Monday, February 20, 2012

Sights and Sounds: Norah Jones, The GRAMMY Museum, Hank Williams Jr.

Today's roundup of news releases features news on Norah Jones, a tribute to heavy metal and a collection celebrating a country music icon.

NORAH JONES SETS MAY 1 RELEASE FOR LITTLE BROKEN HEARTS

REVEALS ALBUM COVER & TRACK LISTING



Norah Jones has set a May 1 release date for Little Broken Hearts (Blue Note/EMI), her stunning new album produced by Danger Mouse (aka Brian Burton). Jones has also revealed the album cover and track listing of the 12-song set, which features original songs co-written by Jones and Burton.


Jones drew the inspiration for the album cover from the vintage movie posters that adorn Burton’s Los Angeles studio. “Brian has this great collection of Russ Meyer posters in his studio,” explains Jones, “and this particular one, called Mudhoney, was right over the couch where I sat every day. I always was looking at it and thinking ‘that’s so cool I want to look like her!’ I remember staring at the poster the whole time we made the record. It’s a great visual."


Little Broken Hearts is the fascinating next step in the artistic evolution of one of the music world’s most consistently intriguing singer-songwriters. Jones first emerged on the world stage 10 years ago this month with the February 2002 release of Come Away With Me, her self-described “moody little record” that introduced a singular new voice and grew into a global phenomenon, sweeping the 2003 Grammy Awards and signaling a paradigm shift away from the prevailing synthetic pop music of the time. Come Away With Me has just become the #10 best-selling album of the Soundscan era. The album has sold 25 million copies worldwide.


Since then, Jones has released three more critically acclaimed and commercially successful solo albums— Feels Like Home (2004), Not Too Late (2007), and The Fall (2009)—as well as two albums with her country collective The Little Willies. The 2010 compilation …Featuring Norah Jones showed her to possess an incredibly versatile voice by collecting her collaborations with artists as diverse as Willie Nelson, Outkast, Herbie Hancock, and Foo Fighters. Jones previously collaborated with Danger Mouse on his acclaimed 2011 album ROME, a valentine to classic Italian film score music that also featured Jack White.


Jones will tour extensively in 2012, performing at a mixture of festivals, amphitheatres and theatres in the US and abroad. Select summer European dates, including a pair of sold out London shows at the Royal Festival Hall, are already posted at www.norahjones.com, with more to be announced in the coming weeks. US tour dates will be revealed shortly, but in the immediate future Jones will be performing at SXSW in Austin, Texas. She will debut songs from Little Broken Hearts with her new band at La Zona Rosa (March 17 at 7:45pm), and will also be performing with The Little Willies at Waterloo Records (March 15 at 1:00pm) and Antone’s (March 15 at 10:00pm).

The track listing for Little Broken Hearts is as follows:


1. Good Morning

2. Say Goodbye

3. Little Broken Hearts

4. She's 22

5. Take It Back

6. After The Fall

7. 4 Broken Hearts

8. Travelin' On

9. Out On The Road

10. Happy Pills

11. Miriam

12. All A Dream


*All songs written By Norah Jones & Brian Burton




The GRAMMY Museum to Premier First Major Exhibition To Explore The History of Heavy Metal

Golden Gods: The History of Heavy Metal To Open April 11, 2012, In Conjunction With The REVOLVER Golden Gods Award Show



The GRAMMY Museum, in conjunction with REVOLVER Magazine, has announced additional details surrounding the Golden Gods: The History of Heavy Metal exhibit, set to open on April 11, 2012. Launching on the same day as the REVOLVER Golden Gods Award Show taking place next door at Club Nokia, this will be the first major museum exhibition to explore the more than four-decade history of Heavy Metal in America , and the genre’s impact across the globe.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with REVOLVER Magazine to tell the story of heavy metal,” said GRAMMY Museum Executive Director Bob Santelli . “This exhibit is dedicated to the legions of metalheads around the world who have made the genre what it is today.”

This one-of-a-kind exhibit will provide an in-depth look at the genre by drawing attention to the artists and moments that exemplified Heavy Metal as we know it. The goal is to capture the elaborate innovation that helped develop the genre from the late 1960s to present day. Through rare artifacts from iconic metal bands and interactive experiences, the exhibit will teach visitors about the origins of Heavy Metal, its many subgenres, the bands that made Heavy Metal famous and offer a look into the controversy that has surrounded the genre. The exhibit will bring together more than 40 diverse artifacts, rare photographs, handwritten lyrics, interactive experiences and more.

In addition to the exhibit, Golden Gods: The History Of Heavy Metal will also include a host of public programming events, educational curricula, intimate performances, lectures, and more. Additional information will be released in the coming weeks as specific exhibit information and related event information becomes available including V.I.P. preview dates and confirmed talent.

Golden Gods: The History of Heavy Metal will be on display in The GRAMMY Museum’s Special Exhibits Gallery – where temporary exhibits are showcased on a rotating basis – through February, 2013. The GRAMMY Museum is located at 800 West Olympic Boulevard, Suite A245 , and Los Angeles , CA 90015 . With an entrance off of Figueroa Street , the Museum resides within the L.A. LIVE district, at the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles .

About The GRAMMY Museum
Paying tribute to music's rich cultural history, this one-of-a-kind, 21st-century Museum explores and celebrates the enduring legacies of all forms of music, the creative process, the art and technology of the recording process, and the history of the premier recognition of excellence in recorded music — the GRAMMY Award. The GRAMMY Museum features 30,000 square feet of interactive and multimedia exhibits located within L.A. LIVE, the downtown Los Angeles sports, entertainment and residential district. Through thought-provoking and dynamic public and educational programs and exhibits, guests will experience music from a never-before-seen insider perspective that only The GRAMMY Museum can deliver.


ARE YOU READY FOR SOME COUNTRY?

BEST OF HANK WILLIAMS JR. (ALL MY ROWDY FRIENDS) LAUNCHES FROM CURB RECORDS MARCH 27, 2012

Album available exclusively at Walmart



Fans of Hank Jr. can kick the wintertime blues with the announcement from Curb Records of the March 27, 2012 release of a retrospective collection of signature hits from the iconic superstar. The package will feature 22 of Hank Jr.’s best songs that span decades of his high octane music making career, that includes high points such as Family Tradition, A Country Boy Can Survive, All My Rowdy Friends Are Comin’ Over Tonight, and Whiskey Bent And Hell Bound.

In the history of recorded music, perhaps no ‘second generation’ heir to a musical dynasty has surpassed superstar status to become a true American icon as boldly as Hank Williams, Jr. With stacks of gold and platinum lining his walls amid Grammys and Emmys and the reflection of the nearby crowns of Entertainer of the Year resting comfortably on his mantle, Jr. has carved a giant niche in the annals of the record industry. Stepping from the shadows of the greatness of Hank Sr. the current incarnation of family greatness is unique in Hank Jr’s relevance and the amazing influence of his music and image as part of America’s pop culture. He is by any definition a 21st century pop culture force to be reckoned with.

Along the way, as witnessed by the new Curb package, Hank Jr.’s music has become rooted as a unique creative barometer consistently reflecting both our nation’s challenges and the resilience of human nature in general—and Hank’s creative finger on the pulse of culture in particular. From the familiar shout of "Are You Ready For Some Football" to the brooding country patriotism of "A Country Boy Can Survive," Hank is seemingly permanently woven in the midst of America’s daily soundtrack of life--from football, to politics, to his latest reincarnation of the Williams family’s traditional way with a song.

Tracks include:
"Family Tradition"
"Whiskey Bent And Hell Bound"
"Women I've Never Had"
"Outlaw Women"
"Kaw-Liga"
"Old Habits"
"Dinosaur"
"The Blues Man"
"Texas Women"
"Dixie On My Mind"
"All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)"
"A Country Boy Can Survive"
"If Heaven Ain't A Lot Like Dixie"
"The Conversation"
"All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight"
"Country State Of Mind"
"Born To Boogie"
"If The South Woulda Won"
"There's A Tear In My Beer" (with Hank Williams)
"Red, White, & Pink-Slip Blues"
"Bartender Song (Sittin’ At The Bar)" (with Rehab)
"All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming For Monday Night Football"

Whether old or new friend or fan of Hank’s, the March 27 release from Curb offer a singular reminder across the span of all 22 tracks: Now in a sixth decade of making music, Hank’s totally ‘done it his way’.

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