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Music News Archives for 2015-10

Its Beginning to Sound A Lot Like Christmas!

SARAH McLACHLAN: Headlines Another X-Mas Benefit
 
Sarah McLachlan will headline a holiday benefit on December 4th at New York's Carnegie Hall.
 
Tim Janis's The American Christmas Carol will include performances by actor-singers Ioan Gruffudd and Zachary Levi, backed by an orchestra and a 200 person choir. Proceeds from the show will go to Kate Winslet’s Golden Hat Foundation, which helps people with autism, and The Sarah McLachlan School of Music.
 
 
LEON BRIDGES: New Song for Will Smith Film
 
Leon Bridges will have a brand new song in an upcoming Will Smith film.
 
"So Long" will be featured in Concussion, which stars Smith as the doctor who discovered CTE, a football-related brain trauma, in NFL players and fought to get his work acknowledged by the sport. The song will be released on November 20th, with Concussion opening in theaters on Christmas Day.
 
 
MUSE: Announce More Dates
 
Muse have added a bunch of shows to their North American tour.
 
The trek is broken up into two legs. The first runs from December 1st in Houston through the 19th in Los Angeles, with Phantogram as the opener. The second runs from January 14th in Detroit through February 1st in Washington, D.C. at the Verizon Center, with X Ambassadors opening. All the concerts will have Muse performing in the round.
 
Tickets for the new dates go on sale Friday.
 
 
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: House Where Born to Run Album Written For Sale
 
You can now buy the house where Bruce Springsteen wrote his Born to Run album for under $300,000.
 
Springsteen lived in the Long Branch, New Jersey two-bedroom in 1974 and '75 and is said to have written all the songs for his breakthrough album there. Billboard reports that it's been owned since 2009 by three fans who intended to turn it into some kind of shrine to The Boss, but weren't able to. The asking price is $299,000.
 
 
ADELE: Teases New Song on British TV   
 
Adele unveiled a snippet of her first new music since her 2012 theme for the James Bond film "Skyfall" on Sunday.
 
The reveal came by way of a 30-second ad spot shown during a commercial break of X Factor UK on Sunday. The unnamed song was played while its lyrics scrolled across a black background in white lettering. Accompanied by piano, Adele sang:
 
"Hello it's me/I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet to go over everything/They say that time's supposed to heal ya, but I ain't done much healing."
 
There were no other graphics or indication of who the singer was except Adele's unmistakable voice. The rumored date for her new album, which is expected to be titled 25, is November 20th, though her label has not confirmed it. (Metro)
 
 
GRATEFUL DEAD: Lesh Has Bladder Cancer
 
Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh has bladder cancer.
 
He says he was diagnosed earlier this month and has been at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona undergoing tests and preparing for surgery to remove the tumors.
 
"I am very fortunate to have the pathology reports show that the tumors are all non-aggressive, and that there is no indication that they have spread...all is well and I can return to normal activities in two weeks from my surgery."
 
However, he has had to cancel the Phil Lesh & Friends shows scheduled for October 24th and 25th with Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson. Lesh promises to reschedule the shows "as soon as we can." He also plans to do some shows at his Terrapin Crossroads club and restaurant in San Rafael, California.
 
Lesh had a liver transplant in 1998 due to chronic hepatitis C and prostate cancer surgery in 2006. 
 
 
YOKO ONO: Says John Lennon Considered Bisexuality
 
Yoko Ono touched on a range of topics in a lengthy interview this week with The Daily Beast. But the comments people will talk 
about revolve around John Lennon's sexuality.
 
She recalls, "John and I had a big talk about it, saying, basically, all of us must be bisexual. And we were sort of in a situation of thinking that we’re not [bisexual] because of society. So we are hiding the other side of ourselves, which is less acceptable. But I don’t have a strong sexual desire towards another woman."
 
What about the old rumor that Lennon had sex with Beatles manager Brian Epstein -- which was also the subject of the 1991 film The Hours and the Times? John once was quoted, "It was almost a love affair, but not quite. It was never consummated. But it was a pretty intense relationship." Though Yoko doesn't believe John and Brian were ever intimate, she is "sure Epstein made a move," but Lennon "just didn’t want to do it, I think."
 
Yoko believes John "had a desire to [have sex with a man], but I think he was too inhibited." She quotes him saying, "It’s very difficult: They would have to be not just physically attractive, but mentally very advanced, too. And you can’t find people like that."
 
 
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS: Kiedis is Dying to Play New Stuff
 
Anthony Kiedis says Red Hot Chili Peppers can't wait to share their new songs with the world.
 
The singer says the group decided to not do any of their new songs at Saturday's Silverlake Conservatory of Music benefit concert because "every single human has a recording device on them at all times." But Kiedis tells Rolling Stone that their sessions are going very well and "we’ve written some songs that I feel are as good as any songs we’ve ever written."
 
The group isn't working with Rick Rubin for the first time in over 20 years, opting instead to team up with Danger Mouse. Kiedis says, "He's very good about coming up with super-modern ideas, but he'll also touch on the acoustic guitar in the control room and strip the song down to its acoustic essentials."
 
 
TRACY CHAPMAN: Bringing the Hits
 
Tracy Chapman has assembled the first compilation of her career.
 
Greatest Hits, due out November 20th, includes newly remastered tracks from all eight of her studio albums. In addition to hits like "Fast Car," "Crossroads" and "Give Me One Reason," the album contains a cover of "Stand by Me" recorded during one of the final episodes of The Late Show With David Letterman.
 
 
FLORENCE + THE MACHINE: Up for Big U.K. Award
 
Florence and the Machine are up for England's most prestigious music award.
 
The group's How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful has been nominated for the Mercury Prize, which honors the best album of the year as chosen by a panel of British music critics and people working in the industry. Florence Welch and company were nominated for the same award in 2009 for Lungs but didn't win.
 
This year's prize will be given out on November 20th in London.
 
 
PATTI SMITH: Long-Ago Stolen Items Returned
 
Patti Smith received an unexpected surprise at a recent appearance.
 
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee was on stage Sunday at Illinois Dominican University when she was given a bag of items by a fan -- items that has been stolen from a truck outside a Chicago hotel during a 1979 tour. Among them were the Keith Richard T-shirt she wore in a Rolling Stone magazine cover photo and a bandanna given to her by her late brother.
 
Smith fan Noreen Bender says she obtained the items years ago -- apparently unaware they'd been stolen -- and gave them back to Patti during the show. According to a blogger who was there, Patti got weepy while telling stories and reading from her new book M Train. As the night went on, "after she piled everything on the podium, she couldn't stop touching [the items], eventually slowly slipping the bandana into her pocket...and proceeded to do a ripping version of 'Because the Night' with her son on acoustic guitar. (BBC)
 
 
 

 

Has it really been 20 years?

GOO GOO DOLLS: A Boy Named Reissue
 
Yes, Goo Goo Dolls fans, it's been 20 years since the release of A Boy Named Goo -- and the band is planning a deluxe reissue to celebrate.
 
The revamped album will feature seven previously unreleased tracks -- a mix of acoustic recordings and covers. It'll be available on vinyl, on CD and as a digital release, and will be out on November 27th. Fans who pre-order it will get an instant download of a live version of "Long Way Down."
 
On October 23rd, the hit single "Dizzy Up the Girl" will be released on vinyl for the first time.
 
 
VH1 BEST MUSIC OF 2015: Miguel, Tori Kelly, George Ezra and More
 
Miguel, Tori Kelly, George Ezra and Hozier are on the bill for Best Music of 2015: You Oughta Know. The annual VH1 showcase of emerging artists will also include performances by James Bay, Nate Ruess, Rachel Platten, Elle King and X Ambassadors.
 
The concert airs on November 12th at 9 PM (ET) live on VH1.
 
 
CARLOS SANTANA: How to Change the Mind of a Killer
 
Carlos Santana has commented on Thursday's shooting-spree at an Oregon college and offered a plan to try to change the minds of those who are contemplating doing the same thing. 
 
He writes on his social media feeds: "Yes! Enough is enough. People, let’s change the mindset of a mass murder suicide monster."
 
A) Create and erect billboards in city's road highways that touch the heart center core of those who are contemplating the unspeakable act of mass murder and destroying innocent lives.
 
Ingrain in the brain and mind positive affirmations that changes fear, hurt, anger, pain, loneliness, vengeance and revenge with words that have the power to give back the glorious feeling of knowing you are a beam of light with the sole purpose to bring love, compassion, patience, mercy, generosity, kindness and healing. Words like: I am significant; I am meaningful; I can rock the world’s foundation doing good, great and wonderful deeds; I am worthy of the highest good abundance of blessings and miracles; I am capable of creating miracles and offering blessings.
B) Utilize music to touch people's hearts in only the most loving and positive ways. Put love into the lyrics, intention, vibration and soul of the music that we may help people from inside out -- from the spiritual to the physical.
 
Examples of songs:
"Imagine" - John Lennon
"One Love" - Bob Marley
"A Love Supreme" - John Coltrane
"A Change Is Gonna Come" - Sam Cooke
"All You Need Is Love" - The Beatles
"What's Going On" - Marvin Gaye
"Wonderful World" / "Over the Rainbow" - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
Add all these songs to radio all day and night. Work with Live Nation for billboards, radio, TV commercials and airplay.
 
C) Be a living, breathing, walking, talking real life example of love... Be loving in only the most appropriate ways -- be compassionate, kind, forgiving, caring and sharing.
 
 
BIG HEAD TODD & THE MONSTERS: Live Disc, Live Dates
 
Big Head Todd and The Monsters have released their third concert album: Live at Red Rocks June 6, 2015. And with the release comes the announcement of a 2016 tour, which will get under way on January 12th in Salt Lake City and currently extends through late March.
 
All the dates can be found on the band's website, BigHeadTodd.com.
 
 
RAY DAVIES: Beatles or the Stones?   
 
Ray Davies was asked on BBC 2 Radio Friday morning to choose between The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
 
Having shared bills with both groups, he opted for The Beatles, calling them "a better rock band. The Stones are more of a groove band."
 
Host Chris Evans then asked him to choose between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Ray went with Lennon. Asked to choose between Lennon and George Harrison, Ray said, "John was a beautiful person. George was a sweet person... I like sweet things."
 
 
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS: Frusciante's Ex Wants Big Bucks
 
Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante has been blindsided by a lawsuit from his ex-wife, who thinks he can afford to pay her $75,000 per month in support.
 
Nicole Frusciante, who filed for divorce from the musician back in May, initially took a small lump sum payment, but TMZ says she's changed her mind and now wants a much bigger payday. She says that Frusciante, who recently announced that he'd be putting out all his future releases for free, is worth $14 million and can afford it.