RIP Ikutaro Kakehashi

Ikutaro Kakehashi passed away last Saturday at age 87. He founded Roland in 1960, meaning without him, we’d be way behind in drum machine and synthesizer technology. After leading the company for decades, he founded the electronic instrument company ATV Corporation in 2014 and received a technical Grammy in 2013 for work in MIDI technology.
Stayin’ Alive: A CPR Playlist

CPR is most effective when chest compressions are performed at 100 to 120 beats per minute, but how can someone easily remember that tempo? If you’ve been CPR certified, you were probably told to think of the Bee Gees classic, “Stayin Alive.” But, there are more options. As NPR reported, the New York Presbyterian hospital created a playlist of songs that are the right tempo to save a life, with artists ranging from Shakira to the Beastie Boys to Modest Mouse. Listen below.

https://open.spotify.com/user/12129503156/playlist/6TImxVFJXR6y3E6P6M5BQU

Brooklyn Steel Officially Opens

Last night, the new, huge Williamsburg music venue Brooklyn Steel opened with the first of a five nights LCD Soundsytem residency. Tickets to all five nights - 10,000 tickets, to be exact - sold out in minutes. The band reportedly debuted three new songs and mentioned that they’re almost done with a new album. Signs posted outside the venue tried to deter concertgoers from filming the show, saying, “It’d be a real gut punch to all the people who have been working insanely hard the past 18 months to release this music.”

Other Highlights

Scientists are developing Shazam for mosquitoes, RIP David Peel and Paul O’Neill, John Mayer is definitely guilty of cultural appropriation, Spotify may delay free listening to new albums, and Jack White wrote a song for a baseball bat company (listen below).

NEWS ROUNDUPBK Steel Opens, Synth Pioneer Dies and More