Saturday, August 7, 2010

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers' Mojo climbed 5 places to #17 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Carole King & James Taylor's Live At The Troubadour dropped a spot to #20. Ozzy Osbourne's Scream fell 11 places to #37. Sarah McLachlan's Laws Of Illusion dropped a spot to #38. Sting's Symphonicities fell 17 places to #40.
"Rockstar 101" by Rihanna featuring Slash debuted at #99 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
Tom Jones' Praise & Blame debuted at #2 on the U.K. Albums chart. Kylie Minogue's Aphrodite fell 4 places to #8. Earth, Wind & Fire's The Greatest Hits dropped 5 spots to #14. Glee Cast's Glee The Music: Season One Vol. 1 fell 3 places to #36. Foo Fighters' Greatest Hits re-entered the chart at #38.
Kylie Minogue's "All The Lovers" dropped 5 spots to #17 on the U.K. Singles chart.
Rober Van Winkle returns... to television with the new DIY Network series The Vanilla Ice Project on Oct. 14th. The network has ordered a 10 episode season for the show that follows the rapper around as he "demonstrates his vast knowledge in home renovation" in the makeover series.
"Time Bomb" has been released as a single from Methods Of Mayhem and is now available at iTunes. The song is also on its way to U.S. rock radio stations so feel free to start calling in to request it.
Skinny Puppy fans were crushed in 1995 at the news of Dwayne Goettel's death. His previous band, Psyche, have now found a special way to honor the 15th year since his passing with Re-Membering Dwayne. The band had preserved a lot of their early never-before-released material they created with Goettel and the most interesting tracks have been compiled for this 16-track CD to be released on Sept. 7th via Artoffact Records.
Brian Eno has reportedly been working on his first new solo album since 2005 with plans to release it via Warp Records later this year.
George Michael will see a remastered reissue of his 1987 solo debut, Faith, on Sept. 17th via Sony Music in various formats.

Friday, August 6, 2010

DMG Radio have been told by Chardonnay Investments (a company that acts on behalf of Michael Hutchence's business affairs) to stop using an unauthorized image of the late INXS frontman in their "Classic Rock lives on" campaign. The station ran similar ads using Bon Scott and Jimi Hendrix previously. The station reportedly tried to justify the ad campaign's use of Hutchence's photo by saying that they were promoting him but hadn't played any of his music.
Mr. Mister worked in the studio at the end of the decade one final album before calling it a day... but Pull was never released to the public as they were dropped from their label. But, it seems that the band, original mix engineer Kevin Killen and Sony are on the same page in getting it out finally. Conversations with the record company about the release started in 2009 and, by this July, Richard Page confirmed during an interview with listenin.org that Pull has been remastered. Timing couldn't be more perfect as they band are name-checked in Train's recent hit, "Hey, Soul Sister."
John Waite has signed a new record deal with Icon/Vantage for North America for his forthcoming solo album of new material due out early next year.
Don Henley has settled his lawsuit against California GOP senatorial candidate Chuck DeVore. DeVore will reportedly pay an undisclosed sum of money and has made an apology for creating parodies of two Henley-penned hits.
Dr. Dre recently told Vibe that he's working on an instrumental album. "I have the ideas for it. I want to call it 'The Planets.' I don't even know if I should be saying this, but f*#k it. It's just my interpretation of what each planet sounds like."
Music publisher Warner/Chappell have re-upped their administration agreements with Eddie and Alex Van Halen. Good news but not shocking. It was a little something in the press release for it stating that the band "is currently in the studio recording an album with Roth that is due for release in 2011." That makes headlines.
Grace Slick and songwriter Michelle Mangione have recorded, "The Edge Of Madness," a benefit song for the fishermen and musicians in the areas hardest hit by the oil spill in Louisiana. Over 20 musicians and singers have lent their instruments and voices to the track which debuted on July 24th.
Autopsy have announced plans to release a new EP, The Tomb Within, on Sept. 13th via the Peaceville Records webstore (and a general release will follow later this fall.) The set is their first collection of new material in over a decade.
According to Bravewords.com, the Scorpions are planning a big blowout for their final date of their farewell tour next year that will see a reunion with former guitarists Uli Jon Roth and Michael Schenker and drummer Herman Rarebell. A Blu-ray and DVD of the current tour is also in the works.
Def Leppard have been going through their recordings from their 2009 tour to create a new live album. An EP of four or five new songs will be included in the release. The band have even been considering a box set in the near future.
Well, I guess that if you win Celebrity Apprentice, you might have to continue working for the boss... as you still haven't been fired yet. According to Access Hollywood, Bret Michaels is set to host the 2010 Miss Universe pageant. Donald Trump still owns that and it airs on NBC which will be live from Las Vegas on Aug. 23rd.
Frontman Brian Johnson of AC/DC told BBC Radio 2's The Chris Evans Breakfast Show last week that the band will "probably bring a live album out" in the near future.
The Charlie Daniels Band have announced that they will release, Land That I Love, a collection of patriotic songs on Aug. 10th.
The new Grinderman album, Grinderman 2, will be released via Anti-Records on Sept. 14th followed by a North American tour starting Nov. 11th.
It seems that someone caught U2 rehearsing a new song for their Turin, Italy, performance. The band have said they will mix in some rarities for their upcoming tour as well as some new songs. One they've played (with the lights off) is a ballad called "North Star" and the other is called "Flowering Rose Of Glastonbury"... which you can preview for yourself at YouTube.

U.K. metal act Fist will see their 1980 debut album, Turn The Hell On, reissued via MVD on Nov. 9th in a limited edition version.
Rhino Entertainment plans to release special double-DVD and Blu-ray versions of Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010 on Nov. 9th which includes performances by Eric Clapton, ZZ Top, Steve Winwood, B.B. King, Jeff Beck, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy and many others.
Fred Schneider has announced that his band The Superions has signed a deal with Fanatic Records to release, Destination... Christmas!, an album of 11 original songs for the holidays on Oct. 26th.
Judas Priest to be the focus of this week's A&E series Private Sessions airing on Sunday. Host Lynn Hoffman talks with frontman Rob Halford about the 30th anniversary reissue of British Steel amongst other things. The band will also play a few classics in the studio.
In time to promote the new Iron Maiden album, The Final Frontier, EMI have released a new online game at http://www.thefinalfrontiergame.com/ which has fans retrieving their equipment (which was scattered across the galaxy when space pirates broke into their ship's cargo hold) in time for the group to play the loudest gig in the universe.
Aretha Franklin's plans to perform two free concerts in New York next week have been derailed after doctors found the 68 year-old diva broke two ribs and was suffering abdominal pain after a fall. She has been advised to undergo further medical tests and hopes to reschedule the performance in the next few weeks.
A new Bruce Springsteen documentary, The Promise: The Making Of Darkness On The Edge Of Town, by director Thom Zimny will be premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 14th. The album, Darkness On The Edge Of Town, will be reissued later this year.
Joe Perry recently told the Boston Herald, "We're told it's a done deal," when asked about Aerosmith vocalist Steven Tyler joining American Idol. Tyler had recently said that his plans were to record an album and probably become a judge on American Idol. Perry expects this will affect plans for the band.
According to producer Jack Douglas, he was told when he entered the room at Sony's studio in New York recently to remaster John Lennon's Double Fantasy album that it was supposedly the place he was working with Lennon on the night he was murdered. He told Mojo magazine, "So I started the album in the exact same place where I finished it... I walked him down to the elevator and said goodnight and 20 minutes later he was gone. I had to walk back into the same room and start listening to his voice." The album is due out in October to coincide with what would have been Lennon's 70th birthday.
AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne and Todd Rundgren have contributed some of their classic songs to the in-game Madden NFL 11 soundtrack.
MVD will re-issue Canadian rock act Boulevard's 1988 debut album, BLVD, and 1990's Into The Street on Nov. 9th.
A new video for Eddie Vedder's "Better Days" has surfaced on YouTube. The video features many scenes from the film, Eat, Pray, Love, on which its soundtrack the song appears.

Soundgarden have announced that they will release, Telephantasm, their first collection of music since 1996 on Sept. 28th. The set will be a career-spanning retrospective that will include the previously-unreleased track "Black Rain." The set will be released in 3 expanded versions.
German thrash metal act Sodom will release their new studio album, In War And Pieces, on Nov. 23rd via SPV/Steamhammer.
Frontiers Records will re-release the Wetton/Downes 2005 Icon album on Aug. 27th. The album marked the reunion of Asia's Geoff Downes and John Wetton which led to a reunion of the original Asia line-up for, what is now, two albums. The new version will include 5 bonus tracks.
John Mellencamp has released the title track to his new studio album, No Better Than This, as a single to radio and is currently available as a digital purchase and download via all major services. The album is due out on Aug. 17th. Meanwhile, Mellencamp will be honored on Sept. 9th during the Americana Music Association's 2010 Honors and Awards show in Nashville with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Performance.
D.O.A. have released a new video on YouTube for, "That's Why I Am An Atheist," the opening track to their new album, Talk - Action = 0.

Sure, they officially began in 1977 but The Notekillers will release their first full-length album, We're Here To Help, via Prophase Music on Nov. 9th. The band released one single, "The Zipper," in 1980 before breaking up the following year. The band reformed in 2001 after they were mentioned in a magazine article by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore.
The Temecula Valley International Film Festival will honor Kenny Loggins with their Outstanding Career Achievement Award in Music at this year's festival.
The rough initial recordings for Erasure's new studio album have been completed and sent to their label before the next phase.
Freebass (made up of bassists Peter Hook, Andy Rourke and Mani) release their debut EP, Two Worlds Collide, next week via the recently launched Hacienda Records. Guest vocalists include Pete Wylie, Tim Burgess and Hook. A full studio album is due out next month.
Modern English will release their new Blister EP via Darla Records on Aug. 31st as a digital download. The title track comes from their new album, Soundtrack, and includes previously-unreleased tracks (of which two are demos of songs from the album.)
Releases due out next week include: Freebass - Two Worlds Collide, Charlie Daniels - Land That I Love, Steevi Jaimz - My Private Hell, Lee "Scratch" Perry - Revelation, Hawkwind - Blood Of The Earth, Foghat - Family Joules, Anvil - Past And Presence: Live In Concert, Dio - Evil Or Divine, Roy Orbison - The Last Concert and My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult - Sinister Whisperz: Wax Trax Years (1987-1999)