Music Dispatch: Watch Paul McCartney and The Killers Play Together on New Year’s Eve

Can you imagine the experience of enjoying one of your favorite band’s concerts, only to have your joy multiplied by the appearance of surprise guest Paul McCartney, suddenly grinning at you from behind a mic? Some lucky Killers fans can, because that’s exactly what happened this past New Year’s Eve. The turn of the year brought plenty of additional joy, too: Bruce Springsteen joined Marc Maron for a podcast conversation, Emma Watson sang beautiful in a sneak peek of Beauty and the Beast, Patti Smith brought Michael Stipe onstage for her birthday, and Sleater-Kinney teamed up with members of Spoon and The Thermals to cover David Bowie.

We can all agree 2016 was tough, so why not cap it on a good note? That’s exactly what The Killers thought to do when they played a private New Year’s Eve party in St. Barts. The band played several songs, but then invited a special guest onstage to join them: Sir Paul McCartney. They then launched into an intense rendition of “Helter Skelter” that saw McCartney and frontman Brandon Flowers singing the vocals, pointing at one another, and getting the crowd riled up. Hell, we got excited just watching video footage of it. May 2017 be better because of it. [Rolling Stone]

Image Credit: tonyshek/GabboT

Bruce Springsteen fans know plenty about the singer’s life now that his brand new memoir, Born to Run, is on shelves worldwide. Marc Maron decided to dig a little deeper on his podcast WTF; the ensuing discussion is one that promises to surprise fans of Springsteen. The Boss talks about New Jersey, his father, and mental illness, among other things, with extreme openness and earnestness. It’s refreshing to hear. Listen or download the podcast right here. [Pitchfork]

Here’s your exclusive first listen of @EmmaWatson singing ‘Something There’ from Beauty and the Beast. #BeOurGuest pic.twitter.com/AWpcrDmELY

— Beauty and the Beast (@beourguest) December 31, 2016

In a little under three months, the first live action take of Beauty and the Beast hits theaters. It’s also our chance to hear Emma Watson sing. The Harry Potter actress stars as Belle alongside Dan Stevens as The Beast, Luke Evans as Gaston, Kevin Kline as Maurice, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Ewan McGregor as Lumière, Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, and Stanley Tucci as Cadenza. We’ve already gotten hyped on the trailer, but now Disney tossed another reason for giddiness: a 30-second clip of Watson singing “Something There.” We won’t spoil the film, but, spoiler, the clip above is good. [Consequence of Sound]

No one celebrates life on Earth the way Patti Smith does, and that includes celebrating her own life. The musician, activist, author, and more celebrated her 70th birthday by playing at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago, the city she was born in back in 1946. Of course, it wouldn’t be a party without friends. R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe showed up to gift Smith a cake and lead the audience in a joyful version of “Happy Birthday to You.” They then teamed up to play “People Have the Power,” one of her greatest songs to date that has changed and will continue to change the lives of thousands of activists in the making. Thank goodness she was born to write it. [Rolling Stone]

Unfortunately, the start of the new year isn’t all good. At the beginning of 2016, we lost one of music’s biggest icons: David Bowie. Now, a new year means another anniversary of his passing, but we can turn that into a celebration rather than a mourning. That’s exactly what members of Spoon, Sleater-Kinney, and The Thermals did. On New Year’s Eve, the fellow musicians took the Masonic stage in San Francisco to play their own material as well as to pay tribute to lost icons, which included a rousing take of Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel” which you can watch above. Future years, take note. This is how remembering Bowie should be done. [Consequence of Sound]

See you back here on Wednesday for another Music Dispatch!

Image: jikatu/Jimmy Baikovicius/Flickr