Category: Music

Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters accuses music industry of ‘stealing every cent anybody ever made’

Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters has slammed the current music industry, calling those in power “rogues and thieves”.

The bassist recently spoke to The Times about music in the digital age, arguing that the perceived “takeover by Silicon Valley” has meant that it’s hard for modern musicians to make a living.

“I feel enormously privileged to have been born in 1943 and not 1983, Waters said, continuing, “To have been around when there was a music business and the takeover by Silicon Valley hadn’t happened, and in consequence, you could still make a living writing and recording songs and playing them to people.”

Waters added, “When this gallery of rogues and thieves had not yet injected themselves between the people who aspire to be creative and their potential audience and steal every fucking cent anybody ever made.”

Last November, Pink Floyd secured their first Number One album since 1995 with new record ‘The Endless River’, beating Foo Fighters’ ‘Sonic Highways’ to the top spot.

Waters had previously issued an angry statement about his lack of involvement in the new album. Writing a message to his fans via Facebook, Waters explained that he has nothing to do with the album and that he is no longer a member of the band, Waters signed off the message by telling fans of the group to “get a grip”.

Now, in the interview with The Times, Waters has elaborated on the possibility of a Pink Floyd reunion. He said, “A reunion is out of the question… Life after all gets shorter and shorter the closer you get to the end of it and time becomes more and more precious and in my view should be entirely devoted to doing the things you want to do. One can’t look backwards.”

Meanwhile, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason recently compared Waters’ departure from the band to the death of StalinWaters left the grop in 1985, with Mason likening it to the passing of Joseph Stalin in Russia. “It must have been the same when Stalin died. It took quite a while [to recover], it was a three or four year period,” he said.

Steve Albini Says For-Pay Streaming Services Are ‘Deluding Themselves,’ Says Vinyl’s Best for Hi-Def

Can Tidal’s promise of CD-quality audio streams and exclusive content really entice the music-listening masses away from freemium streaming? Legendary producer Steve Albini, who has become a reliable soothsayer for the music industry, unsurprisingly doesn’t think so. Calling Tidal a “budget version” of Neil Young’s Pono music download service and player, Albini tells Vulture in a new interview that the “convenience” of free services (like Spotify) and other methods “is going to trump sound quality 100 percent of the time.”

Tidal was combined with sister service WiMP and officially relaunched on March 30 by its new owner Jay Z and a group of 15 other shareholders, including Madonna, Kanye West and Daft Punk. Since then, several of the artists have pulled portions of their catalogs from competing services and Tidal has released several pieces of exclusive content in an effort to get fans to try Tidal, which costs $10 or $20, depending on a user’s audio quality preference.

According to Albini, who produced Nirvana’s In Utero and the Pixies’ Surfer Rosa, Tidal and other “for-pay services are deluding themselves by trying to establish a permanent monetization of something that’s in flux.” He notes that Tidal’s exclusive-centric strategy — so far at least — has been misguided.

“The internet provides access to materials and things,” he says. “Creating these little streaming fiefdoms where certain streaming services have certain artists and certain streaming services have other artists is a crippled use of the internet. If the internet has demonstrated anything over the years, it’s that it has a way of breaking limitations placed on its content.”

Last April, Albini told Quartz that the “single best thing that has happened in my lifetime in music, after punk rock, is being able to share music, globally for free.” In November he defended the internet’s role in transforming the music industry in a 6,700-word speech that’s seen as a sequel to his seminal 1993 essay on major labels, “The Problem With Music.”

While the internet is pretty great, Albini goes on to argue in his Vulture interview that audiophiles with a passion for loss-less sound quality are probably going to side with vinyl anyway. Indeed, vinyl sales jumped 50 percent in 2014 to $320.8 million in the U.S. alone — one of the lone bright spots in a year that saw big dips in CD and download sales. Earlier this week, the U.K.’s Official Charts Company launched its inaugural Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40 and Vinyl Singles Chart Top 40.

Frances Bean Cobain: ‘I Don’t Really Like Nirvana That Much’

As the daughter of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, it was only a matter of time before Frances Bean Cobain did something that shocked the world. But we gotta say, this wasn’t what we were expecting.

In a fantastic new interview with Rolling Stone (where she once interned, presumably because she was the best candidate they interviewed for the gig), Frances Bean Cobain admits she’s not a fan of Nirvana’s music.

Even crazier? She prefers Oasis.

“I don’t really like Nirvana that much [grins]. Sorry, promotional people, Universal. I’m more into Mercury Rev, Oasis, Brian Jonestown Massacre,” she said. “The grunge scene is not what I’m interested in. But ‘Territorial Pissings’ is a fucking great song. And “Dumb” — I cry every time I hear that song. It’s a stripped-down version of Kurt’s perception of himself. Of himself on drugs, off drugs, feeling inadequate to be titled the voice of a generation.”

In a way, FBC not loving Nirvana makes sense: It would be strange to idolize a father you never knew.

“I would have felt more awkward if I’d been a fan,” Cobain told RS’ David Fricke. “I was around 15 when I realized he was inescapable. Even if I was in a car and had the radio on, there’s my dad. He’s larger than life. And our culture is obsessed with dead musicians. We love to put them on a pedestal. If Kurt had just been another guy who abandoned his family in the most awful way possible . . . But he wasn’t. He inspired people to put him on a pedestal, to become St. Kurt.”

Even if Frances Bean isn’t a huge fan of Kurt’s music or his posthumous deification, she’s apparently very much like him in person.

“Dave [Grohl], Krist [Novoselic] and Pat [Smear] came over to a house where I was living,” Cobain told RS. “And they had what I call the ‘K. C. Jeebies,’ which is when they see me, they see Kurt. They look at me, and you can see they’re looking at a ghost. They were all getting the K. C. Jeebies hardcore. Dave said, ‘She is so much like Kurt.’ They were all talking amongst themselves, rehashing old stories I’d heard a million times. I was sitting in a chair, chain-smoking, looking down like this [affects total boredom]. And they went, ‘You are doing exactly what your father would have done.'”

Spice Girls Have ‘Lots and Lots’ of Unreleased Songs, Says Emma Bunton

Back in February, Spice Girls fans got the surprise of a lifetime when four previously unreleased tracks leaked online. As it turns out, there are actually more of those somewhere in the world, according to Baby Spice herself, Emma Bunton.

“There’s lots,” Bunton told UK’s Daily Star. “We recorded lots and lots and lots of songs.”

And while you may have given the leaked tracks a spin or ten and wondered about their backstories, it doesn’t sound like Bunton can reveal any more details: “I have heard about that, yes, but I can’t really talk about those.”

The 20-year anniversary of the group’s massive breakthrough single, “Wannabe,” is getting close. And while Bunton still keeps in touch with her Spice Girls pals (because, you know, girl power and all), she isn’t sure they will reunite in time to celebrate the release. (“Wannabe” dropped in July 1996.)

“I was with Geri and Mel B just recently, we love each other and we love performing together,” she said, “It’s just when the timing is right because we all have our own careers now and we have families, it’s just about getting five schedules together and that’s all it is.”

Record Store Day 2015: Foo Fighters, Paul McCartney, U2 Plan Releases

With Record Store Day a little over a month away, its organizers have released “The List” – a collection of all the rare, curious and limited-edition items that will be available in independent music shops. Foo Fighters, Johnny Cash, Paul McCartney, U2, Brian Wilson and Bruce Springsteen are among the artists with notable releases coming out on April 18th.

In celebration of their 20th anniversary (and because Dave Grohl is this year’s Record Store Day Ambassador), Foo Fighters are putting out Songs From the Laundry Room, a 10-inch containing four tracks, including demos of “Big Me” and “Alone + Easy Target,” a cover of Kim Wilde’s peppy new-wave hit “Kids in America” and the previously unreleased “Empty Handed.” FooFightersLive has posted the release’s ostensible artwork, which was featured in the U.K. magazine Kerrang!, and reports the tunes were recorded in Laundry Room Studio by Barrett Jones, who co-produced Foo Fighters’ debut album. If this recording is like the album, Grohl plays all of the instruments himself.

Also notable is Cash’s Koncert v Praze (In Prague—Live), which he recorded in 1983 and will be available on “Soviet red” vinyl since he recorded it behind the Iron Curtain. McCartney is putting out a re-pressing of The Family Way: Original Soundtrack Recording, his long-out-of-print 1967 George Martin–produced score to the Hayley Mills film. U2 have made a Songs of Innocence Deluxe double-LP, which features a white, die-cut gatefold cover. Brian Wilson is putting out a seven-inch of the No Pier Pressure songs “The Right Time” and “Sail Away,” songs that feature appearances by fellow former Beach Boys members Al Jardine, David Marks and Blondie Chaplin (in varying configurations). And Springsteen is putting out limited-edition reissues of a handful of seven of his classic albums, including Born in the U.S.A., Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town and Nebraska.

Several other artists are also reissuing parts of their catalog in interesting formats. The Doors are putting out the mono edition of Strange Days. Bob Dylan is reissuing The Basement Tapes in stereo and mono vinyl editions (signed and numbered by the Band’s Garth Hudson). Jerry Garcia’s 1974 solo album Garcia (Compliments) will come out on translucent green vinyl. And Willie Nelson’s 1998 album Teatro will become a double-LP.

Seven-inches will still occupy a lot of shelf space at this year’s Record Store Day. Jeff Beck has a handful of classic singles that he is reissuing. The Black Keys have a split seven-inch with Junior Kimbrough featuring recordings of “Meet Me in the City.” Reissues of three Kinks seven-inches will celebrate their 50th anniversary. Bob Dylan has one for his Sinatra cover “The Night We Called It a Day.” And a seven-inch of the song “Touch Me I’m Dick” by the faux-grunge band featured in Singles, Citizen Dick (actor Matt Dillon with Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament) will also sport the etching of a quote by Dillon’s character about the song on its B side.

Elsewhere, Gregg Allman is putting out a self-titled 10-inch picture disc, and David Bowie has a “Changes” picture-disc seven-inch.

Some artists are putting out rare live recordings on vinyl. Jimi Hendrix’s performances of “Purple Haze” and “Freedom” at the 1970 Atlanta Pop Festival will be on a seven-inch. Robert Plant has put together a three-song live EP, More Roar, recorded last year. A 1968 Sly and the Family Stone concert will be available on green and red vinyl. The Stooges’ 1970 Have Some Fun: Live at Ungano’s will come out on black-and-white splattered vinyl. And a box set of Grateful Dead’s Nassau Coliseum shows in 1990 will come out on five LPs.

Finally, Metallica’s No Life ’til Leather demo cassette and the Violent Femmes’ Happy New Year, which features their “Love Love Love Love Love” will both be available. Although it’s not listed on Record Store Day’s website, Jack White is also planning on reissuing Elvis Presley’s 1953 “My Happiness” acetate, for which he paid $300,000 at auction.

Unreleased Kurt Cobain Song to Appear on ‘Montage of Heck’ Soundtrack

The HBO documentary Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck is already drawing rave reviews on the film festival circuit, including sold-out showings at both Sundance and the True/False fests before its television premiere on May 4th. However, anticipation for the film’s soundtrack is about to hit fever pitch as director Brett Morgen revealed that the accompanying album will feature “a mind-blowing 12-minute acoustic Cobain unheard track,” the filmmaker tweeted (via Loudwire).

Morgen didn’t share any other details regarding the song other than it will feature on the Montage of Heck soundtrack. While an April 7th release date has been scheduled for the film’s companion book, which features “a mixture of animation stills, rare photography and other treasures from Kurt Cobain’s personal archive,” no date or further information has been announced regarding the film’s soundtrack.

Rolling Stone talked to Morgen at the Sundance Film Festival, and the filmmaker revealed that the documentary’s score “is all unreleased Cobain music.” “They don’t have titles. Before people saw the movie, there were these weird press releases focusing on the unreleased music. And it’s like: It’s a movie. We’re not going to stop it and play a song for four minutes,” Morgen said. “But nobody in Kurt’s life — not his management, wife, bandmates — had ever heard his Beatles thing [a snippet of ‘And I Love Her’]. I found it on a random tape. It’s a Paul [McCartney] song. How’s that for shattering the myth?”

Morgen added that he hoped to put out one of the Cobain’s personal cassettes – “Tape 59: Montage of Heck” – as a special release on “Independent Record Store day, like unannounced, but it didn’t happen.”

Van Halen to Release First Concert Album With David Lee Roth

Van Halen and David Lee Roth are finally ready to take the leap into live albums. On March 31st, the boisterous rockers will release their first concert disc together, Tokyo Dome Live In Concert, Rolling Stone reports.

The set was recorded on June 21st, 2013 in Japan and will be released digitally, as a two-CD set and as a four-LP set on 180-gram. The set list is shot throughout with many of the band’s most famous tracks, from “Unchained” to “Hot for Teacher,” and closes, expectedly, with their Aqua Net-era anthem “Jump.” It also includes their playful cover of Roy Orbison’s “(Oh) Pretty Woman,” and some relative rarities, including “Ice Cream Man” (from their 1978 eponymous debut) and “Hear About It Later” (from 1981’s Fair Warning).

Tokyo Dome marks Van Halen’s second live album, and first with the singer David Lee Roth; the first was Live: Right Here, Right Now in 1993 with Sammy Hagar at center stage. The band will also debut newly remastered editions of their debut album and 1984 on the same day as Toyko. The band will also rerelease the Roth-era records Diver Down, Women and Children First, Van Halen II and Fair Warning at a later date.

Van Halen have been sitting on a live album with this lineup since they formed in 1972, but they have still moved plenty of records without it: they’ve sold over 80 million to date, and cinched the most Number One hits in the history of Billboard ’s Mainstream Rock chart.

Tokyo Dome Live In Concert Track List:

1. “Unchained”
2. “Runnin’ With the Devil”
3. “She’s the Woman”
4. “I’m the One”
5. “Tattoo”
6. “Everybody Wants Some!!”
7. “Somebody Get Me a Doctor”
8. “Chinatown”
9. “Hear About It Later”
10. “(Oh) Pretty Woman”
11. “Me & You” (Drum Solo)
12. “You Really Got Me”
13. “Dance the Night Away”
14. “I’ll Wait”
15. “Cradle Will Rock”
16. “Hot for Teacher”
17. “Women in Love”
18. “Romeo Delight”
19. “Mean Street”
20. “Beautiful Girls”
21. “Ice Cream Man”
22. “Panama”
23. “Eruption”
24. “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”
25. “Jump”

Shania Twain to Release New Live Album, ‘Shania: Still the One Live From Vegas’

Shania Twain will release a new live album this year, capitalizing on her Las Vegas residency for a live set called Shania: Still the One Live From Vegas that will include a deluxe edition 18-track CD and DVD.

The album will be out March 3 and will also include special limited edition bundles with a 11-inch by 17-inch commemorative poster with the fan’s name printed on it and as a t-shirt. Check out the track list below.

Twain held a residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for two years that ended in December.

“This show has been a labor of love for over three years,” Twain said in a press release. “It has meant so much to me and was such a privilege to live out my visions on that stage, and it is so exciting to now get to share the whole experience with the fans all over the world!”

Shania: Still the One Live From Las Vegas Track List:

CD
1. “I”m Gonna Getcha Good!” / “You Win My Love”
2. “Don”t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)”
3. “Up!”
4. “I Ain”t No Quitter”
5. “No One Needs to Know”
6. “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?”
7. “Any Man of Mine”
8. “That Don”t Impress Me Much”
9. “Honey, I”m Home”
10. “(If You”re Not in It For Love) I”m Outta Here”
11. “Come on Over” (Acoustic)
12. “Love Gets Me Every Time” (Acoustic)
13. “Rock This Country!” (Acoustic)
14. “Today Is Your Day” (Acoustic)
15. “You”re Still the One”
16. “From This Moment On”
17. “Red Storm”
18. “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”

DVD
1. Opening
2. “I”m Gonna Getcha Good!”
3. “You Win My Love”
4. “Don”t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)”
5. “Up!”
6. “Good, Bad and Sexy” (Interlude)
7. “I Ain”t No Quitter”
8. “No One Needs to Know”
9. “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?”
10. “Any Man of Mine”
11. “Shania Style” (Interlude)
12. “That Don”t Impress Me Much”
13. “Honey, I”m Home”
14. “(If You”re Not in It For Love) I”m Outta Here”
15. “Carrie Anne”
16. “Come on Over”
17. “Love Gets Me Every Time”
18. “Rock This Country!”
19. “Today Is Your Day”
20. “Black Horse, White Horse” (Interlude)
21. “You”re Still the One”
22. “From This Moment On”
23. “Red Storm” (Interlude)
24. “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!”
25. “Rock This Country!” (Live From Calgary) — Credits

Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’ is 2014’s best-selling album

LOS ANGELES – Ending the year in typical fashion, Taylor Swift held the top of the U.S. album chart for a seventh non-consecutive week, becoming the year’s best-selling title in the process.

The singer’s Big Machine smash “1989” maintained its position at No. 1 with total sales of 430,000, according to Nielsen Music data for the week ending Dec. 28. (The figure comprises physical sales, track equivalent albums and streams.) Swift’s mega-hit set has now topped the chart for seven non-consecutive frames.

The week’s top tally thrust “1989” past Disney’s “Frozen” as the top seller of 2014. Swift sold 3.66 million copies, versus 3.53 million copies for the hit soundtrack.

Michael Stipe Sings Again

Well, he couldn’t stay on Stephen Colbert’s shelf forever: Michael Stipe, who recently said he was considering singing again, did a surprise opening set for Patti Smith last night at NYC’s Webster Hall.

The former R.E.M singer did a set of five songs. In addition to R.E.M.’s “Saturn Return” and “New Test Leper,” Stipe covered the following songs: Vic Chesnutt’s “Lucinda Williams,” the theme from the 1977 Martin Scorsese film “New York, New York,” Patti Smith’s “Wing,” and Perfume Genius’ “Hood”.

Earlier this month Stipe appeared on “CBS This Morning” and said, “I think I’ll sing again. That’s maybe an exclusive. But I think I will sing again.” As for reuniting R.E.M., which broke up in 2011, he said that will “never ever happen.”