Vic Chesnutt, the folk-rocker whose sometimes dark reflections on life were influenced in part by a car wreck that left him paralyzed, has died. He was 45.
A pair of the biggest bands in rock, Radiohead and R.E.M., hit the studio recently to begin work on their next albums. While both groups are in the beginning stages of writing and recording, they offered up some early details in a series of interviews. Radiohead have reconvened with longtime producer Nigel Godrich to start work on the follow-up of 2007’s In Rainbows. The band is reportedly in the early stages of recording, according to bassist Colin Greenwood. “It was very noisy and chaotic and really fun. It’s at the stage where we’ve got the big Lego box out and… Read more »
The first time Arcade Fire performed in Paris, Mathieu Saura stood outside the venue with his girlfriend, holding up a sign that read, “Please, we want to come to the show.” The band’s bassist, Richard Reed Perry, got them in, and ever since, Saura might as well have not left. Under the name Vincent Moon, he’s gone from a fan begging for tickets to an in-demand filmmaker who has revolutionized music video. His films are stripped down, intimate videotaped performances – shot in one take, often of an act simply strolling down a street or playing in a parking lot.… Read more »
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame swung open its doors Monday night to the latest batch of acts ticketed for music immortality, with the Georgia alt-rock icons and the dysfunctional Pasadena party band leading the way. They were joined by ’70s punk pioneer Patti Smith, ’60s girl group the Ronettes and the first hip-hop act to crash the party, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. The 22nd annual induction ceremony–which per tradition was held at New York City’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel–felt like an I Love the ’80 special, thanks to its two biggest inductees. R.E.M. received a warm introduction… Read more »
REM frontman Michael Stipe was joined by bassist Mike Mills over the weekend for a surprise appearance at live music venue the Zodiac. Both rock stars took to the intimate stage Sunday night (Jan 7) to perform a two-track encore following a set by the Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3. In front of an ecstatic crowd, Stipe and Mills played “Electrolite” and a brand new, unreleased track. Earlier in the night, a sell-out crowd had seen REM guitarist Peter Buck and Minus 5 members Scott McCaughey & Bill Rieflin playing in Robin Hichcock’s alternative pop outfit. Robyn Hitchcock &… Read more »
Rock bands Van Halen and R.E.M. have made the cut for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with punk poet Patti Smith, pioneering rappers Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and 1960s girl group the Ronettes, organizers said on Monday. They will be honored at a black-tie ceremony in New York on March 12, the main fund-raiser for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. Inductees are chosen by music industry insiders from a short-list of acts who become eligible for consideration 25 years after their first recording. Those who did not make the… Read more »
BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro – Greeting members of the rock band R.E.M. in his Belgrade office, Serbia’s President Boris Tadic said he’s a fan and requested that his favorite song, “Orange Crush,” be played at their concert Friday. Youthful and soft-spoken, Tadic, 46, is at the helm of a democratic leadership striving to open the troubled Balkan republic to the West after years of ostracism and isolation during the rule of Yugoslavia’s ex-President Slobodan Milosevic. Bringing world-famous artists to the country is part of that effort, said Nebojsa Krstic, head of Tadic’s press team. Krstic said Tadic has been a fan of… Read more »
London – Pop singer Peter Gabriel has been honored with the Music Industry Trusts’ Award. Those paying tribute to Gabriel, who began his career with Genesis before becoming a successful solo artist, included U2’s Bono, R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe and film director Martin Scorsese. Gabriel, 54, received his award Monday in a ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel. It was presented by Richard Branson, who signed Gabriel to his then-label Virgin Records in the 1970s. The honorary award is given each year to an artist who has made an outstanding contribution to the British music industry. Previous recipients include Elton John… Read more »
R.E.M. made unique chart history today with “In Time: The Best Of R.E.M. 1988-2003” debuting at #8 and #16 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, the first time the same album debuts twice in the Top 20 in the same week. Released on October 28th, “In Time” is for sale as both a single compact disc and double CD featuring the same initial piece and a second disc with rarities and b-sides compiled by the band. The albums scanned 75,560 units and 51,163 units respectively with a cumulative total of 126,723 units according to Nielsen Soundscan which would put the… Read more »
The video for R.E.M.’s new song “Bad Day” will premiere Friday at 7 p.m. ET on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” show. In the Tim Hope-directed clip, group members Michael Stipe, Peter Buck and Mike Mills appear as newscasters. The track is drawn from R.E.M.’s upcoming hits collection, “In Time,” due Oct. 28 via Warner Bros. It can also be viewed on a new R.E.M. Web site, Morningteam.com (http://www.morningteam.com). “Literally, it’s about a series of small weather hitting a city – in other words, people have hurricanes in their living room, or monsoons just in one room of their house,” Mills… Read more »
