Even the BBC is weighing in on a Finnish research study tracing animus Nickelus, the root psychological cause of why people love hating the Canadian rock group Nickelback, which has sold more than 50 million albums. If that’s hate, I’m sure more bands would love to be on the receiving end of some of it! […]
Twenty-nine-year-old British composer and musician Mica Levy has become an awards season contender with her beguiling score for Fox Searchlight’s Jackie, which stars Natalie Portman as the former First Lady in the emotional aftermath of her husband’s assassination. An NPR feature quotes Levy talking about how her music “elevates the surreal element, because music creates a […]
German neuroscientist Manfred Spitzer has released a new study indicating “listening to sweet melodies” at an early age “is important for a child’s emotional and mental development and improves their intelligence, self-discipline and self-control.” The study, commissioned by Upper Austria governor Josef Puehringer to investigate the effects of music on 57,000 music students, was first reported in […]
Chanteuse Fiona Apple is ushering in a cool Yule with a fresh take on “The Christmas Song,” the holiday classic penned by Bob Wells and Mel Tormé in 1945. Apple’s version wistfully imagines “Trump’s nuts roasting on an open fire.” Sound cozy? Wait till you get to the part about “Mothers of color with their kids out of […]
The Warner Bros. summer blockbuster Suicide Squad is killin’ it at the Grammys, with five nominations, the most of any visual media project. Music supervisors Gabe Hilfer and Season Kent were the tune team behind the Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media nomination for Suicide Squad (Collector’s Edition). In addition, the song “Heathens” received three nominations: one […]
The broadcast premiere of Walt Disneys’ musical Frozen takes place Dec. 11 on ABC. The most successful children’s film in history and the top animated film of all time, with $1.27 billion in global box office earnings, Frozen became a cultural phenomenon upon release in 2014. Business Insider called it “a cosmic tuning fork” and cited as […]
The Amazon series “Mozart in the Jungle” launched season 3 with some ensemble music and a speech by star Gael García Bernal at Los Angeles’ The Grove outdoor shopping mall on Dec. 1. The show, which scored Bernal Best Actor Golden Globe as well as nabbing Best Television Series Music or Comedy trophy this year, is a backstage look […]
The Mozart in the Jungle Season 3 Soundtrack will be released digitally and on CD by Sony Classical on Dec. 9. The album features original performances by soprano Ana María Martínez and beloved classical artists including Joshua Bell, Plácido Domingo, and Yo-Yo Ma. Mozart in the Jungle is a half-hour comedic drama based on the critically acclaimed memoir Mozart […]
The tunes of awards season got a curtain-raiser courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, which on Nov. 17 presented its first THR Songwriter Roundtable. The “reserved” sign held seats for the formidably talented: Justin Timberlake, Sting, Alicia Keys, Pharrell Williams, John Legend and Tori Amos — each lending voice to a major motion picture release. For Keys, it was Queen of Katwe (“Back […]
Director Jeremy Profe will take questions after the screening, along with Karen Tsen Lee, who plays Yoko Ono, when The Lennon Report premieres at the Crest theater Dec. 8, the 36th anniversary of the iconic songwriter’s tragic murder. The docudrama chronicles the day Lennon died in Manhattan, focusing on the aftermath and the effort to save the […]
