It’s been 25 years since The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame began enshrining rock stars, and inspiring many arguments from people who are just as conflicted about their favorite bands being snubbed by the museum’s higher-ups as they are about the idea of a museum honoring an allegedly still-vital artform. So clearly it’s time for a party! The party won’t take place in Cleveland, where the actual physical museum is located, but at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. And because the Rock Hall is devoted to embodying the idea of rock at its fullest, the American Express-sponsored shows will even have “once-in-a-lifetime VIP Benefit Packages priced from $25,000 to $100,000”! (Those funds are going toward creating a permanent endowment for the museum—or at least the cash for a move out of Cleveland.) Who could be on a bill that’s worthy of a six-figure ticket price? The full lineups after the jump. More »
After all, you do sell Ride The Lightning boxer shorts on your Web site. Not to mention thongs. How could you pass up such an easy cross-promotional opportunity?
Jason N. of California is going to live his lifelong dream of playing with Metallica when he joins the legendary metal band for their Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony performance this weekend. “I’m freakin’ over the moon, man,” says the eager young fan, clearly bursting at the seams.
Hip-hop pioneers Run-DMC, still-at-it metallurgists Metallica, guitar hero Jeff Beck, doo-wop group Little Anthony & the Imperials, and soul survivor Bobby Womack are this year’s performer inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, the Cleveland-based museum that will enshrine (a certain type of) music that’s defined as “rock” for years to come, or at least as long as enough people want to pay the admission fee. The induction ceremony takes place on April 4, and this year it’s taking place in the museum’s home city, and not in splashy old New York City. Also being honored that night: sidemen Bill Black (bassist for Elvis Presley), DJ Fontana (drummer for Presley), and Spooner Oldham (session musician for Percy Sledge, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan)—and rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson, who’s this year’s early influence of choice. I hope that she gets her “covered by a band of now” due during the ceremony, which is going to air live this year on Fuse (they’re taking over broadcast duties from VH1 Classic); some examples of why after the jump.
A couple of weeks back, we asked if the success of Guitar Hero and Rock Band have been overstated—that perhaps in the media’s endless search to find the new “something other than albums will save the record industry!” story, some obvious shortcomings were being overlooked. Well, as it turns out, these concerns were not misplaced. Electronic Arts, publishers of Rock Band, has issued another profit warning, and reports “disappointing sales figures,” while Guitar Hero is expected to see a 50% drop in unit sales. It’s not surprising that $200 games might not be doing too well in a down economy. But, despite Activision’s claims that that games are good for artists, they’re apparently not good enough: Edgar Bronfman is demanding more money for licensing songs for gameplay, claiming that they don’t bring in enough money per track. And into this gloomy environment steps Metallica, who are getting their own edition of Guitar Hero.
I don’t want to get on a soapbox here, but the Bush Administration’s authorization of torture and rendition is one of the most shameful episodes in our country’s recent history.* One of the methods interrogators have for making detainees “talk” consists of playing music at super-loud volumes, sometimes for over 20 days at a time. That would drive anybody crazy. Reprieve, a group that represents 33 Guantanamo detainees, has banded together with concerned musicians to create a campaign called Zero dB:
The campaign urges supporters to help bring to an end the “brutal practice of music torture”. It will feature minutes of silence during concerts and festivals while a petition will call on governments and the UN to uphold their obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture.
Of course, Tom Morello is involved.
Metallica’s video for “All Nightmare Long” is equal parts Lost, Cloverfield, Pet Sematary, and World War Z which hits me right in all of my geek parts. So why am I left so cold? Maybe it’s because the video does so many things. First, it’s a scratchy 1930s Soviet film reel, complete with Futura subtitles. It’s about some spores from space that reanimate and zombify things using the power of bad CGI. Next we are treated to a lot of dark-and-not-super-great animation about the Soviets turning the US into a zombie nation or something. And then headless zombies attack some scientists in the 1980s. Oh, and then in the present day Barium is discovered in Arkansas. Or something.
Yes, that picture is of a sewing machine signed… More »
The Punk/Rock auction at Christie’s yesterday… More »
