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Music News

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class 2022: Eminem, Duran Duran, Eurythmics and — Yes, Dolly Parton  [Consequence]

Naomi Judd, country singer in the Judds, dies at 76. Judd's daughters released a statement that read, in part, "Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness..." Naomi Judd had been candid about her battle with suicidal ideation, panic attacks and the ups and downs of her mental health struggles. A cause of death has not been disclosed. [NPR, NBC]

D Generation’s Howie Pyro Dead At 61 Howie Pyro, former bassist for New York glam-punks D Generation, has died. Pyro’s former bandmate Jesse Malin announced Pyro’s passing on Instagram last night, and Pitchfork reports that Pyro died of COVID-19-related pneumonia after going through liver disease and a liver transplant. [Stereogum]

Ric Parnell, Spinal Tap Drummer, dies at 70. Parnell portrayed Mick Shrimpton in iconic 1984 film and subsequently toured with the ban. Born in 1951 in London, Parnell played with acts such as Horse, Atomic Rooster, Nova, Michael Des Barres and Stars in the 1970s and ‘80s and reportedly turned down offers to join Journey and Whitesnake. He can also be heard playing drums on Toni Basil’s classic “Hey, Mickey.” [Spin]

 

A former Gap employee embarks on a quest to collect every in-store playlist. I used to buy the CDs that Gap sold with the playlists on them. Yikes. [NPR]

Watch Nine Inch Nails cover two David Bowie songs at Raleigh tour opener [Stereogum]

There’s a new Cyndi Lauper documentary in the works. The documentary will explore Lauper’s childhood, fame, support for feminist movements, style evolution, the success of her 1983 debut, She’s So Unusual, and of course, the stories behind blockbuster hits like “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and “True Colors.” [Spin]

Matt Pinfield looks back at a life in music. Pinfield chats about his days at MTV to working in A&R to having a Killers song written about him. Pinfield also shares memories about the late Taylor Hawkins, his first-ever interview (with Depeche Mode) and traces his journey from a music fan in New Jersey to hanging out with David Bowie. [Spin]

Daniel Radcliffe becomes ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic in bew biopic trailer [Spin]

ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus says group’s reunion is an “immense risk”.   The Swedish pop icons returned with their first album in 40 years, ‘Voyage’, last November and are due to present a string of “revolutionary” concerts at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from May 27.“It’s an immense risk and most people I talk to don’t appreciate that,” he said “They say, ‘Oh, it’ll be fine.’ Sometimes I wake up at four in the morning and think, ‘What the hell have we done?'” [NME]

Watch Sammy Hagar and the Circle honor Taylor Hawkins with ‘My Hero’ cover [Spin]

'Almost Famous' musical is coming to Broadway [Spin]

New Afghan Whigs album to feature the late Mark Lanegan. [Spin]

Music History
[Courtesy of calendar.songfacts.com ]

May 1
1991: For the first time, MTV Unplugged features rap acts, with De La Soul, MC Lyte, A Tribe Called Quest and LL Cool J performing. LL steals the show with a shirtless rendition of "Mama Said Knock You Out."

May 2
1980: At the University of Birmingham, England, Joy Division play what transpires to be their final show, two weeks before singer Ian Curtis commits suicide at the age of 23. The show features the band's only live performance of the song "Ceremony," which is later released as the debut single by New Order - a new act formed from the surviving members.

May 3
1986: Propelled by a memorable video where lookalike models vamp the song, Robert Palmer's "Addicted To Love" hits #1 on the Hot 100.

May 4
2012: Adam Yauch (aka MCA of the Beastie Boys) dies of cancer at age 47 in New York City. Watch the Beastie Boys' last performance at Bonnaroo June 12, 2009...

May 5
2009: Tina Turner, 69, closes out her 50th Anniversary Tour with a show in Sheffield Arena that turns out to be her last concert. "I don't want people to come to a show and think that I used to be great," she says.

May 6
1965: At a hotel in Clearwater, Florida, Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones can't sleep because there's a guitar riff running through his head. He rolls a tape, falls asleep and wakes up the next morning to find he's recorded the riff to "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."

May 7
1992: John Frusciante quits the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the middle of their Japanese tour.

May
1976: John Sebastian's "Welcome Back," the theme song to the TV series Welcome Back, Kotter, hits #1 in America. The series was originally called Kotter, but after Sebastian wrote the song, the title was changed to accommodate (Sebastian tried writing a song called "Kotter," but could only rhyme that word with "otter").


Since "Welcome Back" came out 46 years this week, what TV theme song is your favorite? Which do you consider the best?

 

What have you been listening to this week?