Music News Net

Live Earth India Concert Cancelled

    MUSIC NEWS - Live Earth India, scheduled for December 7, 2008 in Mumbai to raise money for solar energy projects, has been cancelled due to the recent terrorist attacks in the city, organizers announced on Saturday.  "Due to circumstances beyond our control, we are saddened to announce that Live Earth India has been called off," said a joint statement from organizers, including former US vice-president Al Gore. Musicians scheduled for the event included Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, Bon Jovi, Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.I.Am, Indian rapper Hard Kaur and Anoushka Shankar, daughter of legendary sitar player Ravi Shankar.   Bollywood stars were also scheduled to appear, including actors Amitabh Bachchab, his son Abhishek Bachchan and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai, Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta.   Gore, Live Earth co-founder Kevin Wall and Rajednra Pachauri, the head of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, stated that everyone involved in the project was "stunned and distraught" by the attacks.  "We were all in the course of finalizing plans for Live Earth India, scheduled for December 7, when we were struck with the news," they added.   The concert was to follow up on the series of events on seven continents on July 7, 2007.  The evebts were seen by more than two billion people and were designed to raise awareness of global warming.  "Together, we will continue to work for solutions to the climate crisis for the good of the people of India and around the world," the organizers said.  Ticket refund info will be posted soon at Liveearth.org.

"But for now, our thoughts and our prayers are with the victims of this terrible attack, with the bereaved, with the people of Mumbai and with everyone across India."

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Rick-Rolled !!!

     MUSIC NEWS - Is nothing sacred???  Straight from his win as Best Act Ever at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards  Rick Astley personally 'Rick-rolled' the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade yesterday, November 27 in New York City.   Astley appeared out of nowhere on the "Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends' (Cartoon Network) kids TV show float and mimed to his 1987 British #1 hit 'Never Gonna Give You Up' in the middle of Blue and his friends singing, 'You're My Best Friend'.  At the end of RIck's performance, Blue yelled, "I like Rick-rolling!"  He's of course referring to the internet phenon that had prank internet links on websites linking to a video of Astley's tune.

Watch the fun in the video below-

The KILLERS To Be Bigger Than U2 ???

     MUSIC NEWS - With The Killers releasing one of the best regarded albums of the year in Day and Age, is lead singer Brandon Flowers satisfied?  No, his next goal is to be bigger than U2. That's a big goal, though Las Vegas, NV The Killershave at least opened for the Irish superstars, and Flowers & Bono have even shared a stage.  But in an interview recently with UK's Daily Telegraph, Flowers says that is not enough; he wants to de-throne Bono and company.   "They're unbelievable but they're getting old," says Flowers, 27. "I feel like it's time."   Flowers, like many of legendary artists, is a man full of contradictions and passions. He talks about his young son, and how he's "growing up somewhere right now and he doesn't see me. That is wrong." Yet, in the same breath, he admits that he can't wait until The Killers are selling out the Wembley Stadiums of the world.  I've tasted the blood," he says. "We've had amazing gigs, where we can do no wrong. I can't explain but it's life changing. And now I just want that every night."  Aside from overtaking U2, Flowers has one more mega-dream, and true to form, it's huge: "To write the best song of all time. I do believe it's a possibility. I'm a believer."  Comments like these seem to me (and man other) as the mark of a swelled head, but Flowers and band have shown amazing growth since their debut in 2004.  So he may have some kind of base for his expectation.  Time, more albums and the audience will decide. 

RAY CHARLES Albums Rereleasing and Go Digital !

  MUSIC NEWS-  Concord Music Group announced today an exclusive agreement with the Ray Charles Foundation to develop the post 1960 record catalog of legendary pianist & soul singer, Ray Charles.  The deal  contains Charles's classic work from the ABC and Tangerine labels. Many of the masters will be made available digitally for the first time ever, including such iconic recordings as “Georgia On My Mind,” “Hit the Road Jack” and “Crying Time” among many others.   The reissue will start with the digital-only release of Charles’ The Spirit of Christmas and will continue into March 2009 with the release of a yet-unnamed "hits" collection. 
 
The Spirit of Christmas, was released originally in 1985 on Columbia Records, and features such holiday standards as “What Child Is This,” “The Little Drummer Boy,” and “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” The reissue includes the bonus track “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” a duet with Betty Carter, recorded in 1961. This digital-only release will be made available on November 25, 2008 at iTunes and all other digital outlets. The album will come out on cd for the 2009 Christmas season.  Then in March, Concord will release a definitive retrospective volume featuring 21 chart-topping Ray Charles hits including the aforementioned “Georgia on My Mind,” and “Hit the Road Jack,” plus “Busted,” “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” “Sticks and Stones,” “Drown in My Own Tears,” “Unchain My Heart,” “I’ve Got a Woman,” “You Are My Sunshine” and “Take These Chains From My Heart,” just to name a few. Other releases in 09 are still tbd, but the highlights will be Starbucks Opus Anthology, to be available as a Starbucks exclusive; Modern Sounds in Country Western Music, Vol. 1 & 2; The Genius Hits the Road; Genius + Soul = Jazz; Berlin, 1962; plus the late fall CD release of The Spirit of Christmas.
 

Berlin to Host 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards

     MUSIC NEWS - MTV Networks International today announced that Berlin Germany, will host their 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards. It will be the fourth time that the Awards will be held in Germany, with the show returning to the city where it was launched in 1994 to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.   The 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards will be held in front of the Brandenburg Gate and at Berlin's new O2 World Arena. The new arena opened in September 2008, and is one of the most modern venues in the world.  The 2009 MTV EMAs will be broadcast live across all platforms on Thursday, November 5, 2009,  and is known as one of the most prestigious live music events. The 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards in Liverpool were broadcast in over 40 countries and featured performances by Beyonce, P!nk, The Killers, Estelle, Kanye West and Kid Rock with Katy Perry as host !

CD “For the Troops II” Now Available for Free Download by US Service Members

     MUSIC NEWS - Beginning today, a brand new download CD “For The Troops II”, including Grammy Award winners/nominees and top recording artists Trace Adkins, Good Charlotte, Joe Perry, Daughtry, Josh Groban and Five For Fighting, is available for free at the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) website !

"I'm excited that the CD ‘For the Troops’ project is back with a new roster of fantastic artists and great songs,” said John Ondrasik who performs under the name Five for Fighting and lead the CD’s development. “After the response from last year’s effort, creating a sequel was a no-brainer. The CD ‘For the Troops II’ has a bit more rock and a few surprises, but at its core is a thank you to those whose sacrifice secures our freedom and that of our children."

U.S. active duty service members and veterans worldwide with a valid military ID can download the album at no charge.  CDs will also be arriving at military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, America Supports You events, USO Centers, Fisher Houses, and other locations across the nation and overseas.  “As Americans, we cannot do enough for these dedicated men and women who serve our nation,” said Trace Adkins. “I am honored to be involved with this project and hope that it may bring a moment of enjoyment to them as they defend our freedom and our way of life.”

Bamboozle 2009 Announced for NJ !!!

     MUSIC NEWS - Bamboozle 2009 was announced this week and Fall Out Boy (Saturday, May 2nd) and No Doubt (Sunday, May 3rd) are the headliners. No other major announcements were made about the event, but here is the press release that we received :

Bamboozle, a phenomenon born on the east coast five years ago, is officially THE must see music festival of the summer. Bamboozle 2009 is guaranteed to be the best and most eclectic yet with mega music stars signing on for not to be missed exclusive performances. Bamboozle is the only place to watch over two hundred of the most talked about bands in pop, punk, mainstream, emo and more perform live on ten stages for two days at The Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, NJ. The party kicks off in true Bamboozle tradition with The Annual Parade Of Nothing on Saturday, May 2nd at 10am assembling at gate D, followed by the 2008 Boozler Pep Rally lead by a special surprise guest.

Along with an all star roster the 5th installment of Bamboozle still includes all of the features that have become a part of the Bamboozle experience. The world famous vendor village returns with; Bamboozle TV Studios, Pass The Mic Comedy Tore and the introduction of the Crunk Rock Prom. The vendor village will also showcase a variety of cutting edge clothing companies, band merch, top record labels, and tons of Bamboozle surprises. Hoodwink ups the ante this year with A Night Of Tributes performed by a secret lineup to be revealed soon. Bamboozle brings the future of music to the world's stage while connecting bands and fans for a celebration unlike any other.

For up to the minute information on band announcements and more festival information visit TheBamboozle.com. We haven't made our Spring 09 plans yet, but we will certainly make this event.  Stay tuned to MNN for new info as announced.

See Sold-Out Shows! Tickets Available on StubHub.com (ad)

     UPDATE 12/1/08 - More Bands Added -  3OH!3, A Rocket To The Moon, Ace Enders And A Million Different People, All Time Low, Bayside, Bloodhound Gang, Boys Like Girls, Brokencyde, Cobra Starship, Danger Radio, Enter Shikari, Face To Face, Forever The Sickest Kids, GWAR, Hyper Crush, Mac Lehtal, Mercy Mercedes, Never Shout Never, New Found Glory, Parkway Drive, Rise Against, Scotty Don't, Sonny,The Cab, The Get Up Kids, & We The Kings.

RACONTEURS Go Bluegrass With Old Enough

     MUSIC NEWS -  Jack White and company continue to move forward with new efforts.  And now, The Raconteurs recently announced that they've enlisted country legend Ricky Skaggs and new player,  Ashley Monroe to give Old Enough, from their Consolers of the Lonely release, the bluegrass treatment.  Drummer Patrick Keeler said that "we wanted to show a different side of the band and work with a few local artists we highly respect. Ricky is a legend, plain and simple, and one of the best players around. Ashley Monroe is a young, rising star with an angelic voice."  The song has already been released as a single two weeks ago; featuring a live version recorded at Bonnaroo and an acoustic version.  The new "Old Enough" will be released on December 2  as an exclusive digital download at Amazon before arriving on other online sellers and brick-and-mortar retailers on December 9.  It will also be available on 7" vinyl on December 16 !!!

PAVEMENT Wants to Treat You At Ikea

     MUSIC NEWS -  Indie rock band, Pavement are releasing a very special ' Nicene Creedence Edition' (special editon), the fourth album from Matador's Brighten The Corners Series. It will includes unreleased material and the original twelve tracks, one of which is called Date With Ikea.  The smart gang at the label, Matador Records are promoting the new release with a cool contest for you to win a shoping spree at Ikea with a member of the band and a $500 in spending money.  To enter, simply submit a photo of your home/apartment/flat and a brief essay on why you deserve to win the shopping spree.  No word yet on which Pavement band member you shop with, but does it matter? 

Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition (track list below) will be released on December 9.

AMY WINEHOUSE Calls Her Marriage Over !

      MUSIC NEWS- From the no-surprise file !  The troubled Brit singer, Amy Winehouse has said her marriage is over!  She says Blake Fielder-Civil, her husband of only 17 months, has left her for the German model Sophie Schandorff.  "It's over.There's no way back for us now. It was never going to last. We were only together for sex," England's News of the World paper quoted Winehouse as saying.  "I fancied him like mad, like no one else I've ever known. But it's not enough, is it?" Through their entire relationship, Winehouse and Fielder-Civil made headlines due to their bizarre behavior, individual battles with drug addiction and various law troubles .  To top it off, Mr Fielder-Civil has been in prison for most of the marriage; he pled guilty to charges of assault and "perverting the course of justice".   Kind of hard to build a relationship while in the slammer !  The source told the newspaper that Ms Winehouse hasn't seen Fielder-Civil since he was released from jail and entered his much needed rehab earlier this month.   "Amy said (sex) was the basis for their relationship. It was built on sex so when he went inside prison there was nothing for them to fall back on," the friend said.  Hopefully, this can put the award winning and very talented Winehouse back on track to make new music ! 

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame NYC Annex Opens, The Clash Featured

  MUSIC NEWS - The much touted Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ANNEX NYC opened its doors for the first time today (11/24/08). The highly anticipated ANNEX will take visitors/music lovers beyond the usual museum experience in a dynamic journey that brings back some of the most defining moments in rock n roll history.  You'll journey through several galleries and discover the moments ignited by hundreds of music revolutionaries like John Lennon, Madonna, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan. Additionally, The ANNEX opens its first special exhibit in true punk-rock style, honoring the Clash. The Clash exhibit, which debuted at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, OH in 06 will now appear at the ANNEX in NYC for a short run. 

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ANNEX NYC is located in Soho at 76 Mercer Street, NYC and will be an experiential and technologically advanced exhibition that focuses on the greatest moments in rock history.  It will surely resonate with everyone from the casual music fan to the "studied" rock expert. The ANNEX will also showcase selected items from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s vast collection, including Bruce Springsteen’s 1957 Chevy, John Lennon’s Record Plant Piano, Elvis Presley’s motorcycle jacket, a handwritten poem by Jim Morrison and so much more. The exhibits, including the Roots & Influences, Moments to Movements and New York Rocks rooms, will highlight rock and roll’s impact on music and society, allowing visitors to discover, or rediscover, their connection to it.

MUFIN Music Discovery Site Opens

    MUSIC NEWS - Just recently, MUFIN, a new music discovery site that enables you to tap into entirely new artists and songs regardless of their geography or popularity, announced the official release of its public beta version.  Mufin brings a new, fresh approach to music discovery with its advanced audio ‘fingerprinting’ technology that presents music recommendations based on a song’s unique musical characteristics, such as tempo, instruments, sound density, and rhythm structure.  This way, mufin’s music recommendations are based only on the music itself, resulting in a wider diversity in your music discovery compared with traditional music discovery sites that are based on mainstream popularity, community recommendations.  There are over four million songs indexed and cataloged in mufin’s database; and in the near future release mufin will allow music fans and independent artists the ability to upload their own music to further open mufin’s library to a wealth of underground, global, and independent music.  Sounds cool, check them out at mufin.com and let us know what you think. 

Twilight Soundtrack, and NEW MOON Sequel Announced !

With the phenon Twilight soundtrack selling so well and the film breaking pre-sale box office records, we thought you'd want to know that the studio behind the Twilight film ( Summit Entertainment) announced today that they are officially moving forward with the production of NEW MOON, the second installment of its filmed franchise TWILIGHT, the action-packed, modern day vampire love story. The movie will be based on the second novel in author Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series titled, "New Moon." The first movie in the TWILIGHT franchise, the self-titled TWILIGHT, arrived in theaters this weekend to sold-out showings. No word on release date yet (2009 or 2010) or the dvd, blu ray release of TWILIGHT ! (soundtrack track list below)

Rachael Yamagata Returns On a Big Label

MUSIC NEWS- She's gotten critical and audience acclaim since her 04 debut, now singer/ songwriter, Rachel Yamagata  has just released a new album.  We still regularly pop-in her 04 pop-rock debut, Happenstance, especially for the hit,  “Worn Me Down.”  As you might know, her cd sales didn’t match the buzz so, her first big label, RCA, dropped the VA artist even after she finished her next album with producer Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley).  Yamagata regouped and; luckily, the momentum for her continued unabated, thanks to song placements on TV (Nip/Tuck, ER, One Tree Hill) and in film (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, In Her Shoes).    She's now found a place at Warner Bros. Records for Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart. The new 2 cd set is split between her quieter, more contemplative persona, and in exploring new, raw rock sounds, and, we get to hear her switch between piano and guitar.  See a brief interview with her at Performing Songwriter, here.  She also has some December gigs booked (one's an appearance on Mountain Stage) , see itinerary below-

(photo Hilary Walsh)

NO DOUBT To Re-Form, Tour in 2009, Headline at Bamboozle and New Album in 2010

     MUSIC NEWS- A somewhat cryptic message from the NO DOUBT members (Gwen Stefani, Tom Dumont [guitar, vocals], Tony Kanal [bass], Adrian Young [drums, percussion]) appears on their website.  In it, the band mates converse about the need to hit the road and see their fans live!  And further make the claim, ND 2009 !  Their manager, Jim Guerinot, has previously stated that a new album is nearly complete with plans for an early 09 release, it being produced by Mark "Spike" Stent (Rock Steady). 

And, the first No Doubt concert announcement for 2009 has been made. The reunited band will headline the May 3 gig of  Bamboozle, the three-day festival at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, N.J.  Fall Out Boy is to headline May 2.  Single day tickets go on sale Nov. 28 at 10 a.m. This will be the fifth version of Bamboozle.

UPDATE 12/17/08 -  No Doubt today confirmed a delay on the release of their comeback album until 2010, so they can concentrate on their tour.  Gwen Stefani recently said the band would hit the road in 2009, and that a new LP was in the works; their first in more than seven years.  But dummer Adrian Young confirms he and his bandmates are working on new music, but a release is a long time away.  He told MTV, "We've been working on a new record off and on now for a bit of time, and we're going to continue to work on a new record next year. We're going to start touring in the spring of 09 through the summer, and we're going to continue to work on music while we're travelling. (We'll have) a mobile studio on the bus and eventually get to a new No Doubt record."