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Today’s Music News: Jack White’s company releases mini record player to get kids hooked on vinyl

by Staff

September 09, 2015

Hey kids! Jack White's company Third Man Records has announced a compilation of kids' music that will be released on vinyl along with a special portable children's turntable. This Record Belongs to ______, which will be released November 6, includes a storybook and features kid-friendly tunes by artists including Carole KingJerry Garcia, Nina SimoneDonovan, and Shel Silverstein. (Pitchfork)

As Stephen Colbert's first official musical guest on The Late ShowKendrick Lamar stunned viewers with a riveting seven-minute medley of songs from his album To Pimp a Butterfly. Watch it on The Independent.

Another day, another band taking issue with a politician's use of their music: after Donald Trump took the stage to R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)" at a political rally, the band released a statement saying they "do not authorize or condone the use of our music at this political event." Bassist Mike Mills later shared a statement he attributed to singer Michael Stipe: "Do not use our music or my voice for your moronic charade of a campaign." (Billboard)

Big Boi and Phantogram have officially announced the release of their EP-length collaboration: Big Grams will be out on September 25. The artists are planning "animated/graphic videos, surprise live performances, interactive games and special fan events." (Rolling Stone)

What did Big Boi think about the Key & Peele comedy sketch jokingly suggesting that OutKast have stopped making music because André 3000 is just too weird? It was "funny as hell," he told Pitchfork, "but way off." He and his bandmate have been "hanging out every week," says Big Boi, even though they haven't been recording.

Who'll play the 2016 Super Bowl halftime show? Reportedly, the NFL has extended an offer to an artist who's already been played a halftime gig at the big game: Bruno Mars, who shared the 2013 halftime show with Red Hot Chili Peppers. (NME)

Saxophonist Steve Mackay is fighting a potentially life-threatening infection; he remains in critical condition in a Daly City, California hospital. Mackay has played with the Stoogesthe Violent Femmes, and other important underground rock bands. (KQED)

"Dig out the negatives," says Ringo Starr, inviting Paul McCartney and the widows of his late bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison to collect their personal Beatles photos. "It would make a great book," says the drummer, who's just released his own book of Beatles images. (Rolling Stone)

Keith Richards talks about his music, his persona, and his influences in a new trailer for Keith Richards: Under the Influence—a documentary about the Rolling Stones guitarist that will be released via Netflix on September 18, the same day Richards's new album Crosseyed Heart hits shelves. (Rolling Stone)

There's also a new Arcade Fire documentary on the way: The Reflektor Tapes. In a new clip from the film, which will hit theaters on September 23, the band play an unreleased song called "Get Right." (Rolling Stone)

While rapper DMX serves a jail sentence for failing to pay child support, his son Xavier Simmons has taken it upon himself to sell his dad's platinum records on eBay. DMX is reportedly "livid" that a plaque celebrating his first three multiplatinum albums was put up for sale. (Billboard)

Noel Gallagher laughed when informed that Sam Smith has recorded the new James Bond theme song, "Spectre." Gallagher said he'd record a Bond theme "in a heartbeat" if asked, but admitted "they usually want people who are famous in America, don't they? I'm only famous in Manchester. And bits of south London." (NME)

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