The bass player with Jane’s Addiction has quit the band, and will reportedly be replaced by former Guns N’ Roses rocker Duff McKagan.
Radiohead plans to return to the studio in January to continue work on its next album, which began over the summer.
As a throwback to the old days of the two-song 45 rpm vinyl record, the iTunes Store launched a new “D45” section Tuesday, featuring discounted prices on packs of two digital song downloads. Just like old 45s, the iTunes D45 selection includes a popular single accompanied by a B-side song. Prices on the D45s range from $1.49 to $1.99. “iTunes is bringing this concept to a new age with D45s — two great tracks at an equally great price,” the iTunes Store reads. Music company EMI announced Tuesday that the release of D45s marks the 60th anniversary of the 45… Read more »
Some of the world’s biggest names in music were all about Saving Our Selves this weekend. SOS, of course, referring to the campaign being touted Saturday across the globe at the seven-continent, 24-hour Live Earth concert extravaganza, a worldwide shout-out to individuals, political leaders, corporations and every other entity capable of helping put a stop to the environmental scourge that is global warming. In a partnership with Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection and other U.S.-based and international organizations, Live 8 executive producer Kevin Wall put together a bill that included the Police, Madonna, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica,… Read more »
“Hands Held High,” one of the most powerful songs on Linkin Park’s new album, includes lyrics about bombs blowing up mosques, a bumbling leader, high gas prices and general world confusion – an obvious missive against President Bush and the war in Iraq. Or maybe not. Tell that interpretation to Mike Shinoda, the rapper/musician who writes most of the lyrics for the blockbuster band, and you’ll get an earful on making assumptions about the group’s most adventurous album to date, “Minutes to Midnight.” “We’re not a political band. And I see some of the stuff that you’re referring to …… Read more »
U.S. rapper Kanye West and British rocker Rod Stewart have been added to the lineup of artists performing at a July 1 concert to mark the 10th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death in a car crash. Diana’s sons, princes William and Harry, are organizing the event at London’s Wembley stadium, and officials said Harry, due to go to Iraq in the coming weeks to serve in the army, would probably be allowed leave to return for it. “I’ve been advised that the commanding officer is likely to grant him leave for a short period of time,” the concert’s project director… Read more »
Live Earth concert organizers have revealed the lineups for both the U.S. and London legs of what will be a worldwide series of Live Aid-like concerts, scheduled for July 7. The U.S. portion of Live Earth, announced early Tuesday (April 10), will take over New Jersey’s Giants Stadium, and feature an all-star lineup led by Kanye West, Fall Out Boy, AFI, Akon, Kelly Clarkson, Ludacris, Rihanna, and the reunited Smashing Pumpkins. The Police, Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band, Roger Waters, Alicia Keys, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, John Mayer, KT Tunstall, and Melissa Etheridge are among the other artists confirmed… Read more »
Like Al Pacino in “The Godfather Part III,” just when eco warrior Al Gore thinks he’s pulled himself free of Washington, D.C.’s partisan politics, he gets pulled right back into the muck. Former Democratic Vice President Gore, one of the organizers behind the July 7 global-climate-crisis-awareness concert Live Earth , has run into opposition from Senate Republicans over his plans to have one of the eight worldwide shows take place in D.C. And, depending on who you believe, the objection to the concert is either a matter of simple parliamentary procedure or just politics as usual. Oklahoma Republican Senator James… Read more »
Now that the three young women in Candy Hill, a glossy rap and R&B trio, have signed a record contract, they are hoping for stardom. On the schedule: shooting a music video and visiting radio stations to talk up their music. But the women do not have a CD to promote. Universal/Republic Records, their label, signed Candy Hill to record two songs, not a complete album. “If we get two songs out, we get a shot,” said Vatana Shaw, 20, who formed the trio four years ago, “Only true fans are buying full albums. Most people don’t really do that… Read more »
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame swung open its doors Monday night to the latest batch of acts ticketed for music immortality, with the Georgia alt-rock icons and the dysfunctional Pasadena party band leading the way. They were joined by ’70s punk pioneer Patti Smith, ’60s girl group the Ronettes and the first hip-hop act to crash the party, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. The 22nd annual induction ceremony–which per tradition was held at New York City’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel–felt like an I Love the ’80 special, thanks to its two biggest inductees. R.E.M. received a warm introduction… Read more »
