Morning Music Notes – Festivalpalooza

RHCP, The Black Keys, Jack White, Neil Young Heading to Austin City Limits

The Austin, Texas festival that isn’t SXSW is Austin City Limits, and it takes place October 12-14 this year at Zilker Park. Playing this year will be the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Black Keys, Jack White, and Neil Young as headliners, being joined by Florence + the Machine, Weezer, the Avett Brothers, M83, Iggy Pop and the Stooges, Metric, Stars, the Shins, Rufus Wainwright, Childish Gambino, Gotye, and more. If you don’t believe me, pop on over to their website to see the “more”. I went to this festival in 2005 and 3 things stand out – 1) it was over 100 degrees and the beverage of choice was surprisingly water 2) it was windy (due to nearby Hurricane Rita) and therefore very dusty and 3) everyone has these lame chairs they bring and sit in them between bands, preventing people who can stand up from walking past them to the front of the stage. Lame!

Pearl Jam and – surprise – Jay-Z to Headline Jay-Z’s Made in America Festival

If you start and curator a festival, and you’re a musician, I guess people can’t complain when you top the bill. Jay-Z’s Made in America revealed some of it’s initial line up for the September 1-2 festival at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. Pearl Jam will be a headliner, with appearances at the festival from Skrillex, Santigold, Passion Pit, Miike Snow, D’Angelo, Rick Ross, Odd Future, Janelle Monáe, Dirty Projectors, Calvin Harris, and others (via Consequence of Sound). Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 5am EST – can that be right? Maybe the counter is for when I can purchase tickets in the UK, at a “reasonable” hour of 10am.

Spotify Launches in Australia and New Zealand – Canada is Crying on the Inside

Online music streaming service Spotify is pretty popular in Europe. It expanded to the States last year. Now, it is bringing it’s 15 million songs to Canada! Australia and New Zealand (via Crave). Aussies and Kiwis will have the usual Spotify pricing structure – a free account, Unlimited (AU$6.99) or Premium (AU$11.99). Spotify is now in 15 countries, and we’re hoping co-founder and CEO Daniel Elk can spin a globe and pick Canada next.

Brooklyn Residents Trying to Rename Skate Park After Adam Yauch

Squibb Park in Brooklyn Heights, New York is being renovated to become a skateboarding park. What better time to ditch the Squibb name (no offense, Mr. and Mrs. Squibb) and rename it after MCA from the Beastie Boys. That’s exactly what some residents are trying to do with their Facebook campaign (via Hollywood Reporter). Apparently the park is named after the person who donated the land originally, and it’s unclear if the skate park will be a portion of the park. If that is the case, then the skate park could be named after MCA and then everyone would be happy.

Check Out a Clip of Lady Gaga on the Simpsons

If there’s one thing the Simpsons can still do, it’s land the big musical guest star. Over the years, they’ve had huge acts like no other show. The Beatles (minus Lennon) have all appeared, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Coldplay, the Red Hot Chili Peppers – the list goes on and on. Joining the long list of stars is Lady Gaga. Yes, she has her haters, but she’s an outrageous personality, and based on this clip, the Simpsons’ writers make the most of it. Props to Lady Gaga for going along with the pot shots at her stereotypes and persona. If only my hummingbird budget were that high!

Watch! Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Clementine

Americana by Neil Young and Crazy Horse is fast approaching it’s June 5 release date. We’ve seen videos for Oh Susannah, as well as Jesus’ Chariot (She’ll Be Comin ’Round The Mountain), both of which featured random, black and white stock footage. The last video in the collection of re-imagined, classic American folk songs is for Clementine. The video shows people mining for gold and what the old west was like. Where are all the dinosaurs? I thought the cowboys killed them all?

Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Clementine