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Music News: IKEA to start selling turntables

IKEA employees celebrate the opening of a new store in Oak Creek, Wisconsin -- where, as of next year, you may be able to buy FREKVENS turntables.
IKEA employees celebrate the opening of a new store in Oak Creek, Wisconsin -- where, as of next year, you may be able to buy FREKVENS turntables.IKEA

by Jay Gabler

March 08, 2018

Have you ever wondered what a turntable would be called at IKEA, the furniture store that names all its products with all-caps Swedishisms? Now you have your answer: FREKVENS, the Swedish word for "frequency."

Turntables will be part of an entire line of products "such as an electronic choir, vinyl player, party lighting and everything else you need in order to throw a really good music party wherever you are," declares a press release. What's an electronic choir? We'll find out within a year, when the line launches.

"When you are younger you usually come up with the idea of a party the same day and I think a lot of people use IKEA that way," says the company's design head. "'I'm going to have a party, I need some glasses, napkins, candles and stuff and will go to IKEA to get it.' For us, it is about finding a reason to make and play some music. Thinking about the totality of what you need for a party is a good start." (Pitchfork)

Snow Patrol are coming back

Snow is on the way out for the winter, but Snow Patrol are coming back with their first album in seven years. Wildness, which will be released May 25, has a title with multiple meanings, explains frontman Gary Lightbody. "There are many types of wildness, but I think it can be distilled into two: the wildness of the modern age, all it's confusion, illogic and alienation and a more ancient wildness." (Rolling Stone)

New York gets first night mayor

New York City has appointed its first senior executive director of the Office of Nightlife — a.k.a. "night mayor" or "nightlife czar," a position similar to those created for cities including Paris and Amsterdam. Ariel Palitz, a former club owner, "will serve as a liaison between the city, its night venues and the community," reports Rolling Stone.

"Both sides feel unheard," says Palitz about debates over noise and other late-night disturbances, pitting venues against neighbors. "Both sides feel that things are unfair. I think the grievances are almost the same but there haven't been any practical real world solutions to address them."

Billy Corgan's tea shop is moving

Madame Zuzu's, a suburban Chicago tea shop owned by Billy Corgan, is being "forced to move for various reasons which involve tenancy but certainly nothing to do with the strength of the business (which thanks to all our great customers has been robust and steady)," says Corgan. The Smashing Pumpkins leader hopes to reopen the tea shop soon in another Chicago location. (Billy Corgan)

FKA twigs dances for Apple

A new commercial for Apple's HomePod is directed by Spike Jonze, who got Christopher Walken to shake his stuff for Fatboy Slim’s "Weapon of Choice" clip. In the new ad, FKA twigs dances to a new song Anderson .Paak single called "Til It's Over." (Pitchfork)