Post Malone x Nirvana Tribute

Normally singer-songwriter, rapper, producer and actor Post Malone wouldn't be in my musical radar, but he recently hosted a live concert in tribute to Nirvana. I knew Post Malone had previously played in various metal/rock bands, so my interest was slightly piqued at him tackling one of my favourite bands during high school. The final bit information that finally go me to click on the link and watch the video - Travis Barker of Blink-182 would be filling in as the drummer...

I never really disliked Post Malone, it was more indifference, but after watching the above video I am definitely a fan. I'm not yet sure if that fandom extends to his regular musical output. I'll have to spend an afternoon or two giving his albums a proper listen before I can make that decision.

Dave Grohl shared "pandemic Playlist" with The Atlantic

Dave Grohl (of Foo Fighters and Nirvana fame) compiled an eclectic 10 song play list to weather out the pandemic, which appeared over at The Atlantic.

Here's the the track listing:

1. The Cars - Let's go
2. Madness - Our House
3. Ahmad Jamal - Ahmad's waltz
4. LCD Soundsystem - Drunk girls
5. Alice Cooper - School's out
6. Art of Noise - Moments in love
7. The Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet with butterfly wings
8. Vince Guaraldi Trio - Linus and Lucy
9. Patsy Cline - Crazy
10. The Beatles - Here comes the Sun

I created a Deezer playlist if you want to take a listen.

A return...

Holy cow! It's been a really long time since I've visited this Blog.

I was about to start a new blog, as a means to document all the ways musicians were coming together to raise awareness about the current COVID-19 pandemic, whether it be through releasing new music for free, streaming live performances from their living rooms, or uploading old concert footage to Youtube. You can find the full list of posts here!

Maybe I should have restarted this project earlier. But, a lot has happened in the years since I last visited: priorities changed, interests shifted, and time poured into other activities. Any way, now seems as good a time as any to get back into blogging.

I don't know how often I'll post (or what additional content will be covered), but for now, I have plans to share new music from Nine Inch Nails, several playlists from live DJ sets by members of Deftones, and a Post Malone playing a Nirvana tribute concert, and a star-studded rendition of Foo Fighters "Times like these." If there are any other videos/playlists/downloads you have come across during your lock down, then don't hesitate to share them in a comment.

#StayHome                                                    #StaySafe                                          #LoveOneAnother

This makes me feel old

If you were born in the '80s, watching this Teens React video is a sure way to make yourself feel a tad bit older. At least the kids of today are slowly realising that most modern pop music is rubbish, and that the 'artists' motives tend to revolve around fame and fortune, as opposed to artistry. 

If Nirvana is considered old, what do we label the bands my folks listened too while they were growing up?

2Cellos play AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck' like you've never imagined

This video of Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser (2Cellos) covering the classic AC/DC anthem, Thunderstruck, has caused quite the stir on the internet.

For more 'ba-rock' inspired covers, check out the duo's YouTube page. You'll come across several excellent covers including an excellent rendition of Nirvana's 'Smells like teen spirit,' and another AC/DC cover featuring Steve Vai.

Animated Kurt Cobain interview

Here's an incredible animation by Blank on Blank of an interview that took place between the late Kurt Cobain and Jon Savage back in 1993. After watching this I'm feeling kind of 'happysad,' as my buddy Siam would say.

 

Nirvana's original recording contract

Sub Pop, one of Nirvana's former record labels, has released a photograph of their exclusive recording agreement with Nirvana, who went on to become the biggest act of the '90s. 

Appropriately the caption on the Sub Pop site says, "six hundred bucks well spent."

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Don't forget to check out the announcement 20th Anniversary edition of In Utero here!

'In Utero' 20th anniversary edition

My favourite Nirvana album is getting the re-issue treatment in September for its 20th anniversary. I can't wait to see which b-sides are included. Full track listing for all physical editions here. 

Experiencing Nirvana e-book

Bruce Pavitt (co-founder of Sub Pop) has written an e-book detailing his time spent touring Europe in 1989 with two young bands signed to the label, Nirvana and Tad, but in particular with the Kurt Cobain. The book documents the story of a young Cobain coming to grips with, and persevering over the hardships of extended touring. The book contains many previously unpublished photographs of Cobain on the road with band mates, crew members and friends. 

The cover demonstrates just how young Cobain was when he began his rise to fame, catching the international music scene off guard as grunge rose in popularity, and eventually dominated the 1990s. 

From what I've read, this book is a must for any fan of Kurt Cobain, Nirvana, grunge, or modern music in general. 

For a more in depth review, read this article over on Rolling Stone. 

Sound City - Real to Reel full track listing

The soundtrack to Dave Grohl's rockumentary, Sound City, will contain 11 original tracks, featuring collaborations of many of the greatest artists in rock. The album is set for release on the 12 March 2013, and is available for pre-order from iTunes. Folks who pre-order the album will receive an instant download of the first single Cut me some slack, featuring Paul McCartney (The Beatles), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Them Crooked Vultures, Nirvana), Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) and Pat Smear (Foo Fighters, Nirvana).

Here is the fill track list:

1. Heaven and all (Robert Levon Been, Dave Grohl & Peter Hayes)
2. Time sowing down (Chriss Goss, Tim Commerfors, Dave Grohl & Brad Wilk)
3. You can't fix this (Stevie Nicks, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins & Rami Jaffee)
4. The man that never was (Rick Springfield, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel & Pat Smear)
5. Your wife is calling (Lee Ving, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Alain Johannes & Pat Smear)
6. From can to can't (Corey Taylor, Dave Grohl, Rick Nielsen & Scott Reeder)
7. Centipede (Joshua Homme, Chris Goss, Dave Grohl & Alain Johannes)
8. A trick with no sleeve (Alain Johannes, Dave Grohl & Joshua Homme)
9. Cut me some slack (Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic & Pat Smear)
10. If I were me Dave Grohl, Jessy Greene, Rami Jaffee & Jim Keltner)
11. Mantra (Dave Grohl, Joshua Homme & Trent Reznor)

At this point, I'm most excited to hear the last track, as it has contributions from three of the musicians of my 'dream team.'

Fron left: Grohl, Reznor & Homme in the studio.

Cut me some slack - McCartney, Grohl, Novoselic & Smear (Full track)

A preview of Cut me some slack, written by McCartney, Grohl, Novoselic and Smear was uploaded to YouTube on Wednesday afternoon. Two days later the full studio recording of the track was also uploaded, but a link was only posted on social media networks approximately 2 hours ago. In those 2 hours the song has been played over 6800 times!

What we have here sounds like a post-Cobain Nirvana, fronted by a mature, post-Beatles Paul McCartney. Vast experiences, and a number of influences have been mixed together to create a track that shares a single message. It says loud and clear that rock 'n roll is not dead.

First song from the album Sound City: Real to reel

Credited as being written by Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear, an 18 second video snippet of Cut me some slack has been uploaded to cutmesomeslack.net. 

The site also contains a link to the 121212 Benefit Concert, at which the song was performed, and another link to pre-order a DRM-free download of the Sound City Movie for US$ 12.99 10 (for a limited time only).