Category: Music

YOU’VE GOT BRUCE
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band debuting the title track from their new album, The Rising, today on AOL. The song can be heard–but not downloaded–at AOL keyword “First Listen” or at music.netscape.com.

Springsteen’s ‘Rising’ Leaked In New York
New Yorkers tuned in to top 40 station WPLJ on Friday morning (June 21) got a preview of the upcoming Bruce Springsteen album, The Rising, when the title track was debuted at 8:15 a.m. ET. Springsteen’s label, Columbia Records, immediately served the station with a cease-and-desist order.
According to the station, listener response to the song was just as immediate, with a flood of positive phone calls. DJ Scott Shannon shouted over the air: ” Bruce Springsteen, if you’re listening, welcome back!”
Springsteen and the E Street Band tour rumors continue, with August 9 now circulating as the start of a North American jaunt, followed by European dates continuing through mid-December.
In the works for a potential fall release is another Springsteen tribute album, which would benefit the Kristin Ann Carr Fund and the Parkinsons Disease Foundation. Though artists and songs have not been announced, contributions may possibly come from Springsteen pal Joe Grushecky, Dan Bern, Elliot Murphy, and Matthew Ryan.
Springsteen’s official website, brucespringsteen.net, has posted details on a special limited-edition version of The Rising, which will include a 40-page full-color booklet with photos and handwritten lyrics by Springsteen.

Could This Be Her Last Number One?
She’s “not yet a woman,” but Forbes magazine crowned pop princess Britney Spears as the world’s most powerful celebrity on Thursday, dethroning movie star Tom Cruise from the No. 1 spot he held last year.

Eminem Still Untouchable On North American Pop Charts
Rapper Eminem easily held off a sub-par debut by hard rock band Korn to rule the U.S. pop charts for a fourth consecutive week, according to sales data issued on Wednesday.
“The Eminem Show” sold about 530,000 copies in the week ended June 16, as its total rose to 2.9 million copies, the best-selling release of 2002, according to sales tracker Nielsen SoundScan. Eminem records for Interscope Records, a unit of Vivendi Universal .
California band Korn’s “Untouchables” proved to be optimistically titled as it sold 434,000 copies in its first week to open at No. 2. Korn’s previous album, “Issues,” debuted at No. 1 in November 1999 with sales of more than 570,000 copies.
Elsewhere, edgy veteran David Bowie’s new album “Heathen” opened at No. 14, his best performance since 1984’s “Tonight” peaked at No. 11. “Heathen” is Bowie’s first album for Columbia Records after he left EMI Group Plc’s Virgin Records last December complaining about “bumping heads with corporate structure.” Columbia is a unit of Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp.
Bowie’s publicist said in a statement that “Heathen” debuted in the top 10 in 11 countries: Denmark (No. 1), Norway (No. 2), France (No. 3), Germany (No. 4), Austria (No. 4), the U.K. (No. 5), Italy (No. 6), Ireland (No. 6), Sweden (No. 6) Canada (No. 9) and Japan (No. 10).
Sony’s Epic label released the Korn album, as well as another new entry at No. 13, a soundtrack tied to MTV’s reality phenomenon, “The Osbournes.” The album features a few songs from addled paterfamilias Ozzy Osbourne, as well as a cover version of Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach” from his youngest daughter, Kelly.
The top 10 contained one other new release, Florida punk quintet New Found Glory’s “Sticks & Stones” at No. 4. The group records for Vivendi Universal’s MCA Records unit.

The Wait Is Almost Over!
For the first time anywhere you can top by brucespringsteen.net for a look at the cover of Bruce’s new album, ‘The Rising,’ due on July 30, 2002.
Me excited!! Me very excited!

Today’s New Releases
Good stuff! There is some good stuff coming out today at your favourite music store or discount chain outlet. We’ve got a babe (Anastacia), a Canadian heavyweight (Our Lady Peace) and a disc for Dad (Papa Roach).
Enjoy!
Here are the new CD releases for Tuesday, June 18, 2002.
* ANASTACIA Freak Of Nature (Epic)
* BELLY Sweet Ride: The Best Of (Rhino)
* DAVID CHARVET Leap Of Faith
* GUIDED BY VOICES Universal Truths And Cycles (Matador)
* JERRY CANTRELL Degradation Trip
* JUDY GARLAND The Best Of Judy Garland
* JULIA FORDHAM Concrete Love (Vanguard)
* LILO & STITCH Lilo & Stitch
* MASTER T Reggae Vibes Session 1 (Sony)
* MINORITY REPORT Minority Report
* OUR LADY PEACE Gravity (Sony)
* PAPA ROACH Lovehatetragedy (DreamWorks)
* WYCLEF JEAN Masquerade (Columbia)

LEFT BEHIND
Members of U2 losing their bid to prevent the demolition of the Dublin studio where the band recorded its Grammy-winning album All That You Can’t Leave Behind. Ireland’s planning board has given the area the go-ahead for redevelopment despite an online petition of more than 8,000 fans.

Elvis Tops The Beatles in Britain
Elvis Presley returned to the top of the singles charts in Britain on Monday, rewriting pop history 25 years after his death and passing The Beatles as the artist with the most No. 1 tunes.
The King now has more No. 1 recordings than any artist in the pop chart’s 50-year history, thanks to a remix of the little-known song “A Little Less Conversation.”
By reaching the top of the singles charts in England, Presley gained his 18th No. 1 tune, breaking the record that he had held in Britain with The Beatles at 17 each.
“A Little Less Conversation” was written by Mac Davis and Billy Strange for the 1968 film “Live a Little, Love a Little.” The original also was on the soundtrack of the 2001 movie “Ocean’s Eleven.”
Dutch musician Tom Holkenburg, known in Europe as the disc jockey of the techno-group Junkie XL, recently remixed the song for a Nike World Cup TV commercial featuring a British player. Although a contemporary remix, “Elvis vs. JXL ó a Little Less Conversation” leaves Presley’s distinctive vocals intact.
The single, released throughout Europe last week, sold more than 67,000 copies in Britain on the very first day.
Junkie XL was changed to JXL for the song because the Presley estate did not want the track remixed if the name contained what could be perceived as a reference to drugs.
JXL’s track will be released in the United States on June 25.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Presley’s death. He died at his home in Memphis, Tenn., on Aug. 16, 1977 at age 42.

Dixie Chicks Reconcile With Sony
The Dixie Chicks, who accused Sony Music of cheating them out of millions of dollars in royalties, have reconciled with the company and will release their next record under a new label jointly created by the group and Sony.
The disc “Home” will be released on Aug. 27 on Open Wide Records, Sony officials announced Monday.
Financial details of the settlement were not released, but it ends a yearlong dispute that involved allegations of thievery, breach of contract and multimillion-dollar lawsuits.
The Dixie Chicks ó Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Robison ó have sold more than 20 million of their last two albums, “Wide Open Spaces” and “Fly.” Last summer they filed a lawsuit claiming Sony had engaged in “systematic thievery” to cheat them out of more than $4 million in royalties and asked to be released from a seven-album recording contract signed in 1997.
Sony had previously sued the Dixie Chicks, claiming the group owed it more than $100 million for five undelivered albums and calling the group’s allegations a “sham attempt” to get out of its record contract.
In recent months, the Dixie Chicks joined the Recording Artists Coalition, which is demanding better relationships with record labels, including fairer contracts and more oversight of accounting practices.
In the joint statement, neither side spoke in detail about the dispute.
The Dixie Chicks said that they believe “Home” is their best album and “our reconciliation with Sony Music couldn’t have come at a better time.”
“I know that the entire Sony Music team is excited to bring the Chicks and their music to a wider audience than ever before,” said Sony Music Entertainment Chairman Thomas Mottola.
The Dixie Chicks’ hits include “Wide Open Spaces,” “Goodbye Earl” and “There’s Your Trouble.”

Springsteen, E Street to hit the road in August
Bruce Springsteen is planning to hit the road with the E Street Band during the second week of August, according to E Streeter Steve Van Zandt.
The guitarist told The Boston Herald the tour will be timed to coincide with the July release of Springsteen’s forthcoming album “The Uprising.”
“(The new album) is just terrific,” Van Zandt told the paper.
“Very different, very interesting and absolutely tremendous. There are elements in it from every record we’ve done, but it’s not like any of them.”
While it may recall earlier Springsteen-E Street collaborations, Van Zandt told The Herald the disc also reflects recent events.
“There is a very, very coherent theme throughout it. It deals with our state of mind as a culture in a post-Sept. 11 world. I realized as I listened to it all the way through that art really plays a vitally important role in our culture,” the paper quoted Van Zandt.
“We’re the only culture in the world that ignores art and treats it like a luxury, but here is a case where there is a feeling that we all have that can’t be verbalized in normal speech, and after I listened to the record, that says it. Art can actually express the unspeakable.
“The new songs absolutely add up to something greater than the sum of the parts,” he said.
“It’s got that ‘Sgt. Pepper’ kind of vibe, and I won’t be surprised if that comes up in the reviews. This is the first time you’ll hear traces of the Beatles’ influence in the music, which has never been obvious before.”