That’s just music

U2 is postponing the release of their new album due to the lack of two songs that should be on it, said New Musical Express. What actually had happened to them and why this is the only reason not to release it? Originally, the release of their 12th album was planned on November 14, but in September musicians have announced the fact that everything will be going out later – approximately in the beginning of 2009. At the same time the band’s leader Bono kept on saying that they have up to 50/60 new songs. However, they still don’t have those two additional songs to make the new release moving on. Most likely the new album will be called “No Line On The Horizon”, and it’s being produced by Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, including Steve Lillywhite. Also U2 was co-working with the infamous Rick Rubin, but as the band’s guitarist The Edge told the press everything what was made together with him is now thrown away and will not appear on the album. “He [Rick] gave us great advice as much as anything. His whole thing is, ‘Don’t go near the studio until you know exactly what you want to do’, which of course, is the opposite of how we usually work.”

The previous U2 album “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” was released in 2004.

Metallica is looking at the possibility of releasing their new record through the Internet. This information was given to a Rolling Stone magazine by Lars Ulrich (drummer). This is quite amazing, especially after the scandal which surrounded Metallica after their legal battle with Napster. Many people began to see this band as greedy as no one else in the music industry. Such an interesing move sounds extremely promising and cool. “We’re free of our record contract. We have that element of complete freedom with the next record, so we can do whatever we want. We could do an Internet thing or even put it on Andy Greene’s record label.” Could they free themselves ten years ago? Probably not… Besides that, Metallica is not planning to return to a studio right now because they’re still very tired from the previous recording process (“Death Magnetic”). Currently the band is touring in around the US in support of it.

Isn’t it amazing that Metallica wants to spread it’s next album through the Internet? Nevertheless, “Death Magnetic” (2008) saw the first light exclusively online just ten days before it’s official release. It sounds like Ulrich began to believe in progress and the irreversibility of it’s influence on music.

Cocteau Twins vocalist Elizabeth Fraser had created the ‘super band,’ said NME. This cool project is going to be called The Hookham Boys, which should include a lot of musicians who have once worked together with Massive Attack, Spiritualized, post-punk group Echo And The Bunnymen, and the British electronic band Goldfrapp. Particularly, Fraser’s new band shall incorporate the following list of musicians: Damon Reece, Alex Lee (Placebo, Suede and Goldfrapp), Sean Cook, Joe Allen from Strangelove, and Jake Brockman. The first concert where The Hookham Boys shall perform is going to take place today (November 26) in London. Money that will be earned from this event should go to the charity organization called the Teenage Cancer Trust.

A lot of fans see this project as the revival of The Cocteau Twins, or another page in the life story of Elizabeth Fraser. This band fell apart back in 1997 after the release of their last album, “Milk and Kisses” (1996). In 2007 Twins’ began to work with the new studio material spreading rumours about the upcoming release. In October 2008 Cocteau Twins have appeared at Q Awards ceremony receiving the Inspiration Award. So far everything sounds very promising, and lets hope that Fraser will keep on going with The Hookham Boys.

An ex-Guns N’ Roses guitar player and a current member of Velvet Revolver Slash is planning to release the solo album. This information was spread by NME with the reference to his wife Perla Hudson. Recently, she gave an interview to The Rockerrazzi, which later posted it on the YouTube. Hudson told them that Slash wants to invite his friends to make this new record, and it turned out that Ozzy Osbourne is most likely will be participating. Also, Slash’s best friends list may include Black Eyed Peas vocalist and a solo performer Fergie. The exact date is of course not known so far because all this information is extremely unreliable and uncertain. However, it is well known that Hudson was never caught up lying about his husband’s music career, so lets believe everything she said. Plus there are good rumours taken out from some other sources on the fact that Slash had already recorded fourteen songs which most likely will be presented on the album.

In 2009 Slash will perform at the Quart music festival in Norway as the headliner, and soon after everybody may see him touring in around the UK. Everything what deals with Velvet Revolver (which was created by Slash and two other Guns N’ Roses members, bassist Daff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum in 2002) is noted by it’s search for a new vocalist.

Perla Hudson’s interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rX9L5zPUQA&eurl=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=109525

Vatican had openly excused John Lennon for his phrase were he was comparing The Beatles to Jesus by saying that the band is actually more famous. This information is now available at the L’Osservatore Romano webiste – the official Catholic newspaper. Back in 1966 Lennon gave an interview to one of the London’s newspapers saying that, “Christianity will disappear. It shall shrink and go away. We are more popular than Jesus”. “Back than this phrase began to spread a lot of angry talks, but today it sounds like a joke said by a young man who stepped his game up from the working class to the greatest fame of all times”, noted L’Osservatore Romano. According to the Church the real talent behind The Beatles stands in their specific ability to write popular songs which contain happiness and euphoria. In contrast, today popular music is standardised, full of stereotypes and totally lacks what The Beatles were doing. It seems quite true, modern music is the repitition of the same stuff again and again. Since the 90’s there is almost nothing new. Styles are the same, lyrics are the same and of course music videos are the same. Modern times need modern Beatles.

http://www.vatican.va/news_services/or/or_eng/index.html

An ex-Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters, who is currently performing as a solo artist shall headline the Live Earth music festival. It should take place on December 7 in the Indian city of Mumbai (former Bombey), said Gigwise. Legendary Waters stands on top, and makes things moving! Also, all kinds of other musicians are planning to show up. Approximately, the list should be quite long, but for right now only two musicians have confirmed their future presence. William Adams from Black Eyed Peas, who is better known as Will.I.Am and Bon Jovi. Of course this event shall include local Indian artists, but their names are not very well known in the Western media. Viewers from India, Hong-Kong and other Asian countries will be able to see this concert live. Others may be able to observe it exclusively on the Internet.

Live Earth was started in 2007. Back then it incorporated various concerts all around the globe including Rio De Janeiro, London, New York, Hamburg, Johannesburg, Shanhai, Sydney and Tokyo. Total number of TV and live viewers included nearly two billion people wordwide. One of the festival’s organizers is the ex-US vice president and the Noble prize laureate Albert Gore.  

Former The Rainbow musicians Joe Lynn Turner, Tony Kerry, Bobby Rondinelli and Greg Smith are planning to create the joint music project together with Ritchie Blackmore’s son Jurgen (Ritchie Blackmore is the legendary founder of Deep Purple). This new band is going to be called Over The Rainbow, said Blabbermouth.net. Kerry used to participate in The Rainbow during 1975–1978 period, Turner and Rondinelli have joined it in 1980. Smith was the latest guy who played in the band from 1994 to 1997. Over The Rainbow project shall include Turner as a vocalist, Kerry as a keyboardist, Rondinelli as a drummer, Smith as a bassist, and Blackmore Jr. as a guitarist. The last one has agreed to join a group after understanding the impact it had on music fans. The whole idea of reunion changed his mind. Right after The Rainbow fell apart in 1997 all these musicians keep on hearing numerous wishes to make it going again. Also, musicians are designing the world tour and possibly will start making another record. Reunions are great, especially when they’re including new people from the younger generation. Blackmore Jr. perfectly represents this new generation, plus he continues his father’s task by playing rock n’ roll.

Crowded House vocalist Neil Finn has a wish to record the charity album, said Billboard. He is going to co-work with such musicians as Radiohead’s drummer Ed O’Brien, Phil Selway, the band Wilco in its full line-up, Johnny Marr (The Smiths and Modest), Soul Coughing’s bassist Sebastian Steinberg and a singer Lisa Germano. So far this future album is not carrying any name, but it’s about to be recorded very soon in Oakland with the help of Jimmy Scott, and shall be released in 2009. In January all these musicians will give the joint concert (possibly more than one). This interesting project is the continuation of the concert album “Seven Worlds Collide” (this name was taken from one of the Crowded House’s songs “Distant Sun”), which was released in 2001. “Seven Worlds Collide” was also made up by lots of cool people and bands including Wilco and Pearl Jam frontman Eddy Vedder.

All profits made from the new album will be given to Oxfam charity organization.

Soon Sir Paul McCartney is going to release previously unknown The Beatles’ song “Carnival of Light”, said the British weekly The Observer. The improvised fourteen minutes long composition was recorded way back on January 5, 1967 in the Abbey Road studio (North London) while making the infamous “Penny Lane”. “Carnival of Light” is mixed with the variety of noizes including human voices, psychedelic sounds and the church organ. This song was performed, or actually played as a record during the electronic music festival at the Roundhouse theatre in London. Listeners were not aware of the fact who actually made this record. The Beatles themselves decided not to release it, thinking that it’s just too strange to be understood. However, forty years later McCartney has changed this opinion. In one of the recent interviews to BBC (see it on the following week) Sir Paul said that he still keeps this record and would like to release it. At the same time he added that he was planning to do it in 1996 together with the release of “Anthology”, but George Harrison has convinced him not to continue. 

Nine Inch Nails have found a new drummer to replace Josh Freese who had announced his wish to leave the band just a few months ago. Ilan Rubin from Lastprophets is going to be this new guy, said Blabbermouth.

Freese has told about his idea to leave NIN in October, and specifically underlined the fact that he is about to stay until December, when their North American tour is over. All kinds of rumours are saying that a twenty-year-old Rubin is about to join Nails in the beginning of 2009. Nine Inch Nails’ frontman and unchageable leader Trent Reznor has written on the band’s official web site that Rubin is going to be their new drummer, and later this info was picked up by the others. Reznor has pointed out his admiration of Lastprophets and specifically Rubin’s talent, “I had the chance to see Ilan playing his ass off at Reading and Leeds. a couple summers ago and he blew me away. We recently invited him out to rehearse with us and he blew US away – the perfect guy to pick up the sticks after Josh leaves us at the end of the year.”

Ilan Rubin began to play drums when he was only eight years old when he found his father’s drum set in the garage. Besides drums he’s playing guitar and a keyboard.