Search Results for: extreme

The year 1954 was full of pop culture benchmarks. Elvis Presley recorded his first single, the Miss America pageant was televised for the first time, Ernest Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for “The Old Man and the Sea.” And in a small factory in Fullerton, California, an inventor named Leo Fender created his Stratocaster. If the general public overlooked that last milestone, musicians do not. In fact, for many it’s a pivotal event. “Who knows how many different designs they’ve used to imitate and top it and nobody’s come close,” says Nils Lofgren, guitarist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band.… Read more »

Time Warner Inc.’s $2.6 billion sale of Warner Music Group to an investor group led by former Universal media conglomerate chief Edgar Bronfman Jr. was completed Monday, and the newly formed independent music company began an anticipated wave of cuts by ousting three high-ranking label executives, sources said. Atlantic Records co-chairman Val Azzoli and president Ron Shapiro stepped down, as did Elektra Records chief executive Sylvia Rhone, a source close to the company said on condition of anonymity. Rhone had been at Warner for at least a decade. Azzoli and Shapiro had also been with the company for several years.… Read more »

Japanese electronics and entertainment company Sony Corp. has canceled the planned sale this spring in Japan of two portable MP3 digital music players because of problems with the built-in FM radio tuners, the company said Monday. The AZ-FS256 and AZ-FS1 players were announced last month with great fanfare as part of the company’s effort to overhaul its Aiwa brand name. The FM tuners did not function properly with the other digital music functions, Sony said. “It is extremely regrettable that this product could not go on sale, and we are very sorry this happened about a product we had announced,”… Read more »

Two weeks after the Super Bowl, it’s already hard to remember the final score and who played. But Janet Jackson’s breast has taken on a life of its own. As shocking – shocking! – as the nation’s collective horror was over the episode, the script for this stunt was written long ago. You may recall: The year was 1958; it was Steve McQueen’s memorable movie debut. Still need another hint? It almost ate an entire town. That’s right, “The Blob.” A gigantic, gooey mass roars to earth from outer space and proceeds to terrorize Smalltown, USA, a hamlet filled with… Read more »

Due to the controversy caused by the Justin Timberlake-Janet Jackson boobgate, the NFL has decided to cancel a halftime performance by Timberlake’s fellow ‘N Syncer, J.C. Chasez, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed to E!. Chasez had reportedly planned to perform “Blowin’ Me Up (With Her Love) during halftime of the NFL Pro Bowl this weekend. The song was featured on the soundtrack for 2002’s Drumline-which was rated for the record, a staid PG-13. However, still smarting from the R-rated Super Bowl festivities, the NFL has decided to steer clear of any potential for further embarrassment. “We thought it was over… Read more »

Paul Simon has signed a worldwide agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) that covers his catalog and future work. The multi-year deal, which went into effect Jan. 1, calls for UMPG to administer his catalog and new songs worldwide except in North America, where the material will continue to be handled by Paul Simon Music. Additionally, UMPG will represent Simon’s work globally, including the U.S. and Canada, for synchronization opportunities in TV, film and advertising. Simon was previously with Warner/Chappell. The 300-song catalog includes many modern-day pop classics penned by Simon as part of Simon & Garfunkel and as… Read more »

Hot off the heels of two platinum albums and a sold out US tour, the members of R&B/Hip-Hop super-group B2K have parted ways. B2K’s Omarion, Lil Fizz, J-Boog and Raz have broken up after six years together. B2K’s hit singles include “Bump, Bump Bump” featuring Sean “Puffy” Combs, “Girlfriend” and “Gots Ta Be.” The group has received a bevy of awards, nominations and accolades including American Music Awards, MTV, BET, Billboard Music and Soul Train Award wins and nominations. Rumors have been speculating a breakup inside the B2K camp for some time now. Disagreements amongst the quartet are the reason… Read more »

The future of the music industry is being held, quite literally, in the palm of a twentysomething’s hand. Not the “business” side of the music industry – you know, the folks you’ve perhaps heard weeping into their bowls of caviar over the 31 percent decrease in album sales over the course of the past year, a downturn the suits pin on the advent of digital music downloading and CD burning. No, the “art” side of music business is being forceably changed. Artists are either coming to terms with changes in the ways their music is distributed – or doggedly railing… Read more »

A little time in rehab is better than a little time in jail. Courtney Love, who has been in entertainment headlines regularly over the last couple of months, has been in a drug and substance rehabilitation centre for the last two weeks, according to her lawyer. Ron Fischetti told MTV.com that Love had been staying at Wavelengths – a live-in center that has aided stars with drug and alcohol problems (including actor Robert Downey Jr.) – since November 21 and was doing “extremely well.” In early October, Love was arrested for being “under the influence of a controlled substance” (read… Read more »

What do you get when you put a couple of pop-punk guys together with a few near-legendary dudes from New York’s underground hardcore scene? You get Hazen Street, a hard-edged but catchy, two-singer-fronted band that has become the first act to be signed to Benji and Joel Madden’s D.C. Flag imprint. The signing of Hazen Street is neither a leg up to a buddy band nor an attempt to cash in on a current trend. For the brothers who call Good Charlotte their day job, putting out the new supergroup’s debut is a chance to show some love to the… Read more »