Muppets cover Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody
As one of the comments says “They just broke the WIN scale.”
Neil Young covers the theme song from Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Very moving.
Not sure how I feel about this.
Freshjive Calls Out Obama | URB.COM
Fair Use?
The immediate response is “Oh no he didn’t.” But if you know LA trailblazer Rick Klotz’s company, it’s no surprise that he took this approach. This is the same dude that brought you these gems:
The company press release on the “Hope is Fading…” T says the release will be the first without the Freshjive name on it. All part of an anti-re-branding effort for the 20-year-old pioneering label. Wait, that is, unless it’s just a clever ruse to avoid more protests.
As for the above sentiment, is it fair? That depends on where you’re at in the political/Obama spectrum—clearly it’s open to debate. But is its pulse-taking of some of the Obama constituency accurate—is hope fading for some? Of course. Rate your personal hope meter as you wish, but there is no doubt that the past 10 months have made you a little bit nostalgic for the good ol’ days of late 2008.
But hope is a slippery thing. Even Shepard Fairey—the revered artist behind the embellished image above—has fallen a bit from his election era grace. This came on top of another youth-for-Obama architect Yosi Sergant, who was chastised by Glenn Beck (and thrown under a D.C. bus by the Left) for his role in NEAgate.
Without over-examining this instantly controversial T-shirt graphic, are any of you having Kool-Aid drinker’s remorse? Maybe we’re just letting the naysayers (re: Conservatives and bitter Dems) get too much of our psyche? Or are we just smelling the stench of negativity that wafts out over the carcass of unrealistic optimism? For me, the jury is still out and I’m not sure I’d wear this shirt around town quite yet. But I’m getting one anyway. Just in case.
I guess this is the opposite of earplugs.
Trent Reznor, Tom Waits, My Morning Jacket & More on Bridge School Vol. 4
Not sure if this is true or not, but the story goes that when Trent was asked about performing at Bridge School in 2006 he was not aware that everyone had to play acoustic. Instead of pulling out, he got some friends together and played live acoustically for what I believe was his first and only time. I was there to witness it and was thoroughly moved. It’s probably one of my favorite moments from the Bridge School Benefits. This year was the first one I missed in 7 years, I think.
When a bearded Trent Reznor played his surprising unplugged set at Neil and Pegi Young’s annual Bridge School Benefit in 2006, many people, myself included, were hoping he would bring the string quartet and piano into the studio for a Nine Inch Nails record. Well that never happened, but two songs from his set, which wooed NIN fans and detractors alike, will be included on Bridge School Collection, Vol. 4, available Tuesday on iTunes.
Tegan and Sara, who also have two tracks on the live compilation, posted a news update on their site with the full track list and it looks like we have yet another charitable release to look forward to (Seattle GIVE, Preservation, etc.).
Also included on the album are Tom Waits & the Kronos Quartet’s “What Keeps Mankind Alive” and “The Part You Throw Away,” Regina Spektor, John Mayer, My Morning Jacket, Band of Horses, Norah Jones, Ministry, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Mellencamp, and one appearance by Neil Young himself, albeit jamming with Josh Groban for an operatic version of “Harvest Moon.”
Check out the full track list here.
Telefon Tel Aviv /// “Your Mouth” /// Immolate Yourself
Could be the ghost in the machine that makes good IDM so sad and haunting, but Immolate Yourself, especially given the strange, untimely and tragic death of Telfon Tel Aviv’s Charles Cooper earlier this year, is in a league of its own in that regard. Its electronic sighs and moans are an aural complement to Gatsby’s untouchable green light, an aborted future itself borne back ceaselessly into the past once we lose all hope of attaining it.
Marvin was one of the artists I remember growing up with. Dad was always turning me on to incredible R&B. I definitely miss being able to share music with him. I was really looking forward to doing that for a lot longer.
marvin gaye
Just ordered this for someone. Hope they like it.
The Jazz Loft Project: Photographs and Tapes of W. Eugene Smith from 821 Sixth Avenue, 1957-1965
After having a breakdown in the midst of working on a photo-essay on Pittsburgh in 1957, legendary photographer W. Eugene Smith holed up in a loft in New York’s Chelsea, in the Tin Pan Alley area. There, over the next several years, he became deeply embroiled in the New York City jazz scene, opening his home as a practice and performance space for some of the great artists of mid-century jazz, including Thelonious Monk, Zoot Sims and many others. Of course, he took pictures—both of musicians and of a window-size view of mid-century New York—and also wired the place for recording, logging hours and hours of tape, capturing the music and the talk around it. These photos and tapes had been thought lost—the stuff of rumor, buried in Smith’s archive—until Stephenson dug them out and culled the best, along with transcriptions of material from the tapes, for this landmark book. Smith’s stunning use of contrast makes figures like Monk seem dramatic and completely ordinary at the same time. The photos of the city offer a rare glimpse into a neighborhood being itself when it thought no one was watching. This will be an essential book for jazz fans, photography lovers and those interested in the history of New York.
(via Publishers Weekly, Sep 2009)
zoya:
Youth and Music Survey 2009 (pdf) (via Taylor)
I’m a big Zach Galifianakis fan too.
(via newspeedwayboogie)
O America, where is your Idol now?
Hits estimates for this week’s album sales, based on first-day numbers:
John Mayer, 275k-300k
Norah Jones, 150k-160k
50 Cent, 140k-150k
Casting Crowns, 140k-150k
Andrea Bocelli (Xmas), 140k-150k
Justin “Totally Creeped Out” Bieber, 110k-120k
Kris Allen, 75k-80k
Them Crooked Vultures, 70k-75k
Leona Lewis, 60k-65k
Paul McCartney (live), 50k-55k
OneRepublic, 40k-45k
Janet Jackson (greatest hits), 35k-40k
Not surprised that Kris is so far underperforming. Very surprised, though, that he’s not even on pace to break six figures. Are people just saving their money for Adam’s record? Or did they just want the real troubadour deal (you know, John Mayer) instead?
Also: LOL RYAN TEDDER
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Brad Barrish
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