In the mid-1980s, the streets of Compton, California, were some of the most dangerous in the country. When five young men translated their experiences growing up into brutally honest music that rebelled against abusive authority, they gave an explosive voice to a silenced generation. Following the meteoric rise and fall of N.W.A., Straight Outta Compton tells the astonishing story of how these youngsters revolutionized music and pop culture forever the moment they told the world the truth about life in the hood and ignited a cultural war.
You Can Now Interact With a Led Zeppelin, Coldplay or Bob Dylan Video
Founded by Israeli musician and self-proclaimed tech geek Yoni Bloch, Interlude was the realization of a vision to create a new type of interactive video, offering users a seamless online video experience that enables video creators to express themselves in a new way.
It started when Yoni and his band wanted to create a unique music video that his audience would want to play over and over again. Inspired by video games and non-linear stories like “Dungeons & Dragons” that they had loved as kids, the band filmed the video with a similar structure in mind. When they discovered that no technology existed that would support their vision of online seamless interactive play, the co-founders set out to develop such technology themselves.
With their first interactive music video, the team found that given the opportunity to interact, viewers were excited to lean forward and engage, making choices that reflected their preferences and replaying the video multiple times to explore alternate paths. With digital platforms being interactive by nature, and audiences primed for interactive content, developing a platform that would inspire creativity and offer more immersive video experiences seemed obvious.
And so Interlude was born.
Now, you can yourself in the world of interactive video with project galleries, tutorials, free assets and more to inspire you.
Here’s Led Zeppelin’s Trampled Under Foot.
And have fun with Bob Dylan’s Like A Rolling Stone
Or check out Coldplay’s Ink.
‘Rock Chicks’, Badass Heavy Metal Band Made of Baby Chicks Trashes the Stage
Nothing says Easter more than exposing a bunch of chicks for what they really are…secret metalheads. So, in a bid to wish each and every single one of you a riotous Easter from the equally riotous Download team, here’s a bunch of chicks.
Squirtgun Records Celebrates 20th Anniversary with ‘Return of Our Stupid Noise’ Comp
In celebration of their 20th anniversary, Squirtgun Records (distributed by eOne Music Canada) presents Return Of Our Stupid Noise, a raucous roll-call of Squirtgun co-conspirators both new and old. Out May 5th, the record is the result is a righteous re-affirmation of the newly reloaded Toronto label’s distinctive sound and aesthetic, as well as a scintillating hint of glories to come in the fantastic 21st century.
In the youth-obsessed world of Rock N Roll, Squirtgun Records founder Lee Maslin might very well be considered a dinosaur, a notion he finds amusing.
‘I’m not extinct yet!’ he protests, feeling his pulse. ‘More like a wooly mammoth.’ He offers instead. ‘Frozen in time. They thawed me out!’
After laying dormant for over a decade, the label he began in 1995 has been resurrected to release a spate of recordings marking its 20th anniversary. The first of which, Return Of Our Stupid Noise, completes a trilogy of compilations whose legacy of uniting Canada’s roving indie bands onto one disc has survived the intervening years. This new release matches established heroes like By Divine Right, Radioblaster, Scratching Post, Brendan Canning and Carole Pope with newer artists culled from the indie rock wilderness, such as Montreal’s Dany Laj & The Looks, St. John, New Brunswick’s Little You, Little Me, Alton, Ontario’s Ryan Masters and Guelph, Ontario’s The Skeletones Four.
When Maslin put Squirtgun on ice in 2000, after releasing an EP by Plastic Bag, it seemed like a timely opportunity to take stock, following five fruitful years, which yielded a staggering twenty-five releases from artists like Hayden and Elevator To Hell.
‘Things were changing. Bands were breaking up. We sold out of our singles collection within a week and I had just done a deal with Nettwerk, which put the label in the black.’ Maslin recalls, referring to a 1998 arrangement that saw More Of Our Stupid Noise and By Divine Right’s classic ‘All Hail Dischordia’ rereleased to a wider audience by Nettwerk Records. ‘It seemed like a good place to relax in the shade for a minute.’
With the arrival of kids & a death in the family, that minute stretched on to more than a decade. Maslin doesn’t seem phased. ‘Ten years go by pretty quick.’ He laughs. ‘I’m ready to pick up the gauntlet again.’
When asked why he chose to return to an industry very different than the one he left behind in 2000, Maslin grins & takes a sip of Coke Zero.
‘The fight for rock has not yet been won. There are a ton of amazing records out there that people need to hear. Rock N Roll hasn’t languished, it’s gotten stronger and more interesting than ever. I’m thrilled to be working with our artists and doing what I can to promote this music. Rock is our national birthright!’
When asked to elaborate on the name of his long-lived compilation series, Maslin thinks for a moment.
‘It was kind of off-handedly suggested by a friend of mine at the time, but seemed to fit. It’s unpretentious in a way that I like and it’s inclusive. It’s not My Stupid Noise. It’s OUR Stupid Noise.’
Frank Zappa (as The Monkees’ Mike Nesmith) Interviews The Monkees’ Mike Nesmith (as Frank Zappa)
John Lennon called them “the Marx Brothers of Rock” and Frank Zappa was such a fan, he made not one, but two onscreen appearances with the Monkees: First in a TV segment where Mike pretended to be Frank and vice versa and again in a brief cameo in the bizarre but wonderful movie Head.
Here’s the interview where Frank interviews Mike:
https://youtu.be/y_DevsLV5Y8
Chad VanGaalen Wins 2015 Prism Prize For Best Canadian Music Video
Director Chad VanGaalen was announced as the winner of the 2015 Prism Prize for Timber Timbre’s Beat The Drum Slowly music video at the Prism Prize Top Ten Screening and Awards Presentation at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, Ontario. Chad VanGaalen, who was also nominated for his own song Monster, was on hand to accept the Prism Prize trophy and $5,000 award.
The Prism Prize Audience Award was presented to director Natalie Rae Robison for Kandle‘s Not Up To Me, based on thousands of online votes collected in collaboration with Noisey Canada.
Also honoured during the event was director Jared Raab, who was in attendance to accept the Arthur Lipsett Award, established to recognize an innovative and unique approach to music video art. The Prism Prize Special Achievement Award, honouring a Canadian music video artist for their artistic achievements and exceptional contribution to music video art on a world stage, was presented to animator and cinematographer Christopher Mills.
William F. White, Canada’s oldest and largest provider of professional motion picture, television, digital media and theatrical production equipment, provided $2000 equipment vouchers for all Prism Prize Award winners including the Grand Prize, Audience Award, Prism Prize Special Achievement Award and the Arthur Lipsett Award.
Plans for the fourth annual Prism Prize will be announced later this year. Prism Prize is proud to host a comprehensive resource for music fans to watch the best Canadian music videos all in one place. Videos and news from Canada’s music video community are available throughout the year at www.prismprize.com.
Big Releases From Sam Smith & Ed Sheeran Help Pop Sales Overtake Rock in the U.K.
From Billboard:
Big-selling records from homegrown artists such as Sam Smith, Paloma Faith and Ed Sheeran have helped pop overtake rock as the most popular music genre in the United Kingdom.
According to new figures released by labels trade body the BPI, pop accounted for more than a third (34.5%) of album sales in the U.K. in 2014 – its highest level since 1999. Pop also made up almost half (48.8%) of the compilations market, claiming six of the top 10 biggest-sellers of the year.
For a sixth consecutive year, the genre also ruled the singles market, making up more than a third (36%) of all singles sold.
Historically pop has long vied with rock as the most popular music genre in the U.K., with four out of the last seven years seeing rock land the biggest share of the albums market. In 2013, it was once again the leading genre, accounting for 33.8% of all albums sold.
Although 2014 saw pop narrowly overtake rock, new albums by Royal Blood, Foo Fighters and AC/DC helped the genre maintain its popularity among U.K. record buyers and account for 33.2% of the U.K. albums market.
First New Release Friday Date Set For Music Industry
As announced by IFPI a few weeks ago, Friday will become the release date for all new music releases worldwide. The move will occur on Friday, July 10. All industry stakeholders are beginning preparations for this transition.
Music Biz President James Donio said, “We are committed to doing whatever we can to help all of our members make the transition to Friday successfully.” Donio is a member of the International Steering Committee, and will continue to keep members advised of further updates in the process.
Music teens: 60% are streaming while 21% buy downloads
From Musically:
Research firm GlobalWebIndex has been tapping its global panel of teenagers to find out what they’re doing online and how they’re getting their digital entertainment.
The results make for interesting reading, with a number of points about this age group’s music consumption. It’s based on a sample size of 4,849 16-19 year-olds – so “late teenagers” would be a more accurate term to describe them – in 32 countries.
Music findings? Music came top of the chart of “top interests” for the respondents, with 70% saying they are strongly interested in music – ahead of films (around 65%), science and technology (60%) and games (55%).
Ghostbusters video without the music. Who ya gonna call? The Cops.
I’ve posted Mario Wienerroither‘s Musicless music videos here on the site before, but this one for Ray Parker, Jr.‘s “Ghostbusters” is the weirdest, as it’s so stalkerish it’s borders on uncomfortable to watch. Who ya gonna call? The cops…