Official promotional video for George Harrison’s Crackerbox Palace, originally released in 1976
“Crackerbox Palace” is the ninth track on George Harrison’s 1976 album, Thirty Three & 1/3. The song was released as the second single from the album and reached number 19 in the American pop charts. A whimsical promotional film accompanied the single and was first shown on November 20, 1976, episode of Saturday Night Live. Directed by Monty Python’s Eric Idle, the film featured Harrison, Neil Innes (as the carriage-pushing nanny/mother, a bathrobe-clad man with a duck on his head, and as a church authority), future wife Olivia Arias, John Cleese and various other friends, in an array of wild costumes. The film was shot in and around the grounds of Harrison’s home, Friar Park.
https://youtu.be/icHU5zB5fLM
That Time Boy George Sold A Real Karma Chameleon Phone
Love that 1983 hit Karma Chameleon from Culture Club? Want to hear it every time your phone rings, from a harmonica-playing ladybug and a chameleon that lights up in ”red, gold, and green”? Take that $69.95 you’ve been saving for concert tickets, and buy this instead.
Take A Tour Of MAD Magazine With Their Idiot-In-Chief
“People ask me what it’s like to work at MAD,” said John Ficarra, current editor-in-chief of MAD Magazine, the long-running satirical publication which taught generations of skeptical teens to question false idols, push back at deceptive advertising, and mock authority figures. “It is a job. We come in every morning and we sit and there’s blood on the walls trying to come up with an idea that we can agree on as funny.”
Ringtones are even better when played as classical piano pieces
Berklee pianist Tony Ann plays a medley of familiar ringtones.
“Louder Than Words: Rock, Power and Politics” exhibit opens May 20 at Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
From the moment rock and roll hit the airwaves, it has played a crucial role in politics and social movements around the world. Now, two iconic museums – the Newseum and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio – are partnering on a one-of-a-kind exhibit that explores the power of rock to change attitudes about patriotism, peace, equality and freedom.
“Louder Than Words: Rock, Power and Politics” will be on display in the cities hosting two major political events in the upcoming presidential election cycle: the Republican National Convention in Cleveland and the 2017 presidential inauguration celebrations in the nation’s capital.
Using video, multimedia, photographs, periodicals and artifacts, such as the guitar John Lennon debuted at the bed-in where he and Yoko Ono introduced the anti-war song “Give Peace a Chance,” “Louder Than Words” will showcase the intersection between rock and politics and examine how artists exercise their First Amendment rights, challenge assumptions and beliefs, stimulate thought and effect change. The exhibit will explore music’s influence on civil rights, the Vietnam War and gender equality, and will include such artists as Bob Dylan, U2 and Rage Against the Machine.
“Louder Than Words,” presented by the Hilton, Sound Exchange, AT&T and Altria Group, premieres on May 20, 2016, at the Rock Hall in Cleveland, and moves to the Newseum on Jan. 13, 2017, where it will be on display through July 31, 2017.
15% Of Country Music Listeners Are Top-Tier Spenders
The Country Music Association’s latest consumer research took a deep look at top-tier music listener purchases with data revealing that spending for this audience is at $800* or more in the past 12 months – a level which applies to nearly 15 percent of overall Country Music listeners on which the study was based. These figures were released Tuesday during the final of three webinars presenting CMA’s extensive consumer research initiative.
“Across the board we saw higher levels of engagement and spending. There were very few areas where these fans were not over-indexing in terms of music consumption against the general Country Music listening audience, not just spending,” said Karen Stump, CMA Senior Director of Market Research.
This top tier of spenders, deemed the “Fan Economy,” was comprised of all ages; however, Millennials age 25-34 were significantly higher (32 percent) as a high spending group, compared to other age groups. Gen X made up the next largest segment with a share of 25 percent among the tier. Adult Millennials had the highest average music spending levels at slightly more than $1,100*.
Overall, these high spenders are not only purchasing more, they are consuming more across the board and all channels, both paid and free music. Seventy-eight percent of this “Fan Economy” listen to Country Music on a daily basis, while among the general Country Music audience, about 50 percent listen on a daily basis.
The study uncovered a few notable differences, meaning significantly higher engagement among the super “Fan Economy” tier. This group reported twice the rate of daily listening across purchased digital music, satellite radio, and Spotify. Eighty-four percent spent money on concert tickets, compared to 50 percent among other Country Music listeners.
This group also yields another benefit to the format as social influencers of music. The “Fan Economy” listeners are super-users of social media and reported twice the level of everyday/constant use of Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram compared to the total audience. They use social media to influence and learn about music and artists, with 86 percent agreeing that social media is a good way to engage with music and artists.
In webinars presented exclusively to CMA members May 3 and May 11, research has shown the Country Music audience continues to gain popularity across the board with the fastest growth in listeners occurring among non-whites, Hispanics, and Millennials. Additionally, research also indicates that Country Music fans, on average, spend more on music than fans of any other genre.
The data reported in this summary is from CMA’s proprietary consumer study, which was conducted among 3,330 adult consumers across the U.S. during October 2015. The study was conducted by a third-party research partner, The Futures Company. CMA Research is conducted on behalf of and provided exclusively to CMA members.
For more information about CMA’s initiatives and events, visit CMAworld.com.
Google patents sticky tape attaching pedestrians to cars that hit them
The patent, which was granted on 17 May, is for a sticky adhesive layer on the front end of a vehicle, which would aim to reduce the damage caused when a pedestrian hit by a car is flung into other vehicles or scenery.
“Ideally, the adhesive coating on the front portion of the vehicle may be activated on contact and will be able to adhere to the pedestrian nearly instantaneously,” according to the patent description.
Music, Dance and Fashion Entwine with The Backstage Studio Pop-Up Tour
Family Channel brings the ultimate fan experience to shopping malls across Canada with The Backstage Studio Pop-Up Tour. Centered around the network’s hit original series Backstage, the weekend-long event kicks off in Pickering on Saturday, May 28 and gives fans an all-access pass to Keaton School of the Arts, with interactive stations built around the school’s programs including dance, music and fashion. Plus, fans will get a sneak peek at what’s in store for this year’s Big Ticket Summer Concert with live musical performances by the series’ stars at every stop. The tour continues throughout the month of June with stops in Vancouver, Edmonton, Fredericton and Mississauga. For full tour information, please visit Family.ca.
Backstage follows the lives of a group of talented teenagers who attend the prestigious Keaton School of the Arts. Cast members that will be appearing at various stops on The Backstage Studio Pop-Up Tour include: Josh Bogert (“Miles”), Aviva Mongillo (“Alya”), Mckenzie Small (“Scarlett”), Devyn Nekoda (“Vanessa”), Alyssa Trask (“Carly”), Julia Tomasone (“Bianca”), Matthew Isen (“Jax”) and Colin Petierre (“Sasha”). New episodes of Backstage air regularly Fridays at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on Family.
A full weekend of singing, dancing, fashion and fun, The Backstage Pop-Up Studio Tour brings the popular tween drama to life. Mall-goers will be transported to Keaton School of the Arts where they can learn Vanessa, Carly and Sasha’s favourite dance moves; listen to Miles, Ayla and Scarlett’s hottest tracks; and step up their fashion game with tips and styles inspired by the show.
In addition to the interactive stations, each stop will feature morning and afternoon musical performances by some of this year’s Big Ticket Summer Concert performers, followed by autograph signings with various cast members. The first 250 fans in line for each performance, will receive a wristband to take part in the autograph signing.
The Backstage Studio Pop-Up Tour stops are as follows:
| Date | Location | City |
| Saturday, May 28 | Pickering Town Centre | Pickering, ON |
| Sunday, May 29 | Pickering Town Centre | Pickering, ON |
| Saturday, June 4 | Coquitlam Centre | Vancouver, BC |
| Sunday, June 5 | Coquitlam Centre | Vancouver, BC |
| Saturday, June 10 | West Edmonton Mall | Edmonton, AB |
| Sunday, June 11 | West Edmonton Mall | Edmonton, AB |
| Saturday, June 18 | Regent Mall | Fredericton, NB |
| Sunday, June 19 | Regent Mall | Fredericton, NB |
| Saturday, June 25 | Erin Mills Town Centre | Mississauga, ON |
| Sunday, June 26 | Erin Mills Town Centre | Mississauga, ON |
For tour details including mall hours, performance and autograph times, and wristband distribution locations, visit Family.ca.
Watch Willem Dafoe give the commencement address at the Cleveland Institute of Art
Willem Dafoe — star of “Spider-Man,” “Platoon” and other notable films — goes back a long way with Cleveland Institute of Art President Grafton Nunes. Nunes produced the movie, “The Loveless,” which was the Oscar-nominated actor’s first starring role back in 1981. Dafoe came to Cleveland to help out his old friend Saturday, giving the commencement address at the Cleveland Institute of Art. He also took time to do a Q&A at a screening of a “Pasolini,” at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. The 2014 film, directed by Abel Ferrara, stars Dafoe as the Italian filmmaker, poet and journalist Pier Paolo Pasolini.
It was a time where dancers were making films, actors were painting, visual artists were performing, and everybody was making music. There was an amateur do-it-yourself aesthetic that wasn’t pursuing recognition or acceptance outside of a certain social circle. Often, the works were sloppy, incomprehensible, lazy, obtuse, and truly just bad. These people weren’t careerists—there was no career to be had in these forms. The most they could hope for to parlay their success into was to sleep with more attractive people in the downtown scene. But, there was something there in some of the work that exhibited extraordinary personal commitment, emotion, and abandon I had not seen elsewhere. For me, these qualities trumped all training and technique.