Weekly Music News

[FH]

Stones Singles Get Boxed
Early years covered in May release
Source: RollingStone

A trio of box sets will compile the Rolling Stones' ABKCO hits and B sides starting with The Rolling Stones Singles 1963-1965, due May 4th.
The twelve-disc set will replicate the original artwork of the Stones' original 45s along with a new essay about the band by Nigel Williamson. Among the cuts on 1963-1965 are the band's Chuck Berry cover "Come On" from 1963 with its Muddy Waters B side "I Want to Be Loved." Other highlights of the set include a cover of the Beatles' "I Wanna Be Your Man," the instrumental "Stoned" that was nixed from a U.S. release, and three Eps -- The Rolling Stones EP, Five by Five and the Got Live If You Want It EP -- that have never been released on CD before. The band's early original hits also surface with "Time Is on My Side" and "Heart of Stone."

The second and third sets, The Rolling Stones Singles 1965-1967 and The Rolling Stones Singles 1968-1971 cover the band's most productive hitmaking years, when the Stones placed fifteen singles in the Top Forty including six Number Ones. 1965-1967 will be released later in the summer, with 1968-1971 due in the fall.

ANDREW DANSBY
(March 19, 2004)

[FH]

Dumb bitch.

[FH]

METALLICA's Future Not With Record Label?
Source: Blabbermouth

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich recently told Launch Radio Networks that the band plan on examining their options with regards to record distribution once they have fulfilled their present contract with Elektra Records (METALLICA have one album left on their current record contract).

"You know, our record contract is up soon (laughs) and we'll figure out what we're gonna do after that," he said. "You know, the great thing about being in a band like us is that we're in a position to bypass the record company. Basically record companies act like banks. And when you don't need the bank element of a record company, then you can kind of do it yourself. So we'll sort of see where it goes."

METALLICA have been signed to Elektra Records since 1984. The band are currently on the first leg of their 2004 North American headlining tour, which will take them well into October.

[FH]

First VAN HALEN Tour Dates Leaked?
Source: Blabbermouth

The Clear Channel web site is currently listing several dates for what appears to be the much-anticipated VAN HALEN reunion tour featuring vocalist Sammy Hagar. The dates are as follows:

Jun. 13 - Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium (Clear Channel)
Jun. 16 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center (Clear Channel)
Jun. 19 - Philadelphia, PA @ Mann Music Center (Clear Channel)
Oct. 10 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Mellon Arena (Clear Channel)

Tickets for Hershey and the first Philadelphia show go on sale on April 3, while tickets for the second Philadelphia date are apparently set to go on sale April 5. There is no currently listed on-sale date for the Pittsburgh show.

In other news, VAN HALEN's official web site, www.van-halen.com, has posted a list of the following cities under the headline "Tour Info":

Detroit, MI
East Rutherford, NJ
Greensboro, NC
Hershey, PA
Kansas City, MO
Las Vegas, NV
Philadelphia, PA
St. Louis, MO
St. Paul, MN
Wilkes-Barre, PA
Worcester, MA

As previously reported, VAN HALEN recently signed a deal with Peter Grosslight, worldwide head of music for the William Morris booking agency in Los Angeles, for touring representation. In addition, Warner Strategic Marketing is said to have negotiated a deal with VAN HALEN for a new greatest-hits package featuring three new songs. A release date for the collection has yet to be announced.

[FH]

Van Halen Summer Tour A Go
Source: Billboard




The long-rumored Van Halen summer tour is finally getting off the ground. The group's official Web site reports that Van Halen will play shows on dates yet to be announced in Detroit; East Rutherford, N.J.; Greensboro, N.C.; Hershey, Pa.; Kansas City, Mo.; Las Vegas; Philadelphia; St. Louis; St. Paul, Minn.; Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; and Worcester, Mass.

There has also yet to be a formal announcement as to who will fill the group's lead singer slot, although it appears Sammy Hagar has won back the job. Hagar replaced original vocalist David Lee Roth in 1985 and remained in Van Halen until 1996. Roth returned to the fold for a brief, disastrous stint that year to record two new songs for a greatest hits album, but did not collaborate with the band further.

Former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone took over lead vocal duties for 1998's "Van Halen III" and a tour later that year, the band's most recent to date. In a bizarre twist, Roth and Hagar embarked on co-headlining U.S. tour in 2002.

As a band, Van Halen is surrounded by numerous other uncertainties, from guitarist Eddie Van Halen's battle with cancer to its lack of a record deal. The group split with Warner Bros. in early 2002 after spending its entire career recording for the label.

Hagar has a handful of shows booked with his band the Waboritas into early May. Promoters previously confirmed to Billboard.biz that Van Halen had holds for late summer dates in several U.S. arenas. In recent weeks, the group also signed a deal for representation with the William Morris Agency.


-- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

[FH]

New CD Releases 3/23

7 SONS OF SOUL 7 Sons of Soul (Jive)

RABIH ABOU-KHALIL Morton’s Foot (Justin Time)

AFRO CELT SOUND SYSTEM Pod (CD/DVD combo) (Real World)

ELLEN ALLIEN Remixes (B pitch/Asphodel)

THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND One Way Out (ICE #204) (Peach/Sanctuary)

ALPHA Stargazing (Nettwerk America)

BEN ARTHUR Edible Darling (Bardic)

VIRGINIA ASTLEY From Gardens Where We Felt Secure (Sanctuary/Rough Trade)

AVION Avion (Console/Image Entertainment)

BABYFACE A Love Story (ICE #204) (Arista)

DAVID BANNER MTA2: Baptized in Dirty Water: Screwed & Chopped (Universal)

BONNIE PRINCE BILLY Greatest Palace Music (songs by Palace, ICE #204) (Drag City)

BLACK CROSS Widows Bloody Widows (Initial)

BLOCKHEAD Music by Cavelight (Ninja Tune)

BLUEPRINT CAR CRASH Rhetoric of a Marionette EP (Militia Group)

BORIALIS What You Thought You Heard (Capitol)

KIM BURRELL Try Me Again (Shanachie)

BILL CHARLAP TRIO Somewhere: The Songs of Leonard Bernstein (ICE #204) (Blue Note)

ERIC CLAPTON Me and Mr. Johnson (ICE #204) (Duck/Reprise)

JOYCE COOLING This Girl’s Got to Play (Narada Jazz)

CYPRESS HILL Till Death Do Us Part (ICE #204) (Columbia)

ANGEL DEAN & SUE GARNER Pot Liquor (Diesel Only)

THE DESCENDENTS Cool to Be You (Fat Wreck Chords)

DIE FORM InHuman (Metropolis)

CARA DILLON Sweet Liberty (Sanctuary/Rough Trade)

WASIS DIOP Everything Is Never Quite Enough (Artemis)

DJ SHITBIRD/REVENGE (members of Coachwhips, Numbers, Comets on) Welcome to the Party (Narnack)

DJ SPOOKY Blue Series Mega-Mix (Thirsty Ear)

EAGLES OF DEATH METAL (QotSA’s Josh Homme) Peace Love Death Metal (ICE #202) (Ant Acid Audio/Rekords Rekords)

EYEDEA AND ABILITIES E&A (Epitaph)

THE FALL Dragnet (Sanctuary/Castle)

FAMIL Finer Things (Universal)

LORRAINE FEATHER Such Sweet Thunder (CMC Int’l/Sanctuary)

MIMI FOX She’s the Woman (Favored Nations)

ELIZA GILKYSON Land of Milk and Honey (ICE #204) (Red House)

JOSH GROBAN Closer (143/Reprise)

SARAH HARMER All of Our Names (ICE #204) (Zoë/Rounder)

JONI HARMS Let’s Put the Western Back in the Country (ICE #202) (Wildcatter)

RJ HELTON Real Life (Jive)

HEPCAT Out of Nowhere (Hellcat)

HILL ST. SOUL Copasetik & Cool (Shanachie)

THE HONEYDOGS 10,000 Years (United Musicians)

ELLIS HOOKS Uncomplicated (Artemis)

THE HURT PROCESS DRive by Monologue (Victory)

HYPER Wired (two CDs) (Thrive)

IRON AND WINE Our Endless Numbered Days (Sub Pop)

JACKASS Plastic Jesus (BYO)

GARY JULES Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets (Universal)

THE KITE-EATING TREE Method: Fail, Repeat (Cowboy Versus Sailor/Suburban Home)

KVLR KVLR (It’s a Trap!)

BERNIE LEADON (ex-Eagles) Mirror (ICE #200 and #205) (Really Smart)

LEFTOVER SALMON Leftover Salmon (ICE #204) (Compendia)

LEVINHURST (The Cure’s Lol Tolhurst) Perfect Life (Full Contact)

CHUCK LOEB AND FRIENDS Jazz for Couch Potatoes (Shanachie)

LOWGOLD Welcome to Winners (Sanctuary)

MADISON PARK Boutique (BasicLux)

IAN MCLAGAN & THE BUMP BAND Rise & Shine (Gaff)

JAMES MCMURTRY Live in Aught -Three (ICE #204; first live album) (Compadre/RED)

THE METHOD AND RESULT The Things You Miss (Losing Blueprint/KiraKira Disc)

MINGA Flipside (FUA)

BRUCE MOLSKY Contented Must Be (ICE #204) (Rounder)

ABRA MOORE Everything Changed (Koch)

DAVID LEE MURPHY Tryin’ to Get There (ICE #204) (Audium)

MURS 9:16 - the 9th Edition (Definitive Jux)

N.E.R.D. Fly or Die (Virgin)

ANDY NARELL The Passage (ICE #204) (Heads Up)

JOANNA NEWSOM The Milk-Eyed Mender (Drag City)

ONELINEDRAWING Volunteers (Jade Tree)

PANURGE Throw Down the Reins (Nettwerk America)

PARTICLE Launchpad (produced by Tom Rothrock) (Or Music)

PASTOR TROY By Any Means Necessary (Universal)

QUISQUENYA EN EL HUDSON Dominican Music in NYC (Smithsonian Folkways)

TARRALYN RAMSEY Tarralyn Ramsey (Casablanca)

THE RASMUS Dead Letters (Interscope)

JOE RATHBONE I Can Hear the Windows of Your Heart Breaking (Zakz)

JON RAUHOUSE Steel Guitar Rodeo (ICE #204; w/Neko Case, Calexico, Kelly Hogan and Sally Timms) (Bloodshot)

JULIANNA RAYE Restless Night (3 Crows)

LOU REED Animal Serenade (two live discs, recorded June ’03 at the Wiltern Theatre; ICE #203 and ICE #204) (Reprise)

THE RIDDLER Dance Mix NYC Vol. 5 (Tommy Boy)

ANDRÉ RIEU At the Movies (Denon)

CURTIS SALGADO Strong Suspicion (ICE #204) (Shanachie)

THE SEX MANIACS Mean as Hell (Manic Ride)

ELLIOT SHARP Do the Don’t (w/Hubert Sumlin) (Gaff)

THE SILENT LEAGUE The Orchestra, Sadly, Has Refused (ICE #204) (File-13)

LANGHORNE SLIM Electric Love Letter EP (Narnack)

THE SMUGGLERS Mutiny in Stereo (enhanced) (Lookout!)

SOIL Redefine (J)

THE STANDARD Wire Post to Post (ICE #204) (Yep Roc)

RINGO STARR & HIS ALL-STARR BAND Live 2003 (ICE #204) (Koch)

START TROUBLE Every Solution Has Its Problem (produced by John Travis) (Columbia)

STICKS AND STONES Shed Grace (w/covers of Thelonious Monk, Fela Kuti and Billy Strayhorn) (Thrill Jockey)

KAREN STROM Karen Strom (Nettwerk)

THE SULTANS Shipwrecked (Swami)

THE HISS Panic Movement (produced by Owen Morris) (Sanctuary)

CARL THOMAS Let’s Talk About It (Bad Boy)

NESTOR TORRES Sin Palabras (Heads Up)

UNIVERSAL HONEY Vicious Circles (41 Records)

USHER Confessions (ICE #204; w/limited-edition DVD) (Arista)

VIENTO DE AGUA Unplugged: Materia Prima (Smithsonian Folkways)

THE VINES Winning Days (ICE #204) (Capitol)

JOËL VIRGEL Amour Amer (ICE #203) (Electric Monkey)

RICHARD "HUMPTY" VISSION Big Floor Funk (System)

THE WELL WISHERS Twenty-Four Seven (Not Lame)

PETER WHITE Confidential (ICE #204) (Columbia)

WIDESPREAD PANIC Night of Joy (Sanctuary)

DAR WILLIAMS The Beauty of the Rain (Razor & Tie)

WUMPSCUT Bone Peeler (Metropolis)

XLR XLR (Inject)

[FH]

Van Halen To Tour This Summer — So Who's Singing?
Source: MTV


Michael Anthony, Eddie Van Halen, and Alex Van Halen (file)
Photo: Warner Bros.


For months, rumors have circulated that Van Halen would hit the road this summer. The band has now confirmed fans' speculations, but one large mystery remains.

While they have yet to reveal most of the dates for the tour, it looks like the shows will start in June and run at least through the end of the summer, a source close to the band said. On the official Clear Channel Web site, concerts are listed for June 13 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and June 16 in Philadelphia, and while it mentions no specific dates, the Van Halen site has posted 11 cities in which the band will play, including Detroit; East Rutherford, New Jersey; Worcester, Massachusetts; St. Louis; and Las Vegas.

Of course, the tour confirmation raises an even bigger question: Who will fill the vacant singer slot? The Van Halen site features photos and bios for guitarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alex Van Halen and bassist Michael Anthony, but there's no listing for a vocalist.

Betting folk should put their money on Sammy Hagar, who replaced original singer David Lee Roth and fronted the group from 1985 to 1996. The source flat-out denied the possibility that either Roth or Gary Cherone, who sang on the 1998 album Van Halen III, would perform with the group. The source would neither confirm nor deny Hagar's participation or that Hagar has recently worked with Van Halen in the studio on new tracks for an upcoming greatest-hits collection.

Since 2002, Anthony has regularly guested onstage at Hagar's shows, and late last year, the singer reportedly mended fences with the other members of the band. In a December 26 interview with USA Today, Hagar spoke about a recent dinner he had with Alex. "We had a lot of fun together," he said. "So, years after carrying anger around on both sides, it was really nice to be able to feel like we were one again."

On April 30, Hagar will open the first U.S.-based Cabo Wabo Cantina club and restaurant in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and will commemorate the event with three concerts featuring his band the Waboritas and "friends." Hagar's last show before the Van Halen dates is May 8 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He's scheduled to play in Cabo San Lucas at the annual Cabo Wabo meltdown on October 8 and 9 and at his birthday bash on October 13.



—Jon Wiederhorn

[FH]

POISON Frontman To Record Country Solo Album?
Source: Blabbermouth

POISON lead singer Bret Michaels is close to signing a "country" deal on new indie label Lofton Creek Records, according to The Tennessean.

Bret, who lived in Nashville for a few years in the late '90s, met Lofton Creek label chief, Mike Borchetta, through singer-songwriter Jeffrey "Buns of" Steele.

"He has been the perfect gentleman every time I've seen him," Mike told the paper.

Bret, who makes a cameo in the upcoming TRACY LAWRENCE video for the next single, "It's All How You Look At It", is reportedly planning a country version of the POISON hit "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". More information is expected soon.

[FH]

COURTNEY LOVE: I Gave TED NUGENT Oral Sex At Age 12
Source: Blabbermouth

Courtney Love phoned into "The Howard Stern Show" on Monday (March 22) before eventually coming into the studio where she made the shocking allegation that one of the first times she had oral sex was with Ted Nugent. She said she was young and she didn't want to say exactly how old she was, but eventually confessed she was 12-year-old — which would have made Nugent approximately 28 years old at the time. The New York Post attempted to contact Nugent for a response but was unsuccessful. Moderators at Nugent's official forum deleted the only thread asking about the topic as evidenced by the forum's search giving a file not found error for the matched thread. She added it was a long time ago and she didn't even have breasts yet. As for the battle with Sharon Osbourne after her comments to son Jack about using Oxycontin, Courtney said Sharon is blaming her for her son's drug use and she had nothing to do with it. Check out a recap of the bizarre appearance at this link.

[FH]

Van Halen to tour this summer -- The band has apparently reunited with Sammy Hagar for the first time since 1996 by Brian Hiatt
Source: Entertainment Weekly


JUMP BACK The band (in 1993) will reunite with Hagar (at right)

Sorry, David Lee Roth (and, um, Gary Cherone): Looks like Van Halen has chosen to reunite with singer No. 2, Sammy Hagar, who parted ways with the band eight years ago. The band is set to tour this summer, according to the band's official website, which lists dates in 11 cities, from Detroit, Mich. to Worcester, Mass. The band has yet to formally announce the outing, or to officially confirm that Hagar has rejoined the band (though he has said in recent months that he and his bandmates have reconciled their differences).

After Hagar (who joined in 1985) left the band, Van Halen briefly reunited with Roth, their original lead singer, and recorded two tracks with him for a greatest hits album. That reunion quickly evaporated, and the band recruited former Extreme vocalist Gary Cherone for 1998's ''Van Halen III'' -- a critical and commercial disaster. Cherone soon left, leaving the band in limbo, even as guitarist Eddie Van Halen sought (successful) cancer treatments.

Beginning with 1986's ''5150,'' Hagar recorded four successful studio albums with Van Halen, replacing David Lee Roth's bravado and charisma with more consistent vocals and radio-friendly songwriting. His hits with the band included ''Why Can't This Be Love,'' ''Right Now,'' and ''Finish What Ya Started.'' But fans never stopped calling his version of the group ''Van Hagar.''

(Posted:03/24/04)

[FH]

Distillers Do Spider-Man Song
Source: RollingStone

Sequel to box office smash due this summer



The Distillers have re-recorded the iconic theme song to Spider-Man for the sequel to the summer 2002 blockbuster.
"I can associate with Spider-Man," joked drummer Andy Granelli, "because I too enjoy wearing tight red leotards." The band roughed up the web slinger's anthem, hardcore style with engineer Alain Johannes (No Doubt, Queens of the Stone Age). The Distillers cut the track during a four-hour session at Los Angeles' 11AD studio just prior to hitting the road for their spring U.S. tour.

Singer Brody Dalle says that guitarist Tony Bradley is the band's biggest Spider-Man fan. "Tony loves the rain scene when Spider-Man was upside down and kissing Kirsten Dunst," she says. "He thinks Tobey Maguire is hot."

This week, Spider-Man 2's release was pushed up two days from July 2nd to June 30th in hopes of maximizing its first-week box office receipts. The first film earned more than $400 million in the States with another $400 million plus overseas.

As for the Distillers, the group will play Chicago's Metro Thursday night, part of a two-month run of U.S. tour dates that ends in late May. The group is scheduled to play the Download Festival in the U.K. in June, followed by a few additional European dates.

Distillers tour dates:

3/25: Chicago, Metro
3/26: Detroit, St. Andrew's Hall
3/27: Cleveland, Odeon Concert Hall
3/28: Pittsburgh, Club Laga
3/30: Toronto, Kool Haus
4/1: Ottawa, Capital Music Hall
4/2: Montreal, Club Soda
4/3: Boston, Axis
4/4: New York, Bowery Ballroom
4/7: Washington, DC, Black Cat
4/9: Jacksonville, FL, Jack Rabbits
4/10: Atlanta, Cotton Club
4/11: Nashville, Exit/In
4/13: Sauget, IL, Pop's
4/14: Columbia, MO, Blue Note
4/16: Milwaukee, The Rave
4/17: Minneapolis, Ascot Room
4/18: Omaha, Ranch Bowl
4/19: Lawrence, KS, Granada Theater
4/21: Denver, Bluebird Theater
4/24: Los Angeles, Henry Fonda Theater
4/25: Santa Barbara, The Hub
5/13: San Francisco, The Fillmore
5/14: Petaluma, CA, Phoenix Theater
5/18: Seattle, Showbox
5/19: Portland, OR, Crystal Ballroom
5/20: Vancouver, Croation Cultural Center
5/22: Edmonton, ALB, Red's
5/23: Calgary, ALB, MacEwan Hall
5/25: Regina, SK, Doris Knight Hall
5/26: Winnipeg, MB, Ramada Marlborough

AUSTIN SCAGGS
(March 25, 2004)

[FH]

VanHalen Officially Touring with Sammy Hagar this Summer!




Date Location Venue Buy Tix Online
June 11 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum April 3 - 10:00 AM
June 13 Hershey, PA Hershey Park Stadium April 3 - 10:00 AM
June 16 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center April 3 - 10:00 AM
June 19 Worcester, MA Worcester Centrum April 3 - 10:00 AM
June 22 East Rutherford, NJ Continental Arena April 3 - 9:00 AM
June 25 Hartford, CT Hartford Civic Center Coming Soon
June 26 Albany, NY Pepsi Center Coming Soon
June 28 Washington D.C. MCI Center April 3 - 12:00 PM
July 01 Pittsburgh, PA Mellon Arena Coming Soon
July 02 Cleveland, OH Gund Arena Coming Soon
July 03 Toronto, Ontario, CAN Air Canada Center Coming Soon
July 06 Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center Coming Soon
July 07 Indianapolis, IN Conseco Fieldhouse Coming Soon
July 10 Detroit, MI Joe Louis Arena April 3 - 10:00 AM
July 11 Auburn Hills, MI The Palace at Auburn Hills April 3 - 10:00 AM
July 19 Chicago, IL Coming Soon Coming Soon
July 22 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center April 3 - 10:00 AM
July 26 Kansas City, MO Kemper Arena April 3 - 10:00 AM
July 28 St. Louis, MO Savvis Center April 3 - 11:00 AM
July 31 Omaha, NE Qwest Center Coming Soon
Aug 01 Denver, CO Pepsi Center Coming Soon
Aug 05 Phoenix, AZ America West Arena Coming Soon
Aug 07 Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay Events Center April 3 - 10:00 AM
Aug 10 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion Coming Soon
Aug 11 Sacramento, CA ARCO Arena Coming Soon
Aug 13 Oakland, CA Oakland Arena Coming Soon
Aug 14 Fresno, CA Save Mart Arena Coming Soon
Aug 19 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center Coming Soon

Note: All dates, times and locations are subject to change. Online ticket purchase links will be activated as soon as the shows go on sale.

[FH]

METALLICA's ULRICH: Some People Think 'St. Anger' Is Ahead Of Its Time
Source: Blabbermouth

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich recently spoke to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer about the "challenging" nature of the band's most recent studio release, "St. Anger".

"Some people were overwhelmed by it," Ulrich said about the follow-up to 1997's "Re-load". "I can see now that for people who knew METALLICA through the simpler stuff, 'St. Anger' can be a pretty challenging record. But I'm proud of it, and proud that we stuck with it and didn't pussy out. A couple times in the past when we set out to make some aggressive stuff, we kind of watered it down. I'm glad we didn't do that.

" '... And Justice for All' is one of the cornerstones of the band's career. But next to it, 'St. Anger' sounds like 'Dark Side of the Moon'. It'll be interesting to see what people think of the record five or 10 years from now. There are people who think it's just a little ahead of its time."

Ulrich also spoke about the group's current tour with GODSMACK, which kicked off earlier this month in Arizona. METALLICA's concert trek is a follow-up to last year's "Summer Sanitarium" stadium tour with LINKIN PARK and LIMP BIZKIT.

"We just about scraped even," Ulrich said of the money-losing tour. "With stadium tours, you do them for the vibe and because they're fun and because it's summer. The idea was to get some cool bands together and go out and have a good time. It had an old-school rock-festival vibe. But unless you're like the ROLLING STONES and can charge a fortune for tickets, you don't go out on a stadium tour to put your kids through college."

According to Lars, METALLICA's current show features a rotating set list of more than 40 songs.

"We do a different show every night," Ulrich told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "In the past, sometimes we'd get stuck in the sameness of it. Every night for six months, we'd play the same show. If you wanted to put a different song in there, you had to give the lighting director three days' notice so he could program it into the computer.

"Now we put together a different set list every night. It keeps it fresher for us. We've been playing songs we've never played before. We have a little practice room where we get together for about 30 minutes to fumble our way through whatever new songs we're trying to play that night."

[FH]

Korn Takes Aim At Music 'Monopolies'
Source: Billboard

Embattled shock jock Howard Stern has found a theme song: Korn's "Y'All Want a Single." The song, and especially its video, is an attack on radio conglomerates and the music industry, Korn lead singer Jonathan Davis says.

Clear Channel pulled Stern's morning radio show off six of its stations last month because of indecency concerns, and Stern has since positioned himself as the poster child for free speech. The Korn song has fallen so in line with Stern's political rants that a remixed version featuring Stern is available at the band's official website.
The video for "Y'All Want a Single," which Stern hails as "the most inspirational, the most spectacular understanding of what's going on in this country right now," was shot at an out-of-business Los Angeles record store. In it, the members Korn, joined by fans, storm through the aisles smashing the display cases and CDs with crowbars.

While the store is being destroyed, statements taking the music industry to task cross the screen, including: "One corporation owns the five major video channels in the U.S."; "98% of the bands signed to a major don't make a profit"; "Two radio conglomerates control 42% of listeners"; "The music industry releases 100 songs per week."

"The stuff we said in the video [is the stuff] the music industry doesn't want kids to know about," Davis says. "Everyone is in bed with everyone in the industry. One corporation owns all the video channels, one corporation owns all the radio stations, and all the venues we play at are also the promoters. It's a whole monopoly. They basically deem what kids are going to hear."

Davis says getting the band's record label, Sony-owned Epic Records, to approve the video was an uphill battle, but Korn eventually won. "They let it go under artistic freedom," Davis says. The video has been put into regular rotation on Fuse Network. In fact, Fuse president Marc Juris calls the video "the true rebellious spirit of rock'n'roll as a vehicle for change."

The Federal Communication Commission's crackdown on indecency hit the fast track following the Super Bowl halftime incident. Davis in part blames the FCC's actions on the religious right and the fact that it's an election year. "People are too uptight," he says. "It's the God squad. They have a chance just to turn the knob off. If it's a radio station, if it's a CD, they don't have to listen to it. It's ridiculous."

Davis contends that restricted radio play and the music industry's big-business, hit-machine mentality is why record sales have been floundering. "I think one of the reasons why the music business is failing is because there is nothing out there new that is exciting for kids to get into," he adds. "These corporations only put so many bands out, and they play those same 12 bands over and over again on the radio. It kills it."

Although Davis admits that music has never been more popular, thanks to the Internet, he says the business practices the band attacks in the video are stifling both artists and fans. "[This video] is making a statement to stand up for every artist that's been screwed around," Davis says. "Ultimately, it's the fan getting screwed over (too) -- screwed out of a lot of new entertainment. There are those kids that have the energy to go out and look and find underground bands, but the average 14-year-old is fed what is cool by what the corporations are behind."

As previously reported, Korn will join Linkin Park, Snoop Dogg and the Used on the Projekt Revolution tour, which kicks off July 23 in Cincinnati.


-- Tamara Conniff, The Hollywood Reporter