Aerosmith’s been having a rough go of it lately, what with an injury-plagued tour that was eventually canceled over the summer and lead singer Steven Tyler’s declaration that now was the time to work “on the brand of myself — Brand Tyler” after a recent show at Abu Dhabi. Not that he hasn’t been honing that particular brand for a while now; that gig was apparently one of many of recent years in which Tyler didn’t make his presence known to the rest of the band until right before they went on stage. Classic Rock correspondent Peter Makowski, who was apparently at the show, noted that while Tyler’s off fine-tuning his brand, the rest of the band is set to sit down and have a long talk about its future, which may not involve Tyler at all. MORE »
POSTS FROM "names in the news" CATEGORY
names in the news
Dear Aerosmith: I Love You (Well, Most Of Your Output) But Maybe You Should Think About Calling It A Day
names in the news
“This Is It” Box Office Success No Doubt Sparking Heated Talks About Sequel
The eight bucks that I plunked down to catch Michael Jackson’s posthumous rehearsal flick This Is It at my local malltiplex yesterday? That was 0.000108% of the film’s first-day gross of $7.4 million. It’s expected to bring in $40 million through Sunday. [Billboard] MORE »
names in the news
A follow-up on some commentariat curiosity from a few weeks back: Pitchfork’s review of the indie-pandering soundtrack to the forthcoming vampire flick Twilight: New Moon, penned by Marc Hogan. The grade: 5.4. The crux of the issue: “The New Moon OST has all the touchstones of what is considered, by many who consider themselves cognoscenti, “good” music… but it uses its tastefulness to solidify the borders of what is acceptable, not to broaden them.” (Ahem.) The best probably unintentional pun, since the word “sparkle” wasn’t used once: “Like the rest of the tracks here, [the Lykke Li contribution] pales in comparison to the work on her own records.” [Pitchfork] MORE »
names in the news
So, How Long Will It Be Before The Black Eyed Peas Are No. 1 On The Pop Charts Again?
Just when you thought we’d escape 2009 without another No. 1 single from the chart-dominating Black Eyed Peas, the group’s plaintive DirecTV tie-in “Meet Me Halfway” is up a whopping 119% on this week’s Hot Digital Tracks chart, selling 127,000 copies and vaulting from No. 16 to No. 5. Ahead of the Peas: MORE »
names in the news
Five Songs About The “Balloon Boy” Debacle That Will Surely Liven Up Your Next Party
“Balloon Boy” Falcon Heene’s afternoon of transfixing America’s underemployed and Internet-equipped people who thought he was in a UFO-esque balloon floating over Colorado—even though he was simply hiding in his house’s attic—is almost 24 hours out, and people are currently trying to figure out just whether or not yesterday was a happy accident or some sort of proto-fameball experiment. However, there was definitely some fameballing going on–by YouTube-channel-equipped singers who decided to act as a rapid-response unit of sorts and write songs about Falcon, his family, and the media in hopes of Making A Statement About The News and reaping some of those sweet search-engine-derived pageviews. Five of the tracks that bobbed online after the jump! MORE »
names in the news
The Sugababes Saga Enters The “Severe Exhaustion” Chapter
Amelle Berrabah, currently the second-most-senior member of the British pop trio Sugababes, is taking an “unexpected short break away from the pressures of work, following some professional medical advice earlier this week,” according to a statement posted on the girl-group-in-tumult’s site this morning. She’ll be staying in a private health clinic for the next three weeks and taking a break from the group, which has been forced to cancel even more upcoming live appearances as a result of all this. (Remaining members Heidi Range and Jade Ewen will, however, travel to an Irish gig that the ladies were supposed to perform at in order to press some fan flesh.) Apparently there’s going to be a Sugababes tour once Berrabah gets out of the hospital, but honestly, maybe we should just have the new group play one gig—or even one song—before making any claims like that, no? [Sugababes via Guardian] MORE »
names in the news
The “Parklife” Stamp: Even Better Than Sealing Your Letter With A Kiss
Next year, the UK will issue a series of stamps dedicated to the art of the British album cover. The Stones’ Let It Bleed, New Order’s Power, Corruption, and Lies, Primal Scream’s Screamadelica, and Blur’s Parklife will all be honored in this 10-stamp issue. If the US had a similar stamp issue, I wonder what albums would get the nod? You’d think Thriller would be a no-brainer, and Madonna’s True Blue would look kinda dynamite, but after that… ? (First person to shout “Merriweather Post Pavilion!” is fired.) The full issue of stamps after the jump. MORE »
names in the news
Michael Jackson Proving That Everything Oldies Can Be New Again
From the Department of Weird Anecdotal Evidence That Makes Me Think Michael Jackson’s Death Really Was The End Of Pop Music: The New York “oldies’ station WCBS-FM just played “This Is It,” the Paul Anka-assisted “new” track from Michael Jackson. I mean, I get that the 1983 pedigree of the original tracks allows the song to fit in to the station’s “’60s-’70s-’80s” tagline, but who else would be able to move playlists in that matter at this point? The Beatles? [WCBS-FM] MORE »
names in the news
The gross-out-happy sub-genre of hip-hop known as horrorcore has been in the news lately for kinda gruesome reasons. If you’re curious as to just what this bit of music nomenclature means, last year Jess Harvell put together an illustrated guide to the genre for this site. [Idolator's (Sorta) Guide To Horrorcore] MORE »
names in the news
Britney Spears: Not Exactly The Mistress Of Disguise
“Steve Dennis reveals in a new biography, Britney: Inside the Dream, that her favorite fake names include Ms. Alotta Warmheart, ‘because she had such a warm heart’; Mrs. Diana Prince in honor of Diana, Princess of Wales; Queen of the Fairy Dance, ‘because she was the dancing fairy’; and Mrs. Abra Cadabra ‘for no apparent known reason.’” What, she never thought to call herself “Yankee Rose”? An opportunity, missed. [Page Six] MORE »
