May18

Hop Farm Festival final lineup

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Hop Farm Festival final lineup

The Hop Farm Music Festival has finally released its finished and quite frankly stunning lineup. Headliners are the great Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel with new album The New Blood Orchestra, and Suede. The stars will be supported by an array of other bands and artists, include acoustic singer-songwriter Jose Gonzalez, Nitin Sawhney, I am Kloot and Athlete.

Hop Farm has grown considerably in popularity in the last few years, and the headline acts prove that unanimously. The festival is a pricey £162 for the entire thing (3 days, 4 nights camping), or £65 a day. Hop Farm does pride itself however as a great value for money festival, as children under 12, parking and camping are all free. Well, included in the price, anyway.  Marketing themselves as an affordable festival, they are sticking to the mix of legendary artists and contemporary geniuses for a fabulous festival.

Other artists include Damian Rice, Kool & the Gang, The Levellers and Primal Scream. Check out Hop Farms website - www.hopfarmfestival.com - for the full lineup of artists and activities and ticket details.

May10

CBGB punk rock festival

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CBGB punk rock festival

Iconic birth-of-Manhatten-Punk venue CBGB is due to return in July with the CBGB music festival. Showcasing 300+ Indie bands across Manhatten and Brooklyn, the likes of Sick of it All, Craig Finn, Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Guided by Voices will be playing, as well as panel discussions and film screenings.

Born from the iconic 70′s punk club known as CBGB, although the full name was CBGB & OMFUG (Country Bluegrass Blues and Other Music for Uplifting Gormandizers), it has been closed since 2007 when owner Hilly Kristal died. Since then, the clubs physical location has long since been dismantled, with only merchandise living on. The club gave birth to the careers of many bands including The Ramones, Talking Heads, The Cramps and Blondie.

Photo courtesy of https://www.morrisonhotelgallery.com/photographer/default.aspx?photographerID=109

Kristals daughter, Lisa Kristal Burgman is the current co-executor of the clubs estate and has recently sold CBGBs rights to new investors who plan to hold the CBGB festival annually from 2012 onwards. In an interview with the New York Times, Burgman said: ”It’s a relief to know that it’s not going to die, It’s going to be reborn.”

One of the Investors, Tim Hayes, hope that the festival and stir interest up again, and funds can be raised to open a new version of CBGB can be opened in downtown Manhatten.

May1

B-Sides navigates tricky waters of music industry for 30 years

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B-Sides navigates tricky waters of music industry for 30 years

In the era of digital downloads, it has become virtually easy to share files as well as us portable music players. Everywhere you make your way to, you are bound to come across a store that deals with tangible discs that are of vinyl variety. Such a store is the B-Sides Records that is locally owned. The store that has been in existence has been in existence for more that thirty years is situated in State Street. B-Sides navigates tricky waters of music industry for 30 years.

In essence, B-side refers to the other side of the vinyl on which songs that were played on radio were used. To date, the stores sells records, guitar strings as well as a wide array of CDs. The owner Steve Manley says that he established it after hanging out in several stereo and record stores at a very tender age where he developed an interest.

What gives Side B Records an edge over their competitors such as iTunes and torrent sites, is the fact that this store has outstanding offerings, as well as unique orders which are delivered within a week. It also have a wide array of discs that most people would not expect, a feature that have seen it go a notch higher over their competitors. The owner insists that though an artist would be okay to get free downloads, its unfair to enjoy some good music and not reciprocate by paying some small fee.

However, he adds that there still exists a loyal lot that will make their way to the physical shops and buy albums from various artists. He goes on to add that the people who sell music should not be greedy. This is because, if they sell the compact discs at an unreasonable price, they only give the customers a reason to pick on the pirated music that tends to be much easier.

Apr25

P. Diddy Announces Plans to Create Music Channel with Comcast

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P. Diddy Announces Plans to Create Music Channel with Comcast

P.Diddy, Sean Combs, Puffy Daddy you can call him Dirty Money – took to social medias, includingFacebook, twitter and YouTube, to announce the launch of his own music cable television channel that will go by the name Revolt TV. It will be a new social music and news-driven channel that will come to existence through the Comcast-NBC network.

Revolt TV will be among the four minority-owned networks on its cable that will benefits from the improving social network broadcasting sector. It will bill as a music and news TV channel that will mainly be influence by the growing demand for the social networking websites and it will be competing against MTV and BET channels that are owned by Viacom.

Comcast being one of the largest cable TV providers as confirmed that it will carry Revolt TV on one of local cable systems, but the number of homes was not confirmed by the company. Another company that was interested to carry Revolt TV was the Time Warner Cable but the deal landed to Comcast. Sean Combs was interviewed by MTV recently but said a little about the whole deal. He said that they are trying to come up with something new that many people will be able to tune in to see a lot. He also praised MTV and BET for paving the way for Revolt and also for making him and other artist superstars.

P.Diddy is the CEO of Bad Boy entertainment and he has also been involved in several music projects in the industry. And so, this will be the latest PR campaign from the hip hop mogul who joins the likes of Oprah Winfery who has her own cable TV channel called OWN  and Mr. Seacrest who has recently become a stakeholder in AXS TV a great channel that is about to replace HDNet. Revolt TV channel will launch in 2013 and it will be offering programmes such as music videos, music news, interviews and live performances and also put artist in charge. In conclusion, this is a channel that will reach all music loves out there and definitely bring a change in the industry.

 

Apr17

When Whitney Was Laid To Lest

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When Whitney Was Laid To Lest

On February 11 the world woke up to shocking news that the sensational and talented musician Whitney Houston had passed away. Many of her fans worldwide could not believe that she was gone and she was not coming back. The initial police reports said Whitney was found dead at a hotel in Beverly Hills, California, in a bathtub. Whitney Houston started singing at a local church at a very tender age. The pop star icon rose to fame in the mid 80s, by producing numerous albums that sold million of copies across the world.

Many Whitney Houston fans lined up in New Jersey where she was buried, to pay their last respects to their icon. They flocked to the streets with red roses as a sign of paying their final tribute to the fallen pop queen. The cottage that was carrying the body of the fallen star, amid tight security made its way to the New Jersey forest lawn cemetery in the town of Westfield, Where her body was buried next to her late father.

Only close friends and family members attended the funeral. Mass was held at the church of Newark, where she started her singing career as a child. Although people expected a public mass to be done, just like the one done to the late Michael Jackson, Whitney s family after close family consultation decided to holds the private mass. Some of the notable  personalities who attended the funeral, include her eighteen year old daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown and her ex-husband  Bobby Brown, who is blamed for introducing Whitney to drugs. Although Whitney was laid to lest on February 18 2011, her legacy will live on for many more years to come. May her soul rest to eternal peace. Whitney Houston, we will miss you.

Apr5

Breakfast with Courtney Love.

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Breakfast with Courtney Love.

Travel back to 1987. Here is The Guardians John Hind’s experience of meeting Courtney Love.

Being pregnant, Courtney Love was in bed for the duration of this interview, shared by her audience in a hotel in London. Courtney Love, who is the head vocalist for Hole, is also Hole’s guitarist and lyric master. The audience that conducted the interview was supposedly one John Hind.

Being the rock star she was, various tabloid news sources have since blamed her for the death of her husband , Kurt Cobain, who left her a widow with their one daughter, Francis Bean Cobain, whom she raised as a single parent. She however faces even harder hurdles in her life. The death of Kurt having to be the start of all her seemingly unending misfortunes. She has brushed the law on several occassions on the wrong side to be precise.

Love faces alcoholism as a problem that haunts her alongside addiction to drugs. Some magazines have even published varying articles that send the picture of her being the woman with the most controversies in the rock history since time in memorial. While this interview took place, she had to flashback at the good old days she had before her current msifortunes. Her fanatism for the likes of the famous Jon Bovi seeming more evident as she had his potraits within sight though she seemed to be in bad shape. She had stayed in her own home back when she just 15 of age but the belongings she possessed were at present far away in some storage as she stated. She blames all her misfortunes on the waywide route her life had taken and the inconsistency she had in life.

Apr3

U2 Lists: Top 10 Career-Defining Moments

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U2 Lists: Top 10 Career-Defining Moments

For every band, there is a moment that they can call their defining moment as far as their careers are concerned. The decision the band make at such moment has a great impact on their future successes.  One of such top 10 career-defining moments for the U2 was the signing of a deal to produce a record.

After winning talent contest in 1978 and a taking away a £500 prize, making it possible for them to record a demo, U2 had to bring in Paul McGuinness, who went on to become their manager. McGuinness had a great role to play in shaping U2′s career. It was later in 1980 that the group was signed by Island Records and they managed to come up with their first song in May of that year.

Sessions to record their second album in October 1981 was another defining moment for U2. This was at a time when Larry, Bono and Edge belonged to Shalom, which was a Christian group. This group was different from the rock n roll group, but when asked to make a choice, they decided to stay with U2.

On the 13th July 1985, another defining moment for the group occurred, where they performed at a Live Aid concert. The gigs that took place in Philadelphia and London were aimed at raising money to help victims of famine in Ethiopia. The group was to perform three songs on that day.

In December 1989, they permed on New Years eve. This was at the time when this group had become one of the most popular bands across the world, selling over twenty five million album copies and getting concert performance invitations from all over the world.

Other defining moments for the group include “one” recording in Berlin at Hansa studios, activation of Bono and their 360 tour, among many, many others.

Mar26

Green Day Confirm They Have Begun Recording Their New Album

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Green Day Confirm They Have Begun Recording Their New Album

Good news to all Green Day fans – Green Day are starting to record their ninth studio album. To inform the newer fans, the Green Day punk rock band was formed in 1987 and ever since the band has been rocking the world. They were originally part of punk scene at 924 Gilman Street, California.

It was not until 1994 that the Green Day band released its major label titled Dookie. It was a big hit that it sold over ten million copies in the United States of America. The band has so far sold over sixty five million records around the world. Green Day has won Grammy awards including;

  • Best Rock Album for American Idiot
  • Best Alternative Album for Dookie
  • Record of the year for Boulevard of Broken Dreams
  • Best Rock Album for 21st Century Breakdown for the second time
  • Best Musical Shoe Album for the American Idiot.

In addition, it has also been nominated in several categories like; Best Musical, Tony Awards and the Best Scenic Design. Last year Green Day released its new track titled Carpe Diem in San Francisco during a live show. Earlier this year in January, the American Idiot musical, toured the United Kingdom and added a week extra of performances. It is expected at the beginning of October this year to visit around eight cities in the UK tour. It is said that the show is based around the songs from the last two albums which are; 21ST Century Breakdown and American Idiot.

What about the tickets? Well, worry no more about how and where to get the tickets. All one has to do is to get the latest information by checking the availability of the Green Day’s American Idiot Tickets on NME.COM/TICKETS

 

Mar15

Producers Of U2 Soundtracked ‘Spider-Man’ Settle Legal Dispute With Former

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Producers Of U2 Soundtracked ‘Spider-Man’ Settle Legal Dispute With Former

The use of soundtracks in movies has been the in-thing for along duration and many producers have used this production criterion to produce great films and musicals. Unfortunately, many challenges will in most cases encounter such producers and directors in the process.

The most recent saga is the dispute between the producers of the musical the Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark that features music from U2’s Bono and The Edge and its director Julie Taymor. The lawyers of the producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah Harris released a statement saying that Ms. Taymor had developed a hallucinogenic and disjointed plot.

However, Charles Spada, Ms. Taymor’s lawyer said the claims were unjustified and she will work hard to ensure everything is okay. Fortunately, they have settled the dispute and each party is satisfied and back to the normal routine and the musical is also picking up in the market.

Julie Taymor was sacked from her role of the director last year and later launched a lawsuit against the producers of the musicals. She was seeking $1 million equivalent to (£621,000) in damages as she claims her role and creative rights were violated and she was not paid the right amount for the whole project.

The dispute has been settled and she has received her full loyalties as the director of the spider-man musical. She is also set to receive undisclosed amount for the roles she has played in developing the show. Karen Azenberg, the president of The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society released a statement saying that the legal action between the parties is over and the issue can be solved for benefit of each other.

Finally, since the settlement of the issue, the Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark musical as so far received a good respond despite early claims that it was below par and it has even broken the Broadway record to become the highest single to gross a week all time. And so, these comes a surprise to many people who reviewed the musical negatively and the show in general.

 

Mar5

Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers at Lollapalooza Fake

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Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers at Lollapalooza Fake

Modern technology has remained a powerful way of communication in the recent past. It is now easier for individuals to communicate, send messages, chat and do much more, thanks to websites such as twitter, Gmail, Facebook e.t.c

As thousands of people all over the world continue to embrace the power of technology, thousands more continue to misuse the same form of technology putting across information that is invalid and one that cannot be accounted for.

Some use social websites to propagate tribalism through utterance of words that portray negatively of one community which eventually posses danger not only amongst ourselves but also to a country’s security. It should be understood that wrong information communicated can cause great confusion and disorder.

It has however become difficult to tame some of these ill vices that are normally propagated through the social media but it should be clearly understood that there is a threat to all of us.

Recent news on Twitter account handle popularly referred to us lolla leaks that a group of celebrities will be performing together have been confirmed to be fake. 

The twitter account in the recent past had made thousands of fans all over the world go wild with malicious information that well sought artists like  Beyonce, Metallica, The Killers, Beck, Sonic Youth Red Hot Chili Peppers  would be performing at a famous annual Lollapalooza Festival in Chicagpbefore the year ends.

Millions of music fans had already began organizing on how to acquire tickets and some had even shown interest by posting to the social website asking of the charges and asking how they can be able to book their tickets.

Those who reacted back to the false sentiments including Perry Farrel accused the account of the malicious rumors and a heated debate ensued.

The annual festival in Chicago is normally organized at the end of every year and brings together musicians majority who are based in the United States.