On this day in 2004, The iTunes Music Store announced that it had become the first online music service to have a catalog of more than 1 million songs. Launched in late April of 2003, The iTune Music Store quickly became the largest music vendor in the world and revolutionized how people purchase and experience their music. In its first 18 hours, the store sold about 275,000 tracks, and more than 1 million tracks were sold in its first 5 days. On December 15, 2003, Apple announced that it had sold 25 million songs. Before it’s debut, most online music was downloaded illegally off of sites like Napster or Limewire. Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, sought to create a service that allowed people to access music legally, so in 2002, he made an agreement with the five major record labels to offer their content through iTunes. Originally, all songs on the service were sold at the same price, but Apple introduced tiered pricing in 2007. At the Macworld 2008 Keynote, Steve Jobs announced iTunes movie rentals. Today, the iTunes Store has expanded from just music downloading to a music and app store, as well as a place to rent or purchase movies and TV shows.
Since the summer of 2008, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park has played host to the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival. Like other well-known outdoor festivals (like Coachella and Lollapalooza) Outside Lands takes place over the course of three days and boasts an abundance of high profile performers on multiple stages. Unlike other festivals, Outside Lands bills itself as a “celebration of Music, Food, Wine, Beer, Art, and Comedy,” meaning, there’s something there for everyone (even if that something is getting drunk off Napa Valley Merlots at the Wine Lands pavilion).
The festival will be taking place this weekend: Friday August 11th, Saturday August 12th, and Sunday August 13th. This year also marks the 10th anniversary for Outside Lands, and with an all-star lineup, it’s sure to be one big celebration.
The festival begins on Friday August 11th, with everyone’s favorite virtual group, Gorillaz, headlining. Their latest album, “HUMANZ” was released this past spring. Known for their creativity and unique performances, Gorillaz is the perfect group to kick off this year’s festivities. Also performing on Friday: legendary hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest; summer music festival indie favorites Alt-J and Fleet Foxes; as well as celebrated pop group Belle and Sebastian.
The Saturday lineup brings rock and heavy metal to the festival, with rock and roll hall of famers, Metallica, headlining in the evening. Queens of the Stone Age, and Alt/electronic pioneers, Empire of the Sun, are also taking the stage earlier that day. But Solange – whose late 2016 album, “A Seat at the Table,” debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart and earned her extensive critical acclaim – is the artist I’m most looking forward to seeing on Saturday.
On Sunday, the final day of the festival (which is typically the most laid back of the three), Jack Antonoff’s indie-pop side project, Bleachers, will perform. In addition to releasing a new Bleachers album, “Gone Now,” in June, Antonoff has been hard at work producing and writing for other artists over the past few years, most notably – Sara Bareilles, Taylor Swift, and Lorde. Speaking of Lorde – the twenty year-old music sensation who just released her sophomore album, “Melodrama” – will be sub-headlining that day. Lorde is known for her dramatic, captivating live performances, and to say I’m excited to see her is quite an understatement. The final act of Outside Lands 2017 will be classic English rock band, The Who, taking fans on a journey through their iconic body of work, from “My Generation” to “Tommy” and “Who’s Next.”
For more information on the festival and to purchase single day tickets or 3-day general admission, visit the Outside Lands Website.
It’s no secret that Lorde is wise beyond her years. When she penned her debut single, “Royals,” she was fifteen years old; sixteen when she achieved international recognition as the leading musical talent of her generation (shortly before his passing, David Bowie took her hands in his and told her that she “sounds like tomorrow.”) With her 2013 debut album, “Pure Heroine,” the world was introduced to not only a gifted songstress, but a peculiar person who somehow understood the complexities, ironies, triumphs, and tragedies of one’s teenage years – all while still living it. To say that there was pressure for the young artist to achieve that same level of success for her next project is an understatement. For four years, the then teenager obsessed over her highly-anticipated follow-up. During this time, she moved back home to New Zealand, experienced her first heartbreak, tried to be a normal teenager, met Jack Antonoff of Bleachers and fun., moved to New York to record her album in his and Lena Dunham’s Brooklyn Brownstone, and ceberated her 20th birthday. The culmination of all this is “Melodrama,” a powerful look into young adulthood. The album centers around a raucous house party and it’s partygoers – a microcosm of all the elation and devastation experienced during one’s later teenage years. “Melodrama” is Lorde transitioning into adulthood. In the album’s first single, she gives herself the “Green Light” to let loose for one night before picking up the pieces of a failed relationship and moving on the next morning; on “Liability,” she wonders if she’s too much for other people, even unworthy of friendships and love. The album is beautifully produced by Antonoff – staying true to Lorde’s aesthetic and breaking all the conventional rules of pop music by mixing house piano with banger beats. “Melodrama” is an album about discovering one’s place amongst all the noise and chaos of the world – especially young women fighting for autonomy in a society where their voice isn’t always taken seriously.
On this day in 1963, American comedy writer, Allan Sherman, released his most successful comedic-parody track “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadda,” a novelty song in which a boy describes his disastrous experience at fictional “Camp Granada” to the tune of Ponchielli’s “Dance of the Hours.” The lyrics were based off letters Sherman received from his son, Robert, while he attended camp in upstate New York. The song became a surprise hit, reaching No. 2 on the national charts for three weeks, even winning Sherman a Grammy Award for Comedy in 1964. Although Sherman’s success eventually faded, to this day, “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadda” remains a classic fixture in American pop culture.
A new month brings new original shows and movies to Netflix! What are we excited about watching in August? Here’s a list of some of the top, new Netflix releases – because what better way to spend the dog days of summer than at home blasting the AC and watching Netflix?
Icarus (Documentary)
On August 4th, Netflix will be releasing the documentary, “Icarus”, an examination of the Russian doping scandal of the past Olympic Games. Premiering at Sundance this past January, Netflix engaged in an all-out bidding war, with many well-known studios vying for the film. Ultimately, Netflix paid $5 million for the production, and will most likely push the documentary come awards season.
Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (Limited Series)
Also on August 4th, The Camp Firewood Ten Year Reunion begins! The 2001 cult-classic film by David Wain and Michael Showalter, which got a Netflix Original reboot-series in 2015, returns for an eight-part limited sequel taking place ten years after the events of the original film. This time, the group must save Camp Firewood after the owner announces she’s sellit it. Like the first reboot, this one will also star most of the original cast, including Amy Poehler, Chris Meloni, Elizabeth Banks, Jason Schwartzman, Michael Ian Black, Molly Shannon, and Paul Rudd.
Naked (Film)
August 11th is the new Groundhog Day! Netflix is releasing their own version of the classic 1993 film that starred Bill Murray, with a twisted, romantic-comedy premise: “Rob Anderson (Marlon Wayans) is all set to marry the girl of his dreams, but can’t quite get to the altar. Every time he comes close, he finds himself waking up naked in his hotel elevator, forced to relive the beginning of his wedding day over and over again” (Netflix).
Disjointed (Season 1)
On August 25th, Chuck Lorre (“Two and a Half Men”, “The Big Bang Theory”) and David Javerbaum (“The Daily Show”) release their latest project on Netflix: a new stoner sitcom starring Kathy Bates as a medicinal marijuana clinic owner.
What Netflix Originals are you excited for in August? Share yours in the comments section below!
Catch these and all your favorite shows at Netflix.com
