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Today’s Music News: A bid to buy a bed for Bob Dylan

by Staff

August 03, 2015

How does one recognize Bob Dylan for his prolific music career that has endured for more than 50 years? Certainly Dylan has received his share of accolades, but the people at ClickHole (a website owned and operated by The Onion) have decided Dylan needs a good night's sleep. As such, the site has launched a GoFundMe campaign to purchase Dylan one of those Sleep Number adjustable beds at a cost of $1,300. As of the time of this writing, the campaign has already reached the halfway mark of its fundraising goal. (ClickHole)

Bruce Springsteen is evidently a cool and supportive brother-in-law. The Boss and his wife, Patti Scialfa, recently sat in with Patti’s brother, Michael Scialfa's band, Timepiece, during a private party at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, N.J. One of the party attendees got some of the performance on video, below. (Rolling Stone)

Bill Withers will be honored on Oct. 1, 2015, with a tribute concert at Carnegie Hall in New York. D'Angelo and Ed Sheeran are to headline the show, which will also feature performances by Keb' Mo', Sheryl Crow, Amos Lee, Dr. John and others. (Billboard)

Thurston Moore recently explained that Chelsea Light Moving, his first project after Sonic Youth, came to an end because after "all those years in Sonic Youth, it meant that every crazy person could just come up to me and be crazy." (Stereogum)

On Monday, 15 previously unreleased demos by Nirvana surfaced online and were available for streaming on YouTube … until all but one, an alternate take of "Come As You Are" (below), were removed on copyright grounds. (Stereogum)

https://youtu.be/328Loye0hZw

For Twin Cities quartet Hippo Campus, things have changed dramatically for them since they wrote the songs on their debut EP, Bashful Creatures. They’ve toured the country and the U.K. opening for bands like the Mowgli’s, Motion City Soundtrack, and Walk the Moon, and they’re just coming down from playing a high-profile set at Lollapalooza. So what’s next? As the group told The Current's Jade on Monday, they’ve already put the finished touches on a new EP, South, and have debuted the eponymous first single from the forthcoming release. (The Current)

After a busy year touring in support of her first full-length release, LP1, FKA Twigs debuted a new single, "Figure 8," on Beats 1 Radio. (Spin)

Time was when Major League Baseball players walked up to the plate to the applause of the crowd, to the strains of a stadium organ or to one of a few singles within reach of the stadium DJ. No more. Now, the players themselves select their own "walk-up music," accessible at the flick of a dedicated sound person's fingers. Mike Castellani is the sound man at Citi Field, home of the National League's New York Mets. Castellani recently gave an insider's look at his widely heard but seldom seen profession. (New York Times)

And just as the right walk-up music can help psych up a ballplayer hoping for a solid hit to overcome a one-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning, the right music selection may also motivate surgeons to perform better at the operating table. A recent study from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston shows that when plastic surgeons listen to music they prefer, their surgical technique and efficiency when closing incisions is improved. (UTMB News)

After battling addiction, Eminem says, "I started running. It gave me a natural endorphin high, but it also helped me sleep, so it was perfect. It's easy to understand how people replace addiction with exercise. One addiction for another but one that's good for them." But his obsessive approach to running led to overuse injuries; fortunately, Eminem found a new cross-training regimen through the "Insanity" workout DVDs by Shaun T. "I need someone on the TV yelling to motivate me," Eminem says. "Besides, some of this [stuff] is entertaining." (Men's Journal)

In mid-July, Don Henley announced his first solo LP in 15 years, Cass County, will be released on Sept. 25. Henley explains the album is named for Cass County, Texas, but the title may catch Minnesotans' attention, given there's a Minnesota county of the same name (of which Walker, Minn., is the county seat). But further articulating the album Cass County's non-assocation with Minnesota is Henley's five-week October tour in support of the album; the tour does not stop in Minnesota. (Rolling Stone)

Gwen Stefani has filed for divorce from Gavin Rossdale, citing "irreconcilable differences." (Rolling Stone)

Meanwhile, Reba McEntire and her manager-husband Narvel Blackstock are "ending their marriage" (they've eschewed the word "divorce") after 26 years. (Rolling Stone)

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