No More Dueling Music Charts: Luminate and Mediabase Will Join Forces to Power Billboard’s Radio Airplay Rankings

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The word “contested” shows up a lot lately in singer-songwriter Elizabeth Chan’s world, as she made headlines this summer for going to court to try to ensure that Mariah Carey is not legally granted sole possession of the “Queen of Christmas” tag, which has also been applied to her. But there’s at least one aspect of what Chan does that will likely continue to go unchallenged. With her 12th album, “12 Months of Christmas,” coming out this week, Chan further breaks her own record for having the most all-original Christmas albums in circulation of any nationally established pop artist. Although “most Christmas albums” is not the sort of record where Santa is keeping an official list and checking it twice — nor the Guinness Book, for that matter — it seems safe to say that no one else is even close when it comes to self-penned, all-new Yuletide collections, thanks to the one-a-year pace established by Chan, the only nationally recognized artist who does nothing but Christmas albums.

Faith No More frontman Mike Patton has hit out at the ego of singers, describing most of them as “fucking idiots”.In a career-spanning interview with Bandcamp, Patton discussed projects from across his career, including Faith No More, Mr. Bungle and more, and the way he fits into each band as a vocalist.“I still see it as, ‘I am here to help,’” he said of his process. “I am a component.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs welcomed out The Linda Lindas and Japanese Breakfast – both of whom opened the show – to perform a cover of Kim Wilde’s 1981 hit ‘Kids In America’.Yeah Yeah Yeahs are currently touring in support of their recent fifth album, ‘Cool It Down’. The LA gig – one of two special shows announced back in May – took place at the 17,500-capacity Hollywood Bowl, and opened with the band inviting Perfume Genius out to perform their joint single ‘Spitting Off The Edge Of The World’ (the new album’s lead single).‘Kids In America’ was the first of two songs performed in Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ encore, rounded out by ‘Date With The Night’ (the lead single from their 2003 debut ‘Fever To Tell’). Elsewhere in the show, the band performed five other songs from ‘Cool It Down’ and three more from ‘Fever To Tell’, as well as three from 2009’s ‘It’s Blitz!’ album, two from 2006’s ‘Show Your Bones’, and only one from 2013’s ‘Mosquito’.Have a look at crowd-shot footage of the ‘Kids In America’ cover below, then see Yeah Yeah Yeah’s full setlist (via setlist.fm):1. ‘Spitting Off The Edge Of The World’ (with Perfume Genius) 2. ‘Cheated Hearts’ 3. ‘Pin’ 4. ‘Under The Earth’ 5. ‘Burning’ 6. ‘Zero’ 7. ‘Wolf’ 8. ‘Fleez’ 9. ‘Soft Shock’ 10. ‘Lovebomb’ 11. ‘Blacktop’ 12. ‘Maps’ 13. ‘Gold Lion’ 14. ‘Y Control’ 15. ‘Heads Will Roll’ 16. ‘Kids In America’ (Kim Wilde cover, with Japanese Breakfast and The Linda Lindas) 17. ‘Date With The Night’Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ next shows will be in Mexico – they’re set to perform at the Studio Theater Cavaret in Zapopan on Thursday November 17, before appearing at this year’s Corona Capital festival that weekend.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Although a news report went out Friday morning — and then was pulled — that Joni Mitchell had died, the story was published in error, and the singer-songwriter remains alive and well. “I can confirm all is well so this was done in error,” says a representative for Rhino, which is involved with Mitchell in an ongoing reissue series of her catalog material. The faux report went out from People magazine, with tell-tale signs of a “pre-write” obituary that was published accidentally — every major news organization’s worst nightmare. “Joni Mitchell Dies at TK AGE,” read the headline that was seen on the magazine’s website as well as in a tweet, the “TK” meaning “to come” in journalistic parlance. The story itself also included editorial notes indicating details that needed to be filled in.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Loretta Lynn died Tuesday at age 90. Todd Snider is a singer-songwriter who collaborated on writing songs with Lynn, including “Don’t Tempt Me,” which he recorded, and “Everything It Takes,” which appeared on her “Full Circle” album. Lynn penned the forward for a biography of Snider that will be published in 2023, writing in part, “”Todd Snider is a flat-out musical genius. I’ve been around a pretty good while, and there are a very few singer-songwriters who I would say that about, but Todd is one of them.” He wrote down thoughts about his working friendship with Lynn for Variety: I knew Loretta through her daughter Peggy. She is married to one of my oldest and closest friends, Mark Marchetti, and because of them Loretta knew of me.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Country singer Lainey Wilson’s very good year is getting just a little bit better, on top of her having the leading number of nominations for the CMA Awards and coming onto “Yellowstone” as a new cast member this season. CMT announced Wednesday that Wilson will be celebrated as Breakout Artist of the Year on the network’s “CMT Artists of the Year” special airing next week. “This past year has been a wild ride,” Wilson said in a statement. “To be considered for this award reinforces that the years of hard work my team and I have put in was all worth it. The team at CMT feels like family, and the way they genuinely support artists on their platform is so special and important for dreamers like me.”

Many of us will have vivid memories of visiting Father Christmas as a child and excitedly sharing details of the toys that featured on our Christmas lists.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The question is no longer just what Bob Dylan will have to say about Elvis Costello’s “Pump It Up” or the Clash’s “London Calling” when he writes about them in his new book, “The Philosophy of Modern Song.” Now we can wonder how Helen Mirren or Renée Zellweger will sound giving voice to Dylan’s prose as they read those chapters, respectively, in the audiobook version, which, like the hardback, arrives Nov. 1. Variety previously reported the titles of the historical songs Dylan has written essays about for the tome, followed by the the names of the actors enlisted to read individual chapters for the audiobook, but those two lists hadn’t been paired up till now. A look at the list below, being revealed for the first time today, shows that all of the stars involved have been given multiple assignments, including Jeff Bridges, Oscar Isaac, Rita Moreno, Jeffrey Wright, Sissy Spacek, John Goodman, Alfre Woodard and Steve Buscemi as well as Mirren and Zellweger.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The family of John Prine has signed a partnership deal with RadicalMedia (“Summer of Soul”) to develop two documentaries about the life and work about the life and work of the late singer-songwriter, the company has announced. Filming will be well underway this weekend as RadicalMedia plans to shoot the week-long series of tribute concerts taking place in Nashville under the banner of “You Got Gold,” including shows at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on Saturday and at the Ryman Auditorium Sunday and Monday. The all-star lineup for these shows is not being publicly revealed in advance. Footage for the “You Got Gold” concerts is being directed by Michael John Warren, who recently helmed the HBO documentary “Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known” for RadicalMedia.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Ohana Festival is California’s coolest music festival, literally, and there’s a case to be made for the figurative usage too. Eddie Vedder’s annual beachside gathering takes place yards away from the Doheny State Park cove where he learned to surf, and steady breezes over the weekend provided waves for dozens of surfers on one side of the chain-link fence and end-of-summer mellowness for about 15,000 concertgoers on the other. The festival doesn’t just have ocean draft to recommend it; there were rock squalls from Jack White, pop lungpower from Pink, whatever additional currents were caused by Stevie Nicks’ flowing garments… and, further down the bill, an honestly eclectic lineup that was like a continual 13-mph breath of fresh air.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Ashley McBryde, one of the premium-grade country stars of the 21st century, is at the point in her career where many country stars would be playing it safer than ever. She’s in-between the second and third releases in her album cycle, a time when many would be most fixated on grabbing for the brass ring. Instead, she’s got brass balls, opting instead to put out a beautifully quirky concept album full of guest singers and co-writers called “Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville.” Please pardon the minor vulgarity in the preceding paragraph, but that’s partly the after-effect of listening to “Lindeville,” a character-driven set of songs whose protagonists tend to be on the straight-talking side, to the point of definitely including a few songs you will never hear on country radio. But “going for adds” is the furthest thing from the mind of an album that takes place entirely in a fictional small town where virtue is rarely the thing being modeled, and where even the local dogs are a little embarrassed about the array of sins they’ve witnessed.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Brian Ray, a familiar sight to Paul McCartney fans as a 20-year multi-instrumentalist stalwart in the superstar’s band, has a dream for making Palm Springs a destination on the routing of touring rockers, as well as more of a cultural hub for the arts in general. It’s a dream whose destination is well in sight. He’s helping with the already partially funded campaign to restore and reopen the Plaza Theatre, a 1936 gem that has sat unpolished, if not quite completely dilapidated, through eight years of notable dormancy right in the heart of Palm Springs’ famous shopping district. Since he moved to the desert part-time four years ago, Ray has often thought about what could be, or what could have been, when it comes to the Plaza. It hasn’t been fit for ages to use as a hub for the annual Palm Springs Film Festival, as it was back in then-Mayor Sonny Bono’s day. But, more in keeping with Ray’s day job: “How about the mid-week shows that all the artists do when they come to Coachella? Or with Paul McCartney during Desert Trip, when we chose to go to Pappy and Harriet’s [in nearby Pioneerville] and play for about 140 people” — something he suggests could have gone down in the 800-capacity Plaza instead. “You could imagine that before that festival, Neil Young would’ve stepped into that theater and said, ‘This is where I want to do mine.’ That’s what would’ve happened if it would’ve been ready, you know?”

Jean Dawson has released a new single, ‘Pirate Radio’ along with a music video. Watch the visuals for the symphonic track below.Dawson has also announced dates for his debut headline US tour, which kicks off October 16 in San Diego and runs until November 17 in Los Angeles.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic If the planet was under threat of annihilation from beyond, and we had to present our divine or interplanetary overlords with just two musical emissaries to make a case that humankind is worth being spared as a species, Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples might be the couple we’d want to pick. Fortunately, with no such emergency yet in sight, they’ve managed to pair up of their own volition for a segment of Raitt’s current headlining tour that makes for a two-sided portrait of what heart, soul and understated heroism look like in music. Not that those kinds of superlatives showed up anywhere but in the subtext of Saturday night’s show at the Greek Theatre in L.A. It was a show where you could think about what Staples meant during the civil rights movement, and since, or about Raitt’s role as a warrior without uniform in the early days of women fighting to get their due in rock. Or you could just enjoy the chops and grease that feed into the respective performances of historically significant figures who wear their mantles as lightly as anything else they’d need to peel off upon stepping into a humid roadhouse.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The Doobie Brothers announced the death of drummer John Hartman Friday, collectively saying in a social media post, “Today we are thinking of John Hartman, or Little John to usJohn was a wild spirit, great drummer, and showman during his time in the Doobies.” He was 72. No cause of death was immediately announced. Hartman, a co-founder of the group, was one of nine members of the Doobie Brothers inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. He had long since left the frequently reuniting band. Hartman was with the group for its initial run of chart-topping hits, including signature songs like “Listen to the Music,” “Long Train Runnin'” and “What a Fool Believes.” He was one of two drummers the Doobies had on stage from 1971 until he first left the band in 1979. Ten years after departing, he returned for a reunion album in 1989 and continued on with the group through 1992.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The list of narrators for the audiobook version of Bob Dylan’s upcoming book has come to light, and it reads like a who’s who of Oscar contenders from the past few decades, along with the author himself doing some of the reading. The lineup of voice talent reading chapters from “The Philosophy of Modern Song” aloud includes Jeff Bridges, Steve Buscemi, John Goodman, Oscar Isaac, Helen Mirren, Rita Moreno, Sissy Spacek, Alfre Woodard, Jeffrey Wright and Renée Zellweger. This lineup of all-star Dylan surrogates has yet to be officially announced. It was first published by the U.K. magazine Uncut; Variety has confirmed the list.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic When Fox’s “Monarch” premiered to strong ratings following an NFL game on Sept. 11, there was a big sort-of-maybe cliffhanger: Can the Susan Sarandon character, touted as a series lead, really be as dead as she appeared to be at the end of the pilot? But there were other questions, too. Like: Will this be a series in which the characters are portrayed as having originated a lot of the big hits of country and pop, from “Family Tradition” to “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” to “Born This Way”? Will the middle American audience be completely down with a story that has an out lesbian character vying to become a country superstar? Do parallels with Naomi Judd’s story feel as eerie as we think they do? And did the pilot make all those millions of viewers want to come back when there’s no NFL lead-in?

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic “I’ve never talked about this publicly before,” said Taylor Swift, teasing the audience as she accepted an award in Nashville Tuesday night, leading at least some of the attendees to be on the edge of their seats. And because it was an audience mostly of songwriters, they stayed there, even when the secret to be revealed turned out to have to with classifications of different types of lyrics she has kept in her head for years. She went on to say that “it’s dorky. But I also have, in my mind, secretly, established genres categories for lyrics I write. Three of them, to be exact: They are affectionately titled Quill Lyrics, Fountain Pen Lyrics and Glitter Gel Pen Lyrics. … I came up with these categories based on what writing tool I imagine having in my hand when I scribbled it down — figuratively. I don’t actually have a quill. Anymore. I broke it once when I was mad.”

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The most famous “family tradition” in country music would have to be the intergenerational legacy of the Hank Williams clan. Right now, though, there’s another scion of Nashville royalty making good as a third-generation success: singer-songwriter Mitchell Tenpenny, who made modern chart history by managed to have two different No. 1 country airplay hits within the last month. But the rhetorical questions made famous by Hank Jr. — “Why do you drink? Why do you roll smoke?” — don’t apply in this case, as Tenpenny’s forebears in the business are a pair of strong but morally upstanding women: his grandmother, the late Donna Hilley, who capped a 31-year career at Sony/ATV Music Publishing by serving as CEO from 1994-2005, and his mother, Debbie Tenpenny, who currently works at Sony Music Publishing.