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Music News: Listen to the White Stripes' first-ever show

The White Stripes' 1999 self-titled debut album
The White Stripes' 1999 self-titled debut albumSympathy for the Record Industry

by Jay Gabler

July 16, 2017

The White Stripes have released a recording of their first-ever show, to celebrate the gig's 20th anniversary. The three-song set, which includes White Stripes originals "Jimmy the Exploder" and "St. James Infirmary" as well as a cover of the Clovers’ "Love Potion No. 9," took place during an open-mic night at the Gold Dollar Detroit on July 14, 1997. The release, available for streaming and download, is titled The First Show: Live On Bastille Day. (Rolling Stone)

French marching band play Daft Punk for dignitaries

In other Bastille Day news, U.S. president Donald Trump was in Paris for the annual parade celebrating the holiday, and he and French president Emmanuel Macron were among the dignitaries who were treated to a marching band playing a Daft Punk medley. (Pitchfork)

Trump hasn't made his feelings about Daft Punk known, but his press secretary Sean Spicer had some feelings about the group's Grammys performance in 2014. "Daft Funk," he tweeted at the time, "this is your 10 seconds in the spotlight - u r blowing it." Spicer later elaborated: "was an early and still fan but come on helmets? [They] need to grow up."

Queen biopic confirmed

It's official: a Queen biopic starring Rami Malek as the late Freddie Mercury has been given the green light. "The film is now 'as-close-as-that' to start of shooting," write the band, who were just at the Xcel Energy Center on Friday with Adam Lambert filling in as frontman.

X-Men director Bryan Singer is helming the project. The band call Singer "a perfect choice to recreate the fabulous Queen years which brought us such unforgettable moments as Live Aid, which we can reveal will be faithfully recreated for a key sequence [in] the film." The movie, Bohemian Rhapsody, has been under discussion for over a decade, with star Sacha Baron Cohen attached until he dropped out over disagreements with the band. (Rolling Stone)

Are there fake artists on Spotify? Well, yes and no

Spotify vigorously denied a recent report that it was creating fake artists to fill choice playlists and collect a larger share of revenue, secretly controlling the music rights itself. It turns out, though, that there's more than a grain of truth in the charge.

Artists like Amity Cadet and Lo Mimieux, who seem to exist only on Spotify, turn out to be the products of producers who create the music to fit moods like "deep sleep" and "peaceful piano." It's unclear, reports the New York Times, what role Spotify may play in soliciting this music, or whether the creators of the tracks earn lower royalty rates than established artists do. Simply the fact that this is up for discussion, say music insiders, is hurting the service's reputation among artists suspicious of its business practices.

Nonetheless, the controversial producers are speaking up and insisting that although they may be catering to a certain audience niche on a particular streaming service, it's still their original music. "A lot of big composers, writers and filmmakers have used pseudonyms," says composer Peter Sandberg. "Why shouldn't I? [...] I'm a composer trying to find a way to grow and spread my work, and to be called fake is not something I appreciate."

Record collectors propel 50-year-old high school band to cult stardom

The Rising Storm recorded their debut album of garage rock 50 years ago when the band members were seniors in high school in Andover, Massachusetts. You've probably never heard of them, but the band's 1967 album Calm Before... has become an unexpectedly hot item among vinyl collectors. The album, pressed in 500 copies, was already worth $350 by 1982; by the 1990s, copies were going for several thousand dollars each. The album has now been reissued three times, and original copies are worth about $10,000.

The band still play together occasionally, most recently at their 50-year reunion. "That's really a gift from the universe," says guitarist Bob Cohan. "This was just handed to us on a platter: 'Here, your album is now a collector's item, and people want to hear you play.'" (New York Times)

Beyoncé shares first pic with twins

In case you missed it, here's the first photo of Beyoncé with her baby twins Rumi and Sir Carter. Just a casual snapshot. (Billboard)