Search Results for: decade

The largest North American power blackout in history plunged more than 50 million people into darkness in a 9,600-square-mile swath from the East Coast to the Midwest and Southern Canada on Thursday, affecting everything from subways in New York to the water supply in Cleveland. The outage also cut the power to a number of summer tours, knocking Bob Dylan and Tori Amos offline and sending many other bands scurrying for backup plans and places to crash for the night. An eagerly awaited hometown reunion of punk pioneers the Stooges, scheduled to play their first Detroit show in more than… Read more »

More than a quarter-century after his death, Elvis Presley has something new to get his fans all shook up. A never-before-released song recorded by Presley nearly 40 years ago was recently unearthed and will be issued this fall by RCA Records as part of a new collection of favorites from the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, the label said on Friday. The announcement comes on the eve of the 26th anniversary of Presley’s death, on Aug. 16, 1977, at age 42. The song, “I’m a Roustabout,” originally was written for the 1964 Presley film “Roustabout,” co-starring Barbara Stanwyck, and was… Read more »

When former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha got an email a month ago from A Perfect Circle’s Billy Howerdel asking if he’d like to audition for the group, the last thing on Iha’s mind was joining another band. “I really didn’t see myself joining another band too soon after the Pumpkins broke up,” said Iha, who has kept a low profile since the Pumpkins’ December 2000 split. “I was recently saying to someone that it would have to be a pretty good band to bring me back – this is the band.” Iha was also reluctant to hit the road… Read more »

Pink believes one of the best ways to make sure fur isn’t in vogue is to make sure it isn’t in Vogue. The singer has written to Anna Wintour, asking the famously fur-wearing editor to stop promoting fur in her trendsetting magazine. Pink’s handwritten note, faxed Tuesday afternoon, urges Wintour to “modernize your magazine and stop promoting fur.” If that isn’t possible, Pink asks that Vogue at least allow organizations such as the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to run anti-fur ads for balance. The singer also writes that “many designers, unaware of my respect for animals, have… Read more »

Need a reason to go on a road trip? How about Bumbershoot? No, we’re not talking gibberish – we’re referring to the infamous Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, WA, which is taking place at the Seattle Center from August 29 to September 1 this year. From 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. each day, over 2,500 artists will be showcasing their various artistic and musical talents. The festival, which was originally dubbed “The Festival of ’71,” has been gaining momentum since its initial inception over three decades ago. Bumbershoot Festival-goers can enjoy poetry, comedy, acrobats, theatre, graphic art, film, painting, sculpture and… Read more »

The race for governor in California is beginning to look like an episode of “Hollywood Squares.” After weeks of “will he or won’t he?” speculation, “Terminator” star Arnold Schwarzenegger announced on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” on Wednesday that he is running for the state’s top office. The 56-year-old former bodybuilder and action movie star said he made his decision because politicians in his home state are “fiddling, fumbling and failing.” The burly pop icon said he aims to bring “California back to what it once was” following what he said was the failure of Democratic Gov. Gray Davis’… Read more »

“It’s a huge part of history and it’s still as good a comedy as anything out there,” MxPx lead singer Mike Herrera says of Animal House. Herrera understands the importance of the film, which starred John Belushi. Released in 1978 – four years before Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and two decades before American Pie – Animal House is arguably the movie that launched the teen comedy genre. So for Herrera and his MxPx band mates, it was a huge honor when they were invited to re-record the movie’s theme song and the Isley Brothers’ classic “Shout,” a staple of… Read more »

Long an artist’s sanctuary, the commercial recording studio is becoming a virtual fortress, guarding against the potentially devastating consequences of theft. The thieves’ targets are the rough mixes, outtakes, alternative takes and finished masters that traditionally have been loosely handled, even by the artists themselves. Leaks of this material are nothing new, but the advent of unauthorized file sharing on the Internet has greatly increased the consequences of this phenomenon. Recent albums by Eminem, 50 Cent, Korn and Radiohead were all available online prior to release, because unauthorized copies were leaked to unknown parties. In such cases, marketing strategies are… Read more »

Ozzy Osbourne may have weathered the lowest lows that drug addiction has to offer, but the news that his son Jack was seeking treatment for substance abuse taught him a lesson that his own decades of addiction never did. “I used to think they should legalize pot, but you know what? They should ban the lot,” Osbourne told MTV News, addressing Jack’s battle for the first time. “One thing leads to another. Coffee leads to Red Bull, Red Bull leads to crank. “When I found out the full depth of him getting into OxyContin, which is like hillbilly heroin, I… Read more »

Assembling a promotional campaign for a veteran band that has been out of the spotlight is a tough enough feat. But Capitol Records is facing the daunting task of reintroducing a group that hasn’t released a new album in 13 years. Luckily, the campaign behind pioneering alternative rock outfit Jane’s Addiction’s “Strays,” due July 22, has had a huge prerelease boost from first single “Just Because.” The song is No. 4 on Modern Rock Tracks after four weeks, returning Jane’s Addiction to the top of the format at which it scored five top 15 hits between 1988 and 1991. The… Read more »