2004

Morrissey has announced a fall tour in support of his critically acclaimed Attack/Sanctuary release, You Are The Quarry.

Cake hasn’t indulged its rock

Eminem will release his fourth album, to be called “Encore,” on Nov. 16, his Interscope Records label said Monday.

The set will be the follow-up to 2002’s “The Eminem Show,” which debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 9.2 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Interscope said its global sales stand at more than 19 million copies.

Because of Internet piracy, that album officially went on sale in the United States on a Sunday, nine days ahead of its originally scheduled street date.

The 2002 soundtrack to his hit film “8 Mile” also reached No. 1 on The Billboard 200. It spawned the hit “Lose Yourself,” which spent 12 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and yielded an Oscar for Eminem and his two co-writers. Interscope said its global sales stand at almost nine million copies.

Although he released a new album with his group D-12 this spring, Eminem has kept a low profile over the past year. He recently announced plans to launch a hip-hop music channel with Sirius Satellite Radio, on which he will host shows with acts from his Shady Records imprint. The channel is expected to go live in the fall.

Source yahoo.com.

New York rock act Interpol will kick off a North American tour Oct. 11 in Boston with Secret Machines, On Air Library! and an additional band to be announced. Five European shows and an Oct. 1 appearance on NBC’s “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” will precede the fall run, which wraps with a Nov. 11-12 hometown stand at Hammerstein Ballroom.

Interpol will be touring in support of its sophomore Matador album, “Antics,” due Sept. 28. First single “Slow Hands” will be released Sept. 13 internationally, backed by remixes from Dan “The Automator” Nakamura and Spoon’s Britt Daniel. Tracks from the album can previewed on Interpol’s official Web site.

Secret Machines will be out behind their acclaimed Reprise debut, “Now Hear Is Nowhere,” which reached No. 33 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart.

Here are Interpol’s North American tour dates:

Oct. 11: Boston (Avalon)
Oct. 12: Montreal (Metropolis)
Oct. 13: Toronto (Docks)
Oct. 15: Detroit (State Theater)
Oct. 16: Columbus, Ohio (Newport Music Hall)
Oct. 17: Chicago (Riviera Theatre)
Oct. 19: Minneapolis (First Avenue)
Oct. 22: Seattle (Paramount Theatre)
Oct. 23: Vancouver (Commodore Ballroom)
Oct. 24: Portland, Ore. (Crystal Ballroom)
Oct. 25: San Francisco (Warfield Theatre)
Oct. 27-28: Los Angeles (Wiltern)
Oct. 29: San Diego (Soma)
Oct. 30: Tempe, Ariz. (Marquee Theatre)
Nov. 1: Dallas (Gypsy Ballroom)
Nov. 2: Austin, Texas (Stubbs)
Nov. 4: Atlanta (Coca Cola Roxy Theatre)
Nov. 5: Asheville, N.C. (Orange Peel)
Nov. 7: Philadelphia (Electric Factory)
Nov. 8: Providence, R.I. (Lupo’s)
Nov. 9: Washington, D.C. (9:30 Club)
Nov. 11-12: New York (Hammerstein Ballroom)

Source billboard.com.

The July 17 concert at Hollywood’s Avalon, spearheaded by System Of A Down’s Serj Tankian and Audioslave’s Tom Morello as part of their non-profit Axis of Justice political organization, will be released on CD and DVD Nov. 2 via Columbia.

The 14-track “Axis of Justice: Concert Series Volume I” also sports a cover of the Elvis Costello-popularized “(What’s So Funny ’bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding” by Tool’s Maynard James Keenan and Audioslave’s Chris Cornell, taped on the 2003 Lollapalooza tour.

A number of intriguing guest spots crowd the CD, including a jam with Tankian on piano, Audioslave’s Brad Wilk on drums and Red Hot Chili Peppers principal Flea on bass; a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom” featuring those artists plus Morello and Pete Yorn on guitar; and a version of U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name” with vocals by Keenan and keyboards by Jonny Polonsky.

Morello also performs two cuts, “Until the End” and “Union Song,” under his Nightwatchman moniker. As previously reported, the artist will perform tonight (Aug. 31) at the Knitting Factory and tomorrow (Sept. 1) at a labor rally as part of protests against the Republican National Convention in New York.

The accompanying DVD sports July 17 concert highlights plus clips from prior Axis benefits, interviews with filmmaker Michael Moore and actress/radio host Janeane Garofalo and audio extracts from the Axis of Justice radio show.

Here is the track list for “Concert Series Volume I,” in no order:

“Intro,” Ahmed Ahmed
“Speak on it,” Knowledge, Serj Tankian
“Until the End,” the Nightwatchman
“Union Song,” the Nightwatchman
“I Feel Good Again,” Pete Yorn
“Piano Improvisation,” Serj Tankian
“Charades,” Serj Tankian
“Free Jam,” Serj Tankian, Brad Wilk, Flea
“Chimes of Freedom,” Tom Morello, Serj Tankian, Pete Yorn, Flea, Brad Wilk
“Alice in My Fantasies,” Tom Morello, Serj Tankian, Pete Yorn, Flea, Brad Wilk
“What’s Golden,” Jurassic 5
“Freedom,” Jurassic 5
“Where the Streets Have No Name,” Tom Morello, Serj Tankian, Pete Yorn, Flea, Brad Wilk, Tim Walker, Maynard James Keenan, Jonny Polonsky
“(What’s So Funny ’bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding,” Chris Cornell, Maynard James Keenan

Source billboard.com.

Apple Computer has unveiled its new iMac desktop computer design, which integrates all disk drives and processors into a flat display less than two inches thick.

Apple’s newest iMac “Now we have the world’s thinnest desktop computer,” Phil Schiller, head of worldwide product marketing, said in a keynote presentation at the annual Apple Expo in Paris Tuesday.

Shipping from mid-September, Apple said the computer would be available in versions with a 17-inch and a 20-inch display, with a wireless keyboard and mouse.

Apple said in July the launch of the new iMac would be delayed until September.

Retail prices will start at $1,299 for the 17-inch model. The more expensive and slightly thicker 20-inch model will cost $1,899.

The model will take over from the current iMac, which created a buzz of its own when launched a few years ago with its minimalist design featuring a thin display perched on a stainless steel pole above a white hemispherical base.

The new iMac, designed by the same team that developed the iPod portable music player, works on G5 microprocessors.

The new model is equipped with internal Bluetooth so peripherals like cell phones can communicate with the iMac without cords.

Options include the wireless keyboard and mouse, as well as AirPort Express, which lets users connect to the Internet, stream music and print remotely.

Source CNN.com.

Kevin Smith is making another convenience store run.

The writer-director of “Dogma,” “Chasing Amy” and “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” told the Associated Press on Friday that he has begun work on a sequel to “Clerks,” his homemade indie classic from 1994.

That $27,000 movie, shot at night in a store where Smith worked, chronicled the adventures of Dante and Randal, two guys who talk about life, death, sex and movies while working at neighboring stores.

The sequel picks up 10 years later.

“It’s about what happens when that lazy, 20-something malaise lasts into your 30s. Those dudes are kind of still mired, not in that same exact situation, but in a place where it’s time to actually grow up and do something more than just sit around and dissect pop culture and talk about sex,” Smith said during an interview at his Hollywood office. “It’s: What happened to these dudes?”

A new 10th anniversary DVD of “Clerks” debuts September 7, and Smith said working on that three-disc set inspired him to write about what became of those characters.

The sequel — titled “The Passion of the Clerks” — is set to begin shooting in January. Miramax Films, which turned the original into a cult-hit after buying it at the Sundance Film Festival, plans to distribute the follow-up.

“It’s funny, it’s very raw, insanely foul-mouthed. In many ways it’s the antithesis of ‘Jersey Girl,”‘ Smith said, referring to his recent PG-13 comedy with Ben Affleck as the widowed father of a little girl.

Smith is also writing the screenplay for a movie version of “The Green Hornet,” but no longer thinks he will direct it. The “Clerks” movie has moved to the top of his to-do list.

He said he called Jeff Anderson, who played the combative video-store worker Randal, and Brian O’Halloran, who was the besieged-by-strangeness convenience store employee Dante, to run the idea by them first.

“Jeff was actually very protective of ‘Clerks,”‘ Smith said. “Jeff was like, ‘Are you sure you want to do this? That movie means a lot to people and do you want to go back?’ I thought about it honestly, and it would seem chicken to not give it a shot just because I’m afraid of (messing) with the first film.”

So far, he said he has gotten only positive responses from the people who have read the script, so he decided to move forward with it. Both O’Halloran and Anderson are signed on, and Jason Mewes, will return as stoner Jay, the “hetero life-mate” of Smith’s stoic Silent Bob.

“I’m sure there will be naysayers who say, ‘Oh my God, it’s an opportunistic grab at a buck,’ but it’s not. We’re doing it for nothing,” Smith said. “We’re going to do it insanely inexpensively. The budget will be somewhere between 250 grand and $5 million.”

The original was shot pre-dawn, and most of the actors worked for free and then went straight to their day-jobs with little or no sleep.

“This time around we’ll afford ourselves the luxury of nice 12-hour days,” Smith said. “And people can get paid.”

Source CNN.com.

Rachel Yamagata is leaving her home in the Windy City at the right time. The 20-something singer/songwriter has been quietly building critical attention for her two musical releases, the self-evident EP and this year’s Happenstance.
Yet, her appearances outside of Chicago so far have been in support of others, including Damien Rice, Liz Phair, and Gomez.

Yamagata made a splash during her L.A. showcase and signed with RCA in the spring of last year. Her songs are about heartbreak and the awkwardness of relationships (although she swears she’s a happy person in real life), and the ballads are sung with a breathy, sultry voice.

The piano player and sometimes guitarist sang backup and played tambourine five years for Chicago funk outfit Bumpus, but she never felt she had a proper amount of creative input. In the meantime, she attended theatre classes at Northwestern University and built a catalog of her own songs.

With a little luck and the usual hard work, Yamagata could grab some of the attention that’s been afforded other piano playing young women, but comparisons to Fiona Apple and Norah Jones are oversimplified because the three play piano.

Find out for yourself: Yamagata is criss-crossing the U.S. from September through November, from New York City to San Diego. After an intimate show at NYC’s Fez Under Time August 31st, Yamagata hits Philadelphia, Boston, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Los Angeles, along with other stops, before winding things October 21st. (She visits Chicago September 30th.)

Tom McRae supports most dates.

Source pollstar.com.

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