Classic Rock 93.9

Documentaries about John Lennon, Carlos Santana and Blood, Sweat and Tears all have a chance for an Oscar nomination this year. 

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences just announced the films eligible for a nomination in the Documentary Feature Film category, and several music docs made the cut. 

Films that could possibly land a nomination include The Lost Weekend: A Love Story, about Lennon’s relationship with May Pang; Carlos, about guitarist Carlos Santana; and What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat and Tears?, about the band’s 1970 State Department-sponsored tour of Iron Curtain countries Yugoslavia, Romania and Poland.

Also in the running for a possible nomination is Joan Baez: I Am Noise, about folk singer Joan Baez, and Little Richard: I Am Everything, about the legendary musician Little Richard.

Nominations for the 96th Academy Awards will be announced Tuesday, January 23. The Oscars will air on ABC, Sunday, March 10.

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Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman is releasing a new live box set capturing his sold-out two-night stand at the London Palladium earlier this year. 

Live at the London Palladium 2023 features recordings of Wakeman’s February 22 and 23 concerts in their entirety. For the shows, Wakeman performed new arrangements of his classic tunes, backed by both the English Rock Ensemble and the English Chamber Choir. It includes performances of Wakeman’s solo work, as well as classic Yes tracks and the premiere of three-part “The Yes Suite,” a medley of themes taken from Yes music.

The set is broken down into four CDs centered around Wakeman’s solo albums: The Six Wives of Henry VIII, The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Classic Yes.

Live at the London Palladium 2023 will be released February 16 and is available for preorder now.

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Foo Fighters finally have a song on Spotify’s Billions Club playlist.

Dave Grohl and company’s track “Everlong” has officially hit 1 billion streams, making it the first Foos tune to achieve that feat.

“Everlong” first appears on Foo Fighters’ sophomore album, The Colour and the Shape, which was released in 1997. It’s the band’s most-played song live, according to Setlist.fm, and its video has over 280 million views on YouTube.

Foo Fighters released their latest album, But Here We Are, in June. They’ll launch a U.S. stadium tour in July.

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Elton John is really leaning into the holiday spirit this year. Not only has he released his 1973 Christmas song “Step into Christmas” digitally for the first time, he’s now teamed up with an artist for a new line of holiday cards inspired by his music. 

The “Step into Christmas” holiday cards were hand drawn by illustrator Reggie O’Connell and feature caricatures of Elton in a Santa hat, with sayings like “Step into Christmas,” “Hold Me Closer Tiny Prancer” and “My Gift Is Yule Song.” 

“Creating this batch of Elton-themed holidays cards was an incredible undertaking that began with a few puns and an abundance of ideas,” O’Connell shares. “Tapping into Elton’s unique, fabulous energy while staying true to my own cartoony style presented a fun challenge that ultimately came together in the end.” 

He adds, “It was truly a joy illustrating these cards and I hope that you will all consider this an official invitation to step into Christmas!”

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Lots of folks were happy to see The Rolling Stones return this year with their new album, Hackney Diamonds, but Blur’s Damon Albarn was not one of them.

Speaking to France’s Les Inrockuptibles magazine, Albarn seemed particularly upset about the band’s use of London’s Hackney district in promoting the project. 

“That really irritated me. Because my family lives in Hackney and the way they showed up in the Hackney Empire theater freaked me out,” he says. “They never did anything at Hackney, they didn’t play there, they didn’t contribute anything. They just showed up.”

He also took issue with the album’s first single, “Angry,” because the video “objectified” actress Sydney Sweeney. He then noted her clips, combined with footage of The Stones throughout their career, felt “totally disconnected.”

“I love the idea of ​​dedicating your life to one thing, in search of the sublime. But the truth is that they have become worse. Worse to persist in remaining themselves,” he says. “This is something I don’t understand. Making the exact same music, just not as good. There must be no joy in doing such a thing.”

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Judas Priest has unveiled the full track list for their upcoming album, Invincible Shield.

Along with the previously released singles “Panic Attack” and “Trial By Fire,” the set boasts tunes with appropriately metal names, like “The Serpent and the King,” “Devil in Disguise” and “Sons of Thunder.”

Invincible Shield, the first Judas Priest album since 2018’s Firepower, arrives March 8. Priest will launch a U.S. tour in support of the record in April.

Here’s the Invincible Shield track list:

“Panic Attack”
“The Serpent and the King”
“Invincible Shield”
“Devil in Disguise”
“Gates of Hell”
“Crown of Horns”
“As God Is My Witness”
“Trial By Fire”
“Escape from Reality”
“Sons of Thunder”
“Giants in the Sky”

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AC/DC fans are no longer trying to get their 1990 track “Thunderstruck” to #1 for Christmas.

In November, in honor of the band’s 50th anniversary, the Facebook fan group AC/DC We Salute You launched a campaign to get “Thunderstruck” to top of the U.K. charts for the holidays. The group attempted a similar campaign in 2013, in honor of the band’s 40th anniversary, and got “Highway To Hell” to #4.

Now, the U.K. Official Charts report fans have decided to postpone the campaign to the week of January 4 so it won’t compete with Christmas tunes and has a better shot at the top spot. Organizers say they polled three different fan groups, and 83% agreed to the postponement.

“By choosing to delay by two weeks, we’ll also avoid being caught up in the Christmas songs that will no doubt be prominent the week after Christmas as well,” the page’s administrators told the Official Charts. 

They explain that the #1 is more about celebrating the band’s 50th anniversary than AC/DC actually earning the #1 at Christmas. Plus, they say they’d like to see the Pogues classic “Fairytale in New York” get the #1 spot, in honor of the recent passing of the band’s frontman, Shane MacGowan.

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We now have photographic proof of Frances Bean Cobain‘s marriage to Riley Hawk.

Riley’s father, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, shared a picture from the ceremony in an Instagram post on Wednesday, December 6, wishing his son a happy birthday.

“Happy 31st to this wonderful, talented young man,” the proud dad writes in the caption. “I am thankful he found the love of his life and a healthy, disciplined approach to adulthood. And that he is inspiring his younger siblings by example.”

Tony adds, “We had a blast at the wedding and we love you Riley! (Frances please show this to him since he’s no longer in the Insta bubble).”

Cobain, the daughter of late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, first shared that she was in a relationship with Riley in New Year’s Day 2022 Instagram post. Reports of their marriage first surfaced in October.

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Def Leppard and Journey are teaming up for a huge co-headlining tour next summer.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame bands, who previously toured together in 2018, will be playing stadiums across the country alongside fellow Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Steve Miller Band, Heart and Cheap Trick on select dates. 

“We are thrilled to be back on the road in 2024 with so many good friends as part of this tour,” Journey shares. “No matter which city you come to this will be an amazing night of music!”

Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott notes the combination of these bands “makes for an amazing night of music.” 

“We shall hit the boards running with a brand-new stage show and set of songs that will celebrate specific parts of our history. We may even have a surprise or two up our sleeves,” he shares.

The tour is set to kick off July 6 in St. Louis. It will feature stops at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, New York’s Citifield, Boston’s Fenway Park, San Francisco’s Oracle Park and more, before wrapping September 8 in Denver, Colorado.

A Citi presale for tickets kicks off Wednesday, December 13, at 10 a.m. ET, with the general onsale happening Friday, December 15, at 10 a.m. local time. A complete list of dates can be found at journeymusic.com and defleppard.com.

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Green Day has shared a new song called “Dilemma, a track off the band’s upcoming album, Saviors.

“‘Dilemma’ was one of those songs that was kind of easy to write because it was so personal to me,” says frontman Billie Joe Armstrong. “We’ve seen so many of our peers struggle with addiction and mental illness. This song is all about the pain that comes from those experiences.”

On the song’s chorus, Armstrong sings, “I was sober now I’m drunk again/I’m in trouble and in love again/I don’t want to be a dead man walking.”

You can listen to “Dilemma” now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying video streaming now on YouTube.

Saviors, the follow-up to 2020’s Father of All…, drops January 19. It includes the previously released songs “The American Dream Is Killing Me” and “Look Ma, No Brains!”

Green Day will launch a world tour in support of Saviors in 2024. The U.S. leg launches in July and will feature The Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid and The Linda Lindas on the bill.

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