Jessica Vale Week: Black and Blue & No Soul

antiMusic reports: Black and Blue is my favorite track on the album. It really clicks for me, always has. I think it's also the perfect song to open the album and our live show. It's dark, loud, and all over the place but still a very moody feel. On the record there's some horns thrown in at the end to add to this wall of sound. As if you put a jazz band in a blender.

No Soul is a very cool track. We recorded my band playing the song as a 70's funk trio first. Took that recording and then played over it with loud metal guitars, synth bass, and drums. It sounds like you're listening to a rock industrial band, with a funk track coming from another room. It sounds amazing in clubs.

Check out songs from the CD, learn more about Jessica and the CD plus get tour dates and more - right here

Madison Square Garden RIP

antiMusic reports: Music history be damned! First CBGBs and now Madison Square Garden "The World's Most Famous Arena" will meet its demise? Unlike CBGB which is set to become a fashion boutique, with The Garden they will rebuild it! Make It Stronger, Faster, More Powerful Than Before! [Incidentally, The Garden has had four incarnations since 1879. The current Garden was opened in 1968] Contact Music has the report: Legendary New York rock venue Madison Square Garden is facing demolition if a new development plan gets the go ahead.

The $14 billion (GBP7 billion) plan was unveiled by the Empire State Development Corporation on Wednesday (24Oct07), and, if approved, Madison Square Garden will be knocked down and then rebuilt two blocks away.

The arena will need to be demolished so that plans to revamp Penn Station and convert the nearby General Post Office building into another train station can be achieved. [Wikipedia reports also that "As of September 2007, the Garden's current owner, Cablevision, has plans to build a fifth Garden. If the project moves forward, a new Garden would be built at the western end of the James Farley Post Office/ Farley Annex, on 33rd Street and Ninth Avenue across the street, which is also eyed for a western expansion of Pennsylvania Station."] - more on this story

T.I. Framed?

antiMusic reports: Hear those black stealth helicopters? They are no longer seeking out crazy people with tinfoil hats, they are on the prowl for rappers! That's right, there is a new conspiracy theory floating about. Seems that rapper T.I. wasn't really building an arsenal for a small army. No, he was set up by the man! This according to fellow wrapper Akon. Gigwise has the "story": Akon has spoken out about rapper T.I.'s jailing and claims that he was set up.

T.I is currently behind bars awaiting trial, after his bodyguard allegedly took delivery of three machine guns and two silencers on the rapper's behalf. The arms dealer turned out to be an undercover cop.

Speaking to MTV, his friend Akon believes something fishy went on, saying: "It's obvious he was set up. But sometimes when you're in a position of that stature and you're that big ... you just don't allow that energy around you. - more on this story

Police Against Against Me!

antiMusic reports: Everyone that has ever been on a college campus and didn't buy into the group collection consciousness knows very well that there is no such thing as free speech at our centers of higher indoctrination. A band found this out the hard way. Here is Punknews.org with the story: Even when they're not present, Against Me! can apparently stoke controversy. At a recent campus event held at Missouri State University, a local band, Rhythm Sandwich, performed a cover of "Baby, I'm an Anarchist" and caused someone to lodge a profanity complaint.

Apparently, the line "I was burning that f*cker And stringing my black flag high" was enough to bring in police. According to Missouri State's Expressive Activity Policy, the Bear Paw is an area on campus that has been designated a free speech zone for all people regardless of their connection to the university to express themselves.

However, expression that is obscene, defamatory or incites violence is not entitled to First Amendment protection and not permitted by the policy. [We won't go into the PC exceptions to these exceptions either but Punknews has a thought about it. - Read the rest of their story]

Metallica Eye Feb Release

antiMusic reports: Metallifans set your calendar for February as that looks like the target release date for Metallica's new studio album. The Examiner.com spoke with Lars just before the Bridge School benefit about a variety of topics including the new CD. While the author of the article probably mistook fan jubilation for shock when news broke that Metallica had dropped the (c)Rock and signed up instead with the ubber credible Rick Rubin to produce their new album, that move more than anything has rekindled interest in the band from those that had written them off during the "Bob Rock" era where they got further and further away from their roots. At the very least, fans and ex-fans alike are eager to hear what they come up with someone else at the helm and Lars gave some clues in his conversation. Here are some excerpts:

'Fans may be stunned by the decision to waive longtime producer Bob Rock for Rubin. "But for our own sanity, our own creative survival, we needed to work with a different set of circumstances and dynamics," Ulrich says. "So we've been stripped of our defense mechanisms, and it's been very invigorating to be challenged again. Rick's taken everything we've known about making records and completely turned it upside down."

'Are the songs punchier, four or five minutes long? "Well, the most of the intros are four to five minutes," he says. "I don't know — Metallica and short songs just don't go that well together. But whereas 'St. Anger' was an exercise in over-pummelling the listener, these new songs echo some of our stuff from the '80s- long, epic journeys through different musical landscapes, heavier, but a lot more melodic."

'The next album, set for release next February, its almost finished; the band will be polishing up vocal mixes until December.' [The article covers a lot of other ground including some working names for tracks, Lars the dad and more. - Read it all right here.]

Duran Duran Banned Banned

Contact Music reports: U.K. TV has refused to air a video for Duran Duran's collaboration with Justin Timberflake. Not because the idea of such a collaboration sucks major ass but because the video shows major ass. Seems the clip was just too explicit for the censors taste so it's been banned banned.

Contact Music reports: The video for Falling Down - which Timberlake co-wrote and produced - makes fun of the celebrity culture in rehab. But the promo was criticised by TV censors for showing controversial scenes of semi-naked models in distress.

As a result, the Rio hitmakers have been forced to release a toned down version instead. - more on this story

Angels & Airwaves Shows

UMe reports: Angels & Airwaves just announced a few radio shows for the beginning of December in support of I-Empire.

Dec 2nd – Tampa, FL @ Ford Amphitheatre
Dec 4th – Norfolk, VA @ Constant Convocation Center
Dec 6th – Phoenix, AZ @ Mesa Amphitheatre

I-Empire is out Nov 6th and the first single, "Everything's Magic", can be heard - here

Britney Buys Her Way Out of Trouble?

antiMusic reports: Don't try this unless you are a celebrity. It might not go as smoothly for you. Contact Music has the report about how Britney got a hit-and-run charged dropped by opening her wallet: BRITNEY SPEARS has escaped a misdemeanour hit-and-run charge, after it was dismissed in a California court.

The star allegedly smashed into a parked car in a private parking lot in the San Fernando Valley on 6 August (07) in Los Angeles while driving without a valid licence.

Earlier this month (Oct07), Spears impressed the vehicle's owner Kim Robard-Rifkin by offering a personal apology and $1,000 (GBP500) in compensation - which caused the charges to be dismissed in a Van Nuys court. [But she still has to face the sticky issue of driving without a license. - Read more here]

B-52's Returning to Record Stores

Gigwise reports: Looks like the Love Shack is open for business again. Gigwise has the report: The B-52's have revealed details of their first album in sixteen years that also sees Cindy Wilson returning to the fray.

'Funplex', the follow up to 1992's 'Good Stuff', was conceived back in 2003 and is set for release on February 26 in the US.

Speaking to Rolling Stone guitarist Keith Strickland said of the album: "We thought, we're gonna keep [touring], we're gonna need some new songs for the show, we need to put a new album out there. - more on this story

Finally A Way To Make Diddy's Music Listenable

Gigwise reports: He's got clothing and perfumes lines on the go, but now Sean 'P Diddy' Combs has added another venture to his empire – vodka.

The rapper has signed a multi-year contract to promote Ciroc vodka for a 50% share of any profits made.

Speaking about his new venture, the music mogul said: "I'm not just a celebrity endorser, I'm a brand builder. I'm a luxury brand builder." [see not only the vodka makes you want to puke! What a perpect spokesperson] - more on this story

Michael Schenker Turns Teacher

antiMusic reports: Michael Schenker is looking at a secondary income. The shred master is now offering lucky fans (with some extra cash to burn) guitar lessons. But the lessons don't come cheap! Metal Underground has the story:

Legendary guitarist Michael Schenker (MSG, ex-UFO, SCORPIONS) is offering guitar lessons in the North London, England area. The cost is 200 GBP or approximately $410 per hour. You can contact Michael via his MySpace page.

Michael Schenker's UK tour this past summer was cut short due to a "multitude of events beyond the band's control, including Michael's," according to a posting on Schenker's MySpace page. - more on this story

Free Fest 6 Download from Punknews.org

Punknews.org reports: Just like we promised, today we've got a full, high quality download of the entire Punknews.org Presents The Fest 6: A Free Compilation. Teaming up with the event's host, No Idea Records, we've compiled a special compilation for you to download, free of charge. The album features some of the bands performing at this year's event, with many of the tracks being new or unreleased.

Included are bands such as Radon, Dead to Me, Banner Pilot, Small Brown Bike, The Gaslight Anthem, The Falcon, Sundowner, Fake Problems, No Trigger, The Swellers, Shook Ones, The Menzingers and more. Unreleased cuts have been provided by O Pioneers!!!, The Riot Before, Landmines and Nakatomi Plaza.

Additionally, Mitch Clem, the internet cartoonist responsible for the cult favorite Nothing Nice To Say, has graciously provided us with some artwork for the compilation. The art is provided as a high-resolution PDF file, suitable for printing, framing or whatever else you think you should do with coloured paper. - more on this story

Massive Pink Floyd Boxset

PR reports: Arriving on December 4th, 2007 Pink Floyd has an amazing treat for the holidays! A 17-disc box set with every studio recording and a special DVD packaged in special box set. Limited to 10,000 Copies World Wide. Every album is packaged in Japanese-style Mini LP Sleeves, complete with all original artwork, inserts, stickers, dust jackets and posters. There will even be a special Storm Thorgerson 20" x 30" poster inside the box.

The DVD, which had not been finalized at the time we went to press, is supposed to include interviews with all the surviving band members discussing their 40th anniversary plus some unconfirmed live musical content. We only get one shot at this special Limited-Edition Pink Floyd collector's item, which means you've only got one shot. Buy it now or get it on eBay for five times the price. Don't miss out on this one! - more details

Saul Williams Offers Trent Reznor Produced Album For Free

PR reports: The Fader Label, the recording branch of The Fader, today announced the release of the new recording by esteemed poet, artist and musician 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, will handle 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. A full description of each file format with pros and cons will be available on the site. Those that don't contribute will automatically get the192kbit/s MP3. All versions are 100% DRM free and will include a PDF with artwork and lyrics. Williams' fans will also be able to embed Musicane's viral player on their own blogs or profiles, which will broadcast live-updated video messages from NiggyTardust and also contain the option to download or buy the album.

"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." - more on this story

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