Welcome to CraveOnline's weekly rock roundup!
Top 5 Billboard Albums
Rascal Flatts is about as hillybilly a country-band name as you can get, without obvious parodies like JoBob McNabb. While that may sound retarded to you and I, it's a winning concept for whoever the hell actually buys CDs anymore. The pasty country bumpkins landed their fourth #1 on The Billboard 200 this week with their sixth album, Unstoppable. The album moved 51,000 copies in its first week, the band's third-biggest opening week.
Bouncing from #5-#2 with 196,000 (up 126%) is the Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack (Walt Disney). The movie's wiping the floor with the competition right now at the box office, so this was to be expected. What can we do? We have to patiently wait until she a) discovers drugs & finally gets her Howard Hughes/Lohan on, or b) finally grows into buck-toothed fugly hick woman she's destined to be, and the public loses interest. She's an absolutely horrendous singer (not that that's been a problem in the past *cough* Britney *cough*), and we'll be thrilled to see her go. There are better role models for kids out there.
Jadakiss returns to claim his third consecutive top five Last Kiss, which opens at #3 with 135,000 sold. His last hit came in July 2004 when Kiss of Death opened at #1 with a career-high 246,000 copies sold. Jason Aldean follows with Wide Open starting at #4 with 109,000, while Now: 30 slips to #5 on sales of 99,000.
Billboard Hot 100 Update
The Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow" leads Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart for a second week, and the rest of the Hot 100 top tier was barely changed as well. Lady GaGa's "Poker Face" holds at #2. Flo Rida's "Right Round" is tacked at #3. Soulja Boy Tell'em featuring Sammie's "Kiss Me Thru The Phone" is staying strong at #, while Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain's "Blame It" at #5. Yawn.
The charges have been dropped against Nate Dogg, who had previously pleaded not guilty on all counts of felony stalking charges stemming from his arrest last month for threatening his estranged wife.
The 38-year-old Grammy-nominated performer, born Nathaniel Dwayne Hale, was arrested on June 23 after California Highway Patrol received a 911 call from his wife, claiming he threatened her life and was chasing her on Interstate 405. Now the cops are saying it was a misunderstanding, and the woman never notified police. This sounds fishy as all hell.
So, Kanye West is producing the new 30 Seconds To Mars record. That's like a megastar stooping to embarrassing lows to legitimize a douchebag actor's band - oh wait, that's exactly what it is. 50 Cent is touring with Fall Out Boy, and I can't really decide who's getting the sharp end of the stick on that one.
That being said, we should have expected Diddy to get on this rap-rock resurgence, because we need rap-rock almost as much as we need Diddy. In the new Arctic Monkeys video, drummer Matt Helders heads to Diddy's Miami mansion to confront the rapper/producer about the undeniable similarities between a pair of pool-centric video posts. That's about all you need to know. In fact, I think I've said too much.
Told you so.
Kid Cudi just hit the big leagues, signing with Universal Motown just last week.
"I was looking at another act on Fool's Gold by the name of Kid Sister," Universal Motown president Sylvia Rhone says. "At the time they also had Kid Cudi, but I thought it was an album deal. We didn't sign Sister, but [Universal Motown A&R manager Nigel Mack] brought me Cudi early last year and I was immediately engaged."
Cudi, who is currently recording with Kanye West in Hawaii, is shifting his focus back on his debut album, tentatively titled The Man on the Moon With the Guardians. It's slated for a late-August release through Dream On, Cudi's own label. The first single, "Day 'N' Nite," which Universal Motown purchased from Fool's Gold, is #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has sold 540,000 digital downloads according to Nielsen SoundScan.
"He has a real relationship with fans that goes far beyond the music," Rhone says. "That's the reason I competed and worked for the deal for eight months. He's the future of hip-hop and the future of music; an artist who has no bounds when it comes to genre, format, race, color, topic or emotion. Those are the kinds of artists I love to be involved with."
Hundreds gathered on Tuesday to see a posthumous star dedicated to "the quiet Beatle" George Harrison unveiled during a celebration on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Fellow Beatle McCartney stood next to Harrison's widow, Olivia, and son, Dhani, as the star was unveiled in front of the landmark Capitol Records building.
"Thank you very much!" he yelled to hundreds of screaming fans wearing Beatles T-shirts and holding signs, albums and flowers to honor Harrison.
Harrison, the youngest of the Beatles, died of lung cancer in 2001 at age 58.
Once again, your dreams of having a house full of creepy young-boy statues is denied: A massive auction of Michael Jackson memorabilia scheduled for next week has been canceled.
Auctioneer Darren Julien told Reuters the cancellation of the planned April 22-25 sale was the result of an agreement with Jackson, who had filed a lawsuit in March demanding the return of certain items.
A public exhibit of the 1,400 items, which opened on Tuesday in Beverly Hills, will continue until April 25.
"The auction isn't going to take place. We wanted to reach an agreement [with Jackson] and we have reached one today that is mutually acceptable and beneficial," Julien said.
Julien said all the items will be returned to Jackson when the exhibit closes, with a special deal for future exhibition. "There was so much interest from so many of Jackson's fans that instead of putting the items in the hands of private collectors, Dr. Tohme and Julien's Auction House have made arrangements that will allow the collection to be shared with and enjoyed by Jackson's fans for many years to come," the statement said.
The 30,000 square-foot (2,787 sq meter) exhibit includes Jackson's red, gilded throne, his Rolls-Royce stretch limo, sequined costumes, portraits of Jackson, pictures of Peter Pan, and toys from the Neverland ranch.
Legendary producer Phil Spector has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson.
Six years after Clarkson was found dead in the foyer of Spector's mansion, the massively-wigged 69-year-old now calls a Los Angeles jail cell home, after he was convicted on Monday. His sentencing is scheduled for May 29 where he faces at least 18 years to life in prison barring a successful appeal. After the verdict, Spector was led out of the courtroom by sheriff's deputies and remanded to jail immediately.
The 40-year-old Clarkson, star of the 1985 cult film Barbarian Queen, died of a gunshot fired in her mouth as she sat in Spector's mansion in February 2003. She had met Spector only hours earlier, at her job as a nightclub hostess. In one of many ironies of the case, she had no idea of his fame. Prosecutors argued Spector had a history of threatening women with guns when they tried to leave his presence.
The defense claimed she was despondent over her fading career and killed herself.
Spector's chauffeur, the key witness, said he heard a gunshot, then saw Spector emerge holding a gun and heard him say: "I think I killed somebody."
Kanye West's arraignment on pap-assault misdemeanor charges has been delayed until May. West was scheduled to be arraigned on three misdemeanor charges filed as a result of a scuffle with a paparazzo at Los Angeles International Airport on Sept. 11.
Video shot by celebrity gossip Web site TMZ showed West breaking a photographer's flash. His manager is accused of breaking the paparazzo's camera and TMZ's video camera.
West's attorney, Blair Berk, told a court commissioner that Monday was the first time she had been allowed to review the police report and she is waiting for prosecutors to turn over any additional evidence they have.
Stephen Colbert with square off with his musical nemesis, the Decemberists, once again. The Decemberists said Monday that they will perform on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" on April 27.
Colbert and the band were embroiled in a mock feud back in 2006 after Colbert accused the Decemberists of copying his idea of a fan-created "greenscreen challenge." The feud culminated in a much-hyped "ShredDown" in which Decemberists guitarist Chris Funk took on Colbert in a guitar solo contest. Despite being bested on the frets, Colbert claimed victory in one of the show's most star-studded episodes that featured Henry Kissinger, Morley Safer, Peter Frampton and former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
Pearl Jam fans pay attention: In addition to a new album (their ninth) and a new film, the Seattle rockers will play live dates in the U.S. later this year, including the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco Aug. 28-30. The band has also completed 14 songs for a new album (which they're putting out themselves) and is working on a film with director Cameron Crowe, guitarist Mike McCready said in a radio interview late last month.
McCready told Seattle's "Ron & Don Show" that the band is about halfway finished with its next album, which is being recorded in California with producer Brendan O'Brien. McCready said the band is expecting to have the album out before the end of this year.
As for touring, the band is doing a "little thing in the States," and is looking to play South America in 2010, McCready said.
Pearl Jam is widely expected to be one of the headliners of this year's Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin, Texas, as well. The promoters, C3 Presents, declined to comment to Billboard about the lineup, but the Austin Chronicle is calling it "the worst-kept secret since Metallica’s SXSW showcase." Dave Matthews Band, Beastie Boys and Kings of Leon are also expected to be announced as headliners on April 28. Early bird passes for Austin City Limits are on sale at aclfestival.com.
Pearl Jam is also planning to tape an appearance on the Austin City Limits television show, producer Terry Lickona told a pbs.org questioner in March.
Axl Rose, fresh from watching his eternally-delayed Chinese Democracy sink like a brick, is wising up and letting the album make its way into the "Rock Band" video game franchise.
Chinese Democracy is now available at the Rock Band Music Store. Gamers will be able to download and play all 13 songs from the record, Harmonix and MTV Games announced Friday. "Shackler's Revenge," the first track to emerge from the album, made its debut in the "Rock Band 2" release before the album hit stores.
Gamers who use the XBox 360 and Playstation 3 gaming systems will be able to purchase the entire album and individual tracks, while Nintendo Wii players can only buy the tracks individually.
In an exclusive interview, Axl Rose told Billboard that the game's producers felt the album's multiple layers and tracks needed extra programming to sound and play correctly. "They felt the record - based on the nature and complexity of the depth of instrumentation - deserved a bit more attention and some more involved elements than they've generally dealt with," he said.
In more fake-band gaming news, the makers of The Beatles: Rock Band have announced the details of their Limited Edition Premium Bundle version of the game, which features not only the software but replica versions of the Fab Four’s instruments. According to MTV Games and Rock Band developer Harmonix, the limited-edition pack will feature a large-scale replica of the Höfner Bass made famous by Paul McCartney, as well as Ludwig-branded Rock Band 2 drums boasting a pearl finish, as well as a replica Beatles kick drum head.
The set will also come with the standard microphone and microphone stand. Details concerning what guitars would accompany the game, and whether they would be included in the limited-edition package, were not revealed. However, Rock Daily previously reported the guitars would be available as a standalone package for $99.99. Of course, the game will also be compatible with the standard Rock Band instruments.
The producers of the upcoming game Scratch: The Ultimate DJ have filed a lawsuit against Activision, the company behind Guitar Hero and Scratch’s competitor game DJ Hero. The producers claim that Activision conspired against them by purchasing Scratch’s develope, which amounts to “intentional interference with contract, breach of contract, conversion and misappropriation of trade secrets,” Paid Content reports.
Jack White and his Dead Weather friends recently holed up in the studio to record additional tracks for their upcoming debut, Horehound, on June 16.
Guitarist Dean Fertita tells Billboard.com that the group was recently in the studio recording some additional covers, including Them's "You Just Can't Win" and "Outside" by the Downliner Set." There are also a couple of original songs worked on during the "Horehound" sessions, and Fertita, whose "day job" is in Queens of the Stone Age, says the quartet is eyeballing some more recording time in May or June before it hits the road to support the album.
"We still feel very much in the creative mode," Fertita says. "We don't feel like we're ready to stop. I think we're going to try to maybe get a jump on...I don't know if it'll be a second record or singles to release throughout the year or stuff like that. There are a few things floating around, and there will be more soon, too."
Billboard says: Fertita says tour plans for the group -- which also includes the Kills' Alison Mosshart and bassist Jack Lawrence (the Raconteurs, the Greenhornes, Blanche) -- are "being formed right now." He expects to be on the road by mid-June, primarily in North America but possibly in Europe as well. "We know June through August we'll be doing a lot. We plan to keep going through the fall and possibly beyond. We just aren't sure. Everybody's got so much stuff going on, we're just trying to fill every open spot we can."
Fertita has also recorded a solo album, "Hello Fire," that he plans to release this year and features help from the Raconteurs' Brendan Benson and QOTSA bandmates Troy Van Leeuwen, Joey Castillo and Michael Shuman. He says QOTSA leader Josh Homme has been "very encouraging" about his involvement in the Dead Weather, especially since it's been down time for that group.
"I think it's only going to bring more to the table when we all reconvene to do a Queens record," Fertita says. And when might that be? "It's hard to say. I know Joey has been touring with Eagles of Death Metal and Troy and Mikey both have things going on. I'm hoping (QOTSA) starts working on stuff this year. If not I'm sure it will be some time early next year."
Hell yes.
