Metallica unearths Jason Newsted’s “My Friend of Misery” instrumental

Blackened Recordings

Metallica has unearthed a previously unreleased instrumental version of the Black Album song “My Friend of Misery.”

The recording, dubbed “My Friend of Misery (From Jason’s Riff Tapes),” was created by bassist Jason Newsted, and proved to be the foundation of the Black Album‘s penultimate track. You can listen to it now via digital outlets.

“My Friend of Misery (From Jason’s Riff Tapes)” is one of many bonus tracks featured on the upcoming 30th anniversary Black Album reissue, due out September 10. The deluxe package also includes the original record remastered, as well as a variety of live tracks, outtakes, rough mixes and demos, interviews and videos.

Metallica’s also celebrating the Black Album‘s 30th anniversary with The Metallica Blacklist, a compilation featuring 53 artists covering every song off the 1991 record, with all profits going to charity.

In keeping with the “My Friend of Misery” theme, Metallica has released acclaimed jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington‘s Blacklist version of the song, which is available now for digital download.

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Sting makes an “excellent cameo” in Hulu’s new series ‘Only Murders in the Building,’ says Steve Martin

Courtesy of Hulu

The new series Only Murders in the Building debuts Tuesday on Hulu. It stars Selena Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short as neighbors who make a true crime podcast while investigating a murder in their apartment building. Randomly, Sting makes a cameo as another resident of the apartment building, and Steve Martin tells ABC Audio that the rocker was so perfect during his appearance that it was annoying.

Calling Sting’s cameo “excellent,” the legendary comic actor declares, “He came in completely prepared, knew all his lines, he sang, he was game, he was funny, [and] charming off the set.”

“He sat and did the English cryptic crossword puzzle…in the Financial Times, which no one can do, and was completely charming and game,” Martin adds, mock-complaining, “I kind of hope he‘s the murderer!”

Martin also jokes that he’s miffed that the one-time Police frontman ignored his offer to help him out musically.  The comedian, who’s also a Grammy-winning banjo player — really! — tells ABC Audio, “I think he’s hard of hearing, ’cause I said to him, ‘Hey Sting! Want me to play banjo on your next record?’ And it was like he didn’t hear it!” 

Sting appears briefly in the trailer for Only Murders in the Building, but how he fits into the plot is a mystery — for now.

(Trailer contains uncensored profanity.)

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The Police’s Andy Summers says he’s writing a “weird but commercial” screenplay

Credit: Mo Summers

Andy Summers released his first book of fiction, Fretted and Moaning: Short Stories, earlier this month, but the Police guitarist already is working on another writing project.

“I came up with this crazy idea…I’m in the middle of a screenplay now,” Summers tells ABC Audio. “It’s weird, but it’s also commercial. I think it can have legs. I’m working on it…trying. You know, we’ll see where it all goes.”

While he thinks his film idea has a lot of potential, the 78-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer says he realizes that it may be a challenge to get the project produced.

“I mean, to get anything made in life…a record, a song recorded, a film, a book, it’s incredibly difficult, ’cause generally you’re dealing with people in the business who don’t get it,” he maintains. “They always want it to be like something else, or they go, ‘Well, it’s this. It’s one of these things.’ But no, it’s not. It’s original.”

Summers says working on the screenplay has been similar to writing his short-stories collection in that he’ll often reach a point where he runs out of ideas.

Andy explains that when he hits that point, “[Y]ou go and do something else…make a fried egg in your kitchen or something, [and then suddenly a new idea]…just like appears. You have to trust that process that…the neurons are doing something up there that you don’t know about. And it suddenly just springs out.”

Fretted and Moaning can be ordered now at AndySummersBook.com. Summers also is preparing to release a new instrumental solo album called Harmonics of the Night in October.

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The Rolling Stones post video tribute to Charlie Watts

Dave J Hogan/Getty Images

The Rolling Stones have posted a video montage on their social media sites paying tribute to their longtime drummer, Charlie Watts, who died Tuesday, August 24, at age 80.

The two-minute clip, which is soundtracked to the 1973 Stones song “If You Can’t Rock Me,” features a variety of archival photos and film and video segments from throughout Watts’ long career with the band.

The homage also includes a clip of an interview with Charlie in which he recalls what he thought when he was asked to join The Stones.

“[T]hey talked in terms of a band, a commitment in other words,” Watts said. “[I thought,] ‘Oh, this will go on for a year, and next year fold up.'”

The video also features a clip of Mick Jagger introducing Watts to the audience as “the Wembley whammer” during a show at London’s Wembley Stadium. The tribute ends with a photo that Keith Richards posted on his own social media pages after Charlie’s death, showing a photo of Watts’ drum kit and a sign hanging from it that reads, “Closed — Please Call Again.”

All three surviving current Stones members — Jagger, Richards and Ronnie Wood — posted photographic tributes to Watts following his passing. Ex-Stones bassist Bill Wyman posted his own homage to his former band mate on his official website that reads, “Charlie, you were like a brother to me. In the band and in life. Rest in peace.”

As previously reported, The Stones are planning to move forward with their 2021 U.S. tour with veteran session drummer Steve Jordan standing in for Watts, which was arranged prior to Watts’ passing. The trek kicks off September 26 in St. Louis.

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Elton John & his family show off their matching Versace robes

John Sciulli/WireImage for Audi of America, Inc.

Someone like Elton John isn’t just going to wear a regular old terrycloth bathrobe now, is he?

On the Rocket Man’s Instagram, he’s posted a photo of himself, husband David Furnish and their two sons, Zachary and Elijah, posing on a balcony in what looks like Italy, with their backs turned toward the camera. They’re all wearing matching Versace bathrobes with their names embroidered on the back.

The pic is captioned, “Grazie mille [thank you] @donatella_versace. Thank-you for your generosity and kindness. You made our Summer so glamorous. Ti amo [I love you].” Donatella replied in the comments, “I love you all!! You look FABULOUS!!!”

If you have $600 to spare, you can get the same personalized robe from the Versace website.

Elton has been friends with Donatella for many years, and was also close with her late brother, Gianni Versace, who was murdered in 1997.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Elton John (@eltonjohn)

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Two Van Morrison streaming concerts events to premiere on nugs.net in September

Courtesy of nugs.net

A pair a virtual Van Morrison concerts will stream globally at nugs.net on consecutive days, September 10 and 11.

The first show will feature Morrison delivering a 65-minute concert that will include renditions of songs from throughout his expansive catalog. The second concert features Van showcasing tunes from his 2021 studio album, Latest Record Project: Volume 1, as well as performing select classics.

The performances were recorded at Peter Gabriel‘s Real World Studios near Bath, U.K. The shows will begin at 6 p.m. ET. both days.

Tickets for the concerts can be purchased individually for $14.99 in HD and $19.99 for the high-res 4K format at nugs.net/vanmorrison. Two-night bundles also will be available.  Nugs.net subscribers can purchase the streaming events for a discounted price.

Morrison released Latest Record Project: Volume 1 in May. The 28-track collection finds Van continuing to delve into his love of classic soul, blues, R&B and jazz. The album features a variety songs that offer commentary of modern life, some of which focus on Morrison’s dissatisfaction with how the U.K. government has handled the COVID-19 health crisis.

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Watch first trailer for director Todd Haynes’ upcoming Velvet Underground documentary

Courtesy of Apple TV+

The first trailer has been released for acclaimed indie-film director Todd Haynes‘ upcoming documentary about The Velvet Underground, the influential New York City-based band fronted by Lou Reed during the late 1960s and early ’70s.

The movie, simply titled The Velvet Underground, will premiere in theaters and on the Apple TV+ network on October 15.

The documentary features new interviews with surviving Velvet Underground members John Cale and Maureen Tucker, as well as with other people associated with the band and with late artist Andy Warhol, who managed and helped promote the group during its early years.

The film also includes previously unseen Velvet Underground performance footage, as well as clips of rare recordings and Warhol films.

The trailer features brief snippets of the Welsh-born Cale sharing his recollections of how filthy New York City seemed when he first arrived there, and discussing the band’s sonic explorations, and Tucker commenting about how the group began gaining a following but couldn’t get radio airplay.

The Velvet Underground, classic lineup of which featured Reed on lead vocals and guitar, Cale on bassist and viola, Tucker on drums and the late Sterling Morrison on lead guitar, came to fame as the house band at Warhol’s psychedelic multimedia show The Exploding Plastic Inevitable. The group’s songs explored dark themes such as drugs, kinky sex and domestic violence in the midst of the “Flower Power” era.  The band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

Meanwhile, a companion soundtrack album also is due out on October 15. The collection, which will be available as a two-CD set and in digital formats, will feature a mix of classic Velvet Underground tunes and rare recordings.

Here’s the track list:

Disc 1
“Venus in Furs” — The Velvet Underground
“The Wind” — The Diablos featuring Nolan Strong
“17 XII 63 NYC The Fire Is a Mirror” — The Theatre of Eternal Music
“Heroin” (Mono) — The Velvet Underground
“Road Runner” (Live) — Bo Diddley
“The Ostrich” — The Primitives
“I’m Waiting for the Man” —  — The Velvet Underground & Nico
“Chelsea Girls” — Nico
“Sunday Morning” — The Velvet Underground & Nico

Disc 2
“Sister Ray” (Live) — The Velvet Underground
“Pale Blue Eyes” — The Velvet Underground
“Foggy Notion” — The Velvet Underground
“After Hours” (Live) — The Velvet Underground
“Sweet Jane” — The Velvet Underground
“Ocean” — The Velvet Underground
“All Tomorrow’s Parties” — The Velvet Underground & Nico

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Founding Iron Butterfly drummer Ron Bushy, who played on “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” dead at 79

Iron Butterfly in 1969, Ron Bushy second from left; ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images

Ron Bushy, longtime drummer of the psychedelic band Iron Butterfly, who played on the band’s classic 1968 song “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” died Sunday morning at the age of 79.

A message on the band’s official Facebook page reports that Bushy “passed away peacefully, with his wife Nancy by his side…at UCLA Santa Monica Hospital. All three of his daughters were also with him.”

The note adds, “He was a real fighter…He will be deeply missed!”

Bushy joined Iron Butterfly in 1966 and, according to Rolling Stone, was the only member of the band to play on all six of its studio albums.

“In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” was the title track’s of Iron Butterfly’s second album, which was released in June 1968. The epic 17-minute song became the group’s signature tune and has become an enduring psychedelic-era anthem. An abbreviated version of the track peaked at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album reached #4 on the Billboard 200, and has sold over four million copies in the U.S.

Bushy shared the story about the tune’s origins in a 2020 interview with Its Psychedelic Baby magazine, noting that it began as a slow country ballad written by Iron Butterfly singer/keyboardist Doug Ingle.

“I came home late one night and Doug had been drinking a whole gallon of Red Mountain wine… [He was] playing a slow ballad [he’d written] on his Vox keyboard,” Bushy recalled. “It was hard to understand him because he was so drunk…so I wrote it down on a napkin exactly how it sounded phonetically to me…’In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.'”

Bushy continued to play drums with various Iron Butterfly incarnations on and off through 2018, and made guest appearances with the band until his passing.

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Eric Clapton releases new song, “This Has Gotta Stop,” apparently lashing out at recent media criticism

Bushbranch/Surfdog Records/EPC Enterprises LLP

Eric Clapton released a brand-new single on Friday titled “This Has Gotta Stop” that available now as a digital download and via streaming services.

The mid-tempo blues-rock shuffle finds Clapton apparently railing against his detractors, perhaps in response to the media backlash he’s received in recent months over his critical comments about AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine and his support of Van Morrison’s protests over the U.K. government’s policies restricting live music because of the pandemic.

“This has gotta stop/ Enough is enough/ I can’t take this B.S. any longer,” Clapton sings. “It’s gone far enough/ You want to claim my soul/ You’ll have to come and break down this door.”

An animated music video for the new song has also premiered at Clapton’s official YouTube channel. The clip includes imagery that appears to illustrate people being controlled and brainwashed by the media and politicians.

The video features such scenes as a sinister giant man with strings running from his fingers to small common-looking people walking beneath him, a bunch of people mesmerized by their mobile devices as they traveling down a series of escalators, and people with televisions instead of heads.

The clip also includes scenes illustrating environmental issues that are our planet is facing, including forest fires, flooding and pollution.

“This Has Gotta Stop” was written by Clapton, and produced by his longtime studio collaborator Simon Climie. Eric handles lead vocals and guitar, and is joined on the track by drummer Sonny Emery, bassist Nathan East and backing singer Sharon White. Strings on the track were arranged and conducted by Nick Ingman, and the strings were led by violinist Perry Montague-Mason.

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Reggae legend Lee “Scratch” Perry passes away at 85

Daniel Boczarski/Redferns

The music world is mourning one of its greats. Lee “Scratch” Perry, hailed for breaking boundaries for reggae and dub music during the ’60s and ’70s, has died at age 85.

The Jamaica Observer confirmed Perry’s passing, saying he died of an unspecified illness at Noel Holmes Hospital in his native Jamaica.

Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, mourned the legend on Twitter, writing, “My deep condolences to the family, friends, and fans of legendary record producer and singer, Rainford Hugh Perry OD, affectionately known as ‘Lee Scratch’ Perry.”

Perry, whose influential and innovative music style went beyond reggae and dub, is noted for altering a variety of music genres, such as hip hop and rock.  The singer also worked as a record producer and collaborated with acts such as Bob Marley & The WailersBeastie BoysThe Clash and many others.  His Black Ark studio also gained legendary status.

Perry was mourned by many in the music world, with Mike D of Beastie Boys writing, “We send the most love and respect we can to Lee Perry who passed today, to his family and loved ones and the many he influenced with his pioneering spirit and work. We are truly grateful to have been inspired by and collaborated with this true legend.”

Roots drummer Questlove also honored the late legend, writing, “Pure Innovation. Pure Imagination. This Man Was Plug Ins long before you studio cats today can simply press one button and instantly created sound chaos. Way before The Bomb Squad. The God Of Black Ark. the true Sound Journey. One of the most awe inspiring producer/engineers/visionaries.”

Living Colour tweeted Sunday, “We send love, light, respect, our condolences to the LEGENDARY Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and his family and fans worldwide! May his soul Rest In Peace!”

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