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Today’s Music News: N.E.R.D reunite—for SpongeBob

by Staff

December 29, 2014

N.E.R.D—the group consisting of Pharrell WilliamsChad Hugo, and Shay Haley—haven't made an album since 2010, before Pharrell's rise to superstardom on the basis of songs like "Happy" and "Blurred Lines." They just reunited to make a new song, though. What got the band back together? Hint: he lives in a pineapple under the sea. N.E.R.D's "Squeeze Me" will appear on the soundtrack to the forthcoming SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. (Billboard)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFCGiN3Ysq8

The fastest-growing radio format of 2014 was classic hip-hop, a format that radio station owners rushed to adopt as they discovered that a significant portion of today's radio listeners love to hear the likes of the Notorious B.I.G.Tupac ShakurDr. DreSnoop Dogg, and Missy Elliot. Atlanta now has, count 'em, three old-school hip-hop stations. Some observers are wondering if the format's growing too quickly, speculating that some of these stations will flip as soon as a new format becomes faddish, but for the foreseeable future, it looks like old-school joints are going to continue to multiply on radio dials across the country. (Rolling Stone)

As he released his recent album Tomorrow's Modern Boxes on Bandcamp after three months exclusively on BitTorrentThom Yorke also dropped a new track titled "Youwouldn'tlikemewhenI'mangry." (Rolling Stone)

[bandcamp width=350 height=442 track=2342716504 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false]

Meanwhile, Hibbing's annual Dylan Days celebration has been put on "indefinite hiatus," with its organizing committee disbanding and encouraging fans to instead focus on the annual Duluth Dylan Fest. (Local Current)

If you've been on the fence as to whether you should go on Kiss Kruise V, here's a little incentive: on board the boat, the band plan to play its 1975 live album Alive! in its entirety. (Billboard)

Among all the controversies accompanying the release of The Interview, here's one from a perhaps unexpected source: two K-pop/hip-hop stars, Tiger JK and Yoon Mi Rae, claim that the use of their duet "Pay Day" in the film was unauthorized. The two say they were approached about their song being used in the film, but due to the sensitive nature of the film's subject matter (the assassination of the North Korean leader), they were reluctant to approve and never signed a contract. They're now threatening legal action. (Billboard)

Jazz clarinetist Buddy DeFranco, known for performing with the likes of Billie HolidayElla Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra, has died at age 91 after several years of declining health. (Billboard)

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