News Roundup: 2/24/2011

The NME Shockwave Awards were given out Wednesday night at a London ceremony that saw Arcade Fire win Best Album, Muse win Best British Band, and My Chemical Romance win Best International Band. Dave Grohl was given the Godlike Genius award, which he dedicated to Kurt Cobain. During the event, U2 confirmed that the band would play this year’s Glastonbury Festival via a video speech made by The Edge. [NME.com, NME.com] Speaking of Arcade Fire, the band’s manager, Scott Rodger, responded to claims that there was a conspiracy surrounding the band’s Best Album win at the Grammy Awards. Some commentators, including media watchdog Bob Lefsetz, suggested that the band’s performance of two songs at the end of the show implied that the group’s win was foretold. Lefsetz published a letter from Rodger on his website, which said in part, “Arcade Fire had the final slot on the Grammys as the ratings are low at the end of the broadcast. It really is that simple. We were one of the least known acts on the bill for a network audience. Don’t you think I wanted a better slot for the band? The reason we got a second song was also simple. No big plot. We had no guarantee of air time, but it was simply to play out the end credits of the show, if we’re even had that much.” [Blurt-Online.com]

News Roundup: 2/23/2011

The Strokes are set to play a free show at this years’ SXSW in Austin, Texas. The just announced gig, which will feature the band playing songs from their new album, is scheduled for March 17 at Auditorium Shores Stage and is free to any fans who show up. A video of the show will be posted on the band’s website the next day. The Strokes’ forthcoming album Angles is set for release on March 22.

News Roundup: 2/22/2011

Adele has made chart history, becoming the first living artist since the Beatles to have two titles simultaneously in the top five of both the U.K. singles and album charts. The singer's new album 21 topped the album charts for a fourth week in a row, while her debut 19 rose to the number four position; on the singles chart, the album version of her single "Someone Like You" as well as the version she performed at the Brit Awards earlier in February combined to take the number one spot. The Beatles accomplished this feat in 1964 with the albums With the Beatles and Please Please Me and the singles "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You." [Billboard.com]

Though Radiohead's King of Limbs was just released on Friday, some fans say that the band has more new music on the way. According to these fans, the name of the album's final track "Separator" suggests that the song acts as a "separator" between King of Limbs and a companion piece of music. Another theory posits that since the album is numbered as "TKOL1" in orders, a "TKOL2" could be released soon. [NME.com]

News Roundup: 2/18/2011

In an interesting twist of fate, newly-appointed Smashing Pumpkins bassist Nicole Fiorentino has admitted to being one of the two girls on the cover of Siamese Dream. A former member of Spinnerette and Veruca Salt, the 31 year-old musician says she was initially reluctant to tell Billy Corgan the news, fearing that he wouldn’t let her join the group. [NME.com]
John Strauss, celebrated composer of the Car 54, Where Are You? theme music and the “Amadeus” soundtrack, passed away earlier this week after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. [Spinner.com]
The music video for “Hold It Against Me,” the first single from Britney Spears’ forthcoming Femme Fatale, premiered last night on MTV. In typical Britney fashion, the video includes plenty of costume changes, choreographed routines, and half-naked male dancers. The unexpected highlight, though, is a scene in which she shoots multicolored fluid out of her fingers, Spiderman-style, and proceeds to beat up a clone of herself. Hit her, baby, one more time. [Billboard.com]
Radiohead’s new album, The King of Limbs, has been released ahead of schedule and is currently available for download at thekingoflimbs.com. Watch the video for the album’s first single, “Lotus Flower,” here. [WSJ.com]
Justin Bieber’s week of multi-media craziness — which included the theatrical release of “Never Say Never,” an appearance on the Grammy’s, and a Glee episode partially dedicated to his music — came to a close last night with Bieber’s second (and final) appearance on CSI. Seeking revenge for the death of his brother, Bieber’s character makes a last stand against police and ultimately dies in a hail of gunfire. Watch the clip here. [Billboard.com]
The reunited Soundgarden will return to the studio later this year to record their first album since 1996’s Down on the Upside. In the meantime, fans will have to make do with Live on I-5, a live album featuring performances from the band’s 1996 West Coast tour. Live on I-5 will be released on March 22nd. [RollingStone.com]

News Roundup: 2/16/2011

A concert is in the works by a bevy of artists to perform ’70s cult rock icon Big Star’s infamously troubled final album Third/Sister Lovers. Included in the live show are such artists as Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub, Mitch Easter of Let’s Active, Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo, and others. The concert, which will feature the album’s entire tracklist as well as other Big Star and Chris Bell songs, is set to take place March 26th at Baruch College’s Mason Hall in New York City. [Jambase.com]
Blur guitarist Graham Coxon says it’s likely that the Brit-rock ensemble will record new music this year. Speaking to NME, Coxon says it might take as long as six years for the album to be released. As for his solo career, Coxon says he has two solo albums in the works, as well as a single with singer Paloma Faith and former Coral guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones. The trio recorded the single for Converse, and it’s set for release in April. [NME.com]

British post-punk revivalists Electrelane are reuniting for several summer concert appearances, including London’s Field Day on August 6th. The band previously went on hiatus after the release of their fourth album, 2007’s No Shouts No Calls. [Pitchfork.com]
In other reunion news, Kristin Hersh is recording a new Throwing Muses album. Hersh, who released her memoir Rat Girl in 2010, says the album will be made up of all new material, and will be released via fan support through CASH Music.org. [Mischiefandmayhembooks.com]
Fresh off her Grammy Awards performance, Lady Gaga has hit a milestone with her new single “Born This Way,” which entered the Billboard Hot 100 song chart as the 1,000th leading song in the chart’s 52-year history. The single is one of only 19 titles to ever enter the Hot 100 song chart at number one. [Billboard.com]
Reality TV star Paris Hilton is purportedly set to release a new album in the next few months. Hilton revealed the news to The Hollywood Reporter while attending Usher’s pre-Grammy party. She did not, however, reveal any of the producers or musicians she worked with on the album, which follows her 2006 debut Paris. [Billboard.com]

News Roundup: 2/15/2011

The lineup for Bonnaroo’s 10th annual festival was announced earlier this afternoon. Headliners include Arcade Fire, Eminem, and Bonnaroo mainstays Widespread Panic, while the rest of the lineup includes 2010’s crop of best new artists (Florence + the Machine, Mumford and Sons) 2011’s crop of up-and-comers (The Head and the Heart), enduring legends (Loretta Lynn, Buffalo Springfield), and more than 100 other groups. [Bonnaroo.com]
Lady Gaga, who took home three Grammy Awards on Sunday night, will tape a concert special for HBO this month. “Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour at Madison Square Garden” will be filmed next week during Gaga’s two-night residency at the Manhattan venue. The concert will air on HBO on May 7th. [MTV.com]
In other Grammy news, this year’s show was watched by 26.66 million viewers, the largest audience in 11 years. It also had a positive boost on album sales, with everyone from Best New Artist winner Esperanza Spalding to Album of the Year champs Arcade Fire reporting spikes in their sales figures. [RollingStone.com]
Death Cab for Cutie will release Codes and Keys, their seventh full-length album, on May 31st. Speaking with Spin about the project, Gibbard explained, “It’s not a guitar-based record. We’ve been into vintage keyboards and playing with that palette.” [Spin.com]
In a recent interview with GQ, Billy Ray Cyrus waxes nostalgic on family life before The Hannah Montana Show, claiming that “the damn show destroyed my life” by adversely affecting his daughter, Miley Cyrus. [GQ.com]
Glee may dive into original songs this season. During a pre-Grammy Guild of Music Surpervisors ceremony on Saturday, the show’s music supervisor P.J. Bloom mentioned an upcoming episode devoted entirely to original music. [Billboard.com]

News Roundup: 2/14/2011

Sunday night’s 2011 Grammy Awards were full of surprises going way beyond Lady Gaga arriving to the show in an egg. The night’s biggest upset was either Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs winning Album of the Year over albums by Eminem, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Lady Antebellum, or Esperanza Spalding winning Best New Artist over Justin Bieber. The other Album of the Year nominees didn’t go home empty handed, however. Eminem’s Recovery won Best Rap Album, Lady Gaga’s The Fame Monster won Best Pop/Vocal Album and Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now won Best Country album, while its title track won Song of the Year. La Roux’s self-titled debut won Best Electronic/Dance Album; Muse’s The Resistance won Best Rock Album; the Black Keys’ “Brothers” won Best Alternative Music Album and Usher’s Raymond V Raymond won Best Contemporary R&B Album. Standout performances during the show included Cee-Lo Green and Gwyneth Paltrow’s Muppet-assisted duet “F*ck You” and John Mayer, Norah Jones and Keith Urban’s cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” [Hitfix.com; Billboard.com; Popdust.com; Spinner.com; CoverMeSongs.com]
R.I.P. jazz pianist and composer George Shearing, who died of cardiac arrest Monday in New York at age 91. Shearing, who was blind since birth, began his career in his native England and moved to the U.S. after World War II, playing with large groups as well as his critically acclaimed quintet. The group’s hits included “September in the Rain” and the standard “Lullaby of Birdland,” which Shearing wrote. [WashingtonPost.com]
Radiohead’s new album has a name and a release date that is surprisingly soon. King of Limbs, the band’s eighth studio album, will be released via their official site. Unlike In Rainbows, which allowed listeners to pay what they wanted, King of Limbs will be available at one price for an MP3 download and a slightly higher one for lossless audio. A full-fledged version of the album including a compact disc, two 10″ vinyl records, a sleeve full of large and small pieces of artwork and a digital copy of the album, will be available in May. [Ultimate-Guitar.com]
Following the release of her war-themed album Let England Shake, PJ Harvey has been offered the opportunity to become a war correspondent for the Imperial War Museum. Harvey could be given the chance to travel to conflict zones where the British army is fighting. Harvey researched a range of wars for two and a half years before writing Let England Shake’s lyrics. [NME.com]
After scalpers bought many of the tickets to LCD Soundsystem’s final show at Madison Square Garden this April, the band added five more shows at Terminal 5 prior to that date to give fans the chance to see the band during their last hurrah. James Murphy addressed the situation in a post on the band’s website, writing in part ” i just want to give people who actually want to see us a chance to see us. for a reasonable ticket price. and i want to drop the price of the MSG tickets being sold by piece of shit scalpers.” [Stereogum.com]
A/V Roundup: Watch Grammy performances by Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger and Esperanza Spalding; download Yeasayer’s free Valentine’s Day EP; and check out the video for the Foo Fighters’ new single “White Limo.” [SomeKindofAwesome.com; Spinner.com; Popdust.com; ConsequenceofSound.com; RockitOutBlog.com]

News Roundup: 2/11/2011

Lady Gaga’s new single debuted this morning. “Born this Way,” the title track from her forthcoming sophomore album, is a tribute to the LGBTQ community, with positive lyrics (including some unique, demographic-themed rhymes, like pairing “chola descent” with “Orient”) that were leaked earlier this year by Gaga herself. Lady Gaga will perform this weekend at the Grammy Awards. [RollingStone.com]
Enrique Iglesias, Shakira, Camila, and bachata star Juan Luis Guerra are the top nominees for the 22nd annual Billboard Latin Music Awards. The ceremony, which will close out the three-day Billboard Latin Music Conference in Miami Beach, will air live on April 28th. Read the full list of nominations here. [Billboard.com]
Check out the cover art for Angles, the Strokes’ upcoming fourth album, whose New Wave color scheme and angle-filled design look like they were patterned after the ’80s arcade game Q-Bert. [TheStrokes.com via Pitchfork.com]
Justin Beiber’s big-screen documentary, “Never Say Never,” opens nationwide today. The film is currently receiving mixed reviews, with a 65% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Check out the AllMovie review here.[RottenTomatoes.com]
Miley Cyrus will host the March 5th episode of Saturday Night Live, although the young singer/actress won’t be pulling double-duty as the evening’s musical guest. [MTV.com]
Students at the Birmingham City University are now eligible to receive the Ozzy Osbourne Development Award, a newly-created honor aimed at those who excel in the university’s Music Industries degree. UB40 saxophone player Brian Travers, who also has a BCU award named in his honor, visited the school on Tuesday to present the first Ozzy award to 21-year-old Gina Hubbard. [Spinner.com]

News Roundup: 2/10/2011

The Grammys saved the announcement of some of the best — or at least biggest — names to perform on Sunday’s awards show for last. Bob Dylan will perform a tribute to acoustic music, joined by the Avett Brothers and Mumford & Sons. Mumford & Sons, who are nominated for Best New Artist and Best Rock Song, will play their song “The Cave,” while the Avett Brothers will follow with “Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise” and Dylan will close the tribute with an original song. Meanwhile, Dr. Dre and Eminem will also perform at the show, marking Dre’s Grammy debut. Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, Barbra Streisand, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cee Lo Green and Miranda Lambert are among the other artists on the event’s star-studded set list. [Billboard.com]
Speaking of the Grammys, nominee Janelle Monae was honored at Essence magazine’s second-annual Black Women in Music pre-Grammy event. Monae, whose album The ArchAndroid is up for Best Contemporary R&B Album and whose song “Tightrope” is nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance, thanked P. Diddy and OutKast’s Big Boi for giving “a girl from Kansas” a shot. [AOLNews.com]
After 11 weeks on the Billboard Hot 200 Albums Chart, Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday reached the number one spot. The album has sold over one million copies. [Gigwise.com]
Once seen as the potential saving grace of the music and video game industries, the Guitar Hero is no more. Activision announced on Wednesday that it had canceled the series and its like-minded spinoff DJ Hero. Said Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg in an investor call, “Despite a remarkable 92 rating on DJ Hero 2, a widely well-regarded Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, as well as a 90-plus rated release from our most direct competitor [Rock Band 3], demand for peripheral-based music games declined at a dramatic pace. Given the considerable licensing and manufacturing costs associated with this genre, we simply cannot make these games profitably based on current economics and demand.” However, Activision has also stated that downloadable content for both music game series will continue to be available. [ConsequenceofSound.net]
First came the Wavves marijuana grinder, then the Wavves rolling papers, and now, Nathan Williams is working on a strain of Wavves-branded weed. Also in Williams’ pipeline is a comic book co-written with a friend. [Spinner.com]
American Idol rolled into San Francisco for Wednesday night’s auditions show, spotlighting talent like the Adam Lambert-esque James Durbin, who sang Aerosmith’s “Dream On” after getting permission from Steven Tyler. [MTV.com]
A/V Roundup: The Black Keys’ video for “Howlin’ for You” plays like a B-movie trailer; Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor lends his vocals to Win Win’s “Interleave”; J Mascis shares another song from his upcoming album Several Shades of Why; and the Kills turn in a dark and slinky video for their single “Satellite”. [HitFix.com; FactMag.com; SlicingUpEyeballs.com; SomeKindofAwesome.com]

News Roundup: 2/9/2011

Former American Idol champion Fantasia Barrino is set to star in a biopic of legendary gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. Based on the 1993 book Got to Tell It: Mahalia Jackson, Queen of Gospel, the film will be directed by Euzhan Palcy (A Dry White Season) and will depict Jackson’s rise from poverty in New Orleans to success as a gospel star and supporter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. [Billboard.com]
Experimental indie-rock ensemble Battles have finished work on the follow-up to the band’s 2007 debut, Mirrored. Although prospects for finishing the album dimmed after the departure of multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Tyondai Braxton last year, Battles forged onward, with guest artists like Boredom’s Eye lending vocals. The as-yet-untitled album is set for release this summer. [Pitchfork.com]

British garage-punk band the Vaccines have moved up the release date of their debut album. The record, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?, will now be released on March 14 so as not to compete with the Strokes’ upcoming album, which is set for release on March 21. [NME.com]
American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe is set to launch a new singing competition on CMT. Slated for ten episodes starting in April, CMT’S Next Superstar will feature contestants participating in both business- and performance-related challenges. [MonstersandCritics.com]
The classical music label Decca celebrated a relaunch on Monday under the new name Decca Classics. Already part of the Universal Music Group, Decca Classics will become part of Universal UK under the relaunch. Decca Classics is home to such artists as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, Cecilia Bartoli, Renee Fleming, and others. [Reuters.com]

News Roundup: 2/7/2010

British blues guitarist Gary Moore died at age 58 on Sunday while vacationing in Spain. Moore started the blues-rock band Skid Row with Phil Lynott, who went on to found Thin Lizzy; Moore joined Lynott in the band for two stints, the latter resulting in 1979’s Black Rose. He also worked on Lynott’s 1980 solo album, but Moore was first and foremost a bluesman, playing with B.B. King, Albert Collins, Otis Taylor and John Mayall and issuing his own albums, including 1990’s Still Got the Blues and 2008’s Bad for You Baby. [Blurt-Online.com]
The Super Bowl seemed to feature almost as much music as it did football. Along with the Black Eyed Peas’ halftime performance, one of the game’s most noteworthy musical moments was Christina Aguilera’s fumbled rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” She sang “what so proudly we watched” instead of the correct lyrics, “o’er the ramparts we watched.” Aguilera explained in a statement, “I got so caught up in the moment of the song that I lost my place … I can only hope that everyone could feel my love for this country and that the true spirit of its anthem still came through.” [RollingStone.com]
Meanwhile, Eminem dominated two of the big game’s commercials, appearing in an animated ad for Lipton Brisk Iced Tea and a Chrysler commercial in which he drove through the streets of Detroit to the strains of “Lose Yourself.” [AOLRadioBlog.com]
Much of North America may be covered by snow, but it’s never too early to think about the summer festival season. The Sasquatch Music Festival announced this year’s lineup, which features veteran acts like Foo Fighters, the Flaming Lips, Archers of Loaf and the Decemberists as well as newer faces like Sleigh Bells, Surfer Blood and Best Coast. This year’s event will take place from Friday, May 27 through Monday, May 30. [TheDailySwarm.com]
Speaking of festivals, this year’s Glastonbury’s lineup is starting to emerge, with Coldplay becoming the first announced headlining act. The festival is already sold out, possibly in part because there won’t be a Glastonbury in 2012 due to the London Olympics. [Spinner.com]
As part of the Streets’ last hurrah, Mike Skinner took over The Guardian’s music section and made the last ever Streets song, “Close the Book,” available for download. [Guardian.co.uk]
Whoa, man: Check out NME’s 50 druggiest albums. [Stereogum.com]
A/V Roundup: Download a new song from the Vivian Girls; watch Ted Leo in drag in the New Pornographers’ video for “Moves”; and listen to new albums by PJ Harvey and …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. [Artrocker.com; ConsequenceofSound.net; Pitchfork.com]

New uploads on Youtube

I will be uploading some new music videos of Aaron onto Youtube.  Look out for them.

News Roundup: 2/4/2010

Get ready for the Black Eyed Peas’ half-time performance on Sunday, with cameos by Usher and Slash. Also performing during the Superbowl are Christina Aguilera and Lea Michele, who will sing the national anthem and “America the Beautiful,” respectively. Keith Urban and Maroon 5 will also take the stage during the pre-game festivities. [Billboard.com]
Death From Above 1979, who were thought to be permanently disbanded until their inclusion on the bill for Coachella, have begun talking about their reunion. “It’s been five years since Death From Above 1979 played a show,” drummer Sebastian Grainger wrote on the band’s website. “So… why not say yes to Coachella? Why not say yes to playing the music we designed to be an undeniable source of power?” Hey man — you don’t have to convince us. [NME.com]
Forget the Green Lantern. There’s a new green superhero in town, and his name is… Marijuanaman? The comic-book character was created by Ziggy Marley, who will release the accompanying comic book (written by Joe Casey and illustrated by Jim Mahfood) on April 20th. [Spinner.com]
The Billboard charts hit another all-time low this week, with Amos Lee’s Mission Bell scoring the top slot with first-week sales of just 40,000 copies. That’s 4,000 units less than the previous record-breaker, Cake’s Showroom of Compassion, which debuted atop the chart two weeks prior. On a brighter note, this is Lee’s first number one album; his last release, Last Days at the Lodge, peaked at 29. [Variety.com]
Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band are slowly unveiling dates for their 2011 spring tour, few of which venture very far from the songwriter’s Michigan home. The latest show, the third date of what will supposedly be a 20- to 30-date tour, will be held at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. [RollingStone.com]
Luther Campbell, known to most hip hop fans as Luke from 2 Live Crew, is planning to run for mayor of Miami. “I am mad frustrated,” he told the Miami New Times earlier this week, going on to detail his problems with local city officials and his plans to review the budget, build gated communities in the inner city, and enact a tax on local strippers. [MTV.com]

News Roundup: 2/1/2011

Miranda Lambert continues to rack up nominations for her 2009 release, Revolution. She’s up for seven awards at the 46th Academy of Country Music Awards, which airs on April 3rd. Although Lambert earned more nods than any other artist this year, both Kenny Chesney and the Zac Brown Band received five nominations apiece, with Taylor Swift and The Band Perry following closely behind with four. [Billboard.com]
 
Also announced this week were the 2011 Juno Awards nominees, whose names included heavyweights like Arcade Fire, Drake, and Justin Bieber. In honor of the ceremony’s 40th anniversary, a 40th category — Electronic Album of the Year — has also been established, with Caribou, Crystal Castles, Holy F—, Poirier and Chilly Gonzales all competing to be the award’s inaugural winner. [Spinner.com]

Warm It Up: A Blizzard Playlist

We’re battening down the hatches in preparation for the biggest snow attack since 1974, apparently, and the last thing I’m going to do before leaving the compound for higher ground is to post some videos to help keep the pipes from freezing. Summer sunshine, hot licks, car washes, Harriet Wheeler, and shoe-meltingly hot playgrounds just might keep things warm while we’re gone.

News Roundup: 1/31/11

R.I.P. Oscar-winning composer John Barry,who died Sunday in New York at age 77. Barry won five Oscars over thecourse of his career, including one each for the score and theme songto the 1966 movie Born Free, as well as one each for his music for The Lion in Winter, Out of Africa and Dances with Wolves. Barry also wrote the music for a dozen James Bond movies, including 1962’s Dr. No (though his work was not credited), Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds are Forever, Moonraker and 1998’s The Living Daylights,which was his final Bond score. Said Barry in a 1991 Associated Pressinterview, ” “The James Bond movies came because we were successful inthe pop music world, with a couple of big instrumental hits. Theythought I knew how to write instrumental hit music.” Prior to his filmwork, Barry trained as a pianist, took up the trumpet, and founded thejazz group the John Barry Seven in 1957. [Billboard.com]

Composer Milton Babbitt, one of the mostinfluential and polarizing figures in contemporary classical music diedon Saturday, January 29 in Princeton, NJ at the age of 94. He was knownfor the uncompromising complexity of his work, which made strenuousdemands of listeners and gained him a reputation as an exemplar of thekind of “difficult” academic composer whose music drove audiences outof concert halls. He was widely respected by colleagues for the rigorof his discipline and his intellectual integrity, and received a numberof the music world’s highest awards. He is frequently remembered forhis 1956 article (whose title he was not responsible for choosing),“Who Cares if You Listen?” which suggested that, as was the case withphysicists or mathematicians, it was not the concern of seriouscomposers whether or not the general public understood their work.
[NYTimes.com]