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Today’s Music News: BBC Music launches with all-star Beach Boys cover

by Staff

October 08, 2014

Brian WilsonDave Grohl of the Foo FightersStevie WonderLordeElton JohnBrian May of Queen, Jake BuggKylie MinogueChris Martin of Coldplay, Chrissie Hynde of the PretendersSam SmithPaloma FaithOne Direction, and Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine were among 27 musicians who constituted a one-off supergroup known as "the Impossible Orchestra," performing the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" in the BBC's first-ever pan-channel broadcast across all its stations. The Tuesday afternoon broadcast marked the launch of BBC Music, a new umbrella brand for the BBC's music content. (Radio Times)

"If I die, then I die," Morrissey told the Spanish-language publication El Mundo. "And if I don't, then I don't. Right now I feel good." The 55-year-old Smiths frontman revealed that he's undergone four treatments to remove cancerous tissue, but gave no further details on the nature of his illness. "Many composers of classical music died at age 34," he continued. "And I'm still here, and nobody knows what to do with me." (Billboard)

Crystal Castles are breaking up. Alice Glass announced via Twitter that she's leaving her duo with Ethan Kath. "I am leaving Crystal Castles," Glass wrote. "My art and my self-expression in any form has always been an attempt towards sincerity, honesty, and empathy for others. For a multitude of reasons both professional and personal I no longer feel that this is possible within CC. Although this is the end of the band, I hope my fans will embrace me as a solo artist in the same way they have embraced Crystal Castles." (NME)

Full album credits for Pink Floyd's forthcoming album The Endless River have leaked; perhaps the most interesting detail is that the electronic voice of physicist Stephen Hawking will return, having previously featured on Pink Floyd's most recent (that is, 20-year-old) album The Division Bell. (Consequence of Sound)

In an interview for the Portland Radio Project, the director of Elliot Smith documentary Heaven Adores You shared a previously unheard track Smith recorded at age 14. Hear the song, "Ocean," around the 32-minute mark below. (Consequence of Sound)

[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/170759414" params="auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%" height="450" iframe="true" /]

Buddy Holly's motorcycle sold for $450,000, but the marquee item to be sold at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix on Sunday was a pair of Willie Nelson's braids. The occasion was an auction of 2,000 musical items formerly owned by Waylon Jennings (1937-2002). Jennings—who was the bass player on the 1959 tour that ended in tragedy for Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson—bought the motorcycle from Holly in 1958. The braids were apparently presented to Jennings at a 1983 party thrown by Johnny and June Carter Cash. It is unknown whether the buyer who paid $37,000 for Nelson's braids intends to smoke them. (New York Times)

Patti Smith announced that she'll be going on a world tour to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Horses—and will also be releasing a new book to follow Just Kids, her memoir of life with Robert Mapplethorpe. The new book, she says, is "sort of in present tense." (Rolling Stone)

Daft Punk and Pharrell have a new video for their song "Gust of Wind." All three signature elements of headgear make appearances.

Chet Faker leads nominations for this year's ARIA Awards—the biggest awards in Australian music. Other prominent nominees include Iggy AzaleaSia, and 5 Seconds of Summer. (Billboard)

Jimmy Fallon and will.i.am released a new song and video based on Fallon's popular "Ew!" sketches. (Billboard)

Lil Jon, Lena Dunham, Fred Armisen and others have created a pro-voting PSA featuring a rewrite of Lil Jon's summer hit as "Turn Out for What." (Billboard)

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