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They’ve been called weirdoes, freaks and Satanists. Animal Collective’s otherworldly song structures, deconstructed harmonies and tribal rhythms aren’t always met with receptive ears, but there might not be a more progressive band in indie music. With two of the best-reviewed albums of the year – the band’s new “Strawberry Jam” and the solo disc by keyboardist Panda Bear, “Person Pitch” – Animal Collective has established itself as an act wildly separate from the many retro-oriented bands that populate today’s scene. The sound of the future, the psychedelic band acknowledges, is something they seek. “That’s kind of always been a goal,… Read more »

The world was treated to “Gimme More” this summer. But Perez Hilton may have given his readers too much, too soon. Zomba Recording LLC, which is owned by Sony BMG, filed a federal copyright-infringement lawsuit Thursday against the online gossip purveyor, saying that over the past three months he illegally posted at least 10 new Britney Spears tracks, both completed cuts and unfinished demos, on perezhilton.com. “The unauthorized dissemination of recordings is a serious violation of copyright law,” said a Zomba spokesperson. “In addition, posting demos and unfinished songs as if they were final versions is grossly unfair to the… Read more »

The British music Web site Gigwise is reporting that Radiohead has sold 1.2 million digital copies of its latest album, “In Rainbows,” since sales began on Tuesday. If true (and that might be a big “if”; see below), the number would be a blow-out, suggesting the wisdom of the band’s decision to sell its wares directly to fans without the aid of a record label. The figure dwarfs first-week sales of Radiohead’s recent studio albums. “Hail to the Thief,” released in 2003, racked up 300,000 sales in its first week; “Amnesiac” managed 231,000 copies in 2001; and “Kid A” hit… Read more »

Bruce Springsteen was back in familiar territory with a rehearsal show Monday night in the city that has become known worldwide through his songs. The show at the oceanfront Convention Hall was the first of two benefit rehearsals for Springsteen and the E Street Band, who are about to embark on their first tour together in four years. They will also play Tuesday night, and a third rehearsal concert has been added for Friday at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford. Springsteen and the band opened up with “Radio Nowhere,” a song from their new album. “We’re going to run… Read more »

Is GirlFrenzy more like a GirlFizzle? The one-off daylong music festival, set to take place in October and feature an all-estrogen lineup of singers, has been indefinitely postponed, without so much as an explanation to fans or performers. “Right Arm Entertainment and Live Nation have postponed the first annual GirlFrenzy,” read an announcement on the concert’s official site. The promoters said the show would be rescheduled sometime for 2008. Among the topliners slated to appear at the show, which was supposed to take place Oct. 27 in Irvine, California, were Sheryl Crow, Avril Lavigne, Fiona Apple, Miranda Lambert, MySpace stalwart… Read more »

Warner Music Group Chief Executive Edgar Bronfman on Tuesday raised the possibility of selling digital music without copy protection, in what appeared to be a softening of his previous outright opposition. Bronfman told an investor conference that while he did not see a world without digital rights management (DRM), there was a possibility of certain business models working without DRM software, which prevents music fans from sharing songs. “DRM is here to stay, whether it’s here to stay on every business model in the music business is open to question,” he said at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference. Bronfman has… Read more »

The U.S. music industry is becoming more open-minded about working with online music stores from the tiniest start-up to Amazon.com, hoping to boost digital music sales and erode the dominance of Apple Inc’s iTunes. U.S. music companies, once paranoid about the wide-scale piracy enabled by Web-based companies like Napster and KaZaa, are now embracing new business models such as giving away free song downloads. Their goal is: to increase digital revenue as CD sales drop more sharply than anticipated; and to create alternatives to iTunes to boost their negotiating power against Apple when licensing contracts are renewed. “Any viable music… Read more »

Nikki Sixx made history this past Thursday, September 6th, when he was recognized as the first member of the rock world to speak on Capitol Hill for NAADAC’s 18th Annual National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month luncheon. Senators and Congressmen waited in line to meet with Nikki and show their appreciation for his enormous efforts on drug and alcohol awareness. Tune in to VH1 News and VH1 Classic to see the video footage of Nikki Sixx from Capitol Hill this Thursday, September 13. Nikki Sixx begins his journey of advocating to the youth of today, all and sundry, with… Read more »

I thought about being nicer in the title of the article, but it is simply the truth. MTV tried to re-invent the awards show this year and managed to make it worse. The VMAs were moved to Las Vegas this year to try to add some new flavor to the beleaguered show. The idea was to have bands hosting parties in different rooms at the Palms. The show would cut between the main stage where presentations were made and the party rooms. Fall Out Boy, Kanye West, Foofighters and others performed from the parties. That was the best part of… Read more »

Hilly Kristal, the founder of New York punk rock club CBGB, which helped make the Ramones, Blondie and Talking Heads stars, has died at age 75, his daughter said on Wednesday. Kristal died on Tuesday from complications of lung cancer, his daughter, Lisa Kristal Burgman, said. He founded the club in 1973 hoping to showcase country music, calling it CBGB & OMFUG, for “Country, Bluegrass, Blues and Other Music For Uplifting Gourmandizers.” But the club drew few country acts and instead became a breeding ground for punk rock, playing host to the likes of Patti Smith, Television, Living Colour as… Read more »