Prince is planning to release three new albums in 2009 without the assistance of a record label, according to an interview with the Los Angeles Times. A “major retailer” is in talks with the artist to release the music physically, while a new Prince Web site will sell it in digital form.
Wilco will release their first concert DVD, “Ashes of American Flags,” chronicling visits to Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and Tulsa, Okla.’s Cain’s Ballroom in February 2008. The project is due in February or March, just in advance of the next Wilco studio album, which the band is now recording.
Among the ranks of best-loved operas, Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" sits on the top tier. There is something about the betrayed, imperiled Cio-Cio-San and Violetta that touches the heart in the most profound way.
Prince is planning to release three new albums in 2009 without the assistance of a record label, according to an interview with the Los Angeles Times. A “major retailer” is in talks with the artist to release the music physically, while a new Prince Web site will sell it in digital form.
NEW YORK---- The final note of Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign may very well be sung by Jon Bon Jovi.
If the fervor incited by Hum's New Year's Eve reunion show fell short of a Beatles appearance, it wasn't far from the mark in some corners of the sold-out Double Door. As the band launched "Afternoon with the Axolotls" from its 1998 swan song "Downward Is Heavenward," tears were witnessed. Deities were audibly invoked by audience members, who had traveled from all corners of North America. Clearly, Hum has been missed.
It was easy to spot Trans-Siberian Orchestra musical director/guitarist Al Pitrelli backstage following the band's recent concert at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. He was the one wearing a bulky knee brace and hopping around on metal crutches.
Here's a list of upcoming concerts and shows going on sale this weekend or already on sale:
Music brought them together, and on New Year's Eve, Gina Glocksen and Joe Ruzicka were wed at the chapel at Naper Settlement in a tune-filled ceremony. After more than a year of planning, the "American Idol" finalist and Neuqua Valley High School science teacher exchanged vows in front of a standing room-only crowd at the Gothic Revival-style chapel built more than 140 years ago.
A number of high profile musicians have made enormous dents on YouTube: Soulja Boy, Rihanna, the Jonas Brothers and Chris Brown among them. But Beyonce is giving them all a run for their money. Her video for “If I Were a Boy” has been watched by more than 34 million on the video-sharing site.
A Chicago DJ who wrote the hit dance song "The Cha Cha Slide" sued his record label Wednesday for allegedly not paying him royalties, according to court papers.
Happy New Year from Microsoft Corp.: Your Zune is dead. Thousands of Microsoft’s Zune media players — the software company’s answer to Apple Inc.’s iPod — unexpectedly conked out today and showed users an error message, prompting references to “Y2K for Zunes.” The problems appeared when people tried to start up their devices.
Rapper Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter III” is far and away the top seller of 2008, netting 2.88 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. However, it’s the first time the best selling album of the year has sold less than 3 million since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991.
DJs and bands are swapping hats frequently these days, and many artists now switch back and forth between their Will Smith side and their Jazzy Jeff side.
''Theater of the Mind,'' the new album by Ludacris, fuses his two careers in rap and acting. He taps television and movies for song ideas and uses a broad range of co-stars to help tell the stories. ''Perception is reality, so each song is very theatrical,'' says Ludacris (a k a Chris Bridges), 31, who had two recent film releases, ''Max Payne'' and ''RocknRolla.''
Jim James has a name that makes him sound like an outlaw, except then he sings and out comes the sound of a sensitive boy, high and yearning; when his voice bellows and whoops, it is primal and full of joy. James is the unlikely star of My Morning Jacket, which played the first of two nights Saturday at the Chicago Theatre.
It doesn't seem fair to George Jones, this circumstance in which people stand and cheer him for who he is and what he's done. They did that recently at the gleaming John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as the Washington power elite hailed Jones as a performer of uncommon cultural relevance, while the man once nicknamed "No Show" stood just a few paces from the president of the United States.
If there is any upside to these dire, perilous and truly frightening economic times, it is this: History has shown us that music is one of the only things in life that seems to be recession- (and depression-) proof. In fact, it thrives in times of crisis.
Once again, Colombian superstar Juanes dominated the Latin music world. This year alone, he staged the Concierto Paz Sin Fronteras (Peace Without Borders) on a bridge between Colombia and Venezuela, which drew more than 100,000 fans in March. Then he gave a free holiday concert, which attracted 150,000, in his hometown, Medellin, last week. Named MTV Latin America's Artist of the Year, Juanes went on to sweep this year's Latin Grammys with "La Vida ... Es Un Ratico" (released in October 2007, it continued to dominate the airwaves this year). El Tiempo, Colombia's leading newspaper, even cited Juanes as the nation's "most influential person."
THE NEW YORK RADIO SHOW "SOUNDCHECK" asked me to list the worst/most overrated albums of the year. Here is my tally of 10 -- chosen largely for the fact that they were so relentlessly crammed down our throats as good instead of bad. They're ranked in no particular order because, let's face it, they are all rank enough already. -- Jim DeRogatis
In 2008, the blues albums that resonated the strongest with me were almost all made by '60s icons. I wondered whether I've become too set in my ways to respond to new music -- until I saw the overall quality on this list. The following 10 albums, ranked alphabetically by artist, are towering achievements among a deep, memorable field. That's surprising, coming in a year where blues moguls traded in their long black Caddies and Cuban stogies for vintage Pintos and roll-your-own cigarettes.
When T-Pain and his synthesized vocals made their debut with the songs ‘‘I’m Sprung’’ and ‘‘I’m N Luv (Wit A Stripper)’’ three years ago, most people dismissed the hits as novelties and expected the self-proclaimed ‘‘rappa ternt sanga’’ to be just a memory in a matter of time. So did T-Pain.
DULUTH, Ga. -- When T-Pain and his synthesized vocals made their debut with the songs ''I'm Sprung'' and ''I'm N Luv (Wit A Stripper)'' three years ago, most people dismissed the hits as novelties and expected the self-proclaimed ''rappa ternt sanga'' to be just a memory in a matter of time.
Jim DeRogatis: As another long year of clubbing and concert-going comes to an end, it’s time to look back on the best moments of the 360 days just passed. Here is my tally of the 10 most memorable shows I reviewed in 2008, listed in chronological order — including Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, Weezer, Wire, AC/DC and more.
Mandy Patinkin won a Tony Award in 1980 for his breakthrough role on Broadway, playing Che Guevara to Patti LuPone's Eva Peron in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Evita." Since then, he has starred on Broadway ("Sunday in the Park with George" and, this fall, "The Tempest"), television ("Chicago Hope," "Criminal Minds"), film ("The Princess Bride") and in concert.
As Eminem works on his long-awaited new album, “Relapse,” he is enjoying being back with his old collaborator Dr. Dre. “Me and Dre are back in the lab like the old days, man,” Eminem says via e-mail. “Just him banging away on tracks and me getting that little spark that makes me write to it. I don’t have chemistry like that with anyone else as far as producers go — not even close.” Dre put his own album, “Detox,” on the back burner to help bring the project to completion in time for release next spring.
Whether you need to crank something on the stereo as a means of ejecting the last, lingering holiday party guests, or whether you just want to induce a spit-take from grandma, the annals of recorded holiday music offer numerous shocking, depressing and entirely inappropriate Christmas songs.
SEATTLE -- A smashed guitar from the late grunge rocker Kurt Cobain has been sold to an unidentified private collector for $100,000.
NEW YORK -- Heartbreaking, emotional songs like "Love" and "I Remember" helped make Keyshia Cole one of R&B's most popular stars. But while those songs resonate with millions of fans, the soul sensation says she can't stand to listen to them anymore. Cole says she's tired of singing those same old sad love songs. So on her new CD, "A Different Me," Cole introduces her "sexier" side. The disc debuted last week with sales of 322,000, her most successful launch ever.
LOS ANGELES -- Jazz pianist and singer Page Cavanaugh, whose popular trio in the 1940s and 1950s played in motion pictures and on Frank Sinatra's radio show, has died at 86.
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band will put out a greatest-hits album next month, and the only place to get it will be Wal-Mart. The disc, exclusively available at the discount store chain, will arrive Jan. 13, two weeks prior to the group's new studio album, "Working on a Dream."
The stock market is in the tank, the plant is closing and the neighbor is losing his home ... the perfect time to go to a concert, by one measure. The concert business grossed just under $4 billion worldwide in 2008, the most ever for a year and up almost 13 percent over last year, according to Billboard magazine.
"This song is dedicated to Debbie Harry," flinty-eyed Lisa Hsuan purrs into a microphone on the red-lit stage of Hyperion Tavern. It's a cozy dive where patrons drink Coke and beer from bottles and a fading chandelier dangles overhead. Her tribute is intentionally ludicrous: The 30-year-old veterinarian is about to belt out "Call Me," which Harry -- fronting the group Blondie -- released 28 years ago.
As Eminem works on his long-awaited new album, "Relapse," he is enjoying being back with his old collaborator Dr. Dre.
Next up on the "Guitar Hero" stage, enter Metallica. The legendary hard rockers are providing the latest riff on "Guitar Hero," with a game based on their music expected in stores during the first half of 2009. "Us being a pretty guitar-oriented band, I think we were pretty much destined to do something with 'Guitar Hero,' " says guitarist Kirk Hammett.
LOS ANGELES---- The group representing the U.S. recording industry said Friday it has abandoned its policy of suing people for sharing songs protected by copyright and will work with Internet service providers to cut abusers' access if they ignore repeated warnings.
U2’s twelfth studio album, “No Line on the Horizon,” will arrive March 3 from Interscope. A track list for the set, which was produced by Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois and Steve Lillywhite, has not been announced. Following sessions in Fez, Dublin and New York, “No Line on the Horizon” was originally expected to be released before the end of 2008, but U2 was not fully satisfied with the material and continued working.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Now you can test your pipes against Elvis Presley in private, and if you like what you hear, you can share it free with your friends via e-mail.
Jim DeRogatis: Not that any of us need any more evidence of the severity of this country's economic woes, but a quick scan of this year's musical New Year's Eve celebrations is ample testament to how much all of us are cutting back: I cannot recall a quieter New Year's in Chicago in terms of high-profile rock celebrations.
LOS ANGELES — The group representing the U.S. music industry says it will abandon its policy of suing people for sharing songs protected by copyright.
Even with inflation, 50 Cent is worth a fortune. The platinum-selling artist is among the richest rappers in history, selling more than 21 million copies combined of his last three CDs. However, most of his money has been made elsewhere.
The Chicago music community is preparing to have a ball on the eve of Barack Obama's inauguration in Washington. The Hideout roadhouse will co-host "The Big Shoulders Ball: Chicago Celebrates Change" at 7 p.m. Jan. 19 at the Black Cat, D.C.'s premier independent music club. Featured performers include Andrew Bird, Tortoise, the Waco Brothers, Eleventh Dream Day, Jon Langford, Sally Timms, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Ken Vandermark, Freakwater, Icy Demons and Judson Clairborne, plus guests to be announced.
Behind an unmarked door on a nondescript street in an industrial part of town is Scott Weiland’s second home: an old machine shop he transformed into his dream studio. This is where Weiland’s second solo album, an ambitious double-CD almost 10 years in the making, was born. ‘‘This album is really my heart and soul,’’ Weiland says.
As Simon Cowell describes it, adding a second female judge to "American Idol" has brought a battle-of-the-sexes edge to the new season. "You've got two girls ganging up on you," he said of newcomer Kara DioGuardi and series veteran Paula Abdul. "One is hard enough; two is unbearable." But with Randy Jackson at his side, Cowell told reporters Wednesday, "it's not that bad."
So much for bringing Chicago music along to Washington. Aretha Franklin will sing, Pastor Rick Warren will pray and Yo-Yo Ma will play the cello during President-elect Barack Obama’s Inauguration. Congressional leaders today announced the program, which also will feature poet Elizabeth Alexander; the Rev. Joseph Lowery, a veteran civil rights leader; and the U.S. Marine and Navy bands.
Super-diva Celine Dion opened her concert Tuesday night at the United Center with a rousing rendition of Cyndi Lauper's 1989 hit "I Drove All Night." That title could serve as a hyperbolic description of motorists' long journey through the slush-filled streets to arrive at the venue during Tuesday's snowstorm.
Paige Wiser: Professionally, Rihanna and Chris Brown couldn't be more high-profile. She has just been named Billboard's Top Female Artist of the Year, and he earned both Top Male Artist and Top Artist of the Year. The 19-year-old Brown helped write her hit "Disturbia," and during her recent tour of Australia and New Zealand, he joined Rihanna nightly onstage for "Umbrella."
Still riding high on the success of his 2007 set “Exclusive,” which has sold 1.9 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, Chris Brown is wrapping up a banner 2008. Not only did he snare two more Grammy Award nominations, he emerges as Billboard’s top pop artist of the year.
You practice, practice, practice. You're chosen for the U.S. Marine Band known as "The President's Own," then eventually land in the fabled trumpet section of the world-famous Chicago Symphony Orchestra. And 12 years in that gig, where do you wind up? Cavorting on the stage of Symphony Center with your CSO colleagues, playing a trumpet made out of a garden hose, funnel and other supplies you picked up at Home Depot and the Container Store.
Our annual holiday music round-up: The season of wonder is very much on the minds of the musicians putting out new holiday albums this season. With typical jazzy flair, Harry Connick Jr. notes that it's the most wonderful time of the year. Winter's a wonderland, croons Tony Bennett. Both Ledisi and Kristin Chenoweth wake up Christmas morning and think to themselves: What a wonderful world. Sample the music!
What would Elvis Presley and Justin Timberlake have to talk about? Believe it or not, it happens on one particular Web site all the time. And for Elvis, new formats are becoming second nature. Graceland has been staging “Elvis Live” concerts for years with Elvis appearing on video with live members of his former band. He even stood beside Celine Dion for a duet on “American Idol” last year and welcomed country superstar Martina McBride last month to join him in a duet of “Blue Christmas” as part of his “’68 Comeback Special.”
Jim DeRogatis: Go ahead and scoff at the entire mall-punk genre if you will ("Punk rock just isn't supposed to sound so glossy and commercial!"), but there can be no denying Fall Out Boy's mastery of the form, just as there was no denying the virtuosity, craftsmanship and ultimate appeal of, say, the best hair-metal acts in the '80s ("Heavy metal just isn't supposed to sound so glossy and commercial!"). In the end, any purists offended by the band's shuck and jive are just missing out on some harmless and irresistible fun.
Mercury Rev is a perennial American band that has quietly crafted a meticulous body of work that is strange, surrealistic, romantic and driven by storybook wonder. These were elements strongly at play Thursday night at Martyrs, when the band used a mixture of multimedia, computer programs and old-fashioned organic musicianship to present their super-sized songs.
Jim DeRogatis: Pity the poor soul who catches a snippet of Britney Spears' "Womanizer" and then can't get it out of his or her head. Thankfully, a friend of mine has come up with the perfect solution when such a song is stuck on auto-repeat in your brain: Just sing "Champagne Supernova" by Oasis instead. It's also insanely catchy, but as my buddy says, "it isn't quite sticky enough to get lodged in your head, so once you've gone through the refrain and the chorus, not only is the prior earworm gone, so too is 'Champagne Supernova.'"
Linda Eder, known for her Broadway-esque singing style, will bring country-pop to the Auditorium Theatre on Saturday in the South Loop.
Jim DeRogatis: The last time Neil Young performed a solo arena show in Chicago, five years ago, many concertgoers seemed to have come expecting the greatest hits. Instead, the long-running singer and songwriter delivered a piece of musical theater, performing his ambitious rock opera ''Greendale'' in its entirety before the album had even been released, and disappointing all but the most devoted fans willing to indulge any detour this dedicated contrarian might take.
Coldplay has fired back against accusations the band copied another artist's work for its hit "Viva La Vida."
SANTIAGO, Chile---- Madonna is causing Òcrazy enthusiasmÓ and Òimpure thoughtsÓ on her first concert visit to Chile, a prominent retired cardinal complained on Wednesday, as he paused in a tribute to a late dictator to denounce the pop star.
During an interview with Elton John for his new Sundance Channel show ''Spectacle,'' Elvis Costello didn't ask about stage costumes, boyfriends or ''Island Girl.'' Instead, the conversation turned to Laura Nyro, Leon Russell and David Ackles. The two men closed the show performing the obscure singer-songwriter Ackles' ''Down River.''
Jennifer Hudson is getting back to work. Theola Borden, a spokeswoman for label J Records, says the singer is set to begin filming a video in Los Angeles next week for her next single, “If It Isn’t Love.” Hudson was due to film the clip when her mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, and brother, Jason Hudson, were discovered shot to death in their home on Chicago’s South Side on Oct. 24.
He has no Web site, no album, no tour, no band and on one spot atop his head, no hair. Alex Chilton may be woefully deficient compared against the checklist adding up a music career these days, but he possesses the one thing any musician with an eye for longevity would crave: mythology.
