New CD Releases, April 22: Ashlee Simpson, Flight of the Conchords, Lyrics Born
Ashlee Simpson "Bittersweet World"
Jessica's younger sister returns with her third album, which follows 2004's "Autobiography" and 2005's "I Am Me." "Bittersweet World" includes the single "Little Miss Obsessive," which features guest vocals from Tom Higgenson of the Plain White T's.
Simpson has been supporting "Bittersweet World" with a bevy of radio spots, Wal-Mart in-store appearances, midnight club gigs and TV appearances. Plans reportedly are also in the works for a summer tour.
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Flight of the Conchords "Flight of the Conchords"
The self-titled, full-length debut from comedy/music act Flight of the Conchords is finally set to land in stores. "Flight of the Conchords" follows the group's 2007 EP, "The Distant Future," which won this year's Grammy for Best Comedy Album.
Comedians/musicians Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement have been flying high ever since their hit TV series "Flight of the Conchords" premiered on HBO last summer. The show follows the trials and tribulations of a digi-folk duo from New Zealand as they try to make a name for themselves in their adopted home of New York City. The series is expected to return for a second season next year.
The Conchords will support the new album with a 12-show, coast-to-coast trek that includes a two-night stand in New York City and a performance at George, WA's Sasquatch! Festival.
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Lyrics Born "Everywhere at Once"
The San Francisco Bay Area rapper is back with a follow-up to his acclaimed concert disc, "Lyrics Born Live." The hip-hop star, whose real name is Tom Shimura, is best known for his popular single "Callin' Out," which also served as the soundtrack to a Diet Coke commercial that starred actor Adrien Brody.
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Whitesnake "Good to be Bad"
The melodic heavy metal troupe is finally ready to break its silence and release its first album of new studio material since 1997's "Restless Heart." The group was last heard on its 2006 concert offering, "Live: In the Shadow of the Blues." All 11 tracks on "Good to be Bad" were written by Whitesnake's David Coverdale and Doug Aldrich.
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Donny Osmond "From Donny With Love"
This new compilation focuses on the love songs from Osmond's lengthy catalog. The 18-track offering includes such fan favorites as "Puppy Love," "Let's Stay Together" and "Right Here Waiting."
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More new releases:
Atmosphere, "When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That (Expletive) Gold" (Rhymesayers)
Billy Bragg, "Mr. Love & Justice" (Anti)
Armin van Buuren, "Imagine" (Ultra)
Elbow, "The Seldom Seen Kid" (Geffen)
Carole King, "Tapestry-Legacy Edition" (Sony)
Love, "Forever Changes" (Rhino)
Replacements, "Hootenanny" (Rhino)
Replacements, "Let It Be" (Rhino)
Replacements, "Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash" (Rhino)
Replacements, "Stink" (Rhino)
Tantric, "The End Begins" (Silent Majority)
Tokyo Police Club, "Elephant Shell" (Saddle Creek)
Phil Vassar, "Prayer of a Common Man" (Universal)
The Weepies, "Hideaway" (Nettwerk)
Soundtracks and scores:
"John Adams" (Varese)
Night Ranger tours behind new album
Veteran rockers Night Ranger are getting ready to release their first studio album in a decade and have launched a world tour to support it.
The band, which is currently in Japan, will return to North America in time to kick off its spring and summer jaunt May 11 in Oklahoma City, OK. The primarily US tour includes a June 14 stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and an Aug. 9 gig in Windsor, Ontario. On select shows, Night Ranger will team with REO Speedwagon; Foreigner; Styx and Boston; and Cinderella and Warrant.
So far, Night Ranger's schedule shows a steady string of dates through late August, with one-off gigs in September and October. Confirmed shows are listed below, and more performances are expected, according to a press release.
Night Ranger--which comprises original members Jack Blades (bass/vocals), Kelly Keagy (drums/vocals) and Brad Gillis (guitarist), along with guitarist Joel Hoekstra and keyboardist Christian Cullen--is commemorating its 25th anniversary with the July 1 US release of "Hole in the Sun." The self-produced set--Night Ranger's eighth studio album and first for VH1 Classic Records--is said to capture the vintage spirit of the '80s rockers.
"We wanted to sound new, but still keep our roots," Keagy said in a statement. "We grew up in the '70s, when pop music was really starting to thrive. Sometimes it drove you crazy because the songs were so poppy that you couldn't get them out of your head, but they were still amazing songs. We wanted to portray some of that on this album."
A couple of tracks from "Hole in the Sun" are streaming at Night Ranger's MySpace page.
The band has been supporting the new album with tour dates all over the world in the past few months, including a stop at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay to perform for US military personnel.
"Going to Guantanamo Bay Cuba to play for the troops is right up there as one of the wildest things Night Ranger has ever done," Blades said in a press release. "We've been all over the world, but never have we sung '(You Can Still) Rock in America' in a Communist country with armed Cubans watching us in guard towers just a few clicks away."
Night Ranger reached rock stardom with the 1982 release of its debut album, "Dawn Patrol," which spawned hits including "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" and "Sing Me Away." The following year's "Midnight Madness" garnered even more success with radio hits "Sister Christian" and "(You Can Still) Rock in America."
May 2008
11 - Oklahoma City, OK - Zoo Amphitheatre (with REO Speedwagon)
22 - Trinidad, CA - Cher-Ae Heights Casino
25 - St. Louis, MO - Soldiers Memorial Park
June 2008
7 - West Wendover, NV - Montego Bay Casino & Resort
14 - San Juan, Puerto Rico - Anfiteatro Tito Puente
19 - Oshkosh, WI - Waterfest Concert Series
20 - Brookville, IN - Bicentennial Celebration
21 - Sioux City, IA - The Awesome Biker Rally
22 - The Woodlands, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (with Styx/Boston)
28 - Cheyenne, WY - William H. Brimmer Amphitheatre
July 2008
2 - Arlington Heights, IL - Frontier Days Festival
3 - Hays, KS - Frontier Park
4 - Glenview, IL - Great Lakes Naval Base
5 - Kettering, OH - Fraze Pavilion at Lincoln Park
6 - San Jose, CA - Discovery Meadow Park
11 - Pryor, OK - Rocklahoma
12 - Grapevine, TX - Glass Cactus at Gaylord Texan
19 - Fort Smith, AR - Harry E. Kelly Park
25 - St. Clair, MI - Palmer Park
26 - Maquoketa, IA - Jackson County Fair Iowa
27 - Lake Ozark, MO - Horny Toad Entertainment Complex
August 2008
2 - Rifle, CO - Garfield County Fair
9 - Windsor, Ontario - Lakeshore Soccer Park
10 - Des Moines, IA - Iowa State Fair/Grandstand (with Cinderella/Warrant)
17 - St. Joseph, MO - Trails West Festival
23 - Tower, MN - Fortune Bay Casino
30 - Pittsburgh, PA - Heinz Field
31 - Sparks, NV - John Ascuaga's Nugget
September 2008
28 - Jackpot, NV - Cactus Petes Casino/Ameristar Amphitheater (with Foreigner)
October 2008
1 - Tulsa, OK - Tulsa State Fair
'30 Rock,' 'Scrubs' Swap Timeslots
It seems almost fitting that as its time on NBC winds down, "Scrubs" would have to deal with one more time-slot change.
The long-running comedy, whose NBC finale is coming in a few weeks, will move to 8:30 p.m. Thursdays starting this week. It's switching places with "30 Rock," which will move to the 9:30 p.m. spot following "The Office."
The switch gives "30 Rock" a stronger lead-in. Since its return on April 10, "The Office" has averaged about 9.5 million viewers and a 4.8 rating among adults 18-49, compared to 6.9 million and 2.8 for "My Name Is Earl," which previously served as "30 Rock's" lead-in.
Over the past couple of weeks, "Scrubs" has averaged just under 7 million viewers, compared to 6.1 million for "30 Rock." Its adults 18-49 and adults 18-34 ratings have also been significantly higher, thanks in part to airing after "The Office."
"Scrubs" has bounced around the NBC schedule throughout its seven-season run, undergoing more than 15 timeslot changes in that time. It may go through one more significant change once its time on NBC ends -- there's a good chance the Disney-produced show could end up on Disney-owned ABC next year.
Elvis Costello Reveals All About 'Momofuku'
Elvis Costello has taken to his Web site to reveal the story behind "Momofuku," his new album that was released exclusively on vinyl today (April 22).
The album includes a download card that can be activated on May 1; a CD release follows on May 6 via Lost Highway.
"The absence of much advance notice or information might seem a little strange and perverse but the record was made so quickly that I didn't even tell myself about it for a couple weeks," Costello says.
The sessions for "Momofuku" were inspired by work Costello did on Rilo Kiley frontwoman Jenny Lewis' forthcoming solo album, which featured Costello's Imposters bandmates Davey Faragher (bass) and Pete Thomas (drums).
Afterward, he booked a Los Angeles studio for six days in February to record eight newly written songs. One other song, "Song With Rose," sports lyrics co-written with Rosanne Cash, while "Pardon Me Madam, My Name Is Eve" came out of a writing session with Loretta Lynn last year.
Thomas' daughter Tennessee, who plays drums in the Like, guests on "Stella Hurt," while Lewis and her beau Johnathan Rice contributed to a number of the tracks. As many as nine musicians played on "Turpentine" and "Song for Rose," which Costello calls "a fine old noise."
"Every record has its own method. This was the one for these songs," Costello says. As for the unusual name, it is not related to the hip New York restaurant Momofuku Noodle Bar, bur rather "a tribute to Momofuku Ando, the inventor of the Cup Noodle. Like so many things in this world of wonders, all we had to do to make this record was add water."
Alison Moyet fulfils wish with Yazoo reunion
LONDON (Billboard) - For Alison Moyet, the upcoming Yazoo reunion tour represents a chance to complete some unfinished business.
Although the British singer has carved out a hugely successful career as a solo artist since parting ways with her Yazoo protagonist Vince Clarke in the early 1980s, Moyet says she has always hankered to play the duo's electro-driven pop hits on stage.
"I wanted to do it, and never stopped wanting to do it," she tells Billboard. "If it had been one gig, it would have been good. I just wanted to do it."
As it turns out, the public wanted more than one gig. The duo's Reconnected tour itinerary has grown significantly since it was first announced last year. It will now begin May 26 in Copenhagen and proceed to Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States.
"I don't know how much of a window we'll be able to get in that kind of time," Moyet says of potential additional dates. "And I don't know how long that window's going to stay open for. We've had some really interesting things we've had to turn down just because of logistics. I like to not know things too far in advance because I get cabin fever."
Yazoo (or Yaz as they are known in the U.S.) enjoyed a brief, but fruitful recording career, which yielded just two albums. Both sets, "Upstairs at Eric's" and "You and Me Both," were commercial and critical successes, and generated a raft of hit singles including "Only You," "Don't Go" and "Nobody's Diary."
Next month, "In Your Room," a four-disc collection of remasters, remixes, B-sides, a DVD and the band's two studio albums will hit stores. Would Moyet consider recording new material?
"I hate the idea of just making a record because we can," she says. "It would have to be if when we were together and sparking creatively and we get some great ideas, we would consider it. There's absolutely no set-in-stone plan. But if we wrote a brilliant song while we were half-pissed after a gig, then that'd be fantastic. But if we don't, then f--k it."
Asbury Park's Stone Pony to host Federici memorial
ASBURY PARK, N.J. - Friends and fans of keyboardist Danny Federici will gather at the famous Stone Pony nightclub Wednesday evening to pay tribute to the original E Street Band member who died at 58 Thursday after a three-year battle with melanoma.
Federici had performed with Bruce Springsteen since the late 1960s and became a stalwart in the E Street Band as Springsteen emerged from the Jersey shore club scene to achieve international stardom.
Stone Pony house promoter Kyle Brendle said those attending would have the opportunity to share their memories of Danny and would be invited to contribute to a memorial fund set up in his memory at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.