Search Results for: COIN

INDIO, California – Perhaps it was a sign that the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Arcade Fire and Hot Chip were sharing the same bill. Whatever the case, Saturday was certainly one of the most scorching Coachella afternoons ever, with temperatures into the100s for hours on end. That meant the tented stages provided plenty of shadowy solace, while pre-sunset outdoor acts were playing to their diehards and suffering while doing it. (Let’s just say there were multiple hipster rockers quoting Lil Jon’s infamous sweat-dripping lyrics.) Still, Peter Bjorn and John and the Decemberists wore their suits and the Sahara tent was… Read more »

Every day, the roughly one million people who visit the iTunes Store home page are presented with several dozen albums, TV shows and movie downloads to consider buying — out of the four million such goods the Apple site offers. This prime promotion is analogous to a CD being displayed at the checkout stands of all 940 Best Buy stores or featured on the front page of Target’s ad circular. How do bands get these boosts? Who decides whether Arcade Fire is plugged at the top of the iTunes site — or whether Nickelback gets no mention? Apple has jettisoned… Read more »

The Police came one step closer to confirming a reunion tour on Tuesday (January 30) when it was announced that the trio will kick off the February 11 Grammy Awards telecast. The group, led by Sting, has reportedly been rehearsing for a summer tour, and their opening slot at the 49th annual awards show seems to confirm that the announcement of the full-fledged reunion is on. As recently as last week, a spokesperson for the band – which also includes drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers – would not confirm the tour. The trio, which won five Grammys in… Read more »

U.S. digital download sales hit a new all-time high the week after Christmas, with 30.1 million tracks sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The downloading frenzy capped a year in which all digital track sales totaled more than 581 million units — a 65% gain against 2005. Proving that sales of digital music closely follow the ebb and flow of physical music purchases, the biggest online sales weeks for the industry are coinciding with the holiday-selling season. And sales in that season are growing, year over year. The flurry of downloading in the final week of the year marks a 51%… Read more »

Not every A-lister rang in the New Year in style. Britney Spears’ evening, for one, was quite the snoozefest. At least, that’s the official no-partying party line. The singer’s recently rehired rep, Larry Rudolph, is lashing out at reports that the star passed out–and had to be carried out–while hosting a New Year’s Eve party in Las Vegas, claiming instead that the mother of two was just catching some zzz’s. “By about one o’clock she was just done, so we took her out,” Rudolph told the Associated Press. “She was not drunk. She was just tired and falling asleep.” The… Read more »

Some of the greatest hard-rock bands in history have thoroughly awesome – and thoroughly undead – mascots. Iron Maiden have toothy demon Eddie. Megadeth have a similarly toothy yet blind demon named Vic Rattlehead. And Motörhead unleash yet another toothy, snarling hellion: a bulldog/gorilla named Snaggletooth. So you can’t blame My Chemical Romance for wanting to get in on the act. By now, you’ve probably seen the video for “Helena,” in which MCR play pallbearers at a funeral for a young girl who just happens to rise from her casket about halfway through the clip to bust into a ballerina… Read more »

Drummer Derrick Plourde – a founding member of Southern California punk band Lagwagon – and Hideaki Sekiguchi – who slapped the bass for Tokyo garage-punk band Guitar Wolf – both died Wednesday, news that sent shockwaves throughout the underground punk rock world. Plourde was 33, and Sekiguchi was 38. Fat Wreck Chords, which released Lagwagon’s earliest material, confirmed Plourde’s death in a statement posted to the indie label’s Web site, which read, in part, “March 30th was a sad day for the Fat Wreck Chords family, as we learned about the passing of Derrick Plourde. We consider him one of… Read more »

The nonstop party that is the life of Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee for about the past 20 years gets cranked up several notches on his upcoming solo album, Tommyland: The Ride, which is due in August. And although he knows it’s a cliché, he swears the album is the best thing he’s ever done. “It’s true, this is the best thing I’ve ever done!” Tommy yelled from a stop on the Mötley Crüe reunion tour. “I mean, people will be like, ‘Is that f–ing Tommy?’ It’s like an event record.” That much is true, as Tommy has invited a… Read more »

For months now Canadian pop princess Avril Lavigne and Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley have been sidestepping rumours that they’re snuggling up and making some sweet Can-Rock love. Well, deny all you want kids, but when a guy decides to move to Los Angeles, which just, by coincidence, happens to be the home of a certain lady friend, it usually means the dude wants to do more than just jam. According to the Globe And Mail, Whibley recently sold his Toronto home to move to the land of the fake and famous, high-tailing it to La La Land. If the… Read more »

Lil’ Kim, in trouble for a lotta lying, could be heading to the Big House real soon. The pint-size rap diva was convicted Thursday of federal perjury charges for fibbing to a grand jury about a 2001 shootout in front of a Manhattan radio station involving members of her entourage and a rival hip-hop crew. The 29-year-old Kim, referred to by her legal name of Kimberly Jones in court, was rung on counts of conspiracy and perjury for trying to protect her posse, but was acquitted of the most serious charge of obstruction of justice. Her assistant, Monique Dopwell, was… Read more »