Experience John Lennon Like Never Before With ‘The Bermuda Tapes’

Only the most diehard fans know about John Lennon’s 1980 sailing trip to Bermuda, and subsequent release of Double Fantasy, an album he created collaboratively with wife Yoko Ono. The music on this album was truly different from his former work; it was for a new kind of generation, and was inspired by Lennon’s travels and his adult life. Sadly, Double Fantasy and its impact were deeply overshadowed by the musician’s murder, which happened only three weeks after the record was released. Now, thirty-three years after John Lennon’s tragic death, fans can celebrate the life and music of the late artist in a whole new way.

John Lennon: The Bermuda Tapes is an interactive music app for iPads and iPhones that chronicles the making of Double Fantasy and the journey that inspired Lennon to record those songs. “Integrating excerpts of Lennon’s demo tapes recorded in Bermuda with innovative game play and intimate documentary storytelling, John Lennon: The Bermuda Tapes is a thrilling, unprecedented experience for music and technology fans alike,” explains the app’s creators.

The app is directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Epstein and digital artist Mark Thompson, and produced by Andrew Banks. It was also made possible with the help of Yoko Ono, who says, “Writing Double Fantasy was a very exciting time creatively for both John and me. I think the album captures the sense of discovery and the artistic dialogue that John and I shared at that time and provides a new way to help us imagine a world without hunger,” of the recording of the original record.  

John Lennon: The Bermuda Tapes is an app that you can feel really good about purchasing, as all net proceeds from the project will go towards the nonprofit WhyHunger and its campaign to end childhood hunger and global poverty. Learn more at lennonbermudatapes.com. 

Exposing the Power of Radical Social Change through Music

MTV isn’t particularly known for producing meaningful television shows, rich with profound experiences and dialogue. In the reality TV era, programming such as “Teen Mom” has edged out other shows like the groundbreaking “True Life” documentary series. Hopefully, that’s all about to change with the addition of “Rebel Music” to MTV’s affiliate network, MTVU.

According to MTV, “Rebel Music is a powerful new six-part series that looks into the lives of young people who are using art and music to ignite change around the world.” Each episode will feature the stories of courageous, “rebellious” youth who are fighting injustices with fervent creativity. The show was designed to expose viewers to the experiences of young people in Egypt, Mali, Israel/Palestine, Afghanistan, Mexico, and India, who are faced with social, cultural, and political injustices that they protest against using art and music. “Rebel Music is a portrait of those risking their lives today in the pursuit of a better tomorrow,” explains the popular television network.

The series is executive produced by graphic and street artist Shepard Fairey, whose rebellious works have received critical acclaim. In this series, young people from many cultures are presented as bold, powerful, and rebellious, as well as passionately involved in the arts. It’s definitely an edgier, more radical take on the lives of young people around the world, and a welcomed departure from the beer-guzzling, intellectually devoid, bratty American youth that MTV seems so fond of portraying.

The first episode aired on November 18^th, but it’s still unclear whether or not “Rebel Music” will be successful, and some critics are incredulous. “As compelling as these stories are, it’s unclear whether MTVU’s audience of 9 million U.S. college students will be ready to receive them,” explains Lydia Dishman of the Fast Company, who is skeptical about the show’s more captivating intent. It’s certainly a far cry from the alcohol-fueled, messy antics of most of the network’s “reality”-based programming; here’s to hoping this the show’s success will inspire MTV to produce more genuine, groundbreaking television for young people.

Go to www.rebelmusic.com to learn more. 

Images: rebelmusicdoc via Instagram

Alanis Morissette’s ‘Jagged Little Pill’ to Take Center Stage

If you were anywhere between the ages of 13 and 25 in 1995, and identified heavily with the angst-ridden, broken-hearted jadedness of Alanis Morissette’s debut album, you better brace yourself for what I’m about to say next. Pretty soon you’ll be able to relive all of those tormented moments with the Queen of 90s angst herself in a theater adaptation of Jagged Little Pill. That’s right, Alanis Morissette is heading to Broadway.

Much to the delight of many adoring fans, playbill.com recently reported that the singer will be adapting her quintessential 1995 record Jagged Little Pill into a Broadway musical of the same name. The musical will feature all of the most beloved songs from that album, including “You Oughta Know,” “Hand in My Pocket,” “You Learn,” and “Ironic,” as well as newer material and songs written specifically for the production. Reportedly, Morissette is collaborating with Tony Award-winner Tom Kitt to bring the album to life on stage.

According to playbill.com, Jagged Little Pill, which was co-written by Morissette and producer Glen Ballard, “is still the best-selling debut release by a female artist in the U.S. and the highest-selling debut album worldwide in music history.” With the album’s formidable reputation, critics and fans of Morissette are expecting the theater adaptation to be incredibly popular. The Grammy Award-winning musician is very excited about the project; in a recent statement she said, “I look forward to taking the heart of ‘Jagged Little Pill’ and expanding its story, fleshing it out into ever deeper layers of emotionality, specificity, humanity, power, physicality, spirit, and fabulism.”

Those who fell in love with the singer in 1995 will enjoy a reworking of her debut album when Jagged Little Pill hits the Broadway stage. Stay posted for more information about the musical! 

Image Credit: morissette via Instagram

Image Credit: Jason Hickey via Flickr CC

YouTube Celebrates its First-Ever Music Awards Show

Lady Gaga on the Red Carpet

If quirky, entertaining, and downright bizarre are what you might have expected of the first ever YouTube Music Awards, the event, which streamed live on Sunday evening, did not disappoint. Much like any other time spent hopping from YouTube video to YouTube video, the awards show was a fantastic mash-up of music, improvisational MC-ing, and eccentric performances.

According to Noisey, “Depending on what time you clicked on, you either saw [hosts] Jason Schwartzman and Reggie Watts holding up crying babies or you saw M.I.A. swinging LED hula hoops through a crowd of screaming people. At times, the off-the-cuff nature of the show worked. Other times, it created some situations that were, uh...weird,” of the jumbled, albeit entertaining, evening. The publication also describes the event as spontaneous and intentionally avant-garde, per director Spike Jonze.

The New York Times wasn’t so kind in its review of the live event, describing it as “a show of essentially no importance,” but admitting to enjoying some of the unconventional approaches to imitating other more established awards shows. There was comedy, and music, and a live audience with live audience energy, after all. Oh, and there were awards too, of course.

M.I.A. backstage at the show

Fans voted for each of the awards categories, honoring rapper Eminem for “Artist of the Year,” and pop group Girls’ Generation for "Video of the Year.” The “YouTube Breakthrough” award went to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, and the “YouTube Phenomenon” award was given to Taylor Swift. Notable performances included the haphazard hosting efforts of actor Jason Schwartzman and comedian Reggie Watts, as well as Arcade Fire, Lady Gaga, and Earl Sweatshirt.

Jon Caramanica writes for The New York Times, “like any number of artists with a webcam, a dream and a bit of hubris, YouTube was entitled to screw up in full view of everyone. And after this bizarre but comforting experiment, it’s earned the right to try again next year.” What did you think about the first-ever YouTube Music Awards? 

Images: youtube via Instagram