Channel 4 has announced a series of special music programmes for the autumn and winter season.
Alice Cooper will present his own guide to being a rock star in Rock Night, set to air in December.
The night of shows will include documentary 50 Years of Rock Excess: Amps, Whips and Rebel Riffs, a story of how The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath helped create the rock genre.
Bill Ward, Andrew Wk and Josh Homme will be among the musicians featured in the show.
Queens of the Stone Age's recent gig at the 2013 iTunes Festival will also be exclusively broadcast, along with Queen's classic show at Wembley in 1986.
Later in December, Queer as Pop will centre around the history of gay clubs and their influence on music over the last 40 years.
Nile Rodgers, Paul Oakenfold, Jake Shears and Erasure's Andy Bell will be among the contributors in the special.
Alice Cooper will present his own guide to being a rock star in Rock Night, set to air in December.
The night of shows will include documentary 50 Years of Rock Excess: Amps, Whips and Rebel Riffs, a story of how The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath helped create the rock genre.
Bill Ward, Andrew Wk and Josh Homme will be among the musicians featured in the show.
Queens of the Stone Age's recent gig at the 2013 iTunes Festival will also be exclusively broadcast, along with Queen's classic show at Wembley in 1986.
Later in December, Queer as Pop will centre around the history of gay clubs and their influence on music over the last 40 years.
Nile Rodgers, Paul Oakenfold, Jake Shears and Erasure's Andy Bell will be among the contributors in the special.
- 11/21/2013
- Digital Spy
Alfonso Cuarón's space odyssey is a visually mesmerising, crowd-pleasing fairground ride
There's a sequence in Stanley Kubrick's epochal 2001: A Space Odyssey in which the cranky supercomputer Hal throws a space pod at astronaut Frank Poole, sending him spinning silently through the empty void. This sequence is effectively expanded to feature-film length in Alfonso Cuarón's eye-boggling Gravity, which hurls Sandra Bullock and George Clooney into the abyss after their Hubble-attached shuttle is hit by an avalanche of space debris. Swirling among scattered shards of ever-circling extraterrestrial junk, our unfeasibly good-looking heroes must get a grip on anything that will offer them safe re-entry into Earth's atmosphere or drift ever further into the depths of space – cold, dark and utterly alone.
Created through a painstaking combination of physical and digital performance that disintegrates the divide between live action and animation, Gravity boasts a level of sheer visual invention...
There's a sequence in Stanley Kubrick's epochal 2001: A Space Odyssey in which the cranky supercomputer Hal throws a space pod at astronaut Frank Poole, sending him spinning silently through the empty void. This sequence is effectively expanded to feature-film length in Alfonso Cuarón's eye-boggling Gravity, which hurls Sandra Bullock and George Clooney into the abyss after their Hubble-attached shuttle is hit by an avalanche of space debris. Swirling among scattered shards of ever-circling extraterrestrial junk, our unfeasibly good-looking heroes must get a grip on anything that will offer them safe re-entry into Earth's atmosphere or drift ever further into the depths of space – cold, dark and utterly alone.
Created through a painstaking combination of physical and digital performance that disintegrates the divide between live action and animation, Gravity boasts a level of sheer visual invention...
- 11/10/2013
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
X Factor series 10's Live Shows kicked off with an '80s Week theme. Joy Division, Billy Bragg, C86, Metallica and the Beastie Boys were all surprisingly snubbed as song choices in favour of Whitney, Bryan Adams and Phil Collins.
Who would ever accuse The X Factor of being predictable?
The song choices weren't the only predictable thing on Saturday night as the old Louis Walsh book of clichés was wheeled out ("This is the toughest challenge yet", "The word with you is potential", "international stars", "you've got the whole package"), and a bunch of oiled-up backing dancers and various wacky stage antics (lifts, giant boxes, wind machines) masked many a vocal sin.
Even, Dermot's embarrassing dad opening dance routine has been ditched this year. Did he draw the line at twerking? The whole show has been Barlow-fied. No joke acts. No silliness. Even Sharon Osbourne, when she was vaguely coherent,...
Who would ever accuse The X Factor of being predictable?
The song choices weren't the only predictable thing on Saturday night as the old Louis Walsh book of clichés was wheeled out ("This is the toughest challenge yet", "The word with you is potential", "international stars", "you've got the whole package"), and a bunch of oiled-up backing dancers and various wacky stage antics (lifts, giant boxes, wind machines) masked many a vocal sin.
Even, Dermot's embarrassing dad opening dance routine has been ditched this year. Did he draw the line at twerking? The whole show has been Barlow-fied. No joke acts. No silliness. Even Sharon Osbourne, when she was vaguely coherent,...
- 10/13/2013
- Digital Spy
As the world waits for Edward Snowden to emerge from his hideout at a Russian airport like some international fugitive version of Punxsutawney Phil, some celebrities are taking to Twitter and elsewhere to voice their support for the secrets leaker.
For those who aren’t following this thriller, it rivals anything at the box office this summer: The former Nsa contractor is holed up in the international transit zone in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport waiting for a country such as Ecuador to grant him asylum. Russian President Vladimir Putin is defying the White House’s demand to return Snowden to the United States,...
For those who aren’t following this thriller, it rivals anything at the box office this summer: The former Nsa contractor is holed up in the international transit zone in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport waiting for a country such as Ecuador to grant him asylum. Russian President Vladimir Putin is defying the White House’s demand to return Snowden to the United States,...
- 6/25/2013
- by James Hibberd
- EW.com - PopWatch
Tweet Of The Day | The Gatsby Factor | NPR's American Icons | Counterpoint | The First Time
All 256 two-minute episodes of new birdsong programme Tweet Of The Day (weekdays, 5.58am, Radio 4) will be kept online forever. This is the way all broadcasting is going, whether the programme-makers like it or not. You wonder how the above title will play 10 years from now, when the word tweet will be approximately as resonant as the word Betamax.
All access forever means you can compare The Gatsby Factor (Thursday, 11.30am, Radio 4), Sarah Churchwell's exploration of the enduring allure of Fitzgerald's novel, which appears in anticipation of Baz Luhrmann's hip-hop-inflamed movie version, with the programme Kurt Anderson made for NPR's American Icons series in 2010 and lives online (studio360.org). Neither has seen the new film. Consequently, Churchwell leads you to believe that The Great Gatsby is essentially unfilmable, because the elements of the story that...
All 256 two-minute episodes of new birdsong programme Tweet Of The Day (weekdays, 5.58am, Radio 4) will be kept online forever. This is the way all broadcasting is going, whether the programme-makers like it or not. You wonder how the above title will play 10 years from now, when the word tweet will be approximately as resonant as the word Betamax.
All access forever means you can compare The Gatsby Factor (Thursday, 11.30am, Radio 4), Sarah Churchwell's exploration of the enduring allure of Fitzgerald's novel, which appears in anticipation of Baz Luhrmann's hip-hop-inflamed movie version, with the programme Kurt Anderson made for NPR's American Icons series in 2010 and lives online (studio360.org). Neither has seen the new film. Consequently, Churchwell leads you to believe that The Great Gatsby is essentially unfilmable, because the elements of the story that...
- 5/4/2013
- by David Hepworth
- The Guardian - Film News
The following article is provided by Rolling Stone.
By Steve Baltain
Like many of his fellow British musicians, Johnny Marr has very strong opinions on recently deceased British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. "My thoughts are that if you see the word 'Thatcherism,' it’s not a word that stands for something good," Marr told Rolling Stone when we met him in his trailer backstage at Coachella. "I don’t think there’s any getting around that."
The guitarist was particularly put off by praise from the current regime in England. "I thought that the British government’s statement that she made Britain great again was false and really arrogant because everybody knows, left or right, that Margaret Thatcher didn’t make Britain great," he said. "If that was the case then why isn’t it? I felt like that was very, very disrespectful to generations of families who have never recovered from her legacy.
By Steve Baltain
Like many of his fellow British musicians, Johnny Marr has very strong opinions on recently deceased British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. "My thoughts are that if you see the word 'Thatcherism,' it’s not a word that stands for something good," Marr told Rolling Stone when we met him in his trailer backstage at Coachella. "I don’t think there’s any getting around that."
The guitarist was particularly put off by praise from the current regime in England. "I thought that the British government’s statement that she made Britain great again was false and really arrogant because everybody knows, left or right, that Margaret Thatcher didn’t make Britain great," he said. "If that was the case then why isn’t it? I felt like that was very, very disrespectful to generations of families who have never recovered from her legacy.
- 4/15/2013
- Huffington Post
From Meryl Streep's Iron Lady to Spitting Image and the Spice Girls, Observer writers and critics pick the films, books, art, music and TV that show Thatcher's lasting influence
Art, chosen by Laura Cumming
Treatment Room (1983)
In Richard Hamilton's installation, Thatcher administered her own harsh medicine from a video above the operating table with the viewer as helpless patient: a case of kill or cure.
Taking Stock (1984)
Hans Haacke portrayed Thatcher enthroned, nose in the air like a gun-dog, surrounded by images of Queen Victoria, the Saatchi brothers and, ominously, Pandora. Caused national furore.
In the Sleep of Reason (1982)
Mark Wallinger edited Thatcher's 1982 Falklands speech from blink to blink, fading to black in between, emphasising her solipsistic tendency to close her eyes when speaking as if nobody else existed.
The Battle of Orgreave (2001)
Jeremy Deller's restaged the worst conflict of the miners' strike from multiple viewpoints, uniting...
Art, chosen by Laura Cumming
Treatment Room (1983)
In Richard Hamilton's installation, Thatcher administered her own harsh medicine from a video above the operating table with the viewer as helpless patient: a case of kill or cure.
Taking Stock (1984)
Hans Haacke portrayed Thatcher enthroned, nose in the air like a gun-dog, surrounded by images of Queen Victoria, the Saatchi brothers and, ominously, Pandora. Caused national furore.
In the Sleep of Reason (1982)
Mark Wallinger edited Thatcher's 1982 Falklands speech from blink to blink, fading to black in between, emphasising her solipsistic tendency to close her eyes when speaking as if nobody else existed.
The Battle of Orgreave (2001)
Jeremy Deller's restaged the worst conflict of the miners' strike from multiple viewpoints, uniting...
- 4/13/2013
- by Robert McCrum, Kitty Empire, Philip French, Andrew Rawnsley, Euan Ferguson
- The Guardian - Film News
Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who died Monday at 87, had a much greater impact on the world of film than just inspiring an Oscar-winning role for Meryl Streep in 2011's "The Iron Lady." The woman who led Great Britain from 1979 to 1990 cast a long shadow over filmmaking in her country during her time in office, inspiring much reaction (pro and con) among filmmakers, inspiring some classic movies, and unwittingly giving major career boosts to some of our era's greatest movie talents. The conventional wisdom about Thatcher's impact on pop culture was that performing artists, being a lefty, proletarian bunch, hated her with a passion. Certainly the British musicians of the '80s, from Billy Bragg to Pink Floyd, composed numerous bitter protest anthems condemning her as a war-mongering tyrant who was strangling the working class. But the movies British filmmakers created during her three terms in office were a lot more ambivalent,...
- 4/9/2013
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
London -- Margaret Thatcher was not just a political titan, she was a cultural icon – skewered by comedians, transformed into a puppet and played to Oscar-winning perfection by Meryl Streep.
With her uncompromising politics, ironclad certainty, bouffant hairstyle and ever-present handbag, the late British leader was grist for comedians, playwrights, novelists and songwriters whether they loved her or – as was more often the case – hated her.
Satirical Target
Thatcher's free-market policies transformed and divided Britain, unleashing an outpouring of creative anger from her opponents. A generation of British comedians, from Ben Elton to Alexei Sayle, honed their talents lampooning Thatcher.
To the satirical puppeteers of popular 1980s TV series "Spitting Image," Thatcher was a cigar-smoking bully, a butcher with a bloody cleaver, a domineering leader ruling over her docile Cabinet. One famous sketch showed Thatcher and her ministers gathered for dinner. Thatcher ordered steak. "And what about the vegetables?" the waitress asked.
With her uncompromising politics, ironclad certainty, bouffant hairstyle and ever-present handbag, the late British leader was grist for comedians, playwrights, novelists and songwriters whether they loved her or – as was more often the case – hated her.
Satirical Target
Thatcher's free-market policies transformed and divided Britain, unleashing an outpouring of creative anger from her opponents. A generation of British comedians, from Ben Elton to Alexei Sayle, honed their talents lampooning Thatcher.
To the satirical puppeteers of popular 1980s TV series "Spitting Image," Thatcher was a cigar-smoking bully, a butcher with a bloody cleaver, a domineering leader ruling over her docile Cabinet. One famous sketch showed Thatcher and her ministers gathered for dinner. Thatcher ordered steak. "And what about the vegetables?" the waitress asked.
- 4/8/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Hgtv has teamed up with Paste for our ninth annual party in Austin, Texas, at SXSW, March 13-16. With 11 bands per day, the lineup includes both some of the festival’s most exciting veteran performers including Billy Bragg, Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, Josh Ritter and The Zombies, as well as newcomers like Foxygen, The Lone Bellow and Guards. The official four-day party will be held at one of 6th Street’s biggest music venues, The Stage on Sixth (508 E. 6th Street), from noon to 6 p.m. In the days leading up to the event, we’ll post previews on the...
- 3/9/2013
- Pastemagazine.com
Hgtv has teamed up with Paste for our ninth annual party in Austin, Texas, at SXSW, March 13-16. With 11 bands per day, the lineup includes both some of the festival’s most exciting veteran performers including Billy Bragg, Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, Josh Ritter and The Zombies, as well as newcomers like Foxygen, The Lone Bellow and Guards. The official four-day party will be held at one of 6th Street’s biggest music venues, The Stage on Sixth (508 E. 6th Street), from noon to 6 p.m. In the days leading up to the event, we’ll post previews on the...
- 3/9/2013
- Pastemagazine.com
Hgtv has teamed up with Paste for our ninth annual party in Austin, Texas, at SXSW, March 13-16. With 11 bands per day, the lineup includes both some of the festival’s most exciting veteran performers including Billy Bragg, Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, Josh Ritter and The Zombies, as well as newcomers like Foxygen, The Lone Bellow and Guards. The official four-day party will be held at one of 6th Street’s biggest music venues, The Stage on Sixth (508 E. 6th Street), from noon to 6 p.m. In the days leading up to the event, we’ll post previews on the...
- 3/9/2013
- Pastemagazine.com
Hgtv has teamed up with Paste for our ninth annual party in Austin, Texas, at SXSW, March 13-16. With 11 bands per day, the lineup includes both some of the festival’s most exciting veteran performers including Billy Bragg, Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, Josh Ritter and The Zombies, as well as newcomers like Foxygen, The Lone Bellow and Guards. The official four-day party will be held at one of 6th Street’s biggest music venues, The Stage on Sixth (508 E. 6th Street), from noon to 6 p.m. In the days leading up to the event, we’ll post previews on the...
- 3/8/2013
- Pastemagazine.com
Hgtv has teamed up with Paste for our ninth annual party in Austin, Texas, at SXSW, March 13-16. With 11 bands per day, the lineup includes both some of the festival’s most exciting veteran performers including Billy Bragg, Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, Josh Ritter and The Zombies, as well as newcomers like Foxygen, The Lone Bellow and Guards. The official four-day party will be held at one of 6th Street’s biggest music venues, The Stage on Sixth (508 E. 6th Street), from noon to 6 p.m. In the days leading up to the event, we’ll post previews on the...
- 3/8/2013
- Pastemagazine.com
Hgtv has teamed up with Paste for our ninth annual party in Austin, Texas, at SXSW, March 13-16. With 11 bands per day, the lineup includes both some of the festival’s most exciting veteran performers including Billy Bragg, Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, Josh Ritter and The Zombies, as well as newcomers like Foxygen, The Lone Bellow and Guards. The official four-day party will be held at one of 6th Street’s biggest music venues, The Stage on Sixth (508 E. 6th Street), from noon to 6 p.m. In the days leading up to the event, we’ll post previews on the...
- 3/8/2013
- Pastemagazine.com
Hgtv has teamed up with Paste for our ninth annual party in Austin, Texas, at SXSW, March 13-16. With 11 bands per day, the lineup includes both some of the festival’s most exciting veteran performers including Billy Bragg, Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, Josh Ritter and The Zombies, as well as newcomers like Foxygen, The Lone Bellow and Guards. The official four-day party will be held at one of 6th Street’s biggest music venues, The Stage on Sixth (508 E. 6th Street), from noon to 6 p.m. In the days leading up to the event, we’ll post previews on the...
- 3/8/2013
- Pastemagazine.com
Hgtv has teamed up with Paste for our ninth annual party in Austin, Texas, at SXSW, March 13-16. With 11 bands per day, the lineup includes both some of the festival’s most exciting veteran performers including Billy Bragg, Josh Ritter and The Zombies, as well as newcomers like Foxygen, The Lone Bellow and Guards. The official four-day party will be held at one of 6th Street’s biggest music venues, The Stage on Sixth (508 E. 6th Street), from noon to 6 p.m. In the days leading up to the event, we’ll post previews on the artists on the lineup. Allah-Las...
- 3/7/2013
- Pastemagazine.com
Hgtv has teamed up with Paste for our ninth annual party in Austin, Texas, at SXSW, March 13-16. With 11 bands per day, the lineup includes both some of the festival’s most exciting veteran performers including Billy Bragg, Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, Josh Ritter and The Zombies, as well as newcomers like Foxygen, The Lone Bellow and Guards. The official four-day party will be held at one of 6th Street’s biggest music venues, The Stage on Sixth (508 E. 6th Street), from noon to 6 p.m. In the days leading up to the event, we’ll post previews on the...
- 3/7/2013
- Pastemagazine.com
Hgtv has teamed up with Paste for our ninth annual party in Austin, Texas, at SXSW, March 13-16. With 11 bands per day, the lineup includes both some of the festival’s most exciting veteran performers including Billy Bragg, Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, Josh Ritter and The Zombies, as well as newcomers like Foxygen, The Lone Bellow and Guards. The official four-day party will be held at one of 6th Street’s biggest music venues, The Stage on Sixth (508 E. 6th Street), from noon to 6 p.m. In the days leading up to the event, we’ll post previews on the...
- 3/7/2013
- Pastemagazine.com
Hgtv has teamed up with Paste for our ninth annual party in Austin, Texas, at SXSW, March 13-16. With 11 bands per day, the lineup includes both some of the festival’s most exciting veteran performers including Billy Bragg, Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, Josh Ritter and The Zombies, as well as newcomers like Foxygen, The Lone Bellow and Guards. The official four-day party will be held at one of 6th Street’s biggest music venues, The Stage on Sixth (508 E. 6th Street), from noon to 6 p.m. In the days leading up to the event, we’ll post previews on the...
- 3/6/2013
- Pastemagazine.com
Hgtv has teamed up with Paste for our ninth annual party in Austin, Texas, at SXSW, March 13-16. With 11 bands per day, the lineup includes both some of the festival’s most exciting veteran performers including Billy Bragg, Josh Ritter and The Zombies, as well as newcomers like Foxygen, The Lone Bellow and Guards. The official four-day party will be held at one of 6th Street’s biggest music venues, The Stage on Sixth (508 E. 6th Street), from noon to 6 p.m. In the days leading up to the event, we’ll post previews on the artists on the lineup. Marnie...
- 2/19/2013
- Pastemagazine.com
Hgtv has teamed up with Paste for our ninth annual party in Austin, Texas, at SXSW, March 13-16. With 11 bands per day, the lineup includes both some of the festival’s most exciting veteran performers including Billy Bragg, Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, Josh Ritter and The Zombies, as well as newcomers like Foxygen, The Lone Bellow and Guards. The official four-day party will be held at one of 6th Street’s biggest music venues, The Stage on Sixth (508 E. 6th Street), from noon to 6 p.m. In the days leading up to the event, we’ll post previews on the...
- 2/13/2013
- Pastemagazine.com
Hgtv has teamed up with Paste for our ninth annual party in Austin, Texas, at SXSW, March 13-16. With 11 bands per day, the lineup includes both some of the festival’s most exciting veteran performers including Billy Bragg, Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, Josh Ritter and The Zombies, as well as newcomers like Foxygen, The Lone Bellow and Guards. The official four-day party will be held at one of 6th Street’s biggest music venues, The Stage on Sixth (508 E. 6th Street), from noon to 6 p.m. In the days leading up to the event, we’ll post previews on the...
- 2/10/2013
- Pastemagazine.com
Hgtv has teamed up with Paste for our ninth annual party in Austin, Texas, at SXSW, March 13-16. With 11 bands per day, the lineup includes both some of the festival’s most exciting veteran performers including Billy Bragg, Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, Josh Ritter and The Zombies, as well as newcomers like Foxygen, The Lone Bellow and Guards. The official four-day party will be held at one of 6th Street’s biggest music venues, The Stage on Sixth (508 E. 6th Street), from noon to 6 p.m. In the days leading up to the event, we’ll post previews on the...
- 2/8/2013
- Pastemagazine.com
Street artist Shepard Fairey became a household name in 2008, when his posters for the Obama presidential campaign using the ‘Hope’ slogan became ubiquitous. Now, he’s designed the movie poster for a new documentary premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival this week, Let the Fury Have the Hour, in which he also stars. Named for a song by The Clash, the film explores how art and activism intertwined in the post-Reagan 80s and early 90s. Musicians, artists, and commentators including Joe Strummer of The Clash, Eve Ensler, Chuck D (Public Enemy), Lewis Black, and Billy Bragg are featured in the film.
- 4/20/2012
- by Laura Hertzfeld
- EW - Inside Movies
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
This was more than just a gig. This was an event. This was a celebration. Frank Turner is by far one of Britain’s hardest working musicians, and this one off headline show at Wembley Arena, by far the biggest of his career, was thoroughly well deserved. Completely selling out a venue of this size is an incredible feat for any artist, but it is all the more special for Frank Turner as he has had no real media backing and no huge record company behind him (he’s still signed to indie imprint Xtra Mile). This was also a real spectacle for Frank’s fans, with his almost cult following being notoriously loyal, people have travelled from all over the country, the continent and even the world (one attendee is announced to be from Thailand) for this amazing night.
But whilst this night was being headlined by Frank Turner,...
This was more than just a gig. This was an event. This was a celebration. Frank Turner is by far one of Britain’s hardest working musicians, and this one off headline show at Wembley Arena, by far the biggest of his career, was thoroughly well deserved. Completely selling out a venue of this size is an incredible feat for any artist, but it is all the more special for Frank Turner as he has had no real media backing and no huge record company behind him (he’s still signed to indie imprint Xtra Mile). This was also a real spectacle for Frank’s fans, with his almost cult following being notoriously loyal, people have travelled from all over the country, the continent and even the world (one attendee is announced to be from Thailand) for this amazing night.
But whilst this night was being headlined by Frank Turner,...
- 4/17/2012
- by Dan Donnelly
- Obsessed with Film
It's not often you see a music video without the singer in it. But for Feist's latest Metals video, "Bittersweet Melodies," director Hollie Singer ignored Leslie Feist entirely, focusing instead on the many subjects of Argentine photographer Irina Werning's uncanny Back To The Future project. If you've already seen Werning's work, the video is more or less a straight retread. But the collection of old photographs recreated anew by the people who were in them (including one of Billy Bragg and his old punk band Riff Raff re-staging a bus ride) with Feist's nostalgic lyrics makes for a perfectly lovely, vaguely sad pairing. Check out the video below, which is Nsfw due to the grown-up counterparts to shirtless little girls, and head to Werning's site for more Back To The Future photos.
Watch Feist's "Bittersweet Melodies" (Nsfw):
[Rolling Stone via Stereogum]...
Watch Feist's "Bittersweet Melodies" (Nsfw):
[Rolling Stone via Stereogum]...
- 4/10/2012
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Paul Simon has been announced as the second headline act for this year's Hard Rock Calling. The singer will perform his 1986 album Graceland in full at the Hyde Park event in London to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Simon first played the album during six sold-out concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in 1987, while British musicians including Billy Bragg and Paul Weller protested against the gig outside, reports The Guardian. The artists were against Simon breaking the Anc's cultural boycott of apartheid-era South Africa after working with a host of musical talent from the region for (more)...
- 3/19/2012
- by By Lewis Corner
- Digital Spy
Singer to play in Hyde Park as part of anniversary celebrations likely to revive row over 1985 visit to South Africa
It was one of the most divisive shows in British pop history. On 7 April 1987, Paul Simon brought his best-selling Graceland project to the Royal Albert Hall in London for the first of six sold-out concerts.
On stage, he was joined by the cream of South African musicians, including Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, but outside, leading British musicians joined people protesting that Simon had broken the Anc's cultural boycott of apartheid-era South Africa.
They included Billy Bragg, Paul Weller and Jerry Dammers, famous for writing one of the great anti-apartheid anthems, Nelson Mandela. They had delivered an angry letter to Simon, asking him to apologise.
Now, 25 years on, the Guardian can reveal that Paul Simon is reviving Graceland and returning to London for a concert in Hyde...
It was one of the most divisive shows in British pop history. On 7 April 1987, Paul Simon brought his best-selling Graceland project to the Royal Albert Hall in London for the first of six sold-out concerts.
On stage, he was joined by the cream of South African musicians, including Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, but outside, leading British musicians joined people protesting that Simon had broken the Anc's cultural boycott of apartheid-era South Africa.
They included Billy Bragg, Paul Weller and Jerry Dammers, famous for writing one of the great anti-apartheid anthems, Nelson Mandela. They had delivered an angry letter to Simon, asking him to apologise.
Now, 25 years on, the Guardian can reveal that Paul Simon is reviving Graceland and returning to London for a concert in Hyde...
- 3/17/2012
- by Robin Denselow
- The Guardian - Film News
Los Angeles -- He spent two years in a federal lockup for trying to sell cocaine to undercover agents, and all Wayne Kramer can think about these days is trying to find a way to get back behind bars.
This time, though, the guitar god for rock music's seminal pre-punk band, the MC5, wants to bring his ax with him – and a few dozen others for the inmates to play.
With a little help from friends like the Foo Fighters' Chris Shiflett, former Guns `N Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke and others, Kramer has formed Jail Guitar Doors USA.
He runs the nonprofit charitable organization with his wife, Margaret, out of the Hollywood studio where he makes a comfortable living these days composing music for movies and television. Over the past two years, Jail Guitar Doors USA has delivered scores of instruments to prisons and jails in Nevada, California and Texas.
This time, though, the guitar god for rock music's seminal pre-punk band, the MC5, wants to bring his ax with him – and a few dozen others for the inmates to play.
With a little help from friends like the Foo Fighters' Chris Shiflett, former Guns `N Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke and others, Kramer has formed Jail Guitar Doors USA.
He runs the nonprofit charitable organization with his wife, Margaret, out of the Hollywood studio where he makes a comfortable living these days composing music for movies and television. Over the past two years, Jail Guitar Doors USA has delivered scores of instruments to prisons and jails in Nevada, California and Texas.
- 3/4/2012
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Remember those heady days of 1998, when British agit-folkie Billy Bragg was more famous than scrappy alt-country band Wilco? (That was true, right?) The two entities collaborated on a project that set rediscovered Woody Guthrie lyrics--which he had never recorded--to new music created by Bragg and Wilco. The resulting albums, Mermaid Avenue volumes one and two, were quite excellent, and "California Stars" even makes its way into Wilco sets still. Bragg recently leaked the news of Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions, a box set that includes both previously released albums as well as a third volume, featuring 17 previously unreleased ...
- 2/29/2012
- avclub.com
Blur are the latest act confirmed for this year's Way Out West music festival. The Britpop band join Florence + the Machine and Bon Iver on the lineup. It takes place in Gothenburg, Sweden this summer. The Black Keys, Azealia Banks, Billy Bragg and St. Vincent have all been previously confirmed for the festival, which will run for three days from August 9. Tickets for the show, which is held in a 137 hectare park, (more)...
- 2/22/2012
- by By Lewis Corner
- Digital Spy
Let it never be said that Billy Bragg and Wilco don’t have enough material out there in the market. Bragg just announced on his blog that the two acts will be releasing a third Mermaid Avenue album drawing from the 1997 sessions the group did commemorating the work of Woody Guthrie. Nonesuch Records will issue the record as part of a box set celebrating Guthrie’s life and works. Mermaid Avenue Volume III will feature 17 songs from the original sessions and will only be available in the set, packaged with 1998's Mermaid Avenue Volume 1, 2000's ...
- 2/20/2012
- avclub.com
The Black Keys have joined Florence + the Machine and Bon Iver for the Way Out West festival in Sweden this summer. Azealia Banks, Billy Bragg and St. Vincent are also due to appear at the Gothenburg event. Way Out West 2012 will run for three days starting from August 9. The show, which is held in a 137 hectare park, won the 'Most Innovative Festival' award at last (more)...
- 2/14/2012
- by By Daniel Sperling
- Digital Spy
Florence + the Machine, Bon Iver and Azealia Banks have been confirmed to play the Way Out West festival in Sweden this summer. The Black Keys - who were further added to the lineup today (February 14) - Billy Bragg and St. Vincent are also due to appear at the Gothenburg event. Way Out West 2012 will run for three days starting from August 9. The show, which is held in a 137 hectare park, won the 'Most (more)...
- 2/14/2012
- by By Daniel Sperling
- Digital Spy
The Iron Lady and the arts were never the closest of bedfellows – she took her axe to them and they rebelled
In a word, Margaret Thatcher's relationship with the arts has been ironic. By taking an axe to British culture, the former Pm – making headlines once again with the arrival of The Iron Lady starring Meryl Streep – gave a generation something to rebel against, inspiring an outpouring of creativity that was usually negative, hateful and directed against her.
There's even a hint of that irony in the new film: it starts with the old milk-snatcher herself running out of milk. Thatcher is undeniably an easy look: big hair, handbag, deep voice, blue dress – or business suit for her Spitting Image puppet. On TV, she's been portrayed by everyone from Jennifer Saunders (as a femme fatale in The Hunt for Tony Blair) to Greta Scacchi (nakedly in Jeffrey Archer: The Truth...
In a word, Margaret Thatcher's relationship with the arts has been ironic. By taking an axe to British culture, the former Pm – making headlines once again with the arrival of The Iron Lady starring Meryl Streep – gave a generation something to rebel against, inspiring an outpouring of creativity that was usually negative, hateful and directed against her.
There's even a hint of that irony in the new film: it starts with the old milk-snatcher herself running out of milk. Thatcher is undeniably an easy look: big hair, handbag, deep voice, blue dress – or business suit for her Spitting Image puppet. On TV, she's been portrayed by everyone from Jennifer Saunders (as a femme fatale in The Hunt for Tony Blair) to Greta Scacchi (nakedly in Jeffrey Archer: The Truth...
- 1/5/2012
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Frank Turner is a singer, songwriter and passionate showman whose sensibilities lie somewhere between punk and folk. He's an Englishman with a Billy Bragg-sort of charm that keeps you fixated on the thoughtfulness of his lyrics, while you get swept away by the power of their delivery. A hardworking musician, Frank has spent years on the road, and is recently known for his 24 shows in 24 hours challenge: made and met. He thrives on the road, and is a must-see live performer.
- 12/30/2011
- Pastemagazine.com
While Miley Cyrus isn't the first person to come to mind when making a wishlist of artists to cover Bob Dylan songs, we have to admit -- we're really looking forward to this album.
Miley and a host of her contemporaries have joined forces to pay tribute to both Bob Dylan and Amnesty International with a new cover album. The record, titled "Chimes of Freedom," features a huge variety of artists -- from Pete Seeger to Ke$ha.
"Glee" star Darren Criss even makes a contribution to the four-disc compilation, covering New Morning with his brother, Chuck Criss, and his band the Freelance Whales. The jam-packed album, which "salutes Amnesty International's 50th anniversary and life-saving human rights work," is set for a January 24 release. Check out the list of songs and artists below to see which classic your favorite singer will be covering.
Disc 1
Raphael Saadiq Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
Patti Smith...
Miley and a host of her contemporaries have joined forces to pay tribute to both Bob Dylan and Amnesty International with a new cover album. The record, titled "Chimes of Freedom," features a huge variety of artists -- from Pete Seeger to Ke$ha.
"Glee" star Darren Criss even makes a contribution to the four-disc compilation, covering New Morning with his brother, Chuck Criss, and his band the Freelance Whales. The jam-packed album, which "salutes Amnesty International's 50th anniversary and life-saving human rights work," is set for a January 24 release. Check out the list of songs and artists below to see which classic your favorite singer will be covering.
Disc 1
Raphael Saadiq Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
Patti Smith...
- 11/23/2011
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Tim Goodman
Fyi: This column contains spoilers. Also a pissy attitude about pretty singing. "In a perfect world/We'd all sing in tune/But this is reality/So give me some room." - Billy Bragg. You couldn’t call it unexpected, but when “rock week” came to The X Factor for two nights, it turns out only one of them actually knew what to do with a rock song. Rock weak was more like it. Photos: 'X Factor' Behind the Scenes: The Top 11 Work Out the Week's Performances “What’s the point of having a theme if you’re going to totally disregard it?” Simon Cowell snipped
read more...
Fyi: This column contains spoilers. Also a pissy attitude about pretty singing. "In a perfect world/We'd all sing in tune/But this is reality/So give me some room." - Billy Bragg. You couldn’t call it unexpected, but when “rock week” came to The X Factor for two nights, it turns out only one of them actually knew what to do with a rock song. Rock weak was more like it. Photos: 'X Factor' Behind the Scenes: The Top 11 Work Out the Week's Performances “What’s the point of having a theme if you’re going to totally disregard it?” Simon Cowell snipped
read more...
- 11/18/2011
- by Tim Goodman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sin City director Frank Miller has taken aim at the Occupy Wall Street protesters in a furious new blog post, urging the anti-corporate greed activists to get organised or go home.
While many celebrities are supporting the movement, which began in New York over two months ago and is now spreading worldwide, the writer/director is far from impressed with what he's seen and he considers the individuals taking part nothing more than "losers".
He writes, "The 'Occupy' movement... is nothing but a pack of louts, thieves, and rapists, an unruly mob, fed by Woodstock-era nostalgia and putrid false righteousness. These clowns can do nothing but harm America.
"'Occupy' is nothing short of a clumsy, poorly-expressed attempt at anarchy, to the extent that the 'movement'... is anything more than an ugly fashion statement by a bunch of iPhone, iPad wielding spoiled brats who should stop getting in the way of working people and find jobs for themselves."
His remarks came the same week as performances from celebrity peace activists David Crosby, Graham Nash, Billy Bragg and Tom Morello at 'Occupy' base camps in New York and London.
While many celebrities are supporting the movement, which began in New York over two months ago and is now spreading worldwide, the writer/director is far from impressed with what he's seen and he considers the individuals taking part nothing more than "losers".
He writes, "The 'Occupy' movement... is nothing but a pack of louts, thieves, and rapists, an unruly mob, fed by Woodstock-era nostalgia and putrid false righteousness. These clowns can do nothing but harm America.
"'Occupy' is nothing short of a clumsy, poorly-expressed attempt at anarchy, to the extent that the 'movement'... is anything more than an ugly fashion statement by a bunch of iPhone, iPad wielding spoiled brats who should stop getting in the way of working people and find jobs for themselves."
His remarks came the same week as performances from celebrity peace activists David Crosby, Graham Nash, Billy Bragg and Tom Morello at 'Occupy' base camps in New York and London.
- 11/14/2011
- WENN
Paul Andrew Williams's new film Song for Marion finishes location shooting, Jeanette Winterson tweets the Bible and Andrew Lloyd Webber lets schools take on Cats and Phantom
Film boom up north
Location filming has just finished on a British movie that, on paper, has all the signs of success.
Song for Marion was written and directed by Paul Andrew Williams (who made London to Brighton) and has a cast that includes Vanessa Redgrave, Terence Stamp, Christopher Eccleston and Gemma Arterton. It's a very British story about an unconventional amateur choir, a kind of choral Brassed Off.
It was filmed in the north-east, not because it is set there, but because film-makers are waking up to the area's potential.
Producer Ken Marshall told the Diary: "There are so many advantages being here as opposed to London. It's easier logistically, and it's more film-friendly. It is unbelievable how much support we've...
Film boom up north
Location filming has just finished on a British movie that, on paper, has all the signs of success.
Song for Marion was written and directed by Paul Andrew Williams (who made London to Brighton) and has a cast that includes Vanessa Redgrave, Terence Stamp, Christopher Eccleston and Gemma Arterton. It's a very British story about an unconventional amateur choir, a kind of choral Brassed Off.
It was filmed in the north-east, not because it is set there, but because film-makers are waking up to the area's potential.
Producer Ken Marshall told the Diary: "There are so many advantages being here as opposed to London. It's easier logistically, and it's more film-friendly. It is unbelievable how much support we've...
- 9/13/2011
- by Mark Brown
- The Guardian - Film News
When music critics are nominating the latest “new Dylan," they usually focus on earnest guitar strummers such as Paul Simon, Steve Forbert, Billy Bragg or Conor Oberst. This ignores the fact that the majority of Dylan’s albums and almost all his live shows since 1966 have featured him as the leader of a loud, rootsy rock ‘n’ roll band. So who are Dylan’s true heirs? Who’s out there telling stories with lively language, iconoclastic aphorisms, evocative details, blues grooves, country twang and rock ‘n’ roll punch?...
- 8/23/2011
- Pastemagazine.com
Afp / Getty Amy Winehouse
The news of singer Amy Winehouse’s death this weekend at age 27 prompted a slew of media speculation about the so-called “27 Club.” By passing away three years shy of 30, Winehouse joined legendary artists Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain, all of whom also died at the same young age.
Winehouse’s funeral was held this morning in London. “Amy was the greatest daughter, family member and friend you could ever have,” her father,...
The news of singer Amy Winehouse’s death this weekend at age 27 prompted a slew of media speculation about the so-called “27 Club.” By passing away three years shy of 30, Winehouse joined legendary artists Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain, all of whom also died at the same young age.
Winehouse’s funeral was held this morning in London. “Amy was the greatest daughter, family member and friend you could ever have,” her father,...
- 7/26/2011
- by Nick Andersen
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Getty Amy Winehouse performs live on August 17, 2008 in Chelmsford, England.
Call it destiny, tragedy or coincidence, but singer Amy Winehouse is now a member of the 27 Club–a group of superstar musicians who have passed away at age 27. After Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain died at 27, his mother, Wendy O’Connor, reportedly remarked “Now he’s gone and joined that stupid club, I told him not to join that stupid club.”
Winehouse was found dead at a house in London on Saturday afternoon.
Call it destiny, tragedy or coincidence, but singer Amy Winehouse is now a member of the 27 Club–a group of superstar musicians who have passed away at age 27. After Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain died at 27, his mother, Wendy O’Connor, reportedly remarked “Now he’s gone and joined that stupid club, I told him not to join that stupid club.”
Winehouse was found dead at a house in London on Saturday afternoon.
- 7/23/2011
- by Christopher John Farley
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Getty British singer Amy Winehouse performs at The Riverside Studios for the 50th Grammy Awards ceremony via video link on February 10, 2008 in London, England.
Amy Winehouse has joined the 27 Club–a group of superstar musicians who have died at age 27. The list includes Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Robert Johnson, and Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain. Winehouse’s passing has sparked a boom of tribute tweets, and #27Club is trending on Twitter.
Winehouse was found dead at a house in London on Saturday afternoon,...
Amy Winehouse has joined the 27 Club–a group of superstar musicians who have died at age 27. The list includes Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Robert Johnson, and Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain. Winehouse’s passing has sparked a boom of tribute tweets, and #27Club is trending on Twitter.
Winehouse was found dead at a house in London on Saturday afternoon,...
- 7/23/2011
- by WSJ Staff
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
High note: The Voice Project’s long chain of covers began with a women’s choir in Uganda’s Gulu region. | Photograph courtesy of The Voice Project.
A network of rock stars fuels the Voice Project and benefits the women of Uganda.
Can viral videos help save war-torn Africa? That's the question driving the Voice Project, a New York-based not-for-profit that aims to raise awareness for Ugandan women's groups -- by tapping into our shared love for music. It all started with a women's choir in Gulu. "They sent me footage of themselves singing 'Suitcase‚' by [American folk artist] Joe Purdy," says CEO Hunter Heaney, who had taught the group the tune during a 2008 trip to Uganda. "I thought, Wouldn't it be great if we could keep this going?" So he reached out to Purdy, who covered a song by R.E.M., whose bassist, in turn, covered a song by Billy Bragg,...
A network of rock stars fuels the Voice Project and benefits the women of Uganda.
Can viral videos help save war-torn Africa? That's the question driving the Voice Project, a New York-based not-for-profit that aims to raise awareness for Ugandan women's groups -- by tapping into our shared love for music. It all started with a women's choir in Gulu. "They sent me footage of themselves singing 'Suitcase‚' by [American folk artist] Joe Purdy," says CEO Hunter Heaney, who had taught the group the tune during a 2008 trip to Uganda. "I thought, Wouldn't it be great if we could keep this going?" So he reached out to Purdy, who covered a song by R.E.M., whose bassist, in turn, covered a song by Billy Bragg,...
- 5/4/2011
- by Dan Macsai
- Fast Company
King's Speech stars join Stephen Fry and Joanna Lumley in urging public to back reform at May poll
Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter have injected some glamour into what had been the preserve of political anoraks by announcing they will support the yes campaign for the alternative vote.
Firth, feted for his role as the stammering George VI in The King's Speech, said: "The referendum is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change our clapped-out politics for good. I'll be voting yes."
Bonham Carter, a cousin of the Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury and a friend of Samantha Cameron, also came out in support of the campaign. She won a Bafta on Sunday night as best supporting actress for her role as Queen Elizabeth alongside Firth in The King's Speech.
Firth recently withdrew his support for the Liberal Democrats, admitting he had been disappointed by their role in the coalition government.
Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter have injected some glamour into what had been the preserve of political anoraks by announcing they will support the yes campaign for the alternative vote.
Firth, feted for his role as the stammering George VI in The King's Speech, said: "The referendum is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change our clapped-out politics for good. I'll be voting yes."
Bonham Carter, a cousin of the Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury and a friend of Samantha Cameron, also came out in support of the campaign. She won a Bafta on Sunday night as best supporting actress for her role as Queen Elizabeth alongside Firth in The King's Speech.
Firth recently withdrew his support for the Liberal Democrats, admitting he had been disappointed by their role in the coalition government.
- 2/15/2011
- by Patrick Wintour
- The Guardian - Film News
Billy Bragg has claimed that major record labels are the single biggest threat to music. The singer-songwriter is a member of the Featured Artists Coalition and a long-standing critic of companies that pursue fans who illegally share music. Quizzed on the biggest threat to music today, Bragg told The Guardian: "Major record labels, for persecuting young people who download music for free. "What they don't understand is that they use downloads to sample stuff that they later buy. Can you see why (more)...
- 1/12/2011
- by By Mayer Nissim
- Digital Spy
Billy Bragg has become the target of a hate mail campaign when his Burton Bradstock neighbours were sent letters attacking their famous neighbour. The letters, which feature a Southampton postmark, criticise Bragg's beliefs, political activism, music and decision to live in the Dorset village, Bridport News reports. Local resident Karen Broad of North Hill Close said: "I think everybody was just rather shocked by the letter. It was so vindictive. I do think it is terribly cowardly. "He has done a lot in the village. I just find it very bizarre. It is obviously somebody who has an absolute vendetta against him. "I can only imagine that from the letter’s contents, it is politically motivated as some references to the BNP suggest." Bragg responded: "It is clear from the content that this anonymous letter (more)...
- 1/6/2011
- by By Mayer Nissim
- Digital Spy
Pete Doherty has failed to attend the recording of a Christmas charity single. The singer was lined up alongside Billy Bragg and The Kooks to record a new version of John Cage's '4'33' earlier this week, but didn't turn up to the studio session. Music Rooms quotes a spokesman as saying: "I don't know where he is. Somebody is trying to get hold of him. We can't rule anything out." Imogen Heap, Orbital and Madness' Suggs were among a number of other acts who also took part in the performance at a Soho recording studio. Kooks frontman Luke Pritchard said: "It's definitely something close to the heart and also I wanted to do it. To try and be number one for Christmas is quite cool. "It's quite interesting, (more)...
- 12/8/2010
- by By Robert Copsey
- Digital Spy
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