Search Results for: You, Me, And Everyone We Know

Since his retirement, Jay-Z says he’s been courted by several labels. But not only to rap: They want to give the Jiggaman an executive position, and one such position could be the president of Def Jam Records. For the last few weeks, rumors have been running rampant that Jay will soon take the job, which is second in command to Def Jam CEO LA Reid. Some say the deal will be finalized in less than a week. Jay does acknowledge that he’s been getting offers, but says he hasn’t accepted anything yet. “It’s just talks in the air right now,”… Read more »

Tuesday (May 25) is a big day for Avril Lavigne. Not only does the date mark the release of the pop star’s second album, Under My Skin, but it’s also the day that Avril makes her debut as a full-grown woman. When Lavigne’s debut, Let Go, came out two years ago, she was 17 – and as most critics who interviewed her at the time will tell you, not a particularly mature 17 at that. Now she’s a hearty 19, has traveled the world, dated a few boys, hung out with rock stars and lives in her own place in… Read more »

Simon Cowell will soon get a taste of his own venom. The ruthless Brit is creating a new “American Idol”-like series called “The X Factor” in which he and two other judges will not only choose the finalists, they’ll work with them on the performances and together face the critiques of the other judges. “It’s too safe sometimes for me on this show, ‘Idol,’ because I have no responsibility,” Cowell said. “I just sit there smugly and pass on judgment. I wanted to actually create one show where I was held responsible, as well as the artist.” “The X Factor,”… Read more »

Formerly known as “the band with the guy from ‘Rushmore,’ ” Phantom Planet packed Irving Plaza Friday night with fervent young fans – mostly of the female persuasion. Although “the guy from ‘Rushmore,’ ” drummer Jason Schwartzman, left to pursue his acting career, the ladies still had something to scream about. Lead singer/guitarist Alex Greenwald, a former Gap model clad in torn, skintight jeans, was an instant heartthrob. It also didn’t hurt that guitarists Jacques Brautbar and Darren Robinson, bassist Sam Farrar and new drummer Jeff Conrad were easy on the eyes. “Hello New York!” Greenwald greeted the enthusiastic audience… Read more »

“At the end of every show we’d grab handfuls of these stickers we made at Kinko’s with our name and website,” says Steriogram frontman Brad Carter. “We’d toss ’em to our fans from the stage, 300 or 400 stickers every night.” Carter laughs at the band’s ultra-humble approach to building fan loyalty. But it’s working. Steriogram’s homemade stickers, website and music videos, together with its enthusiastic courting of street teams and high school kids, helped launch the rock-hiphop group from obscurity in Auckland, NZ, to a major deal with Capitol Records. “Our goal was to play in America because our… Read more »

The great digital music giveaway is about to begin. In the new year, some of the world’s biggest brands will promote their products and services by doling out millions of free downloads through alliances with digital music services. “You’re going to see lots of free music given out via third-party companies,” buymusic.com founder Scott Blum says. “It’s not going to be Apple and iTunes driving the business. It’s going to be companies like Pepsi and other third parties that are promoting digital music on bottle caps and on labels.” Indeed, Apple Computer has inked a deal with Pepsi to give… Read more »

Ryan Adams hasn’t arrived for a scheduled afternoon interview, sending instead an apologetic manager with an explanation. “Ryan went out last night with Ron Wood,” the manager said. Oh. Enough said. The bar tab for a summit between two generations of notorious rock ‘n’ roll party animals must have approached the gross national product of some small nations. But all is not as it seems. The next day, Adams insists it was a low-key evening; his Rolling Stones pal wasn’t drinking. Twin cups of Alka Seltzer and black coffee suggest some recovery time for Adams. His music is confounding expectations,… Read more »

R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck is a bit miffed that the group’s newer music doesn’t get much air time. “We do really good work, and I hate to brag but our records are better than most people’s records,” Buck told reporters. “So sometimes it kind of hurts my feelings when I see a record that is obviously a piece of garbage, and everyone knows its garbage, and the guy can’t sing, and then we put out a really good record and they don’t put it on the radio because it doesn’t fit the formats.” R.E.M. is releasing a greatest hits album… Read more »

With the new Barenaked Ladies album, Everything To Everyone, dropping into record shops continent-wide today, ChartAttack thought this would be a good time to check in with the band. After all, unless your name is Michael Jackson (and it’s not, is it?), a new album release means a new North American tour. And news of a new tour is particularly exciting, given the BNL are justifiably known as one of this nation’s most awesomest of live acts. Strangely enough, frontman Steve Page says the band’s rep for fine performance can sometimes be a bad thing. “It’s funny, but I think… Read more »

A tiny Brooklyn, New York, record label is redefining the age-old battle of the punks vs. the suits. Go-Kart Records founder Greg Ross has a problem with the RIAA’s use of lawsuits to fight online piracy, so he began giving away music for free on Friday. First he wrote an open letter to the recording industry trade group, lambasting its take on the problem of illegal downloading. Then he posted six full albums from his latest signings on the Go-Kart Web site. The response has been overwhelming. “Our tech guy just told me we had 80,000 hits in one second… Read more »