Jack White talks about Hank Williams album
It was back in November when we first reported news of a Bob Dylan orchestrated Hank Williams album. The record is said to consist of unheard Hank Williams lyrics that are being put to music by a slue of different artists. The only confirmed parties involved at the time were Jack White and the head honcho himself, Robert Zimmerman. To our delight, the former has finally spoken out about his work on the project. In recent interviews, White has pegged Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams and Alan Jackson as participants in the album. Still, the White Stripes leading man has also... read more
Terminator is back for a fourth round
What a country we live in. The land of the free and the home of the brave. A place where one man can go from body builder, to movie action hero, to governor of his own state. American truly is a land of great opportunity! However, with opportunity comes great responsibility. That is why we regret to inform you that the Governor of California will not be appearing in the next Terminator movie, scheduled for release on May 22, 2009. It's understandable, though. What would the rest of the world think of the state—not to mention, the American people—if Schwarzenegger... read more
Radiohead, Tom Petty, more play Outside Lands festival
Radiohead, Tom Petty and Jack Johnson will be headlining the Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, festival organizers confirmed this weekend after much speculation. The inaugural Outside Lands Festival will take place August 22-24. Organizers from Another Planet Entertainment expect the headliners to attract crowds of up to 160,000 people over the festival's three days, according to government documents quoted by The Daily Swarm. Ticket information and the official festival lineup have not been announced at this time. Organizers said that full festival lowdown will be available soon via OutsideLandsFest.com. Related links: Radiohead.com TomPetty.com JackJohnson.com Got... read more
Buddy Miles: 1947-2008
Buddy Miles, drummer and singer famous for his work with Jimi Hendrix in the late '60s, passed away Tuesday night. Miles died of congestive heart failure in his Austin home, according to his website. He was 60. Miles was born on September 5, 1947 in Omaha, Neb., and inherited his passion for music from his father, a bassist, who performed with a group called the Bebops. Miles sat in on drums with his father’s band when he was as young as 11. As a young musician, Miles began his professional career playing with Wilson Pickett, the Delfonics and the Ink... read more
SFA's Gruff Rhys involved in Brazilian zombie rock opera
Gruff Rhys may be a Candylion, but he recently partnered with a pair of Brazilian artists who hunger for something a little more sinister than sugary sweets: BRAINS! OK, maybe Diego Medina and Desirée Marantes don't want to literally consume anyone's grey matter; they're more interested in worming their way into the ears of horror/music fans across the globe with their ambitious Zombieoper collaboration. After discovering that they shared an interest in both at-home recording and the undead, Medina and Marantes brainstormed Zombieoper—a bizarre, lighthearted rock opera about zombies who exhaust the cerebral-cortex supply on Earth and have to shoot... read more
Random House abandons DRM for audiobooks
Random House Audio announced earlier this week that it will no longer require a registered (DRM) encryption of its digitally sold audiobooks. The decision to make all audio books DRM-free came after the major publishing company tested the sale of new audiobooks in watermarked MP3 format through eMusic.com and found that all online pirated versions of the titles originated from cracked DRMs and CD rips. The largest online audiobook store Audible.com, however, sells DRM versions of their audiobooks as a matter of policy. According to BoingBoing.net, Random House's announcement and Amazon.com's recent acquisition of Audible may cause the popular online... read more
Larry Norman: 1947-2008
Larry Norman, who was dubbed the father of Christian rock, passed away on Sunday in his home in Salem, Ore. “Larry was my door into the music business and he was the most Christlike person I ever met," Pixies' singer Frank Black said in a press release after Norman’s passing. Black is a longtime fan of Norman's and the two have appeared on stage together and seemed to maintain a mutual respect. It seems that many have some sort of connection to Larry Norman—Pete Townshend, Bob Dylan, U2, John Mellencamp. Never one to be confined to category, Norman apparently had... read more
Mates of State Re-Arrange with new album
Having a baby doesn’t mean you have to put your career on hold. In fact, if you are Mates of State, kids just add to the fun. The married organ and drum duo has had its hands full raising a newborn and a toddler, as well as completing a new record, Re-Arrange Us. Set for release on May 20, the LP will mark the indie-pop group's fifth studio album. There are no tour dates scheduled in support of the release as of yet, but the California-based band is known for its eager beaver touring schedule, and will no doubt be... read more
Rare Velvet Underground bootlegs sold despite questions
A rare bootleg recording of a 1967 Velvet Underground performance at New York City’s Gymnasium has resurfaced after 40 years, and the owner is selling a limited number of copies online. A seller on eBay listed 100 green vinyl copies of the album for sale last week (the online bidding has since ended.) According to LicoricePizza.com, the album contains a number of gems including a 19-minute version of “Sister Ray” and the previously unreleased “I’m Not A Young Man Anymore.” The album is also said to be the last recording from John Cale’s time in the band. The Gymnasium bootleg... read more
Black Crowes to soon tour on Warpaint
Fans of the Black Crowes have plenty to celebrate aside from the pending release of the band's new album, Warpaint. In addition to an official apology from Maxim for reviewing the album without hearing it (And hey! Nas too! Those Maxim folks sure exemplify journalistic integrity, no?), The Crowes have released the dates for their world tour. The international dates come promptly after a stint of "One Night Only" shows where they will be performing the entire Warpaint album onstage, a first for the band. Their world tour so far only takes them on an extended hop down under and... read more
R.E.M. adds European tour dates
R.E.M. has added four more dates to the European leg of its 2008 world tour, meaning fans across the Atlantic have exactly 24 chances to catch one of the band's shows this summer. This year is shaping up to be a big one for the band. First, frontman Michael Stipe announced back in December that the band’s latest album, “a great fucking record” in the singer's own words, would be released this year on April Fool's Day. Next, the band announced it would be taking Modest Mouse and The National along on a two-month U.S. tour beginning in May. Then... read more
Dress up Devendra Banhart on the Internet
Where to turn when boredom comes knocking? Is it the wilds of MySpace, the feed of Facebook, the mezzanine of YouTube? Nay, no, nine—who can save us from the monotony? Devendra Banhart. Yes, that’s right. Devendra saves the day. His "DRESS ME" site has all the charm of Victorian paper dolls and all the weirdness that is Banhart, Vitruvian-man style, in his skivvies. Masterminded by OSK Design, which is best known for its artists’ work for Genghis Tron, this page has everything that Banhart could possibly ever need to face the day. Feeling a little college professor-ish? Here, try some... read more
Béla Fleck to premiere African banjo doc at SXSW
Béla Fleck, 30-year banjo-wielder extraordinaire and head of bluegrass crossover group Béla Fleck & the Flecktones, has made a documentary chronicling his recent trip to Africa. Throw Down Your Heart follows Fleck to Uganda, Tanzania, The Gambia and Mali, working with many local musicians and attempting to trace the origins of his beloved musical instrument. The musicians he meets vary in skill and situation, from superstars like the Malian diva Oumou Sangare, to families that make and play their own versions of the banjo, to one who has mastered a twelve-foot xylophone. Fleck recorded an album featuring many of these... read more
O'Death tours, works on new album for fall
A stomp and a clap and Appalachian jug band sensibilities are all that’s needed to get along at an O’Death show, though a straw in the mouth and a farmer’s tan would be nice touches. Bring that fresh-from-the-field/mountain stream look to one of the group’s shows as the group hoots and hollers its punkish-oldtime on a tour with Langhorne Slim this March, before supporting Murder by Death through April. Gigantic music recently released O’Death’s “Spider Home” 7”, which features the b-side “Silk Hole.” Vocalist Greg Jamie told Paste that the band is now in pre-production with Alex Newport (At the... read more
Ani DiFranco expands Canon tour, brings Over the Rhine
Ani DiFranco plans to continue her tour across the U.S. in support of her first compilation album Canon (2007). As reported at LiveDaily, The self-described “Little Folksinger” will be joined by her regular ensemble of Todd Sickafoose on upright bass and Allison Miller on drums. Another free-spirited band plans to contribute its sound to some of her powerhouse shows as well. Over the Rhine will join DiFranco at 11 venues next month, culminating in a show at the original House of Blues. Afterwards, DiFranco will trek through the west coast all the way up to Canada: February 28 - Concord,... read more
Jay-Z, Barclays, more named in $5 billion reparation suit
Now that the Oscars are over, it's time to reflect on the new season that's apparently upon us. Lawsuit season! It's that time of year, folks, and it's either sue or be sued. Yesterday, it was announced that the Foo Fighters had filed suit with Marvel Comics for allegedly using two of their songs without permission in a trailer for an upcoming television series. Meanwhile, yesterday, The New York Observer reported that Clive Campbell, a Brooklyn-based activist (and incidentally not DJ Kool Herc, as was initially reported) has named none other than Jay-Z (née Sean Carter) himself alongside developer Brett... read more
Flaming Lips, The Cure, many more to play Sasquatch! fest
Thank goodness this year’s Sasquatch! Music Festival was expanded to three days: they are going to need the space. R.E.M. is one headliner, and the Flaming Lips are coming too, UFO in tow. The Cure, Modest Mouse and Death Cab for Cutie will also be topping out the bill. The Flaming Lips will also debut their long-awaited film Christmas on Mars at the festival, Billboard.com reports. Paste favorites The National will be there, as will Four to Watch artist Thao Nguyen playing with the Get Down Stay Down. Flight of the Conchords will be bringing the funny, and don’t forget... read more
Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon are Bourne again
A lengthy article in Variety recently detailed Universal's changing environment and expanding content. It's an informative piece that is well and good if you work in the industry, but it's deciding less exciting stuff for the everyday movie goer. Hidden amidst its depths, though, was an announcement that Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon will be back for a fourth Bourne film. After the release of The Bourne Ultimatum last summer, Greengrass and Damon were "ready to wrap [the franchise] up." Ultimatum also concluded the three-film story arc, making it surprising that things could continue. Not that surprising, though, as each... read more
"World's greatest" record collection garners fraudulent bid
Music collectors around the world took notice last week when an unidentified buyer purchased one of the world’s largest record collections for $3 million on eBay. As previously reported, the collection belongs to 69-year-old Pittsburgh collector Paul Mawhinney. “The World’s Greatest Record Collection” is comprised of more than three million records and 300,000 CDs that took 60 years to assemble. The collection contains a number of extremely rare records, including 15 copies of Elvis’ Christmas Album and an unreleased, untitled album of early Rolling Stones singles. Online bidding opened at $3 million on Feb. 11, and username jopsoup made the... read more
The Jayhawks' Louris and Olsen, together again
Gary Louris and Mark Olson just can't stay away from each other. The two men have been playing music together since 1985, when they formed rootsy outfit The Jayhawks in the tundra of Minnesota, and, despite disbanding the critically acclaimed project in 2006 (which once earned an article in the New York Times entitled "What If You Made a Classic, and No One Cared?"), they have continued to come together to tour and occasionally record music over the past few years. Now, Louris and Olson have officially entered the studio once again according to Billboard.com, and have recorded their first... read more
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