Headphones

When was the last time you had the chance to really listen to an artist performing his or her solo work in open, uninterrupted air, unoccupied by chatter and clanking glassware? On Friday, Jan. 27, New Visions Studio and Gallery, 201 Vine St., downtown Scranton, will host an intimate performance by several singer/songwriters. This will be the gallery’s second installment of the songwriter series. Many of the participating artists will strip down their songs to only vocals and acoustic guitar, playing their compositions without backing bands or accompanying musicians. Trust me; it’s harder than it looks.

The line-up includes: Charles Havira, Maria Dubiel, Ed Randazzo, Rafael Pimentel (Silhouette Lies), Katie Kelly (Ashes for Trees), Chuck Silsby (The Way) and Donnie Kirchner. The show starts at 7 p.m. with a $5 cover at the door. Go check out original music directly from their creators.

Dark Disney

In “mind blowing that-can’t-be-coincidence” news, Disney has created a Mickey Mouse t-shirt design using the same image from the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy that Joy Division put on the cover of their 1979 release “Unknown Pleasures.” The black and white illustration depicts radio pulses from the first-discovered pulsar. The record, which features “Shadowplay” and “She’s Lost Control,” is the debut album by the English post-punk band well known for their dark and moody sound. Bouts of depression, a disastrous marriage and a diagnosis of epilepsy led to lead singer Ian Curtis taking his own life by hanging himself in his kitchen.

Huh. It’s a small world after all.

The now sold out t-shirt was retailing for $24.95 on Disney’s site. This was the horrid description: “This Waves Mickey Mouse Tee incorporates Mickey’s image within the graphic of the pulse of a star. That’s appropriate given few stars have made bigger waves than Mickey!”

The music video for “My First Hardcore Song” by Juliet has taken the internet by storm, but don’t let the innocent look of the 8-year-old fool you; there is a good chance she will take you down in the pit. Filmed by her mother and put to music by a family friend, the clip has been seen around the world more than 13 million times. It depicts Juliet singing about her love for her dog, Robert, and her pet fish, even though they stink. It’s meant to be a light-hearted look into hardcore music with Juliet displaying some pit moves and slamming around with her stuffed animals. The song is available on iTunes and was recently #1 on the metal singles chart.

But, of course, some PR companies saw this as an opportunity to make Juliet their own marketing puppet, immediately expressing interest in turning her into a brand. Luckily, her parents decided that they were not going to let that happen. They issued a statement that Juliet was in third grade, and had a lot of homework to do. In other words, she was too damn busy being a little girl.

“My First Hardcore Song” lyrics: Get your two-step on / My name is Juliet and I love Robert and my fishes/ but it stinks /WOOO! / YEAHH! / I love Robert, ROBBBBBB! / OOHHHH! / Let’s open up this pit / OH! / OOOOOOOOOHHHHH / oh.