The Cars pictures with tag: rock news

AC/DC Singer Johnson Putting “Thoughts And Anecdotes” Into New Book

Photo: Miller/FilmMagic AC/DC singer Brian Johnson has something to do during downtime on the band’s Black Ice tour: The vocalist has signed a deal with Penguin Books to pen his memoirs, a collection of “thoughts and anecdotes” he’s compiled in his years as the singer of the Australian band. Don’t expect a tawdry tale like Motley Crue’s The Dirt, however, as Johnson’s 300-page manuscript will have a different tone. “I like humor a lot,” Johnson said, “and cars have been a big part of my life. I’m lucky enough that I’m able to buy some of the exotic ones. Instead of doing drugs, I did motorcars. I’m not sure which one is more expensive.” Stories in the book will likely include Johnson’s debut ride in a Concorde jet, his first auto race and that time he drove backwards for 9 1/2 miles because his gears were busted. No title or print date has been announced yet. Related Stories: • Why “Black Ice” Beat “Chinese Democracy”: The Tale of Wal-Mart Vs. Best Buy • AC/DC Turn “Rock N Roll Train” Into World’s First Excel Video • AC/DC Return to the Road With Same Old Awesome Song and Dance

Published: 2008-12-22 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

Watch Jeff Beck and Alice Cooper Explore the Yardbirds’ Impact

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Jeff Beck will release his new album Emotion & Commotion next Tuesday, April 13th, and as an extra incentive to purchase Beck’s first studio album in seven years on iTunes, the digital music service is offering up an exclusive 30-minute interview between Beck and Alice Cooper. The two rock icons talk about a wide range of topics from cars to guitars, but in this RS exclusive excerpt from the chat, they explore the influence of Beck’s other Rock Hall band, the

Published: 2010-04-09 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Jeff Beck, Rock News, Videos

U2 Announce New Remix Album Exclusively for Fan Club Members

U2 will release an album of remixes, dubbed Artificial Horizon, to members of their fan club in late January 2010, according to the band’s official Website. While the track list hasn’t been revealed in full, U2 promise that Trent Reznor’s version of “Vertigo,” producer Jacknife Lee’s “Fast Cars” remix and David Holmes’ take on “Beautiful Day” will be among Artificial Horizon’s 13 songs, which span from the Grand Jury Mix of ”If God Will Send His Angels” in 1997 to the Fish Out Of Water mix of “G

Published: 2009-12-24 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, U2

Ex-Nirvana Drummer Chad Channing Steps Out as Songwriter on Before Cars’ “Walk Back”

In the mid-1990s, Chad Channing was in the studio at Soundhouse Recording in Seattle with Jack Endino, who was mastering a record for Channing’s band the Methodists. “We were taking a break, walking to a store, and Jack told me he’d always thought the stuff I’d written was really cool,” Channing said. “From then on, he was always telling me to do my own stuff.” Some 15 years later, a record full of Channing’s “own stuff” — Walk Back, by his new band Before Cars — will be released by Flotation Re

Published: 2009-04-28 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

Pixies’ “Doolittle” Coming to “Rock Band” This Month

The Pixies’ “Wave of Mutilation” is already included on Rock Band, but as of June 24th (for Xbox) and June 26th (for PlayStation), users will be able to download “Tame,” “Here Comes Your Man,” “Gouge Away” and the other 11 tracks on the band’s 1989 album Doolittle and impersonate Kim Deal, Frank Black, Joey Santiago and David Lovering in the comfort of their own homes. The record is the third full album to see release in the game’s music store (after Judas Priest’s Screaming for Vengeance and the Cars’ self-titled LP). Each track costs $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360), or you could nab the whole album for $18.99 (1520 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360). Fortunately for Rock Daily, we got a chance to demo the Pixies tracks yesterday — click here to check out our first impressions. [Photo: Getty]

Published: 2008-06-13 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

Live From Bonnaroo: Vampire Weekend Debut New Song

Midway through Vampire Weekend’s Thursday night closing set, frontman Ezra Koenig jokingly asked the crowd, “Did anyone take public transportation to get here?” Judging by the hours of traffic it took thousands of cars and RVs to roll into the Bonnaroo campground, not many people did. Still, the preppy pop-punk crew got the crowd riled up with the sparkling pop-rock jam “M79,” which Koenig described as their tribute to public transport. Vampire Weekend’s set mostly featured tracks from their debut disc, including “One (Blake’s Got a New Face),” on which Koenig engaged the crowd for a deafening sing-a-long. But the band were brave enough to unveil a new, still-untitled song, and it might be their most afro-pop-inspired jam yet, with synthesized tribal chants, sparklingly clean guitar lines and Koenig’s amped-up hoots and hollers. “If you don’t know this song,” Koenig told the crowd, “and you’re on drugs, all you have to do is dance.” • Bonnaroo Video: Vampire Weekend and MGMT Kick Off The Festival • Rolling Stone at Bonnaroo 2008 [Photo :Getty]

Published: 2008-06-13 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Festivals, Bonnaroo

Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody: “Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ Is The Reason I Wanted To Be In a Band”

Photo: Getty Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody talked with Rock Daily recently to discuss the artists and albums that were influential in helping craft Snow Patrol’s own sound, which include hits on both sides of the Atlantic like “Run,” “Hands Open” and “Chasing Cars,” as well as their new album A Hundred Million Suns. Check below for Lightbody on how U2 set the blueprint for UK bands to succeed in America, how Nirvana’s Nevermind inspired him to play guitar and what band he deems is “the best British pop band since the Beatles.” On Michael Jackson: “The first record I remember playing loads of times was Thriller, by Michael Jackson. And, I don’t think it’s really influenced me that much. It’s just a brilliant record. Obviously, Michael Jackson means different things these days but it’s, you know, for me still it’s a brilliant record. Nothing tarnishes great music, to be honest.” On AC/DC: “The first rock band I got into was AC/DC, or at least the first one I’ll admit to getting into. I couldn’t live without Back In Black. It’s the first with Brian Johnson taking over on the vocals after Bon Scott died, to come back that strong with a record that good and career-defining and still be one of the biggest records of all time it shows the strength of that band. It’s primeval, it’s gritty, it’s sexual, it’s bombastic, and their live shows are just like an alien invasion. Back In Black is the record we put on a lot before we go onstage and you just can’t help but feel buoyed and energized and yet humbled all at the same time. I’m no guitar player really. I can follow a simple pattern but I can’t make the guitar sing like Angus Young does.” On U2: “Joshua Tree was my first U2 record. I am Irish, but you know Joshua Tree was the first record that really, that really was just sort of global, it was gigantic. U2 are part of the collective consciousness of the world. You can’t say you haven’t been influenced by them. I’m inspired by them cause U2 sort of set the template o

Published: 2008-12-11 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News

Janet Jackson and Aimee Mann Plot New Albums, NIN Remix Site Launches, Black Crowes Return

While her brothers go gallivanting on a planned family reunion tour, Janet Jackson will release her new, still-untitled album in February. The record will be Jackson’s debut on Island Def Jam, and her first since 2006’s 20 Y.O. Janet is also prepping a world tour to coincide with the album, which is being executive produced by Antonio “L.A.” Reid rather than her boyfriend, Jermaine Dupri. Aimee Mann will unleash her new album, called Smilers, next spring on her own Superego label. Mann tells Billboard the new album “almost sounds like the Cars a little bit” and features “no electric guitars at all,” opting for a more Moog sound. The Nine Inch Nails remix site has finally launched, despite being in the middle of an ongoing war between the record labels and the YouTubes of the world. Just last week, Trent Reznor’s old record label refused to host the site because of sampling concerns. To mark the fifth anniversary of the death of the Clash’s Joe Strummer, London’s Brixton JAMM will host “London Calling – Remembering Joe Strummer” on December 22nd. Mani from Primal Scream, Andy Rourke of the Smiths and Jamie T are scheduled to perform. The Black Crowes will release their first album of all-new material in seven years when their Warpaint hits shelves March 4th, 2008. According to the press release, “the album builds compellingly on the band’s trademark adventurous brew of rock, blues, country, soul and gospel.” We’ll take their word on it. [Photo: Getty]

Published: 2007-11-28 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Afternoon News Roundup

Sufjan Stevens Unveils Ode to NYC Highway With Hula-Hoops, Orchestra

Last night, Sufjan Stevens performed at the plush Brooklyn Academy of Music. But when a venue feels compelled to post a sign that reads “Warning: Flashing Strobe Lights During Performance,” you know the show isn’t geared at rock fans. The singer-songwriter was unveiling his classically informed symphony, The BQE, which was commissioned by BAM’s Next Wave festival. Stevens’ thirty-minute opus was a tribute to (oddly enough) the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the crumbling eyesore of a highway that slices through the hearts of New York’s finest boroughs. Stevens was backed by an orchestra as well as a regular rock band, which gave The BQE a swinging, pop-informed vibe. There was plenty of spectacle, too: a troupe of hula-hoopers in day-glo costumes twirled and twisted at the lip of the stage as dizzying video projections of cars on the highway flashed from behind. As for the actual music? Pretty brilliant. The seven-part opus could’ve been mistaken for an instrumental version of a Stevens tune like “Chicago,” but peppered with nods to Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” Ravel’s hypnotic “Bolero” and the Beatles’ “A Day In the Life.” Fans who couldn’t get into The BQE were treated to a second set that was dubbed “Sufjan Plays The Hits.” From “Jacksonville” to “Chicago” to “Casimir Pulaski Day,” the songwriter’s standards were enlivened by the orchestra even moreso than his recorded versions, which feature pared-down string and horn sections. At the end of the set, Stevens thanked the crowd, saying, “We hope you got your money’s worth.” It was hard to disagree. [Photo: Rahav Segev]

Published: 2007-11-03 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Live Shows