Search Results for: COIN

San Francisco – America’s students are back to school, but it seems they have yet to learn their lesson about file sharing. Despite the efforts of digital music services, record company litigation, “spoofing” technology and legitimate offerings at various universities, illegal file sharing on peer-to-peer networks has risen since college students returned to their high-speed Internet connections this fall. According to Los Angeles-based P2P market research firm BigChampagne, the back-to-school months coincided with the typical spike of usage on file-swapping networks, with average simultaneous peak users totaling 5.7 million in the United States in October, edging up from 5.4 million… Read more »

Scott Weiland has secured himself a spot as the very last celebrity to speak out about today’s U.S. presidential election. A little late in the game, the singer – famous for Stone Temple Pilots, taking a whole lot of drugs, and now Velvet Revolver – posted an anti-Bush message on his band’s website last night. Yep, last night. The night before the election. As part of his lengthy statement, Weiland defended his late arrival on the political scene: “If you’re asking, ‘Why did you post this now? The day of?’ It’s because I want it to be the last thing… Read more »

Billy Howerdel is usually the quiet giant in A Perfect Circle. Sure, the guitarist does most of the interviews, but frontman Maynard James Keenan has always been the band’s mouthpiece, even if he traditionally has been press-shy. With an important presidential election on the horizon, however, Howerdel is through keeping his thoughts to himself. “Ordinarily, I hate talking about politics,” he said. “I usually heed the warning of many elders that say, ‘Never discuss it with your friends, or certainly publicly,’ but it’s an important time to voice your opinions and feelings.” It’s hardly a secret which candidate A Perfect… 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 »

Rick James passed away this morning at 9:20 AM in his sleep of natural causes at his Los Angeles home, per his spokesperson. He was 56 years old. He is survived by his 3 children (Ty, Rick Jr., Tazman) and 2 grandchildren (Jasmine and Charisma). Last month, he performed his hit “Fire & Desire” with Teena Marie at the BET Awards. He had finished an album and was preparing for its release next year. He was also in discussion with various studios for a movie based on his life. Born in Buffalo, NY, known as the King of Punk Funk,… Read more »

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 »

Van Halen has recorded three new songs for inclusion on “The Very Best of Van Halen,” expected to come out later this summer to coincide with the rock band’s reunion tour. The cuts “It’s About Time,” “Up for Breakfast” and “Learning To See” feature vocalist Sammy Hagar, who has rejoined the group eight years after an acrimonious departure. The double-disc “Very Best” (Warner Music Group) picks up the Van Halen story with the iconic “Eruption” from the group’s self-titled 1978 debut. Every major hit is present, from the David Lee Roth-era smashes “Jump,” “Panama,” “I’ll Wait” and “(Oh) Pretty Woman”… Read more »

Police have arrested a man in Seattle for allegedly stalking Avril Lavigne. According to the Associated Press, 30-year-old James Speedy was taken into custody in the Seattle suburb of Lynnwood and was taken to Lynnwood County jail after police searched his home last Wednesday (April 7). Police in Lynnwood have been investigating the case since Canadian police informed them that harassing letters and emails were being sent to Lavigne last year. The exact content of those letters and emails hasn’t been revealed, but police have told the press that they were creepy enough to freak Lavigne out. Coincidentally, the same… Read more »

As Johnny Rotten once snarled, “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?” To the dismay of aging punk fans, a British television company announced Monday that the former Sex Pistols singer and angry punk icon – now known by his real name, John Lydonhas agreed to appear in the reality show “I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!” “I’m gobsmacked,” said Tony Wilson, a British journalist and music entrepreneur who knows Lydon. “I’m shocked, but I have faith… I’m sure he’s doing it for the right reasons.” Other punk fans were appalled. “The announcement made me feel instantly old….… Read more »

Having played some reunion gigs last year to immense hype, the classic Duran Duran lineup (metrosexual when metrosexual wasn’t cool… or even coined) will offer up “Sunrise,” its first new song in almost two decades, on the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy soundtrack, due February 10th. The album, subtitled What’s That Sound, will actually be the first in a series of recordings tied to the hit Bravo show. In addition to the reunited DD, the set will include “Good Luck,” a new cut by the Basement Jaxx, and “Everybody Wants You to Emerge,” a new mashup that pairs Billy… Read more »