Thank You Mask Man is an animated short film based upon a comedy routine by Lenny Bruce involving The Lone Ranger and Tonto. The film was produced by John Magnuson, and directed by Jeff Hale (a former member of the National Film Board of Canada). Bruce intended to deconstruct homophobia and other issues explored within the routine.
‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’ Trailer Features Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love
When you want to show just how kick-ass, rough, tough, dirty, sexy, vibrant, independent and a lone-wolf of a character you are, baby, you turn to Led Zeppelin. Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, in theaters July 31st.
Duff McKagan Shares Touring Travel Tips for Musicians
Duff McKagan – who has spent time playing with Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver, Loaded and several other groups over the past three decades – has amassed a number of habits and routines to get him from point A to B.
That Time In 1964 Louis Armstrong Advertised A Baby Doll On TV
Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an “inventive” cornet and trumpet player, Louis Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the music’s focus from collective improvisation to solo performance. With his instantly recognizable deep and distinctive gravelly voice, resembling the sound of a trumpet, Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes. He was also greatly skilled at scat singing, vocalizing using sounds and syllables instead of actual lyrics.
And in 1964, he pitched a baby doll on television, which makes him even cooler to me.
https://youtu.be/cHHtCdALgwk
Listen To Jimi Hendrix’s Last Interview, 1970
NME’s Keith Altham did the last interview with Jimi Hendrix on September 11, 1970, just seven days before the artist’s death. It shows Hendrix not knowing for sure where he’s going musically, but he certainly still wants to continue to make great music. If you don’t get through all 30 minutes or so, check out this pretty smooth and hippy end to their conversation.
ALTHAM: Do you feel personally that you have enough money to live comfortably without necessarily making more as a sort of professional entertainer?
HENDRIX: Ah, I don’t think so, not the way I’d like to live, because like I want to get up in the morning and just roll over in my bed into an indoor swimming pool and then swim to the breakfast table, come up for air and get maybe a drink of orange juice or something like that. Then just flop over from the chair into the swimming pool, swim into the bathroom and go on and shave and whatever.
ALTHAM: You don’t want to live just comfortably, you wanna live luxuriously?
HENDRIX: No! Is that luxurious? I was thinking about a tent, maybe, [laughs] overhanging … overhanging this … a mountain stream! [laughter].
Via Open Culture
YouTube for Artists gets city-level ‘Music Insights’ analytics
YouTube has taken a lot of flak from musicians and the music industry in recent months, but one thing it’s done that has been generally welcomed is YouTube for Artists.
Launched in March, it was a music-focused hub to help artists get more out of YouTube, with tips and case studies. At the time, YouTube said it would also be adding more powerful analytics to the site. Today, they’re going live.
The new tool is called Music Insights, and its key features include city-level data on where people are watching music videos, as well as a combination of stats from artists’ own uploads and those of fans that include their music – well, the videos claimed using Content ID, anyway.
According to YouTube, the new tool uses a new classification system it rolled out in September 2014, rounding up views by artist rather than by channel, as well as drilling down to city-level for viewers.
Its launch coincides with an expansion for YouTube for Artists: from the purely English-language version available in March, it has now expanded to 22 languages.
Via MusicAlly
Ed Sheeran plays songs from his brand new album featuring heavy metal and hardcore rap hits
Ed Sheeran plays songs from his brand new album featuring heavy metal and hardcore rap hits. This should hit the top of every chart, regardless of the genre.
https://youtu.be/giXU6Wp60Os
Tim McGraw Continues To Award Mortgage-Free Homes to Veterans on Shotgun Rider Tour 2015
– Tim McGraw, Operation Homefront and Chase are continuing to award mortgage-free homes to veterans on the Shotgun Rider Tour 2015. Over their three years working together, they have awarded 108 homes, touching over 300 veterans and family members in 30 states in front of over 2,000,000 fans. Thirty-six homes will be awarded during the upcoming tour.
“The return to civilian life can be a challenging transition. We want to welcome veterans home to the community they sacrificed to protect. A mortgage-free home provides stability for their families and also allows them to start this new chapter of their life with one less worry,” said McGraw in Nashville while preparing for the tour. “It’s an amazing feeling to see them receive something they so deeply deserve — and to be able to share that experience with thousands of fans each night makes me proud to be a part of this program.”
McGraw’s Shotgun Rider Tour 2015 kicks off Friday June 5th in Little Rock, AR and continues across the country before wrapping up in Irvine, CA on September 19th. He will be joined by special guest Billy Currington and newcomer Chase Bryant.
It has been an incredible year for McGraw so far, with highlights including performing on the Oscars® and being honored by TIME Magazine as one of their 100 Most Influential People in the world.
“On behalf of the entire Operation Homefront family and the military families we serve, I am thrilled we are able to continue our amazing partnership with Tim,” said Brig Gen (ret) John I. Pray, Jr., president and CEO. “Tim’s deep, personal commitment to honor those who work tirelessly to protect the freedoms we enjoy daily reflects his clear appreciation for what our military members and their families do for all of us.”
“Everyone who is part of this program is working toward one goal – ensuring a bright and successful future for veterans and their families,” said Ross Brown, director of Military and Veterans Affairs at Chase.
There are currently more than 2.5 million post-9/11 veterans and more than one million who are currently serving that will transition out of the military over the next several years.
“We are truly grateful for the generosity of Operation Homefront and Chase during this transition,” said Navy Fireman Justin Gang, who received a mortgage-free home in April 2014. “We are so very appreciative and no words could ever describe what it means to be honored with such an amazing gift. This new home will help us grow stronger as a couple and work toward a brighter future.”
Tim McGraw has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and dominated the singles charts with 36 #1 singles. He’s won three Grammy Awards, 16 Academy of Country Music Awards, 14 Country Music Association Awards, 10 American Music Awards, three People’s Choice Awards and numerous other honors. His iconic career achievements include being named the BDS Most Played Artist of the Decade for all music genres and having the Most Played Song of the Decade for all music genres with “Something Like That.” He is the most played Country artist since his debut in 1992, with two singles spending over 10 weeks at #1 (“Live Like You Were Dying” and “Over and Over”). His critically acclaimed acting skills were highlighted in the award winning Friday Night Lights and The Blind Side. Tim currently stars in Disney’s Tomorrowland, in theaters now. For more about Tim McGraw and his partnership with Operation Homefront go here.
SoundCloud Signs Deal with Over 20,000 Indie Labels
Independent label organization Merlin, which represents over 20,000 independent labels, has signed a contract with SoundCloud to join the company’s On SoundCloud program, the London-based organization announced today.
The deal will allow Merlin’s members, including Beggars Group (including Matador, 4AD, XL), Domino, Secretly Group (Numero, Jagjaguwar) and many, many others to monetize the revenue from uploads to the service through advertisements (though these have been slow to appear on the service). It will also provide those members access to a richer set of data analytics, as well as the ability to remove infringing content from the service.
SoundCloud’s broader goal is to legitimize all user-uploaded content, a large portion of which is the service’s innumerable DJ mixes and remixes, most of which contain the work of other artists. “”We’re getting closer to being able to monetize user-generated content, with this deal,” Ljung says.
Via Billboard
How Hollywood Hooked Up With Tinder For Marketing “Spy” Movie
Earlier this month, Twentieth Century Fox hooked up with Tinder to market the comedy “Spy,” starring Melissa McCarthy and Jude Law, which opens later this week. Instead of a date, users were given the chance to “swipe right” (Tinder-speak for you’re interested) for free tickets to special screenings of the movie around the country.
“It completely sold out in every market,” Fox Studios president of marketing Marc Weinstock told TheWrap. “Tinder was a perfect match for our audience. They’re very strong in the 17-34 [demographic]. What could be better for a first date than a hilarious comedy?”
The response to the Tinder promo was dramatic. Within days, 27,000 people signed up for 15,000 available tickets in 50 different markets. More importantly, users who scored free tickets were asked to tweet about it — and they did. The event generated more than 17 million impressions on social media, all with the hashtag #Spytacular.
Via The Wrap
