Punk Legend Dies

The band's rockabilly-infused punk has been credited as an influence by bands including the White Stripes and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. - more on this story

Miley Cyrus Accused of Racism

Hecklerspray reports: If what we've heard is correct, then Miley Cyrus is a horrible racist who hates the Japanese, loathes the Chinese, and has built hundreds of Eskimo concentration camps out of things like murky sea-ice and decomposing whale bones.

We wouldn't convey information like that without concrete evidence to back it up - we just wouldn't! That's why we need to tell you Miley definitely hates the entire Asian race because she recently allowed her picture to be taken while her pasty white fingers pulled her eyes back at a very tight angle.

All Headline News describes her racist rampage in incredible detail: The Organization of Chinese American (OCA) said in a statement: "The photograph of Miley Cyrus and other individuals slanting their eyes currently circulating the internet is offensive to the Asian Pacific American community and sets a terrible example for her many young fans." Executive Director of OCA George Wu said: "Not only has Miley Cyrus and the other individuals in the photograph encouraged and legitimized the taunting and mocking of people of Asian descent, she has also insulted her many Asian Pacific American fans." [If any readers know if this organization condemned the prayer at the recent inaugural which encouraged the "yellow to mellow," please let us know. For now read more of Hecklersprays' tongue in cheek coverage of this scandal - here]

Springsteen Blasts Ticketmaster Scam

Billboard reports: Bruce Springsteen and his manager, Jon Landau, criticized Ticketmaster for redirecting customers attempting to buy Springsteen concert tickets to the company's secondary ticketing site, TicketsNow. [secondary ticket market = legalized scalping]

On Monday, fans trying to make face-value purchases for tickets were instead sent to TicketsNow, "even when other seats remained available at face value," says a letter posted on BruceSpringsteen.net. "We condemn this practice."

"We perceive this as a pure conflict of interest," the post continues. "Ticketmaster is there to ensure that we have a good, fair sale of our tickets at their face value plus normal ticketing charges. TicketsNow is supposed to be a secondary site where people who already have tickets may exchange, trade, and, unfortunately, speculate with them. We have asked this redirection from Ticketmaster to TicketsNow cease and desist immediately and Ticketmaster has agreed to do so in the future and has removed its unwanted material from their and our site." more from this report

[He should have been condemning their rape (a.k.a. service) fees all along as well. And it would be interesting to know how many tickets Ticketmaster sets aside for TicketsNow, or any funny business like that is going on. - You gotta read the head Ticketbastard's response. ]

All Super Bowl Music Performances Faked (Including The E Street Band's)

MusicRadar reports: It seemed too perfect, and it was. Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band's knockout halftime performance at last Sunday's Super Bowl. Turns out perfection was easy to come by, as the E Street Band were on tape.

"The Super Bowl performances are all on tape," says Hank Neuberger, a Grammy-winning producer who supervises the broadcast audio for the Grammy Awards.

According to Neuberger, Bruce Springsteen And the E Street Band recorded their instrumental performances in advance. Only The Boss's vocals were live, he says
"There is no way you can set up a full band in five minutes with microphones, get all the settings right, and expect to get quality sound," Neuberger says. "The Super Bowl has been doing that for years with virtually all the bands." - more on this story

Plant Explains Why He Didn't Reunite With Led Zeppelin

MusicRadar reports: Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant has explained further why he declined to take part in a reunion of Zeppelin with Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham.

Speaking to Absolute Radio's Ben Jones, Plant said:"The reason that it stopped was because we were incomplete, and we've been incomplete now for 28 years. And no matter what you do, you have to really guard the discretion of what you've done in the past and make sure that you have all the reasons in the right place to be able to do something with absolute, total conviction."

He continued: "To visit old ground, it's a very incredibly delicate thing to do, and the disappointment that could be there once you commit to that and the comparisons to something that was basically fired by youth and a different kind of exuberance to now… it's very hard to go back and meet that head on and do it justice." - more on this story

Coldplay To Avoid Grammys Because of Song Theft?

MusicRadar reports: Wonder if Gwyneth Paltrow can sing a mean version of Coldplay's Viva La Vida? She may have to at this weekend's Grammy Awards. The reason? The lawyer repping Joe Satriani is sending teams of process servers to the show to hand Coldplay a plagiarism lawsuit.

As we've reported in the past, guitarist Joe Satriani is suing Coldplay for copyright infringement for their Grammy-nominated song Viva La Vida, claiming the 2008 track copies "substantial original portions" of his song If I Could Fly, which was released in 2004.

According to Fox News, since filing the lawsuit on 4 December 2008, Satriani's attorney Howard King claims that Coldplay have evaded being served with papers - and in his view, The Grammy Awards are as good a place as any to get the job done. - more on this story

Blur Reunion Gig- Kaiser Chiefs on Hold?- Fall Out Fiddy Bamboozled- Korn Bizkit Fest- Sex Pistol Buttering Up Consumers- Joe Perry Recovering from Surgery and more

antiMusic reports: Blur will headline this year's T In The Park Festival, NME.COM can reveal. The reunited band will top the bill on the Saturday night (July 11). more

The California edition of the Bamboozle Festival, dubbed Bamboozle Left, will be headlined by the unlikely duo of Fall Out Boy and 50 Cent. Other artists performing at Bamboozle Left include The Used, The Get Up Kids, Thrice, Cobra Starship, Bloodhound Gang and more

It appears that Fred Durst might still have some fans left… in Germany: Korn, Killswitch Engage, Marilyn Manson, Dragonforce and Limp Bizkit are among the newly confirmed bands for this year's Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals, set to take place June 5-7, 2009 in the German towns of Nürburgring and Nürnberg. more

The Sex Pistols' John Lydon has apparently helped to revive sales of the butter brand Country Life. The punk frontman has been appearing in TV commercials for its makers Dairy Crest, who have claimed that the brand's sales have risen by 83 percent, reports Reuters. more

Joe Perry's recovery at home from his recent emergency knee surgery is going very well; the Aerosmith guitarist is continuing to fight off the infection that had suddenly developed after he had an artificial knee installed around 10 months ago (as a result of a stage-fall 23 years ago in Dallas). Next, the Aerosmith guitarist will soon head into the studio with his band-mates to record a much-anticipated new album, for which there are already a "few cool new bits and pieces" in the works, says Joe. more

Bruce Springsteen ended Taylor Swift's eight-year reign on the U.S. pop chart on Wednesday, although his first-week sales were down sharply from those for his previous release.more

Kaiser Chiefs are reportedly to take a hiatus, while they rethink their next direction and to avoid being overexposed. An insider [ok, you can probably stop reading here] tol the Daily Star that the decision came due to the disappointing chart placement of last single 'Good Days Bad Days' (it failed to enter the Top 100), and as a result no more songs will be released from third album 'Off With Their Heads'. more from this "source" who could be the janitor at their record label for all we know. Yes, we included this story to make fun of reports based on unnamed "sources". Could the band be on hold? Sure but we're waiting to hear confirmation from Bigfoot.

Suicide Silence entered the studio with producer Machine (Lamb of God) this week to work on their next album, "No Time To Bleed." Which the band's PR says promises to make their debut offering seem like easy listening. The band is expected to debut some new material on the upcoming Carcass tour this March more

A Life Once Lost says: "We have been holed up in Freehold, NJ for the last two months starting to put together our next album. The vibe of this stuff is more of a throwback for us. We have come up with some seriously mind bending riffs and it feels really good so far. The recording is still a ways off as we are only a few tracks in, but expect nothing but a sick groove metal record."more

This year's Central Illinois Metalfest will take place on July 31st and August 1st at the Canopy Club in Urbana, Illinois. initial lineup

Ankla will be headlining the outdoor festival "Rock in Rio" in Puerto Rico Wednesday February 11, 2009. This is a free yearly event held at La Calle Universidad. Shouldn't it be called Rock in Puerto Rico? Maybe a Woodstock in Texas is next? more

Maroon's new album will hit the stores in Germany on April 17, 2009 and April 20, 2009 in the rest of Europe. The band will play an exclusive record release show in their hometown of Nordhausen on April 18 more

Brand New Sin is in the studio recording tracks for their 4th LP at Subcat Music Studio in Skaneateles, NY. more

Classic Rock Magazine is reporting that it's been announced that founding UFO bassist Pete Way will be taking time out from UFO while recovering from liver damage.more

Travis have announced a tour of North America, beginning April 4 in Vancouver, BC.more

Helix vocalist Brian Vollmer has posted the following message in search of a bass player. "If anyone knows a bass player out there who would like to play for Helix, we're looking for a bass player with a good voice for our live show. Those with a criminal record or shitty attiutde need not apply. Must have own transportation and be able to travel." Good thing he didn't exclude anyone with a bad attitude because the criminal record (and whatever an attiutde happens to be) will make the search difficult! - Are you crime and attiutde free and want the gig? Click here

Guitar Hero Changed For Metallica Edition

Billboard reports: Several new gameplay twists emerge for the first time on "Guitar Hero: Metallica," which arrives in stores March 29 from Activision.

Players have a double bass option on drums for the difficult and expert levels, which can be enabled by using a splitter and an additional pedal for the kick drum. In addition, all of the songs will be "unlocked" from the beginning of the game as opposed to them not being available until players reach certain levels, as in previous versions of "Guitar Hero."

"It was time to change it up a bit," Neversoft lead designer Alan Flores says. "Guitar Hero: Metallica" will be available for Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2. Aerosmith was the first artist to star in its own version of the game, which was released last summer. - More details

Escape The Lamb of God Plague

PR reports: On February 24th, to celebrate the release of their fifth studio album Wrath, Lamb of God have created the Escape The Plague contest. The first 100,000 copies of the album will include a card that will direct the fan to Lamb-of-God.com/escapetheplague.

Once at the site, the fan will be instructed to enter the code listed on the card and answer three questions. The site will then randomly select 100 winners, who will then be directed to the prize page to select their prize.

As each prize is chosen, the site will automatically delete that prize and will do so until all prizes are claimed. The site will go live at midnight, February 23rd, 2009. - more on this story

Deep Purple Legend Ian Gillan Releasing New CD

PR reports: Eagle Rock Entertainment is proud to announce the release of One Eye To Morocco, the first studio album with all new material in 10 years from legendary Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan, released through subsidiary Eagle Records on March 31

Produced and recorded in Canada with maestro Nick Blagona, the music was written by Ian Gillan together with long-time collaborator Steve Morris, as well as Michael Lee Jackson and Rodney Appleby – who both performed on the "Gillan's Inn" US tour, as featured on the double album/DVD Live in Anaheim (released through Edel Entertainment).

The musicians are: Michael Lee Jackson – Guitar, Rodney Appleby – Bass, Howard Wilson – Drums, Joe Menonna – Saxophone, Lance Anderson – Hammond Organ, and Jesse O'Brien – Keyboards. - more on this story

Rage Against The Machine, MC5 and Wilco Members Guest on Greedy Souls Debut

PR reports: Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls couple rough-and-ragged Americana strains with punk idealism and directness on their debut full-length, The Vain Hope of Horse, resulting in a sound that is as instantly familiar as it is convention-defying. Now out on Still Small Recordings, this fourteen-track album is sure to spearhead a new movement of songwriters who keep Springsteen and the Sex Pistols side-by-side in their record collections. "The idea is to seek a kind of honesty in everything we do," says Heath. "With everything from the lyrics to the production." The band will promoting their debut with shows at The Hotel Cafe February 7 and Mr. T's Bowl March 6.

Striving for justice and truth through music, the Greedy Souls are a rag-tag team of LA musicians from all corners of the music scene. Lead singer/songwriter Heath and drummer Abraham Etz have been in and out of punk bands for 20 years, including Spinewire, who recorded with Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello and Dennis Herring (Elvis Costello, Modest Mouse). Others include Jason Federici, son of Danny Federici, the accordion player for Bruce Springsteen's E Street band, whom Jason has occasionally gigged with. Adding renowned honky-tonk pianist Chris Joyner and fiddle player Ysanne Spevack, the band firmly rooted themselves in the traditional sound of Americana.

Their new debut album, The Vain Hope of Horse is an curiosity in many intriguing ways, featuring Americana with left-leaning politics, produced by musicians who got their start in punk rock. Nowhere is this dichotomy better exemplified than lead single "Anarchist Girl," which, as Heath recalls, started as a joke at band practice. A country two-step with a doo-wop feel, the song mixes the political with the romantic: "She fights for liberty/And she's the only girl for me/She stole my heart away/She's gonna change the world/I'm in love with an anarchist girl." Fittingly, Wayne Kramer of the MC5, arguably the first ever group to mix rock with radical politics, makes a guest appearance on lead guitar. Elsewhere, the sterling steel guitar of Wilco's Nels Cline graces several tracks, as well as the baritone vocals and acoustic guitar of Tom "The Nightwatchman" Morello. The album, produced by Heath and Mike Fennel (Anastacia), is dedicated to the memory of Danny Federici, who passed away last year from cancer. - more on this story

Initial Bonnaroo Lineup Announced

PR reports: Superfly Productions and A.C. Entertainment are excited to announce the initial lineup for the 2009 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. The eighth annual four-day camping and music festival will be held on June 11 - 14 on the same beautiful 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, 60 miles south of Nashville.

The final Bonnaroo 2009 lineup will total over 120 bands and over 20 comedians performing on 13 stages over four days. Tickets go on sale exclusively through www.bonnaroo.com on Saturday, February 7 at 12:00 PM Eastern.

Continuing the Bonnaroo tradition of diversity and dynamism, the 2009 lineup draws top-flight acts from a staggering range of musical worlds. This year the festival features Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Phish, the Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails, TV on the Radio, Wilco, Al Green, David Byrne, Snoop Dogg, Merle Haggard, Animal Collective, Lucinda Williams, Femi Kuti, Mars Volta, Coheed and Cambria, The Del McCoury Band, Alejandro Escovedo and Rodrigo y Gabriela to name a few. - more including full list of bands

Singled Out: Madison Park

antiMusic reports: Welcome to Singled Out! where we ask artists to tell us the inside story of their latest single. Today we have something a little different for you. For those into dance music, Madison Park tells us about "Another Yesterday". Here is the story:

It can be difficult to explain the lyrics to a song particularly when the inspiration behind it is multi-faceted. Overall, "Another Yesterday" is a song about depression and how people battle it. How it overrides everything they do, or attempt to do. Depression is not a personal battle for me, but I have several friends/family who cope with it. Some people are more affected by worldly issues than others. Some go through their lives without a glimpse beyond what affects them in their day-to-day, while others are incredibly bogged down by the bigger picture. I fall somewhere in between.

- Read the rest of this song story

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