Mark Sultan aka BBQ to tour with Clinic
Mark Sultan is a musician's musician. He's earned his rock 'n' roll stripes multiple times over, performing with so many side projects it's hard to tell if he ever had an original band. He's headed up Les Sexareenos as well as the The Spaceshits, collaborated with the likes of The Deadly Snakes and Jack Oblivian, run Sultan Records, and has put out some damn fine garage tunes with King Khan and the BBQ Show. The reason Sultan hasn't become more famous is one of those rock 'n' roll injustices that makes idealistic music writers turn to the sauce on cold,... read more
Peter Gabriel launches recommendation site The Filter
Peter Gabriel has launched a new website dedicated to helping users find music and movies to fit their taste. The Filter is described as a discovery service: tell it the movies, music and web videos that you enjoy, and it will make daily recommendations of new material you might like. The site will not go public until next month, but users can register with the site right now to participate in its private beta testing phase. Gabriel told CNET that his vision for The Filter was to help people find quality films and music that they ordinarily might not come... read more
Feist and Constantines offer "Islands in the Stream" cover
Winking covers of cheesy '80s tunes by established indie artists are a dime—or, on Amazon, $18.97 new and $8.99 used—a dozen these days. Still, Feist and Constantines' cover of Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s 1983 hit "Islands in the Stream" is really quite stunning. With nary a bit of cheek, they've stripped the song down to the quietly earnest acoustic slow-jam it should have always been. Better still, Bryan Webb and Leslie Feist sound like they actually wanna make love to each other, which is not the impression we get from this chummy, vintage Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton performance…:... read more
Download-to-own Juno on iTunes
A few years ago, everyone was talking about Google taking over the world. They seem to have settled for most of our streets and outer space, but don’t panic. iTunes is filling any void in the plight for world domination, taking over everything that isn't nailed down and marked with a big, colorful "G". And they might have a shot at it, thanks to a pregnant teenage Minnesotan and an mailbox full of red Tic-Tacs. According to Variety, Fox treaded new waters by offering Juno as downloadable-to-own on iTunes yesterday, the same day it came out to rent at, say,... read more
Vampire Weekend, Hold Steady amongst Capitol Hill line-up
[Above: Blue Scholars at last year's block party] The Stranger and KEXP are rewriting the books on what constitutes the quintessential block party. Needless to say, Aunt Gertrude’s green-bean casserole isn’t getting anywhere near this thing. “This ain’t no burnt-wiener-and-potato-salad kind of block party,” the Seattle Weekly said in a recent statement. “No, this one is more like a sweaty, boozy, scaled-down version of Sasquatch, only during the dog days of summer and right in our own backyard.” The event takes place over July 25-26, with over 50 bands appearing on four stages. The line-up displays a penchant for northwestern... read more
Record store doc to feature Noam Chomsky, Thurston, more
Will the independent record store survive this age of big-box music retail, electronic commerce and homogenized radio content? Brendan Toller has made a documentary called I Need That Record!: The Death (Or Possible Survival) of the Independent Record Store exploring this question, and has asked both those influenced by and those deciding our record store doom. The roads by which the public at large acquires music and information these days, Toller writes on his blog, "squash new ideas, new innovations, and new possibilities as the future of recorded music, a commodity that supports the artist, vanishes." "Through found footage, expository... read more
Mötley Crüe '08 tour announcement liveblogged by Paste
Do you long for the days of economy-size Aqua Net and sticky backstage meet-and-greets? Well, hide the small mammals and rip some holes in those fishnets, because Mötley Crüe—featuring the entire original line-up, no less—is going on tour. Not only that, but the band has dreamt up its very own Ozzfest-style traveling rock event, and is bringing along Buckcherry, Papa Roach, SIXX:AM and Trapt. They're calling it Crüe Fest and you can get tickets right now. The band made the formal announcement last night, and Paste's Mark Krotov liveblogged the event. If his musings get you longing for your very... read more
Songs for Kids Foundation hosts 10-night event
While many acts of charity can be a little less than fun (not that that's the point), not many organizations capture the joyful spirit of giving quite like the Songs for Kids Foundation. Started in Atlanta, the organization focuses on bringing music to kids who have to endure extended hospital stays. Not only do they bring artists in to entertain the tikes, they also have music engineers and producers who visit with the children so that they can have the opportunity to write their own music. The kids involved also have the chance to cut their own CD recording. Want... read more
Duffy takes a Rockferry to the States
Soulful songstress Duffy has finally announced a U.S. release date for her album Rockferry. The songbird from Wales has already conquered her homeland with her '60s throwback song, "Mercy." Check out the video right here: The rest of her funky folk tunes will land in the States on May 13. Those hoping to catch a live gig can either make their way to New York City on May 12 hit up Europe this summer or wait for her to announce additional dates.. Related links: IAmDuffy.com Duffy on MySpace YouTube: Duffy - "Rockferry" Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com. ... read more
Neil Diamond announces summer tour dates
After releasing album 29 of his career, Neil Diamond will tour across the U.S. and some of Canada this summer. As expected from anyone with a body of work that massive, the man has done quite a bit so far in his life: written a lovesong about a Kennedy, talked some shit at Bob Dylan backstage during The Last Waltz, won the very first Worst Actor Razzie Award for his leading role in a remake of The Jazz Singer ... the list goes on. So what's another tour for this legend? Dates: July 19 - St. Paul, Minn. @ Xcel... read more
Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse work on Bond theme
Amy Winehouse has teamed up again with Mark Ronson, but this time it's to write and record the theme song for the next James Bond Film, Quantum of Solace. Ronson and Winehouse have retreated to Ronson’s Henley, Oxfordshire home to work on the song. “They have no idea what they’re going to do. In true Amy fashion, they’re going to busk it. But I’m sure it will be brilliant. The new Bond film is supposed to be really dark so Amy will fit the bill perfectly,” The Sun quoted a source as saying. The film, a follow-up to 2006’s Casino... read more
Hillary Clinton following debate with Colbert appearance
You say you wannna get a little bump in here Shaking the room, give it the boom Cmon You say you wanna get a little bump in here It's all good - Raven Symoné, "Bump" The folks over at Fox News wonder if tonight's Democratic debate in Pennsylvania is White House hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton's "last stand" before the April 22 Pennsylvania primary, seemingly overlooking the science-backed power of satirical programming. Sen. Clinton will be a guest on Thursday night's Colbert Report, a fact MSNBC's Chris Matthews, apparently unable to contain himself during a taping of the Report itself, made... read more
Watch Springsteen and Alejandro collaborate on stage
Something truly magical happened on Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band’s Magic Tour: On April 14 in Houston, Alejandro Escovedo, seemingly big on collaborations lately, joined The Boss on stage in front of a sold out crowd. The gruff-voiced, smiling duo played “Always a Friend,” a song from Escovedo’s upcoming Real Animal, which will be released on June 24. According to Escovedo’s website, Springsteen introduced him by saying, “He’s been putting out good music for so long,” and saying his new album was, “one of the best he’s ever made.” Escovedo said of the performance, “It was my best... read more
Mitch Hurwitz reunites Arrested stars for series
[Above: Jason Bateman's guest spot on King of the Hill] When Arrested Development went off the air, for those who loved the show, it was kind of like being dumped. If nothing else, no amount of cash is too great to hear Will Arnett’s sweet voice again. That said, prepare to do little mental cartwheels, as Mitchell Hurwitz has pitched a new Fox series called Sit Down, Shut Up that features three former cast members: namely, Arnett, Jason Bateman and Henry Winkler. The series is an animated concept based on a live-action sitcom from Australia that followed a dysfunctional high... read more
Bill Cosby's hip-hop Emergency to hit stores soon
Despite reports back in January that America's favorite TV dad Bill Cosby would be joining the ranks of Tupac, Biggie, Jay-Z and Rakim as the newest (and perhaps strangest) MC to take the mic, it appears that newsies may have jumped the gun with their reports. Today, it's been reported that, while the album does in fact exist, Cosby himself will not rap on it (news that likely disappointed music bloggers nationwide). The album, entitled Cosby Narratives Vol. 1: State of Emergency, has Cosby taking the reins as executive producer and co-writer, and is described as an "unflinching look at... read more
Guillermo del Toro interested in adapting Bioshock?
Rumors of a Bioshock film have been circulating since January. A critical success like its forerunners, Bioshock managed to break out of the critically acclaimed niche of the System Shock series and become one of last year's hit games. With its immersive world of Rapture and cinematic presentation, it seemed natural that it would make it to onto celluloid. Because of these rumors, Guillermo del Toro has been popping up as the name for a perfect Bioshock director. /Film dug up some comments on his message board asking whether he'd be up for it. "I love BIOSHOCK from a... read more
Liam Finn announces May tour dates with Laura Veirs
We've already called Liam Finn insane and most unexpectedly awesome because of the remarkable energy he displays in his mostly one-man, multi-instrument live shows. But perhaps now we'll need to add "tireless" to the list of adjectives, because as much as we enjoy his live show, it seems he's not growing bored with it either. After finishing up his tour with Eddie Vedder and heading to Europer for a couple weeks, Finn will bring his “I’ll Be Touring” (look, he's witty to boot!) tour back to the U.S. with dates through May. All of the shows will be with another... read more
Foo Fighters, Plant & Krauss, Beck head 2008 ACL line-up
It was cool when the Austin City Limits Music Festival leaked a line-up teaser last week in the form of a musical mash-up featuring 29 of the artists playing the 2008 festival. We had fun guessing. Thankfully though, the festival organizers have now put us out of our misery and simply told us who's playing. All the obsessive speculation can quit, because here the lucky bands be. The top half (and therefore ostensibly the more important half?) of the poster reads as follows: Foo Fighters, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Beck (long live the '90s!), Manu Chao, John Fogerty, David... read more
Time Warner cuts most of New Line's jobs
It appears the rumors from earlier this month turned out to be true. Time Warner notified 450 New Line employees yesterday and today that their positions will no longer exist as the company folds the newly acquired studio into Warner Bros. The sizable layoff comes as part of a plan to limit New Line to niche genres such as horror, comedy and urban. The studio is expected, however, to release a promising blockbuster now and then, the earliest one being The Lord of the Rings prequil The Hobbit, which has a tentative 2010 release date. Related links: NewLine.com TimeWarner.com Variety:... read more
Adrien Brody cast for Dario Argento thriller
Adrien Brody will star as inspector Enzo Lavio in Dario Argento’s new film, Giallo. Brody will executive produce as well. Argento is most famous for his 1977 horror film, Suspiria, which is slated to be remade by David Gordon Green. Sometimes referred to as the Italian Hitchcock, Argento seems to be returning to his strongest suit with Giallo. His daughter Asia Argento will also star. Most recently she played the Comtesse du Barry in Marie Antoinette, amongst other roles. Elsa Pataky is cast as well, making for yet another plane movie in her repertoire. This time, instead of snakes, though,... read more
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