It might be a good thing that Motley Crue's Crue
Fest
2 tours wrap up on Sept. 2nd. Drummer Tommy Lee will miss
several shows after burning the thumb and forefinger on his left hand
last week while playing with a set of sparklers. Lee is still
taking part in the show by explaining his absence at the start of the
show, playing piano on "Home Sweet Home" and thumping a drum (with his
good hand) during "Girls, Girls, Girls." He is currently
following doctors orders and the band is doing what they have to do
right now without canceling the shows.
Black Sabbath/Heaven And Hell guitarist Tony Iommi recently told
TheAquarian.com, "After this run we're going to have some time
off. I've got to have an operation on my hand. It's
sort of a major thing I need to get done and I've been putting it
off. The cartilage has gone from the thumb in my fingering
hand. It's been like that for a year, to be honest.
I've been taking anti-inflammatories and all sorts of stuff to try and
calm it down. But it's inevitable I have to have the
operation -- the bone is rubbing on the bone." Eddie Van
Halen underwent a similar surgery earlier this year.
It seems that not all of Aerosmith's concert dates have been
canceled. The band plan to honor a court settlement and
perform a show on Maui in September or October to make up for canceling
a concert two years ago.
The 2009 Emmy nominations have been announced: Velvet
Revolver's Dave Kushner is among the nominees for Outstanding Original
Main Title Theme Music for FX Networks Sons Of Anarchy pilot.
Paul Williams is nominated for Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics
for the song "I Wish I Could Be Santa Claus" for A Muppets Christmas:
Letters To Santa. Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band
Super Bowl Halftime Show is nominated for Outstanding Special Class -
Short-format Live-Action Entertainment Programs and for Outstanding
Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control For A Miniseries, Movie
Or A Special.
Considered an originator of the Newgrass style, Sam Bush will be
honored by the Americana Music Association with their Lifetime
Achievement for Instrumentalist award in September. Bush's
7th solo album, Circles Around Me, will be released on Oct. 20th.
George Strait's Twang debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart
on sales of 155,000 copies becoming his 5th #1 album on the
chart. Neil Diamond's Hot August Night/NYC debuted at #2 on
sales of 57,000 copies. Modest Mouse's No One's First And
You're Next dropped 23 spots to #38.
Michael Jackson's Number Ones collection (selling 80,000 copies) was
bumped to the #2 spot on the Top Comprehensive Albums chart by George
Strait's Twang.
Michael Franti & Spearhead's "Say Hey (I Love You)" climbed 6
places on the Billboard Digital Songs chart to #39.
Boys Don't Cry's "Don't Call Me A Country Singer" retains the #8 spot
on the FMQB AC40 chart.
Michael Jackson's The Essential retains the #1 spot on the U.K. Albums
chart. The Stone Roses' 20th anniversary reissue of their
self-titled debut album has debuted at #5. Michael Jackson's
Bad fell 3 places to #12. Michael Jackson's Thriller climbed
a spot to #16. U2's No Line On The Horizon gained 9 places to
#21. Michael Jackson & The Jackson Five's The Motown
Years dropped 7 spots to #22. Michael Jackson's Off The Wall
fell 4 places to #25. A-ha's Foot Of The Mountain dropped 14
spots to #26. U2's U218 Singles climbed 10 spots to
#30. ABBA's Gold: Greatest Hits gained a place to
#36. Michael Jackson's The Collection dropped 5 spots to #37.
Ian Brown's "Stellify" debuted at #31 on the U.K. Singles
chart. Michael Jackson's "Man In The Mirror" fell 7 places to
#40.
Michael Jackson's The Collection tops the Billboard European Top 100
Albums chart for a second week.
Voice Of The Beehive members Mike Jones and Martin Brett have formed an
offshoot called Spirit Of The Beehive to answer requests for the band
to tour. Both Tracey and Missy Belland have decided to "hang
up their Tu Tu's forever" but the new lineup has plans to record a new
track together with concert dates starting 2010. Tracey has
posted a comment to the Voice Of The Beehive MySpace page that she and
Missy are unable to perform as their mother has stage four cancer and
there is a new baby in the family preventing them from
touring. "It is very hurtful to know that Mike and Martin
feel we could be so easily replaced and all to make a quick buck."
According to a Jackson family spokesman, Michael Jackson will be buried
in a private ceremony at Forest Lawn-Glendale on Aug. 29th -- what
would have been his 51st birthday. It has now been pushed
back to Sept. 3rd. A judge has approved a deal between
Jackson's estate and concert promoter AEG Live to exhibit the singer's
memorabilia. Meanwhile, it has been reported that his
personal cardiologist Dr. Conrad Murray will be charged with
manslaughter within the next two weeks. Fox News has also
reported that the singer's dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein will be
charged with medical malpractice. Michael Jackson: The Remix
Suite will be released digitally on Sept. 1st.
Information Society will release their new 9-track digital-only remix
EP, Modulator, on Sept. 22nd. The disc includes remixes of
tracks from their latest album Synthesizer as well as a live version of
"Wrongful Death" and new studio track "Don't Touch The Devil."
U2's Bono and The Edge appeared on BBC Radio 1 this week and mentioned
that they'd been digging through rare and unreleased tracks for an
upcoming deluxe re-issue of their 1984 album, The Unforgettable Fire.
Dokken will release Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 in October via
Rhino. The collection of all-new versions of tracks such as
"Dream Warriors," "Breaking The Chains" and "Just Got Lucky" will be
paired with several new songs and a cover of The Knickerbockers' 1965
hit "Lies."
Meat Loaf recently told RollingStone.com that he is about half-way to
finishing work with producer Rob Cavallo on the follow-up to 2006's Bat
Out Of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose. The singer has
confirmed that Queen guitarist Brian May has contributed a solo for one
of the songs -- he also appeared on the previous album. The
album is expected out next year. Meat Loaf also has roles in
the Hallmark Channel's Citizen Jane, the thriller Burning Bright and
drama Polish Bar.
Bad Lieutenant will release their debut single, "Sink Or Swim," on
Sept. 21st but they've placed the song for preview on their MySpace
page (www.myspace.com/badlieutenantmusic). The band includes
New Order members Bernard Sumner, guitarist Phil Cunningham and new
cohort guitarist/vocalist Jake Evans.
Kylie Minogue has started work on her next studio album. She
has collaborated with the London trio N-Dubz on some material already.
BJ Thomas will take part in the March 2010 taping of Marvin Hamlisch
Presents: The '70s, The Way We Were set to premiere on PBS that same
month.
Ratt have been working in the studio on their new album. The
disc is expected out as early as February.
Erasure's Vince Clarke has remixed, "In Your Heart," the forthcoming
single by A Place To Bury Strangers due out Sept. 21st.
Bandmate Andy Bell has been working on his new solo album and expects
to start work soon on the next Erasure album. Erasure will
release their Phantom Bride EP on Oct. 12th and have just released the
Erasure.Club EP and ABBA-esque Remixes download bundle via their
official Erasure shop at LexerMusic.com.
Kiss fans can visit KissOnline.com to hear, "Modern Day Delilah," the
first sample of material from their first new studio album in a decade,
Sonic Boom, due out exclusively at Walmart on Oct. 6th.
Stephen Stills will release his new CD/DVD Live At Shepherds Bush on
Oct. 27th which was recorded and filmed last fall in a mix of acoustic
and full band versions of songs from throughout his career.
Crosby, Stills and Nash are currently at work on a covers album with
producer Rick Rubin.
The Mission U.K.'s Wayne Hussey will see his 2008 solo album, Bare,
released officially via Sony Music in Germany on Oct. 23rd with several
live bonus tracks.
KevinGilbert.com has announced "new releases available in September/
The long awaited singer songwriter releases, Nuts and Bolts."
Both 11 track CDs by the late multi-instrumentalist were mastered by
John Cuniberti.
Bon Jovi's new studio album, The Circle, will be released on Nov.
10th. You can hear, "We Weren't Born To Follow," the first
single from the album at their official Web site.
George Jones will release his new 12-track retrospective, A Collection
Of My Best Recollection, exclusively at all Cracker Barrel locations on
Aug. 31st. The set will include two previously-unreleased
songs "I Don't Want To Know" and "I'm A Long Gone Daddy" and help
celebrate the restaurant chain's 40th anniversary.
Whitney Houston will give her first sit-down interview in nearly 7
years as the first guest of the 24th season The Oprah Winfrey
Show. The show will air two weeks after the Aug. 31st release
of her new studio album, I Look To You.
A-ha have announced that a new mix of "Shadowside" will be released as
the second single from their latest album, Foot Of The
Mountain. (In the U.K. it will be the third single following
"Nothing is Keeping You Here.")
Bay Area thrash act Sacrilege BC will see their 1986 album, Party With
God, re-released in a 17-track package (including their first demo and
remastered recordings) via Fire Recordings in November.
R.E.M.'s 39-track double-CD set entitled Live At The Olympia will be
released on Oct. 26th via Warner Bros Records. The recordings
came from their 2007 rehearsals in Dublin, Ireland. A special
edition double-CD & DVD set will also be released containing a
film of the rehearsals and a video for "Supernatural Superserious."
BYO Records will celebrate their 25th anniversary with the release of
the box set, Let Them Know: The Story Of Youth Brigade And BYO Records,
on Sept. 22nd. The set will be available in 3
versions: the LP box (a 31-track double LP, a 90-minute
documentary and a hardcover book of photos and essays), a CD/DVD
version with booklet and a digital retailers version.
Michael Bolton has been working on his new studio album, One World One
Love, due out in late September. The first single from the
disc, "Just One Love," will be released on Sept. 15th.
Dolly Parton will see a deluxe 4-disc box set entitled Dolly released
on Oct. 27th containing 7 previously-unreleased tracks.
Rockathon and MVD Visual plan to release the Guided By Voices
documentary, The Devil Went Home And Puked, on DVD on Oct. 20th.
"Fragile Tension" has been selected as the third single to be released
off of Depeche Mode's Sounds Of The Universe.
Brian Setzer will release his new studio album, Songs From Lonely
Avenue, on Oct. 13th via Surfdog Records. The first two
singles, "Trouble Train" and "Lonely Avenue," have been made available
at iTunes.
Filmed during the European leg of her 50th anniversary tour in March,
Tina Turner will see the release of the live DVD/CD, Tina Live, on
Sept. 28th.
Metal act Anvil Chorus will release their new studio album, The Killing
Sun, via Rockadrome Records on Sept. 29th.
Durutti Column's first 4 albums have been remastered from the original
master tapes for a 6 CD box set (to include 2 limited bonus CDs of
unreleased demos, versions, live recordings and outtakes from the
period) and is due out on Sept. 15th.
Gong will release their new studio album, 2032, on Sept.
21st. They have also announced the world premiere of their
new Japanese animated video, "How To Stay Alive," from the album at
YouTube.com.
Musician and producer Jim Dickinson, 67, died in a Memphis, Tennessee
hospital on Aug. 15th after months of dealing with heart and intestinal
bleeding problems. He recently underwent a triple bypass
heart surgery and was undergoing rehabilitation at Methodist University
Hospital. Dickinson rose as a studio musician in Memphis at
the American Studios in the 60s and appearing on albums by Aretha
Franklin and The Rolling Stones in the 70s in his transition to being a
producer. As a producer, he would guide albums by Alex
Chilton, Willy DeVille, Mojo Nixon, The Replacements, Green On Red and
Screamin' Jay Hawkins. As a performer, he was a member of
Mudboy And The Neutrons releasing 1986's Known Felons In Drag, 1993's
Negro Streets At Dawn and 1995's They Walk Among Us.