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Pressman Film, the indie producer founded by the late Edward Pressman and behind classics from Wall Street to American Psycho, has broken new ground in film financing with the first slate listed on popular investment platform Republic.

The offering launched Sept. 5 with a goal of $1.5 million to develop a minimum of six new projects. It’s raised over $1.7 million and could see additional coin by the time it closes on Friday.

This is not crowdfunding but equity investment from — so far — 295 investors with Pressman offering rather generous returns if a project does make it into production as the indie seeks to create a brand and attract a pool of followers and potential financiers going forward. Investors can also reap premiums at other milestones including a portion of Pressman Film’s producing fee and a portion of their share of the net profits.

“We’re the first slate they [Republic] offered in this way,...

Litmus Music has acquired Randy Newman’s music publishing and his stake in his recorded music catalog, the company announced Thursday. The deal includes both songs and film scores from throughout his entire career, which dates back to the 1960s.

Among the more famous songs in Newman’s catalog that are part of the acquisition are “I Love L.A.,” “Short People,” “You Can Leave Your Hat On,” “Feels Like Home,” “Mama Told Me Not to Come” and “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” His film scores include the four “Toy Story” films, “The Natural,” “Awakenings,” “Monsters Inc.,” “Cars,” “Ragtime,” “A Bug’s Life” and “Marriage Story.”

The company said it was entering a “creative partnership” with the musician. No price tag was publicly set on the deal.

Litmus launched in the summer of 2022 and made its first major acquisition the following December, buying Keith Urban’s rights to his master recordings.

It is with great sadness that we report legendary French actor Alain Delon has died at the age of 88. Widely hailed as the most beautiful movie star of all time thanks to his ocean blue eyes and statuesque, sculpted cheekbones, Delon — star of Le Samourai, Plein Soleil, Rocco And His Brothers and much, much more — brought an insouciant cool to cinema on- and off-screen, and an ineffable capacity to convey the depths of a brooding soul in the level of those self-same eyes. Delon passed away at his home in Douchy, surrounded by his three children and family, on 18 August.

Born on 8 November 1935 to cinema projectionist (and later La Régina cinema director) father François Fabien Delon and pharmacist and cinema usher mother Édith Marie Suzanne Arnold, you could say that the movies ran in Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon's blood. After a turbulent series of school expulsions, spells in prison,...

Whether playing the lover opposite Marianne Faithfull or the assassin in Le Samouraï, the prolific French actor, who has died aged 88, was a symbol of the lost beauty of the 60s

• A life in pictures

There is a famous photograph of Alain Delon in 1967, sitting on a couch next to Marianne Faithfull, with a subdued Mick Jagger on the other side of her, apparently taken around the time Faithfull was about to star in The Girl on a Motorcycle, in which Faithfull modelled a sleek leather body suit that Delon’s character would take great delight in unzipping. Faithfull is leaning over intimately as Delon murmurs to her, laughing, lit up in his presence, her body language entirely enfolded into his. Jagger can only look down uneasily at his cigarette. Later Faithfull would say that she didn’t fancy Delon one bit, but confirmed that Jagger was very jealous.

Be that as it may,...

In 1967, The Beatles and producer George Martin gathered in the studio to record the song “A Day in the Life.” They were far from the only people in the studio that day. In their typical fashion, the band invited many of their contemporaries to join them as they recorded the song. According to one of the many people present, Martin seemed embarrassed by the spectacle.

George Martin seemed embarrassed as The Beatles recorded a song

David Puttnam, who was a friend of The Beatles, was present at the “A Day in the Life” recording session. He admitted that many of his experiences with the band were chaotic.

“From the moment they started meeting to make the film [Magical Mystery Tour], there are fantastic stories of total lunacy,” Puttnam said in the book All You Need Is Love: The Beatles in Their Own Words by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines. “You hire a caterer,...

The only person who believed in David Bowie’s vision of “Young Americans” more than Bowie himself was David Sanborn. The saxophonist, who was trained in jazz, had broken into the pop world as a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and by guesting on Stevie Wonder’s Talking Book. Sanborn, who died Sunday, was in his late 20s when he linked up with Bowie for the Diamond Dogs Tour — he’s featured on the David Live double-album — and joined him in the studio for the recording of Bowie...

Cat Power has lined up a second leg of her 2024 tour in support of her live album, Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert. On the new run, the artist will continue to recreate Bob Dylan’s iconic show at the London venue across the United States.

The new dates begin on September 6th in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with Cat Power continuing through cities including New Orleans, Austin, and Sacramento. See her full list of 2024 tour dates below.

Get Cat Power Tickets Here

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, May 3rd via Ticketmaster.

You can also find deals and sold-out tickets at Stubhub, where orders are 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s FanProtect program. StubHub is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.

Starting next month, Cat Power is set to open for Pixies and Modest...

A new documentary will look at the legacy of model and actress Anita Pallenberg. In a clip from Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg, Pallenberg — voiced by Scarlett Johansson reading from Pallenberg’s unpublished memoirs — recalls a 1968 boating vacation she took with her then boyfriend, Keith Richards, as well as Mick Jagger and his girlfriend at the time, Marianne Faithfull. Footage from the trip, a voyage from Lisbon to Rio, has never previously been released. The film arrives in theaters on May 3 and will be available digitally the same day.

Exclusive: Brian Volk-Weiss’ Nacelle Company on Wednesday announced Billy Corgan’s Adventures in Carnyland, an eight-episode unscripted series that’s set to premiere on The CW app and cwtv.com on May 14th.

Directed by Volk-Weis and Ian Roumain, the series pulls back the curtain on how the legendary frontman of alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins takes on the world. When he isn’t churning out albums and touring the world with his band, Corgan works as a wrestling promoter through his storied National Wrestling Alliance, which he intends to restore to its former glory. As if being a rock star navigating the demanding politics of running both a band (Pumpkinworld) and a group of eccentric wrestlers (Carnyland) isn’t tricky enough, he’s also a father of two — and he’s planning a wedding to his longtime partner, Chloe Mendel. Can he possibly keep all these balls in the air?...

Mick Jagger’s girlfriend once wrote a juicy memoir with many interesting anecdotes about classic rock stars from the Swinging ’60s. For example, she revealed what it was like hearing The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever” for the first time. She didn’t think it lived up to another song The Beatles released at the same time.

Mick Jagger’s girlfriend preferred The Beatles’ ‘Penny Lane’ to ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’

Marianne Faithfull was Jagger’s girlfriend. She had two hits in the United States: the Jagger/Keith Richards ballad “As Tears Go By” (which The Rolling Stones later recorded themselves) and a cover of The Beatles’ “Yesterday.” She’s far more prominent in her native United Kingdom.

In her 2007 book Memories, Dreams & Reflections, the “As Tears Go By” singer recalled meeting Paul for the first time. “He was just as the photographs,” she said. “Only he’d grown a mustache. His hair was shorter too.

While The Beatles and The Rolling Stones both led the charge during the British Invasion, they had wildly different public images. Mick Jagger’s girlfriend explained why The Beatles were seen as good boys and The Rolling Stones were seen as bad boys. Notably, John Lennon revealed that he was a huge fan of one Rolling Stones song.

Marianne Faithfull said The Rolling Stones were sexier than The Beatles

Marianne Faithfull was Jagger’s girlfriend in the 1960s. She’s most famous for a pair of ballads: “As Tears Go By,” which was co-written by Jagger and Keith Richards, and a cover of The Beatles’ “Yesterday.” If anyone has the right to pontificate on the differences between The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, it’s her.

In her 2007 book Memories, Dreams & Reflections, the “As Tears Go by” singer discussed the two defining British bands of the 1960s. “The Beatles completely evolved from the pop business,...

The Beatles and The Rolling Stones will be compared to each other until the planet Earth is destroyed and any extraterrestrial life will have no chance of knowing that rock ‘n’ roll ever existed. One of Mick Jagger’s girlfriends revealed what the frontman thought of The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine.” John Lennon also had plenty to say about The Rolling Stones.

Mick Jagger felt The Beatles’ ‘Yellow Submarine’ was ‘silly’

Marianne Faithfull was Jagger’s girlfriend and muse in the 1960s. She’s most known for her solo ballad “As Tears Go By,” which Jagger co-wrote with Keith Richards. In her 2008 book Memories, Dreams & Reflections, Faithfull recalled the way that Jagger reacted to some of The Beatles’ songs.

“Mick might, very occasionally, put The Beatles down for their provincialism, which, if you’re from London and they’re from Liverpool, is a very natural reaction,” he said. “But he’d never put their music down.

Marianne Faithfull is a singer who served as a muse for The Rolling Stones‘ Mick Jagger. She said The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is darker than it seems upon first listen. Notably, John Lennon was not the biggest fan of the record.

Marianne Faithfull said The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’ is ‘very weird’

Faithfull is a singer most known for her hit “As Tears Go By” and her cover of The Beatles’ “Yesterday.” In her 2008 book Memories, Dreams & Recollections, the singer wrote about her feelings about the Fab Four. “Their sweetness is very superficial,” he said. “You hear the undercurrent in Paul’s bass playing, you hear it in John’s harmonies, you hear it in the call-and-response stuff. Maybe not the first couple of records, but when you get to Revolver and Rubber Soul, things begin to darken.

“And there’s something very weird about Sgt.

Suki Waterhouse channels Edith Piaf in the video for “Omg,” her shimmery new single.

The singer, model, and Daisy Jones & the Six actress had teased the new song on social media for days, finally releasing it. “It’s really, really the best way to start my year,” she tells Rolling Stone, on a call from Los Angeles. “I’ve been holding onto it for a while.”

The track, co-written with Natalie Findlay and Jules Apollinaire, is a synthy, sleazy rocker with the kind of anthemic chorus that will be in your head for days.

Exclusive: Academy Award-winning filmmaker Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, his producing partner at HyperObject Industries, have come aboard the Oscar-shortlisted animated short Wild Summon as executive producers. Joining them are Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman of New Native Pictures, who won an Oscar for their 2019 live-action short Skin and went on to adapt it into a feature starring Jamie Bell.

An eco-film also recently longlisted for the BAFTA Film Awards, Wild Summon hails from filmmakers Karni Arieli and Saul Freed and their independent animation studio Sulkybunny. The film narrated by Marianne Faithful blends elements of natural history and fantasy to follow the dramatic life cycle of the wild salmon in human form. It world premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and was produced with support from the British Film Institute, which awarded National Lottery funding.

When Messick, McKay and the HyperObject Industries team caught Wild Summon at Cannes,...

One day it may become difficult to identify which films belong in the Live Action and Animation categories. In the meantime there is this delicious work by Karni Arieli and Saul Freed, shortlisted for a Best Animated Short Oscar, most readily discernible as belonging there because of its fantasy elements, so smooth that it comes ravishingly close to reality in places. Nobody would ever doubt its awards-worthiness. It’s an imaginative spin on the natural history documentary, Marianne Faithfull lending her husky post-Covid tones as narrator in lieu of Attenborough.

Another voice comes to us first – without words, but replete with personality and emotion. Tired, gasping, a feminine figure crawls up onto a rocky riverbank. Her body is covered in layered reddish scales, her lower legs bound into tapering flippers, her eyes covered by a diver’s mask. We watch as she dies, as Faithfull explains that she has completed her journey.

The three short film categories can be such a pain to try to predict the nominees for. Don’t worry Derbyites, we are here to help you all. With the shortlist for the 96th Oscars having been released, below we have listed all 15 shortlisted films in the Best Animated Short category along with descriptions of each one. We also have information and links listed for where you can currently watch these finalists.

Among the subjects that are covered in this year’s crop are birds protecting eggs during a volcanic eruption, an overly confident singing cat, a woman attending her husband’s funeral, and an old man appreciating all of the body’s senses.

See Dozens of video interviews with 2024 awards contenders

“Boom” – Two birds that aren’t very bright try to protect their eggs in the midst of a volcano’s eruption. This won the Gold Medal for Animation...

Cat Power and Iggy Pop have teamed up for a new cover of John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero.”

The cover arrives as a single from an upcoming compilation album titled The Faithful: A Tribute to Marianne Faithfull, organized by In The Q Records, Bandbox, and the Women of Rock Oral History Project to help raise funds for Faithfull as she “recovers from Long Covid.” Thus, the version of the song that Cat Power’s Chan Marshall and Pop have delivered pays homage to Faithfull’s 1979 version of the song, with a driving beat and an ambient sense of tension.

Overtop, Marshall’s multi-tracked vocals carry Lennon’s powerful words, while Pop dips in throughout with spoken word lines, sounding almost like a late-career Leonard Cohen, proclaiming a solemn truth with a low, commanding growl. Listen to the single below.

In a statement, Marshall expressed her excitement to be part of the project.

Dolly Parton is arguably the most beloved living American. How many people are alive today because Dolly told them to get the Covid vaccine back in early 2021? Of course, she’s a paragon of country music, but her reach goes far beyond Nashville, from the disco pop of her working-woman masterpiece “9 to 5” to the soft-rock bliss of her classic Kenny Rogers duet “Islands in the Stream.” And the crossover love has been reflected back; one of the most popular cover songs of all time is Whitney Houston’s...

London – A psychedelic eye mosaic commissioned by John Lennon for the swimming pool at his Kenwood home in Surrey in 1965 leads Bonhams’ Rock, Pop & Film sale on Wednesday 29 November at Knightsbridge, London.

Claire Tole-Moir, Bonhams Head of Popular Culture in London, commented: “This monumental mosaic, commissioned by John Lennon is a striking example of the Beatle’s artistic vision and influences. Lennon’s Kenwood home in the English countryside was a place of respite from all the public attention he experienced during the height of The Beatles’ popularity. It’s said Lennon would spend idle hours near the swimming pool and that the mosaic could even be seen from his favoured ‘sunroom’ at the top of the house. With Kenwood still under private ownership, it is very rare to see anything from when John Lennon lived there, making the ‘Psychedelic Eye’ mosaic an incredibly important artefact of Beatles history.”

Consisting of approximately 17,000 tiles,...

Iggy Pop, Shirley Manson, and Cat Power are a few of the artists who’ve contributed to The Faithful: A Tribute to Marianne Faithfull, an upcoming covers compilation honoring the legendary English singer. Before it’s out in full December 8th, Tanya Donelly & The Parkington Sisters have shared their rendition of “This Little Bird.”

Also featuring fellow icons like Peaches, Lydia Lunch, Bush Tetras, Donita Sparks, and more, The Faithful is a benefit album that hits especially close to home: All profits will go directly to assist Faithfull as she recovers from long Covid. Donnelly and the Parkingtons do their forebear justice with their cover of “This Little Bird,” with layered vocal harmonies and delicate, complex string arrangements.

“Marianne’s voice has always been one of my favorite instruments, from childhood through today, and her music and spirit have been life-long inspirations,” Donnelly says in a press release. “I wanted...

Two years ago, Marianne Faithfull told Rolling Stone about her ongoing battle with Covid-19. “It’s terrible,” she said. “I got long-term Covid, where you get better from the virus, but you have leftover [symptoms]. Apparently, they now think that you do get better from long-term Covid; it’s not forever. That is good.”

To help Faithfull with mounting health costs, more than a dozen artists have recorded covers of songs for a benefit album, The Faithful: A Tribute to Marianne Faithfull, for her. Cat Power and Iggy Pop teamed to...

It might or might not be true, as Nick Broomfield declares in his new feature documentary, that “most people today” haven’t heard of Brian Jones. If it’s true of most young music fans, then a) yikes and b) The Stones and Brian Jones is here to bridge the generation gap. The Magnolia release, which is receiving a one-night theatrical showcase 10 days before its Nov. 17 general release, joins an ever-expanding pack of doc portraits exploring boomer musicians who led the rock revolution of the ’60s and ’70s.

Broomfield’s earlier takes on pop culture giants — among them Kurt Cobain, Whitney Houston, Leonard Cohen and Biggie and Tupac — have ranged from basic to divisive to lurid. In this case, taking a deep dive into public and private archives, he emerges with a surprisingly poignant study of the Rolling Stones co-founder, a middle-class kid who rebelled against his upbringing, found his...

It’s often said of the 1960s that “if you can remember it, you weren’t really there”. Here, Anita Pallenberg, a woman who absolutely personifies the swaggering, love-drenched freedom of a certain facet of sixties art and culture, proves that to be, once and for all, quite astonishing bollocks. Before her death in 2017, Pallenberg – an era-defining model and actress who, as the ex-girlfriend of Keith Richards and Brian Jones (and briefly the lover of Mick Jagger) is often described as the unofficial “sixth Rolling Stone” – wrote her memoirs. They form the basis of this remarkable intimate documentary, navigating the shifting fortunes of her life with admirable authenticity.

Those memoirs are narrated here by “an actress” with some husky-voiced depth that will feel fairly familiar. It should —it’s Scarlet Johansson, though the film makes a point of not distracting us with that fact until the credits roll. She does...

As a founding member of The Rolling Stones, Brian Jones was fundamental in developing the sound of one of the greatest bands in rock history through less than a decade of their run. In 1969, Jones was found in his swimming pool — the victim of “death by misadventure” — becoming one of the first modern members of the infamous 27 Club. Now, as the Stones surpass their 60th anniversary, a documentary titled The Stones and Brian Jones is looking to give Brian Jones his proper due.

Directed by Nick Broomfield, who documented everyone from Tupac and Biggie to Sarah Palin and Aileen Wuornos, The Stones and Brian Jones looks to be just the sort of strong picture and analysis that we’ve come to expect from the director.

The Stones and Brian Jones’ synopsis, as per Magnolia Pictures: “Featuring revealing interviews with all the main players and unseen archive released for the first time,...

The David Bowie World Fan Convention brought the artists who worked with David Bowie to the audience who grew alongside his mythical output. Prior to the festivities, singer, fashion model, and actor Ava Cherry discussed the profound influences she brought to the singer-songwriter. Cherry was also quite open about how Bowie attempted to return the gestures, if not always the clothes he borrowed.

After Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars finished their mission, and just prior to recording Diamond Dogs, Bowie put together a trio he hoped would take off on their own orbits: Ava and the Astronettes. Front and center was his girlfriend, Ava Cherry.

After hearing Cherry harmonize with the top soul voices at an afterparty for Stevie Wonder’s Carnegie Hall concert, Bowie recruited Ava to go on the road to end the Ziggy Stardust tour in Japan. “David said ‘You’re a singer?’” Cherry tells Den of Geek.

Sinéad O’Connor’s family confirmed earlier today, July 26, that the Irish singer and songwriter died at age 56. O’Connor’s bold public stances on child abuse, war, and organized religion had made her a controversial figure throughout her career, while her music and uncompromising character also inspired generations of women to challenge the status quo.

Following the news of her death, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tegan and Sara, and more shared heartfelt tributes and personal memories of O’Connor.

“I came home and have been listening to Sinéad’s music. ‘Feels so different.

Hollywood notables, athletes and Irish political leaders took to social media Wednesday to remember the late singer Sinéad O’Connor.

The Irish singer, who is most known for her Prince-written chart-topping hit “Nothing Compares 2 U,” died at 56, her family confirmed in a statement to the BBC on Wednesday.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad,” the statement read. “Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”

Following the announcement of her death, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janelle Monáe, Conor McGregor and Melissa Etheridge are among many who shared sweet tributes of O’Connor.

The Oscar-winning actress wrote on Instagram that she has been listening to O’Connor’s hit songs since she learned of her death: “I came home and have been listening to Sinéad’s music. ‘Feels so different.’ ‘Three Babies.’ ‘Black Boys On Mopeds.’ ‘The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance.

The Rolling Stones have existed for six decades, yet the women who influenced the members and their music have been largely overlooked and under-appreciated. But with her new book Parachute Women: Marianne Faithfull, Marsha Hunt, Bianca Jagger, Anita Pallenberg, and the Women Behind the Rolling Stones, Elizabeth Winder is attempting to change that. In an excerpt below, Winder details the moment Anita Pallenberg’s path crossed with the band — and how she transformed them from “schoolboys” to stars.

***

September 14, 1965, Munich, Circus Krone Bau. You could tell she was different from the other Stones groupies,...

John Lennon‘s “Working Class Hero” is a dour portrayal of working-class life. It doesn’t necessarily reflect John’s reality. During an interview, Paul McCartney discussed John’s “posh” upbringing.

John Lennon’s ‘Working Class Hero’ doesn’t discuss his middle class background

One of John’s most famous solo ballads is the bitter folk song “Working Class Hero.” It’s a protest song about how the working class is treated. In “Working Class Hero,” John attacks religion, television, and school.

According to the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, John was from a “comfortable middle-class background.” For that reason, many Liverpudlians found “Working Class Hero” amusing. After all, John grew up in a suburb across from a golf course! However, John never claims to have been working class in “Working Class Hero.” The ballad is merely a portrayal of the working class’ plight.

Paul McCartney said John...

The Beatles created one of their best albums with Revolver. The record many fans consider the first psychedelic album is an essential starting point for new fans, according to Ringo Starr. The drummer sang “Yellow Submarine,” and though it might not be the best Beatles song, it’s the one that saw John Lennon save someone’s job while they recorded it.

John Lennon stopped someone from getting fired while making The Beatles’ song ‘Yellow Submarine’

The Beatles really never lived sober lifestyles. Booze and pills were frequently part of their routine during early marathon performances in Hamburg, Germany. They used recreational drugs more frequently after getting high with and pranked by Bob Dylan in 1964. That trend continued for years for each member of the Fab Four.

That included when they recorded “Yellow Submarine” in the middle of 1966.

Lennon and a host of friends — Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Marianne Faithfull,...

The Beatles were the unquestioned masters of popular music in 1966. Bob Dylan was one of the few musicians who could rival them, but even he took a back seat to the Fab Four. Their chart success decisively proved how wrong the singer who called John Lennon and Paul McCartney idiots was. Despite the success, Marianne Faithfull said The Beatles behaved like scared little boys when they met Dylan after one concert. They could barely speak that night. Yet The Beatles (eventually) had nice things to say about Dylan.

The Beatles were just ‘scared little boys’ in Bob Dylan’s presence, according to Marianne Faithfull

The Fab Four already had several No. 1 hits in England before they made it big in the United States. They stormed the U.S. in early 1964, placing 31 of the 64 singles that became top 100 songs on the Billboard charts that year. Dylan never had a No. 1 song.

The Beatles and Rolling Stones were two of the biggest classic rock bands ever. The way some people remember it, the two groups shared an intense rivalry. But did they really? John Lennon’s throwaway song he gave to the Stones became their first hit, after all. Members of both bands downplayed any friction, but Marianne Faithfull sensed a one-sided rivalry between Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger that Macca didn’t even see.

‘Paul McCartney was oblivious’ to his rivalry with Mick Jagger

McCartney once downplayed any rivalry between The Beatles and Rolling Stones, saying the press manufactured it. History backed up his claim.

The Stones, specifically Jagger and Brian Jones, performed on three Beatles songs. Jones played on “Yellow Submarine” and “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number),” while Jagger’s indeterminate vocals appeared on “Baby You’re a Rich Man.” Meanwhile, two Rolling Stones songs included The Beatles.

Human remains recently discovered by hikers in the Mount Baldy wilderness outside Los Angeles were identified as those of British actor Julian Sands, who had been missing since January, authorities announced Tuesday.

On Saturday morning, civilian hikers contacted the Fontana Sheriff’s Station after they found the remains, which were then taken to the San Bernardino County Coroner for identification.

“The identification process for the body located on Mt. Baldy on June 24, 2023, has been completed and was positively identified as 65-year-old Julian Sands of North Hollywood,” the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. “The manner of death is still under investigation, pending further test results. We would like to extend our gratitude to all the volunteers that worked tirelessly to locate Mr. Sands.”

An avid outdoorsman, Sands was reported missing by his family Jan. 13 after he had gone hiking in the Baldy Bowl Trail area of the San Gabriel Mountains that day.

Tl;Dr:

Patti Smith watched The Rolling Stones perform “Time Is on My Side” on The Ed Sullivan Show. She loved the performance but it made her father incredibly angry. Smith had never seen her father get so angry before.

Patti Smith saw The Rolling Stones playing “Time Is on My Side” on television. The performance made Smith a fan of The Rolling Stones. On the other hand, the band’s risque antics made her father incredibly angry.

Patti Smith listening to The Rolling Stones’ ‘Time Is on my Side’ was a sexual awakening

Early in their career, The Rolling Stones covered “Time Is on My Side” by Kai Winding. According to the 2013 book 50 Licks: Myths and Stories from Half a Century of The Rolling Stones, Smith had a strong reaction when she saw the band perform the track on The Ed Sullivan Show.

“My brain froze,” she recalled. “I...

The Rolling Stones‘ Mick Jagger and Keith Richards co-wrote Marianne Faithfull’s “As Tears Go By.” Afterward, Faithfull said she tires of the song sometimes. However, she much prefers it to another famous 1960s hit.

Marianne Faithfull feels she always has to sing The Rolling Stones’ ‘As Tears Go By’

Faithfull was in a relationship with Jagger between 1966 and 1970. The 2013 book 50 Licks: Myths and Stories from Half a Century of The Rolling Stones says Faithfull functioned as Jagger’s muse. He co-wrote her most famous tune, “As Tears Go By.” While the track is a tender classic rock ballad about getting older, Faithfull was merely a teenager when she recorded it. It’s a testament to Faithfull’s vocal performance that audiences were able to accept a young artist singing the song.

Faithfull discussed her feelings regarding “As Tears Go By.” “This is a song I first sung when I was little,...

Annecy International Animation Film Festival is the great bastion for the art of animation. Every year thousands flock to the alpine town in southeastern France to celebrate the best work being created by animators across the globe. From short films to features and everything in-between, Annecy is the place to be when it comes to catching the most impressive work currently being made in the imaginative and boundless art form. The short films on display, which we’ve covered for a number of years now, feature animators new and old, some making their first shorts after graduating film school, others 30 years into a career. This year’s films are true to that once more and, in particular, showcase a strong engagement with the creative breadth afforded by the form. Many of the shorts utilise a variety of techniques to bring their stories to life and the results are a joy to behold.

Paul McCartney is not ashamed to admit when a song didn’t turn out as he’d hoped. He has deemed many pieces from his time with The Beatles either “fillers” or botched attempts at singles. Some of these tracks never got released, and McCartney is happy that one song “died a death in some tape bin.”

Paul McCartney is glad ‘Etcetera’ never saw the light of day Paul McCartney | Samir Hussein/WireImage

“Etcetera” is a song Paul McCartney wrote for 1968’s The White Album. McCartney recorded a demo of it during a session for “Mother Nature’s Son”, where he also recorded “Wild Honey Pie”. While he listened to the demo playback, he never touched it again, and that’s the only recording.

In Barry Miles’ Many Years From Now, the British singer-songwriter said he wrote the track for Marianne Faithful. She rejected it, but McCartney is glad she...

Taking 4288 short films and curating them down to just 11 makes Cannes’ ‘in Competition’ programme one of the most elite selections in the whole of the festival circuit. To have your work chosen to play in such a competitive line-up is a real honour for the filmmakers involved, so here at Directors Notes we were excited to see Dn regulars Karni&Saul Aka Sulkybunny included in the 76th Festival de Cannes official selections, with their BFI-funded short Wild Summon. Narrated by Marianne Faithfull, the film combines elements of the wildlife documentary with some impressive CGI animation, to portray the ‘dramatic lifecycle’ of wild salmon (in human form). Eager to discuss their novel premise and how they brought it to screen so vividly we invited the filmmaking pair back to our pages to delve under the surface of their short.

Having followed your work for over a decade on Directors Notes, we...

Experimental filmmaker, artist and author Kenneth Anger has died. He was 96.

His gallery, operated by Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers, confirmed the news on their website, writing, “Kenneth was a trailblazer. His cinematic genius and influence will live on and continue to transform all those who encounter his films, words and vision.”

Born in 1927 in Santa Monica, Calif., Anger produced over 30 short films from 1937 to 2013, having made his first movie at 10 years old. Known as “one of America’s first openly gay filmmakers,” he gained a reputation for exploring themes of erotica and homosexuality decades before gay sex was legalized in America. Anger received recognition for his homoerotic 1947 film “Fireworks,” which landed him in court on obscenity charges. Filmed in his childhood home in Beverly Hills while his parents were away for the weekend, “Fireworks” is known as the first gay narrative film produced in the U.S.

Afterward, Anger...

“Time is all we have and every second that ticks away is one less second we’re alive,” Kenneth Anger told an interviewer from The Guardian 16 and a half years before his death this May at the age of 96. “The sands of time are going through the hourglass but it doesn’t frighten me.”

If Woody Allen’s Zelig was found rubbing elbows with the storied and famous of the ’20s and ’30s, starting in the 1950s Anger was for some decades more than a match for him. His legacy is poised between the pathbreaking cinematic auteur who made such avant-garde shorts as “Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome” (1954) and “Scorpio Rising” (1963) and the purveyor of at times fictionalized Hollywood scandal in the sensational and frequently updated “Hollywood Babylon” (1959).

He was not immune from his own brushes with dark history — the very bikers he incorporated in some of his middle-period work...

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Marianne Faithfull said listening to The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” made her and The Rolling Stones feel smart. She felt John Lennon and Yoko Ono almost died that night because of John’s LSD intake. “Hey Jude” outperformed “I Want to Hold You Hand” in the United States. A vinyl depicting The Beatles | Adam Berry / Stringer

Marianne Faithfull is a singer notable for her hit “As Tears Go By” and her relationship with The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger. She and some members of famous bands got high on LSD and heard The Beatles‘ “Hey Jude” before anyone else. Subsequently, she revealed what they thought of the song.

Paul McCartney showed The Beatles’ ‘Hey Jude’ to high rock stars in a nightclub

In a 2007 article from The Guardian, Faithfull recalled going to a nightclub called Vesuvio with The Beatles, most members of The Rolling Stones, and a few members of The Who.

Welcome to the Hammer Factory. This month we dissect Demons of the Mind (1972).

While Hammer Studios has been in business since 1934, it was between 1955 and 1979 that it towered as one of the premier sources of edgy, gothic horror. On top of ushering the famous monsters of Universal’s horror heyday back into the public eye, resurrecting the likes of Frankenstein, Dracula and the Mummy in vivid color, the studio invited performers like Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Ingrid Pitt and so many more to step into the genre limelight. Spanning a library housing over 300 films, Hammer Studios is a key part of horror history that until recently has been far too difficult to track down.

In late 2018, Shout Factory’s Scream Factory line began to focus on bringing Hammer’s titles to disc in the US, finally making many of the studio’s underseen gems available in packages that offered great...

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Marianne Faithfull’s cover of The Beatles’ “Yesterday” sounds much more desperate than the original. Her version includes a melancholy piano, world-weary lead vocals, and some heavenly backing vocals. The Beatles’ “Yesterday” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks. Marianne Faithfull | Stanley Sherman / Stringer

The Beatles‘ “Yesterday” has been covered numerous times. Marianne Faithfull, a singer who famously dated Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, recorded her own version of the track. Arguably, Faithfull’s recording might be better than the Fab Four’s original.

The Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’ might be about a young person taking a situation too seriously

When Paul McCartney sings “Yesterday,” it has an air of innocence to it. Paul’s voice sounds so youthful. It’s easy to imagine he’s playing the part of a young man struggling through his first break-up. With that in mind, The Beatles’ “Yesterday” might be...

The Rolling Stones built their reputation by playing blue-blooded rock music. Yet many of their No. 1 hits were heartstring-tugging ballads. Here are some of The Rolling Stones’ best ballads from their 60-year career.

(l-r) Rolling Stones members Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Mick Jagger, Mick Taylor, and Keith Richards | Pa Images via Getty Images 1. ‘As Tears Go By’

The Rolling Stones essentially covered this song by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. They handed it to Marianne Faithfull (Jagger’s girlfriend at the time), who recorded her version first.

Somehow, the 20-something Jagger convincingly conveyed the longing and loneliness of old age with just a few lines of lyrics in a song lasting less than three minutes. The gently plucked acoustic guitar and syrupy strings added to the effect. The Stones dropped the folk-tinged “As Tears Go By” in 1966, and it stands as one of their finest ballads decades later.

2. ‘Ruby Tuesday...

Liz Phair will mark the 30th anniversary of her landmark debut album, Exile in Guyville, with a new tour this fall, where she will play the album in its entirety — alongside additional hits — backed by a full band. The 18-city trek kicks off on Nov. 7 in El Cajon, California at The Magnolia with stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Chicago, Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Nashville, and more, culminating in Dallas on Dec. 3 at Majestic Theatre.

A lot has changed since Phair lived in Chicago, where she recorded the album...

The Rolling Stones were one of the biggest bands in the world by the end of the 1960s. They had several No. 1 hits in that decade and added a few more in the 1970s. Musicians looking to find an audience with a solid tune could do a lot worse than play their songs. That was probably Johnny Winter’s mindset when he more or less stole The Rolling Stones’ song “Silver Train” in 1973.

(l-r) Rolling Stones members Charlie Watts, Mick Taylor, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Bill Wyman; Johnny Winter | Bettmann/Contributor; Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Johnny Winter basically stole The Rolling Stones’ song ‘Silver Train’ and released it first

Keith Richards and Mick Jagger wrote “Silver Train” years before they recorded it. They brought it to the Sticky Fingers sessions, produced a demo with the band, and then put it back in the vault.

Winter somehow heard that demo.

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Mick Jagger’s girlfriend, Marianne Faithfull, had one hit and then turned down a Paul McCartney song. Paul hoped Faithfull’s people could improve the track. Paul speculated the song ended up in a tape bin. Paul McCartney | Express / Stringer

Mick Jagger’s girlfriend, Marianne Faithfull, had the opportunity to record a Paul McCartney song. Instead, she recorded The Beatles’ “Yesterday.” Subsequently, Paul’s song was lost forever, and Paul said that’s a good thing.

Mick Jagger’s girlfriend had 1 hit before Paul McCartney gave her a song

According to the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul was friends with Faithfull. She was most known for her version of “As Tears Go By,” a song Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote together. Paul made a vague promise to write a song for Faithfull.

All Paul came up with was a song called “Etcetera.” “I think...

Mick Jagger became a household name with The Rolling Stones in the mid-1960s. He’s remained the epitome of frontman cool ever since. Jagger’s biggest hit song in the 21st century was a song he basically gave away to Matchbox Twenty. The tune didn’t resonate the same way as some of the Stones’ songs that weren’t quite No. 1 hits, but it put him back on the charts.

Mick Jagger | Dimitri Hakke/Redferns Mick Jagger’s biggest hit song of the 21st century was Matchbox Twenty’s ‘Disease’

Jagger co-wrote nearly every Rolling Stones song dating back to their early years. His 2001 solo album Goddess in the Doorway helped spur his biggest hit of the new millennium.

Matchbox Twenty singer Rob Thomas was a background singer on the record (per AllMusic). He brought “Disease” to one of the recording sessions and ran it past Jagger. The singer...

There’s no doubt The Rolling Stones are an influential band. The decades-long career, iconic songs, and list of No. 1 albums attest to that fact. In an interesting twist, the Stones basically covered two Mick Jagger and Keith Richards songs after the duo gave them to Marianne Faithfull.

(l-r) Rolling Stones members Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts | King Collection/Avalon/Getty Images The Rolling Stones covered 2 Mick Jagger and Keith Richards songs — ‘As Tears Go By’ and ‘Sister Morphine’

Richards and Jagger needed time to develop as songwriters. It’s one of the reasons The Rolling Stones leaned heavily on cover songs early in their career.

Mick and Keith gave away the song that became their first top-10 hit as songwriters, but that secret success seemed to give them confidence in their craft. It also wasn’t the last time they let another artist...