R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe has donated some handwritten lyrics to help raise money for a good cause.
The rocker has contributed a signed lyric sheet for the track “Nightswimming” to the Art for Gaza auction. The money raised is going to Doctors Without Borders.
The auction is set to run until March 2 at 12 p.m. ET. The initial estimate for the sale was between $1,000 and $1,200, but the current bid has already surpassed that. Bids can be placed at bid.whytes.ie.
“Nightswimming” was the fifth single off R.E.M.’s eighth studio album, 1992’s Automatic for the People. It featured a string arrangement by Led Zeppelin‘s John Paul Jones.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor‘s single “Murder on the Dance Floor” was a smash in the U.K. and Europe when it first came out in 2001, but it’s now on the American charts thanks to its inclusion in the movie Saltburn. But while there is murder in the movie, Sophie says the song’s title is “definitely not literal.”
“I mean, I don’t really go clubbing as much these days,” Sophie, who’s got five kids, tells ABC Audio. “But I do still love dancing so much. And it was just that feeling of like, you know when you’re on a night out and you get, like, almost that burst of euphoria? Like, ‘This is life! This is why I left the house tonight!'”
“This is what it’s like, that sort of peak moment,” she adds. “That’s what I always thought that ‘Murder’ was about. That’s what I tried to write about: When you feel so good in your skin and you’re right where you’re meant to be, there’s nowhere else you want to be.”
“It’s, like, all about that moment. So that’s what I thought of when I was singing it, recording it, writing it.”
And while she’s scored many more hits in her native U.K., Sophie says she’s glad that it’s “Murder” that gave her her breakthrough in the U.S.
“There’s a nice, full-circle moment because it was my first proper solo song, so it formed the keystone of what my music would sound like forevermore,” she explains. “That song was really defining … [it] was there at the beginning.”
“So to have this sort of full circle for where I’m at now feels really neat, in my head,” she adds. “It kind of all makes sense.”
If you’re headed to a Cody Johnson show, don’t expect big production elements like pyrotechnics, aerialists or hydraulic lifts. The “‘Til You Can’t” singer prefers keeping things simple, and there’s a reason for that.
“I mean, listen, some people do this stuff. But for me, we don’t need pyro. We don’t need all this extra stage plot stuff. Let’s just give these people what they came here for — a solid dose of country music,” Cody tells ABC Audio.
Keeping onstage production elements minimal helps Cody forge personal connections with his fans, which he prefers over the excessive embellishments.
“I like the fact that because we are pretty simplistic in our approach to the crowds, it does wind up being all eyes on me, which really gives me an opportunity to help control that crowd and that setting, whether we’re going to get really amped up or whether we’re going to quiet down and I’m going to make everybody cry,” says Cody.
He adds, “It seems more intimate when it’s just you and the performer. At least that’s what I would want if I came to one of my shows.”
Cody’s The Leather Tour continues in March with upcoming stops in Plant City, Florida; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Birmingham, Alabama, on March 10, March 15 and March 16, respectively. For tickets and a full list of dates, head to codyjohnsonmusic.com.
“The Painter,” the lead single from Cody’s latest album, Leather, is currently #2 on the country chart.
Somehow, Jimmy Eat World and Fall Out Boy have never toured together. However, that’s about to change.
“The Middle” outfit will support the “Dance, Dance” band on their So Much for (2our) Dust run, kicking off Wednesday, February 28, in Portland. Being that Fall Out Boy has developed a reputation for having an elaborate stage show, Jimmy Eat World frontman Jim Adkins tells ABC Audio he has some ideas on how his band can match that.
“We have an animal wrangler,” Adkins jokes. “We were hoping for maybe, like, a snake handler person, but that kinda didn’t come through. So we have a falconer that’s gonna be on the road with us … there’s some issues, I’ve heard, with insurance and venues, but, I don’t know, we’re here to make rock ‘n’ roll dangerous again.”
Kidding aside, Adkins calls the tour, which will make stops at arenas including New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden, a “big deal.”
“I joke around, but it’s a big deal to be invited out into these, playing these giant spaces and these places that are well known and kind of status achievement long-term things that a lot of bands never think they’re gonna get a chance to do,” Adkins says.
He adds, “I hope we don’t suck when we do it.”
For Jimmy’s supporting set, Adkins teases a performance heavy on the “party jams.”
“We have a couple different vibes that we like to go for, or that are interesting for us to work on,” Adkins says. “We’re gonna lean more towards the fun aspect of the things rather than the bummer aspect of things.”
In December, we all heard how Taylor Swift made boyfriend Travis Kelcehomemade cinnamon rolls before the Chiefs played the Bears. But it turns out that Taylor was also happy to bake for the other guys on the team.
Chris Simms, an NFL analyst for NBC Sports, interviewed Chiefs coach Andy Reid for his PFT Live podcast; to tease the episode, he released a snippet of the conversation on Instagram. Of course, Simms asked Reid about Taylor’s presence at the games this season. Reid had nothing but praise for her.
Reid said, “Since the queen [of England] has passed away, she might be the most famous woman in the world … [but] she’s so grounded for who she is. I think it’s a great escape for her, where she came in and she sincerely enjoyed the games.”
“Kinda behind the scenes, she likes to cook, so she made the offensive linemen these homemade Pop-Tarts,” Reid revealed. He joked, “So it was over. She knew right where to go!”
“You know, she didn’t give me one,” Reid complained. “And the offensive linemen definitely didn’t give me one.”
Of course, Swifties know that baking is one of Taylor’s favorite hobbies. In fact, her chai sugar cookies are so famous that you can find the recipe for them all over the internet.
ZZ Top‘s Billy F Gibbons has recruited some musician friends for a cover of blues legend Jimmy Reed‘s classic track “Baby What You Want Me To Do.”
The performance teams up Gibbons with the BFG’s — Haim’s Danielle Haim on drums, guitarist Matt Sweeny and Tim Montana on maracas — to help show off Fender’s Vintera II Series.
The clip features Gibbons on the Vintera II ’70s telecaster in Vintage White, with Sweeney on the Vintera II ’60s telecaster in Fiesta Red.
Fender’s Ventiera II Series is available at fender.com.
In other Gibbons news, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer just announced a trio of shows in Hawaii this May. The rocker will headline The Blue Note Hawaii in Honolulu May 17-19, with tickets set to go on sale Friday, March 1, at 10 a.m.
Gibbons and ZZ Top have a busy 2024 ahead of them. They are set to play West Palm Beach, Florida, on March 2 and kick off a new leg of the Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd starting March 8 in Savannah, Georgia. A complete list of shows can be found at ZZtop.com.
— In 1704, Frenchman Elias Neau established the first school open to Black people in New York City, which originally began as visits to homes of the enslaved community.
— In 1943, renowned musical Porgy and Bess opened on Broadway with AnneBrown and ToddDuncan in starring roles. The entire cast consisted of classically trained Black singers.
— In 1984, MichaelJackson took home eight Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year for “Beat It” and Album of the Year for Thriller.
— Happy birthday to Charles “Bubba”Smith, Tasha and SidraSmith, RaeDawnChong, Tabatha“Dreamdoll” Robinson, KehindeWiley and AinsleyHarriott.
After warning her audience during her most recent Las Vegas performance that her voice was in bad shape, Adele has now temporarily suspended her residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace due to illness.
Adele announced on Instagram that she is postponing all her scheduled dates in March. That’s March 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29 and 30.
“Sadly I have to take a beat and pause my Vegas residency,” she wrote in her Instagram message. “I was sick at the end of the last leg and all the way through my break. I hadn’t quite gotten the chance to get back to full health before shows resumed and now I’m sick again and unfortunately, it’s all taken a toll on my voice.”
She continues, “So on Doctors orders I have no choice but to rest thoroughly. The remaining five weekends of this leg are being postponed to a later date. We are already working out the details and you will be sent the information asap.”
She captioned the announcement, “I love you, I’ll miss you like mad and I’m sorry for the inconvenience x.”
The next scheduled Las Vegas show for Adele is May 17. She’s currently supposed to perform until her final show on June 15. Then she’s set to head to Germany in August for a series of special concerts at a custom-built venue.
The tracks mark the first fresh material from the “Head Right” outfit of 2024 and follows their 2023 single, “In Between.”
“[‘Sometimes’] is a look into coping mechanisms,” says vocalist Max Rainer. “It’s something I’ve struggled with this year. I convince myself I need help calming down or being social at the right times. The first part of the song is indulgence, the second part is the reality of the situation and the ending is the honest bit.”
Of “Tomorrow,” Rainer shares, “For some reason the body of music felt like a safe place to try and dive into my troubled faith. The further I went the heavier it got. Similar to the energy that builds in a frustrating conversation, I feel like the song helped me ride a motivation and spill my guts a bit.”
Wilderado has also announced a run of U.S. tour dates, kicking off June 7 in St. Louis. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit Wilderado.co.
Killswitch Engage is celebrating their 25th anniversary as a band with some new jewelry.
The Massachusetts metallers have announced a signature ring in collaboration with Clocks + Colours. The piece features the KsE skull logo handcrafted from solid sterling silver, and is described as an “ode to the legacy and soul of the band.”
You can order your own Killswitch Engage ring, which costs $180, now via ClocksandColours.com.
Killswitch Engage was founded in 1999, and they released their self-titled debut album in 2000. Their most recent record is 2019’s Atonement, and a follow-up is currently in the works.
