Search Results for: progressive

Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong has hinted that their forthcoming new Butch Vig-produced album could take a “powerpop” direction. The frontman did not reveal song titles or details of the songs they are currently working on in the studio, but name-checked the Creation, the Who, the Beatles , Cheap Trick , and the Jam as possible influences. “I really like f–king with arrangements,” Armstrong told Alternative Press Magazine. “I always try to look at the possibilities of how you write powerpop music. “How do you take something–and it could be anything from the Creation and the Who to the Beatles… Read more »

The first time Arcade Fire performed in Paris, Mathieu Saura stood outside the venue with his girlfriend, holding up a sign that read, “Please, we want to come to the show.” The band’s bassist, Richard Reed Perry, got them in, and ever since, Saura might as well have not left. Under the name Vincent Moon, he’s gone from a fan begging for tickets to an in-demand filmmaker who has revolutionized music video. His films are stripped down, intimate videotaped performances – shot in one take, often of an act simply strolling down a street or playing in a parking lot.… Read more »

The dream of many kids learning to play guitar or prancing in front of a mirror with a faux microphone is to play in front of a sold out crowd singing along to their songs and chanting their name; Linkin Park has lived their dreams and then some. After a very successful Projekt Revolution tour this past summer, the band was back out on the road with an arena tour bringing Chiodos and Coheed & Cambria along for the ride. For the near sold-out crowd in Baltimore on February 19th, it was a rock show to remember. Probably one of… Read more »

A revolutionary plan that would effectively legitimize file-sharing here has been slammed as “a pipe dream” by Canadian labels. The Songwriters Assn. of Canada proposes to allow domestic consumers access to all recorded music available online in return for adding a $5 Canadian ($4.96) monthly fee to every wireless and Internet account in the country. The SAC claims that the proposal, which has been presented to labels’ bodies the Canadian Record Industry Assn. (CRIA) and Canadian Independent Record Production Assn. as well as publishers’ groups, would raise approximately $1 billion Canadian ($993 million) annually. Although the SAC does not detail… Read more »

MySpace (http://www.myspace.com) today announced the launch of “MySpace Transmissions” (http://www.myspace.com/transmissions), a music program that empowers top recording artists with a new platform to create and distribute exclusive video content available for viral distribution and audio tracks available for purchase in the U.S. MySpace Transmissions underscores the company’s commitment to building unique music programming and business models that benefit labels, bands, and fans.MySpace Transmissions brings the online community behind the scenes and into the recording studio with a top artist to capture a private recording session for the MySpace community and shoot an exclusive video Q&A with the artist. The new… Read more »

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 »

Last month, when the Dillinger Escape Plan revealed that founding drummer Chris Pennie had left the highly technical mathcore outfit to join progressive rockers Coheed and Cambria, no one wanted to believe it. The surprise move baffled the band’s allegiant fans almost as much as it confused the Dillinger dudes, who started to wonder if Pennie had been fostering some strange, secret obsession with unicorns and minotaurs.”We found out about him playing with Coheed on the Internet,” explained guitarist Ben Weinman. “[Frontman] Greg [Puciato] forwarded me a link to an announcement, and I’m like, ‘What?!?’ At that point, though, he… Read more »

After launching a brand partnership to support non-commercial radio at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, TX, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS) and Urban Outfitters (URBN) announced some of the 13 bands who will make the upcoming “Free Yr Radio” Tour. “Free Yr Radio” is a series of free, in-store performances by some of the biggest indie music names at Urban Outfitters locations across the country. The tour, part of the multi-phased “Free Yr Radio” campaign that will channel much-needed funding to participating independent radio stations, kicks off April 15th at the Chicago Urban Outfitters with a… Read more »

Rick Rubin never having won the Producer of the Year Grammy was the musical equivalent of Martin Scorsese never having won the best-director Oscar. And on Sunday, two weeks before Scorsese is expected to finally get his prize, Rubin was at last honored – and then honored again and again and again. In the end, Rubin walked away (not literally – he did not attend) with five Grammys: for Producer of the Year; Album of the Year and Country Album of the Year for the Dixie Chicks’ Taking the Long Way; Record of the Year for the Chicks’ “Not Ready… Read more »

With Sting’s simple “Ladies and gentlemen, we are the Police,” one of the most iconic bands of the last 30 years ended a long absence from live performing to launch the 49th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night. Blasting off with the unmistakable, reggae-fied “Roxanne” riff from guitarist Andy Summers and the hard jazz drumming of Stewart Copeland, the Police lived up to their top billing on the show, providing a spirited kickoff to one of the most anticipated reunions in a year full of get-backs. With a buff-if-balding Sting in fine form and voice, the trio’s homage to a… Read more »