Prince Is A "Creep"

If you were at Coachella this past Saturday night, chances are you saw this: Prince playing Radiohead's "Creep" as part of a two-hour set. And chances are that I envy you.

Remembering MLK Jr and James Brown This Weekend

The 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination is today, April 4. A good deal of programming will air over the next few days in honor of Dr. King's legacy and the effect that his untimely death had on our country.

One such show, "The Night James Brown Saved Boston," airing on VH1, is about James Brown's televised concert in Boston the night after MLK Jr. passed away in April 1968. The event, and James himself, were largely responsible for keeping the city relatively peaceful. While Boston listened to the godfather of soul, many American cities were literally going up in flames as people reacted to the assassination. Read more about the program on VH1.com and listen to an interview with the show's director on NPR. It airs at 9PM Eastern Time on Saturday.

Here's a clip of the concert where James tells the crowd, and the police, to calm down as tension starts to build.

Brooklyn Is Everything

Lifetime Brooklyn resident and FoSF (Friend of Shore Fire) since before he was born Derek Garcia (who's 16) just won a prize from Brooklyn Community Access TV (BCAT) for this nicely done video. It got me excited about what may be Astroland's final season, as well as seeing the Cyclones and checking out the Seaside Concert series (link shows last year's lineup).

Sad All Over

One of my earliest ambitions was to be a dancer on Hullabaloo!The swinging music! The white boots! The fringed dresses!

I think that's where I may have first seen the Dave Clark Five. So learning of the death of lead singer Mike Smith was especially sad for me. Here they are, in happier times:

Prehistoric musical theater

YouTube Friday

Continuing the theme of high-tech music from yesterday's Herbie Hancock post, check out this laser harp. What will Joanna Newsom fans think?

Herbie Can Teach Us All Something

Herbie Hancock shows Tatiana Ali and other children how a synthesizer works, in a clip from the '70s. He's still showing us all how to use technology creatively.

Yes He Can

Our client Herbie Hancock is featured in this video, which after only three days has been viewed more than 1.6 million times on YouTube. You'll also see him on the Grammys, playing Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" with Lang Lang.



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Rare Stairway to Heaven, Part 2

The Beatlesque version of Stairway to Heaven was recently unearthed...now comes an even rarer performance of the song by the Doors...

YouTube Friday: How Come We Didn't See This Being Filmed Edition

Thanks to the folks over at Chicagoist (whose roundups of “awesomeness” never fail to deliver) for pointing us towards this great RJD2 "Work It Out" video earlier this week.

And, yes, Reader, that WAS filmed right outside the Shore Fire office! And - right again! – the camera DOES pan up to the top of our office building in the very last shot! Good work!

YouTube Friday: The Funny and Clever Edition

No commentary needed for this one

Obama Girl Joins TuneCore

Just learned that the makers of the YouTube smash "I Got a Crush... On Obama" have signed up with TuneCore to sell their song via the digital download stores. The Obama Girl video's been seen over 3.1 million times. This is a strategy that worked for Liam Sullivan, who's sold over 100,000 songs on iTunes. TuneCore's allowed him to keep all of his profits and all of his rights. Check out Obama Girl here: