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After more than five years as host of Nickelodeon’s “Blue’s Clues,” Steve Burns is passing the leash to his successor and passing the mic to himself. Burns, who along with animated canine Blue has solved nearly 100 puzzles since the children’s show premiered in December 1996, is now facing a quandary that has baffled just about anyone who ever wanted to form a career around picking up a guitar: how to get signed. The 28-year-old Brooklyn, New York, resident has recorded 11 tunes, some of which are posted on www.steveswebpage.com, for an LP titled Songs for Dustmites. That was the… Read more »

For those who think rap-rock is just about tapped out, Quarashi would like to present their spin on the genre. “We’re trying to do rap music the way Joey Ramone would have done rap music,” said Sölvi Blondal, the band’s producer and drummer. “What we are trying to do is punk-rock rap music, but a little bit more 1990s, like when Public Enemy was doing Fear of a Black Planet and when Cypress [Hill] was coming up with their first album. We tried to approach that style…. We didn’t want to be like Limp Bizkit or these bands that are… Read more »

Prince and his Paisley Park Enterprises are the subject of a defamation lawsuit filed by his former girlfriend, Charlene Friend, in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday (April 19). The plaintiff, Friend, was “romantically involved” with Prince in 1991, and was the recipient of several gifts from the singer, including a jacket worn by him in a 1991 concert, an audiocassette, a Christmas card, a comic book, and the video Gett Off, according to court papers. Friend claims in the suit that she retained ownership of the items after the couple “discontinued their relationship,” and that Prince had never requested… Read more »

They represented the anti-establishment, so it was a bit odd to see the Ramones so happy to become part of the music establishment as members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But for the remaining members of the punk rock originators – whose lead singer, Joey Ramone, died last year – Monday night’s induction at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel represented long-overdue respect for the band that helped revolutionize rock with their rapid-fire, guitar-heavy songs. “I’d like to congratulate myself, and thank myself, and give myself a big pat on the back,” joked Dee Dee Ramone. “Thank you Dee Dee,… Read more »

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame welcomed its first members from the new wave and punk eras on Monday night, inducting The Ramones and Talking Heads along with classic rockers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, soul and R&B icon Isaac Hayes, versatile vocalist Brenda Lee and singer/songwriter Gene Pitney. Legendary guitar sideman Chet Atkins was also inducted, as was Jim Stewart, founder of and driving force behind revolutionary soul music label Stax Records. The hall’s 17th annual induction ceremony got off to a rousing start with Hayes performing his Oscar-winning “Theme from ‘Shaft.”‘ Hayes, who saw eight of his… Read more »

Many a band has had to battle its demons along the path of its career. Creed’s been there, but at this moment they’re also going to war with metal-plated beasts and giant, saber-toothed spiders. The creatures are characters in the computer-animated video for “Bullets,” the follow-up to Weathered’s “My Sacrifice.” Created by video game developers Vision Scape Interactive (“SeaBlade,” “Twisted Metal” 3 & 4), the clip depicts Creed as soldiers of the light battling forces of darkness. Many scenes are reminiscent of “Lord of the Rings,” but with imagery meant to reflect the way Creed have dealt with the biting… Read more »

After filming three comedies in a row, Ice Cube hopes his latest flick, “All About the Benjamins,” is his last one for a while. “I want to do more drama… but I’m not pushing it. It’s all about the projects as they come along, how good they are, the timing.” The rapper-actor is teamed up with Mike Epps again in both the Benjamins movie and the upcoming “Friday After Next,” which is scheduled to open around Christmas. Ice Cube says “Benjamins” will cross social barriers because “it’s a good movie, no matter what color you are, no matter what age… Read more »

Singles feathered on MTV’s immensely popular “Total Request Live” (TRL) show will be available in compilation form March 26 via UTV Records’ “The Best of TRL Pop,” a single-disc set celebrating the stars whose videos have been the show’s staples. There are no exclusives or rarities here, just the show’s most popular singles in their original studio incarnations, from Smash Mouth’s ubiquitous “All Star” and Sisqo’s equally universal “Thong Song” to Enrique Iglesias’ No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 smash “Be With You” and Willa Ford’s “I Wanna Be Bad.” All the big boy bands are here too, including ‘N Sync,… Read more »

Hip-O Records will on March 26 release “Nick Carter: Before The ‘Boys’ 1989-1993,” a collection of recordings made by the Backstreet Boys member before the boy band launched him to international fame. The 14-track set consists of recordings Carter made with his vocal teacher Mark Dye between the ages of 9 and 13. Among the selections are two tracks written by Dye, “Summer!” and “Hard to Get,” as well as Carter singing the National Anthem, “Love Is A Wonderful Thing,” “Runaround Sue,” “Breaking up is Hard To Do,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Uptown Girl,” “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” and a medley… Read more »

Rock band Pearl Jam has paid tribute to late Ramones singer Joey Ramone on a recording released exclusively to Pearl Jam fan club members. A cover version of the pioneering punk band’s song “I Just Want To Have Something To Do” is one of four tracks featured on Pearl Jam’s annual 7-inch vinyl mailing. Ramone died of cancer last April, aged 49. The cover is actually a solo acoustic performance by Pearl Jam bass player Jeff Ament. “When Joey died this year, I sat down and played Ramones songs on my acoustic,” Ament said in his handwritten liner notes. “For… Read more »