New Track

What's in a name? In the 1950's, singer Joni James had a lot of success with one of those names that always seemed easy to confuse with a few others (at least for me). On the other hand, her real name - Giovanna (Joan) Carmella Babbo - might have been a little more distinctive, but it's easy to see why she changed it. A Chicago native, she was originally pointing toward dancing as a career, and her first professional job was as a chorus girl.
(More about Retro Redux: Joni James - What’s In A Name?…)

Linkin Park weren’t sure they’d be able to top last year’s Projekt Revolution tour, but with a lineup that includes veteran rap and rock performers Busta Rhymes and Chris Cornell, as well as the Bravery and Ashes Divide, this year’s bill may prove to be their most eclectic yet.

“We just pick groups that we think would be a good match together,” Linkin Park MC Mike Shinoda said of the tour, which will hit 24 cities, kicking off July 16 in Mansfield, Massachusetts, and wrapping up August 24 in The Woodlands, Texas.

(More about Linkin Park Tell How Busta Rhymes Invited Himself Along For Projekt Revolution 2008…)

Have you ever noticed that most people don't catch onto certain things until they are dropped upon their heads like bags of heavy bricks from the tops of the highest buildings? Then and only then, in that moment of clarity, do the objects of focus become so apparent that hindsight not only lends 20/20 vision, but also spotlights that which blinded us from seeing them in the first place. With that in mind, let us focus on the career of soul singer Anthony David.
(More about Music Review: Anthony David - Acey Duecy…)

The riots that rocked Paris's North African districts last summer were only the most recent chapter in the long and nasty relationship between France and her former colony Algeria. The tension stems from the late 1950s, when the Algerians struggled for independence and the French military committed atrocity after atrocity, which the Algerians answered in kind. Even De Gaulle's ceding the Algerians independence failed to diminish the resentment felt on both sides.
(More about Music Review: Rachid Taha - Rock El Casbah: The Best Of…)

In an interesting interview with the BBC, Kid Rock explained why most of his music isn’t available on iTunes. “The internet was an opportunity for everyone to be treated fairly, for the consumer to get a fair price, for the artist to be paid fairly, for the record companies to make some money,” Rock said.
(More about Kid Rock Lashes Out Against iTunes, Endorses Illegal Downloading…)

Roadside Attractions, 40 percent-owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp, is in "final negotiations" to release the film July 25 in theaters, on TV video-on-demand services and via Netflix Inc's "Watch Instantly" Web streaming, said Howard Cohen, co-president of Roadside.
(More about Film company Roadside opens new “window” for films (Reuters)…)

Also post some new music online… coincidence? Make your way over to the music section of Franz Ferdinand’s newly-revamped website, and you’ll be greeted with a series of awfully groovy-sounding musical loops (and a real squeaky outlier called "Blessing"). It takes no great stretch of the imagination to assume these loops may have something to do with that LP the band is currently working up with producer Dan Carey, but only one of the tunes on the virtual turntable, "Turn It On", shares a name with those song titles the Franz have "bandied about" on their MySpace blog recently.
(More about Franz Ferdinand Mixing LP3, Eyeing January Release…)

Finally, it all comes together: the forthcoming Danger Mouse-produced LP from the chameleonic song-and-dance man they call Beck is indeed called Modern Guilt, and is due July 7 in the UK and Europe from XL, with a North American release the next day, July 8, from DGC. The 10-tune set, roughly 30 minutes in length features none other than Cat Power on a track called "Walls", and the whole tracklist is available after the jump.
(More about Beck Reveals Full Modern Guilt Details at Last…)

Shows visual art in Brussels Photo by Don Felix Cervantes It seems like we’ve been hearing a lot from Antony these last few months, but then again, somebody around the office always has that Hercules and Love Affair disc on repeat. Integral though his role is on H&LA, it’s been a minute since Antony had his own name in lights (despite his promises). But it sounds like that’ll change in a season or so.
(More about Antony Plans New Single, Symphony Tour…)

I wrote an article recently about the presence of “magic” in the new addition to The Chronicles of Narnia movies. But after seeing Disney’s Prince Caspian, the magical elements of the story didn’t catch my attention as much as the music. The score alone created the mood and upheld the fantasy of this movie. It was completely mesmerizing, and the soundtrack is no different.

(More about Music Review: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian soundtrack…)