music

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'Excessive Headbanging' Could Kill, Say Researchers

But researchers assure us that 'rock 'n' roll will never die'

(Newser) - Researchers are warning of the dangers of seriously rocking out. Doctors in Germany treated a 50-year-old man last year who suffered from a brain injury tied to headbanging, they say, per Wired . "He had no history of head trauma, but reported headbanging at a Motörhead concert four weeks...

'Like a Rolling Stone' Draft by Dylan Sells for $2M

He wrote it on hotel stationery, recorded it in 1965

(Newser) - A draft of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" sold today for $2 million, which Sotheby's auction house called a world record for a pop-music manuscript. A working draft of the song in Dylan's own hand went to an unidentified bidder for $2.045 million. The...

&#39;Fun-Loving&#39; Jazz Master Dead at 85

 'Fun-Loving' 
 Jazz Master 
 Dead at 85 
obituary

'Fun-Loving' Jazz Master Dead at 85

Horace Silver helped pioneer hard bop and wrote infectious tunes

(Newser) - Jazz fans lost one of the greats this week—pianist, composer, and band leader Horace Silver. He died at his home in New Rochelle, NY, on Wednesday at age 85, the New York Times reports. In the 1950s, Silver helped pioneer hard bop, a driving, rhythmic music that critics considered...

How Pandora Picks Your 'Favorite' Songs

About 25 analysts rank and quantify the music

(Newser) - Pandora relies on complex computer software to grade it songs ... right? Not so, reports Rob Pegoraro at BoingBoing : About 25 music analysts at the company's Music Genome Project personally rank and quantify each song with up to 450 "genome units." For example, vocals are graded from 1...

Spotify's Most-Streamed Song Ever Is...

Avicii's 'Wake Me Up,' with 235M listens

(Newser) - If Spotify listens are a barometer for musical quality, then the best song of all time is, apparently, "Wake Me Up," by electronic dance music producer and DJ Avicii. The song has been streamed some 235 million times, the Huffington Post reports, making it the music service's...

Apple Might Make Dr. Dre a Billionaire

Or close to it, if the company buys his Beats Electronics

(Newser) - Apple could be about to make its biggest deal ever, one that would make rapper and producer Dr. Dre a very rich man. Apple is in talks to buy Beats Electronics—known for its wireless headphones, speakers, and, most recently, a music streaming service—for $3.2 billion, the Financial ...

How 2 Great American Musicians Simply Vanished
 How 2 Great American  
 Musicians Simply Vanished 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

How 2 Great American Musicians Simply Vanished

Elvie Thomas and Geeshie Wiley emerge from history's shadows

(Newser) - Elvie Thomas and Geeshie Wiley aren't exactly household names, but they recorded a batch of old country-blues songs that scholars consider masterpieces. What's vexing is that Thomas and Wiley totally fell off the map, gone from history despite decades of research. Enter John Sullivan, who, writing for the...

The 10 Most- Misheard Song Lyrics

 The 10 Most- 
 Misheard 
 Song Lyrics 
new poll

The 10 Most- Misheard Song Lyrics

Starring Abba, Queen, Bon Jovi

(Newser) - "See that girl, watch her scream": British music website Blinkbox has polled 2,000 adults on the most-misheard pop lyrics ever, and the results are amusing. While Ozzy Osbourne, Lady Gaga, and Shaggy topped the list of least-understandable singers, it was Abba, Queen, and Bon Jovi whose individual songs...

Stradivarius No Match for New Violins, Test Finds

Soloists assess renowned instruments with surprising results

(Newser) - Musicians have long been captivated by the instruments of the Stradivari family; centuries after they were built, they've become the stuff of legend. Yet new blind tests seem to shatter the notion that a Stradivarius is actually superior to today's violins. In fact, the tests found expert violinists...

House Music's 'Godfather' Dies at 59

Frankie Knuckles was top DJ at pioneering club

(Newser) - He's been called the "Godfather of House Music," and Rolling Stone says he "laid the groundwork for electronic dance music culture—all of it." Frankie Knuckles, who died yesterday at 59, was the top DJ at the Warehouse in Chicago, where house music was effectively...

Radio Station Plays 'Hot in Herre'—for Entire Day

San Francisco station first put it on yesterday afternoon

(Newser) - If you've listened to San Francisco's KVVF 105.7 in the past 24 hours or so, you've been treated to exactly one song: Nelly's "Hot in Herre." It's been playing on loop since 3 pm yesterday, Rolling Stone reports. At first, no one...

Why Some People Just Don't Get Music

Study finds that they receive zero enjoyment from listening

(Newser) - Music lovers, or even music likers, will find it difficult to relate: A new study finds that some people get zero pleasure from music. The Barcelona researchers even came up with a name for the condition: "specific musical anhedonia." It's "specific" because these people derive enjoyment...

'Japan's Beethoven': I Can Hear 'a Little'

Mamoru Samuragochi apologizes for 'life of lies'

(Newser) - Word recently got out that "Japan's Beethoven"—famed classical composer Mamoru Samuragochi—hadn't been writing his own music and might not actually be deaf . Now, Samuragochi is lending some credence to the claims of music professor Takashi Niigaki, the real composer behind his works. "The...

Band Bills Military $666K for Using Its Song at Gitmo

Skinny Puppy says its music was used as a 'weapon'

(Newser) - Some bands are "proud" when their music is used to interrogate Guantanamo Bay detainees; other bands, not so much . You can count Skinny Puppy among the latter group. The Canadian industrial rock band says it has invoiced the US military for $666,000 after finding out its music was...

'Japan's Beethoven' Admits 18-Year Fraud

Mamoru Samuragochi lost hearing at age 35

(Newser) - The success of 50-year-old composer Mamoru Samuragochi, who is deaf, has prompted the nickname "Japan's Beethoven." Trouble is, it turns out he hasn't written his own music in decades. "I started hiring (a) person to compose music for me around 1996, when I was asked...

Boy Born Without Arms Starts Playing the Trumpet

Jahmir Wallace says his sister inspired him to play

(Newser) - How's this for inspiring: A 10-year-old student born with no arms has taken up the trumpet and even played it at his school's annual winter concert, Gawker reports. Jahmir Wallace says he was inspired by his sister, who plays the piano. "So I decided maybe I should...

Phil Everly of Everly Brothers Dead at 74

They had a huge influence on early rock

(Newser) - Phil Everly is dead at age 74 from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and the obituaries are paying homage to just how much he and brother Don influenced the early days of rock and roll as the Everly Brothers. Songs such as "Wake Up Little Susie," "All I...

Reporter Finds Santana's Old Bandmate—Homeless

An unlikely TV segment brought them together after 40 years

(Newser) - It's probably not often that California's KRON's "People Behaving Badly" news segment ends with heartwarming news. But that has been the case this month, following Stanley Roberts' piece on illegal dumpsites in Oakland. In the course of his reporting, Roberts interviewed Marcus Malone , who was searching...

R. Kelly 'Was a Monster:' Reporter

Village Voice offers 'stomach-churning' look at allegations against R&B star

(Newser) - R. Kelly was acquitted over a sex tape that allegedly involved an underage girl—but he was never actually tried for rape, a crime he committed "in the dozen," says reporter Jim DeRogatis, who has been at the forefront of the story since it emerged. In the Village ...

Coming to iTunes: 59 Beatles Rarities

Studio outtakes, live performances in 'new' batch

(Newser) - It took years for the Beatles to arrive on iTunes—but a treat for Fab Four fans could help make up for the wait. Fifty-nine rare tracks will arrive today, a mix of live BBC performances, demos, and studio outtakes. Previously, the recordings were only available as bootlegs, the Guardian...

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