Archive for July, 2009
Pearl Jam Give “Backspacer” Art Hunters “Speed of Sound” Demo
July 30th, 2009
Photograph by Danny Clinch Pearl Jam fans who participated in yesterday’s Backspacer scavenger hunt to find all nine pieces of their Seattle band’s new album artwork received a pretty nice reward after completing their mission: A demo of Eddie Vedder performing the Backspacer track “Speed of Sound.” Vedder recently performed the song when he embarked on his solo tour, but the demo represents a more fleshed out version with layered vocals and guitars. Similar in ...
Suspect in Idol “Glitter Girl” Hit and Run to Plead Not Guilty, On Suicide Watch
July 30th, 2009
Photo: Becker/FOX
The man arrested in the hit-and-run death of American Idol hopeful Alexis Cohen, or “Glitter Girl” as she was called after auditioning twice for the show, plans to plead not guilty to charges of aggravated manslaughter, death by vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident, the lawyer of the suspect Daniel Bark told People. According to reports, Bark’s 2005 Mitsubishi Galant allegedly struck Cohen as Bark was fleeing from police ...
Katherine Jackson to Keep Custody of Michael’s Children
July 30th, 2009
Photo: Mazur/MJ Memorial via GettyKatherine Jackson will remain the guardian of her son Michael’s three children after reaching an agreement with the biological mother of Jackson’s two eldest kids, Debbie Rowe, the Los Angeles Times reports. Under the terms of the deal, Katherine Jackson will retain custody while Rowe has been granted visitation and other legal parental rights. Both sides said that Rowe did not receive any money from this new pact. Katherine Jackson was ...
Green Day to Perform at VMAs, Billie Joe Armstrong Ready for “Memorable Experience”
July 30th, 2009
Photo: Morigi/WireImage
Green Day and Pink have both been added to this year’s slate of performers at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Rolling Stone can reveal this morning. The band’s live performance from New York on September 13th will mark the 21st Century Breakdown punks’ third time hitting the VMAs stage: Green Day played Insomniac’s “Armatage Shanks” in their VMAs debut back in 1994, and followed that up over a decade later with American Idiot’s ...
Panic! At the Disco Pick Up The Cab’s Guitarist, Brobecks’ Bassist
July 30th, 2009
Photo: Miller/Getty(Crawford), Panic! At the Disco’s Spencer Smith has revealed the two musicians that will join him and Brendon Urie — and replace departed guitarist Ryan Ross and bassist Jon Walker, who left the group to form the Young Veins. According to MTV, the guitarist vacancy will be filled by Ian Crawford, who spent time with the Cab, another act on Panic!’s Decaydance label. The Brobecks’ mastermind Dallon Weekes, who has a pretty decent following ...
Michael Jackson Investigation’s Lone Focus Turns to Dr. Murray
July 30th, 2009
Photo: COP/FilmMagicMichael Jackson’s personal physician is the lone target in the investigation into the singer’s death, a federal law enforcement official told CNN yesterday. “Dr. [Conrad] Murray is the only one we’re looking at,” the source said. Earlier this week, investigators raided Murray’s Las Vegas home and medical offices seeking information pertaining to the many aliases Jackson used when dealing with doctors. As Rock Daily reported, investigators believe that Murray administered the powerful sedative Propofol ...
News Ticker: Phil Spector, Madonna, Tupac Shakur, Beck
July 30th, 2009
Photo: Seib/AFP/Getty
Two months into his 19-year sentence for the murder of Lana Clarkson, Phil Spector is “not doing great” in prison, his publicist tells the BBC, adding the producer was “very, very alarmed and scared at the notion of Charles Manson contacting him for any reason.”
Madonna broke out her pen to write a story for Israel’s Yediot Ahronot newspaper titled “How My Life Changed” about embracing Kabbalah, the AP reports. The piece runs Friday.
Yet another ...
“Guitar Hero 5 ” Adds “Teen Spirit,” Killers, Raconteurs To Track List
July 29th, 2009
As Music Steve and his gang of naked female friends revealed in what appears to be the latest piece of viral Guitar Hero 5 marketing, Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is finally coming to the GH franchise, bringing along with it Queen & David Bowie’s “Under Pressure,” Dire Straits’ “Sultans of Swing,” the Raconteurs’ “Steady As She Goes” and 11 more tracks to round out the massive and eclectic GH5 on-disc 85-song track list.
Rolling Stone ...
Tour Tracker: Wilco, Yo La Tengo and AFI
July 29th, 2009
Wilco (the band) take Wilco (The Album) on a tour of the Midwest this autumn, with a special stop at Farm Aid booked for October 4th. Plus, Yo La Tengo schedule a trek in support of their upcoming album Popular Songs and AFI hit the road for the first time in two years to showcase their new album Crash Love. Full dates for all three artists, after the jump.
Wilco
Oct. 1 - Iowa City, IA ...
New Music Report: Mos Def’s “The Ecstatic”
July 29th, 2009
Christian Hoard’s “Christian Rock” pick in this week’s New Music Report is the latest album from rapper Mos Def, The Ecstatic. Mos Def has been making rap records for more than a decade, but his latest is definitely his best since 2004’s The New Danger, Hoard says. There are upbeat songs and soulful tracks, but the overall sound is arty and grimy and the LP plays like a mixtape. Madlib produced several tracks including “Auditorium,” ...