Search Results for: the summer set

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame swung open its doors Monday night to the latest batch of acts ticketed for music immortality, with the Georgia alt-rock icons and the dysfunctional Pasadena party band leading the way. They were joined by ’70s punk pioneer Patti Smith, ’60s girl group the Ronettes and the first hip-hop act to crash the party, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. The 22nd annual induction ceremony–which per tradition was held at New York City’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel–felt like an I Love the ’80 special, thanks to its two biggest inductees. R.E.M. received a warm introduction… Read more »

On May 15, Linkin Park will unleash Minutes to Midnight, their much-anticipated follow-up to 2003’s Meteora. And though the album has been in the works for nearly four years now, it’s actually based on a concept that’s much, much older – and much, much creepier than you might expect. “The title is a reference to the Doomsday Clock, which was created by these scientists at the University of Chicago after the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Japan to end World War II,” Linkin Park co-frontman Chester Bennington explained. “Given the idea that mankind now had this ultimate destructive… Read more »

Britney Spears is certainly not the first celebrity to go off the rails in full view of her once-adoring public. But hers is one of the most spectacular falls from grace in recent memory, meticulously documented by paparazzi and bystanders, and uploaded instantly for the titillation of the masses. At 25 she’s certainly young enough to resume her career after she regroups, and for perspective, we’ve compiled some of the most notorious celebrity flameouts of the past 10 years, along with the success (or not) of their efforts to get back on track. We’ve rated these 1-4 in ascending order… Read more »

Gwen Stefani says she can’t wait to reform with her No Doubt bandmates, and hopes to have an album out by summer 2008. The pop singer has spent recent months promoting her second solo set “The Sweet Escape”, and heads out on tour over the summer before giving birth to her second child. And after a busy year, Stefani plans to keep the momentum up with a return to pop-rockers No Doubt. “I got an idea in my head about what we could do and now that’s all I can think about – doing a No Doubt record,” She tells… 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 »

WEST HOLLYWOOD, California – When he was once asked, “Can you ever conceive of a circumstance in which the Police would do a reunion tour?,” Sting replied, “I think that’d be a good cause to have me certified insane.” So … “Yes, I am certifiably insane,” Sting joked Monday (February 12) at the Whiskey a Go Go after the above sound bite was played to begin a packed press conference announcing a Police reunion tour. “If anyone comes at me with white coats, just let them through.” More than 20 years after the Police last toured – behind 1983’s massively… 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 »

The Smashing Pumpkins have christened their reunion album “Zeitgeist” and announced an unusual release date of July 7, a Saturday, for the project, which willl be issued by Reprise. The news was broken this morning to fans that had been added by the band as a “friend” on MySpace.com. However, a Reprise spokesperson tells Billboard.com the label has yet to settle on a specific release date for the album beyond “summer.” Frontman Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin are the lone original members in this new incarnation of the group. The pair has been working in the studio with producers… Read more »

Geneva, NY-based crossover rap/rock group Gym Class Hero’s are here to put fun back into hip-hop. As frontman Travis McCoy reveals, we couldn’t agree more; “Everybody takes themselves so seriously, it’s become a fashion show more or less. We want the vibe to be as fun as possible.” It’s hard to imagine anything less fun than their new single “Cupid’s Chokehold”, set for it’s UK release this month (February 12th) after already burning up across North America. The band have even catapulted themselves from relative newcomers to serious U.S. chart contenders with the cut – currently being featured atop MTV’s… Read more »

When Jonathan Davis refers to having the terrible twos behind him, it’s not a parenting reference. (His son, Pirate, will actually turn 2 in March.) “We always say that, musically, our 20s are the terrible twos,” the Korn singer explained. “When you are 20 you do the stupidest stuff to your body, you’re close-minded, you’re like a 2-year-old – just grown up and can drink. Once we hit 30, we started really playing the stuff that opened our minds up.” It’s with that open mind that the 36-year-old Davis was able to envision his metal band playing a 14-song acoustic… Read more »