CourthouseNews.com has reported that Boston's
Tom
Scholz has filed a defamation and emotional distress lawsuit against
the Boston Herald and reporters Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa over an
article blaming him for the 2007 suicide of band vocalist Brad
Delp. Scholz also claims that the columnists used fabricated
quotes from Delp's widow Micki Delp in the article. Scholz
sued Micki Delp and her sister, Connie Goudreau (wife of bandmember
Barry Goudreau), in 2008 for defamation and that lawsuit is still
pending. During testimony in that lawsuit, Delp said that she
told Fee that she did not know why her husband committed suicide and
that she demanded Fee retract the statements after the story was
published.
Eddy Grant has called out the Gorillaz over their hit single "Stylo"
and it's similarity to his 1981 song "Time Warp." Grant told
AddictMusic, "This is pure piracy, it is an obvious infringement of my
song. Anyone who knows 'Time Warp' will know this is 'Time
Warp' with people singing and rapping over it [along] with funny little
noises. 'Time Warp' is a very popular song and has been a
staple of the DJ scene for many years and I feel total disrespect from
Gorillaz and their management company." Grant would go on to
say, "I would like the outcome to be that the band admits that they
have lifted my song, that I have a full credit for the song and an
apology from the band." At this time, he doesn't appear to be
seeking any monetary damages. "Time Warp" was the B-side to
his "Can't Get Enough" single.
The estate of Michael Jackson has signed the largest recording deal in
history with Sony Music Entertainment. The deal for $200
million for 10 projects over seven years. Included in the
projects are the This Is It film, a possible DVD compilation, an album
of never-before-released recordings and an expected re-release of Off
The Wall (with unreleased material.) If certain conditions of
the contract are met, it could be worth up to $250 million.
Celebrity news and entertainment Web site No Good TV filed for chapter
11 bankruptcy protection on Feb. 25th. Kiss' Gene Simmons
serves as company chairman. No details have been announced as
to whether it plans to emerge from bankruptcy as a functioning
company. Simmons does have another project which he promoted
on Friday on FNC's America Live named Cool Springs Life Equity which he
co-founded. Meanwhile, during a recent interview with
Metal-Rules.com, Kiss' Paul Stanley said, when asked if Sonic Boom
would be the last Kiss album, "I don't think so. I think that
within the next twelve months we are doing another album."
It seems that Elton John's off-handed calling Jesus Christ a
"compassionate, super-intelligent gay man" in Parade magazine may have
offended someone. Neal Horsely, 65, was arrested on Mar. 12th
after posting a YouTube video of himself outside John's Atlanta condo
complex making threats and holding a sign saying "Elton John must
die." Horsley's bail has been set at $40,000.
Keith Whitley, Patty Loveless, Steve Wariner and Larnelle Harris will
be inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame in April 2011.
ABBA, Genesis, the Hollies, Jimmy Cliff and Iggy and the Stooges were
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday.
Gorillaz' Plastic Beach debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart
on sales of 112,000 copies. Sade's Soldier Of Love fell 4
places to #6. The Alice In Wonderland: Almost Alice
soundtrack dropped 8 spots to #13. The Crazy Heart soundtrack
climbed 12 places to #18. Johnny Cash's American VI: Ain't No
Grave dropped 10 spots to #31. The Alvin And The Chipmunks:
The Squeakquel soundtrack fell 5 places to #36. The
Chieftains featuring Ry Cooder's San Patricio debuted at #37.
Pearl Jam's "Just Breathe" climbed 16 places to #78 on the Billboard
Hot 100 singles chart.
Gorillaz' Plastic Beach debuted at #2 on the U.K. Albums
chart. Glee Cast's Glee: The Music: Season One Volume 1
dropped 5 spots to #9. Simply Red's Songs Of Love climbed 13
places to #12. Journey's Greatest Hits dropped 6 spots to
#24. Sade's Soldier Of Love fell 12 places to #33.
Fleetwood Mac's The Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac climbed 2 spots to #36.
Glee Cast's "Don't Stop Believin'" fell 8 places to #28 on the U.K.
Singles chart. Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" dropped 4
spots to #31.
3D, the new 3-part 3-disc box set by Go West, can be pre-ordered at
Townsend Records. The box set celebrates the duo's 25th
anniversary. Part 1 of 3D will be released on Mar. 29th in
the U.K., Part 2 will be available in the summer and Part 3 is due out
in the winter. The first single from 3D will be "Skin
Deep." Meanwhile, vocalist Peter Cox will release his new
solo album, The S1 Sessions, on Mar. 29th via Townsend Records.
Janet Jackson will release her new single, "Nothing," on Mar.
30th. The song appears on the soundtrack to Why Did I Get
Married Too.
Vocalist Walter Wray and guitarist Steve Halliwell formerly of King
Swamp have a new project called Little Machine. They have
recently finished an album and are heading out on some dates in the
U.K. You can hear some samples at
http://www.myspace.com/littlemachineuk
Andy Bell's new solo single, "Call On Me," will be released on May
11th. The song comes from his new album, Non-Stop, due out on
May 24th as a digital download (and physically on June 8th.)
Sarah McLachlan has announced that she will release, The Laws Of
Illusion, her first new studio album in 7 years via Arista Records on
June 15th.
D.O.A. has finished work in the studio on their 13th album, Talk -
Action = 0, which will be released on May 1st. Meanwhile, the
band has reissued their classic 1985 album, Let's Wreck The Party, on
CD.
U2 have announced that they are accepting pre-orders of their
triple-vinyl remix album, Artificial Horizon, from now until May 14th
at ArtificialHorizon.U2.com.
Martha Davis of The Motels has released her new children's CD, Red Frog
Presents 16 Songs For Parents & Children, via iTunes this week.
The Wedding Present will release a double album of live recordings from
1988 on Mar. 29th via Scopitones on CD and as a digital
download. This year the band are celebrating the 21st
anniversary of their major label debut, Bizarro, by playing the album
live.
A-ha's manager has announced plans to release expanded deluxe editions
of their 1985 album, Hunting High And Low, and 1986's Scoundrel Days as
well as a new live DVD and a new career-spanning compilation.
French director Michel Gondry announced during the SXSW festival that
he has been working on a project with Bjork. "We have a very
ambitious project, a sort of scientific musical. ...[It's a
movie], but maybe more for museums. Like a 40 minute IMAX
project in 3."
Paula Abdul was recently in negotiations with ABC about judging a
reboot of the classic talent show Star Search. The network
and Abdul weren't able to come to terms as she was reluctant to take a
lower salary than (the $5 million) last offered her to continue on
American Idol last year.
Hear Music/Concord Music Group plan to release, Live At The Troubadour,
on May 4th. The special double-disc CD/DVD set by James
Taylor and Carole King was recorded in November of 2007.
Flotsam And Jetsam drummer Craig Nielsen has announced that original
guitarist Michael Gilbert has rejoined the band. Guitarist Ed
Carlson had officially decided to no longer tour or record.
Their long-delayed new album, The Cold, is due out this year with the
mix and final mastering expected this month.
Guns N' Roses were forced to cancel their Mar. 14th performance in Rio
when a stage collapsed due to heavy rain. Minor injuries but
no fatalities were reported.
Bruce Springsteen will be releasing a 10" vinyl single of "Wrecking
Ball (live at Giants Stadium) and "The Ghost of Tom Joad (live version
featuring Tom Morello)" via Columbia Records to celebrate Record Store
Day on Apr. 17th.
Chris Cornell has recorded a guest appearance on the song "Lies"
expected to appear on Italian nu-jazz group Gabin's new album, Third
and Double.
Duran Duran will reissue their 1981 Duran Duran and 1983 Seven And The
Ragged Tiger albums in expanded versions (with a supplemental DVD) on
Mar. 30th.
George Lynch has joined Willie Basse in his Burbank recording studio to
lay down part of the new single, "Break Away," from Basse's upcoming
solo album. The album is due out later this year via Basse's
own New Empire Media. Inc.
Tiffany's new film, Mega Piranha, will premiere on the SyFy Channel on
Apr. 10th. Her thriller, Necrosis, heads to DVD on Apr.
20th. Meanwhile, she is currently writing and recording
material in Nashville.
Front Line Assembly have been working in the studio on their next
album, Improvised Electronic Device, due out this spring via
Metropolis. The first single, "Shifting Through The Lens," is
due out shortly. The album includes a guest appearance by
Ministry's Al Jourgensen on the song, "Stupidity," for which he
provided lyrics and vocals.
Slash will release his self-titled solo debut album on Apr.
6th. Pre-orders are available at iTunes and Amazon for the
disc which includes guest appearances by Ian Astbury, Chris Cornell,
Dave Grohl, Lemmy Kilmeister, Iggy Pop and Ozzy Osbourne.
Neil Young's Trunk Show film will debut tonight (Friday the 19th) in
several major cities and expand to a few more on Mar. 26th.
The show is an intimate look at Neil's stage show, recorded in a small
theater in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, on mostly hand-held
cameras. More information can be found at
www.trunkshowmovie.com.
Producer/songwriter/singer/guitarist Alex Chilton, 59, died on Mar.
17th from a suspected heart attack. Chilton was taken to a
New Orleans hospital after complaining of health problems but passed
away the same day. He was scheduled to perform on Saturday
with Big Star at the SXSW festival. The former Box Tops and
Big Star member has often been cited as inspiration for many current
recording artists. He released 3 solo albums (1980's Like
Flies On Sherbert, 1981's Bach's Bottom and 1987's High Priest) as well
as 1982's Live In London during the 1980s alone. He also
appeared on albums by Tav Falco, Chris Stamey, The Cramps, the Country
Rockers and The Replacements. As a producer, he would record
albums with The Cramps, Chris Stamey, The Triffids, Tav Falco and the
Gories.
U.K. singer-songwriter Lesley Duncan, 66, lost her battle with
cerebrovascular disease on Mar. 12th. Duncan released two
singles (1982's "Masters Of War" and 1986's "Tomorrow") and appeared on
several albums during the 1980s including Exile's Exile, Shusha's Here
I Love You, Mitchell/Coe Mysteries' Exiled and Bunk Dogger's Great
Detective.