Music

Wagner's 200th Birthday is Wednesday 22nd. How he would have enjoyed the fuss and expected nice presents ! Too often anniversaries are an excuse for sloppy programming, but BBC Radio 3 seems to be doing something useful. Here is a link to this week's schedule. It's quite a good introduction to the composer and the man.Donald Macleod's "Composer of the Week" focuses on Wagner's early Romantic influences, a subject dear to my heart. MacLeod's Composer of the Weeks are sometimes very good and I think this is a new one we haven't heard. He will be "light on Wagner's lesser known, early operas, created under the spell of such diverse influences as the German Romantic operatic tradition of Weber, the "bel canto" style of singing of Bellini, and French Grand Opera of the 1830s. Donald Macleod presents excerpts from Wagner's earliest opera Die Feen, his sunny, Italian-esque Das Liebesverbot, and the 'black sheep' of Wagner's output: his vast operatic spectacular Rienzi - which he later virtually disowned."Most of the recordings being broadcast are familiar, but there are a few rarities, like Wagner's arrangement of Beethoven's Choral Symphony and his Piano Sonata. Missing is the Urfassung edition of Der fliegende Hollander resuscitated in 2004, with no Erik, no Daland and no Norway ! This edition shows how Wagner was influenced by popular taste in his time. Rossini probably got there first with La donna del lago (which I'm at tonight). Then Donizetti Lucia di Lammermoor in 1835 and much else. At least Mendelssohn had the guts to hike through the country and see it first hand instead of relying on Walter Scott and Ossian. Since there was no tourist industry in Mendelssohn's time, he really was engaging with the locals and living fairly rough. So much for Wagner thinking Mendelssohn was effete. Perhaps one of the reasons we're not hearing the pre-Edition of DfH is that the only recording is pretty hokey. An edition is not a production. Productions per se are no big deal unless they bring out what's unique in the edition. The Urfassung is being produced three times this summer in Germany, so who knows, a new recording might come about.Many of us witch BBC Radio 3 off completely after 10 pm when music turns to chat. This week the chat is rather more elevated. At 22.45 the Essay will present a series on Wagner's philosophers, Wagner and German idealism. Roger Scruton, AC Grayling, Christopher Janaway, Michael Tanner and John Deathridge are the speakers.

Nicki Minaj Gives Lil Wayne A Lap Dance At Billboard Music Awards [#VIDEO] #news #nickiminaj

Obscure Dutch prog from 1978. This is the closer on side A. Video goes mental at 4:00 . . .

Every day, Daily Downloads offers 10 free and legal mp3 downloads, plus free and legal live sets from around the internet. Today's free and legal mp3 downloads: The Anatomy of Frank: "Bill Murray" [mp3] from Pangaea (out July 16th) Daughn Gibson: "The Sound of Law" [mp3] from Me Moan (out July 16th) Fuyuko's Fables: "Pure Imagination (cover from the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory soundtrack)" [mp3] The Goodly Beggars: free and legal Chew the Pages EP [mp3] Kevin Long: free and legal Small Town Talk album [mp3] Lisa Redford: free and legal Dreaming in Crowds EP [mp3] Paperhaus: "Helicopters" [mp3] from Lo Hi Lo (out May 28th) Washa: free and legal Roots EP [mp3] We Are Temporary: free and legal Satellites EP [mp3] WhoaBear: "Rock 'Em Up" [mp3] from WhoaBear (out June 11th) Free and legal live performances at other websites: Shannon Hayden: Epitonic Saki session [mp3] search for more free and legal music downloads at Largehearted Boy also at Largehearted Boy: other daily free and legal mp3 downloads covers collections 100 Online Sources for Free and Legal Music Downloads Book Notes (authors create playlists for their book) musician/author interviews Note Books (musicians discuss literature) Shorties (daily music, books, and pop culture news and links) Soundtracked (composers and directors discuss their film's soundtrack) Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and full album streams from the week's CD releases)

Ireland's newest stamp features an entire short story. The Quietus interviews singer-songwriter Nina Hagen. If you had to explain Kabarett to someone who knew nothing about it, how would you begin? Nina Hagen: I would educate them about the Berliner Ensemble, the Bertolt Brecht Theatre in East Berlin, where I grew up and started witnessing the theatre plays from age 12 onwards, until I left East Germany in 1976. All Brecht's theatre pieces are cabaret style, done in the old tradition of political cabaret filled with historic and political material, songs, scenes... so I grew up studying Kabarett. The TLS Blog profiles Iggy Pop. VICE shares a new short story by Ed Park. The Believer interviews singer-songwriter David Grubbs. Vol. 1 Brooklyn interviews author Joshua Cohen. Do you have any longform fiction in the works? Guilty, yes. That’s the title. "Guilty, yes." It’s the book Nabokov would’ve written had he liked Joyce. … NPR is streaming the new Mount Kimbie album, Cold Spring Fault Less Youth. HTMLGIANT shares a conceptual literature reading list. Stereogum lists Sebadoh albums from worst to best. The CBC profiles New York bookstore owner Sarah McNally of McNally Jackson Books. NPR is streaming the new Laura Marling album, Once I Was an Eagle. The Los Angeles Review of Books podcast interviews Nathaniel Rich about his new novel Odds Against Tomorrow. May's Music Alliance Pact features 36 songs curated by 36 music bloggers in 36 countries. All Things Considered interviews the publisher of The New York Review of Books about the surprising European success of John Williams' 1965 novel Stoner. The A.V Club explores the ethical questions raised when musicians crowdfund albums and tours. The Verge explains how Google beat Apple to a streaming music service. Win Michael Moss's new book Salt Sugar Fat and a $100 Threadless gift certificate in this week's contest at Largehearted Boy. Amazon MP3 offers 100 albums on sale for $5 each. Amazon MP3 offers over 1,400 albums on sale for $3.99. Amazon MP3 offers over 600 albums for sale for $2.99. Amazon MP3 offers over 400 jazz albums on sale for $1.78. Amazon MP3 offers over 56,000 free and legal mp3s. Follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Google+, Facebook, and Stumbleupon for links (updated throughout the day) that don't make the daily "Shorties" columns. also at Largehearted Boy: previous Shorties posts (daily news and links from the worlds of music, books, and pop culture) 100 Online Sources for Free and Legal Music Downloads Atomic Books Comics Preview (the week's best new comics & graphic novels) Book Notes (authors create playlists for their book) daily mp3 downloads Largehearted Word (the week's best new books) musician/author interviews Note Books (musicians discuss literature) Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and full album streams from this week's CD releases) weekly music & DVD release lists

We've already been treated to The Lonely Islands " Spring Break Anthem " and the ridiculous " I Fucked My Aunt ", both of which feature on their new release, The Wack Album . Today they offer up "Diaper Money" a track about the trials and tribulations of mid-life; Kids, marriage and a lot of stress. Check out the video from Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer above. Also look out for more fun stuff later in the week as part of their #wackwednesdays series. Read MoreBlog: Some Kind of AwesomeRelated: WATCH: The Vaccines I Always Knew (Official Video)Watch The Lonely Island rap through mid-life crises in Diaper Money videoWatch The Lonely Island, Kendrick Lamar, and Adam Levines YOLO VideoThe Lonely Island Spring Break Anthem Video (Feat. Zach Galifianakis & James Franco)The Lonely Island Spring Break Anthem Video (Feat. Zach Galifianakis & James Franco)Watch The Lonely Islands Spring Break Anthem video

Girls, here is the best possible song to start your week. (OK, we are not narrow minded, boys can enjoy this song as well.) Read MoreBlog: AudioPorn CentralRelated: Monday Kick the last partyMonday Kick The Prodigy megamix, acapellaMonday Kick The Young Professionals Video GamesMonday Kick The Music is Always in Your HandMonday Kick The drummer, the asses and Hitler on deep house

Daft Punk - Random Access Memories Columbia: 2013 Of all the genius promotional things Daft Punk did prior to last weeks iTunes leak of Random Access Memories the SNL & Coachella ads, the secretive websites, the weird collaborators interviewsputting Get Lucky out as the albums first single was the wisest. It has already crushed all comers in the summer song category, its the albums most playable song, and it is, in no way at all really, indicative of what the rest of Random Access Memories sounds like. No one could Read MoreBlog: Potholes In My BlogRelated: Daft Punk Random Access Memories (New Album)Daft Punk Random Access Memories PreviewDaft Punk Random Access Memories Columbia RecordsDaft Punk, Random Access Memories il nuovo albumPRE-ORDER: Daft Punk Random Access MemoriesDaft Punk Random Access (Memories Vanderway Edit)

1 Beat Culture Photographer: Tonje Thilesen 2 Blackbird Blackbird Photographer: Tonje Thilesen 3 Audience Photographer: Tonje Thilesen 4 Giraffage Photographer: Tonje Thilesen 5 Slow Magic Photographer: Tonje Thilesen Read MoreBlog: The Line Of Best FitRelated: School of Seven Bells - Live @ Festsaal Kreuzberg, BerlinDarkness Falls - Live @ Festsaal Kreuzberg, Berlin (2012)LSD presents: Stabil Elite @ Festsaal Kreuzberg (Berlin)Heimatabend: Die Sterne, Bonaparte, Winson @ Festsaal Kreuzberg, 10.12.I Heart: Django Django @ Festsaal Kreuzberg

As promised , tonight's episode of The Simpsons featured a cameo from Sigur Rs , along with original music from the band serving as the soundtrack. The episode saw Homer, Moe, and Lenny travel to Iceland in pursuit of Carl, who fled to the country with a winning lottery ticket. Sigur Rs appeared as animated characters during a gathering of local townspeople in Iceland (scroll to the 17:20 mark). Their music soundtracked several scenes, and they also reworked the show's theme song for the end credits. The episode is available to replay online through Read MoreBlog: Consequence Of SoundRelated: Sigur Rs To Appear On The SimpsonsSigur Rs To Appear On The SimpsonsSigur Rs to appear on The SimpsonsSee What Sigur Rs Looks Like On The SimpsonsSee What Sigur Rs Looks Like On The Simpsons