Search Results for: GERMANY

Alanis Morissette has returned to the jagged little sound that made her famous. The Canadian singer debuted eight new songs during a show Friday night, providing a generous preview of her next album, which is sitting in limbo while she fights a contract dispute with Maverick Records. Much of the new material harked back to the edgier pop-rock of Morissette’s 1995 smash, Jagged Little Pill, and steered away from the moody, Eastern-influenced sound of its follow-up, 1998’s Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. Accordingly, the two-hour performance – the first of two consecutive nights at Los Angeles’ El Rey Theatre – was… Read more »

Guns N’ Roses have canceled their entire European tour, which was to kick off June 1 at the Rock Im Park festival in Nurnberg, Germany. Guitarist Buckethead has suffered hemorrhaging and has missed rehearsals, according to Helter Skelter, the band’s European management agency. Doctors have been unable to determine the hemorrhaging’s cause, though the guitarist is going through extensive testing in California. With the deadline looming to ship the band’s equipment overseas, and given the rehearsal time required for a band that’s only performed together twice, the situation was deemed unworkable, according to a source close to the band. The… Read more »

Alanis Morissette is not letting a contract dispute with her label prevent her from hitting the road to try out some new songs. The Canadian pop singer will begin a 12-country tour of European festivals, arenas and clubs in Nuremberg, Germany on June 1, which also happens to be her 27th birthday. She will warm up with two shows at Los Angeles’ El Rey Theater on May 25 and 26, her publicist announced Thursday. Tickets for the El Rey shows will be available exclusively at http://www.alanismorissette.com on May 13 at 10 a.m. PDT. The El Rey holds about 700 people.… Read more »

Given her recent co-opting of the French house-music sound popularized by the likes of Les Rythmes Digitales, it should come as no surprise that Madonna has brought Digitales mastermind Jacques Lu Cont on board for her Drowned World tour. Lu Cont will be doing double duty on the tour as Madonna’s bassist and keyboard player, according to a publicist from his label, Astralwerks. The world tour kicks off June 5 in Cologne, Germany. Right now, he’s in Los Angeles with the rest of Madonna’s touring band, where they’re in the midst of a rigorous rehearsal schedule – 13 hours a… Read more »

Madonna will now play six concerts in Britain after all tickets for what was to be her only British appearance sold out minutes after they went on sale Thursday. The Material Girl will perform at London’s Earl’s Court on July 6, 7, 9, 10 and 12 in addition to her originally planned show at the venue on July 4, American Independence Day. Madonna fans camped out overnight to make sure they got tickets for the singer’s first public performance in Britain for seven years. Promoters said all 16,000 tickets for the first show had sold out within 15 minutes. Ticket… Read more »

Eyeing the music television biz, German media giant Bertelsmann may end up the majority shareholder in fast expanding German music channel Viva if a series of deals come off. Bertelsmann will acquire an 18.9% stake held by U.K. music giant EMI if a proposed merger between Bertelsmann’s music division BMG and EMI goes ahead. Company is considering the acquisition of an additional 12.1% stake held by German music group Edel Music. Listed on Germany’s Neuer Markt exchange, Viva is expanding across Europe and has set up outposts in Poland and Hungary, with Switzerland and Italy to follow this year. Company… Read more »

The music industry has blamed free online music and the US economic slowdown for a fall in sales. In the US, the world’s largest market, singles and cassette sales fell by 38% and 46%, which the record companies blamed on free download services applied by Napstar, MP3.com and other online music services. We also saw the first evidence of the impact of free online music, as well as damage done by unauthorised CD-R copying in some major markets. IFPI report Sales in the global market, worth $36.9bn ( £25.8bn) last year with 3.5bn recordings sold, fell by 1.2% when compared… Read more »

Following much hemming and boatload of hawing, all is set in stone for Weezer’s many-moons-in-the-making third album. Produced by Ric Ocasek, The Green Album will drop as planned on May 15th, it’s cover art closely resembling that of the band’s eponymous debut (lovingly called “The Blue Album”) – a picture of the foursome against a solid backdrop. The nod to their 1994 nerd-core breakthrough is no doubt intentional, a clear signal that Rivers Cuomo and Co. have returned, at least in part, to the signature neo-New Wave sound somewhat absent from 1996’s poorer-selling second album, Pinkerton. According to a posting… Read more »

Pop icon’s Drowned World Tour, kicking off June 5, is her first outing in eight years. Madonna announced on Monday (April 16) the 18 dates of an international outing that will launch June 5 in Cologne, Germany, and end September 9 in Los Angeles. Dubbed the Drowned World Tour, the trek will be the most extravagant stage spectacle of the singer’s illustrious career, according to Madonna’s spokesperson. Madonna will be promoting last year’s neo-cowgirl endeavor Music, which includes the title track and the current single, “What It Feels Like for a Girl” , though organizers promise plenty of past hits,… Read more »

Universal Music Group is negotiating to buy BMG Entertainment’s interest in their jointly owned music Web site GetMusic LLC, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition Wednesday. The paper cited people familiar with the situation, adding the move was the latest sign of turmoil in the online music industry. Details of the negotiations were sketchy, but the two sides were believed to be close to a deal, although the talks could still break down, the paper said. One issue had been how much content BMG was willing to guarantee to the site, the paper said. BMG is a… Read more »