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Music News: Neil Young opens historic archive

Singer Neil Young performs at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 6, 2015.
Singer Neil Young performs at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 6, 2015.Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

by Jay Gabler

December 04, 2017

Look out, Bob Dylan: Neil Young has just upped the bootleg ante by dropping ten previously unreleased albums at once, as part of his new online archive — and it's all free, at least for now. "All of Young's released solo titles, as well as his records made with Buffalo Springfield; Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young; and Crazy Horse" are available to stream for free via the music legend's new streaming site, notes Consequence of Sound. Previously unreleased films are also part of the archive.

"These are projects I did not release at the time for one reason or another, and many of the songs subsequently appeared on other albums as the years flew past," said Young in a statement. "The archive is designed to be a living document, constantly evolving and including every new recording and film as it is made. It is not yet complete as we are still adding a lot of detail to the older recordings."

LL, Richie, Estefan receive Kennedy Center Honors

In a Sunday night ceremony, LL Cool J became the first rapper to receive Kennedy Center Honors. It was an '80s party in D.C., as Lionel Richie and Gloria Estefan also earned laurels at the ceremony, which will be broadcast Dec. 26. The other two honorees were TV producer Norman Lear and dancer Carmen de Lavallade.

The usual White House reception was canceled, and neither President Donald Trump nor First Lady Meliana Trump attended the ceremony as has been customary under previous administrations. Some honorees said they would boycott if the Trumps were present. (Reuters)

Mortimer's adds music

Mortimer's, the Lyndale Avenue watering hole, has announced the first show at its new room for live music. The date: Dec. 27. The lineup: to be announced later today. The venue is now owned by the team who run Nightingale and Tilt Pinball Bar. "It's still the dive bar you love," they promise, "and yes, you can still get your beer by the pitcher."

Shkreli may have to relinquish Wu-Tang album

Disgraced pharmaceutical czar Martin Shkreli "is currently locked up, awaiting sentencing on three felony accounts of security fraud," notes Billboard. In a list of assets Shkreli may be forced to forfeit as part of a judgment, prosecutors list Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, the edition-of-one Wu-Tang Clan album Shkreli bought for $2 million in 2015 — although it seems to have already been sold, on eBay, for $1 million. Also potentially up for grabs: Shkreli's copy of the unreleased Lil Wayne album Tha Carter V. (Billboard)

Queen biopic production halted

There's yet another snag in the long progress of the Queen biopic. Production on Bohemian Rhapsody, starring Rami Malek, has been halted "due to the unexpected unavailability" of director Bryan Singer, says Fox. Singer has reportedly been an inconsistent presence on set so far, and his rep says the absence is due to "a personal health matter concerning Bryan and his family." (Billboard)

Lemmy Kilmister's final solo recording released

The final solo recording by the late Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister has been released. A collaboration with guitarist Chris Declercq, "We Are the Ones" was recorded about six months before Kilmister's 2015 death. "In a mini documentary about the making of the song," notes Rolling Stone, "Declercq says he finished the song earlier this year in Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 because it felt like the right home for the song."