Tuesday

Rock Band for Pixies

PR reports: The third album to be added to the Rock Band Music Store catalog of downloadable content: the Pixies' Doolittle. On June 24th, one of the most influential rock records of the late '80s will get new life as Rock Band game play.

Fledgling Black Francises, budding Kim Deals and diehard gamers alike can now rock out to the original master recordings of one of the Pixies' most eclectic and ambitious releases. Upon its release in 1989, Doolittle garnered immediate critical acclaim and eventually became regarded as one of the most important alternative rock albums of the 1980s.

Doolittle offers endless highlights for fans and players, including the spaghetti Western-ish flavor of "Silver," the biblically-themed "Dead" and the pop savvy hit single "Here Comes Your Man." Gamers have been clamoring for these additional fourteen tracks after months of playing the album's brilliantly surreal "Wave of Mutilation," which was included on the original Rock Band game disc. - more on this story

Iggy Pops Up on New Boss Martians Album

PR reports: Seattle rock band The Boss Martians are back with "Pressure in the SODO" in stores on July 22th on MuSick Recordings. The disc is rock and roll at it's most potent with a guest appearance by Iggy Pop on the track "Mars is for Martians" (co-written with front man Evan Foster) featuring a sneering lead vocal from the Godfather of Punk himself.

E-Trade has also taken notice by featuring "Hey Hey Yeah Yeah" in several of their TV commercials currently airing multiple times daily, and one that premiered on Super Bowl Sunday. The Boss Martians have just returned from a successful European tour and multiple dates across the U.S.

Key tracks on the CD include: "No One to No One," "Stiletto (Need Some Action)," "Elsie," and the aforementioned collaboration with Iggy on "Mars Is For Martians." The track is an alphabetical tour through the rock and roll basics, and it's an undisputed highlight of the scalding Pressure In The SODO. - more on this story

The 88 Set Release

PR reports: Island Records announced today that The 88 will release their major label debut Not Only... But Also on August 26, 2008.

With songs produced by Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds (Eric Clapton, Fall Out Boy, Madonna) and songs produced by Matt Wallace (Maroon 5, Paul Westerberg, Faith No More), Not Only… But Also features eleven new tracks that perfectly lock in the band's signature sound.

The first single, "Coming Home", will be serviced to radio on June 30 and available to digital retailers on July 1. The song title might be familiar to some due to its previous incarnation in commercial and television placements, but it has been re-written, re-recorded and polished into an entirely new pop gem. - more on this story

Vadar Lose Member

Vader reports: After five years of working with Vader, our bassist Novy (true name Marcin Nowak) decided to part ways with the band! He made his decision right after recently finished European tour. We would like to thank him for all those years of successful cooperation and just a great work he did for the band within the time. The band's members wish him all the best for the future!

Unfortunately, Marcin's decision of leaving the band was made not only after the finished tour in Europe, but also just before the upcoming (and very important) US tour Summer Slaughter Tour 2008 (when we appear alongside THE BLACK DALHIA MURDER, KATAKLYSM, CRYPTOPSY, and other bands). This is a very hard situation for the band but don't worry - we have already found a replacement - the session bassist for this tour will be Martin (ex-DECAPITATED). We are convinced that together with him Vader will be a killer! The session bass player for the shows planned for the rest of 2008 will be announced after the US tour.

"On August 3rd, Vader will appear on Polish Woodstock Festival. On August 30th the band will play a special anniversary show in Warsaw. - more on this story

Vegas Jacko For Neverland Cash?

Hecklerspray reports: Long have we wondered what Michael Jackson's next career move would be. Will he make another album? Will he start a charity to help the big-nosed poor? Will he be another ride at Disney Land? Perhaps one where he puts roller-skates on his hands and feet and rolls about the room in a crab-walk type style with a saddle on his belly, and your height has to be below Mickey's hand to climb on board?
Well we can tell you - he's gonna be a Vegas attraction.

It's been rumored before, but this time it's different. This time he could be working directly for the mortgage company that just bought the $23 million dollar loan for his Neverland Ranch.

It's perfect timing too, really, since Celine Dion just left Vegas and they are the exact same proportions, he could just use her costumes. Now that's economic efficiency! - more on this story

Rediscover the Original Idol Next Week

PR reports: Billy Idol has recorded two brand new songs for The Very Best Of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself, a new career-spanning CD, Deluxe Edition CD/DVD and digital collection to be released June 24 by Capitol/EMI.

The two songs, "John Wayne" and "New Future Weapon," will be exclusively available on the new release, which features all seven of Idol's Top 10 hits among its 18 tracks, including two #1s. The Deluxe Edition adds 13 music videos making their DVD release debuts, including two alternate video edits that have never before been released in any format. The CD and CD/DVD packages are both designed by Shepard Fairey and include liner notes by David Wild.

The Very Best Of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself gathers together the music that Billy Idol has taken to stages all around the world, as well as two brand new songs. The new tracks find the man still at the peak of his powers, working with longtime partner and guitar great Steve Stevens and his other current band members, drummer and songwriting collaborator Brian Tichy and keyboardist Derek Sherinian. On June 24, Idol will perform songs from the new release on the outdoor stage of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live." - more on this story

KISS Blame Fans For Industry Woes

antiMusic reports: During a week that an album debuts at the top of the charts having sold a million copies, Professor Gene Simmons of KISS blames fans for the current state of the music industry, not the stupid decisions of the industry.

XFM spoke with Gene as part of the Download Festival last weekend and he seems to think that the reason people no longer buy KISS records is because of downloads and not the fact that their last two original album's weren't that great and fans weren't interested in buying the dozen or so "same songs, different cover" hits packages they've been foisting on the public since their big reunion over a decade ago. We won't even go into that solo album.

Here is what Gene told XFM, "In all seriousness - and it's unfortunate - but the record industry is dead; it's six feet under the ground and unfortunately, the fans have done this. They've decided to download and file share and there's no record industry around. We're gonna wait till everyone settles down and becomes civilized and as soon as the record industry pops its head then we'll record new material."

Gene should know that if you give people something worth buying, they will buy it. Give em' crap and they won't waste their money. - Read the XFM article

Sex Pistols, Patti Smith and more for Traffic Fest

PR reports: Traffic is main summer music event in Turin. After just four editions it has become the most important music festival in Italy (last year it reached around 200,000 spectators), taking as well a remarkable place between the biggest live events on the European scene.

The fifth edition will take place from July 7th to 12th 2008, and it already sees confirmed shows from Sex Pistols, Wire, Patti Smith, Tricky, Battles, Soulwax, Hercules and Love Affair, Matthew Dear and Alter Ego.

Key characteristics are its being totally free, the aim to offer events that are somehow unique, the idea of making of the whole metropolitan area the scene of an intense varied program (live gigs, nightclubbing, happening, reading, cinema, art galleries), and the will to establish a tight relationship between music and other artistic forms. From this point of view the partnership with some local institutions, as the National Cinema Museum, and the Reading Society, is fundamental.

Sites of the Festival are some of the most representative places in Turin: the Pellerina Park (the biggest green area in town), Murazzi del Po (the animated city riverbank ), the post industrial area named OGR, the Isozaki Olympic Palace, the courts of Carignano Palace and of Rettorato. - more on this story

Commodores Eye Reunion

Jam! reports: Once, Twice, Three Times the profit for a reunion tour over a solo tour. That might be just one reason that Lionel Richie is eyeing a Commodores reunion. Publicly, he gives another reason. Jam! has the details:

Richie said a reunion could happen in the next two years because it is important the group get together before it loses more band members. Guitarist Milan Williams died two years ago.

"We better do it now, or in the next 10 years nobody would care," he said before singing at Antigua's Romantic Rhythms festival. - more on this story

Light This City Burns Out and Fades Away

antiMusic reports: Light This City has officially called it a day. Ben Murray broke the news to fans: "I know this is extremely unexpected and disappointing to a lot you out there, but Laura [Nichol] and I have decided to end the band recently because of personal and practical reasons. While this may come as a shock to many, I hope I can shed some light on the reasons behind the decision.

"First and foremost, the touring lifestyle and playing on stage every night, as well as making this band our entire lives and our profession had over time become stale and anxiety-ridden for both of us, and in the end, not enjoyable anymore. We started this band because we loved playing this kind of music and loved the release that we got out of it, and the satisfaction we got from jamming with our friends, and taking it across the country. The fact that it had not been that way for a while was enough reason for us to hang it up and leave the band as 6 years of amazing memories and amazing accomplishments. There are other life goals that both her and I have that we felt would not be reached had we taken the band further, say for another 5 to 10 years, and we didn't want to string our other band members along in something that our hearts weren't in 100%. That's just not who we are, and not how we ever wanted this band to be. Both Laura and I want to get back to the root of why we love playing and writing music, whether it be professionally or not, and not have this burden of feeling alienated from our friends and scene because of what the touring lifestyle does to bands. It is a feeling that we just couldn't handle anymore, and didn't want to deal with on any level, because at the end of the day, music IS our entire lives and we want to keep it that way. We wanted to keep it enjoyable as an amazing catharsis, which it was quickly becoming the opposite. With all of this, on top of the financial and logistical burdens we have come across in touring fulltime, we felt it was the right time to make this announcement. As disappointed as our friends and fans may feel, we hope you understand and respect the reasoning behind this decision, and can understand why we'd make it. - more on this story

Maiden Silenced at Madison Square Garden

Blabbermouth reports: A user submitted the following report: "There was a strange event right in the middle of [Iron Maiden's] set [at Madison Square Garden in New York City Sunday night, June 15]. Halfway through the song 'Powerslave', the power died to the sound system, and MAIDEN were onstage with full lights, shrugging their shoulders.

I was right behind the soundboard, and there was never any problem at that end. In fact, [cycling star] Lance Armstrong and [actress] Kate Hudson were standing beside the mixing board making out, which made the whole situation even weirder. Who's the Maiden-head in that celebrity family? Anyway, obviously this was a high point of their set, and within a minute after the stalls the band produced a soccer ball on stage and began kicking it around to entertain the fans while the technical nightmare continued.

... My friends and I were joking that this was a long-distance dedication from Sharon Osbourne, and evidently Dickinson thought the same. As soon as his mic worked, he muttered dramatically something like: 'The revenge of Sharon...the wicked witch of the west rises again!' - more on this story

Sound and Fury Release 18 Video Online

PR reports: Toronto Canada's Sound and Fury is undeniably all about the rock, as heard throughout their self-titled debut full-length album, 'Sound and Fury,' due June 24th via Rebel Youth Records/MRI-RED Distribution.

Sound and Fury is all about power chords, no-bullsh*t rock 'n roll, and total sonic assault, as evidenced by the lead-off turbo-charged single and video from 'Sound and Fury,' "18."

The Sammy Ray Welch-directed video shoot for "18" recently took place in an abandoned police station in Toronto, and featured lighting design input from A.J. Pen, who is known for his work with Linkin Park. "It was a blast!" blares out vocalist Luke Metcalf. "We shot it in an abandoned cop shop and got totally wasted." - Go Here to Watch the Video

Britney's Full Time Bitch

TMZ reports: Jamie Spears needs to get paid y'all! Newly released court docs prove he's working hard for the money. Jamie quit his job in February as a personal chef to watch over Brit 24/7.

He's Britney's full-time bitch, he says, and that includes running errands, buying groceries, paying her bills, managing her medical care and "cooking supper on a regular basis." In addition to all these mundane little things, he says he spends his days and nights as his daughter's pal -- to "ensure her comfort and well-being."

To compensate him, the Commish -- and others involved in the conservatorship case -- agreed to pay him $2500 a week. Good gig if you can get it! - more on this story

Blue Mountain Double Coming

PR reports: On the heels of their successful reunion tour that commenced in the summer of 2007 and fifteen years after their first release, seminal Americana band Blue Mountain is gearing up for two new releases on August 19, 2008.

Midnight in Mississippi is all new material, with the exception of the songs "Butterfly" and "By You Side," which appeared on the first solo release by Cary Hudson, but have been re-recorded with Laurie Stiratt and Frank Couch. Midnight in Mississippi was recorded in Elmwood Recording in Dallas, TX, with Grammy-winning producer/engineer Stuart Sikes (Cat Power, White Stripes, Loretta Lynn). Omnibus is a collection of new recordings of 14 classic Blue Mountain songs, including "Blue Canoe," "Soul Sister," "Poppa, "Mountain Girl" and a rousing rendition of "Generic America," that were re-recorded by Andrew Ratcliff at Tweed Recording in Oxford, MS. Both CDs will be released by Broadmoor Records, a label owned by Stiratt and her twin brother John, bass player for Wilco. - more on this story

Celtic Frost in a Coma

antiMusic reports: Martin Ain of Celtic Frost addressed fan concerns that the band had called it a day after losing their frontman. They haven't exactly officially broken up, they're just not going to continue as a band right now. Here is what he had to say: We are deeply sorry about the cancellation of the summer festivals and the Giger Museum anniversary show this year. We regret the adversity that this caused fans and promoters alike.

Tom Gabriel Fischer has left the band, but Celtic Frost is still alive, albeit in a coma of sorts. Franco and I are not going to continue recording or touring as Celtic Frost. This would be preposterous without one of its founding members, the original voice and its defining guitarist.

But we are not going to officially disband CF. We hope that there might be a possibility of talking things over and overcoming the differences that caused this schism. Most certainly this will not happen now, but maybe sometime in the future. After all, this is not the first time in the history of this band that things have gone wrong. In the meantime, Franco and I will continue to create music of our own. Under what name or with whom else shall remain open for now. For the time being, we accept Tom's decision as being better for all of us and we would like to whish all the best for him and his future projects. - more on this story

Lothloryen Finish New Album

PR reports: The heavy/folk metal band Lothloryen recently finished the recordings of their second album, entitled "Some Ways Back No More", featuring nine tracks which show the unique identity of the group, with a proposal focused on heavy metal, but with diverse influences, from bands like The Beatles to Blind Guardian, with strong touches of folk music.

The album has the artwork created by Robson Piccin (Eternal Malediction, Symmetrya, Laudany), and features the following track list: 01. My Mind in Mordor 02. We'll Never Be The Same 03. Hobbitcon (Intro) 04. Hobbits' Song 05. Some Ways Back no More 06. A Secret Time 07. White Lies (Take Me Home) 08. My Grimoire 09. Unfinished Fairytale

Now the band is negotiating the release of the new album, and recently released a MySpace page, where is available the new single, "My Mind In Mordor", besides of a new version of "Hobbits' Song", originally released in 2007. - more on this story

The Grascals Set Release

PR reports: The Grascals, one of the most critically-acclaimed and dynamic groups in bluegrass music today, and the reigning IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Entertainers of the Year for the last two years, will release their third studio album for Rounder Records, Keep On Walkin', on July 15.

The 12-song, self-produced album is the group's first release in two years. It crystallizes the sound introduced and developed on the band's first two Grammy-nominated releases--traditional bluegrass and country music, both original and classic songs, all delivered with vocal and instrumental intensity and virtuosity. Timely and timeless, The Grascals' music is entirely relevant to the here and now, yet based on a deeply-seeded knowledge of and admiration for the music's founding fathers.

"After five years of singing together, and especially the last three years of extensive touring, we think we've really been able to define our sound on this record," said Grascals vocalist and guitarist Jamie Johnson. "The whole process of doing this album, from finding songs, to arranging them, recording and mixing—was relaxed and fun. We took our time so we could do things the way we wanted and treat each song with the care it deserved." - more on this story

First Denny's Band Winner

PR reports: After an intense 2 week battle and over 1 MILLION total votes, the Denny's AllNighter program is proud to announce that the winner of the first Adopt-A-Band Contest is. . . (drum roll, please). . .

The Boxing Lesson from Austin, Texas! A self-described psychedlic rock Texan trio, The Boxing Lesson will get to enjoy all the perks of being a Denny's Adopted Band from July 15 - September 15, including free Denny's late-night meals and afterparties for their fans as they tour across the country in support of their new record, Wild Streaks & Windy Days.

You can read about all of their future adventures as a Denny's Adopted Band on the Daily Blog over at - www.dennysallnighter.com

Defiance Reissue

PR reports: Metal Mind Productions present rerelease of "Product Of Society" the debut album by Defiance on 21st July 2008 in Europe and 2nd September 2008 in USA (via MVD).

This classic LP will be available in a new digipak edition with 5 demo and 3 live tracks as a bonus. Limited to 2000 copies, digitally remastered using 24-Bit process on golden disc.

This thrash metal band formed in 1985 by Brad Bowers (guitar), Mike Kaufmann (bass) and Matt Vander Ende (drums) belonged to the San Francisco thrash fraternity of the late 80's, along with bands like Testament, Exodus or Forbidden. "Product Of Society" was produced by Annihilator's guitarist Jeff Waters and managed to attract attention in the thrash community despite the frequent label as a Testament knock-off. It was the only album by Defiance to feature Ken Elkington on vocals and had cover art but Ed Repka. - more on this story

Winehouse Collapsed

antiMusic reports: Singer Amy Winehouse has been hospitalized after collapsing at her London home on Monday. The BBC spoke with her spokesman who confirmed that Winehouse is indeed in the hospital following the fainting spell.

BBC report: Her manager's assistant was there "to stop her falling" and Winehouse's father, Mitch, escorted her to hospital "as a precaution", the spokesman said.

Doctors are unsure as to the cause of the incident and the performer remains in hospital, where she may be kept in hospital overnight for observation. - read the full BBC report for more

 
 

Top Reviews of the Week

. R.E.M. - End of the World

Whenever I hear a R.E.M. song on the radio, it never ceases to make me smile as it reminds me of a time in my life where my friends viewed the world with eternal optimism and where our dreams were wide and vast. - Read the full R.E.M. - End of the World review

. Distorted - Voices From Within

This CD is the gift clairvoyants have been promising for decades: gothic metal's crowning achievement. Appearing in just a child's form, Distorted have fulfilled prophecies of decades past, excelling at atmospheric depression that ignores mediocrity - Read the full Distorted - Voices From Within review

. Robben Ford - Truth

When I first heard about Robben Ford he was playing in the jazz-rock band The Yellowjackets. What struck me the most was how amazingly young he was and how impossibly gifted he was on guitar. (2.5 stars) - Read the full Robben Ford - Truth review

. Martriden - The Unsettling Dark

Chilling, epic, violent, and intelligent, this CD marks a band with meteoric levels of talent. I find little surprising in the fact Emperor personally had Martriden open for their final shows. Rest assured this beast is ranking high in my 'best of' list for 2008. - Read the full Martriden - The Unsettling Dark review

. Deadsea

No matter how often we music critics try, sometimes a band simply cannot be labeled or stamped. This album sounds like so many different bands at once a sound has been crafted in the process. Chances are they will have invented a genre in a couple of years. - Read the full Deadsea review

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