Search Results for: october

Simple Plan will be headlining HOT 99.5’s 3rd Annual Mess Fest in Washington DC on January 29. A portion of the proceeds for the show will go to UNICEF to help survivors of the tsunamis that devastated coastlines in the Indian Ocean. Tickets for the all-ages show go on sale tomorrow (January 7) at 10am via ticketmaster for $17.50. The band are getting ready to kick-off a three month world tour with the release of their new single, “Shut Up”. Their latest album, Still Not Getting Any…, was released in October and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA.

Last October, in one of the election season’s most memorable media moments, “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart pleaded with CNN “Crossfire” hosts Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson to “stop, stop, stop hurting America” with their “partisan hackery.” Well, Jon, it looks like the healing can begin. New CNN President Jonathan Klein told The New York Times this week that the cable news network is getting away from “head-butting debate shows,” and that both Carlson and “Crossfire” will soon leave CNN. Carlson had reportedly decided to leave the network months ago, but a shift in CNN’s overall approach and editorial… Read more »

Los Angeles – Bright Eyes principal Conor Oberst delivered a finished album to his label last February with an eye on a summer release, but then he had other ideas. He went back into the studio and recorded enough songs for a second set. Unwilling to scrap or combine any of the material, Oberst told his label, Omaha, Neb.-based Saddle Creek Records, that he wanted to release two separate albums – on the same day. “We felt like, ‘Why not kill two birds with one stone and put it all out there?”‘ Oberst says. On Jan. 25, Saddle Creek will… Read more »

Denver – Carmelo Anthony finally has some good news about his personal life: He’s engaged to MTV veejay La La Vasquez. The Denver Nuggets star said Thursday he made his proposal, accompanied by a nine-carat ring, on Christmas Day. They haven’t set a wedding date. The engagement follows a series of unflattering off-the-court news about Anthony. He was charged with misdemeanor drug possession in October after airport inspectors found marijuana in his backpack. The charge was dropped after a friend said the marijuana was his. In November, three men were arrested on suspicion of trying to extort $3 million from… Read more »

When word came out last week that Hoobastank were canceling the remainder of their U.S. tour, fans began to worry. After all, this isn’t something that happens all the time. For a band that’s been on the road nonstop for more than 14 months to skip out on some shows must mean that something cataclysmic has happened. A meteor striking the Earth. A volcanic eruption. A motorbike accident, like the one guitarist Dan Estrin suffered in 2003. But it actually was a nasty case of bronchial pneumonia that sidelined Hooba frontman Doug Robb, finally bringing their whirlwind four-continent jaunt to… Read more »

Once upon a time, holiday shoppers fought over Cabbage Patch Dolls and Beanie Babies. This year, they’re going to the mat over iPods. The world’s most popular portable music player is in short supply, leaving many potential gift buyers disappointed. Apple Computer has been unable to keep up with demand for the sleek little player, a Stereophile “Recommended Component.” Most models are on back-order, and most retailers are completely out of stock, according to retailing reports that appeared in mid-December. Among sources where you are unlikely to find an iPod in time for Christmas are Best Buy, Target, J&R Electronics,… Read more »

The North American touring business is breathing a sigh of relief as the curtain drops on what many call the industry’s worst year in a decade. The final Billboard Boxscore tally shows the industry finishing with a microscopic increase in gross ticket sales of 0.2% in 2004. But that does not tell the full story of a year in which profitable shows were hard to find and promoters scrambled to fill seats, especially in an oversaturated summer season. As promoters lick their wounds, the big question facing the industry is whether the flat performance of 2004 was a blip on… Read more »

New York – The year began with the Super Bowl halftime show fiasco and ended with aftershocks from Howard Stern flipping his detractors the bird and taunting the Federal Communications Commission with a just-try-and-get-me-now move to satellite radio. Between those two seismic events, the FCC levied a record number of indecency fines, responding to an avalanche of complaints carefully orchestrated by conservative zealots and election year political pressure. The results from the government crackdown were widespread. Top-rated personalities were fired. Zero-tolerance edicts were issued. On-air delays and indecency tutorials became commonplace. Warhorses like Pink Floyd’s “Money,” Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer”… Read more »

Los Angeles – Rappers love a good feud. Whether it’s East Coast vs. West Coast, or Eminem vs. everyone, the spats inspire spiteful lyrics that make for juicy listening. Alas for catfight aficionados everywhere, rapper Ludacris has decided to take the high road with his nemesis, Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly, who cost him a lucrative endorsement deal two years ago by denouncing his lyrics as “garbage.” His new album, “The Red Light District,” which opened at No. 1 on the U.S. pop charts on Wednesday, mostly ignores O’Reilly’s recent legal battle with a woman television producer over telephone sex… Read more »

New York – As rap stars go, Jin has the typical look down cold: Hoodie, baggy sweats, chunky diamond stud earring, a Chinese character tattooed on his neck and a large blingy necklace. Not everything’s typical, though. “Yeah, I’m Chinese. And what?” he asks with mock exasperation. At just 22, the Miami-bred, New York-based rapper is something of a pioneer – the first Asian-American hip-hop artist to get a major solo record deal. At the same time, he worries that it’s his race, not his rhymes, generating all the attention. “Being Asian helps me so much,” he says. “It definitely… Read more »