Frequency
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have announced a tour backing of their new album, "Working on a Dream." The first stadium dates were announced today for Europe in June and July. Prior to the announcements, Springsteen's reps had been evasive in making any conclusive statements about whether he would tour again this year.
Six shows have now been confirmed, beginning June 2 in Tampere, Finland. The group will also play June 4-5 in Stockholm, June 9-10 in Bergen, Norway, and July 8 in Herning, Denmark. Tickets go on sale Monday, January 26th.
Critically acclaimed R&B superstar D’Angelo is expected to join with music mogul Price in the production of a highly anticipated solo LP. This will mark his first new album since 2000. Reportedly titled ‘James River’, the album is due for release this summer.
Alongside the album release the artist will also play in a series of concert events for the first time in years. Starting in Europe and ending here in the states, cites and dates for the appearances have yet to be announced. Lindsay Guion, D’Angelo’s manager, has released a statement confirming that the singer will also team with Gnarls Barkley’s Cee-Lo Green. Collaborations with Mark Ronson, Roy Hargrove and Raphael Saadiq are also on the horizon.
Santogold
Genre: Rock/Pop
Website: http://www.myspace.com/santogold
"I felt that a lot of pop music from the '80s had a depth to it, and I hope to bring back some more good pop songs."
Starting in the industry in 2003, it isn’t until 2008 when Santogold was able to release her debut self-titled album. Emerging from Philadelphia, the thirty-two year old artist is one of the most eclectic and diverse individuals on the scene. While often being compared to artists such as M.I.A and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Santogold consistently states that while she and M.I.A are good friends and she is flattered, that she has her own individual style; with influences such as James Brown, Blondie, and reggae music as a whole.
Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion
Antony And The Johnsons The Crying Light
Andrew Bird Noble Beast
Bon Iver Blood Bank
Combichrist Today We Are All Demons
John Frusciante The Empyrean
Lisa Hannigan Sea Sew
Carl Newman Get Guilty
Or, The Whale Light Poles And Pines
Reel Big Fish Fame, Fortune and Fornication
Umphrey's McGee Mantis
Matt York Mine Digital release Nov 4th
If you’re the type of person that has three new albums and a slew of the day’s freshly-released singles already downloaded before you shower and eat breakfast in the morning, and you also happen to be looking for a place to move, the Isle of Man could prove to be the ideal destination for you.
The Isle of Man is a small self-governing Crown Dependency of the United Kingdom that lies in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland. According to the Associated Press, the island’s e-business advisor, Ron Berry, says that the government is “considering charging a nominal monthly fee to legalize file-swapping for personal use. Although industry groups expressed skepticism, Berry said the plan was of replacing piracy with principal.” For now, it looks like the British Phonographic Industry is opposed to the plan, with a spokesman stating, “A blanket file-sharing deal akin to a broadband tax imposed by government, as has been suggested, is not something we would welcome-and is some way wide of the mark.”
The first quarter of 2009 will see the release of several highly anticipated rap albums. 50 Cent will release his finale Before I Self Destruct, Eminem’s highly anticipated comeback is slotted for release, the new Jadakiss album looks promising, and there’s a (very) slim chance that Dr. Dre’s long-awaited Detox album may finally see the light of day. One person who can be added to this list is apparently retired actor Joaquin Phoenix.
Phoenix, who has starred in films such as Walk The Line and Gladiator, recently announced his retirement from acting after his role in the film Two Lovers. He said that he planned on focusing on his music career, but few people, if any, could have predicted he would try to make the transition into the rap world. A jaunt into country music would have perhaps seemed more likely, as Phoenix learned Johnny Cash’s songs for Walk The Line and received tremendous accolades for it. The famous film critic Roger Ebert went as far as to say that, “Knowing Johnny Cash’s albums more or less by heart, I closed my eyes to focus on the soundtrack and decided that, yes, that was the voice of Johnny Cash that I was listening to. The closing credits make it clear that it’s Joaquin Phoenix doing the singing, and I was gobsmacked.” Now, if Phoenix were playing Christopher Wallace, in the movie Notorious, it’s doubtful that Ebert would have closed his eyes and really believed that it was Biggie himself rapping.
While the hip hop industry is virtually propelled by vicious feuds between its most successful stars, (Jay-Z vs. Nas, Jadakiss vs. 50 Cent, The Game vs. pretty much everybody), this facet of the rap game is not surprisingly virtually nonexistent in the indie rock scene. Until now that is…
According to New Music Express, British rockers Bloc Party happened to be at a radio station in Oakland, CA at the same time that Las Vegas post punk leading lights The Killers were playing a set. However, when asked if he enjoyed The Killer’s set, Bloc Party’s lead singer Kele Okereke curtly replied that, “I didn’t watch The Killers. In fact, I made sure I left before they came onstage.” While his distaste for The Killers is clear, it is unclear why Okereke dislikes them so much; he gave no further comment on the situation.
It’s no secret that Notorious represents one of the largest bioflicks ever made. The media buzz surrounding it is more like blaring siren. Behind the glamour and celebration of one of Hip Hop’s greatest, however, lies a piece that shows a gritty, dark side to the rap mogul; a side that even his own mother was unaware. But in that depiction, a positive side can be found.
In an ABC interview, when asked about the movie depiction of her son’s darker side, Ms. Wallace commented that “seeing certain things happening, putting it together, seeing it in its entirety -- it was completely different. I wanted to be shocked, and shocked I was. Angry I was, very very, angry.” It is no secret to his fans that Notorious was involved in womanizing drugs, violence. In fact, those vices formed the basis for a majority of his music. Seeing it on screen as a mother, though, is an entirely different experience than that of a fan. In her own words, “As a mother, you're trying to make a life for your son. To find out that during the time when he was supposed to be in school, he was not in school; knowing that he was selling drugs -- that pissed me off. I thought that was disrespectful.”
A three-year investigation into online music piracy has concluded that 95 percent of music downloads are illegal.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry's (IFPI) Digital Music Report 2009 estimates that 40 billion files were unlawfully shared online in 2008 alone. That sure puts my Itunes library to shame. The report goes on further to state that the IFPI removed three billion links to such files in 2008, up from 500,000 in 2007. John Kennedy, Chairman of the IFPI, has thus called on governments worldwide to work alongside internet service providers to enforce better regulations prohibiting illegal downloading. Including measures that could possible end in having ones internet restricted.
U2 has finally released the cover art and track list for their upcoming album, No Line on the Horizon, due out March 3rd. This marks the 12th studio release from the band. The 11-song LP features the lead single "Get on Your Boots," which premieres Monday, Jan. 19th on Dublin's 2FM. A digital version will be available on Feb. 15, immediately followed by the physical version on the 16th.
Written and recorded in Fez, Morocco, the album also features various sessions composed in New York, Dublin and London. Bono commented in a recent interview that the new album "doesn't sound like anything we've done before, and it doesn't really sound like anything that's happening at the moment."