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First Notes
Monday, August 18, 2014
News / First Notes First Notes (8/18/2014): Oderus Urungus gets a Viking funeral, more
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Aug 18, 2014 at 1:58 PM
Editor's Note: First Notes is a weekly update of recent happenings in the world of music.
* The costume of Gwar singer Oderus Urungus was set ablaze in a Viking-style funeral during last weekend's annual Gwar B-Q. Urungus was the alter-ego of musician Dave Brockie who died at age 50 earlier this year.
* North Carolina rapper J. Cole visited Ferguson to show support for the Mike Brown protests. He talked with protestors and visited different locations in town, including the spot where Brown died and the gas station where looting occurred last week.
* Justin Timberlake upset, well, the Internet when he referred to Madonna as a "ninja." The word is commonly used instead of a derogatory n-word. Timberlake sent out a Tweet saying, "A happiest of Bdays to my mother chucking ninja, @Madonna!! Hope you have a great one, M!" The Tweet has since been deleted.
* Drake and Lady Gaga did the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. At least, I assume it was for ALS, because Lady Gaga doesn't say a word, and doesn't look happy about it, either.
Monday, August 11, 2014
First Notes First Notes (8/11/2014): N.C. Hall of Fame gets a new home
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Aug 11, 2014 at 11:22 AM
Editor's Note: First Notes is a weekly update of recent happenings in the world of music.
* The North Carolina Music Hall of Fame is moving to a new location in Kannapolis. Opened in 2009 at 109 W. A St., the museum is moving to 600 Dale Earnhardt Blvd. The new location will increase the exhibit number from 30 to between 60 and 90, with plans to have it open before the next induction ceremony on Oct. 16.
* Kings of Leon drummer Nathan Followill was treated for broken ribs after the group's tour bus stopped short to avoid hitting a pedestrian. The band postponed its show in Saratoga Springs, New York, and it is unknown how the rest of the tour, which includes an upcoming Charlotte date at PNC Music Pavilion on Sept. 16, will be affected.
* Leonard Cohen, who turns 80 in September, has announced the release of an upcoming album, Popular Problems, next month. The album follows 2012's Old Ideas, though there are no plans to tour in support of Problems.
* NME has compiled a list of the 100 Most Influential Artists, so that you can have something new to argue about this week. The top 5 is capped off by Radiohead, followed by David Bowie, Kanye West, The White Stripes and The Strokes. The Beatles did not make the list.
Monday, August 4, 2014
First Notes First Notes (8/4/2014): Man loses finger at Jay Z-Beyonce concert, more
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Aug 4, 2014 at 10:36 AM
Editor's Note: First Notes is a weekly update of recent happenings in the world of music.
* Eleven people were arrested at the Jay Z and Beyonce concert in Los Angeles on Saturday night, including one man who bit off another man's finger. During the show, Roberto Alcaraz-Garnica allegedly groped a female concert-goer. When her boyfriend confronted him, Alcaraz-Garnica bit off the tip of his finger. Alcaraz-Garnica has been charged with “suspicion of sexual battery and mayhem, legally defined as disabling or disfiguring a part of a victim’s body.”
* A second person has died after attending the Mad Decent Block Party. An overdose is suspected in the death of a 17-year-old at the tour's stop on Friday in Maryland. This is in addition to the person who died and 20 who fell ill at the event.
* The ashes of DJ Alan Freed, who is credited with coining the term "rock 'n' roll," will be removed from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and returned to his family. The family feels Freed is being evicted, but the Hall of Fame says he will still be featured prominently.
* Slipknot released its first new music since the death of bassist Paul Gray, and first since 2008, when the band posted a new track, "The Negative One," on its website. The song is also the band's first without drummer Joey Jordison who left the group in December of 2013.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
News / First Notes First Notes (7/29/2014): R. Kelly booted from Ohio festival lineup, more
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Tue, Jul 29, 2014 at 10:21 AM
Editor's Note: First Notes is a weekly update of recent happenings in the world of music.
Now that my feet are getting a rest after a long 10 hours at Warped Tour — keep an eye out for our online coverage on Wednesday — it's time to catch up on anything we might have missed in the last week:
* R. Kelly has been dropped from the Columbus, Ohio, Fashion Meets Music Festival lineup after public backlash due to the singer's past. Two Ohio bands dropped off the bill after Kelly's name was mentioned as the headliner. Kelly performed in top spots at Pitchfork and Bonnaroo last year.
* NASA's Voyager space probe has recorded sounds in space and they're just plain eerie.
Monday, July 21, 2014
First Notes First Notes (7/21/2014): Eddie Vedder covers 'Imagine,' more
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Jul 21, 2014 at 11:26 AM
Editor's Note: First Notes is a weekly update of recent happenings in the world of music.
Eddie Vedder performed a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" for the first time ever. It's just one more note in the ongoing anti-war rhetoric from the Pearl Jam frontman recently. Last week, he posted an anti-war blog on the band's website.
Eddie Vedder - Imagine (live in Portugal) by sheehanpaul-ie
A 21-year-old attendee of British Columbia's Pemberton Music Festival was found dead in his tent on Friday night. The cause of death is still under investigation.
Monday, July 14, 2014
First Notes First notes (7/14/2014): Last original Ramones member dies
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Jul 14, 2014 at 10:50 AM
Tommy Ramone, the last original member of The Ramones, died at age 65 over the weekend from bile duct cancer. Born Tom Erdelyi, he was the drummer for the influential rock 'n' roll band.
A metal trio of Brooklyn 8th-graders, known as Unlocking the Truth, has signed a record deal with Sony that could net them as much as $1.7 million. The deal includes $60,000 for the group's first LP with as much as $350,000 on its second.
Monday, July 7, 2014
News / First Notes First notes (7/7/2014): New Pink Floyd album due this fall
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Jul 7, 2014 at 10:49 AM
Editor's Note: First Notes is a weekly update of recent happenings in the world of music.
* Word was leaked over the weekend that a new Pink Floyd album, The Endless River, will be released this fall. The album, the band's first in 20 years, features new recordings dating as far back as 1994 and is considered the final work of the late keyboardist, Richard Wright. There are no plans for a tour, and Roger Waters is not on the album.
* A new study shows that music could be the key to good health and the solution to get people through pain. One clinical psychologist suggests that 25 minutes of music a day, 10 days in a row, can help alleviate back pain and provide for better sleep.
Monday, June 30, 2014
News / First Notes First notes (6/30/2014): Man apologizes for painting over Kurt Vile's mural
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Jun 30, 2014 at 10:36 AM
Editor's Note: First Notes is a weekly update of recent happenings in the world of music.
* In 2012, Steve "ESPO" Powers painted a mural in Philadelphia that would serve as the album cover art for Kurt Vile's Walkin' on a Pretty Daze. On Saturday morning, DJ Lee Mayjahs took it upon himself to paint over the mural. At the time, he said, "he was buffing the mural because it was attracting graffiti to the neighborhood." He later found out the story behind the mural and wrote a letter to Vile and the original artist to apologize.
* Soul singer Bobby Womack died on Friday from unknown causes at age 70. He released a comeback album in 2012 and had recently performed at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival.
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Live review: Iron Maiden, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, 6/21/2012 10
Band kicks off 2012 tour in Charlotte.
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Congrats to the Avetts!
