No Pain No Gain - A Little Musical Journal From CHOKIE.

Travis Barker Beat Drugs,Went Vegan [Sheknows]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 03:05:00 +0000

Travis Barker changed his life for the better after a 2008 plane crash nearly claimed his life.

It’s been three years since a plane crash that nearly took the lives of Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and Adam ‘DJ AM’ Goldstein. Their lives took drastically different paths after the accident: DJ AM relapsed into his drug addiction and died in August 2009; Barker found a renewed love for life.

Barker, 35, reveals all in a new Blink-182 interview in Rolling Stone magazine. Among the changes? He’s exercising daily and adheres to a strict diet.

"I've been vegan since I got out of the hospital … It's another eye opener. It changed my life in a number of ways," he told the magazine.

"I mean, I run every day now," he added. "I never ran before. In the hospital, I promised myself that [if] I ever walked again, that I would eat well and swim every day. Before the plane crash, I was battling a painkiller addiction. For years."

Both Barker and Goldstein suffered serious injuries in the crash, including debilitating burns. "I looked Death right in the face," he said of the crash that killed the pilots and friends with them on the flight.

The accident helped him get back in touch with his Blink-182 bandmates, Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge. Their new album, Neighborhoods, is the band’s first in over eight years.

"I'm sitting on a bed and the doctors are talking about possibly amputating my foot. I'm reading this letter from Tom and there's a picture of his kids," he recalled of the letter that helped them reconnect. "It was heavy," he said. "I wanted to reach out to him."

The only thing he still cannot bring himself to do is fly.

"Unfortunately I can't do as much touring as I would like because I don't fly," he said. "It's an obstacle. I'm working on it though. I'm trying to get hypnotized, trying to talk to a doctor who retrains your brain. Maybe he'll help me fly again one day."

Source

Jay-Z Calls Back-And-Forth With Lil Wayne [MTV News]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 03:02:00 +0000

'Just Sport'

'That's rap music,' Roc mogul tells MTV News of any subliminal lyrical jabs between him and the Young Money Captain.

NEW YORK — Jay-Z has a lot going on right now. The rap mogul is expecting his first child with his wife Beyoncé, getting ready for his NBA Nets' move to a brand-new stadium in his hometown of Brooklyn and his Roc Nation artist J. Cole is expected to debut at #1 on the Billboard albums chart this week.

MTV News caught up with Jay on the red carpet of his Shawn Carter Foundation's Making the Ordinary Extraordinary carnival-themed fundraiser last Thursday — see what we mean by busy? — but we had to ask him about a topic that was probably much less pressing, yet still important to fans. What exactly is going on between him and Lil Wayne?

Last month, Wayne's song "It's Good" leaked days before the release of his Carter IV album, and the Cash Money MC seemed to have a few choice words for Jay and his lady on the track.

"Talkin' bout Baby money? I got your baby money/ Kidnap your bitch, get that how-much-you-love-your-lady money," Wayne spits on the song. To many, it was a direct response to Jay's supposed jab at Young Money's head honcho and his adoptive "father," Bryan "Baby" Williams, on "H.A.M."

On the Watch the Throne track, Jay raps, "I'm like, 'Really, half-a-billi?' N---a, really, you got Baby money/ Keep it real with n---as, n---as ain't got my lady money."

Wayne recently downplayed talk of a feud between the rappers in a Vibe magazine cover story, saying music isn't about competition anymore, and adding that he didn't think there would be any repercussions as a result of his song. "Every man should know the repercussions and consequences behind whatever they do before they do it. And of course, I know there won't be any repercussions behind what I did."

Jay-Z told us he didn't want to dwell on the topic, especially considering the education fundraiser was about a positive cause. But he didn't have much to say about Wayne's "It's Good," other than that it was to be expected in hip-hop.

"That's sport, that's rap music," Jay said. "Nothing is going to change but the participants. I don't even see why that's news."

Source

[BBC] Nirvana: Nevermind Forever - Welsh bands in on a cover-up

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 02:57:00 +0000

In all the material published this month about the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's Nevermind (the record which changed rock/music/the world etc etc), there was one publication which has stood out for me.

Kerrang! magazine, the go-to organ for young rock fans since 1981, has included the usual information about its genesis, importance and influence, but they've taken a brave step and included a cover-mount CD this week: a 're-imagining' of the classic album by 14 different artists, covering the tracks in order (plus a bonus of the inter-album single Sliver).

Nevermind Forever sleeve

It's never normally a good idea to cover classic tracks, let alone whole albums. The history of music is littered with bobbins cover versions, and the successful ones are few and far between. Usually, the element which made the originals into classics has been lost. The worst culprits manage to strip all soul and emotion from the song in favour of a highly-polished sheen (All Saints doing Under The Bridge, Madonna's American Pie or Hilary Duff doing My Generation, anyone?).

Given the dangers, you've got to admire the chutzpah of a project like Kerrang!'s. It's difficult to imagine an album as dearly-held by as many people as Nevermind. And it's difficult to over-emphasise the importance of the record; it even forced a major rethink on Kerrang! itself, back in the day. On its release in 1991, Guns N' Roses had produced the sprawling, coke-fuelled twin towers of stadium rock in Use Your Illusion volumes I and II: a gargantuan testament to the excess of 1980s American musical flatulence. Skid Row, Poison and Extreme were bona fide cover stars.

Nevermind shook these bands and their ilk to the core. Honesty, integrity and dirty pants were IN; spandex, hairspray and voting Republican was OUT. Kerrang! and other rock mags ditched their mates of old and suddenly it was all about Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains and Smashing Pumpkins. I don't think I ever saw Warrant referred to again.

Tracks from Nevermind have been covered before, it's true. Tori Amos recorded a version of Smells Like Spirit, as did Take That, Paul Anka, The Flying Pickets, Miley Cyrus and Nirvana's mates The Melvins. Lithium has been done by The Polyphonic Spree and Glasvegas have done Come As You Are. And Nirvana themselves were notorious cover artists in their own right. Their best-known is probably Love Buzz (originally by Shocking Blue), and there are the covers on Unplugged In New York including Bowie's The Man Who Sold The World, but they did a couple of dozen more over the years.

Kurt was inscrutable at the best of times, and I wouldn't hazard a guess at what he'd make of Kerrang!'s idea (he called Tori Amos' Teen Spirit "a great breakfast cereal version") but as an affectionate tribute, it's pretty damned good.

Kids In Glass Houses

There are two Welsh bands getting in on the act. Kids In Glass Houses tackle Drain You. Aled Phillips tells the magazine: "I was five when Nevermind came out. My sister taught me to hangbang to Teen Spirit. With Drain You, we thought it would be fun to recreate the middle eight, where Butch Vig recorded aerosols and a rubber duck. We bought a squeaky toy from Tesco and some Glade vanilla room spray. Smells like teen spirit..." In truth, it's a straightforward cover, with Phillips' vocals tracking Kurt's faithfully and the guitars blazing with well-marshalled distortion.

The Blackout

The Blackout's Stay Away is a more frenetic affair, as befitting the original. Again, it's true to the original but there's a sense of fun here: the Gavin/Sean vocal partnership gets to stretch its legs and it's pretty brutal. Gavin even goes as far as to put an American inflection on his lines. Rhys of the band told Kerrang!: "Nevermind was the album that got me into playing bass. Covering Stay Away is an honour. We're a hard rock band and this song is pretty heavy so I think we've captured the same feeling and intensity."

For me, though, the stand-out track here is Evile's Lounge Act. If I accept, as I do, that this collection was never going to replicate the unified, intense, wholeness of Nevermind, then here's a cover version that does something interesting with its material. They metal it up, with an amped-up riff and a lead guitar of admirable squeal and squall.

Check out Frank Turner's On A Plain, Francesqa's Lithium, Young Guns' Polly and Rise To Remain's Breed too. Nirvana: Nevermind Forever is as close as to a quality covers album as you're going to get. But what strikes me, on repeated listening, is that this album couldn't work without the fact that Nevermind itself possessed 13 songs of almost unparalleled quality, passion and melody. What other album could allow itself to be approached in this way?

Source

Maroon 5 Takes This Love to Jakarta [Jakarta Globe]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 04 May 2011 02:22:00 +0000

Fans of American pop-rockers Maroon 5 were falling over one another to grab tickets to the band’s first ever concert in Indonesia.

After a shaky start to their tour in March, due to yet another tobacco sponsorship controversy, tickets sold out almost immediately when promoter Java Musikindo confirmed the gig for late April. The boys are set to take their funk-inspired easy-listening sound to the stage at Istora Senayan on Wednesday night.

Like so many other bands, Maroon 5 started with some like-minded high school friends. While the overwhelming majority of these groups are never able to make it out of the garage, Los Angeles boys Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden and Ryan Dusick were lucky enough to attract the attention of a recording company.

“It was really organic,” frontman Levine said in an interview with the Huffington Post last year, referring to the band’s early days. “We knew there was something special going on. I really only became a singer because I was the best singer in the band — I was never one of these ‘American Idol’ kids that wanted to be a singer. I just wanted to be in a band, that’s really all.”

First performing under the name Kara’s Flowers, the band released an album in 1996, but were dropped by the recording company a couple of months later due to dismal sales.

After this initial disappointment, the boys decided to put the band on ice so they could attend college — but they never lost their love for music along the way.

That break probably provided some much needed time for their sound to mature and gain some perspective because, when they regrouped in 2000, it didn’t take long before they were signed again. After recruiting James Valentine as a guitarist so Levine could fully focus on vocals, the band changed their name to Maroon 5. A name change seemed like the right step, since the band had changed from grunge and rock-influenced tunes to a more pop-inspired, R&B vibe.

The band’s first album as Maroon 5, “Songs About Jane,” was released in mid-2002. It was not an instant success. In fact, it took months before music critics and audiences eventually noticed the record, but word of mouth quickly snowballed.

“Succeeding in this particular business is extraordinarily difficult, so you just have to develop a thick skin and just go, go, go,” Levine said. “We were a band for a long time before we succeeded, which I think was a good thing, sort of a blessing in disguise.”

The album spawned four hit singles — “Harder To Breathe,” “This Love,” “She Will Be Loved” and “Sunday Morning” — and catapulted Maroon 5 into the spotlight of the music world. Unlike their Kara’s Flowers days, the band’s album shot to the top of the charts and helped them win multiple awards, including a Grammy.

“I think that we weren’t ready musically or emotionally to be successful,” Madden said in an interview with Chart magazine of the band’s pre-college days.

With the popularity of “Songs About Jane,” the band felt pressured to deliver an equally successful follow-up album. Dusick, the drummer of the original line-up, then left the band in 2006 because of health reasons and was replaced with Matt Flynn.

With fresh talent on board, the band delivered “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long” in 2007, while “Hands All Over,” the band’s latest effort, was released in September.

Patience, hard work and a good dose of self-confidence have brought Maroon 5 to where they are today.

“You can say what you want about our band, but at the end of the day, there’s not another band currently out that sounds the way we do,” Levine said.

But fans should beware: Levine recently stated in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine that he believed Maroon 5 had reached its peak, and that they would probably only record one more album before going their separate ways.

“Eventually, I want to focus on being a completely different person because I don’t know if I want to do this into my 40s and 50s and beyond,” he told the magazine.

Ticket-holders for Maroon 5’s performance in Jakarta should count themselves lucky — it seems the band’s first performance in Indonesia could well be their last.

Maroon 5
Wednesday, April 27
Istora Senayan, Gelora Bung Karno
South Jakarta

Source : JG

Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson 'Doesn't Care' About Rolling Stone Cover [UG News]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 04 May 2011 02:18:00 +0000

For many bands, to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine is the fulfilment of a lifelong dream. For Iron Maiden front manBruce Dickinson however, it's just a drop in the ocean. Speaking to Argentinean website Vorterix.com, the legendary metal vocalist outright dismissed the front cover appearance of the band's mascot, Eddie on the Argentinean version of the popular music periodical: "Do I care? No! What's bigger? More magazine covers or being bigger in the heart of your fans? To me it's much more important that we stay close to our fans".

Bruce, it would seem, doesn't have much time for awards, or mainstream media either: "We got a Grammy this year – I think it's 'cos we're still alive. If they were going to give us a Grammy they should have given us one about 1986, but they gave it toJethro Tull, and it took another 20 years... The mainstream media don't understand metal. Unless you are a fan, unless you really understand the music, it's difficult to give it the coverage it deserves."
Iron Maiden is currently on the European leg of their Final Frontier world tour, in support of the album of the same name that was released last year. Dickinson is once again piloting the band from show to show in their customised Boeing 747 Jet, Ed Force One. The band's shows in Buenos Aries and Santiago from last month were filmed for an upcoming DVD release. Maiden drummer Nicko McBrainhas also been involved in a charity single orchestrated by Deep Purple front man Ian Gillan and Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi. The single, titled "Out Of My Mind", also features ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted and Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord.

Source : UG News

Ozzy Osbourne to be given Kerrang! Rock Legend Award

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 04 May 2011 02:15:00 +0000

Former member of heavy metal rock band Black Sabbath Ozzy Osbourne is to be honoured as a legend in the rock world, at the Kerrang Magazine Kerrang! Rock Awards. The prize giving will be held in London on the 9th of June this year; the 62 year old legend will also be performing in a show which will mark the 30th Anniversary for the rock magazine in the same month.

Ozzy made his breakthrough when he played in the band Black Sabbath, but later launched his own solo career in the 80’s. His latest album, Scream! was released last year.

The rock star has inspired many young rock stars and fans all over the world. The ‘Prince of Darkness,’ as he is known in the rock industry, has not only focused on rock music but also featured in MTV reality television show the “The Osbournes.”

The show featured the exploits of his wife Sharon, also a judge on popular television show “America’s got Talent”, son Jack and daughter Kelly. Kelly is currently on E! Entertainment Television show “The Fashion Police,” alongside co-hosts Giuliana Ranic, George Kotsiopoulos and elderly comedienne Joan Rivers.

"It's an incredible honour to be the second recipient of Kerrang's Legend Award. I'm looking forward to you going crazy at the 30th Anniversary on 21 June in Hammersmith," Ozzy enthused.

Nichola Browne, Editor of Kerrang! said: "We are so unbelievably excited to have Ozzy play this very special show for our 30th birthday celebrations in June. We are privileged that the Prince of Darkness can help us mark this momentous milestone in style and it's guaranteed to be a night to remember...During his long and colourful career, he's not only helped define heavy metal as the voice of Black Sabbath, he's also enjoyed a three-decade reign as a solo artist and inspired thousands of rock fans to go crazy during his unmissable live shows. He's a much-loved, larger-than-life personality, and it is only fitting that we will be honouring Ozzy with the prestigious Legend Award at this year's Kerrang! Awards."

Source : Gazzete

Rihanna Opens Up Like Never Before in Rolling Stone Cover Story [Rolling Stone Magz]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 06:38:00 +0000

Singer discusses Chris Brown, her relationships and her upcoming role in 'Battleship'

Watch Rihanna answer fan questions at her hot Rolling Stone cover shoot below.

The new issue of Rolling Stone – on stands and online in the digital archive on April 1 (subscription required) – features a deep interview with Rihanna in which she talks to contributing editor Josh Eells about her difficult upbringing, the endless rumors about her relationships and why she agreed to let a judge ease the restraining order against Chris Brown. "That's my decision," she says. "It doesn't mean we're gonna make up, or even talk again. It just means I didn't want to object to the judge."

Video, Photos: Rihanna's Hot Rolling Stone Cover Shoot

She hasn't heard from Brown in a very long time. "We don't have to talk ever again in my life," she says. "I just didn't want to make it more difficult for him professionally. What he did was a personal thing – it had nothing to do with his career. Saying he has to be a hundred feet away from me, he can't perform at awards shows – that definitely made it difficult for him."

Other highlights from the story:

• She went through an incredibly difficult time after the Brown incident. "I put my guard up so hard," she says. "I didn't want people to see me cry. I didn't want people to feel bad for me. It was a very vulnerable time in my life, and I refused to let that be the image. I wanted them to see me as, 'I'm fine, I'm tough.' I put that up until it felt real."

• Rihanna's hit single "S&M" is semi-autobiographical. "Being submissive in the bedroom is really fun," she says. "You get to be a little lady, to have somebody be macho and in charge of your shit. That's fun to me...I like to be spanked. Being tied up is fun. I like to keep it spontaneous. Sometimes whips and chains can be overly planned – you gotta stop, get the whip from the drawer downstairs. I'd rather have him use his hands."

• Next May she's going to play a Navy weapons expert in the big-screen adaptation of the classic board game Battleship. She spent three months filming in Baton Rouge and Hawaii, including many 18-hour days on a barge with 350 people – and just one outhouse bathroom between them. "There were times I would walk up to her like, 'Are you really handling this?'" says Battleship director Peter Berg. "She would just laugh at me. She said she was really enjoying not having to drive the ship - not having to be running this huge Rihanna machine."

Video directed by Ricardo Louis

Source : RR

SLIPKNOT FRONT MAN 'NOWHERE NEAR PREPARED' FOR SUMMER TOUR [NME News]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 06:30:00 +0000

Corey Taylor says he is 'scared to death' at the prospect of playing live without co-founder and bassist Paul Gray for any future venues.

Slated to play their first show without Gray on June 17th, Taylor recently told Kerrang! magazine that he was "nowhere near prepared for the emotion that's going to happen."

Gray died of a suspected drug overdose in June of 2010 and the band has been struggling to cope since. There was some question as to if they would even go on as a band. Just last September Taylor was quoted as saying that he was "very conflicted about whether or not [he wants] to do anything with Slipknot". He would later decide that maintaining the band would be something that Paul would have wanted and in that spirit, feels that they should.

In talking to Karrang!, Taylor stated "[Gray's death] is still reverberating through my life," he explained. "Every day something reminds me and I still can't f*cking handle it."

Slipknot's fans, affectionately referred to as 'maggots', are generally a passionate group and the tour this summer will no doubt show that. "That first show is going to be the test," Taylor said. "That tour is going to be a test. It's going to be very hard." Slipknot are set to headline the Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth Park on July 10 and will play several other European festivals.

The band recently announced that Donnie Steele, who played with Slipknot when they formed in 1996, would act as Gray's replacement for their summer live dates.

Source:

NME

'American Idol' Hits New Orleans, Steven Tyler & Randy Jackson's Shirts Come Off [BillBoard.com]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 04:13:00 +0000

While Wednesday night's (Jan. 19) season premiere of "American Idol" saw the judges mostly playing it safe, things got a whole lot feistier during Thursday's New Orleans episode -- so feisty, in fact, that at one point Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson even showed some skin.

In perhaps another sign of the "Jersey Shore's" bizarre influence on "Idol's" first week back on TV, Tyler and Jackson lifted their shirts and flashed their abs for the cameras, Situation-style, when 23-year-old Jovany Barreto decided to unbutton his own shirt after performing Luis Miguel's "Contigo En La Distancia."

At other times, the looser vibe also led to some better judging, as Tyler and Jennifer Lopez seemed more comfortable rejecting the worst contestants. Jackson even channeled a bit of Simon Cowell's snarky spirit and was especially harsh with 18-year-old Alex Attardo, who revealed that he had attended a camp for grooming "Idol" hopefuls, then shouted his way through "Proud Mary."

"Maybe we should cancel the camp," Jackson said. "Honestly, it was terrible. You come here because you want the truth, right?"

Cowell's absence was still felt when New Orleans' more middle-of-the-road hopefuls stepped up to sing, though. Twenty-four-year-old Jacquelynn Dupree and single mother Paris Tassin's auditions were passable, but not perfect by any means, and both women -- to say nothing of those watching at home -- would have benefitted from more criticism.

Younger contestants continued to make a strong impression, aided by "Idol's " lowering of its age limit to 15 this year. Fifteen-year-old Jacee Badeaux drew collective "aws" from Tyler, Lopez and Jackson with his performance of Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay," though he might have made an even bigger impact by singing a Justin Bieber song -- or any contemporary song, for that matter, as oldies but goodies continue to rule the tryouts.

"American Idol" continues next Wednesday (Jan. 26) with auditions in Milwaukee, Wis.

Source

Lil’ Wayne Drops Some Awesome Quotes With Rolling Stone Magazine [Roling Stone Magz]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 03:55:00 +0000

In Lil’ Wayne’s first post prison interview, he sat down with Rolling Stone Magazine for an interesting (interesting is to say the least) interview. I really don’t even know what to say to some of his quotes. Just check them out below:

On Gambling For Commisary:

“I’d bust a nigga’s ass at Uno,” he told writer Josh Eells. “We gamble for phone time. I’d take nigga’s commissary: Lemme get them cookies, lemme get them chips, get that soup.”

On LeBron James and Dwayne Wade

When Wayne sat court-side at a recent Miami Heat/New Orleans Hornets game he was upset that Lebron James and Dwayne Wade never came over to talk to him. “Them niggas never speak to a nigga,” he says. “They don’t chuck me the deuce or nothing. Nigga spent all that money on them fucking tickets… Come holla at me. We sit right by them little bitch-ass niggas. At least come ask me why I’m not rooting for you.”

On Solitary Confidment

He spent his final month in jail in solitary after he was caught with an iPod charger in his cell. It could have been worse: He also had a watch with an MP3 player on it, but another inmate took the rap. “He was a solid nigga,” says Wayne. “Shout-out to Charles…Solitary was the worst. No TV. No radio. No commissary. Basically you’re in there 23 hours a day.” The only upside was he had a window where he could watch cars go by. “I used to sit at that motherfucker all day,” he says.

New Reading Material

In prison he read biographies of Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Marvin Gaye, Joan Jett, Vince Lombardi and Anthony Kiedis. “[Kiedis'] Scar Tissue was really good,” he says. “I also read the Bible for the first time. It was deep! I liked the parts where some character was once this, but he ended up being that. Like he’d be dissing Jesus, and then he ends up being a saint. That was cool.”

Source – RR

The Strokes name new album and single [NME News - nme.com]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 03:52:00 +0000

The Strokes have tentatively named their forthcoming fourth album 'Angles', which is expected to be released in the UK on March 21.

The record's lead single is likely to be named 'Under Cover Of Darkness'.

The band gave the album information to Rolling Stone magazine, also revealing further song titles 'Taken For A Fool', 'Life Is Simple', 'Machu Picchu', 'Radio Minor Madness' and 'Call Me Back'.

Guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. explained the album title by saying: "It's what the record sounds like. It comes from five different people."

'Life Is Simple' is the only song that survived from sessions the band recorded with producer Joe Chiccarelli before deciding to record in Hammond Jr's own studio, taking on production duties themselves.

Hammond Jr said that, after the album was out, he was hoping the band wouldn't wait another five years before releasing their next effort. "We want to release albums quicker," he explained.

The new record will be their first since 2006's 'First Impressions Of Earth'.

Guitarist Nick Valensi added: "I don't want to make an album every five years. I love being in this band and I want it to be a career thing."

Source

MTV Announces Plans For Digital Music, Media Award Show [ozarksfirst.com]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 03:15:00 +0000

The world of online music and media will be honored by MTV later this spring.

On Thursday, the network announced that they are planning a new award show dedicated to digital music and media.

While a date for the show has yet to be announced, MTV says the ceremony will be broadcast via the Internet, social media sites and mobile devices instead of TV.

MTV executive Dermot McCormack explains, quote, "The industry has evolved into a digital medium, and fans have evolved right along with it. So we figured it was time to re-examine how we reward achievement in these new mediums."

McCormack says fans can look forward to an award show they wouldn't "typically see," adding, quote, "When the VMAs happened 1/8in 1984 3/8, you had Dan Aykroyd coming out smoking a cigarette. That's the same spirit we'd like to capture here."

(Copyright 2011 by VERTEXNews/Newsroom Solutions)

Source

Taylor Momsen Lets Her Folks Off the Hook [TVFanatic.com]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 02:58:00 +0000

Recently, Taylor Momsen blamed her envelope-pushing antics and darker, edgier side on her parents, who she says forced her into modeling and acting so early.

Now, she's claiming that was taken a bit out of context.

The Gossip Girl star tells Kerrang! magazine (UK) that when she said her folks made her "miserable" and "upset," that wasn't truly indicative of how she feels.

"No two year old wants to be working, but I had no choice," she said a few months ago. "I was in and out of school. I didn't have friends. I didn't have a real life."

This week, though, she's much more level-headed about her parents, saying she didn't mean to slam her mom and dad, who felt "horrible," with that sentiment.

"I love my mom and dad. Maybe I didn't have the childhood people think you should have, but I still went through the ages, I was still a child," she says now.

"Maybe it wasn't conventional, but you know, I like where I am now so it's OK."

Aww. Nice to hear her reflect that way. For the record, while we think Taylor tries too hard at times to be shocking just for the sake of it, we respect her as an actress, who we love on Gossip Girl, and as a musician. She's a character and a real talent.

Source

Rammstein win lawsuit in Apocalyptica case! [Kerrang! Magz]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 03:00:00 +0000

German industrial metallers Rammstein have won a lawsuit for copyright infringement against Apocalyptica's record company, Sony Music Entertainment GmbH.

The case, which was heard at the Regional Court Of Berlin last month, was brought against Sony Music's after the label's now defunct subsidiary, Gun Records, claimed in marketing literature that Apocalyptica's 2007 album, Worlds Collide, featured Rammstein when it in fact it just featured Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann.

Sony Music were ordered to pay Rammstein €45,000 (approximately £37,000) in damages. That's a lot of cash for a typo!

The verdict comes as a double blow for the Finnish instrumentalists who have been forced to re-record their new single Not Strong Enough, which featured Shinedown frontman Brent Smith, after Smith's record company refused to give Apocalyptica clearance to use his vocals. Hoobastank frontman Doug Robb will instead take his place.

Source

Watch Funeral For A Friend's new video! [Kerrang! Magz]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:59:00 +0000

Funeral For A Friend have completed work on their eagerly anticipated new album, Welcome Home Armageddon. And, to give you a taster of what you can expect from the Welsh rockers' fifth album, check out our exclusive first look at the video for new single Front Row Seats To The End Of The World below.

Front Row Seats To The End Of The World will be given away as a free download on January 24, while Welcome Home Armageddon will hit stores on March 14.

Source

Random Famous Photos #1

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:26:00 +0000

MTV Networks Launching New Comedy Awards Ceremony! [PerezHilton.com]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:19:00 +0000

Wow! This is pretty huge!

Viacom's MTV Networks have announced that they intend to start a new comedy awards franchise, appropriately titled The Comedy Awards, to be held at the Hammerstein Ballroom March 26th, and to be broadcast April 10th simultaneously on Comedy Central, Spike TV, TV Land, VH1, and Nick at Nite!

Wowza!

According to executive producer Don Mischer, the ceremony will recognize "the year's best comedy films, television series and digital content." The nominees - which will also include writers, directors, and actors in the field - have been selected by The Comedy Awards' board of directors, whose founding members include funnymen (and women) such as Billy Crystal, Will Ferrell, Whoopi Goldberg, Seth McFarlane, and Ray Romano!

Nice! We're totally looking forward to this!

A kind of ceremony celebrating this genre is long overdue!

Hopefully it will do well enough to continue on!

Thoughts??

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SLIPKNOT Frontman Says 'S**t' New Music Is To Blame For Illegal Downloading [Blabbermouth.net]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:16:00 +0000

SLIPKNOT/STONE SOUR singer Corey Taylor has once again spoken out in defense of illegal music downloading, insisting that no one wants to pay for "crap" new music. He tells Britain's Kerrang! magazine, “I have a completely different take on this from a lot of other people. A lot of people in the industry want to blame downloading for the state of [the music business], but I think that if most music wasn't shit to begin with people wouldn't be downloading this stuff for free."

He continues, "Seriously, who the fuck wants to risk hard-earned money on music that's maybe 98 percent crap? I'm not going to. And I still buy new albums. People ask what my favorite new album is and nine times out of 10, I don't fucking have one. Music is garbage."

Taylor's latest comments echo those he made back in 2008 when he toldKerrang!, "Why would you blame [people who download music]? Half the fucking albums that are out there are shit. I don't download, but at the same time, I don't buy new music 'cause it all sucks. Okay, there's a handful of bands that I buy, but other than that, I just buy old shit because old shit is good. Sorry!"

"People wanna blame the decline of album sales on downloading, I think it's actually the record companies' fault," he added. "I think it's the quality of the product. If record companies would stop giving any fucking mook on the street with a fringe a record deal or their own record label, maybe you would sell more fucking albums, dipshits."

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Corey Taylor defends Illegal Downloaders [Torontosun.com]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 09:44:00 +0000

Slipknot vocalist Corey Taylor has defended fans who illegally download songs from the internet, insisting no one wants to pay for “garbage” modern music.

The record industry has been hit hard by illicit file-sharing, but rocker Taylor is convinced the practice is a response to bad music churned out by current chart-toppers.

And he’s adamant listeners would pay for albums if the tracks were of a decent quality.

He tells Britain’s Kerrang! magazine, “I have a completely different take on this from a lot of other people. A lot of people in the industry want to blame downloading for the state of (the music business), but I think that if most music wasn’t s**t to begin with people wouldn’t be downloading this stuff for free.

“Seriously, who the f**k wants to risk hard-earned money on music that’s maybe 98 per cent c**p? I’m not going to. And I still buy new albums. People ask what my favourite new album is and nine times out of 10, I don’t f**king have one. Music is garbage.”

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Iron Maiden - LIVE IN INDONESIA 2011[Uncluster.com]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 09:15:00 +0000

Iron Maiden concert in Jakarta took place on February 17, 2011 at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Senayan, Jakarta. While the concert in Balitook place on February 20, 2011 at the Lotus Pond, Garuda WisnuKencana.

Stadium Utama Senayan has been 10 years untouched by grand music concert. Last time Kantata Takwa phenomenal concert on January 23, 1990. Legendary rock band Deep Purple never was there witnessed by 100 thousand spectators in 1975. The Rolling Stones vocalist geeks had also held a solo concert at the stadium in October 1988 in front of 80 thousand spectators.

The last Iron Maiden concert line ups was the Bruce Dickinson(vocals), Steve Harris (bass), Dave Murray (guitar), Janick Gers(guitar), Adrian Smith (guitar), and Nicko McBrain (drums). Iron Maiden will bring the songs from their latest album The Final Frontier. Relax, their old setlist will also color the Iron Maiden concert.

Epic experience course with the welcome arrival of Iron Maiden Flight 666 airplane that you can see in their documentary. Flight 666 will carry about 70 people with minimal luggage weighs 10 tons. The lead singer, Bruce became the pilot who brought this plane landed in Indonesia.

Original Productions also take advantage of this momentum to release their Rock Festival. Iron Maiden concert to be proving to the international organization of the next concert. Iron Maiden concertsecurity would be tightened up to three rings to prevent an undesirable situation. The next plan of the Original Productions is a concert of The Big Four. Until now the live concert stage is still negotiating.

Strengthen your foot to line up for pre-sale tickets are only sold in oneday, 14. November 2010. Original Productions will be selling pre-sale tickets Festival A B IDR 400.000 IDR 600.000 and Festival.The number of pre-sale tickets are only available for the 3,000 people who are ready to queue from 10:00 am until the tickets run out.

15 November 2010-31 January 2011:
Festival A: IDR 750.000
Festival B: IDR 550.000
Down Tribune: IDR 350.000
Up Tribune: IDR 250.000

February 1, 2011-17 Februari 2011:
Festival A: IDR900.000
Festival B: IDR700.000
Down Tribune: IDR400.000
Up Tribune: IDR300.000

Bali did not receive pre-sale price. But ticket sales split in two termswith different prices.
15 November 2010-31 January 2011:
Festival A: IDR550.000
Festival B: IDR350.000

Tanggal 1 Februari 2011-20 Februari 2011:
Festival A: IDR650.000
Festival B: IDR450.000

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GOOD CHARLOTTE : Releases GREATEST HITS Album SOON! [HAI Magz]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 07:22:00 +0000

After releasing the new album, Cardiology in November 2010, Joel Madden and friends reportedly will soon release an album again, and that is a greatest hits album. The album was planned to be officially circulated within in this near future in 31 January 2011 which began from the UK tomorrow and then continue to other countries.

Quoted from kerrang.com, this album was released by their former label is Epic Records. Here is a list of the best songs from GoodCharlotte who will get into the album.

01 Little Thin
02 The Motivation Proclamation
03 Festival Song
04 Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous
05 The Anthem
06 Girls And Boys
07 The Young And The Hopeless
08 Hold On
09 Predictable
10 I Just Wanna Live
11 The Chronicles Of Life And Death
12 We Believe
13 The River' (featuring Avenged Sevenfold's M. Shadows and Synyster Gates)
14 Keep Your Hands Off My Girl
15 Dance Floor Anthem (I Don't Wanna Be In Love)
16 Misery

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Vampire Weekend - iTunes Session (EP) [Rolling Stone Magz]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 07:02:00 +0000

Vampire Weekend don't reinvent the six songs they run through on this live-in-the-studio session, but they do some nifty interior decorating. Trumpets add a Victorian air to VW's Afro-tinged hits "A-Punk" and "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," and the band slows down the ska-tinged "Holiday," making it groove like a stoned Christmas party. On a loopy-yet-reverent cover of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm Going Down," Jersey native Ezra Koenig slips into the Bruce impression that lurks in every Garden State soul. But VW are more at home with "Have I the Right," by British Invasion one-hit wonders the Honeycombs, turning a fresh-faced stomp into a jazzy shamble. The affinity makes sense: The Honeycombs looked like actuaries and had one of rock's first girl drummers. They were a perfect rock & roll oddity, just like Vampire Weekend.

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Gorillaz New Album - The Fall [Rolling Stone Magz]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 07:00:00 +0000

Recorded on tour, on an iPad, and comprised of songs with titles like "Shy-town" and "Seattle Yodel," this zonked addendum to Gorillaz' excellent Plastic Beach (streaming for free on their website) is the sound of Damon Albarn blowing trees and tweaking apps as the American outback rolls by his bus window. It's a wistfully spaced-out, subtly cheeky spin on the Lost In America road epic, Easy Ridervia Tron — from the country-radio sampling apocalypse dub of "The Parish of Space Dust," to the rust-belting planet-rock of "Detroit," to the gorgeous "Bobby in Phoenix," a sermon on human emotions from soul great Bobby Womack, set against the sweetest blips Steve Jobs' Etch A Sketch could ever birth.

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Pierce The Veil to join A Day To Remember UK tour [Alternative Press Review]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 03:55:00 +0000

Of Mice & Men release official statement about bringing back Austin Carlile [Alternative Press Review]

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 03:53:00 +0000

Of Mice & Men shocked the scene last week when they revealed that they've brought back original vocalist Austin Carlile and added new guitarist Alan Ashby. Carlile, who formed the band in 2008 after splitting with Attack Attack!, became embroiled in a very public online war of words with the remaining members of OM&M when they also went their separate ways last year. In a statement released by the band, everyone has apparently cleared the air, and OM&M are back together with Carlile and now Ashby to work on their upcoming sophomore full-length.

The band's statement:
"So an entire year of touring on our debut album has come to an end and the approaching date of entering the studio to make our next album has come closer and closer, it’s become time for us to decide the kind of album we want to make, for us, as well as for all of you!

With having recently made amends with our original vocalist, Austin Carlile, and not after discussing all of our previous disputes and issues we’ve had with each other (like any other relationship, its not always a friendly exchange of happy words) we’ve collectively decided to return to, or as close to, our original lineup as we could.

Now, we knew this was going to be a huge surprise to everyone and an unexpected turn of events for Of Mice & Men. We had to take into account the response our fans had to our necessity to change screamers in order to continue touring as well as what we felt comfortable with as a group in and out of the studio as well as what our management/label/booking agency team (yes we include them in almost any decision we make, we are a close family, a relationship we are extremely grateful for) felt was a good decision to make for the business aspect while taking into account our personal well being.

To be put simply, both OM&M and Austin want to make another album together because we want give our fans the familiar sound they loved about our first album and build upon that for our follow up. We were willing to put our differences aside and re-establish our friendship and love for making music together. We also want to give you all the chance to hear our first album the way it was intended to be heard since due to prior circumstances…well, that’s all in the past now!

We greatly appreciate all of our fans sticking with us in 2010 and supporting the band with Jerry. We are also very grateful that he stepped up to the plate for us and helped us get through the relentless touring schedule we had. With that being said, we are all extremely excited to be reunited and are going to make another album we are proud of, just like the first and we hope you are too! There’s no behind the scenes anything, no huge fall out or disrespect towards anyone, contrary to what you may think or have read/heard. We just want to make the best album we possibly can and we are confident that together, with the reformed lineup, we will be able to make something amazing.

We have also added a new member, Alan Ashby, who will be playing guitar. Assuming the position of bass will be Shayley which as many of you saw on a couple Warped Tour dates was an easy transition for him. He will, of course, still be singing. Tino is on drums, Phil is on guitar and Austin is screaming. A freshly reformed OM&M for 2011."

(Photo: Nikki Green)
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