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Avril Lavigne’s Complicated Marriage Ends

Published October 15th, 2009 by Karen
Avril poster
Creative Commons License photo credit: spi516

If, for some strange reason, you’d like to date 25-year-old pop-snot Avril Lavigne, good news: She’s getting a divorce

The singer has cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for her split from hubby/Sum 41 pop-punk Deryck Whibley. (Who? Exactly. Think Good Charlotte, but somehow more annoying.)

On the plus side, the Canadian mall-punk power couple called it off before they had a chance to have a baby with a dumber name than the spawn of Ashlee Simpson (lip-syncher) and Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy).

(READ: Ashlee Simpson Baby Name, Worst Ever?)

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KIDS: Pop Star, 41, Pregnant Again. Good Idea?

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Punk Star’s New Baby=Another Weird Celebrity Baby Name

Published September 10th, 2009 by Karen
Rubber Ducky
Creative Commons License photo credit: Photo Monkey

The daughter of singing star Lionel Richie, Nicole Richie, 27, rose to fame thanks to her high-profile position as the (ex) best friend of Paris Hilton. Richie was once engaged to DJ AM, the celebrity DJ found dead of an apparent drug overdose in August, a year after miraculously surviving a plane crash that killed four others.

In 2008 Richie welcomed her first, daughter Harlow Winter Kate, with boyfriend Joel Madden, 30, lead singer of the pop-punk band Good Charlotte (video below). Hilton briefly dated Madden’s twin brother, Benji.

On the celebrated date 09/09/09 the couple welcomed a second child with a bird-inspired name. It’s a boy, but the couple named the new baby Continue reading »

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2009 Green Day Tour Dates, Tickets: US, Canada, Europe

Published June 1st, 2009 by Karen


Above: Green Day does its best impersonation of the Clash on “I Fought the Law.” Our apologies to Joe Strummer…

Tickets for Green Day’s tour in support of 21st Century Breakdown are being sold by ticket monster, er, Ticketmaster. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, we guess.

To Green Day’s credit, in many cities, the band is taking admirable steps to ensure that scalpers aren’t keeping fans out of the shows, by limiting tickets to two per person and making them non-transferable (to prevent re-sale).

We didn’t entirely dig Green Day’s latest (see if you agree with our 21st Century Breakdown review), but we’re sure fans are eager to find out if these rock superstars are heading to their towns any time soon, so we rounded up all of the band’s upcoming tour dates, just for you.

After the Jump: Complete 2009 Green Day Tour Dates Continue reading »

"paramore is amazing!!!"
  shannon
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2009 Paramore Tour Dates, Stars of Twilight Soundtrack

Published May 27th, 2009 by Karen

Above: Paramore gives breakthrough hit “Misery Business” an acoustic twist.

Tennessee rockers Paramore have come a long way in a short time. The band burst onto the scene with 2005’s All We Know is Falling and hasn’t slowed down since. The band’s 2007 release, Riot!, produced hits such as “crushcrushcrush,” and the group went on to land a sweet spot on the Twilight soundtrack.

If all of that isn’t exciting enough, this young band just scored the opening slot on No Doubt’s summer reunion tour.

Complete 2009 Paramore Tour Dates: Continue reading »

"I was a Green Day fan; I liked Kerplunk, loved and still listen to Dookie, and enjoyed some of Insomniac, Nimrod, and American Idiot. But since Dookie..."
  mike
29 Comments

Singles: Green Day “21 Guns” Borrowed from David Bowie?

Published May 26th, 2009 by Karen

"21 Guns" from 21st Century Breakdown

Green Day

2009

MusicVixen Rating:

Recommended if you like:
the Clash, David Bowie, Garbage, Blink 182

Above: Green Day’s surprisingly glammy new song, “21 Guns.”
After the jump: The classic song we think Green Day swiped the melody from.

With rumors of the genre’s demise long fueled by accusations of selling out and growing up, “punk’s not dead” has been a rallying cry since punk’s earliest days.

While we don’t want to examine and debate the vital signs of this no longer vital genre, we are curious as to what the word punk means in an era when people spend more time playing Guitar Hero than garage rock.

Does punk exist anymore? Is it just a brand name, like Pepsi or Starbucks? Does it even matter anymore? Probably not…

Met with widespread acclaim, and localized disgust, Green Day’s new album 21st Century Breakdown, featuring the single “21 Guns,” is Continue reading »

"Richie!! Wish I was there, been looking for you for a long time. Plz. contact me. I miss you. Check out my 14 yr. old son as a guest performer playing..."
  Bobski
1 Comment

Happy Birthday, Joey Ramone! Tribute Concert, NYC Tonight

Published May 19th, 2009 by Karen

Above: Punk hero Joey Ramone meets superhero Spiderman. It was bound to happen eventually.
Below: The catchiest song ever written about baseball bats.
Ramones–”Beat on the Brat” mp3

May 19, 1951 was an important day in rock’n'roll history: It was the birthday of Jeff Hyman.

Hyman is of course better known as punk-rock icon, Joey Ramone. (Yeah, we should’ve mentioned this sooner, but we were too busy trying to bake a cake in the shape of the Ramones’  logo.)

Joey, who would’ve turned 58 today, passed away in 2001 after a battle with lymphoma. He may be gone, but his impact on the music world will never be forgotten. Pretty much any rock band that has picked up a guitar in the past 20 years owes a debt to the Ramones, who made writing perfect pop/rock songs seem deceptively simple. Earlier this week, Ramone was officially inducted into the Rock’n'Roll Hall of Fame, after an earlier technical error left  him out in the cold.

Tonight in NYC, Joey’s brother, Mickey Leigh, has organized a Joey Ramone Birthday Bash at the Fillmore/Irving Plaza, with proceeds from tickets set to support the Joey Ramone Foundation for Lymphoma Research.

Hosted by former MTV VJ Matt Pinfield, the show will feature Continue reading »

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Free Green Day Tickets—If You Wake up Early Enough on Friday

Published May 18th, 2009 by Karen

Above: A younger, thinner, less eyelinered Green Day perform’s 1994’s “Basket Case.”

In continuing support of the already over-hyped new album, 21st Century Breakdown, Green Day is heading back to TV for a spot on Good Morning America on May 22-because nothing says “punk rock” like getting up at 5a.m. to hang out with Diane Sawyer.

The group will perform at Rumsey Playfield in New York’s Central Park (69th St / 5th Ave). The show is free and open to the public and will take place during Good Morning America’s Friday broadcast (7a.m.-9a.m. Eastern).

It’s impossible to know how soon fans will start lining up (some crazy folks are probably camped out right now), but people will actually be allowed to enter the park in the morning starting at Continue reading »

"I like how that one person said put that in your juicebox and suck it. Sounds like all greenday fans, still with their juiceboxes. How infantile. Just..."
  Classic punk is real punk
73 Comments

Green Day Sucks: 21st Century Breakdown, Middle-Aged Millionaires Cash-In on Teen Angst

Published May 13th, 2009 by Karen

21st Century Breakdown

Green Day

2009

MusicVixen Rating:

Recommended if you like:
U2, Fallout Boy, Queen, Jonas Brothers

It is still difficult to believe that Green Day has gone from being a Dookie-joke making ’90s pop-punk outfit to one of the most popular rock bands in the world.

It’s amazing what landing a schmaltzy acoustic ballad on Seinfeld can do for a punk’s career.

Green Day’s new concept album, 21st Century Breakdown, is a melodramatic blast of political-pop that comes up sounding more like Disney pop than Clash-y revolutionary rock.

Aside from the obvious pitfalls of concept albums in general, there’s something disingenuous about hearing middle-aged millionaires peddling teen angst. The Who famously hoped they’d die before they got old. Clearly, Green Day has no such foresight.

The rest of the album review depends largely on which version of the album you actually own. The group has released the disc at several price points, ranging from digital download to deluxe edition with hardback book and bonus material.

While it’s easy to understand that bands need to come up with new and inventive ways to lure fans into buying discs rather than pirating them online, there begins to be something disconcerting about an ostensibly politically-charged, proletariat-touting punk trio dividing its audience based on economics.

Following lead characters Christian and Gloria, 21st Century Breakdown Continue reading »

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Bamboozle Fest 2009: No Doubt, Cover Bands, Third Eye Blind Reunion (?)

Published May 1st, 2009 by Karen

 

This weekend, New Jersey is going to be filled with even more, um, unusual folks than usual as the Bamboozle Festival rolls into town and lures all the emo kids out of their bedroom-mope-caves for a weekend of unnecessary reunions and pop-punk cover bands. Um, sweet?

Expect a weekend of bad haircuts and worse music. Sorry, dorks.

Among the bigger names on this year’s bill are Third Eye Blind (seriously?!), No Doubt (newly reunited, for some reason), Fall Out Boy (insert your own Bronx Mowgli joke, here), Asher Roth, Taking Back Sunday, and the Maine (owners of the worst emo haircuts in recent memory).

No Doubt is headlining the fest, but Gwen Stefani’s hubby, Gavin Rossdale, isn’t quite as lucky these days. He’s relegated to playing after Bloodhound Gang on Saturday afternoon.

On the plus side, at least Gwar (who claim to be aliens from Antarctica sent to rule the earth, or something like that) will be there, rocking their homemade costumes and fake blood. (Remember when Gwar was on on Jerry Springer?)

If that’s not bad enough, the day before Bamboozle, NJ is hosting the Hoodwink Fest-a festival of cover bands featuring bands you’ve probably never heard of doing songs by bands they should probably just leave alone.

Boys Like Girls will play Coldplay songs.
Anti-Flag plays the Clash
Sum 41 plays Metallica
And so on.

Some lesser-known bands are playing Avril LaVigne and Britney Spears. Wow, pop-punk bands doing lame pop songs. Um, is this funny anymore?

Full line-up, at the Hoodwink Fest page.

Complete 2009 Bamboozle Fest line-up, after the jump. Continue reading »