music – News Stories About music - Page 43

Jan 12, 2009 7:42 PM CST

Motown Giants Mark 50 Years of Music

Abdul "Duke" Fakir: Studio A is hallowed ground

(Newser) - Musical legends gathered today at Hitsville, USA—Motown Records' original headquarters—to celebrate the Detroit label's 50th anniversary, Billboard reports. The Four Tops' Abdul "Duke" Fakir was joined by musicians from bands such as the Miracles and Martha & the Vandellas to pay tribute to Barry Gordy, who started...

Beyoncé Hit Is Soundtrack
for More Market Chaos: Prof

Jan 12, 2009 2:37 PM CST

Beyoncé Hit Is Soundtrack for More Market Chaos: Prof

Analysis of pop charts finds steady songs predict turbulent finance

(Newser) - Beyoncé’s smash hit "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" might be the harbinger of continued chaos in the financial markets, the Guardian reports. Hit songs with steady, regular rhythms—or “low beat variance”—throughout correlate with volatility in the American markets, an NYU professor...

Chinese Virtuoso Conducts Assault on Glass Ceiling

Jan 8, 2009 11:50 AM CST

Chinese Virtuoso Conducts Assault on Glass Ceiling

Classical superstar Xian Zhang is young, energetic—and a woman

(Newser) - In the traditional world of classical music, no area has been less hospitable to women than the conductor’s platform. So it’s remarkable that one of the world’s hottest maestros is not just a woman, but a 35-year-old from China—Xian Zhang, associate conductor at the New York...

iTunes to Sell Music Without Copy Protection

Jan 6, 2009 3:40 PM CST

iTunes to Sell Music Without Copy Protection

Prices change: They'll range from $0.69 to $1.29

(Newser) - Apple will remove DRM anti-piracy software from the music it sells on the iTunes store, the New York Times reports. As part of a new deal reached between Apple, Sony BMG, the Universal Music Group and the Warner Music Group, songs will be DRM-free and will be priced differently. New...

Leap-Year Bug Zapped Zunes

Jan 1, 2009 6:21 AM CST

Leap-Year Bug Zapped Zunes

Microsoft advises Zune30 owners to drain batteries, then recharge

(Newser) - All 2006 model Zune30s froze up at midnight last night because of a problem handling the last day of leap years, according to Microsoft. The company advises owners to wait until 4pm PST today, drain the device's batteries, and then recharge, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Microsoft apologized for the inconvenience,...

All the World's Zune 30s Mysteriously Freeze Up

Dec 31, 2008 1:17 PM CST

All the World's Zune 30s Mysteriously Freeze Up

Bizarre bug struck mp3 players just after midnight last night

(Newser) - Microsoft’s Zune has a bizarre bug: Hundreds, if not thousands of the 30G models froze up simultaneously at 12am PST, CNET reports. The MP3 players all displayed a startup status bar frozen at 100%; the timing has prompted some Zune owners to call the problem “Z2K,” after...

Jazz Icon Hubbard Dead at 70

Dec 29, 2008 9:02 PM CST

Jazz Icon Hubbard Dead at 70

(Newser) - Grammy-winning jazz giant Freddie Hubbard died today in Sherman Oaks, Calif., a month after having a heart attack, the AP reports. He was 70. Revered among trumpet players, Hubbard collaborated with legends like John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins as he established a blazing, hard-bop style that influenced a generation. "...

Rap's Roots Found in, Uh, Scotland?

Dec 28, 2008 8:02 PM CST

Rap's Roots Found in, Uh, Scotland?

Scots' obscene verbal tradition gave birth to musical 'dueling': prof

(Newser) - While most don't associate rap with a bunch of white guys in skirts, a University of New Mexico professor traces the music’s roots back to the barrooms of medieval Scotland, the London Telegraph reports. “The Scots have a lengthy tradition of flyting—intense verbal jousting, often laced with...

Best Overlooked Albums of '08

OPINION

Dec 26, 2008 2:15 PM CST

Best Overlooked Albums of '08

Catfish Haven and El Perro Del Mar in top 10

(Newser) - Catfish Haven's Devastator tops Spin's year-end list of overlooked albums. George Hunter's "old-soul blues exposes other rock'n'roll kings as pretenders to the crown." The top 10:

Catfish Haven, Devastator: Hunter's voice is "a husky amalgam of Joe Cocker's world-weary croon and Bill Medley's baritone bombast."
El

...

Racist Music Finds
Home Online

GLOSSIES

Dec 25, 2008 1:16 PM CST

Racist Music Finds Home Online

White-power albums readily available on iTunes, Amazon, to bands' delight

(Newser) - Online outlets are making it much easier for musical acts with unpopular messages to get their material heard, Spin reports. “Because stores wouldn’t carry us, selling records used to be laborious,” says the lead singer of white-power act Brutal Attack, citing boycotts from anti-racist groups. The band...

Britney's Dad
Gets a Raise
to Watch Her

Dec 24, 2008 12:23 PM CST

Britney's Dad Gets a Raise to Watch Her

LA court raises James Spears' monthly salary by more than 50 percent

(Newser) - Some fathers take care of their kids for free, but Britney Spears can’t seem to pay her dad enough: A Los Angeles court this week raised Jamie Spears' monthly salary from $10,000 to $16,000, plus $1,200 in expenses, Us Weekly reports. Dad was awarded permanent legal...

John's Drunk Tape
Fetches $30K

Dec 22, 2008 5:05 AM CST

John's Drunk Tape Fetches $30K

Recording is 'fun,' says auction house

(Newser) - A 1973 tape of a boozy John Lennon slurring his way through Lloyd Price's Just Because fetched $30,000 at auction in Los Angeles yesterday, CNN reports. Because of Lennon's intoxication and raunchy, ad-libbed lyrics, “it's actually a fun song to listen to,” said a spokeswoman for the...

Boozy 'Lost'
Lennon Tape
Hits Block

Dec 21, 2008 8:44 AM CST

Boozy 'Lost' Lennon Tape Hits Block

Raunchy recording likely to draw up to $40K

(Newser) - A tape never released to the public showcasing a boozed-up, raunchy John Lennon is set for auction in Los Angeles today, and will likely fetch up to $40,000, the New York Post reports. Belting an intoxicated rewrite of the Lloyd Price song Just Because, Lennon advises listeners that “...

Warner Music Pulls Videos From YouTube

Dec 20, 2008 4:40 PM CST

Warner Music Pulls Videos From YouTube

Contract negotiations between firms stall

(Newser) - Warner Music ordered YouTube to remove all music videos by Warner artists today after talks to renew their licensing deal stalled, Reuters reports. The impasse could affect hundreds of thousands of video clips. The music group, home to artists such as Madonna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is demanding...

Back to Rehab for
Ex-GN'R Drummer

Dec 20, 2008 12:50 PM CST

Back to Rehab for Ex-GN'R Drummer

(Newser) - Fresh from his appearance on Celebrity Rehab, ex-Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler is going back to rehab, E! reports. Adler pleaded no contest to drug charges stemming from a July arrest, and was ordered to enter a state rehab program. The rocker, who checked out of his higher-profile treatment...

How Music Boosted Human Evolution—or Didn't

analysis

Dec 19, 2008 7:35 PM CST

How Music Boosted Human Evolution—or Didn't

(Newser) - We love our iPods and stereos, but what evolutionary purpose does all of this music serve? The Shakespearean idea that "music be the food of love" is popular among experts, who say music aids courtship and therefore human survival. Another theory says music replaced another social activity: ...

Akon Pleads Guilty,
Fined for Tossing Fan

Dec 17, 2008 1:47 PM CST

Akon Pleads Guilty, Fined for Tossing Fan

Singer avoids trial for throwing teen off stage in 2007

(Newser) - Singer Akon pleaded guilty today to charges stemming from a 2007 fan-tossing incident, TMZ reports. At a concert last year, the crooner grabbed a teenager and threw him from the stage; his guilty plea for harassment nets him a $350 fine and 65 hours of community service. Akon apologized, and...

Coldplay
Wants
Simon
on Tour

Dec 17, 2008 10:20 AM CST

Coldplay Wants Simon on Tour

Band invites Idol judge to surprise fans

(Newser) - Simon Cowell may be doling out his famously harsh feedback—on Coldplay’s current tour, the Mirror reports. “At the end of one song I want him to come on screen and say, ‘That was absolutely terrible!’” frontman Chris Martin said. The band will have to...

Rapper Gravy
Gets Another
Shot at Fame,
This Time as BIG

GLOSSIES

Dec 15, 2008 1:18 PM CST

Rapper Gravy Gets Another Shot at Fame, This Time as BIG

Hefty entertainer to portray the far more notorious BIG

(Newser) - His debut album was shelved, but Jamal “Gravy” Woolard still has a shot a fame, the New Yorker reports. The rapper, who notoriously took a bullet in the butt outside a radio studio in 2006, killed his music career with what was widely perceived to be a publicity stunt....

Paul: I Was the Political Beatle

Dec 15, 2008 9:29 AM CST

Paul: I Was the Political Beatle

Paul claims he introduced band to anti-war ideas

(Newser) - In a revelation that will likely befuddle longtime Beatles fans, Paul McCartney claims he was the one who turned the band onto politics, the Times reports. Though McCartney was writing pop songs while activist John Lennon penned blatantly political tunes, as McCartney tells it in a Prospect magazine interview, it...