Search Results for: between you & me

It was another brush-with-an-icon moment for the Killers : back in May of this year, joining Duran Duran – the first name in ’80s fashionista Britpop  – onstage, aptly in Las Vegas, to perform the vets’ chestnut “Planet Earth.” Brandon Flowers, resplendent as ever in a tux, looked like a young James Bond. And you know he had to have been stirred, if not a little bit shaken. There are no more unabashed Anglophiles among U.S. pop-rockers than the Killers. From day one, they have made that clear: They took their name from a New Order video, they’ve covered Joy… Read more »

The pressure had been building up behind the scenes for longer than most music fans realized. But when the teen-pop explosion burst onto the charts in early 1999 it felt like the music world had been blindsided overnight by a flood of squeaky-clean acts who would dominate the charts for years to come. And in some cases, those ripples are still being felt today. It’s hard to believe it now, but over the course of a few months between late 1998 and early 1999, radio and MTV were inundated with the debuts and breakthroughs from Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, ‘NSYNC,… Read more »

These days, the old west rail hub of Las Vegas, New Mexico, is little more than a dusty economic dead zone amid a boneyard of bare mesas. In national elections, the town overwhelmingly votes Democratic: More than 80 percent of all residents are Hispanic, and one in four lives below the poverty line. On February 5th, the day of the Super Tuesday caucus, a school-bus driver named Paul Maez arrived at his local polling station to cast his ballot. To his surprise, Maez found that his name had vanished from the list of registered voters, thanks to a statewide effort… Read more »

It was better late than never for Prince. The Purple One may have showed up at emerging singer Janelle Monáe’s show last night at L.A.’s Viper Room, but he didn’t arrive until an hour after she was done. So instead of coming into the club, Prince held court in his car. Janelle joined him for a little chitchat in the backseat. Slow down with your dirty assumptions. I’ve been assured it’s completely platonic between the two… Prince appears to have taken a shine to the young, funky, Atlanta-based singer and recently reached out to her to offer career advice, according… Read more »

How do you get VIP or backstage passes at concerts? I’m not a crazy, but I would love to meet Foo Fighters next time they play here. –Jenna, Melville, N.Y. I’d like to take this opportunity to dedicate this column to Kevin, That Other Jonas, who gets such little love from the kids. Everyone is always going on about Foo Fighters or Rihanna or the two hot Jonas Brothers. Doesn’t anyone want to hang out backstage with What’s-His-Name Jonas? Kevin? No? Anyway, no matter. From what I learned today from Industry insiders, you stand very little chance of a backstage… Read more »

Among the most notorious on-screen gaffes ever, Janet Jackson’s breast-baring “wardrobe malfunction” on CBS during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show drew a $550,000 indecency fine from the Federal Communications Commission. Now a federal appeals court has thrown it out. A panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the FCC “acted arbitrarily and capriciously” in issuing the fine for the fleeting image of nudity, which it noted lasted just over half a second. An estimated 90 million people watching the Super Bowl heard Justin Timberlake sing, “Gonna have you naked by the end of this… Read more »

Rocker David Cook won the coveted title of “American Idol” on Wednesday, dealing an unexpected but decisive defeat to a silken-voiced teenager, also named David, on the most popular U.S. television show. Cook, 25, who was tending bar and playing in a band before he auditioned for the singing competition, stood back to applaud rival David Archuleta, 17, and then bent over crying after host Ryan Seacrest said he had won by 12 million votes. “This is amazing. Thank you,” said the Blue Springs, Missouri, native, who in addition to being crowned this year’s “Idol” will receive a recording contract.… Read more »

As Portishead finished its meticulously sparse evening performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the typically reticent Beth Gibbons suddenly leapt off the stage and ran a 100-yard dash along the fenced-in crowd, exuberantly shaking their hands. Percussionist Geoff Barrow and guitarist Adrian Utley soon exited more quietly. Barrow, though, paused in front of a microphone to say, simply, “Thanks for waiting.” After a ten-year hiatus, Portishead is back. This is not a reunion bow, though, but rather an energized reboot of a band that ten years ago found itself burnt out from a rock ‘n’ roll life… Read more »

Universal Motown Records’ artist, Forever The Sickest Kids, announced new US tour dates today. Co-headlining with Metro Station, the band will cross from New York to their home state of Texas. The debut album from Forever The Sickest Kids, entitled Underdog Alma Mater, will be released on April 29th.   The six man band has been touring the U.S. successfully and building a fanbase from the grass roots up. The hard work has paid off with a major label release next month and coveted spots on the current Alternative Press Tour, the Warped Tour as well as the co-headlining tour… Read more »

Heather Mills was a less than candid court witness whose $250 million divorce claim was exorbitant, a judge said in his ruling on her divorce from Paul McCartney. The judgment by Hugh Bennett was released Tuesday, after a court rejected Mills’ attempt to block publication. On Monday, Bennett awarded Mills a $48.6 million divorce settlement after her four-year marriage to the former Beatle. Mills had sought almost $250 million, while McCartney had offered $31.6 million, including Mills’ own assets. In his ruling, the judge said Mills’ claim “is and was unreasonable, indeed exorbitant.” He also said Mills’ evidence was “not… Read more »