NEW YORK (Billboard) - In the spring of 2006, Neil Young was just a year removed from a near-fatal aneurysm when he became so enraged with the war in Iraq that he quickly wrote, recorded and released the protest album "Living With War."
Not two months after its release, his part-time supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young launched their Freedom of Speech tour, during which unwitting fans expecting the band's sweeter side were greeted instead with its serrated edge.
During a three-hour-plus concert, the band played nearly all of "Living With War" and many of the political anthems on which its legend was built, like "Ohio," "Military Madness" and "Find the Cost of Freedom." Despite CSN&Y's anti-establishment roots, the move angered some fans, while inspiring others.
The forthcoming documentary "CSNY: Deja Vu" charts that friction, portraying fans who saluted the group's efforts and those who felt betrayed by them, while also introducing viewers to Iraq War veterans who are now protesting the war as musicians, politicians and social workers.
Directed by longtime film buff Young (who uses the alias/nickname Bernard Shakey) and due in theaters July 25, the documentary blends concert and behind-the-scenes footage with short news features created by ABC correspondent Mike Cerre.
Young, 62, recently spoke with Billboard about the film. Here are some highlights.
IT'S PRETTY SHOCKING MIDWAY THROUGH THE MOVIE WHEN AN IRATE
ATLANTA FAN TELLS YOU TO STICK IT UP YOUR ASS, AND ANOTHER
Friday 27 June 2008
Monday 23 June 2008
Xoki / Hieronymus
Artist: Xoki / Hieronymus
Genre(s):
Ambient
Discography:
Dub World Order (The Album)
Year: 2007
Tracks: 8
Dub World Order
Year: 2006
Tracks: 4
Martial
Monday 16 June 2008
Dino Pacifici
Artist: Dino Pacifici
Genre(s):
New Age
Discography:
The Blue Velvet Lounge
Year: 2002
Tracks: 11
Hallowed Ground
Year: 2000
Tracks: 6
The Journey
Year:
Tracks: 9
The Float Zone
Year:
Tracks: 6
Reflections Long Ago And Far Away
Year:
Tracks: 6
Acquiesecent Resonance
Year:
Tracks: 12
Sunday 8 June 2008
50 Cent Slams TV Host
Rapper 50 CENT has slammed a TV host for disliking his latest album, claiming she is bitter because he rejected her romantic advances.
Rocsi, a presenter on New York show 106 + Park, branded the hip-hop star's Curtis album "garbage" and encouraged listeners to buy rival Kanye West's LP.
But 50 Cent - real name Curtis Jackson - has hit back, insisting she only made the comments about his work because he refused her sex.
He says, "Rocsi, she said something crazy on a tape. At first, my reaction to it is I should probably tell people who she is for real.
"She's like a pop, I know like four people she slept with. It's favouritism, when you sit on the (BET) couch because... like I don't have time to hang out with you and sleep with you to make you like me on the show. That's not how I do things."
Rocsi, a presenter on New York show 106 + Park, branded the hip-hop star's Curtis album "garbage" and encouraged listeners to buy rival Kanye West's LP.
But 50 Cent - real name Curtis Jackson - has hit back, insisting she only made the comments about his work because he refused her sex.
He says, "Rocsi, she said something crazy on a tape. At first, my reaction to it is I should probably tell people who she is for real.
"She's like a pop, I know like four people she slept with. It's favouritism, when you sit on the (BET) couch because... like I don't have time to hang out with you and sleep with you to make you like me on the show. That's not how I do things."
Lionsgate mixes kids, killers
Children's nontheatrical DVD slate grows
Although it is seen as a leader in the horror genre, Lionsgate is quietly building up an imposing presence in the lucrative children's nontheatrical DVD market, which has been growing at an annual rate of about 4% and now accounts for about $1.2 billion a year in annual consumer spending.
Just since March, Lionsgate has inked three distribution deals that collectively translate into up to 30 additional DVD releases a year, making the minimajor the No. 3 player in the children's nontheatrical market, just behind the Disney and Paramount, with its Nickelodeon line.
In March, Lionsgate acquired worldwide distribution rights to HIT Entertainment's portfolio of mostly preschool franchises including Thomas and Friends, Bob the Builder, Barney and Angelina Ballerina, as well as such newly acquired brands as Fifi and the Flowertots, Aardman Animation's "Wallace & Gromit" and the Jim Henson Co.'s "Fraggle Rock."
A month later came a deal with LeapFrog Enterprises, a leading developer of technology-based learning products, to develop, produce and distribute multiple direct-to-DVD feature films -- and take over distribution of LeapFrog's catalog once titles become available next year.
And just this month came a third deal, this one with Little Tikes to distribute all product under the new Animated Little Tikes Entertainment label of CGI-animated stories. The first release, "Little Tikes Land," is due this fall.
"Lionsgate is committed to patient, disciplined growth in all of our core businesses," said Lionsgate president Steve Beeks. "The brand loyalty, consistency and long lifespan of the children's category rewards a strategy like ours and enhances the stability of our business. We plan to leverage our blue-chip brand names into continued long-term leadership in family entertainment."
Children's product has long been a mainstay of Lionsgate, dating back to the Family Home Entertainment line, a carryover from LIVE Entertainment, the predecessor to Artisan Entertainment, which merged with Lionsgate in December 2003.
But the company's presence in children's home entertainment, previously pegged at about 9%, has consistently been overshadowed by Lionsgate's push into horror, with its "Saw" theatrical franchise and steady flow of direct-to-video horror DVDs.
With these three new deals in place, however, Lionsgate's projected share of the children's nontheatrical market will grow to 15%, just a notch below the company's 16% share of the horror DVD market.
If the new deals appear heavily tilted toward the preschool market, that's all part of the plan. Children under the age of 8 make up the fastest-growing DVD demographic, according to a Lionsgate analysis of research from the NPD Group and Nielsen. And most of this growth comes from branded franchises, which account for nearly 86% of total consumer spending on children's nontheatrical product, up from 79% in 2004. With the new deals, Lionsgate anticipates it will capture 19% of the preschool DVD market.
"Lionsgate is ideally positioned to capitalize on growth in the children's under-8 demographic," Beeks said. "Our slate of new properties from HIT, LeapFrog and Little Tikes, combined with leading brands such as Marvel, Doodlebops and Clifford, give us a rich portfolio of content to serve this lucrative and growing segment."
It's all part of what Beeks said "we do best -- distribute highly recognizable branded properties to large niches that we can serve better than anybody else."
See Also
DJ Lenin
Artist: DJ Lenin
Genre(s):
Trance: Psychedelic
Discography:
Live @ Moscow 15.02.03
Year:
Tracks: 1
Live @ Euphoria Open Air 01.08.03
Year:
Tracks: 1
Simon Cowell slams Britney Spears
Cesaire Dies
Revered poet and political activist AIME CESAIRE has died at the age of 94.
Cesaire died in on the French island of Martinique at the Fort-de-France hospital on Thursday (17Apr08), where he was being treated for heart problems and other ailments.
His poetry and plays, including a black adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest, are regularly performed and studied in France.
Cesaire was partly responsible for coining the word "negritude", a term affirming pride in black identity.
Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, led the tributes to Cesaire, saying, "As a free and independent spirit, throughout his whole life he embodied the fight for the recognition of his identity and the richness of his African roots."
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It's a new Deal for lucky Breeders fans
Of all the really good bands in the world, the Breeders are technically one of the sloppiest. The group started at Cambridge’s Middle East club as a strictly-for-fun project and, after 20 years and an almost total lineup overhaul, the spirit hasn’t changed. At a sold-out Paradise show Thursday, the Breeders’ music was still like frontwoman Kim Deal’s personality: friendly, quirky and just a little disheveled.
Yet there was something special about this band beyond mere charm. From the start, the Breeders were an art-punk garage band, more interested in good songs than technical chops. And this week it was the songs that stood up, beyond the blown cues, and raggedy starts and stops. The Breeders even survived a strangely paced set list: How many bands play their greatest hits (“Divine Hammer” and “Cannonball”) in the middle of the show, then go semiacoustic for the finale?
But Deal already did the supertight stadium-rock thing with the reunited Pixies. It seemed obvious that the Breeders are closer to her heart. And the Breeders at their best are still like the Pixies - with more whimsy and less menace.
Thursday’s set list took in all four albums, plus a few songs from Deal’s ’90s side project, the Amps (Pixies songs are apparently off-limits). And they made the familiar jumps from punk-pop to surf to twangy exotica. From the new album, “Mountain Battles,” came “German Studies” (yes, sung in German) and “Here No More,” which sported back-porch harmony between Deal and her twin sister Kelley. It made sense that one of the night’s cover tunes was “Shocker in Gloomtown” by Guided By Voices, another band whose strategy was to hit fans with waves of short songs and let them sort it all out later.
The newish rhythm section seemed a bad match when the Breeders last toured - for one thing, they’re guys - but this time they toned down the punk-rock bluster and got more into the Deal sisters’ loopy groove. Kelley, who did not play guitar when she joined, gave some strong, if basic solos. The band also was joined by an extra guitarist (introduced as Cheryl from Florida) who, Kim swore, was found on craigslist. Kim accepted hugs on her way offstage and signed autographs afterwards, a fitting end for a real hootenanny.
THE BREEDERS
At the Paradise, Thursday night.
Yet there was something special about this band beyond mere charm. From the start, the Breeders were an art-punk garage band, more interested in good songs than technical chops. And this week it was the songs that stood up, beyond the blown cues, and raggedy starts and stops. The Breeders even survived a strangely paced set list: How many bands play their greatest hits (“Divine Hammer” and “Cannonball”) in the middle of the show, then go semiacoustic for the finale?
But Deal already did the supertight stadium-rock thing with the reunited Pixies. It seemed obvious that the Breeders are closer to her heart. And the Breeders at their best are still like the Pixies - with more whimsy and less menace.
Thursday’s set list took in all four albums, plus a few songs from Deal’s ’90s side project, the Amps (Pixies songs are apparently off-limits). And they made the familiar jumps from punk-pop to surf to twangy exotica. From the new album, “Mountain Battles,” came “German Studies” (yes, sung in German) and “Here No More,” which sported back-porch harmony between Deal and her twin sister Kelley. It made sense that one of the night’s cover tunes was “Shocker in Gloomtown” by Guided By Voices, another band whose strategy was to hit fans with waves of short songs and let them sort it all out later.
The newish rhythm section seemed a bad match when the Breeders last toured - for one thing, they’re guys - but this time they toned down the punk-rock bluster and got more into the Deal sisters’ loopy groove. Kelley, who did not play guitar when she joined, gave some strong, if basic solos. The band also was joined by an extra guitarist (introduced as Cheryl from Florida) who, Kim swore, was found on craigslist. Kim accepted hugs on her way offstage and signed autographs afterwards, a fitting end for a real hootenanny.
THE BREEDERS
At the Paradise, Thursday night.
Piracy Continues To Soar, Says MPAA Study
Despite its best efforts to curb online movie piracy, the number of films being downloaded continues to rise, the Motion Picture Association of America revealed in a study released in Belgium Tuesday. According to the study, more than 2.5 billion movies were downloaded worldwide in 2005 -- a 250-percent increase over the previous year. (The MPAA's figures have been hotly disputed by other Internet analysts.) The study also indicated that at any one time, 17 million people are downloading movies via peer-to-peer websites. Most of the movies available via those sites were originally recorded in theaters by persons in their seats holding camcorders, the study said.
See Also
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Metallica To Have Their Own Guitar Hero Game
It looks like Metallica could be having their own version of the game Guitar Hero, following in the footsteps of Aerosmith who release their version later this month.
Metallica's game hasn't been confirmed, however, the band have posted a message on their site that has fuelled rumours the rockers are next for the popular game:
"Let's just say that perhaps, just maybe, if you've already mastered 'One' on (Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock), there might be a pile of 'Tallica songs in your future. More details later this summer..."
It's likely the game will be released after Guitar Hero 4, which will include more instruments than just a guitar this time around. Both are expected for release next year.
Metallica meanwhile, are working on a new studio album as the follow-up to 2002's 'St Anger' - scheduled for September.
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