Daryl Hannah and Neil Young

Daryl Hannah and Neil Young

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Neil Young Premieres Experimental New Film 'Paradox' At SXSW 2018

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Young and actress-turned-director Daryl Hannah unveil their new "more pot than plot" western film in Austin
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Mar 16, 2018 - 5:53 pm

Neil Young's latest project is an experimental western film he made with renowned actress-turned-director Daryl Hannah in the Rocky Mountains over a four-day period between tour dates. It comes packaged with every bit of strangeness you'd expect. Have a look:

Young and Hannah premiered the film on Mar. 15 before a packed house at Austin's Paramount Theatre during SXSW. "We made this in the spirit of lighthearted fun," Hannah announced before the screening, according to Rolling Stone. "So we hope you can relax your brains."

The fun the duo had making Paradox -- which was shot on partly on Super 8 film and partly on Hannah's iPhone -- is palpable in the trailer. Set "many months ago, in the future," the film's rustic imagery, wacky characters and trippy scenes of vaguely Western narrative fragments support the "more pot than plot" description Hannah claims for the project.

But considering the lack of, well, any budget, script, crew etc… the trailer manages a highly compelling patina. For the music fans, Young's brilliance is back at work with his band Promise Of The Real (who also back the music efforts of Willie Nelson's son Lukas Nelson) churning out inspired versions of Young classics such as "Cowgirls In The Sand," and the timeless "Pocahontas," sung by Young's disembodied face superimposed over the moon. Young called the project "a labor of love," before clarifying, "well ... not a lot of labor." 

Perhaps this is a sign of what's to come for Hannah, though. "I'd like to make a real movie some day," she said, which drew a chuckle from her co-creators. "No offense guys. Just you know, something with a crew and a budget."

Those unable to make the screening in Austin won't have to wait long to see the spectacle of Paradox for themselves — the film will be available on Netflix on Mar. 23.

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Report: Global Music Sales Climb To $19 Billion In 2018, Nearly Half From Streaming

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A 9.7 percent overall increase marks the highest annual bump in recent history and is led by notable rises in Latin America, Asia and Australia
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Apr 3, 2019 - 4:34 pm

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry has released the new Global Music Report 2019, showing an overall increase in sales of 9.7 percent in 2018. This jump is the highest rate since the IFPI began tracking the market in 1997.

“Last year represented the fourth consecutive year of growth, driven by great music from incredible artists in partnership with talented, passionate people in record companies around the world," said IFPI chief executive Frances Moore. “Record companies continue their investment in artists, people and innovation both in established markets and developing regions that are increasingly benefitting from being part of today’s global music landscape."

Streaming, which we know was ruled by rap and hip-hop in 2018, accounted for 47 percent of all income, according to IFPI. This reflects a 34 percent growth from 2017, illustrating there is no slowing in streaming's proliferation among consumers. The gap continues to widen between streaming and previous format titans such as physical music, which saw a 10.1 percent decline in revenue, and digital downloads, which dropped by 21.2 percent.

The fastest growing region, according to the report, is Latin America, which saw a big pickup especially in Brazil and Mexico. Asia and Australia came in as the second largest region for combined physical and digital revenue.

The K-pop explosion was also represented in the report, with an 18 percent rise in music sales in South Korea, which can be credited to breakout years from groups such as BTS and BLACKPINK. 

IFPI's full "State Of The Industry" report can be read here.

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Pegi Young

Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

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Pegi Young, Musician And Neil Young's Former Wife, Dies At 66

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Young died following a yearlong battle with cancer
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Jan 3, 2019 - 1:24 pm

Pegi Young, singer/songwriter, activist and musician, whose career includes solo work as well as being frontwoman of Pegi Young & The Survivors, has died following a yearlong battle with cancer. She was 66.

Young's death was confirmed via her official social-media accounts. She died surrounded by family and friends in California, where she was born.

Young released five albums both as a solo artist and with Pegi Young & The Survivors. Her last tour was in the fall of 2017. 

The musician's last album, Raw, released in 2017, addresses her separation from Neil Young, to whom she was married for 36 years. They share two children. The album is a deeply emotional account of their relationship.

"As we were making [Raw], I was encouraging her to write self-affirming songs," bandmate Phil Jones said. "And I believe she did that."

Pegi and Neil met in 1974 and were married in the late ‘70s. They began to perform together in the 1990s; Pegi was Neil's backup singer.

Neil recalls how they met in "Unknown Legend."

In 1987, Pegi and Neil opened the Bridge School which serves children with physical and speech impairments. They were inspired to do so by their son, Ben, who has cerebral palsy.

Years before becoming a musician, Young, who was born in San Mateo, Calif., taught herself folk covers on an acoustic guitar. She wrote poetry in grade school and studied it in college.

Young saw herself as a survivor. "Although we named the band The Survivors after Ben Keith died, we didn’t have any idea some 10 years ago, what an apt name it would turn out to be! I’ve gone through a lot of good stuff and scary stuff, and I will keep going forward," she said on her site.

"I’d like to be remembered for the good I tried to do in my life and for the world. I’m just a human being who tried to be a good person, despite my failings," Pegi Young told Thread MB.

Young leaves behind her son, Ben, and daughter, Amber.

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Shania Twain_122718

Shania Twain

Photo: Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images

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The 100 Best-Selling Albums Ever: Eagles, Michael Jackson, Shania Twain & More

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Heading into the new year, the RIAA has updated its list of the albums that moved the most units—where does your favorite artist rank?
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Dec 27, 2018 - 12:24 pm

As the sun sets on 2018 and the music industry looks forward to the year ahead, the Recording Industry Association Of America has updated its list of gold and platinum album sales, providing a look in the rear view mirror.

The battle for the top spot continues, as the Eagles and Michael Jackson both jockey for No. 1. The Eagles dethroned the King of Pop this past summer—in terms of album sales, that is— when the RIAA certified Their Greatest Hits as 38x platinum, edging out M.J.’s Thriller at 33x platinum. The latest top five includes another Eagles album, Hotel California, at 26x platinum, as well as Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits Volume I and Volume II and Led Zeppelin’s Led Zeppelin IV with 23x platinum sales each.

Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 classic, Rumours, rounds out the top 10, followed closely by Shania Twain’s Come On Over, making Twain’s 1997 hit the highest ranking album by a female solo artist. Both albums sold over 20 million copies.

The folks at Digital Music News took the list a step further, compiling the top-selling artists of all-time, according to RIAA’s certified gold and platinum sales data. The Beatles top that list with 178 million certified units, followed by Garth Brooks, Elvis Presley, the Eagles, and Led Zeppelin rounding out the top 5. Women in the top 20 include Barbra Streisand (No. 12), Madonna (No. 16), Mariah Carey (No. 17), and Whitney Houston (No. 19).

Looking ahead, the RIAA has a big change of its own coming in 2019. Longtime chairman and CEO Cary Sherman is retiring after over 20 years with the organization, leaving behind an admirable legacy as a true music champion as an advocate for empowering music to thrive in the digital marketplace. With all the industry’s changes, one wonders who will top this list in another 20 years.

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Jeff Goldblum

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Jeff Goldblum's Long Road To His No. 1 Jazz Album, 'The Capitol Studio Sessions'

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The famed actor launches his lifetime love of jazz piano to the next level and to the top of the charts
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Dec 18, 2018 - 5:21 pm

Believe it or not, Jeff Goldblum has a chart-topping album. The well-known actor's music recording debut, The Capitol Studios Sessions, has hit No. 1 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart.

Recorded live over two nights, the album sees Goldblum spiking the well of jazz standards from the likes of Hancock to Mingus with stage banter full of his signature pseudo-suave quirk, strangeness and charm. The result is both musical and comical enough for Rolling Stone to draw a favorable comparison to Tom Waits' classic live album, Nighthawks At The Diner.

But Goldblum is not merely acting as if he were a jazz pianist here. The 66-year-old has actually been playing since he was a teenager, as he revealed in a recent interview.

"I'd 'play for company' when my parents’ friends came over and I remember locking myself in a room one afternoon and getting the Yellow Pages and turning to cocktail lounges around Pittsburgh and I went from A to Z," Goldblum told Rolling Stone, admitting he'd been trying to sneak into clubs as a teen to play piano.

Even as his acting career took off, his love of jazz never subsided. When famed writer/director Woody Allen suggested through a friend he kick up a regular gig, Goldblum began playing a residency at L.A.'s Rockwell with the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra (named facetiously after a friend of Goldblum's mom from his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pa.). Eventually, a GRAMMY-winning producer made a career-changing suggestion that led to recording an album.

"Larry Klein, this terrific producer, saw the Rockwell show and said, 'Gee, I think what you guys are doing is a little bit unique. It reminds me of another time when jazz was substantial and progressive and had an interesting kind of integrity to it but it was accessible and fun and the centerpiece of some social [activity]. I think we should recreate a live atmosphere like this and do it over a couple of nights.' It was all very spontaneous," recalls Goldblum.

The Capitol Studios Sessions features guest vocal appearances from Haley Reinhart, Imelda May and Sarah Silverman. Despite his success as an actor and the perception of actors making the jump to music, Goldblum's passion for music and appreciation of his fans' support remains earnest.

"If you love something, it doesn't really matter what people think as much because you’re not really relying on that," says Goldblum. "But I'm gratified to see when people experience the band or come up to me after [the show]. It’s very happy-making for me. They get a kick out of it and I like that."

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