Foo Fighters taking a break
The Foo Fighters are taking a break from each other after 15 years.
Frontman Dave Grohl reveals the band's new greatest hits record marks the end of an era - and it's time to take a hiatus.
He tells CNN, "I think the band decided to take a break, not because we wanted to stop making music, but because we thought the world needed to take a break from us.
"This greatest hits record, that's the end of something... It's time to move on into this next chapter or another phase. Maybe it will be different in whatever way. I don't know.
"It's nice to not know what's going to happen next. We're going over to do some shows in Europe, but, after that, it's like I don't even know when I'm going to see these guys. So it's kind of weird."
But Grohl does know where he wants to record the rock act's next album: "I do know I want to try to make the next record in my garage. I'm serious."
Rockers No Doubt sue Activision over "Band Hero"
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Rock band No Doubt sued video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc over the use of their likeness on its new "Band Hero" product, accusing the company of turning the rockers into a virtual karaoke act.
No Doubt and Activision had a contract allowing the company to use the band members in the game, but Activision, which is based in Santa Monica, California, went beyond the agreement by allowing gamers to use avatars of the band performing songs from other rock groups, the lawsuit states.
"Band Hero" is a variation on Activision's "Guitar Hero" game, which was launched in 2005 and passed the $2 billion sales mark at the beginning of this year.
The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, a day after "Band Hero" hit stores, and it accuses Activision of fraudulent inducement and breach of contract.
In one instance of how "Band Hero" allows for unauthorized use of No Doubt's likeness, a feature on the game has the band's Gwen Stefani singing Rolling Stones song "Honky Tonk Women," the band's lawsuit states.
The feature "results in an unauthorized performance by the Gwen Stefani avatar in a male voice boasting about having sex with prostitutes," the lawsuit states.
In a statement the company said: "Activision believes it is within its legal rights with respect to the use and portrayal of the band members in the game and that this lawsuit is without merit."
With its lawsuit, No Doubt is seeking unspecified damages and an injunction preventing Activision from distributing the game. No Doubt wants Activision to recall existing copies.
No Doubt hails from the suburban community of Anaheim, California, south of Los Angeles, and the band scored hits with the songs "Don't Speak" and "Underneath It All."
In September, Courtney Love, the widow of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, criticized Activision for using Cobain's likeness in "Guitar Hero 5" in ways that she did not approve of, including singing songs from other bands.
How about this for a New York City Serenade?
After performing Born to Run, Darkness, and Born in the U.S.A. album sets on this leg, Bruce and the E Street Band have something extra special up their sleeve for their return to the Garden this weekend — the premiere of two more album performances, and ones that we honestly never thought we'd see.
Saturday night: The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, live, top to bottom for the first time ever.
Sunday night: The River, live, top to bottom, for the first time ever — all 20 tracks.
If Steve were to have his way, there'd be even more, as he told Rolling Stone earlier this year: "If I could pick, it's gotta be The River. I'd want to include the outtakes on the Tracks collection. Then you have a hell of a show." But hey, even if it's "just" a double-album set that includes "Stolen Car," "The Price You Pay," "Drive All Night"... still sounds like a hell of a show to us.
This leaves November 22 in Buffalo as the only remaining show on the itinerary with no album announced. See our Tour/Ticket Info page for the line-up.
Bachman brothers battle over BTO name
Canadian rocker Randy Bachman is in a court fight with his younger brother Robin over the rights to the name of their iconic 1970s group Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
Robin Bachman and Blair Thornton, both former BTO members, have launched a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.
The suit claims Randy Bachman and Fred Turner, the other member of the rock quartet, signed away their rights to the names Bachman-Turner Overdrive, BTO and any similar brands when Randy left BTO in 1977 to go solo.
Thornton and Robin Bachman claim Randy Bachman's company trademarked the name Bachman-Turner and Bachman-Turner Union in Canada and the United States earlier this year.
The pair claim those names could be confused with the BTO identity.
Their statement of claim asks for an injunction, saying Randy Bachman and Turner are confusing the public and businesses into believing their other companies are connected with the business of Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
Bachman-Turner Overdrive's hits, such as Taking Care of Business and Hey You, climbed the charts in the 1970s. Randy Bachman, 66, is currently host of the CBC Radio show Randy Bachman's Vinyl Tap.
HMV launches digital store
With CD sales dwindling, Canada's largest traditional retailer of music, HMV, is launching a digital store.
The new site at hmvdigital.ca will offer millions of tracks in MP3 format, without digital rights management software, the retailer said in a release.
It is inviting consumer input on the site beginning Wednesday.
Among the features are personal accounts that record what consumers have bought through the site, so they can download the same tracks later if they have lost them or want to listen from a different computer or player.
HMV, which has 131 Canadian stores, is racing to claim a share in the digital realm from iTunes, Amazon and 7Digital.
The store is being launched in French and in English.