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“Let me ask you something,” composer Lalo Schifrin told me a few years ago during a long conversation that, sadly, would be our last. “When you write your articles, do you require a piano? I imagine you don’t, because you already have all the words that you need in your mind, which you then elaborate with your knowledge of grammar and syntax, right? It’s exactly the same for me. I don’t need a musical instrument in order to compose a piece. The notes are in my head.”

I had the privilege of interviewing Schifrin, who died Thursday at 93, multiple times during the past three decades. The most memorable meeting with the Emmy-nominated (Mission: Impossible theme) and Oscar-nominated composer (Sting II, The Amityville Horror) was a leisurely lunch at one of his favorite Beverly Hills restaurants when I was still in my early 20s and just getting started in journalism.

Doechii has brought her first Top 10 hit, “Anxiety,” to life with a new music video, depicting the rising star’s desperate search for peace. Watch it below.

Directed by frequent collaborator James Mackel, the visual is filled with anxiety-inducing situations from the start, including home invaders busting through Doechii’s windows, a kitchen fire she has to put out herself, and a yapping Doberman Pinscher.

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While escaping the house, the rapper-singer narrowly avoids being crushed by a falling chandelier — only to encounter an elephant roaming the street and a crowd of nearly 100 dancers invading her personal space.

“Anxiety” prominently samples Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” which itself borrows from Luiz Bonfá’s “Seville.” After an earlier version went viral, the track was re-recorded and received an official release last month. It currently sits at No. 14 on the Hot 100 after peaking at No. 10.

It...

Remember that eargasmic, emotionally-charged radio hit song from 2011 that goes, “Now you’re just somebody that I used to know”? The man behind that viral track, Gotye, went from being an unknown artist to an overnight instant star, but as soon as he reached the peak of fame, he disappeared into thin air.

Credits: Gotye and Kimbra in Somebody That I Used to Know Mv / YouTube

The song accumulated over 2.3 billion views on YouTube through the years, and with this staggering figure, many wondered why he never released any new music or launched a full-blown music career. It is true that Gotye never made money from this song, and he truly missed out on a huge chunk of money.

Gotye Almost Made $10 Million From His Viral Hit Song ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’

Wally de Backer, more famously known as Gotye, turned down the offer to monetize his song...

Clarence Avant, the music executive and film producer who was known unofficially as “The Godfather” of Black entertainment, died on Sunday in his Los Angeles home. He was 92.

“It is with a heavy heart that the Avant/Sarandos family announce the passing of Clarence Alexander Avant,” a statement from his children, Nicole and Alexander, as well as his son-in-law Ted Sarandos read. “Through his revolutionary business leadership, Clarence became affectionately known as ‘the Black Godfather’ in the worlds of music, entertainment, politics and sports. Clarence leaves behind a loving family and a sea of friends and associates that have changed the world and will continue to change the world for generations to come. The joy of his legacy eases the sorrow of our loss.”

Avant began his music industry career in the 1950s as a manager of Teddy P’s Lounge in Newark, New Jersey. He would later go on...

In March, the Brazilian style of music known as bossa nova made an unexpected appearance on one of the year’s biggest hip-hop albums: Juice Wrld’s Death Race for Love.

Thank Tommy Brown. During a recording session earlier this year with two other beat-makers, Boi-1da and Jahaan Sweet, Brown came across a striking bossa nova guitar sample. “I pulled up the loop and gave it to 1da,” recalls Brown, who also co-produced Ariana Grande’s juggernaut “7 Rings.” “[1da] put in drums; Jahaan started to add chords.” Juice Wrld, the 20-year-old...

The Organizing Committee for the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro just announced its official mascots will be 'Vinicius' and 'Tom' -- named after legendary Bossa Nova artists Vinicius de Moraes and Antonio Carlos 'Tom' Jobim. These two vital voices in Brazilian culture were responsible, along with collaborator Luiz Bonfa, for the now iconic music at the heart of the Academy Award and Cannes Palme d'Or winning film Black Orpheus.

Prolific director George C. Wolfe and Pulitzer-winning playwright Lynn Nottage are on board with producers Stephen Byrd, Alia Jones-Harvey and Paula Marie Black to recast Marcel Camus’ Black Orpheus as a Broadway musical. The steamy 1960 Best Foreign Film Oscar winner, which set the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in modern-day Rio de Janeiro against the orgiastic background of carnavale, had a celebrated score by Luiz Bonfa and Antonio Carlos Jobim that’s widely credited with launching the Bossa Nova craze in the U.S. with such classics as its theme, “Manha de Carnaval.” Rick Miramontez, a spokesman for the show, said that […]...

Stumped for what to buy your friends and family this year? Forget the socks and chocs and bubble bath – our critics have chosen 40 of the best music, film and TV box sets

Pop by Kitty Empire

1 The Beatles Remastered Stereo Box Set (Parlophone)

At £145, the Beatles box set probably costs roughly what a small car did in the early 1960s. But the startling detail on these CDs will repay the outlay for Beatles nerds and mere mortals alike. Its sister release, The Beatles in Mono – 1960s scooter prices, at a guess – is even more desirable, audiophiles reckon.

2 Kraftwerk The Catalogue (Mute/Emi)

Eight albums by the electronic Beatles, dating from 1974's Autobahn, all gleamingly remastered. Costing considerably less than one of Ralf Hütter's beloved bicycles, this is the master text of most electronic genres – electro, techno, even hip-hop – today.

3 Spiritualized Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space Deluxe...