Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Music News and New Music For February 3rd, 2015

So of course, when running your own blog it can be tough to keep up with the s**tload of stuff that comes across our ears over a weekend!  Some good, some bad, some not even worth mentioning.  I guess that's how I use AFGM in general.  These articles that I go through everyday from various sites (Blabbermouth, CBC, National Post, AV Club, Google, Wired, Exclaim, Music News, Rolling Stone, etc.) and sort of "filter" some of the nonsense news such as the latest fashion design, who's got beef with who and who ISN'T doing music...still.

These articles brought forth are for a few different reasons:

1. It is relevant music information that pertains to you as a reader, no matter the level of intent or the genre.

2. They are relevant to the music I would be currently listening to or a genre I have put some attention and focus on.

3. I am rather patriotic about my Canadian music, so that always comes as a first for me.  I enjoy music from all parts of the world respectively, but I still have to promote local if I can.  Canadian music rocks!

4. Because it's humorous and we can always use a good laugh.  Rarely will it be at someone's expense...but then again I am just the guy talking about it.  They're the ones causing the comments.

So in closing, I trust you all will not read EVERY single article posted here.  But I hope you find something of use here and keep the conversation going by forwarding it onto someone else.  Click on each article heading for redirection to the full article.  Cheers!



Welcome To The Opposite Of Freemium - The End Of Free Music:

"Can music be devalued below $0.00?

The answer is yes. Someday, music artists may pay people to listen to their songs. After all, some bands already ‘Pay for Play’ to book gigs. Music gridlock and the tyranny of choice: Today’s music discovery platforms are a parking lot, clogged with tens of millions of songs. Every year, about 10 million more songs join the traffic jam. What if 100 million songs entered the parking lot each year?

All artists being equal, the odds of discovery today are 1 in   …insert your 8 digit number here. Of course all artists are not equal. Music discovery platforms are dominated by the stars. The star 5% get 80% of the pie. Therefore, the obscure artist’s odds of discovery are 1 in …insert you 9 digit number here.

Now, let’s return to the main source of today’s music industry crisis: The gross oversupply of music. None of our present platforms (YouTube, Spotify etc.) have any interest in reducing this gridlock; In fact, the tens of millions of songs that clog their platforms are a rich measure of their success. It’s not their problem; it only a problem for lowly starving artists."


You and your kids can make beautiful music together:

"Many musicians we’ve met are conscious of their place as role models for young fans. Demi Lovato is open about her struggles with mental illness and speaks out against bullying. Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado is a global advocate for girls’ education. And hip-hop super-duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have told fans “the most fulfilling way to live life” is to be of service to others.

We’ve also found that music is the best way to open up a teen’s ears and start a conversation."


Group M Study Finds Live Music, Digital Key to 'New Music Model for Brands':

"We've found that our clients are not as familiar with music as they are with other passion point areas like sports, which has been intrinsically linked to big media spends from a broadcast and online standpoint.  The music industry has begun to evolve even more rapidly, and there's more media opportunities in the form of digital, new media and experiential that have created a comfort zone for our clients in wanting to explore the music space a little more, and this study will help them better navigate." -Morgan Buksbaum


Rush announce 40th Anniversary Tour:

"After 40 years together and 20 gold and platinum studio albums – Rush is ready to celebrate with the most loyal fans in the world by embarking on their 21st tour, one which will most likely be their last major tour of this magnitude. Celebrate four decades of music with three incredible musicians – all in 1 night."



May 8 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center
May 10 - Lincoln, NE - Pinnacle Bank Arena
May 12 - St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
May 14 - St. Louis, MO - Scottrade Center
May 16 - Austin, TX - 360 Ampitheater
May 18 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
May 20 - Houston, TX - The Toyota Center
May 22 - New Orleans, LA - Smoothie King Center
May 24 - Tampa, FL - Amalie Arena
May 26 - Atlanta, GA - Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre
May 28 - Greensboro, NC - The Greensboro Coliseum
May 30 - Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live
June 8 - Columbus, OH - Nationwide Arena
June 10 - Buffalo, NY - First Niagara Center
June 12 - Chicago, IL - United Center
June 14 - Detroit, MI - Palace Of Auburn Hills
June 17 - Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre
June 19 - Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre
June 21 - Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre
June 23 - Boston, MA - TD Garden
June 25 - Philadelphia, PA - The Wells Fargo Center
June 27 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
June 29 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
July 09 - Kansas City, KS - Sprint Center
July 11 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
July 13 - Salt Lake City, UT - Maverik Center
July 15 - Calgary, Alberta - Scotiabank Saddledome
July 17 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Rogers Arena
July 19 - Seattle, WA - Key Arena
July 21 - Portland, OR - Moda Center
July 23 - San Jose, CA - Sap Center At San Jose
July 25 - Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden Arena
July 27 - Phoenix, AZ - Us Airways Center
July 30 - Irvine Meadows, CA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
August 1 - Los Angeles, CA - The Forum


Sly Stone Awarded $5 Million in Royalty Lawsuit:

"Sly’s a deeply religious guy and he loves everybody and they just took him. It's sad that people would treat other people like that.  This is endemic of the entertainment industry. There are bad people who leech off people and this has got to stop." -Nicholas Hornberger


Toronto Urban Roots Festival Pushed to September for 2015:

"Happy snowday, everyone!

Excited to announce TURF - Toronto Urban Roots Festival will be back in 2015!   Due to the Pan Am games, this year the festival will take place September 18-20 at Fort York Commons.

We are currently working on our lineup and will announce performers plus ticket pricing around mid-April.  Stay tuned to our website as we will be updating it with more information around March!" -TURF


10 Ways To Fund Your Music Career:

"Likewise, the art world continues to become more intertwined with music, providing new and often collaborative performance opportunities for artists, like MoMA PS1's Warm Up series and MOCA's recent Step and Repeat live arts program. But how much can these recently expanded avenues compensate for a bleak industry climate? How available are they to different musicians? And how hopeful should we be? Here, a handful of artists—Holly Herndon, Helado Negro, Brenmar, TOPS' Jane Penny, and White Mystery—provide a little insight into how they make a music career work for them."


Music Enhances Feelings of Attraction:

"Average scores for all 10 traits were higher after conversations with music compared with no music, suggesting the music increased the participants’ feelings of attraction for the visitors, the researchers said. Likableness and interest in dating the person saw the greatest increases when accompanied by music.

Conversations without music also resulted in higher scores for most of the 10 traits, though the increase was less significant than with the music groups."


Mystery surrounding The Clash’s ‘London Calling’ album cover has finally been solved:




Gregg Allman Plots Nationwide Spring Tour:

March 13 - Northfield, OH @ Hard Rock Casino
March 14 - Toledo, OH @ Stranahan Theatre
March 17 - Kalamazoo, MI @ State Theatre
March 19-20 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
March 21 - Florence, IN @ Belterra Casino Resort
March 24-25 - Milwaukee, WI @ Potawatomi Hotel & Casino
March 27 - Minneapolis, MN @ Pantages Theatre
March 28 - Riverside, IA @ Riverside Casino & Golf Resort
April 18 - Live Oak, FL @ Wanee Music Festival
April 24 - Los Angeles, CA @ Roxy Theatre
April 25 - Indio, CA @ Stagecoach
April 28-29 - Agoura Hills, CA @ The Canyon
May 1 - Tucson, AZ @ Fox Tucson Theatre
May 2 - Scottsdale, AZ @ Talking Stick Resort & Casino
May 5 - San Antonio, TX @ Tobin Center for the Performing Arts
May 6 - Stafford, TX @ Stafford Performing Arts Center
May 8 - Grand Prairie, TX @ Verizon Theatre
May 9 - Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Live


John Frusciante Preps 'Experimental' Electronic LP:

"I started being serious about following my dream to make electronic music, and to be my own engineer, five years ago.  For the 10 years prior to that, I had been playing guitar along with a wide range of different types of programmed synthesizer and sample-based music, emulating what I heard as best as I could. I found that the languages machines forced programmers to think in had caused them to discover a new musical vocabulary." -Frusciante


Love hurts on Björk’s Vulnicura:

"That interview finds Björk making a hard and fair line in the sand, noting that the album is a collaboration of sorts with her co-producers Arca and The Haxan Cloak, but she’s resolute in clarifying that this is her album, that it is to her credit and blame when the LP succeeds and fails. There are aesthetic elements that might come from her cohorts, whether in creation or in influence—The Haxan Cloak’s hand is felt on the slow-motion bass thuds, whiplashes, and terrifying cello solo on “Family,” for instance. Arca’s identity can be felt in the glitchy, understated dance beats that come and go on tracks like “Atom Dance” and the EDM-indebted build and drop of “Black Lake.” When coupled with the orchestral soundscapes already familiar to Björk, there is a fluidity to the collaborations."


Early music training prevents loss of listening skills later in life:

"Musical activities are an engaging form of cognitive brain training.  In our study we were able to predict how well older people classify or identify speech . . . We saw a brain-behavior response that was two to three times better in the older musicians compared to non-musician peers. In other words, old musicians' brain provide a much more detailed, clean and accurate depiction of the speech signal, which is likely why they are much more sensitive and better at understanding speech." -Gavin Bidelman


THE PIRATE BAY IS BACK, BUT MUSIC DOWNLOADS ARE NOT:

"I don't think either of those scenarios are likely. Music pirating is down overall, but that doesn't necessarily mean people are buying their music instead of illegally downloading it. Meanwhile, music continues to dominate networks like Twitter and YouTube; and SoundCloud is more popular than ever.

So why didn't music breach The Pirate Bay's top 100? There's likely one major reason, with a few timing considerations sprinkled in.

First, the obvious explanation: the proliferation of Spotify and other free and legal ways to listen to music—either completely on-demand or based on artist, mood, or genre. Spotify, for instance, now has roughly 16 million paying subscribers and 60 million free users globally."


Tom DeLonge Leaves Blink-182:

"A week before we were scheduled to go in to the studio, we got an email from his manager explaining that he didn’t want to participate in any Blink-182 projects indefinitely, but would rather work on his other non-musical endeavors.  No hard feelings, but the show must go on for our fans." -Barker & Hoppus


Scott Weiland on Art of Anarchy Supergroup Confusion:

"I was never in the band.  It was something I did when I wasn't doing anything. I was asked to write some lyrics and sing some melodies on this project, but it's not a band I'm in. This is my band [aka Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts]." -Weiland


Three Days Grace To Release 'Human' Album In March:

"Sonically, we wanted to create a 'machine-like' sound in parts of the song. We were inspired by the images from the opening scene of Tim Burton's 'Edward Scissorhands'… relentless machines turning and churning, never ceasing to operate. Lyrically the song is about how sometimes you feel like you are in an endless routine and cannot escape… you begin to feel numb to the world around you, as you yearn to just feel anything, any emotion." -Sanderson




L7's Original Lineup to Reunite After 14 Years:

"Greetings People! We want you to know that the love and support you have shown us here on Facebook this year has taken us all a bit by surprise. What started as a simple band page for us to post some archival photos we had been sifting through for an upcoming L7 documentary has turned into a wellspring of enthusiasm for the band. For this WE THANK YOU!

Many of you have asked when we might return for a reunion. Well, it's been 14 years since our last show, longer if you consider our original line up. But we (Donita, Suzi, Jennifer, and Dee) are hearing you, we are talking about it, and we kinda agree. Why the hell not?
Here's the situation...

They say to raise a child it takes a village, well to get interest from promoters for L7 to do reunion shows it's going to take an ARMY. An army of you all. No joke."


With Life Won’t Wait, Rancid nearly made good on its Clash-inspired promise:

"If Rancid’s third album wasn’t as great as The Clash’s, Armstrong and Frederiksen didn’t take another stab at matching it. With Life Won’t Wait, they effectively (and perhaps intentionally) did what The Clash did with its fourth, Sandinista! Released in 1980 and spread out over three LPs, Sandinista! is globalist in sound and scope, punk gone Putumayo. The songs center on upheavals in South America and beyond, and musically, there’s gospel, hip-hop, disco, Celtic fiddle rave-ups, and tracks played backwards—all daring listeners to hang in as long as possible. Make it to side six, and you’ll hear little kids singing “Career Opportunities,” a punk tirade from The Clash’s self-titled 1977 debut."


Katy Perry's Halftime Show Poses The Question 'Is Pop Music Still Popular?':

"As we all can agree, it’s obviously a good decision for a huge, moneymaking program like the Super Bowl to appeal to as many demographics as possible. Given this fact, when we consider how little of today’s pop music was featured in the show, a nagging question begins to boil up to the surface, one we cannot ignore:

Is pop music—or rather, that which we sonically consider to be today’s pop music—no longer all that popular?"


Airbourne Sign With Spinefarm Records:

"We're pumped up to have signed on the dotted line to the world's toughest and truest hard rock label, Spinefarm.  We have worked with some of the guys on this team in the past, and we're extremely confident about having each other's back in the trenches for many hard rockin' years to come. We're chompin' at the bit to get ROCKIN' and KICKIN' ARSE in 2015 & beyond." -Airbourne


Faith No More Announces North American Tour Dates:

April 15 - Vancouver, BC - PNE Forum
April 16 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theater
April 17 - Portland, OR - Keller Auditorium
April 19 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield
April 20 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield
April 23 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
April 24 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
April 25 - Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory
May 07 - Chicago, IL - Concord Music Hall
May 08 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore
May 09 - Toronto, ON - Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
May 11 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
May 13 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
May 14 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
May 15 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory

"Tickets for all shows are on-sale this Friday, January 30, at 10 a.m. local time. A fan club pre-sale will be made available on Wednesday, January 28 with more details to be found on FNM.com and via the band's social media pages."


Faith No More Promise New Material on First North American Tour Since 2010:

"Here we go.  First North American tour dates, some in cities we haven't played in over 17 years. We are armed with the new material and ready for whatever comes our way." -Bill Gould


DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT, KATAKLYSM Among JUNO AWARDS Nominees:

"This category is an award to honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the Canadian recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position. Eligible albums include metal, metalcore, hardcore, heavy rock, thrash metal, death metal and their respective sub-genres including (but not limited to) nu-metal, power metal, grindcore, extreme metal, industrial metal, viking metal, folk metal, doom metal, gothic metal, speed metal, and sludge metal."

"Metal/Hard Music Album Of The Year" nominees ARE:

* DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT - "Z2"
* KATAKLYSM – "Waiting For The End To Come"
* SHOOTING GUNS - "Brotherhood Of The Ram"
* SINGLE MOTHERS - "Negative Qualities"
* SKULL FIST – "Chasing The Dream"


Watch an unearthed B-52’s concert from November 7th, 1980:




Slipknot, Lamb Of God, Bullet For My Valentine & Motionless In White Summer Tour Announced:


07/24 West Palm Beach, FL – Cruzan Amphitheatre
07/25 Tampa, FL – Midflorida Credit Union Amphitheatre
07/26 Atlanta, GA – Aaron’s Amphitheatre
07/28 Detroit, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
07/29 Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake PAC
07/31 Saratoga Springs, NY – Spac
08/01 Wantagh, NY – Nikon at Jones Beach
08/02 Hartford, CT – Xfinity Theatre
08/04 Boston, MA – Xfinity Center
08/05 Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
08/06 Pittsburgh, PA – First Niagara Pavilion
08/08 Toronto, ON – Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
08/11 Washington, DC – Jiffy Lube Live
08/12 Virginia Beach, VA – Farm Bureau Live
08/14 Indianapolis, IN – Klipsch Music Center
08/15 Chicago, IL – First Midwest Bank Amp
08/16 St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
08/19 Denver, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
08/24 Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
08/26 Concord, CA – Concord Pavilion
08/28 Las Vegas, NV – MGM Resort Festival
08/29 Phoenix, AZ – AK-Chin Pavilion
08/30 Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
09/02 Austin, TX – Austion 360 Amphitheater
09/04 Houston, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
09/05 Dallas, TX – Gexa Energy Pavilion


HELLYEAH 'BLOOD FOR BLOOD' Campaign:

"HELLIONS!!  January is National Blood Donor Month!  To raise awareness about the cause, HELLYEAH invites you to give blood through the "BLOOD FOR BLOOD" National Blood Drive.  The Red Cross has to collect 15,000 blood donations every day to have enough blood to help patients in 2,700 hospitals and transfusion centers across the country. That’s a lot of patients in need and all of us, coming together, can help ensure patients receive life saving blood.

Fans who pledge to give to this campaign (or make a financial donation) will not only receive a signed poster from HELLYEAH, but will also be entered to win tickets, Meet + Greet package, signed merch + more!"


Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett confirms that the band is coming back:

"In a comment viewable only by phone, on a new drawing of Gorillaz bassist, Murdoc, which the artist posted to Instagram yesterday, Hewlett replied simply to a fan, "Yes. Gorillaz Returns.” It’s a sentiment effectively reinforced by two additional color drawings of Murdoc and guitarist Noodles, which were added to his account today."


Walls of Jericho Sign With Napalm Records:

"We are thrilled to work with one of the most exciting acts out of this genre and one of the best live bands out there!

WALLS OF JERICHO have left their mark in the music industry and yet there is so much more to come for this band.

Watch out for the band's new album this year and make sure you catch them live at some point if you have not seen them!" -Thomas Caser

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