Zappagram #36
Happy holidays! Zappagram gets a new look, and there's a once-a-year special holiday offer that's not quite as great as peace on earth but way better than a lump of coal...
Hey everyone,
The holidays are upon us and you may have noticed that your issue of Zappagram looks different this week!
One of the perks of being a designer is that I can work through various iterations of Zappagram’s branding in an effort to land on something unique that I truly dig. The old logo was fine when I first launched, however, now it’s time to really kick it up a notch. I’m still working on a color version, but for now, the black and white version will suffice.
Please vote below and let me know what you think of the new look.
NEW! A very cool new feature for paid subscribers will be the ability to join in real-time community chats with other music-loving members! Substack recently introduced this fantastic chat feature and I’m excited to launch this to our paying subscribers. Chat is only available via the Substack app for iOS or Android, so if you don’t already have it, please download it here.
SPECIAL! This holiday season, please consider supporting my efforts to bring you the best, most comprehensive music-related content each week. From now until Dec 31, annual subscriptions are 50% off!
GIVE A GIFT! In addition, you can also gift an annual subscription to someone, so if you have a music lover in your life, consider giving the gift that keeps on giving year round!
No matter how you celebrate the holidays, no matter where in the world you are, I hope that you and yours are happy and healthy and that you have a wonderfully festive season!
Okay, let’s get on with the show…
“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”
―Andy Warhol
HEAVY ROTATION
New weekly playlists highlighting great music
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WEEKLY PLAYLIST #36
Stella Rose • Mynolia • Simply Red • Iggy Pop • The Smashing Pumpkins • Illiterate Light • Paul McCartney • John Lennon • Vince Guaraldi Trio
MASTER PLAYLIST (ALL WEEKS)
MUSIC NEWS
The latest happenings in the world of music
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Pink Floyd Quietly Put 18 Unreleased ‘Dark Side’-Era Concerts on Streaming Services
Thanks to copyright law, fans can hear the gigs - which span from January to December 1972 - as the band slowly perfect their classic 1973 LP on the road. [RollingStone]
Siouxsie Sioux Announces Return to Stage After 10 Years
The Banshees frontwoman will perform at the 2023 Latitude Festival. [Pitchfork]
The Smile Announce New Live Album
The Smile—the trio of Tom Skinner and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood—have announced a new live album. The Smile (Live at Montreux Jazz Festival, July 2022) is now available digitally. [Pitchfork]
Rage Against the Machine’s Tim Commerford Battling Prostate Cancer: ‘I’ve Never Felt Pain Like That’
Bassist Tim Commerford had his prostate removed after being diagnosed with cancer prior to the band’s big reunion tour earlier this year. [RollingStone]
Soft Rock Documentary Sometimes When We Touch Coming to Paramount+
A new three-part documentary about soft rock is coming to Paramount+, Variety reports. It’s titled Sometimes When We Touch and it hits the streaming platform on Tuesday, January 3. Watch the trailer here. [Pitchfork]
Listen to Ozzy Osbourne Narrate New Christmas Charity Single
'This Christmas Time' also features Pink Floyd and ex-Duran Duran members. [NME]
Ween, Tedeschi Trucks Band, My Morning Jacket & Goose to Headline Peach Music Festival 2023
The Allman Brothers-inspired camping and music event is set to take place in Scranton, Pennsylvania June 29-July 2. [Billboard]
Dino Danelli, The Rascals Founder and “One of the Greatest Drummers of All Time,” Dead at 78
He also played with Steven Van Zandt's band the Disciples of Soul. [Consequence]
OFF TOPIC
May or may not be music-related
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Stephen ‘Twitch’ Boss, Dancer and ‘Ellen’ DJ, Dies at 40
Boss’ wife, Allison Holker, confirmed the news in a statement to People, writing, “It is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to share my husband Stephen has left us. [Variety]
Mary McCartney on That Time Her Parents Brought a Pony to Abbey Road
The photographer and filmmaker's new documentary, If These Walls Could Sing, dives deep into the story of the world’s most famous recording studio. [RollingStone]
R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and Mike Mills Perform at 40th Anniversary Event for Debut EP Chronic Town: Watch
Fred Armisen, Darius Rucker, Indigo Girls, and more came together in Athens, Georgia. [Consequence]
Iggy Pop says Elton John pranked him in a gorilla suit in the ’70s
"He just picked me up for a little bit and gave me a little carry around. It was very funny." [NME]
Sharon Osbourne Discharged From Hospital After Medical Emergency, Jack Osbourne Shares
She was hospitalized on Friday evening after suffering a medical emergency in Santa Paula, Calif. [Variety]
Fleet Foxes Share Two-Hour Livestream Concert Live on Boston Harbor
The indie folk rockers have today released their Live on Boston Harbor livestream concert on YouTube, now available to watch in full for free. [YouTube]
‘Something to Talk About’ Songwriter Shirley Eikhard Dies at 67
The song won Bonnie Raitt a Grammy. [Billboard]
2023 Grammys: Trevor Noah Returns as Host
The comedian will host the ceremony for the third consecutive year. [Pitchfork]
Daisy Edgar-Jones Cast as Carole King in Musical Biopic Beautiful
The “Normal People” star has been cast as Carole King in Sony’s upcoming film adaptation of “Beautiful” the jukebox stage musical about the early life and career of the legendary singer-songwriter. [Consequence]
GOOD READS
Read it to believe it
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Improvisational Chaos & Disorder
The incomparable Frank Zappa left the world 29 years ago today (Dec 4) and took with him a large swath of the cool, the weird, and the muddle that music so sorely needs. [GenerationRiff]
VIDEO SPOTLIGHT
See it to believe it
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Simply Red: Holding Back The Years - Live 2022
The first time I ever heard Simply Red was 1985—I was eleven years old—when their first single “Holding Back The Years” was released. I remember being instantly captivated by the soulfulness in Mick Hucknall’s smoky voice.
There are many bands from that era still making music today, but they’ve clearly aged and many of the artist’s voices are completely shot. Some are almost unrecognizable. However, all these years later, Mick’s voice still sounds as silky smooth as it ever did as evidenced by this 2018 performance recorded live in Amsterdam.
This was one of my favorite songs when it was released and it remains so to this day. be sure to check out this song as well as their cover of “The Air That I Breathe” included in this week’s playlist linked above and available on both Apple Music and Spotify. [via YouTube]
NEW RELEASES
Listen to these recently dropped albums
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Frank Zappa: Waka/Wazoo [live]
UPCOMING RELEASES
These albums are coming soon
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DECEMBER 21
Weezer: Sznz - Winter EP
JANUARY 6
Iggy Pop: Every Loser
JANUARY 13
Bob Weir: Ace (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) • Margo Price: Strays • Tycho: Dive (Reissue)
JANUARY 20
Bad Brains: The Youth Are Getting Restless (Reissue) • Ella Fitzgerald: Live At Montreux 1969 • Guided By Voices: La La Land • John Cale: Mercy • Måneskin: Rush!
JANUARY 27
The Arcs: Electrophonic Chronic • Elle King: Come Get Your Wife • Green Day: Nimrod (25th Anniversary Edition) • Kimbra: A Reckoning • Meg Baird: Furling • New Order: Low-Life (Definitive Edition Box Set) • Pelican: City of Echoes
JANUARY 31
The Smashing Pumpkins: ATUM – Act 2
ON THIS DATE
Musical happenings of historical significance
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DECEMBER 19
Birthdays: Édith Piaf (1915) • Professor Longhair (1918) • Phil Ochs (1940) • Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire (1941) • Alvin Lee (1944) • 10,000 Maniacs guitarist Robert Buck died of liver failure aged 42. (2000)
DECEMBER 20
Birthdays: Peter Criss (1947) • Alan Parsons (1948) • Don Heffington of Lone Justice (1950) • Mike Watt of The Stooges and Billy Bragg (1957) • Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes (1966) • Joan Baez was sentenced to 45 days in prison after being arrested during an anti-war demonstration. (1967)
DECEMBER 21
Birthdays: Frank Zappa (1940) • Albert Lee (1943) • Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys (1946) • Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, Paco de Lucía (1947) • Pat Murphy of The Lemonheads (1964) • American blues singer and guitarist, Albert King died from a heart attack in Memphis, Tennessee. (1992)
DECEMBER 22
Birthdays: James Gurley, guitarist with Big Brother and the Holding Company (1939) • Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick (1948) • Robin and Maurice Gibb (1949) • Richard James Edwards of Manic Street Preachers (1968) • Meghan Trainor (1993) • Joe Strummer died of a suspected heart attack, aged 50. (2002) • Joe Cocker died of lung cancer in Colorado, aged 70. (2014) • American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Leslie West died age 75 after suffering a heart attack in his home near Daytona, Florida. (2020)
DECEMBER 23
Birthdays: Tim Hardin (1941) • Derek Smalls, bassist of Spinal Tap (1943) • Adrian Belew (1949) • Eddie Vedder (1964) • George Harrison's home in Maui was broken into by Cristin Keleher, who cooked a frozen pizza, drank beer from the fridge, started some laundry, and phoned her mother in New Jersey. Keleher was later arrested and charged with burglary and theft. (1999)
DECEMBER 24
Birthdays: Lee Dorsey (1924) • Lemmy (1945) • Millard Powers of Counting Crows (1965) • Doyle Bramhall II (1968) • The Eagles sixth album, Hotel California, spent the first of eight non-consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard chart. (1976)
DECEMBER 25
Birthdays: Noel Redding (1945) • Jimmy Buffett (1946) • Annie Lennox (1954) • Shane MacGowan of The Pogues (1957) • Alannah Myles (1958) • Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne (1964) • Dido (1971) • Josh Freeze (1972) • Dean Martin died. (1995) • James Brown died. (2006) • Eartha Kitt died. (2008) • Vic Chesnutt died of an overdose. (2009) • George Michael died, aged 53. (2016)
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🤘🏻
CZ