You’ve heard of Jackson Pollock and know of his infamous “drip paintings,” but what is it that you’re supposed to do when you look at his work today? Why did it cause shockwaves in 1947, and what does it mean now? The Art Assignment explores the life, evolution, and legacy of Jackson Pollock.
Eminem’s ‘The Real Slim Shady” Isolated Vocal Track
May I have your attention, please? May I have your attention, please? Will the real Slim Shady please stand up? “The Real Slim Shady” was Eminem’s first song to reach number one in the United Kingdom and it also peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, giving him his biggest hit up to that point. The song was the 14th best selling of 2000 in the United Kingdom. It won multiple awards, including MTV Video Music Awards for Best Video and Best Male Video, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 80 on its list “150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years”. It was listed at number 396 on NME’s 500 greatest songs of all time.
DJ Earworm Mashup – United State of Pop 2017 (How We Do It)
DJ Earworm is back with the ultimate year-end music mashup.
Using Amazon Prime (Or Any Other Delivery Service) For A Good Deed
Rob Bliss wanted to demonstrate how easy and convenient it can be to bring a person in need, what they need, and to encourage that behavior.
Rockin’ Out On A $1 Guitar
Rob Scallon not only knows how to rock out, but he knows the value of a dollar.
King Krule: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
“She smoked me whole and blows out Os. The sink had sunk, it overflows. The door is shut, my eyes are closed. I hear her moan, or what I suppose.”
Archy Marshall aka King Krule visits NPR Music in support of his latest album, The Ooz.
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul Say Happy Holidays With Very Special New Single
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul are celebrating the season with a very special holiday single. “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight),” is out today, Friday, December 15th, at all digital music retailers and streaming services here.
“Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight)” sees Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul bringing their one-of-a-kind sound to The Ramones’ Yuletide classic, written by Joey Ramone and first found on the B-side to the 1987 single, “I Wanna Live.” The new rendition – arranged and produced by Stevie Van Zandt – was recorded by Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul two weeks ago during soundcheck in Utrecht, Netherlands in the midst of their extraordinary “Soulfire Tour 2017,” capturing all the spirit and energy of the 15-piece rock ‘n’ soul revue at the very peak of their formidable onstage power.
“This is our tribute to the Ramones, keeping their music alive,” Van Zandt told Rolling Stone. “I needed a third verse so I channeled Joey and wrote what I feel is the third verse he would have written. His brother Mickey heard the record and gave me his blessing.”
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul – who recently rocked NPR’s World Music Café with an exclusive interview and three-song live set – will wrap up the “Soulfire Tour 2017” with a pair of holiday homecoming concerts, set for Brooklyn, NY’s Brooklyn Bowl (December 20th) and Red Bank, NJ’s Count Basie Theatre (December 23rd). For ticket availability and exclusive VIP packages, please visit littlesteven.com.
The “Soulfire Tour 2017” of course marked the acclaimed release of Little Steven’s sensational new solo album, SOULFIRE, available now via Wicked Cool/Big Machine/UMe. The album is available as CD, digital download, and 180-gram black vinyl, the latter presented as a double LP housed in a gatefold sleeve with the music on Sides 1-3 and a unique etching of Little Steven on Side 4.
SOULFIRE is Stevie Van Zandt’s first solo album in close to two decades and without question his purest and most uniquely personal artistic statement thus far. The album sees the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer revisiting songs that span the length of his career as artist, performer, producer, arranger, and songwriter, focusing directly on the hugely influential “soul horns-meet-rock ‘n’ roll guitars” approach he first pioneered on Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes’ classic first three albums.
SOULFIRE has quickly drawn rapturous applause from fans and critics alike, with Rolling Stone declaring, “Rock’s ultimate sideman reclaims the Jersey Shore sound he helped invent.” “Cynicism, irony and cultivated hip detachment have taken their toll on rock ‘n’ roll,” raved USA Today. “With SOULFIRE, Van Zandt aims to blow all that out and lead listeners back to its more passionate essence.” “It’s hard to imagine a more joyous and revelatory contemporary blue-eyed soul recording,” enthused American Songwriter. “The appropriately titled SOULFIRE is a tough, tight and clearly inspired project as well as a most welcome return from the musical shadows for Steven Van Zandt.” SOULFIRE “hearkens back to Van Zandt’s classic first solo album of gritty, greasy, horn-accented ’60s-style rock and soul,” noted Billboard, while Paste proclaimed, “Rockier than Motown or the Sound of Philadelphia, this a joyous invitation to live and love.”
SOULFIRE was arranged and produced by Van Zandt at his own Renegade Studios in New York City, co-produced and recorded by GRAMMY® Award-winner Geoff Sanoff (Fountains of Wayne, Stephen Colbert) and co-produced and music directed by guitarist Marc Ribler. The album was mixed and mastered by Van Zandt’s career-long collaborators and friends Bob Clearmountain (Rolling Stones, David Bowie, The Who, Bryan Adams), and Bob Ludwig (Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, The Band, Sly and the Family Stone).
Little Steven Van Zandt is of course known around the world for his utterly personal songwriting and an ambitious adventurousness that has fueled much of his creative output these past two decades. In addition to his ongoing role as a touring and recording member of The E Street Band, he has also expanded his artistic parameters to include landmark work as an actor on The Sopranos and Lilyhammer as well as host, historian, and rock ‘n’ roll advocate on Sirius XM’s one-and-only “Little Steven’s Underground Garage” (not to mention creator of Sirius XM’s long-running “Outlaw Country” format). Van Zandt has also expanded his musical boundaries to include composing the score for all three seasons of Lilyhammer and additional work as producer and songwriter, lending his distinctive craft to records from an array of international garage rockers.
Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul made their long-awaited live return last October at London’s BluesFest 2016. Van Zandt and the band also crossed the Atlantic this fall for a hugely successful European leg of the “Soulfire Tour 2017,” with multiple stops in England, Scotland, Germany, The Netherlands and Spain, highlighted by Paul McCartney sitting in to perform “I Saw Her Standing There” in London, and then the band performing a lunchtime show at Liverpool’s Cavern Club.
Howard Stern to Dedicate His SiriusXM Channel to His Best Celebrity Interviews of 2017
Howard Stern and SiriusXM announced today that his exclusive SiriusXM channel, Howard 100, will turn “all interviews, all the time,” celebrating his best conversations of the year. Howard 100: The Interviews will kick off at midnight on December 18th and run through New Year’s Day.
Known for his best-in-career insightful, provocative, and deeply engaging interviews, The New York Times has called Stern “one of the most deft and engrossing celebrity interviewers in the business and a sought-after stop for stars selling a movie or setting the record straight.”
Throughout 2017, Stern spoke at length with some of the biggest musicians, actors, comedians, and newsmakers of the year, getting them to share stories they wouldn’t tell to anyone else. Now, for the first time, Stern’s channel will be dedicated purely to these interviews, including Miley Cyrus, Kevin Hart, Scarlett Johansson, David Letterman, Adam Levine, Robert Plant, Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld, Sarah Silverman, Jon Stewart, and more, as well as news figures ranging from Rachel Maddow to Robert O’Neill, the Navy Seal credited with killing Osama Bin Laden.
Howard Stern’s second SiriusXM channel, Howard 101, will also be dedicated to the show’s greatest highlights from the year. Howard 101: Everything Else will feature his top comedic moments with his colorful staff, unusual “Wack Pack” superfans, prank phone calls, characters, impersonations and stunts, as Stern continues to break new ground in comedy and satire.
Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud To Launch new Comedy Channel With SiriusXM
Laugh Out Loud, the comedy brand and multi-platform network created by Kevin Hart and Lionsgate, and SiriusXM today announced an agreement to launch a new fulltime comedy channel with Hart, one of the top comedians working today. The channel extends the Laugh Out Loud brand to radio for the first time, reaching SiriusXM’s more than 32 million subscribers.
The new channel, which launches early next year, will feature a weekly show hosted by Hart. Considered one of the world’s top comedians, Hart will also handpick a selection of diverse comedic voices to create, produce and star on the channel’s wide range of comedy programming.
“I am very excited to create a channel on SiriusXM that will be home to new frontiers in comedy,” said Hart. “After launching our Laugh Out Loud video network, which is off to a fast start, our goal is to make the world laugh by reaching people wherever they are. SiriusXM is the perfect partner to introduce a whole new audience to our Laugh Out Loud brand. The world will soon discover that – believe it or not – I’m even funnier on radio.”
“Kevin Hart is an unparalleled entertainer. SiriusXM is excited to have Kevin create a new channel that showcases his many talents and features other comedy voices chosen by Kevin. Our subscribers will love it,” said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer, SiriusXM. “We are also very proud Kevin has chosen SiriusXM as his audio home and look forward to seeing what he has in store for this channel. Stay tuned.”