‘I HAVE A NEW OUTLOOK NOW: IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE FUN; IT’S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE SCARY’Music school dropout Sasha Alex Sloan has already co-written hits with three of the biggest (and most influential) pop stars of the last few years – Camila Cabello, Charli XCX, and Olivia Rodrigo. And she’s only just getting started…
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Miley Aces Bass Persuades in HollywoodThere was a moment that occurred approximately two-thirds of the way into Miley Cyrus (now simply going by Miley)'s first of two nights at the Hollywood Bowl, where all of the pop polish fell away and we saw the very real personality beneath it. This came, by the way, after Miley had already performed a beautifully touching tribute to her godmother—the late, great Dolly Parton—with a rendition of "Jolene" that prompted tears from the artist, and some in the crowd.

The moment we're referring to came just after Miley had made her way back to the stage, through a well-meaning and adoring crowd that was reaching out, en masse, for some sort of contact. She had popped up in the middle of said crowd to perform a couple of songs with Flaming Lips man Wayne Coyne, and she sang "We Can't Stop" while returning to the big stage. When the song was over, Miley needed a minute to take a breath and get her bearings. With no front, no swag, Miley told the crowd that the experience was an overwhelming one for her. This was Miley's big comeback, and when emotions started to build up in an intense way, the artist felt comfortable enough to be utterly vulnerable. With her mom at the side of the stage ready to help if needed, Miley confided in a sea of people, most of whom she doesn't know personally. In return, her trust was rewarded with a wave of love. It was life-affirming, and just one special moment at a show that had many.

Miley's latest album, Bass Persuades, has been out for a month, and it's a decidedly mature piece of work. Dark and pulsating, there are elements on this album that would delight Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails fans (if they allowed themselves to like it). It's a record that gets under your skin, and she performed six of those tracks at the Hollywood Bowl. Notably, opening band Model/Actriz returned to the stage to perform a sensual "Different Religion," a song that uses religious themes to explore relationships.

Miley's fiancé Maxx Morando (Liily, formerly The Regrettes) played drums on a very sweet "Let's Get Married," as he did on the album. Nothing felt forced and false about their public displays of affection; cynicism lost and love won.

Miley with Wayne Coyne

Miley with Model/Actriz

The Wayne Coyne songs, from the b-stage in the center of the crowd, were stunning. The Flaming Lips classic "Do You Realize?" felt like a truly spiritual experience, while "Karen Don't Be Sad," from the underrated Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Pets album, showcased her not-so-hidden love for rock 'n' roll. Incidentally, the last time this writer saw Miley live, she was performing at the Chris Cornell tribute concert and converting thousands of naysayers. By now, her cred from those quarters should be a given.

And hey, if you wanted pop hits, you got those too. The rejigged version of power ballad "Wrecking Ball" performed at the Bowl was different to the one generally heard on the radio, but it was equally powerful, and utterly immersive. Miley went back to her 2009 The Time of Our Lives EP to enjoy a bit of her bubblegum pop past with "Party in the U.S.A.," and in this environment it felt like an utterly joyful moment of mutual love between the artist and a crowd that has stuck with her for years.

There wasn't much in the way of a show, a production, at the Bowl but that wasn't the point. This was an honest, open and authentic Miley allowing herself to be her true self and trusting her people. They didn't let her down.

Photo credit: Kevin Mazur / Getty Images.

The post Miley Aces Bass Persuades in Hollywood first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Lenny White's 10 Favorite Albums of All TimeEver wondered which albums inspired jazz-fusion drummer Lenny White? Check out his 10 favorites, from Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix to Santana and Steely Dan.

How Cheap Trick Turned "Surrender" Into a Rock AnthemDiscover how Cheap Trick’s “Surrender” evolved from a studio track into a defining rock anthem through its legendary live version.

'90s Albums That Were Trap Music Before T.I. & Gucci ManeLong before T.I. and Gucci Mane helped define trap, these eight '90s hip-hop albums were already laying the groundwork for the genre.

Making Noise: Rage Against the RockstarsWelcome again to Making Noise, your weekly look at hot topics, buzzy tidbits and music news that’s raising the volume and going viral on social media and in music lover circles. 

As the midterm elections near, it seems everyday brings a new musicmaker to cancel or clap for depending on where you stand. The (world) stage is getting crowded, too. Artists like Jack White and Hayley Williams are using their platforms on social media and onstage to speak out, but others seem just as interested in throwing shade at them. Metallica’s James Hetfield, is the latest to join the conversation by insisting he’s not in it, after announcing at a recent Sphere show that “Metallica is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you with their bullshit.” 

The band’s early anti-authoritarian lyrics and themes—which they still perform—beg to differ and former fans have been calling out the disconnect. Following the backlash Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters got into the ring, stating on a podcast this week: “I’m so bored with him. He’s just showing that he’s a complete prick. He’s got an IQ of about three, and why we’re talking about him I honestly don’t know, because he’s a nobody.”

Round and Round

Of course, it’s not surprising coming from Waters who made speaking politically part of his shows, but now another rocker is joining the chat too, seemingly taking Hetfield’s side. In a new just-turned-viral clip online, Nikki Sixx is seen saying, “It does not matter to Mötley Crüe if you’re a Republican. It does not matter to Mötley Crüe if you’re a Democrat. It doesn't matter if you’re gay or if you’re straight or if you’re going right down the fucking center of the lane of life cause we’re all in this together. Can we agree?" A lot better than Hetfield’s “bullshit” statement but it still begs the question: if the stance is that politics should stay out of music, why bring them up at all?

Getting political in music or on stage is a choice, and ya gotta respect artists who do, even at the expense of maybe losing fans. They have a right not to as well, and fans who feel cheated by that can choose not to support. Artists calling each other out is the icky new part of this story, though of course, beefing over personal matters has been a thing since the beginning.

Fight the Pollsters  

Power to the People Fest, held in Maryland last week saw Foo Fighters, Jack Black (“Jack Sabbath”), Bruce Springsteen and Soundgarden with The Pretty Reckless’  Taylor Momsen and Cypress Hill to name a few, perform a livestreamed show to promote “Peace, Love, Justice and Music” bringing everyone together— well sort of. Organizer Tom Morello’s admission that he didn’t vote for Kamala Harris kinda hung over it like a sad cloud. Smugly bragging to Rolling Stone about the last election and endorsing her led many to assume he didn’t vote at all, but he clarified later that he did, just not for the Democrat. Of course, the liberal rocker didn’t vote for Trump,—well technically—but as the internet reminded him, third party voting essentially helps out the GOP by splitting the left. One day this might change but right now, it’s—as Metallica sang— “sad but true.” In any case you can watch some great clips from the festival on YouTube.

For the Birds

In more important social discourse news, lol, Kelly Clarkson is once again taking over our feeds, this time not over her love of A.I., but over a weird mechanical bird. It all started with a snarky social media post about an encounter she described as “Pretty Woman” treatment from a Brooklyn shop called Art of Play. After the shop denied her wishes to purchase a wall-mounted singing bird, stating it was not for sale, she brought receipts showing its $15,000 price tag. The back and forth on socials over what actually happened has been non-stop with the store’s latest statements seriously claiming that “Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger!” We thought the store’s initial response was funny yet fan-y as it incorporated the singer’s own lyrics in a playful way, but now it’s gone off the rails a bit, with multiple interviews and an advertised new price for the bird: 15 million! Here’s hoping the two parties stop pecking at each other because clearly there are more important things to argue about.

This Isn’t It

Could all the discourse in the world be driving some artists a bit mad? Giant Drag's Annie Hardy played a bizarre joke last week after posting an obit for herself on her Instagram, Facebook, and Threads. It read "RIP Annie Hardy" and "June 5, 1981 - Oct 3, 2026" with a photo of the singer and the statement: "It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Annie -Summer Hardy. A caring friend to many, a friend to the Animals and a follower of Jesus Christ. Please respect the families wish for privacy during this difficult time. Services to be announced in the days to come Rest in Peace, Annie. The world will never be the same." 

But it was all fake. Hardy, known to be a prankster, made the post herself and had planned to keep it going until a friend went to check on her and said it wasn’t true. Why did she do it? Hardy and Giant Drag (a band we truly loved during the "indie sleaze era" as early aughts alt music is now lamely dubbed) had a show at the Redwood Bar in DTLA this week, but promo apparently wasn’t it. Here’s some of what she shared with Stereogum about the odd ruse:

 “Pranks are insensitive, and there is nothing funny about someone passing away. A "hoax" feels like a more accurate description. A hoax shatters what was previously believed to be true, forcing a shift in perspective. In that moment, as old assumptions and emotions dissolve, you are given the opportunity to decide how to view reality moving forward. One profound aspect of loss is how the living often let go of past grievances, choosing instead to remember the deceased in a purely positive light. Their hearts open fully, knowing they won't see that person again... Also I wanted to point out how everything in these phones now is fake. The only real thing we have left in life is our love for one another but here we are letting alleged loved ones evaporate in a mist in the background.”

Making Noise: Sound Bites

Taylor Swift will be in L.A. this weekend to perform at the Academy Museum Gala, the bougie celeb event that floods our feeds with glitzy red carpet fashion akin to the Oscars each year.  If you’re in L.A., avoid the area as Swifties will surely be swifting about and traffic will be terrible, regardless. Where will Tay and Trav eat and hang out while in L.A.? The gossip rags and paps will surely let us know, mostly against our will.

Celebrating his 80th birthday, the David Bowie's estate just announced BOWIE 80, a month long celebration on 2027 featuring an array of events, merch releases and more. Sign up for info here.

Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning, a condensed film version of the live-streamed event in Birmingham, U.K. that took place just before Ozzy Osbourne's death, put together by musical director Morello, will be in theaters at the end of the month, but MC was in the house for the Osbourne family's special premiere event this week. Our full report is on the way, but snag your advance tickets now here.

The post Making Noise: Rage Against the Rockstars first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Shoreline College's Music Tech Programs Utilize Solid State Logic ORIGIN ConsolesThis is the sort of news that should give everyone the warm-and-fuzzies before the weekend, thanks to ORIGIN inline architecture helping students, "attain a practical understanding of recording, mixing, routing, and gain staging through hands-on operation within a broader environment that also includes SSL interfaces."

According to news released this week, "Shoreline College, 10 miles north of downtown Seattle, Washington, opened its recently constructed Bracken Building, the new home of its Music and Music Technology programs, in April 2026. The new facility houses two recording studios with associated live tracking rooms, three small production/mixing rooms and two MIDI/computer labs that all feature equipment from Solid State Logic, including ORIGIN 32-channel and ORIGIN 16-channel inline analogue mixing consoles and dozens of SSL’s USB audio interfaces."

“We had two goals with this new space,” said Matt Jorgensen, Music Technology Faculty, Shoreline College, in that statement. “Number one was to have two recording studios that were nearly identical, and the second was to almost take a step back from the digital world and have the consoles be purely analogue.”

"Shoreline's investment in both SSL ORIGIN consoles and SSL audio interfaces helps create a more complete educational experience, allowing students to develop and translate practical, real-world production skills from the 'classroom to the control room' that mirrors industry practice," Ashleigh Davies, Head of Education, Solid State Logic, told MC. "We are proud to have our technology being used by Shoreline in this manner."

“When I recorded in Seattle I spent a lot of time at Studio X, which famously has a big SSL console, and all the engineers in town have always raved about SSL,” Jorgensen says. “But I think having a giant SSL would have been a bit overkill for what our students are doing, so I think what drew us to the ORIGIN board was the fact that it’s simple. We are an educational institution, and those consoles help us to get the students up and running as quickly as possible so they can do the things that they want to do.”

For more info, visit solidstatelogic.com.

The post Shoreline College's Music Tech Programs Utilize Solid State Logic ORIGIN Consoles first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

From Universal Music’s fresh round of layoffs to Spotify’s catalog surge… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-upThe biggest headlines from the past few days...
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How Lou Reed Turned "Walk on the Wild Side" Into an Unlikely Pop HitHow did Lou Reed turn "Walk on the Wild Side" into a pop hit? Explore the song's underground roots, unforgettable bassline, and the real people behind its lyrics.

ORBITAL REVISITS A HISTORIC MOMENT WITH OFFICIAL GLASTONBURY 1994 RELEASEElectronic pioneers Orbital recall one of the most influential performances in dance music history with the first official release of their legendary Glastonbury1994 set.

Restored and remastered from the original tapes, the collection captures the moment the duo helped bring electronic music from underground clubs to the festival main stage, forever changing the perception of live dance performances.

Photo credit: Steve Double

The post ORBITAL REVISITS A HISTORIC MOMENT WITH OFFICIAL GLASTONBURY 1994 RELEASE first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Warner Chappell Music signs My Chemical Romance to exclusive worldwide publishing dealWarner Chappell will oversee the catalog's global rights administration, copyright protection, and sync licensing across film, television, and video games.
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Billy Cobham's 10 Favorite Albums of All TimeBilly Cobham’s musical influences run deep. Discover his 10 favorite albums, featuring jazz legends, groundbreaking fusion, and timeless recordings.

Happy Birthday Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues  The Moody Blues’ Days Of Future Passed was recently celebrated with an expanded 50thAnniversary Deluxe Edition 

Days Of Future Passed was the Moody Blues’ landmark second album and formally marked the beginning of the band’s psychedelic era. Featuring the London Festival Orchestra, this richly orchestrated album followed in the wake of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour but was in itself a unique and highly original piece of work. The album includes the hits “Tuesday Afternoon” and the ever-enduring “Nights In White Satin,” which established the Moody Blues as true pioneers in the development of progressive rock.

Singer, songwriter and guitaristJustin Hayward was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, England on October 14, 1946.

In 1966 he replaced the departing guitarist Denny Laine after the group had achieved a hit record with “Go Now,” a cover of a Bessie Banks record.

Hayward was initially contacted by Mike Pinder the Moody Blues’ keyboardist, who had received Justin’s letter and demo discs from Eric Burdon of the Animals where Hayward  answered an ad in the Melody Maker. At the same time bassist/vocalist John Lodge replaced another founding member, Clint Warwick, joining another co-founder, drummer Graeme Edge.  Ray Thomas, a vocalist and flute player was then enlisted for their unique sonic mixture.  

Hayward penned “Fly Me High,” a Moody Blues’ Decca single in 1967, and then “Leave This Man Alone,” and collaborated with Pinder on his “Love And Beauty,” the first Moodies record to incorporate the mellotron. This instrument is early version of sampling keyboards.

Harvey Kubernik and Justin Hayward 2012 interview

Q: Take me to the process of writing “Tuesday Afternoon” and then doing it for The Days Of Future Passed LP.     

A: We had the idea for a stage show and then it really came from Mike who had written a song, ‘Dawn is a Feeling’ which I really loved. And then we got round to sort of thinking about this would be quite a good idea for a sort of thematic stage show about the day in the life of one guy. And I just sort of chose, ‘I’m gonna do the afternoon.’  And I had already done ‘Nights in White Satin’ written and recorded.

“So I went back to where my parents lived in the west country in England and with a guitar and went out that afternoon sat in the side of the field and smoked a joint and then came back with ‘Tuesday Afternoon.’ That was about it. I thought it was kind of a cheeky little song that wouldn’t really mean much.  

Q: You debuted “Tuesday Afternoon” on a BBC radio session, before it was done with the band and the London Festival Orchestra conducted by Peter Knight.

A: It meant a lot to do the BBC after going professional. Totally. But I think it comes from us being a kind of reliable bread and butter live band for the BBC. We did a lot of ‘Easy Beat’ and ‘Saturday Club’ sessions for the Beeb. And they were very kind to us. But, you know, they got their monies worth out of us. They hardly paid us. (laughs).

Q: Did your early tunes like “Tuesday Afternoon” and ‘Nights in White Satin” even as you first wrote them and cut them with the Moodies always have such inherent cinematic qualities? Even without the orchestration, they are quite visual numbers. For example, your mono recording of “Nights in White Satin” is included in the bonus disc of the 2006 deluxe edition 2CD set of Days Of Future Passed.

A: I wish I could say I thought of it in those terms. But it was probably more to do with just the sort of, I hope this doesn’t sound too pretentious, I’m sure it is, the kind of search for enlightenment that young people do, and psychedelic experiences that I was going through. And it has more to do with that probably than thinking of it in a contrived way, you know, in a film sort of way. Interestingly enough, Tony Clarke used to think like that all the time.

Q: “Tuesday Afternoon” and “Nights in White Satin” were eventually recorded with the orchestra. Not the original game plan when you wrote them.

A: Not at all. But I have to say the single version of ‘Tuesday’ and the single version of ‘Nights in White Satin’ do not have any orchestra on it. It’s just a Mellotron.

“But I was at the session when they did the orchestra sessions. And they did it in one take. They had already laid out the songs on a four-track machine and they were bouncing to another four track. And so they did one run-though with the orchestra and then the take itself. And so I was astounded when I heard this stuff. And Mike had already done the spoken word stuff. So it was astounding to listen to that.

“But in truth, I thought we were making a kind of arty album that I might get invited to a cocktail party and might meet some nice lady from The Observer, and that’s about it. That was as far as a thought. So I wasn’t completely overwhelmed by it. I thought it was a limited appeal album. And really, the people who were in charge of it were the Decca stereo people. It was their album. A demonstration record. And we weren’t even asked into the control room.

Q: What role did the mellotron, even back then, play or impact your songwriting process and then recreating the Moodies sound on stage?

A: Well, Mike and the mellotron made my songs work. That’s the simplest way I can put it. When he was playing piano it was difficult for me to try and find something that would be percussive on the piano and that would be interesting. And particularly because Mike had already played, you know, the greatest piano single ever, so that was going to be an impossible act to follow. But when he found the mellotron, suddenly my songs worked, you know. When I played the other guys ‘Nights in White Satin’ they weren’t that impressed until Mike went on the mellotron and then everyone was kind of interested. (laughs). Because it really started to hang together from the mellotron.

Q: Days Of Future Passed and your tunes on it, owing partially to radio airplay and constant rotation, have achieved anthem-like status.

A: I don’t think there’s another album like Days Of Future Passed. And really, if you want to test your stereo system chose it because it’s still is one of the great quality studio recorded albums. And the engineer and the production had a lot to do with it.

“It’s just absolutely beautiful. And I would recommend it. The appeal of it was that we went our own way. The appeal was that we did think it was a small limited appeal album. And a lot of people who listen to it feel that way about it. ‘It’s just for me.’ It’s not a worldwide kind of thing. Not everybody liked it. It wasn’t universally liked. So I still like the fact that it was for an exclusive kind of audience. And only certain people would really appreciate or have the patience for it. And I think that’s it, really. That we went our own way and created our own identity with it.

Q: After Days Of Future Passed landed on the charts and sold, it was quite apparent being in this band was going to be your life. And the Moody Blues continued with another album. How do you even create a follow-up to this work? 

A: And the second album we were alone. But fortunately, Decca gave us Derek Varnels and Tony Clarke. And we had a load of songs, including ‘Legend Of a Mind,’ and maybe it might had been ‘Voices In The Sky,’ were done at the time of Days Of Future Passed. Our tracks don’t take up much time when you put them all together, like on Days of Future Passed.

“So, we already had a couple of things, And out of that came this thing that Mike used to do this thing on the piano. And the second album came out of that. And we had a theme early on that we write to and that was it. And then it coincided with our first tour of America. And we decided, well we didn’t decide, it was that we were everybody’s support band. That was the way we worked. We would support anybody and go on tour opening up. We always figured opening up was the best place to be. We’d be back in the hotel by 9:00 pm. Luckily, In Search of the Lost Chord, and ‘Ride My See-Saw’ and ‘Voices in the Sky’ took off.  

Q: I saw the band live a couple of times in the L.A. area in 1969 and 1970, once with Spirit, and I know on occasion there were some technical problems with the Mellotron on stage. These were primitive days in the technological recreation of studio sound. Were there any comical situations where the Mellotron broke down or slowed a show of yours?

A: Even at our Isle of Wight festival show that (director) Murray Lerner shot, there were real problems with the voltage. ‘Cause the voltage affected the mellotron. So if the voltage fluctuated so did the mellotron’s pitch. That’s one. (laughs). There’s a couple of things like that where I’ve mixed live and you hear things that obviously the audience is never gonna hear.

“And then the other one was doing our very first gig for Bill Graham at the Fillmore East and then for the mellotron to pack up in the first song. And for Mike to spend the first set with his head in the back of the mellotron was devastating. I just remember the blues guy, John Mayall, who was also on Decca, and extremely pissed off that we were above him on the bill. (laughs). I just remember him looking across and seeing him in the wings laughing his head off at Mike. And he knew Mike well. And so bless him..

Q: I seem to remember in 1969 the Moody Blues played a Love-In in Los Angeles.   

A: Yes.

Q: I always enjoyed that on your albums there were bits of spoken word and narration integrated in some of the songs. Recitation and talk. Was that part of the process when you were preparing the projects or doing pre-production?

A: It wasn’t so much by design. It was Graeme wanted to contribute. He was a good lyric writer. He was good at spoken word. He was a poet. And we had to get it in there somehow. And he would often try and bring the whole album theme together with his spoken word stuff. And he did that very well. So that’s where that came from.

“Then also that album called The Zodiac Cosmic Sounds on Elektra Records. (incorporating moog synthesizer from Paul Beaver and narration by Cyrus Faryar). That really turned us on. And we have to give that album some credit for really influencing us.       

Q: From your Question of Balance LP, I used to spin a Mike Pinder song, “How Is It (We Are Here)” that followed your “Question.”

A: Oh yes!

Q: Are you even aware that decades ago, those songs chronicled the world of physical existence, and others, like your tune “Cities,” were a comment on ecology and planetary concerns. Akin to the Doors’ “When the Music’s Over.” Some local radio stations used to couple the recordings together. Man, you were making an impact beyond the chart hits. The ecology theme was translating back to us teenagers in Hollywood. 

A: I was absolutely aware of that. I was a country boy and I never really, apart from a couple of times in my life for a few weeks, I never really, you know, lived in the city before. So I was very much in my mind. I love the English countryside. And London was a big kind of frightening place. But I knew it held the future. You had to be in London to get anything done. But it didn’t stop me kicking it.                            

Q: On your 2012 U.S. tour, what is it like singing and performing songs from Days Of Future Passed that you initially wrote and recorded just after being a teenager, and now 45 years later it is you as an adult doing them.  Is the song or the message the same or different? I know you’ve embraced your back catalog, and active in re-mastering and income streams, but are these songs and the recordings now another experience for you?

A: Well, now that’s a good question. Because I think they are relevant today. There’s a naivety about them that I would not, and this is the same for all of us in the band, that I would not have the courage to write today. And it’s as simple as that. I’d be afraid of writing it or exposing something that would be to kind of criticism. So, I’d play it a lot safer now.

Q: What was it like the last few decades overseeing re-mastering and reissues of your first batch of albums?

A: My first reaction was when we went back (1972) to do the Quadraphonic, the 5.1 version of Days Of Future Passed which could only come from the Quad that the late Tony Clarke and engineer Derek Varnals had done it in Quad at the time. In the same studio with the same echoes with the same notes. And Derek Varnals was always good at keeping notes. And I was just astounded. I just thought, ‘How on earth did we do that?’ Because most of it was live and we were bouncing. You had to get it right and then bounce or to double-track the vocals or anything. And my reaction was, how on earth did we do it? I just don’t know, really. It’s like listening to another group of people. I’m far enough away now to be able to separate.

Photo courtesy of Carl Lender/Wikicommons, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.The post Happy Birthday Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues   first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Here’s exactly what Amazon, Spotify, Apple and other streaming services want to pay songwriters for 2028–2032Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Pandora, and Google have filed their rate proposals in Phonorecords V
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Why Mick Fleetwood Wore Wooden Toilet-Chain Balls on the ‘Rumours’ CoverEver wondered why Mick Fleetwood is holding wooden toilet-chain balls on Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours cover? Discover the bizarre story behind his unusual good-luck charm.