Search Results for: The Smiths

The Rolling Stones and Radiohead got theirs from song titles, U2 and the B-52’s from military aircrafts and Lynyrd Skynyrd from their old gym teacher. And the stories behind new millennium band names are no less random: Yellowcard According to these So-Cal pop-punkers, “yellowcard” is a take on the ever-popular Frat house idiom, “party foul,” proving drunks can be simultaneously obnoxious and witty. Perhaps Ewan McKegger was already in use. Coldplay Chris Martin and his mates, originally called Starfish, were friends with a band called Coldplay. When that band gave up the name, Starfish asked if they could use it.… Read more »

Lost Highway recording artist Ryan Adams is set to kick off his nationwide headlining tour in support of his critically acclaimed CD “Rock N Roll,” as well as his two EPs, “Love Is Hell Part 1” and “Love Is Hell Part 2.” The tour will begin March 2 in Columbia, MO, and will include a show at Los Angeles’ Wiltern Theatre on March 13. Released November 4, “Rock N Roll” marks a departure for Adams. The album features 12 electrified songs inspired by some of his musical influences, including The Smiths, U2 and the Replacements. While he continues to heighten… Read more »

After 11 years of planning, backers of a National Music Center and Museum pledged Thursday to open the facility in the nation’s capital five years from now. “We will be having our grand opening in 2008,” said singer Nancy Sinatra. She has been working to build support for the project since her father, Frank Sinatra, died in 1998. He had enthusiastically backed it during the last years of his life. “The energetic, unstoppable Federal City Council has been working to make his dream of a national museum of American music a reality,” Sinatra told a news conference called to announce… Read more »

Ryan Adams hasn’t arrived for a scheduled afternoon interview, sending instead an apologetic manager with an explanation. “Ryan went out last night with Ron Wood,” the manager said. Oh. Enough said. The bar tab for a summit between two generations of notorious rock ‘n’ roll party animals must have approached the gross national product of some small nations. But all is not as it seems. The next day, Adams insists it was a low-key evening; his Rolling Stones pal wasn’t drinking. Twin cups of Alka Seltzer and black coffee suggest some recovery time for Adams. His music is confounding expectations,… Read more »

Sire Records, the label that introduced the world to Madonna, Talking Heads and the Ramones, is being resurrected and will officially rejoin the Warner Bros. Records family of labels. Label founder Seymour Stein’s first signing under the new deal is the Von Bondies. Also on the Sire roster are Morcheeba, Guster, the Distillers, Hot Hot Heat, Less Than Jake and the Hives (through a joint venture with Burning Heart/Epitaph). When Roger Ames was named chairman and CEO of Warner Music Group in 1999, Ames’ London Records was merged with Sire Records to create London-Sire. That label closed its doors in… Read more »

Pete Yorn plans to release two albums next year – the follow-up to 2001’s acclaimed Musicforthemorningafter and a record he made before his major-label debut. While the former will feature the same introspective singer/songwriter roots rock showcased in singles like “For Nancy (‘Cos It Already Is)” and “Strange Condition,” the latter will reveal another side of Yorn, who is currently touring with Weezer. “At the time, I was really into Guided by Voices, so it’s lo-fi, really blown-out vocals and guitars,” Yorn said backstage at the Coachella Festival in Indio, California, this weekend. “A lot of reverb. I started every… Read more »

When Dick Clark first pitched “American Bandstand” to ABC as a national series in the 1950s, network executives yawned. “I still have the letter, still have it framed in my office, which in effect said ‘Don’t call us, we’ll call you. Thank you, and it’s nice to see your dance party,’” Clark recalls. When he proposed a 50th anniversary special, Clark found out how little television had changed. Despite the show’s iconic place in pop culture, he had to argue the case of “American Bandstand” all over. An idea that was once ahead of its time was now hopelessly behind… Read more »

What would you say if someone told you Linda Perry, the unforgettable voice behind 4 Non Blondes’ 1992 hit “What’s Up?,” has become one of the hottest producers in pop music? Perhaps, in her words, “Hey, what’s goin’ on?” It’s a behind-the-boards comeback, that’s what, and all the one-hit wonders are doing it. Find it hard to believe Perry co-wrote and produced several songs on Pink’s Missundaztood, including the title track? Or that she’s behind upcoming projects from Christina Aguilera (see “Christina Aguilera: Not Your Puppet”), Solange Knowles and Courtney Love? Consider that Deep Blue Something’s Todd and Toby Pipes,… Read more »

The Cranberries make their return to the stage for concerts at radio station Christmas shows in December. The Irish super group were due to visit the continent in October and December in support of their new album, “Wake Up and Smell the Coffee,” but postponed their October schedule due to the uncertainties in the world as a result of the American tragedies. “I was really concerned for my two little children at a very difficult time following the uncertainties arising out of the conflict in Afghanistan. Our guitarist (Noel Hogan) is going through challenging times in his family, and the… Read more »

Marilyn Manson aren’t the only modern rockers revisiting ’80s hits for the soundtrack to “Not Another Teen Movie,” which comes out December 4. In addition to monsieur Manson’s creepy version of “Tainted Love,” which was a top 10 hit for Soft Cell in 1982, the disc will feature Goldfinger covering Nena’s “99 Red Balloons,” Saliva tackling the Pretenders’ “Message of Love,” Mest covering Modern English’s “I Melt With You,” Muse reworking the Smiths’ “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want,” Good Charlotte playing Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s “If You Leave” and Phantom Planet covering Jackson Browne’s “Somebody’s… Read more »