Cher filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against
Universal
Music Group claiming they owe her and Sonny Bono's heirs more than $5
million in royalties on songs that were included in recent greatest
hits collections and that they failed to provide key records that would
show how much is actually owed. A spokesperson for UMG has
said that the lawsuit is "without merit" and the company expects to win
in court.
Lemonheads frontman Evan Dando has filed a lawsuit in federal court
against General Motors and advertising and licensing firms claiming the
automaker violated their copyright on the 1992 hit "It's A Shame About
Ray" by allegedly re-recording it and using it in last year's campaign
for Chevrolet and Buick. The band is seeking damages and a
portion of profits from the campaign.
X's Exene Cervenka has released a statement: "After some
months of not feeling 100% healthy, I recently had some medical tests
run and the prognosis is that I am suffering from Multiple
Sclerosis. Apparently, it has been affecting me for quite
some time. Although this is obviously unfortunate news, I am
choosing to see the positive in it. I, and X as a band, have
supported the Sweet Relief charity since the mid-1990's; the irony of
this is not lost on any of us. Sweet Relief was started as an
aide to uninsured artists by musician Victoria Williams when she
herself was diagnosed with MS in 1992. While this diagnosis
will most certainly mean some changes for me, personally, it will not
affect my commitments to the current X U.S. tour, nor will it affect my
solo album that is slated for release this fall on Bloodshot
Records. My focus will certainly be on maintaining my health
-- many people remain strong and continue to live their lives as
productively as they had before an MS diagnosis and I plan to be one of
those people."
Morrissey has confirmed that he will resume his tour in Luxembourg
today. According to the singer, "I have been reconstructed by
a Wiltshire hospital and I am as close to good health as I'm likely to
get." His 4 London concerts have been rescheduled to July and
the Birmingham and Royal Albert Hall shows will happen in
October. Meanwhile, Polydor have plans to release, Swords, an
18-track collection of Morrissey's B-sides from his last three albums
in October.
According to the Pensacola News Journal, Tone Loc, 43, passed out on
stage at the Capt'n Fun Beach Club late on Thursday night and was taken
by
ambulance to Gulf Breeze Hospital and released on Friday
Morning. His manager released a statement saying, "Leading up
to the show, Tone had flight problems including long
layovers. It took him about 12 hours to get to Pensacola from
Burbank. Tone was exhausted and very hot onstage, and became
ill because of it." It was reported that temperatures were in
the low 80s with 87% humidity. He has already talked about
make-up dates with the club's owners.
Former Talking Heads member Jerry Harrison won the 2009 South by
Southwest award for Best Producer of the Year for his work on The Black
And White Years' self-titled debut. Tom Petty And The
Heartbreakers drummer Steve Ferrone played the live drum tracks during
the recording. The album is available via iTunes, Brando
Records and Spotify.
The founding members of Toto will be inducted into the Musicians Hall
of Fame in Nashville on Oct. 12th. The honor is voted on by
over 90,000 musicians, producers and songwriters. Meanwhile,
David Paich has been busy. He recently finished work on a new
song he co-wrote with Steve Lukather for George Benson. He
has also been working on Rod Stewart's new studio album and started a
project with Rick Ruben and James Newton Howard.
Congratulations to Stryper guitarist Oz Fox who marries girlfriend
Annie Lobert today (Friday) in Las Vegas at 7pm PST. The
ceremony can be seen as a live webcast at www.thechurchlv.com/live.
The Twilight soundtrack climbed 2 places to #17 on the Billboard 200
albums chart. Bob Dylan's Together Through Life dropped 7
spots to #24. George Strait's Troubadour was the greatest
gainer of the week climbing 132 places to #34.
The Glee Cast cover of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" fell 25 places
to #29 in its second week on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
The Simple Minds' Graffiti Soul debuted at #10 on the U.K. Albums
chart. Jim Reeves' The Very Best Of Jim Reeves dropped 3
spots to #11. Madness' The Liberty Of Norton Folgate fell 9
places to #14. Iron Maiden's Flight 666 debuted at
#15. The Manic Street Preachers' Journal For Plague Lovers
dropped 13 spots to #16. Michael McDonald's The Ultimate
Collection debuted at #26. Bob Dylan's Together Through Life
fell 13 places to #30.
Ironik's "Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer)" featuring Chipmunk and Elton
John dropped 2 spots on the U.K. Singles chart.
A-ha's new single, "Foot Of The Mountain," debuted at #3 on the German
singles chart. The single's release has been pushed back to
July 13th in the U.K. with their similarly-titled new studio album
following the week after. The band performed the new single
recently on the finale of Germany's Next Top Model.
Information Society have a new remix EP, We Mean You No Harm, and a
25th anniversary live DVD, It Is Useless To Resist Us, in the works.
Former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic filed on Wednesday to run for
county clerk in Wahkiakum County with hopes to bring attention to the
problems he sees in the Top Two primary election system.
Exodus have been working on a 3-disc DVD/CD set, Assorted Atrocities,
due out late this summer containing their performance at Germany's
Wacken Open Air festival, a documentary that follows the band during
the last 5 years on the road, photos and promotional videos.
Duran Duran's rhythm section of John Taylor and Roger Taylor have been
working in the studio with producer Mark Ronson. The sessions
have been called 'old school' as there has been less record-cut-edit
than record, record, record. The vintage equipment has been
dusted off in an effort to return to the sound of their first 3
albums. The rest of the band are expected to join them in the
studio soon to work on the next phase. Meanwhile, on Sept.
8th the band will release a double-disc special edition of their 1982
album, Rio, and the previously-unreleased concert DVD/CD, Live At
Hammersmith 82.
Paul Weller's new DVD, Just A Dream, will be released via Townsend
Records on June 8th. The project shows Weller's session at
the BBC late last year and includes a live CD containing some choice
bonus material.
Whitney Houston has announced that she will be releasing her first new
studio album in 7 years on Sept. 1st via Arista. Selected
tracks from the currently-untitled album are expected to be previewed
on WhitneyHouston.com in the coming weeks.
Europe will release, "Last Look At Eden," the title track from their
forthcoming album as a new single. The track will be released
in a 3-track version and limited edition 5-track digipack that can be
ordered online at www.EuropeTheBand.com.
Thrash metal act Slayer have announced that World Painted Blood will be
the title of their new studio album due out in late summer via American
Recordings/Columbia Records.
The Blow Monkey's reunion has yielded a live DVD, Travelin' Souls, that
was filmed at London's 100 Club. The DVD is available now and
contains a chance to download an exclusive track.
George Strait has released "Living For The Night" as the first single
from his forthcoming album, Twang, due out early this fall.
Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Nanci Griffith releases, The
Loving Kind, her new studio album next week containing 4 covers and 9
songs written by her and her collaborators.
According to their long-time manager Kelly Curtis, Pearl Jam will
release their next album without a U.S. label this fall.
Instead, the release will include a consortium of partners with 'big
box' retail partner Target -- for whom they've recently filmed a
commercial. An official single from the album is expected out
in July.
A new Love & Rockets tribute album is on the way.
Black Francis of the Pixies and The Flaming Lips have contributed
covers to New Tales To Tell due out digitally on July 28th.
Book Of Love have reunited for their first tour since 2001 to support
the reissues of their 1986 album, Book Of Love, 1988's Lullaby, 1991's
Candy Carol and 1993's Love Bubble via Collector's Choice Music's Noble
Rot label on July 21st.
Over the last 5 years, En Esch and Chris Connelly have regrouped to
record under the Pigface name and the results surface next week on,
6, their new studio album.
Billy Ocean will see his 2008 U.K. tour chronicled on a new 14-track
CD, Billy Ocean Live. The disc can be pre-ordered at the New
Album section of http://www.BillyOcean.co.uk.
Former Dream Academy frontman Nick Laird-Clowes has collaborated with
Pink Floyd's David Gilmour on a song for an upcoming documentary about
Greenpeace. The song is currently available as a free
download at the Guardian.co.uk site. Here's a more direct
link http://tiny.cc/VnRHY
The Cult's Ian Astbury has a new acoustic ensemble, Soft Revolt, that
has been performing shows with a floating line-up to raise funds for a
production of John Patrick Shanley's Savage In Limbo. He has
also been involved in a few independent film projects, including a
documentary based on Andrea Smith's Conquest: Sexual Violence And
American Indian Genocide and the short films We Defy and Ruins.
A oil painting by Scottish artist Peter Howson of a nude Madonna with
her ex-husband Guy Ritchie failed to meet the £15,000 reserve
auction price. Some bids were made, though.
Tangerine Dream plan to release their new studio album, Chandra - The
Phantom Ferry (Part I), on June 16th via their Eastgate shop along with
the newly mastered 3-CD set, The London Eye Concert.
It seems that the Tony Awards have hopped on the mash-up bandwagon and
plan to have Elton John perform with the cast of Billy Elliot, The
Musical, Dolly Parton with the cast of 9 To 5: The Musical and Poison
with the cast of Rock Of Ages during their June 7th ceremony.
Captain Sensible will see his 1982 solo album, Women And Captains
First, and 1984's The Power Of Love reissued in the U.K. on July 20th
in expanded versions containing demos, B-sides and
previously-unreleased songs.
Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison joined Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr
during the E3 videogame conference in Los Angeles to unveil The
Beatles: Rock Band due out Sept. 9th. A trailer from the
event can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpBDOolcs9g
Offspring guitarist Noodles recently told Canadian radio station X92.9
that frontman Dexter Holland is in Hawaii working with Bob Rock on some
of the songs left off their Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace album for
their next release. He also mentioned the possible release of
a B-sides/rarities collection.
According to Sony, the Sade2009.com Web site, that announced the
upcoming release of the singer's first album in 9 years, is a fan
site. Longtime band member Stuart Matthewman has confirmed
new material is being worked on and the project is in its early stages
and not expected to finish until 'later in the year.'
Jocelyn Brown will see her 1987 album, One From The Heart, reissued via
Wounded Bird Records next week.
Al Jourgensen's 13th Planet Records label has released a free digital
EP for fans for download at http://www.vampirefreaks.com. The
13th Planet Digital Sampler includes songs by Ministry, Revolting
Cocks, Prong, False Icons, Stayte and Ascension Of The Watchers.