Morning Music Notes – Play It Again, Sam the Record Man

Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong Melts Down on Stage, Enters Rehab Shortly After

When I first saw Green Day back in 1997 or 1998, it was an awesome show. It ended with the band smashing their instruments and setting fire to the stage. Then after a minute, singer Billie Joe Armstrong came back out onto the stage by himself, picked his guitar out of the small fire, and played an acoustic version of Good Riddance (Time of Your Life). So when I read this weekend that Billie Joe Armstrong freaked out, smashed some instruments, and stormed off the stage, I assumed it was the same sort of thing. Sadly, I was wrong.

For those who missed it, Green Day were playing at the second annual IHeartRadio music festival in Las Vegas. They were the second last band to take the stage, and were about to play some songs from forthcoming album, ¡Uno!, they were informed they had one minute to play (via Billboard).

Billie Joe reacted by saying, “One minute?! I’m not Justin Bieber, you motherfuckers! You gotta be fuckin’ joking. I got one minute, one minute left. Now I got nothing left. Let me show you what one minute fucking means.” The band showed them, by smashing their instruments. Not quite sure what the Justin Bieber thing means – he has short songs? So does Green Day! As they walked off the stage, Billie Joe said “One minute. God fuckin’ rob you all. We’ll be back.”

Billie Joe won’t be back, as he (perhaps not 100% surprisingly) just checked into rehab (via Gigwise). Through a statement on their website, the band said “Billie Joe is seeking treatment for substance abuse. We would like everyone to know that our set was not cut short by Clear Channel and to apologize to those we offended at the iHeartRadio Festival in Las Vegas. We regretfully must postpone some of our upcoming promotional appearances.” Check out footage of the incident from IHeartRadio below.

Green Day at IHeartRadio in Las Vegas

Sam ‘The Record Man’ Sniderman Passes Away

Anyone growing up in and around the Toronto area will know the once legendary Sam the Record Man music stores. Since I grew up an hour outside of Toronto, any trips to downtown in high school would’ve included a stop at Sam the Record Man. The chain was once the biggest in the country, and the flagship store on Yonge Street was famous, appearing in the background of many movies (Dave Chapelle’s Half Baked comes to mind). Sadly, the founder of Sam the Record Man, Sam Sniderman, passed away this weekend at the age of 92 (via Canoe). The Yonge Street location opened in 1959 but closed in 2007, while the record store chain went bankrupt in 2001. Sam even got the Order of Canada, back in 1976. Thanks for the memories, Sam.

Trent Reznor’s How to Destroy Angels Announces Second EP

How to Destroy Angels have signed to a major label, Columbia Records, and the Trent Reznor-led band have announced their second EP (via Hollywood Reporter). The EP will be called An Omen and will be out on November 13. The former Nine Inch Nails singer and the Oscar-winner Reznor (yup, that sounds weird) noted that this and the group’s next series of releases will be on Columbia Records. If you missed their first release, check out the excellent single, The Space in Between, which is sung by bandmate / wife Mariqueen Maandig.

How to Destroy Angels – The Space in Between

Watch Mumford & Sons on Saturday Night Live

Babel by Mumford & Sons is out today in the UK, tomorrow in North America – don’t forget to enter our contest which ends later today! The band stopped by Rockefeller Studios in New York City to play a couple of songs on Saturday Night Live, playing I Will Wait and Below My Feet. They also acted in a sketch, playing a Beatles cover band called Hey Dude, although they were more of a background musical accompaniment. Check out the footage below, and enter our contest!

Note: footage might only be available in the United States – sorry! Blame NBC, not PHM.

Mumford & Sons – I Will Wait (on Saturday Night Live)

Mumford & Sons – Below My Feet (on Saturday Night Live)