Search Results for: christmas

The success of the Black Eyed Peas flies in the face of the conventional wisdom that the music business sacrifices long-term artist development in favor of quick hits and short-term corporate profits. Signed to Interscope Records more than six years ago by chairman Jimmy Iovine, the progressive hip-hop group’s first two albums, “Behind the Front” in 1998 and “Bridging the Gap” in 2000 earned rave reviews but failed to go gold (shipments of 500,000 copies). The first album peaked at No. 139 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 197,000 units, according Nielsen SoundScan, while the sophomore set stalled at… Read more »

Hoobastank have a choice to make with their next single – not which song to pick, but which video. The group has made two clips for “Same Direction,” the follow-up to “The Reason.” The first is a sequel to that song’s clip, and in the second video, Hoobastank’s fictional former fifth member, “Ted,” runs the show. Ted, according to a treatment conceived by a fan who wrote it as part of a contest, was once the band’s triangle player, let go in the fifth grade for artistic differences. Ted, now 25, is still obsessed with Hoobastank, and he builds shoebox… Read more »

JUST days after the European launch of Apple Computers’ online music store, a chorus of customers are voicing their complaints. The lack of songs from artists on independent record labels – which account for a quarter of the UK market – has left iTunes looking like a poorly-stocked American import store, lacking local talent such as Travis and Franz Ferdinand. “Most Scottish acts are on independent labels,” says Alison Wenham, chairman and chief executive of the Association of Independent Music (AIM), which represents the majority of the UK’s indie labels. “Celtic acts typically start off very strong in their home… Read more »

Leland Cobain spreads a few yellowing pieces of art across his dining room table. The Aberdeen Museum of History, in the next town over, has asked him to contribute to an exhibit about his grandson, late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. One adorable Christmas card Kurt made for his grandparents at age 13 shows a hapless toddler, fishing, who has hooked the back of his shirt. There are radiant watercolor seascapes and depictions of Disney characters. Then there are the other paintings, in an apartment 55 miles northeast of Leland’s trailer. They are surrealistic, stark and powerful, revealing skeletons, aliens and… Read more »

In 1993, Matt Groening, in a caveman-era Internet chat, was asked if there’d ever be a Simpsons movie. He didn’t say yes, he didn’t say no. He said a film “is way down the line.” He wasn’t kidding. More than 10 years since that Net moment and more than 15 years since Groening’s animated clan made their TV debut, The Simpsons is finally getting ready for its close-up. Maybe. Fox’s feature-film animation division is “in the very early stages of developing an idea for the movie,” exec Chris Meledandri said in Wednesday’s Daily Variety. Per the trade paper, “at least… Read more »

For the humdrum New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers, putting on a show to match the glitz, glitter and star power of the rest of Super Bowl Sunday was no easy task. Typical of America’s biggest unofficial holiday, the game was only the icing on an over-the-top extravaganza. There was a gleaming new $450 million stadium to show off, a slew of pricey new ads, and Beyonce, Janet Jackson and P. Diddy to share the field. The biggest cliffhanger of the week wasn’t who would win, but whether Janet’s brother, Michael, would show up. He didn’t, but Justin Timberlake did,… Read more »

A near-death experience on his ATV bike has convinced Ozzy Osbourne to take a break from the road. In light of the serious injuries he suffered in last month’s accident, the Prince of F–ing Darkness has decided to scrap a 20-date British tour to give himself more time to recover. “I am deeply disappointed, but it’s out of my control,” the 55-year-old heavy metal icon said in a statement released through his London-based publicist. “Right now I need to concentrate on my recovery and unfortunately this is something I cannot rush.” Osbourne suffered several broken ribs, a fractured collarbone and… Read more »

Michael Jackson Under Seige: Day 43: CBS and Jackson’s camp yesterday denied a published report that the network added $1 million to the license fee it paid the singer for a prime-time music special to get him to talk to “60 Minutes” about the child molestation charges he faces. “Categorically false” is how CBS News, in a statement, labeled the report, and Jackson adviser Charles Koppelman, who first brokered the music special in September, called the New York Times report “nonsense.” In other Weird and Wacky World of Michael Jackson news, the Nation of Islam held a news conference yesterday… Read more »

Although industry-wide album sales were down from the same weeks of last year in the two stanzas prior to Christmas, an extra gift-shopping day during the holiday frame closed 2003 on an up note. With the holiday shifting back a day, from Wednesday in 2002 to Thursday, album sales are up a whopping 20.6% over the same week of the prior year. The final week’s splurge more than compensates for the 5.8% deficit seen the week before the Christmas frame or the 0.5% gap of the year’s 50th week. Further, the 31.3 million album units sold during this Christmas shopping… Read more »

Michael Jackson says he is still in pain from being put in police handcuffs last month and tells CBS’s “60 Minutes” that authorities “manhandled” him. The pop star said he suffered a dislocated shoulder from the way he was cuffed and handled during his arrest on child molestation charges. “It’s hurting me very badly,” Jackson said in an interview broadcast Sunday. “I’m in pain all the time.” Representatives of the Santa Barbara County sheriff’s department did not return a call seeking comment Sunday. District Attorney Thomas Sneddon has said Jackson was treated fairly while in custody. Jackson denied the molestation… Read more »