Los Angeles – Chicago rapper Kanye West, who survived a near-fatal car crash to record a debut album that ranked among the year’s biggest sellers, led the field of Grammy Award contenders with 10 nominations, organizers said on Tuesday. R&B singers Alicia Keys and Usher picked up eight nominations each, followed by late “Genius of Soul” Ray Charles with seven, and punk rock band Green Day with six. Jazz pianist Norah Jones, country veteran Loretta Lynn, funk musician Prince and engineer Al Schmitt each earned five. “If I get any nominations, I’m good,” West told Reuters after a press conference… Read more »
Toronto – Perhaps it was best that Green Day were in Canada on the evening of the U.S. presidential election; after all, it’s here that they can share the almost unanimous anti-Bush sentiments in an almost-packed Air Canada Centre. “Well, hopefully tomorrow we’ll have a brand new President,” Billie Joe Armstrong said to a roar of cheers. “I fuckin’ hate him and I think he’s more of a threat to the world than Saddam Hussein.” And though the dads of pop-punk were away from home, the enthusiastic crowd – which included one fan with a “Fuck Bush” sign – made… Read more »
Green Day will toast the release of American Idiot on Tuesday, but perhaps an even bigger cause for celebration these days is the 10-year anniversary of their breakthrough LP, Dookie. The modern-day classic not only launched the Bay Area punk trio into the mainstream, it opened the door to a mid-’90s wave of popped-up punk and provided a launching pad for the current crop of melodic pop-punkers. “[Dookie] changed my life,” confessed Good Charlotte’s Joel Madden. “It made me want to start Good Charlotte…. Right after that record came out, we were like, ‘We have to start a band in… Read more »
Green Day leads the roster of rock and rap artists contributing music to Madden 2005, the latest in the series of football video games bearing the name of legendary announcer John Madden. The title track from Green Day’s forthcoming album, American Idiot, will appear on the game even before it reaches radio stations or record stores, while other artists contributing tracks from current albums include Franz Ferdinand, Hoobastank, the Hives, Chevelle and New Found Glory. Madden 2005 arrives on August 17. Green Day’s new album, American Idiot, is set for release on September 21. Hard rockers Earshot contribute their own… Read more »
In about six weeks, long-faced football fans jonesing for sacks, Hail Marys and outrageous end-zone celebrations can count on two things to turn their frowns upside down: the start of the preseason and the next installment of the John Madden video-game franchise. Madden 2005,” due August 12, promises all the bone-crushing hits, jaw-dropping jukes and gridiron grip of its predecessor, all to the tune of another star-packed soundtrack. Green Day lead the charge of artists unveiling new material in the game. Even before it goes to radio, the title track from the band’s forthcoming album, American Idiot, due September 21,… Read more »
It’s been a big year for Jesus. Mel Gibson made a fortune at the box office with “The Passion of the Christ,” Kanye West has huge plans for his single “Jesus Walks”, and now Green Day have recorded a concept album about their own Jesus character. “The record has a story line throughout it that follows a character by the name of Jesus of Suburbia,” singer Billie Joe Armstrong said Wednesday during a break from rehearsal. “It’s [about] him coming of age and the growing pains that are involved in it and seeing if he makes the right choices or… Read more »
“It’s our most ambitious album to date,” says Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day’s forthcoming American Idiot, a concept record the trio has dubbed a “punk rock opera.” The sprawling thirteen-song album, due in September, tells the tales of such characters as “Saint Jimmy” and an unnamed female protagonist “Whatzhername” living in a heated political climate. “I wanted to try to find some human relationship throughout it,” Armstrong says. “A lot of it is coming from trying to have a relationship between different people and yourself, but being surrounded by total chaos… I didn’t want to make people feel like… Read more »
Basslines and Protest Signs is Brett Callwood’s column looking at the intersection of music and politics. This week talks about Black History Month.
Basslines and Protest Signs is Brett Callwood’s column looking at the intersection of music and politics. This week talks about Big Bird getting vaccinated.
Basslines and Protest Signs is Brett Callwood’s column looking at the intersection of music and politics. This week talks about artists celebrating Pride Month.
