struggling to pin down what era you’re in — especially since NPR Music plopped the group in a playfully retro Brooklyn shuffleboard parlor for the occasion.
In the early ’90s, Slowdive dressed up shoegaze’s hazy drift with jolts of energy and a chiming dream-pop shimmer. The band lasted only three albums before splitting up in 1995, at which point members Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell formed the more countrified Mojave 3. Now, after reuniting in 2014, it’s back with a self-titled album that picks up where it left off — but, while it conjures many signifiers of ’90s college radio, the band’s return album freshens the project up, too, with bright, impeccable songcraft. A patient mid-tempo gem that’s as hooky as it is hypnotic, “Sugar For The Pill” is a particular highlight, so it’s a joy to watch the reconstituted band trot it out for this Field Recording, filmed at Royal Palms Shuffleboard in Brooklyn.
Billy Joel on His Advice To Younger Musicians
What advice do you give to younger musicians?
Depends on who it is. Deciding to become a musician for life is a big decision, and it’s scary because there’s no safety net. A lot your friends will say you’re crazy; you’re never gonna make it. Your parents worry about how you’re gonna make a living. Most musicians that play in clubs or restaurants have to have another job.
Some subway musicians are great.
It’s tough. Forget about being a star or a recording artist: If you can pay your rent and make enough money to buy food and necessities of life as a musician, that’s already a success. I tell acts who are opening up for us, “Just be yourself.” We are all a culmination of all our influences. Nobody grows up in a test tube. A lot of times you get accused of being a derivative. Well, of course you sound like people you admire! Eventually you practice it in your own way and it becomes original.
I have another theory. Don’t be afraid of mistakes, because the only original thing we ever do is make mistakes. You can be taught how to do something perfectly right, but only you can screw it up in your own inimitable way. We’ve left mistakes in recordings, thinking, “Wow, nobody would have thought of that!”
Michelle Branch Talks About Why She Was In Musical Limbo For So Long
Michelle Branch is a Grammy-winning singer/songwriter. She put two platinum albums when she was still a teenager. Those records were huge hits, and so her sound on those records defined her as an artist—for better or worse. Over a decade later, and after a long stretch, in 2017, Michelle put out her third album, Hopeless Romantic. In this episode of Song Exploder, Michelle talks about why she was in musical limbo for so long, as she takes apart her song “Best You Ever.”
Orchestra Performs Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Rundfunk-Tanzorchester Ehrenfeld performs a Daft Punk cover of Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.
Plizzanet Earth with Snoop Dogg: Iguana vs. Snakes
Jimmy Kimmel teamed up with his friend Snoop Dogg for what has become one of the most beloved nature programs on this or any planet. And with that said, here is a special all-reptile edition of #PlizzanetEarth.
Wayne Kramer Has Uploaded Rare MC5 Concert Footage To YouTube
Wayne Kramer of the dangerous rock ‘n’ roll legends the Motor City 5 (or the MC5 if you’re short for time), has personally uploaded remastered clips of live performances from 1968 (at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago), 1970 (the Tartar Field show), and 1972 (at the Gibus Clubin Paris).
DASPO-CONUS Democratic National Convention footage:
Tartar Field, Detroit, July 19, 1970:
Gibus Club, Paris 1972:
The Original Batman Theme Song Done Metal
Guitarist 331Erock pays tribute to Adam West and the character he defined for him, and millions of others, through this metal version of Neal Hefti’s 1966 Batman theme song.