Music Shuffle: March 6
Daft Punk, Phish and Cypress Hill return...and so does Spinal Tap.
Top 5 Billboard Albums
There's just no stopping Taylor Swift! Her Fearless album continues its rule over The Billboard 200 for an 11th week, selling 73,000 copies in the United States for an 18% upswing in sales.
Opening at #2 is, oh yes boys and girls, Lamb of God - their Wrath album sold 68,000, giving the metal maniacs their highest career chart rating so far. They deserve extra points for the added bonus of locking the Jonas Brothers' 3D Concert Experience soundtrack out of the top 2, leaving it at #3 with 50,000 copies sold.
After winning eight Oscars, the soundtrack to Slumdog Millionaire leaps 18 spots to #4, on a 109% sales increase with 44,000 units shifted. Nickelback, meanwhile, just won't go away, as their Dark Horse ass lump slips to #5 with 41,000 sold.
Billboard Hot 100 Update
Flo Rida feat. Ke$ha’s “Right Round,” spends its fifth week at #1; outshining T.I. feat. Justin Timberlake’s “Dead and Gone,” which remains at #2 despite being an infinitely better song. Lady GaGa’s “Poker Face” moves up three spots to #3, while Soulja Boy's “Kiss Me Thru The Phone” jumps five spots to #4 and earns the week’s biggest airplay gainer title.
The All-American Rejects' “Gives You Hell” slips from #4 to #5 on the Hot 100 despite going #1 on the Mainstream Top 40 radio airplay chart this week;
Ghosftace Killah and Novel have recorded a song dedicated to Rihanna and "my women out there getting beat up" and released it for the world to hear. It seems at first that the two are just messing around, with discussions of getting "sexed just right" and so forth, but as the song develops it becomes a clever but heartfelt statement of love and dedication to Rihanna and all the ladies out there. The message? The Wu has your back, girls, so you don't need to "fall for that [bleeped]" (it shouldn't take long to get that he's talking about Chris Brown). Well done, boys... but she's still going home with that piece of shit.
Eminem's returning from a nearly five year absence with not one but two albums in 2009. That's right - now you'll get twice the amount of disposable ass nuggets that "Crack a Bottle" was. Seriously - I'm a passive fan of the guy, but that new song makes my ears hurt and gives me strange feelings about being white all of a sudden. Relapse will be released May 19, and a second album of all-new material, Relapse 2, will be released in the second half of the year.
"A lot of people were expecting Relapse to drop last year, (and) I was one of them," Marshall Mathers said in a statement. "Then (Dr.) Dre and I went back in the studio for a few days, and that turned into six months. We were on such a roll, we would up with a ton of new music produced by Dre. Putting out Relapse 2 will let everyone get out all of the best stuff."
Cheers to Disney for enlisting Daft Punk to compose the score for Tron 2 - the upcoming sci-fi nerd-fest just got a whole lot cooler. The TR2N score marks Daft Punk's first trip into the studio since 2005's Human After All. After an extended break, the pair reemerged in 2007 for an extensive world tour, which produced the Grammy-wining live set Alive 2007. Their 2001 track "Harder Better Faster Stronger" was adapted not too long ago by Kanye West for his single "Stronger," resulting in a combined performance at the 2008 Grammy Awards.
Daft Punk have worked in film before, most notably as directors of their feature "Electroma," although that film used none of the group's own music. As Banglater explained to Billboard in 2007 about the pair's next musical project, "The cool thing is that we're always trying to do something that hasn't been done, or ultimately, that we aren't doing ourselves yet. It is challenging to get back in the studio and work with ideas we haven't expressed before. Some ideas take time, but some just take a few weeks, so we'll see."
Look for the film sometime in 2011.
Street Sweeper, a new band featuring Tom Morello and Boots Riley is joining Jane's Addiction and Nine Inch Nails on tour this summer. Check out http://is.gd/m0GF for more info.
Michael Jackson announced a ten-show July residency at London's O2 arena during a press conference at the venue this week, describing it as his "final curtain call."
"Thank you all... this is it," said Jackson, who arrived an hour and a half late for an appearance nobody should care about anymore . "I just wanted to say, these will be my final show performances in London. When I say this is it, it really means this is it. I'll be performing the songs my fans want to hear. This is it, this is really it, this is the final curtain call."
He added: "I'll see you in July and... I love you. I really do, you have to know that, from the bottom of my heart. This is it and see you in July."
The first show date is July 8, and tickets go on sale March 13. Tickets are priced £50 ($70) to £75 ($106). Jackson hasn't released a studio album or played a full concert since 2001. His last major tour was the HIStory World Tour in 1996-1997, and the world has done a whole lot of moving on since then.
Hey hippies, pay attention - this ones for you: Phish have recorded demo versions of 20 new songs for its next album, according to an interview published in the New York Times. The jam band with their own Ben & Jerry's flavor aren't signed to a major label any longer, and the band will likely go with an independent release for the ye to-be-recorded album.
Phish's first reunion concerts are this weekend in at the Hampton Coliseum in Virginia, and the band plans to make high quality recordings of all three shows available as free MP3 downloads from its livephish.com website.
Whoever the hell would buy premium seats online to No Doubt's upcoming concerts will also get an extra gift with their tickets: a download of the group's entire catalog, plus a new song from the reunited band, a cover of Adam and the Ants' "Stand and Deliver."
The offer applies to tickets in the $80 to $106 range for most shows. That's right, someone out there is actually spending a hundred bucks to see No fucking Doubt. Really. An announcement by the band says fans would get No Doubt's entire seven albums digitally, plus a new track.
The tour is set to begin in Atlantic City, N.J., on May 2 and will run until August.
A judge in Atlanta has dismissed felony drug charges against Grammy-winning rapper Lil Wayne. Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., was arrested in August 2006 at a hotel, where Atlanta police said they found unmarked bottles containing hydrocodone and a generic form of Xanax, along with a small amount of marijuana.
On Tuesday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson granted the rapper's request to suppress on the basis of an illegal search. Carter's attorney, William Head, said his client wasn't staying in the room where the arrest was made. That's one down, but Carter currently faces drug charges in Arizona as well, stemming from a January 2008 arrest, and a weapons charge from 2007 in New York.
Prince and Target? Not the most likely match, but the superstar is releasing a three-disc CD set through the retailer at the end of this month which will include two new albums — LOtUSFLOW3R and MPLSoUND — as well as a third by his new artist, Bria Valente, for the basement-bargain price of $11.98.
Prince follows in the footsteps of AC/DC and the Eagles, who each sold millions of CDs through their partnership with Wal-Mart. The artist currently known as Prince has released his recent albums through major labels, but they were one-album deals that gave him the option to leave once the project was done. Last fall, he released a coffee table book of photos titled "21 Nights" documenting his record-breaking, 21-night run at London's 02 Arena in 2007. The book also included a CD of live performances.
"Prince has long been renowned as one of the world's most original and iconic musical artists," said Mark Schindele, Target's senior vice president of merchandising. "We are thrilled to have the opportunity to share his most recent work with our Target guests."
Look for the album set on March 29, if you're into that kind of thing.
The Beatles: Rock Band hits stores in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand on September 9, marking the first time the band's music has been allowed to be used in such a medium. The game, which will be available for Xbox, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii on the same day, “takes players on a journey through the legacy and evolution of the band’s legendary career,” according to a press release issued by the title’s makers, Apple Corps, Harmonix and MTV Games. While details are scarce, it has been revealed that there will be a limited number of instruments issued that are modeled after guitars, basses and drums John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr used (regular Rock Band peripherals will be compatible, too).
Three offerings will be released on September 9th: The Beatles: Rock Band software; standalone guitars; and a limited edition premium bundle that will include both the game and a combination of instruments. Also, if you pre-order now, the game’s makers say exclusive content will be accessible to those who reserve the game in advance through major retailers over the next few months. The game’s official Website is active and promises updates.
McCartney, Starr, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison have all voiced their support for the game, which is being overseen by Love co-producer Giles Martin.
Axl Rose needs to make money off Chinese Democracy somehow, and since the album tanked he's decided to go with a worldwide Guns n’ Roses stadium tour this summer, according to industry insiders.
Meanwhile, Guns’ manager, Irving Azoff, tells Rolling Stone that the band has big plans for this year. “Axl has been basically quiet, keeping out of the limelight for almost 15 years. People think they know him but they only really only know what has been said about him by questionable people,” Azoff says. “He is a good guy and often misunderstood — he is a professional who has worked very hard to build and maintain a high creative standard for Guns n’ Roses, which I support. We have some exciting things in the works this year for Gn’R, I’m looking forward to it.”
Rose has mostly remained silent since the November release of Chinese Democracy, speaking to fans once or twice via a message board and granting only two interviews. Regarding the possibility of a large-scale tour, Axl told Billboard, “No plans, but there’s talk. Management and our promoters are really excited with the offers coming in both here and worldwide.”
Because we didn't rape the dream enough in '94: Classic Rock Magazine is reporting that The Woodstock Festival is due to return this year to celebrate its 40th anniversary. The festival is reportedly going to hit both New York and Berlin in August 2009 - according to promoter Michael Lang, the New York festival will take place exactly on the 40th anniversary, August 15-16th, while the Berlin event will be from August 22-23rd at an abandoned airport.
An exact location for the U.S. festival has yet to be determined, and no names have been announced yet, but this sounds like an absolute nightmare. I don't consider it a coincidence at all that Limp Bizkit (the shining shit angel on top of the festival tree at Woodstock '94, where rapes, riots and fires ruled the day) has reunited within the same time frame as this announcement.
Jack White has teamed-up with Bob Dylan for a tribute album to Hank Williams that is actually a collection of unfinished work by the country legend. According to the White Stripes frontman, Dylan "came upon, somehow, 20-25 unfinished songs by Hank Williams - just the lyrics, no music - and he started to ask people if they would finish these songs."
On his involvement on the project, White told MTV News: "He did one, asked Willie Nelson to do one, asked me to do one, and I think Lucinda Williams and Alan Jackson are on it too." -
"I think it might come out this year." Jack added. "It's a cool record." White's contribution is a song titled 'You Know That I Know' which was recorded at the Blackbird Studios in Nashville. Sounds exciting.
Spinal Tap is back.... ehhh. Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer are returning, but this time they're leaving the costumes and wigs at home but will still play the music of their cinematic alter egos, as well as the Folksmen from "A Mighty Wind" on a 30-date concert tour this spring.
The six-week theater trek will be titled Unwigged & Unplugged: An Evening with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, and kicks off April 17 in Vancouver. The show will run through May 31 in Milwaukee. Tickets go on sale starting Friday (March 6).
"We've never gone out as ourselves," Shearer said Monday during a webcast teleconference at the House of Blues in Los Angeles. "It's interesting; after playing characters all these years, we're having meetings trying to figure out who WE are...We have to ask ourselves, 'What would WE do?'"
McKean referred to outing as "a non-pony dog show," while Guest said the trio had started planning the tour "a couple years ago."
Tap is also in the midst of recording a new album, scheduled for release on May 26. It will feature the "original studio versions" of the live songs on "This is Spinal Tap" and some new songs - including the inappropriately-titled "Short and Sweet," a 20-minute epic to which they're "adding stellar guitar player (guest) as we speak," according to McKean.
Cypress Hill is finishing its first studio album in five years, according to the group's frontman B-Real.
"We're mixing right now," B-Real, who just released his first solo album, Smoke N Mirrors, tells Billboard.com. The music is "gritty. It's aggressive," he said. "It's like hip-hop straight-up. We just felt like we needed to go back to that raw, gritty hip-hop sound but try to find a way to bridge it with what's going on now."
B-Real says Cypress Hill worked with pals Everlast, Evidence and The Alchemist on the as-yet-untitled album, but he wasn't interested in bringing in many other guests. "We don't really do a lot of collaborations in Cypress. We keep it in house." Each of the group members have been mostly working on their own projects since 2004's "Til Death Do Us Part," which saw them split with Columbia Records, their longtime label home.
B-Real says he's been working on Smoke N Mirrors for more than three years, coming up with 40 songs, 15 of which are on the album. The rest were used for three "The Gunslinger" mixtapes he released between 2005-2007.
"It was different," he says of working solo on Smoke N Mirrors, which features from Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Buckshot, Damian Marley, Too $hort, Kurpt, Cypress Hill mate Sen Dog and B-Real's protege Young De. "We're used to working with each other (in Cypress Hill), bouncing ideas off each other. This one I had to carry on my back, on my own. But I like challenges, so it wasn't that bad at all. I don't really get periods where I can't come up with an idea that I want to use. What needs to click will click."
Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction have announced the dates for their co-headlining tour this summer. The 23-date tour begins May 8 in West Palm Beach, FL and ends June 12 in Charlotte, NC. The Chicago date, May 29 at the Charter One Pavilion, is the only stop on the tour without Jane's Addiction, adding fuel to the rumor that Jane's will headline his own Lollapalooza festival there in August.
This tour will be Nine Inch Nails' last before an extended break - frontman Trent Reznor confirmed these will be the last NIN shows for some time, and that they will be "much more raw, spontaneous and less scripted" compared to last year's "Lights in the Sky" tour. "It's time to make NIN disappear for a while," he said.
Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction tour dates:
May 8 West Palm Beach, FL (Cruzan Amphitheatre)
May 9 Tampa, FL (Ford Amphitheatre)
May 10 Atlanta, GA (Lakewood Amphitheatre)
May 14 Albuquerque, NM (Journal Pavilion)
May 15 Phoenix, AZ (Cricket Wireless Pavilion)
May 16 Chula Vista, CA (Cricket Wireless Amphitheater)
May 18 Las Vegas, NV (The Pearl)
May 20 Irvine, CA (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Irvine Meadows)
May 22 Mountain View, CA (Shoreline Amphitheatre)
May 23-25 Quincy, WA (Sasquatch Festival)
May 26 Englewood, CO (Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre)
May 27 Kansas City, MO (Starlight Theatre)
May 29 Chicago, IL (Charter One Pavilion) *
May 30 Noblesville, IN (Verizon Wireless Music Center)
May 31 Clarkston, MI (DTE Energy Music Center)
June 2 Toronto, Ontario (Molson Amphitheatre)
June 3 Darien Lake, NY (Darien Lake Amphitheatre)
June 5 Camden, NJ (Tweeter Center at the Waterfront)
June 6 Holmdel, NJ (PNC Bank Arts Center)
June 7 Wantagh, NY (Nikon at Jones Beach Theater)
June 9 Columbia, MD (Merriweather Post Pavilion)
June 10 Burgettstown, PA (Post-Gazette Pavilion)
June 12 Charlotte, NC (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre)
* NIN without Jane's Addiction
