“I’m sittin’ here on the Group W bench ’cause you want to know if I’m moral enough to join the Army, burn women, kids, houses and villages after bein’ a litterbug. You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant.”
Happy Thanksgiving, folks.
Let’s Watch A Few Minutes Of MTV’s First Broadcast On August 1, 1981
On Saturday, August 1, 1981, at 12:01 am Eastern Time, MTV launched with the words “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll,” spoken by John Lack and played over footage of the first Space Shuttle launch countdown of Columbia (which took place earlier that year) and of the launch of Apollo 11. Those words were immediately followed by the original MTV theme song, a crunching rock tune composed by Jonathan Elias and John Petersen, playing over the American flag changed to show MTV’s logo changing into various textures and designs. MTV producers Alan Goodman and Fred Seibert used this public domain footage as a concept; Seibert said that they had originally planned to use Neil Armstrong’s “One small step” quote, but lawyers said that Armstrong owned his name and likeness and that he had refused, so the quote was replaced with a beeping sound. A shortened version of the shuttle launch ID ran at the top of every hour in various forms, from MTV’s first day until it was pulled in early 1986 in the wake of the Challenger disaster.
Stranger Things Cast Answer the Web’s Most Searched Questions
Stranger Things stars Gaten Matarazzo and Joe Keery take the WIRED Autocomplete Interview and answer the Internet’s most searched questions about Stranger Things and themselves. Joe and Gaten answer hard-hitting questions like, “Is Gaten Matarazzo now?” and “Is Joe Keery legit?”
Maroon 5 Busks in Disguise in NYC Subway Station
Jimmy Fallon and Maroon 5 put on disguises and give a surprise performance of “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “Sugar” in a New York City subway station.
Death Cab For Cutie Releases First-Ever Show To Benefit The Aurora Commons
Death Cab for Cutie are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their first-ever live performance by releasing audio from that very show to benefit Seattle non-profit, The Aurora Commons. Leader Benjamin Gibbard writes about this special show, and you can get it here.
This is a recording of the first ever Death Cab for Cutie show. It was made by our friend Trevor Adams on his dictaphone at The Pacer House in Bellingham, Washington on November 22, 1997. Sprawled across couches and sitting crosslegged on the floor were 25 of our closest friends and fellow musicians. Everyone played acoustic or semi-acoustic with no PA. Trevor made and passed bowl after bowl of microwave popcorn because he was (and I assume still is) a great host.
Chris Walla and I had just finished the You Can Play These Songs with Chords cassette and we thought it would be fun to play a few shows around Bellingham to celebrate the release. We recruited Nick Harmer to play bass and Walla’s childhood friend Nathan Good to play drums. None of us thought we were starting a band nor did our ambitions for DCfC extend very far past this particular evening. We simply thought it would be fun to play these songs for our friends before moving on to other things.
I remain forever grateful to Trevor for inviting us to play in his living room 20 years ago today. It was one of the greatest nights of my life at the time and its significance has only grown since.
Benjamin Gibbard
Death Cab for Cutie
November 22, 2017
Sia’s “Santa’s Coming For Us” Music Video Features Dax Shepard, Henry Winkler, JB Smoove, Kristen Bell, Susan Lucci, And More
Days after the release of her first-ever holiday album, Everyday is Christmas (Monkey Puzzle/Atlantic Records), multi-platinum selling, 8x Grammy-nominated artist Sia has released the music video for “Santa’s Coming For Us.”
Directed by Marc Klasfeld, the music video for “Santa’s Coming For Us” brings together a cast of big names and newcomers joining in on holiday fun: JB Smoove (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) as Santa Claus, Dax Shepard (“Ghosted”) and Kristen Bell (“The Good Place”) as The Parents, Henry Winkler and Susan Lucci as The Grandparents, with Caleb McLaughlin (“Stranger Things”), Sophia Lillis (“IT”), and Wyatt Oleff (“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”) as The Children. “Santa’s Coming For Us” has been labeled a “straight-up bop” (PopSugar), “catchy earworm” (Entertainment Weekly), and “kooky jazz jam” (Billboard). In addition, the song is #1 at Holiday Radio and top 10 on Billboard’s Holiday Songs Chart.
Written by Sia and Greg Kurstin, the collection of original holiday songs ranging from festive tracks to ballads, has garnered favorable reviews with press finding the album as “an unexpected pleasure” (FADER), “redefining christmas music” (Refinery29), and “as good as any contemporary pop project” (Associated Press).
Sia most recently wrapped up the North American leg of her headlining arena Nostalgic For The Present Tour which was proclaimed “creatively captivating” (Billboard), “magical performance art” (AXS), and “intensely personal.” The limited tour, Sia’s only live dates for 2017, will continue this winter in stadiums across Australia and New Zealand.
Everyday is Christmas Tracklisting:
1. Santa’s Coming For Us
2. Candy Cane Lane
3. Snowman
4. Snowflake
5. Ho Ho Ho
6. Puppies Are Forever
7. Sunshine
8. Underneath The Mistletoe
9. Everyday is Christmas
10. Underneath The Christmas Lights
David Bowie ‘Beauty And The Beast’ Limited Edition 40th Anniversary 7″ Picture Disc
January 5, 2018 sees the release of the latest in the series of special limited DAVID BOWIE 7″ picture discs, the 40th-anniversary edition of ‘BEAUTY AND THE BEAST’ on Parlophone.
Originally released in the UK on 6th January, 1978 ’BEAUTY AND THE BEAST’ was the 2nd single to be taken from the album “HEROES”, which was recorded at the legendary Hansa Studios in Berlin. King Crimson’s Robert Fripp plays on the track and has claimed that the lead guitar used on ‘Beauty And The Beast’ was his first take having arrived directly at Hansa Studios from New York.
The AA of the 7” picture disc is a previously unreleased live version of the “HEROES” album track ‘BLACKOUT’ recorded on the 16th May, 1978 at the Deutschlandhalle, Berlin during the ISOLAR II tour.
A-Side BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (2017 remaster)
(David Bowie)
Produced David Bowie & Tony Visconti
Mixed by Tony Visconti at Hansa by the Wall
AA-Side BLACKOUT (Live In Berlin 1978)
(David Bowie)
Produced David Bowie
Previously unreleased
Recorded live at the Deutschlandhalle, Berlin on 16th May, 1978
Funko Has Created A Cute Version Of ‘Stranger Things’ Dart And The Punk Eleven
Funko can’t get enough of The Netflix Original Series Stranger Things, so they’re introducing a new SuperCute Plush and Pop! series to go along with Stranger Things 2: SuperCute Plush: Stranger Things – Dart
This SuperCute Plush features the life cycle of Dustin’s new friend Dart as a cute, but terrifying, plush nesting doll. The rapidly growing Dart starts as a small 1” pollywog, then a 2” slug, and finally Dart becomes a 9” tall Demodog! Each stage of Dart fits comfortably inside the other.
Their newest Pop! vinyl from Stranger Things 2 features the candy-eating Dart!
Look for the chase! A rarity of 1-in-6.
Also, a frightening 6” version of the original Demogorgon!
The Demogorgon is featured as an 8-Bit Pop at Target, complete with a chase piece.
At Hot Topic look for Dustin and his new pal Dart!
Eleven featured in her new punk look, too.
Arriving at BoxLunch stores and BoxLunch.com in December!
London, Ontario’s Country Music Festival “Trackside 2018” Early Bird Pricing Now Available
Canada Day Weekend 2018 just got a lot louder as Trackside Music Festival announced it will be back for its third year with fans able to purchase discounted early bird passes beginning Wednesday, November 22nd. There are a limited number of GA and VIP weekend passes available at the discounted rate so fans are encouraged to purchase early to avoid disappointment here.
The festival which will take place Saturday, June 30th and Sunday, July 1st in the infield of the race track has previously featured headliners such as Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, Chris Young, Randy Houser, Kip Moore and many of country music’s fastest rising support acts. Trackside Music Festival has quickly become a ‘must-attend’ event for music fans from across Southwestern Ontario. Fans are encouraged to stay tuned for the 2018 line up!
Early Bird Weekend Packages
General Admission – $119.50 *available while quantities last
VIP Ground Admission – $209.50 *available while quantities last
VIP Table Seat – $299.50 +HST *available while quantities last
VIP Table of 10 – $2,995.00 +HST *available while quantities last
The Wooden Sky Announce 2018 Canadian Tour
Toronto alt-rock quartet The Wooden Sky are hitting the road this winter with a 15 date Canadian tour this February tour in support of their latest album Swimming in Strange Waters, which is out now via Nevado Music. Full tour details below.
The Wooden Sky will also be keeping up their holiday tradition this December with their eighth Annual Holiday Show Over the course of it’s 7 year history the event has raised $21,000 for local charities. This year’s event takes place on December 13th at 918 Bathurst and is in support of Romero House, an organisation dedicated to helping refugee families find their feet in Canada. The band will be joined on the night by a host of special guests. Tickets for the Holiday Show are on sale now.
The band’s fifth full-length Swimming in Strange Waters has been met with critical acclaim both at home and abroad with the band headlining Massey Hall earlier this summer and NPR World Café declaring the band “make music to melt your heart or your face depending on the day”.
Swimming in Strange Waters was mixed by John Angello (known for his work with Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Phosphorescent and Kurt Vile) at Water Music in New Jersey. Around 95 percent of it was recorded to an old tape machine at Gardiner’s home studio, and the rest was done at Hotel2Tango in Montreal and at a Toronto church where multi-instrumentalist Walker’s father is the Anglican minister.
Tour Dates
Dec 13- Toronto, ON- The Wooden Sky Eighth Annual Holiday Show
Feb 15 – St Catharine’s, ON- Warehouse
Feb 16 – Sudbury, ON- The Townehouse Tavern
Feb 17 – Sault Ste Marie, ON – LopLops
Feb 20 – Hamilton, ON – Casbah
Feb 21 – Waterloo, ON – Starlight
Feb 22 – London, ON – Call the Office
Feb 23 – Sarnia ON – Paddy Flaherty’s
Feb 24 – Oshawa, ON – The Moustache Club
Feb 25 – Peterborough, ON – Market Hall
Feb 28 – Montreal QC – Bar le Ritz
Mar 1 – Burnstown, ON – Neat Café
Mar 2 – Quebec City, QC – L’Anti
Mar 3 – Sherbrooke, QC – La Petite Boite Noitre
Mar 9 – Kingston,ON – Grad Club,
Mar 10 – Wakefield, QC – The Blacksheep