Wednesday, July 30, 2003
Sting plots TV Special, pulls in Josh Wink for remix duties
Sting will follow the September release of his new album “Send Your Love” with a special on the A&E Network in October. According to Sting.com, the special will cover the making of the album and include musical performances. Sting has also lined up noted techno artist Josh Wink to remix “Sacred Love,” the leadoff single from the album. “Send Your Love” is due September 10th. The original mix of the single goes to radio the first week of August.
John Mellencamp to pair with Kenney Chesney for CMT Crossroads
On the heels of a whirlwind promo tour supporting his “Trouble No More” blues album, John Mellencamp is scheduled to tape an installment of CMT’s “Crossroads” program on August 6th. The series has in the past paired the likes of Travis Tritt and ZZ Top, Elton John and Ryan Adams and James Taylor and the Dixie Chicks. Mellencamp will perform with Kenney Chesney. Their pairing is schedule to air October 3rd.
Timberlake sings with Rolling Stones, dodges bottles
Pop-star Justin Timberlake, who performed at Wednesday night’s SARS benefit concert, reportedly faced a tough crowd when he hit the stage. Some members of the roughly 400,000-person audience threw water bottles at the singer and heckled him during his brief solo set. He was again faced with flying bottles when he joined The Rolling Stones during the group’s song “Miss You.”
Pop-star Justin Timberlake, who performed at Wednesday night’s SARS benefit concert, reportedly faced a tough crowd when he hit the stage. Some members of the roughly 400,000-person audience threw water bottles at the singer and heckled him during his brief solo set. He was again faced with flying bottles when he joined The Rolling Stones during the group’s song “Miss You.”
Read more at MTV.com
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Elvis’ Producer Sam Phillips dead at 80
Sun Records founder Sam Phillips, best known for discovering Elvis Presley, died of respiratory failure on Wednesday (7/30). Phillips also worked with Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Conway Twitty, B.B. King, Charlie Rich and Carl Perkins.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=529&ncid=529&e=1&u=/ap/20030731/ap_en_ot/obit_Phillips >Read the full story from Reuters
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Dixie Chicks’ tour bus rear-ended
A pickup truck struck the back of The Dixie Chicks’ tour bus near San Antonio in the early hours of Thursday morning (7/31). The only member of the country trio on board, Emily Robison, was not hurt.
The bus was parked at the time of the accident, and was reportedly partially blocking a lane of traffic in which the pick-up truck was traveling.
Read more from the Houston Chronicle
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Title and release date surface for new Pink album
Pink’s follow-up to her multi-platinum 2001 release “Mizzundastood” will hit stores on Nov. 11, and is tentatively titled “Try This.” The set features a cut tentatively titled “God Is a DJ,” which will likely be the first single.
Read more at VH1.com
Sunday, July 27, 2003
Limp Bizkit makes an early exit in Chicago
Limp Bizkit’s Saturday (7/26) night set at the Summer Sanitarium tour’s Chicago-area stop came to an early end after frontman Fred Durst was pelted with debris and subjected to a chorus of boos and chants.
Limp Bizkit’s Saturday (7/26) night set at the Summer Sanitarium tour’s Chicago-area stop came to an early end after frontman Fred Durst was pelted with debris and subjected to a chorus of boos and chants.
“From the very beginning of the show, there were people in the crowd with ‘Fred Sucks’ banners, and every time one of the other bands mentioned Limp Bizkit, [the audience] booed,” Chicago Tribune reviewer Bob Gendron told MTV News.
After trying to weather the storm for about 30 minutes--the group typically plays for an hour--Durst walked off stage.
Read the story at MTV.com
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RIAA taps former GOP staffer as chief executive
Mitch Brainwol, former chief of staff to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, has been selected to replace exiting Recording Industry Association of America chief executive Hilary Rosen.
Brainwol reportedly doesn’t have much experience inside the music industry, but has deep connections to the Republican Party.
Read the story at CNET News
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NFL kick-off event to feature Britney, Mary J. Blige
Britney Spears and Mary J. Blige will perform during a free Sept. 4 concert at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the opening of the 2003 season. Other acts are also under consideration for the show, which will be broadcast on ABC-TV.
Read the story at Billboard.com
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Iron Butterfly guitarist dead at 52
Erik Braunn, the lead guitarist on Iron Butterfly’s 1968 rock classic “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” died of cardiac arrest on Friday (7/25) in Los Angeles.
Read the story at the Los Angeles Times
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Ray Charles cancels shows due to hip injury
R&B legend Ray Charles, 72, has canceled 14 upcoming concert dates because he is suffering from acute hip discomfort. He plans to resume his tour on Aug. 22 at Harrah’s Casino in Escondido, Calif.
Read the story from Reuters
Thursday, July 24, 2003
Stones-led concert on track for 430,000 fans
The Toronto concert headlined by the Rolling Stones for the benefit of healthcare worked in the only North American city to suffer significant deaths due to this year’s SARS outbreak has expanded to a 9 1/2 hour affair, drawing an expected 430,000 ticketholders. The massive festival will culminated in a peformance by the Stones, which Canadian networks CBC and MuchMusic plan to broadcast in part.
More at the Toronto Sun
The Toronto concert headlined by the Rolling Stones for the benefit of healthcare worked in the only North American city to suffer significant deaths due to this year’s SARS outbreak has expanded to a 9 1/2 hour affair, drawing an expected 430,000 ticketholders. The massive festival will culminated in a peformance by the Stones, which Canadian networks CBC and MuchMusic plan to broadcast in part.
More at the Toronto Sun
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Back injury cited in Boston cancellations
Boston leader Tom Scholz reportedly suffered a back injury this week, forcing the band to cancel shows in Salt Lake City, Utah and Nampa, Idaho on their tour in support of “Corporate America.” A Saturday (7/26) show in Portland was still scheduled at press time.
Tour updates at Boston.org
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Elliott, Timberlake lead MTV Video Awards nominees
Missy “Midemeanor” Elliott and Justin Timberlake lead the pack of nominees in the running for 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, with eight and seven nominations, respectively. Johnny Cash, with six nominations for his stark rendition of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt,” issued a statement. “I am overwhelmed by this great honor. I thank you all for thinking of me,” Cash said. “It’s been 48 years since I cut my first record and it’s nice that people are still digging them up.”
More at liveDaily.com
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RIAA lawsuit “hit list” emerging
TechTV has listed the email aliases of some of the initial targets of RIAA lawsuits, available via public records. The list, previewed on the TechTV website, is just a portion of the hundreds of file swappers currently being subpoena’d for offering large numbers of files for sharing via Kazaa and other trading services. The TechTV report notes that one of the first to be served notice by the RIAA has already settled his case out of court for $12,000.
More at TechTV.com
Missy Elliott snares eight MTV VMA nominations
Reigning diva of rap Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott leads the pack of nominees for this year’s MTV Video Music Awards with eight nominations, all for her music video “Work It.”
Reigning diva of rap Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott leads the pack of nominees for this year’s MTV Video Music Awards with eight nominations, all for her music video “Work It.”
‘NSync-er-gone-solo Justin Timberlake follows with seven nods--five of which are for his “Cry Me A River” video, and two for “Rock Your Body"--and unlikely nominee Johnny Cash snared six nominations for the video to his cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt.”
The MTV Video Music Awards are set to take place at New York’s Radio City Music Hall on Aug. 28.
Read more at MTV.com
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Ace Frehley gets KISS-ed off
Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley issued a statement this week to let his fans know that the guy they’ll be seeing wearing his make-up and costume during KISS’s upcoming co-headlining tour with Aerosmith isn’t the real McCoy.
“I love my fans, and so there is no confusion, I took ‘The Farewell Tour’ for what it was billed as,” Frehley said. “We had a great final leg in Australia and, as far as I was concerned, my career with KISS was over. It was called ‘The Farewell Tour’ and that’s what I was told it was.”
Read Ace’s complete statement at RockRage Online
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Ozzy Osbourne’s tour manager found dead in hotel
Bobby Thomson, tour manager for Ozzy Osbourne, was found dead in his Birmingham, Mich., hotel room on Thursday (7/24), one day before the Osbourne-fronted Ozzfest tour touched down in the area. He had reportedly battled throat cancer for 18 months, and appeared to have died in his sleep.
Read more at Billboard.com
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Columnist pans BuyMusic.com as inferior to iTunes
Mac-friendly author and columnist Bob Levitus--a.k.a. Dr. Mac-- in his column on Friday (7/25) soundly flogged the new Windows-based BuyMusic.com store, which opened earlier this week. While comparing BuyMusic.com to Apple’s fledgling iTunes Music Store, Levitus took issue with BuyMusic.com touting a 79-cent-per-song pricing plan, which he called a “bogus claim” because “only one song in its Top 100 Downloads section cost 79 cents; all others had prices from 99 cents to $1.29.” All songs at Apple’s iTunes Music Store cost 99 cents.
Levitus also blasted BuyMusic.com’s rights-management features, which include limiting the number of CDs that a user can burn their purchased music on to, and limiting the number of portable digital-music players that a user can transfer most songs to. The iTunes Music Store does not impose these restrictions.
Read more at HoustonChronicle.com
Monday, July 21, 2003
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band add more shows
More summer stadium tour dates continue to trickle in for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The latest additions are the group’s Aug. 16 performance at San Francisco’s Pacific Bell Park (home of Major League Baseball team the Giants) and Aug. 17 performance at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium (home of the Dodgers).
More summer stadium tour dates continue to trickle in for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The latest additions are the group’s Aug. 16 performance at San Francisco’s Pacific Bell Park (home of Major League Baseball team the Giants) and Aug. 17 performance at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium (home of the Dodgers).
Tickets for the new shows go on sale on July 28.
Read more at Billboard.com
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Sergio George emerges as Latin Grammy frontrunner
Producer/songwriter Sergio George has garnered six nominations for this year’s Latin Grammy awards, the most snagged by any of this year’s nominees. His nominations include Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Tropical Song” for Bacilos’ “Mi Premer Millon”; Album of the Year for Bacilos’ “Caraluna”; and Best Tropical Song for Tito Nieves’ “La Salsa Vive.”
Other nominees include singer-songwriter Juanes and producer Gustavo Santaolalla with five apiece.
The ceremony will air on CBS-TV on Sept. 3.
Read more at the Latin Grammy Awards website
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Radiohead, Coldplay among Mercury Music Prize finalists
The Panasonic Mercury Music Prize--an annual award that “aims to celebrate the best in British Music--has unveiled its 12 Album of the Year nominees for 2003: Radiohead’s “Hail to the Thief,” Dizzee Rascal’s “Boy In Da Corner,” The Thrills’ “So Much for the City,” Soweto Kinch’s “Conversations with the Unseen,” Floetry’s “Floetic,” The Darkness’ “Permission to Land,” Coldplay’s “A Rush of Blood to the Head,” Martina Topley-Bird’s “Quixotic,” Eliza Carthy’s “Anglicana,” Athlete’s “Vehicles and Animals,” Terri Walker’s “Untitled,” and Lemon Jelly’s “Lost Horizons.”
The winner will be named on Sept. 9.
Read more at the Panasonic Mercury Music Prize website
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BuyMusic.com launches Windows-based music store
Almost three months after Apple Computer made a significant splash in the world of digital music by launching its proprietary iTunes Music Store--and several months before Apple’s intended launch of a Windows-based version--Buy.com has launched a Windows-only digital-music store dubbed BuyMusic.com.
The company--which has hired former Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee as its poster boy--is heralding a pricing spectrum that begins at 79-cents per-song and $7.95 per-album; at press time, very few items shown on the site were less than 99 cents per-song or $12-$13 per album.
Read more at BuyMusic.com
Sunday, July 20, 2003
George Bush, Howard Dean square off over Springsteen constituency
Campaign operations for George Bush and Howard Dean will converge on Bruce Springsteen’s Giants Stadium stand next weekend in an effort to raise, respectively, money and awareness for their candidates.
Campaign operations for George Bush and Howard Dean will converge on Bruce Springsteen’s Giants Stadium stand next weekend in an effort to raise, respectively, money and awareness for their candidates.
The New Jersey Daily Record reports that the Republican Party has acquired a suite for the Sunday (7/27) show and is re-selling the 22 tickets for $1,000 each. The Democratic New Jersey for Dean camp is hosting a free potluck get-together in the venue’s parking lot prior to Saturday’s (7/26) show. Dean reps note that face-value tickets are still available for those interested in checking out the show after the tailgate party.
More on the Bush fundraiser
More on the Dean rally
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Stars come out for Luther Vandross video
Beyoncé, Monica, Stevie Wonder and Ruben Studdard are among the artists who will appear in a video for Luther Vandross’ latest single, “Dance with My Father.” Vandross has been hospitalized since he suffered a stroke in April.
A J Records spokesperson said that the video has the look and feel of a home movie.
Read the story at MTV.com
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Back to ‘Reality’ for David Bowie
“Reality," David Bowie’s 26th studio album, is scheduled for release on Sept. 16. He’ll back the effort with his first world tour in almost 10 years.
The album features nine originals, as well as covers of Jonathan Richman’s “Pablo Picasso” and George Harrision’s “Try Some, Buy Some.”
Read the story at Billboard.com
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Michael Jackson opposes bill to make file-swapping a felony
Pop star Michael Jackson issued a statement on Monday (7/21) stating his opposition to the Authors, Consumer and Computer Owners Protection and Security Act of 2003, which would make downloading copyrighted music over the Internet a felony.
“I am speechless about the idea of putting music fans in jail for downloading music. It is wrong to illegally download, but the answer cannot be jail,” Jackson said. “Here in America we create new opportunities out of adversity, not punitive laws and we should look to new technologies, like Apple’s new Music Store for solutions. This way innovation continues to be the hallmark of America. It is the fans that drive the success of the music business; I wish this would not be forgotten.”
Under the bill, which was introduced last week by Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Howard Berman (D-Calif.), a person convicted of illegally swapping music could face penalties of up to five years and prison and a $250,000 fine.
Friday, July 18, 2003
BBC: Jackson 5 to reunite for album, tour
Jermaine Jackson told the BBC that Michael Jackson has begun work on a new Jackson 5 album with the other four original members of the legendary Motown group. The BBC report said that the release of the album would coincide with a world tour. The group last performed with Michael as the Jackson 5 in 2001 during a concert celebrating Michael Jackson’s 30th anniversary in show business.
Read more at BBC.co.uk
Jermaine Jackson told the BBC that Michael Jackson has begun work on a new Jackson 5 album with the other four original members of the legendary Motown group. The BBC report said that the release of the album would coincide with a world tour. The group last performed with Michael as the Jackson 5 in 2001 during a concert celebrating Michael Jackson’s 30th anniversary in show business.
Read more at BBC.co.uk
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RIAA wins subpoenas to take action against file sharers
On Friday (7/18), RIAA prosecutors noted that they had won some 871 subpoenas forcing ISP’s and other Internet services to turn over contact information about alleged file sharers on their servers. The RIAA has vowed to pursue lawsuits against home file sharers, and current laws allow them to seek damages of $750 to $150,000 per song made available on a file sharer’s computer. Prosecutors say they are clearing about 75 more subpoenas each day.
Read more at Yahoo! news
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Bob Dylan to preview SACD remixes of catalog
Columbia Records announced that SACD remixes of several of Bob Dylan’s classic tracks will be made available in super audio and 5.1 surround formats as part of a special edition of the soundtrack to Dylan’s upcoming movie, “masked and anonymous.” The audiophile-quality mixes of tracks including “All I Really Want To Do,” “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again” and “Tangled Up in Blue” are a preview to the re-release of Dylan’s catalog in the new format.
Read more about “masked and anonymous”
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Lollapalooza loses another date to slow ticket sales
Lollapalooza organizers have pulled the plug on the tour’s July 26th stop in Vernon Downs, NY, citing “mounting production costs.” Sources close to the show note that only 4,000 tickets had been sold for the 25,000-capacity venue at the time of the cancellation. The tour opener on July 3rd was canned over a similar set of circumstances.
Read more at E! Online
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
Cake taps Cheap Trick, others for second Unlimited Sunshine Tour
The second edition of the Cake-led Unlimited Sunshine tour will feature Cheap Trick, The Detroit Cobras, The Hackensaw Boys and Charlie Louvin, 73, of the legendary country group The Louvin Brothers.
The second edition of the Cake-led Unlimited Sunshine tour will feature Cheap Trick, The Detroit Cobras, The Hackensaw Boys and Charlie Louvin, 73, of the legendary country group The Louvin Brothers.
This year’s tour is set to take place during the first two weeks of September, and will focus on major markets. A confirmed itinerary hasn’t been issued.
Read more at Cake’s website
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Cancer claims Latin music icon Celia Cruz
Cuban-born singer Celia Cruz, known as the “Queen of Salsa,” died of cancer at her home in Ft. Lee, N.J., on Wednesday (7/16). She was believed to be about 79 years old.
Cruz fled to the U.S. in 1960, and refused to return to Cuba as long as Fidel Castro was in power. In the U.S., she joined forces with legendary drummer Tito Puente, with whom she helped to popularize Latin music for U.S. and European audiences.
Read the story at CNN.com
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The White Stripes cancel U.S. dates
The White Stripes have postponed all of their upcoming shows through Aug. 10 due to a hand injury that frontman and guitarist Jack White suffered in a July 9 car accident.
“Every effort if being made to reschedule these shows as soon as possible,” said a V2 Records statement. “The White Stripes deeply value the relationship they have with their fans and regret any inconvenience caused by these current events and are thankful for their patience and understanding.”
Read more at The White Stripes’ website
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Scott Stapp says ‘drunken’ Chicago show was an act
Creed frontman Scott Stapp--in two voice mail messages left with an Orlando, Fla., columnist--reportedly said that a lawsuit alleging that he was too intoxicated to perform during a show last year in Chicago is bogus.
For instance, when fans said he appeared to have passed out onstage, Stapp said, he was making a dramatic statement during the song “Who’s Got My Back?”
“It was a symbolic, personal gesture. I had some things going on in my life. I kind of felt alone. And it was a symbol that I didn’t think anybody had my back at the time.
“Some people get it. Some people don’t.”
Read the story at the Orlando Sentinel
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Ashanti, Beyonce remain atop album chart
Ashanti’s “Chapter II,” which sold 135,000 copies in the last week, will be in the No. 1 slot on the forthcoming Billboard 200 album chart. The R&B singer’s set debuted at No. 1 last week.
Clocking in at No. 2 is Beyonce’s solo debut, “Dangerously in Love.”
Read the story at Billboard.com
Monday, July 14, 2003
Avril Lavigne releases EP exclusively through Apple’s iTunes
Teen rocker Avril Lavigne is offering for sale exclusively through Apple Computer’s recently launched iTunes Music Store a downloadable live EP. Lavigne recorded the set in Dublin on March 23, during her “Try to Shut Me Up” world tour.
Teen rocker Avril Lavigne is offering for sale exclusively through Apple Computer’s recently launched iTunes Music Store a downloadable live EP. Lavigne recorded the set in Dublin on March 23, during her “Try to Shut Me Up” world tour.
Cuts featured on the set are: “Sk8ter Boi,” “Losing Grip,” “Unwanted,” “Nobody’s Fool” and a cover of Green Day’s “Basket Case.” The iTunes Music Store is selling the EP for $4.95, and is also offering each individual track for 99 cents apiece.
Read more at Lavigne’s website
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Hurricane forces Staind to postpone Texas show
Staind has postponed its Wednesday (7/15) performance at San Antonio’s Sunken Gardens due to Hurricane Claudette. The show will instead take place on Oct. 10, and all tickets for the original concert will be honored on the make-up date, according to Staind’s publicist.
The group’s current tour will resume as scheduled on Thursday (7/17) in Denver.
Get tour details at Staind’s website
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Neil Young nails down release date for new album
Grizzled rock veteran Neil Young will release a new album titled “Greendale” on Aug. 19. The album’s material focuses on a fictional family who live in the fictional town of Greendale. The set will include a bonus DVD of Young performing the album in its entirety.
Read the full story at Billboard.com
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Beanie Sigel to remain in jail, miss Rock the Mic Tour
A federal court in Philadelphia on Monday (7/14) denied bail for rapper Beanie Sigel, who was arrested last week in Philadelphia and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. That arrest followed his July 3 arrest in Philly for allegedly shooting a man in the stomach and foot.
Sigel will remain in a jail cell while the Rock the Mic Tour continues on without him.
Read the full story at VH1.com