At 6’6″ tall, Penn Jillette is a huge character. He’s got a huge frame, a huge personality, and huge appetites. It’s a trait that has occasionally gotten him into trouble; he weighed, until a recent diet change, more than 350 pounds. But his gregarious energy mostly expands to fill every moment of free time with professional success. He’s an inventor, an entrepreneur, a podcast host, a TV show creator, a Twitter celebrity, a comedian. And for more than forty years, he’s been the talking half of stage magic duo Penn & Teller. He talks to host Alec Baldwin about his lifelong atheism, what it’s like to perform the same trick for four decades, and why he’s committed to debunking nonsense.
UK supermarket Tesco to stock range of vinyl albums after huge success of summer trial
After the huge success of recently selling the latest Iron Maiden record UK Supermarket Tesco will today begin trialling a range of vinyl albums.
Included in the 20 disc range will be the eagerly anticipated new record by Coldplay released last week, the latest George Ezra and David Gilmour albums as well as some all-time classics.
These include Bruce Springsteen – Born In The USA; Bob Marley’s Greatest Hits; Foo Fighters – Greatest Hits; The Beatles – Sgt Pepper; The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers; Radiohead – The Bends and Elvis Presley – 30 Number Ones.
The move is significant as in the last few years the vinyl album revival has been gaining momentum, year on year with sales up by more than 50 per cent in 2014.*
Tesco music buyer Michael Mulligan said:”Our trial selling vinyl this summer was a real success with all our stock selling out and this really proved to us just how popular the vinyl album format is again with music fans.
“Vinyl is definitely coming back with demand growing stronger year by year and we think there will be a big demand in the UK this Christmas as music fans look for trendy gifting options.
“We have brought in vinyl albums for everyone – from new releases for established collectors to absolute classics for younger fans and for mums and dads who might have worn out their original copies the first time round.
“By also selling record decks we are helping customers who are looking to start their own vinyl album collection.”
After bottoming out at just over 205,000 vinyl albums in 2007, UK sales have grown every year since and in 2014 reached almost 1.3 million – the highest annual total since 1995.
Vinyl albums have bucked the downward sales trend in the last year of other music formats such as CDs which fell by 6.5 per cent and downloads which dropped by nearly nine per cent.
The only other music format in growth is streaming which grew by 78 per cent in 2014.
Tesco began selling record decks last Christmas and demand has been so strong that it now stocks 12 different models, ranging in price from £40 to £140.
The vinyl albums will cost from between £12 to £20.
The full list of albums, which will be on sale in 40 Tesco stores across the UK, is as follows:
1. Coldplay – A Head Full Of Dreams
2. ELO – Alone In The Universe
3. David Gilmour – Rattle That Lock
4. George Ezra – Wanted On Voyage
5. Elvis Presley – 30 Number 1 Hits
6. The Beatles – Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
7. The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers
8. Stones Roses – Stone Roses
9. Various – Guardians Of The Galaxy Soundtrack
10. Nirvana – Nevermind
11. Bob Marley – Legend
12. Guns’n’Roses – Appetite For Destruction
13. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II
14. Foo Fighters – Greatest Hits
15. Bruce Springsteen – Born In The USA
16. Fleetwood Mac – Greatest Hits
17. The Eagles – Hotel California
18. Prince – Purple Rain
19. Radiohead – The Bends
20. The Specials – The Specials
Rush’s Geddy Lee on the possibility of a solo album
Have you ever considered doing a solo album that was all synth?
Geddy Lee: All synth? No. I don’t think I could bear that. Synthesizers are not really good for your sense of humor. It’s like being in front of your laptop for eight hours straight. You don’t really feel very funny at the end of it [laughs].
https://youtu.be/kuZKE6ewTV4
These unsuspecting shoppers got a big surprise while enjoying their lunch
Even though this first appeared in 2010, it’s worth a second look during the holiday season. Over 100 participants gave unsuspecting shoppers a big surprise while they enjoyed their lunch.
Round Hill Music enters into worldwide co-publishing deal with Rune Westberg
Round Hill Music is proud to enter into a worldwide co-publishing deal with the accomplished Danish songwriter, record producer, mixer, and instrumentalist, Rune Westberg. Based in Los Angeles, Rune has had recent cuts with Prince Royce (“Extraordinary”), Rachel Platten (“Beating Me Up” on her Fight Song EP), Jesse & Joy (current single “Ecos De Amor”), Colbie Caillat (“Floodgates” on “Gypsy Heart”) , Australian artist Bonnie Anderson (current single “Unbroken”), Sabrina Carpenter (“Stand Out” single) as well as upcoming projects with Rachel Taylor, Australian artist Dean Ray, Canadian artist Kate Morgan, Alvaro Soler, Katy Tiz, Sofia Reyes and many others.
“Rune is a phenomenal talent and I’m thrilled to work with such a versatile songwriter and producer. We are dedicated to helping him take his music to an even wider audience and look forward to having many hits together,” says Patrick Conseil, A&R, Round Hill Music.
Additionally, Rune has written and produced for Adam Lambert, Daughtry, Hedley, Reece Mastin, Nina Nesbitt, Haley Reinhart, Better Than Ezra, Casey Abrams, Kris Allen, Jessica Sanchez, The Saturdays, David Cook, MoZella, and Tyler Hilton, among many others. Along with Chad Kroeger, Eric Dill, and Chris Daughtry, Westberg co-wrote the hit song “No Surprise”, a single on Daughtry’s second album, Leave This Town. The song debuted on American Idol and subsequently won a BMI award.
Rune is managed by David Sonenberg of New York-based DAS Communications.
That Time Danny Elfman And Oingo Boingo Was a Contestant On ‘The Gong Show’
Before Oingo Boingo shortened their name and became a rock band in the ’80s, they were a proudly weird, truly eclectic group of musicians, employing up to 15 performers at a time and playing covers of everything from Russian ballet music to the jazz hits of Cab Calloway. The group’s appearance on The Gong Show confused and impressed the show’s panel of celebrity judges and won them the strange sum of $516.32. Though it’s difficult to spot Danny Elfman in the chaos (it’s hard to tell for sure, but according to several sources, he’s the trombone player), the bizarre and infectious performance offers a fascinating glimpse into the origins of one of Hollywood’s most important composers.
https://youtu.be/GW0Le-L3DNE
Via Mental Floss
Win A #12DaysOfMonster Prize Pack Filled With Headphones!
Monster products combine great sound,clear and transparent bass, mids and highs, fully exposed to all the details of the song, allowing you to hear what the artists really want you to hear. The company is nearing the end of their #12DaysOfChristmas campaign. One (1) random winner will have a chance to win some of the hottest Monster products this holiday season including:
1. Adidas Originals Headphones
2. N-Tune On-Ear Headphones
3. Superstar HD Bluetooth Speaker
4. Mobile Powercard Portable Battery
Entering is as simple as 1) following @MonsterProducts and @ThatEricAlper, on Twitter then 2) Tweet us which of the featured products you want for the holidays and why using #12DaysOfMonster.
There are only a couple days left to get 10% off your entire order via the #12DaysOfMonster campaign on monsterproducts.com using the promo code 12DAYSOFMONSTER
Why One Direction’s gap year should worry the music industry and all music fans
One Direction’s “hiatus” in 2016 will inevitably be traumatic for their fans, but manna from heaven for those who enjoy sneering at lachrymose teenagers for possessing a taste in music they think is vastly inferior to their own. The other story here, however, is that it is also going to be equal parts painful and costly for the businesses that surround and rely on the group for a significant amount of their income.
Musicians at the same level of success as One Direction operate like global businesses. They become transnational corporations that contribute enormously to the economy and generate employment, either full-time or part-time, for thousands of people in a vast ecosystem of their own making. So those laughing up their sleeve that the group’s split is somehow a victory for “real music” are also laughing at companies feasibly closing and people possibly being laid off – or at least having their incomes slashed dramatically. It’s not just the Man missing out on a fat Christmas bonus – the salaries of everyone from the junior staff at the band’s record label, Sony, to the lighting riggers on their tour could evaporate. Spare a thought, too, for those bands who are dropped, or not signed, when Sony’s revenues diminish.
As the second most successful recording artists in 2014 after Taylor Swift, One Direction sold 3.2m copies of Four, their most recent album, globally in 2014, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). The year before, they were the biggest recording act in the world, moving 4m copies of Midnight Memories. Their record sales may have declined slowly – 2011’s Up All Night and 2012’s Take Me Home have each sold 5m copies globally – but they remain one of the few acts to set record shop tills ringing when a new album is released. Record company employees aren’t the only ones crossing their fingers for a sales spike with every 1D album – so are all the staff at CD manufacturers, distributors and retailers.
Via The Guardian
Alessia Cara Revealed as First Performer for The 2016 JUNO Awards
At a press conference held today, CTV and The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) delivered a sneak peek into the high-powered lineup of chart-topping artists that will perform on CTV’s broadcast of THE 2016 JUNO AWARDS. Brampton, Ont. native and breakout pop-R&B artist, Alessia Cara is the first performer confirmed to c$aptivate the JUNO crowd. THE 2016 JUNO AWARDS airs Sunday, April 3 on CTV and CTV GO from The Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, with broadcast details to follow.
“Undoubtedly one of the hottest artists in music right now, Alessia embodies why Canadian music is dominating the charts internationally,” said Randy Lennox, President, Entertainment Production and Broadcasting, Bell Media. “With more performers to be announced in the coming weeks, this talented, young artist is setting the stage for what is guaranteed to be a spectacular show.”
“With a soulful voice heard around the world, Alessia Cara is one of Canada’s brightest young artists,” said Allan Reid, President & CEO, CARAS/The JUNO Awards & MusiCounts. “We’re extremely proud of her global chart topping success and we can’t wait for her JUNO stage debut.”
Just in time for the holidays a limited amount of tickets will be released for THE 2016 JUNO AWARDS Broadcast and go on sale this Friday, December 11 at 10 a.m. MST. These specially priced tickets start at $34, and are available through the Scotiabank Saddledome Box Office, by phone at 1-855-985-5000, and online at ticketmaster.ca.
THE 2016 JUNO AWARDS is produced by Insight Productions in association with CTV and The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS). Executive Producers are John Brunton and Barbara Bowlby for Insight Productions, and Allan Reid and Mark Cohon for CARAS. Lindsay Cox is Supervising Producer. Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. Mike Cosentino is Senior Vice-President, CTV Networks and CraveTV, Bell Media. Randy Lennox is President, Entertainment Production and Broadcasting, Bell Media.
What it’s like to play with a 14-year-old Stevie Ray Vaughan
Actor, author, director, and musician Stephen Tobolowsky talks about his first high school band, Cast of Thousands, that recorded with a young Stevie Ray Vaughan.
“It was the first time that they saw Chopin. It was the first time that they saw the magic of Otis Redding. Right in front of them. And it’s Stevie Vaughan, this 14-year-old kid.”
