Search Results for: r.e.m.

London – Pop singer Peter Gabriel has been honored with the Music Industry Trusts’ Award. Those paying tribute to Gabriel, who began his career with Genesis before becoming a successful solo artist, included U2’s Bono, R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe and film director Martin Scorsese. Gabriel, 54, received his award Monday in a ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel. It was presented by Richard Branson, who signed Gabriel to his then-label Virgin Records in the 1970s. The honorary award is given each year to an artist who has made an outstanding contribution to the British music industry. Previous recipients include Elton John… Read more »

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 »

After Bruce Springsteen announced plans to participate in the anti-Bush concert tour, Vote for Change, a New York candidate for U.S. Senate has countered with a “Boycott the Boss” television spot. Conservative Party candidate Marilyn O’Grady appears in a 30-second televison commercial, urging her supporters to show their solidarity to Bush by not buying Springsteen’s music. “He thinks making millions with a song-and-dance routine allows him to tell you how to vote,” O’Grady says in the spot. “Here’s my vote: Boycott the Boss. If you don’t buy his politics, don’t buy his music.” (The spot makes no mention of O’Grady’s… Read more »

Fresh off a stint on the Big Day Out tour of Australia and New Zealand, the Strokes have unveiled plans for a six-week spring outing in the United States, with an excursion to Mexico City. Dates get underway March 9 in Washington, D.C., and are confirmed through April 25 in Minneapolis, although Strokes manager Ryan Gentles told Billboard.com the tour is expected to run through May 19. Support acts have not yet been announced. The New York rock quintet is touring in support of its sophomore RCA album, “Room on Fire,” which debuted in October at No. 5 on The… Read more »

R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, Matt Damon, Kim Basinger and Samuel L. Jackson, along with 100 other celebrities, have signed a letter urging President Bush not to go to war with Iraq. “We feel that military action in Iraq will allow the terrorists to fan the flames of anti-American sentiment and further destabilize the Middle East,” one of the letters signatories, actress Janeane Garofalo (“Reality Bites”), told CNN. The letter’s contents were announced in a press conference Tuesday (December 10). “War talk in Washington is alarming and unnecessary,” reads the letter, which was put together by Artists United to Win Without War,… Read more »

Perhaps the most nebulous whine in fandom concerns a perceived dearth of good music. Roughly 27,000 titles are dumped into the marketplace annually, yet many consumers, particularly casual or older fans less prone to rooting out new sounds, grumble about a shortage and pine for the days of plenty. The complaint: Record labels sign only what they hope will sell, jumping on the latest bandwagon and flooding the market with sound-alikes. Everything radio and MTV plays sounds as if it fell off the same assembly line. Record companies focus on radio-friendly and videogenic acts to the exclusion of worthy mavericks… Read more »

The Get Up Kids are set to release their third album and will hit the road to support it beginning May 24. The 12-track On a Wire is scheduled for release May 14, according to a Vagrant Records spokesperson. “Overdue” will be the leadoff single from the LP, which was produced by Scott Litt (Incubus, R.E.M.). The album follows the Kansas City, Missouri, quintet’s last album, 1999’s breakthrough Something to Write Home About, a record which helped forge mainstream prominence of what’s often referred to as “emo.” The band will embark on a 40-show tour to support On a Wire… 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 »

The web of intrigue surrounding the “Spider-Man” soundtrack continues to grow, but a few additional details have emerged from the sticky strands. An anthem called “Hero,” a collaboration between Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger, Saliva vocalist Josey Scott, Theory of a Dead Man guitarist Tyler Connolly and Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron will be the second single on the album, a source close to Nickelback said. Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell was originally believed to be on the recording, but a publicist at his label said his participation was never confirmed. On March 24, the supergroup shot a video for… Read more »

R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck is a “southern gentleman” who has never been rude to anyone, the band’s lead singer Michael Stipe told a London court today (March 27). Stipe appeared as a character witness at the “air-rage” trial of Buck, who is accused of going on a drunken rampage aboard a trans-Atlantic British Airways flight last April. The R.E.M. singer said Buck was “like a big brother” and said the allegations against his friend of 23 years did not make sense. “He’s just not a person who is rude to anyone,” Stipe told Isleworth Crown Court in west London. “Something… Read more »