Rhys-meyers Dreams Of Musical Life

Irish movie star JONATHAN RHYS-MEYERS regrets not taking his musical career more seriously - because he would have liked to have formed a band with hi

Published: 2007-11-13 Provider: Contact Music

Single Minded: New Tracks From ‘High School Musical 2,’ Junior Senior, Eisley, Davey Havok’s Blaqk Audio and Lori McKenna

Cast of High School Musical 2, “What Time Is It?” [MySpaceTV] In spite of hard-learned lessons throughout the late Nineties, the answer to this question is apparently not “4:30.” Just give in and play this already. You know you’re wondering what it sounds like. Junior Senior, “Can I Get Get” [Junior Senior MySpace] Remember “Rapture”? Junior Senior are really, really hoping the answer to that question is “No.” Eisley, “Come Clean” [Eisley MySpace] Texas band turns the “Dust in the Wind” chord progression into a lithe and lovely late-summer ballad. C, G and A Minor send a letter of heartfelt thanks. Blaqk Audio, “Semiotic Love” [Blaqk Audio MySpace] Davey Havok from AFI fuses Hi-NRG and Darkwave, which should thrill the oft-neglected gym rat/ponyboy demographic. Lori McKenna, “Witness to Your Life” [Rhapsody] McKenna’s got a tough voice and a bottomless supply of big, winning hooks. Also, she said if High School Musical 2 sells more records than she does this week, she’s going to retire. Then she threw a TV.

Published: 2007-08-15 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

In the Studio: Al Green

While visiting his record company in 2005, Roots drummer Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson picked up Loretta Lynn’s 2004 Van Lear Rose album, the singer’s late-career collaboration with Jack White. “I couldn’t stop listening to it,” says Thompson. “I thought, ‘Why can’t that happen on the black side of music?’” He first attempted to work with reclusive soul singer Bill Withers, but an executive at Blue Note Records asked Thompson if he’d be interested in producing Al Green, who was looking to work with a member of the hip-hop community. (Listen to two new Greens tracks, plus watch a behind-the-scenes video about the making of this LP here.) The pair’s first meeting, in 2005 at New York’s Electric Lady Studios, resulted in an epic evening that formed the core of the glorious Lay It Down (out May 27th). “Every time anybody did something else, I turned around and wrote another song,” says Green. “We ended up with eight songs in that one night. I hadn’t had an experience like that, ever!” The band, built around the rhythm section of Thompson and bassist Adam Blackstone and featuring the Dap-King Horns (best known for their work with Amy Winehouse), reconvened seven or eight times to complete the album. The final results — featuring duets with Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend and Anthony Hamilton — sound looser, funkier and more emotional than anything Green has released in decades. Green’s last two albums (2003’s I Can’t Stop and 2005’s Everything’s OK) reunited him with producer Willie Mitchell, who led all of his classic sessions for Hi Records in the Seventies. Thompson describes those records as “solid but sonically frustrating,” and says that he had a different ambition for Lay It Down. Noting that new albums from legendary artists tend to go either the standards-filled “Tony Bennett rou

Published: 2008-04-21 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, In the Studio

Foo Fighters Promise “Big Noise” and “Biggest Songs” on Tour With Jimmy Eat World, Against Me!

When Foo Fighters take the stage at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida, tomorrow night to kick off their latest trek across North America, they will be embracing their inner stadium rockers to the max. “We’re proud to be an arena rock band,” says drummer and group cheerleader Taylor Hawkins. “We enjoy doing the bigass shows—making big noise with big toys.” They’ll take that big approach on their first domestic tour since the release of the critially and commercially successful new album Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace last fall. One of the few post-grunge bands to still be standing, Hawkins knows exactly why Foo Fighters remain relevant and will stand tall in the annals of rock history. “It’s all about Dave and how great a frontman he is,” Hawkins explains. “When we played Live Earth last year, Dave turned that stadium into a fucking club. All the great frontmen were like that. That’s what Freddie Mercury did every night.” Hawkins says the set list will focus on their latest record but the band won’t shy away from their biggest hits. “We pander to our audience, there’s no question. We’re not going to pull a Radiohead and not play our biggest songs. Luckily, I like playing ‘Everlong’ and ‘Monkey Wrench.’ ” The Foos aren’t going it alone. In fact, the tour has mutated into a post-modern “Monsters of Rock” tour, featuring some of the biggest bands in the country. Jimmy Eat World, Against Me!, Serj Tankian and about-to-break-huge Hi-Fi Hand Grenades will all join the Foos at various points on the run. “We played together at a radio festival in the fall,” says Against Me! frontman Tom Gabel. “My bandmates were hanging out in the Foos’ dressing room saying, ‘Come on, take us on tour!’ We didn’t think it would actually happen, but here we are.” On the prospect of playing arenas for the first time, Gabel says not to expect any bells and whistles. “We don’t have enough money or know-how to add pyro o

Published: 2008-01-15 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, On Tour

Rock List: Twenty-Five Favorite Album Covers

On Friday, we lamented the disappearance of striking cover art and asked you, the music fan, what your favorite album covers are. The result is a list of our collective twenty-five favorite record covers — but rather than tell you what they are, we’re showing you what they are. Check out the gallery of winners right here, and because there were so many passionate feelings about this rather personal topic, check after the jump for some RS staffers’ lists of favorites (they’re all subject to change, too). Evan Serpick King Crimson - In The Court of the Crimson King Led Zeppelin - I Can - Tago Mago The Clash - London Calling Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan Melissa Maerz Beck - Mellow Gold Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy - No More Workhouse Blues Daniel Johnston - Hi, How Are You? Swamp Dogg - Rat On! Ice T - Gangsta Rap Kevin O’ Donnell Miles Davis - Bitches Brew Sonic Youth – Goo The Roots - Things Fall Apart Steely Dan – Aja My Bloody Valentine - Loveless Andy Greene Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson Pink Floyd - Animals Ramones - Ramones The Who - Who’s Next Bob Dylan - Bringing It Back Home Caryn Ganz The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers Sonic Youth - Goo The B-52’s, The B-52’s The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico Jane’s Addiction - Nothing’s Shocking Daniel Kreps Pink Floyd - Animals The Beta Band - Champion Versions Jean-Claude Vannier - L’Enfant Assassin Des Mouches Nirvana - Incesticide Can - Monster Movie Jennifer Hsu New Order - Power, Corruption and Lies? Kraftwerk - TransEurope Express? The Beatles - The White Album Elvis Costello - The Year’s Model? R.E.M. - Murmur Nicole Frehsee The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed The Band - Music From The Big Pink Bruce Springsteen - The River The Beatles - Revolver Velvet Underground & Nico - Velvet Underground & Nico

Published: 2007-10-23 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock Lists

The Band That Uses Vampires To Its Advantage

Eric Elbogen may not look like a rock star -- onstage the 30-year- old is reminiscent of the kind of guy who liked to groove on the dance floor of a 1980s bar mitzvah party. But the mastermind behind Say Hi to Your Mom -- who recently moved from Brooklyn to Seattle and is touring as part of a...

Published: 2007-03-29 Provider: Washington Post

ARIA Awards

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA- OCTOBER 17: Children band Hi Five arrive for the 2004 ARIA Awards at the Superdome October 18, 2004 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Patrick Riviere/Getty Images)

Published: 2004-10-18 Provider: ViewImages Keywords: Child, Pink, Looking At Camera, Waist Up, Arrival, Australia, Sydney, Louisiana Superdome, Band, Dress, Stadium, Portrait, Posing, Arts Culture and Entertainment, Celebrities, Aria Awards,

Mariah Carey's Dog Has Had Enough

Mariah Carey is demented. Imagine being her pet? Before the insta-wedding chaos, Mariah was at the premiere of her new flick Tennessee, and sporting a pink Hello Kitty Band-Aid on her hand. It turns out that her beloved pooch Jack turned on her ass and chomped down. You try being dressed in a unicorn costume! "People keep shaking my hand really hard, like 'hi' and I'm like 'get off my freaking dog bite!'" she said to the press. "So anyways, if I'm wearing a band-aid, I thought it might as well be a cute one. Everyone's making it a whole dramatic moment about the band-aid. Golly. Really! It's a band-aid." Did she actually say "golly?" The film's producer quickly stepped in to assure the press that Mariah didn't put Jack in the oven for his betrayal. "Jack is very important to her. She's very loving with him. If you don't have kids, animals are extra important to you," said executive producer Sarah Siegel Magnuss. Flash forward six months from now to Nick Cannon with Jack in a backpack rappelling down the wall of Mariah's high-rise at 2 AM. He's wearing a pink Prince Charming costume and sobbing, not caring if he falls 25 stories because it still means he escaped from Mariah's insane stunted youth fairy tale kingdom. Photos: Bauer-Griffin Online

Published: 2008-05-07 Provider: A Socialite's Life

The Hills: 'Going To Semi-Formal With Him Does Not Make Him Your Boyfriend' [Words Of Wisdom]

newVideoPlayer("hills6_defamer.flv", 463, 387,""); Hey, where's Kristin Cavallari? And Jason Wahler? And that one chick with the huge cans? Oh, hi there! In case you hadn't noticed, Molly is out sick today, which leaves your Uncle Grambo the pleasure of being your host for this week's installment of "The Hills: Words Of Wisdom." Truth be told, I have never seen an episode of the show, which leaves me relatively unprepared to contextualize the goings-on of this band of famepires. While I harbor no doubts that a fair number of Defamer readers actually enjoy The Hills (regardless of whether you like it as a show or as a cultural phenomenon), I'm guessing (hoping?) that most of you are not watching this to catch up on the plot summary. Rather, you're watching it for the same reason that I do, which is because it enables us to wallow around in the schadenfreude like a pig rolls around in mud on a hot summer's day. So, with that, please enjoy this week's episode (crafted lovingly, as always, by Molly McAleer). [MTV] WATCH VIDEO

Published: 2008-04-30 Provider: Defamer Keywords: Clips, Heidi Montag, lauren conrad, the hills, words of wisdom

Another Atomic Kitten baby on the way

Member of the pop band Atomic Kitten, Jenny Frost, 29, is expecting her first child with fiancé Dominic Thrupp aka DJ Dom T. She announced the news herself on the Atomic Kitten website official board:Hi Everyone, Well you might have been wondering why everything’s gone quiet on the diary front since the New Year, and I wanted you all to be the first to know! I’m having a Kitten, oo, sorry baby!! Yes that’s right me and Dom are going to have a baby and we’re absolutely thrilled!!!!! I had a scan recently, and although I only have a tiny bump it was cart wheeling for the ultra sound! I’m thinking of starting a pregnancy blog, hopefully I’m over the worst of the morning sickness but for those of you interested in keeping up to date with my swollen ankles and food cravings I’ll do a regular update! That’s all for now! Love and Kisses Jen, Dom, George Michael and our baby bump xxxxxxxxJenny and Dom have been engaged since June 2002. She will be the third Atomic Kitten member to have children - ex-member Kerry Katona has three daughters and current member Natasha Hamilton two sons. Source: Atomic Kitten Official Site Board Thanks to CBB reader Sasha.

Published: 2007-03-24 Provider: Celebrity Baby Blog Keywords: Expecting, Atomic Kitten, Jenny Frost

There’s A New Blogger In Town!

Hi, I'm Sara Schaefer. I'm new here, and for the three of you who aren't familiar with my incredible career, I'd like to take a moment to introduce myself. You may know me as the girl who interviewed Amy Winehouse before her ballet slippers got dirty. (Sigh. We were going to be such great friends! But as anyone who knows me will tell you, I do NOT tolerate singing-racist crackheads in my life. It's just one of those things. Singing-racist crackheads and chewing gum. Hate 'em.) Of course, most of you know me as the star of Best Week Ever, one week in June 2005, when I appeared in an episode for about 0.3 seconds, describing a Shakira video. Anyway, words cannot describe how excited I am to be here. 5 days ago I was analyzing public pension fund stock data in relation to the recent sub-prime crisis. Now I'm sittin next to a TV (that is ON!) and drinking diet coke (that flows freely from a fountain in the office pantry!). Is this what heaven looks like? Please tell me it is. So, I'm sure you're wondering, what will I bring to bestweekever.tv? Hard-hitting political analysis, no-nonsense investment advice, and VERY DETAILED coverage of "So You Think You Can Dance". That's what. So aaaanyway, what else about me...I enjoy music & doughnuts (together and separately); I cry VERY easily while watching TV - but will pretend that I'm "fake" crying so no one knows I'm actually breaking down during every episode of Making the Band 3, seasons 1-3; and I recently tried white-water rafting for the first time. Pleased to meet you.

Published: 2008-06-19 Provider: Best Week Ever Keywords: Entertainment

Update: Shane Filan and wife Gillian expecting second child

Update: Shane has posted the following message to his fans on Westlife's Official Page,Hi everyone, You've probably all heard the news by now, but I wanted to let you know personally that Gillian and I are having another baby! I can't even begin to describe how amazing we're both feeling right now -- as you can imagine, we're completely over the moon and Nicole is very excited at the thought of having a little brother or sister to play with. The baby is due in September, so quite a while to go yet, although I'm sure it'll fly by really quickly. Gillian's bump is growing by the day and she's extremely happy and healthy.  I look forward to introducing the new member of the Filan clan to you later in the year! Love Shane.Continue reading below for the original post.Originally posted March 7th: Shane Filan, of the Irish pop group Westlife, and his wife Gillian, 28, have announced that they are expecting their second child in September. The new baby will join big sister Nicole, 2 ½. A thrilled Shane, 28, tells the Daily Mirror,I can't believe I'm going to become a pop papa for the second time. We're going to be off from the band for a year from the summer so it seems like the perfect time to add to our family. I'm absolutely over the moon and it's going to be incredible to have two children. We didn't want to leave it too long to give Nicole a little brother or sister so it's perfect timing. Gillian is an amazing woman and I feel so proud to be having another child with her. It's going to be hectic in the Filan household with two little ones running around but we really can't wait. With the band taking a year off it is going to give me the chance to get really stuck in and be a great dad. I'll be able to give Gillian all the help she needs. All our friends and family are thrilled. Now we are just looking forward to whatever the future brings.Source: Daily Mirror Thanks to CBB readers Sylvana and Angela.

Published: 2008-03-14 Provider: Celebrity Baby Blog Keywords: Celebrity Dads, Expecting, News, Quotable quotes