New CD Releases and Re-Releases, November 27th, 2007: Justin Timberlake, Mudvayne, Pitbull
Justin Timberlake "Futuresex/Lovesounds: Special Edition"
The singer who brought "SexyBack" is now ready to bring it back again. This 2-disc special edition includes Timberlake's multi-platinum sophomore set, plus three additional tracks: "Until The End Of Time" (featuring Beyonce), and new versions of "SexyBack" and "Sexy Ladies." The DVD portion of the set includes music videos, behind-the-scenes footage and tapings of various live performances.
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Mudvayne "By the People for the People"
This disc lives up its title; the track listing reportedly was selected by the metal band's fans. It's Mudvayne's second compilation album, and fifth overall release, and it features demo recordings of "Not Falling," "Death Blooms," "Fall Into Sleep" and other fan favorites. It also includes two new songs: "Dull Boy" and a cover of The Police's "King of Pain."
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Pitbull "The Boatlift"
The Miami-based Cuban-American rapper, known for such hit singles as "Culo" and "Toma," returns with a follow-up to last years "El Mariel." The hip-hop star is joined by a boatload of guests on this album, including longtime collaborator Lil Jon, Twista, Trick Daddy and Young Boss.
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Westlife "Back Home"
The popular Irish boy-band--featuring Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne, Bryan McFadden, Mark Feehily and Kian Egan--is ready to take their fans "Back Home." The new offering follows 2006's "The Love Album," which has been certified triple-platinum in the UK. The Dublin quintet has an immensely strong track record in the singles department, having charted 14 No. 1 UK singles during its 9-year career.
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Philip Glass "Book of Longing"
The acclaimed avant-garde composer has put together a song-cycle based on the poetry and images of Leonard Cohen, the multi-talented Canadian who many rank as one of the finest songwriters of all time. The tribute ensemble, led by conductor Michael Riesman, includes Daniel Keeling, Wendy Sutter, Andrew Sterman, Eleonore Oppenheim and Kate St. John.
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More new releases:
B Real, "The Gunslinger III: For a Few Dollars More" (Redline)
Buckethead, "Dawn of the Deli Creeps" (TDRS)
Cunninlynguists, "Dirty Acres" (Bad Taste)
Raheem Devaughn, "Love Behind the Melody" (Jive)
Adrienne Frantz, "Anomaly" (Wrong)
Garrison Keillor, "Never Better: Stories of Lake Wobegon" (Highbridge)
Lovemusik, "Lovemusik" (Ghostlight)
Tom Magliozzi, Ray Magliozzi, "Car Talk: The Greatest Stories Ever Told" (Highbridge)
Grady Martin, "Roughneck Blues 1949-1956" (Rev-Ola Bandstand)
The Ocean, "Precambrian" (Metal Blade)
Primordial, "To the Nameless Dead" (Metal Blade)
Various Artists, "NPR Driveway Moments for Dads" (Highbridge)
Soundtracks and scores:
"Guys & Dolls" (Blue Moon)
"You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown," (Stage Stars)
Van Halen Beefs Up 2008 Itinerary
Van Halen has added 23 new U.S. dates to its reunion tour with original lead singer David Lee Roth, extending the trek into April.
Beyond the five shows added in mid-November, the Live Nation-produced trek featuring Roth, Eddie and Alex Van Halen and Eddie Van Halen's teenage son Wolfgang on bass will visit new markets such as New Orleans and Providence R.I., while making repeat visits to New York, Chicago and East Rutherford, N.J.
The current tour is Roth's first with the Van Halen brothers in more than 20 years and has grossed $25.5 million from 18 shows between Sept. 27 and Nov. 10, according to Billboard Boxscore.
The full slate of 2008 shows is:
Jan. 22: Oklahoma City (Ford Center)
Jan. 24: San Antonio (AT&T Center)
Jan. 26: Dallas (American Airlines Center)
Jan. 28: Houston (Toyota Center)
Feb. 1: Denver (Pepsi Center)
Feb. 4: Omaha, Neb. (Qwest Event Center)
Feb. 8: New Orleans (New Orleans Arena)
Feb. 12: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (BankAtlantic Center)
Feb. 14: Orlando, Fla. (Amway Arena)
Feb. 16: Jacksonville, Fla. (Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena)
Feb. 18: Tampa, Fla. (St. Pete Times Forum)
Feb. 22: Charlottesville, Va. (John Paul Jones Arena)
Mar. 5: Cincinnati (US Bank Arena)
Mar. 7: Raleigh, N.C. (RBC Center)
Mar. 9: Baltimore (1st Mariner Arena)
Mar. 11: Manchester, N.H. (Verizon Wireless Arena)
Mar. 13: East Rutherford, N.J. (Izod Center)
Mar. 17: New York (Madison Square Garden)
Mar. 19: Hershey, Pa. (Giant Center)
Mar. 21: Pittsburgh (Mellon Arena)
Mar. 24: Providence, R.I. (Dunkin Donuts Center)
Mar. 26: Uncasville, Conn. (Mohegan Sun Arena)
Mar. 28: Atlantic City, N.J. (Boardwalk Hall)
Mar. 30: St. Louis (Scottrade Center)
Apr. 1: Columbus, Ohio (Value City Arena)
Apr. 3: Chicago (Allstate Arena)
Apr. 5: Grand Rapids, Mich. (Van Andel Arena)
Apr. 7: Milwaukee (Bradley Center)
Quiet Riot singer found dead in Las Vegas
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Kevin DuBrow, lead singer of the popular 1980s U.S. heavy metal band Quiet Riot, has been found dead from unknown causes at his home in Las Vegas, authorities said on Monday.
The body of DuBrow, 52, was discovered on Sunday afternoon, a spokeswoman for the Clark County Coroner's Office said. An autopsy conducted on Monday was inconclusive and more forensic tests were scheduled to establish a cause of death, she said.
Police confirmed that DuBrow's body was found at his home after they were summoned by friends and neighbors who could not find the rocker.
A Las Vegas police spokeswoman declined to say whether there were signs of foul play or violence.
"I can't even find the words to say," Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali said on his Web site. "Please respect my privacy as I mourn the passing and honor the memory of my dearest friend, Kevin DuBrow."
Founded in Los Angeles in the mid-1970s, Quiet Riot shot to the top of the Billboard charts with their 1983 album "Metal Health."
It sold more than 6 million copies and is considered by many to be the first heavy metal record to top the pop charts.
The album's sales were spurred by the quartet's monster hit "Cum on Feel the Noize," featuring DuBrow's powerhouse vocals, and the song's video, which was played in heavy rotation on MTV.
Quiet Riot's subsequent albums did not sell nearly as well and DuBrow was essentially fired from the band amid the ensuing rancor.
DuBrow regrouped Quiet Riot in the 1990s and the band has played sporadically, last releasing an album in October 2006.
TV episodes dwindle in writers strike
NEW YORK - The writers strike is in its fourth week, with chilly prospects for viewing ahead.
During December, the schedule will be dominated by holiday specials and series repeats (not unlike any other year).
But come January, a prolonged strike could be all too obvious to viewers, with continuing episodic reruns interspersed with new reality shows.
Even so, a few scripted dramas and comedies are warming up the schedule:
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A FEW TO GO:
Fox airs a fresh "House" Tuesday. After that, only three more new episodes remain, slotted for January one of them following Fox's Super Bowl broadcast.
ABC's new hit comedy "Samantha Who?" has six more episodes in the can.
Fox's "Family Guy" has scheduled a normal mix of new and repeat episodes at least through January.
The "Crime Scene Investigation" trio, "NCIS," "Criminal Minds," "Without a Trace" and "Cold Case" are down to four or fewer new episodes apiece on CBS.
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END IN SIGHT:
ABC's "Ugly Betty," "Pushing Daisies" and "Grey's Anatomy" each have two new episodes to go.
ABC's "Desperate Housewives" airs the last of its current stock of new episodes Sunday.
The final new episode of NBC's "Heroes" airs Dec. 3.
Fox's "K-Ville" has two new episodes left, with dim prospects for production to resume on this low-rated freshman drama.
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STUCK IN REPEATS:
NBC's "The Office" is closed for business until the strike's end, with only reruns on deck.
CBS' new hit sitcom "Big Bang Theory" has similarly run dry, along with "How I Met Your Mother," "Two And a Half Men" and "Rules of Engagement."
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WHO KNOWS WHEN?:
The planned January return of Fox's "24" has been postponed indefinitely. Since only some of the series' 24 episodes have been shot, Fox didn't want to risk beginning a new season that might be interrupted.
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MIDSEASON RELIEF:
Fox's "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" will have a two-night premiere Jan. 13-14. This new drama, a reinvention of the "Terminator" film franchise, arrives with 13 episodes completed.
Also in January, NBC's "Medium" will return with nine episodes in the can.
"The New Adventures of Old Christine" will be back with at least eight episodes of this CBS sitcom, and the apocalyptic drama "Jericho" returns with seven episodes.
"Cashmere Mafia," ABC's new comedy-drama starring Lucy Liu, will arrive with seven episodes completed.
Canada a download haven
A kid and his mother are in a CD store. The kid turns to the mother and asks her to buy him a CD. The mother replies: Can't you just download it?
"I saw it with my own eyes," says an incredulous John Jones, western regional manager for Warner Music Canada. "You expect that from a kid, but this was a 45-year-old woman. I was flabbergasted."
But what he saw was nothing new. The world knows Canada as the Great White North -- but to the music industry it seems more like the Wild West these days.
Toothless copyright legislation and recent court decisions that suggest personal file-sharing may be legal in this country have conspired to create a lawless free-for-all that's siphoning millions of dollars and hurting the music scene, industry officials charge.
"We're in a funny little bubble in Canada," contends Graham Henderson, president of the Canadian Recording Industry Association, which represents the major record labels. "And we're in that bubble because we don't have modern digital laws. We don't have a consensus of what's right and wrong."
It's a stark contrast from the situation south of the border and overseas. In Europe, police have raided and shut down file-sharing sites. In America, the industry has fought back with a series of controversial lawsuits. Just last month, a 30-year-old Minnesota woman was ordered to pay $222,000 to six record companies for sharing 24 songs (though she had more than 1,700).
Here in Canada, where CRIA claims there are more than 1 billion illegal downloads per year, two landmark decisions have hamstrung the industry's efforts to launch 29 similar suits. In 2003, the Copyright Board of Canada ruled that downloading music from P2P networks for personal use was legal. The next year, Federal Court Judge Konrad von Finckenstein took a similar stance, even questioning whether uploading files was breaking the law.
"The mere fact of placing a copy on a shared directory in a computer where that copy can be accessed via a P2P service does not amount to distribution," Finckenstein wrote. "Before it constitutes distribution, there must be a positive act by the owner of the shared directory, such as sending out the copies or advertising that they are available for copying."
More recently, the industry has focused on lobbying Ottawa to put more teeth into Canada's copyright laws -- something the Harper government promised in last month's Throne Speech.
That's good news to CRIA -- but not to many of Canada's musicians who rely on fans' goodwill for their survival.
"We think lawsuits like the one in Minnesota would be terrible for the music business in Canada," wrote Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page in a press release on behalf of the Canadian Music Creators Coalition, whose membership includes everyone from Avril Lavigne and Sarah McLachlan to Randy Bachman. "It's shortsighted to say 'see you in court' one day and 'see you at Massey Hall' the next. If the labels want to try and sue fans, we hope that they'll have the courtesy to stop trying to do it in our names."
Henderson says the point of copyright reform is to attract investment and expand the industry.
"Having those sorts of laws in place encourages business investment. And that is absent in Canada. Nobody is interested in putting money into the digital marketplace because we have no laws to safeguard their investment."
For Universal Music president and CEO Randy Lennox, it's also a matter of respect.
"We haven't sued consumers because we're all nice Canadians," he says. "But we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore. What are we, a whipping boy?"
But one expert believes the industry can never achieve a definitive legal victory.
"There are too many lawyers," says Steve Gordon, an entertainment lawyer. "Lawyers have been promising that eventually they'll be able to sue piracy away. And the executives have given the lawyers years now to try to do that. It's a failed strategy. The lawyers have let them down."
The disputes don't end there -- levies on blank DVDs and iPods meant to compensate artists, along with newly proposed taxes on legal digital downloads, are also points of contention in the complex issue. And some artists and labels claim file-sharing actually helps publicize bands, and doesn't hurt sales.
"We hear from people in indie shops who tell us that peple come in who have already downloaded the album and have come in to buy it because they liked it," says Mark Milne, co-founder of Canadian indie record label and distributor Sonic Unyon.
Despite their obvious differences, however, the experts agree on one thing: Education is the real key to solving the file-sharing crisis.
"I do think it begins at home in many respects," Henderson says. "I think you'll start to see in the wake of laws that this will start to become an issue in the home. Parents will start talking to kids about this. And there will be a whole brand new sort of ethic which will grow up about the use of the Internet."