Music News Blog

Pete Doherty is taking legal action to stop footage featuring his drug use from being broadcast on British television.

Doherty is seeking an injunction to stop BBC Channel 4 from broadcasting footage of him smoking heroin while on tour with The Libertines. The footage, shot by Max Carlish, already led to an altercation between Doherty and the filmmaker in a hotel that ended in Doherty’s arrest on charges of robbery and blackmail in February (read full story). The charges against him were eventually blocked.

Doherty claims the footage isn’t owned by Carlish, but his management company. Channel 4 is still banking on broadcasting the footage of Doherty’s heroin habit, which, at this point is the world’s worst-kept drug addiction since Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain’s flirtation with horse in the early ’90s

Jay-Z has signed on to executive produce the much talked about side project album by Linkin Park vocalist Mike Shinoda.

Titled The Rising Tied, the set is slated for a late summer 2005 release and features guests artists John Legend, Common and Black Thought, among others.

Shinoda who produced the Jay-Z/Linkin Park collaboration ...Collision Course, is excited about returning to his hip-hop roots and amped to re-team with Jay-Z again.

"We have such a great working relationship, having his opinion has been invaluable for me throughout the process," Shinoda said in a statement. "Jay's got a great way of making suggestions while letting the artist keep their creative control and momentum."

"In developing this project, I've been fortunate to be able to work exclusively with friends - other artists whose talent I respect and who share [with me] a creative vision," he continued. "I remember asking [Common] about doing a song on the record - I started playing what I had done so far, and after every track, he said, 'I want to be on that one!'"

Shinoda's Linkin Park bandmate, singer Chester Bennington, is currently enjoying success with his feature spot on the DJ Z-Trip track "The Walking Dead."

"My bandmates have encouraged me to share this music with the world," he added. "And now that the record is almost finished, I can't wait."

Africana.com the online news and educational website aimed at people of color recently merged and was subsequently subsumed by AOL Time Warner becoming a part of AOL’s Black Voices channel. Earlier this year the premiere African American magazine for black women Essence was bought out by Time Warner.

These examples of two well known black publications being bought by white owned corporate conglomerates present a problem for the independence of black media. These along with the selling of BET to Viacom a few years back leaves very few places where we can control our image in the media dominated by negative images of black people. The Internet as a media should be a place where black people can control the news, the image and the perception but that is compromised when the ownership of the content changes. More at BlackState.com

Franz Ferdinand is lending its music to commercials supporting an environmentally friendly political party.

The band gave the nod to Britain’s Green Party to use its “This Fire,” taken from last year’s self-titled debut (Domino) (read Aversion’s review), will play in the background of television commercials supporting the eco-conscious party. The band, which is in the studio working on its sophomore effort, lent the music to the party’s advertisements free of charge.

Pras says "it's been a minute" since the release of his debut album, Ghetto Supastar, but it's actually been seven years. During that time, the sometimes-Fugees member became entangled in legal tussles with his former label and refocused on filmmaking, producing and starring in Turn It Up and Go for Broke with fellow hip-hoppers Ja Rule, Faith Evans and Bobby Brown.
The minute is almost up though, as Pras will drop his second record, Win, Lose or Draw, June 14th. The lead single is his interpretation of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," recorded with the band's blessing.

"I got Bono's cell number, and I called and asked him," Pras recounts on the San Fernando Valley set of the song's video shoot. "He said, 'Really, my biggest record of all time?' I sent him the idea, he played it for the rest of the band, and they loved it. Bono called me back and said, 'Listen, I've never cleared a record for anyone, but I'm a fan of the Fugees and a fan of you. If this record can help you, go ahead and take it.'"

Dancehall star Sean Paul and Pras' cousin and Fugees mate Wyclef Jean both guest on the record. Jean and Pras team for "Angel Sings," continuing good relations after a lingering dispute that ended in September when the long-dormant Fugees (Pras, Jean and Lauryn Hill) reunited onstage in Brooklyn.

But Pras maintains that Win, Lose or Draw is very much his record. "This is my diary, my journey, my perseverance, my tribulation, my pain, my agony, my victory, my everything," he says. "But it's a feel-good record."

In June, before he heads to New Zealand to film his next movie, Mutant Chronicles, Pras will launch a tour. Befitting the album's sound, he'll be backed by a full band. "This is a live album, man," he says. "This ain't your typical hip-hop, bang-bang, in the clubs, popping Cristal . . . I just want people to get a good vibe, and get in a mindset of working things out with their loved ones."

And perhaps the record can turn some people on to U2. "Maybe," Pras says, laughing, "but I think U2 got enough people turned on to them."

IT'S time to get back into the swing of things, with the return of Ulster's biggest feast of jazz in 2005. There's no doubt that the men and women behind the 4th Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival can especially blow their trumpet, this year. For the four-day event is offering up more than 100 performances, in 50 venues across the city, from this Thursday, until Sunday, May 1.

That means a Bank Holiday weekend celebration you can bank on - with 20 more gigs and 'happenings' than in 2004, and a whopping double the number served up in 2003.

On Friday (April 22), three days after guitarist Bryan Ottoson's body was discovered on the band's tour bus, American Head Charge posted a statement on their Web site about their bandmate's passing. "Bryan was a vital member of our group and a key songwriter on The Feeding," the statement reads. "It is our intention to honor his memory by rejoining Mudvayne, one of Bryan's favorite bands, on the current tour. Words cannot convey the depth of our sadness, but we want our fans to be able to hear the music Bryan loved so much. He'd be pissed if we didn't continue on. We will return on the Lubbock, Texas, date on April 29. Chad Ottoson, Bryan's brother, states that the Ottoson family firmly stands behind [American Head Charge]'s decision to carry on in Bryan's name." A spokesperson for American Head Charge said the group is currently working to find a replacement guitarist and will make a decision by Monday. Meanwhile, a public memorial service for Ottoson will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday at the Thomson Dougherty funeral home on Park Avenue in Minneapolis. ...

Prosecutors in the Michael Jackson molestation case lost a key battle when a judge refused their request to allow testimony from a domestic violence expert to explain why the mother of Jackson's accuser lied under oath.

The Jackson trial is not about domestic violence and "it would be a mistake to allow it," Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville said yesterday (April 21) of the prosecution's attempt to portray her as a battered woman.

London, April 21 : Former Beatles manager Brian Epstein was engaged in homosexual acts with one member of the legendary band, his ex-aide claims in a sensational new book.

Joanne Peterson is currently working on "There's a Beatle in my closet", which will expose "revelations of intimacy" of the gay pop mogul Epstein with at least one of the fabulous four. But she refuses to reveal which member, reports Ireland Online.

Epstein, found dead by his assistant after an drug overdose in 1967, had been known to have a hopeless crush on John Lennon, leading many to conclude the mystery lover was the "Imagine" star.

"I didn't tell people I worked for Brian because I didn't want to spend my time talking about the whole thing. But I was persuaded to talk at a Beatles convention a few years ago," the 61-year-old explained.

"Afterwards, people kept saying, 'That was fabulous - we'd love to read about this.' Now I'm not far from finishing the book."

The story behind Beanie Sigel’s incarceration is simple, judicially speaking. The Philadelphia rapper was convicted for gun possession and is currently serving a one-year sentence in prison. Accounts from those close to Beanie’s situation suggests that the legal scars are much more complex, a result of longtime pursuit by Philadelphia police and an extensive federal probe into Beanie’s alleged drug ties.

Phanatik Tops R&R Rhythmic Charts and Hits Billboard!

Phanatik's "The Incredible Walk" Scores a #1 on R&R Rhythmic and Debuts at #20 on Billboard Gospel Chart! "The Incredible Walk" is off to a running start all over the country! The unprecedented success of The Phanatik's debut solo release continues to gain momentum as the album moves up the charts and the hit single "Shot Clock" is a winner on the airwaves!

The Gospel Chart has eluded one of the most recognized names in Christian Hip-Hop despite the success of The Cross Movement's albums, "Higher Definition" and "Holy Culture" --until now. Phanatik breaks through with Gospel Chart recognition, a feat accomplished by few in this genre. "The Incredible Walk" is available now in stores everywhere!

Rare footage of The Beatles filmed at the time of the ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ has been found after nearly 40 years.

The footage of the fab four at Plymouth Rocks in 1967 was unearthed when the BBC were transferring old film into a new digital format.

The BBC reports this is the second time this has happened in the South-West. Last October footage was found of The Beatles visiting the region in 1964, wrongly stored in the sports section of the Film Archive.

On the 1964 film, amongst other things, John Lennon and Ringo Starr both proclaimed they were going to abstain from voting in the election of that year.

Despite claims that Michael Jackson is currently financially troubled, a spokeswoman for the embattled pop star said that he is not selling off the rights to his Beatles music catalogue.
"There have been numerous reports regarding the sale, or portions thereof, of Michael Jackson's music catalogue. These reports are not true," said Raymone Bain.

The official denial surfaced after it was reported that Jackson might sell most of his 50 percent share of the Beatles' songs to pay off more than US$275 million in debts.

If Jackson does sell off his share of the prized catalogue, which he owns jointly with Sony/ATV Music, he could net an estimated US$400 million.

Jackson is currently on trial on ten counts of child molestation charges.

The two hip-hop mogul brothers who adopted mobster John Gotti's name and turned Murder Inc. records into a hit machine are under federal investigation for the beating death of a Manhattan drug dealer, The Post has learned.
Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo and his brother Christopher are suspected of wielding a piece of lumber — a two-by-four "embedded with nails," according to one police report — to repeatedly bash Anthony Sylvester on the head until he fell unconscious before dumping his body in a vacant lot on East 124th Street near Fifth Avenue on Oct. 20, 1993.

Troy COLEMAN has become accustomed to standing out in a crowd.

"There's been question marks everywhere I've ever performed — not just in the last year, but since I started doing what I do 15 years ago," says the 35-year-old Texan known as Cowboy Troy.

What is it that he does?

"I'm a hick-hop artist," he says without hesitation. "What that means is I'm a cowboy rapping over hard rock guitars, funky bass lines and country instruments like banjos, fiddles, mandolins and acoustic guitars."

DMX has been arrested in NEW YORK following a collision with a police car.

According to police, the rapper, real name Earl Simmons, was driving a car which collided with two vehicles, one of which was a police car, on the Major Deegan Expressway in the city.

According to Reuters, DMX was charged with driving with a suspended license before being released. Two police officers are said to have suffered minor injuries.

/UCWE/ - So many things, so little time

The new album from an independent South African Hip Hop artist, Wal T. Produced by Wal T. Marketed & distributed by Hunting Records. Featuring D.O.C., Fikile & Nondumiso. Released in March 2004.

Ever wondered how beats like Dr Dre and Master P, with clean version lyrics & rap like 2Pac, from a South African independent artist, would sound like? This album “so many things, so little time” by Wal T provides that combination.

I understand that most journalists like you in this music industry are struggling to find good material from South Africa to write about, and that your readers are often anxious to read about fresh music from South Africa. I believe that this album is one of the solutions to these problems.

Hip hop artist/songwriter/producer Wal T is shaking the streets of Johannesburg & Soweto with his debut 17-track album. Born in April 23, 1976, he started writing songs & composing in 1998 at his home studio in Johannesburg, South Africa. After releasing his first album in March 2004, Wal T performed at various clubs around Johannesburg in order to promote his album. He writes all his songs, and he has over 90 songs written to date. He's influenced by the likes of Dr Dre, 2Pac & Master P.

"There are a few catchy tracks, such as Let's go to the strip show, Prove them wrong & Hela chomi... there's no doubt that Wal T is talented..." The Sowetan newspaper (JHB, South Africa)

Fans of electronic-rock veterans Depeche Mode will be excited to hear that the band is currently in Santa Barbara, California, working on a new album.

Still unnamed, the album is the follow-up to the band’s 2001 release, "Exciter." It is set for release sometime in the fall of this year and will be distributed internationally via Mute, and by Reprise/Warner Bros. in North America. Ben Hiller, a producer known for his work with groups including Blur, Elbow and the Doves, is co-producing the record.

"It's a great feeling to be back together in the studio again and we are very excited about the new material," said singer Dave Gahan.

"We're all feeling incredibly positive about the album. Ben Hillier has brought a whole new dynamic to the group which is quite inspiring."

"Exciter" debuted at No. 2 on the European Top 100 Albums chart, while first single "Dream On" was an instant No. 1 in Germany and Italy.

In the U.S., it opened at No. 8 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 421,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

“Remixes 81-04,” a compilation of alternate versions of the group’s better known hits was released by Mute and sold more than 1 million copies worldwide. One of the tracks from the record, a remix of "Enjoy the Silence" by Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda hit No. 1 in Spain and Denmark and reached the top 10 in Germany and the United Kingdom.

Depeche Mode is best known as the quintessential electro-pop band of the 1980s. They were one of the first groups to create music using nothing but synthesizers, beginning as a dance-pop group that developed a sound that was much more dark and dramatic. To this day they are regarded as one of the most successful alternative bands of their era.

From the Beatles' early days in Liverpool to their meteoric rise to fame, Tony Bramwell was along for the ride with the awesome foursome.

In his new book Magical Mystery Tours: My Life with the Beatles, Bramwell chronicles his memories of the group some have called the greatest band of all time.

"If you want to know anything about the Beatles, ask Tony Bramwell. He remembers more than I do," Sir Paul McCartney is reported as saying in a 2002 interview.

LOS ANGELES, CA Tuesday Apr.12.2005 /netmusiccountdown.com/ -- The Kings of Leon are no strangers to touring, having pretty much spent the last two years on the road. Now the Tennessee rock band is currently opening up the North American leg of U2's Vertigo Tour. So what's it like to be the warm-up act for the world's biggest band? Were they scared?

Drummer Nathan Followill tells MTV.com, "I don't know if we were scared. I think it was just more of a confidence thing, you know? It's just playing, just touring our way from San Diego across America. I mean, it's a huge deal, getting offered to go open for the biggest band in the world, especially since we didn't even know that they knew us, much less knew our music. We get to play a lot of big places in front of a lot of Americans, which is unusual for us, so it should be fun."

Nathan jokingly adds, "But Bono, he loves [us]. No, actually I don't know, uh, Bono."

About the U2 frontman, bassist Jared Followill confides, "He's definitely a lot taller in person than you would think. Definitely a lot taller."

The Kings of Leon are on the road to support their latest album "Aha Shake Heartbreak" and mega-band, U2.

Kenny Chesney (bio | tickets | CDs - DVDs - books), who last month launched his "Somewhere in the Sun Tour" with show-openers Gretchen Wilson (bio | tickets | CDs - DVDs - books) and Uncle Kracker (bio | tickets | CDs - DVDs - books) in tow, has added a slew of dates to the run.

The country singer's island-themed outing now stretches through the end of August. Details are included below.

A former cook for Michael Jackson testified yesterday (April 8) that he saw the singer fondling child actor Macaulay Culkin as the two played a "Thriller" video game at his Neverland Valley Ranch in 1991.

Phillip LeMarque told jurors in the pop star's trial on child molestation charges that he found Jackson with one hand down the front of Culkin's pants at about 3 a.m. while delivering a late-night snack of french fries in the arcade room of the estate.

Last month Mp3.tv reported that U2, The Pretenders, The O'Jays, Percy Sledge and blues legend Buddy Guy were inducted into the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Mp3.tv had a chance to visit the Rock Hall in Cleveland last September. We were in awe as we walked through the museum, which features exhibits from nearly every influential artist that has existed since the dawn of rock and roll. Surprisingly, the hall of fame itself is a multimedia presentation featuring a moving tribute to every artist that has been inducted, followed by a walk through a dark corridor lined with backlit signatures of every artist that has been inducted.

New York: Yoga is going hip-hop part of a rampant commercialisation of the ancient exercise in America, where it is being marketed to new inner city audiences at Starbucks-like chains.

Yoga, the 5,000-year-old discipline of exercise, diet and meditation, has exploded into a $3 billion industry in the United States, with urban entertainment impresario Russell Simmons the newest figure to join in.

By Larry Fine

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Yoga is going hip-hop part of a rampant commercialization of the ancient exercise in America, where it is being marketed to new inner city audiences at Starbucks-like chains.

Yoga, the 5,000-year-old Indian discipline of exercise, diet and meditation, has exploded into a $3 billion industry in the United States, with urban entertainment impresario Russell Simmons the newest figure to join in.

Simmonds, the founder of Def Jam Records, released a video series on Wednesday titled, "Yoga Live," with instructions set to 72 tracks of original hip-hop music -- sounds that might have jarred the yogis of bygone days.

Starting today, the University of Chicago’s Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture is holding a three-day conference discussing feminism in Hip-Hop.

Academics, feminist activists, music video producers, performers and record company executives are slated to attend the conference. Participants will include model Melyssa Ford, The Source’s former editor-in-chief Kim Osorio, writer Akiba Solomon, dance choreographer Rokafella and other notable industry women. The event generated so much interest that the school had to close registration.

The Musikverein, one of Europe's most prestigious concert houses, is investigating whether it has discovered a previously unknown score by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, state television reported Wednesday.

Using high-tech equipment and archival research, international experts are examining note sheets that bear his name to determine if they are authentic.

"Some things are for it and some against it," Otto Biba, archive director of the Society of Musical Friends of Vienna, was quoted by state television as saying.

The Musikverein, traditionally a showcase for classical performances, was not immediately available for comment. It did not say how the note sheets were discovered.

The experts hope to deliver their assessment by next year. Austria has designated 2006 as a year of festivities to mark the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth.

Biba insisted the discovery had nothing to do with the upcoming celebrations.

"This is in no way a gag for Mozart year," Biba said.

Dust off your glow-in-the-dark binky and buy stock in Red Bull, because The Crystal Method (bio | CDs - DVDs - books) is back with a new album that boasts enough big, block-rocking beats to fuel an airplane-hanger-sized rave.

The Method men follow up 2004's successful "Legion of Boom," which received a Grammy nomination in the new Best Electronic/Dance Album category, with the second installment of their ongoing break-beat series. While the first release focused primarily on remixed works by contemporary artists such as Rage Against the Machine, P.O.D. and Garbage, "Community Service II" stays on the old-school tip as Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland funk up tracks by The Doors and New Order.
It isn't much of a stretch to imagine Crystal Method having its way with New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle" in the DJ booth. However, it's somewhat startling to hear Jim Morrison drive his big, Harley-sized voice through the clutter of disco beats and swirling, new-wave sounds on "The Crystal Method vs. The Doors," which is built very shakily upon the classic "Roadhouse Blues."

Crystal Method receives plenty of help on "Community Service II" from such break-beat producers as U.N.K.L.E., Evil Nine and the New Originals, whose mix of the Smashing Pumpkins' "1979" ranks as perhaps the disc's best track.

RYAN ADAMS has confirmed the tracklisting for his first album of 2005.

Ryan Adams And The Cardinals release double album ‘Cold Roses’ on May 3, ahead of full length solo releases from Adams later this year.

The Cardinals are credited as guitarists JP Bowersock and Cindy Cashdollar, bassist Catherine Popper and drummer Brad Pemberton.

The tracklisting for ‘Cold Roses’ is:

Despite the recent emergence of literate, topic-driven rappers like Kanye West, Talib Kweli, and the Roots, hip-hop remains a genre that subsists largely on messages of hyper-machismo, lechery, violence, and crass materialism. But for a brief, shining period in time -- from about 1988 to 1992 -- rappers bragged not about how much "bling" they had or how many people they shot, but about how intelligent they were.

01 Apr 2005 British pop icon, Robbie Williams, is currently working on his new studio album with the help of Velvet Revolver/former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash.

Slash, real name Saul Hudson, is originally from Stoke On Trent and both he and Robbie still support local football team Port Vale.

A source close to Robbie told Metal Hammer "The pair met on the terraces of Vale Park last year where the idea for a collaboration first came up."

Tim McGraw, the American Red Cross and State Farm Insurance will promote the Neighbors Give Life blood drive through Sept. 5 in an effort to increase the nation's blood supply. Red Cross officials say there is less than half of the 7-10-day blood supply needed in the event of a national disaster. Only 5 percent of Americans who are eligible to give blood now donate. The sponsors are offering prizes to donors, including tickets to McGraw's concerts and autographed McGraw CDs. State Farm donated $1 million to the Red Cross to start the program.

Country legend Willie Nelson (bio | tickets | CDs - DVDs - books)--whose record label accurately describes as "always on tour"--keeps up his busy pace with some spring and summer roadwork.

After wrapping up his current European trek, Nelson returns to the states for a stretch of April and May U.S. stops, then turns his attention to Canada for a batch of July performances. A handful of September U.S. shows are also planned. His itinerary is included below.
Though the 71-year-old singer/songwriter--who plays about 250 shows per year--doesn't need a reason to tour, his latest outing backs a recently released best-of set titled "Songs," which houses 20 of his previously released hits.

On April 12, "Tsunami Relief: From Austin to South Asia"--a CD and DVD recorded during Nelson's Jan. 9 benefit concert in Austin, TX--lands in stores; all of the profits will benefit the tsunami-relief efforts of C.A.R.E. and UNICEF, according to Nelson's label website.

In addition to Nelson, "Tsunami Relief" features performances by The Joe Ely Band, Spoon, Patti Griffin, Alejandro Escovedo, Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis, among others.

Nelson's most-recent studio album is last year's "I Always Will Be."