Search Results for: progressive

The success of the Black Eyed Peas flies in the face of the conventional wisdom that the music business sacrifices long-term artist development in favor of quick hits and short-term corporate profits. Signed to Interscope Records more than six years ago by chairman Jimmy Iovine, the progressive hip-hop group’s first two albums, “Behind the Front” in 1998 and “Bridging the Gap” in 2000 earned rave reviews but failed to go gold (shipments of 500,000 copies). The first album peaked at No. 139 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 197,000 units, according Nielsen SoundScan, while the sophomore set stalled at… Read more »

The pioneering rock supergroup Yes- currently celebrating their 35th anniversary – is en route with acoast-to-coast North American spring 2004 itinerary that launched April 15 andruns through mid-May. The historic arena tour – in the grand scale of pastYes excursions – presents the band’s formidable “classic” line-up of 1969co-founders Jon Anderson and Chris Squire, along with Rick Wakeman, SteveHowe, and Alan White, all three of whom started with Yes in the very early’70s. The three-hour 35th anniversary shows bring to life essential Yes songsfrom throughout the visionary prog-rock icons’ extraordinary career, as wellas the brand new composition, “Show Me.” The… Read more »

Of all the things N.E.R.D. and Black Eyed Peas have in common – a progressive hip-hop sound, a talented live band, a vibrant catalog of songs – what most impressed Thursday’s crowd was a mutual friend. That’s what happens when you’re homies with Justin Timberlake… or, to his friends, J.T. The crowd at the sold-out Wiltern LG Theater went into an uproar midway through the Peas’ encore of “Where Is the Love?” when Timberlake casually strolled onstage to sing the song’s classic “People living, people dying…” hook. At that point, the promoters might as well have added Justin’s name to… Read more »

Even when adopting the most drastic measures, record labels seem helpless to prevent albums from surfacing online before their release dates. So now one label is taking the “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” approach. Four months before the debut album by New York trio the Secret Machines hits stores, Reprise Records, a Warner Bros. subsidiary, is making it available for sale online. In a campaign tied to Reprise’s online marketing campaign, the label is trying to make sure fans have a legal way of acquiring new music they hear about on the Internet. “[When] there’s no legal alternative,… Read more »

Call it progressive, nu-metal, punk, hard-core but when it comes down to the basics no matter what sub-genres people create it ´s still rock ´n ´ roll. On Friday night, the several thousand fans packing the Patriot Center at George Mason University got to experience rock music in all its many forms. Hailed as the first big rock tour of 2004, the Meteora: World Tour lived up to its billing, presenting a four-hour nonstop barrage of power chords, screaming vocalists and head-nodding beats. Kicking off the evening was up-and-coming act Story of the Year. With its major label debut “Page… Read more »

The Shortlist Organization announced today the complete “Long List” of eighty-six nominations for the 2003 Shortlist Music Prize, as selected by a panel of “Listmakers” including Flea, Erykah Badu, Perry Farrell, Chris Martin (Coldplay), and the directors Spike Jonze and Cameron Crowe. The ten finalists for the award will be announced in early September, and the third annual Shortlist Music Prize will be presented at a multi-artist concert on October 16th at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. Plans for a Shortlist Awards Concert television special will be announced soon. “This year’s Long List features artists from five continents and… Read more »

I had high expectations for this album, and that’s not necessarily a good thing. I’m suppose to be impartial and objective, right? When a new album comes in, should certain bands be given a step up or step down because of some internal bias? Ok, right now, you’re thinking ‘just get on with the review, already’; and normally I would get right into telling you about how much I like this album. I would tell you that Sean Mackin brings a unique sound to the guitar-bass-drum, three-chord element that typically defines this genre. I would mention that the vocals are… Read more »

The music industry may have begun to figure out how to sell digital downloads, but making money from them is another story. As the 99 cent digital singles model begins to take root across the industry through services like Apple Computer’s iTunes Music Store, Liquid Audio, Rhapsody and a host of others set to bow for the PC this fall, industry executives and artist representatives are questioning whether the pricing model makes sense financially. With all parties involved angling for nickels and dimes in the average download sale, labels, artists and service providers all agree on at least one thing:… Read more »

Toronto’s Moneen are geared up for the long-awaited release of their Vagrant Records debut, Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Right Now?, which arrives in stores this Tuesday, June 17th. With a well-earned reputation as one of the indie scene’s most compelling live acts, Moneen will bring their progressive brand of rock to clubs across the U.S. when they launch their 17 city tour with Brand New, The Beautiful Mistake and Senses Fail on July 1st. On August 22nd, the band will embark on another string of dates with Reggie And The Full Effect, Midtown and My Chemical… Read more »

WEA Inc., Warner Music Group’s U.S. manufacturing, distribution and packaging operation, announced today that John Esposito has been named to the newly created position of president. Reporting to WEA Inc. CEO, Jim Caparro, Esposito will be responsible for overseeing the company’s sales and marketing and branch distribution activities. Esposito comes to WEA Inc. from The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJ) where, as general manager/executive vice president, he managed the company’s day-to-day activities. He was one of the original architects of IDJ, and during his tenure, the company progressively increased its revenue and market share to become one of the… Read more »