Music Biz Headlines, April 8, 2019

By Kerry Doole

Ed Robertson shares origins of ‘Big Bang Theory’ theme song

Robertson, known best as the voice of the Barenaked Ladies, explains the huge role his wife played in scoring the "Big Bang Theory” theme song. The tune recently notched a SOCAN Award for Cultural Impact.  –ET Canada

Carmine Street Guitars: Plucky re-constructionists and string lovers tell a resonant tale

 A warmly resonant documentary from Ron Mann focuses on a New York guitar shop and its owner and resident luthier, Rick Kelly, who handcrafts Telecaster-style guitars made of wood reclaimed from torn-down New York buildings. – Liam Lacey, Original Cin

I can’t forget what Kurt Cobain left behind, 25 years after his suicide

Rock ’n’ roll people die just like the rest of us die and maybe that’s why sometimes we get totally and illogically messed up when our favourite rock ’n’ roll people die. – Ben Rayner, Toronto Star

A flicker of Toronto’s past at a pop-up neon museum

“That’s the thing about neon,” confirms Jon Simo, owner of Neon Demon Studio, “it’s the only form of light that tells a story.” – Dave LeBlanc, Globe and Mail

Review: AKUA lays bare the aftermath of grief on Them Spirits

The new album from the L.A.-based Canadian singer and Solange collaborator is unsparing, meditative and cathartic.  –  CV Grier, NOW

Lawsuit against The Weeknd highlights fuzzy line between homage and musical plagiarism

Last week it was reported that the singer is being sued by three British songwriters who allege that the Canadian R&B artist copied their work to produce A Lonely Night, a song about a one-night stand, off his hit Grammy-winning 2016 album Starboy. – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail

Review: Judy Collins indulges in the song stylings of a '60s survivor after 60 years on stage

"When her pianist played the introductory bars of Send In The Clowns it was hard not to feel a little chill of history down your neck as she succinctly slid into the song that has become her hallmark."  – Roger Levesque, Edmonton Journal

Graham Rockingham: Hamilton blues singer returns to the Big House

Rita Chiarelli is making a new film at a Kansas prison for women: – The Hamilton Spectator

Sam Wilson's strings and a heartbeat 

With her debut album Groundless Apprehensions, Wilson uses modern post-bop jazz to get her feelings out. – Tara Thorne, The Coast

Mozart’s Idomeneo does battle with dry acoustics at Ed Mirvish Theatre

Opera Atelier’s bold re-staging of the work is diminished by the Ed Mirvish Theatre, a venue not suited to non-amplified performances.  – John Terauds, Toronto Star

International

Shawn Mendes: ‘I’m 20. I want to have fun’

Mendes is the red-hot poster boy of pop. His videos have been viewed 6B times and he has more than 42M followers on Instagram. But don’t worry if you haven’t heard of him… just ask a teenager. – Michael Cragg, The Observer

The manhandling of Rock ‘N’ Roll history

Less than 8 percent of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s inductees are women. Time for it to step up and induct an all-female class in 2020.  – Longreads

Dave Davies says he's working with brother Ray on a Kinks project

Dave tells ABC Radio that he and Ray recently spent about a month working on various unfinished archival Kinks tracks, as well as newer songs that they began putting together a few years back –. kticradio

The Best Psychedelic Albums of the 21st Century

It will probably annoy the old heads, but I wanted this to be more than just another Psych Rock list. So we have bands that flirted with the mainstream such as MGMT and Tame Impala, plus the cosmic Jazz of The Comet Is Coming and Kamasi Washington. – Bob Coyne, Soundblab

Slash’s ex-wife is auctioning off his belongings, including the iconic top hat

Perla Hudson, the ex-wife of Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, is selling off rare memorabilia from their 14-year marriage. Precious items up for grabs include RIAA gold record awards, GN’R collectables, inscribed books from celebrity friends, “cool graphics” t-shirts, gothic furniture and perhaps most importantly, one of Slash’s many top hats. – Geordie Gray, Tone Deaf

Khalid on new album 'Free Spirit,' the genius of Frank Ocean and his love for BMWs

 At 21, the former prom king turned hip-hop star returns with an even more in-depth understanding of friendship and love on his sophomore album Free Spirit.  – Carl Lamarre, Billboard

Tom Petty’s widow and daughters are locked in a bitter battle over his music

Dana Petty is saying she cannot properly manage his estate because she believes the late rocker’s daughters are teaming up to push her out of managing his estate. – Daniel Goldblatt, theblast.com

Country music excludes women, especially over age 40, study finds

Women's voices and perspectives — and particularly those of more mature female artists and songwriters — are not being heard out of Nashville. That's the conclusion reached by researchers at the University of Southern California's Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, who on Friday released a study on the gender gap in country music. – Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR

Why Tencent Music is poised for growth

The Chinese company is more than a music-streaming service. It's a massive social network with strong tailwinds. The stock recently had its initial public offering in the U.S. and could be a great long-term investment for growth-oriented investors. – Luis Sanchez, The Motley Fool

Meet Rolling Stone’s newest advice columnist: David Crosby

Few people have been through more wild ups and downs in life than David Crosby. The legendary Byrds/CSNY singer/songwriter has survived prison, drug and alcohol addiction, the sudden death of his girlfriend, a kidney transplant, bitter breakups of his iconic bands, severe financial hardship and medical ailments like diabetes and hepatitis C. Now he's dishing out life advice. –  Andy Greene, Rolling Stone

Orchestral manoeuvers: Tech-savvy musicians whose virtual instruments mean ‘anyone can be a composer’

Back in 2007, Spitfire Audio was born. Before they’d even finished their first “library”, it was already being used to produce the soundtrack to The Chronicles of Narnia.  – Andy Martin, The Independent

Warner Music turns former Ford assembly plant into Arts District music factory

Employees of Warner Music Group Inc. for the last several weeks have been toiling in the same red brick building where men who could have been their great-grandfathers put together shiny black automobiles.  Roger Vincent, – LA Times

Nickelback say they’re in no rush to release their next album

In a new interview, frontman Chad Kroeger stated that the band wouldn’t be rushing to hit the studio any time soon. “Now there isn’t this urgency,” Kroeger explained. – Tyler Jenke Tone Deaf