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Erykah Badu celebrates the late George Floyd’s birthday with Floyd’s family

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

The late George Floyd would have turned 48 years old on Thursday, and Erykah Badu remembered him as she invited his family to her concert in Minneapolis.

Five family members, including Floyd’s sister, aunt and uncle, joined the four-time Grammy winner backstage following her show at the Minneapolis Armory Wednesday night, according to HipHopDX.

“People of planet Earth, we’re about four minutes away from George Floyd’s birthday,” Erykah said in an Instagram Story video. “He would’ve been 48 years old and I’m here with his family now. It seems like we have a moment of peace right now and we know that your life was not in vain.”

“Thank you for your spirit and your sacrifice,” Erykah added, “so that we can move on the way that we should, be where we supposed to as a people.”

Floyd died May 25, 2020 in that city after former police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck during an arrest. Chauvin was convicted of murder in April of this year and sentenced to 22 years in prison. Floyd’s death ignited Black Lives Matter protests around the world.

Badu’s next show is Friday night in Minneapolis. Her tour continues through November 13 in Orlando.

Erykah Badu backstage in Minneapolis with the late #GeorgeFloyd family on his birthday. 🙏🏾✊🏾🕊 pic.twitter.com/cT6j5sZw8q

— Riki P. (@itsrikip) October 14, 2021

Listen to updated versions of two early David Bowie songs recorded for his unreleased ‘TOY’ album

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

A previously unheard 2000 version of the early David Bowie song “Karma Man” that Bowie recorded for his unreleased album TOY, was made available today as a digital single.

“Karma Man” also will appear on the recently announced Bowie box sets Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) and TOY (TOY:BOX), which will be released on November 26, 2021, and January 7, 2022, respectively.

Along with the 2000 version of “Karma Man,” an exclusive alternate mix of an updated rendition of the 1967 Bowie tune “Silly Boy Blue,” also recorded during the TOY sessions, has been released digitally.

As previously reported, TOY was a planned album that Bowie recorded in 2000 that featured updated versions of songs that date from 1964 through 1971. David first recorded “Karma Man” in 1967, although the track wasn’t released until 1970. The original studio version of “Silly Boy Blue” appeared on Bowie’s self-titled 1967 debut album.

The full TOY album will get its first official release as part of Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001), an expansive collection that also includes remastered editions of five Bowie studio albums — 1993’s Black Tie White Noise, the 1993 soundtrack The Buddha of Suburbia, 1995’s 1. Outside, 1997’s Earthing, and 1999’s ‘hours…’ — a previously unreleased live album and a compilation of alternative versions, B-sides, soundtrack recordings and other rarities.

The TOY (TOY:BOX) set also will include the originally planned TOY album, as well as alternative mixes of the TOY tracks and tunes intended as B-sides, and stripped-down, mostly acoustic mixes of the songs.

Meanwhile, a series of clips of interviews with some of the musicians who contributed to TOY have been posted at Bowie’s official YouTube channel.

You can pre-order Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) and TOY (TOY:BOX) now.

FINNEAS premieres video for ‘Optimist’ track “Love Is Pain”

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

FINNEAS has premiered the video for “Love Is Pain,” a track off his just-released new album, Optimist.

The clip presents one continuing, unbroken shot of the “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night” singer sitting in the back of a car, presumably after a breakup.

“It’s about how painful and heartbreaking love is,” FINNEAS says of the song. “I wanted to write a song about an adult relationship. The more you love someone, the more they have the capacity to cause you heartbreak.”

You can watch the “Love Is Pain” video streaming now on YouTube.

Optimist, FINNEAS’ debut full-length effort, is out today. It also includes the single “What They’ll Say About Us.”

Ozzy Osbourne releases 20th anniversary digital deluxe ‘Down to Earth’ album

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Ozzy Osbourne has released a deluxe digital version of his 2001 solo album Down to Earth in honor of its 20th anniversary.

The expanded collection includes three bonus tracks which had been previously unavailable on streaming platforms: the B-side “No Place for Angels,” an acoustic recording of “Dreamer,” and the “Single Version” of the track “Gets Me Through.”

Down to Earth was Ozzy’s eighth solo effort, and was certified Platinum by the RIAA. It was recorded with longtime guitarist Zakk Wylde, Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin, and a pre-Metallica Robert Trujillo on bass.

The digital Down to Earth reissue follows last month’s 30th anniversary re-release of 1991’s No More Tears.

“If I Was a Cowboy”: Miranda Lambert imagines a different kind of life in her new single

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Miranda Lambert is kicking off a new musical chapter on Friday, with the release of her dreamy, mid-tempo new single, “If I Was a Cowboy.”

The track paints a picture of life out on the open plains in the West, chasing freedom on horseback and seeing the world from under the brim of a Stetson hat.

Miranda co-wrote the song with acclaimed Nashville producer Jesse Frasure, whom she met earlier this year while working on a very different kind of project: The dance remix of her song, “Tequila Does.”

Both creators behind “If I Was a Cowboy” had to dig into their imaginations to write the song, Miranda explains, as neither of them have much personal experience with the Wild West. “It’s funny, he’s a Detroit boy, and I’m an East Texan, but somehow we wrote a song about the Wild West together,” she notes.

“If I Was a Cowboy” hits radio next week. In addition to gearing up for new solo music, Miranda recently announced that her band The Pistol Annies — also featuring Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe — will have a new Christmas album out this year.

Christmas in October: Listen to new songs by Kelly Clarkson & Steve Perry

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

October is close enough to December that the avalanche of Christmas music is already starting. Kelly Clarkson‘s new holiday album …When Christmas Comes Around is out today, while former Journey frontman Steve Perry has released a new track from his album The Season, due out in early November.

Kelly’s album features duets with country stars Chris Stapleton and Brett Eldredge, but fans were probably most excited about the fact that she’s also singing with her fellow The Voice coach, Ariana Grande, on a song called “Santa Can’t You Hear Me.” Kelly and Ariana trade verses on the track, which is about telling Santa that you don’t want material things — you only want what’s under the mistletoe, i.e., love.

“thank you so much @kellyclarkson for inviting me to be a part,” Ariana tweeted.

Meanwhile, Steve Perry has released his take on “Winter Wonderland,” which is a very different arrangement than the one we’re all used to. “’Winter Wonderland’ is one of my favorite tracks on The Season,” he says in a statement. “I have always felt a close love for Motown’s music and how it shaped my early school years. This track is a homage to that.”

The Season, featuring eight tracks in all, arrives November 5. It’s the follow up to 2018’s Traces, which marked the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s return to music after 24 years.

‘Clueless” Stacey Dash opens up about drug addiction

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Clueless star Stacey Dash opened up about her battle with addiction during Thursday’s episode of The Dr. Oz Show.

Dash revealed that her parents were both drug addicts and that she first tried drugs when she was eight years old, according to E! Online. Additionally, says Dash, her parents supplied her with her first line of cocaine when she was 16.

She later told Oz that she relapsed after being 20 years sober when she was prescribed Vicodin to help with her painful fibroid cysts.

At one point, Dash admits to “taking 18 to 20 pills a day,” adding she “lost everything.” When Oz asked how much money she had spent on drugs each month, Dash guessed about $5,000 to $10,000.

“I almost died,” recalls Stacey. “That’s what stopped me. My kidneys were so infected that my blood was septic, and my organs were shutting down. So, I got rushed to the hospital and I had to have a full blood transfusion and I was in there for three weeks. And by the grace and mercy of god, I lived.”

However, after leaving the hospital, Dash says she continued to abuse drugs. After once again contemplating suicide, she says, “I called my sister and I told her ‘Come over right now.’ And then I called my attorney and I said, ‘I need help.'”

Dash, now five years sober, hopes that by sharing her story, she can help those battling with addiction.

“I feel like telling my story — letting people know that there is no shame in being an addict,” she said, “And for people who are not addicts, I would ask them to please look at people with more compassion and empathy… They need help. They can’t do it on their own.”

Listen to first preview of Jonny Greenwood’s ‘Spencer’ score

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Radiohead‘s Jonny Greenwood has released the first preview of his score for the upcoming Princess Diana film, Spencer.

The orchestral piece is titled “Crucifix,” and you can download it now via digital outlets. The whole soundtrack is set to be released November 12.

Spencer, which stars Kristen Stewart as the beloved Princess of Wales, will premiere in theaters a week earlier on November 5.

Greenwood has composed music for several films before, and is known for his work in collaboration with director Paul Thomas Anderson on projects including There Will Be Blood, The Master, Inherent Vice and Phantom Thread. His scoring work has been nominated for the Oscars, Golden Globes and Grammys.

Threat of massive Hollywood strike looms with Monday deadline

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

With representatives from the massive Hollywood union the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and those from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers still at the bargaining table, things are tense in Tinseltown.

The showbiz union, representing tens of thousands of behind-the-scenes workers, says its workers will gp on strike Monday, hitting the picket lines at 12:01 a.m. Pacific time if the union’s needs aren’t met.

The strike would spell a massive shutdown of countless productions in Hollywood and elsewhere.

Last week, IATSE’s membershiip authorized its first nationwide strike in its 128-year history, but both sides continue to negotiate.

Union members say they’re seeking adequate compensation and safe working conditions in an industry that pushes work days far longer than most realize. The boon in production from streaming services has compounded the overwork problem, union members say.

“Assume there will be a strike and hope there isn’t,” Deadline says a representative told members of one of the IATSE’s groups, Local 800, at a virtual town hall Thursday.

Another source told the trade the odds are “about 50-50” whether the union will strike or not, “but that could change quickly either way…”

IATSE’s “most grievous problems” with producers and studios include: “excessively unsafe and harmful working hours; unlivable wages for the lowest paid crafts; consistent failure to provide reasonable rest during meal breaks, between workdays, and on weekends,” and its assertion that, “workers on certain ‘new media’ streaming projects get paid less, even on productions with budgets that rival or exceed those of traditionally released blockbusters.”

Holiday travel may be more chaotic than ever this year, transportation experts say

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Holiday travel may be more chaotic this year, experts warn, as looming vaccination deadlines threaten airline and airport staffing.

Forty percent of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workforce hasn’t received a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the agency said Thursday, and they only have until Nov. 22 to get fully vaccinated.

“Even if they get half of that done by Thanksgiving, that leaves 20% not available to work,” aviation expert Henry Harteveldt told ABC News. “Something’s going to have to give. I’m really worried.”

TSA said it is currently developing contingency plans, but anticipates “that the vast majority of TSA employees will get vaccinated.”

Several major U.S. airlines are also grappling with the fast-approaching vaccine requirement deadlines.

American Airlines and Jet Blue are requiring U.S.-based workers to provide proof of vaccination the day before Thanksgiving.

“This is happening at perhaps the most difficult time ever,” spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association Capt. Dennis Tajer said. “We have a very high volume of flying and it’s created a lot of uncertainty about the holiday travel period. Now you have some unknown quantity of pilots that that may go away and go through termination.”

Out of the 14,000 American pilots Tajer’s union represents, 4,000 pilots remain unvaccinated.

“We’ve heard about all the staffing issues that happen,” Tajer said. “It’s not just on the flight deck in the cockpit, it’s happening throughout corporations everywhere.”

Southwest’s operational meltdown last weekend served as a potential warning of what’s to come this winter.

Tens of thousands of passengers were stranded at U.S. airports due to the more than 2,000 flight cancelled within three days.

The airline blamed the multi-day mess on air traffic control issues, bad weather and “other external constraints.”

On Thursday, Southwest said it’s going to hire more than 5,000 employees by the end of the year to mitigate future issues and has 50% of the goal met.

With airlines booking their flights to 100% capacity, experts are concerned there is no wiggle room left in the system to recover if a major airline melts down during the busy travel season.

“The chaos that is the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday travel season will be even more chaotic this year,” Harteveldt said.

He recommends traveling on off-peak days and to book on the airline that has the most flights to your destination, even if that’s not the airline you normally fly.

“Take the earliest possible departure in the morning that you can, because it gives you more leeway if something goes wrong,” he added.

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