Soundtrack of Generation X
The soundtrack for a movie about the grunge band Nirvana titled "Kurt Cobain: About A Son" has been determined. The movie will be released sometime at the end of this year. Bands that will be included in the soundtrack are Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Melvins,, The Butthole Surfers, Mudhoney, Leadbelly, and Bad Brains all are bands that influenced Nirvana. The film also features a rare interview with Kurt Cobain.
Death Cab for Cutie lead singer Ben Gibbard has put together an original score for the film with Steven FIsk titled "Overture." Below is a list of the proposed soundtrack.
Steve Fisk & Benjamin Gibbard - "Overture"
Half Japanese - "Put Some Sugar On It"
"Never Intended" (interview clip)
The Vaseline's - "Son Of A Gun"
Arlo Guthrie - "Motorcycle Song"
Scratch Acid - "Owner's Lament"
The Melvins - "Eye Flys"
Mudhoney - "Touch Me I'm Sick""
Punk Rock" (interview clip)
"Car Radio" (interview clip)
Bad Brains - "Banned In D.C.
"Iggy Pop - "The Passenger"
Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Up Around The Bend"
Lead Belly - "The Bourgeois Blues"
Butthole Surfers - "Graveyard"
R.E.M. - "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1"
"Hardcore Was Dead" (interview clip)
David Bowie - "The Man Who Sold The World"
"The Limelight" (interview clip)
Ben Gibbard - "Indian Summer"
Mark Lanegan - "Museum"
Who is imitating.......
The english cover band UB40 is suing Paris Hilton for allegedly using their 1990 hit "Kingston Town" in her single "Stars are Blind." The song written by UB40 reached number four and Paris's single reached number five last year. Paris won't be sued directly because she was recently dropped from her label (this is the least of her problems now) .
The band plans to use musicologists and information from the internet to prove the similarities of the single. UB40 are famous for their covers of famous and not so famous songs their biggest hit was a cover of Neil Diamond's 1968 hit "Red Red Wine" which was #1 on the Billboard Charts in the US in 1988. I would like to know how a cover band can sue someone for stealing from them if Paris's record label didn't get permission from the band . If it is an original composition then they have a case if not then they don't.
Marilyn Manson he claims that the band My Chemical Romance are ripping him off. He recently stated "I'm embarrassed to be me because these people are doing a really pitiful, sad, shallow version of what I've done." The critique comes just as Marilyn and MCR are to share a stage at Britain's Download Festival in Donnington Park. MCR will perform on Friday and Manson will perform on Saturday.
Manson's claim that My Chemical Romance are ripping him off are ridiculous because he has been ripping off Bowie, Alice Cooper and others who came before him. Sales of his work hasn't been stellar since his Cd "Jesus Christ Superstar" which was despised by those in the religious right for his mocking of Christ and the Bible. It was also cited as an influence on the students who committed the Columbine High School shootings a few years ago. This controversy fueled his celebrity and he hasn't had much success since. We all know that controversy sells and when your no longer controversial then you don't sell as much of whatever it may be.
Reunions
The britpop band Blur are planning a return to the music scene. The original plan was to enter the studio this summer but other projects amongst the original band members has delayed the start until November. The lineup will feature Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree all original members of the band. Damon Albarn took time off from the band to form "Gorillaz" in 1999 and went on to release three discs with the cartoon inspired band. Alex James also took time out to write and do a column for the english music magazine "Q". Graham Coxon left in 2003 during the recording of "Think Tank" because he simply didn't like the direction the band was going and went on to have a somewhat successful solo career. Dave Rowntree bought a farm in the english countryside and emulated fellow drummer Bill Berry of REM who became a farmer after leaving the band.
The B-52's are finishing up work on their new disc in their hometown of Athens, Georgia fifteen years after the release of "Good Stuff' in 1992. They took some time off after the success of the "Cosmic Thing" and "Good Stuff" tours that ran from 1989-1992. They admitted after the consecutive tours they were a little burned out and had some in and outs taking awhile for things to fall into place. There are eleven tracks on the new disc and just like previous B-52's material will contain alot of danceable pop. Post-production of the album is expected soon and they plan to release it sometime next year. They do need a label to release it on and they are looking for one. They also plan a tour of the US and Europe this summer and a full concert schedule when the disc is released.
Victoria Beckham once known as Posh Spice says a Spice Girls reunion will "definitely" happen in the coming months. She said this while presenting an award at the Glamor Awards ceremony in the United Kingdom last week. "We'll see what turns out, between you and me I definitely hope this will happen." A plan for the girls to play six huge gigs at the end of this year in London, Tokyo, Las Vegas and accompanied by a greatest hits compilation. Melanie C has come out against the idea but I believe that the amount of money to be made off of reunion tours will override her reluctance given her recent lack of solo success.
Crowded House played a packed private lunch hour show in Los Angeles on Thursday at the 200 capacity Hotel Cafe. The New Zealand based band reunited early this year and plan to release a disc in July titled "Time on Earth." The performance was a warm up for their upcoming tour and at times the set seemed like they were in someone's living room jam session. The band members joked about recent hangovers and the sound of horns honking during the afternoon gridlock traffic during their set at the small club. They played eight songs which included four of their new tracks from "Time on Earth" and the well loved classics of "Private Universe," "Fall At Your Feet,"Locked Out," and "Don't Dream It's Over." Lead singer Neil Finn thanked the lunchtime crowd for attending their performance and said "if anyone is going to get in trouble for being away from work, we'll write notes for you...saying F@%K You" and added a laugh.
Rage Against The Machine launched a mysterious countdown clocks on their website recently. The site give no information on what they are for however, some fans claim to have cracked the meaning. If users set the internal clocks on their computers forward to the deadline it reveals the sites meaning. The website is registered to Live Nation Worldwide Inc. who own the Alpine Music Theatre in East Troy Wi where the band will be playing a show. The second countdown ends on Aug 24th if the same procedure is followed it will reveal where the bands next show is to be performed.
Tales of Merchandising
Wilco has issued a statement on their website defending the licensing of songs from "Sky Blue Sky" for the advertising of Volkswagen. Fans of the band have been critical of this decision however the band states on the site that they did this to get their music out, they were paid for it, and many members of the band drive VW's. This isn't the first time Wilco has licensed their work several songs have been licensed for commercials and films world wide. Recently a song was featured in a spot for Telefonica Mobile in Spain and Jeff Tweedy will also play the voice of god in an upcoming episode of Comedy Centrals cartoon "Lil Bush"
The decline of radio airplay and the surge of downloading a band's work for just one song has played a factor not only with Wilco but other bands on ways to promote their work through t.v. commercials and other alternative methods.
A pair of sneakers that are to be issued by New Balance are inspired by the band Joy Division. The shoes will feature artwork from the bands 1979 album "Unknown Pleasures." Distinctive ripples will appear on the sole and the tongue and have an embossed "Fact 10" as a nod to the band's label Factory Records.
Joy Division will also be the subject of a film titled "Control" and directed by Anton Corbijin a dutch artist who is known for his work photographing the band and directing the video "Atmosphere" for the band shortly after the death of lead singer Ian Curtis. Corbijin has also worked with the band U2, "Joshua Tree" Depeche Mode "Violator", and most recently the artwork for The Killer's on the disc "Sam's Town"
In the Studio
U2 are working with Brian Eno again they are writing a new album in Morocco as a follow up to their 2004 disc "How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." They have been joined by Eno and Daniel Lanois both have produced their most important and popular recordings. An online posting by Bono explained how the sessions were going, " We have no plans for the music yet we're just going to make it until we can't put it out" drummer Larry Mullen Jr said this was the first time that the band has worked with the two producers in a song writing capacity and have found it to be different and liberating.
No Doubt are planning on working on a new disc and will begin in a studio next month. It will be their first disc in six years, three members of the band Tony Kanal, Adrian Young, and Tom Dumont are going to lay down some tracks while waiting for their lead singer to finish up her solo tour which ends this fall. The band has been together since 1987 and decided to take a break from being band in 2004. Tony Kanal has said that the break has been pretty long and they are ready to work together again.
Legal Matters
The Phil Spector trial continues in Los Angeles. On Tuesday the jurors were shown the bloody revolver found at the feet of actress Lana Clarkson on the night of Feb 3, 2003. A bureau that was next to Clarkson's body slumped in a chair in the foyer of Spector's mansion contained a snub nosed Colt Cobra revolver with dried blood on the handle and barrel it is unregistered but believed to be owned by Spector.
Prosecutor Pat Dixon had detective Mark Liilenfield show the revolver to the jury and then went on to show photographs of a purse hanging from Clarkson's right shoulder her right hand rested on the purse this led them to believe that her death wasn't a suicide but a homicide.
The prosecution maintains that Spector killed Clarkson and they reinforced their claim of his fondness for guns with photographs of a small arsenal containing two fully loaded blue steel revolvers, an unloaded 12 gauge pump shotgun and several rounds of ammunition and that the incident as a romantic evening gone awry. When police arrived on the night in question the mansion was dark and there were lit candles, a bottle of tequila and brandy in the living room coffee table and Spector's briefcase and a foil packet of Viagra that contained two empty slots.
The defense attorney Bradley Brunon maintained during cross examination of the detective that the crime scene was contaminated and asked Lillenfeld whether he was aware that a rape test performed on Clarkson later came back as negative. He replied "No" and Brunon asked if the detective had any evidence that Spector took the Viagra again he replied" No, I don't." The defense resumed their line of questioning of the crime scene asking if there had been alot of touching of the revolver in question Lillenfeld answered that there wasn't. If convicted Spector will spend fifteen years in prision for murdering Clarkson he is currently sixty seven and seems to have had his share of mental problems in the past.
R Kelly's recent disc "Double Up" landed at # 1 on June 5th and the disc sold 386,000 copies according to Soundscan. This coincided with the fifth anniversary of Kelly's indictment on child pornography charges on June 5, 2002. A trial date has yet to be determined and Kelly has remained free even though he was indicted on 21 counts of child pornography by a grand jury in Cook County. The charges stem from a sex tape that has been circulated on the internet featuring a man who looks like Kelly having sex with a teenage girl. Whether he will ever stand trial for the charges wasn't known at this time.
Problems
Lilly Allen says that touring has turned her into an alcoholic The 22 year old pop singer who is the daughter of english actor/comedian Keith Allen and film producer Allison Owen debuted her disc "Alright Stil" with the single "Smile" which hasn't received alot of airplay in the USA but reached number 1 in the UK in July of 2006.
She has had a difficult few months feuding with other artists such as Lady Soverign who called her a "chav" (an english derogatory term for a fake or fashion slave) and feuding with Cheryl Tweedy from rival pop girl group Girls Aloud and she has also had to cancel dates in the United States due to lack of interest and her current problem.
Allen said "The constant touring promotes an unhealthy lifestyle and that she needs to get into the studio to work the follow up to her debut disc "Alright." She explains that" I'm an alcoholic now. It's not good and that's why I want to get back to the studio. I've actually pulled myself aside and said it will kill me if I keep it up. I've got to stop abusing myself because as far as I'm concerned every loon hates me now." She is scheduled to play the Glastonbury festival later this month. Sounds like she may not make it if she cannot overcome her problem of booze and feuding with other artists.
Perhaps, Ms. Allen should join Richie Sambora who recently checked into Wednesday for an undisclosed problem and asked that the public respect him and his family's privacy. It isn't known if his entering rehab will interfere with the release of the Bon Jovi disc titled "Lost Highway" that debuts on June 19th. The band are scheduled to appear on the "Today" show on that date and later play a concert in London on June 24th. A more extensive tour is planned for 2008.
In Closing
I've decided to close this column in a public service announcement form. You should try to take the time to learn a musical instrument during your lifetime.
I played the trombone as a child and became pretty good at it but of course I gave it up as I got older. I have always been interested in music and have known some musicians in the past but never picked up another instrument until recently.
A guitar owned by a friend of mine was sitting around collecting dust and not being played it is a Hohner (pictured)
it was manufactured in the 1960's and Hohner is more known for their making of harmonicas.It is a bit out of tune but it is a beautiful instrument and I've been trying to and have learned some chords rather quickly. It has provided me with quite a few hours of enjoyment and is very theraputic. Whether I'm trying to learn a new chord or just strumming it all of my troubles seem secondary. Even if your not musically inclined I challenge you to pick up an instrument that you always wished to play and learn how to play it. It might be difficult at first but nothing worth doing is easy.
You won't be sorry I assure you.
Thanks
Until next week
