Be the first to comment In case you couldn’t keep up with all of the week’s top music news headlines, -we’ve rounded up some of the highlights from around the web, including:
*Bono’s Attack on Germany
*The week’s weirdest duets (Metallica & Lou Reed, Mick Jagger & Fergie, and more!)
*Breaking news on Slayer’s canceled tour
*And much more! (It’s been a busy week)
Find out what else made headlines this week: Continue reading »
Weekly Top Music News: Bono Scandal, Arrests and More | Music Vixen BlogIn honor of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, MTV has organized a massive, free concert by Irish pop-rock band U2 in front of the iconic Brandenburg Gate.
Strangely enough, the concert is being marred by the erection of a giant wall (reportedly a 12-foot-tall metal barrier) meant to keep viewers without tickets from seeing the show—the free show.
Celebrating the fall of the Berlin wall by building a wall?
Thanks, U2.
(Read: Bono’s Elvis Poem a Mess of Racial Slurs, Insults)
Portions of the concert Continue reading »
Weekly Top Music News: Bono Scandal, Arrests and More | Music Vixen BlogOh, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, why do you do this to us?
In honor of the R’n’R Hall of Fame’s 25th Anniversary, a series of “all-star” concerts were held in NYC featuring some top acts, and some not-so-top acts, all mixed together into a sometimes nightmarish pop culture stew.
Some things just shouldn’t mix, as the concert’s list of duets proves:
The night produced some strange duets:
U2 & Springsteen (ok)
Mick Jagger & Fergie (ick)
Metallica & the Kinks (why?)
And things just get even weirder after that…
Below: check out videos from some of the best and worst combos and tell us which you think is the best (or worst). Continue reading »
WastedyrsABOVE: U2 with big hair in the ’80s. Just one of the bands being hit by the recession.
If there’s any silver lining to the current recession it’s on the musical front, where last-minute tickets to hear big acts like Coldplay and Bruce Springsteen are available for as little as $1, according to a Reuters report.
According to the report, eBay Inc’s StubHub, the leading Internet ticket re-seller, has confirmed that last-minute concert ticket sales at sharply lower prices are on the rise for acts like Paul McCartney, Springsteen, Jonas Brothers, Coldplay, and U2.
“People often assume a secondary ticket site only offers inflated prices, but it’s very challenging right now,” Sean Pate, a spokesman for San Francisco-based StubHub, was quoted as saying. He said cheap prices were not showing up just for “nosebleed” seats or lawn seats, but rather in all seat locations for top performers.
Many of the big tours are reportedly sold out through vendors like Live Nation, but a certain percentage of tickets find their way onto the secondary market on sites like StubHub or craigslist.org. Given the economy, many of these tickets are being sold by a combination of ticket brokers and regular fans at steep discounts
ABOVE: Take a tour of a record manufacturing plant with the Dead Weather’s video, “Will There Be Enough Water?“
He doesn’t seem to have time for the White Stripes or Raconteurs lately, but garage-rock mainstay Jack White is making a big play to promote his newest band, the Dead Weather.
Just last week, White launched The Vault, a subscription based service offering listeners access to exclusive music from his Third Man record label, home to artists such as The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather.
Next week, White is opening a record store in NYC-that will only exist for two days (location, hours below).
We know this is a tough market for a record store, but isn’t this excessive?
Actually, it’s a clever marketing ploy by this independent rocker who has often decried the internet age for leaking music too soon. Continue reading »
ABOVE: U2 dedicated a performance of “Angel of Harlem” to Michael Jackson…we’re not entirely sure why.
More than 90,000 fans piled into Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium last night for the kick off of U2’s 360° Tour, the Irish rockers’ first trek in three years, according to a report on RollingStone.com.
According to the Web site, the concert took place on a massive stage, lovingly called the “Claw” by crew members, and boasted a giant 360 video screen, flowing silk screens and a light show that would have made Pink Floyd jealous.
“We have here a huge production, there’s no denying that. It’s likely the largest rock & roll touring stage production that’s ever been put together,” design architect Mark Fisher was quoted as saying.
U2, one of the world’s most successful acts, opened the show with “Breathe” from their acclaimed new album “No Line on the Horizon,” and went on to play a mix of new and classic songs, including “Angel of Harlem,” which they dedicated to Michael Jackson.
The quartet’s 360° Tour will visit 31 cities across Europe and North America and entertain an estimated three million people.
Above: Bono embarrasses himself, and Elvis, though bad poetry, slurs and insults.
After the jump: Read Bono’s entire poem.
It seems that even Bono’s friends in the British media are having trouble defending his newly-broadcast poem about Elvis. The 14 minute ordeal finds the U2 frontman dusting off an epic list of facts, fictions, slurs and back-handed compliments targeted at the reigning King of Rock’n'Roll.
Throughout the poem, Bono manages to call Elvis everything from a saint and sinner to a nigger, hillbilly and fat.
If this is how he speaks of his idols, what does Bono say about his enemies?
After over a decade on the shelf, BBC saw fit to broadcast this self-indulgent nonsense as part of the kick-off for poetry season. Poetry season? Sure, why not.
Bono’s rambling mess was previously trimmed and made into the song “Elvis Presley and America,” which appears on 1984’s The Unforgettable Fire. That song is plenty horrible, but the unabridged poem titled Elvis: American David is even worse.
Sample:
Elvis
drove a truck
Elvis
had a monkey named bubbles before anyone
Elvis
wore eye make up, just hangin’ out
Elvis
the white nigger
ate at burger king
and just kept getting bigger
We expect so little from Bono, and yet he still manages to disappoint.
Good job.
Keep reading for the whole 800+ word catastrophe…it gets worse. Continue reading »
AcrobatAbove: If U2’s nightmarish “Get On Your Boots” didn’t scare you away from the radio, Bono is hitting the airwaves with something even more frightening…
Once again, reality and the Onion have come too close for comfort.
Last week it was reported that U2 leader Bono will be the subject of a CNN program dubbed Bonotheism during which Bono, “illuminates the path to righteousness in [a] new weekly program…” intertwining music and theology.
Last week it was also reported that Bono will take to the airwaves to read a 10-year-old poem he wrote about Elvis.
So which one of these stories is true? Continue reading »
If you still want to be a superhero or a rockstar when you grow up, here’s your chance!
Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark, U2’s upcoming Broadway musical based on Spiderman, is set to debut in early 2010, so the boys are putting out the call for auditions.
Apparently, Kirsten Dunst likes to date rockers, but she can’t sing-the role of Mary Jane is up for grabs on Broadway, along with the roles of Peter Parker and assorted villains.
Auditions begin April 9, and according to the press release posted online, “Regardless of experience, anyone who thinks they might be qualified is encouraged to audition.”
Keep reading for the complete list of audition dates and locations. Continue reading »
VIDEO: White Stripes on So You Think You Can Dance. “Seven Nation Army” Dance, Bad Idea? | Music Vixen BlogWe wonder if Broadway fans are happy that so many rock bands are headed to the stage these days.
First, came news that U2 is helming a new Spiderman musical (which doesn’t seem like a good idea).
Now, word is out that Green Day is set to debut a musical based on its 2004 album, American Idiot.
A multi-platinum smash, American Idiot was a concept album that dealt with issues related to politics and war, all with Green Day’s melodic, arena-ready, pop-punk spin. Some of the characters from the album’s songs are slated to appear as characters in the play.
The theatrical version of the album, set to debut in California on September 4, is being directed by Michael Mayer, known for his hit musical, Spring Awakening. Continue reading »
