Tuesday, February 18, 2003
James Taylor jumps back into the touring game
James Taylor has limited his road work in recent years, but that ends in 2003, LiveDaily.com reports. The singer-songwriter’s North American tour is expected to visit 50 cities this summer.
James Taylor has limited his road work in recent years, but that ends in 2003, LiveDaily.com reports. The singer-songwriter’s North American tour is expected to visit 50 cities this summer.
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‘Justified and Stripped’ tour dates surface
The first batch of dates for the summer co-headlining tour of Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera has been unearthed by the well-connected crew at MTV News.
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Ben Harper, Jack Johnson join forces
Ben Harper and Jack Johnson will co-headline a North American tour that’s set to visit about 40 cities this summer, Billboard.com reports.
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Johnny Paycheck dead at 64
Country singer Johnny Paycheck, 64, died in his sleep on Tuesday night (2/18) after a lengthy illness, The Tennessean reports. Paycheck is best known for his 1977 call to arms “Take This Job and Shove It.”
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Congress scrutinizes independent promoters
In a recent hearing on radio consolidation, a Congressional committee seemed sympathetic to artists’ argument that independent promoters--who are paid by labels to get songs onto radio playlists--constitute thinly veiled payola, Salon.com reports.
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Malibu Rock City
The New York Times‘ Neil Strauss visits the ridiculously wealthy beach town of Malibu, Calif., and finds a thriving rock scene. One band, Whitestarr, has good bloodlines: Duane Betts, the son of Dickey Betts, plays guitar; Alex Orbison, son of Roy Orbison, on drums; and Cisco Adler, son of music producer Lou Adler, on vocals.
Album Chart: 50 Cent earns interest at No. 1
50 Cent’s “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” which debuted at No. 1 last week despite spending only four days in stores, moved more than 800,000 additional copies during its first full week on the shelves.
50 Cent’s “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” which debuted at No. 1 last week despite spending only four days in stores, moved more than 800,000 additional copies during its first full week on the shelves.
Released five days early to combat Internet piracy, “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” racked up debut-week sales of 872,000 copies. The latest one-week total is far more than enough to keep the set ensconced at No. 1 on the forthcoming Billboard 200 album chart.
Also staying put is the Dixie Chicks’ “Home,” which remains at No. 2 after selling about 170,000 copies, a bump of about 55,000 copies over its previous one-week total, according to industry sources.
Norah Jones’ “Come Away With Me"--which has garnered the singer-pianist five Grammy nominations--and Kid Rock’s “Cocky” trade places this week, with Jones up a spot to No. 3 and Rock down one to No. 4.
Also swapping with each other are the “Chicago” soundtrack and Avril Lavigne’s “Let Go,” which come in at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively.
Country heavyweight George Strait’s “For the Last Time--Live From the Astrodome” is the only newcomer to the Top 10. The album sold about 101,000 copies, and makes its debut at No. 7.
Jennifer Lopez’s “This Is Me ... Then” slips a notch to No. 9, while country siren Shania Twain’s “Up!” rebounds back into the Top 10, up three spots to No. 9.
Rod Stewart’s October 2002 release, “It Had to Be You ... The Great American Songbook” got a sizeable bump thanks to CNN’s multiple Valentine’s-weekend showings of an interview with Stewart, in which he discussed the album’s recent Grammy nod in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. The set jumps from No. 26 to No. 10 after selling about 71,000 copies, almost twice as much as its previous week’s total.
Just outside the Top 10, Vince Gill’s “Next Big Thing” checks in with a No. 14 debut, the “Grammy Nominees 2003” compilation surfaces at No. 16 and singer-songwriter John Mayer’s live set, “Any Given Thursday,” logs on at No. 17.
Debuting further down the chart are Yanni’s “Ethnicity” at No. 27, Kenny Lattimore and Chante Moore’s “Things That Lovers Do” at No. 31, and the “We’re a Happy Family” Ramones tribute at No. 43.
Monday, February 17, 2003
Metallica plots Summer Sanitarium Tour dates
Metallica, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park--along with show-openers Mudvayne and the Deftones--have nailed down the first batch of dates for this year’s Summer Sanitarium Tour, LiveDaily.com reports. The outing kicks off in Detroit on the Fourth of July.
Metallica, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park--along with show-openers Mudvayne and the Deftones--have nailed down the first batch of dates for this year’s Summer Sanitarium Tour, LiveDaily.com reports. The outing kicks off in Detroit on the Fourth of July.
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Coachella fest boasts Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Almost five years after the release of their most-recent album--1998’s “Hello Nasty"--rap trio the Beastie Boys has signed on to headline the first day of April’s two-day Coachella Festival, LiveDaily.com reports. Funk-rockers the Red Hot Chili Peppers headline the second day’s bill.
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Dixie Chicks plan Thursday tour announcement
The Dixie Chicks are expected to unveil their tour plans for the year during a Thursday press conference at New York’s Central Park. CMT-Country Music Television will telecast the announcement live at 4 p.m. ET.
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AC/DC lines up free U.S. show
Soon-to-be Rock and Roll Hall of Famers AC/DC will give only one U.S. concert performance this year, according to Epic Records. The event, which will be open to contest-winners only, is set for March 11 at New York City’s 3,500-capacity Roseland Ballroom.
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Paul McCartney announces European tour
Paul McCartney’s first British tour in a decade gets underway in April.
“I had a lot of fun touring this show around America last year, but now I’m bringing it on home and that’s special to me as I always look forward to playing to a home crowd,” McCartney said in a statement. “I think people are going to like this gig--when I was thinking of what songs to play I just imagined myself as one of the audience and thought ‘What would I like to hear him play?’
“So that means we’ll be playing some of my Beatles stuff--rather a lot of Beatles stuff, actually--some Wings stuff and some more recent stuff; so basically the show pretty much spans my whole career. And I’m really getting off on playing it all with my new band.”
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The sound of new von Trapps
The great-grandchildren of Capt. Georg von Trapp--of the Sound of Music fame--have just released a CD. The Von Trapp Children--Melanie, Sofia, Amanda and Justin--hail from Montana, and among the album’s tracks are two songs from the musical, Reuters reports.
Thursday, February 13, 2003
Report: Ozzfest to feature Korn, Marilyn Manson, Disturbed
Korn, Marilyn Manson and Disturbed will be among the acts to appear on the eighth installment of Ozzfest, an unnamed source told Billboard.com.
Korn, Marilyn Manson and Disturbed will be among the acts to appear on the eighth installment of Ozzfest, an unnamed source told Billboard.com.
The tour is expected to open in June, and will visit the U.K. as well as North America. More details about the tour reportedly will be released on Tuesday (2/18).
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More shenanigans for Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson’s Heal the Kids foundation is in hot water with the state of New York for allegedly failing to file any of the state-required financial-disclosure forms, the Associated Press reports.
Michael might wanna consider finding a new hobby that doesn’t involve children.
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Dates set, acts named for second Bonnaroo fest
Confirmed acts for the second edition of the Bonnaroo Music Festival include The Dead, Widespread Panic, James Brown, Sonic Youth and the Allman Brothers Band, the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports.
The concert/camping event takes place June 13-15 on a 600-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn.
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U2, Gwen Stefani, Steven Tyler and more to present at Rock Hall ceremony
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has tapped Elton John, Billy Joel, Neil Young, Paul Simon, U2, No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler to present at this year’s annual awards ceremony, according to VH1.com.
The event--which marks the induction of AC/DC, Clash, the Police, Elvis Costello and others--takes place on March 10 in New York City, and is scheduled to air on VH1 on March 19.
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More long-missing Beatles tapes found
A new batch of Beatles studio recordings that were stolen 35 years ago from the band’s Abbey Road studios in London have apparently turned up during the raid of a home in Sydney, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
The find was part of an international investigation that netted 500 other tapes in January.
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Coldplay and Oasis score NME Awards
British rock acts Coldplay and Oasis each received a pair of awards at Thursday night’s (2/13) NME Awards ceremony in London, Reuters reports. Coldplay’s “A Rush of Blood to the Head” was crowned Album of the Year in two different categories, while Oasis scored Best UK Band and Artist of the Year.
Oasis’ Liam Galagher took home the prestigious Best Haircut award.
A full list of winners is posted at NME’s website.
Everclear, “Slow Motion Daydream” (Capitol)
When the first track on Everclear’s new album starts off with its twangy little guitar riff, you say to yourself, “Hey, isn’t this that Everclear song?”
When the first track on Everclear’s new album starts off with its twangy little guitar riff, you say to yourself, “Hey, isn’t this that Everclear song?”
You say this even though, a few moments later, you realize that you’ve never heard the song before. It has a familiar feel, but not so much so that you’d say, “All their stuff sounds the same. This new album is lame.” It’s more of a, “These guys have found a good sound and they’re sticking with it.”
And sound good, this album does. Art Alexakis (vocals/guitar), Craig Montoya (bass/vocals) and Greg Eklund (drums/vocals) deliver a solid, straight-ahead rock-and-roll album with big, chunky guitar riffs, catchy hooks and sweet-sounding harmonies. “Volvo Driving Soccer Mom"--about a bad-girl turned housewife--is sure to become one of the group’s signature tracks ... though there’s something weird about hearing Alexakis deliver in the first-person lines such as “I got gang-banged in the bathroom at my high-school prom.”
Wednesday, February 12, 2003
Terror fears keep Kelly Osbourne away from London
Kelly Osbourne, reportedly fearing a terrorist attack on London, called off a planned Thursday (2/13) performance at the NME awards, LiveDaily.com reports.
“Kelly’s parents were in New York on September 11 when the Twin Towers came down so you can imagine how they feel,” Osbourne’s U.K. publicist said in a statement. “The decision wasn’t taken lightly and Kelly has thought long and hard about it.”
Kelly Osbourne, reportedly fearing a terrorist attack on London, called off a planned Thursday (2/13) performance at the NME awards, LiveDaily.com reports.
“Kelly’s parents were in New York on September 11 when the Twin Towers came down so you can imagine how they feel,” Osbourne’s U.K. publicist said in a statement. “The decision wasn’t taken lightly and Kelly has thought long and hard about it.”
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Sony files countersuit against Incubus
Incubus sued Sony last week, claiming that its recording contract was void because it violated a California statute limiting contracts to seven years. This week, Sony sued Incubus, claiming that the band owes the label four more albums, according to the Associated Press.
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Update from REM’s studio
REM’s Peter Buck told http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=17569>RollingStone.com that the band’s recording sessons in Vancouver have been going well, and that the band has “four albums’ worth of stuff floating around.”
The album isn’t expected to hit stores until sometime in 2004.
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More additions to Grammy lineup
Eminem, Sheryl Crow, Lenny Kravitz, ‘NSync and Elvis Costello have been added to the list of performers at this year’s Grammy Awards ceremony, LiveDaily reports.
The awards ceremony takes place on Feb. 23 at New York’s Madison Square Garden and will be broadcast on CBS.
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Spiritualized preps rarities disc
A rarities set from U.K. alt-rockers Spiritualized is due in stores on April 15. The 2-disc album’s 24 cuts will be culled from singles, EPs, special pressings and promo releases issued from 1990 through 1993.
The album will include three versions of the track “Feel So Sad”: the rare 7-inch-single version, a 13-minute version and a six-minute version.
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Rhythm & Blues Foundation to pass out Pioneer Awards
Koko Taylor, The Del Vikings, The Supremes, George Clinton, Maceo Parker, Johnny Nash, Clarence “Frogman” Henry and The Dixie Cups will be awarded the Rhythm & Blues Foundation’s Pioneer Award during a Feb. 20 ceremony at the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom in New York City. The award honors artists, songwriters and producers whose work has contributed to the rhythm-and-blues art form.
Tuesday, February 11, 2003
Hip-hop watchdogs back off on Pepsi boycott
The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network called off its planned boycott of Pepsi after the soft-drink company agreed to donate money to the Ludacris Foundation, LiveDaily.com reports.
The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network called off its planned boycott of Pepsi after the soft-drink company agreed to donate money to the Ludacris Foundation, LiveDaily.com reports.
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Avril Lavigne, Shania Twain top Juno nominees
Avril Lavigne and Shania Twain picked up nominations for five Juno Awards apiece on Wednesday (2/12), Canada’s Globe and Mail reports. The Junos--the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys--will be doled out on April 6.
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U.S. tour dates ahead for The Vines
Australian hell-raisers The Vines will open a headlining tour of U.S. clubs in late March, LiveDaily reports.
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Fox to air Michael Jackson’s rebuttal
Fox television will televise a two-hour special on Feb. 20 that will feature footage that Michael Jackson’s production company videotaped while he was being interviewed by British journalist Martin Bashir, Reuters reports.
Jackson has expressed outrage at Bashir’s documentary, which aired on ABC last week, claiming that it portrayed him unfairly. Fox’s program will be titled “Take 2; The Interview They Wouldn’t Show You.”
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Revisiting The Beatles’ ‘Get Back’
RollingStone.com has published an interesting package of stories about The Beatles ill-fated 1969 “Get Back” recording sessions. Police recently recovered more than 500 reels of tape from the sessions during the raid of a bootlegging ring in the Netherlands.
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Wilco tops Village Voice’s 2002 Pazz & Jop list
Wilco’s “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” was named the top album of the year by the 695 critics who voted in Village Voice’s annual Pazz & Jop poll. Rounding out the Top 5 were Beck’s “Sea Change,” The Flaming Lips’ “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots,” The Streets’ “Original Pirate Material,” and Sleater-Kinney’s “One Beat.”
Album Chart: 50 Cent comes out swinging
Rapper 50 Cent will likely have a few quarters to spare now that his new album, “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” is debuting in the top slot on the Billboard 200 album chart.
Rapper 50 Cent will likely have a few quarters to spare now that his new album, “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” is debuting in the top slot on the Billboard 200 album chart.
Despite Interscope’s fear that sales of “Get Rich of Die Tryin’” would soften due to widespread Internet piracy of the set, the album sold more than 872,000 copies, according to industry sources.
Making the feat more impressive is the fact that, because of the label’s piracy concerns, the album--originally scheduled to hit stores on Tuesday (2/11)--was instead released on Thursday, Feb. 6. Thus, its sales total was accomplished over four days rather than the standard seven.
The album easily bested the rest of the titles in the Top 10; in fact, it sold more copies than the remaining nine albums’ combined sales total.
The Dixie Chicks’ “Home,” which sold about 114,000 copies, gives up the No. 1 mantle and drops to second place, followed by Kid Rock’s “Cocky,” which moved about 103,000 copies. The latter album, which surfaced in November of 2001, has gotten its second wind thanks to its crossover hit, “Picture.”
Norah Jones’ “Come Away With Me” drops two spots to No. 4, while Avril Lavigne’s “Let Go” slips a notch to No. 5. The “Chicago” soundtrack, which just scored an Academy Award nomination for the track “I Moved On,” stays put at No. 6, and is followed by Jennifer Lopez’s “This Is Me ... Then,” which is down two spots to No. 7.
Country singer Blake Shelton’s “The Dreamer” is the only other newcomer to land in the Top 10 this week; the album, which sold about 76,000 copies, debuts at No. 8.
Making an impressive return to the Top 10 is LL Cool J’s “10,” which makes a one-week leap from No. 84 to No. 9. The album likely got a boost from LL’s recent round of promotional appearances in support of his recently released film, “Deliver Us from Eva.”
Closing things out is Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot’s “Under Construction,” which is down one notch to No. 10.
The soundtrack for the forthcoming flick “Daredevil"--featuring a new track that pairs Rob Zombie with the surviving members of Drowning Pool--just misses a Top-10 debut to land at No. 11, and is followed closely by Alabama’s “In the Mood: Love Songs,” which checks in at No. 15.
Other albums logging on this week include Lionel Richie’s “Definitive Collection” best-of set; Jars of Clay’s “Furthermore: From the Studio, From the Stage” at No. 64, the Juliana Theory’s “Love” at No. 71; and Keith Sweat’s “Live” at No. 86.
Monday, February 10, 2003
The Other Ones resurrect The Dead
The Other Ones--the band that features the surviving members of the Grateful Dead--have changed their name to The Dead.
“After we played our first shows together at Alpine Valley last year, we were all profoundly affected by a sense of awe and connection that none of us had felt since we played with Jerry,” the band said in a statement. “It was a magical occurrence that no one could have anticipated, yet one we all want to embrace. To us, this was the Grateful Dead--without Jerry. We had stopped being the ‘Other Ones’ and were on our way to becoming something new but at the same time very familiar.
“Grateful Dead conjures up many different emotions and feelings for all of us; it was a BAND, it continues to be a community, an approach to life, a electrical current, a dream, the list goes on. Whenever and wherever we played this past year, we all knew that we were experiencing Grateful Dead in its multiplicity of forms. We also know that this would not have been possible without all of you joining to support us. Therefore, with the greatest possible respect to our collective history, we have decided to keep the name ‘Grateful Dead’ retired in honor of Jerry’s memory, and call ourselves: ‘The Dead.’”
The group debuts its new name at a Feb. 14 benefit concert at San Francisco’s Warfield Theater.
The Other Ones--the band that features the surviving members of the Grateful Dead--have changed their name to The Dead.
“After we played our first shows together at Alpine Valley last year, we were all profoundly affected by a sense of awe and connection that none of us had felt since we played with Jerry,” the band said in a statement. “It was a magical occurrence that no one could have anticipated, yet one we all want to embrace. To us, this was the Grateful Dead--without Jerry. We had stopped being the ‘Other Ones’ and were on our way to becoming something new but at the same time very familiar.
“Grateful Dead conjures up many different emotions and feelings for all of us; it was a BAND, it continues to be a community, an approach to life, a electrical current, a dream, the list goes on. Whenever and wherever we played this past year, we all knew that we were experiencing Grateful Dead in its multiplicity of forms. We also know that this would not have been possible without all of you joining to support us. Therefore, with the greatest possible respect to our collective history, we have decided to keep the name ‘Grateful Dead’ retired in honor of Jerry’s memory, and call ourselves: ‘The Dead.’”
The group debuts its new name at a Feb. 14 benefit concert at San Francisco’s Warfield Theater.
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Red Hot Chili Peppers bring tour home
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been focusing their touring efforts overseas since the release of their 2002 album “By the Way.” That changes in May when the funk-rockers return to North America for a major arena tour, LiveDaily.com reports.
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Norah Jones preps for summer tour
Jazzy pop singer Norah Jones will launch a tour in June, and her itinerary includes several summer amphitheater dates, according to LiveDaily. Jones’ stock is likely to rise in the meantime: she could pick up as many as five Grammy awards later this month.
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Eminem plans hometown gig
Eminem, who is focusing his 2003 touring efforts on Japan and Europe, is planning a July 12 concert at the cavernous Ford Field in his home base of Detroit.
Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott and 50 Cent will support on the show, which is expected to be Eminem’s only U.S. concert this year.
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Madonna makes anti-war statement with ‘American Dream’ video
Madonna has filmed a video for her song “American Dream” that her publicist says depicts the horrors of war.
“It is an anti-war video, but the purpose of the video, as with a lot of Madonna’s work, is to be thought provoking,” publicist Liz Rosenberg told the Associated Press.
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Paul McCartney picks up Pollstar award
Paul McCartney picked up the Major Tour of the Year award at the 14th annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards on Feb. 8, Pollstar reports. Other winners included the Down From the Mountain tour for Most Creative Tour Package; the Bonnaroo Festival for Music Festival of the Year; and John Mayer for Best New Artist Tour.
Sunday, February 09, 2003
Metallica, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park co-headline summer tour
Metallica, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park will support forthcoming albums during Metallica’s second Summer Sanitarium Tour. The Deftones and Mudvayne will open. Dates have not yet been announced, but more details--including a preliminary list of cities in which the tour will stop--are available in this liveDaily.com report.
Metallica, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park will support forthcoming albums during Metallica’s second Summer Sanitarium Tour. The Deftones and Mudvayne will open. Dates have not yet been announced, but more details--including a preliminary list of cities in which the tour will stop--are available in this liveDaily.com report.
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Lollapalooza returns with Jane’s, Audioslave, Incubus, more
Jane’s Addiction will resurrect Lollapalooza this summer, VH1.com reports. The tour, which has been mothballed for five years, will also feature Audioslave, Incubus, Queens of the Stone Age and Jurassic 5.
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O.A.R. in the studio, album due in May
O.A.R. (that’s Of A Revolution to you, buddy) has inked a multi-album deal with Lava Records, according to the label. The band is currently in the studio with producer John Alagia (Dave Matthews, John Mayer) to record a new album titled “In Between Now and Then,” which is due in stores on May 27. O.A.R.’s three self-released albums have sold more than 290,000 copies in the U.S., according to Lava.
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Don’t call him a replacement
Blur’s new guitarist is Simon Tong, formerly of the Verve, NME.com “can reveal.” Even though Graham Coxon is no longer in the band, and even though Coxon also played guitar, “a source close to the band” said that Tong isn’t replacing Coxon. Which has us very confused.
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Michael Jackson goes on the offensive
Michael Jackson claims he was unfairly represented by documentary-maker Martin Bahir in the recently aired “Living with Michael Jackson” program, and that he has the video to prove it. According to BBC News, the videotape “apparently shows Bashir saying what a good father Jackson is and how well he treats children.”
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Mickey Mouse Club reunion
Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera--who became pals as children when they starred on Disney’s “All-New Mickey Mouse Club"--have confirmed plans to embark on a co-headlining summer tour. The outing will get underway on June 4, but dates and venues haven’t been confirmed.
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RIAA pushes for name of alleged file trader
The Recording Industry Association of America--which wants Verizon to release the name of one of its Internet customers who allegedly violated copyright law by making a large number of tracks available for download--filed its opposition Friday (2/7) to Verizon’s recent motion to stay a court order requiring the company to release the name, internetnews.com reports.