Archive for August 11th, 2009

Tour Tracker: Lucinda Williams, Sufjan Stevens and Joshua Radin

August 11th, 2009
Photo: Christensen/AFP/Getty Lucinda Williams celebrates three decades of making music with a 30th anniversary tour, plus Sufjan Stevens maps out a headlining tour before the release of his The BQE project and Joshua Radin plots out an autumn trek in continued support of his 2008 LP Simple Times. Dates for all three jaunts await after the jump. Lucinda Williams Sept. 18 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue Sept. 22 - Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater Sept. 23 - Bloomington, ...

New Reviews: Cobra Starship, the Stone Roses and Mindy Smith

August 11th, 2009
Photo:Wargo/WireImageWe’re exactly one month away from the release of Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3 and the end of the slow summer release schedule, but there are a couple new albums out this week to keep your ears interested until Jigga’s newest LP arrives on September 11th. For starters, there’s Cobra Starship’s third disc Hot Mess, a literal hot mess of chart-topping singles like “Good Girls Go Bad” (featuring Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester) and failed snark in ...

Morrissey Asks Fans Not To Purchase Morrissey Reissues

August 11th, 2009
Photo:Kravitz/FilmMagic There’s a horde of Morrissey-related products hitting shelves in 2009, from a pair of boxed sets dedicated to Morrissey’s singles to a collection of all the Smiths albums to the vinyl reissues of the Smiths’ LPs. All these releases, and Morrissey doesn’t want you to buy any of them. That’s what the singer asked the True To You zine to tell his cult following of fans, adding that since he doesn’t receive royalties from any ...

“Dr. Parnassus” Trailer Starring Heath Ledger, Tom Waits Debuts

August 11th, 2009
The trailer for director Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus debuted today, providing us with a sneak preview of Heath Ledger’s last turn on the big screen. You can watch the trailer above and try to figure out what exactly the film is about, but from a visual standpoint, Imaginarium looks like it shares a lot with Gilliam’s previous beautiful nightmares like Brazil, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas and 12 Monkeys, but with ...

Report: MTV To Vacate Times Square Studio

August 11th, 2009
MTV will reportedly vacate their famed Times Square studio when their lease is up at the end of the year, the New York Post reports today. MTV and parent company Viacom first opened the studio at 1515 Broadway in 1997, and the space with its windows overlooking Times Square famously served as the venue for MTV’s Total Request Live. However, when Viacom re-signed their lease to keep their offices at 1515 Broadway, they opted not ...

Third Eye Blind’s Stephan Jenkins Talks “Ursa Major,” Fierce Fans

August 11th, 2009
Photo:Wargo/WireImage A surprising thing has started happening at Third Eye Blind gigs as the band preps for the release of its first album in six years, Ursa Major (due August 18th). Hordes of young fans have been flooding the shows, singing along to every note of songs from the band’s earlier days. “That kind of freaked me about because we had our 10th anniversary show and everyone in the audience were like 15 to 25 year ...

“Spider-Man” Musical Suspended By “Cash Flow Problem”

August 11th, 2009
Photo: Getty Tickets for the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, which features music by U2’s Bono and the Edge, are supposed to go on sale starting a month from tomorrow. But the show’s producers announced in a statement this weekend that work on the production has been temporarily suspended due to an “unexpected cash flow problem,” the New York Times reports. “The plans necessary for this correction are in hand now, and it is expected ...

Phish’s “Joy” Out September 8th, Band Announces Deluxe “Joy Box”

August 11th, 2009
Phish revealed on their official site that their new album Joy will be released September 8th in a multitude of formats, including one that features a bonus album. In addition to the compact disc and double-vinyl varieties, Phish will also offer up a limited edition deluxe set called the “Joy Box,” which will feature the CD plus 10 posters dedicated to each one of Joy’s 10 tracks, as well as a “complete second album” called ...

Elton John Joins Alice in Chains’ New Album to Honor Layne Staley

August 11th, 2009
Photo: Bettcher/Getty It’s an unlikely pairing, but it’s legit: Elton John sings on “Black Gives Way to Blue,” the title track on Alice in Chains‘ September 29th album. The song is a tribute to the band’s late frontman Layne Staley, who died in 2002 from a lethal speedball, and the collaboration was born when singer-guitarist Jerry Cantrell thought the track could use a little piano. When a pal suggested Cantrell ring up Sir Elton John, “I ...

Billy Corgan Announces More Concerts With Spirits In the Sky

August 11th, 2009
Photo:Charbonneau/WireImage Billy Corgan has scheduled six tour dates in Los Angeles spanning from August 26th to August 31st, but he won’t be performing under the Smashing Pumpkins moniker. Instead, the band’s official Website writes, Corgan will be accompanied by “special guests” Spirits in the Sky, a band that recently formed for a tribute concert dedicated to the Seeds’ Sky Saxon, who passed away in June at age 71. Corgan and the Spirits in the Sky first ...