2004

Rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard, who lived a life as wild as his lyrics, collapsed and died inside a recording studio today (Nov. 13). He was 35. The artist, whose real name was Russell Jones, had complained of chest pains before collapsing at the Manhattan studio, according to a statement from his label, Roc-A-Fella Records.

Jones, who was also known variously as Dirt McGirt or Big Baby Jesus, was a founding member of iconic hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Clan in the early 1990s. With his offbeat, unorthodox delivery, he segued into a successful solo career and released several hit singles, including 1999’s “Got Your Money.”

But he was frequently in trouble with the law, mostly for drug possession. In February 1998, he crashed the stage at the Grammy Awards and hijacked a microphone from singer Shawn Colvin as she accepted an award, apparently upset over losing the best rap album Grammy to Puff Daddy. Later that year, he was wounded in a shooting during a robbery in his apartment.

In 2001 he was sentenced to two to four years in prison for drug possession plus two concurrent years for escaping from a rehab clinic. He was released in 2003 and immediately signed with Roc-A-Fella, for which he’d been at work on a new album.

ODB would have turned 36 on Monday. “To the public he was known as Ol’ Dirty Bastard but to me he was known as Rusty,” his mother, Cherry Jones, said in a statement. “The kindest most generous soul on earth. I appreciate all of the support and prayers that I have received. Russell was more then a rapper he was a loving father, brother, uncle and most of all son.”

“All of us in the Roc-A-Fella family are shocked and saddened by the sudden and tragic death of our brother and friend, Russell Jones, Ol’ Dirty Bastard,” said Roc-A-Fella CEO Damon Dash. “Russell inspired all of us with his spirit, wit and tremendous heart. He will be missed dearly, and our thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences go out to his wonderful family. The world has lost a great talent, but we mourn the loss of our friend.”

The Wu-Tang Clan reactivated this summer for its first show with all of its principal members in 10 years. Several of them, including ODB, appear on the soundtrack to “Blade: Trinity,” due Nov. 23 via New Line Records. The group is also the subject of the book “The Wu-Tang Manual,” which is in production via Riverhead.

Source billboard.com.

Look for U2 to start its world tour on March 1 in Florida in support of its new Interscope album, “How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb,” the band’s manager Paul McGuinness tells Billboard.

“We’ll play approximately 35 shows in the arenas in the spring in the U.S., McGuinness says. U2 will then play 30 stadium shows across Europe, return to North America for another 35-date arena swing and the proceed to Japan and Australia.

Rumors have circulated that potential openers include Snow Patrol and the Scissor Sisters. McGuinness said no decision has been made, but added “We love Snow Patrol. Their producer, Jacknife Lee, also worked on U2’s album and they’re Irish. There’s a close connection.”

The upcoming trek will be promoted by Clear Channel Entertainment’s TNA International, which is spearheaded by president Arthur Fogel. U2’s 2001 tour, also promoted by Fogel, grossed $104 million from 106 shows worldwide, according to Billboard Boxscore.

Continuing the move toward a more rock-driven approach emphasized on 2000’s “All That You Can’t Leave Behind,” the new set is front-loaded with a host of satisfyingly straightforward tracks that should thrill U2 fans. Highlights include the chiming, strident “City of Blinding Lights,” the powerful Edge showcase “All Because of You” and the emotive, atmospheric “Miracle Drug,” where Bono scales the heights of his vocal register.

First single “Vertigo” is in third week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Source billboard.com.

THE BLOCK Party Rail Contest and 200 person VIP Booth after party will air on Project: DETENTION. A unique half hour televsion show broadcast to 20 million homes on the FUEL network sometimes airing once daily. (see fuel.tv for scheduled air times)

RedSquare TV in association with FUEL (24/7action sports network) have developed, Project: DETENTION. Project: DETENTION is dedicated to documenting the actions,lifestyles and freedom that surrounds the constantly evolving action sports culture…the most direct and influential voice for the ever growing action sports population.

Heat or event results are not reported. In each episode the producers and host

The Flaming Lips are the subject of the new documentary My Life With the Fearless Freaks, due out on DVD from Shout Films on March 23rd.
Taking its name from a Sunday youth football team on which Lips frontman Wayne Coyne played with his brothers, The Fearless Freaks explores the evolution of the Oklahoma band. In particular it focuses on the families and life experiences that shaped members Coyne, drummer Steven Drodz and bassist Michael Ivins.

“I started in Wayne’s neighborhood and really tried to tell the story of how he grew up because he has so many older brothers that were a huge influence on his life,” says director Bradley Beesley, whose previous credits include Lips’ videos, as well as documentaries about Oklahoma catfishing and blues label Fat Possum Records. “They shaped the music that he listened to and his early career drawing, and playing guitar, and going to concerts, and doing drugs.”

Beesley is a longtime associate of the Lips, and they were comfortable enough to let him film very personal moments. “I’ve got some pretty intimate footage of Steven using drugs and talking about how drugs destroyed his life, as they’re destroying his life,” Beesley says. “It’s not like a VH1 thing where the guy talks about shooting up like ten years ago. I was capturing it literally as he was shooting up.”

In addition to such gritty scenes, Freaks includes cameos from Beck, Jack White, Mercury Rev’s Jonathan Donahue, Juliette Lewis and Liz Phair, as well as outtakes from the long-awaited Lips movie Christmas on Mars (due out December 2005). The film also features four new Flaming Lips songs made specifically for the film.

“It’s a cool film,” says Coyne. “When you get to appear inside someone’s life I don’t think it would even matter who they are. I think if you followed anybody around for eleven years and talked to their relatives and were there when poignant things in their life happened, it wouldn’t matter who you are, it’d be interesting.”

Beesley and Coyne hope to have Freaks make its cinematic premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, in January, or at the South by Southwest Music/Film Festival in Austin, Texas, in March.

Source rollingstone.com.

Michael Moore plans a follow-up to “Fahrenheit 9/11,” his hit documentary that assails President Bush over the handling of the Sept. 11 attacks and the war on terrorism, according to a Hollywood trade paper.

Moore told Daily Variety that he and Harvey Weinstein, the Miramax boss who produced the film, hope to have “Fahrenheit 9/11 1/2” ready in two to three years.

“Fifty-one percent of the American people lacked information (in this election) and we want to educate and enlighten them,” Moore was quoted in Thursday’s edition of Variety. “They weren’t told the truth. We’re communicators and it’s up to us to start doing it now.”

A spokesman for Fellowship Adventure Group, formed by Weinstein and brother Bob to help distribute “Fahrenheit 9/11,” did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

“Fahrenheit 9/11,” which won top honors at May’s Cannes Film Festival (news – web sites), became the first documentary to top $100 million at the domestic box office. Moore, who won the documentary Academy Award for “Bowling for Columbine,” is pushing “Fahrenheit 9/11″ in the best-picture category for the upcoming Oscars (news – web sites).

The issues for the follow-up film will remain the same, Iraq (news – web sites) and terrorism, Moore said.

The official mourning period is over today and there is a silver lining: George W. Bush is prohibited by law from running again,” Moore said.

Source yahoo.com.

On December 7th, the White Stripes will release Under Blackpool Lights, a live DVD filmed during the band’s January performance at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, England. Select U.S. theaters will screen the film — along with bonus scenes not available on the DVD — on December 9th. The film was directed by Dick Carruthers, who has chronicled the live performances of the Rolling Stones, Oasis and Led Zeppelin.

“They’re quite unique, I can safely say,” Carruthers reports of frontman Jack White and drummer Meg White. “The way that they play, the sounds that they make and the relationship between them, which is both strong and ambiguous at the same time — it’s quite a powerful combination.”

The seventy-five-minute film includes staples like “Seven Nation Army” and “Hotel Yorba,” as well as the band’s cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” Much of the footage was shot on Super 8, which deliberately gives the movie a dated, grainy look. “The texture and color of the film itself becomes an expression of the White Stripes’ sound, which is raw, retro and iconoclastic,” says Carruthers, who adds that many of the comedic moments and extras on the DVD were Jack White’s ideas.

This past spring, the White Stripes pulled the plug on another concert film, George Roca’s Nobody Knows How to Talk to Children. The group had the documentary, culled from of a string of 2002 gigs at New York’s Bowery Ballroom, banned from circulation after its premiere at the Seattle Film Festival, citing disappointment with the look and sound of the movie. “They rigorously adhere to their aesthetic,” says Carruthers.

As for Blackpool’s single night on the big screen, Carruthers is excited, announcing, “It’s a beast in the cinema.”

The White Stripes’ Under Blackpool Lights December 9th screenings

New York, Empire 25
Burbank, CA, Burbank 14
Chicago, River East 21
Springfield, PA, Marple 10
San Francisco, Van Ness 14
Boston, Fenway 13
Washington, DC, Mazza Gallerie 7
Atlanta, Phillips Plaza Mall
Livonia, MI, Laurel Park 10
Seattle, Pacific Place
Edina, MN, Southdale Center
Westminster, Co, Westminister Promedade 24
San Diego, Mission Valley 20

Source rollingstone.com.