Year – Page 3 – Gen X Playlist

Belinda Carlisle Shares “Big Big Love,” Her First New Pop Song in Over 25 Years: Stream

Belinda Carlisle Shares “Big Big Love,” Her First New Pop Song in Over 25 Years: Stream

Off her upcoming EP titled Kismet
March 16, 2023
by Eddie Fu

Belinda Carlisle has returned with “Big Big Love,” her first new pop single since 1997. A collaboration with legendary hitmaking songwriter Diane Warren, it will appear on her upcoming EP, Kismet, out May 12th via RAF/BMG. It also comes ahead of a string of US tour dates…

belindaCarlisle …Carlisle and Warren have a long history of working together after first collaborating on Carlisle’s seminal 1987 album, Heaven on Earth, featuring the classic title track. In a statement, the pop icon spoke about how their chance reunion led to the new project.

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Barbie Creates Tina Turner Doll

Barbie Creates Tina Turner Doll

Barbie Celebrates Tina Turner With Brand-New Doll

Barbie’s new Tina Turner doll is simply the best

October 13, 2022
By Emlyn Travis

We don’t need another hero, but we do need this new Tina Turner doll from Mattel.

On Thursday, Barbie announced that it is releasing a new doll modeled after the legendary “Proud Mary” singer as part of its Signature Music Series collection. tinaTurnerBarbie

“Barbie is proud to honor the unmatched career of the “Queen of Rock ‘n Roll” with a @TinaTurner Barbie doll,” the brand shared on Instagram, adding that “collectors and music fans alike can celebrate the music icon with the new Signature #Barbie doll.”

Consider this crossover music to our ears.

On its website, the brand added, “She went from singing as a young girl in her rural church choir in Nutbush, Tennessee, to becoming the legendary performer hailed as the undisputed ‘Queen of Rock ‘n Roll.’

Barbie celebrates the unprecedented music career and journey of Tina Turner. She is a Grammy-winning, chart-topping singer, and one of the best-selling recording artists of all time.”

The doll not only celebrates Turner’s career, but also her smash hit “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” from her fifth studio album, Private Dancer.

The track, which also served as the title of Turner’s 1993 biopic starring Angela Bassett, became the singer’s first and only No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart after it was released back in 1984. Turner went on to take home three awards for it — including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance — at the 1985 Grammys.

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Singer Toni Basil Won the Legal Fight Over the Recording Rights to the 1980s Song “Mickey”

Singer Toni Basil Won the Legal Fight Over the Recording Rights to the 1980s Song “Mickey”

The singer behind the chart-topping 1980s hit “Mickey” has won a long-running legal fight over the recording rights to the song. – article is behind a pay wall

A federal appeals court says Basil is the sole owner of the famed new wave recording because the singer “primarily wielded creative control” during the production process Tony Basil

Toni Basil gets her ‘Mickey’ acclaim — and copyright — 40 years later: ‘I really thought I should put my foot down and receive money for it’

by Lyndsey Parker
May 25, 2022

Toni Basil was already a 38-year-old showbiz veteran when her bouncy hit “Mickey” was released in the U.S. in May 1982, and in many ways the song was just a blip on her dizzyingly lengthy résumé.

The daughter of a vaudevillian acrobat/comedienne and a Vegas orchestra leader, Antonia Basilotta had literally grown up watching the likes of Nat King Cole, Josephine Baker, Judy Garland, and Frank Sinatra from the stage wings of the Sahara Hotel in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

By the time the ‘80s and her Devo-assisted debut album Word of Mouth came along, she’d danced and/or choreographed for Shindig!, The T.A.M.I. Show, Viva Las Vegas, the Monkees’ Head movie, and American Graffiti; acted in Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces; choreographed David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs tour and Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime” and “Crosseyed & Painless” music videos; and founded/managed the pioneering street-dance troupe the Lockers (who actually once toured with Frank Sinatra).

But despite all those impressive credits, many fans will forever know Basil for “Mickey,” one of the greatest one-hit-wonders of the ‘80s, or possibly of all time.

“Mickey” was actually a remake of the 1979 single “Kitty” by British glam-pop group Racey, written by the famous powerpop production duo of Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn.

But the track wasn’t a smash until Basil added that infectious and iconic “Oh Mickey, you’re so fine” pep-squad chant — inspired by her own cheerleading days at Las Vegas High — and slipped back into her old high school uniform for “Mickey’s” low-budget yet Grammy-nominated music video, an early-MTV staple that she conceived, directed, produced, and choreographed herself. (Basil is still in possession of the video’s storyboard.)

However, it took 40 years for Basil to actually obtain the rights to “Mickey.”

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‘Ghostbusters’ Songwriter and Legendary R&B Artist Ray Parker Jr. Gets Documentary Treatment in ‘Who You Gonna Call?’

‘Ghostbusters’ Songwriter and Legendary R&B Artist Ray Parker Jr. Gets Documentary Treatment in ‘Who You Gonna Call?’

Who You Gonna Call? Explores the Life of Ray Parker Jr., the Man Behind the Ghostbusters Theme

Sony will release the music documentary digitally on June 7.
By Cheryl Eddy

…Made with Parker’s full cooperation, the documentary was directed by Fran Strine (whose previous credits include Hired Gun, a doc about professional touring and studio musicians) and it reveals “the Ghostbusters guy” has actually had a fascinating life.

‘Ghostbusters’ Songwriter and Legendary R&B Artist Ray Parker Jr. Gets Documentary Treatment in ‘Who You Gonna Call?’

May 31, 2022
by Jem Aswad

Ray Parker Jr., the R&B star and singer-songwriter best known for the theme from “Ghostbusters,” gets the documentary treatment in “Who You Gonna Call?,” from Sony Pictures Entertainment, which premieres on digital platforms on June 7 — watch the trailer below.

As the documentary shows, there’s much more to Parker’s career than that theme song: He had many R&B hits under his own name and as leader of the group Raydio, and in his mid-teens became an in-demand session guitarist, particularly with Motown acts, like Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, the Temptations and especially Stevie Wonder, even touring with his band when they were the opening act on the Rolling Stones’ legendary 1972 U.S. tour. He later worked with Herbie Hancock, Barry White, Boz Scaggs and many others. Wonder and Hancock both appear in the film.

Continue reading “‘Ghostbusters’ Songwriter and Legendary R&B Artist Ray Parker Jr. Gets Documentary Treatment in ‘Who You Gonna Call?’”

Madonna is Releasing a New Remix Album With 50 Tracks To Celebrate her 50th Number One Hit on Billboard Dance Chart

Madonna is Releasing a New Remix Album With 50 Tracks To Celebrate her 50th Number One Hit on Billboard Dance Chart

May 2022

Madonna to Release ‘Finally Enough Love,’ Two Career-Spanning Remix Collections

May 4, 2022

… madonnaFinallyEnoughLove The collections mark the first album releases to be part of the newly announced partnership between Madonna and Warner Music Group, which will feature an extensive series of catalog releases across her career.

“50 Number Ones” clocks in at 220 minutes and includes dozens of remixes by top producers, including Shep Pettibone, William Orbit, Honey Dijon, and Avicii, along with rarities, with more than 20 being officially released for the first time or making their commercial/digital debut.

Each remix was newly remastered for the collection by Mike Dean, who produced Madonna’s two most-recent studio albums, “Rebel Heart” and “Madame X.”

The collection will be available digitally on August 19, along with a 3-CD version and a limited edition, 6-LP version on red and black vinyl.

The 16-track version, “Finally Enough Love,” will be available for streaming on June 24, with 1-CD and 180-gram 2-LP versions coming on August 19.

The “You Can Dance Remix Edit” of “Into the Groove” is available today digitally for the first time.

Madonna Announces Finally Enough Love Collection to Celebrate Record-Breaking 50 No. 1 Dance Chart Hits

On Wednesday, Madonna announced a new remixes collection titled Finally Enough Love, set for a summer release, to highlight her 50 singles that have topped the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart

By Jack Irvin
May 04, 2022

Get into the groove: Madonna is celebrating a record-breaking career achievement.

On Wednesday, the 63-year-old iconic musician known as the “Queen of Pop” announced a new remixes collection titled Finally Enough Love to highlight her 50 singles that have topped the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart — she’s the only artist with 50 No. 1 hits on any Billboard chart — set to be released this summer in multiple formats.

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That ‘70s Home: Woman Turns Entire House Into Groovy Time Machine

That ‘70s Home: Woman Turns Entire House Into Groovy Time Machine

Excerpts:

March 11, 2022
By Hannah Frishberg

This far-out house is stuck on the flip-side.

Rotterdam, Netherlands resident Wietske Sikma has always adored the aesthetic of the 1970s and has spent years turning her home into an homage to the decade’s distinct look. The result is a tightly curated time capsule back to the era, complete with items new and old. decor80s_12

“I just love the colors and shapes for the ‘70s period, they’re so beautiful, they just bring an overwhelming happiness to whatever room they decorate. The shapes and patterns are really unique, and I’ve been painting and re-creating the styles everywhere I’ve lived for the past 30 years!” Sikma, 57, told Caters News of her passion. “I’ve collected everything from dresses to ashtrays, cushion covers and old telephones.”

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Twenty Facts About Generation X by Jake Rossen

Twenty Facts About Generation by Jake Rossen

20 Facts About Generation X by Jake Rossen

Excerpts:

January 5, 2022
by Jake Rossen

After Baby Boomers but before Millennials is Generation X, the people born between the period of 1965 and 1980 and with an age range of 41 to 56 who were the first to get hip to the internet, wore parachute pants, and who may have worried Y2K was going to ruin the world.

But there’s more to this category of humans than ’90s references. Check out some things you may not have realized about the inarguably dopest social construct. genX_graphic

1. GENERATION X WAS NAMED AFTER A BOOK.
The Baby Boomers were the first named generation, after the kids who arrived—a literal baby boom—when their parents began to settle down after World War II. Generation X didn’t have a war that sparked it. Instead, it was words: author Douglas Coupland’s 1991 book Generation X: Tales for An Accelerated Culture. The novel about disenfranchised post-Boomers struck a nerve and the name stuck.

… 3. GENERATION X IS ALSO KNOWN AS “THE FORGOTTEN GENERATION.”
It’s because Baby Boomers and Millennials tend to get all the romanticized media attention, leaving Generation X comparatively ignored.

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Vinyl Album Sales Surpass Music CDs in 2021

Vinyl Album Sales Surpass Music CDs in 2021

1 Out of Every 3 Albums Sold in the US in 2021 Were Vinyl LPs – (paywall)

Indie retailers sold almost half of all vinyl LPs, while Taylor Swift was the format’s top-selling artist — accounting for 2.6% of total sales.

Vinyl Records Reach Highest Sales Numbers In Last 30 Years

In 2021, vinyl albums constituted more than 25% of physical album sales in the UK.

Driven by Adele, vinyl and CD sales both went up in 2021, data says

January 11, 2022

Streaming has been dominating the music industry for years now, but 2021 saw a notable rise in sales of physical albums, thanks in part to the success of Adele’s latest album.

Both CDs and vinyl experienced high sales in 2021, according to an annual year-end music data report from MRC Data, released this week.

….”In recent years, I notice customers preferring to physically own music, other than streaming, usually in its best form (vinyl),” said Tobago Benito, owner of record store DBS Sounds, in MRC’s data roundup.

He attributes that rise both to the inclusion of record players in movies and television, but also to the joy people get from digging for a certain vinyl in a record store, one that may “bring back wonderful memories,” he said.

The rise in vinyl sales is also a significant jump from just one year ago, in 2020, when vinyls made up 27.5 million of physical music sales, about 40% of all total sales. To now make up just about half of total sales is significant.

…But one surprise from last year was the uptick in CD sales in the U.S., which went up by 1.1% — from 40.2 million sales in 2020 to 40.6 million in 2021. CD sales have been in steady decline for years, so the fact that they did not actively decline last year could be significant.

One reason for the bump in sales was the release of Adele’s “30” and Taylor Swift’s “Red (Taylor’s Version).”

The Target CD version of “30,” which contained three bonus tracks, helped the CD version of the album sell 378,000 copies in its first week — the biggest CD sales week of 2021, MRC said. Just a week prior, “Red (Taylor’s Version)” sold 146,700 copies.

The Official Top 40 best-selling vinyl albums and singles of 2021

The top vinyl list includes popular releases by Lana Del Rey, Adele and ABBA.

Vinyl outsold CDs in the US for the first time in decades – (paywall)

Vinyl Earns Biggest Sales Week Since 1991

by Brad Callas, Dec. 29, 2021

Vinyl just had its best sales week in three decades.

Americans bought 2.11 million copies of vinyl records in the week ending on Dec. 23, marking the biggest sales week for vinyls since MRC Data began tracking music sales back in 1991, Billboard reports. It’s a 45% increase from the week prior (1.46 million), suggesting the spike can be attributed to the holiday shopping season.

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Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon reflects on the ‘Future Past’ (released October 2021)

Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon reflects on the ‘Future Past’ (released October 2021)

Visit Duran Duran’s Official You Tube Channel

Out Now: Duran Duran Marches Forward with a Familiar, Fresh Approach on New Album ‘Future Past’ (Listen)

Duran Duran Keep Their Feet on the Dance Floor With “Future Past”

More than 40 years after first forming, the famed and influential British rock band are still tight-knit. When the four members—singer Simon Le Bon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor—get together in a room, as they did during a recent visit to New York to promote their forthcoming album, Future Past, the camaraderie and joking among them is more what you’d expect more from best friends than workmates.

Duran Duran’s 15th studio album ‘Future Past’

NPR’s former Weekend Edition host Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes about the band’s new album, “Future Past.”

Falling for Duran Duran’s “Future Past,” which reflects the band’s signature ingenuity and sentiment

The new “Future Past,” Duran Duran’s 15th studio album, naturally reflects this accumulated growth and sophistication. Like the best Duran Duran albums, the full-length is an immersive, cohesive statement with a meticulous sequence that takes listeners on a journey.

Yet the guiding principle of “Future Past” remains the same as it’s been for nearly every Duran Duran album: explore the kind of new sounds and ideas that can send the band tumbling toward the future.

Over the years, Duran Duran have achieved this goal by consistently working with collaborators fond of reshaping pop music — to name a few, producers like Colin Thurston, Nile Rodgers and Mark Ronson, and musicians such as Justin Timberlake and Janelle Monae.

“Future Past” is no exception.

In the studio, Duran Duran recorded with guitarist Graham Coxon, who cut his teeth in Britpop shapeshifters Blur and is known for adventurous solo work. Coxon is a good match for Duran Duran:
He’s a cerebral player who knows his way around both jagged discord and beautiful melody, meaning he can conjure up razor-sharp accents on “Invisible” or add more delicate shading on the soft-glow title track.

Future Past is a Great New Album by an Old Band

That has changed. Duran Duran’s new record Future Past is a great album—and I do mean album, as in a suite songs that forms a vision, has a personality and takes you on a spiritual journey.

While artists like Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande strive to produce records of “all killer no filler,” which translates into an hour of hook-filled singles about love, resentment and self-empowerment, Duran Duran are after something greater.

This record takes chances and asks the listener for a commitment. It can be a challenging. It’s also brimming with passion, which is different from sex.

It’s a wonderful irony—Duran Duran, the collective that was all about slick videos and shiny surfaces, has made a record of genuine soul and feeling.

REVIEW: Duran Duran travels between musical eras on ‘Future Past’

For the release of the band’s 15th studio album, Future Past, Duran Duran looked to fuse old and new, and no more is that present than on opening track “Invisible.”

The song takes infectious guitar and bass riffs and lays them down with big beats and atmospheric layers.

Worth checking out is a companion film that accompanies the song; a collaboration with the artificial intelligence brain Huxley to create a visual. It’s that mindset that helped shaped the creation of the band’s latest effort.

Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon reflects on the ‘Future Past’

January 7, 2022

Duran Duran have always been looking forward while not forgetting their past. Their fifteenth studio album, appropriately titled Future Past, has all the signature sounds; bouncy synths, melodic hooks and the ageless voice of lead singer Simon Le Bon.

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Actor Dustin Hoffman Puts Buick Used in 1988’s Rain Man Movie Up For Auction (2021)

Actor Dustin Hoffman Puts Buick Used in 1988’s Rain Man Movie Up For Auction (2021)

Dustin Hoffman is selling his ‘Rain Man’ Buick Roadmaster

Cream-colored convertible is as classic as the film
By Gary Gastelu | Fox News | January 14, 2022

“Definitely know this car, it’s a 1949 Buick Roadmaster straight-eight, fireball eight. Only 8095 production models.”

Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise in the 1988 movie Rain Man

The Buick Roadmaster featured in “Rain Man” is as famous as the Oscar-winning road trip drama’s stars, Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, and two of them have spent the past 34 years together.

After filming was complete, Hoffman purchased one of the two identical Buicks used during production and has kept it ever since.

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