Search Results for: Franz Ferdinand

Despite the success of online retailers, explosion of Internet downloads and high-profile closings of Virgin Megastores and Tower Records stores, bricks-and-mortar record stores are not all spinning toward oblivion. Although hundreds of independent music retailers have gone out of business in recent years, about 2,000 are still around, and many are thriving. The survivors will celebrate Saturday, as acts such as Erykah Badu and Franz Ferdinand gather to pay homage to the hometown record store. Record Store Day was the idea of Chris Brown, a music guru from Bull Moose, a chain of 10 record stores in Maine and New… Read more »

MySpace Music announced that Lily Allen performing 3 Secret Shows on 3 continents. The British singer will put on intimate concerts for her MySpace fans in New York, Tokyo and London at no charge. Lily will kick off the global Secret Show series with a performance at The Bowery Ballroom in New York City on February 10th. The concert marks the first time a single artist will take part in multiple MySpace Secret Shows on a global level. The New York show, sponsored by TurboTax ® Federal Free Edition, signifies Lily’s debut concert celebrating the release of her new album,… Read more »

Sure, you may have read all about the lineup for the 2007 Bonnaroo Festival on various music blogs early Tuesday (February 13), but as it turns out, most of that “information” – and by “most,” we mean roughly 30 percent – was incorrect (we’re as shocked as you are). So here, for your viewing pleasure, is the official, 100 percent confirmed ‘Roo lineup. The Police, Tool and the White Stripes top an initial list of more than 70 artists scheduled to appear at Bonnaroo ’07, to be held June 14-17 in Manchester, Tennessee. Others on that list include Wilco, Franz… Read more »

If you were worried about missing U2 on their spring tour, don’t fret: The band will be back in North America for a fall swing that will see them playing multiple-night stands in a number of big cities. The 33-date, four-month tour will begin on September 12 with a pair of shows at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto and wind its way through Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas, Miami, Cleveland and Salt Lake City, winding up on December 19 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. No opening acts have been announced. The first leg of the tour… Read more »

Ray Charles’ Genius racked up plenty of company in the form of gramophone-shaped statuettes. The late soul legend won a total of eight awards at the 47th annual Grammy Awards Sunday night, including Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Genius Loves Company and Record of the Year for “Here We Go Again” with Norah Jones. Jamie Foxx, who is considered a lock for the Best Actor Oscar later this month for his portrayal of Charles in biopic Ray, took the stage with Alicia Keys for a tribute to Charles. Later in the show, Bonnie Raitt and… Read more »

Many artists say the greatest reward is to have an effect on people’s lives. Johnny Borrell, 24-year-old frontman for Razorlight, won’t settle for merely having an effect, he wants his music to save the lives of others. After all, it was his music that saved his life. When he was 17, Borrell started shooting heroin, and for the next two years, he made a daily habit of shooting up and snorting cocaine. Over time, he lost most of his friends, some who overdosed, and some who couldn’t stand watching Borrell destroy himself. It was only after he decided to mold… Read more »

Linkin Park has proved itself impervious to critics, genres and the rest of the competition on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, as the juggernaut of its “Meteora” album (Warner Bros.) continues its momentum from last year. Four songs from the band’s sophomore album charted on the year-end Modern Rock Tracks recap, with three finishing in the top 10. This earns the act the No. 1 spot on the year-end Hot Modern Rock Artists chart. “Numb” was the year’s second-most-spun song in modern rock, while “Breaking the Habit” and “Lying From You” came in at Nos. 8 and 9, respectively. “Faint”… Read more »

London – When the curtain went up on MTV’s Europe Awards in Rome on Thursday, only one of the performers was signed to an independent record label. And at European pop music’s annual showcase event where fans vote for their favorites either online or by mobile phone, not only were the majority of acts from the United States, but all major prizes went to Americans. The independent record industry says the business has been taken over by four mega-companies that are helping to entrench American cultural “hegemony” across the music world. “The record business is stacked in favor of the… Read more »

Right about now, we’re thinking 50 Cent would have rather been in da club than on da stage. The chart-topping hip-hopster cut short his set at Britain’s Reading Festival over the weekend after getting booed and pelted with plastic bottles by a hostile audience just minutes after he began performing. Accompanied by his G-Unit crew, 50 Cent hadn’t even taken the stage at the legendary U.K. music bash on Sunday evening when the cranky crowd of 55,000 began yelling insults at the former crack peddler and hurling plastic cups. Things got even worse when the lights came up on 50… Read more »

Complete list of winners for the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards, held in Miami on Sunday: Video of the year – OutKast, “Hey Ya!” Best pop video – No Doubt, “It’s My Life” Best rap video – Jay-Z, “99 Problems” Best female video – Beyonce, “Naughty Girl” Best male video – Usher featuring Lil’ Jon & Ludacris, “Yeah!” Best R&B video – Alicia Keys, “If I Ain’t Got You” Best rock video – Jet, “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” Breakthrough video – Franz Ferdinand, “Take Me Out” Best director – Mark Romanek, “99 Problems” Best special Effects – OutKast,… Read more »