Search Results for: ep

Pearl Jam is walking the long road…away from their longtime label. The grunge-rock survivors have served notice that they’re exiting the Sony-owned Epic Records after fulfilling the terms of its contract. The Seattle quintet quietly announced the split in the Q&A section of its Sony-run Rumour Pit Website. Sandwiched between questions about where the band is playing concerts and whether it will ever play the controversial anti-White House song “Bu$hleaguer” (answer: “Ya never know…”) is the query: “Have Pearl Jam left their record company yet?” The answer is simply “yes.” Pearl Jam has been in the Epic fold since the… Read more »

With anticipation building to a feverish pitch in advance of the imminent release of the eagerly awaited Led Zeppelin live recordings, Atlantic Records has announced that “LED ZEPPELIN DVD,” a 2-DVD set, will be shipping quadruple-platinum in the U.S. alone, and “HOW THE WEST WAS WON,” a 3-CD set, will ship platinum. “The enormous pre-release response from retailers and fans alike to the announcement of these Zeppelin releases dramatically demonstrates the enduring power, timeless influence, and undiminished popularity of this truly phenomenal band,” said Atlantic Group Co-Chairman/CEO Val Azzoli. “To have been associated with Zeppelin for their entire career has… Read more »

AOL Time Warner and Bertelsmann are in talks to merge their music companies, a published report today said. The Wall Street Journal said if the two were to combine, the new venture would rival industry leader Vivendi Universal, with a roster including Madonna and Christina Aguilera. The report notes that an actual merger agreement is far from certain. Sources said the media giants are discussing a transaction that would have each company owning half of the new entity.

The White Stripes are denying reports about their imminent demise. Mojo magazine and other British publications have quoted Jack White as saying the band will release one more album and then break up. White said he “never made a statement like ‘Elephant is our last record’ or ‘The one after Elephant is the last record.’ That’s stupid. It was actually Mojo magazine misquoting us, which is surprising because they are usually on the ball. I only said that the band isn’t going to last forever, and that maybe we’d just do a couple more albums and that would be it.… Read more »

In a pairing that would alter the architecture of the music business, Apple Computer Inc. is in talks with Vivendi Universal to buy Universal Music Group, the world’s largest record company, for as much as $6 billion, sources said. Such a seemingly unlikely combination would instantly make technology guru Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder and chief executive, the most powerful player in the record industry. Universal, which reaps about $6 billion in sales annually from artists such as 50 Cent, Shania Twain, U2 and Luciano Pavarotti, would be controlled by a maverick who revolutionized the computer market and coined the mantra… Read more »

Lance Bass of ‘N Sync admits he feels dumb watching the contestants on “America’s Most Talented Kids.” Bass is one of the judges on the show. The singer says it’s crazy to watch three-year-old master pianists. “At three I don’t even know if I was talking. I’m having a blast with that show. I think it’s such a positive show to have on television right now and it’s doing great, so we’re very excited about that. I’m anxious to see who wins the whole thing,” Bass told AP Radio. He says he doesn’t see much of the backstage frenzy so… Read more »

The White Stripes’ much-heralded new album “Elephant” (XL Recordings) stampeded the U.K. chart on Sunday, going straight to No. 1, while “Make Luv” by Room 5 featuring Oliver Cheatham (Positiva) retained its place at the top of the singles chart. The singles survey also saw a new entry at No. 4 for Liverpool trio Atomic Kitten’s latest hit, “Love Doesn’t Have To Hurt” (Innocent/Virgin), and a No. 7 debut for Avril Lavigne’s “I’m With You” (Arista). The only other top-20 debuts were Mario’s “Just a Friend” (J) at No. 18 and “Satisfaction” by Eve (Ruff Ryders) at No. 20. Last… Read more »

He was one of the biggest rock stars in the world and she was just a little 5-year-old girl as they sat on the floor in 1969, singing and telling stories with a tape recorder running. Sounds like just a normal family activity, except the man was Beatle John Lennon and the little girl was the stepdaughter he barely knew, Kyoko Cox. In 1969 fans worried the Beatles would break up. But instead of attending the last Beatles recording session, Lennon was in Denmark with his second wife Yoko Ono. They were there to visit Ono’s ex-husband Tony Cox, an… Read more »

A flying sheep’s head hit a concertgoer and fractured his skull at a concert of metal band Mayhem. The band, part of Norway’s death metal music scene, was carving up a dead sheep as part of its stage act when the animal’s head flew off lead singer Maniac’s knife and struck Per Kristian Hagen, 25. The show was Thursday in Bergen, 487 kilometers (302 miles) west of the capital, Oslo. “My relationship to sheep is a bit ambivalent now. I like them, but not when they come flying through the air,” Hagen told The Associated Press Monday from his hospital… Read more »

A published report says Billy Joel was drinking champagne shortly before his January car crash on his native Long Island. The East Hampton Star reports that Joel told police he had had “a glass of champagne” while having dinner with two friends at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor on January 25, although he now claims not to remember the conversation. At 10:30 p.m. ET that night, Joel crashed his $100,000 Mercedes-Benz into a tree in the town, after which he spent the night in a local hospital before being discharged the following morning. Alcohol was quickly ruled out as… Read more »