At the end of tape from Radiohead’s OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997-2017 bonus material there is a ZX Spectrum program. Also, inside the code there’s a hidden, black text on a black background: “congratulations….you’ve found the secret message syd lives hmmmm. We should get out more”. If you would like to repeat this yourself here is a guide how to do this written by Maciej Korsan here.
Covers: Retracing Reggae Record Sleeves in London
In his crowdfunded photography book entitled Covers, British photographer Alex Bartsch took 42 different reggae album covers that were shot in London more than 30 years ago and put them the same locations as they appear now.
In 2014 I began working on a photography project, finding reggae record covers that had been photographed in London, tracking down their original locations and rephotographing them in situ. The idea first came to me when I bought the Brixton Cat LP by Joe’s All Stars (Trojan Records, 1969). …To date I have located more than 40 covers. Some were easy to find while others took months of detective work. I cycled all over the city, from Penge in southeast London to Harlesden in the northwest. There were wild goose chases, and some unexpected finds. It’s been a great adventure, and has painted an interesting map of London’s reggae music heritage.
Photo Gallery: Mother Mother with Bottler and Feverbox at Niagara Falls Rapids Theater
All photos by Mini’s Memories. You can contact her at minismemories@hotmail.com
Ohio eatery serves Memphis-style hot chicken and the formerly-incarcerated get employment.
ANY COMMITMENT TO REDUCING our nation’s prison population should equally consider the fate of the formerly incarcerated — where will they live, learn, work upon release. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 650,000 men and women are released from prison each year, and an estimated 60 to 75 percent of them remain unemployed for up to a year after their release, raising their risk of recidivism.
A small segment of the business community is beginning to look at how best to integrate formerly incarcerated individuals into the workforce. Business owner Joe DeLoss and his Hot Chicken Takeover restaurant are helping to lead the charge.
Hot Chicken Takeover is a Columbus, Ohio business that serves Nashville-style hot chicken and happily hires formerly incarcerated men and women to do everything from fry the chicken to run the back office. Committed to his employees as real assets, DeLoss goes beyond just job opportunities to offer his employees an array of benefits tailored to their needs — housing and transportation support, paid time off, and opportunities for professional development. It’s what he describes as “fair chance” employment.
For another take on post-incarceration employment, read “To Be Good Employees, the Formerly Incarcerated Must First Become Bosses” by Marlon Peterson.
The Marshall Project collaborated with award-winning filmmaker Katie Galloway for “Hot Chicken, Fair Chance,” a character-driven short documentary on DeLoss, his restaurant and the employees who are the backbone of Hot Chicken Takeover.
Third Man Records Announces Arrival Of The White Stripes The First Show: Live On Bastille Day
Third Man Records is proud to announce the arrival of The White Stripes The First Show: Live On Bastille Day, a recording of the band’s first-ever performance, on digital and streaming services for the first time ever to celebrate the band’s 20th Anniversary. The performance, which took place during The Gold Dollar Detroit’s open mic night on Bastille Day 1997 — 20 years ago today — sees the Stripes powering through an abbreviated set of “St. James Infirmary,” “Jimmy The Exploder,” and “Love Potion #9.” The First Show: Live On Bastille Day is now available to purchase and stream HERE.
Recorded in crystalline soundboard quality, this first glimpse into The White Stripes unique sound world — which was previously available only as a 7″ in Third Man Vault Package #13 — brims with childish charm and a heartwarming awareness of how far Jack and Meg White would journey from such an unassuming start.
Kendrick Lamar’s ‘DAMN.’ & Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’ Are 2017’s Biggest Sellers So Far
Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. and Ed Sheeran’s ÷ (Divide) lead Nielsen Music’s 2017 mid-year album charts, while Sheeran’s “Shape of You” dominates the mid-year song lists. (See charts, below.)
For the tracking period of Dec. 30, 2016 through June 29, 2017, Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. dominates as the most popular album in the country, having earned 1.77 million equivalent album units. (Equivalent album units are comprised of traditional album sales, track equivalent albums [TEA] and streaming equivalent albums [SEA]. Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from one album, or 1,500 on-demand audio streams generated by songs on an album.)
DAMN. marked Lamar’s third No. 1 album on the weekly Billboard 200, following its release on April 14. It bowed with the largest week of the year for an album on the chart: 603,000 units earned.
In terms of traditional album sales, Ed Sheeran’s ÷ (Divide) is tops, with 742,000 copies sold so far in 2017. It’s ahead of the No. 2 seller, DAMN., with 678,000. Those are the only two albums to have sold at least a half-million copies in 2017. Comparably, in the first half of 2016, the industry saw five albums sell more than 500,000 – including a trio that moved in excess of a million (Adele’s 25, Drake’s Views and Beyoncé’s Lemonade).
Nielsen Music’s Mid-Year 2017 Charts:
2017’s Mid-Year Top 10 Albums (Based on Overall Equivalent Album Units)
1. Kendrick Lamar, DAMN. (1,772,000)
2. Ed Sheeran, ÷ (Divide) (1,749,000)
3. Drake, More Life (1,693,000)
4. Bruno Mars, 24K Magic (1,110,000)
5. Migos, Culture (1,002,000)
6. The Weeknd, Starboy (981,000)
7. Soundtrack, Moana (819,000)
8. Future, Future (760,000)
9. The Chainsmokers, Memories… Do Not Open (760,000)
10. Post Malone, Stoney (711,000)
2017’s Mid-Year Top 10 Selling Albums
1. Ed Sheeran, ÷ (Divide) (743,000)
2. Kendrick Lamar, DAMN. (678,000)
3. Bruno Mars, 24K Magic (494,000)
4. Soundtrack, Moana (494,000)
5. Metallica, Hardwired… To Self-Destruct (487,000)
6. Chris Stapleton, From A Room: Volume 1 (419,000)
7. Soundtrack, Trolls (373,000)
8. Soundtrack, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2 (351,000)
9. Drake, More Life (343,000)
10. Soundtrack, Beauty and the Beast (337,000)
2017’s Mid-Year Top 10 Selling Vinyl Albums
1. The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (39,000)
2. Soundtrack, La La Land (33,000)
3. Soundtrack, Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 (30,000)
4. Bob Marley and the Wailers, Legend (30,000)
5. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black (27,000)
6. Ed Sheeran ÷ (Divide) (27,000)
7. The Beatles, Abbey Road (26,000)
8. Prince and the Revolution, Purple Rain (24,000)
9. Tennis, Yours Conditionally (24,000)
10. Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon (23,000)
2017’s Mid-Year Top 10 Selling Digital Songs
1. Ed Sheeran, “Shape of You” (2,170,000)
2. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber, “Despacito” (1,437,000)
3. Bruno Mars, “That’s What I Like” (1,377,000)
4. Sam Hunt, “Body Like a Back Road” (1,246,000)
5. Zayn / Taylor Swift, “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)” (1,048,000)
6. The Chainsmokers & Coldplay, “Something Just Like This” (988,000)
7. James Arthur, “Say You Won’t Let Go” (914,000)
8. Imagine Dragons, “Believer” (905,000)
9. Julia Michaels, “Issues” (889,000)
10. Bruno Mars, “24K Magic” (769,000)
2017’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand Song Streams (Audio and Video Combined)
1. Ed Sheeran, “Shape of You” (689,756,000)
2. Migos featuring Lil Uzi Vert, “Bad and Boujee” (648,129,000)
3. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber, “Despacito” (624,375,000)
4. Bruno Mars, “That’s What I Like” (522,071,000)
5. Kendrick Lamar, “Humble.” (519,887,000)
6. Future, “Mask Off” (505,473,000)
7. Kyle featuring Lil Yachty, “Ispy” (494,113,000)
8. Post Malone featuring Quavo, “Congratulations” (483,252,000)
9. Lil Uzi Vert, “XO TOUR Llif3” (474,220,000)
10. Kodak Black, “Tunnel Vision” (388,186,000)
2017’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand Audio Streams
1. Ed Sheeran, “Shape of You” (354,245,000)
2. Kendrick Lamar, “Humble.” (345,980,000)
3. Future, “Mask Off” (327,281,000)
4. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber, “Despacito” (316,581,000)
5. Migos featuring Lil Uzi Vert, “Bad and Boujee” (313,596,000)
6. Lil Uzi Vert, “XO TOUR Llif3” (277,610,000)
7. Post Malone featuring Quavo, “Congratulations” (273,964,000)
8. Kyle featuring Lil Yachty, “iSpy” (271,738,000)
9. Bruno Mars, “That’s What I Like” (261,115,000)
10. Big Sean, “Bounce Back” (230,278,000)
2017’s Mid-Year Top 10 On-Demand Video Streams
1. Ed Sheeran, “Shape of You” (335,511,000)
2. Migos featuring Lil Uzi Vert, “Bad and Boujee” (334,533,000)
3. Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber, “Despacito” (397,795,000)
4. Bruno Mars, “That’s What I Like” (260,956,000)
5. Kyle featuring Lil Yachty, “iSpy” (222,376,000)
6. Post Malone featuring Quavo, “Congratulations” (209,288,000)
7. Ayo & Teo, “Rolex” (199,244,000)
8. Lil Uzi Vert, “XO TOUR Llif3” (196,611,000)
9. Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion McCall, “Juju On That Beat (TZ Anthem)” (196,524,000)
10. Rae Sremmurd, “Swang” (188,790,000)
Rolls-Royce Announces ‘The John Lennon Phantom V’ To Return To London During 50th Anniversary Of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Today, Rolls-Royce has announced that it will celebrate the 50th anniversary year of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in its own way by bringing the colourful Rolls-Royce Phantom V, famous for being owned by John Lennon, back home to London for the British public to see.
Currently owned by the Royal British Columbia Museum in Canada, ‘The John Lennon Phantom V’ will travel from Canada to London to join ‘The Great Eight Phantoms’ – A Rolls-Royce Exhibition, at Bonhams on New Bond Street, an area visited regularly by Lennon in the late 1960s in this very car.
Members of the public will be able to see ‘The John Lennon Phantom V’ at Bonhams from 29 July to the 2 August.
On 3 June 1965 – the same day that Edward H White left the capsule of his Gemini 4 to become the first American to walk in space – John Lennon took delivery of something rather special. It was a Rolls-Royce Phantom V in Valentine Black. He would later say that he always wanted to be an eccentric millionaire, and the Phantom would become an important step towards that dream.
Lennon had the Phantom V customised in true rock-star style. The rear seat was converted to a double bed, a television, telephone and refrigerator were installed, along with a ‘floating’ record player and a custom sound system (which included an external loud hailer). Then, in April 1967, just as the recording of the game-changing Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was finishing, Lennon asked Surrey coachbuilders, JP Fallon, to give the Phantom a new paint job. The freshly-painted Phantom was unveiled days before the worldwide release of Sgt. Pepper’s on 1 June and it seemed part of the overall concept of the album.
The new colour scheme is often described as ‘psychedelic’ and certainly the colours, particularly the dominant yellow, reflected the cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. But look carefully and you will see it is no random swirl, but a floral Romany scroll design, as used on gypsy caravans and canal barges, with a zodiac symbol on the roof.
The Phantom V was used regularly by Lennon until 1969 (Lennon also owned a slightly less conspicuous all-white Phantom V). Having used it, pre-paint change, to collect his MBE with his bandmates in 1965, he then used it again in 1969 to return his MBE to the Palace, in protest against, among other things, the Vietnam War. The car was shipped to the USA in 1970 when Lennon moved there and was loaned out to ferry other rock stars around such as The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and The Moody Blues. In 1977, after a period in storage, it was donated by billionaire Jim Pattison to the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
