 Tickets go on sale today for this year’s Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans October 26, 27 and 28 at City Park. Fall Out Boy, Plain White T’s, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Kings of Leon and more will join co-headliners Smashing Pumpkins and Rage Against the Machine for the three-day event. Bon Jovi’s new Lost Highway album has been practically an overnight success, but so far the band only has plans to play in its home state this year. The band will be performing at Newark’s The Rock Well from October 25 through November 10. For more information, please visit www.bonjoviaeglive.com. Morrissey had to cancel tour dates due to a throat infection in Philadelphia and Northampton, Massachusetts, but the former Smiths lead singer will resume his tour tomorrow night in New York City. Anyone in Nigeria or vacationing there (isn’t it hot enough here in the States?) can catch a cool lineup at the THISDAY Festival on July 14 and 15 in Lagos. Artists on the bill include Rihanna, Shakira, John Legend, Kelly Rowland, Ne-Yo and UB-40. Editors have announced North American tour dates in support of their new album, An End Has a Start, beginning September 4 in Washington, D.C. Dates are (more…) |
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…let’s not forget that a couple of them actually managed to pull together some pretty enjoyable solo singles. Melanie C (with Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes), “Never Be The Same Again”: Emma Bunton, “What Took You So Long” Geri Halliwell, “Look At Me” (I’d love to also post videos from Victoria Beckham and Melanie Brown, but, frankly, I’m just not a very big fan of their material.) |
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Attaboy, Louie! We always knew you were slimy underneath it all. Former boy band Svengali Lou Pearlman has been indicted on three counts of bank fraud, and one count each of mail and wire fraud. Allegedly Pearlman defrauded 1000 or so investors out of $315 million. Not only that, but various banks are claiming he owes them around $120 million. It’s a great day for Lou, and an even greater day for those of us who never liked the boy band schlock he was seducing the media with for way too long. |
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The once-beautiful Nico now reduced to a strung out junkie performing The Velvet Underground’s “All Tomorrow’s Parties.”
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“We Close Our Eyes” from 1985. I remember buying the band’s great debut album the same day I bought Madonna’s Like a Virgin - at the local Wal-Mart, no less. Ah yes, Go West on vinyl and Madge on cassette. I believe I originally saw this video on Nickelodeon’s “Nick Rocks.” Good times.
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To prep you for our upcoming interview with Tom Jones, here are a few of the man’s performances to get you, shall we say, in the mood. First, let’s start with a live performance…his last-ever for the late, great “Top of the Pops”…of his 2006 collaboration with Chicane, “Stoned in Love”: Here are a few videos you may or may not have seen… …as well as a few covers you might not have heard him perform… “St. James Infirmary” (with Jools Holland on piano) …but, of course, we must close with an all-time classic, which sounds almost as good in 2007 as it did when he recorded it in 1965: Filed under: Rock and Pop and Jazz and Concerts and Songs and Artists and Blues and Videos Comments: None |
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After a short 21-year break, The Police are touring again, and Thursday night they stopped at the Honda Center in Anaheim, the second of three Southern California dates. Though there was no official split, Sting left the band all those years ago to pursue a solo career, but it’s safe to say that his creative output in the five years with the band meets (or exceeds) his 16-year output as a solo artist. Even at 56 years old, his voice still sounds smooth, especially considering that the band played Staples Center the night before. The set list played like a greatest hits compilation with a few lesser-known songs – such as “Next to You” and “The Bed’s Too Big Without You” – sprinkled in for good measure. The highlight of the night was “So Lonely,” a Outlandos d’Amour single that was left off the band’s first (and most well known) compilation, Every Breath You Take: The Singles. Andy Summers’ guitar work was solid, even if the minute-long solos seem a little dated given the current musical trends. But drummer Stewart Copeland, the backbone of the band, played with so much passion and ferocity that it looked like he had been locked in his basement playing Police songs for the last two and a half decades. He is one of rock’s underrated drummers so it’s good to see him playing in front of big crowds once again. As well as they work as a duo, the two guitarists don’t seem to actually enjoy playing together. Twice, as Summers worked on a solo, Sting came over to play with him and the resulting camaraderie seemed forced at best. There were a couple of rough transitions from one part of a song to the another, so it’s clear that the trio doesn’t have all the kinks worked out quite yet. These were noticeable, but not distracting. Ticket prices are pretty steep, but given the set list, the show is a solid value. The truce seems fragile, so fans better act quickly. |
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The ESPY Awards, which will air July 15 on ESPN, intends to feature musical performances by Common, Macy Gray and Rocco Deluca. The show will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and LeBron James. Rumors are rampant about a Spice Girls reunion, and E! Online Planet Gossip is now reporting that a reunion could turn into a six-month run in Las Vegas. Stay tuned…. Christina Aguilera’s tour kicked off this past week in Japan, and she will continue touring in support of the Back To Basics album throughout Korea, China, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, with the tour wrapping up August 3. The annual Street Scene Festival is set for September 22 in San Diego, and the lineup includes many buzz bands such as The Killers, Panic! At the Disco, Arctic Monkeys, Muse, Social Distortion, and The Academy Is. Tickets go on sale tomorrow. Kelly Clarkson’s tour was postponed last week, the same week she fired her manager. While no replacement dates have been scheduled, word is that American Idol has offered Clarkson a guest spot on their summer tour featuring Season 6 finalists. Amy Winehouse has announced her fall North American tour dates, kicking off August 4 in Washington DC. The dates so far (more…) Filed under: Rock and Pop and Alternative and Hip Hop and Country and Concerts and American Idol Comments: None |
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Do they need money? Or is just attention? Who knows? But The Spice Girls have announced that they’ll be making another announcement next week, leading some to speculate that they will be getting back together. Now I’m not here to bash; I actually enjoyed many of the tunes on the Girls’ first two albums (didn’t come along for the ride after Geri split for that third one). Besides, this is something commercially and artistically viable, unlike, say, The Who’s “comeback” which was about as exciting as watching cheese age. |
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Where do washed up, has-been American Idol contestants go? Straight into the crapper, of course. So it should come as no surprise that Constantine has recently been moonlighting on the soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful.” Christ, this stuff is bad. But let me let him prove that to you.
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I like a bit of The Beach Boys’ work as much as the next guy and own all their ’60s output, save for the Christmas album, and a couple of the ’70s albums. But these guys have always had a habit of putting some downright awful crap on their albums, be they at their peak or in the gutter. Here is a hastily assembled list of 10 Beach Boys songs taken from the albums I do have that I think are pretty damn super-lame. No long annotation here, just the list. Discuss it if you like. There are in no way ranked as they are all equally craptastic to my ears. “County Fair” It should be noted that the early Boys albums are littered with such dreck as “Our Favorite Recording Sessions” and “Cassius Clay vs. Sonny Liston.” Sad that even at that point they had to junk up their LPs with completely useless tracks. |
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Promo clip for Captain Beefheart album of the same name. Dig it, kids.
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Classic “Electricity” video. Drummer John French would become an integral figure in the musical creation of Trout Mask Replica. Guitarist Jeff Cotton (on the left) was always incredible as well.
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Title: Gone! Side 1:
“Main Title,” James Horner (Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Over the years, I’ve gotten less and less apologetic about declaring “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” to be my favorite film of all time; accordingly, I barely cringed at all when I recognized the initial strains of James Horner’s score for the film’s main title sequence. Not that I didn’t enjoy hearing it; I just immediately thought, “Oh, God, I’ve got to explain why I put it on here.” But then I realized that, no, actually, I don’t have to explain a goddamned thing. I love this score. Somehow, however, this disc managed to get purged from my CD collection, but hearing this track again makes me want to buy it back.
“That’s The Way It Stays,” Little America (Little America) I know this was released on Geffen Records, but I always got the impression that the band’s success was rather regional. I don’t know that I ever heard their songs on the radio or saw videos for them; I just know that one of my oldest friends, Jeff Castelloe, forced their music down my throat while I was working music retail, which is how I came to hear them and learn to love them. And what’s not to love, really? It’s just good, catchy pop-rock with a bit of jangle. (And, yes, that IS a scan of the cassette rather than the CD; ever since they reissued the band’s two albums as a 2-fer, you can’t find a decent .jpg of the self-titled debut by itself.)
“Never Will Forget You,” The Candy Skins (Space I’m In) These guys just couldn’t make a wrong move, as far as I was concerned…I’ve got every album they put out, and I enjoy them all…but it was this debut that sold me on them. It’s really one of those records where every song had the potential to be a hit single, if only the right people had been listening. Unfortunately, they weren’t. But at least the cool people were. And that’s why we covered them in our list of The Best Albums You’ve Never, Ever Heard (Well, Probably Not, Anyway). Filed under: Rock and Pop and Alternative and Lost Bands and Songs and Artists and External Music and Flashback Friday Comments: 1 Comment |
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Kelly Clarkson’s summer tour has been postponed before it even started. Clarkson fired her management earlier this week, and with ticket sales for the tour not being what they should have been, her reps are looking to re-book another tour at smaller venues. Ouch. If an artist of Clarkson’s magnitude is having trouble moving tickets, it just goes to show you how difficult it is to compete for anyone’s entertainment dollar these days. Her new album, My December, is due out on June 26, so don’t expect it to take long for Clarkson’s peeps to have new tour dates in place. Australian rockers Silverchair hasn’t toured the US in almost ten years, but their latest album, Young Modern, has gone double platinum Down Under, prompting a return here. The tour kicks off in San Diego on July 13 and runs through August 5 in Minneapolis. Bon Jovi is having special guests perform with them on their MTV Unplugged series, and the first official guest announced is the All-American Rejects. Nick Wheeler of All-American Rejects had this to say about the event: “Holy Crap!” Justin Timberlake will be joined by rock band Good Charlotte this summer for an arena tour beginning August 6 in Memphis and running through September 17 in Los Angeles. Good Charlotte is going out in support of their new album, Good Morning Revival. Guerilla Union’s Rock The Bells North American Tour will kick off July 26 in Mansfield, Massachusetts. As was announced recently, the shows will be headlined by Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, and Rage Against the Machine, and will be joined by Cypress Hill, UGK, Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, David Banner, Immortal Technique, and Jedi Mind Tricks. In addition, the show that Rage was set to headline on August 11 in Southern California has been moved from the NOS Events Center to the Hyundai Pavilion at Glen Helen. Dates are (more…) |
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