Music News

Random music news for Wednesday, August 15, 2018

On this day in 1965, the Beatles played to 60,000 people at Shea Stadium in New York. This is considered to be the birth of stadium rock. And as for August 15, 2018…

  1. Here are your Canadian music sales and streams numbers for last week vs. a year ago: Total albums, -18.2%; digital albums, -21.2%; physical albums, -16.2%; CDs, -20.3%; vinyl, +49%; streams, 51.8% (1.046 billion streams for the week.)
  2. Donald Trump and his base aren’t going to like this Pearl Jam concert poster.
  3. Here’s a very good read on the legacy of Aretha Franklin.
  4. People are following Angus Young around Vancouver. AC/DC seems to be making a new album there.
  5. Spotify has rolled out songwriting and producer credits on its mobile app. Good.
  6. Meanwhile, is Spotify on a collision course with the record labels? Maybe.
  7. This would have been a strange sequel to the movie Gladiator. Then again, it was written by Nick Cave. Too bad it was never made.
  8. Alexa is definitely coming to cars.
  9. This electric guitar can be broken down for easy transport and travel. Cool.
  10. Jeff Tweedy of Wilco has written a book about songwriting.
  11. Meanwhile, Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys has these tips on how to write great lyrics.
  12. Not music-related, but if you hate getting work emails after work
  13. Do you listening to recordings while you sleep in hopes of learning something? Doesn’t work, apparently.
  14. When Conan O’Brien moves to a half-hour format, there won’t be any more musical performances.
  15. Good news for anyone who covets a Nokia banana phone: It’s back!
  16. The good and bad of using preset sounds for your next song.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 37893 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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