The official spin regarding Ozzy Osbourne‘s summer festival taking a hiatus this summer: Ozzy was struck with the inspiration to record the follow-up to his 2007 album Black Rain so hard, he simply had to postpone the package tour this summer so he could get something on whatever store shelves are standing come Black Friday 2009. And he can’t do it this spring, because he has a not very anticipated family variety hour to attend to!
Probably not, but that hasn’t stopped CBS from giving John Mayer the green light to have one later this season, nor has it prevented Fox from allowing the Osbournes to take over part of its schedule later this spring. Even in the wake of the bomb that was Rosie Live, television programmers are turning to the Cher-tested formula in these hard times, knowing that, hey, at least it won’t be as embarrassing as airing an infomercial during the 8 p.m. hour. (It won’t, right?) Some questions about the shows answered, after the jump.
When Ozzy Osbourne declared himself “the prince of fucking darkness” on a 2002 episode of The Osbournes, he may as well have simultaneously relinquished the title. The MTV hit quickly dissolved 30 years’ worth of mystique and danger as it revealed him to be in reality a doddering old family man. But when Ozzy rose to fame in the ’70s, every other rock star had an interest in the occult (or at least Hobbits), and heavy metal was still genuinely thought of as the province of Satanists, not nerdy gearheads. But who could be pop music’s reigning prince of darkness in the era of rock star transparency, when every famous musician has a whiny MySpace blog? Since it’s Halloween, we decided to think of a few options:
Looks like Judas Priest will have some competition for “Most Awesome Concept Album By A Metal Act That Really Has No Place Recording A Concept Album in 2008.” Alice Cooper’s Here Comes A Spider, out on July 29, will describe the life of a serial killer named Spider, who is killing people and taking their limbs in order to create a spider. Says Cooper, “Every song is sort of a letter to the police. They think they’re investigating it from the outside, but he’s actually woven them into the whole thing.” Also woven into the whole thing are frequent Alice Cooper album guest stars Slash and Ozzy Osbourne, who will play a harmonica part on a song the two co-wrote.
Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica will headline this year’s Ozzfest, which is slated to be a one-day festival that will also feature Jonathan Davis, The Sword, Serj Tankian, and many other, crappier metal bands. The show is set for Aug. 9 at Dallas’ Pizza Hut Park, a setup that is causing fans to revolt in the official announcement’s comment section. (Sample comments: “FUCK YOU Sharron!!!!!!! If it wasnt for the thousands of people like me that payed to see Ozzfest and promote music YOU wouldnt have anything….You have made your last dime from me”; “This Suck This is bullshit ozzfest is only going to be a one day show in TX. Well I am gland that all of other summer tour is not like this like warped tour now we got a new summer tour call rockstar mayhem tour I hope it better than ozzfest”) Full lineup after the jump.
And capping a day of festival line-up changes, rumors, and sperm-related news, we learn that the latest rumor regarding troubled ol’ Ozzfest is that the metal revue might be transplanted to London’s O2 arena this July. More »
If you happened to tune into the Brit Awards last night and noticed that noted mumbly motormouth Ozzy Osbourne seemed a tad muted, it may have been because he beaned himself not once but two times before the broadcast? “Ozzy gave himself a real fright. More »
Last year’s edition of the Ozzy Osbourne-helmed traveling metal circus Ozzfest, experimented with letting people in for free, and was subsequently plagued by underwhelming headliners who didn’t get paid for their time, lots of crowd unrest, and limited appearances by the man himself. All of which probably led to the amphitheaters where the shows were held only turning up half-full, thus denying the sponsors who bankrolled the fest their chance to reach the maximum number of eyeballs. So it’s time for some nipping and tucking!
The tabloid loose talk that Ozzy Osbourne was going to perform with Paul McCartney at this year’s Brit Awards is untrue, leaving Ozzy more time to audition for TV announcer spots and/or be gently mocked by the producers at CNN. More »
The tabloid loose talk that Ozzy Osbourne was going to perform with Paul McCartney at this year’s Brit Awards is untrue, leaving Ozzy more time to audition for TV announcer spots and/or be gently mocked by the producers at CNN. More »
