Search Results for: Record Store Day

“One-man band”: when you hear that phrase you probably picture a dude on a street corner with a pair of cymbals between his knees, a drum on his back, some kazoos in his mouth and a guitar case full of quarters. Think again. While naming a band after yourself is fine and good for guys like Dave Matthews and Jon Spencer, some band names are actually just cryptic pseudonyms for a single, mad studio genius. The past year has seen an explosion of do-it-yourself-ers, including ex-Eels bassist Tommy Walter with his band Abandoned Pools, stone alone emo-ter Chris Carrabba of… Read more »

With the surprise U.S. success of Kylie Minogue, Capitol Records is starting to regain its footing in the current release marketplace. The EMI-owned label certainly has to hope the Minogue revival – her album “Fever” has sold 250,000 copies in three weeks of release in the U.S., and the single “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” has sold nearly 3 million worldwide – portends a solid spring for its established stars. Paul McCartney, whose “Driving Rain” album was met with relative indifference upon its release in November, could see boosted sales coinciding with his 24-date tour of the U.S.… Read more »

A former keyboard player with the Backstreet Boys has filed a copyright suit claiming co-ownership of two songs on the group’s Jive album “Black & Blue,” Billboard Bulletin reports. The suit – filed Friday by Tommy Smith in U.S District Court for the Central District in Los Angeles -names group members Nick Carter, Brian Littrell, A.J. McLean, Howard Dorough, and Kevin Richardson. Also named is Zomba Enterprises, the publishing arm of the Zomba Group, which has an undisclosed stake in the songs. Smith claims he co-wrote the songs “The Answer to Our Life” and “Time” with Carter, Littrell, and another… Read more »

The British pop charts are warming up for a struggle between good and evil as American Satanic rocker Marilyn Manson releases an album on the same day as stammering, squeaky-clean ‘Pop Idol’ runner-up Gareth Gates. Drawing up the battlelines on Wednesday, Manson said his years of drug and alcohol abuse were just as much of a handicap as Gates’ stammer, and he deserved a Number One hit. Manson, who bases his act around devil worship, releases “Tainted Love” on Monday, the same day as former choir-boy Gates cover version of “Unchained Melody.” But in an interview with music magazine NME,… Read more »

The man of constant sorrow should have plenty of cause to celebrate, though Brandy might be kind of crabby. After 63 weeks on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack will levitate to #1, beating out the R&B crooner, who seemed headed for a chart-topping debut. Last week, O Brother, which has sold over 4 million copies since its December 2000 release, jumped from #15 to #2 after being graced with a Grammy for Album of the Year. While the album will move up on the chart with sales of 160,000 copies, it sold around… Read more »

The cameraman removed the digital video camera from the tripod and got ready for some hand-held shots of the X-ecutioners at Phat Beats record store in the West Village. A look of concern creased the face of the group’s publicist, who hurriedly approached the producer of the shoot. Her idea was to lead into the television news story with shots of the DJs scratching, but the X-ecutioners, whose new record, Built From Scratch, charted at #15 on this week’s Billboard 200 albums chart, don’t normally perform in retail outlets and their label rep was worried that without their precision equipment… Read more »

Sony Music imprint Epic Records is maneuvering to cash in on the industry-defying growth in the gospel music scene, inking a reciprocal marketing and distribution venture with Integrity, the largest independent gospel music company in the U.S. Under terms of the deal, Epic will pipe releases from Integrity labels in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand through the major’s worldwide marketing and distribution machine. In turn, Integrity will market and promote select Christian releases from Epic and fellow Sony division Columbia Records specifically to the Christian bookstore market. The first release set for this treatment is… Read more »

Korn has once again delayed the release of its forthcoming album, Untouchables. It will now be in stores June 11, rather than May 14. The band will still release the first single from the album, “Here To Stay,” later this month, and a companion video was recently shot in Los Angeles. There’s also no word if the delay will cost the band even more money. Bassist Fieldy revealed the album was quite costly. “We spent a lot of time on it, and money. We’re up to like three-and-a-half million on it now, which is ridiculous for a record.” Korn has… Read more »

Phantom Planet is starting to make some headway on the charts, but its drummer is already making his own name. Actor Jason Schwartzman, who stars in the movies “Rushmore” and “Slackers,” is the band’s drummer. Schwartzman said he got into drumming because he and his friends decided to form a band. “I remember talking to a bunch of friends like when we were in third grade and said we should form a band. And one goes ‘Yeah, I’ll play guitar.’ And another goes ‘I’ll play bass.’ And I was like, OK, you guys got the first two cool instruments,” he… Read more »

Alanis Morissette returns tomorrow (February 26) with Under Rug Swept, her fifth album and her first since 1998’s Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. The collection features first single, “Hands Clean,” and guest appearances by the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea, Stone Temple Pilots guitarist Dean DeLeo, former Jane’s Addiction bassist Eric Avery, and renowned bassist Me’Shell Ndegeocello. Morissette said that the effort explores a tried and true theme, if in her own unique way. “This album is a snapshot of my delving into relationships, particularly romantic ones, in a way that I haven’t before. My priorities have always been sort of… Read more »