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Today’s Music News: Lenny Kravitz has a wardrobe malfunction in Sweden

by Staff

August 04, 2015

Lenny Kravitz (NPR)
Lenny Kravitz and guitarist Craig Ross, performing in New York.

Lenny Kravitz may now know better than to go commando next time. While performing a gig in Sweden, Kravitz was wearing leather trousers that split open when he performed a squatting dance move. Kravitz evidently didn't notice anything was amiss at first, but did exit stage rather quickly to put on another pair of pants. (Censored video is below) Showing a sense of humor about it after the show, Kravitz tweeted a single, hashtagged word: #penisgate. (Stereogum)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/c5zOHDIWbFk

Forty years after the Faces called it quits, Rod Stewart has announced the surviving members will reunite to play a benefit gig on Sept. 5, in support of the charity Prostate Cancer UK. Founding members Ian McLagan (a friend of The Current) and Ronnie Lane have passed away, but Stewart wrote, "It’s about time we got together for a jam … We are pleased to be able to support Prostate Cancer UK." (Stereogum)

Matt Berninger may sing "Trouble Will Find Me" with the National, but outside song lyrics, work has found him. Berninger has collaborated with Brent Knopf of Menomena on a project they've dubbed EL VY. The duo will release the project's debut album, Return to the Moon, on Oct. 30, and they've announced a tour in support of the record (including a stop at First Avenue in Minneapolis on Nov. 21). On Tuesday, Berninger and Knopf released the title track from their forthcoming album; listen to it below. (Stereogum)

Noel Gallagher is evidently no fan of Apple Music; he recently shared his feelings on the Varvet International podcast. "World radio," Gallagher pondered, "is that some sort of George Orwell [stuff] going on?" He was also critical of Apple's "Connect" feature, in which fans follow their favorite artists. "Who gives a [hoot] what the artist is doing?" Gallagher railed. "I'd find it creepy if everyone wanted to know what I was up to." The comments happened during a conversation in which Gallagher seemed most distraught over what he sees as the end of the record-buying era. "The belief is that music is for hire and for rent, the money that you pay lets you access everybody’s music but own none of it," Gallagher said. "I think that’s a sad day. I understand that it’s the future, but it’s a sad day." (NME)

Meanwhile, Apple Music's decision to call its world radio service Beats 1 may prove handy. According to the agreement Apple reached with major labels as it launched its Apple Music service is that Apple reserves the right to launch new Beats radio stations at any time. Such additions could expand Beats' live-broadcast hours (it currently is hosted live for 12 hours per day) or could expand formats, allowing for more genres or even seasonal music. Seems a safe bet Noel Gallagher wouldn't be thrilled about that, either. (The Verge)

The music to the new Netflix series, Wet Hot American Summer, may sound familiar — but it's all new. Composer Craig Wedren composed a soundtrack of period-sounding songs, drawing inspiration from such late 1970s and early '80s artists as Cheap Trick and Pat Benatar. “There’s a lot of songs in the series that you can swear are from the period, but most of them are not," says Wet Hot director David Wain, who has been friends with Wedren since the two were four-year-olds. The Netflix series Wet Hot American Summer is inspired by the 2002 film of the same name; the film is set on the last day of a summer camp in 1981. The new Netflix programs are conceived as prequels to the film. (Newsweek)

Wet Hot American Summer trailer (note: language advisory)

https://youtu.be/PLlMTn_Jzok

Minneapolis writer Safy-Hallan Farah recently wrote a piece in for The Guardian (U.K.) describing the City of Lakes' culture. Among its fashion and some of its cultural mainstays (such as A Prairie Home Companion), Farah extols the city's music scene. "Minneapolis can be a lovely place to pursue music," she writes. "Minneapolis places precedence on engaging live shows rather than on albums, which allows artists to build their brand, make money and get known faster. … Minneapolis [is] a strategic and smart place to start a band." (The Guardian)

Paul Stanley of Kiss has announced his new side project, Soul Station, a band that covers 1960s and '70s soul tunes. Stanley is the lead singer. "I don't play guitar in the band and we don't do a single Kiss song," Stanley said."That's not what this is about." Soul Station will play their first concert on Sept. 11 in Los Angeles. (Rolling Stone)

The Los Angeles Times reports that the West Hollywood House of Blues is closing so the building can be demolished to make way for a high-rise development. Steel Panther, a glam-metal band who have played regularly at the West Hollywood House of Blues since the early 2000s, were playing a show to send off the shuttering venue. During their set, Steel Panther were joined onstage by Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus, who sang along to a cover of Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me." (Rolling Stone)

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