Top-hatted rock god Slash and the guys from Velvet Revolver are rumoured to be working on material for their third album. Apparently the band could begin work on the new album as early as April of this year, just after they complete their tour (which starts tomorrow, by the way).
“That’s the big thing right now,” Slash says. “I’m really jazzed about doing it. I’ve been working on new ideas, and we’ve had a couple times where the guys all got together and worked on some stuff. I’m itching to see what this third record’s gonna be, ’cause I think it’s gonna be fuckin’ awesome, and I think we don’t necessarily need to spend two years on the road like we did last time.”
I’ve come across a couple of great music-related posts recently. There are a few in here that should put a smile on your face…
An excellent article over at The Trukstop that looks at the forthcoming Metallica album and how it might be received by fans. I wrote about this a while back, saying their style had drifted far from what we all originally loved about Metallica.
Here’s a round up of folk and acoustic artists doing covers of hip-hop songs. The last thing we need is crazy singer/songwriters shooting each other up in musical turf-wars. Stop the madness!
You know, rapping isn’t all about the bitches, hoes and bling. They gots da business to take care of too. Here’s what the excel spreadsheets and flowcharts of your average gangsta rapper look like.
Scott Wharton over at Metal Martyr has some good advice for young metal fans. I know a lot of music fans can become blinkered to that genre. Back when I started listening though, people were excited about fusing metal with other types of music.
Being a budding fatboy, I had an awesome session on the cross-trainer the other night to the Editors album. Then I came across this New York Times article about how music helps with exercise and how to choose the right kind. What kind of music do you listen to at the gym?
Remember, if you come across a good music article on another blog or website, let me know about it and I’ll feature it in the next episode!
Why am I not surprised by reports that the Spice Girls lip synched their way through their first performance in a decade?
Let’s face it, this reunion has had all the hallmarks of a sham since the news broke. The Spice Girls are – sorry to say – all fur coat and no knickers. They are, however, master manipulators of the media.
And that’s why it doesn’t matter that they’re lip synching. The kind of people who buy into this kind of pop charade don’t really care about the quality of their vocals. When the Spice Girls first broke the music scene in 1995/6, they were fresh, fun and had a handful of catchy tunes. Today, they’re a shambolic five-headed beast more used to being in the pages of Heat Magazine than in the pop charts.
What do you think, are you surprised that the Spice Girls are lip synching? Are you disappointed?
I came across a great site on my travels across cyberspace this evening. The Filter is a music discovery website in a similar vein to Pandora that helps you to find music you’ll like based on your favourite artists.
As well as being able to search for music via the website, you can download a piece of software that plugs into your iTunes or Windows Media Player and it’ll give you recommendations based on your MP3 collection.
…well, for musicians anyway. The grand old queen of rock pointed his tiara at the Internet today and accused it directly of crimes against music.
People in glass houses should never throw stones, Elton.
Yes, the man who wore some of the largest glasses in showbiz ironically claims that people sitting at home making their own records “doesn’t bode well for artistic vision”.
You’d have to be blind lately to have missed the tabloid coverage over Amy Winehouse and her self-destructive behaviour.
I’m not sure what to make of it all: is Winehouse simply tabloid target of the month, of is there something deeper going on here? Part of the attraction of Amy Winehouse – both as a tabloid ‘character’ and a singer/songwriter – is her emotional turmoil. The heavy makeup and towering beehive seem to accentuate her bizarre persona.
However, the tabloids seem to take exceptional glee in watching Winehouse self-destruct – look at the cutting incident during an interview with Spin magazine. But if you look at the video of that footage, both Amy and her husband Blake seem to be laughing off the whole thing. So is the whole thing being blown out of all proportion? I think maybe so.
Maybe it’s that Amy’s style conjures up memories of an era where pop stars regularly became overwhelmed by fame and it was commonplace to find overdosed celebrities dead in their beds the next morning. But we’re living in a far more media-savvy generation. Is Amy:
immune to the tabloid coverage
more likely to act up to get more of this type of attention, or
is she in serious danger of hurting herself (or someone else)?
I’m not pretending to know what the answers are in this case, but I do worry about this constant hounding of and artist by the same press that frequently decry the death of their “Princess Of Hearts” at the hands of the paparazzi. What do you think?
I must seem slightly fixated on Extreme: I’ve already reviewed their second and third albums on this blog. For the sake of completeness, this is my review of Extreme’s self-titled debut, released in 1989.
1989 at was the tail end of some major rock music releases, Def Leppard had released Hysteria, Bon Jovi’s New Jersey, Alice Cooper’s Trash and many other stadium-fillers had filled the rock charts. There was certainly a market for Extreme’s music, but in retrospect it may have got lost among the noise of the larger acts.
I’ve wanted to shout about this Belle & Sebastian album for months – it’s nothing short of fantastic! The Life Pursuit got serious airplay a few months back, especially around the release of Funny Little Frog.
The Life Pursuit seemingly ignores the past twenty-odd years of music, setting it’s course on a 70’s glam vibe. Some reviewers are likening the album’s sonic approach to T-Rex and Glitter Band. When I first heard The Life Pursuit, my first comparisons were to Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie. It’s almost as if the 80’s didn’t happen! Read more & comment »
I’m not afraid to admit that I was an early fan of Destiny’s Child. There was always something aluring about their ‘independent woman’ attitude, infectious tunes and skimpy clothes. Beyonce could kick my ass to the curb any day of the week…
That all changed when Beyonce seemed to become a parody of her sexy self and turned into a loathsome clothes horse as displayed on the pages of Heat magazine every week. Then came the gangsta’s moll phase, when she hooked up with Jay-Z. The girlie Beyonce was replaced by a horrible soft porn version. Not nice.
With the release of Irreplacable, Beyonce seems to have gone back to her roots. And a welcome return it is.
The instrumentation is stripped right back: basically just guitar and a simple drumbeat carrying the tune. A very simple verse/chorus arrangement is enhanced by Beyonce’s most honest vocal performance in recent memory. Beautiful melody in the verses and a chorus so catchy it’ll take a lobotomy to stop you singing it.
Subject matter is a return to Independent Women and Bills, Bills, Bills territory – very much woman on top type of thing.
The video for Irreplaceable carries on the ’stripped down’ theme – Beyonce looking her most natural in ages. The storyline reminds me slightly of the Emotion single Destiny’s Child release a couple of years ago. There’s a little bit of posturing by Ms Knowles, enough to keep the lads happy without being as OTT as her other recent singles.
You mus’ not know ’bout a-me, you mus’ not know ’bout a-me….(contributed by Levee)
…well, for musicians anyway. The grand old queen of rock pointed his tiara at the Internet today and accused it directly of 
