pearl jam

Music News You Can Use: Rihanna Post-beating Show, Cudi’s False Retirement

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

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Bruises are long gone, but we won’t forget … Rihanna is reportedly performing in Dubai on May 28, her first show after her alleged physical fiasco with Chris Brown last February. A spokeswoman for the Dubai Department of Tourism announced the news, and added that the tickets will be one sale in two weeks. The announcement for the concert that is slated to attract 25,000 audience members comes two days after a spokesperson for Chris Brown denied that he is dating Girlicious singer Natalie Mejia or his hometown ex-gf. Really…

Face it, Cudi can’t get enough of the limelight … Empty threat alert: Kid Cudi’s not retiring. Within months after his solo debut “Day ‘N’ Nite,” Rapper Kid Cudi blogged that he was quitting the rap game due to the horrendous pressure around him (boo hoo). But after a trip to SXSW and now signing with Universal Motown, it looks like Cudi is retracting any emotional weep trip he had when writing his entry. Shoulda’ known…

Pearl Jam, Shmearl Jam …

The alternative grunge band is back with tour dates, an upcoming album, and, wait for it, a film too?!? Guitarist Mike McCready said in a radio interview last month that they are halfway done with the new album, and have a film in the works with direction Cameron Crowe. “We’re building up to our big 20th anniversary,” McCready said. “We’re trying to have a little campaign of building rereleases with new mixes and new outtakes up until that time.”  Not another weak sauce comeback, I hope.

Radiohead’s “Pay-What-You-Want” sets trend … Toronto based hip-hop emcee K-os is following Radiohead’s footsteps by allowing his fans to name their price for his upcoming tour dates. For each show, K-os will not ask his audience members to pay a standard ticket price — rather, the rapper will ask for what they should pay after watching the show. The idea, which was backed by his manager, was not an easy decision to make, but was something he wanted to try. “I love risk,” K-os says. “If I wanted no risk, I’d work some other job. I’m excited to see what will happen.” We’re excited too.

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Music News You Can Use: Sad Goodbyes for T.I., Grunge Rock and Hip Hop Collide

Friday, March 27th, 2009

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Tippin’ hats to Tip … In response to T.I.’s prison sentence of one year and and a day, some of Hip Hop’s famous have sent warm-hearted goodbyes, saying that the down south rapper will be missed. “From I’m Serious to Paper Trail, T.I. (and T.I.P. for that matter) has shown incredible growth as an artist, businessman and a friend,” Bun B said in a statement to MTV News. T.I. is serving time in Atlanta for felony weapons charges that occured on the eve of the BET Hip Hop Awards.

Pete Wentz, move out of the way … The original guylined punk rocker is back — Billie Joe Armstrong and the rest of Green Day are returning with their eighth studio release 21st Century Breakdown, slated to drop on Friday, May 15. The long-awaited album will be their first full-length since 2004’s American Idiot, and is produced by Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage). The first single, “Know Your Enemy,” hits digital vendors in April.

Grunge and P.O.S. can

mix … The buzz around rapper P.O.S. gets even louder as the versatile DJ/producer released a video covering Pearl Jam’s famous track “Why Go?” featuring his talent on the mic, some keys, and the tables. The dude knocks the use of autotune and uses his true blue vocals in the pretty stellar rendition. Check it out here:

America loses some soul this week … New Orleans bluesman Eddie Bo (79) and Motown’s Funk Brothers drummer Uriel Jones (74) died this week, two significant losses in the African American music community. Bo, whose death was confirmed by his booking agent Friday, suffered a “sudden massive heart attack,” while Jones relapsed from complications of a recent heart attack also, according to his sister-in-law. Eddie Bo was known mostly for his New Orleansesque hit single “Check Mr. Popeye,” while Uriel Jones was best known for his psychedelic touches on the Temptations’ “Cloud Nine,” and “I Can’t Get Next To You.”

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Music News You Can Use: Copycats and “Best of ‘08″ Lists

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

Coldplay Are Copycats? Gasp… Guitarist Joe Satriani said so last week and he is suing the quartet for allegedly plagiarizing off of his 2004 song “If I Could Fly.” The song in question, “Viva La Vida,” is the second single from their latest album and is nominated for a Grammy. Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin responded to the allegation and said the similarities are “entirely coincidental.” Hmm. You be the judge here.

Rolling Stone Posts “Best Of” Lists… Some of the obvious singles of the year include Lil’ Wayne’s “Lollipop” (gag), Weezer’s “Pork and Beans” (meh), and Santogold’s (now Santi) “LES Artistes” (yay). For albums, don’t be shocked to see the slew of comeback kids like Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy, Nine Inch Nails’ The Slip, and Metallica’s Death Magnetic.

Britney Is Whipped By PETA… The group of animal rights activists are slapping Britney Spears’ wrists for using animals who are “whipped, chained, and beaten” in her newest music video “Circus.” The trainers for the elephants, Greg and Kari Johnson, deny any wrongdoing, and even claim that they have a “love and infatuation” for their elephants. Umm, okay. I guess using eletronic prods is a special way of showing their love.

“Special Surprises” From Pearl Jam?… Four different editions of their 1991 debut albumTen are now available for pre-order at PearlJam.com. Each version will have a digitally remastered version of the original album, remixes by longtime producer Brenda O’Brien, and various unreleased tracks from that era. The “Legacy” edition will also feature a DVD of unreleased performances.

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The Great Debate: Are Today’s Bands More Style Than Substance?

Monday, September 15th, 2008
A few days ago, P+P’s own Chris Nelson, Tricia Romano, and I got carried away on an issue that is, in my opinion, just as exciting as the presidential candidate yeehaw going on. We bombed each others’ inboxes in a vicious, and very important!! debate: Are today’s mainstream artists more about style over substance (no talent required!) than their predecessors? Or is this just an age-old problem in the entertainment biz?
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