Around the Tubes: June 18, 2022

                   

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting.  This post includes blurbs on Supreme Team, POV, John Legend, James Bay, Beach Boys, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Vince Guaraldi, and The Handmaid's Tale.

- SHOWTIME has released the official trailer for SUPREME TEAM, a three-part documentary series directed by Grammy^® winner Nasir “Nas” Jones and Peter J Scalettar for Mass Appeal that will premiere at the Tribeca Festival on this Sunday, June 19 at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), ahead of the on-air network premiere on Sunday, July 10  at 10 p.m. ET/PT. All three parts will be available on streaming and on demand for all SHOWTIME subscribers on Friday, July 8 at 12 a.m. ET (July 7 at 9 p.m. PT).  In collaboration with Mass Appeal as part of the network’s HIP HIP 50 banner, the documentary chronicles the Supreme Team, the notorious Queens, New York crime syndicate, and tells the real story directly from its two leaders, Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff and Gerald “Prince'' Miller. Through the voices of these two infamous entrepreneurs and the syndicate’s members, as well Hip Hop legend LL Cool J, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, journalist Joy Reid, singer Ashanti, producer Irv Gotti and others in the local community, politics, law enforcement, academia and popular culture, viewers are given access beyond the headlines to examine the broader cultural dynamics and the impact that this small group from South Jamaica Queens has held on hip hop and society at large.  To watch and share the trailer, visit: https://youtu.be/SAo_IXWhhXY. Tickets to the screening at Tribeca Festival can be purchased here: https://tribecafilm.com/films/supreme-team-2022.

- PBS television series POV presents an intimate look at the citizens of a small fishing town in Maniitsoq, Greenland as they reckon with their Danish colonial past and a promising future by an American industrial company in the eye-opening documentary Winter’s Yearning, directed by Sidse Torstholm Larsen (Living on the Ice) and Sturla Pilskog (Urban Hunters), and produced by Are Kvalnes Pilskog, Vibeke Vogel and BAFTA Award winner Emile Hertling Péronard (Borgen).  The national broadcast premiere is Monday, July 25, 2022 at 10pmET/9C, and is available to stream free until August 25, 2022 at pbs.org, and the PBS Video app. In addition to standard closed captioning, POV, in partnership with audio description service DiCapta, provides real time audio interpretations for audiences with sensory disabilities. POV is America’s longest running documentary series and is currently celebrating its 35th anniversary season.  Watch the Trailer Now.

- Multi-platinum, 12-time GRAMMY Award-winner John Legend today released the video for “Dope,” the first song from his forthcoming new album. The Christian Breslauer-directed video takes place at a soulful, eclectic retro house party, where Legend performs and parties with friends – including rapper J.I.D who is also featured on the track -- into the wee hours of the morning. Watch the video for “Dope,” HERE. Listen to the song HERE.

- Three-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated and BRIT Award-winning multi-platinum singer, songwriter, and guitarist James Bay returned to The Today Show on NBC for a powerhouse performance of his recent single “One Life.” Watch it HERE.  The performance marked the U.S. television debut of “One Life.” He brought the house down with a moving rendition of the song. The track remains a standout from his highly anticipated third full-length album, Leap, out July 8th via Mercury/Republic Records. Pre-order and pre-save Leap—HERE.

- To kick off The Beach Boys’ yearlong 60^th anniversary celebration and provide the perfect summer soundtrack, Capitol Records and UMe today proudly release a newly remastered and expanded edition of the group’s career-spanning greatest hits collection, Sounds Of Summer: The Very Best Of The Beach Boys. Originally released in 2003, the album soared to No. 16 in the US and stayed on the chart for 104 weeks. Now certified 4x platinum for sales of nearly four and a half million albums, the new edition has been updated in both number of songs and sonics as it expands the original 30-track best of with 50 more of the band’s most beloved songs for a total of 80 tracks that span their earliest hits to deeper fan-favorite cuts. Boasting 26 new mixes, it includes two first-time stereo mixes, plus 24 new-and-improved stereo mixes, which in some cases feature the latest in digital stereo extraction technology, allowing for the team to separate the original mono backing tracks for the first time.  Stream/purchase Sounds Of Summer: The Very Best Of The Beach Boys: https://thebeachboys.lnk.to/SoundsOfSummer

- Written, performed, and produced entirely by Paul McCartney, his three eponymous career-spanning solo albums (1970’s McCartney, 1980’s McCartney II, and 2020’s McCartney III) will now be packaged together and available in one special boxset for the first time.  McCartney I II III box set will be available in three different formats – Limited Edition Color Vinyl, Black Vinyl Edition, and CD – each including three special photo prints with notes from Paul about each album. The newly created boxset cover art and typography for the slipcase are by Ed Ruscha. To pre-order McCartney I II III, please click HERE.  Bookending 50 years of unparalleled work, each album demonstrates Paul McCartney’s restless creativity and adventurous artistic spirit. McCartney, the Number One Album was Paul’s first solo album released in 1970 and features timeless tracks “Every Night” and “Junk,” along with the immortal classic “Maybe I’m Amazed.” This album saw a global music superstar pioneer a novel homespun approach to recording that would, in time, become a sought-after sound and the highly influential precursor to the “lo-fi” alternative genre.

- UMe announces the 50th-anniversary reissue of Elton John’s Madman Across The Water. Available to order now on stunning 3-CD and 1 Blu-ray Super Deluxe Box Set, 4-LP, 1-LP Limited Edition colored vinyl, and 2-CD formats. Order here.  Spawning the hits “Tiny Dancer” and “Levon,” Madman Across The Water was Elton’s fourth studio album, released only two years after his debut. Recorded in 1971, it was a foundation stone of what was to become a dazzlingly prolific decade for the global-icon-in-waiting. Madman Across The Water was largely written after Elton had made his initial foray to America, offering the opportunity for lyricist Bernie Taupin to witness first-hand the landscapes and people he’d only seen on a screen or on the page. Recorded at Trident Studios in Central London in February and August 1971, it was the first album where all five players of Elton’s fabled band lineup (Dee Murray, Nigel Olsson, Davey Johnstone, and Ray Cooper) were featured. The album also featured Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who plays Hammond organ on three songs.  A newly unveiled Piano Demo of “Tiny Dancer,” taken from the archives and previously unheard, will be available to stream in full later today Here. Watch a preview of the track now Here. Recorded at Dick James Studios in central London in Spring 1971, it is an intimate performance of the song with Elton alone at the piano as a guide for the band later to follow.

- Craft Recordings proudly announces the definitive edition of Vince Guaraldi’s evocative soundtrack to the 1966 animated television special, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, from Charles M. Schulz, creator of the PEANUTS® comic strip, and Lee Mendelson Film Productions. Remastered from newly discovered analog session reels, the album features seven previously unreleased alternate takes—all of which offer fascinating insight into Guaraldi’s creative process. The package also includes new liner notes by PEANUTS® historian Derrick Bang, with contributions by the family of Lee Mendelson, the Emmy® and Peabody Award-winning producer and co-creator of the PEANUTS® animated specials. Additionally, a note by Mendelson (taken from the 2018 edition of the album) rounds out the release. To celebrate the discovery of these incredible archival recordings, Craft is issuing the album in several formats, including multiple vinyl options. Available across all major retailers is a 45-RPM pressing on black vinyl, housed in a standard jacket, as well as a 33 1/3-RPM pressing on pumpkin-shaped translucent orange vinyl, housed in a clear sleeve, both accompanied by a four-page insert. Available exclusively at CraftRecordings.com is a collectable edition 45-RPM pressing (limited to 500 copies) in a “Pumpkin Patch” splatter design. The album will also be available on CD and digital formats.  It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Original Soundtrack Recording) is available for pre-order beginning today and is set for release August 26^th. Listen to the first digital single, “The Great Pumpkin Waltz (Alternate Take 2),” available on all digital platforms today. A second pre-release track, “Linus and Lucy (Alternate Take 2),” is scheduled for release on August 5^th.

- "The Handmaid's Tale" will return on September 14th with two episodes. New episodes stream Wednesdays on Hulu.  SYNOPSIS: June faces consequences for killing Commander Waterford while struggling to redefine her identity and purpose. The widowed Serena attempts to raise her profile in Toronto as Gilead’s influence creeps into Canada. Commander Lawrence works with Aunt Lydia as he tries to reform Gilead and rise in power. June, Luke and Moira fight Gilead from a distance as they continue their mission to save and reunite with Hannah.