Our team delivered Apple’s biggest quarter ever, thanks to the world’s most innovative products and all-time record sales of iPhone, Apple Watch and Apple TV,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The growth of our Services business accelerated during the quarter to produce record results, and our installed base recently crossed a major milestone of one billion active devices.”
Our record sales and strong margins drove all-time records for net income and EPS in spite of a very difficult macroeconomic environment,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “We generated operating cash flow of $27.5 billion during the quarter, and returned over $9 billion to investors through share repurchases and dividends. We have now completed $153 billion of our $200 billion capital return program.” – Tim Cook
Apple sold an average of 34,000 iPhones per hour, 24 hours a day for 13 consecutive weeks. Revenue from the App Store grew 27%, while customers grew 18% in the quarter.
Voted by Melody Maker as The Most Rock ‘n’ Roll Rock ‘n’ Roll Band in the World, The Black Crowes were just complete badasses, complete with a stunning 1992 album The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. But first, their debut album Shake Your Money Maker brought them into the limelight. Funny, they played the song live many times over the years, but it is not included on this album.
The band, fronted by vocalist Chris Robinson and brother guitarist Rich literally flew off the stage with their 1960’s psychedelic pop and classic southern rock, and later evolved into a revivalist band dedicated to 1970s-era blues rock. Here’s some of Chris’ best isolated vocals.
She Talks To Angels from Shake Your Money Maker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y743sDpX6So
She Talks To Angels original
Remedy from The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK88qMTy33c
Remedy original (go on, you try and look this cool in a video)
Its existence having been revealed to the world via a one-two punch of an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and exclusive profile in The New York Times, it can now be announced that Iggy Pop’s new album Post Pop Depression (Rekords Rekords/Loma Vista/Caroline International) will be supported by a very limited run of one-time-only live performances in specially selected venues. The Post Pop Depression tour will mark the sole occasion that the album lineup of Iggy, producer/guitarist/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/bandleader Joshua Homme, Homme’s Queens Of The Stone Age bandmate and Dead Weather-man Dean Fertita and Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders—augmented by QOTSA multi-instrumentalist Troy Van Leeuwen and journeyman guitarist/bassist Matt Sweeney—will perform this material, as well as classics spanning Iggy’s legendary solo career, in a live setting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe6S_UgVJic
Tickets for the North American leg of Iggy’s Post Pop Depression tour will be on sale to the general public January 30, with pre-sales commencing January 28. Tickets for the European leg will be on sale beginning January 29.
In the wake of the Late Show debut and release of first single “Gardenia” and the Post Pop Depression pre-order going live, a second advance track “Break Into Your Heart” has been premiered. Both tracks will be delivered instantly with pre-order from iTunes or on vinyl. Iggy and the band’s web exclusive performance of “Break Into Your Heart” previously witnessed only by the Late Show studio audience has also been unveiled HERE.
Post Pop Depression is equal parts a dream come true for co-creator Homme as it is a record that defiantly takes its place in Iggy’s storied discography alongside the twin towers of The Idiot and Lust For Life–two records and the mythic Berlin era of their creation canonized as much lyrically (“German Days”) as sonically (“Sunday”) on this new record. The album is a singular work that bears its creators’ undeniable sonic DNA while sounding like nothing they’ve done before. It’s a record that wouldn’t exist without either Pop or Homme–and one that probably shouldn’t in theory if you really think about it–but it does, and we and rock ‘n’ roll are all the better for it.
POST POP DEPRESSION TOUR
03/28/16 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
03/29/16 – Portland, OR – Keller Auditorium
03/31/16 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic
04/02/16 – Denver, CO – Ellie Caulkins Opera House
04/04/16 – Minneapolis, MN – Northrop Auditorium
04/06/16 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
04/07/16 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
04/09/16 – Toronto, ON – Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
04/11/16 – Boston, MA – Orpheum Theatre
04/12/16 – New York, NY – United Palace Theatre
04/15/16 – Philadelphia, PA – Academy of Music
04/19/16 – Miami Beach, FL – The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater
04/28/16 – Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre
05/04/16 – Stockholm, Sweden – Cirkus
05/05/16 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Falconer
05/07/16 – Berlin, Germany – Tempodrom
05/08/16 – Hamburg, Germany – Mehr! Theater
05/10/16 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Heineken Music Hall
05/13/16 – London, UK – Royal Albert Hall
05/15/16 – Paris, France – Le Grand Rex
2015 marked an interesting milestone in the history of the U.S. music industry. For the first time ever, current releases accounted for less than half of total album sales in the United States as catalog albums outsold new releases by more than four million units. Nielsen defines catalog releases as any release older than 18 months, thus including old Beatles albums as well as more dated releases of current artists.
Just ten years ago, current releases outsold classic material by 160 million units, a fact that illustrates how big of a change the industry underwent within the past decade. There are several factors that likely contributed to this trend. Online retailers and digital music stores have given consumers much easier access to older releases, allowing music fans to catch up with their favorite artists’ earlier work. Then there is the rise of music streaming, which has probably also tipped the scale in favor of catalog album sales. While the youth, more interested in current music than classic rock, has turned to streaming services, older music fans, i.e. those who still purchase albums, are more likely to buy old Rolling Stones records.
It doesn’t matter if you can’t draw, paint, sing, record, write, run, jump, skate, swim, dive, ride, or dance. Just do it. You never know when that talent will triumph after so many years of being hidden.
As Carlos Whittaker was filming God of Second Chances in Atlanta, a homeless man named Danny randomly walked up and knelt down. You’ll be reminded that the best collaborations often happen when you least expect.
Matador Records has launched a new website titled “This Day In Matador History,” the brainchild of Matador co-founder Chris Lombardi. The interactive site serves as a gateway for fans of Matador, both new and old, to explore the label’s 27-year history and archive. Perhaps it’s a long-forgotten gem from Matador’s early days, or a release from the 00s that deserves a revisit — the intent is to celebrate Matador’s remarkable catalog, encouraging discovery/re-discovery with easy-to-access links to Spotify, iTunes, Matador Store, Amazon, and Discogs.
Over time, the site will be updated with additional notable events in Matador history — the launch of key music videos, memorable shows, and perhaps even some fake album releases just to keep fans on their toes.
In the words of Matador Records co-founder Gerard Cosloy:
“It’s not that Matador’s founder and co-owners have no appreciation for music history. It isn’t that they’re allergic to nostalgia. It isn’t even that they’re so obsessed with the future and/or they prefer to judge on the merits of stuff that’s happening right now.
No, the sad truth of the matter is that we’ve done so much damage to our hearing and brains, that we simply don’t remember important events in Matador lore. Much like, you, we require assistance. Think I’m kidding? What other label of this stature would totally ignore it’s own 25th Anniversary and all the accompanying cash grab / self-congratulatory opportunities?
That’s exactly the sort of monumental gaffe that wouldn’t have gone down had we taken the time to properly chronicle Matador’s story in WEBSITE/CALENDAR FORM. 27 years in, we’re finally getting shit right. Please enjoy (and keep in mind everything we’re doing right now is 1000% better).”
To coincide with this launch, Matador has released its 1997 cinematic and comedic masterpiece “What’s Up Matador,” now on YouTube for the first time ever. Originally released on VHS in tandem with the synonymous double LP/CD compilation, the faux-educational film was created by Clay Tarver (guitarist of Chavez and writer/co-producer of “Silicon Valley”), hosted by Bill Boggs (1980s NYC TV fixture, 4-time Emmy winner, and executive producer of “The Morton Downey Show”), and shot in front of a live studio audience of children at an elementary school in New Jersey. Highlights include current label president Patrick Amory describing the album mastering process, Ira Kaplan explaining his pedal board, an illustrated story of Matador’s creation by Railroad Jerk’s Marcellus Hall, a Matador mascot-cum-barrista (yes like the bullfighter), Run On’s guide to touring, a live Q&A with Liz Phair, and many more sketches and classic music videos.
In the new movie Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Jane Austen’s classic tale of the tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th century England is faced with a new challenge — an army of undead zombies. The film makes its premiere on February 5, 2016.
