Jeff Beck, the celebrated rock guitarist who played with the Yardbirds and led the Jeff Beck Group, has died aged 78, the BBC reports. Beck was known as a keen innovator - he pioneered jazz-rock, experimented with fuzz and distortion effects, and opened the way for psych-rock and heavy metal. Beck, whose fingers and thumbs were famously insured for £7m, was an eight-time Grammy winner, recipient of the Ivor Novello for outstanding contribution to British music, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame both as a solo artist and as a member of the Yardbirds. His Yardbirds bandmate, Jimmy Page wrote on Twitter - “The six stringed Warrior is no longer here for us to admire the spell he could weave around our mortal emotions. Jeff could channel music from the ethereal. His technique unique. His imaginations apparently limitless". Rod Stewart, who sang in the Jeff Beck Group, tweeted: "He was one of the few guitarists that when playing live would actually listen to me sing and respond".

The good people from Heavy Blog is Heavy have waited for the year 2022 to end, listened to all the albums coming out in December, and have served us now with a very good list of the 50 best (mostly) metal albums (and one interesting non-metal addition). Since HBIH considers music not to be a contest, they listed the 50 chosen ones from the "phenomenal year for music" in alphabetical order. A good one.

Universal Music Group has opened its first “music-based experiential hotel” in Madrid, uDiscoverMusic reports. The UMUSIC Hotel Madrid is operating at full capacity since the start of this year. The innovative hotel is located inside the historic Albéniz Theater building in the Spanish capital. “Through music’s unique power to inspire and unite – especially given UMG’s unparalleled roster of artists and labels – UMUSIC Hotels will both highlight these cities’ rich music heritages and provide new opportunities for artists to reach fans in immersive, innovative and authentic ways,” Bruce Resnikoff, President and CEO of Universal Music Enterprises, said of the project. Locations planned for UMUSIC hotels are Atlanta, Georgia; Biloxi, Mississippi; and Orlando, UMUSIC Hotels offer fans, guests, and artists immersive music experiences, incorporate elements of the local music scene,

Hardware company Kano made a name for themselves last year through a partnership with Kanye West who helped them design a Stem Player which contained his album 'Donda 2'. They have in the meantime severed ties with West, although its cofounder and CEO Alex Klein is gallant enough to admit that some days he feels “blessed” to have gotten West's eye on a player's new video cut or color combination. This year, Kano is launching a new product—a Stem Player with music by Ghostface Killah. The unique album by the former Wu-Tang Clan member will be released on custom white and black Ghostface Stems, and will run $240 and $360, respectively. “This is music for these people who care about me... It’s nothing for me to go in the studio and cook something up and just give it to [fans]. I don’t care about that. If you want it, you’re going to go get it” - Ghostface Killah says to Fast Company.

Cat Blanchett won a Golden Globe in the Best Actress in a Motion Picture category for her portrayal of fictional composer and conductor Lydia Tár. Austin Butler won in the Actor category for his portrayal of pretty much a real person - Elvis Presley. Kala Bhairava, M. M. Keeravani, and Rahul Sipligunj were awarded in the Best Original Song category for 'Naatu Naatu' from the Bollywood movie 'RRR'. Justin Hurwitz won Best Original Score for 'Babylon'. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, made a virtual appearance during the Golden Globes telecast saying "There will be no third World War, it is not a trilogy”. Variety reports...

"Globalism and diversity seem to have won in pop music. Good" - Matty Karas reflects on this year's Coachella line-up. Bad Bunny, Blackpink, and Frank Ocean headline the California mega-fest this April. "If you dare to bring a guitar to the desert, Goldenvoice will bury your guitar, and they might bury you with it... The kids want something else, and Goldenvoice will give it to them" - Tom Breihan points out.

The Guardian looks for clues for the popularity of nightcore, sped-up versions of existing songs, on streaming services and social media. Spotify-produced playlist Sped Up Songs is liked by more than 975,000 people; views of nightcore versions of songs on YouTube count in millions; on TikTok, the hashtag “spedupsounds” has 9.6bn views. The G sees record labels behind this trend - "sped-up music is a quick way for labels to monetize old music" since these kinds of remixes “drive songs up the charts” and are especially lucrative for catalogue material. There's a new trend going on parallel to nightcore - “slowed + reverb”, a slowed-down alternative "where producers pull down a song’s tempo to 60 or 70 quarter-note beats per minute, then add some skips, scratches, and stop-time moments. It’s a TikTok staple, with over 1.3m views on the app, and 623,000 followers on Spotify’s 'slowed and reverbed' playlist".

Lawyers for Dr. Dre sent a cease-and-desist letter to congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene threatening her with legal action after she used the rapper’s 1999 smash hit 'Still D.R.E.' without permission in a social media post, Billboard reports. “One might expect that, as a member of Congress, you would have a passing familiarity with the laws of our country" - lawyers wrote.

The New York Times looks into "trailerization" - the reworking of existing songs to maximize their impact in trailers for films and TV shows. One of the most successful recent examples is David James Rosen's take on Kate Bush’s 'Running Up That Hill' which he tweaked into a thunderous version for 'Stranger Things'. The Times explains different types of trailerizations: "There are reimaginations, which are usually instrumental covers by composers. There are overlays, where elements are added to a song in varying degrees. Then there are remixes, where the source material is distinctly altered, often to shift the context".

The success of ABBA Voyage, the avatar show based on the Swedish band set in London, could be replicated elsewhere in the world, in Las Vegas, Australasia, or somewhere else in Europe, CNBC reports. "We can duplicate the arena and the show” producer Svana Gisla told, adding - “the tech itself isn’t new but the way in which we’ve used it and scale and barriers we’ve broken down are new. I’m sure others will follow and are planning to follow”. It's really just a technical question, according to Gisla - “we have live musicians, so we keep our band and do seven shows over five days a week. But you could roll round the clock. Vegas will quickly adopt this style of entertainment and do Elvis or the Beatles”. However, it was no easy task - the London show was in the works for five years and had a £141 million (€160 million, $174.9 million) budget funded by global investors. It needs to get around 3 million people through its doors to break even, and the average ticket price is £75 (€85, $91).

John Lydon's band Public Image Ltd. will take part in the competition to represent Ireland at the 2023 edition of Eurovision, the BBC reports. Former Sex Pistol's new song 'Hawaii' is a “love letter” to Lydon’s wife of nearly five decades, Nora, who is living with Alzheimer’s.

The Face chooses 10 pop acts they expect to "smash it" this year - Colombian-American producer/DJ Nick León, whose "tracks are powered by dembow rhythms, often fusing Latin genres like reggaeton and perreo with ambient, IDM, Miami bass and electro"; New York rapper Clip, distinct for her "nonchalant delivery and a love of scuzzy, leftfield rap production", Bar Italia who Mix "jagged art rock and grey-scale dream-pop"; and others.

"Many of the year’s most viral moments on TikTok were derived from live shows this year: Rosalía elaborately chewing gum during her song Bizcochito, Healy relentlessly touching his crotch, Gaga belting a power ballad while wearing an Edward Scissorhands-style claw and standing on a flaming stage. Perhaps these moments are reverse-engineered to go viral?" - Guardian asks about the nature of live shows. Tobias Rylander, who designed the 1975’s At Their Very Best tour, affirms the question - he says he’s always trying to put together “a show that reads well on social media”. LeRoy Bennett says that he and Lady Gaga were “absolutely” thinking about social media when designing her latest tour Chromatica Ball. Lorde and Rosalia had similar approach with their latest tours.

The Weeknd’s 2019 track ‘Blinding Lights’ has become the most streamed song ever on Spotify with 3,332,163,962 streams (on January 1), the Hypebot reports. The track has overtaken Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape Of You’ (with 3,332,016,196 streams on January 1) which has held the top spot for the past five years — having taken over from Drake’s ‘One Dance’ in 2017.

UK girl R&B trio Flo have won the BBC's Sound of 2023, the annual list which showcases the next big things in music. Flo, who are aged between 19 and 21, were formed in 2019 and signed to Island Records in 2020. Flo beat Fred Again, Nia Archives, Cat Burns, and Gabriels.

A brave piece of investigative journalism in Rolling Stone about a Serbian DJ who they allege to be a war criminal. The story goes back 30 years to the Bijeljina city massacre from April 1992, where para-military group Arkan's Tigers (Arkanovi tigrovi) left their bloody trail. Rolling Stone alleges one of the combatants in the war was Srđan Golubović, who would later perform as DJ Max, also a co-owner of a record label, Ultra Groove Records. He was center stage at clubs in Belgrade and venues across Serbia, including at the world-famous EXIT Festival. A must-read.

"Deep, empathetic bond between artist and listener is the most elemental connection in music" - Rolling Stone introduces its list of the 200 best singers of all time, which, "encompasses 100 years of pop music as an ongoing global conversation". The ultimate criteria was "originality, influence, the depth of an artist’s catalog, and the breadth of their musical legacy". Here are the top 10:

10. Al Green

9. Otis Redding

8. Beyoncé

7. Stevie Wonder

6. Ray Charles

5. Mariah Carey

4. Billie Holiday

3. Sam Cooke

2. Whitney Houston

1. Aretha Franklin

Record 2.232 million vinyl albums were sold in the US the week ending December 22, the highest figure it has ever been recorded since 1991, Billboard reports. The biggest-selling record was ‘Midnights’ by Taylor Swift, which moved 68,000 units. This is the second time since 1991 that vinyl sales have crossed the 2 million mark – the first time this happened was only last year, when 2.1 million records were sold in the week ending December 23, 2021.

ritish fashion designer and punk style icon Vivienne Westwood has died aged 81 peacefully, surrounded by her family, at her home in London. In the fashion world, Westwood was a beloved character who energized and pushed the boundaries of the industry until her death. To the media, she was "the high priestess of punk". She worked as a primary school teacher, before setting up clothing shop Let It Rock on King's Road in London with her then partner Malcolm McLaren in the early 1970s. The business was later renamed Sex and McLaren began managing a punk rock band made up of shop regulars - the Sex Pistols. They shot to fame in 1976 wearing Westwood and McLaren's designs. Musicians are paying tribute to the designer. Chrissie Hynde, the Pretenders frontwoman who worked at their boutique said on Twitter: “Vivienne is gone and the world is already a less interesting place”. Sir Paul McCartney shared on Twitter: “A ballsy lady who rocked the fashion world and stood defiantly for what was right. Love Paul x”.

Zambian songwriter, rapper, and singer Sampa the Great in the latest episode of Song Exploder tells the story of her song 'Let Me Be Great'. Sampa the Great and producer Mag44 break down the song, which features vocals from legendary West African singer Angélique Kidjo. Sampa the Great speaks about how she went from being defensive about her culture in her music to celebrating it.

Maxi Jazz, the lead singer of British dance act Faithless, has died "peacefully in his sleep" in his south-London home on Friday night, aged 65. A statement shared on Jazz's Instagram and signed by his former bandmates said: "He was a man who changed our lives in so many ways. He gave proper meaning and message to our music". Beyond Faithless, the versatile musician formed Maxi Jazz & The E-Type Boys, playing "melodic funk and blues mixed with reggae beats, dub baselines [and] Jamaican melodies". The music world pays tribute to Maxi Jazz.

“At its core, this song is my way of saying ‘this too shall pass’ but in a way that feels honest” says Brooklyn singer-songwriter Brian Dunne of 'Sometime After This'. He offers a perspective to the song: “It starts with a big idea and gets smaller with each verse. The first one addresses the social and political state of things, and how sad it is that we can't even agree on what it is that we disagree about (and also has the first, and likely last use of the word ‘email’ in one of my songs). Verse two is about everything that led me here, to this particular song, and finds me asking a classic NYC vampire - a sacred character to me - what exactly to do with it. And verse three is just about a single cup of coffee and how it all just comes down to that; being grateful for a hot beverage.”

Terry Hall, the singer of the influential English ska band The Specials, has died at the age of 63, following a short illness, the AP reports. Hall dropped out of school at 14 and found himself in the English punk scene, joining a band called the Squad. But in 1977, he joined The Coventry Automatic, the first incarnation of The Specials. Melding the British punk of the late-70s and Jamaican ska of the 60s, the band broke through, influencing a generation of anti-racist punk and ska bands. “His music and his performances encapsulated the very essence of life… the joy, the pain, the humor, the fight for justice, but mostly the love” - the band's statement reads. Guardian selects 10 of his recordings.

"In the punk world, 2022 was a year of innovation, a year of new generations staking their claim, a year of new trends emerging and old trends making comebacks. For the purposes of this list, "punk" incorporates punk, pop punk, indie-punk, emo, hardcore, post-hardcore, screamo, metalcore, ska-punk, and various other microgenres that fall under those" - Brooklyn Vegan introduces their list of 50 best punk albums. The top 10 are:

10. The Interrupters - 'In The Wild'

9. Pinkshift - 'Love Me Forever'

8. JER - 'Bothered / Unbothered'

7. The Wonder Years - 'The Hum Goes On Forever'

6. Pool Kids - 'Pool Kids'

5. Mindforce - 'New Lords'

4. The Callous Daoboys - 'Celebrity Therapist'

3. Drug Church - 'Hygiene'

2. Anxious - 'Little Green House'

1. Soul Glo - 'Diaspora Problems'

There are many, many great books released this year - Variety introduces its list of the best music books released in 2022. "Bono writes beautifully about his relationship with his parents and his wife... Tom Breihan’s new book looks at how 20 top tracks affected the culture, and/or changed the game, musically and sociologically... Stunning 'The Byrds: 1964-67', a comprehensive oral history and a gorgeous coffee-table photo book all in one...  In his first book, the ace New York Times reporter Coscarelli puts a microscope on the thriving and enormously influential Atlanta hip-hop scene".

Only one of the top ten most-searched songs of the year on Google came from a Western artist,  the search engine's trending searches of 2022 show. The list features several Indonesian and Japanese singers, a reggaeton-inspired Pakistani track, and one from Nigerian singer-songwriter Burna Boy. The top spot is taken by 'Tak Ingin Usai' ('Don’t Want to End'), by Indonesian singer Keisya Levronka. The only Western artist on the list is Harry Styles with 'As It Was' at number seven.

Space rock jazz band Chui three years ago have accompanied a screening of the 1927 silent movie 'Berlin: Symphony of a Great City' ('Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt') by director Walter Ruttmann, This year, Chui have released a full album 'Zagreb-Berlin' based on those compositions. This week, they have a new video out, 'Symphony Of A Metropolis Act I' from the Berlin part of the album.

Music streaming service Anghami is claiming that it will soon become the first platform to host over 200,000 songs generated by AI, MBW reports. Anghami has partnered with a generative music platform Mubert, whose tech takes samples written by human musicians and sound designers, and then, using Artificial Intelligence, arranges them into finished tracks. Mubert’s technology is being combined with Anghami’s user data and algorithms to create thousands of AI-generated songs. According to Anghami, the service has already generated over 170,000 songs.

ChatGPT is a prototype artificial intelligence chatbot that specializes in dialogue. The OpenAI-developed chatbot is a large language model fine-tuned with both supervised and reinforcement learning techniques. Trapital's Dan Runcie has a few ideas on how musicians could use it - "to generate ideas for new songs or to help them come up with lyrics. They could also use it to help them brainstorm new ways to arrange their music or to come up with unique melodies and chord progressions. Additionally, chatGPT could be used to help musicians write press releases or other promotional materials, or to generate titles and descriptions for their music on social media or streaming platforms.”