Today’s Music News: Austin City Limits Music Festival books a golden porta potty
by Staff
July 15, 2014
The Austin City Limits Music Festival (October 3-12) is holding a contest with a unique and highly coveted prize: access to a golden porta potty featuring AC, a live feed, phone charging, beverages, toiletries, and more. (aclfestival.com)
31 years after the release of his debut album, "Weird Al" Yankovic is still a national treasure: spoofing Pharrell's "Happy" with the help of Jack Black, Kristen Schaal, Margaret Cho, and others. Who else but the man behind "Eat It," "Like a Surgeon," and "Amish Paradise" could pull off lyrics like "I get drunk at the bank and take off my shirt at least/ I would live-tweet a funeral, take selfies with the deceased"? Watch the video on—where else?—Nerdist.
Jermaine Jackson's ex-wife Alejandra and her five children—the late Michael Jackson's nieces and nephews—will star in a reality TV show debuting November 18 on Reelz. Three of the kids are Jermaine's children, and two are the children of his brother Randy Jackson, with whom Alejandra had a relationship before marrying Jermaine. Tensions between Alejandra and the rest of the Jackson family are high, so don't expect cameos from the rest of the clan. (Billboard) On our Local Current blog, read Jay Gabler's essay on Michael Jackson's strange life and tragic death, which occurred just over five years ago.
Nora Guthrie has shared "My Name is New York," a previously unreleased recording by her father Woody. The song will appear on a compilation of the same name, a three-disc set collecting Guthrie's songs about his adopted hometown, to be released on September 23. (Rolling Stone) Yesterday we remembered Woody on what would have been his 102nd birthday.
Everybody's got something to say about Lana Del Rey. The New Inquiry, an NYC publication known for thinky cultural analyses, has published Ms. America, an entire mini-magazine about the pop icon, downloadable as a free PDF. On our Local Current blog, read Andrea Swensson's take on why it's time to stop hating on Lana Del Rey.
Metallica's "Enter Sandman" was the longtime walk-on music for famed MLB pitcher Mariano Rivera. Now that Rivera's retired, the band are shown in an ESPN SportsCenter ad looking for a new athlete to rock for. (USA Today)
