Search Results for: NeX GEn

Call them the new poster boys of pop punk. Dub them bearers of a torch once carried by Green Day and Rancid. Pronounce them the best thing to happen to the genre since the invention of the pogo. Just don’t call New Found Glory the next big thing. “I’d hate to be the next big thing,” singer Jordan Pundik said. Rather than ride a rocket to the top, Pundik and bandmates Cyrus Bolooki (drums), Chad Gilbert (guitar), Ian Grushka (bass) and Steve Klein (guitar) adopt a policy of slow and steady, careful not to suffer from overexposure. “Our videos aren’t… Read more »

Considering that their debut Hybrid Theory was the best-selling album of 2001, Linkin Park don’t exactly need to alter their sound for the follow-up, due in March. “I’m sure we could do some crazy stuff now,” says Park rapper Mike Shinoda. “But we like what we like. We know what kind of music we want to make, and we just go after it.” For the past several months Shinoda and the rest of his band mates – guitarist Brad Delson, drummer Rob Bourdon, DJ Joseph Hahn, bassist Phoenix and singer Chester Bennington – have been hard at work on next… Read more »

The Blasters’ singer and guitarist Phil Alvin speaks like the band plays: short, fast and furious. “My father was very upset when I quit school,” he said, trying at breakneck speed to make his words catch up with his thoughts. “He took the neck of my guitar and screwed it to the dustpan. Then he scooped the dog crap with it, and left it in the garage. Every time I turned on the light on, I’d have to walk past it.” But Phil ignored his father’s exhortations, and with the help of his younger brother Dave, formed one of the… Read more »

For those about to rock, the Rock Hall salutes you – by inducting several heroes of metal, punk and new wave into next year’s class. AC/DC, the Clash, the Police, and Elvis Costello and the Attractions will lead the class of 2003 when they are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, organizers announced Thursday (November 7). Other artists recognized include blue-eyed soul singers the Righteous Brothers, whose “Unchained Melody” and Phil Spector-produced “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ ” remain classics. Sideman and non-performer inductees remain to be announced. AC/DC, who formed in 1973 and… Read more »

Five men arrested on suspicion of plotting to kidnap singer Victoria Beckham were charged Monday with theft and conspiring to rob Sotheby’s auction house, police said. Scotland Yard said inquiries were continuing into the alleged plan to kidnap Victoria Beckham, the Spice Girl wife of England soccer captain David Beckham, for a reported 5 million pound (US$7.75 million) ransom. Nine people were arrested after a Sunday newspaper said undercover reporters had discovered the kidnap plot. Kosovo-born Azem Krifsha, 30; London-born Joseph Rivas, 24; and Rusu Sorin, 31 and originally from Romania, were charged with theft and handling of a jeweled… Read more »

Until recently, it seemed only kids – and music critics – could love Eminem. Politicians condemned his obscenity-laced and violent lyrics. Gay and women’s groups blasted him as a homophobe and misogynist. The Grammy-winning Detroit rapper had millions in album sales, but little love from mainstream America. Well, he’s still not America’s sweetheart. But some of the vitriol directed at Eminem has diminished – replaced not just by grudging respect, but by downright enthusiasm from some unlikely quarters. “The guy is funny, smart, and sometimes shocking,” author Stephen King gushed on his Web site. “Those are all things I look… Read more »

Venerable modern rock band R.E.M. is in Vancouver working on its 13th studio album, according to a post by the band’s general counsel Bertis Downs on the group’s official Web site. “Great to be starting work on music again,” the post reads, saying that the group expects to be releasing the album via Warner Bros. in “a year or so.” “The guys plan to work in bursts on this record – a few weeks here, somewhere warmer in the winter, different in the spring, possibly some shows next summer,” Downs said, hinting at a recording framework familiar to the trio,… Read more »

One of pop singer Christina Aguilera (news)’s latest music videos has Thais decrying not its explicit dancing and revealing costumes, but a Thai-language billboard in the backdrop that alludes to the country’s sex industry. Saharat Wannachomphu, marketing director for BMG Thailand Co., the local distributors of Aguilera’s new album, said the company had decided not to air the video for the song “Dirrty” on local television, the Nation newspaper reported this week. In the video, the scantily clad 21-year-old dances in a boxing ring next to a wall with posters in Thai that read “Thailand’s sex tourism” and “Young underage… Read more »

For generations, radio listeners have contended with static. That may be about to change if backers of digital radio have their way. The technology they want to roll out within a year promises custom news and information at the touch of a button, CD-quality sound for FM broadcasts and an end to AM’s hiss, crackle and pop. The Federal Communications Commission is to decide Thursday whether to allow radio stations to broadcast digital signals and how they should do it. Digital radio could be the biggest update to the medium since the debut of FM in the 1940s, said Ken… Read more »

Madonna is moving into the field of covert operations. In her new video for “Die Another Day,” the pop diva, lusty temptress and maternal nurturer becomes involved in a world of intrigue and espionage. The song is the title track for the next James Bond movie, which opens in theaters November 22. The upbeat dance cut is filled with electronic flourishes and the stealthy, suspenseful vibe essential to all Bond themes. It will be released to radio October 7. In the clip, which was shot in Los Angeles earlier this month by directing team Traktor, Madonna plays a secret agent… Read more »