Jumping into the #1 spot on the Stuff I Want For Holidays, this Lou Reed sweater is taken from the cover of his 1972 album Transformer. It costs $2,730 from the LA-based company Enfants Riches Déprimé. And if the Lou sweater is a bit too spendy for you, then the same image also appears on a coat that will run you a cool $1,160.
To help reduce targeted hate speech, abuse and harassment, Instagram this week announced a way for users to protect themselves against such abuse, following Twitter’s introduction of its own anti-harassment tools last month. Instagram has since September enabled users to apply filters to their comment streams based on specific keywords, and this week said users will soon be able to turn off comments on any post.
People with private accounts will be able to delete unwanted followers to help control who can view their posts. And, users will be able to anonymously report friends who may be posting about self-harm, prompting Instagram to contact them with support organizations to help.
A survey from Data & Society conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PRSAI) showed how widespread the problem is.
According to the findings, 72% of internet users have witnessed harassing behavior online, and 36% have experienced some type of online harassment directed at them.
The issue of fake news has been making real news headlines for weeks. Just yesterday, Hillary Clinton alluded to “Pizzagate” and called for action against the “epidemic” of fake news, warning it can have “real world consequences”. Earlier this week, Ipsos and Buzzfeed News released a report, finding that fake headlines fool American adults 75 percent of the time.
Chris Jackson of Ipsos Public Affairs pointed out that “the 2016 election may mark the point in modern political history when information and disinformation became a dominant electoral currency”. The scale of the problem can be seen on the following infographic which shows a random selection of real and bogus news headlines with reasonable levels of awareness from the past few weeks.
Even though authentic news headlines have a higher accuracy perception, their fake news counterparts manage to fool sizeable majorities of American adults. When a false story about Trump sending his plane to transport stranded U.S. Marines did the rounds, 84 percent of people believed the headlines was very or somewhat accurate.
You will find more statistics at Statista
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, one of the most iconic bands in American music history, have announced the first dates of their 40th Anniversary Tour.
Tom Petty announced the tour on SiriusXM’s “Tom Petty Radio” this morning and also on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” last night. The primarily U.S. tour will begin on April 20, 2017 in Oklahoma City and continues throughout the summer with more dates, including on the west coast, still to be announced.
Tickets for this show at the Air Canada Centre, will go on-sale to the general public on Friday, December 16 at 10A.M. local time. Special pre-sales for Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers Highway Companions Club members will begin Wednesday, December 14 at 10A.M. local time.
To further commemorate the 40th anniversary of their self-titled debut album, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers are releasing two companion vinyl box sets featuring their entire studio album repertoire. Both box sets are available today via UMe and Reprise/Warner Bros. All LPs in the limited-edition box sets have been pressed on 180-gram vinyl with replica artwork. Several of these albums have been out of print on vinyl for years and most albums have been re-mastered for this release.
Further details on Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ 40th Anniversary Tour and career-spanning vinyl box sets are available here.
APRIL 20 CHESAPEAKE ENERGY CENTER OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
APRIL 22 AMERICAN AIRLINES ARENA DALLAS, TX
APRIL 23 VERIZON WIRELESS ARENA LITTLE ROCK, AR
APRIL 25 BRIDGESTONE ARENA NASHVILLE, TN
APRIL 27 PHILIPS ARENA ATLANTA, GA
APRIL 29 CYNTHIA WOODS MITCHELL PAVILION HOUSTON, TX
MAY 2 FRANK ERWIN CENTER AUSTIN, TX
MAY 5 PERFECT VODKA AMPHITHEATRE WEST PALM BEACH, FL
MAY 6 AMALIE ARENA TAMPA, FL
MAY 8 FEDEX FORUM MEMPHIS, TN
MAY 10 STATE FARM CENTER CHAMPAIGN, IL
MAY 12 SCOTTRADE CENTER ST. LOUIS, MO
MAY 13 KLIPSCH MUSIC CENTER INDIANAPOLIS, IN
MAY 29 RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE MORRISON, CO
MAY 30 RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE MORRISON, CO
JUNE 2 SPRINT CENTER KANSAS CITY, MO
JUNE 3 XCEL ENERGY CENTER ST. PAUL, MN
JUNE 5 WELLS FARGO ARENA DES MOINES, IA
JUNE 7 SCHOTTENSTEIN CENTER COLUMBUS, OH
JUNE 9 PPG PAINTS ARENA PITTSBURGH, PA
JUNE 10 QUICKEN LOANS ARENA CLEVELAND, OH
JUNE 12 US BANK ARENA CINCINNATI, OH
JUNE 14 XFINITY THEATRE HARTFORD, CT
JUNE 16 PRUDENTIAL CENTER NEWARK, NJ
JUNE 17 MOUNTAIN JAM FESTIVAL HUNTER MOUNTAIN, NY
JUNE 29 WRIGLEY FIELD CHICAGO, IL
JULY 1 WELLS FARGO ARENA PHILADELPHIA, PA
JULY 2 CMAC PERFORMING ARTS CENTER CANANDAIGUA, NY
JULY 5 MARCUS AMPHITHEATER- SUMMERFEST MILWAUKEE, WI
JULY 6 MARCUS AMPHITHEATER – SUMMERFEST MILWAUKEE, WI
JULY 15 AIR CANADA CENTRE TORONTO, ON
JULY 18 DTE ENERGY MUSIC THEATRE CLARKSTON, MI
JULY 20 TD GARDEN BOSTON, MA
JULY 23 ROYAL FARMS ARENA BALTIMORE, MD
JULY 26 FOREST HILLS STADIUM QUEENS, NY
JULY 27 FOREST HILLS STADIUM QUEENS, NY
The BBC has released a preview for their Across the Line At 30 documentary that will feature appearances from U2’s Adam Clayton, David Gray, Gary Lightbody and Hot Press’ Niall Stokes.
Across the Line at 30 charts the history of the long-running music show which has championed new music in Northern Ireland for 30 years. It will be broadcast on Monday, December 12 on BBC One.
Narrated by Colin Murray, the film features fresh interviews with some of rock and roll’s biggest names sharing their memories of the program and how it helped define the sound of Northern Ireland over four decades.
Interviewees will include Neil Hannon from Divine Comedy, Therapy?, The 4 Of Us and Ash. The program also talks to Mike Edgar, original presenter and long-time producer, alongside the team that led the way towards the show’s successful longevity – including Davy Sims, Donna Legge, Barry McIlheney, Mary Carson, Paul McClean, and the programme’s current presenters Rigsy and Stuart Bailie.
The program was BBC Northern Ireland’s first weekly network radio program championing new music from Northern Ireland. Indeed, the program had many firsts in that it was the first program in Northern Ireland to stereo simulcast live concerts on television and radio; the first program to broadcast concerts from Northern Ireland visually on the internet and radio; and as the world moved into the digital era, the program even played the first compact disc to be heard on the BBC Radio Ulster airwaves in Northern Ireland.
The show is widely credited for its friendship and support in the early days of Ash, Snow Patrol, Divine Comedy, The Four of Us, Therapy?, Hothouse Flowers, Two Door Cinema Club and many more.
Watch the preview for the documentary here:
It’s officially official: the Jesus and Mary Chain have announced their first album in 18 years. Damage and Joy will be released on March 24, and the group unveiled new song “Amputation,” the first single off Damage and Joy. Listen here.
The record marks the group’s first since 1998’s Munki and was produced by Youth (Killing Joke co-founder Martin Glover), who also plays bass on the record. Damage and Joy will also feature contributions from the Jesus and Mary Chain’s touring drummer Brian Young and former Lush bassist Phil King.
James Gordon and Madonna go for a drive through New York City singing classics from her epic catalog of music, and James learns about Madonna’s relationship with Michael Jackson.
Apple has unveiled its Best of 2016 lists, celebrating the best and most downloaded apps, music, movies, TV shows, books and podcasts across the App Store, iTunes and iBooks.
On Apple Music, Drake dominates the top song and album spots with “One Dance” and Views, respectively, while the Hamilton soundtrack is also a top-selling album. The Chainsmokers have two of the top 10 songs this year, and music fans still can’t get enough of Adele’s 25, Rihanna’s ANTI and Frank Ocean’s Blonde. The Beats 1 team will be counting down the biggest songs on the station in 2016 with a special Best of Beats 1 show on December 7. The Best of Beats 1 playlist will also be available on Apple Music and feature Christine And The Queens, Kiiara, The 1975, Kanye West, Solange, The Weeknd, DJ Khaled and more.
Here are the Singles and Albums that had the top sales on the iTunes store in Canada in 2016.
Songs
Drake – “One Dance” (feat. Wizkid & Kyla)
Lukas Graham – “7 Years”
Mike Posner – “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” (Seeb Remix)
Twenty one pilots – “Stressed Out”
Justin Bieber – “Love Yourself”
Justin Timberlake – “Can’t Stop the Feeling”
Sia – “Cheap Thrills” (feat. Sean Paul)
Flo Rida – “My House”
The Chainsmokers – “Closer” (feat. Halsey)
Calvin Harris – “This is What You Came For” (feat. Rihanna)
Albums
Drake – Views
Justin Bieber – Purpose (deluxe)
Adele – 25
Rihanna – Anti (deluxe)
Twenty one pilots – Blurryface
The Lumineers – Cleopatra (deluxe)
The Tragically Hip – Yer Favourites
Frank Ocean – Blonde
Sia – This is Acting
The Weeknd – Beauty Behind the Madness
Following yesterday’s Best Alternative Music Album GRAMMY Award nomination for The Hope Six Demolition Project (Vagrant), PJ Harvey will embark on her most extensive North American headline tour in more than ten years.
Featuring the 10-piece band that accompanied her on this year’s four sold out and critically lauded U.S. dates, PJ Harvey’s return to North America in April of 2017 will be a full run of dates across the continent. Starting in Toronto at the storied Massey Hall on April 13, the tour includes an April 20 stop at Brooklyn Steel and a May 12 stop in Los Angeles at The Greek Theatre. A full list of tour dates can be found below.
Pre-sale tickets will be available on Thursday, December 7th. General on-sale will commence on Friday, December 8th at 10am ET with the exception of Brooklyn and San Francisco dates, which will go on sale Friday, December 16th. Denver presales start Friday, December 8th. General on sale Saturday, December 9th.
PJ HARVEY SPRING NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
April 13 – Toronto, ON – Massey Hall
April 15 – Montreal, QC – Metropolis
April 17 – Boston, MA – House Of Blues
April 20 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel
April 21 – Philadelphia, PA – Fillmore
April 22 – Richmond, VA – The National
April 24 – Detroit, MI – Royal Oak
April 27 – Dallas, TX – Bomb Factory
April 28 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s
April 29 – Houston, TX – Revention
May 2 – Denver, CO – Fillmore
May 5 – Seattle, WA – WAMU
May 7 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
May 9 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic
May 12 – Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre
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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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