About ten days ago, I sat in on a talk by producer Steve Lillywhite who went off on a jag about the importance of the independent music scene. “Every musical trend starts with the indies,” he said, “because they’re in the street, not up in the towers.” This, in a nutshell, is the history and [&hellip.. more
Reader Bobby points us to 25iq, a blog for investors, that takes a look at how the music business works. A Dozen Things I’ve Learned About the Music Business (and Businesses Like It) “I wish there had been a music business 101 course I could have taken.” Kurt Cobain. There are many musicians like Cobain who [&hellip.. more
Moist man David Usher returns with a new solo album called Let It Play on October 21. He’s always wanted to do an album of English adaptations of his favourite French. The only song in French is “Black Black Heart” which originally appeared in English on his Juno-winning 2002 album, Morning Orbit. For this project, [&hellip.. more
What songs do you like to listen to when you want to feel good? In 2015 British electronics brand Alba commissioned cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Jacob Jolij to investigate data gathered on the musical preferences of UK residents and their favourite songs to improve their moods. While a “feel-good” song is very personal because music is [&hellip.. more
There’s a new streaming app in town and it’s being dubbed “the Netflix of everything”. Playster, licensed by Sony and Warner, calls itself the first all-in-one entertainment streaming service. Users on iOS and Android can subscribe to different services for a variety of prices: e-books/audiobooks ($9.95), music ($9.95), games ($5.95), and movies ($3.95). Or, if [&hellip.. more
Just in case you missed it, Nirvana’s Nevermind turns 25 today. Here’s the band playing the song live in a tiny club back in the day. And now, in music news… Speaking of Nevermind, producer Butch Vig takes this look back. This isn’t music-related, but I’ve been to this forest and I can attest that [&hellip.. more
This is a bit on the outrageous side. You really shouldn’t try this at home, but c’mon: you’re probably wondering how many Coke bottle candies you could fit in there.Do NOT try this at home.. more
Another big-name tour went on sale today through Ticketmaster with the predictable outcome: People getting screwed by ticket-buying bots. Here are a few emails sent my way: I was online at noon and didn’t get a thing. Not even super expensive tickets. I then switched to Amex front of the line and that was also [&hellip.. more
Whenever Terry Jones dressed up as a woman for a Python sketch, I always laughed out loud. This, however, is not funny. Jones, who is now 74, has announced that he’s been diagnosed with a “severe” form of dementia. His aphasia–the inability to speak–has progressed to the point where he is no longer to give [&hellip.. more
After two weeks of traveling through more than 180 degrees of longitude, I’ve had a chance to hear more music than usual, especially during long transpacific flights. Here are the songs that tweaked my attention over the last seven days. Thoughts and feedback are most welcome. As always, Mediazoic takes care of the hosting. ARTIST [&hellip.. more
You may have to read this article half a dozen times before you even begin to understand terms like “midair haptic feedback” and “medicine-related nanofabrication methods,” but it all comes down to this: 3D images created by manipulation of microparticles. The boffins behind this work say there are plenty of practical applications for this technology, [&hellip.. more
When it comes to the future of the music industry, it would appear the smart money is on, and behind, blockchain. With this month’s launch of the Tao Network, which proclaims itself to be the first blockchain designed exclusively with musicians and the music industry in mind, the fully digital, encrypted and irrefutable system for [&hellip.. more
Here’s another infographic from Cameron Gordon at Completely Ignored. This time, he looks at which artists have played baseball stadiums the most often. Click on the graphic to see the whole thing.. more
Were you aware that most of the Canadian provinces have their own anthems? If not, don’t worry. I wasn’t aware of this little fact, either, until I read this article in the National Post. The article reviews each of the available provincial anthems and then chooses which one they like best (spoiler: It’s Quebec’s). I [&hellip.. more
The two rarest and most unattainable records are the golden discs curated by Carl Sagan aboard the two Voyager spacecraft. The 12-inch phonograph records, featuring sounds of Earth that might one day be heard by aliens, are waaaaaaay out there. At last check, Voyager 1 is 20.4 billion miles away while Voyager 2 is a [&hellip.. more
For the first decade of its existence, this music was called “rock’n’roll.” But by the time we got to the 1970s, it was being referred to simply as “rock?” Why the truncation? And is there a difference between “rock’n’roll’ and “rock?” That’s the subject of this article from NPR. In 2009, musician and historian Elijah [&.. more
There’s a new job posting at Facebook. The company is looking for a Director of Global Music Licensing. Interesting. The job involves “lead[ing] Facebook’s strategy and negotiations with music labels and publishing/performing rights organizations, as well as collaborate with our product and media partnerships teams to ensure a coordinated and best-in-class licensing structure.”.. more
A man driving the New Jersey Turnpike near Newark Airport on I-7 was scanning the AM dial when he chanced upon a weird transmission coming from 1630 kHz. “Trump will go 26th.” What does that mean? And given that the transmission was coming from beyond the standard AM band (which ends at 1610 kHz; the [&hellip.. more
Flying home from Nashville to conclude two weeks’ worth of traveling. TSA, I will miss you. And now, some music news… If you look at the numbers the right way, the Tragically Hip’s last tour did better than Justin Bieber. Wait a second: you mean the buyer of Frank Zappa’s house was Lady Gaga? Japan: [&hellip.. more
In the Olden Days–the 1970s and early 80s–there was only one flavour of rock radio on FM. AOR–album-oriented rock–played music that was harder than what AM stations played and had a reputation for going deeper tracks on albums. There were subtle differences from station to station, but they all played a wide-ranging form of rock. As [&hellip.. more
The Ongoing History of New Music, Episode 760: This History of Indie Rock, Part 1
September 23rd | by
“A Dozen Things I’ve Learned About the Music Business”
September 24th | by
I Like This: David Usher and “Black Black Heart”
September 24th | by
The Top 10 Feel Good Songs According to Science
September 24th | by
Playster: the Streaming Service Dubbed “The Netflix of Everything”
September 24th | by
Random Music News for Saturday, September 24, 2016
September 24th | by