Melvins drummer Dale Crover released his official debut solo album, The Fickle Finger Of Fate, last month. And next month, he’ll put out another single from the album, “Thunder Pinky,” on a record that also functions as a playable cymbal. Limited to 127 hand-made copies with screen-printed jackets signed by Crover himself, the lathe-cut, solid brass “record-cymbal hybrid” costs $100.
The Cast of Sesame Street Reads Famous Movie Quotes
Elmo, Cookie Monster, Big Bird and the rest of the cast of Sesame Street read famous movie lines from the last century of cinema.
Photo Gallery: Gilby Clarke with Drop Top Alibi and The Road Heavy at Toronto’s Rockpile
All photos by Mini’s Memories. You can contact her at minismemories@hotmail.com
Jeff Bridges revives ‘The Dude’ to honor his Big Lebowski co-star John Goodman
Jeff Bridges broke out his Big Lebowski character ‘The Dude’ to honor John Goodman with his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Chance the Rapper Talks About His Daughter, And It’s Heartwarming
What does being the world’s best dad mean to you?
Man. Well, I have the world’s best dad currently. Most of the stuff that he showed me has been his dedication, his time management, his commitment to being truthful. It’s all about what he’s instilled in me. So, I wanna have the type of relationship where I’m a trusted figure beyond a dad. I wanna be a good friend and a good example.
Has being a dad changed how you think about your parents?
Definitely. My mom and dad have always been really close to me and very hands-on with everything that I’ve done. Good people.
I feel like it humanized my parents to me. It made me feel a lot more forgiving towards them, because they’re just people trying to figure it out.
I’m in a unique position [with] a lot of the things you would think you would get past because of the “successes” that I’ve had. Like, I’m honestly, in real life, thinking about moving in with my parents right now. I think, anybody, if they were in my position—if they were 23 with a kid for the first time and were working—they would find comfort in being able to stay with their parents. If their parents are willing. I guess that’s just what it all comes down to; if they’re willing. I’m in a position where I want to be closer to my parents now, because I realize how important that is. There was never a point, ever, in my life where I can remember loving someone as much or more than I love my mom until I met my daughter. So, it made me understand that my mom loves me more than she loves anybody in the world, and that’s crazy to me. So of course I wanna be around her.
Do you feel like you understand when they worried about you when you were a teenager? Does that make sense now?
Definitely. I’m understanding that cyclical thing of it all: I’m realizing, “Oh shit, my kids are probably gonna try and sneak out and smoke dope and argue with teachers or do whatever.” And my parents probably did the same thing. It’s kind of sobering. To a certain extent, it’s just gonna keep going. I’m gonna have kids, my kids are gonna have kids, and so on and so forth. But, there’s also a lot of beauty in it and something romantic about it.
CIMA Releases Study Of Canadian Independent Music In The Latin American Market
On September 28, the Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) released its of a one of a kind study and report funded by The Department of Canadian Heritage, A Continent of Opportunities: Canadian Independent Music in the Latin American Market with a special presentation in Toronto. CIMA was joined by Jordi Puy, a market specialist from Sound Diplomacy who presented key information from the report, followed by a discussion panel of experts to the region led by global music industry consultant Robert Singerman.
Established in 1975 and the first of its kind in the world, CIMA is the not-for-profit national trade association representing the English-language, Canadian-owned sector of the music industry. CIMA represents a diverse membership consisting of Canadian-owned companies and their ambassadors, all of whom are involved in every aspect of the music, sound recording and music-related industries. They are exclusively small businesses which include: record producers, record labels, recording studios, managers, agents, licensors, music video producers and directors, creative content owners, artists and others professionally involved in the sound recording industry. CIMA’s mandate is to develop and advocate policies and services that serve to support a strong and economically stable Canadian independent music and sound recording industry, ensuring the long-term development of the sector and to raise the profile of Canadian independent music both in Canada and around the world.
A Continent of Opportunities: Canadian Independent Music in the Latin American Market explores the most profitable and structured market opportunities across Latin and South America for Canadian independent artists. As one of the largest untapped music markets for Canadian businesses and artists, this in-depth, country-by-country analysis of Latin America provides key information on genres that chart on the radio, festivals and music companies that make each market tick. As part of the report, Sound Diplomacy, in partnership with in-market professionals, developed 10 country guides that extensively detail their respective music markets including, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Puerto Rico.
“Music is global and we are thrilled to provide this in-depth analysis of Latin American market opportunities for Canadian independent artists and music companies, to further expand their opportunities abroad,” said Stuart Johnston, President of CIMA. “As one of the largest untapped markets, we hope that this study shines a light on areas of potential growth that our Canadian independent music community can benefit from.”
The study revealed that Latin America as a whole for the fifth consecutive year had the highest level of growth in recorded music revenues. Digital revenues in Latin America rose 44.5%, more than four times the global average, while streaming revenue increased by 80.4%. The report also noted that Argentina has the second largest recorded music market in Latin America after Brazil, while the music market had a trade value of $141.6 million USD in 2015, 58% of which came from performing rights.
Additional key findings include the use of streaming services has seen an increase by 34.8% since 2015, with Spotify being leading streaming platform in Argentina. The most popular genres as shown in the study in Argentina include electronic and roots, indie and psychedelic rock, afrobeat and dance roots.
A copy of the report, A Continent of Opportunities: Canadian Independent Music in the Latin American Market, can be found here.
Dunlop Tires Once Used The Velvet Underground For A TV Ad
No matter what the conditions, Dunlop Tires work like magic. This commercial clearly showcases the enormous endurance that Dunlop and its entire range of tires are very well known for, the world over. And they have great music taste, by using The Velvet Underground’s Venus In Furs as their soundtrack.
Photo Gallery: Rise Against with Pierce The Veil and White Lung at Niagara Falls’ Rapids Theatre
All photos taken by Mini’s Memories. You can contact her at minismemories@hotmail.com
U2 Strolls Down The Streets In NYC For New Video, “You’re The Best Thing About Me”
Here’s the official video for ‘You’re The Best Thing About Me’, the first single from U2’s forthcoming new studio album ‘Songs of Experience’.
George Harrison’s Sitar From 1965 Is Going Up For Auction
George Harrison’s sitar from 1965, almost certainly the one he used to record ”Norwegian Wood”, is going up for auction. The Beatles song that not only launched ”The Great Sitar Explosion” in rock music, but also deepened Harrison’s involvement with Indian music, its culture and the Hindu religion that would shape the rest of his life. More than any guitar that Harrison used during his career with the Beatles and as a solo artist, the sitar is perhaps the instrument most closely associated with Harrison, who was first introduced to it in August of 1965 by David Crosby before buying his own and using it to record ”Norwegian Wood” on 12 October 1965.
Harrison’s purchase of his first sitar (sometime between August-October 1965) is best explained in his own words, from ”The Beatles Anthology”: ”I went and bought a sitar from a little shop at the top of Oxford Street called Indiacraft – it stocked little carvings, and incense. It was a real crummy-quality one, actually, but I bought it and mucked about with it a bit. Anyway, we were at the point where we’d recorded the Norwegian Wood backing track and it needed something. We would usually start looking through the cupboard to see if we could come up with something, a new sound, and I picked the sitar up – it was just lying around; I hadn’t really figured out what to do with it. It was quite spontaneous: I found the notes that played the lick. It fitted and it worked.” Over the next several months Harrison continued to play the sitar and decided to exchange his older-style ”crummy-quality one” with a more sophisticated style designed to play better into microphones.
In the meantime, Harrison married Pattie Boyd in January 1966 and left for Barbados with her for their honeymoon. While in Barbados, George and Pattie were hosted by Pattie’s friend, George Drummond, who lived on the island and to whom Harrison gave this sitar. Drummond, the Godson of King George VI whose full name is George Albert Harley de Vere Drummond, is featured in the book “Beatles ’66: The Revolutionary Year” by Steve Turner. Turner describes the events on the island leading up to the gift, ”During the days Pattie sunbathed and George practiced on his sitar. George even had a better sitar flown to Barbados for him, and when it arrived he gave his old one – probably the one he had bought from Indiacraft – to Drummond as a gift.”
The sitar is accompanied by two letters of authenticity, one from Pattie Boyd and one from George Drummond. Pattie not only confirms the authenticity of the sitar, but writes that George used it to play ”Norwegian Wood” to her on their honeymoon. She writes, ”Before we left Barbados, George Harrison gifted the Sitar to George de Vere Drummond.” Drummond’s LOA likewise confirms that Harrison gave him this sitar in February 1966 and that it’s ”remained in my possession until I consigned it to Nate D. Sanders Auctions.”
Despite Harrison’s misgivings about its sound quality, visually the sitar is a stunning display of craftsmanship, made by the sitar company of Kanai Lal & Brother of Calcutta, and was approximately 10 years old – made in the late 1940s or 1950s – when Harrison played it. Elaborate wood carvings appear on the tumba and tabkandi (similar to the headstock and body of a guitar), with the tumba formed in the shape of a swan’s neck and head. A plaque below the tumba reads, ”Kanai Lal & Brother / 377 Upper Chitpur Road / Calcutta”. Ornamentation at the top of the tabkandi shows an ancient figure playing a sitar, below which wood carvings appear in relief. More elaborate wood carvings appear on the kaddu, a bulbous, gourd-shaped area on the back of the tabkandi which serves as a resonator for the sitar. The sitar measures 53” long, 13” at its widest point and 10” deep at the kaddu.
