Monday, June 30, 2003
Linkin Park, Green Day, Metallica curb access to ‘legal’ downloads
Several acts--including Linkin Park, Green Day and Metallica--reportedly are refusing to make their songs available as a la carte downloads via services like iTunes, Rhapsody, Listen.com and PressPlay. The groups cite artistic concerns.
Several acts--including Linkin Park, Green Day and Metallica--reportedly are refusing to make their songs available as a la carte downloads via services like iTunes, Rhapsody, Listen.com and PressPlay. The groups cite artistic concerns.
Read the story from RollingStone.com
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No rematch for ‘American Idol’ vets Ruben and Clay
American Idols Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard won’t have a head-to-head album-sales showdown after all. Both singers were initially scheduled to release their debut albums on Aug. 19, but now the RCA Music Group says that the albums will be released on different dates, probably sometime in September.
Read the story from Billboard.com
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Developer purchases Asbury Park’s famous Stone Pony
The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, N.J.’s famous nightclub, has been sold to developers who say that they intend “keep the property in its current location as a component of an oceanfront entertainment complex.”
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Southside Johnny and Bon Jovi are among the groups who regularly played at the venue--and who occasionally return.
Read the story from NorthJersey.com
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Ex-business partner files suit against P. Diddy
A former business partner alleges in a lawsuit that Sean “P. Diddy” Combs forced him to sign away his piece of their company by threatening him with a baseball bat.
Kirk Burrowes, who formerly served as president and general manager of Bad Boy Entertainment, reportedly filed the racketeering and breach of contract suit on Monday in Manhattan.
Read the story from the Associated Press
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Iggy Pop records with two original Stooges
Call them The Three Stooges. Iggy Pop and Ron and Scott Asheton--all original members of the groundbreaking group The Stooges--have recorded their first new music together in more than 30 years.
The four new songs will appear on “Skull Ring,” an Iggy Pop album that’s due on Sept. 30. The album also includes two songs recorded with Green Day and another with Sum 41.
Read the story from E! Online
Sunday, June 29, 2003
Aerosmith delays new album release
The new blues album that Aerosmith had been planning to release sometime this year won’t see the light of day until 2004. The Boston-based rock quintet plans to mix the set during the summer and fall--during which time the group will also mount a co-headlining tour with KISS--and will most likely release the album in January.
The new blues album that Aerosmith had been planning to release sometime this year won’t see the light of day until 2004. The Boston-based rock quintet plans to mix the set during the summer and fall--during which time the group will also mount a co-headlining tour with KISS--and will most likely release the album in January.
Read the story from Billboard.com
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Lil’ Kim gets her bling-bling back
Everyone can relax now; Port Authority Police in New York found Lil’ Kim’s $250,000 dollars-worth of jewelry--which got snatched at JFK airport on June 20--in the airport’s employee locker room. Detectives are still trying to figure out who the culprit is.
Read the story from MTV.com
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Suge Knight busted for allegedly punching parking valet
The California Department of Corrections arrested Marion “Suge” Knight last Friday (6/27) for allegedly violating his parole. Seems Suge, who is no stranger to run-ins with the law, allegedly punched a parking valet during a June 21 altercation. He’ll cool off in a cell until a hearing takes place--most likely within the next 30 days--because he’s not eligible for bail.
Read the story from VH1.com
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Toronto SARS Benefit sells 150,000 tickets
Live music apparently quells fear of disease; consumers snatched up 150,000 tickets for the upcoming “Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto” benefit concert during the first day of sales. Molson Canadian is throwing the event--which is scheduled to feature the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Justin Timberlake, Rush, the Guess Who, Flaming Lips, Kathleen Edwards and others--in response to the substantial economic blow that Toronto suffered as a result of the recent SARS epidemic.
Read the story from Reuters
Bruce Springsteen posts strong weekend ticket sales
A new crop of stadium shows put on sale over the weekend fortified Bruce Springsteen’s standing as one of the season’s top ticket draws--at least on the eastern half of the country. Springsteen posted a pair of sellouts at Boston’s Fenway Park and strong sales in several other cities, according to published reports. Meanwhile, ticket sales for the tour’s western-most stop to date at Denver’s Invesco Field have apparently been soft enough to prompt discounts via Ticketmaster.
A new crop of stadium shows put on sale over the weekend fortified Bruce Springsteen’s standing as one of the season’s top ticket draws--at least on the eastern half of the country. Springsteen posted a pair of sellouts at Boston’s Fenway Park and strong sales in several other cities, according to published reports. Meanwhile, ticket sales for the tour’s western-most stop to date at Denver’s Invesco Field have apparently been soft enough to prompt discounts via Ticketmaster.
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DMX arrested for profanity during performance
DMX is scheduled to appear in court on the Carribean island of St. Kitts and Nevis on Monday, facing misdemeanor charges of using profanity there during a rap performance on Friday night (6/27). Officials claim that the rapper was warned before his performance and signed a contract agreeing to adhere to local profanity laws. DMX insists that he signed no such contract and would have cancelled the concert rather than censor his language, according to an AP report.
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Clear Channel launches concert-themed magazine
Reuters reports that concert and radio conglomerate Clear Channel Communications unveiled a new publication called “Music Guide Live!” over the weekend. The publication--free to concertgoers and supported by national advertising--will be distributed at concerts. The publication will be reportedly modeled after “Playbill,” the mini-mag handed out at live theatre events. The Reuters report notes that the launch of the magazine and website has been eight months in the making.
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RIAA lawsuit threats may push traders further underground
Recent threats by the RIAA to pursue lawsuits against file traders in an effort to curb illegal downloads of copyrighted recordings may hasten development of better anonymizing technology to protect traders, according to a Gannett News Service report.
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
50 Cent, B2K top 2003 BET awards
50 Cent and B2K cashed in as the big winners last night (June 24) at the third annual BET Awards. Each took two honors home from the three-hour event, hosted by actress/comedian Monique at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles and broadcast live on BET.
Read the story from Billboard.com
50 Cent and B2K cashed in as the big winners last night (June 24) at the third annual BET Awards. Each took two honors home from the three-hour event, hosted by actress/comedian Monique at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles and broadcast live on BET.
Read the story from Billboard.com
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Recording industry to sue Internet song swappers
A recording-industry trade group said on Wednesday it plans to sue hundreds of individuals who illegally distribute copyrighted songs over the Internet, expanding its anti-piracy fight into millions of homes.
Read the story from Reuters
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R.E.M return “In Time”
R.E.M. have set an October 28th release date for their second compilation, In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003. The collection will feature two new tracks, “Bad Day” and “Animal.” The former will also be released as the album’s first single; the band shot a video for the track last month in Vancouver.
Read the story from RollingStone.com
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Justin Timberlake, AC/DC join Rolling Stones in concert to boost Toronto’s spirits
Now that he’s flying high with a hit record and one of the only successful tours of the summer, Justin Timberlake is unstoppable and afraid of nothing — not even a little SARS.
Read the story from MTV News
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Cash says it hurts to play without wife
Johnny Cash says it’s painful to play without his wife, June Carter Cash, who died last month. But getting back onstage is “a healing thing,” especially when he can sing about his love of 40 years.
Read the story from Associated Press
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
Fountains of Wayne - “Welcome Interstate Managers” (S-Curve)
This New York-based quartet, which is led by songwriters Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood, returns with its first album of new material since 1999’s “Utopia Parkway.”
This New York-based quartet, which is led by songwriters Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood, returns with its first album of new material since 1999’s “Utopia Parkway.” Schlesinger and Collingwood produced the new CD with longtime collaborator Mike Denneen. The album features guest appearances from pedal-steel player Robert Randolph, former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha and singer/songwriter Jen Trynin, among others.
The new album tackles “such time-honored pop subjects as love, work, frustrated commuters, drunken salesmen, retired airline pilots, pressured quarterbacks, bad waitresses, vegan entrepreneurs, clip-on ties, exploding cell phones, lawn mowing, vacations without the kids, New England snowstorms, lousy directions, and, of course, ‘Face the Nation,’” according to a press release.
Luther Vandross - “Dance with My Father” (J Records)
While Vandross remains hospitalized in New York after suffering a severe stroke in mid April, J Records offers up this new collection from the R&B crooner. The singer’s mother, Mary Vandross, is scheduled to make a release-day appearance on CBS-TV’s “The Early Show,” during which she’ll give a “intimate interview regarding Luther’s current state of recovery,” according to the label.
While Vandross remains hospitalized in New York after suffering a severe stroke in mid April, J Records offers up this new collection from the R&B crooner. The singer’s mother, Mary Vandross, is scheduled to make a release-day appearance on CBS-TV’s “The Early Show,” during which she’ll give a “intimate interview regarding Luther’s current state of recovery,” according to the label.
Streaming versions of three new songs--including the album’s title track--are posted at Vandross’ official website.
Annie Lennox - “Bare” (J Records)
It’s been eight years since Lennox released her previous album, 1995’s covers-only “Medusa,” and eleven years since she released a collection of original material, in the form of 1992’s “Diva.” The new set features 11 Lennox originals, whose subject matter Lennox says isn’t too uplifting.
It’s been eight years since Lennox released her previous album, 1995’s covers-only “Medusa,” and eleven years since she released a collection of original material, in the form of 1992’s “Diva.” The new set features 11 Lennox originals, whose subject matter Lennox says isn’t too uplifting.
“They’re about negative emotions,” she said in a statement. “I have to admit that. There’s simply no getting away from it. In a way, this album belongs more on the Self Help shelves of a book shop, than in the record stores.”
Lennox recorded “Bare"--her first album for J Records--in London with producer and long-time collaborator Steven Lipson. Samples are posted at her website.
Monday, June 09, 2003
Steely Dan - “Everything Must Go" (Reprise)
Notoriously slow and meticulous Steely Dan leaders Walter Becker and Donald Fagen spent about a year putting together this follow-up to 2000’s Album of the Year Grammy-winning set “Two Against Nature” ... which is to say that they cranked the new one out relatively fast.
Notoriously slow and meticulous Steely Dan leaders Walter Becker and Donald Fagen spent about a year putting together this follow-up to 2000’s Album of the Year Grammy-winning set “Two Against Nature” ... which is to say that they cranked the new one out relatively fast.
“We went for live tracking this time and got great, in-the-pocket tracks,” Becker said in a statement.
In addition to playing bass and guitar, Becker handled lead vocals on one of the album’s tracks, marking a first for the veteran group. Fagen handled the singing--and the keyboards--on the album’s other cuts.
Reprise is streaming all nine tracks from “Everything Must Go” via an online jukebox.
Sunday, June 08, 2003
Radiohead - “Hail to the Thief” (Capitol)
The critically lauded experimental rock quintet split the recording sessions for “Hail to the Thief” between its homeland--Oxfordshire, England--and Los Angeles. The group co-produced the set with longtime collaborator Nigel Godrich, and Godrich also handled the mixing.
The critically lauded experimental rock quintet split the recording sessions for “Hail to the Thief” between its homeland--Oxfordshire, England--and Los Angeles. The group co-produced the set with longtime collaborator Nigel Godrich, and Godrich also handled the mixing.
“Hail to Thief,” Radiohead’s sixth album, is the follow-up to 2001’s “Amnesiac,” a collection of tracks recorded during sessions for its predecessor, 2000’s “Kid A.”
A handful of tracks from the new album are streaming via Capitol Records’ Radiohead website.
Tuesday, June 03, 2003
George Strait - “Honkeytonkville” (MCA Nashville)
Strait--who has sold 26 million albums over his two-decade-plus career--and his longtime collaborator Tony Brown co-produced this disc, which hits stores two weeks earlier than initially scheduled.
Strait--who has sold 26 million albums over his two-decade-plus career--and his longtime collaborator Tony Brown co-produced this disc, which hits stores two weeks earlier than initially scheduled.
Among the writers whose songs were selected for the album are Bruce Robison and Monte Warden ("Desperately"), Anthony Smith and Bob DiPiero ("Cowboys Like Us"), Jim Lauderdale and John Scott Sherrill ("She Used To Say That To Me") and Buddy Brock, Dean Dillon and Kim Williams (the title track).
Dillon also collaborated on two other tracks: “Four Down and Twelve Across,” by Dillon and Tom Douglas, and “Honk If You Honky Tonk” by Dillon, Ken Mellons, and John Northrup.