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Metallica Thrash on Film |
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Interviews with members of Metallica, Godsmack, Disturbed, Anthrax,
Slipknot, Kittie, Meshuggah and other hard rocking bands past and present
will be featured in the upcoming documentary Get Thrashed. Director
Rick Ernst, a long-time freelance producer for MTV, conceived of the idea
to profile the thrash metal scene of the early Eighties and its impact
on the music since, using interviews, live performances and archival
footage. Ernst expects the film to air before year's end.
"You had Metallica, Megadeth and Exodus in San Francisco, Slayer in
L.A., Anthrax in New York," says Ernst. "These bands took it to the next
level in terms of extremes. They played faster, heavier and louder than
anybody had before, and they were trying to play faster, louder and
heavier than each other."
Slayer singer Tom Araya vividly recalls the time before metal became
mainstream. "What I remember most about the early days was that we did a
lot of things ourselves," he says. "We were very independent. We drove
in a car or a van, with a U-Haul. We had two people working as a crew.
Everybody worked. Everybody drove. Everybody did their share."
While it's clear early mixed-genre pairings such as Anthrax and Public
Enemy's version of "Bring the Noise" helped spawn the rap-metal of
recent years, Ernst is keen to point out thrash metal's impact on grunge as
well.
"People seem to forget that one of Alice in Chains' first national
tours was the Clash of the Titans, opening up for Megadeth, Slayer and
Anthrax in '91," Ernst says. "That was at the height of the whole thrash
scene. I remember going to Madison Square Garden and it was sold out and
Alice in Chains was opening. Everybody was like, 'What the fuck? Why
isn't Testament or Suicidal Tendencies on there?' The first time I saw
Soundgarden, they were opening for Voivod. The thrash bands took out the
grunge bands and exposed them to a larger audience."
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Rod Stewart: second album of classic covers |
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Rod Stewart's first collection of pop standards sold more than 4
million copies worldwide; so he decided to do it again. The Great American
Songbook: Volume 2, the sequel to last year's surprise hit, is scheduled
for an October 14th release.
Stewart says it's always been a dream to record his favorite Rogers and
Hart and George and Ira Gershwin tunes, but until now no one took him
seriously. "They didn't think I was mature enough," Stewart says. "Now,
I am. My voice has got more warmth to it. You can't be a rock & roll
singer forever."
Produced by J Records and RCA Chairman Clive Davis, the album includes
such serene classics as "Someone to Watch Over Me," "Don't Get Around
Much Anymore" and "Till There Was You." Stewart will also duet with Cher
on "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," with its original, raunchier
lyrics. But, for the most part, Stewart doesn't plan to stray too far
from the source material. "We haven't gone radically different with any
of the songs," he says, "just a lot better, a lot more confidence about
the way I'm approaching the songs."
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Sinead O'Connor to release diverse two-CD collection as final set |
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Months after threatening to retire (again), Sinead O'Connor will
release the ponderously titled two-CD set She Who Dwells in the Secret Place
of the Most High Shall Abide Under the Shadow of the Almighty on
September 9th.
The album features an eclectic selection of live cuts, obscure album
tracks, demos, rarities and covers of songs by artists as diverse as ABBA
("Chiquitita"), the B-52's ("Ain't It a Shame"), Everly Brothers ("Love
Hurts"), Pablo Moses ("My Love I Bring") and Aretha Franklin ("Do Right
Woman"). The collection, whose title is a gender-flipped reference to a
psalm, features three songs produced by Brian Eno.
O'Connor initially planned to retire on the heels of the live
concert/documentary, Goodnight, Thank You, You've Been a Lovely Audience, due
August 26th. The DVD, which features six bonus videos, was filmed at
Vicar Street in her native Dublin in October 2002, at the end of her first
Irish tour in six years. The thirteen-song set mixes career highlights
such as "I Am Stretched on Your Grave," "Nothing Compares 2 U," "Fire
on Babylon" and "The Last Day of Our Acquaintance" with a number of
traditional Irish songs like "Molly Malone," "My Lagan Love" and "Paddy's
Lament," all which she covered on her last album, 2002's Sean-Nos Nua.
The same thirteen-song set will make up the second disc of She Who
Dwells.
When O'Connor announced her retirement in April, she said it was due to
a desire to retreat from the glare of the music business and "be like
any other person in the street."
Fearing that her original statement -- in which she complained of being
accosted in public by autograph seekers -- was too harsh, O'Connor
released a follow-up on May 5th in which she explained herself further. "I
am sorry if my original notice seemed rude," she wrote. "I was just
being honest and sometimes we have to hear things which are hard to hear.
I am more than grateful, of course, for the support of all of you. And
for the fact that I can feed my children without having to marry some
ugly millionaire with a two-inch dick!"
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Pantera's Compilation |
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Nineties metal titans Pantera will release a career-spanning
compilation, The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar
Hits!, September 23rd on Warner/Rhino.
The collection will bypass the band's four Eighties recordings, during
which Pantera struggled with identity issues, instead picking up with
the release of 1990's Cowboys From Hell, on which the band defined its
alternative brand of Texas hardcore. Thirteen of Vulgar Hits!'s sixteen
tracks are culled from Pantera's five studio albums released between
1990 and 2000. The album will be augmented with a live version of "Where
You Came From," and slightly harder to find covers of Ted Nugent's "Cat
Scratch Fever" (which appeared on the Detroit Rock City soundtrack) and
Black Sabbath's "Hole in the Sky."
A bonus DVD will be included with the package, including ten Pantera
videos plus a pair of live performances.
Pantera released their last album, Reinventing the Steel three years
ago, before the band went on hiatus. Frontman Phil Anselmo has busied
himself with a flurry of side projects including Down (which has released
a pair of albums) and Superjoint Ritual, a group featuring Hank
Williams III on bass, which is currently touring behind its second album,
Lethal Dose of American Hatred.
With so much going on, Anselmo has been cagey about the future of
Pantera. "If Pantera wants to continue on, then I think we need to advance
in a way that is the best way for us," he said last year. "I feel like
we need to take some steps to really think about what we want to
accomplish here because, we're one of them bands that never broke up, we never
went away, we never were part of this gigantic fucking trend. We're not
a one-hit wonder. We don't even have a fuckin' hit. With Pantera, the
whole point is to be this gigantic fucking heavy metal son of a fucking
bitch that's gonna kick your fucking brains out."
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Rubbish for Justin |
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Pop sensation Justin Timberlake - used to receiving admiration from
music fans worldwide - was pelted with rubbish as he performed on stage in
Toronto last week.
The 22-year-old star dodged water bottles and other flying objects
during the SARS benefit concert on Wednesday (July 30), wincing
uncomfortably at the audience's obvious hostility.
"This will be over before you know it," Timberlake told the crowd,
before performing a mini-set of 'Cry Me A River', 'Senorita' and 'Rock Your
Body' and then making way for heavier acts including The Guess Who and
AC/DC.
However, according to MTV, Timberlake got his revenge later that night
when he was invited on stage to perform with concert headliners the
Rolling Stones.
Joining the band for an unrehearsed rendition of 'Miss You', Timberlake
was shown full support by the veteran rockers, with Mick Jagger singing
the lyrics to 'Cry Me A River' and guitarist Keith Richards ordering
the crowd to show the pop star some respect.
According to reports, around 400,000 people attended the star-studded
eleven-hour show, which marked a final end to Toronto's SARS scare.
"We're here, you're here and Toronto is back and it's booming," said
Mick Jagger, who added: "I think this is the biggest crowd we have ever
played for."
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Sam Phillips Dies :-( |
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Music industry legend and rock'n'roll pioneer Sam Phillips has died at the age 80.
His spokeswoman Gwendolyn McClain confirmed that Phillips - the man
responsible for launching Elvis Presley's career - died of respiratory
failure at St. Francis Hospital, Memphis.
Sam Phillips founded Sun Records in 1952 and is widely recognised as
being hugely influential in the early years of The King's reign by giving
him his first record deal.
Phillips produced 'That's All Right, Mama' and 'Blue Moon of Kentucky'
for Elvis in 1954 but sold his recording contract to RCA two years
later for just $35,000.
"When I first heard Elvis, the essence of what I heard in his voice was
such that I knew there might be a number of areas that we could go
into," Phillips said back in 1997.
"What there was a need for was a rhythm that had a very pronounced
beat, a joyous sound and a quality that young people in particular could
identify with."
Phillips was also a local DJ and, prior to selling Sun Records in 1969,
he worked with the likes of B.B. King, Rufus Thomas, Johnny Cash, Jerry
Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Charlie Rich.
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Madonna Makes Movie |
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Queen of Pop Madonna is to executive produce a new romantic comedy for
Toronto-based company Maverick Films.
'She Rocks' - a story about a female music journalist who writes a
career-breaking piece about a rock star - was penned by filmmaker Amie
Steir, who makes her feature directorial debut on the project.
According to Billboard, actress Amanda Peet ('The Whole Nine Yards',
'Identity') will take the female lead in the film, which is due to start
shooting this autumn.
"Madonna, who not only loved the script but is also very fond of both
Amie and Amanda's work, has taken closely to this project that is set in
the music industry, a world all too familiar to her," said co-producer
Caresse Henry.
Madonna has previously executive produced the hit US film 'Agent Cody
Banks' (released in the UK on July 25) and the 1991 documentary
'Madonna: Truth or Dare'
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A Chemical Glint |
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In celebration of 10 years of making music The Chemical Brothers have
announced another Glint party at London's Turnmills on September 6.
The Brothers are also celebrating their new album, a collection of
their finest moments, 'Singles 93-03', that includes two new tracks
including 'The Golden Path', a collaboration with Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips.
The last Glint in December 2002 sold out three weeks before the party
and this is the pair's only UK club date to be announced so far this year.
Joining them on the night will be one of Tom and Ed's earliest
inspirations, Moonboots, who introduced them to many a fine 12" whilst working
behind the counter at Manchester's Eastern Bloc Records.
The Chemical Brothers are currently hard at work on a new studio album
which is not expected until 2004 but will undoubtedly air some
unreleased material during their set.
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Natalie Imbruglia heading back to Studios |
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We're sure, all you Natalie Imbruglia fans out there, have seen by now her co-starring role
in the spy comedy Johnny English. But now that her days on a movie set are over, will she be heading back
into a studio? It seems the answer to that is "yes."
She told Interview magazine that so far she has
written most of the songs for her follow-up to White Lilies Island. Here's what you can expect from her
next release, "I want to be less introspective lyrically but slightly edgy musically, so it's guided by
that and the energy I want to have onstage. When it comes to writing the songs, Natalie admits that many
of the tracks will have a running theme throughout them -- her fiancé Daniel Johns of Silverchair.
"It's impossible to get away from the fact that a lot of songs will have references to Daniel, because he's
on my mind all the time."
Natalie Imbruglia's new album is tentatively set to come out next year.
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