Top Stories: January 29, 2009

1/29/09, 10:30 am EST

U2, Kid Rock Added to Grammy Lineup
News Ticker: White Stripes, Journey
American Idol Finds Simon’s Fave in Salt Lake
Lynyrd Skynyrd Keyboardist Billy Powell Dies

Top stories from the last three days:

Kelly Clarkson’s “Life” Video Yanked From Net
Joaquin Phoenix’s Rap Career: Big Hoax?
Swift is Tops as Indie Rockers Invade Chart
Bookies’ Odds on Springsteen’s Super Set
Name Your Dream iPhone Application
Breaking: M83
Behind Rise Against’s “Audience of One” Clip
Smoking Section: Joseph Arthur Performs
Capitol Reissuing I.R.S. Records Digitally
Tour Tracker: Modest Mouse
New Music Report: Springsteen, Franz
News Ticker: Smashing Pumpkins, PJ Harvey
Bruce Springsteen Announces Working Tour
Spike Lee Plots James Brown Biopic
Fall Out Boy Cover The Simpsons Theme
Cop Urinates on Metallica Fan at Concert
Inside Lil Wayne’s Rock Album Rebirth
Metric to Self-Release April Album Fantasies
Zune Sales Plummet: Will Microsoft Save It?
Scarlet Johannson Covers Jeff Buckley
Metallica Reveal Guitar Hero Track List
Inside Lamb of God’s New Thrashy Wrath
Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” Broadway Bound
Steven Adler Is Scaring the Crap Out of Us
Kanye Brushes Off 50 Cent’s Disses
M.I.A. Responds to Oscar Nod
Obama’s Secret Record Collection
Grammy Faceoff ‘09: Artists Predict Winners
Sneak Peek: Guitar Hero: Metallica
Parents Protest Spears’ “If U Seek Amy”
Lonely Island: Inside Andy Samberg’s Crew
The State Reunite for Hilarious Q&A
The Band on Bruce: Their Springsteen

Scroll down for full news stories, commentary and much more in Rock Daily.

“American Idol” Finds Simon Cowell’s Favorite Singer, Lots of Polite People in Salt Lake City

1/29/09, 10:20 am EST

Salt Lake City, Utah, is known for Big Love, the Osmonds and David Archuleta and we got a little taste of all three on last night’s American Idol. Ryan Seacrest proclaimed the city to be filled with “some of the happiest people we’ve ever seen,” but perhaps that was code for “whitest,” as a homogeneous batch of hopefuls provided the opportunity for producers to skip the loony reel in favor of a polite parade of appreciative singers (”I suck? No, thank you!”). And the big story of the night — the debut of Kelly Clarkson’s “My Life Would Suck Without You” video — barely registered, as only a blip of the clip aired on TV.

The judges handed out a mere 13 yellow passes to Hollywood Week. Here’s a quick rundown:

Ones to Watch:

• Tattooed, divorced, young single mom Megan Corkrey swiftly becomes Simon Cowell’s favorite for good reason: cool girl, awesome pipes.

• Score two for mom Frankie Jordan: her version of “You Know I’m No Good” was so fab it made us long for the real Amy Winehouse, and she provided Seacrest with the opportunity to make a Frankie Goes to Hollywood reference.

Meh:

• Not to be a total killjoy, but tear-jerker Rose Flack seems like an awesome girl but a super-meh vocalist. Flack, whose parents both died before she was 16, is such a groovy earth mama, she covered Carole King and auditioned barefoot. No wonder the judges said there was “something special” about her. (more…)

News Ticker: The White Stripes, Journey, Danity Kane and Kelly Rowland

1/29/09, 9:55 am EST

  • Meg White is auctioning off her drum kit from the White Stripes’ “The Hardest Button to Button” video for Jim Shaw’s Rock N’ Roll Benefit. Detroit-based rock memorabilia from the likes of Iggy Pop and MC5 will go to auction on February 7th to raise funds for Shaw, a Motor City music icon recently diagnosed with cancer.

  • Journey and John Legend will both perform during the pre-game festivities before this Sunday’s Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Florida, reports Blabbermouth. By the way, who’s everyone rooting for, Steelers or Cardinals?
  • Danity Kane is likely finished following the exile of Aubrey O’Day, D. Woods and now Shannon Bex. Dawn Richard told MTV News, “It’s devastating for me.” Richard and Aundrea Fimbres will still appear in the next season of Making the Band, premiering February 12th.
  • Former Destiny’s Child singer Kelly Rowland and Beyoncé’s father/manager Mathew Knowles jointly announced that they are ending their working relationship, reports MTV News. “Mathew Knowles has been a positive influence in my career,” Rowland said in a statement.

U2, Kid Rock, Plant & Krauss and Rihanna Added as Grammy Performers

1/29/09, 9:08 am EST

Think the Grammy lineup somehow needed even more firepower? U2, Kid Rock, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss and Rihanna have just been added to the already incredible list of performers at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, airing Sunday, February 8th. Let’s look at the roster now: Radiohead, Coldplay, Paul McCartney with Dave Grohl, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Jay-Z, T.I., Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, Jonas Brothers, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson and Kenny Chesney, plus those four huge acts announced this morning. That’s like a dream Coachella lineup. While we credit the Grammys with doing everything humanly possible to convince people to watch this year’s broadcast, we have to wonder how they are going to have time to hand out awards. How long will this monster show run?

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss are up for five awards, including the prestigious Album of the Year. Now Ne-Yo is the lone Album of the Year candidate not performing at the show. U2 aren’t up for any awards, but they’re U2 and have a new album coming out and Bono has some special pass that lets him play anywhere, anytime he wants, so playing the Grammys on the biggest night in music makes perfect sense. (more…)

iPhone Applications of the Future: What Apps Would You Like to See?

1/28/09, 6:05 pm EST

Right now, iPhone users can listen to Pandora’s personalized radio, wield a virtual lightsaber, pose questions to a 2D Magic Eightball or generate lulling ambient sounds via Brian Eno’s Bloom app — all on their mobiles. In the next issue, Rolling Stone will take a look at the next generation of cutting-edge iPhone apps, but even future-thinking developers can’t conjure up enough apps to fulfill all our portable-phone needs. What dream applications would you like to see? Rock Daily has a few ideas …

• Kanye Text Converter — change boring IM or e-mail conversations into an egomaniacal rant.

• A Little Bit Longer — count down the days until Nick Jonas becomes legal.

• Aretha’s Hat — add Franklin’s signature Obama inauguration look to any photo you find.

Hit us with your suggestions in the comments, and we’ll make them come to life in a special gallery next week.

Tour Tracker: Modest Mouse, Chairlift and Neko Case

1/28/09, 5:38 pm EST

Photo: Gordon/Wireimage

Modest Mouse return to the road and join the Langerado Festival bill, Chairlift keep the buzz alive and Neko Case plots out a months worth of dates for her upcoming solo album Middle Cyclone. Full itineraries for all three tours await, after the jump. (more…)

Capitol Records to Reissue I.R.S. Records By the dB’s, Tom Verlaine

1/28/09, 5:06 pm EST

Starting February 10th, Capitol Records will dig deep into the I.R.S. Records vault and begin making some of the now-defunct label’s most acclaimed music available digitally for the first time. Gary Numan, the Police’s Stewart Copeland, Television’s Tom Verlaine, Wall of Voodoo, Timbuk 3, Concrete Blonde and many more artists are slated to have their I.R.S. recordings released DRM-free. We’re especially excited for the digital release of dada’s alternative classics Puzzle and American Highway Flower.

But the really big news is that the digital world will finally, legally, be able to download the dB’s influential first two albums, Stands For Decibels and Repurcussion, as well as their fourth album Sound of Music. Plus seven songs by the punk supergroup Lords of the New Church, featuring the Dead Boys’ Stiv Bators, will also hit iTunes, Amazon and most other digital music providers. Capitol will release the I.R.S. albums over the course of six weeks, culminating on March 17th. Additionally, Capitol will release four Best of the I.R.S. Years collections dedicated to Over the Rhine, dada, Dread Zeppelin and the dB’s. While CD sales continue to slump, we applaud Capitol for at least trying to bring classic records to a new generation, as evidenced by their mass reissue of vinyl records last year.

Related Stories:

The dB’s Make Noise Again

Breaking: M83

1/28/09, 4:36 pm EST

Who: Ambient shoegaze-pop group M83 is the project of 28-year-old France-based musician Anthony Gonzalez. Up through 2005, Gonzalez collaborated with his pal Nicolas Fromageau, crafting spaced-out synth-powered compositions. But when the two mutually split, Gonzalez went pop, releasing last year’s excellent, slow-growing album Saturdays=Youth. That disc most recently caught the ears of the Kings of Leon and the Killers, who both asked Gonzalez (plus his backing band) to open up their string of recent U.S. arena dates.

Sounds Like: M83’s tunes range from astral cinematic soundscapes to full-blown club-ready jams. On his latest record, Gonzalez ties those disparate genres together by paying tribute to 1980s pop culture, when the Thompson Twins, Talk Talk and John Hughes’ movies ruled. (That red-headed girl on cover of Saturdays=Youth? Total dead-ringer for Molly Ringwald.) Cuts like “Graveyard Girl” (about a lonely goth chick who feels like she’s too big of a loser to ever get kissed) and “Kim and Jessie” (about two best friends who may or may not have Sapphic tendencies) are warm, nostalgic odes to high-school adolescence. “I wanted to try new things,” says Gonzalez about his direction on the LP. “It was time to do something more pop and less serious. I wanted to be less dramatic than on my previous albums. (more…)

Will Springsteen Bring Courteney Cox Onstage? Crazy Super Bowl Bets Hit the Net

1/28/09, 3:39 pm EST

Photo: Mazur/Wireimage

The Super Bowl, in most non-recession years at least, is an event for gamblers and casual bettors to wager on everything from the opening coin flip to the final score to how many beers they can down before the chips run out. Since Bruce Springsteen is this year’s halftime performer, he too is the subject of a bunch of interesting prop bets. On Sportsbook.com, you can bet on the E Street Band’s actual four-song set list — combos spanning everything from “Playlist A: ‘Glory Days,’ ‘My Lucky Day,’ ‘Badlands,’ ‘Born to Run’ ” to “Playlist D: ‘Born in the U.S.A.,’ ‘Thunder Road,’ ‘Rosalita,’ ‘My Lucky Day’ ” — or whether Clarence Clemons will get a featured sax solo. There’s 3-to-1 odds that Springsteen has a wardrobe malfunction, while 2-to-1 odds has Patti Scialfa having a similar Janet Jackson moment. (Steven Van Zandt is going at 8-to-1 odds, but for the sake of future generations we hope that doesn’t happen.)

Our other favorite bet: At a ridiculously-low 10-to-1, you can wager now that Springsteen will reach into the crowd and bring actress Courteney Cox onstage, just like he did in the “Dancing in the Dark” video. (more…)

New Music Report: Bruce Springsteen, Franz Ferdinand, Plus Top Stories

1/28/09, 2:32 pm EST

Rolling Stone’s Caryn Ganz breaks down the latest news and reviews in this week’s action-packed New Music Report, including Bruce Springsteen’s rich, expansive Working on a Dream, the subject of the magazine’s latest five-star review and Franz Ferdinand’s Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, the third album of competent disco-rock from the Scottish quartet.

Bruce Springsteen - Working On A Dream
Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand

Plus, another look at our special Grammy Faceoff, where top artists — many of whom are up for Grammys, themselves — pick their favorites in all the major categories, and a recap of the big night’s newly announced performances, which will include Radiohead’s first televised U.S. gig since 2000 (the band is up for five awards). (more…)

On the Smoking Section: Exclusive Joseph Arthur Performance

1/28/09, 1:57 pm EST

Last year, Joseph Arthur was kind enough to give Rolling Stone a tour of his painting studio and open up about the relationship between his art and music. Now the rocker has stepped into our own studio to record an exclusive session for the Smoking Section. Check out four of his songs performed with the Lonely Astronauts — “Temporary People,” “Dead Savior,” “Turn You On” and “Faith” — from his latest album, Temporary People, here:

Joseph Arthur Enters the Smoking Section

Related Stories:

Inside Joseph Arthur’s Studio
Fricke’s Picks: Joseph Arthur

Behind Rise Against’s “Audience of One” Video: Political Punks Rock in Miniature

1/28/09, 1:16 pm EST

Rise Against released one of 2008’s most gripping punk albums, Appeal to Reason (the band’s fifth LP), and the Chicago crew are going to hit the road with Rancid this summer. But first, a new video for fresh single “Audience of One.” The full video premiered on MySpace on January 15th, but click above for a special behind-the-video special packed with exclusive footage of frontman Tim McIlrath and Co. explaining the clip’s concept and execution. The Brett Simon-directed video features an impressive town built in miniature, but unsurprisingly, it’s a town with clear political overtones: there’s a mini Iraq war scene (the band counts the health-care of war vets as one of its big concerns), a forest suffering from clear-cutting, and homes being foreclosed, as well as a woman on a house trying to escape the rising flood waters of Hurricane Katrina.

The band recently announced their upcoming summer trek with Rancid, telling fans, “Few things are more exciting than watching Bush finally release America as his eight year hostage, but if anything could rival that news, it’s this: (more…)

Lynyrd Skynyrd Keyboardist Billy Powell Dead at 56

1/28/09, 12:15 pm EST

Photo: Michael Ochs Archive/Getty

Billy Powell, the only keyboardist Lynyrd Skynyrd ever had, died last night at his home near Jacksonville, Florida. He was 56. No cause of death has been announced, and a post on the official Synyrd Website reads, “A Great Loss — Beloved Pianist for the Lynyrd Skynyrd Band, Billy Powell, passed away last night. We will post more info shortly. The family and band request your respect and understanding during this difficult time. Thank you.” The band is canceling upcoming shows and directing fans to its Website for tour updates.

Powell first joined Skynyrd in 1973 after serving as the band’s roadie for a year. His keyboard work features prominently on the band’s debutĀ (pronounced ‘leh-’nerd ’skin-’nerd), with Powell credited for crafting the intro for their epic anthem “Free Bird” (Number 191 on Rolling Stone’s Greatest Songs of All Time). After impressing Ronnie Van Zant with his work on the song, Powell was officially invited to join the band, and remained a member from their debut album until 1977’s Street Survivors.

Powell survived the 1977 plane crash that took the lives of singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, backup singer Cassie Gaines and other crew members. (more…)

On the Charts: Taylor Swift Enjoys One Last Week On Top As Indie Rockers Invade

1/28/09, 11:48 am EST

Photo: Mazur/Wireimage

The Big News: Taylor Swift’s Fearless enjoyed what’s likely to be its last week at Number One, selling another 62,000 copies to top another week of poor overall sales. Beyoncé’s I Amā€¦ Sasha Fierce and Nickelback’s Dark Horse remained entrenched at Number Two and Three. Kanye West’s 808s & Heartbreak rose up one spot to four thanks to 39,000 in sales and the Twilight soundtrack rounded out the top five. Only one debut managed to crack the top 10, as Mariah Carey’s Ballads compilation arrived at 10.

Debuts: With sales slumping yet again, it was an indie rock party in the upper echelon of the charts. Andrew Bird’s Noble Beast bowed at 12, while Animal Collective’s acclaimed Merriweather Post Pavilion scored 13th place with 24,000 copies. By comparison, AC’s previous album Strawberry Jam debuted at Number 72 in 2007. Bon Iver and his Blood Bank EP landed at 16 and Antony & The Johnsons’ Crying Light hit the chart at 65. (more…)

“American Idol” Finds One Diamond in a Lot of Rough Florida Auditions

1/28/09, 11:07 am EST

Photo:Becker/FOX

If hosting American Idol auditions in Jacksonville, Florida, is enough of an excuse for the show to run vintage footage of be-fro’d Randy Jackson slapping his bass with Journey while “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” plays, we’re fine with that. There was so little talent in the Sunshine State, Paula Abdul and Kara DioGuardi stooped to fake-kissing during an audition to drum up a little drama. If they wanted real fireworks they could have played Vampire Weekend’s “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” a little longer (it popped up as segue music) and asked indie rockers whether that meant the New York band has sold out. Well, have they?

The judges handed out a scant 16 yellow passes to Hollywood Week. Here’s a quick rundown:

Ones to Watch:

• The judges send away DioGuardi fan Ann Marie Boskovitch and tell her to come back “as a different person.” Somehow makeup and new shoes make her version of Colbie Caillat’s dry “Bubbly” awesome. (Hint: she was also awesome before the bogus makeover.)

• Repeat auditioner T.K. Hash riffs all over (and botches the lyrics on) “Imagine,” but it’s soulful enough to sell. The judges say it’s okay to let a great melody be — hey, how come nobody told David Archuleta he was over-riffing on John Lennon’s masterpiece?

Meh:

• Julissa Veloz wants to rep for the Latinas. The show undermines her efforts by blasting “Hot Hot Hot” when she gets her golden ticket. That helps. (more…)


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