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Today’s Music News: ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic records weird chant in Third Man Records booth

by Staff

June 10, 2015

In February, Jack White realized his dream and got coffee with "Weird Al" Yankovic. Now, Yankovic has stopped by White's Third Man Records in Nashville to record a bizarre chant in the store's make-your-own-record booth. The chant is a multi-song medley that Yankovic and his band typically perform live as part of the song "Yoda." Yankovic's review of his new one-of-a-kind single? "It sounds like that Neil Young album!" (Rolling Stone)

Apple is being investigated by two states' attorneys general under suspicion of conspiring with record labels to withdraw support for competing services like Spotify and Pandora. (New York Times) Meanwhile, Spotify continues to expand its lead over its rivals—and an increasing amount of its growth has come from paid subscribers, suggesting that the service's "freemium" business model, which involves converting free listeners to paid (ad-free) listening, may actually be working. (Billboard)

Lorde seems to be collaborating with the British EDM duo Disclosure. (Pitchfork)

It's official: Florence and the Machine have their first-ever number one album as How Big How Blue How Beautiful debuts atop the Billboard 200. (Rolling Stone) Read Jade's review.

Morrissey has weighed in on President Barack Obama's handling of recent racially-charged incidents in America. "Obama seems to be white inside," says the British musician in a new interview. "There is an obvious racial division in America and it’s exploding and Obama doesn’t ever support the innocent black people who are murdered by white police officers who are never held accountable."  (Consequence of Sound)

Neil Young and Promise of the Real have released a live video for the song "Wolf Man," from their forthcoming album The Monsanto Years. (Pitchfork)

A New Jersey English teacher and his students got a visit from Kendrick Lamar after the teacher used Lamar's music to help students understand the themes of Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye. Teacher Brian Mooney wrote about the curriculum in a widely-circulated blog post that caught Lamar's attention. (New York Times)

The Walker Art Center has announced its 2015-16 performing arts season. Among the musicians who will be visiting Minnesota under the Walker's auspices will be Polaris-Prize-winning throat singer Tanya Tagaq, versatile African musician Noura Mint Seymali, and India-trained Pakistani-American jazz guitarist Rez Abbasi.

Wilco have announced a new documentary about their Solid Sound Festival. The documentary, named Every Other Summer for the frequency with which the festival happens, will be available online on June 18; this year's Solid Sound Festival will take place June 26-28 at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. (Pitchfork)

Peter Frampton is endorsing a Crowdfunder campaign to create a mass-market version of AxCent Tuning Systems' sophisticated guitar tuner: a device that allows a guitar to tune itself. Contribute $500,000 towards the $1 million goal, and Frampton will play a one-hour private concert for you. (Billboard)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=125&v=WS-zgSYGTUg

Run the Jewels and Mac Demarco have recorded "Black Cab Sessions": performances in the back of a London taxi. Watch them at Pitchfork.

Winston Marshall of Mumford and Sons has purchased a New York City apartment that you can show to your friends next time they tell you to give up on your impossible dream of becoming a rich and famous banjo player. (Gawker)

Six-year-old Johanna Colón has become an instant Internet celebrity after her mother posted a video of the Raleigh, North Carolina girl dancing to Aretha Franklin's "Respect." The performance has won the approval of Franklin herself, who says Colón's moves are "fierce." (Billboard)

Rick Ross has been arrested in Georgia on charges of marijuana possession. The pear-loving MC was "very cooperative," said the Fayette County Sheriff's Office. (SPIN)

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