You and nine other individuals have been captured by super-intelligent alien overlords. The aliens think humans look quite tasty, but their civilization forbids eating highly logical and cooperative beings. Unfortunately, they’re not sure whether you qualify, so they decide to give you all a test. Can you solve this hat riddle? Alex Gendler shows how.
The Music Industry’s Most-Loved Albums Of All Time, Part 45
This is part 45 of an ongoing series where the kind folk of the music business reveal their favourite album of all time.
Ask people in the music industry the seemingly simple and straightforward question, “What is your favourite album of all time?” and you’ll find that it’s not always easy. After all, my industry peers listen to hundreds of albums a month – thousands of songs during that time. Because the question isn’t the best album of all time or the one that’s made them the most money in sales, or the most clicked-on review, but the one release they personally can’t live without, that one title they have two copies of in several formats, in case one breaks. It’s also about that album that for them has the best back stories and the one that has the most meaning in their lives.
Jason Hann, Pennsylvania Music News
Pantera, Vulgar Display of Power
This album was released in a crucial time in the metal scene. Grunge was taking over and metal was being phased in and out. Phil, Dime, Vinny, and Rex pretty much said we aren’t going anywhere with is album. It’s exactly what metal should be.
Jens F. Laurson, Listen Magazine and Forbes
Alexandre Tharaud, Concertos Italiens
Apart from the so-named Concerto Italien, which is an original composition “in the style of”, Bach took Italian concertos and movements thereof which he admired and transcribed them for keyboard… either a clavichord or harpsichord, to be specific. Somewhere in this transference, which you would think is fairly straight forward, he bestowed the Bach-magic on it, which makes these ‘reductions’ shine and sparkle more than the originals. Part of that is also the doing of Alexandre Tharaud’s, a French pianist whom I consider the best of his generation (by far) for all kinds of miniatures. (He’s got a great career in France, a decent career in America, but almost unknown in Germany or Austria. Apart from plain prejudice and ignorance, it’s about the strange way managements and agents are connected.) Anyway, he gorgeously, impeccably, tastefully plays these works on a Steinway. When I put it on, for the first time — already attracted by the bright orange cover and the label’s reputation but not yet of the pianist — it grabbed me by the ears and never let me go. Tharaud charms, beguiles, and impresses from the first notes. Once you have listened to the concluding Andante from the G minor concerto, BWV 979, you will be elated and stunned at such pure beauty.
Kristi Craig, Belovery.com
Brand New, Deja Entendu
I’ve been listening to this album ever since I got it from my brother more than ten years ago. Brand New was incredibly influential on my teenage years, and gave me a true appreciation for the art of song writing. Deja Entendu is by far their best album, with a great mix of heart breaking acoustic tracks and cutting one liners (“If looks could really kill then my profession would be staring”). I am always in the mood for this album, and will never stop loving it.
Michael Dawson, Managing Editor, Modern Drummer
John Coltrane, A Love Supreme
I bought a bootleg copy of this record on a field trip in 6th grade because I was playing in the school jazz band and wanted to get some jazz tapes to listen to so I could learn more about the genre. I probably should have chosen something more digestible, like a Glenn Miller collection or the latest Harry Connick Jr release. But, no, I chose A Love Supreme, one of the most sophisticated, spiritual, and deeply human albums of all time. As a thirteen-year-old with immature ears, I was completely overwhelmed. But I kept listening, and listening, and listening, hoping that one day I would be able to finally make some sense of it. It probably wasn’t until I was about twenty-five that the true magic of A Love Supreme became clear. You have to live life a little before you can relate all the deep emotions pouring out of every block chord, wailing arpeggio, and guttural tom fill. Even if I only put it on once a month or once a year, A Love Supreme always be in my collection. It’s my religion.
Mike Luoma, Music Director of The Point, Vermont’s Independent Radio Network
Jethro Tull, Thick As A Brick
The album finally got its due on CD with the 2012 Remix/remaster job by Steven Wilson. This poor album has been sorely treated by the remix/remaster process prior to this – including being sped up ever so slightly in the remix prior to this one from 2007. And yes – I own them all. An original LP sleeve with the full fold-out newspaper, a vinyl copy for playing, the original CD release, 3 remix remastered versions…That’s why this album ultimately became my choice for favorite – your criteria of owning multiple copies certainly came to bear here.
Video: Watch Quentin Tarantino Directing A Scene From Macbeth
Quentin Tarantino shows his masterful touch on The Graham Norton Show directs James McAvoy and Alan Davies in a scene from MacBeth. It’s big, bold and clever, and not an easy one to do on the fly. And without guns.
These Dogs Were About To Be Slaughtered, And This Is Where The Rescue Story Begins
Humane Society International has rescued 26 dogs and puppies from a dog meat farm in South Korea, its fourth such rescue operation this year. The dogs were successfully transported to the Washington Animal Rescue League in Washington, DC. Their staff will evaluate and divide the dogs among them and four Emergency Placement Partner shelters, including the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria, Animal Welfare League of Arlington, Fairfax County Animal Shelter and Washington Humane Society to find the dogs homes. The Emergency Placement Partners Program is a program of The Humane Society of the United States, HSI’s U.S. affiliate.
Kelly O’Meara, HSI’s director of companion animals and engagement, said: “We closed this farm as it was just starting, and rescued these dogs and puppies from cold, barren cages with no hope of a future. Like the hundreds of other dogs we’ve rescued from South Korean dog meat farms this year, we know adoptive families will welcome these dogs into their homes and make them the companion animals they deserve to be.”
HSI worked with the farm owner to remove the dogs from miserable conditions and close its doors for good. As part of the plan, he signed an agreement with HSI to shut down the property. HSI will follow the farmer’s progress to ensure compliance. HSI will demolish the cages in the following days now that all the dogs have been removed.
HSI is working to reduce the dog meat trade in Asia, including in South Korea where dogs are farmed for the trade — and where the 2018 Winter Olympics will be held. HSI will work with other dog farmers who agree to get out of the cruel dog meat trade permanently and transition into more humane trades.
Grammy Award Infographic: The Nominations By the Numbers
Billboard has compiled a selection of striking statistics in advance of the big show, which takes place Feb. 15 in Los Angeles. For more cool infographics, check out their year-end issue of Billboard.
Anne Frank’s diary enters in public domain, 70 years after her death
Anne Frank’s famous Diary of a Young Girl entered the public domain today, making it free to download, read, and distribute, 70 years after her death. Copyright on the diary, written while the young Frank was hiding in an attic with her family from soldiers during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam, was scheduled to run out on January 1st, 2016. Within a few hours of the clock striking midnight on the new year, the full text was available to read — in its original Dutch — online.
The publication comes as a copyright dispute still swirls around the diary. By European law, written works enter the public domain 70 years after their author dies. Anne Frank died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945, but Anne Frank Fonds — the charitable foundation set up in her memory — argues that her father Otto made such significant changes to the manuscript that he had “earned his own copyright.” Otto Frank — who outlived Anne and died in 1980 — reportedly combined two versions of his daughter’s diaries, cutting and pasting certain sections to make a single, readable record. “The book he created earns his own copyright,” Yves Kugelmann, one of Anne Frank Fonds’ trustees, said. “For the purposes of copyright, he is to be viewed as an ‘author’ of that version.”
Some, such as French parliament member Isabelle Attard, have criticized this position, arguing that it lessens the impact of the diary. A spokesperson for Attard — who put a copy of the book up today on her own site — said that adding another author to the diary “is weakening the weight it has had for decades, as a testimony to the horrors of this war.” But Kugelmann specifies that although Otto’s work should reset the copyright clock, “this does not imply that he ‘co-wrote’ anything.”
Via The Verge
When Baseball Players Did Television Ads
Here’s Boston Red Soxer Fred Lynn for Botany 500:
https://youtu.be/WI5ADBl-x4U
And Johnny Bench, catcher for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983 and a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame:
https://youtu.be/jPgDVO4HtEM
My favourite, though, was when Kansas City Royals’ star George Brett told us to drink more 7UP:
https://youtu.be/XZJ7yYFIN0M
Paul McCartney Infographic For His “Out There” World Tour
Paul McCartney’s ‘Out There’ tour has continued to travel the world, lasting from May 4th, 2013 to October 22nd, 2015 so his team decided to take a closer look at what goes into making it all happen. McCartney played in Belo Horizonte, Goiânia and Fortaleza, all in Brazil (his first time playing in all three cities) and in Japan for the first time since the Driving World Tour back in 2002.
(Click the image to view the full-sized infographic)
Taylor Swift Had Top Grossing Tour In 2015, Smashing Rolling Stones Record
Taylor Swift is the Top Grossing Artist for 2015 with more than $250 million in ticket sales playing to 2.3 million fans. While that is not a global record, the fact that nearly $200 million of that total came from North America dates means she smashed the previous mark of $162 million set by the Rolling Stones in 2005.
Although The Rolling Stones placed 10th on the chart, the band had the highest average ticket – $174.50. Second is Paul McCartney’s $155.76 followed by Madonna ($127.55), Fleetwood Mac ($125.61), Elton John ($124.49) and U2 ($118.35). Luke Bryan’s $55.48 average ticket price was the lowest on the chart.
Via Pollstar
