Music News Online Blog

The Answer To Open On AC/DC's Black Ice World Tour in US.

The Answer, an emergent and award-winning rock band from Northern Ireland, has been selected as the opening act for the imminent North American leg of AC/DC's Black Ice World Tour. The itinerary kicks off October 28 at the Wachovia Center in Wilkes-Barre, PA and concludes on January 31 at Nashville Sommet Centre, Nashville, TN.

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Like Your Hard Rock Music With Some Blues? Here's Thunder!

Like Aerosmith? Like ZZ top? Like straight ahead rock music with a sing-a-long chorus? Then Thunder is for you. "Candy Man" is the new single from the band that first broke through back-in-the-day with "Dirty Love" on MTV.

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The Greatest Texas Rock Album of All Time

Song for song and pound for pound, what is the greatest Texas rock album of all time? Well, grab a Lone Star or three and let's discuss. It's ZZ Top's "Eliminator." 25 years old this year and reissued by Rhino last month in the usual two-disc expanded format with extra tracks and a bonus DVD.

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Video of New Warrant Singer. Makes You Ask - Jani Who?

Robert Mason has taken over the vocals in Warrant after another failed reunion with original singer Jani Lane. The band sounds better than ever. Mason is one badass motherf*cker.

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Tesla still rockin' and rollin' with Forever More

The five-man, hard-rock band Tesla has been on a roll. Over the past year, the band has been busier than it had been in its previous 10 years combined. Tesla has released 3 albums of covers, returned to Europe for its first tour there in 15 years, released a DVD and now is preparing to release a new album of original material, "Forever More."

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Enuff Z'nuff - Lost In Vegas - Rock Music Samples

Enuff Z'Nuff returns with a strong set of songs. This is easily the best collection of tunes in a long time. Although labeled as the next Enuff Z'Nuff album "Lost In Vegas," both the track listing and title have changed. This is just a cool group of songs that has been circulating. The new album "Dissonance" will be released soon.

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Led Zeppelin Are Set for a Reunion Tour in Summer of 2009

Rock legends Led Zeppelin are set for a reunion tour after singer Robert Plant finally caved in and agreed to join them. Guitarist Jimmy Page, 64, bassist John Paul Jones, 62, and drummer Jason Bontam, 42, had resigned themselves to touring without Plant.

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AC/DC Announces 'Give It All You Got' Contest

Australian hard rockers AC/DC have announced a new contest where they are asking fans to create their own version of the "Rock 'N Roll Train" video and upload it to YouTube with a "ACDCGiveItAllYouGot" tag on it.

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New Music From Oasis Rocks! The Band Returns To Form?

Here's the UK Sun's review of the new single from Oasis. Oasis' new album, "Dig Out Your Soul," has been penciled in for an Oct. 7 release via Big Brother Records.

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Oasis to Give New Songs for Free

In addition to two extra bonus songs, Oasis also plan to release a cheaper version of their eight studio LP, 'Dig Out Your Soul', which will be released on October 7.

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Third Eye Blind Throws Remix Contest for Unreleased Album

Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind was talking to Nettwerk Music founder Terry McBride about ideas for releasing the band's next album, Ursa Major, when McBride came up with a real humdinger: Why not release stems for fans remix in advance of the album's release?

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Rock band Smashing Pumpkins' New Fall Concert Dates

The Smashing Pumpkins have announced new dates for the band's upcoming fall tour. The group--which was recently tapped as part of the Oct. 26 lineup for Neil and Pegi Young's Bridge School Benefit concert in Mountain View, CA--will launch the trek Nov. 1 in Cleveland. A highlight of the outing will come in the band's hometown of Chicago.

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Pass The Tequila - Just Keep Rocker Sammy Hagar Quiet!

"Chickenfoot could rival Led Zeppelin." It was a quote that made its way across the Internet within hours. Sammy Hagar, blames it all on tequila. So pass the bottle, but just keep The Red Rocker quiet! Drinking and driving is the least of Sammy Hagar's worries. It's drinking and talking that may be a problem!

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10 Examples of Auto-Tune Abuse in Modern Music

If you're unfamiliar with Auto-tune, and especially if you listen to much pop and rock, you might not hear it initially. When overdone, the effect yields an unnatural yodel or warble in a singer's voice. But the sound is so commonplace in modern mainstream music that your ears may have tuned out the auto-tune!

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Myspace Music goes LIVE, bootleggers rejoice

The bootleggers on Canal Street are jumping up and down right now and for good reason. MySpace Music goes live, my friends. We don't have MySpace, but their reach is vast, with roughly 120 million users. They signed a deal with the big four music companies - Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI.

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iPod Taking Some of the Blame for Problems....

Record execs are tempted to sacrifice dynamic range for increased volume because digital music makes it possible to squeeze all of the sound into a narrow, high-volume range. This temptation is pressed further when you try and optimize sound for the iPods crappy lo-fi earbuds.

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Three Bands That Sound Like Other Bands

Remember how many grunge-alikes appeared after Nirvana hit it big? That seems to be happening here with vocals, albeit on a far smaller scale. I'm not trying to make fun here. After all, who doesn't have their influences? I just think this is sort of interesting.

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MySpace Moves Into Music

MySpace is launching its ambitious music initiative, betting its broad reach, social tools and brand advertiser relationships can craft nothing less than a new business model for the ailing industry.

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Why Loud Music in Bars Increases Alcohol Consumption

At some point during the evening, in bars across the land, two things happens: the lights go down and the music goes up.

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Rock band Smashing Pumpkins' New Fall Concert Dates

The Smashing Pumpkins have announced new dates for the band's upcoming fall tour. The group--which was recently tapped as part of the Oct. 26 lineup for Neil and Pegi Young's Bridge School Benefit concert in Mountain View, CA--will launch the trek Nov. 1 in Cleveland. A highlight of the outing will come in the band's hometown of Chicago.

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Hard rock band Tigertailz iTunes Song For Cancer Charity

Bryn Terfel, Shan Cothi and rock band Tigertailz release a a new single today Monday 22nd September available from iTunes as a digital download only. This is being used to launch a cancer charity in memory of Tigertailz bass player Pepsi Tate (Justin Smith) who tragically died from pancreatic cancer last year. A mix of rock music and opera!

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Have You Sold Your Soul For Rock And Roll?

Most Americans love music. In fact, most Americans REALLY love their music. However, most Americans turn a blind eye to the true agenda and message behind the music that they love. Could it be that the music that you are pumping into your head hour after hour really has a Satanic agenda behind it?

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Run-DMC, Metallica, Stooges nominated for Rock Hall of Fame

Run-D.M.C. could "Walk This Way" into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The 1980s rap act, along with Metallica and the Stooges are among the nine nominees for next year's hall of fame class, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation announced Monday.

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32 Huge Music Acts Ignored By The Rock Hall Of Fame

They sold millions of records. But none have a spot in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame because of the politics of the music business and a nomination process controlled by Jann Wenner.


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Free MP3 from Butch Walker Available Sept. 30

A new album from Butch Walker is coming soon, along with an MP3 giveaway starting on September 30. It looks like the song "The Weight of Her" will be available via Amazon.com for free. That's right - free rock music!

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iTunes killed the Rock Star

It has come to my attention that the corporate king of the music industry, Apple's own iTunes, is causing quite a stir these days. Bands, labels, and music lovers alike are all rallying against the idea of downloading singles instead of going out and purchasing the entire cd.

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Kings Of Leon - Caught Between The Boogie And The Beast

That describes the dilemma old-time Kings Of Leon fans face listening to the band's new album 'Only By The Night'. I like my Kings rocking numbers like 'Be Somebody' or '17', but I'm not so keen on the slicker songs. There's only so much bombast I can take. Check this article for a nice definition of Corporate Rock, by the way.

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Another TESLA Rock Song Available Via Streaming

A new TESLA track entitled "So What" is available for streaming. The song comes off the California rockers' seventh studio album, "Forever More" which is scheduled for release on on October 7 on Tesla Electric Company Recordings. For "Forever More", TESLA reunited with producer Terry Thomas, who helmed the 1994 gold-certified "Bust A Nut" album.

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Rock Star Billy Squier Asks For Your Vote!

VH1 has chosen Billy Squier's "The Stroke" as one of the Top 100 Best Hard Rock songs of all time! Voting is currently underway to see where it places in the list. There is no limit to voting, so Billy says to "vote and vote often." Please!


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New box set from Kiss - Ikons - just what the world needs!

Rock band Kiss' four original members are spotlighted on their own discs as part of the compilation "Ikons," due Oct. 21. The four-disc, 56-track "Ikons" pulls rock songs heavily identified individually with bassist Gene Simmons, guitarists Paul Stanley and Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss, from both the Kiss and solo album catalogs.

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AC/DC embraces paperless ticketing for Black Ice rock tour

Ticketmaster has announced that AC/DC will use the company's paperless ticketing technology for select seats on the band's upcoming North American arena tour, which launches Oct. 28 at the Wachovia Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Up to 3,000 paperless tickets per night will be used for the North American leg of AC/DC's Black Ice World Tour.

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George Michael Arrested in Public Toilet Again

Pop singer George Michael has been arrested in a public toilet in London for alleged drug possession. "A 45-year-old man was arrested on 19 September on suspicion of possession of drugs in the Hampstead Heath area," a Metropolitan Police spokesman said.

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Sunday night rock 'n' roll

Neil Diamond is one of pop music's most enduring and successful singer-songwriters. As a successful pop music performer, Diamond scored a number of hits worldwide in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Critic William Ruhlmann wrote of Diamond, "As of 2001, he claimed worldwide record sales of 115 million copies...

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How Companies Pay Artists to Include Brands in Lyrics

Conscious of the branding value such mentions can bring, some artists have gone so far as to approach companies with offers to include brand and product names in their song lyrics.

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Spice Girls beat out Led Zepplin for the year's best reunion

In today's second sign of the Apocalypse, the Spice Girls have beaten Led Zeppelin to an award for the best music reunion of the last 12 months.

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Rock critic thinks that Warrant/Jani Lane do not get it

Earlier this year one of glam metal's most notorious acts, Warrant, would be reuniting with singer Jani Lane and its original line-up would be in place for the first time in 15 years. Now, after a handful of summer tour dates that varied between mediocre and horrible, the band has announced it has parted ways with the troubled singer. Again!

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Sammy Hagar Talks About Rock and Politics

Is the Red Rocker GOP-rouge inside? Sammy Hagar isn't saying, preferring to keep his personal political leanings to himself. But the rock star notes that he had no issues with his Van Halen-era hit "Right Now" being used by the McCain campaign.


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MySpace Sets Music Free

MySpace Music, scheduled to launch in September, promises to be the most significant rollout of a digital-music service since Apple's iTunes. It will enable MySpace users to listen to any song from the catalogs of the three music giants free.

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Metallica, Death Magnetic, and the Glory Days of Heavy Metal

Thankfully, with the release of Death Magnetic, Metallica has finally put an end to the debate over old Metallica and new Metallica. Death Magnetic is not only an album that sees the band return to their Metal and Trash roots as much as they possibly could over two decades removed from Kill 'Em All.

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Most Covered Song: 25 Best Covers of Beatles' 'Yesterday'

"Yesterday" is a pop song originally recorded by The Beatles for their 1965 album Help!. According to the Guinness Book of Records, "Yesterday" has the most cover versions of any song ever written. The song remains popular today with more than 3,000 recorded cover versions. Here are some of the best.

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Surprise! Universal music revenues up 5% thanks to downloads

Pundits have warned that the major labels should adjust to a world where they aren't so "major," but Universal has just announced year-to-date growth of 5 percent. Thank digital downloads and a plethora of new options for grabbing tunes.

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Jimi Hendrix The Ultimate Guitar Hero -R.I.P

The Greatest Guitar Hero, Jimi Hendrix still remains one of the most influential forces in rock music. Pulling unprecedented sounds out of his Fender Strat, Hendrix challenged musicians and guitarists to explore a wild new world of tones and textures, dazzling and confounding guitar greats like Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend and Eric Clapton....

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Another Look at Rock Band Enuff Z' Nuff

A blogger rethinks her opinion of rock band Enuff Z'Nuff. These guys never get enough credit. Sure - wear lipstick in a video once, twice or three times and get labeled forever! Truth be told - Enuff Z'Nuff still makes solid and timeless rock music. An underrated band.

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6 Most Idiotic Publicity Stunts In Rock Music History

You've signed the big money contract and recorded what, most everyone involved tells you, may be the greatest damn rock album ever made. But there is one problem. Nobody is paying attention. So what do you do to get yourself some much needed publicity? No idea, but here are six things you may want to avoid, if that helps.

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Kid Rock Talks - You Better Listen!

At a time when record companies are continuing to bemoan the decline of CD sales, Kid Rock observes, "If people had good albums, they'd be buying albums. But people are buying singles because they only have good songs." His latest album - Rock N Roll Jesus - not having a problem sustaining his success at retail.

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Will MySpace Music Succeed?

Will MySpace Music serve all our music-purchasing needs, including digital rights management--free downloads, ringtones, concert tickets, and band merchandise? Or is it an underwhelming mashup of Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, Imeem, and iLike? Streaming music will still be available free.

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Hair metal rock stars join forces in Dirty Rats

Juan Croucier of rock band Ratt fame has updated the lineup of his band. Jeff LaBar (Cinderella) will now take over lead guitar duties in Juan Croucier's Dirty Rats. "I am extremely pleased to introduce Jeff LaBar as the new guitar player for the band! I have always greatly admired Jeff's guitar playing, as well as his exceptional stage presence."

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Rock star Jizzy Pearl to be guest on UK's Hair Metal Haven

Vocalist Jizzy Pearl of the reactivated California rockers LOVE/HATE will be interviewed by Chris Nelson on next weekend's edition of "Hair Metal Haven" on Rock 247 Online. The show will be broadcast on Saturday, September 20.

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New Rock Musical From Bon Jovi Keyboardist - Toxic Avenger:

David Bryan, keyboard player for the rock band Bon Jovi, is the composer and co-lyricist of the new musical "The Toxic Avenger." The show, based on the 1985 cult film about a weakling-turned-superhero, will have its world premiere at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick starting Sept. 30.


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Rock Vet Sammy Hagar Inks With New Roadrunner Imprint

Sammy Hagar is the first signing to new Roadrunner imprint Loud & Proud, which will focus on established rock artists. His label debut, "Cosmic Universal Fashion," will arrive Nov. 18. The album's title track was written online by Hagar with an Iraqi rock fan named Steven Lost.

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