Light This City Week: Day 3

- read Ben's story about this song

Metallica Diss Guns N' Roses

antiMusic reports: James Hetfield was interviewed by the Houston Chronicle and discussed a variety of topics including "Death Magnetic," the downside of "St. Anger" and was even asked about Guns N' Roses long in the making "Chinese Democracy," which finally will see the light of day next week.

While James was complimentary towards Axl Rose as an artist, he did take the opportunity to take a little swipe at Rose with some 'dis'missive remarks about "Chinese Democracy". Here is that part of the exchange. The Houston Chronicle asked James "You guys have an uneasy history with Guns N' Roses. Have you heard Axl Rose's new record? Do you even care?"

Hetfield responded: I'll certainly listen to it. But I haven't lost sleep waiting for it. I thought we took a long time to make an album. But you know he's late for everything so it makes total sense. We saw him play at a festival in Germany two years ago. He's a good frontman. He's eccentric, but all artists are. If they don't show that they're quirky, they're lying to you. They're either pretending they're not or they're pretending they're an artist. - Check out the full interview for James' hindsight feelings about St. Anger and more.

U2 Reinventing Rock N' Roll On New CD?

Music Radar reports: Along with producer Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois has put his stamp on six U2 albums, starting with 1984's The Unforgettable Fire. Their next collaboration with the band is due early next year, the title rumored to be No Line On The Horizon.

In an interview with the Boston Herald, Lanois discussed his history with U2 and how, in his words, they have "reinvented" rock 'n' roll with the upcoming record.

What's U2's new stuff like? "The president of the company is singing better than ever and the tracks are wildly innovative. I would never have thought things would have gone this way. I believe, well, rock 'n' roll has been reinvented one more time." [laughs] - more on this story

Scott Weiland TV And Tour

PR reports: Scott Weiland will be performing his new single, "Missing Cleveland" on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno this Friday, November 21st and on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday, November 26th. He will also be making an appearance on the American Music Awards on Sunday, November 23rd.

He will be performing at select radio festivals in December, with his solo tour to kick off in January. These appearances are in support of his new solo album "Happy" in Galoshes which is set for release next Tuesday, November 25th via his label Softdrive Records and distributed by New West Records/ RED/ SONY.

"Happy" In Galoshes was produced by Scott Weiland and Doug Grean (Velvet Revolver, Sheryl Crow, Crystal Method) with select tracks recorded by Steve Albini. The album also features several guest appearances including Adrian Young, Tony Kanal and Tom Dumont of No Doubt and Gary Beers from INXS. - Find out where he's going to be touring

Eurythmics Sex Toys

Music Radar reports: Musicians are known for endorsing all kinds of things, but as far as we know, former Eurythmic Dave Stewart is the first to put his name to a range of vibrators.

Working in collaboration with JimmyJane, he's created special editions of the Little Something model, and also written a song called Let's Do It Again. This will be offered as a free download to anyone who buys one of the vibrators.

"The project is a multi-faceted mashup of design, luxury, sex and music," says JimmyJane [Sweet Dreams indeed!] - more on this story

Motorhead Go Disney, Armageddon Is At Hand

BW&BK reports: On November 21st, Walt Disney Pictures will release BOLT, starring John Travolta and Miley Cyrus, and featuring Motorhead's song, 'Dog-Face Boy' from their Sacrifice album.

The song is in a mailroom scene where a young worker is listening to it on his headphones and inadvertently wraps Bolt up in a box that gets shipped off to New York City. Motorhead songs can be very distracting! [We have to assume Bolt is a person, but that's not very clear in this PR]

Stranger things have happened, as Disney isn't the first to pick up on the Motorhead mystique: there was a Motorhead song in the SpongeBob SquarePants movie, too. Just goes to show you that there are Motorhead fans of all ages everywhere. And says Lemmy, the band's indestructible and renowned leader, "It's never too early to get the kids started on our music!" - more on this story

Oasis To Step Into The Ring

Music Radar reports: Noel and Liam Gallagher have had some famous dust-ups over the years, so it seems entirely fitting that, this weekend, they're finally going to step into a boxing ring together.

However, the quarrelsome brothers won't actually be fighting themselves – they'll be carrying British boxer Ricky Hatton's IBO world light-welterweight title belt at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Hatton is set to defend his title against American Paulie Malignaggi, and is reported to have said: "It's a real honour for me. I've always been big fans of [Noel and Liam's] and I have to keep pinching myself because, as I have got to know them, I have discovered they are big fans of mine." - more on this story

Hendrix's Electric Ladyland Revisted

PR reports: Experience Hendrix LLC announces the release of At Last... The Beginning: The Making of Electric Ladyland DVD and companion Electric Ladyland Collector's Edition CD + DVD. The packages will be released on December 9th through Universal Music Enterprises coming forty years after the initial release of Electric Ladyland, the third and final album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was the last Hendrix studio album to have been produced during the guitar icon's lifetime and reflects his meticulous involvement in every facet of its creation.

Electric Ladyland is the source of such legendary Hendrix tracks as "All Along The Watchtower," "Crosstown Traffic," "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" and is commonly acknowledged by Hendrix cognoscenti as the most fully realized, cohesive project of his entire career. It was the only Hendrix album to have hit #1 on the Billboard charts. It is, indisputably, the crowning achievement of The Jimi Hendrix Experience and underscored Hendrix's abilities as singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer. - more on this story

Foo Chef Fighters- Vince Neil Solo- Sicko Jacko- Dirty Punk World Record Set- CSI: P.Diddy- McCartney Dylan Hopes- Jody Reynolds RIP and more

antiMusic reports: Today's quick music news stories: Foo Fighters will be appearing on the popular cooking show, Top Chef. According to a Spin report, the competitive cooking show is Dave Grohl's favorite. The episode will find the show's remaining contestants attempting to create the perfect dish for the Foos while the band rests between sets at a tour stop in Rochester, NY. more

Speaking of the Foo Fighters, they along with John Mayer and B.B. King will perform at the first Grammy Nominations Concert, to be held Dec. 3 at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live and broadcast on CBS. more. Guess none of "today's" stars were big enough names for this.

Vince Neil is planning a new solo CD and fans should expect some real rock from the effort, not Nikki's brand of fluff-rock. Neil tells Rolling Stone: "I'll be recording my record in April.. Then I'll probably release it in early November, when Motley's finishing this tour..... It's a little more aggressive than Motley, more like an AC/DC vein."

Michael Jackson might be too sick to travel to London to testify in a suit claiming he owes an Arab sheik $7 million, the pop star's attorney said Tuesday. more.

Kevin Kilkenny, one of Ignite's full-time touring guitarists broke the world land speed record on a dirt bike in September. Riding the Cardboard Robot KX500 dirt bike, Kilkenny exited the timed mile at the Bonneville Salt Flats, USA at 130.418 miles per hour. more

Tom Jones will take to streets today (November 19) to perform three songs with an acoustic guitarist in front of the Royal Festival Hall in London.more

Sean P.Shiddy Combs is set to appear on CSI: Miami as a prosecutor in two episodes which are expected to air this Winter. more

It looks like the really big names weren't available? Crystal Castles, My Morning Jacket, Blonde Redhead and Patti Smith are among the acts who will perform shows in New York City on New Year's Eve this year. more

Hey Weezer fans check out the video for "My Brain Is Working Overtime" from the soon-to-be-released "Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo" album, the video is a playful clip chock full of unexpected surprises, not to mention huge stuffed animals and hand puppets, or so the PR blurb we received says. Check it out here

Paul McCartney has expressed a desire to collaborate with both Bob Dylan and former Talking Heads mainman David Byrne. more

The official "Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..." website is live! Clips from the first episode (which debuts December 3 on the Sundance Channel) have been posted and include performance footage of Elton John collaborating with Elvis Costello, Elvis covering Elton's "Border Song" and interview footage as well. watch

Cadillac Records (the upcoming feature film with Beyonce and Adrien Brody) is currently auctioning off tickets to the movie premiere and after-parties on both coasts. The Liveauctioneers.com benefits Phoenix House. Go here for that.

LCD Soundsystem ringmaster James Murphy has put an end to speculation that his band is on permanent hiatus by revealing that the bulk of their next album is already written.more

Puddle of Mudd will be main stage at Rock Gone Wild. The festival is slated for August 20-23, 2009 in Algona, Iowa. more info

Ralph Joseph "Jody" Reynolds, the rockabilly singer and songwriter whose lone hit "Endless Sleep" in the 1950s ushered in a wave of tragic teen pop songs, died Nov. 7. He was 75.more

We got an email telling us about a new "couchsurfing-social-network type site." The basic idea is to build a community of free places to stay for bands on tour called Better Than The Van. Check it out here

Keel have decided to reunite once again. They plan to milk it with some festival appearance etc but for now their "big" reunion will talk place at The Knitting Factory in Hollywood in January. more

RADD today announced a partnership with DRINKiQ.com, a new innovative website designed to promote responsible choices about drinking. Created by Diageo, the world's leading spirits, wine and beer company, DRINKiQ.com is a global resource for all interested parties to share programs and tools designed to fight alcohol misuse and help individuals make responsible choices about drinking – or not drinking. DRINKiQ.com

As Miranda Lee Richards prepares for the release of her Nettwerk debut Light Of X (February 10, 2009), the singer and songwriter has announced a new residency whereby she will perform with her full backing band every Tuesday in February at Spaceland in Los Angeles (1717 Silver Lake Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90026). HerSpace

Virginia based metallers We Were Gentlemen has inked a worldwide record deal with Century Media, it was revealed today. - more on this story

Akon Using New Medium To Deliver New CD

PR reports: Akon announced today that his third album Freedom will be available on slotMusic, a new form of DRM-free MP3 music on a microSD card beginning Tuesday, December 2nd - the same date his album will be released digitally and on CD.

The new slotMusic card will give fans a chance to enjoy Akon's album in a variety of ways and on a host of devices - from their microSD-enabled mobile phones to their computers and MP3 players.

Going beyond the original thirteen songs that are on the CD version of the album, the slotMusic Freedom card will carry a mini-documentary video on Akon's life and influences, the new video for "Right Now (Na Na Na)," and exclusive hi-res images and songs including fellow SRC artist Tami Chynn's debut single "Frozen" featuring Akon. - more on this story

Van Halen Addiction Was Difficult for Michael Anthony

Music Radar reports: Music Radar has a new podcast interview with Van Halen star Michael Anthony where he covers a lot of topics including his former band, his current project Chickenfoot and more. Here is a little excerpt from the intro:

Changing lead singers - David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar and, for a minute or two, Gary Cherone - made the Van Halen experience "something of a mind game from time to time," says Anthony. "As soon as we had a strong identity, we had to change." And Eddie Van Halen's substance abuse problems didn't help matters. "I don't want to talk smack on anyone," says Anthony, "but there were times that were, uh, difficult."

After a bittersweet 'Van Hagar' reunion in 2004, Anthony assumed the band was finished for good. So he was more than a little surprised when Van Halen announced they were hitting the road early last year with original lead singer David Lee Roth - and Eddie's son Wolfgang on bass. "It was a blow," says Anthony. "I would have loved to have been a part of it. But at my age, you learn to roll with the punches. And you find that better things lay ahead." - Listen to the podcast here

Who Has Woodies?

antiMusic reports: The Woodie Awards 2008 event will premier tonight on mtvU, mtvU.com and in high-definition on Palladia at 8:00PM EST. We have some info on the show, the list of winners and some previews for you to check out (including All-American Rejects mooning Paramore):

With over 5.2 million votes cast by college students nationwide, mtvU, MTV's 24-hour college network, tonight declared Paramore, There for Tomorrow, Motion City Soundtrack, Chromeo, Jack's Mannequin and Atmosphere winners of the year's definitive college music awards. Roseland Ballroom in New York City hosted thousands of college students for a night of emerging music, unexpected collaborations and beer pong at the fifth-annual "Woodies."

New hip hop artist Asher Roth kicked off the night with his anthem I Love College, before crowd-surfing to The Cool Kids' high-energy performance of Delivery Man, culminating in ice-cream sandwiches flying into the crowd. Lykke Li transformed the night with haunting vocals and a surprise collaboration with hip hop icon Q-Tip for Can I Kick It, followed by a medley of Move, Vibrant Thing and Gettin' Up. All Time Low's pop punk performance got the rowdy crowd even more amped up with Dear Maria and Poppin Champagne. Woodie of the Year nominee Santogold's retro 80's chic lit up the night with L.E.S. Artists, before Naeem Juwan of Spank Rock joined her on stage for an unannounced performance of Shove It. Vampire Weekend, nominated for "Best Video Woodie," blew their fans away with their debut performance of The Kids Don't Stand A Chance with Chromeo, followed by the unforgettable Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa. - more including a link to the mooning video

Free Snow Patrol Tour

PR reports: ShockHound announced today that it will be kicking off an exclusive free tour with Snow Patrol, the Northern Irish/Scottish band feted as pop-rock heavyweights. The band will make stops in Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Diego.

ShockHound [claim to be] a one-stop, genre-spanning music site loaded with millions of MP3s, a vast selection of band merchandise, the latest music videos, unique programming, and exclusive and compelling editorial content.

A limited number of free tickets will be available starting November 21, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. PST on ShockHound.com on a first-come, first-serve basis. - more on this story

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