"Elect the Dead" by Serj Tankian

Serj Tankian's powerful, madcap bellow is one of the easiest voices to recognize in hard rock. Normally, the voice is attached to System of a Down, the multi-platinum behemoth generally regarded as one of the most musically adventurous and politically progressive bands in their genre. In recent years, primary SOAD songwriter Daron Malakian increased his vocal presence in the band's material; while Tankian obviously remained a cornerstone, the dual attack left some fans complaining of Serj withdrawal. Now that the band is on a short-term hiatus, Tankian's solo career finally comes to fruition, beginning with Elect the Dead. Fans familiar with snippets of Tankian's jazz-influenced or experimental solo songs—which have popped up in benefit shows and so forth—may be surprised by the general familiarity of Elect the Dead. Originally conceived as a more stripped-down collection—a direction which he's already indicated he's headed on his second

Published: 2007-10-23 Provider: Artist Direct

On the Charts: Carrie Underwood Rules Debuts, “American Idol” Kingdom

The Big News: Carrie Underwood continued her quest to become the most successful American Idol ever, as her new album Carnival Ride cruised to the top of the Billboard charts with 527,101 copies sold in its debut week. By comparison, Kelly Clarkson, Underwood’s closest AI competitor, sold 291,000 copies when My December debuted in June. Underwood dominated her fresh competition, selling 400,000-plus more copies than the number two, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’ Raising Sand. Country’s Gary Allan took the third spot, while System of a Down’s Serj Tankian’s first solo album Elect the Dead scored fourth with 65,998 copies. Debuts: Prog-revivalists Coheed & Cambria’s No World For Tomorrow entered the chart at number six with 61,849 units shifted while Neil Young’s Chrome Dreams II grabbed the eleven hole and Say Anything’s double-disc In Defense Of the Genre debuted at twenty-seven with 24,750. Further down the chart, Ryan Adams’ new EP Follow The Lights came in at forty, while Ween’s La Cucharacha came in at a fitting (for the band in question) sixty-nine. RS Breaking Artist Hurricane Chris hit the chart at twenty-four. Last Week’s Heroes: Defending champion Bruce Springsteen’s Magic tumbled on down to twelve, thanks to a thirty-four percent sales drop. Last week’s runner-up, Kid Rock’s Rock N Roll Jesus, stayed in the top ten by grasping on to seven. The remainder of the chart, sans debuts, stayed relatively the same, but we expect changes by this time next week, when Britney Spears’ Blackout and the new Backstreet Boys album should factor into the equation.

Published: 2007-11-01 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Chart Roundup

Five Things More Likely Than a Modest Mouse Number One Debut

On November 18th, 1997, when venerable indie label Up Records put out Modest Mouse’s now classic ’90s college rock opus The Lonesome Crowded West, it was a big deal because it gave you and your parents — who might have read about the band in the Sunday Times or heard about them on NPR — something to talk about. Today, almost ten years later, this fifteen-year-old band from Issaquah, Washington, have the number one album on the Billboard charts. They sold 128,564 copies of their record We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, beating out mall-friendly soulstress Joss Stone and even an American Idol reject (Elliot Yamin) for the spot, and securing Johnny Marr his first U.S. hit in almost 25 years of guitar legend status. This is very exciting. But it’s also baffling. Here’s a list of five things we would have thought more likely to actually happen than Modest Mouse ever topping the Billboard charts. What might you add? That other band Johnny Marr was in would finally bite the giant, delicious and completely cruelty-free carrot that’s been dangling over them for twenty years, and reunite Steve Malkmus would be elected as Portland’s mayor Dizzy with a common cold bug, and distracted by worry that the clams in his lunchtime chowder had turned, a puttering Keith Richards would step on a rake while gardening and accidentally club himself to death Buffy the Vampire Slayer would be recognized as the most important pop cultural phenomenon of the ’90s, and would be integrated into a federally mandated lineup of TV shows shown in high school homerooms nation wide After stealing an election, the president would use bogus intelligence to involve us in an unwinnable war in the Persian Gulf… oh wait…

Published: 2007-03-28 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: General

Lily Allen, Oasis, Gene Simmons Backlash Against Radiohead’s “Rainbows”

As the January 3rd release date of the compact-disc version of Radiohead’s In Rainbows draws nearer, several artists have finally elected to open up about Rainbows‘ creative marketing strategy. (Or rather, how Radiohead pissed them off by thinking outside the box.) First up, the immutable Lily Allen, who calls Radiohead “arrogant.” “They’ve got millions of pounds. It sends a weird message to younger bands who haven’t done as well,” Allen reasoned. “You don’t choose how to pay for eggs. Why should it be different for music?” Little does Allen know, you do choose how to pay for eggs. You can use cash or credit, or checks if you have photo ID. We could discuss supply and demand and how bands make money off live shows and merch sales, but until Lily Allen can find us an egg that wrote “Paranoid Android,” we’re not even starting that fight. Next up is Oasis‘ Liam Gallagher, who denies the reports that followed Radiohead’s September 30th announcement that indicated Oasis would try a similar scheme for their next album. Gallagher insists that he would never give away an Oasis album for free, and that something like that would only happen “over my dead body.” Even Kiss‘ Gene Simmons took time out of his busy writing-about-prostitutes schedule to intelligently discuss Radiohead’s course. “That’s not a business model that works. I open a store and say ‘Come on in and pay whatever you want.’ Are you on fucking crack? Do you really believe that’s a business model that works?” The outburst also spurred Simmons to ask his lawyers if he could produce Kiss-branded crack. Simmons does kind of ask an interesting question: Is this a business model that works? We won’t know until either Radiohead reveals how much money they made from their “pay-what-you-want” plan or the week after the CD hits stores and we get our hands on the charts. R

Published: 2007-11-15 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Radiohead's "In Rainbows"

Serj Tankian “System Of A Down!”

Serj Tankian from the band “System Of A Down” was in Malibu over the weekend with friends and family! Serj is working on a solo album called “Elect The Dead“ due to arrive October  23, 2007! Photo:CelebrityPuke.com

Published: 2007-09-19 Provider: CelebrityPuke.com Keywords: Serj Tankian

JPMorgan Will Take On Half of Bear Stearns Staff

Photo: Getty Images FINANCE• The SEC might still want to take down Maurice Greenberg. A.I.G.'s former chief may face civil charges for his alleged role in an effort to improperly boost the insurer's financials. [NYT]• You could look at it like JPMorgan is keeping 45 percent of Bear Stearns staff. The rest of Bear's employees are apparently hoarding Bear merchandise, probably in hopes of selling it on eBay. [Business Week, NYP]• Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo had an e-mail malfunction and apparently called a consumer writing nicely to him for help with one of his crappy mortgages "disgusting" to his face. [Gawker]LAW • Lawyers from New York City law firms are banding together with Wall Street to save Darfur. [WSJ] • Meanwhile, attorneys at Bewey & LeBoeuf are donating money that will go toward relief in China and Myanmar. [Above the Law] • Lawyers offer handy advice on what to do when you're caught dodging taxes with an offshore account. [WSJ] MEDIA • Caroline Marks, who was at the top of Comcast's Ziddio, has been tapped to run the Tina Brown–Barry Diller venture. [All Things Digital] • People is pushing up its editorial deadline by twelve hours because of … rising gas prices? [NYP] • Barack Obama says that media consolidation would be a target of his administration if he's elected to the White House. [Deal] REAL ESTATE • The Lower East Side is an endangered species! [NYT] • JFK's Terminal 7 is going upscale. [Crain's NY] • Some say that foreign investors are pulling back from investing in New York City real estate. Meanwhile, Middle Eastern investors are trying to strike a deal to buy the General Motors building. [NYT, WSJ]

Published: 2008-05-22 Provider: New York Magazine

BWE Sports: More Like Andy Fraud-dick

The Huffington Post yesterday confirmed tmz's allegations that Andy Roddick's biceps were Photoshopped to appear larger on his recent Men's Fitness magazine cover. The truth is, Roddick is a flabby, unathletic mess, and this scandal is just another reason why Mandy Moore should be sleeping with me. Right? Yankees free-agent bust Carl Pavano is undergoing season-ending elbow surgery, likely ending his tenure with the team. In accordance with Yankee team policy, Pavano will have his number retired, gain Hall of Fame entrance, and a two-hour piece, "Pavano: 19 Games of Glory," will air daily on the YES network. Card manufacturer Upper Deck has made an offer to purchase Topps, the lovable, nostalgia-inducing, hard-ass-gum-having baseball card company that I grew up with. It's kind of like Sony making an offer to purchase Milton Bradley, or Pokemon making an offer to purchase Transformers. Tampa Bay Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon elected to bench outfielder Elijah Dukes last night after he allegedly threatened his wife and child. Said Maddon, "The Devil Rays organization is not going to sacrifice its morals and dignity in our pursuit of fourth place." A welterweight boxer named Zab Judah had his father impersonate him on a promotional conference call as a prank to members of the media. Reporters caught on, however, when Judah kept mispronouncing names of bands, asking about really old girlfriends, and mentioning that he thinks Morgan Freeman is a very good actor.

Published: 2007-05-24 Provider: Best Week Ever Keywords: Entertainment