You’ll get no arguments from me on Dave Chappelle’s reentering the limelight this year, and this tribute to to the late Charlie Murphy shows he’s one of the best, funniest and insightful guys on the stage.
https://youtu.be/RYfL0p1ZHp4
Apple Music expands original and exclusive video offerings with House of Strombo and Clive Davis doc
Apple Music made two announcements about its video plans this month. First, the platform added a live music show called House of Strombo. This program will be hosted by Canadian TV and CBC radio personality George Stroumboulopoulos. It will feature live music performances from the host’s home in addition to interviews and behind-the-scenes content. The 10-episode series debuted last week.
The other new video announcement is an exclusive documentary. Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Facebook Messenger gets a bit closer with Apple Music
Social media juggernaut Facebook is making some updates to its Messenger app, including an upcoming collaboration with Apple Music. The deal was announced at the company’s F8 conference, although few specifics were shared.
From the presentation at F8, it seems like this agreement will allow Facebook users to browse Apple Music from within Messenger and send tracks from the chat program. Playback will also be added inside Messenger. Past integrations for Messenger in this vein have taken listeners out of the Facebook-owned app and into the music app. No launch date was shared for this collaboration, only that it is “coming soon.”
One Direction’s Harry Styles has the best defense of teenage girls
Asked if he spends pressure-filled evenings worried about proving credibility to an older crowd, Styles grows animated. “Who’s to say that young girls who like pop music – short for popular, right? – have worse musical taste than a 30-year-old hipster guy? That’s not up to you to say. Music is something that’s always changing. There’s no goal posts. Young girls like the Beatles. You gonna tell me they’re not serious? How can you say young girls don’t get it? They’re our future. Our future doctors, lawyers, mothers, presidents, they kind of keep the world going. Teenage-girl fans – they don’t lie. If they like you, they’re there. They don’t act ‘too cool.’ They like you, and they tell you. Which is sick.”
The Game of Thrones Theme Song As Played on a Pipe Organ, Piano, and Cello
Romain Vaudé and Marwane of the Grissini Project performed a majestic cover of the Game of Thrones theme song on an pipe organ, a piano, and a cello.
Sonny Rollins on Monk and the Bridge from This Lost 1985 Interview
“I didn’t have a lot of confidence that I was really good enough to really make it” – Sonny Rollins in 1985, as told to Ben Sidran.
It was beautiful because you’re playing against the air. You know the sky it was just a beautiful place to practice a horn. It’s a magical thing you know the keys are there on the piano but what you do with them Tuesday night is going to be different than anything you could have thought about Sunday. So this is the magic of it and it’s a beautiful life.
Sonny Rollins on Monk and the Bridge from Quoted Studios on Vimeo.
2 Girls! 3 Harps! Black Sabbath! Iron Man!
Iron Man by Black Sabbath is one of my favorite classic heavy metal songs. To get a wide array of sounds, they use fuzz distortion on their electric harp and well as numerous mechanical techniques on their acoustic harp, including hand percussion and pedal buzzes.
The Beatles’ Famous Runoff Groove Found On ‘Sgt. Pepper’ Forwards…And Backwards
The Beatles “Sgt. Pepper’s Inner Groove” from the mono UK Parlophone LP, 1967, first played normal forwards for a little over a minute … then listen to what happen when the reverse button is hit. It plays backwards for another minute. If you listen closely you might be able to hear the dog whistle that precedes the inner groove weirdness.
Boy George On How The 1970’s Moulded The Person And Artist He Has Become
British pop star Boy George recalls, revisits and assesses how the 1970’s moulded the person and artist he has become. This is his musical, social and sexual coming of age, when he discovered the power of his own sexuality before setting about turning that persona into a popstar. Set against a backdrop of social discord, disenfranchisement and sexual repression, the seventies was also conversely the decade that revelled in colour and creative chaos, giving the world glam rock, disco and punk, and the young George O’Dowd was at the birth of them all. The documentary includes contributions from contemporaries like Martin Degville (Sigue Sigue Sputnik), Andy Polaris (Animal Nightlife), DJ Princess Julia and popstar Marilyn. This is, as George said, ‘the last ever bonkers decade’, and it totally and completely shaped him.
Boy George says: ‘I think of the 70’s as being this glorious decade where I discovered who I was and discovered all these amazing things – punk rock, electro music, fashion, all of that. And yeah of course there was that dark side to the 70’s, the rubbish, the strikes, the poverty, and I’d get chased and confronted for the way I looked. But I was a teenager. I didn’t have any time for misery. I was just having a great time with my friends!’
https://youtu.be/BMYfsPTsK0Q
Go Behind-The-Scenes At The Dream Factory, The Legendary Fender Custom Shop
The Fender Custom Shop has been called nirvana for guitar lovers. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the legendary shop that’s built guitars for the likes of Eric Clapton, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, The Stones, Jimmy Page, Bob Dylan and more.
From its inception as a “wild experiment” to current world famous status, this short documentary traces the story using never before seen archival imagery and conversations with the eight original master builders.
The Dream Factory (dir cut) from Ross Haines on Vimeo.