ActiveMusician.com Blog

Green Day - 2/14/2012 Day One - YouTube

Jim Burger — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:12:44 -0500

Green Day is getting back in the studio to make a new album. Apparently Valentine's was "day 1" in the studio, and they've just posted a video on YouTube celebrating that fact.

The video is real brief and uninformative, so it will probably not be of much interest to anyone outside of hardcore Green Day fans. On the other hand, it's only 20 seconds, so why not take a gander?

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=v-eODEc2HZA

11 Crazy True Keith Moon Stories

Jim Burger — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:52:09 -0500

If you're looking for something fun to read to while away a dull afternoon, check out these little vignettes about the antics of Who drummer Keith Moon. Apparently, his reputation as an absolute lunatic was no undeserved...

Source: http://wzlx.radio.com/2012/02/13/11-crazy-true-keith-moon-stories-photos/#photo-1

Obamas to hold celebration of blues music

Jim Burger — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:40:39 -0500

Love him or hate him, you gotta admit that, as presidents go, Obama is relatively high up on the "cool" scale (certainly in comparison to President Dukakis, anyway). Up next on the cool calendar -- on February 21st, the White House will be streaming a live celebration of the blues as part of Black History Month. The program, called "In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues," will be live streamed on the White House Web site, www.whitehouse.gov/live.

So far, the headlining performers include BB King, Mick Jagger, Keb Mo and Jeff Beck. As far as I'm concerned, the more taxpayer dollars that get spent in support of the blues, the better!

Source: http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/139243133.html

Rolling Stones Urinals Causing Controversy in Germany

Jim Burger — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:16:18 -0500

I'm not sure what to make of this one... Apparently there's been a bit of protest against the urinals at the Rolling Stones Museum in Germany. Personally, I can't see what would be more fitting, although it is true that the lack of tongue does make it an inaccurate representation of the Stones' logo.

Anyhow, I like the museum founder's practical response to the criticism -- "They were damned expensive and they're staying where they are!" So there you have it.

Source: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/rolling-stones-urinals/

Happy New Gear Sweepstakes Winner Chosen... 2nd place to be announced shortly...

Jim Burger — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:52:38 -0500

Congratulations go out to SusanMaria from Ohio, the winner of our Happy New Gear Sweepstakes! She'll be enjoying a brand-new Squier Stratocaster and Fender Mustang Amp courtesy of ActiveMusician.com!

SusanMaria is a big fan of Eric Clapton, as she told us, "Eric Clapton is my Idol and has been since I was a teenager. He is truly a legend in his lifetime!!" It's only fitting that she should win a black Stratocaster, since Slowhand's famous "Blackie" is one of the best-known Strats in history... enjoy the guitar, SusanMaria!

We had several thousand entrants in our sweepstakes this time around, so we'd like to give a big "Thanks!" to everyone who participated.

We are still tallying referrals and should be announcing the second-prize winner shortly, who also gets a guitar, plus a bunch of T-shirts, so stay tuned...

Neil Young Confirms Two New Crazy Horse Albums

Jim Burger — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 07:15:54 -0500

Apparently Neil Young has been back at work with the old Crazy Horse gang. They've got an album coming out called "Americana" (amazing how interested this Canadian guy is in everything relating to the US), and they'll be playing together as part of the GRAMMY Foundation's MusiCares Person of the Year Gala in honor of Paul McCartney on Feb. 10th. From what he says, another album should be coming up, as well.

Here's a brief video interview where Mr. Young talks about stuff. I just like seeing him interact, he seems like a very taciturn kind of guy...

Source: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/neil-young-confirms-two-new-crazy-horse-albums/

Sh*t Guitarists Say

Jim Burger — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:10:17 -0500

OK, I know this "Sh*t [insert demographic here] say" thing is getting overplayed, but this dude's take on it is pretty funny -- and frighteningly accurate. I think my favorite is "What kind of wood is this... is it Bubinga?"

In one of the comments, someone pointed out that he left out "I can't hear myself!" Any others that are missing?

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMfmPAk3MU4&feature=player_embedded

Daniel Ek On Spotify, Community And Music's Future

Jim Burger — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:53:28 -0500

Here's an interesting interview with the CEO of up-and-coming music streaming service Spotify. Naturally, he's pretty optimistic about the future of the music industry and Spotify's role in it. He seems to feel a specific need to point out that artist royalties are growing, and that Spotify will help grow overall music industry revenues in the long run.

He also seems to think that services like Spotify make it easy for independent artists to market their music through sharing and recommendations -- so if your music is good enough, you'll get a following without having to spend on marketing or get signed by a label.

Judging by some of the comments below the article, not everyone agrees. Do any of you guys have any feelings about this stuff? I have no idea how easy it is for small artists to get their stuff on Spotify, but he mentions a couple of success stories...

Source: http://www.grammy.com/news/daniel-ek-on-spotify-community-and-musics-future

Paul McCartney to Receive Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Nearly 20 Years After Being Chosen

Jim Burger — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:22:19 -0500

You've got to be a pretty busy guy if you can't fit a Hollywood Walk of Fame star dedication ceremony onto your schedule for 19 years. I guess Paul McCartney is just that busy. He'll finally be getting his star dedicated today as part of the lead-up to the Grammys.

All of the other Beatles already have their stars, but apparently the slight was not intentional, Paul just never managed to fit it into his schedule. Kind of odd, since he's had time to George's and Ringo's during that time, but whatever...

Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/paul-mccartney-star-hollywood-walk-fame-284443

Metallica Announces Two-Day Orion Music Festival

Jim Burger — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:54:13 -0500

OK, so Metallica's big news was that they'll be headlining their own music festival. Why will this be better than any other music festival? Because this one is Metallica's, obviously!

Source: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/metallica-announces-two-day-orion-music-festival/

Bono's Facebook stake to make him richest rock star on the planet

Jim Burger — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:40:17 -0500

What do you do when you're a rock star rolling in riches? Set up an investment fund, of course! Bono's fund, Elevation Partners, got in to Facebook in 2009 and now will be earning a nearly $1 billion payday once Facebook IPO's. This will apparently leapfrog him ahead of Sir Paul as the richest rock star on the planet.

Given Bono's dedication to charitable causes across the planet, hopefully he'll redirect some of this jackpot to worthwhile pursuits...

Source: http://www.nme.com/news/bono/61841

Adam Lambert Addresses Queen Rumors on Twitter

Jim Burger — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:48:49 -0500

Boy, you gotta be careful what you say these days with the internet rumor mill out there. Apparently Adam Lambert made some mention of performing with Queen, and suddenly everyone's expecting a world tour.

Anyhow, looks like that's not true. They played together at the EMAs, they may (or may not) do some performances together again, anything else is just based on taking quotes out of context. The best approach to all this stuff is just to wait and see, believe it when the tickets go on sale...

As to whether Adam Lambert with Queen is a good thing or not -- what do you think?

Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/adam-lambert-queen-tour-freddie-mercury-287102

Van Halen, "A Different Kind of Truth" - Album Review

Jim Burger — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:43:04 -0500

It's not yet on iTunes, so I haven't heard it, but here's a very positive review of the new VH album from the Ultimate Classic Rock website. Let's hope they're right, I was not too impressed with the concert footage from NYC, but that may have been because it was low-quality camera work.

VH apparently gave a rockin' private concert at Henson Studios in LA a couple of days ago, here's a (crappy quality) video of it:

Somehow I'm not sure if all this smartphone videos aren't doing the music industry a disservice...

Source: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/van-halen-a-different-kind-of-truth-album-review/

Metallica is Up to Something - More News on Tuesday

Jim Burger — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:19:32 -0500

Metallica is apparently going to make some huge announcement tomorrow, based on this cheesy video they've posted on YouTube.

Must be either some kind of tour announcement or an iMax video coming up. Tune in tomorrow for more...

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uxtMp1Nhat8

Greatest Rock Songs of All Time? A survey of surveys...

Jim Burger — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:02:32 -0500

Every Thanksgiving, the New York classic rock station does a survey of the top 1,043 songs of all time. A couple of weeks ago I also came across a Boston station's survey. So I did a little research and found one from LA, too.

There are many similarities in the results -- a lot of the same titles pop up in the top 20 or so -- but it's interesting to see the differences in specific rankings. Here are links to the top finishers of all three:

New York (Q104.3)
Boston (100.7 WZLX)
Los Angeles (95.5 KLOS)

All of these are based on listener voting, so they reflect the opinions of the classic rock fan base in the 3 respective cities.

I had thought that Stairway to Heaven always wins these things, but apparently not in Boston, although it's still a Zep tune that comes out on top (Kashmir? Really? No wonder I decided not to live in Boston!). Strangely, the citizens of these 3 great cities can't even agree on the top tune by the Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin or Pink Floyd.

Source: http://www.q1043.com/common/top_songs/2011.html

Renegade Rolling Stones Fans Demand Live Show Changes

Jim Burger — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 07:22:35 -0500

A group of Rolling Stones fans calling themselves the "Rolling Stones Liberation Front" have put forth a list of demands from the Stones for their next concert tour. Ranging from small venues to low ticket prices to elimination of horn section and opening acts, it's a pretty good list of complaints. Everyone knows that small venue shows are better, and who the heck needs a horn section?

Unfortunately for the RSLF, all of this is almost certainly pie-in-the-sky. If you switch to smaller venues and reduce ticket prices, how are you going to ration ticket sales? The answer, of course, would be that only members of the RSLF should get tickets, right? Sounds kind of like a Bolshevik plot to me...

Source: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/renegade-rolling-stones-fans-demand-live-show-changes/

Bruce Springsteen at His "Angriest" on Upcoming Album

Jim Burger — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:12:04 -0500

Apparently, Bruce is coming out with a new album soon, although release date has not yet been announced. Word is that the new material is quite good, it is supposedly an "angry" album with several songs addressing issues of economic justice.

While I generally try to avoid politics at all costs, it's good to hear that Bruce is coming out with something. The guy appears to be aging well, if it takes politics to get his emotions & creativity going, then I say go for it!

Source: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/bruce-springsteen-at-his-angriest-on-upcoming-album/

Tony Iommi Diagnosed with Lymphoma

Jim Burger — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:37:53 -0500

Let's all send our best wishes to Tony Iommi. Shortly after announcing that Black Sabbath would be reuniting to make a record and go on tour, the legendary axeman was diagnosed with lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphocytes, a type of cell that forms part of the immune system. He's getting ready to undergo treatment and appears to be upbeat and optimistic.

Let's hope that his illness does not affect Sabbath's reunion, but most of all, let's all hope for a quick and speedy recovery for Tony!

Source: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=168214&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A blabbermouth %28Blabbermouth.net%27s Daily Headlines%29

Guns N Roses Frontman Axl Rose Serves Jury Duty

Jim Burger — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:15:38 -0500

Imagine showing up for jury duty and you end up serving on a jury with Axl Rose. I'm not sure how I'd react to that, but apparently the GnR singer served for a couple of days last week in California. I guess he was just happy to be summoned to court for a reason that had nothing to do with domestic abuse, biting security guards, or whatever else the guy likes to do.

I'm kind of surprised the guy served out a full four days. I mean, if you were a lawyer, wouldn't this be the first guy you'd throw off the jury?

Source: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/guns-n-roses-frontman-axl-rose-serves-jury-duty/

Pink Floyd 'The Wall' Box Set Tracklist and Contents Revealed

Jim Burger — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 07:52:50 -0500

A huge "Immersion Edition" box set of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" is due out on February 28th. Featuring 6 audio CDs, a video DVD and various goodies such as photos, marbles and a scarf (yes, a scarf!), it's bound to be the most generous helping of Wall you could ever hope to get your hands on, and a great warm-up if you're planning to go see Roger Waters on his Wall tour this summer.

So if you're a big enough Pink Floyd fan that you really want to hear 4 different versions of "The Trial" and "Don't Leave Me Now," rejoice!

The one thing that they have not posted yet is what the price will be for this cornucopia. Any guesses?

Source: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/pink-floyd-the-wall-tracklist/