Alice in Chains is the latest band to get the Funko Pop! treatment.
The toy company has teamed up with the grunge rockers to create a new line of its ever-popular big-headed vinyl figures to celebrate the upcoming 30th anniversary of AiC’s 1992 album, Dirt.
“This year marks the 30th anniversary of Dirt, and we’re starting the celebrations early with our Funko Dirt Pop! Collection,” the band says.
The package includes Pop! versions of each member of the Dirt lineup — frontman Layne Staley, guitarist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Mike Starr and drummer Sean Kinney — accompanied by the album artwork. It’s set to be released November 30 and is available to pre-order now.
Dirt, Alice in Chains’ sophomore album, will officially turn 30 in September. The RIAA quadruple-Platinum album spawned AiC classics, including “Them Bones,” “Rooster,” “Would?” and “Down in a Hole.”
Elton John has won Oscars and Grammys, but he’s also written the scores for three Tony-winning musicals: The Lion King, Billy Elliott and Aida. His latest musical, a stage version of the hit 2006 Meryl Streep/Anne Hathaway film The Devil Wears Prada, opens July 19 in Chicago, but you can hear a preview of some of the new songs he’s written for the project now.
People has a video that features a sneak peek of Elton singing a few of the songs, including the title theme, “When a Legend Is Born” and “Dress Your Way Up.” Elton calls the movie “one of my favorite films,” adding, “The subject matter [the world of high-fashion magazines] screams out for music.”
But speaking to the Chicago Tribune, Elton says some of the elements of the movie — based on the novel by Lauren Wiesberger — have been updated to reflect things that didn’t exist 20 years ago, like social media and #MeToo.
“We thought, we just can’t put in this scenario from 20 years ago. We have to make it modern,” Elton notes. “We have to bring it up to date. And that appealed to me as well because I wanted to make the music modern. And it’s a woman’s story. So I said I’d like to have a woman as the lyric writer.”
Elton co-wrote the score with lyricist Shaina Taub, marking the first time he’s composed with a woman. “She’s brilliant at bringing characters to life,” he says in People‘s video. He predicts that after seeing the finished product, audiences will “walk out elated.”
Elton plays Chicago’s Soldier Field on August 5 and will likely drop by rehearsals. But there won’t be a performance of The Devil Wears Prada that night: the Chicago Tribune reports that the whole cast is going to Elton’s concert.
Talking Heads guitarist/keyboardist Jerry Harrison and acclaimed guitarist Adrian Belew, who toured and recorded with the influential New Wave band during the early ’80s, will come together for a special concert and Q&A event celebrating the group’s 1980 album Remain in Light on September 29 in Los Angeles.
The show, which will be held at the famed LA theater The Wiltern, and will begin with a conversation between Harrison, Belew and actress/singer Tawny Newsome about the Talking Heads’ heyday and the group’s influence on the musical and cultural landscape. Harrison and Belew will then perform with a group of musicians that includes former member of the Brooklyn, New York-based band Turkuaz, as well as bassist Julie Slick and percussionist Yahuba Garcia-Torres.
Harrison, Belew and members of Turkuaz previously gave a series of performances celebrating the Remain in Light album in 2021 and earlier in 2022.
Remain in Light, which was Talking Heads’ fourth studio album, peaked at #19 on the Billboard 200, and featured such popular tunes as “Once in a Lifetime,” “Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)” and “Crosseyed and Painless.” Belew contributed guitar to the album, while also touring with the band in 1980 and ’81.
Tickets to the Remain in Light event go on sale to the general public this Friday at 10 a.m. PT, while pre-sale tickets will be available starting today at 10 a.m. PT at LiveNation.com.
A limited number of special VIP packages also will be available that include a colored vinyl copy of Remain in Light signed by Harrison and Belew, access to a private soundcheck, a meet-and-greet and a Q&A session with Jerry and Adrian, a limited-edition silkscreen poster, a commemorative laminate and a tote bag.
Here’s wishing a happy 80th birthday to The Byrds‘ Roger McGuinn this jingle-jangle morning.
The singer, guitarist and songwriter, who was born James McGuinn, started his career working with such folk artists as The Limeliters, The Chad Mitchell Trio and Judy Collins.
In 1963, McGuinn relocated to Los Angeles, and after seeing The Beatles‘ George Harrison playing a 12-string Rickenbacker guitar in the 1964 movie A Hard Days Night, he took up the same instrument. McGuinn co-founded The Byrds that year with singer Gene Clark, singer/guitarist David Crosby, bassist Chris Hillman and drummer Michael Clarke.
Considered one of the originators of folk rock, the group showcased the harmonies of McGuinn, Clark and Crosby, while combining folk influences with Beatles-inspired rock.
Applying his folk techniques to the electric 12-string, McGuinn developed what became The Byrds’ signature jangly sound, which has influenced countless artists over the years.
The Byrds’ debut single, a cover of Bob Dylan‘s “Mr. Tambourine Man,” topped the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1965. The band reached #1 again in December ’65 with their version of Pete Seeger‘s “Turn! Turn! Turn!“
McGuinn also wrote or co-wrote a few Byrds hits, including the influential psychedelic tune “Eight Miles High,” the country-flavored “Mr. Spaceman” and the horn-driven “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star.”
The Byrds also pioneered country rock with the 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo. From 1968 to ’73, McGuinn was the only founding member who remained in the group. The original lineup reunited for a final album, 1973’s The Byrds, before breaking up.
In the late 1970s and early ’80s, McGuinn teamed up with two former Byrds band mates in the group McGuinn, Clark and Hillman, which scored a top-40 hit with 1979’s “Don’t You Write Her Off.”
Since the ’80s, Roger has mainly focused on his solo career, although he teamed with Hillman and Crosby in 1990 to record four songs for a Byrds box set.
McGuinn was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with The Byrds in 1991.
Michaels, who grew up in the central Pennsylvania borough of Mechanicsburg, is being recognized individually for his contributions as a solo entertainer, philanthropist and entrepreneur.
Michaels will be performing with Poison Tuesday night in Hershey, Pennsylvania, as part of The Stadium Tour with Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. He plans to return to his home state in the fall to accept the honor.
“Being born and bred in Pennsylvania, I am proud to be inducted as an individual into the Central Pennsylvania Music Hall of Fame, with Poison also having also been inducted on the first-ever ballot,” Michaels says in a statement. “I am beyond excited to be playing Hersheypark Stadium this evening. Come rain or shine, it’s going to be a party and the people of Pennsylvania always rock my world.”
Adds Central Pennsylvania Music Hall of Fame President Brandon Valentine, “As a non-profit organization focused on music education for the local youth, the CPMHOF is honored to recognize Bret Michaels in a positive light. Bret has always held a special place in the hearts of Central Pennsylvanians.”
In addition to his achievements as a member of Poison and a solo artist, Michaels is a reality TV star and producer, and a successful businessman who displayed his entrepreneurial savvy as a winner of Celebrity Apprentice. In addition, Michaels, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a child, has long been involved in helping support people with the disease, which is a main focus of his Life Rocks charitable foundation.
Queen guitarist Brian May has teamed up with 10cc frontman Graham Gouldman for a new song called “Floating in Heaven,” which was released Tuesday in celebration of the historic first images sent to Earth from the James Webb Space Telescope.
The song was written and sung by Gouldman, who also played a number of instruments on the track, while May contributed lead guitar and backing vocals.
The James Webb Space Telescope was launched in December 2021, entered into Earth’s orbit in January of this year and became operational this week. It’s the most powerful telescope ever launched into space and is intended to succeed NASA’s Hubble telescope.
May, of course, has long been passionate about astronomy and earned a PhD in astrophysics from London’s Imperial College in 2007, while Gouldman is also enthusiastic about space science.
“Floating in Heaven” is available now via streaming and as a digital download. To accompany the melodic, atmospheric tune, an animated video depicting the James Webb Space Telescope being launched and activated has debuted on Queen’s official YouTube channel and the Space Telescope Science Institute’s YouTube channel.
You can check out the initial images that the telescope sent to Earth at NASA.gov.
Three men were arraigned Tuesday on charges they conspired to illegally possess and sell 100 pages of notes and lyrics from the Eagles album Hotel California, including Don Henley‘s lyrics to the songs “Hotel California,” “Life in the Fast Lane” and “New Kid in Town.”
A biographer of the band stole the handwritten manuscripts in the 1970s. In 2005 he sold them to Glenn Horowitz, a rare books dealer and one of the three people charged Tuesday. Horowitz then sold them to Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinski, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
The charges include conspiracy, criminal possession of stolen property and hindering prosecution.
“There is no room for those who would seek to ignore the basic expectations of fair dealing and undermine the public’s confidence and trust in our cultural trade for their own ends,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
After learning Inciardi and Kosinski were trying to sell portions of the manuscripts, Henley filed police reports, told the defendants the materials were stolen and demanded the return of his property. The defendants responded by engaging in a yearslong campaign to prevent Henley from recovering the manuscripts, prosecutors said.
According to the indictment, Horowitz and Inciardi worked to fabricate the manuscripts’ provenance. Between 2012 and 2017, Inciardi and Kosinski attempted to use that false statement of provenance to coerce Henley into buying back his stolen property.
The men also sought to sell the manuscripts through Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction houses, and requested that Sotheby’s hide Henley’s claims from potential buyers prior to offering the manuscripts for sale at public auction in 2016.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office retrieved Henley’s stolen manuscripts from Sotheby’s and from Kosinski’s New Jersey residence, including 84 pages to songs from Hotel California.
Shortly thereafter, Horowitz attempted to exploit the recent death of founding Eagles member Glenn Frey to prevent criminal prosecution, claiming that the material originated from Frey.
The Metallica Scholars program is coming back for a fourth year.
The initiative, which the metal legends launched in 2019 through their All Within My Hands charity foundation, supports workforce education for community college students.
In its first year, Metallica Scholars benefited 10 different community colleges. The program has expanded each year and now includes 32 schools on its roster.
“Our goal for the Metallica Scholars Initiative is to shine a light on workforce education and support the next generation of tradespeople,” said Peter Delgrosso, executive director of All Within My Hands, in a statement.
“With the addition of the 2022-2023 Metallica Scholars program, our grants will reach over 2,000 men and women in 32 community colleges across 27 states,” the statement continues. “We are honored to support these students of all ages and backgrounds and look forward to growing the program even farther in the future.”
The Rolling Stones in 1963; Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Today, July 12, marks the 60th anniversary of the first show that The Rolling Stones played under their famous moniker.
As explained in an article posted on BMG.com, the performance took place at London’s famous Marquee Club on Oxford Street. The show came about when British blues outfit Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated, which had a residency lined up at the club, was offered the chance to play a live BBC broadcast that evening and accepted, leaving an opening at the venue.
Singer Mick Jagger, who occasionally performed with Korner’s group, was given the chance to fill in that night with the new band he’d been working with, although they didn’t have a name at the time and needed to choose one for the gig. Guitarist Brian Jones came up with The Rolling Stones, taken from a Muddy Waters song.
The band’s lineup for the show featured Jones — who was using the stage name Elmore Lewis at the time, Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards, piano player Ian Stewart and bassist Dick Taylor. There remains some disagreement about who, if anyone, played drums with the group that night.
The Rolling Stones played a 16-song set at the show that featured a mix of blues and early rock ‘n’ roll tunes. Here’s the full set list:
“Kansas City” – Wilbert Harrison
“Honey What’s Wrong” — Billy Fury
“Confessin’ the Blues” — Chuck Berry
“Bright Lights, Big City” — Jimmy Reed
“Dust My Blues” — Elmore James
“Down the Road Apiece” — Chuck Berry
“I Want to Love You” — Charles Smith
“I’m a Hoochie Coochie Man” — Muddy Waters
“Ride ‘Em On Down” — Robert Johnson
“Back in the USA” — Chuck Berry
“I Feel a Kind of Lonesome” — Jimmy Reed
“Blues Before Sunrise” — Elmore James
“Big Boss Man” — Jimmy Reed
“Don’t Stay Out All Night” — Billy Boy Arnold
“Tell Me That You Love Me” — Fats Domino
“Happy Home” — Elmore James
The nominations for the 2022 Emmy Awards were announced today, and two Beatles-related documentary series came away with multiple nods.
The Beatles: Get Back, the three-part Disney+ docuseries about the January 1969 recording sessions that yielded the band’s Let It Be album, scored five nominations. The program will vie for the Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series award, as well as for trophies honoring outstanding directing, picture editing, sound editing and sound mixing.
In addition, the Hulu documentary series McCartney 3,2,1 received three nominations, for outstanding cinematography, sound editing and sound mixing. The six-part program featured Paul McCartney talking with producer Rick Rubin about the music that he created with The Beatles and as a solo artist.
Meanwhile, Hulu’s Pam & Tommy miniseries, which tells the story of Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee and Baywatch star Pamela Anderson‘s infamous sex tape, received 10 nominations.
Both Sebastian Stan and Lily James, who played Lee and Anderson, respectively, earned nominations and will be competing in the categories of Outstanding Lead Actor and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Seth Rogen, who played the role of the person who stole the tape, is up for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.
Pam & Tommy,itself, is nominated for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and is up for several awards in sound, costuming and casting categories.
You can check out the full list of nominations at Emmys.com.
