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As first tipped here last week, Aerosmith has been selected as the second mtvICON honoree in celebration of its nearly 30-year career. As with last year’s tribute to Janet Jackson, Aerosmith’s songs will be performed by a host of other acts, including Kid Rock, Train, and Pink, who is expected to cover the group’s 1989 No. 4 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Janie’s Got a Gun.” The event will tape April 14 in Los Angeles and air three days later on MTV. Jackson herself will offer a “testimonal” at the outset of the broadcast, while Aerosmith will take the stage for… Read more »

With a platinum debut album on their resume, Chicago nü-metal powerhouse Disturbed could have hired almost anyone to produce their second disc. Instead, they returned to Johnny K, who worked on the band’s 2000 LP, The Sickness. Disturbed entered the K’s Groovemaster Studios in Chicago last weekend to begin recording their second album, Believe, which is scheduled for release in September, the band’s publicist said. The record will include “Prayer,” which the band premiered on last year’s Ozzfest, and about 10 other songs that were mostly written since November. Once the album is completed, knob-twisting guru Andy Wallace (System of… Read more »

Billy Joel and Elton John postponed the remaining stops on their Face to Face tour Monday. The dates affected stretch through April 11th, and include the pair’s second show at Madison Square Garden – originally scheduled for last night – four nights at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, three in New Jersey and one in Boston. Those shows, as well as a previously postponed date in Tampa, Florida, will be rescheduled for “the earliest appropriate time,” according to Joel’s Web site. According to the post, doctors diagnosed Joel with “acute laryngitis, inflamed vocal chords and an acute upper respiratory… Read more »

So after copping hot wheels that make hearts drop, a crib so plush that even haters have to salute, and enough ice to bring the room temperature down a couple of degrees, what does a multiplatinum rapper do to show he has his floss game down pat? How about spending enough dough to not only be the talk of the town, but to own it? It was exactly that aspiration that led to the title of Nelly’s next album. “I was riding right up by St. Peters, Missouri,” he said last week before a studio session with the Neptunes in… Read more »

They represented the anti-establishment, so it was a bit odd to see the Ramones so happy to become part of the music establishment as members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But for the remaining members of the punk rock originators – whose lead singer, Joey Ramone, died last year – Monday night’s induction at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel represented long-overdue respect for the band that helped revolutionize rock with their rapid-fire, guitar-heavy songs. “I’d like to congratulate myself, and thank myself, and give myself a big pat on the back,” joked Dee Dee Ramone. “Thank you Dee Dee,… Read more »

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame welcomed its first members from the new wave and punk eras on Monday night, inducting The Ramones and Talking Heads along with classic rockers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, soul and R&B icon Isaac Hayes, versatile vocalist Brenda Lee and singer/songwriter Gene Pitney. Legendary guitar sideman Chet Atkins was also inducted, as was Jim Stewart, founder of and driving force behind revolutionary soul music label Stax Records. The hall’s 17th annual induction ceremony got off to a rousing start with Hayes performing his Oscar-winning “Theme from ‘Shaft.”‘ Hayes, who saw eight of his… Read more »

Former Backstreet Boys keyboardist-songwriter Tommy Smith filed a lawsuit against the group, the members’ individually owned and operated personal music-publishing companies, and Zomba Enterprises, Inc. in the United States District Court Central District Of California on Friday (March 15). The lawsuit stems from an ongoing dispute between Smith and the Backstreet Boys about credit for songs Smith claims that he co-wrote for the group’s last Jive Records album, Black & Blue (released November 21, 2000). The songs in question are “The Answer To Our Life” and “Time,” according to the court papers. In the suit, Smith claims that he wrote… Read more »

They’ve been absent from the scene for a while, and after the release of Fieldy’s album Rock N Roll Gangster in January, some folks might be wondering what’s up with Korn. Well, the band wants everyone to know it’s here to stay. Having just completed a seven-date invasion of Mexico and South America with Static-X, Korn will return to North America to conquer their native land. The group’s summer tour begins in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on June 20, nine days after Korn release their fifth record, Untouchables, and the first 15 dates are centered around the East Coast and the Midwest.… Read more »

‘Pop Idol’ Will Young has announced he is gay, and said he has never hidden his sexuality. The 23-year-old singer, whose first record became the fastest-selling debut single in UK history, said he was very comfortable with his sexuality. In an interview with the News of the World, the former drama student said: “I feel it’s time to tell my fans I’m gay.” “It’s totally no big deal, just part of who I am. For me it’s normal and nothing to be ashamed about. I’m gay and I’m comfortable with that. I really don’t know what the fuss is about.… Read more »

South by Southwest, Austin’s annual music conference that usually showcases the best new artists coming down the pike, kicked off, oddly enough, with a plea to go back. The call came from Robbie Robertson. The onetime leader of the Band expressed mild alarm at the state of the music business during his keynote address Thursday morning. Go back, he suggested, to that first moment of musical discovery. “Music took us on a journey, and we’re still on that journey,” he told a packed ballroom at the Austin Convention Center, noting that his own first impressions came during childhood visits to… Read more »