Music News Blog

Although only one of them was named on the ticket, there were two beard-y Thompsons on stage at the Lyric Hammersmith.
At the front on acoustic guitar and sporting a black beret - which by some strange wardrobe accident made him look more military than muso - there was Richard Thompson, the renowned singer-songwriter and guitar ace. Behind him stood Danny (no relation), the equally illustrious jazz double-bassist, whose fierce stare of concentration bizarrely recalled that of Sigmund Freud.

The pair had joined forces once again to perform a brief run of UK theatre dates promoting Richard's latest album, Front Parlour Ballads. The fact that this release was recorded entirely solo by R Thompson in the garage of his LA home scarcely mattered to a two-hour concert that largely favoured old material.

Now 56 and with nearly 40 albums under his belt, Thompson has an enormous repertoire at his disposal, and after despatching For Whose Sake?, Precious One and Let it Blow, the Richard and Danny show shunted Front Parlour Ballads onto the back seat and got stuck into the catalogue. Since he acquired his prodigious musical versatility back in the 1960s, as the teenage lead guitarist with Fairport Convention, only veteran Thompson watchers would have noticed the transition.

Whether he was playing old favourites such as Two Left Feet and Al Bowlly's In Heaven, or a plaintive new song, When We Were Boys at School, Thompson hypnotised the adoring crowd with his extraordinary technique. Nobody can make the acoustic guitar sound so menacing. Using a plectrum on damped strings while finger-picking at the same time, he sounded like two guitarists on the Appalachian-styled ballad, 1952 Vincent Black Lightning.

His bass player scored the odd solo but most of what D Thompson played was bowed, supplying a deep textural rumble to earth the proceedings.

Richard's adenoidal vocals can be a bit of a trial for those who don't share his folk roots but the surprise appearance of his daughter Kamila, with whom he duetted on three encores, ended the evening on a high, sweet note.

When Michael Penn began writing his latest release, Mr. Hollywood Jr. 1947, he was inspired by the usual observations on love and life that have formed much of his previous work. But this time around, with the war in Iraq, his distaste for the Bush presidency and a fascination with American history, he found his creative vision being traced back to the year 1947. This may seem a little weird, but as Penn explains, 1947 has a number of historical parallels with the modern day, culminating in an album mixing historical events, timeless stories of relationships and witty social commentaries.

"The record is not about any of the things that happened in 1947, it's about people and the same things I always write about, which is how fucked up we all are, trying to love somebody," he says. "I was thinking about Los Angeles and all the traumas that I have now, what it would have been like to be the guy coming back from war then, trying to rebuild a relationship with that trauma under my belt."

Singer Justin Timberlake has accepted "substantial", undisclosed libel damages over allegations that he had a secret fling with a model behind the back of girlfriend Cameron Diaz.

His solicitor, Simon Smith, told Mr Justice Fulford in the High Court in London, that publication of the allegations in the News of the World in July 2004 had caused damage to the performer's "personal and professional reputations".

The article went into detail regarding the alleged sexual encounters which "model and aspiring actress" Lucy Clarkson claimed had taken place between Timberlake and her "despite it being public knowledge that the claimant was involved in a long-term relationship with Ms Diaz at the relevant time".

Mr Smith, who said the singer was donating the damages to charity, told the judge: "The newspaper now accepts that all the allegations complained of are entirely untrue and without any substance.

When Sarah McLachlan’s not writing music or donating her time to organizations like Comic Relief, Film Aid, and Heifer International, her music is inspiring DJs, remixers, engineers, and producers around the globe. In fact, such diverse talents as the Thievery Corporation, will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas, Junior Boys have all loaned their skills for Sarah's second album of remixes, entitled Bloom, set to arrive in stores on September 6th via J Records.

Most of the tracks are highly recognizable classics from albums like Fumbling Toward Ecstacy and Afterglow, however a previously un-released collaboration with DMC of Run DMC also makes its way onto this remix record. The Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas Mix of Just Like Me (DMC featuring Sarah McLachlan), channels Harry Chapin’s classic Cat’s In the Cradle and puts it head-to-head with the imagination of Run-DMC’s co-founder Darryl McDaniels and his new partner.

Sarah’s most recent US performance was at Museum Of Art in Philadelphia on July 2nd, to perform as part of the North American lineup at Live 8: The Long Walk To Justice. The once-in-a-lifetime all-star event, organized by Sir Bob Geldof on the 20th anniversary of the Live Aid concerts, also featured performances by Coldplay, Pink Floyd, Kaiser Chiefs, Green Day, and Stevie Wonder.

The SCISSOR SISTERS have concluded their set tonight (August 20) at V FESTIVAL surrounded by super furry animals, though not the Welsh band.

Climaxing the first day at the Staffordshire leg , Scissor Sisters ended their set with a host of Muppet-esque creatures and a giant set of scissors.

Describing their set as a “an extra special shot, straight to your booty, of love”, Scissor Sisters treated fans to a selection of favourites including ’Laura’ and ’Take You Mama Out’ as well as playing several new songs for fans.

The Scissor Sisters have played a series of secret gigs in recent weeks in both London and New York to prepare new songs for their V Festival slot, and tracks ’Paul McCartney’, ’Hair Baby’ and ’Everybody Wants’ which was first played at Live 8, earned a favourable reception from the Weston Park crowd.

Having begun their set with Ana Matronic demanding “the head of crazy frog”, the Scissor Sisters then concluded their main stage set with their own cartoon creations, with friends of the band dressing up in garish monster costumes as the band played ’Music Is The Victim’.

A rumoured collaboration between Scissor Sisters and Franz Ferdinand however did not take place.

For a full review of this year’s V Festival from both sites see the issue of NME out on August 23 in London and nationwide the next day.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The violent rap lyrics that got their teenage author expelled from school are typical of a genre that emphasizes verbal jousting, not necessarily a prelude to violent action, an expert told a federal judge.

Anthony Latour, 14, was expelled from the eighth grade in mid-May for the lyrics, which he wrote outside of school. The American Civil Liberties Union is trying to get him reinstated when classes begin Aug. 31 in the Riverside Beaver County School District.

At a hearing Thursday, ACLU attorney Kim Watterson said Latour's words, although violent, had to be taken in context of ``battle rap,'' a genre in which rappers try to outdo one another with ``these flexing of lyrical muscles.''

The ads for Lennon, the benign new musical celebrating the life of pop superstar John Lennon, proclaim: "His words. His music. His story."

What seems to be missing, though, is the man himself - and any sense of theatricality. Instead, what we get is a bland stage biography, much of it recited directly to the audience, while a hardworking cast does its best to sell more than two dozen of Lennon's songs, a majority of them from the post-Beatles era.

But then, this unsurprising examination of Lennon is filtered through the prism of his widow, Yoko Ono, who arrived on the scene after the Beatles' biggest successes. She gave her blessing and, reportedly, her considerable input to the project, which opened Sunday at the Broadhurst Theatre after several postponements.

As a pioneer in online Hip-Hop sinc 1992, Davey D was one of the few trailblazers to successfully bring Hip-Hop culture -- and specifically Bay Area Hip-Hop -- to the web. Now, with successful careers in both radio and journalism, Davey D's dynamic political perspectives and intense reporting makes him a player to watch for 2005.

Davey D never planned on being a journalist. In fact, instead, he wanted to be a radio DJ. While attending the University of Berkeley in California, he tried getting his foot through the door by launching a newsletter called the Davey D Beat Report. It opened dosors like he never imagined.

OutKast principal Big Boi is ramping up for the launch of his Purple Ribbon imprint via Virgin. The first release will be a compilation from the Purple Ribbon All-Stars on Oct. 4, led by the single "Kryptonite" featuring Big Boi, Killer Mike, C-Bone and Rock D. It will be followed later in the fall by new albums from Killer Mike and former Interscope rapper Bubba Sparxxx ("Space Mountain").

Beyond those acts, Janelle Monet and Koncrete, Big Boi tells Billboard.com Purple Ribbon has also signed Sleepy Brown and is in the process of securing the services of veteran Southern rap act Goodie Mob. The artist is expected to hold a press conference to discuss the label Friday (Aug. 12) in Atlanta along with Killer Mike, Sparxxx, Brown, Monet and Koncrete.

Citigroup banker by day, hip-hop performer by night, Terence Bradford says, " Trust me, it's all the same hustle."

In an underground hip-hop club on Manhattan's Bowery, a twentysomething crowd grooves to a heavy bass. The emcee introduces the next amateur rapper: "Give it up for Billy Shakes!" A compact 30-year-old in a baggy white T-shirt and oversized jeans takes the stage:

Your coke illegal ever' day of the year.
My Coke I buy legit at $20 a share.
You a gangsta? Then go get your paper.
I'm a paper gangsta getting stock quotes on my pager.
Stocks and drugs both the same in my eyes.
More buyers than the sellers cause the market to rise.

Audience members nod their heads in time to his punchy delivery. "Oh, yeah," says a girl in a Billy Shakes cap.

I know y'all out there really click-clackin' your guns.
Hang wit' me I'll have you stik-stackin mutual funds.
Thousands on a whip [car] don't make you a star.
I'm buying options on the companies that makin' them cars.
Come on! Get stocks and bonds.

It looks like "Hicktown" just got a little bit more crowded as Jason Aldean sold 28,726 copies of his self-titled debut album in its first week of release, entering the Billboard country albums chart at No. 6. Meanwhile, "Hicktown" -- co-written by Big & Rich and Vicki McGehe -- climbs to No. 20 on the trade publication's country singles chart. It's the second breakthrough success for Broken Bow Records, an independent label whose flagship artist is Craig Morgan.

Meanwhile, Rascal Flatts' Feels Like Home overtakes Toby Keith's Honkytonk University for the top slot, with Keith Urban's Be Here at No. 3. George Strait's Somewhere Down in Texas slips to No. 4, and Sugarland's Twice the Speed of Life holds at No. 5.

Keith's Greatest Hits 2 lands at No. 7 this week, just ahead of Gretchen Wilson's Here for the Party at No. 8, Kenny Chesney's When the Sun Goes Down at No. 9 and Big & Rich's Horse of a Different Color at No. 10.

For the fourth week, Keith's "As Good As I Once Was" retains its No. 1 position atop the country singles airplay chart, with Sugarland's "Something More" persistently clutching the No. 2 slot. Faith Hill's "Mississippi Girl" inches up to No. 3, trailed by Rascal Flatts' "Fast Cars and Freedom" at No. 4 and Brooks & Dunn's "Play Something Country" at No. 5.