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11 Stories

Harmonica Version of the National Anthem Goes Viral

LA Kings had a class of senior citizen musicians render 'The Star-Spangled Banner'—twice

(Newser) - Some senior citizen harmonica players are having a bit of a moment: In an era where the US national anthem is getting booed at various NHL games , the AP reports that the Los Angeles Kings brought out something that went on to become much more viral than ridiculed. On Monday...

Guitar Center Files for Bankruptcy
Guitar Center:
It's Bankruptcy Time
Nov 22, 2020 1:00 PM CST

Guitar Center: It's Bankruptcy Time

The nation's biggest musical instrument retailer files for Chapter 11

(Newser) - The Guitar Center filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Saturday as yet another US retailer revealed its pandemic financial woes, Reuters reports. In a bankruptcy filing , the 61-year-old company said it plans to stay afloat with up to $165 million in fresh equity investments and a debt reduction of nearly $800...

Mayor's Odd Request to Entire City: Shhhh

In Cremona, Italy, sounds of Stradivarius instruments being recorded for posterity

(Newser) - Stradivarius instruments—violins, violas, and cellos made in the 17th and 18th centuries by Antonio Stradivari of Cremona, Italy—are known for their unmatched tones. It's for this reason that the instruments are passed down and painstakingly restored over generations. Even so, their tones begin to change as the...

Top Flutist Makes $250K a Year, and Is Suing Over It

Elizabeth Rowe argues the BSO has refused to pay her the same as her male colleague

(Newser) - When the Boston Symphony Orchestra's selection committee heard 29-year-old Elizabeth Rowe audition, it didn't know her gender: As Geoff Edgers writes in a lengthy piece for the Washington Post , the orchestra's blind auditions dictate that a screen obscures the musician's identity. She landed her "dream...

'Humiliating': Musician Booted From American Airlines Flight

Jingjing Hu says she followed federal regulations with her cello

(Newser) - American Airlines booted a music student off a plane Thursday, saying her cello was too big—even though she had just taken it on another AA flight and bought seats for it both ways, NBC Chicago reports. "When I flew from Chicago to Miami, I didn't have any...

Teen: Concussions Gave Me Musical Gift

Lachlan Connors says lacrosse injuries 'rewired' his brain with musical talent

(Newser) - A Denver teen doesn't credit his parents or music teacher for his musical genius, he thanks ... lacrosse. Specifically, concussions he sustained while playing the sport, injuries that he says brought on his musical gift. Bummed about not being able to play contact sports after the injuries, which brought on...

World's Oldest Instrument Discovered in Cave

Flutes may have helped early humans endure bitter cold

(Newser) - Researchers have identified two flutes made from mammoth ivory and bird bone as the world's oldest musical instruments, the BBC reports. Discovered in a cave in southern Germany, the flutes were likely fashioned 42,000 to 43,000 years ago, when early humans used them for religious ritual or...

Ancient Instrument Pushes Music History Back 1K Years

Archeologists find remains of lyre in Scottish cave

(Newser) - Turns out even ancient Europeans liked subtle and complex music. Archeologists have found part of a 2,300-year-old lyre—the oldest instrument ever discovered in western Europe—inside a Scottish cave, the Daily Mail reports. The broken and burnt piece of wood "pushes the history of complex music back...

11 Worst Things Ever Lost
 11 Worst Things Ever Lost 
don't worry, iphone guy
Apr 21, 2010 11:19 AM CDT

11 Worst Things Ever Lost

Don't worry, iPhone guy, it's not just you

(Newser) - The drunk Apple engineer who left his iPhone prototype in a bar shouldn’t feel too bad: At least he didn’t lose, say, blueprints for the H-bomb like one physicist did. The Daily Beast lists 11 other famously misplaced items:
  • Top-secret laptop: Once again, alcohol is to blame. A
...

'Cello Scrotum' Exposed as Medical Hoax

Spoof inflammatory condition had fooled experts for 34 years

(Newser) - The world's cellists can rest easy today knowing the dreaded "cello scrotum" is a myth, the Independent reports. A doctor who's a member of Britain's House of Lords has confessed that she invented the condition described in a letter to the British Medical Journal as a spoof. It has...

Bain Buys Out Guitar Center
Bain Buys Out Guitar Center
Jun 27, 2007 5:40 PM CDT

Bain Buys Out Guitar Center

Firm strums out $1.9B deal to take retailer private

(Newser) - Bain Capital sealed a deal today to buy out Guitar Center, a California-based retail chain specializing in musical instruments, for $1.9 billion. The deal was reached after a secret auction conducted by Goldman Sachs; the private equity firm has recently purchased a slew of publicly traded retailers. The final...

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