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How to Be on TV, with Coldplay

Published October 21st, 2009 by Karen

photo credit: stigeredoo

In honor of the 20^th anniversary of the Simpsons, the show’s creators are calling upon fans to submit suggestions/designs for a new character that will appear in an upcoming episode set to feature Sgt. Pepper-loving Brit piano-rock types, Coldplay (no word on whether singer Chris Martin’s wife/blogger Gwyneth Paltrow will be in tow).

Coldplay joins a long list of musical guests who’ve appeared on the show in cartoon form, including the Ramones, Paul McCartney, the White Stripes, Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blink 182 and many more.

The Simpsons’ website says the contest is being held because the writers are “tired and, frankly, too rich to care anymore.”

They think it’s a joke, but we’re not so sure. We think this contest is being held because the show is out of ideas and the lame-o writers know it.

(Seriously, when is this show going to start being awesome again?)

Regardless of the reason, designing a cartoon character is probably a lot more fun that whatever else you’ve been working on today, so why not give it a shot?

Complete details on submitting your Simpsons character Continue reading »

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Beatles Tragedy:Inspiration Behind Famous Song Dies in London

Published September 28th, 2009 by Karen

photo credit: LifeHouseDesign

St. Thomas’s Hospital in London has announced the death of Lucy Vodden following a long battle with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease that often causes damage to the liver, kidneys and other organs . Vodden was 46.

A childhood schoolmate of John Lennon’s son Julian, Vodden reportedly served as the inspiration for the “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” Although many people believed it was a reference to LSD, Lennon claimed that the seemingly psychedelic song title was actually borrowed from a drawing Julian made of Lucy.

News of the severity of Vodden’s illness was widely reported in June of this year, resulting in numerous Beatles fans, and even Julian himself, offering outpourings of support to this unlikely pop culture icon.

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BELOW: The super psychedelic ’60s music video for the Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” Continue reading »

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Top 9 Bands for 09/09/09: From Nine Inch Nails to Nine Stories

Published September 9th, 2009 by Karen

photo credit: Edgar Zuniga Jr.

Today’s premise is simple enough: in honor of today’s unique date–09/09/09–we’re posting the top 9 bands and songs with 9s in them.

Did we forget your favorite 9?
Tell us about it in the comments section! Continue reading »

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Daily Music Quiz: Band Breaks Up After Fan Attack

Published September 9th, 2009 by Karen

photo credit: humain

Time for another round of music trivia! Today’s theme is broken guitars and band break-ups.

Read the question and leave your answer in the comments section (answers below–no peeking!).

Today’s Question:
On this day in 2008, the guitarist of a prominent British rock band was injured when a fan attacked him during a concert.

Can you name the band and the guitarist?
Bonus: Do you remember which song the band was playing during the attack?

HINT: A year later, he quit the band (although probably not because of this attack).

Answer and Video Below: Continue reading »

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Wife of Monkees Star Arrested in NYC

Published August 7th, 2009 by Karen

ABOVE: No “Pleasant Valley Sunday” for Monkees drummer Mickey Dolenz this weekend (bad joke, sorry): The Monkees’ singer/drummer’s wife was arrested in NYC Friday morning. Which other rocker’s wife has been in similar trouble recently? Find out below.

Being the wife of a rockstar might be fast-paced and glamorous for some, but for the wife of Monkees star Mickey Dolenz, the good times are on hold: She was arrested Friday in NYC.

Apparently, the days of rock’n'roll stars being tangled up in webs of illicit drugs and wild activity are over, the former flight attendant is in trouble for something a little more commonplace in our post-Bernie Madoff world: real estate fraud.

Donna Quinter is being accused of manipulating and defrauding the state of New York by illegally Continue reading »

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Top 10 Concerts for 4th of July Weekend: ‘80s Rock, Afro-Punk, Free Shows, Beatles and More!

Published July 2nd, 2009 by Karen

ABOVE: The Afro-Punk Festival is just one of the great (Free!) concerts on our list for the 4th of July weekend. Complete details, below.

Each weekend in NYC there are so many concerts that it’s hard to decide which ones to attend–and this weekend’s even more jam-packed because it’s the 4th of July!

So, to help you decide how to work some music into your holiday plans, we’ve assembled a list of the weekend’s best concerts based on some interesting categories, including:

Best Place to See Free Live Music-Skateboards Encouraged:
Best Place to See 2 Dozen Bands in 2 Days for about $1.25 each:
Best Place to Wonder if John Lennon Would Prefer Waffles or Eggs:
Best Place to Sing “Mr. Roboto” without Totally Annoying Everyone Around You:
Best Place to See a Legendary Rock Band That Replaced its Dead Singer with an Actor:
And More!

So, which concerts are on our special 4^th of July Concert List for this week? Let’s find out…

Top 10 Concerts this Weekend: July 3, 4 and 5, 2009 Continue reading »

"@Donlizard - This week I've been holding preliminary talks with North Korea about the possibility of a missile treaty that would end their nuclear program..."

Daniel Earwicker

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Yoko Ono to Send Acorns for Peace to World Leaders

Published May 2nd, 2009 by Wendy

photo credit: duziem

Yoko Ono intends to celebrate the 40^th Anniversary of John Lennon’s “Acorn Peace”-in which she and the ex-Beatle planted acorns for peace in 1969-by calling 123 world leaders and urging them to reflect on world peace, according to an NME.com report.

According to the report, Ono will send the leaders two acorns each, in a transparent box with the inscription “Acorn Peace by John and Yoko, Spring 2009.” The original stunt, carried out in 1969, resulted in Lennon and Ono receiving letters of thanks from several world leaders in response.

Lennon later referred to the stunt in The Beatles’ song “The Ballad Of John and Yoko,” when he sang: “Caught the early plane back to London/Fifty acorns tied in a sack/The men from the press said, ‘We wish you success, it’s good to have the both of you back.’

Ono plans to put the original letters from world leaders on display at Imageinepeace.com to mark the continued struggle for world peace.

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Top 10 Phil Spector Hits: Beatles, Ramones and More!

Published April 17th, 2009 by Karen

Ok, so by now everyone has probably read that record producer Phil Spector has been found guilty of killing Lana Clarkson by shooting her in the face.

Obviously, we can’t defend that action.

But, we can take a look back at Spector’s pre-murder career-and an impressive career it was. Spector hit the big time producing everyone from the Ronettes and Righteous Brothers to the Beatles and the Ramones.

Do you know what the last song Phil produced was? Or which song was covered by a ’90s indie rock icon? Keep reading for the answers!

The following songs and videos are just a few highlights from Spector’s back pages, mostly songs he produced, but some he actually played on-maybe you have some Spector in your record collection right now

Check out our Top Phil Spector tunes and tell us which is your favorite.

Kicking things off is a video from Spector’s own band, the Teddy Bears.

1950s:
Teddy Bears-To Know Him is to Love Him

"[...] bands like the Beatles the Kinks knew all about the Taxman and now Wu-Tang Clan star Method Man is learning his own lesson about Uncle Sam’s..."

Rap Icon Facing Four Years In Prison | Music Vixen Blog

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Tax Relief Music with Beatles, Kinks, Johnny Cash and More

Published April 15th, 2009 by Karen

“Taxman’s taken all my dough…”

The saying goes that the only certainties in life are death and taxes, and while we certainly hope that everyone makes it through the day, we also hope everyone remembered to file their taxes.

Tax day is a drag, but it has inspired some great songs, including the Kinks classic “Sunny Afternoon” (above) and the Beatles’ “Taxman” (featured in a fun animated video below).

Of course, plenty of stars have had problems with the tax man over the years. Keep reading for the scoop on some well-known tax-evaders, and let us know what songs to add to our playlist of topical tunes (so far, we’ve got Johnny Cash, Relient K, Cheap Trick-who should we add?). Continue reading »

"For fans that would like to either find or see the George Harrison star, you can can find it

Paul Nerger

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George Harrison Gets Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Published April 15th, 2009 by Wendy

photo credit: laverrue

Hundred of friends and fans of late Beatle George Harrison gathered in Los Angeles, California yesterday as Harrison was posthumously awarded a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, according to an Associated Press report.

Those in attendance included Paul McCartney and Tom Petty, as well as Harrison’s widow Olivia and son Dhani. “Thank you very much!” shouted McCartney to the fans as the star was unveiled in front of the landmark Capitol Records building.

The only other surviving Beatle, Ringo Starr, did not attend. But one of Harrison’s friends, Monty Python’s Eric Idle, said he had recently spoken to Starr and that Ringo wanted to know why he hadn’t been awarded a star. Idle said he told Starr that they don’t give stars to drummers.

The Beatles have a star on the Walk of Fame, but the only members of the band with individual stars are John Lennon and now Harrison.