Keith Flint

Keith Flint

Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

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Keith Flint Of British Band The Prodigy Dies At 49

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The dance rave pioneer passed away on March 4 at age 49
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Mar 4, 2019 - 1:58 pm

Keith Flint, frontman of English band the Prodigy known as a dance legend in the music community, has died. He was 49.

Flint was discovered dead at his residence in Essex on Monday (March 4,) according to British officials. His cause of death has not been released. 

"We were called to concerns for the welfare of a man at an address in Brook Hill, North End, just after 8:10 a.m. on Monday," an Essex police representative said.  "We attended and, sadly, a 49-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. His next of kin have been informed. The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner."

The Prodigy released their latest album in 2018 and were set to start a tour in May.

"It is with deepest shock and sadness that we can confirm the death of our brother and best friend Keith Flint, the band tweeted. "A true pioneer, innovator and legend. He will be forever missed. We thank you for respecting the privacy of all concerned at this time."

Flint and Prodigy singer Maxim were the front-men for the "big beat" hard-core dance group, formed in 1990 by composer/producer Liam Howlett. In an Instagram post, Howlett alleged Flint's death was a suicide: “I can’t believe I’m saying this but our brother Keith took his own life over the weekend. I’m shell shocked, fuckin angry, confused and heart broken ..... r.i.p brother Liam.” Officials have not confirmed the statement.

The social-media outpouring split between adulation for his talent and touching tributes to his sweet and warm personality off stage. GRAMMY nominee Paul Oakenfold described him as "one of the greatest frontm[e]n of all time."

The band was nominated at the 40th GRAMMY Awards for Best Alternative Music Performance for their album The Fat Of The Land. The band's second GRAMMY nomination was for the 2004 album Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned, which Howlett created without Flint and Maxim. 

The Prodigy's seventh album, No Tourists was released last Nov. and their North American tour set to start in May would have been their first in 10 years.

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Cardi B

Cardi B

Photo: Randall Michelson/Getty Images

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Transformed Las Vegas Palms Counts Down To "Unstatus Quo" Relaunch

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Guests get their first look at the $690 million renovation's results next week
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Mar 28, 2019 - 2:21 pm

Las Vegas, get ready to "Get On The Good Foot," as per the James Brown song providing both the promotional video soundtrack and the core philosophy behind the Palms Casino Resort's "Unstatus Quo" mega renovation. Set to open next week, the new Palms thinks of itself as "different by design" and seeks to share how they have "completely reimagined" the Las Vegas excursion experience, including the debut of their Kaos nightclub and dayclub venues.

The video, directed by GRAMMY winner Sam Brown, is a vision-statement featuring celebrities from sports and the fine arts as well as musical talents including GRAMMY winner Cardi B, Marshmello, Ezra Miller, Rita Ora, and Latin GRAMMY nominee Ozuna.

Anticipation during this lead-up is intense. The Palms invested $690 million to embody its bid for restored relevance as a cultural destination. Restaurants, gaming, luxury suites, multiple music venues and residencies, surrounded by museum-caliber fine art are about to be put to their first real-world test — combining graciously together into an unforgettable get-away.

A signed Cardi B microphone and one of Marshmello's signature helmets are among the giveaways in the "Unstatus Quo" video, which can be unlocked in daily YouTube Card promotions from Mar. 29 to Apr. 5. The Palms website has also been redesigned so that visitors' digitally interactive experience blends seamlessly with the Palms' on-site hospitality.

The attitude, vision and commitment are reassuring. The new Palms' first guests will judge their success in just a few days.

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MySpace

Photo: Erik Freeland/Corbis

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MySpace Claims To Have Lost Years Of User-Uploaded Music

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"We apologize for the inconvenience and suggest that you retain your backup copies," the site shared in a message
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Mar 18, 2019 - 4:09 pm

People old enough to remember the earliest days of social media will recall a time when networking platform MySpace was the top destination on the Internet, even bigger than Facebook and Google. In fact, there once was a thing called the "MySpace Generation," which helped launch the careers of artists including Lily Allen and Arctic Monkeys.

Indeed, for a time, MySpace operated as a platform for blossoming musicians to upload songs, where fans could then go and organically discover them, minus any industry middlemen. But now, in a sad erasure of digital memories, a MySpace "server migration" has resulted in a massive, irrecoverable data loss.

"As a result of a server migration project, any photos, videos, and audio files you uploaded more than three years ago may no longer be available on or from Myspace," the site informed its users with a banner message on March 18, as reported by The Guardian. "We apologize for the inconvenience and suggest that you retain your backup copies. If you would like more information, please contact our data protection officer."

Rumors and reports surrounding uploads that were no longer available have been circulating for more than a year, and Ars Technica summarized some of the support messages that assisted in letting users know whether their "content is no longer available and cannot be retrieved."

Despite its arguable irrelevance in today's social-media and music-discovery sphere, MySpace was at one point home to more than 14 million musicians, who uploaded more than 50 million tracks, all of which has been lost. (Unless they backed up their work, which sincerely we hope that they did.)

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Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson

Photo: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

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Glastonbury Festival 2019 Announces Headliners Janet Jackson, The Killers & More

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Other performers include the Cure, Diplo, Sheryl Crow, Lauryn Hill, Janelle Monáe, Tame Impala, and Vampire Weekend
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Mar 15, 2019 - 12:05 pm

England's Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts revealed their initial lineup for 2019's June 26–30 event, held at Worthy Farm outside Pilton, Somerset. In addition to five-time GRAMMY winner Janet Jackson and previous nominees the Killers, 2019 Glastonbury is filled with a curated combination of the famous and emerging. Other GRAMMY winners on the lineup include the Chemical Brothers, Sheryl Crow, Diplo, Lauryn Hill, Mavis Staples, and Vampire Weekend.

In addition to the Killers, previously nominated artists performing this summer include Bastille, Neneh Cherry, the Cure, Miley Cyrus, Fatoumata Diawara, Liam Gallagher, Jon Hopkins, Hot Chip, Hozier, Janelle Monáe, Jorja Smith, Tame Impala, and Wu-Tang Clan.

One of the joys of a curated festival like Glastonbury is experiencing new acts, from the established to those just on the radar. Two accomplished artists who stand out are the band Interpol and British rapper Stefflon Don. Others include Anne-Marie, Billie Eilish, Michael Kiwanuka, Lizzo, Pale Waves, Cat Power, Latin GRAMMY winner Rosalía, Sharon Van Etten, Kurt Vile & The Violators, and Kamasi Washington.

Although Glastonbury 2019 has already sold out, the festival encourages those wanting to attend to register at their website for an April ticket resale.

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Massive Attack

Massive Attack

Photo: Lionel Flusin/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

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Massive Attack Postpone Mezzanine XXI North American Tour Dates

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The Mezzanine XXI Tour has hit an illness-related delay, but Massive Attack plan to honor all tickets in the fall
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Mar 8, 2019 - 3:54 pm

Monday, March 11 in Montreal was expected to be the first date on Massive Attack's hotly anticipated Mezzanine XXI Tour of North America, but unfortunately "due to illness," the fans will have to wait. More details will be provided on March 14 regarding the postponement.

The tour was originally expected to close on April 2 in San Diego, but now all venues will be rescheduled in the fall. "All current tickets will be valid for the new dates," Massive Attack said on Facebook. "The band are deeply sorry for any inconvenience and are looking forward to bringing the show to the USA and Canada soon."

Released in 1998, the album Mezzanine represented a return to the spotlight for Massive Attack. Their trip-hop blend of grooves was and is contagious, and in the '90s the hip-hop and sound-collage potential of dance DJ-ing revealed a potential that has since become mainstream. However frustrating the delay, fans are sending best wishes for a return to health and are planning to catch Massive Attack's trip-hop grooves this fall.

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