Classic Rock 93.9

When Billy Joel first released his #1 hit “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” he could’ve created a video that included an image of every single event and person he mentioned, from Marilyn Monroe to Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan. He didn’t, but now we’ve got one, thanks to the magic of AI, aka artificial intelligence.

A TikTok content creator who goes by the handle @digitalresonator has used a popular AI program called Midjourney — which creates images from descriptions you feed into it — to craft an entirely new video for “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” 

“Lots of requests for this one,” the creator wrote. “I hope you guys like this one. It took a long time between the research, the length, and the number of images.”  Responding to comments, they said it took “four or five hours” to do.

All the events and people Billy names in the song are depicted via AI-created images, including more generic ones like “hypodermics on the shore,” “Rock ‘n Roller cola wars” and “British politician sex.”

So far, the video has racked up 91,000 likes, and as one fan put it, “I feel like this is the video Billy Joel wanted to do. This is perfection!!”

“This was just beautiful to experience. Really stunning,” another wrote. “Thank you for putting the effort in.”

“That’s incredible! I wish Billy Joel would write the sequel,” one fan chimed in, with many others agreeing that Billy should do an update that covers the 1990s through today. The original covered the year of his birth, 1949, through 1989, when he turned 40.

Years later, Billy admitted, “The melody is horrendous. It’s like a mosquito droning. It’s one of the worst melodies I’ve ever written. I kind of like the lyric though.”

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Gene Simmons wants his fans to know he’s doing OK. As previously reported, the KISS co-founder fell ill during the band’s show in Manaus, Brazil, Wednesday and had to finish the concert seated. Well, now he’s shared a health update and it appears there’s noting to worry about.

“Ok, kids. Not a big deal. Thanks for your kind wishes,” he tweeted. “Last night we played Amazon jungle Stadium/Brazil. Humidity and temperature were sky high. I was dehydrated and was forced to sit for a song.”

He added, “We got back on stage in 5 minutes & finished the show.”

The Latin American leg of KISS’ End of the Road tour hits Bogotá, Colombia, on April 15. A complete list of dates can be found at kissonline.com.

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Leonard Cohen is going to be the subject of a new series that focuses on his relationship with muse Marianne Ihlen.

Variety reports that actor Alex Wolff, who’ll appear in Christopher Nolan‘s next film, Oppenheimer, has been cast to play Cohen. The series is titled So Long, Marianne, named after the track that appeared on Cohen’s debut album, Songs of Leonard Cohen. The series also stars Norwegian actress Thea Sofie Loch Næss as Ihlen, along with The Last of Us’ Anna Torv and Peaky Blinders’ Noah Taylor, playing Australian novelists Charmian Clift and her husband, George Johnston.

The series, which is filming on the Greek island of Hydra, where the couple first met, is described as an “intimate tale of two, lonely people falling in love, during a period of their life when they are trying to figure out who they are and their place in the world, while one is becoming one of the most famous singers of all time.”

Production is expected to also take place in Norway, where Ihlen is from, and Cohen’s hometown of Montreal.

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The Smashing Pumpkins have reunited with a past collaborator for the video for their song “Empires.”

The new clip, which captures a frenetic live performance augmented by visual effects, is directed by Kevin Kerslake, who also helmed the video for the 1993 Pumpkins single “Cherub Rock.”

Kerslake’s other directing credits include videos for Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stone Temple Pilots and Soundgarden.

You can watch the “Empires” video streaming now on YouTube.

“Empires” appears on the second disc of the Pumpkins’ three-act “rock opera” album, Atum. The first two parts are out now; part three drops May 5.

The Smashing Pumpkins will be supporting Atum on their The World Is a Vampire tour, kicking off in July. The bill will also include STP, Interpol and Rival Sons on select dates.

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Bonnie Raitt and Michael McDonald are among the special guests featured on “Hey All Together,” a new single from artist Ivan Neville.

The tune, which also features Trombone Shorty, Aaron Neville and The Revivalists’ David Shaw, is the latest single off Ivan’s first solo album in nearly two decades, Touch My Soul, which drops April 21.

“I wanted familiar voices to bring back a feeling of community,” Ivan explains of the track. “I figured, if everyone said hello to a stranger, spontaneously but within reason, it might make the world a better place. It certainly can’t hurt.”

Touch My Soul is available for preorder now.

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n July 2021, Bob Dylan streamed a special black-and-white concert film, and now music from that experience is finally set for release.

Shadow Kingdom, featuring the 13 tracks performed during the concert, will drop June 2 digitally, and on CD and two-LP vinyl. A full-length feature film of the performance is also being released on June 6 for both download and rental.

The event featured Dylan performing such classics as “Forever Young” and “It’s All over Now, Baby Blue,” along with deep cuts like “Queen Jane Approximately,” “The Wicked Messenger” and more.

Shadow Kingdom is available for preorder now.

Here’s the track list for Shadow Kingdom:

“When I Paint My Masterpiece”
“Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)”
“Queen Jane Approximately”
“I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight”
“Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues”
“Tombstone Blues”
“To Be Alone With You”
“What Was It You Wanted”
“Forever Young”
“Pledging My Time”
“The Wicked Messenger”
“Watching the River Flow”
“It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”
“Sierra’s Theme”

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Gene Simmons isn’t going to let anything stop a KISS show. The rocker performed part of the band’s Manaus, Brazil, show Wednesday sitting down after falling ill during the show.

According to the Brazilian outlet G1, toward the end of the show Simmons asked a stagehand to bring him a chair and he sat down. The show was eventually stopped, with Paul Stanley telling the crowd they needed to take a break to help Simmons out.  

“We’ll need to stop to take care of him because we love him, right?” Stanley is heard telling the crowd in fan-shot footage. “Let’s give Gene a very loud ‘Gene’: 1, 2, 3! OK!” The band returned to the stage about five minutes later.

It appears the heat may have gotten to Simmons. The temperature in Manaus at the time of the concert was about 80 degrees. 

KISS is currently on the Latin American leg of their End of the Road tour. They play Bogotá, Colombia, on April 15. A complete list of dates can be found at kissonline.com.

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On This Day, April 13, 1987… 

Fleetwood Mac released Tango in the Night, their final studio album to be recorded with the classic Rumours lineup.

The album, the band’s 14th studio release, was its best-selling release since Rumours, selling 15 million copies and producing four hits, including “Little Lies” and “Everywhere.”

After its release, Lindsey Buckingham quit the band, and was replaced on tour by Rick Vito and Billy Burnette.

In 1983, Buckingham reunited with Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie and Mick Fleetwood to perform at President Bill Clinton’s first inaugural ball to sing “Don’t Stop.” The full Rumours line-up officially reformed in March, 1997 for a live concert, The Dance, which was released as an album and brought them back to the top of the charts for the first time in 10 years.

Buckingham left the group once again in 2018, although reports claimed he was fired because of a disagreement over touring. He later sued the group, and the suit was settled out of court.

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Metallica‘s M72 world tour is coming to theaters.

The metal legends have announced a live cinema broadcast of their upcoming concerts at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, taking place August 18 and August 20.

For the list of participating theaters and all ticket info, visit Metallica.film.

The M72 tour, which supports Metallica’s upcoming album, 72 Seasons, kicks off later in April in Europe before coming to the U.S. in August. For each city on the tour, Metallica will play two unique concerts with completely different set lists.

72 Seasons drops Friday, April 14. If you can’t wait that long, you can hear the album in full on Thursday during the 72 Seasons worldwide listening party, taking place in movie theaters worldwide.

Meanwhile, Metallica has been rocking ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! all week ahead of 72 Seasons‘ arrival. Wednesday’s episode featured a performance of the Stranger Things-boosted “Master of Puppets” in its entire nearly nine-minute glory.

The “Enter Sandman” outfit also took part in a skit titled Can Metallica Master Actual Puppets!?, in which they learned how to use marionettes.

Later on, they used their new skills to put on a puppet show for a group of kids that tells Metallica’s origin story — albeit without the whole Dave Mustaine part — complete with puppet Satan telling them to play metal.

Metallica launched the Kimmel residency Monday with a performance of the lead 72 Seasons single “Lux Æterna,” followed by a rendition of the Black Album cut “Holier than Thou” on Tuesday. The residency concludes Thursday.

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