Search Results for: sting

“PRETTY. ODD.,” the eagerly awaited sophomore album from Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen recording group Panic At The Disco, has made a stellar debut on this week’s SoundScan/Billboard 200 album chart. The critically acclaimed collection enters in the #2 spot with sales of 139,000. “PRETTY. ODD.” — which follows the Las Vegas-based band’s RIAA platinum-certified 2005 debut, “A FEVER YOU CAN’T SWEAT OUT” — debuted at #1 on SoundScan’s “Current Alternative Albums” chart and #2 on the “Digital Albums” chart. In addition, “PRETTY. ODD.” debuted at #2 in the UK, Canada, and Mexico, with top 10 debuts in New Zealand, Austria, and… Read more »

The personal assistant charged in the beating death of real estate agent and punk rock pioneer Linda Stein was denied bail Wednesday even though the defense argued new DNA evidence justified it. Stein’s blood was spattered around her Manhattan penthouse after she was bludgeoned to death in October, but not a drop was found on the clothes of Natavia Lowery, 26, who is charged with second-degree murder, her attorney said. Male DNA also was mingled with Stein’s blood in a bathroom sink – suggesting her killer was a man, not the female assistant, Ronald Kuby argued while about 100 people… Read more »

Michael Roberts: For all of the articles that have been written about you guys, very few of them have very much biographical information. It’s as if you were born at Columbia when you were twenty. So I thought I’d try getting some actual facts. Where are you from originally? Ezra Koenig: Well, originally, I was born in New York. My parents lived on the Upper West Side. But I have no memory of living here, because I almost totally grew up in Northern New Jersey, in the suburbs of New York. MR: Tell me about your parents. What jobs did… Read more »

Arthur C. Clarke, a visionary science fiction writer who won worldwide acclaim with more than 100 books on space, science and the future, died Wednesday in his adopted home of Sri Lanka, an aide said. He was 90. Clarke, who had battled debilitating post-polio syndrome since the 1960s and sometimes used a wheelchair, died at 1:30 a.m. local time after suffering breathing problems, aide Rohan De Silva told The Associated Press. Clarke was regarded as a technological seer as well as a science-fiction writer, and was known as “the godfather of the telecommunications satellite.” His most famous novel, “2001: A… Read more »

Amy Winehouse has been offered $1 million to perform live at the forthcoming celebrity party at the Metropolitan Museum Of Art Costume Institute in New York on May 5. According to the Daily Mirror, Giorgio Armani, who is hosting the bash, asked George Clooney and Julia Roberts to help sign up Winehouse, who is said to be “seriously considering” the offer. According to the newspaper, Armani wishes to use the opportunity to build a relationship with Winehouse for possible future work. “Giorgio has made no secret to his friends that he would love to work with Amy,” an anonymous source… Read more »

You’ll usually find R.E.M. playing arenas and esteemed concert halls. But this week, the rock hall of famers were among the acts trying to catch a break and artists looking to build their audience at the sprawling South by Southwest music festival. The multiplatinum rockers played Stubbs BBQ shortly after midnight Wednesday before an energetic crowd of a couple thousand, marking the first time they’ve played the annual extravaganza in their nearly three-decade career. But it’s hardly a downgrade: Playing a showcase at SXSW has often been a way for a veteran act to make a big splash with a… Read more »

Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz is opening a punk-themed unisex beauty parlor in Chicago, according to the New York Daily News. Wentz will call it The Clandestine Industries salon. Head stylist Ben Mollin from Bravo’s “Shear Genius” is already booking appointments, but the first snips won’t happen until the hair cuttery opens in April. This isn’t the first time Wentz has branched out beyond the music industry. He has his own fashion line – Clandestine Industries Clothing (coming soon to your local Nordstrom) – and opened the Angels and Kings bar, in New York, last April with friends Gym Class… Read more »

XM Satellite Radio is partnering with Apple to make XM’s programming available on iPods, according to CEO Nate Davis, who revealed their cooperation while discussing the company’s fourth-quarter results last week. Although Davis said he “wouldn’t call it a strategic relationship,” XM began podcasting content in December, and two XM podcasts are already listed in iTunes’ top 10 podcasts. XM is now working with Apple to make XM content accessible via iTunes. This new distribution plan is part of a broader push to promote XM and recruit subscribers via online channels, at the expense of broadcast and physical retail, which… Read more »

Amid ongoing competitive pressure from Facebook, MySpace is taking its latest shot at entering the music business as other social networking peers, such as Last.fm and imeem, are making big audience gains with ad-supported music offerings. According to sources, MySpace is planning a service that would combine free ad-supported music listening with paid MP3 downloads and music subscriptions. MySpace parent company News Corp. has approached the major labels about forming a joint-venture music site, similar to its partnership with the major Hollywood studios for video site hulu.com. The new service would be operated by MySpace and seemingly be positioned to… Read more »