Friday, May 28, 2010

New Order's Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert will see the reissue of their two albums as The Other Two (1993's The Other Two & You and 1999's Superhighways) via Darla Records each bolstered with several remixes.
The Scottish Parliament has confirmed today [May 27th] that musician and campaigner Annie Lennox will return to Holyrood in two supporting roles, as a special envoy and a key speaker in this years' Festival of Politics. Lennox's current campaign tackles HIV/AIDS issues across Africa and her new role as a special envoy to the CPA (Commonwealth Parliamentary Association) will be to report back on these issues.
Robbie Robertson, Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams and Elvis Costello are among the artists that have contributed songs to True Blood: Music From The HBO Original Series - Volume 2. The 14-track collection is available at iTunes and retail outlets as of May 25th.
Soft Cell's Dave Ball has a new band called Celine And Nite Wreckage. A free download of "Take Your Money And Run" is available at their official site http://www.celineandnitewreckage.com. You can hear 3 other tracks at their MySpace page. The first release by the band is expected in August in the U.K.
Nick Cave's other group Grinderman will release their sophomore effort, Grinderman 2, on Sept. 13th.
Styx are reportedly nearly finished recording their album Regeneration, Volume 1. The 7-track set will feature new re-recordings of 6 of their classic songs and the new Tommy Shaw-penned "Difference In The World (which can be downloaded for free at http://www.styxworld.com if you join their mailing list.)
Wang Chung have released a new single, "Rent Free," from their new double-EP due out June 7th. A stream of "Rent Free" can be heard at http://t.opsp.in/GrRW
Dweezil Zappa plans to release Return Of The Son Of..., a new live double-disc collection of 14 Frank Zappa songs performed by Zappa Plays Zappa, on June 22nd.
Tracii Guns, Matt Sorum, Phil Soussan and Franky Perez have formed a new band called Carnival Of Dogs and have been playing shows.
Adam Ant was reportedly hospitalized in England recently after a performance earlier this month where he shouted obscenities at the audience and was booed off stage. According to the Daily Mail, Ant said in a message, "I am having a well-earned rest at her majesty's pleasure. I have a great view and am considering gigs later this year." We have held off on reporting this as we have found little source material but also must note that there is surprisingly very little activity at his official site http://www.adam-ant.net/ when a tour was in the works.
The new Methods Of Mayhem album will be titled A Public Disservicement Announcement when released on Sept. 21st.
Andy Powell's Wishbone Ash has released their first new single, "Reason To Believe," in over 2 decades. The song comes from a forthcoming EP and CD.
According to Dr. Muller Wohlfahrt, "Bono suffered severe compression of the sciatic nerve. On review of his MRI scan, I realized there was a serious tear in the ligament and a herniated disc, and that conservative treatment would not suffice." The U2 singer has been released from the hospital and is starting a rehabilitation program that will take at least 8 weeks.
Alice Cooper will team up with producer Bob Ezrin for his next studio album due out next year.
The Scorpions have booked their final performance before they split for Jakarta's Borobudur Temple in June next year.
Former W.A.S.P. members guitarist Chris Holmes, guitarist Randy Piper and drummer Stet Howland have formed a new band called W.A.S. (which stands for Where Angels Suffer) with former Metal Church bassist Steve Unger and Animal vocalist Rich Lewis. Their debut album, Purgatory, is due out later this year.
The new documentary, The John Bonham Story, will debut on BBC6 Music on May 31st and is narrated by Dave Grohl.
The Undertones' first 4 studio albums (1979's The Undertones, 1980's Hypnotised, 1981's Positive Touch and 1983's The Sin Of Pride) as well as the 1978 Teenage Kicks EP and previously-unreleased Best Of The Undertones will be released digitally on June 28th via Union Square Music.
Elvin Bishop releases his new studio album, Red Dog Speaks, via Delta Groove Music on June 15th.
Big Head Todd And The Monsters will release their 8th studio album, Rocksteady, on July 20th. "Beautiful" has been released as the first single.
Grateful Dead percussionists Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart have formed a group called the Rhythm Devils that they will take on the road this summer.
Hellyeah will release their sophomore album, Stampede, on July 13th in deluxe and super deluxe editions.
Rush has announced they will release their new single, "Caravan," on June 1st. The single will include the additional album track "BU2B." Both tracks come from their upcoming album, Clockwork Angels. A special limited edition CD single can be ordered at their official Web site http://www.rush.com.
Gene Simmons was cleared by the Los Angeles district attorney's office of criminal charges of alleged assault on a couple in a mall. The couple, Nathan and Cynthia Marlowe are still suing Simmons for "$25,000 in damages for claims of assault, battery and emotional distress, including damage to their sex life." Meanwhile, the Kiss star was sued on Thursday by ESPN make-up artist Victoria Jackson for sexual assault. Simmons sued her earlier this month asking the court for a judicial declaration that no assault took place and that Jackson didn't suffer any damages or injuries attributable to him.
Reba McEntire has reportedly attended a recent reading of The Unsinkable Molly Brown in New York. The show's producers are hoping to lure her back to Broadway to star in the lead role next season.
Asia's song, "An Extraordinary Life," off their Phoenix reunion album is being used for promotional spots for the 2010 season of America's Got Talent. The band recently released their follow-up to Phoenix, Omega, via Frontiers Records.

Pretty Maids new studio album, Pandemonium, was recently released in Europe and hit the charts at #15 in Denmark, #45 in Sweden, #63 in Switzerland and #85 in Germany.
Death metal act Atheist are about to start working on their first new studio album since 1993's Elements. The toured Europe and the U.S. last year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their Piece Of Time album.
The official video for Andy Bell's "Call On Me" has surfaced at YouTube. The Erasure vocalist's new solo single will be released on May 31st in the U.K. and June 1st in the U.S. Bell's new album, Non-Stop, will be released the following week.

Chickenfoot have released their latest video, "My Kinda Girl," via Vevo.com.

The supergroup composed of Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, Jason Bonham and Derek Sherinian will be called Black Country Communion when they release their debut album in September. They've also launched their new Web site http://www.bccommunion.com which shows a live performance of the song "One Last Soul."
How To Destroy Angels, Trent Reznor's new project, release their 6-track debut EP as a free download at http://www.howtodestroyangels.com on June 1st. A hi-def EP upgrade can be purchased for $2. The song, "The Believers," can be heard at the site and can be downloaded immediately if you pre-order the digital EP. The CD heads to stores on July 6th.
John Mellencamp will release his 25th album, No Better Than This, on Aug. 3rd. Produced by T-Bone Burnett, the 13 tracks were recorded in mono and have not been overdubbed. Mellencamp has said that he wrote more than 30 songs for the album in about 15 days just before his tour last summer.
Talking Heads' frontman David Byrne has filed a $1 million lawsuit against Florida governor Charlie Crist for allegedly using the band's 1985 single, "Road To Nowhere," without permission or proper licenses in a website and YouTube ad in his senatorial run.
Stevie Wonder, Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello and Dave Grohl are among the artists that will pay tribute to Paul McCartney as he receives the third Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the Library of Congress. The honor will be presented during a concert on June 2nd at the East Room of the White House and debut on PBS on July 28th.
John Fogerty's 1985 hit single, "Centerfield," has put him (and the song) in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He and the song will be honored during the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies in New York on July 25th.
Paula Abdul has signed on to be a judge, executive producer, creative partner, mentor and coach on the new primetime CBS all-ages all-genres talent competition series Got To Dance. The series is based on a successful U.K. version and is expected to debut as early as midseason this fall.
Richard Thompson is going to release his new album, Dream Attic, on Aug. 31st. He recorded the 13 new songs with his 4-piece band during an 8-date tour of the West Coast in February. He recently told Billboard.com that this album was his way of testing the ideas that live recording is cheaper than in the studio and how much people preferred the live albums.
Simply Red's Mick Hucknall has joined the latest incarnation of The Faces with plans to take the band containing Ian McLagan, Ron Wood, Kenney Jones and Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols on the road.
Herbie Hancock releases his new studio album, The Imagine Project, on June 22nd which includes guest performances by Jeff Beck, the Chieftains, Chaka Khan and many others.
AC/DC's Iron Man 2 soundtrack retained the top of Billboard's European Albums chart for a 5th week.
Glee Cast's Glee: The Music, Volume 3: Showstoppers debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. AC/DC's Iron Man 2 soundtrack fell 5 places to #9. Carole King & James Taylor's Live At The Troubadour dropped 5 spots to #11. Glee Cast's Glee: The Music, The Power Of Madonna climbed 22 places to #21. Glee Cast's Glee: Season One: The Music, Volume 1 climbed 14 spots to #36.
Glee Cast's "Jessie's Girl" plunged 41 places on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart to #64.
AC/DC's Iron Man 2 soundtrack fell 3 places to #9 on the U.K. Albums chart. Celine Dion's Taking Chances World Tour: The Concert dropped 17 spots to #28. Gorillaz's Plastic Beach climbed 3 places to #37. Glee Cast's Glee: The Music: Season One Vol. 1 dropped 8 spots to #38.
Professor Green's "I Need You Tonight" featuring Ed Drewett fell 6 places on the U.K. Singles chart to #20. Glee Cast's "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" dropped 20 spots to #29. Glee Cast's "Jessie's Girl" entered the chart at #33.
Chris Isaak will release his new 17-track live album, Live At The Fillmore, in June. The singer begins his worldwide tour in Moscow.
Gene Loves Jezebel's Jay Aston had a bumpy May 26th ride from London to Los Angeles. 5 passengers were injured during an extremely turbulent flight which was forced to stop in Montreal before resuming. CBS reported on the incident and interviewed Aston (misnamed in the interview) here.
Wynonna Judd fans that purchase her new CD, Love Heals, or anything from her exclusive line of products at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store will see a portion of proceeds from each item go to the Wounded Warrior Project from now until May 31st.
Bang Tango original members Mark Knight, Kyle Stevens, Kyle Kyle and Tigg Ketler are reuniting with vocalist Michael DeMay under the name Bang Tango Redux. Guitarist Knight told Sleaze Roxx that they tried to contact former vocalist Joe LeSte in 2009 for a 20 year reunion but no calls were returned.
Tony Harnell & The Mercury Train will release their debut album, Round Trip, via Frontiers Records in Europe on July 2nd (and in the U.S. on July 27th.) The album includes stripped down, reinvented versions of songs made popular by Harnell in his previous bands and include a new song, "Anywhere But Here."
Big Country's Bruce Watson and son Jamie have released a new 12-track studio album, Another Anthem For The Damned, via Track Records. Meanwhile, bandmate Mark Brzezicki has been working with Andy Newman of Thunderclap Newman in a new version of the band that also includes Pete Townshend's nephew Josh. They've recorded their 2nd of 3 recent performances entitled Beyond Hollywood to be released via Track Records.
Janet Jackson performed her new single, "Nothing," off the soundtrack to Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too? on the season finale of American Idol. The song was released on Mar. 30th.
Bret Michaels defied doctors orders to appear on the Sunday night finale of The Celebrity Apprentice which he won. If that was against their orders, performing "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" with American Idol third-place finisher Casey James on Wednesday night was above and beyond. Michaels told Us Weekly before going on stage, "The doctors, I didn't tell them I was going to do this. I never told them I was coming here. They're going to find out in a few minutes!" He expects to make his performance in Biloxi, Mississippi, this weekend his first in his return to the stage. Also in the plans for this fall will be surgery to repair the hole doctors recently discovered in his heart. Meanwhile a new product, Bret Michaels' New Diet Snapple 'Trop-A-Rocka' Tea, is available at stores.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Suzanne Vega has been busy in the recording studio working on reinterpretations of songs from her catalog for Close Up Vol. 2: People & Places is due out Oct. 5th. She also received an American Eagle award from the National Music Council for "social responsibility."