Random Music Facts

John Cage - Water Walk (1960)

Thu, 17 May 2007 11:15:21 GMT

Are there John Cage fans here? Or some John Cage haters? They both must have an opinion about his performance of Water Walk on the popular TV show I've Got A Secret in 1960...

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 22:58:27 GMT

Hey, zombies!

"I still cannot listen to it, because everything I wanted for that record, they took it away. I asked for drums, they said no. I asked for more guitars, they said no. And I asked for simplicity, and they covered it in flutes! [...] They added strings and – I didn't like them, but I could live with them. But the flute! The first time I heard the album, I cried and it was all because of the flute."

-Nico, on her album Chelsea Girl

(source: Wikipedia)

x-posted like nobodys business (soooorrray)

Sun, 04 Mar 2007 17:57:34 GMT

basically everyone on livejournal ever should join this community-

yadontsay

..not so much "random facts" (which are cool, but theres like bah-zillion LJ communities dedicated to that), but more focused on potentially life-changing tips/hints that we pick up daily and continue to use. I just started it, join if it seems like something youd be into/could contribute to!

Plus it has an awesome user icon that I feel really sums up the essence of its purpose.

p.s.
:insert any due apoligies here for my wasting 9 seconds of your time, if you so feel necessary:

:o)
-danielle .

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 02:57:08 GMT

The Waitresses is one of my favorite bands. Here's a little backstory on how the band formed as well as links to download two of my favorite songs of theirs.

"Heat Night" (Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful?, 1982)
"Make the Weather" (Bruiseology, 1983)

While Chris Butler [guitarist and songwriter for The Waitresses] was a musician playing the Akron area with bands such as Tin Huey and the Numbers Band in the late 1970s, he wrote songs for a make-believe side group. "I came up with the name `the Waitresses' because it just sounded kind of New Wavey," he says. "It was all a big joke."

Donahue - the girlfriend of one of Butler's musician friends - sang a few Waitresses songs at Tin Huey shows. "As an encore gag, we would put on T-shirts that said, Waitresses Unite."

But when industry people in New York expressed serious interest in a tape of I Know What Boys Like, Butler quickly cobbled together a formal Waitresses lineup. Many of the musicians Butler recruited were Midwesterners who, like himself, gravitated to New York. Meanwhile, Donahue was still in Ohio.

A free spirit who was in and out of college when she wasn't working waitress jobs, she decided to come along for the ride. "I gave her my last 50 bucks, put her on the Greyhound bus, she kissed her boyfriend goodbye, and she decided to come to New York. What the hell?"

from "How an obscure 80s punk band created a Christmas classic" by John Petrick

cross-posted to wavemusicshare

I Shall Be Released

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 04:02:19 GMT

To get the snare drum sound you hear on The Band's I Shall Be Released (Music From Big Pink), Levon Helm turned the drum upside down and dragged his finger across the snares. He did this because the band felt that the sound of hitting the drum, even with a brush, was too harsh for the song.

Source: A coworker who is a friend of Levon's.

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 21:01:37 GMT

Guns N' Roses recently canceled a show because they were informed that, in accordance with state law, they wouldn't be allowed to drink onstage.

"I agree with, and ultimately take responsibility for, the end decision not to jeopardize the safety of the fans, the crews, the bands and myself as a result of the methods of these particularly draconian authorities," Rose's statement said. "We hope to find another way to play for you in the future."

CNN.com article

P.S. How come the last five entries have all been from me? Contribute, friends! :)

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 07:09:39 GMT

Roy Wood is 60 today!

Source: my Amoeba calendar

Bow Wow Wow

Sat, 04 Nov 2006 01:59:01 GMT

Bow Wow Wow was formed by Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, who convinced three members of Adam and the Ants to leave Adam Ant for the project. Boy George was originally considered as a second singer but was ultimately deemed "too wild."

Their biggest hit, "I Want Candy," was originally done by The Strangeloves in 1965.

The family of lead singer Annabella Lwin almost made her quit the band after the release of a 1982 EP that featured the fifteen-year-old naked.

The album cover was based on Edouard Manet's Le déjeuner sur l'herbe (The Luncheon on the Grass.)

And, just for fun, here's the video for "I Want Candy." Watch for the random shot of Annabella licking an ice-cream cone. Classic.

Source: Wikipedia

Tue, 25 Jul 2006 06:35:28 GMT

John Cage

In 1968, at a concert called "Reunion" at Ryerson Polytechnic in Toronto, artist Marcel Duchamp played chess against avant-garde composer and event organizer John Cage. The music was produced by a series of photoelectric cells underneath each square of the chessboard which were sporadically triggered during normal game play.

source: Wikipedia

completely random facts about george harrison of the beatles

Sat, 22 Jul 2006 00:11:27 GMT

"Harrison was probably the first modern musician to organize a major charity concert. His Concert for Bangladesh on August 1, 1971, drew over 40,000 people to two shows in New York's Madison Square Garden with the intention of aiding the starving refugees from the war in Bangladesh. Ravi Shankar opened the proceedings, which included other popular musicians such as Bob Dylan (who rarely appeared live in the early 1970s), Eric Clapton who made his first public appearance in months (due to a heroin addiction, begun as Derek and the Dominos broke up), Leon Russell, Badfinger, Billy Preston and fellow Beatle Ringo Starr. Unfortunately, tax troubles and questionable expenses tied up many of the concert's proceeds...Apple Corps recently released a newly arranged concert DVD and CD on 25 October 2005, in the USA, and 24 October in the rest of the world. The DVD and CD contains additional material (such as previously unreleased rehearsal footage of "If Not For You" featuring Harrison and Dylan), and all artists' sales royalties continue to go to UNICEF.

....There was an attempt on Harrison's life...on 30 December 1999, a crazed fan, Michael Abram, broke into the Harrison's Friar Park home in Henley-on-Thames, stabbed George multiple times, ultimately puncturing his lung. Harrison and his wife, Olivia, fought the intruder and detained him for the police. 35-year-old Abram, who believed he was possessed by Harrison and was on a "mission from God" to kill him, was later acquitted on grounds of insanity.

Harrison married model Pattie Boyd on 21 January, 1966 at Leatherhead and Esher registry office, and is reputed to have written the song "Something" for her in 1969, although he himself denied this, saying he was actually thinking about a song for Ray Charles. In the late 1960s, Eric Clapton fell in love with Boyd, and famously poured out his unrequited passion on the landmark Derek and the Dominos album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970). Some time after its release Boyd left her husband, and she and Clapton subsequently married. Despite this, the two men remained close friends, calling themselves 'husbands in law.'

Harrison married for a second time to Olivia Trinidad Arias (born 18 May 1948) in 1978. The ceremony took place on September 2 at their home, with guitarist and singer Joe Brown acting as best man. They had one son, Dhani Harrison, born the previous month. Dhani looks so remarkably like his father, that McCartney quipped on stage at Concert for George: 'Olivia told me that it looks like George stayed young and we all got old.' "

source:wikipedia.com

(they got married exactly ten years before i was born! hahah =/ )

Thu, 22 Jun 2006 22:58:52 GMT

the band Zilch is made up of one Japanese musician, the late hide, and two American musicians whose names aren't as important at the moment. In the liner notes of their first release 321, they thank not only the usual list of their providers and musical equipment companies, but also successful Japanese musician J, and the one and only Marilyn Manson, who is often accused of sampling hide in his music by zealous fangirls.

not to be confused with the "christian punk" band zilch.

Billy Preston has died

Wed, 07 Jun 2006 06:26:17 GMT

US singer and song-writer Billy Preston has died at the age of 59 in Arizona after a long illness. He contributed to The Beatles' Let it Be, and Rolling Stones records including Exile on Main Street. As a teenager he played keyboards for the likes of Little Richard and Ray Charles.

Billy Preston became the only person to be given a label credit alongside The Beatles after his work on the song Let it Be, as well as the Abbey Road and White Album recordings. His fame was galvanised with a string of Number 1 hit singles of his own, including Outta Space (for which he won a Grammy), Will It Go Round In Circles, Nothing From Nothing and Space Race.

A prolific writer, he also wrote You Are So Beautiful, a major hit for his friend, British blues singer Joe Cocker. On top of this, he collaborated with superstars such as The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, The Jackson Five, Sly and the Family Stone and Barbra Streisand.

Some of the music to which he has contributed, not including his solo work:

(1970) Let It Be -- including "Get Back" (The Beatles)
(1970) All Things Must Pass (George Harrison)
(1970) John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, piano on "God" (John Lennon)
(1971) Sticky Fingers (Rolling Stones)
(1971) The Concert for Bangladesh (George Harrison And Friends)
(1971) There's a Riot Goin' On (Sly & the Family Stone)
(1972) Exile on Main Street (Rolling Stones)
(1973) Ringo, organ on "I'm The Greatest"
(1973) Goats Head Soup (Rolling Stones)
(1974) Goodnight Vienna, clavinet on the title track, electric piano on "Only You (And You Alone)"
(1974) It's Only Rock'n Roll (Rolling Stones)
(1975) Blood on the Tracks (Bob Dylan)
(1975) "You Are So Beautiful" (Joe Cocker's biggest hit)
(1976) Thirty Three & 1/3 (George Harrison)
(1976) Black and Blue (Rolling Stones)
(1978) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (also acted the part "Sgt. Pepper" in the film)
(1990) Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band (Billy plays keyboards and vocals)
(2003) Concert for George -- including Isn't It a Pity and My Sweet Lord
(2004) Me and Mr. Johnson (Eric Clapton) (also appears in the DVD companion Sessions for Robert J)
(2005) Choose Love (Ringo Starr)
(2006) Stadium Arcadium (Red Hot Chilli Peppers) (on "Warlocks")

Wake up, dead community!

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 21:08:38 GMT

Lee Marvin, Tom Waits

Tom Waits has claimed on several occasions to be a member of the secret society, "The Sons of Lee Marvin", a group founded by Jim Jarmusch in which all members bear a physical resemblance to actor Lee Marvin.

source: Wikipedia

OMG!

Thu, 25 May 2006 04:04:40 GMT

So guess which hot, amazing, legendary musician turns 65 today?

BOB DYLAN!!!

Relax, turn around and take my hand...

Thu, 18 May 2006 06:09:38 GMT

Fact: The intro to Tool's Stinkfist was recoreded by hitting a metal beer keg and flicking the ring pull on a can [once opened, you know how you can rotate the ring pull and flick it?].
Can unknown.
Source: Audio Teacher

Thu, 11 May 2006 23:33:08 GMT

Some facts about NEU!
• "Neu" is the German word for "new," pronounced "noy."
• The band always wrote its name in block capitals with an exclamation point at the end, intending it to resemble a pop-art slogan.
• Neu! formed in 1971 as an off-shoot from an early line-up of Kraftwerk (another seminal Krautrock band.)
• The band originated from Düsseldorf, Germany.
• Neu! only recorded three studio albums: Neu! (Brain Records, 1972), Neu! 2 (Brain Records, 1973), and Neu! '75 (Brain Records, 1975)

verified at Wikipedia's Neu! article

Sun, 07 May 2006 09:05:18 GMT

Happy birthday Tchaikovsky!

Some Tchaikovsky facts:

1. He loved to play whist (a card game).
2. Once he sang and danced opera on a train car--to the amusement of the passengers.
3. His favorite food was macaroni and cheese.
4. His favorite flower was the Lily of the Valley.
5. He liked to go on walks in the country and through town.
6. He liked to attend mass--because of the music.
7. Once as a child, he went door to door with a box of kittens asking if anyone wanted to adopt them.
8. Author Leo Tolstoy sat beside him at a concert and cried as his music was played!

Stolen from classical_music

Tue, 02 May 2006 22:14:39 GMT

Canadian folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie appeared regularly on "Sesame Street" over a five year period from 1976 - 1981. She's gone into Oscar the Grouch's trashcan!

Source: Wikipeida 1 2

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 00:19:55 GMT

"For most of us, the Bermuda Triangle of morbidity lies between the ages of 50 and 53, after which, if you dodge cancer, heart disease and other bullets, you'll probably live for decades. For rock stars, the year to fear is 27 -- the checkout date for Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Brian Jones and Robert Johnson, among others.

Honorable mentions to Nick Drake (at a wizened 26) and Tim Buckley (at a boyish 28) -- who were, after all, eccentric."

- Blender's 50 Worst Things That Happened to Music

originally posted to useless_facts by nostalgicbitch

Thu, 20 Apr 2006 14:56:49 GMT

Prince (born Prince Rogers Nelson on June 7, 1958), known as (or, The Artist Formerly Known As Prince) from 1993 to 2000, is a popular and influential American musician. His music has spanned myriad styles including funk, pop, rock, R&B/soul, and hip hop, and is widely regarded as musical genius and the definition of the "Minneapolis sound". He is also known to have hundreds of songs unreleased in a vault under his own alias, as well as other names. Regarded as a perfectionist, Prince has a reputation as being difficult to work with, and for being highly protective and controlling of his music. He writes, composes, and produces most of his music single-handedly, and plays most of the instruments on his albums. He also is a well-known songwriter for other artists, and some of those songs have topped the charts as well.

copied directly from the Wikipedia article on Prince

Sat, 08 Apr 2006 10:19:02 GMT

It is a common misconception that Tainted Love was originally done by Soft Cell. However, it was done by Gloria Jones in 1964.

On a related note, Blondie did not do "I Touch Myself". The Divinyls released that in 1991.

wake up, music_facts!

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 22:54:43 GMT

- The piano Neil Young played on After the Goldrush was later purchased by Eels frontman Mark Oliver Everett and used on the album Daisies of the Galaxy.
- Young's hobbies include collecting model trains (he has an extensive "train barn" on his Northern California ranch), collecting and restoring classic automobiles, and attending San Jose Sharks ice hockey games with his son, Ben Young.
- Young's full birth name is reportedly Neil Percival Kenneth Robert Ragland Young. In the opening of the documentary Year of the Horse, Young identifies himself as Neil Percival Young.
- Young owns a 101-foot wooden schooner, built in 1913, the W.N. Ragland, which he named after his grandfather, Bill Ragland.
- Police knocked out one of Young's teeth in the aftermath of one of the notorious Sunset Strip riots of 1967. Comparison of modern concert footage with Buffalo Springfield (the band Young started out in) footage shows that Young has had extensive dental work in the intervening years. In an interview for Jerry Hopkins' book The Rock Story in 1970, Buffalo Springfield manager Dick Davis stated that the beating sent Young to the UCLA neuropsychiatric hospital for some time for tests. He believed that Young's epilepsy was at least partly an outcome of police battery.
- When filming the motion picture The Last Waltz, Young appeared on stage with one nostril clearly filled with cocaine. Bandleader Robbie Robertson later had to pay several thousand dollars for the cocaine to be Rotoscoped out of the film, lest rock audiences be "offended." Robertson called it "the most expensive cocaine I've ever bought." When asked about the incident many years later, Young replied, "I'm not proud of that."
- Young's tour buses operate on biodiesel. He also owns a Hummer that has been modified to operate on the alternative fuel. Said Young about the latter vehicle in the 2005 Time article, "I love it when people yell at me that about the environment... and then I tell them that I'm burning 90% cleaner than them."
- Young wrote the song "Ohio" after David Crosby gave him the Life magazine cover with pictures from the infamous Kent State shootings in 1970.
- He wrote his song "Campaigner" (originally called "Requiem for a President") after sitting on a hotel bed with his (then) young son Zeke watching the news and seeing an emergency bulletin about Pat Nixon who had suffered a stroke. The sight of a sad and beaten Richard Nixon tearily moving through the hospital's revolving doors inspired Young to write the song.

Writer - filmography
- Greendale (2003)
- Solo Trans (1984) (V)
Director - filmography
- Greendale (2003) (as Bernard Shakey)
- Neil Young: Human Highway (1982) (as Bernard Shakey)
- Rust Never Sleeps (1979)
- Journey Through the Past (1974) (as Bernard Shakey)
Actor - filmography
- "Saturday Night Live"
- Episode #31.9 (2005) TV Episode .... Musical Guest
- Episode #25.18 (2000) TV Episode .... Musical Guest
- Episode #18.8 (1992) TV Episode .... Musical Guest
- Episode #15.1 (1989) TV Episode .... Musical Guest
- Greendale (2003) (as Bernard Shakey) .... Wayne Newton
- Love at Large (1990) .... Rick
- Weld (1990) .... Neil Young
- Freedom (1989) .... Neil Young
- '68 (1988) .... Westy(motorcycle shop
- Made in Heaven (1987) .... Truck driver
- Neil Young: Human Highway (1982) .... Lionel Switch
- "This Is Tom Jones"
- Episode #2.4 (1969) TV Episode
- "Mannix"
- Warning: Live Blueberries (1967) TV Episode (as The Buffalo Springfield)

Sources: Wikipedia (which has a great article on him) and IMDb

Rolling Stones Rice Krispy commercial

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 12:55:03 GMT

Just to remind you that commercialism is nothing new, or else to make you smile, or rock you out for the beginning of the week, or provide a soundtrack to your good breakfast, or to make you scratch your head and go "WTF??," here is a 1964 commercial for Rice Krispies. Recognize the music? You probably do. It's the Rolling Stones, doing a respectable Blues jam that extolls the virtues of Snap, Crackle, and Pop.

March 12

Sun, 12 Mar 2006 09:31:14 GMT

Today marks the seventh anniversary of Yehudi Menuhin's death.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/12/newsid_2540000/2540427.stm

XD Irony, much?

Sun, 12 Mar 2006 06:18:14 GMT

The first music video played on MTV was Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles.

(source: radio, this morning.)