Search Results for: 2003

New York – Rock quartet Fiction Plane is wrapping work on an EP that will constitute its first new music since the 2003 release of its MCA debut, “Everything Will Never Be OK.” Dubbed “Bitter Forces and Lame Race Horses,” the upcoming set is led by the track “American Standard,” which was mixed by Mark “Spike” Stent (U2, Oasis, Bjork). The EP, which will also feature the cuts “Tolerate,” “Patience” and “The Author Lies,” will be released in the United Kingdom by Everybody’s Records, an imprint of Island. A North American release has yet to be nailed down. Drummer Pete… Read more »

Death Cab for Cutie and “The O.C.” have had a symbiotic relationship almost since the teen beach drama began in August, 2003. Protagonist Seth Cohen (actor Adam Brody) named-dropped the Washington state indie-rockers liberally and sported posters of the group on his wall, giving them mainstream exposure they probably never expected. In turn, Seth, his refined taste, and the show itself have earned a stellar reputation in music-geek circles. Death Cab have had their music featured in key scenes before, but the group will finally perform on “The O.C.” on April 20. The group will play two songs from its… Read more »

Houston – An appeals court has upheld dismissal of a man’s claim that a television network stole his idea for the hit show “American Idol.” A federal judge in 2003 dismissed Harry Keane Jr.’s claim without hearing it and ordered him to pay Fox Television Stations Inc.’s legal fees of nearly $130,000. Keane’s attorneys had argued before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that Keane deserved a trial, but the court disagreed Thursday. Keane, of Irving, said he came up with the show in 1994, and that he sent material to Fox outlining his concept in 1998. “American Idol”… Read more »

GEORGE, South Africa – Nelson Mandela joined movie and music stars on Saturday at an international concert to raise funds for women in South Africa suffering from HIV /AIDS. Film star Will Smith was master of ceremonies, and Annie Lennox and Queen were among those entertaining more than 15,000 fans sprawled across the lawns of the exclusive Fancourt golf estate near George, about 250 miles from Cape Town. Mandela, 86, was given a thunderous reception when he joined the crowd – many of them youths brought in from a nearby township – at the concert, named 46664 after Mandela’s prison… Read more »

For months now Canadian pop princess Avril Lavigne and Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley have been sidestepping rumours that they’re snuggling up and making some sweet Can-Rock love. Well, deny all you want kids, but when a guy decides to move to Los Angeles, which just, by coincidence, happens to be the home of a certain lady friend, it usually means the dude wants to do more than just jam. According to the Globe And Mail, Whibley recently sold his Toronto home to move to the land of the fake and famous, high-tailing it to La La Land. If the… Read more »

Berlin – German media group Bertelsmann AG said Thursday its profit rose sharply in 2004 thanks to strong performances by its television, music and media services businesses and lower writeoffs due to changed accounting rules. Earnings rose to 1.03 billion euros ($1.28 billion) from 154 million euros in 2003, while revenue rose 1.2 percent to 17.02 billion euros ($21.17). A company statement did not include fourth-quarter figures. The Guetersloh-based company credited a good showing by subsidiary RTL, Europe’s largest television broadcaster, which boosted earnings to 668 million euros ($831 million) from 503 million euros, helped by the company’s acquisition of… Read more »

“SYNERGY AND OTHER LIES” would be a good first reading assignment for Sir Howard Stringer, Sony’s new chief executive, to be followed by “The Synergy Myth.” Then Sir Howard should recognize that the Sony he inherits is constitutionally incapable of making one (electronics) plus one (entertainment) equal three. Both books were written by Harold Geneen, the number cruncher who directed International Telephone and Telegraph during its heyday in the 1960’s. He engineered 350 mergers and acquisitions, which brought such names as Hartford, Avis, Sheraton and Madison Square Garden under one roof. Mr. Geneen, however, harbored no illusions that ITT’s individual… Read more »

Los Angeles – Before they made the jump to Atlantic Records in 2004, the members of Death Cab for Cutie thought long and hard about leaving Seattle’s Barsuk Records. But after six years of deliberation, and the ultimate satisfaction the band took in its decision, manager Jordan Kurland grants that there has been a twinge of remorse. “I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that after I saw Bright Eyes debut in the top 10, I didn’t think, ‘Ah, we should have done that…’ But we’re having a great time.” Indeed, the band Bright Eyes bolted to No. 10 on… Read more »

New York – Rap star Lil’ Kim testified at her federal perjury trial on Thursday, telling jurors she was bullied by prosecutors when she allegedly lied to a grand jury about a 2001 shootout. “I was a victim (of the shooting),” said Lil’ Kim, a former sidekick of the late Notorious B.I.G. “I couldn’t believe I was being badgered the way I was.” Wearing a lacy peach dress beneath a white blazer, the 4-foot-11 Grammy winner frequently turned in the direction of jurors, flashed broad smiles and dropped names of famous artists she’s worked with. She was admonished by the… Read more »

Los Angeles – Limp Bizkit singer Fred Durst is suing 10 Web site operators who the rocker claims profited from posting an explicit video stolen from his home computer showing him having sex with a former girlfriend. The lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, seeks more than $70 million in damages and any profits reaped by the Web site operators in recent weeks, when the 3-minute clip began appearing on the Internet. In the complaint, Durst contends that the video, which he shot in 2003, was never meant for public viewing. By disseminating the clip,… Read more »