Search Results for: Anxious

DETROIT–Despite the recent appearance of “All My Life,” his first new pop song in 14 years, Billy Joel says he doesn’t foresee a re-opening of the creative floodgates that led to 33 Top 40 hits. “I’m not ruling out the possibility of writing songs again,” Joel tells Billboard.com. “I suppose if I had the motivation to write a song, I’m not gonna stop myself from doing it. I just haven’t felt the compulsion to write songs in pop form. I guess these days I just think of myself as a composer.” Joel — whose last album of original material, “River… Read more »

LOS ANGELES – Universal Music Group CEO Doug Morris resents that MTV and other cable music channels built multibillion-dollar businesses around videos given away by record companies anxious to promote their artists. So when he saw his own grandson watching 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” video on Yahoo, it got him asking: “How much are we getting paid for that?” The answer – nothing – led Morris to pull all of Universal’s videos from the giant Web portal until it agreed to a licensing deal in 2005. He wrangled similar arrangements from Time Warner Inc.’s AOL and other Internet portals… Read more »

Anyone who thought that Epitaph Records passed their heyday when Rancid and NOFX split for new pastures would have been wide-eyed surprised on this evening. Kudos to the keepers of the punk rock flag for progressing with the times and developing – yet again – into a leader of the pack. They used to lead the way in the likes of skate-punk and crust, but as the plethora of pre-teens proved, punk rock still hasn’t kicked the bucket. It’s just changed boots. Kicking off the show, new label additions Scatter The Ashes dealt a relatively heavy blow with their brand… Read more »

Honda Civic Tour dates, according to the tour’s organizers: – With Phantom Planet, the Thrills and the Donnas as their co-pilots, Maroon 5 will hit the road for two months on the fifth annual 2005 Honda Civic Tour. Maroon 5 will headline the trek, which begins March 11 in Universal City, California. “This is the first headlining U.S. tour we’ve done in a long time,” bassist Mickey Madden said Thursday at a press conference in West Hollywood, California, announcing the outing. “We’re playing some of the biggest places we’ve ever played, which is very exciting. And we’re taking out some… Read more »

Proving that the holiday spirit is alive and well, even in New York’s jaded indie scene, the Walkmen have released their own version of the ubiquitous Christmas album: a three-song EP with a minute-long track of feedback and shrieked profanity. “We spent a day recording ‘Eggnog,’ ” Walkmen frontman Hamilton Leithauser said of the explicit track. “I just screamed some curse words so we could slap a ‘Parental Advisory’ sticker on it.” Christmas Party, a limited-edition 7-inch, doesn’t exactly qualify as a new album for the band, which has been touring in support of its sophomore release, Bows Arrows, for… Read more »

A dispute over royalty rights on copy-protected CDs and other types of music discs is helping to stall the release of some new music technology, and could result in record labels owing tens of millions of dollars in back payments to music publishers. At issue are “double session” CDs that include two versions of each song on a disc, formatted for playback on different kinds of devices. The most widely distributed type are copy-protected discs that prevent CD tracks from being copied to a hard drive, but that also include a digital version of the songs, often in Microsoft’s Windows… Read more »

InteractiveCorp chief executive Barry Diller said Monday he is talking to French entertainment and telecommunications firm Vivendi Universal about the sale of his stake in Vivendi’s entertainment arm as it merges with NBC. Diller said he has had “superficial discussions” with Vivendi’s chief executive about unwinding the complicated partnership known as Vivendi Universal Entertainment. But he said the talks cannot be characterized as negotiations and that he is just as happy to keep his shares once General Electric Co.’s NBC division completes its purchase later this year. “We’re not anxious,” Diller said while speaking at a media conference in Phoenix… Read more »

A judge postponed a hearing Thursday for singer-actress Courtney Love, who faces two felony counts of possession of a controlled substance. Superior Court Judge Lisa Hart Cole gave no explanation for delaying the hearing until Jan. 27. Defense attorney William Genego declined to say whether Love is undergoing drug rehabilitation. Love, who wore a pink jacket and pink sandals and carried pink roses, became anxious when the judge asked to review the probation report. “Probation…. What is that? What is that?” she said, before making growling noises and clawing motions with her hands. Love was charged in October with illegal… Read more »

Sum 41 are anxious for sum vacation. The group originally planned on releasing “Over My Head, (Better Off Dead)” as the third single from Does This Look Infected?, but are now questioning whether they want to continue promoting the album. “We’re kind of like, dead right now, so we’re thinking we just might stop,” singer Deryck Whibley said. “We could put out another single and keep going, but we’ve been touring nonstop for a long time and we really want a break, so I think we might want to take six months off.” And there are other reasons Sum 41… Read more »

Matchbox Twenty drummer Paul Doucette got a big break the day before the band launched its tour with Sugar Ray. The drummer broke his hand in a fit of anger during a dress rehearsal and has been playing in pain for two weeks. “It definitely makes me look like a complete idiot,” lamented Doucette. “It wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done.” Doucette, who co-designs the band’s light shows, had been up for three nights ironing out kinks in the staging, but just 24 hours before their first show, an April 25 gig in New Orleans, the presentation was still… Read more »