Weekly Music News

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Rock Magazine CREEM To Publish Again - Nov. 3, 2003

Long-defunct rock magazine Creem is making a comeback. Currently a web-only publication (www.creemmedia.com), Creem is expected be on store shelves in a print edition next spring, according to publisher Robert Matheu.

Creem began in Detroit in March 1969 and ran monthly until folding in November 1988. A revival was launched in the early 1990s, but the publication largely lay dormant until fall 2000, when Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical movie "Almost Famous" was released, according to Billboard.com.

Crowe wrote for Creem as a teenager under the editing of the late Lester Bangs, an eccentric, prolific writer who became synonymous with the publication.

The film renewed interest in Bangs and Creem, and Matheu decided to try to restore luster to the magazine's name. He contacted the owners of the publication rights and obtained permission to bring it back.

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QUEENSRŸCHE Singer Talks About Revisiting 'Operation: Mindcrime' Album - Nov. 4, 2003

In an interview with Electricbasement.com, QUEENSRŸCHE vocalist Geoff Tate talked about revisiting the acclaimed 1988 album "Operation: Mindcrime", which dealt with political schemes. "I would especially love to work again with that album, but I think we would do it quite a bit differently this time than we did it then." Asked to offer details, he kept most of it secret but offered a general idea, "Well, I don't really want to expand on that because there is a definite possibility that we are going to do it. It would have to be a different presentation though based upon what has transpired over the last 12 to 15 years. Maybe we could look at things a little more objectively. I wouldn't want to make the same album again. It's just much different writing at this point than it was then considering that when 'Mindcrime' was written that I was probably in my early thirties. At that point, I was much more interested in politics than I am now. Right now, I'm more interested in the social evolution in people. Politics is now the ultimate compromise business. It's not about truth, and it's not the about doing what's right. It's all just about winning. It's more of a sports team mentality model. I choose not to play that game in my life anymore. So, I guess what I'm saying is that 'Operation: Mindcrime' was more of a black-and-white approach to things while 'Tribe' is more interested, not in politics or the government, but in just winning and finding what's right. The songs on this record attempt to portray the real thing about America which is that we are an enormous group of people with completely different outlooks and mindsets and backgrounds. We're culturally different, intellectually different but somehow we manage to make it work in this country. I'm not so certain that all of us had a hand in making it all work though. I think some people exist and stay here primarily because it's all they know. I think there's definitely a select group of people who call the shots and make all the rules and enforce them and push us in the direction we're going. Once we're all aware of that and accept that that is a definitely a possibility, maybe we'll be a little happier because we'll understand how the system works. That may be the biggest problem with this country too-we don't know how it all works. We're illiterate and watching 'Jerry Springer'… what's that do for ya?"

Read the entire interview here.

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Amazon Offering Exclusive Content Through Holidays




In a move to drive traffic to its site this holiday season, Amazon.com is offering free music, movie and book exclusives, Billboard Bulletin reports. Bruce Springsteen, the Counting Crows, R.E.M. and Jack Black are among the music artists providing content to Amazon for the promotion.





Under the campaign, dubbed "Holiday A-List," Amazon is featuring a new exclusive from a musician, actor, author, director or media personality each day until Jan. 1.

The initiative kicked off yesterday (Nov. 3) with exclusive concert video footage shot at Springsteen's Sept. 7 show at Boston's Fenway Park. Amazon is using the footage to drive pre-orders of the CD "The Essential Bruce Springsteen" and the concert DVD, "Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band -- Live in Barcelona." As previously reported, the CD is due Nov. 11; the DVD follows Nov. 18.

Other music exclusives will include a full-length Counting Crows concert, filmed exclusively for Amazon.com, video footage of R.E.M. at a spring 2003 rehearsal in Vancouver and a Tenacious D self-portrait drawn by Black.

Amazon.com will not announce the scheduled programming beyond the first week of the promotion.


-- Brian Garrity, N.Y.

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WHITE LION 2004 Reunion Lineup Revealed - Nov. 6, 2003

The details of WHITE LION's 2004 reunion lineup have been revealed in a European magazine. Joining singer Mike Tramp in the new formation will be guitarist Warren DeMartini (ex-RATT), bassist James Lomenzo and drummer Jimmy DeGrasso (ex-MEGADETH, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, Y&T). However, it should be pointed out that this lineup is not 100% confirmed as it is still hoped that guitarist Vito Bratta will join the planned reunion.

As previously reported, WHITE LION have been confirmed for the 2004 edition of the Bang Your Head festival, set to take place June 25-26 in Balingen, Germany. More dates will be announced soon.

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Don't be surprised if you can't find any music by the Rolling Stones in your local record store during the coming months: In late October, many retailers pulled the band's albums from their shelves after the Stones struck a deal to sell their four-disc Forty Flicks DVD set -- which includes concert footage and two Stones documentaries -- exclusively at Best Buy.
"This wasn't a decision we took lightly," says Fred Fox, executive vice president of merchandise and marketing for Trans World, which has stopped selling Rolling Stones albums at its 1,000 FYE stores. "This company has supported Stones titles that don't even earn their shelf space, and yet we're not given an opportunity to sell a hot item like this DVD box set during the busiest time of year."

In addition to Trans World, New England chain Newbury Comics and Canadian retail giant HMV have taken the Stones off their shelves. Those retailers complain that the band is both depriving fans of the chance to get Forty Flicks wherever they like and driving traffic to a store that doesn't even specialize in selling music.

"If an artist doesn't want to give us new product, then we won't carry any of their product," says Humphrey Kadaner, president of HMV North America. HMV has pulled all of the Stones CDs from its 100 Canadian stores and is considering a U.S. boycott, as well. "We stand to lose a million dollars worth of sales," Kadaner says. "But it's worth it, because what the Stones are doing is not in the best interest of the consumer."

"I feel bad for the stores that aren't going to have the product," says Mick Jagger, "but they have lots of other products, and music videos don't sell anything like movie DVDs."

Tower Records exec George Scarlett says that his company won't boycott the Stones, even though it objects to the Best Buy deal. "The fact that the Rolling Stones are going to bed with an electronics retailer shows how out of touch they are. Best Buy has done more than anyone to bring down the quality of music retail. But the band is a cornerstone of popular music. You can't just pull it off the shelves in a snit."

JENNY ELISCU
(November 5, 2003)

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BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION Debut To Surface In December - Nov. 7, 2003

BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION, the new band featuring MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx, L.A. GUNS guitarist Tracii Guns, vocalist London LeGrand, and drummer Scot Coogan (ex-PAUL GILBERT, ONI LOGAN/ROWAN ROBERTSON, SINÉAD O'CONNOR), have set December 25 as the Japanese release date through Universal Records for their debut album, "Here Come The Brides".

The CD, which features contributions from previous members John Corabi (ex-MÖTLEY CRÜE, UNION) and Kris Kohls (ADEMA), contains album-quality demos recorded during the pre-production sessions for what was supposed to be the group's "proper" full-length debut. All songs were produced by Stevo Bruno at Klown Records in Santa Monica, California and were mixed by producer Steve Thompson (KORN, METALLICA, GUNS N' ROSES).

The band recently finalized an agreement with an as-yet-undisclosed label for the release of the album in the European and American territories.

The complete track listing for "Here Come The Brides" is as follows:

01. Shut The Fuck Up
02. I Don't Care
03. Two Times Dead
04. Brace Yourself
05. I Got A Gun
06. Life
07. Natural Born Killers
08. Revolution
09. Only Get So Far

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POWERMAN 5000: Is The End Near? - Nov. 6, 2003

POWERMAN 5000 are strongly rumored to have been dropped by Dreamworks Records as a result of the disappointing sales performance of the band's last outing, "Transform".

"Transform", which debuted at No. 27 on The Billboard 200 album chart in late May, has shifted 148,561 copies in the U.S. so far, according to Nielsen SoundScan — a far cry from the 1,316,172 units registered by its predecessor, 1999's "Tonight The Stars Revolt!" The band's 1997 offering, "Mega!! Kung Fu Radio", has sold 156,954 copies to date.

POWERMAN 5000 were originally scheduled to release the their projected follow-up to "Tonight…" on August 28, 2001, but just two weeks before the release date, the band announced they were heading back into the studio to record new songs for the album. The group's scheduled headlining tour was cancelled, and the album release was postponed indefinitely.

Early last month, POWERMAN 5000 withdrew from their tour with MUDVAYNE, FINGERTIGHT and V-SHAPED MIND after their tour support was reportedly pulled by Dreamworks. The band's frontman, Spider One, blamed the move on declining record sales, stating "the music business is in the toilet — no one is buying CDs, and less and less people are going to see bands live. Every major label in America has lost an obscene amount of money this year and it's getting worse every day. Don't get me wrong, I'm not asking you to feel sorry for the labels, but the reality is this: if they're not making any money, you better believe your favorite band isn't doing too well either."

A representative for the band's management, The Firm, declined to comment on the latest reports when contacted earlier Thursday.

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Pearl Jam Reels In 'Exclusive' Fish




As tipped here last month, the Sony Classical soundtrack for Tim Burton's upcoming film "Big Fish" will feature a new Pearl Jam song, "Man of the Hour." And while the album won't be released until Dec. 23, Billboard.com has learned Pearl Jam's official Web site will be the exclusive source for the track's commercial single.





Beginning Monday (Nov. 10), fans can pre-order the self-released single, which will include a full-band studio version as well as frontman Eddie Vedder's home demo. It will begin shipping Nov. 26 and sell for $5.

"Big Fish" stars Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup and Jessica Lange in a multi-generational tale of a father's relationship with his estranged son. The film opens Dec. 10 in New York in Los Angeles and Jan. 16 in wider release.

Burton has attended a number of Pearl Jam shows over the years, and the two entities seem to share a love for trying new approaches in their respective mediums. Burton's representatives recently screened the film for Pearl Jam's members, and the director asked if the group would be up for contributing an original song.

"Man of the Hour" was quickly written by Vedder (words and music), recorded at Studio X in Seattle and debuted live during an Oct. 22 acoustic benefit concert at the city's Benaroya Hall.

The acoustic-tinged track is accented by wistful slide guitar work, with lyrics reflecting how the father/son bond can be rocked by what seem like insurmountable obstacles: "tidal waves don't beg forgiveness / crash, then on their way / father, he enjoyed collisions / others walked away."

Tapped to run over the end title credits of the film, "Man of the Hour" is expected to go on-sale via digital download sites later this month. According to a spokesperson, the Pearl Jam site will sell "Man of the Hour" until mid-January. The track will most likely be available for streaming from as-yet-unannounced sites beginning next week.

The opportunity for Pearl Jam to sell the single (its first soundtrack contribution since 1998's "Chicago Cab") on its own stems from the band having recently fulfilled its long-term contract with Sony's Epic Records. No decision has yet been made about a new record deal, but sources indicate this may be a preview of how Pearl Jam plans to make new music available in the future.

The "Big Fish" soundtrack will be rounded out with Danny Elfman's score, plus songs from Bing Crosby, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, the Vogues, the Allman Brothers Band and Canned Heat. The cut "Twice the Love" is sung by actors Ada and Arlene Tai, who portray the characters Ping and Jing in the film.

Here is the "Big Fish" track list (order TBA):

"Man of the Hour," Pearl Jam
"Dinah," Bing Crosby
"Everyday," Buddy Holly
"All Shook Up," Elvis Presley
"Five O'Clock World," the Vogues
"Ramblin' Man," the Allman Brothers Band
"Let's Work Together," Canned Heat
"Twice the Love," Ping and Jing


-- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

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TESLA INTO THE NOW IN FEBRUARY:
Tesla have completed all work on their long awaited new studio album. It's set to be titled Into The Now and will be released as planned in February 2004. The album features 12 new tracks, which are: Into the Now . Look @ Me . What a Shame . Heaven . Words Can't Explain . Caught In a Dream . Miles Away . Mighty Mouse . Got No Glory . Come to Me . Recognize . Only You.

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Former LIMP BIZKIT and current EAT THE DAY guitarist Wes Borland has posted the following message on EAT THE DAY's web site:

"Hi everyone, We think it's time that you knew what's really going on with [EAT THE DAY]. We originally opened up the singer search to try and find someone that was unknown. We didn't want a 'supergroup' at that point in time. We went through many auditions and there were a couple of moments in which we thought we had found someone who could fill the slot, only to decide later that the people weren't right for us. At this point we moved on to phase 2, which was trying to look for someone that was a known singer. This too yielded no results. Then we decided to try something else. We thought we might be able to combine EAT THE DAY with THE DAMNING WELL, having Richard Patrick [FILTER] as the singer. Everyone agreed that this might be a good idea, and we began to write together. 4 weeks later, we realized that our creative differences were too great to be able to produce an entire album's worth of material that we felt good about. So here we are. 2 years after I walked away from LIMP BIZKIT, we have loads of great instrumental material, and no singer. We think it's time for something to give. So here's what we're doing: This project will go into indefinite hibernation and we will all be working on other projects, coming together again whenever we cross the path of someone who may be an option to fill the vocalist position. (On a personal note, I feel like I have been absent from the music scene for too long, and I need to be participating again. I will be writing with a couple of very cool bands, and producing other various projects. I also plan on possibly joining a band on tour as a full time guitarist next year.)

"I want to thank everyone who has kept up with us for the last 2 years. We will be leaving the website up to continually keep you informed of what we are doing. We will post pictures and news, and hopefully one day inform you that EAT THE DAY is back. Thanks."