Search Results for: against the current

Disturbed may have learned something from their previous missteps. After their first two clips from Believewere fraught with adversity and caused controversy, the band took a rather clear-cut approach when conceptualizing the video for “Liberate.” Directed by Nathan “Karma” Cox (Linkin Park, Chevelle) and Hank Lena, the video merges backstage and on-the-road clips shot during Disturbed’s Music as a Weapon 2 Tour with performance footage taken from the trek’s finale, in the band’s hometown of Chicago. While it’s a pretty common concept as far as video treatments go, like most of the band’s themes, it’s anything but ordinary. “It’s encouraging… Read more »

The way things are shaking out, Eminem will go down in history as starting more feuds than Richard Dawson. Last week the rapper’s latest battle, pitting his Shady Records camp against Ja Rule and Murder Inc., took center stage at Giants Stadium during Summer Jam, the annual hip-hop fest thrown by Big Apple radio’s Hot 97. Em protégé 50 Cent started his set with several Ja digs accompanied by a video display. Then Eminem delivered da bomb, performing the blistering Ja Rule-dissing salvos “Doe Ray Me” with D12 and “Hail Mary” with 50 Cent and Busta Rhymes. But don’t start… Read more »

Dirk Lance, it was nice to know you, but Incubus fans have reason to welcome new bassist Ben Kenney with open arms. “He’s been very inspiring for all of us,” guitarist Mike Einziger said at the recent ASCAP Pop Music Awards of the onetime Roots member. “He’s a very different musician than Dirk, so it adds a very different dynamic to what we’re doing. It’s just like a big fresh breath of air.” Incubus aren’t recording yet, but they’ve set up their instruments in a rented house and are writing new material they’ll take to a studio after finishing Lollapalooza.… Read more »

The 21st Century Doors have lit a fire under the estate of the late Jim Morrison. Seeing red are George and Clara Morrison, the octogenarian parents of the group’s legendary frontman, who filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against surviving members Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger on Wednesday. They claim the rockers swiped their son’s poetry and image and used them in a revamped version of the Doors currently touring the U.S., featuring the Cult’s former frontman, Ian Astbury, as a fill-in for Morrison. The complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, also names Astbury as a defendant. According to court… Read more »

A federal court judge has surprised the entertainment industry by denying a request for a summary judgment that would shut down Grokster and Streamcast Networks. The precedent-setting ruling Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Wilson is a major blow against a pillar of the film and music business’ strategy against online piracy, which is to hold the underlying technology companies responsible. “It is undisputed that there are substantial noninfringing uses” for Grokster and Streamcast’s Morpheus, Wilson wrote in his decision. He cited Sony Corporation of America vs. Universal City Studios, the 1984 milestone usually referred to as the Betamax… Read more »

Two companies behind services for sharing music and movies over the Internet are not to blame for any illegal copying conducted by the services’ users, a federal judge ruled Friday. The 34-page ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Wilson was a major blow to recording companies and movie studios, which have been aggressively filing lawsuits and pushing new laws to stem the illegal copying and distribution of their copyright works. The decision, if it survives appeal, essentially absolves Grokster Ltd. and StreamCast Networks Inc. of liability. Grokster distributes file-sharing software by that name, and StreamCast distributes Morpheus. “It’s a… Read more »

Can you take Scott Stapp “Higher”? No, say some disgruntled Creed fans, so they’re taking him to court. On Monday, a quartet of Creed faithful filed suit against the rock group, demanding their money back from a concert at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, outside Chicago on December 29. The concertgoers claim the performance was marked by a whole lot of booze and drugs but little rock ‘n’ roll. According to court documents, frontman Stapp “was so intoxicated and/or medicated that he was unable to sing the lyrics of a single Creed song.” The four plaintiffs, Philip and Linda Berenz… Read more »

When Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood found out last weekend that his band’s upcoming record, Hail to the Thief, had leaked online, he wasn’t terribly upset. “Shame it’s not a package with the artwork and all,” he wrote at the time. He’s since reconsidered his position. “We’re kind of pissed about it, to be honest,” he posted Thursday (April 3) on the Radiohead fan site At Ease. Mostly, Greenwood and his bandmates are upset that the version of Hail to the Thief currently on the Net is composed of works in progress that were stolen in February while the band was… Read more »

Britney Spears and her family were on-hand for the Rally Against Cancer at Summit Hospital in her home state of Louisiana on Sunday (March 2). The hospital and the singer’s Britney Spears Foundation co-hosted the cancer screening and awareness fair in Baton Rouge. “This is something my heart has to do,” Spears told the hundreds of people gathered for the event, which was designed to promote the need for preventative measures such as early cancer-detection screenings. The singer spent much of her time there signing autographs for her fans. Spears is currently in the process of recording her fourth studio… Read more »

The Grammy Awards return to New York for the first time in five years on Sunday, with songs influenced by the Sept. 11 hijacked plane attacks on the city in the running for the music industry’s top annual prizes. Veteran rocker Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” and country singer Alan Jackson’s emotional “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” are both nominated for Song of the Year. Young singer and pianist Norah Jones with her mellow mix of jazz, blues and country song and album “Come Away With Me,” is among eight stars most frequently mentioned by music critics as… Read more »