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Today’s Music News: Watch Arcade Fire’s horror film guest-starring the National and Fleet Foxes

by Staff

November 03, 2014

On Halloween, Arcade Fire released a 24-minute horror/comedy film made during their Suburbs tour in 2011. Festi, which features guest appearances by the National and Fleet Foxes, dramatizes Win Butler's fear of joining "the 27 club" (in other words, turning 27, the age at which a number of prominent rockers have died). Jim Morrison, who died aged 27, appears and murders the band members one by one, finally possessing Butler. (Rolling Stone)

Prince and 3RDEYEGIRL played Saturday Night Live this weekend, taking a full eight minutes—unprecedented by a musical guest on SNL—to play a medley of four songs from Prince's two new albums. The performance was widely acclaimed; watch it here.

The monster first-week sales numbers for Taylor Swift's 1989 continue to grow: with sales of approximately 1.3 million, it's had the biggest week of sales for any album since The Eminem Album was released in 2002, and may beat Britney Spears (Oops!...I Did It Again, 2000) for all-time best-selling week by a female artist. Swift, it was just announced today, will play the Xcel Energy Center on Sept. 11 and 12, 2015.

A couple of music vets had good weeks, too, if not quite that good: Aretha Franklin's new album of "diva classics" entered Billboard's album chart at no. 13, making it her highest-charting album since Who's Zoomin' Who (featuring hit "Freeway of Love") in 1985. Billy Idol's new album Kings & Queens of the Underground entered the charts at no. 34, the iconic rocker's strongest debut week ever and his highest overall album chart appearance since 1990's Charmed Life (featuring "Cradle of Love") hit number 11.

For Halloween, Beyoncé dressed as Janet Jackson circa Rhythm Nation 1814—and her daughter Blue Ivy went as Michael Jackson. (Billboard) Beyoncé has long been a vocal admirer of Janet Jackson, whose Minnesota-made smash hit Rhythm Nation album marked its 25th anniversary this year.

Meanwhile, news broke that Dylan's next studio album will be titled Shadows in the Night and will be released in 2015—and will consist entirely of Frank Sinatra covers. (Local Current)

Tommy Stinson and Paul Westerberg have said a new Replacements album is "likely"; if so, Stinson will be busy, since his other band Guns N' Roses are reportedly set to release their next album soon. (Rolling Stone)

Listen to the Morning Show’s music news roundup on the Current every weekday at 9:00 a.m. to hear our hosts discuss the latest music news.

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This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.