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Beck will bring his symphonic reinvention back to North American stages this summer, with nine concerts across eight cities backed by local orchestras.

This announcement follows Beck’s well-received orchestral performances at Carnegie Hall and other venues last year. “The band got a little bigger since last time,” Beck joked during his two-night Carnegie stand, with the 73-member Orchestra of St. Luke’s onstage. Among other songs, the setlists highlighted work Beck created with his father, composer David Campbell, whose string arrangements on Sea Change and Morning Phase laid the groundwork for these shows.

In the time of chimpanzees he was a monkey, but now, after 30-plus years of practice, practice, practice, Beck has made it to Carnegie Hall. “This is a good-sounding room,” he deadpanned on Tuesday night, during the second of two performances at the fabled venue. “It sounds pretty good. I’ve come a long way.”

In addition to his longtime backing band — guitarist-bassist Jason Falkner, keyboardist Roger Manning, and drummer Joey Waronker — Beck was joined by the 73-member Orchestra of St. Luke’s and conductor Edwin Outwater for cinematic renditions of his most moody,...

Dave Grohl has unleashed the only live performance of his epic 23-minute, instrumental “Play,” which extends the song to a whopping 36 minutes.

Recorded during Warren Haynes’ 30th Annual Christmas Jam in 2018, the live version expands the breadth of the instrumental as Grohl is accompanied by Greg Kurstin on keyboards, Chris Chaney on bass, Drew Hester on percussion, and guitarists Jason Falkner, Alain Johannes, and Barrett Jones. However, it’s Asheville-based busker Abby the Spoon Lady who really steals the show. Watch the performance below.

“Play” was originally composed and performed entirely with Grohl on every instrument. The process of its recording was captured in a two-part documentary of the same name, released in 2018.

The track will appear on The Benefit Concert Volume 20, a collection of performances recorded on December 7th and 8th, 2018 in Asheville, North Carolina. Other featured artists include Eric Church, Joe Bonamassa, Gov’t Mule, Mike Gordon, Marco Benevento,...

Cage the Elephant will lead a tribute concert to the late Daniel Johnston during the 2020 Hi, How Are You Day, an annual event in Austin, Texas, celebrating the beloved outsider artist.

White Denim, TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe, Katie Schecter and Jason Falkner will also take part in the January 22nd concert at Austin’s Acl Live at the Moody Theater; Johnston’s birthday was January 22nd, and his adopted hometown of Austin launched Hi, How Are You Day in 2018 to commemorate the influential singer/songwriter.

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Dave Grohl debuted his one-man instrumental project “Play” live with an all-star band that included members of Queens of the Stone Age and Jane’s Addiction and producer Greg Kurstin.

The Foo Fighters frontman first revealed the prog-rock epic in a documentary back in August which showed him making a 23-minute instrumental track as he played all seven instruments (guitar, drums, Fender Rhodes piano, synthesizers, vibraphone, tambourine, tympani) while composing it.

Last night on December 8th, he performed “Play” for the first time live at Warren Haynes’ 2018 Christmas Jam in Asheville,...

Beck will release a new record, Morning Phase, in February of next year. The record marks the singer’s first for Capitol Records and is said to be a “companion piece of sorts” to Beck’s excellent 2002 record, Sea Change. Made with the same band featured on that record—Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Joey Waronker, Smokey Hormel, Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Jason Falkner—Morning Phase reportedly attempts to recapture the harmonies and emotions from Sea Change, while sunning up the joint with some additional optimism. News of the record comes after a busy year for Beck. Last December, he released ...

This is interview part two with the makers of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. If you missed the first part with Michael Cera & Anna Kendrick you can check it out here.

Interviewed: Edgar Wright and Brandon Routh

Did you have any inspiration for the opening titles of the film?

EW: Yeah. The first cut of the film we didn’t have opening titles, the titles were all at the end. If you permit me to name drop, Quentin Tarantino watched the film and his only note that he had, his only big note, is he said, “You should have the titles at the start”. Because, I think he said, “Let the audience settle in.” Because originally it started with Brian LeBarton playing the solo title and then it went straight to the film and if you’re sitting down it’s kind of like you need a little second to catch your breath.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World week is finally here! Spinner has kindly allowed both the score and the soundtrack to Edgar Wright‘s latest to stream in its entirety. The original score by Nigel Godrich is just beautiful, as it is seamlessly infested with videogame influences. He also had some help by Beck Hansen, Cornelius, Dan Nakamura, Kid Koala, David Campbell, Danny Goffey, Gaz Coombes, Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning, Joey Waronker, and Gus Seyffert. As for the soundtrack is is completely rockin’ and definitely worth a listen (and many more).

You can stream everything right here or purchase the two sets on Amazon: Original Soundtrack and Original Score.

Original Soundtrack

01. Beck (as Sex Bob-omb) – We Are Sex Bob-omb

02. Plumtree – Scott Pilgrim

03. Frank Black – I Heard Ramona Sing

04. Beachwood Sparks – By Your Side

05. Black Lips – O Katrina!

06. Broken Social Scene (as Crash and the Boys) – I’m So Sad, So Very,...

Last week, Universal Pictures unleashed five video remixes for Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. DJ Osymyso's quick video remixes repurpose sound effects and dialogue from the film, edited into a music video. Two more will be released this week leading up to Comic-Con. Watch the first five remixes now after the jump. 1. Prepare This mix incorporates elements of a badass piece of new score; ‘Bass Battle’ from Nigel Godrich and guitar wizards Justin Meldal-Johnsen and Jason Falkner. 2. Hey This mix incorporates elements of a badass piece of new score; ‘Death To All Hipsters’ from Nigel Godrich and Beck. 3. Love This mix incorporates elements of a new score cue; ‘Hillcrest Park’ from Nigel Godrich; featuring Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning 4. Ramona This mix incorporates elements of a new score cue; ‘Second Cup’ from Nigel Godrich. 5. Fight! This mix incorporates elements of a new score cue; ‘Boss Battle’ from Nigel Godrich.

The summer's coolest comic-book movie just keeps looking better. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is fast approaching its August 25 release date, and just to keep us all slavering in anticipation, Edgar Wright and the gang have enlisted superduperhip DJ and general mixmaster Osymyso to mix a series of new trailer remixes for the movie.The first, Prepare, features Osymyso's workover of the down and dirty Bass Battle, a track that appears on Nigel Godrich's score and features the guitar wizardry of Justin Meldal-Johnsen and Jason Falkner.Osymyso, as Wright fans may remember, created Spaced Jam for the DVD release of Spaced (sampling dialogue from the series just as he does here for the film), as well as producing the soundtrack for Shaun Of The Dead and contributing to Hot Fuzz. So this is but the latest in a long collaboration - and this is but the first in a...

If you amassed a decent music collection during the '90s and '00s, then there's a good chance you own at least one record on which Jason Falkner has played, written or produced. The guy has worked with everyone from Paul McCartney to Beck to Cheap Trick to Air to Brendan Benson to Daniel Johnston, and that's just scratching the surface. Play "Six Degrees Of Falkner Separation" and you can probably come up with any pop musician of the last twenty years -- I tried it and even made a connection to a friend's drummer ex-boyfriend. If Falkner was merely a session musician, he'd have a resume he could be proud of, and a waiting list of potential clients. Problem is, he doesn't like playing sideman for other people. He's an astoundingly gifted and creative singer/songwriter/performer in his...

Cult figure gets a guitar pop overhaul It’s been quite a journey for Daniel Johnston. The fragile, Beatles-obsessed songwriter began the ’80s releasing primitive cassettes of his direct, tuneful songs, leading to an erratic career as a cult recording (and visual) artist, punctuated by his famous struggles with manic depression and resulting in an unsparing documentary film. Now Johnston wraps up 2009 by working with an actual Beatles associate. On Is And Always Was, Jason Falkner, the guitarist from Paul McCartney’s band, handles the production chores (and much of the musical accompaniment, save ace session drummer Joey Waronker) and the...

Underground icon Daniel Johnston has spent a lot of time slightly above ground. From Kurt Cobain wearing his T-shirt to 2005’s documentary The Devil And Daniel Johnston, many high-profile entertainers have supported the troubled Texan. Collaborators like Paul Leary of Butthole Surfers and Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse (which once covered Johnston’s “Hey Joe”) have tried to bolster Johnston’s signature aesthetic—fragile, crudely lo-fi, fractured acoustic oddities. Of course, the addition of high-profile collaborators destroyed that aesthetic and erased Johnston’s sad charm. On Is And Always Was, producer Jason Falkner avoids that trap entirely by making a ...