Search Results for: every time i die

Pudgy and shy, 13-year-old Matt Shafer had an outlet in rap but few to really share it with – until a chance day he saw Bob Ritchie work the deejay’s turntable. “Wickie-wickie-wickie,” was how the skinny, smug 16-year-old Ritchie scratched records during a deejay contest, his baseball cap’s visor flipped up and a rapper’s clock dangling from his neck. The showman did his thing backward, even upside down. “Everything about him was cool – the way he dressed, the way he talked. I admired him, looked up to him. He was kind of like an older brother to me,” Shafer… Read more »

Influential guitarist Chet Atkins, who helped modernize country music in the 1960s, paving the way for the massive commercial force that it is today, died in Nashville Saturday. He was 77. In 1973 and in 1997, Atkins had fought both colon cancer and brain cancer, surviving a number of surgeries. Atkins, enjoyed a multi-faceted career: as a sought-after session musician for the likes of Elvis Presley and the Everly Brothers; as a prolific recording artist in his own right; and as a veteran Nashville talent scout. His discoveries included Charley Pride and Waylon Jennings. Atkins was one of the most… Read more »

It’s the kind of small moment on which rock ‘n’ roll history turns. It was Fall, 1978. The Ramones had just completed their fourth album, “Road to Ruin,” and the band felt certain it had recorded a hit single: the impossibly catchy “I Wanna Be Sedated.” But the band was overruled; label executives opted for another track, “Don’t Come Close.” That single quickly disappeared, along with the Ramones’ hit-making aspirations. “We really wanted ‘I Wanna Be Sedated,”‘ recalls guitarist Johnny Ramone. “But the record company picked the singles.” So the No. 1 hit in November 1978 instead was the fluffy… Read more »

Madonna still rocks and rules the world of pop – her sold-out Drowned World tour has set fans alight and sparked rave reviews. On the first date of the global tour two weeks ago the “Material Mom” had a capacity crowd at Barcelona’s Palau Sant Jordi at her spike-heeled feet – and she delivered. From behind the cavorting bodies of dancers, the queen of pop glided onto the stage – hailed by critics as one of her most sophisticated yet. Flying through the air on trapeze wire, riding a mechanical bull and donning a punk-inspired kilt in honor of her… Read more »

During Ozzfest’s stop Thursday in Denver, where the curious and the converted clamored equally for a view at the foot of the stage, Manson introduced two of his favorite themes – religion and government – by blaring an aorta-rumbling choral rendition of “God Bless America” through every one of Mile High Stadium’s aged speakers. Flags blazed on the video screens above the stage; fireworks and fighter jets would not have been out of place. When Manson finally did appear (sporting a flowing black gown and a “Bride of Frankenstein” wig), his hands were outstretched in a gesture that might have… Read more »

You can dismiss Blink-182 as cartoons if you like. They’re certainly not going to stop you. They even call their new album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket: Say it out loud, let your inner eighth-grader savor the cadence of the phrase. It sums up Blink-182’s wiseass brat-punk ethos almost as well as their recent live album, The Mark, Tom and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back), which featured the butt-stupidest stage banter since Kiss’ Alive! (Mark: “You can leave now and beat the traffic!” Tom: “Or you can stay and beat your meat!” – and they get paid for… Read more »

Dido, whose RIAA triple-platinum debut album NO ANGEL has just logged its 55th week on the Billboard 200 Album chart, where it remains the longest-running title inside the top 30, has embarked on her 2nd annual headlining summer tour of North America. The festival-type tour of predominately outdoor venues stars Dido, Scottish group Travis, and Icelandic songbird Emiliana Torrini on the main stage, with various others on the second stage. The itinerary began last Sunday in Vancouver and wraps at XCEL Arena in Minneapolis on July 8th. (Please see initial tour dates below, with additional dates to be announced.) While… Read more »

Having performed brief sets everywhere from the Super Bowl to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the past few months, Aerosmith finally kicked off their much-anticipated Just Push Play tour Wednesday night. The band seemed under-rehearsed at times – frontman Steven Tyler missed a cue and flubbed a few lines during “Cryin’ ” – but overall, the band hit a groove, and stuck in it. During the best parts of the show at the ctnow.com Meadows Music Center, they demonstrated why, at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Kid Rock called them “America’s Greatest… Read more »

Depeche Mode, the influential British technopop band that flourished in the 1980s, kicks off a five-month tour in Canada this week with a new album and what one founding member said is a hard-earned feeling of serenity. “It is the first time for a long, long time, in about 15 years probably, that all three members of Depeche Mode are happy and stable in their private and working lives,” keyboardist Andrew Fletcher, 39, told Reuters in an interview. “It is enjoyable to be in Depeche Mode at the moment, and I would not have said that five years ago.” Fletcher,… Read more »

Duet – a joint venture between music giants Vivendi Universal and Sony Corp – has quietly been lining up new leadership and negotiating with potential partners, including Microsoft Corp., sources close to the venture said Friday. Although rival online music service MusicNet stole the spotlight this week by striking a licensing deal with song-swap company Napster, Duet is expected to announce the appointment of Andy Schuon to head the year-old venture, a move that could come as early as next week, the sources said. Vivendi Universaland Sony Corpboth declined to comment on the expected appointment or on whether they are… Read more »