Those rumors that Jay-Z was starting a label with Beyonce and Steve Jobs? So last week. According to Ben Widdicombe’s Gatecrasher column, Jay might jump the Island Def Jam ship for a gig at Columbia–and the reason might be pesky houseguest/Janet Jackson paramour Jermaine Dupri:
Nearly everyone (well, except these guys) has nice things to say about Rick Rubin, music producer and career rehab specialist. However, a New York Daily News item gives the idea that he might not have been the best choice to help steer the ship at Columbia Records.
Yesterday, Columbia Records announced that it had finalized its deal to bring producer Rick Rubin into the fold. As Billboard notes, Rubin doesn’t have an official title at the label–weirdly, “Swami” was already taken–and he’ll also be able to continue working his other projects at other labels. But a leaked memo that’s been making the rounds has clues as to what Rubin’s been planning to do with his new power.
Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People In The World” list is out today, and while we don’t want to turn into one of those music blogs that reprints every absurd ranking ever released (“Hot crap! Mother Jones just listed the 25 sexiest songs about switchgrass…of all time!”), we can’t help but note its pop-music entries: Justin Timberlake, Rick Rubin and John Mayer. Rubin? Sure, we’ll give them this one, even though his biggest commercial success has been with some of his weakest albums. Timberlake? Okay, he’s influential–influential on our pants! Ha! Still, he’s going to be ripped off by a half-dozen or so male singers all year, so okay. But Mayer as “influential”? How can they possibly justify that choice?
Yesterday’s Los Angeles Times profile of Rick Rubin covered a lot of bearded-one basics–he meditates, he hangs out near the shore, he meditates–while throwing out this semi-tantalizing tidbit: Asked about disappointments in the studio, he mentions a veteran British superstar whose band continues… More »
– Jerry Garcia’s widow is suing to gain control of unreleased tapes from the deceased Grateful Dead leader’s archive. Experts believe the tapes total 12,345 hours, and contain nearly three songs. More »
According to the New York Times, Columbia Records has offered a co-chairman job to Rick Rubin, the barbate producer who’s crafted hits for the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash, and Andrew Dice Clay. The catch? Rubin already has a job with Warner Brothers. More »
