Britney Spears was pulled over by police for speeding last month.
According to The Blast, the pregnant "Toxic" singer was given a ticket for "unsafe speed for prevailing conditions" when she was stopped by the California Highway patrol on March 10th.
She is scheduled to appear in court on May 3rd.
Guitarist Joe Satriani confirmed bassist Jason Newsted's recent revelation that he was being tapped for possible inclusion in an upcoming Van Halen reunion. Ultimate Classic Rock transcribed some of Satriani's chat with Rock Of Nations with Dave Kinchen podcast.
Satriani -- who played with both Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony in Chickenfoot -- shed light on what still seems a possible tour saluting Van Halen's classic catalogue, revealing, "I've been talking with Alex (Van Halen) and Dave (Lee Roth) for about a year about doing something -- a tour, something like that -- that was going to be a true tribute to Eddie (Van Halen) and the Van Halen legacy. For me, it was a terrifying prospect of doing something like that, but I realized that it was something that would be a real labor of love for me. I was just so honored to take on the challenge."
Satriani admitted the players behind the still-unannounced project were a bit put out by Jason Newsted coming out and divulging plans that either didn't include him -- or were far from being a done deal: "These things are always happening in the music industry, and you're supposed to keep very quiet about it because sometimes they don't work out. There's usually about 10 crazy ideas that float around, and musicians are always like, 'OK, I won't say anything about this, because it may not work out. I don't want to hurt this person's feelings or disrupt any other business plans.' So yeah, we were all pretty shocked that Jason wanted to go public with it because we were all sworn to silence."
Satriani revealed that the concerts were being constructed as covering the entire Van Halen catalogue: "The thought of representing all the eras of Van Halen, that's pretty daunting. Just from a guitar player's point of view, Eddie progressed remarkably as a player and as an inventor, and those two things, they kind of went together from Van Halen 1 all the way to the last album. And when you sit down to actually learn it and pull it off, you go, 'Wow, not only do I need talent, but I need certain gear,' because certain things won't work unless you've got this amp and it's doing that. So that's also another thing to deal with."
Satriani went on to say: "It's very complicated, and all I can really say about it is that if it does happen, I know we'll make it the greatest thing ever for the fans, and we'll all celebrate together. Not only the great Eddie Van Halen but the legacy that that band created, the amazing amount of music and the goodwill and good vibes they created as a band."
Last night (April 18th), David Lee Roth was pressed by the Van Halen News Desk to share his thoughts regarding the rumored Van Halen tour. "Diamond Dave" emailed the site, and wrote, quote, "IN MY MIND VAN HALEN 4r, IN THE AGE OF COVID IS GOING TO REQUIRE TWO OF US FOR EVERY POSITION. SATRIANI AND (Steve) LUKATHER, (Michael) ANTHONY AND (Jason) NEWSTED, AL (Van Halen) OR TOMMY LEE. PROBABLY THE ONLY ONE WHO COULD DO MY JOB TODAY WOULD BE PINK."
A federal judge ruled Monday (April 18th) that Post Malone must stand trial in a copyright lawsuit that claims he failed to credit producer and songwriter Tyler Armes on the 2019 hit "Circles."
Billboard reports that Armes, a Canadian producer and songwriter, says he co-wrote chords and a bass line that would ultimately become part of "Circles."
U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright wrote in his decision that it was clear that Armes was not involved in the final cut of the song. But that early version formed the basis for that final cut, and a verdict that Armes owns part of the session track would still entitle him to substantial royalties from "Circles."
Jack Harlow is celebrating his new single, "First Class," debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
This marks Harlow's first solo No. 1 single and second career No. 1, which was "Industry Baby," his multi-platinum smash collaboration with Lil Nas X.
"First Class" followed Harlow's previously released, "Nail Tech," and is the second offering from the hitmaker's sophomore album, Come Home The Kids Miss You, which drops May 6th.
Newly published is Adrian Allen's Paul McCartney The World Tour 1989-90. The book, which is by far the most exhaustive account of McCartney's comeback tour, runs over 320 pages and chronicles every show played on the former-Beatle's most extensive outing to date, taking in a total of 108 concerts across Europe, North America, Japan, and South America. The new book serves as the followup to Allen's groundbreaking 2021 tomb, Wings Live: On Tour In The '70s.
The 1989/1990 world tour kicked off with a 28-date European leg on September 26th, 1989 in Oslo, Norway. McCartney, in response to his dwindling chart appearances, packed the comeback show with 50 percent Beatles classics -- most of which the "Fab Four," who retired from the road in 1966, never got the chance to play live.
Paul McCartney The World Tour 1989-90, has numerous first-hand fan accounts, chapters on McCartney's "studio years" and one-off performances leading up to the historic tour -- along with an overview of what transpired professionally for "Macca" before launching his 1993 "New World Tour."
When meeting the press on November 27th, 1989 during his L.A. run, Paul McCartney spoke about how he prepped for his first concert tour in a decade: "Basically, I just looked at all the other tours that were out and thought, well, if we're seriously going to be up there at the (L.A.) Forum, at Madison Square (Garden) where all the other big acts go, we've gotta get something pretty hefty together. So, first of all, we worked on the band and tried to get the music right. That's been the big priority all along, is to just make sure that even if we turn up in an old shack -- we can play good. But then we started to get involved with the people that put these tours on. And at each level, we've tried to really find someone great. So, Mark Brickman on the lights is brilliant. He did the (Pink) Floyd's last tour."
For more information on Paul McCartney The World Tour 1989-90, log on to: https://paulmccartneyafterthebeatles.com/
Just released is The Original George Thorogood -- a 14-song collection of Thorogood's best known self-written classics. Among the highlights on the new set are "I Drink Alone," "Bad To The Bone," "If You Don't Start Drinkin'," "(I'm Gonna Leave)," and "Born To Be Bad."
In talking about the new compilation, Thorogood looked back at his side career as a rock songsmith: "I guess a good song is a good song is a good song, y'know? It's easy to write a song, difficult to write a good song, and even harder to write a great song. It strikes home that I have the ability to write some pretty great songs, and there's a real sense of achievement to that."
George Thorogood owes a huge part of his success to his presence on early MTV, which included near saturation airplay of his early videos -- especially "Bad To The Bone," which featured his hero Bo Diddley. Thorogood explained to us that back then, MTV was in no position to be discerning about any of its content, and happily ate up everything rock bands -- especially cool and envelope pushing artists -- were handing them: "The politics of MTV were this; the demand was bigger than the supply, 'cause when MTV came on it was on 24 hours a day -- no commercials. And they were lookin' for stuff; and they were showing old Elvis Presley movies, they were showing (American) Bandstand -- y'know, anything they could get their hands on. So, I knew that in '81 when they started, because in '82, we did the video 'Nobody But Me' and 'Bad To The Bone,' because I knew it was like the early days of television. Television was in its infancy -- so was MTV. And at the time, we had just signed with EMI, we were hot off the (1981 Rolling) Stones tour, so we were a pretty hot item at the time. About five or six years later I got tired of it, because then it became a commercial for your record. It wasn't like the early days."
George Thorogood & The Destroyers kick off their next string of dates on April 29th in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin at Crystal Grand Music Theatre.
Mimi Webb says that Britney Spears' look at the 2001 American Music Awards serves as her fashion inspiration.
The 21-year-old "Good Without" singer told Harper's Bazaar Monday (April 18th), "I loved her full denim look. It was so good!"
She added, "Everyday fashion is changing. Especially as an artist, a lot goes into producing an outfit. To enter and explore what is working in the fashion world—to then figure out what a pop star should wear—is quite cool. I like to play with those two worlds. I love Dua Lipa now. She is a massive inspiration. I love her stylist, Lorenzo Posocco. His work inspires me."
It was 10 years ago today (April 19th, 2012) that Greg Ham, the saxophonist and flutist for Men At Work, was found dead in his home in Carlton, Australia "after he failed to turn up for a pharmacy appointment." Ham, who was 58, was an active member of Men At Work from 1979 to 1986 and had continued to perform with the group's leader Colin Hay periodically since 1996. The cause of death is still debated, with the press at the time claiming he died of a heart attack, with other reports citing that Ham was battling depression and reportedly a heroin addict. Ham is survived by his wife and two children -- although he was the lone occupant of the house he was living in.
The Washington Post reported police as saying of Ham's death: "There are a number of unexplained aspects to it which has caused our attendance here today, and we're assisting the local detectives to determine what has occurred."
Ham was the center of controversy in 2010 when the flute solo he improvised on Men At Work's classic, 1982 chart-topper, "Down Under" was ruled to have been "lifted" from the 1934 Australian scout song "Kookaburra." The court's ruling gave current copyright holder Larrikan Music five percent of the song's mechanical rights to the song since 2002 along with future profits. Despite his musical contribution, Ham was not listed as one of the song's co-writers.
Men At Work was a massive hit out of the gate scoring 1982 Number Ones for its debut album, Business As Usual and it's first two singles, "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under."
The group, who won the 1983 Grammy Award for Best New Artist, holds the distinction of being the only Australian artist to have a simultaneous Number One album and Number One single in the U.S.
At the time, Colin Hay issued a statement on his website (ColinHay.com) the death of Greg Ham:
I met Greg Ham 40 years ago, at Kim Gyngell's house in 1972. Last year of high school. He had blond hair, rosy cheeks, ridiculously bright eyes, and along with Gyngell, was the funniest person I knew. He was sharp, real sharp. We were friends from then on, we liked each other. He lived for a while in Park Street in St Kilda, in a communal household, which was the best of times. The best parties ever.
Greg took up the saxophone and flute during this time, he was always practicing. He got really good. We shared countless, unbelievably memorable times together, from stumbling through Richmond after playing the Cricketers Arms, to helicoptering into New York City, to appear on Saturday Night Live, or flying through dust storms in Arizona, above the Grand Canyon, or getting lost, driving aimlessly through the Gippsland countryside. We played in a band and conquered the world together.
I love him very much. He's a beautiful man. He never lost his love and passion for music, and indeed taught music to kids over the last few years. He was a great teacher, and they loved him. The saxophone solo on 'Who Can It Be Now?' was the rehearsal take. We kept it, that was the one. He's here forever.
I'm thinking about his family, and hoping they are receiving the love and support they need and deserve.
Colin Hay
Greg Ham looked back at the massive success of Men At Work's breakthrough hit, "Who Can It Be Now?" and shed light on how the song took off in globally in a truly organic way: "'Who Can It Be Now?' actually got released overseas almost without our knowledge. In fact, 'Who Can It Be Now?' got released in places like France and Israel -- and this was previous to the album. And these were not things that. . . that was just, like, a random thing that the CBS affiliate in that country -- somebody heard it and said, 'Oh, this is great.' It was a very, sort of, positive thing for us, because we thought, 'Well, y'know, it's got its own life here. There is something to this that is not just here in Australia, or it's not just the record company making it all happen.'"
Colin Hay will be performing as Men At Work this summer in a tour also featuring Rick Springfield and John Waite.
BTS's next album will drop on June 10th.
The septet made the announcement during the last night of their Las Vegas residency, Saturday (April 16th), by posting the teaser, "We Are Bulletproof" along with the date. 2022.06.10.
Their label Big Hit Music later confirmed the news on WeVerse, adding that additional details will be revealed at a later date.
The first posthumous recording from late-Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins has been released. Rolling Stone reported Hawkins recorded the vocal to Edgar Winter's cover of his late-brother Johnny Winters' "Guess I'll Go Away" from the newly released Brother Johnny tribute collection.
Edgar had posted a tribute to Hawkins on his official website and spoke about how Hawkins refused payment for the work on the album. "He said, 'I just wanna get out there and rock, and rock he did. . . It's a song about the lure of sex, the danger of drugs, and the love of rock & roll. Johnny wrote it around the time of his first rehab, and it expresses feelings almost everyone I know has been through in one way or another. I would guess (like most all musicians) Taylor couldn't help but identify with it."
He went on to write: "All I know is he put his whole heart and soul into it, and I am so sad that I never found a way to thank him properly as he so deeply and profoundly deserved. The name of the song is 'Guess I'll Go Away.' Now, both Johnny and Taylor have gone away no one can know, but which we all one day must travel. Although I know Johnny has departed this world, I still think of and speak to him every day, and will now see Taylor's face alongside his."
Not too long ago, Taylor Hawkins told us that classic rock and heavy metal have always held the biggest influence for him: "It's there, y'know, and I wear 'em heavily on my sleeve, my influences. It's in my DNA now, y'know? I've listened to it enough. I'm under the influence, no question, y'know?"
Shania Twain made a surprise appearance during Harry Styles' set at Coachella in Indio, CA on Friday (April 15th) night.
She and Harry collaborated on Shania's hits "Man! I Feel Like a Woman" and "You're Still the One."
Additionally, the "Watermelon Sugar" singer debuted two new songs during his headlining set. The One Direction alum introduced "Boyfriends," a ballad about boyfriends who "take you for granted" and "Late Night Talking."
The Who are back in The States busy rehearsing for the opening night of their North American tour, which kicks off on Friday night (April 22nd) in Ft. Lauderdale. Pete Townshend's wife, Rachel Fuller, posted footage of the band running through "Who Are You" at an unnamed soundstage.
Roger Daltrey, who turned 78 last month, spoke to The Palm Beach Post and admitted, "I can still hit the notes. They're still there. Townshend's songs are incredibly demanding for a singer. They're lyrically complicated, there's never two songs together in the same key, so it's moving about all over the place, and it takes a lot of stamina. Just like Mick Jagger -- I've got so much respect for Mick, he's incredible. And you just have to train."
When discussing the key line from the Who's 1965 classic "My Generation" -- "I hope I die before I get old" -- Daltrey said, "I still do. I think it's a state of mind, age. I've met young people who seem to be incredibly old in their mind, and I've met old people that are incredibly young. You can't measure age in years; you can't measure a lifetime in years. A life is a life."
Daltrey revealed that the Who still has a unique relationship with its fans: "They turn up at my door here. I always try to make them welcome. I've seen a lot of stars have their bodyguards, and they push the fans away. I've never been on that page. I don't like that at all. They put you where you are. They pay your rent. You've got to be there for them."
Although rock stars don't get much bigger than Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend -- Daltrey said he's been known to get starstruck: "I get very nervous. It's really funny. . . Not so much around all the guys I've known from the beginning -- Paul McCartney and Ringo (Starr) and all those people -- we're all mates, and it's different. But if I met someone I've been a fan of a very long time, even today, I go back to that little kid again. It's too late to meet Johnny Cash; he's the only one I would have liked."
Daltrey added: "I'm glad I didn't meet Elvis (Presley), cause I would have been disappointed. The time that I had the possibility of meeting him, he was past his best. I'd rather carry his memory with me, which is fantastic."
Roger Daltrey says that due to the tour's multiple screens on and around the stage projecting specially-made films for most of the show's songs, changing the set list from night to night is nearly impossible: "We're kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place on this issue of changing songs around. Especially since as our catalogue is so huge, we're never going to please everybody. And the new show that we're working on at the moment on the road, there's more than just the music. There's the screens as well, 'cause it has to tie up with the lights. When you're on the road with the kind of show we're doing, arenas, it's like an army, everybody has to know what their thing is."
Despite all of the rumors, A$AP Rocky is NOT cheating on Rihanna. Fashion writer Louis Pisano -- the person who started the rumor, took to Twitter to apologize "to all parties I involved with my actions and for my reckless tweets."
He wrote, "Last night I made a dumb decision to tweet some information I had received. I'm not going to talk about sources, blame others for a discussion that was started, etc because at the end of the day I made the decision to draft that tweet, press send and put that out with my name on it."
He continued, "I have no excuse for it, I've been way too wrapped up in Twitter drama and unfortunately leaned into being messy as a brand which is something going forward I am going to move away from."
AMINA MUADDI RELEASES A STATEMENT
Amina Muaddi -- the shoe designer accused of cheating with Rocky, also took to social media to deny the rumor, calling it an "unfounded lie." She said, "I've always believed that an unfounded lie spread on social media doesn't deserve any response or clarification, especially one that is so vile. I initially assumed that this fake gossip — fabricated with such malicious intent — would not be taken seriously. However in the last 24 hr I've been reminded that we live in a society that is so quick to speak on topics regardless of factual basis and that nothing is off limits. Not even during what should be one of the most beautiful and celebrated times in one's life.'"
Meanwhile,RiRi and Rocky were spotted arriving in her native Babados this past weekend. Reports say that the singer is due any day now.
"Horrendous laryngitis" forced Lorde to postpone two of her shows this weekend.
The concerts, originally scheduled for Friday, April 15th in Uncasville, Connecticut and Saturday, April 16th in Washington, DC have been moved to August.
Mohegan Sun announced the news on it's website in a statement from Lorde that read, "Connecticut — these past couple days I've been pushing through some horrendous laryngitis, and I regret to inform you that my voice hasn't sufficiently recovered to be able to play the show for you tomorrow (4/15). I'm so, so sorry. I don't take postponing a show lightly. I've tried everything, and unfortunately it's physically impossible for me to sing much of the set. Please accept my sincere apologies. All well besides that, and absolutely frothing to party with you when I am able."
The tour is scheduled to continue on Monday, April 18th at New York's Radio City Music Hall, and will run through March 2023.
Alex Lifeson said that drugs and Rush never led to particularly good music. Ultimate Classic Rock transcribed some of the guitarist's chat with House of Strombo where he recalled, "It was hard to play. We were very disciplined when it came to shows -- not even a beer during the drum solo. I smoked a joint before a rehearsal once, and we jammed for about 20 minutes, like psychedelic surf music. And it was so great."
Lifeson, who just dropped his new band Envy Of None's self-titled debut, went on to remember, "I was having such a great time, and then it was like, 'Okay, let's do the show now.' We start playing, and it was like. . . everything sounded crazy, and my hands wouldn't speak to my brain. Ged kept looking over at me like, 'What the hell's going on with you there?' We were making mistake after mistake. I couldn't wait for it to be over. But I learned a very important lesson: Don't smoke a joint before a gig."
Alex Lifeson told us a while back that Rush's long history is the result of a combination of friendship and creative commitment: "I think, primarily, we really enjoy each other's company. We're very, very close friends. The music has always been very important to us. We've always pushed each other, in terms of our writing and where we want to go as musicians."
Billie Eilish gave a shout out to Coachella's 2018 headliner, Beyonce, when she took the stage at the music festival Saturday (April 16th) night.
The 20-year-old, who is the youngest artist ever to headline the event, told the crowd, "Thank you, Coachella! I'm sorry I'm not Beyonce."
According to Page Six, the "Bad Guy" singer also told the crowd earlier in the set that she "should not be headlining s**t" before blowing the crowd away with a set that included guests like Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn and her "Lovely" collaborator, Khalid.
Grateful Dead co-founder Phil Lesh has just announced 21 solo dates, which culminate in a nine-show residency at Port Chester, New York's Capitol Theatre. Lesh kicks off his 2022 dates on June 4th at Stanford, California's Frost Amphitheatre.
Backing Lesh on the road will be Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench, Phil's son, guitarist Grahame Lesh, drummer Joe Russo, and guitarists Scott Metzger and John Scofield.
Although Phil Lesh was part of the Grateful Dead's five 2015 "Fare Thee Well" concerts, he's been adamant to let the band be a thing of the past. As it's been no secret of disagreements amongst the surviving Dead members, we thought we'd ask drummer Mickey Hart why Lesh -- who relies heavily on the Dead catalogue for his solo setlists -- chose not to carry on the band's legacy with them: "I have no idea. I have no contemplation of about that. . . I have no idea. I understand Phil is having a wonderful life and enjoying himself and enjoying himself and I'm happy for him -- and so am I. And so it seems like we're all in a good place."
JUST ANNOUNCED: Phil Lesh & Friends tour dates (subject to change):
June 4 - Stanford, CA - Frost Amphitheatre
June 11 - Eugene, OR - Cuthbert Amphitheater
June 12 - Redmond, WA - Marymoor Park
June 16 Telluride, CO - Telluride Town Park
June 17 - Bonner, MT - Kettlehouse Amphitheater
July 1 - Bridgeport, CT - Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater
July 4 - Asbury Park, NJ - Stone Pony
July 8 - Lafayette, NY - Beak and Skiff Orchards
July 9 - Marshfield, MA - Levitate Music Festival
July 10 - Portland, ME - Thompson's Point
July 17 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre (with The String Cheese Incident)
August 26 - Bridgeview, IL - Sacred Rose Fest at SeatGeek Stadium
October 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 31 - Port Chester, NY - The Capitol Theatre
Doors guitarist Robby Krieger has rolled out a string of dates stretching from the spring through the fall in which he'll commemorate the 55th anniversary of the band's second album, Strange Days.
As it stands now, Krieger will launch the trek on May 13th at Tempe, Arizona's Marquee, with the shows eventually winding down during a homecoming gig on L.A.'s Sunset Strip on September 25th at the legendary Whisky a Go Go. The show will play on the actual 55th anniversary of the famed album.
The Doors' Strange Days was released on September 25th, 1967 and peaked at Number Three on the Billboard 200. The tracklisting to Strange Days is: "Strange Days" "You're Lost Little Girl," "Love Me Two Times," "Unhappy Girl," "Horse Latitudes," "Moonlight Drive," "People Are Strange," "My Eyes Have Seen You," "I Can't See Your Face In My Mind," and "When The Music's Over."
Robby Krieger told us that today, he fully embraces his Doors past: "Y'know, at first when I would play alone, I didn't do any Doors 'cause I'd had albums come out and stuff. But then I used to go see those Doors tribute bands, and boy, were they having fun, and the audience was having fun, and I was, 'Wait a minute -- those are my songs.' So, I started playing them more and more, and we do a lot of Doors stuff now."
JUST ANNOUNCED: Robby Krieger tour dates (subject to change):
May 13 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee
June 4 - Washington, PA - Meadows Racetrack
June 16 - Melbourne, FL - King Center
June 17 - Jacksonville, FL - Jacksonville Theatre
June 18 - Pensacola, FL - Saenger Theatre
July 21- St Charles, IL - Arcada Theatre
July 22 - Des Plaines, IL - Des Plaines Theatre
September 23 - San Juan Capistrano, CA - Coach House
September 25 - Los Angeles, CA - Whisky a Go Go
SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA DROP ALBUM BEFORE COACHELLA: Swedish House Mafia, the trio of Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, and Axwell, released their first, full length album, Paradise Again, on Friday (April 15th). The debut came just before the trio headed back to Coachella Festival for a headlining performance with The Weeknd on Sunday (April 17th) night. In the wake of their Coachella performance, Swedish House Mafia will head out on their first proper international tour since 2012, including arenas across the United States and Europe.
CHARLI XCX DROPS 'USED TO KNOW ME' VIDEO: Charli XCX dropped the video for her party anthem "Used To Know Me" Friday (April 15th). The breakup track, which borrows from the 1990 house hit "Show Me Love" by Robin S., features a visual directed by Alex Lill and choreographed by Nathan Kim.
Though a post on Twitter, Billie Eilish announced that she and her brother, Finneas will guest star on The Simpsons.
Titled, When Billie Met Lisa, the episode follows the story of how jazz icon, Lisa Simpson spontaneously bumps into the Grammy-winning siblings. Billie then invites Lisa to her studio for a special jam session she'll never forget.
Finneas called the experience a "bucket list" item.
The special episode will stream on Disney+ beginning April 22.
TL;DR:
Former-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted revealed that Alex Van Halen contacted him late last year in hopes of reforming Van Halen. Newsted chatted with The Palm Beach Post and explained that Alex had already enlisted guitar legend Joe Satriani to replace the late-Eddie Van Halen and was hoping that Newsted would fill out the core instrumental lineup.
Newsted said that although he had his doubts about the validity of a new lineup of Van Halen without Eddie, he was open to traveling to California to jam with the pair. He admitted he couldn't imagine how the proposed lineup could live up to the Van Halen legacy: "How could you? There's nobody that can top it, so how do you show it honor? I didn't want it to be viewed as a money grab. And then it kind of just all fizzled." Newsted didn't mention whether David Lee Roth or another vocalist would have been used for the Alex-led lineup.
After years of repeating that he quit Metallica after being forced to choose between the band or a side solo project, Newsted also revealed that he left the band when, according to him, they wouldn't give him time off to ween himself from a dangerous painkiller addiction. Newsted, who became addicted after suffering a neck injury, told the band he needed a six-to eight-month break to sort himself out: "For some reason they weren't willing to do that."
He spoke about 21 years he been a working musician away from Metallica: "It's like a crazy-ass, hollow void that will probably not ever really be filled. It was a really horrible, lonely feeling. I was like, why did you screw yourself so hard? Why did you? But I had to think, also, you wouldn't be breathing right now if you hadn't done it."
Newsted revealed that back in 2004, he overdosed on opioids after undergoing shoulder surgery: "That was kind of the day it turned around. From then on, I just worked on getting out of it. They build (the drug) so it gets right into your fiber, and it won't let its hooks loose. . . Everything that I'd known was gone, everybody that had taught me about life and the world, all of the crew guys. . . everybody that was my family on the road. I divorced three people in the band . . . and then 85-105 family members just evaporated out of my life."
Mariah Carey has re-recorded her song, "The Roof" with Brandy. It's part of an online series called Masterclass with Mariah Carey. The video series goes deep into Mariah's creative side and shows what's behind her thinking process. At one point, Carey can be seen coaching Brandy while arranging and recording the track.
Carey said, "I've never let cameras in when I am creating — not when I'm writing, and especially not when I'm singing. But now I'm taking Masterclass members into my studio to show them how they can write and produce music using their voice and become anything they want to be as long as they create, re-create, reimagine, and reinvent."
"The Roof" was first released as a solo track on Carey's 1997 Butterfly album. Although it failed to chart in the US, the song and video remain a fan favorite. The song and classes are available through a subscription.
TL;DR:
The wait is over for Rush fans with today's (April 15th) release of the 40th Anniversary edition of the band's breakthrough 1981 album, Moving Pictures. The new anniversary package has been issued in six distinct configurations, including the Super Deluxe Edition, three-CD Deluxe Edition, five-LP Deluxe Edition, one-LP Edition, Digital Deluxe Edition, and Dolby Atmos Digital Edition.
According to the original press release for the box set:
The Super Deluxe Edition includes three CD's, one Blu-ray Audio disc, and five high-quality 180-gram black vinyl LP's. The set encompasses the Abbey Road Mastering Studios 2015 remastered edition of the album for the first time on CD, along with two discs of previously unreleased and newly restored bonus live content newly mixed from the original analog live multi-tracks by Rush's original producer, Terry Brown, featuring the band's complete, unreleased Toronto concert from Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, on March 25th, 1981 -- titled Live In YYZ 1981.
The fourth bonus disc is a Blu-ray Audio disc with the core album newly mixed from the original multi-tracks in Dolby Atmos (a Rush catalog first!), Dolby TrueHD 5.1, and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound as done by noted producer/engineer Richard Chycki, alongside the previously available PCM Stereo mix.
Also included on the Blu-ray are four bonus videos: a brand-new video for "YYZ" plus three remastered vintage promo videos for "Tom Sawyer," "Limelight," and "Vital Signs." All of the vinyl in the Super Deluxe Edition has been cut via half-speed Direct to Metal Mastering (DMM) (another Rush catalog first!) on five 180-gram audiophile LP's.
Moving Pictures was originally released on February 12th, 1981. The set, which followed the previous year's Permanent Waves, peaked at Number Three on the Billboard 200 albums chart, stayed in the Top 10 for 13 weeks, and remains the trio's most popular and commercially successful outing to date. To date, Moving Pictures has sold over four million copies in the U.S. alone.
The album's third track, "YYZ," was nominated for a Best Rock Instrumental Performance Grammy. The title is the IATA Airport Code for Toronto Pearson International Airport. It is played repeatedly in Morse code at the beginning of the song.
The track "The Camera Eye" was the last Rush song to clock in at over 10 minutes. Until it was brought back on the 2010/2011 "Time Machine" tour, it had not been played live since 1983. The "Time Machine" tour saw Rush perform Moving Pictures in its entirety.
1981's Moving Pictures remains Rush's biggest album to date, while "Tom Sawyer" remains their best-known song. Alex Lifeson recalled for us the impact the record had on the Canadian band's career at the time: "That took us up to the next level. After the release of that album, we were headlining everywhere we were going, and, y'know, our audiences increased by a large percentage. And it just gave us that much of a push forward into what was coming."
Not too long ago, Rush's late, great drummer and lyricist Neil Peart spoke with George Stroumboulopoulos and shed light on the importance of the Moving Pictures sessions: "We had been together for six years and had had enough success that the industry wasn't leaning on us anymore about what we were going to do. And there was a real maturity (and) coming of age for us as a band, because we had been doing so much experimenting of all kinds as individual instrumentalists and as a group of instrumentalists. . . There was nothing self-indulgent, or so-called pretentiousness about it. It was true boyish enthusiasm that was involved in creating all those things."
Geddy Lee told us that having a legion of fans following you is still a pretty heady experience: "It's a tremendous compliment to be told that you've inspired someone or influenced someone musically, or in any aspect of life -- and beyond that, y'know, you really don't know what to say. Y'know, it's a nice thing, and it makes you feel like whatever you're doing has a little more validity, I guess."
Rumors are going around that Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have broken up after he was caught cheating. Paris based fashion influencer Louis Pisano took to Instagram and reported that the two broke up after RiRi caught Rocky cheating with shoe designer Amina Muaddi.
Louis continued, "ASAP & Amina is not new though as she was seeing him years ago and also collaborated with him on a collection of shoes." Louis also revealed that "things apparently hit the fan at Craigs in LA."
Louis goes on to detail that "Amina was responsible for designing Fenty's footwear offering and Rihanna is often seen in custom shoes from her own label."
Neither Rihanna nor A$AP Rocky have commented on the rumor.
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