Radiohead to Prince: "Unblock Creep"

After word spread that Prince covered Radiohead's "Creep" at the Coachella festival, the tens of thousands who couldn't be there ran to YouTube for a peek. Everyone was quickly denied -- even Radiohead.

All videos of Prince's unique rendition of Radiohead's early hit were quickly taken down, leaving only a message that his label, NPG Records, had removed the clips, claiming a copyright violation. But the posted videos were shot by fans and, obviously, the song isn't Prince's.

In a recent interview, Thom Yorke said he heard about Prince's performance from a text message and thought it was "hilarious." Yorke laughed when his bandmate, guitarist Ed O'Brien, said the blocking had prevented even him from seeing Prince's version of their song.

"Really? He's blocked it?" asked Yorke, who figured it was their song to block or not. "Surely we should block it. Hang on a moment." Yorke added, "Well, tell him to unblock it. It's our ... song."

YouTube prohibits the posting of copyrighted material. If the site receives a complaint from a copyright owner, it will in most cases remove the video(s). Whether the same could be done for a company not holding a copyright is less clear, but Yorke's argument would seem to bear some credence according to YouTube's policies. YouTube, which is owned by Google, declined to comment.

Prince also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The dispute was an interesting twist in debates over digital ownership, held between two major acts with differing views on music and the Internet. Radiohead famously released their most recent album, "In Rainbows," as a digital download with optional pricing. They also have a channel on YouTube.

When Prince performed at Coachella on April 26, he prohibited the standard arrangement of allowing photographers to shoot near the stage during the first three songs of his set. Instead, he had a camera crew filming his performance.

Prince has also shut down his official Web site and last September said he would sue YouTube and eBay for not filtering unauthorized content.

Prince fans have organized to urge him to relent in his legal fights to control images and photographs of himself. As of yesterday, the most popular YouTube clip about Prince playing "Creep" is an expletive-laden rant from Sam Conti Jr., who describes himself as a "former Prince fan."

Source: Billboard

I was able to find this clip below.



Maybe Prince has blocked videos of the rendition because it's so lame?

-MACK

Weezer Give YouTube Celebs a 16th Minute

For Weezer's newest video, they have seemingly recruited everyone who’s carved out 15 minutes of fame on YouTube and crammed them all in to 1 clip.

There's Miss South Carolina, Tay Zonday, Chris Crocker, and Even Kevin Federline!

Clearly, Weezer understands how to work YouTube.

Check out the video below, and then head over to Valley Wag where they have gathered up all 24 of the viral videos referenced in "Pork and Beans," and embedded them in one place.

Weezer’s newest self-titled album will be out June 3rd.



-Mack Arillo

9/11 Revisited

[first lines]

[Tyler points a gun into the Narrator's mouth]

Narrator: [voiceover] People are always asking me if I know Tyler Durden.

Tyler Durden: Three minutes. This is it - ground zero. Would you like to say a few words to mark the occasion?

Narrator: ...i... ann... iinn... ff... nnyin...

Narrator: [voiceover] With a gun barrel between your teeth, you speak only in vowels.

[Tyler removes the gun from the Narrator's mouth]

Narrator: I can't think of anything.

Narrator: [voiceover] For a second I totally forgot about Tyler's whole controlled demolition thing and I wonder how clean that gun is.



9/11 Revisited

The Eyes / Pale Divine Reunion

Richard Fortus will be reuniting with his old band, The Eyes, this Fall.

New CD, DVD, and reunion show in the works.

Guitarist Richard Fortus, lead vocalist Michael Schaerer, drummer Greg Miller, and bassist Dan Angenend, Jr. are working on the release of a live DVD from their heyday in thye late '80s / early '90s.

In addition to the live DVD, the band is packaging up the demos they recorded for the second, unreleased, Pale Divine record.

A reunion show is planned for Christmas 2008 in St. Louis.

You can watch The Eyes (aka Pale Divine) playing their song "Way Strange" below.



Live at Kennedy's on The Landing - St. Louis, Missouri circa 1989.

Pale Divine's MySpace

TAB (The Band)

"TAB the band formed in December 2006.

What resulted was a ragged, hard rock band the likes of which has not been seen since 1974, but sounds like it could still be good in 2074."

I'm not too fond of their name, but damn! the music speaks for itself.

Go to their MySpace and listen to the songs - you'll know what I mean.

They sound like side 5 of Exile on Main Street, with elements of old Priest, Sabbath and Motorhead.

If you live in the Northeast United States you can catch them live tonight in Boston and Friday night in Philly.

You can listen to and watch them play "Secretarys Day" below.



TAB the Band's MySpace
TAB the band

Sorum: "We're Coming out With Something in a Couple of Weeks"

Matt Sorum has revealed the following to Artisan News Service about the next chapter of his band - following the recent departure of vocalist Scott Weiland, who returned to his former outfit Stone Temple Pilots.

"We're coming out with something in a couple of weeks and I think it's going to surprise everybody. It's exciting. We're moving forward. We're going to keep going and play rock n roll and get a new guy singing so, we did it before we'll do it again."

Sorum went on to say, "We're really seriously thinking about doing something online. Yeah, we got offered a couple of different television ideas you know. Mark Burnett called us and asked us to do that Rockstar thing and we basically said 'No!' to that. We didn't feel it was right for us. No disrespect to him but it just didn't feel right for what we want to do. As many years as we've tried to keep our integrity intact we felt that wasn't the right forum for us to do it so, we got some ideas and we should have that news in a couple weeks."

Source: Bravewords

Ladies and Gentlemen: Meet the New Guns N' Roses

By Doug Miller / GunsNRoses.com

Axl Rose said he'd do it and has.

The charismatic, sometimes controversial frontman of the legendary rock band Guns N' Roses has brought GN'R back for a long-awaited album, the upcoming Chinese Democracy, and a tour through the United States and Canada.

He's got a stable full of all-star rock veterans to take the classic GN'R sound up a few notches. This full-sounding eight-piece band is capable of blasting out the classics, the new stuff and even a few surprising, creatively realized covers along the way.

New lead/rhythm guitarist Robin Finck, who gained industry prominence as part of the influential band Nine Inch Nails, "has grown toward something like equality with Rose," according to Los Angeles Times rock critic Ann Powers.

"His solos flashed and bubbled," Powers wrote after GN'R's recent performance at the "Inland Invasion" festival outside of Los Angeles.

GN'R's guitar sound has always been the product of a lot more than one player, however, and the latest lineup also includes axemen Richard Fortus, formerly of the Psychedelic Furs and Love Spit Love, and Ron Thal, who plied his trade as Bumblefoot.

Powers noted the "killer chops" of both men and made a point to mention their instrumental transformation of Christina Aguilera's Top 40 hit "Beautiful" into "a sky-is-crying-style blues."

Paul Gargano of the Hollywood Reporter was impressed, too.

"One of the night's most memorable performances was 'November Rain,' which featured Rose on piano at center stage and Finck and guitarist Richard Fortus trading leads," Gargano wrote.

Meanwhile, keyboardist Dizzy Reed returns to his familiar spot in the band, and his playing and his chemistry with Rose on stage was considered one of the highlights of the recent gig by most critics.

But Reed isn't the only one playing keyboards. Rose will tickle the ivories on the piano from time to time, and GN'R has retained the services of keyboardist, multi-instrumentalist and "sound designer" Chris Pitman, who used to play in Lusk.

On bass, GN'R is being classed up by the presence of Tommy Stinson, who broke into the music industry while in his teens and ended up playing a crucial role in the development of the Replacements, who are widely considered one of the most important rock acts of the 1980s.

Source: GunsNRoses.com

Pete Wentz Misses Music Videos

Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy) had this to say about MTV's reluctance to play music videos.

"I could only assume that you would be completely frustrated with the same things i am with mtv. it is a network called music television that does not play music videos. and when they do play videos it is in 30 second clips on TRL or underneath the credits of whatever reality show.

the truth is we have a collective memory of videos. certain ones we can all sit and look back and say “oh i remember that” or “i cant believe axl rocked the nwa hat and the bicycle shorts in the same video”. people say that with the a.d.d. generation people cant pay attention to a whole music video whenever we have asked. that people wont watch those anymore. i disagree. as most of you do as well. the truth is whole videos should be played. bands should play live. premieres should be a big deal like they used to be, not just a snippet of a video. artists should be able to let their imaginations go and know that people will be able to see what they have crafted. artists should talk about their ideos. we should and can make the music video important again."

Just in case you were wondering, here's the video Wentz was referring to.



Source: Kings of A&R

Azoff - the Future of Music Biz

Bob Lefsetz has written a extremely complementary article about GN'R's new manager, Irving Azoff.

The more I hear about Irving Azoff, the more exciting the prospect of him working with Axl seems.

Of course, with Axl Rose, you just never know.

Excerpts from the article follow, the link to the full post is here.

As we contemplate the marginalization of Clive Davis, the era he presided over has already died. Clive was about record company power. That’s been the mantra of the last fifteen years, if not two decades. The record company controls the act. Tells it what to record and if it will release. The record company is the tyrant, your nemesis. But now, through the efforts of Irving Azoff, the act is king once again. May not feel so, you don’t see Mo Ostin presiding over Warner Brothers, but that’s the way it is.

Irving is the best protector of talent in the rock era. He even eclipses Colonel Tom Parker. Parker made a lot of decisions based on self-interest, like not allowing Elvis to tour Europe for fear his own illegal alien status would be revealed. Irving likes money, he likes to win, but he does this by going to the mat for the artist. What Henley wants, he gets. And not only Henley, but Christina Aguilera. Even Jewel. You take a meeting with Irving, and he closes you. And he’s no patsy, if he thinks you’re your own worst enemy, that you’re not taking your business seriously, he fires you! Like J. Lo.

There’s something happening here, and it’s starting to become very clear. Irving Azoff has built a talent powerhouse. More powerful than any label. Which concert promoters are beholden to.

How big is Azoff’s power?

He sold interests to both Warner and TicketMaster. Neutralizing both, telling them they can ride his coattails into the future. Their businesses might be challenged, but they’ve got him in their corner, he’ll help them.

Then there’s the theoretical AEG/TicketMaster/Cablevision lockup. That’s Irving play. Assembling a challenger to LiveNation.

He’s got his own record company. The infrastructure built to sell Buffett albums and the relationship with Wal-Mart. He’ll use a major’s money to develop, but that’s it.

He’s smart enough not to go into competition with promoters. He built Universal Concerts and AEG, he knows the pitfalls, but Irving was bad as an owner. Remember Giant? Irving does best extracting money from others!

So what’s the play? Is it just managing this talent, or leveraging it in some way?

It’s Irving’s world, we just play in it.

Stop watching the major labels.

Start watching Irving. He controls the future of the music business.

At least for now.

You can read the entire article here.

Dilana

Dilana Robichaux is best known as the runner-up on Rock Star: Supernova.

Her upcoming album is slated for a late 2008 release.

The album is being recorded with the help of Gilby Clarke, Mick Mars, No Doubt drummer Adrian Young, bassist Kim Chi, fellow Rock Star: Supernova finalist Magni, former Acceptance members and the Rock Star houseband.

According to Dilana, Mars' guitar work "is blazing and we had too much fun doing it."

Footage of Dilana Robichaux performing with Rock Star: Supernova (Tommy Lee, Jason Newsted, and Gilby Clarke) can be viewed here.



Source: Blabbermouth

Google Says Chinese Democracy Bloggers Bigger Threat than Al Qaeda

Google Says Chinese Democracy Bloggers Bigger Threat than Al Qaeda

OMG!

NYT to Jeff Leeds: "You're Fired!"

Jeff Leeds, the LA-based music industry reporter who was poached by The New York Times from the Los Angeles Times back in 2004, is now a victim of the Gray Lady's ongoing round of layoffs.

"It came as a surprise. He was upset to be cut," says an insider. "But it's an odd beat to cut because it's not like there's overlap. It says a lot about how the paper views the music biz."

You might remember Jeff Leeds as the guy who wrote this famous article.

In my opinion, this is a real tragedy. Leeds is a prolific writer who covers every aspect of the music industry and has broken many big stories.

Now the New York Times has no one covering music news.

It's a sign of the times, I guess. Here's hoping that Jeff is on to bigger and better things.

-Mack Arillo

Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily

Slash: "Jack White is Great"

Slash has slammed the new generation of guitar players, insisting he is the last of the "identifiable" icons of rock 'n' roll. The legendary rocker is convinced having a decent guitar player who stands out is one of the main necessities for any band.

The 42-year-old is saddened by modern music as he feels new bands focus too much on the frontman and don't concentrate on finding good guitarists. He says,

"It's sad. There's no identifiable guitar players in rock 'n' roll any more. With the exception of Jack White - who is great - the new breed of bands aren't bringing out decent guitarists. Rock 'n' roll is so diluted in this millennium, you just don't hear good solos. And I hate emo"

Source: Absolute Pictures

Pehdtsckjmba!

The Tom Waits Press Conference for his 2008 Glitter and Doom Summer Tour.

Tom Waits has always been a genius. Here he puts his own inimitable spin on the tired old press corps softball lobs.



(make sure that you watch until the very end)

Source: Tom Waits Official Website

Slash to Team Up with B-Real

B-Real of Cypress Hill and Slash are teaming up to perform at the 1st Annual Sunset Strip Music Festival which will take place June 26-28 in West Hollywood.

Other acts slated to appear are: Everclear, Soul Asylum, Camper Van Beethoven, and LA Guns.

The Roxy Theatre, Whisky A-Go-Go, House of Blues, Viper Room, Key Club and the Cat Club are all uniting for the festival, intended to promote, preserve and perpetuate the Sunset Strip Music Experience and The Strip's rich music history, contemporary edge and sizzling atmosphere.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em!

Source: Sunset Strip Music Fest

Steven Tyler Checks in to Celebrity Rehab

After 20 sober years, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler has checked himself into Dr. Drew Pinsky's Rehabilitation Center in Pasadena, CA.

More news as the story develops.

Tyler's rep.s had 'no comment.'

Source: TMZ

Hammer of the Guns

Stephen Davis has written a new book about Guns N' Roses titled: Watch You Bleed: The Saga of Guns N' Roses.

It's due out on August 19th, and it's a stunning 448 pages!

Stephen Davis' Hammer of the Gods, his Led Zeppelin Sniff-and-Tell book is part of the essential canon of rock literature. I've read it twice.

Now, everyone knows that "Hammer" is a fictionalized account of the History of Led Zeppelin, but no one minds, because the book is so much damn fun to read.

When I was reading it, I would put on a Zeppelin album, smoke a bowl, and blow through a chapter or two.

When I heard that Davis was writing a tome on Guns N' Roses, I was pretty stoked.

So listen fanboys, I don't want to hear any whining about inaccuracies in Davis' book.

It's going to be inaccurate. Enjoy it.

Guns N' Roses are Rock Gods.

Hopefully this book will serve as their mythology.

I have high hopes.

-Mack

Source: Amazon

Moshi Moshi

Steve Carell hosted the season finale of Saturday Night Live this past weekend.

The obvious highlight was the SNL Digital Short which featured a Japanese parody of NBC's The Office.

In case you missed it, here it is.



Sayonara,

Mack 機械 Arillo

Fortus Speaks!

TRANSLATION:

---Firstly asked if cd is finished

Richard answers in affirmative adding that it's been ready for a while.

and he had good news on the previous day (the interview was done on the 29th march) regarding the management
at last the new management is decided on. things seem to be moving pretty good way.
till then they couldn't come to terms with the label so that they couldn't see the release in sight. Now with the management being set, the release in this year is finally likely.
he's so excited.

---asked what role each guitarist plays in the guitar triplet,

He says he and Robin make the bases of guitar parts and ron fills in on them. like the parts BH used to do.
He and Robin have played together for long pulling out each others quality splendidly he believes. the three of them have respective styles of playing they are good at and axl knows it well and gives them suggestions like 'you try your solo for this bit'
that way no ego clash is involved but the trio are unified in a fashion that brings out the best in each others.

---To the question "overall what kind of album would you say it is? and what period of gnr do you think this is close to?"

He replies that
It's totally different from any previous album of GNR or of other bands. Very heterogeneous one for sure. he honestly still can't hear it objectively enough to describe it properly but he thinks it's an album you either love or hate. hardly a 'so so' comment will come out in his opinion. It's that extreme or excessive album. he loves it and is proud of it.

---About the equipment he used for the album,

too many to name all. he mainly used vintage Marshall. besides that, being a huge fan of divided by 13 amplifiers he used it pretty heavily in the studio. Or old Gibson tweed amp and for solos, another old fender super champ. Hiwatt or vox…quite a lot were brought in.
The same is true with guitars. he tried all kinds of guitar. Not just les paul. telecaster, jazzmaster, silvertone and so forth.
and when it comes to pedals, they were just, beyond number.


---Asked about the accessories around the control of the les paul custom he took for the x japan shows.

His custom has to have an on/off switch on its tone knob. By pushing it he can play switching. there're also Master volume and master tone.

The one with him is a reissue of 68 model les paul custom. he digs it and has three of them. he thinks it shame that they don't make it anymore. he had the pickup changed for Tom Holmes. Tom Holmes pickups are excellent.
Most of his guitars have the pickups replaced with either tom Holmes or Jason rollers.

---To fans looking forward to seeing GNR in japan

He had great times last year and this time it's really beautiful particuraly in the cherry blossoms season. he can't wait for playing in japan again.

Source: MyGNR

Abby Normal

Fredrick: Would you mind telling me whose brain I did put in?
Igor: And you won't be angry?
Fredrick: I will *not* be angry!
Igor: Abby Someone.
Fredrick: Abby Someone. Abby Who?
Igor: Abby Normal.
Fredrick: Abby Normal.
Igor: I'm almost sure that was the name.

Bumblefoot is treating his fans new and old to a bit of free music before his new album Abnormal is released to the public for sale, by offering the title track free for download.

As with his previous albums Thal will be self-releasing Abnormal online.

“I never went along with the way the music industry did things, and have always been rebelliously against it, spouting off how the system doesn't work, and how bands should be DIY and make it just about the music and the fans. 10 years ago I was giving away songs on Napster and releasing my own albums, selling them online. 10 years later, I still do it and still stand by it - fuck the business, connect directly with the fans.”

The recording and creative process has also been a very fresh experience, as Thal has been making videos of the recording process and posting them online, running contests to include backing singers to perform on the album, and giving progress reports on his forums to keep everyone there with him while the album was coming together.

“It's been great being able to share the experience as it happens. It'll be another month before the CD is manufactured - until then, I wanna give away a little taste. Download it, share it, delete it, it's yours to do as you wish.”

Abnormal, the follow-up to Thal’s previous offering Normal, is a hard rock album flavored with a light-hearted mix of different styles and genres, with catchy hooks and blistering guitar work. When asked about the new project, Thal had the following to say:

“It was October last year, I was about to fly into a fucking rage, went to go crash out at the studio, and all these songs just started flying out of my head. Spent the next few months recording drums, bass, guitars, vocals, opera singers and tuba players. Some people heard it and said it reminds them of the Sex Pistols with a little Beatles/Queen vibe to it. Didn't have a plan, just did what I felt, and in the end this is what I got.”

I wonder what happened last October that sent Bumblefoot into a 'fucking rage'?
-Mack "La Macchina" Arillo

Milk Your Core

Bob Lefsetz has written a great piece in his blog about the current state of the music industry.

He suggests that bands give their albums away with the purchase of a concert ticket.

Granted, this isn't an entirely new idea. Both Prince and Sir Paul McCartney (universally recognized geniuses) have given albums away resulting in subsequent sold-out concerts. Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have toyed with this idea as well.

But in the following essay, Lefstez masterfully articulates why this is the way to go.

If you’re a touring act, you’ve got to stop thinking of your new music as a revenue source. Rather, it’s an investment in your career, its vitality, its longevity. The key is to get it in as many hands as possible so your sphere of influence, your customer base, doesn’t shrink, but GROWS!

You can read the entire article here.

Ask Bas

Jess McGuire over at Defamer is going to interviewing Sebastian Bach tomorrow.

Being the nice guy that he is, he's offering you and I the opportunity to ask Bas a question ourselves.

So head over to Defamer and throw your hat in the ring.

-Mack "La Macchina" Arillo

Thinking About Rockism

By Douglas Wolk
May 4, 2005

The topic that's lingered most from last month's Pop Music Studies Conference at Experience Music Project is one that's been going around for a while: the idea of " rockism." It's a loaded word, partly because it means a bunch of different things in practice—it's yay close to "racism" the way it's sometimes used. For various people, it's a term of praise for avoiding artifice or a description of unadventurous musical tastes or a word for just liking rock a whole lot. But it's also a potentially useful concept for thinking about the way people write about popular music, and the way people experience it. The trick is to figure out exactly what it means.

Robert Christgau wrote in 1990 about "the 'rockism' debate that raged through the U.K. music press in the early '80s": Rockism, at that point, meant putting stock in rock's "capacity to change lives or express truth"—as opposed to the kinds of pop that (a rockist would say) have more of a capacity to express pretty lies. To be a rockist, then and there, was to demand a perception of honesty in pop music, no matter how much artifice that honesty involved (and when you're standing on a stage, playing an instrument and singing words you've memorized, there's no getting around artifice, but that's a whole other discussion).

This past October, Kelefa Sanneh threw "rockism" back onto the coals in a widely discussed New York Times article. For him, rockism is the aesthetic that defines itself by building barriers against what rock isn't. It means, he says, "idolizing the authentic old legend (or underground hero) while mocking the latest pop star; lionizing punk while barely tolerating disco; loving the live show and hating the music video." And Daphne Brooks gave a fascinating talk at the EMP conference, "Guided by Voices: Some Thoughts About Raging Against Rockism," wondering what "a black feminist rock criticism" would be.

Still, there hasn't beena clear definition of rockism, and I'd like to propose one—a very narrow one, to keep its meaning from bleeding too far out. Rockism, let's say, is treating rock as normative. In the rockist view, rock is the standard state of popular music: the kind to which everything else is compared, explicitly or implicitly. So, for instance, it's a rockist opinion that pre-stereo-era blues and country are interesting less in their own right than because they anticipated rock, or that Run-D.M.C. and Alison Krauss are notable because their virtues are also the virtues of rock, or that Ciara's Goodies isn't interesting because it fails to act like rock.

Now, the interesting thing about that formulation of "rockism" is that it's not intrinsically rockist to love rock, or to write about it; you can also mostly care about R&B or norteño or bubblegum pop but discuss them in a rockist way. It's hard to get around rockism, though, because it's built into the way people talk informally about whatever kinds of popular music interest them. (If Usher or Eliza Carthy or Autechre do something amazing, it rocks.)

Most of all, rockism is programmed into the way people write about music. The basic DNA of popular-music criticism came from the people who wrote for Rolling Stone and Creem in the '60s and '70s. They were the first to write about pop interestingly and at length; they loved rock of that pop-historical moment's Beatles/Stones/Dylan school more than anything else; and their language and perspective and taste have been internalized by pretty much everybody who's followed them, even people who've never actually read their stuff. That's the foundation for our house. Note, for instance, that anybody who writes about popular music is a "rock critic."

Is rockism a bad thing? Well, yeah, it is, and nobody's free of it; I'm sure not. But it's pernicious because it makes it harder to understand any other kind of music on its own terms, and it chains both artists and their audience to an ideal rooted in a particular moment of the past, in which a gifted lyricist is by default a "new Dylan" (not a new Charley Patton, not a new Bill Withers, and especially not herself), in which the songwriter and the singer and the main instrumentalist are all on the stage and preferably the same person, in which any instrumentation for performance other than guitar-bass-drums-vocals-and-maybe-keyboards is some kind of novelty, because that is what's normal. Writers don't think this way because "19th Nervous Breakdown" is our favorite song; we do it unconsciously because it's the language we all internalized as pop-magazine-obsessed kids. And it trickles down to everyone who reads what we write.

So how do we get around rockism, if it's already ingrained in the way people talk about music? Mostly just by being aware of it and careful about it. But one shortcut is for music critics to stage raids on other kinds of culture criticism: great writing about movies, about literature, about food. They've all got their own biases and received ideas, defined by their own past masters—but they're not ours, and adopting perspectives, black feminist or otherwise, that don't take the rock canon as their baseline for normalcy can relieve the choking staleness of the way we talk about whatever music we love. They might even offer something new to say about that canon.

Source: Seattle Weekly

GN'R to Release Album Father's Day

...But it's not Chinese Democracy

Guns N Roses are re-releasing their Greatest Hits album, apparently in time for Father's Day (June 15).

According to a press release about the album which will be reissued on June 2, the collection is out again "especially for Father’s Day, as it's most definitely the only album of choice for any serious rockfather".

However, there is still no definitive news whether Axl Rose's long-delayed Chinese Democracy will come out in 2008, despite recent reports that the album is finally finished.

Could this be a tactic to raise the band's profile before Chinese Democracy drops?

Source: NME

Posh Spice Retires!!

Oh Happy Day!

Victoria Beckham has announced that her singing career is over!

The 34-year-old has followed the example of fellow Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, who confirmed her retirement from the music business last week.

She told GMTV: "I'm not going to sing anymore, I'm turning my mic off."

Beckham also denied rumours that she is to join the Pussycat Dolls for a one-off show in Vegas.

She said: "I heard about that. The thought of leaping around on stage in a bra top and knickers...no."

She gave similar short shrift to reports that Tom Cruise wants her to design the costumes for his upcoming movie Hardy Men, saying: "No, he has not."

Hopefully she'll move back to the UK next.

Buh Bye

Source: Digital Spy

Duff: The Coolest Man on the Face of the Planet Today

Today, The Sun's Paul Heyman interviews Duff McKagan about the (rumored) Guns N' Roses Reunion.

Heyman: Do you ever foresee any chance in the future a one-night Guns N’ Roses reunion?

McKagan: Er, well… um… er… so it’s… it’s… yeah… it’s not… and you know, I’m not sure, you know, I mean I’ve… it unfortunately ended for a myriad of reasons… um… in… in and around ’94 and ’95. We don’t really speak language, English language, very well to each other but we communicate amazingly, er, musically. So, um, in a… in a lotta aspects that’s a lot deeper than, er, a relationship I can have with… other, you know, male friends.

He also interviews Duff's super-hot, bikini-model wife, Susan Holmes.

You can watch the full interview here.

Sebastian DeBachracy

What’s different about the rock world now compared to when you were starting out with Skid Row?

Baz: Well, the main difference would be that back then you had to pay for music. But the live experience seems to have taken on an even more important part of rock - because you can’t download a live show. The experience of watching a band perform in front of your face is something you can’t get on the internet.

Angel Down is your first solo album in eight years - did you have a clear idea of what you wanted it to sound like?

Baz: I just wanted to put another album in your iPod, by me, that makes sense next to the other albums. It’s pretty simple. I did an album in 2005 with Frameshift called An Absence Of Empathy, and it was a progressive metal album. So it’s not like I didn’t make an album in eight years, but Angel Down is a lot more what you would expect from me. It’s high energy rock and roll. I’m so proud of it. I think Angel Down is the best record I’ve done since Slave To The Grind, about a million years ago (chuckles). So I’m really, really happy to show the world that I can put out a solo record that kicks ass.

And you got your old friend Axl Rose to sing on Angel Down?

Baz: Yeah, it’s an incredible thing. The world has been waiting for Chinese Democracy for a good 15 years and if you want to get a taste of what Axl actually sounds like as of last year, then get Angel Down because he’s on three songs. He sounds incredible! I just can’t believe that in the history of rock he would choose to collaborate on my album.

“Axl texted me right away and asked if I was joining Velvet Revolver, and I said, ‘No, not that I know of.’”

What have you learned from your friendship with Axl?

Baz: He’s a fascinating individual and he does things a lot differently to what I do. He doesn’t do any interviews at all and I do millions of them. It’s an incredible experience to be talking to him before he goes on stage. I’ll be backstage in his room and he carries on a conversation as we’re walking to the stage. The whole [arena] is going nuts and Axl will be telling me about what he did last night or the day before, and he doesn’t break a stride. I’ll be like, “Well, ok, you’re going on stage now,” and he’ll say, “Ok, I’ll talk to you later.” He’ll walk out there and all of Sydney’s Acer Arena crowd is like, “Ahhh, there he is. Oh, my God!” People can’t believe that he’s actually standing there. It’s such an intense moment every night.

It’s a crazy situation, because he doesn’t show himself to too many people and he’s always been there for me. I think it’s funny that when Scott Weiland left Velvet Revolver, the last thing he said was, “I think Sebastian Bach would be a good choice for you guys.” I think that’s because he’s eluding to the fact that you can’t get away from Guns ‘N Roses. They’re like The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. I’m sure he felt frustrated in trying to fill Axl’s shoes. Axl texted me right away and asked if I was joining Velvet Revolver, and I said, “No, not that I know of.” Axl has been so nice to me, I wouldn’t want to do anything to jeopardise our friendship.

I’m in the middle of all these huge rock icons who are calling me at the same time, and I’m sitting there thinking, “How does this f**King happen to me?” Axl said to me, “Dude, the way that you sing is rare.” The way that Axl sings is rare too. There’s not a lot of guys anymore that can sing in the range that we sing in.

Would Axl be unhappy if you were to sing for Velvet Revolver?

Baz: I think it would be awkward. I opened for two Guns ‘N Roses tours. Axl sang on my record and I sing on Chinese Democracy. We’re very close friends. For me to join a band and then sing all of his songs would be kinda weird. But, Angel Down, is what’s in my heart and I can’t wait to get out there and tour it. That’s what I’ll be doing for the foreseeable future.

Source: Metal Sludge

Bumblefoot: "I Played on Every Song"

Live-Metal.Net has a new interview with Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal.

In it he talks about Robin Finck, The Meadowlands, and Chinese Democracy.

A short excerpt follows.

How did you react to the news that Robin Finck was leaving Guns N' Roses to rejoin Nine Inch Nails?

He's playing the 27th of August up at The Meadowlands, which I will always call it. I don't give a fuck if they are calling it Izod Theater or Continental or whatever they want to fucking call it. It's the Meadowlands! Bring the name back, dammit! [laughs] That's all I'm saying, haha.

Do you ever tire of being asked what is slowly turning into the Million Dollar Rock Journalism Question, "When is Chinese Democracy going to be released?"

How can you not ask that question? It's like, "Doesn't anyone notice that elephant in the room?!" We have new management and they are good guys, and it's in negotiations.

It has to be exciting for you, since Chinese Democracy is becoming such a piece of rock history. Do you know what your contribution to the album is?

I played on every song. Yeah, it is exciting, but I can't get that excited without thinking of the other guys. I am more excited for them because their journey with this is so much longer than mine. For me, it has been two years of seriously being active and there are guys who have been doing this for 10 years and I am just so fucking happy for them.

You can read the full interview here.

Izzy Stradlin - Spoonful

This is a real treat.

Izzy Stradlin and Rick Richards performing "Spoonful" on the nationally-syndicated radio program: Rock-Line.

"Spoonful" is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and commonly associated with Howlin' Wolf.

It's also been recorded by Cream, Etta James, Paul Butterfield, Canned Heat, Allman Bros., Ten Years After, Grateful Dead, Gov't Mule, and The Who.

I always thought of it as a heroin/cocaine song, because of the lines:

Men lie about that spoonful
Some cry about that spoonful
Some die about that spoonful

But, I think that's taking the song too literally.

Anyway, I did always think of it as a "drug" song.

The Rockline radio show used to be a really big deal to my friends and I. This was before the internet, and MTV was still in its infancy. I'd stay up late to listen to Rockline, with the sound of crickets drifting in through the open Summer windows of my teenage bedroom.

Up until a few years ago, I still had a few cassette tapes of Rockline segements. My favorite was when Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia were asked what they did during set breaks.

Their answer was radio gold.

For a moment I had an inkling of what it was like to listen to radio in the 1940s.



Thanks to Been A Fix for the images
and RockIsDead/RIP for the audio.

-Mack "La Macchina" Arillo

Happy Mothers' Day

Today I'd like to dedicate this song to my Wife, who is the greatest Mother in the Universe.

She's got eyes of the bluest skies
as if they thought of rain
I hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain



I Love You, Baby.

-MA

Consolers of the Lonely

"If you play rock, you’re retro.”

I've been listening to this album pretty much non-stop this week.
I've wanted to blog on it, but it didn't seem timely enough.

I was gonna write about how this album sounds like it was recorded in 1974. How it sounds like equal parts White Stripes, The Band, Queen, Judas Priest, The Police, Fairport Convention, Jethro Tull, Phish, Derek and the Dominoes, and Fleetwood Mac.

Then I read this article in the UK paper, The Sun:

The Raconteurs’ raw garage blues is often described as retro and draws comparison with legendary British bands such as The Who and Led Zeppelin. But Jack says: “We get those comments in The Stripes as well. We want our music to be timeless. It’s just that we like to play real instruments recorded on equipment that suits them best.”

The retro tag makes Brendan quite incensed: “I’d like somebody to describe to me what contemporary music actually sounds like. It’s because we play rock music. If you play rock, you’re retro.”

Does Jack mind how his music is constantly compared with others?

“I think a lot of critics and listeners don’t realise that there are two types of songwriters. Some listen to songs and rip them off and some write songs that end up sounding like someone else.

On These Stones Will Shout, there’s a a part in there where we go to the D, the C, when it goes electric, that you could imagine someone saying, ‘That sounds like The Who’. But that doesn’t mean we’re gonna change it.

When you’re recording, you don’t hire some guy with a dictionary to stand by and say, ‘Ah, ah, ah, that sounds like Devo. Stop right now.’
I talked to Jimmy Page and I was saying that Led Zeppelin owned the riff. Any band who writes a riff, any riff ever, it gets compared to Led Zeppelin, from Rage Against The Machine and on and on to The White Stripes. It’s the same with The Beatles. They own melodic. The Beach Boys own vocal harmonies. There’s these bands that did it first and they own it for all eternity.”

Spot on, Jack, I totally agree.

Here's "Many Shades of Black" live at the Coachella Festival last month.

It's a fucking brilliant song. I would compare it to Queen and Cream (Queem?), but I won't. Jack's right. If you play rock, you’re retro.



Brendan Benson had this to say about that album's "rush-to-market."
"The way the music industry is right now, so much fear is thrown upon a band.

We have to figure out all this dumb little internet-based or digital-based trickery to make things work, to get our chart position, to make the first week’s sales really big, to make some sort of impact."

He added: "You get asked to do all these kind of aol.com things. You play a performance that 50,000 people hit on every day or you release two months early to radio. It’s all so wearing.

Somehow, when you’ve finished an album, it doesn’t seem worth it. That stuff takes a lot of energy out of you that could be put into something more productive and creative, like playing shows. We just wanted to put it out."

Benson also claimed the group were sick of record labels giving up on bands after only one album.

"They stop," he said. "They consider it a failure. They are completely losing the plot. Things need to grow. That’s the whole point of signing a band. You gamble."

Source: The Sun

John Mayer is Funny

"Get me the guy who plays whistle on 'Paradise City'

"Axl Rose?"

"I didn't ask what his name was - just get him for me"



Source: Funny or Die

Unplugged

Head on over to Jonni Jigolo's today for a great compilation of acoustic GN'R tunes.

The disc kicks off with a great version of the Stones' "Dead Flowers."

Thanks to: The Jigolo

Klosterman on Contraband

I know this article is already four years old, but I just discovered it and I decided to share it with you.

As you know, I'm a big fan of Chuck Klosterman - and a big critic of Velvet Revolver.

I'm curious as to what other fans think of this article - so let me know if you are so inclined.

Take it away Chuck ...

Velvet Revolver, Contraband (RCA)

The members of Velvet Revolver--former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland, former Guns N’ Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum, plus some guy who used to be in Wasted Youth--seem to be lost.

They had to choose between two potential paths, and they chose poorly. What they’ve attempted to do is make a record that will prompt people to say, “Whoa, this is like a Guns N’ Roses album, except that dude from STP is singing!” What they should have done was make a record that would’ve caused people to say, “Hey, this sounds like what would’ve happened if GN’R had aspired to be Stone Temple Pilots.” Because when you really think about it, what would make you more enthusiastic: Scott Weiland and the DeLeo brothers plugging away at “You Could Be Mine,” or a bootleg version of Guns N’ Roses covering “Sex Type Thing”?

This is a troubling record. There are some stellar moments, but it’s mostly just troubling. In fact, Velvet Revolver make me nervous, because I’m suddenly faced with the fear that Slash--possibly my favorite rock musician of the last 25 years--might be kind of a boring guitar player. The record’s first single (“Slither”) is propulsive and promising, but there’s an overpolished flatness to much of this album; Slash appears to be going through a heavy riff-o-rama phase, and all the tracks feel like they’re approximately 18 minutes long. Songs like “Dirty Little Thing” and “Do It for the Kids” open with muscular leads that sound like a pack of Dobermans bringing down a mule deer, but the momentum always evaporates. This material is better than most of what Slash’s Snakepit came up with, but not by much.

As for Weiland (who’s now been arrested so many times he’d probably get the chair for shoplifting), well, he sounds like himself, which means he falls somewhere between good and acceptable. But the record’s last cut, a balladtitled “Loving the Alien (Sometimes),” has at least one compelling line. “Sometimes is all the time,” the rehab recidivist sings cryptically, “and never means maybe.”Now, if Weiland is singing about heroin (and those two lines are the answers to the questions “How often do you think about getting high?” and “Would you ever consider getting high again?”), this song is weirdly honest and borderline brilliant. However, the more I listen to it, the more I suspect it’s just about some girl he broke up with. And if so, this song is fucking terrible.

Source: Spin

The Golden Apples of Idun

By Odin's beard!



Thor/20

Thanks to: The Green Giant

You can watch the entire slideshow here.

Rocklahoma Adds Fifth Day!

Catch the Fever Music Festivals announced that due to the overwhelming response from members of the rock community and their fan, a fifth day has been added to Rocklahoma.

Director of Operations of the Pryor Creek Music Festival Dave Giencke enthusiastically stated, "Rocklahoma is bringing to the world what cannot be found at any other festival in the world!"

Details of Wednesdays' events will be announced in the upcoming days.

Over 100 bands will be performing on three giant stages over the five days. Rocklahoma's current lineup on the main stage is:

Thursday:

Bret Michaels
Sebastian Bach
Dokken
LA Guns featuring Tracii Guns
Enuf Z Nuff
Vain
House of Lords
Jet Boy

Friday:

Triumph
Extreme
Lita Ford
Night Ranger
Kingdom Come
Armored Saint
XYZ

Saturday:

Cinderella
Warrant
Kix
Lynch Mob
Trixter
Black N Blue
Tora Tora
Every Mother's Nightmare
Pretty Boy Floyd

Sunday:
Axe
Zebra
Tesla
Queensryche

The current lineup is subject to change as bands are added in the upcoming weeks.

An additional 60 bands are going to be playing on two giant side stages courtesy of Retrospect Records and Tri-Label Group.

Rocklahoma is the world's largest Rock Festival of its type featuring bands from the eighties. Attendance for the upcoming festival has sold tickets in all fifty states and every continent in the world with Antarctica being the only exception.

Located four miles north of Pryor, OK, off Highway 69, the Catch the Fever facilities include over 6,200 assigned and numbered seats, as well as general admission on the lawn for over 50,000 people. The grounds also feature over 4,000 campsites, on-site parking, bathroom facilities, a convenience store, and overnight security provided by Mayes County Sheriff's Department. Rocklahoma features a Picture Alley that allows anyone in attendance to approach the stage during any performance and take photographs of a favorite artist at close range.

Discounted General Admission Tickets to Rocklahoma are available through Tuesday, May 27th along with VIP tickets by calling 1-866-310-2288 or at www.feverfest.com

Source: RockFeverFest.com

In Your Youth You Become Rash and Careless

For momentary sexual pleasure you go to great lengths



You get easily carried away in search of this happiness.

Bas: "Dr. Pepper Owes Me a Free Case of Soda!"

Sebastian Bach was interviewed yesterday on "The Buckethead Show" on Tampa's 98 Rock radio station.

You can listen to Bas' interview here.

Bach was asked if there is any truth to the rumors that he is being considered for the lead-singer position in Velvet Revolver following that group's recent split with Scott Weiland.

"I've talked to Slash recently," said Bas. "I think it'd be really awkward for me to join that band. Number one, my new record, Angel Down, I like it more than Velvet Revolver records. That's just being totally honest. I love Guns N'Roses material, but I've got my own old songs — Skid Row — so for me, it would all depend on music. I wouldn't just join the band just to join the band. If we came up with some incredible new songs, then maybe I'd think about it, but honestly, I'm very close friends with Axl, and he sings 3 songs on my new record. I think Dr. Pepper owes me a case of free soda! Axl's been so nice to me — he's helped me out my whole career. In Skid Row he helped us out, and in my solo band he brought me around the world, and then sang 3 songs on my new CD, which is pretty mind-blowing. I don't know... It's a cut-throat business, but Axl's been so nice to me, I don't think I would feel comfortable just joining Velvet revolver and singing his songs every night. So I don't think that's gonna happen."

Source: Blabbermouth

Gilby Clarke Tour Dates

This June, Gilby Clarke will be emabarking on a Canadian Tour.

He'll also be playing with "the Starfuckers" at Voyage Nightclub in Orlando, Florida this Friday, May 10th at 9:30pm

Gilby's Canadian Itinerary:

Thu 06/05/08 Oshawa, ON Dungeon

Fri 06/06/08 Toronto, ON Lee's Palace

Tue 06/10/08 Thunder Bay, ON Scuttlebutts

Wed 06/11/08 Winnipeg, MB The Zoo

Thu 06/12/08 Winnipeg, MB The Zoo

Fri 06/13/08 Regina, SK The Distrikt

Sat 06/14/08 Saskatoon, SK Roxy On Broadway

Mon 06/16/08 Banff, AB Wild Bill's

Tue 06/17/08 Lethbridge, AB Suede

Wed 06/18/08 Calgary, AB Snatch Rock n' Roll Lounge

Thu 06/19/08 Red Deer, AB The Zone

Fri 06/20/08 Edmonton, AB Metro Billiards

Fri 07/18/08 New Plymouth, NZ TSB Showplace

Source: Pollstar

Winehouse Smashes Coldplay

Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black has replaced Coldplay to become Amazon’s biggest selling album of all time.

The singer’s 2nd album, which was released in 2006, has continued to sell despite (due to?) her personal problems.

Amazon said that sales of the album went up 200% last week after she allegedly slapped a man.

“The sales of Back to Black have been consistently high for the last year and a half and we have seen massive uplifts on the title during periods when Amy Winehouse has commanded many column inches,” said Julian Monaghan, Head of Music Buying at Amazon.

Monaghan said "the publicity from Winehouse’s tabloid troubles had enabled her music to reach a very wide audience”.

“She has lead the way in a resurgence of British female music talent and she thoroughly deserves the mantle of the biggest selling album of all time," he added.

Coldplay’s 2005 album X&Y is second in the list.

Source: Gigwise

Q&A With Ace Frehley

By Aaron Beck, The Columbus Dispatch

Ace Frehley helped start the rock group Kiss and remained a member from 1973 to 1982.

He returned for a reunion tour in 1996 and continued until 2002.

These days, though, the New York-born singer-guitarist, 57, cites his 19-month stretch of sobriety as his crowning achievement.

"Doing this sober, I remember what I did the night before," said Frehley, whose well-publicized drug and alcohol problems spurred his original split from Kiss.

"It makes things a little easier."

Frehley, at work on his first solo album since 1989, will head to the Newport Music Hall on Saturday to perform with a new band.

The group, he said, won't play anything from the upcoming album -- "I want it to be a surprise when it comes out" -- but it will serve a "good cross section of Kiss songs and my solo stuff."

Frehley offered other observations while taking a recent break from his home studio in Westchester, N.Y.

Q: Although you won't play new songs on your latest tour, how would you describe the sound and vibe of the new disc?

A: I'm trying to recapture analog sound and get away from the digital stuff. I'm getting back to basics -- kind of like the stuff I did on my first solo album with Kiss (Ace Frehley in 1978).

Most people cite that first album as my best album, so I've been trying to revisit that and pick up where it left off.

Q: When did you last hear that album?

A: I very rarely listen to my records, but I've been listening to it in bits and pieces in my car. It's hard, because of my schedule, to listen to any record from beginning to end. I think a lot of people have that problem today; the kids are downloading everything.

Q: So many people picked up a Gibson Les Paul because they saw you with one. Why did you always gravitate to that guitar?

A: If you talk to musicians, most of them will agree it's kind of a no-brainer.

If you play hard rock, you pick up a Les Paul and you plug it into a Marshall amp, and you really don't have to do much more.

Q: When you designed the Kiss logo, did it just come to you one day or did it evolve?

A: I think I was playing around with it one afternoon and came up with it. . . . I was on some Web site the other day, and they were talking about the top 10 logos of rock 'n' roll, and it was, like, the Stones, I forget what the second one was -- and Kiss was third.

It's crazy when you think about it.

Q: What about your makeup?

A: I was always fascinated with the science-fiction stuff -- that whole scene -- and I just started playing around with it. It's bizarre. It just happened.

When I write a song sometimes, it's like I'm not writing it. It's like somebody's beaming the information to my head; as fast I can write the lyrics, it's coming out of me. . . . The makeup was that kind of the same thing. It's almost like somebody up there sent it to me.

Q: Why did Kiss inspire so many people to start bands?

A: Why were we so successful? I don't know. I just accept it.

Q: When you see your face tattooed on an arm, does your jaw drop?

A: I'm just flattered someone would go that far, and I just try to take the time to autograph something or talk to them a little when I have the time.

Q: When will you rejoin Kiss?

A: I don't see that happening. I think we had a great run, and the reunion was a great tour.

I mean, I just don't see myself running around onstage in makeup these days. In my spare time, I have fun riding around on my Harley.

Going back to that whole scene -- it was fun while it lasted, but no thanks.

Source: The Columbus Dispatch
Thanks: Pat

Saints of Los Angeles Album Art and Tracklist Revealed

This title will be released on June 24, 2008.

Tracklist:

1. Mother Fucker Of the Year
2. Down At The Whiskey
3. Saints of Los Angeles
4. Face Down In The Dirt
5. What's It Gonna Take
6. Chicks = Trouble
7. White Trash Circus
8. The Animal In Me
9. Welcome To The Machine
10. This Ain't A Love Song
11. Just Another Psycho

(track sequence subject to change)

It looks good to me.
Chicks = Trouble.
Nuff Said.

Excelsior!
-Mack Arillo

Source: Amazon

Sambora Set to Replace Bret Michaels

Richie Sambora reportedly is set to replace Bret Michaels in the next season of TV dating show "Rock of Love."

Poison frontman Michaels recently wrapped season two when he chose wannabe actress Ambre Lake as the winner and his new girlfriend.

Despite the first season being exposed as a fraud -- the winning contestant already had a boyfriend -- Michaels and Lake insists this time it is for real, and they are handing the show over to another single star.

Bon Jovi guitarist Sambora 48, has been single since his April 2007 divorce from actress Heather Locklear and a short-lived romance with Locklear's former pal Denise Richards ended last year.

And TV bosses want to help him find love. A source tells OK! magazine, "He's perfect for TV. If you thought Bret (Michaels) was must see TV, you ain't seen anything yet. Richie is going to be a train wreck looking for love."

Source: The Daily Dish

Psychotic Outsiders?

Matt Sorum, Dave Navarro, and Lemmy, on stage with Jerry Cantrell as well as Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols!

That's who crammed the stage last night at the Roxy in Hollywood for a jam session.

The Roxy is known for holding jam sessions with big names, and this group opened its jam session by blowing the crowd away with cover-songs by David Bowie, Oasis, Killing Joke, Thin Lizzy, and Blur.

Lemmuy got the biggest cheer of the night, joining the group for "Ace of Spades."

Ex-Ratt guitarist Warren DiMartini stepped up for "Suffragette City" and "Round on Round," which provoked a big roar when he and Navarro ripped through a dueling guitar solo.

Cantrell, a last-minute addition, took the stage for "Jailbreak."

The gig at times found multiple bassists (Lemmy, Chaney and Corey Parks, formerly of Nashville Pussy), multiple drummers (Sorum, Cook, Stephen Perkins of Jane's Addiction) and multiple guitarists (Bettencourt, Jones, Navarro, Morisson) all playing together, as they did on the closer: the Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog."

Source: Billboard

Izzy Stradlin "Live" 1993 EP [Japan]

Head on over to Rock is Dead/RIP and download Izzy's out-of-print, Live EP from 1993.

You may already have the "Rocker" bootleg. This is the same show, but in higher fidelity.

Plus, the folks over at Rock is Dead are promising more Izzyness tomorrow!

The Queen of the Angels

Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May
O Mary! we crown thee with blossoms today

Hooray! Hooray! The First of May
Outdoor Screwing Starts Today