Jefferson Airplane pictures from Rolling Stone

Rare Images Mean Big Money for Labels

Amid drastic drop-offs in CD sales, the major labels have discovered new sources of revenue — by looking in their basements. Sony BMG recently launched Icon Collectibles, a line of rare photos from the label's archives, with candid, unpublished shots of artists from Miles Davis to Bob Dylan, and Warner label Rhino Entertainment just started selling reproductions of concert posters for bands like the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane.

Published: 2008-08-06 Provider: Rolling Stone

New Beck Song “Chemtrails” Hits the Web

Beck’s “Chemtrails,” the first song from his upcoming Danger Mouse-produced Modern Guilt, is now streaming on the singer’s official website. As Rolling Stone reported last week, the album channels British rock of the 1960s, and the psychedelic “Chemtrails” fits that mold. Beck seems to be channeling Jefferson Airplane/Moby Grape mastermind Skip Spence — an artist Beck previously covered — on the track, which may or may not be the first single. Modern Guilt still doesn’t have an official release date, but sources say June is a safe bet. [Photo: Beck/Drew Brown]

Published: 2008-05-20 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

L.A. Guns, Guess Who, Beach Boys Members Battle With Competing Lineups

Photo: Natkin/WireImage One night last summer, L.A. Guns took the stage at the Taste of Lombard food festival in Lombard, Illinois. At the same time, 1,200 miles away, L.A. Guns hit the stage at the Muscle Party Rockfest in Sarasota, Florida. How was this possible? Because L.A. Guns, like a growing number of acts, are touring in two competing lineups: one fronted by the group’s original guitarist, Tracii Guns, and another led by his Eighties bandmates, singer Phil Lewis and drummer Steve Riley. “Tracii’s L.A. Guns is bogus,” says Riley. “People want to hear the songs sung by the original lead singer.” Guns counters, “Those guys are a couple of dirty motherfuckers. I hired them for my band — if you get hired as a manager at McDonald’s, you don’t take over the McDonald’s.” Two versions of the Guess Who, War, Jefferson Airplane, the Temptations and the Beach Boys are all battling for bookings next summer. Band members are crying foul, lawsuits are flying, fans are confused, and promoters are tempeted to give out shows to the lowest bidder. “This has proved beyond Spinal Tap ridiculous,” says original L.A. Guns guiitarist Tracii Guns. “The next chapter would be us trying to book a convenience store and battling over the $300 they’d pay us.” To read more about how bands are dealing with their doppelgängers, check out Andy Greene’s story from issue 1072 below: • The Battle of the B-List Bands

Published: 2009-02-25 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

Rock List: Readers’ Top Songs About Insanity

Last week, in honor of Britney’s breakdown, Huckabee’s antics and Winehouse’s latest string of disasters—breaking news! There’s more of them!—we asked our readers for the best songs about insanity. As expected, a song about noted nutcase Syd Barrett and a track sung by a man who once bit off the head of a bat received the most votes. Ditch the straitjackets and check out the full list of twenty-five songs here. 1. Pink Floyd – “Brain Damage” 2. Black Sabbath – “Paranoid” 3. Pixies – “Where Is My Mind?” 4. Metallica – “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” 5. Radiohead – “Climbing Up the Walls” 6. Guns n’ Roses – “You’re Crazy” 7. Green Day – “Basketcase” 8. Nirvana – “Lithium” 9. David Bowie – “All the Madmen” 10. Gnarls Barkley – “Crazy” 11. The Ramones – “Gimme Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment” 12. Talking Heads – “Psycho Killer” 13. The Doors – “The End” 14. Jefferson Airplane – “White Rabbit” 15. Ozzy Osbourne – “Crazy Train” 16. Suicidal Tendencies – “Institutionalized” 17. Tool – “Rosetta Stoned” 18. The Rolling Stones – “19th Nervous Breakdown” 19. Tears For Fears – “Mad World” 20. Sonic Youth – “Schizophrenia” 21. Jimi Hendrix – “Manic Depression” 22. The Police – “Every Breath You Take” 23. David Bowie – “Aladdin Sane” 24. Joy Division – “She’s Lost Control” 25. The Kinks – “Acute Schizophrenia Blues”

Published: 2008-01-22 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock Lists, Rock Daily

The Grateful Dead Movie Coming Soon — Don’t Eat the Brown Movie Tickets

The Summer of Love is officially threatening to take over the cinema. Across the Universe is set for fall release, Gus Van Sant’s take on Tom Wolfe’s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is in the works and now moviegoers can start preparing for the most acid-soaked tale of them all: Home Before Daylight, a film based on the formative years of the Grateful Dead. The movie will be adapted from a book by Steve Parish, who has some real credentials: He was a Dead roadie for 35 years. The story, which has already been endorsed by Dead guitarist Bob Weir, will chart the history of the band, focusing on those times they chilled with Ken Kesey and Jefferson Airplane in the Haight-Ashbury days. We’re totally stoked for this film, if just to see who gets cast as Grace Slick (please not Lindsay Lohan). While no release date is set for the film, we anticipate something in the 2009 ballpark, as the script will undoubtedly be a fact-checker’s nightmare (how would you verify whether or not Weir actually saw an eight-headed dragon that breathed purple flames while he was tripping acid during the twenty-third minute of a “Dark Star” jam?). Plus, the CG effects will likely cost in the millions to make sure those hallucinations look realistic. So, who would you like to see cast in this film? Paul Giametti as Pigpen, anyone?

Published: 2007-07-06 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News