With a certain industry critic quipping recently that the album format is dead, the success of The Visual Album goes to show that the album format is only as alive as the artistic creativity and expression that it possesses from front-to-back, and that that such creativity and talent is still rewarded in the music industry.
Eddie Jason & Chris are going live to the UK to interview a couple of great UK artists, that you should know about: New Cassettes and The Virginmarys. Plus, MINUS THE BEAR.
Britney Spears' new single "Womanizer" made a record-breaking leap to top spot on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart on Wednesday, underscoring her musical comeback after making headlines with her personal woes. Billboard said the song, the first from a new Spears album due for release in December, jumped from No.96 to No.1 in the past week and returned Spears to the top of the list for the first time since her 1999 debut single "Baby One More Time." "Womanizer" is also No. 1 on iTunes charts in Canada, France, Spain and Sweden, Spears' record company Jive said. Billboard said the… Read more »
There are plenty of divas. But there can only be one queen. Aretha Franklin has lashed out at well-intentioned comments made by Beyoncé Knowles during the latter’s introduction of Tina Turner on the Grammy stage Sunday night. Franklin, 65, says she felt disrepected after Knowles referred to Turner as the Queen, while relegating Franklin to a brief name check in a long list of inspirational singers past, an act apparently tantamount to musical heresy. “I am not sure of whose toes I may have stepped on or whose ego I may have bruised between the Grammy writers and Beyoncé. However,… Read more »
Rocker Rod Stewart, director Peter Greenaway and television actress Penelope Keith were named Commanders of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s New Year’s Honors list Monday. They will receive a medal and be entitled to list the initials CBE after their name. Previous CBE honorees include Eric Clapton and Queen guitarist Brian May. “House” star Hugh Laurie was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), which ranks below a CBE but above an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire), which is what the Beatles received in 1965. The New Years… Read more »
This summer Seattle rockers Queensryche return with the release of Tribe, the band’s first studio album on Sanctuary Records. Tribe, which will be released on July 22, 2003, follows Queensryche’s Sanctuary debut, Live Evolution, a career-spanning live collection, released in 2001. Lead singer Geoff Tate, guitarist Michael Wilton, bassist Eddie Jackson and drummer Scott Rockenfeld have collaborated to produce quite possibly the band’s most ambitions and most insightful project to date. In addition, founding guitarist Chris DeGarmo guests on the album as well. Tate, looking at the themes of Tribe, says “This album isn’t about any one song to me.… Read more »
The pairing of unabashed riff mongers Queens of the Stone Age and… And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead should make for a show that falls somewhere between rock and a harder place. The bands are scheduled to hit the road together beginning August 30 in Washington, D.C., according to an Interscope spokesperson. Thirteen shows have been confirmed thus far, ending with September 21 in Columbia, Missouri. Additional dates will be added to the itinerary that will take the trek into October. … Trail of Dead will support Josh Homme and the boys on all dates with… Read more »
Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Bennett, Paul McCartney, a handful of Hell’s Angels, a gospel choir of 5,000 and a throng of close to 1 million onlookers turned out to help England’s Queen Elizabeth celebrate 50 years on the throne over the weekend at London’s Buckingham Palace. Eric Clapton, Ricky Martin, S Club 7, Spice Girl Emma Bunton, Joe Cocker, Phil Collins, the Corrs, Aretha Franklin, Sir Elton John, Tom Jones, Annie Lennox, Mis-Teeq, Brian Wilson, Rod Stewart, Cliff Richard and Will Young also turned out for the event, which played to a global television audience of millions more over the course… Read more »
Pop star Elton John, one of the biggest names in a star-studded line-up to serenade Queen Elizabeth on her Golden Jubilee, is not quite sure how well even his music will go down with the British monarch. “She grins and bears it. She’s probably the best in the world at grinning and bearing it on every occasion, whether it’s Maori dancing, pop music or whatever,” he told BBC television on Friday. The flamboyant rocker, a close personal friend of the late Princess Diana, will appear at the June 3 concert alongside artists ranging from ex-Beatle Paul McCartney to Ozzy Osbourne.… Read more »
Heavy metal rock legend Ozzy Osbourne, famous for biting the head off a bat in his younger days, will play for Queen Elizabeth at a concert for the 50th anniversary of her accession, Buckingham Palace said on Monday. Osbourne and Latin pop idol Ricky Martin are the latest stars to join the June 3 pop concert in the gardens of Buckingham Palace which is part of the culmination of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations, royal spokesmen said. Already confirmed to appear are stars such as Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, Elton John and Paul McCartney.
