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Having met their goal of writing and recording an album in less than a year, No Doubt will release Rock Steady on December 18. While their 1995 breakthrough, Tragic Kingdom, and last year’s Return of Saturn both spent years in the making, the band kept the tape rolling for its fifth album, working with a mix of producers ranging from Dr. Dre and former Cars frontman Ric Ocasek to reggae duo Sly & Robbie. The result finds the foursome exploring their dancehall-reggae and new wave tendencies in greater depth than before. Songs slated for the LP include the title track,… Read more »

It is Friday night in the San Fernando Valley and the regulars at Paladino’s, a tiny biker bar, are out in full force. Hell’s Angels gun their engines in the parking lot while lines of leather-clad rock fossils straighten their acid-washed jeans, run combs through their mullets and get ready to rock. Most of the crowd has come to catch the Atomic Punks, a blue-ribbon Van Halen tribute band. But there’s another contingent on-hand. Rage Against the Machine drummer Brad Wilk, actor/singer Jack Black, and porn queen Jenna Jameson are in the house, and it’s unlikely they made the trek… Read more »

ROCK STEADY, No Doubt’s fifth album and second release in as many years, is scheduled for release on Trauma/Interscope Records on December 18, 2001. Recorded in LA, Jamaica, and London, ROCK STEADY runs the stylistic gamut, incorporating dancehall-reggae, classic new wave, and R&B with the band’s signature, high-energy sound. Featuring such key tracks as “Hella Good,” “Hey Baby,” “Detective,” and “Making Out,” ROCK STEADY is named for one of the last songs to be included on the record. Says Gwen Stefani, “ROCK STEADY is where we are as a band right now. Stay the course, keep focused. Like the song… Read more »

Try as they might to display a more mature side as songwriters and lyricists, the members of Green Day – a third, fourth or maybe even fifth-generation punk band – are still working the same schtick that powered them to rock supremacy in the mid-1990s. It’s snotty and obnoxious, a blur of three- and four-chord rockers strung together in a manner that puts exclamation points after every barre chord and chorus. But when it’s working, Green Day is far and away the head of the class. Green Day delivered an involving, career-spanning show that included five tunes from the new… Read more »

Hot on the heels of new releases from such established superstars as Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey, Virgin Records America is releasing seven key albums from developing artists the label hopes will follow in those multi-platinum footsteps. Ranging an eclectic musical spectrum from Pop-R&B to Urban-Alternative Rock to World Music, these artists reflect Virgin’s commitment to unique yet accessible music for which the label has become known. Forming the all-star rookie line-up are: Nikka Costa – All ears piqued when Tommy Hilfiger’s slick commercial hit TV screens last year, featuring that funky, rhythmic bassline from Nikka’s debut single “Like A… Read more »

To commemorate their 20th anniversary, Pet Shop Boys will reissue five of their original studio albums – “Please,” “Actually,” “Introspective,” “Behaviour” and “Very” – on July 3, 2001. Each has been re-mastered and will be accompanied by a bonus CD in a custom slipcase. For the five bonus CDs, each titled “Further Listening,” the British duo have compiled a compelling selection of mixes, hits, previously unheard versions and b-sides that, together with the re-mastered studio albums, documents their career from 1984 until 1994. In addition, each album comes with a bonus 36-page booklet featuring full lyrics, rare archive photographs and… Read more »

As the fight over digital musical copyrights moves into a new stage, song-swap service Napster said it is looking for a new ally – music publishers. “I’m spending a lot of time thinking about publishing,” Napster chief executive officer Hank Barry told Reuters. “We could get all the labels in the world on the service but we still couldn’t do anything without the publishing rights,” said Barry during a recent interview. Barry echoed what many big label executives are grappling with as a growing dispute over publishers’ royalty rates threatens to undermine recently announced plans to launch commercial services as… Read more »