Search Results for: lit

Unlike many of his fellow musicians, Sting is not becoming an activist for the upcoming Presidential election. According to Reuters, the British-born star says he commends the efforts of music artists who are taking part in the Vote For Change tour, but won’t join them because he’s not a U.S. citizen. Sting said he doesn’t think it’s his place to get involved since he’s a “guest” in this country. Although Sting is currently on tour, he revealed that he keeps up with world affairs by reading while on the road: “I’m very plugged into what’s going on politically. I read… Read more »

Clay Aiken is still not completely used to his popularity-mainly because he still thinks of himself as a “skinny little dork.” The 25-year-old singer, who was named one of People magazine’s sexiest celebrities, told the Houston Chronicle that he has no idea what all the hype is all about. He said, “I would not get that worked up over me at all. It’s all very baffling to me.” The North Carolina native added, “I guess that’s why it’s so hard to wrap my mind around it when people are waiting outside the venue after a concert and cheering. I’m amazed… Read more »

After being hospitalized in New York on Friday, Courtney Love was released Monday night, only to be transferred to another facility. A diagnosis of her ailment has yet to be disclosed, and a warrant remains outstanding for her arrest. On Friday, police were called to Love’s apartment in SoHo after receiving complaints that she was throwing bottles from her window. A police officer at the scene told reporters that the singer had told him she had an abortion the previous day (Love herself had told reporters at her last New York court date that she was pregnant). Later that same… Read more »

Four years after the launch of “Survivor,” the show’s chief, Mark Burnett, is reuniting with CBS in search of a rock star. After a healthy bidding war, CBS has landed an untitled reality series described as a cross of “American Idol,” “Big Brother” and “Survivor” set in the world of rock music. It will feature aspiring musicians competing for the chance to become the new lead singer of Australian rock band INXS, a gig that opened up after the 1997 suicide of frontman Michael Hutchence. After a multicontinent search with auditions in cities throughout the United States and Canada as… Read more »

Seven years after singer Michael Hutchence’s death, INXS have announced that they will find their new lead singer through a new Mark Burnett reality show, Rock Star. Replacing singers is tricky business. Ian Astbury joined The Doors after an actual history in rock with The Cult, but Jim Morrison he ain’t. Oh, and what about Creedence Clearwater Revisited? Yeah, without John Fogerty’s voice, they’re just a drummer and a bassist who used to be in a good band. I know I don’t ever want to hear Scott Weiland try to be Axl Rose, but seeing Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and… Read more »

With a new album dropping in June and a summer concert schedule in place, all seemed normal enough in the Phish camp as this week began. But the group shocked fans Tuesday with the announcement that it will break up following a two-day festival in Coventry, Vermont, on August 14-15. Frontman/guitarist Trey Anastasio wrote on the band’s Web site, “We all love and respect Phish and the Phish audience far too much to stand by and allow it to drag on beyond the point of vibrancy and health. We don’t want to become caricatures of ourselves or, worse yet, a… Read more »

Fresh from his Broadway debut, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs is heading back to MTV. Only this time, the hip-hop impresario plans to get political. In a new show tentatively called “Project Change,” Combs hopes to grill President Bush and likely Democratic nominee John Kerry. Combs told the New York Post he’ll scout the streets of Harlem, Brooklyn and Detroit for “real people” to ask the questions. “The people who usually ask the candidates questions are screened, and I’m going to use real people off the streets to get their questions out there,” Combs told the paper. “I’m going to make… Read more »

If anybody can get Internet music downloads right, it should be Sony Corp. The company has years of experience selling records, consumer electronics and personal computers – and it’s had plenty of time to study earlier digital-music ventures. So how could the Connect music store, unveiled on Tuesday, have turned out so badly? It gets a few things right, but by forgetting that customers want to feel like they actually own their music, it repeats – or exceeds – the mistakes of other music stores. Let’s start with compliments: Sony does more than any other service to bring down the… Read more »

Simon Cowell will soon get a taste of his own venom. The ruthless Brit is creating a new “American Idol”-like series called “The X Factor” in which he and two other judges will not only choose the finalists, they’ll work with them on the performances and together face the critiques of the other judges. “It’s too safe sometimes for me on this show, ‘Idol,’ because I have no responsibility,” Cowell said. “I just sit there smugly and pass on judgment. I wanted to actually create one show where I was held responsible, as well as the artist.” “The X Factor,”… Read more »

After tracking drum parts in Los Angeles, then shifting operations to their hometown of Toronto, Sum 41 have at least one more trip scheduled before they release the follow-up to 2002’s Does This Look Infected? And this one’s sure to give their frequent-flyer miles a boost. The pop-punk quartet will visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo in mid-May to film a documentary on the war-torn African country, according to an Island Def Jam spokesperson. “From the Front Lines,” produced by the Canadian charity organization War Child, will detail Sum 41’s two-week trip to the Congo, where they will examine… Read more »