After a very successful festival circuit, running on over 180 film festivals and winning more than 50 awards, “The Present” was released online this week. Have you had a good cry today? No? Watch, and you will.
The Present from Jacob Frey on Vimeo.
Best job ever! This woman gets paid to play with pandas
For 20 years, I thought I had the best job in the world as a publicist in the music industry. Turns out, this woman destroys all happiness I ever thought was real.
Being a panda caretaker is a real job in China, at the Giant Panda Protection and Research Center. “Your work has only one mission,” reports China Daily. “Spending 365 days with the pandas and sharing in their joys and sorrows. You need perseverance for this job. We expect that the applicants will be mainly white-collar workers from big cities. They are used to eating whatever they want, but inside the giant panda base, the choices will not be plentiful.”
https://youtu.be/-V1cpzxBNII
Facebook opening Periscope-like video broadcasting to every US iPhone user
Facebook shared today that it is turning on live video broadcasting from its app for all iPhone users in the United States. This feature was previously limited to public figures and verified accounts then expanded to a limited number of test iPhone users last month. Facebook’s effort in this space is similar to Meerkat and Twitter’s Periscope service, which popularized live video streaming from mobile devices last year.
While live video broadcasting is limited to members in the United States for now, Facebook says it hopes to expand the feature in other countries “over the coming weeks.”
Via 9to5Mac
Shazam Tests New Waters – Distributing Songs
Until now, music fans mostly have used the Shazam app to identify unfamiliar songs playing on the radio, at the gym or in a bar. Now they can find music on the app that’s not playing anywhere.
To market Ray LaMontagne’s new album, “Ouroboros,” due out March 4, Sony Corp.’s RCA Records and the singer’s management company, Mick Management, recently sent postcards to 500 of his biggest fans. By focusing a mobile-phone camera on the postcard from inside of Shazam’s app — similar to scanning a QR code — fans will be invited to follow the singer-songwriter on the app.
Daniel Lanois on Rick James: “I was in the presence of a Beethoven”
Without any doubt, every day I learn something new. And I hope it keeps coming my way. I never went to school for any of it, I’m self taught. But when I was a kid I got to work with Rick James in my mom’s basement. I didn’t have to come up with any tuition money. For Rick he came in by himself, and in 20 minutes there was a fully flourishing piece of music coming out of the speakers and I was practically in tears. Oh my goodness, I could not believe this was happening. I was in the presence of a Beethoven.
I was talented, I knew what I was doing, but I had never before been exposed to anyone like Rick. He came in, and I recorded him some demos – mindblowing. I realized that I needed to go somewhere where the bass was good, so I went to New Orleans. I got to work with the Neville Brothers and George Porter from the Meters. Leo Nocentelli, perhaps the funkiest guitar player out of America. To be in that place, to hear the parade bands, where so much music had come from – that was amazing. The music of the North was so stiff. The music of the South had funk.
Via Pasunautre
The Game Donates $1 Million to Flint Water Crisis and Calls Out His Fellow Celebrities
The Game is one of the most generous musicians out there, consistently helping those in need by way of cold hard cash and donations, to promotion online of great causes. Yesterday, he wanted the world to know that he was contributing $1 Million worth of water to the Flint water crisis. He also issued a challenge to his fellow celebrities to do the same.
Keith Richards Explains How He Learned To Play Guitar
One thing, besides stories, that Keith Richards is known for is his use of a five-string guitar and “open G” tuning, which gives every Rolling Stones song that signature sound. He was asked to explain his relationship with the five-string, and in true Richards fashion, he replied like this: “ah, the five string guitar: it’s five strings, three notes, two hands and one asshole.” This was followed, of course, by that same laugh, but also a lengthier description of how he came to play it.
Actually, it’s a very old fashioned tuning, it actually comes from banjo, I believe, although it has a kind of murky history. … Some people would even call it Spanish tuning, other “open G.” I got fascinated with it because it wasn’t your classico (at this, he makes the impression of stiffly holding a classic guitar). In a way, you were given another instrument to play and figure out. And especially when you electrified it, you start to get these drone notes going that you can’t get from a regular guitar. And so I decided, what I found, was this sorta interesting, especially for a rhythm guitar, incredible bed for music, especially for blues and rhythm & blues and rock n’ roll, to lean on. So I just experimented. At the time, I suppose, I thought I was not going to get any better on the six string. I thought well, take one string off and then reinvent things. That will help me, and it did, for what I wanted to do. It’s a rather unique tuning and I don’t recommend it for everybody.