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Today’s Music News: ‘Labyrinth’ sequel in the works

by Staff

January 24, 2016

TriStar has signed a deal with the Jim Henson Company to make a film that will be a new version of the cult classic 1986 movie Labyrinth — a movie many David Bowie fans have recently been revisiting in the wake of the music icon's death. The new version will be "a sequel of sorts" rather than a remake, reports Rolling StoneGuardians of the Galaxy co-writer Nicole Perlman has been tapped to write the new script.

Bassist Jimmy Bain has died at age 68. Bain played with Rainbow and heavy metal stalwarts Dio. (Rolling Stone)

A number of musicians have donated money or made other efforts to support the city of Flint, Mich., which is in a state of crisis due to a municipal water system that has been damaged, causing potentially thousands of residents to experience some degree of lead poisoning. Pearl JamBig Sean, and Meek Mill have all pitched in, and Jack White is giving away a chance to become a Third Man Records Platinum Vault Subscriber for people who donate at least $13 to help Flint. (Pitchfork)

Milwaukee band Field Report have released a song called "Your Friend Tia," both to raise the spirits of frontman Chris Porterfield's eight-year-old neighbor named Tia and to raise funds to help her family in young Tia's fight with sickle-cell anemia. (Music Times)

Weezer seem as surprised as anyone that someone actually bought the $25,000 super-duper-deluxe version of their forthcoming album — a purchase that's billed as including a Greyhound trip to the Galapogos to birdwatch with frontman Rivers Cuomo. "Time to figure out how to get a Greyhound to the Galapagos," Weezer wrote on Facebook as they shared the news. (Rolling Stone) That's a long way from Greyhound's first stop, in 1914: Hibbing, Minn.

The 1975 will be the musical guests on the Feb. 6 episode of Saturday Night Live — with host Larry David, who's become a recent SNL star for his impression of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. (Billboard)

A new Frank Zappa documentary will be coming to a theater near you: Sony Pictures Classics will distribute Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words. The film will have its world premiere Monday at the Sundance Film Festival. (Billboard)

Dan Auerbach is writing a soundtrack for a new comic book series. Murder Ballads, a "rock 'n' roll noir story about the music industry and redemption," will be released this fall. Will you be able to listen to the songs and read the comics at the same time? Auerbach won't be. "I can't personally listen to music that has lyrics and read at the same time," he says. "That's like doing two yo-yos at once." (Rolling Stone)

Line up those shots of Fireball: Pitbull will be performing at this year's Grammys. Justin Bieber has also been newly announced as a Grammys performer, joining previously announced performers Adele, Kendrick LamarThe Weeknd, and Little Big Town. (Billboard)

Spotify has released data showing which Beatles songs are most popular among various age groups. It turns out that teens are into "Here Comes the Sun," millennials go for "I Want to Hold Your Hand," gen-Xers groove to "We Can Work It Out," and baby boomers — the original Beatles fans — just want to hear some of that "Rock and Roll Music." (Billboard)

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