Search Results for: devo

The trophy is a silly Moonman. Treasured memories include girl-on-girl kisses, a flying Fartman and the bobbling of a pasty-covered breast. Where other shows confer honors and respect, this one relishes gaffes, guffaws and giggles. Forget “The envelope, please.” It’s time to push the envelope. MTV’s Video Music Awards is among the most irreverent of awards shows. Which may be precisely why it matters. “It’s pop music; how seriously can you take it?” said MTV news correspondent Kurt Loder. “It’s not Martin Heidegger or something. There’s a lot of empty pomp associated with other shows, like the Oscars and even… Read more »

Tens of thousands of fans screamed and danced Saturday in a fantasyscape of upside-down trees and silver moose for the first in a series of farewell concerts by the Vermont-based jam band Phish. Applause rippled through the audience as Phish took the stage and wasted no time launching into its first song, “Walls of the Cave” from the 2002 album “Round Room.” Starting off slow, the ballad grew more feverish as lead singer Trey Anastasio broke into a guitar solo, the start of a prolonged jam that worked concertgoers into a steady, pulsing groove. The first set of the two-day… Read more »

Avid C-Span viewer and Blink-182 guitarist Tom DeLonge is stumping for Democratic Presidential nominee John Kerry on the campaign trail. “I’m only twenty-eight, and I spent the last twelve years in a band, trying to ruin my life,” DeLonge says. “But Kerry’s awesome! Ever since he got out of Vietnam, he’s come back and led the most amazing life, bettering himself the whole way.” DeLonge – whose brother Shon is a member of the Navy’s Special Forces stuck in the Middle East – has been helping out the Kerry campaign for the past two months, chasing the skate-punk vote. Blink-182’s… Read more »

Kurt Cobain and his band, Nirvana, spent only three years in the public eye, and they released only three studio albums. But what he accomplished before committing suicide 10 years ago Monday at age 27 – deciding it was “better to burn out than fade away,” as he quoted Neil Young in his suicide note – was remarkable. Beneath this bridge above the muddy banks of the Wishkah River, a troubled young Cobain would come to escape his unhappy home and the persistent gray drizzle of the Washington coast. Among the cracking concrete supports, he would smoke pot and drink… Read more »

Beyonce Knowles may be “Crazy in Love,” but she kept her cool Sunday at one of the more sober Grammy Awards shows in memory. She was the night’s big winner, taking home a record-tying five trophies to join recent Grammy queens Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys and Norah Jones with the most wins in a single year by a female performer. OutKast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below won Album of the Year, giving the eccentric Atlanta funk/rap group three wins, including Best Urban Alternative Performance and Best Rap Album. British band Coldplay took home the prize for Record of the Year for “Clocks,”… Read more »

The stage’s platforms, ramps and angular slabs of metal made it look like a futuristic factory floor, and Linkin Park proved to be the gleaming machine that keeps the warehouse in brisk business. In concert at Nassau Coliseum Sunday night, the band was precise and efficient, the members taking on their roles like theater veterans. They ran from side to side without colliding, waved their arms in tandem, leapt from oversized milk crates and waded into the crowd to spread the Linkin love. And for added flair, they brought out an acrobatic breakdancer during “Nobody’s Listening.” Their musical performance was… Read more »

The great digital music giveaway is about to begin. In the new year, some of the world’s biggest brands will promote their products and services by doling out millions of free downloads through alliances with digital music services. “You’re going to see lots of free music given out via third-party companies,” buymusic.com founder Scott Blum says. “It’s not going to be Apple and iTunes driving the business. It’s going to be companies like Pepsi and other third parties that are promoting digital music on bottle caps and on labels.” Indeed, Apple Computer has inked a deal with Pepsi to give… Read more »

He was once dubbed “the unhappiest man in the land.” His most renowned song was called “Miss Misery.” Nevertheless, Elliott Smithsounded disappointed that he was often asked, “Why are you so sad?” The singer-songwriter, whose fragile Beatles-tinged melodies elevated to him mythic status on the indie scene and brought him unlikely Oscar-nominated success, died Tuesday of an apparent suicide at his apartment in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles, officials said. He was 34. Smith’s publicist confirmed the death to reporters. His official Website (www.elliottsmith.com) went black Wednesday morning; only the words “goodbye elliott” were in the title bar.… Read more »

The Network might call itself a new band, but exactly how green is this masked group? On September 30, a mysterious five-piece group called the Network, a band “brought together by an ancient prophecy,” released its debut album, Money Money 2020, on the indie label Adeline Records. Now, Internet sleuths believe they’ve sniffed out the true identity of the Network, and all clues point to Green Day. Or so they think. First off, there’s no arguing the Network sounds like a new-wave version of Green Day, with such tunes as “Spastic Society,” “Supermodel Robots” and “Right Hand-A-Rama.” Plus, the band’s… Read more »

Duran Duran, the 1980s “New Romantic” band who championed eye-liner, shoulder pads and teased blond hair, will play a comeback show in London on Tuesday. Their publicist said all 2,000 tickets had sold out within 20 minutes of going on sale and were changing hands on the Internet for 200 pounds ($330) each. The clamor has evoked memories of when the British band were idols who attracted a devoted following of teenage girls and sold millions of records around the world. The London show is the first in Britain with the original line-up for 18 years and follows a series… Read more »