Merchbar Minute: A Legendary Jazz Sample Emerges
Serenading Succulents
An opera house in Spain re-opened this week to the roaring crowd of... 2,300 house plants? Yes, the string quartet live streamed the concert with plants as the audience, then donated them to frontline health workers. A cause worthy of applause.
Musically Distanced
What do you do when you finally start a band and suddenly can't meet in person? Take a page out of jazz's book and improvise, of course. This NYU professor created a new online platform meant to remove the latency of trying to jam together over the internet, which is now being used to collaborate for live performances and for educational purposes.
A Legendary Sample Emerges
I've been an MF DOOM fan for close to two decades now, and I can honestly say it was the moment I heard the instrumental "Arrow Root" (listen) that I was totally hooked. Fans have been searching for that sample for over 20 years, and the story of how this producer finally tracked it down - he sourced it back to a VHS tape recording of an old TV show - is absolutely remarkable.
Every week we take to Google Trends to see what people are searching for. Are people looking for WD-40 or E-40? What about Lil Yachty vs. Boat Rentals? Are people yawning, or looking up Yanni's discography? What's more popular; NASCAR or Coachella?
MF DOOM may be the greatest villain to ever hold the mic double clutch, donning the mask to conceal his identity. His demands are simple - ALL CAPS when you spell the man's name. Is he the ultimate supervillain, though? Google, we must know the answer.
It's a (mostly) clean sweep for DOOM, though it appears his villainous ways have not reached the plains of Montana and such.
We've seen a lot of amazing collections and rarities from our community, but I don't think we've ever seen a custom shield yet! James shared this amazing terrazzo Pearl Jam shield, and suddenly I want one for every band I love. Very very cool, thank you for sharing!
I happened upon this incredible photo of Muhammad Ali - still Cassius Clay at the time - and The Beatles and needed to know the story behind it. Luckily I didn't have to look far to learn that Ali had no idea who The Beatles were, and they actually wanted to pose for pictures with then-champion Sonny Liston. Here's the story, enjoy.
