Metric to open for the Rolling Stones
From the desk of the old guys that brought you Coldplay, Sheryl Crow and Guns 'n' Roses… The Rolling Stones have announced the opening band for the first leg of their North American tour, and it's none other than Canadian indie rock outfit, Metric. The band will be supporting the veteran rockers, but also supporting its latest album, Live it Out. ... read more
Flaming Lips plan busy 2006
Wayne Coyne and his merry band of geniuses have a busy new year already in the works. First up for the three Oklahomans will be co-headlining Giant Village 2006, a Los Angeles New Year's Eve party held across six downtown blocks on as many different stages. Alongside the Flaming Lips will be Death Cab for Cutie, the Black Eyed Peas and several other acts. Additionally, on Jan. 31 the group will release a CD/DVD version of its classic 1999 album, The Soft Bulletin. The reissue, titled Soft Bulletin 5.1, will include videos, a remix and BBC tracks recorded on... read more
Conscious Alliance Hosts New Year's Eve Concerts Food Drives
Conscious Alliance, a Colorado-based not-for-profit organization, will host food drives at New Year’s Eve concerts across the country-- including The String Cheese Incident’s Sea of Dreams in San Francisco, Sound Tribe Sector 9’s Atlanta Bash, Yonder Mountain String Band’s in Denver show and the Umprey’s McGee/Keller Williams concert in Chicago. In addition, Conscious Alliance will run their Third Annual Toy Drive to benefit the Pine Ridge and Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservations of South Dakota and Montana. The drive will culminate on Dec 21 at The String Cheese Incident Benefit Show in Boulder, CO. Since Hurricane Katrina, Conscious Alliance has... read more
The Nebraska Project opens New York Guitar Festival
For the gala opening to the New York Guitar Festival, several artists are performing their interpretations of songs from Bruce Springsteen's 1982 album Nebraska, as part of The Nebraska Project. Artists scheduled to perform include Laura Cantrell, Chocolate Genius, Kevn Kinney, Dan Zanes, Martha Wainwright and others. The event is free and will take place at the World Financial Center's Winter Garden on Saturday, January 14. The New York Guitar Festival was founded in 1999 by Dan Spelman. This year's festival will feature over 20 shows at seven venues in New York City. For more information, visit NewYorkGuitarFestival.org ... read more
Southern Culture on the Skids to release live album
North Carolina swamp rockers Southern Culture on the Skids will release Doublewide and Live March 21, 2006. The album will also be released as a special, limited edition double-CD/LP edition. The band is also planning a spring tour, with dates soon to be announced. ... read more
Coachella documentary in the works
Over the last several years, the Empire Polo Field in Indio, Calif., has hosted the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and now the event's excitement will be transferred to the big screen. Coachella, the first documentary about the annual festival, is set for theatrical release Jan. 24. Featuring performances from The Arcade Fire, the Pixies, Radiohead, The White Stripes, Bright Eyes and several others, the film promises to be a fairly comprehensive look at a festival with its finger on the pulse of modern music. Additionally, the dates for Coachella 2006 have been announced. The festival will be held... read more
Pilotdrift opening for Supergrass 2006 tour
The guys from Texarkana, Texas, with an unhealthy Queen and Pink Floyd fetish will be hitting the road soon. Pilotdrift has been selected to open Supergrass' Feb. 2006 tour. This will be the band's first tour in promotion of its debut, Water Sphere. ... read more
Dylan Hosts Show On XM Radio
Bob Dylan will host a weekly hour-long music show exclusively for XM Satellite Radio. Dylan will hand pick the music, offer regular commentary and host guests. The show will debut in March 2006 on XM's deep album rock channel Deep Tracks (XM channel 40). "Songs and music have always inspired me. A lot of my own songs have been played on the radio, but this is the first time I've ever been on the other side of the mic," said Dylan. "It'll be as exciting for me as it is for XM." ... read more
Pink Floyd's David Gilmour to Release Solo Album
Pink Floyd singer and guitarist David Gilmour will release solo album On An Island March 7. The album features David Crosby, Graham Nash, Richard Wright, Jools Holland and Robert Wyatt. Gilmour will follow the album's release with a European and American tour. ... read more
Astralwerks nominated for seven Grammy Awards
Despite the fact that Kraftwerk pioneered electronica music and has been creating innovative art for over 35 years, the German foursome has yet to be nominated for a Grammy. That is, until now. In fact, the musical home of Kraftwerk, Astralwerks Records, is up for several nominations at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards. The show will be broadcasted live on Feb. 8th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. In addition to Kraftwerk, other Astralwerks nominees include Fatboy Slim, the Chemical Brothers and the Six Feet Under Volume 2 soundtrack. ... read more
Decemberists Sign To Capitol
The rumor's been going around indie circles and blogs for weeks, and Colin Meloy has confirmed it: the Decemberists have signed to Capitol Records. "It just felt like we had tapped out the resources of Kill Rock Stars,” Meloy told trendy indie website Pitchfork. “We could have stayed on that label until the end of time, putting out proper Decemberists records that sold x amount of copies. But there was a general thought after this last tour that the music and the stage show were evolving. We felt like there was an opportunity for something bigger." It's not time to... read more
Neil Young to Appear on Saturday Night Live
Neil Young, who received 2 Grammy Award nominations for his latest album, Prairie Wind, will appear on Saturday Night Live on Dec. 17. Young received nominations for Rock Album of the Year and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for the Prairie Wind track “The Painter” in the Dec. 8 nominations ... read more
Amnesty International Launches Make Some Noise
On Dec. 10, Amnesty International will join with contemporary artists to release covers of classic John Lennon songs as part of Amnesty’s Make Some Noise campaign. The project aims to promote human rights awareness and activism, featuring artists like the Black Eyed Peas, The Cure, Snow Patrol and the Postal Service. December 10 is International Human Rights Day, the anniversary of the signing of Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Four singles will be released on December 10: “Power to the People,” “Isolation,” “Love,” and “Grow Old With Me”. They can be downloaded as singles from Amnesty’s website in... read more
Thievery Corporation expands, reissues debut
Since 1997, Thievery Corporation has combined adventurous soundscapes with the influence of breaks and dub, creating an electronic palette that has earned the duo worldwide acclaim. On Jan. 24, ESL Music will re-release the group's debut, complete with new packaging and unreleased b-sides. For more information, visit Thievery Corporation's official Web site, at www.thieverycoporation.com. ... read more
Death Cab Gets Grammy Nod
The 48th annual Grammy nominees were announced this week. Death Cab for Cutie's most recent record, Plans, which came out on Atlantic this year, has been nominated for Best Alternative Album. Also nominated in that category are The Arcade Fire, Beck, The White Stripes and Franz Ferdinand. Among other nominees are the usual suspects: Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Gwen Stefani, Fiona Apple, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and others. ... read more
Soundtrack for Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada to be released Jan. 31
The soundtrack for Tommy Lee Jones' directorial debut, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, will be released on Recall Records Jan. 31. The soundtrack features original music from composer Marco Beltrami (Scream, I Robot) and songs by Merle Haggard, Flaco Jimenez, Hank Williams Jr., Freddie Fender, Dwight Yoakam, Latin Grammy winner Lila Downs and more. As a native Texan, Jones was committed to setting Three Burials to music that was authentic to the regions where the film is set—Southwest Texas and Northwest Mexico. "It is refreshing to know that Tommy Lee Jones had just as much passion for the score... read more
South by Southwest celebrates 20 years
One of America's most celebrated and successful music conferences, South by Southwest, celebrates its 20th birthday next year. This Austin, Texas, event—with its focus now on music, business and film, will run March 15-19, 2006. For more information, including partial lineup listings, visit www.sxsw.com. ... read more
Comedy Central's Last Laugh '05 Premieres Dec. 11
Comedy Central will host Last Laugh '05, a comedy recap of the good, bad and ugly of 2005 on Sunday, Dec. 11 at 9 p.m. EST. Musical guests Death Cab for Cutie and Yellowcard, along with comedians Lewis Black, David Cross, Sarah Silverman and David Spade are on the schedule, plus appearances by John Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Andy Dick. There will also be some never-before-seen footage from Chapelle's Show third season. ... read more
New Eels CD/DVD Set Hits Stores Feb. 2006
Vagrant Records will release a CD, Eels with Strings: Live at Town Hall, alongside a Image Entertainment DVD release on Feb. 21, 2006. The recordings feature frontman Mark Oliver Everett, aka E, with his seven-piece backing band, which includes an all-girl string quartet. This release follows this spring's Blinking Lights and Other Revelations double-album. ... read more
Rare Jeff Mangum demos surface
According to various blogs, an undetermined amount of Jeff Mangum demos have been discovered. Louisiana-based blogger Shannon Palmer found the tape in a house she inherited after the passing of a friend. After listening, she realized they were early incarnations of tracks (some of them unreleased) by the Neutral Milk Hotel leader and Elephant 6 icon. With the help of NeutralMilkHotel.org webmaster Gavin Bachner, Palmer has been posting the songs on her blog. For more information, including the ongoing story and updated song postings, visit skipgoshannong.typepad.com. ... read more
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