Jacko Planning Getoutta Debt Tour?

Gigwise reports: If you have been yearning to see a grown man on stage wearing a glove singing a love song called "Beat It," you just might be in luck! While our heads are spinning trying to keep up with all of the Led Zeppelin tour rumors but another much bandied about best seller has rumors circling around him as well. Last month we learned that the Jackson Five were plotting a world tour in 2008. The latest rumor has Jacko touring on his own next year to stay solvent.

Gigwise reports: Us columnist Roger Friedman has broke the story, claiming that the King of Pop is in talks with concert promoters AEG to do a three month stint around the globe beginning in March.

Although Jackson or his people are yet to confirm the news, Friedman seems convinced, saying: "He (Michael Jackson) is so deeply in debt and at such a crisis point in his finances, that he and (publicist Raymone) Bain may be using potential proceeds from a tour as a leverage for refinancing his $325million in loans." - more on this story

Bullet For Headbangers Ball

HER reports: The brand new Bullet For My Valentine video for "Scream Aim Fire," the title track from their upcoming album, will premiere this Saturday December 15 on MTV2's Headbangers Ball (11:00PM ET). The "Scream Aim Fire" video was directed by Tony Petrossian (Slayer, Avenged Sevenfold) and shot last month in an abandoned warehouse on Terminal Island at the Port of Los Angeles Los Angeles.

In addition, an exclusive 15-minute digital single - a special sneak preview of "Scream Aim Fire" - will be available for download beginning next Tuesday, December 18. Two of the album's tracks, "Eye of the Storm" plus the title track will be included, along with the band's Matt Tuck and Moose Thomas providing a behind-the-scenes track-by-track commentary about the album. The "Scream Aim Fire" digital single will sell for $1.98 and be available through all the major digital media services (iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody, etc.).

"Scream Aim Fire" is the title track from Bullet For My Valentine's sophomore release, due out January 29. You don't have to wait until Sat for the video, you can check it out NOW on the Headbanger Blog - website

Billy Talent 666

PR reports: On January 22, 2008 fans of Billy Talent will be able to purchase the ultimate live collection chronicling highlights from the band's world tour in support of BillyTalent II. The live DVD / CD Billy Talent 666 (East/West) shows the band at their best - three of Billy Talent's biggest European concerts in the past eighteen months and unique insights through band interviews and bonus material.

Filmed and produced by the award-winning Pierre and Francois Lamoureux of FogoLabs (The Who, Tragically Hip, Alanis Morissette), the DVD portion of 666 includes 6 songs from each of the remarkable shows the band played at the Brixton Academy in London, Phillipshalle in Düsseldorf, Germany and the unbelievable Rock Am Ring Festival in Nürburgring, Germany, where the band played in front of an audience estimated in excess of 80,000 people. Extras on the DVD include a slide show of stills from the tour to the track "This Suffering" from Billy Talent II. The second disc is the audio portion of the entire Düsseldorf concert, which will be available as a PREVIEW of the full collection at i-tunes and other DSPs on December 11, 2007. - more on this story

Langerado Additions

PR reports: After announcing the sixth annual Langerado Music Festival initial artist lineup to rave reviews, organizers add STS9, confirmed for a late night performance, and Dead Confederates to the already stellar roster.

The 2008 event takes place March 6–9 at Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation in South Florida and will host R.E.M., Beastie Boys, Phil Lesh & Friends, 311, Matisyahu, Ani DiFranco, Ben Folds, The Roots, Thievery Corporation, Les Claypool, Gov't Mule, G. Love & Special Sauce, Built to Spill, The Disco Biscuits, Umphrey's McGee, Ghostland Observatory, The National, !!!, Minus the Bear, State Radio, Citizen Cope, Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood, The Wailers, Of Montreal, Robert Randolph & the Family Band and many others.

For the complete confirmed lineup, please visit - www.langerado.com

Liars Tour

PR reports: Liars, who recently supported Interpol on their 2007 US arena tour, announce US headline dates in early 2008. Liars have invited fellow LA band No Age to support them.

"When we last toured the States it was quite royally," says Liars frontman Angus Andrew. "Interpol laid out a magic carpet ride that took us from one historic venue to another. The whole experience was a mind-blowing orgy of music and memories."

This time around, the band is looking forward to getting up close and personal with fans once again. "We thrive on the strong visceral power of the audience. Being face to face with a crowd can sometimes make me want to eat them. I look forward to that opportunity on this tour," says Andrew. - more on this story

Coldplay Christmas Song

Filter reports: With Christmas quickly approaching, glad tidings and holiday cheer are inevitable. Coldplay have joined in the festivites and have posted their rendition of The Pretenders classic Christmas song, "2000 Miles" on their official website.

The track was initially available to download in 2003 and became the top selling UK download of that year.

And being the warm hearted souls that they are, proceeds were donated to Future Forests and Stop Handgun Violence charities.
- more on this story

Simple Plan Video

PR reports: After a 3-year absence, Montreal-based quintet Simple Plan returns with a brand new self-titled album February 12th, 2008.

The album features collaborators such as Nate "Danja" Hills (Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Duran Duran, Nelly Furtado), Max Martin (James Blunt, Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne), and Dave Fortman (Evanescence, Mudvayne).

They just released a video for the first single "When I'm Gone". - Check it out here

The Mountain Goats Top CDs of 07

Filter reports: For today's top ten, we are turning to The Mountain Goats head honcho John Darnielle. Following the 2006 release of their excellent Get Lonely, the band spent most of their year touring in support of the album, hiring Superchunk's Jon Wurster as their touring drummer.

Towards the end of the year, they holed up in the studio again, recording the songs for their new album Heretic Pride, due for release in February 2008.

Here's Darnielle's picks for the year...
1. Bowerbirds - Songs for a Dark Horse (Burly Time)
2. CocoRosie - The Adventures of Ghosthorse & Stillborn (Touch and Go)
3. Bloody Panda - Pheromone (Level Plane)
4. Pig Destroyer - Phantom Limb (Relapse)
5. Bottomless Pit - Hammer Of The Gods (Comedy Minus One)
- See the rest of his list here

NiggyTardust Download

PR reports: Saul Williams: The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!. Produced by Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), the download will be available for free or for a $5 contribution to support the artist. There will be no additional options given for purchase of the album.

Musicane, a tool that enables artists to sell their music, is handling fulfillment, processing, bandwidth and customer service. Those who pay will have the opportunity to choose between three download formats: 192kbit/s MP3, 320kbit/s MP3 and Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC), a format that doesn't remove any information from the audio stream--full CD quality.

"The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! is the lovechild of Trent and me," says Williams. "The Niggytardust concept sets me free to do more on stage with costume, etc. than one might expect from a regular Saul Williams show. It allows me to put my theatre training to use. I've also thought long and hard about all the discussion surrounding racial epithets etc. and chose this title as a means of furthering the dialogue while also showing how creativity will outlive and outshine hatred of any kind." - Mp3 Download of "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

King Crimson and Primus members Appear on Oxygene8's new CD

PR reports: The buzz about Oxygene8's new CD Freak Of Chance can be heard loud and clear throughout the international music community. An innovative dynamic trio of musicians, Oxygene8 features Linda Cushma with her atypical approach to Chapman Stick and vocals, explosive drummer, Kiko King and stunning guitarist, Claudio Cordero. The band's latest offering Freak Of Chance has been garnering rave reviews from music press and fans worldwide. "Somewhere in the process of recording and touring after the release of Freak, Oxygene8 became a real band," muses Linda Cushma . In concert, they perform songs from the new album as well as several selected compositions from their critically acclaimed debut album, Poetica.

Along with the core trio that makes up Oxygene8, Freak Of Chance also features guest performances by several renowned musicians such as bass legend Tony Levin from King Crimson, Peter Gabriel and the Tony Levin Band. "When Steve Parrish and I began to record the song 'Close Your Eyes' I had this gut feeling that it was Tony Levin that needed to be on that track," Linda explains. "I just listened to my intuition and asked Tony if he had the time to do it and he graciously responded."

Tim Alexander, drummer for Primus and Attention Deficit, also appears on Freak Of Chance. - more on this story

Honeydripper Event

PR reports: Danny Glover will be the focus of a special evening celebrating his remarkable career and his collaboration with filmmaker John Sayles on the new movie Honeydripper. The program, presented by the Museum of the Moving Image on Wednesday, December 19, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at The Times Center, also includes a special musical performance by Gary Clark Jr., the astonishing young blues guitarist from Austin, Texas, who is featured in Honeydripper.

Danny Glover, currently appearing on the TV series Brothers and Sisters, is best known for his performances in films including Dreamgirls, The Color Purple, To Sleep with Anger, and The Lethal Weapon movies. In the music-filled drama Honeydripper, set in 1950s Alabama, he plays the owner of a roadhouse nightclub threatened by the advent of rock 'n' roll. John Sayles, the pioneering independent filmmaker whose previous movies include The Brother from Another Planet, Matewan, and Lone Star, will participate in a conversation with Glover, moderated by Chief Curator David Schwartz. Scenes from Honeydripper will be shown, and the evening will be capped by a set of live music by Gary Clark Jr.
- more on this story

Rob & Big Return

PR reports: MTV's favorite modern-day odd couple is back for its fiercest season yet as the network has greenlit Season 3 of "Rob & Big." Fans can expect more off-beat adventures of professional skateboarder, Rob Dyrdek, his best friend and bodyguard, Christopher "Big Black" Boykin, their bulldog Meaty, and their mini-horse "Mini" in 15 new episodes. The new season of "Rob & Big" will join MTV's Tuesday night line-up on January 8th at 10:30pm ET/PT with "Life of Ryan" premiering at 10pm ET/PT.

Back by popular demand, fans will once again be able to download the first episode of season three for free on iTunes Store (www.iTunes.com), Amazon Unbox (http://unbox.amazon.com), Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360 and Bit Torrent starting on Wednesday, January 2nd, six days before its on-air debut.

Also on January 8th, Rob & Big: The Complete Seasons 1&2 Uncensored debuts on DVD from MTV Home Entertainment - more on this story

Radiohead Wasn't First

PR reports: It's her first CD in seven years and Mieka Pauley has hit the ground running. "Elijah Drop Your Gun" (DIY) is full of beautifully potent songs by this singer/songwriter from Boston, MA, that her fans crave. In fact, they love Mieka's lyrical magic so much they paid for the CD. Concerned with the costs of putting an album together, Mieka decided to pre-sell copies of her CD online, in various packages for different prices. The result, she thought, would be possibly a few thousand dollars. She did not expect to raise over $16,000. And all of it came from her fans. - more on this story

Old Rock Outselling New Rock - A Top Story of 2007

antiMusic reports: For the rest of the year we are going to be looking back at the most read articles from the past year. Today we feature the biggest story from July which covered just how popular classic hard rock still is. In fact, some classic titles are outselling the current "flavor of the week" new releases. Here is the report: It seems that people are opting for classic hard rock and metal CDs over most generic "new" music. This according to a report by the Associated Press. While record companies try to fathom reasons why people aren't buying their "new" product, by ignoring the most logical explanation and looking to court tweens to help pick up their bottom lines, it appears that music from other eras where A&R people took chances on bands that didn't sound like everyone else and bands were allowed to develop a fanbase over several albums is still attracting a lot of buyers.

Twenty-Seven years after its release, AC/DC's Back in Black is still selling almost enough copies a year to qualify for a gold record. Last year while we were treated to dozens of sound-alike emo bands that didn't sell many CDs, AC/DC's landmark album managed to sell 440,000 copies in the US.

While [insert silly multi-worded name here] was struggling to attract the attention of TRL girls, other albums from long-ago were also moving pretty heavy numbers. Metallica's jump to the commercial mainstream, aka The Black Album was added to the CD collections of 275,000 US music fans last year and Guns 'N Roses debut which broke records when it was released in 1987 is still a hot seller, welcoming 113,000 more people to the jungle last year. And the album that killed "hair metal" and touched off the grunge trend of the early 90s (Nirvana's Nevermind) is still going strong with 143,000 copies sold last year.
- more on this story

.... Review: Keith Urban: Like A Rolling Stone

Keith Urban may possibly the preeminent live performer touring the arena circuit at this moment for reasons that extend beyond the high-spirited performances. His tickets are priced affordably and his stage set up is one of the best without being distracting in the least. - Read the full Keith Urban: Like A Rolling Stone review

.... Hot In The City: Hot in the City V.5: Jimmy Eat World- Meat Puppets- Jjcnv- Haven James- Blanche Davidian- The Morning Kennedy Was Shot- Crushed

Our exploration of Arizona music this time out takes us to see some old friends, the Meat Puppets and also finds us checking in with veteran group Jimmy Eat World. But never fear- there are plenty of new discoveries here too. - Read the full Hot in the City V.5: Jimmy Eat World- Meat Puppets- Jjcnv- Haven James- Blanche Davidian- The Morning Kennedy Was Shot- Crushed review

.... Review: The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - Danza II: the Electric Boogaloo

Long story short, the Blackmarket Activities/Metalblade debut by the Murfreesboro, Tennessee quintet The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza is a blistering and daring take on the increasingly monotonous metalcore genre. - Read the full The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - Danza II: the Electric Boogaloo review

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