An album of all-new recordings, God’s Problem Child adds 13 new songs to Willie Nelson’s repertoire, including seven recently written by Willie and Buddy Cannon, his longtime collaborator and producer. The album is Willie’s first to debut all-new songs since Band of Brothers reached #1 on the Billboard Country chart and #5 on the Billboard 200 in 2014.
Long time buddies with Merle Haggard, Willie pays Merle a tribute on a new song called He Won’t Ever Be Gone.
A couple years ago, rock veteran Alejandro Escovedo and his new wife, Nancy, were on their honeymoon on the coast of Mexico when disaster struck and they were sure they were going to die. It was so bad that they even called their family to say goodbye.
In this session, Escovedo tells the story of how they survived and the resulting PTSD, including what he calls “psychedelic seizures.” For a while it seemed like that trauma was the end of his career. NPR’s World Cafe talks about how he came out on the other side, with the help of his wife and R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, to make his latest album, Burn Something Beautiful. Hear that conversation and his performance in the player below.
“Wibbling Rivalry” is a single released under the name “Oas*s” l in 1995. It is a recording of John Harris (working for NME at the time) interviewing brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis in early 1994, on the verge of their commercial breakthrough.
“Wibbling Rivalry” holds the record as the highest charting interview release in the UK, reaching number 52 on November 25, 1995.
https://youtu.be/pZzQNWcluko
‘Love Bites’ is an excellent short, endearing documentary on a group of Morrissey fans who followed the vocalist around in the early 90s.
“I’m sure he loves us as much as we love him. I’m sure he thinks about us.”
In this video release of a 1983 episode from the critically acclaimed PBS series Soundstage, oddball comedian and satirist Andy Kaufman is featured in one of the last performances before his untimely death in 1984. Considered by some critics and fans to be a Dadaist, and known for blurring the borders between his stage persona and his “true” personality, Kaufman inflicted a brand of humor that was unique, sometimes slipping beyond comedy into performance art — or mental illness. Here his format is the late-night talk show, and his sidekick is a marionette of his alter ego, obnoxious dive-lounge comedian Tony Clifton. Also included in the show: Kaufman reprises his Foreign Man character, impersonates Elvis Presley, seems to expose guest Dr. Alex Schorr as a fraud, and apparently has a genuine argument with his former girlfriend Elayne Boosler.
Streaming is the new normal for how Americans listen to music. If the codependent nature of Spotify and Universal’s agreement isn’t enough, this chart from Statista should make it clearer: According to the RIAA, streaming brought in more than half of the US music industry’s revenue in 2016.
This comes after Nielsen said earlier this year that on-demand streaming had generated more revenue than digital album and track sales for the first time in 2016. Whether Spotify or music labels can make sustainable profits off streaming is another question, but it’s clearer than ever that this is the bed that’s been made for them.
Florida dairy farmer Ed Henderson has been playing the trombone since elementary school. And these days his audience, well, fits the scenery. Turns out, cows love jazz music! What began as a one-off backyard practice session, has turned into a regular gig that Henderson says entertains and pleases his audience of 6,800 or so cows. Hey, whatever works!
On Monday, May 1, the Coalition for Music Education will celebrate Music Monday with a cross-country sing-along to raise awareness for music education. 2017’s anthem, titled “Sing It Together,” was co-written by JUNO Award winners Marc Jordan and Ian Thomas, and focuses on the power of voices, asking us to “sing for joy, for truth, for healing, and for freedom.” Inspired by Canada 150, the Music Monday sing-along will be led by a live-streamed showcase from Ottawa’s National Music Centre, beginning at noon.
https://youtu.be/G-pX6r7pnKQ
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Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.
Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com
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