The history of modern music is peppered with strange facts that everybody already knows, like the story of Robert Johnson selling his soul in return for guitar skills or how Dark Side of the Moon syncs up with The Wizard of Oz. We decided that those facts were a little overplayed, so we thought that we would dig a little deeper and find a few musical facts you maybe weren’t aware of.
R Kelly Wrote ‘Ignition (Remix)’ 5 Years Before ‘Ignition’
Yep, the remix came to him a whole five years before the original did. Which makes the remix the original, we guess? How’s that for a brain-teaser? The song ‘Ignition’, the original of what ‘Ignition (Remix)’ was a remix of, is in fact a remix of a song called ‘Ignition (Remix)’. It’s okay, if you need to take a moment and sit down, we won’t blame you.
Suzanne Vega Is The Mother Of The MP3
Napster is the program that popularised MP3s, but have you ever wondered about the origins of the format? Well, its creators used the vocal from Suzanne Vega’s 1980s hit ‘Tom’s Diner’, which was entirely a cappella, in order to analyse the different sound spectrums when creating the compression algorithm.
There Was A Reality Show Where People Were Chained To ODB
We don’t know where the producer who first pitched this idea is, but we hope he’s being rewarded for his creativity and bravery. Whilst his vision sadly never made it to air, it was years ahead of its time and frankly, was more tasteful than some of the reality shows presently on TV.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxP9g3uVpm4
Neil Young Was In A Band With Rick James
Before he was the Super Freak, Ricky James Matthews was a staple of Toronto’s hip Yorkville scene. He eventually formed a band called The Mynah Birds, whose guitarist was none other than Canadian treasure Neil Young. The band even went to Detroit to record for Motown but James was arrested for going AWOL.
Music Is One Of The Few Activities That Utilises The Entire Brain
According to research conducted with Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI), listening to music recruits the auditory areas and employs large-scale neural networks in the brain. Researchers even believe music can activate emotional, motor, and creative areas of the brain.
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Flume’s Studio Is At His Parents’ House
Flume is one of the biggest breakout Aussie success stories to come around in a while, going from bedroom producer living at his parents’ place to in-demand festival draw. But did you know that Flume’s room at his parent’s place is still filled with equipment and functions as his studio?
Ryan Gosling Was Almost In The Backstreet Boys
We all know that before Justin Timberlake went on to be the most successful member of *NSYNC, he was a member of the Mickey Mouse Club. Well, so was Ryan Gosling, and he was even offered a place as a member of fellow boy band Backstreet Boys. Sadly, Gosling didn’t want it that way, and turned down the prestigious opportunity.
Heavy Metal Prevented A Taylor Swift Leak
As one of the few artists that still manages to sell records, Taylor Swift is precious cargo in the music industry and the last thing her label would want is a song leak. So when Tay Tay shot the video for ‘Shake If Off’, producers played heavy metal music outside the soundstage to prevent anyone from hearing the song before its release.
Exposure Makes Us Like A Song More
If you’re ever wondering why radio stations play the same songs over and over, this is it. Apparently, familiarity doesn’t necessarily breed contempt. According to research from the University of Arkansas, repetition makes us like a song more. Sure, you might think that it just drives you crazy and will make want to make a concerted effort to actually avoid the song, but science tells us that it just makes you light it more. Weird, huh?
‘Crazy Frog’ Somehow Went To Number 1 In Australia
We still haven’t figured out how it happened, but at a certain point in the early 2000s, ring tones basically took over the music charts. Some readers may recall ads for ring tones running during Video Hits, after all, how could you forget them? That’s basically how this atrocity made it to number one in 2005. It truly was a different time.
