2006

While it progresses on its fifth studio album, influential British rock act Massive Attack has set an April 4 release for the retrospective “Collected.” The Virgin set features one regular audio CD and a second DualDisc with audio content on one side and a DVD on the other.

Disc one rounds up tracks selected by members of the group, including such favorites as “Teardrop,” “Angel,” “Safe From Harm,” “Unfinished Sympathy” and “Butterfly Caught.” Also featured is a new single, “Live With Me,” which boasts vocals by Terry Callier. A video was recently shot by Jonathan Glazer (Radiohead, Richard Ashcroft).

The audio content on the second disc features a host of rarities. Among them is an alternate version of the “100th Window” track “Incantations,” an “unfinished/unstarted” track featuring the Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Fraser, the Damon Albarn collaboration “Small Time Shoot Em Up” and a cover of Bad Brains’ “I Against I” with Mos Def. The accompanying DVD gathers 16 music videos, including two for “Live With Me.”

Look for Massive Attack to hit the road this summer for headlining and festival dates, full details of which are still coming together. As for the upcoming album, “Weather Underground,” group members have completed seven tracks for the project, including collaborations with producer Neil Davidge, rock act TV On The Radio and producer/multi-instrumentalist Dave Sitek.

Source billboard.com.

Run-D.M.C. principal DMC (Darryl McDaniels) will release his long-in-the-works solo debut, “Checks, Thugs and Rock’n’Roll,” March 14 via RomenMpire. The CD/DVD set boasts collaborations with Ciara, Sarah McLachlan, Kid Rock and Doug E. Fresh, among others, and production by slain Run-D.M.C. member Jam Master Jay.

As previously reported, DMC sought out collaborations outside of hip-hop for his first solo project. “This music isn’t old to me, because I never heard it before,” the rapper told Billboard.com in 2003. “I want to be the Bruce Springsteen, Roy Orbison of [rap] music.”

The first single from the new offering will be “Machine Gun,” and the album will be followed by an international tour. Among the other guests are Aerosmith’s Joey Kramer and Tom Hamilton, the Cars’ Elliot Easton, Buckcherry vocalist Josh Todd and Run-D.M.C. colleague Rev. Run.

On Feb. 25, VH-1 will air the documentary “DMC: My Adoption Journey,” in which the rapper searches for his birthroots while discussing his upbringing in Queens, N.Y., and his rise to fame with Run-D.M.C. The show is part of VH-1’s “Rock Docs” series.

Source billboard.com.

The name itself,

They may not have flashed any body parts — except for Mick Jagger’s well-toned stomach — but the Rolling Stones made ABC glad editors were on duty for last night’s (Feb. 5) Super Bowl XL halftime show. Two sexually explicit lyrics were excised from the legendary rock group’s performance.

The only song to avoid the editor was “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” a 41-year-old song about sexual frustration.

In “Start Me Up,” the show’s editors silenced one word, a reference to a woman’s sexual sway over a dead man. The lyrics for “Rough Justice” included a synonym for rooster that the network also deemed worth cutting out.

ABC was the first network to impose a five-second tape delay on the Super Bowl, although it said the changes to the Stones’ show were made by the National Football League (NFL) and its producers. The sensitivity no doubt reflects a lingering reaction to Janet Jackson’s infamous wardrobe malfunction two years ago.

Performing on a stage designed as a replica of their famed wagging tongue logo, the Stones chose three tough rockers, including “Rough Justice” from last year’s well-received Virgin album “A Bigger Bang,” and one of their most enduring hits. “Here’s one we could have done at Super Bowl I,” Jagger wryly said in introducing “Satisfaction.”

Some in Detroit felt the city’s rich musical history was snubbed when the Stones were selected, even if the Super Bowl had Motown-themed halftime shows twice in the past 25 years. This year’s Motown tribute came before the game. Stevie Wonder was the centerpiece, singing a medley of hits with the help of John Legend, Joss Stone and India.Arie and a host of dancers.

The National Anthem paired New Orleans artists Aaron Neville and Dr. John (in a tribute to the hurricane-ravaged region) with a hometown favorite Aretha Franklin.

A few music artists also showed up during the much ballyhooed commercials during the game, with Diddy appearing opposite actor Jay Mohr and a can of Diet Pepsi in one and Jessica Simpson reprising her version of “These Boots Are Made for Walking” for Pizza Hut.

In the game itself, the favored Pittsburgh Steelers emerged victorious with a 21-10 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Source billboard.com.

Days before it was set to begin, Cat Power’s spring U.S. tour has been canceled due to unspecified health reasons. The 11-date trek, which was to feature Cat Power’s Chan Marshall backed by the Memphis Rhythm Band, was set to begin Saturday (Feb. 11) in Memphis and continue through a high-profile March 15 gig in Austin, Texas, as part of the South by Southwest festival.

Marshall’s new Matador album, “The Greatest,” earned her the best sales week and Billboard 200 chart position of her career, debuting last week at No. 34 thanks to sales of 23,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. A Cat Power album has never been higher than No. 105 on the chart.

Matador has not released any additional information about the need for the cancellation “out of respect for Chan’s privacy,” but says the tour will be rescheduled as soon as possible. Refund information is still being nailed down.

“The Greatest” was recorded in Memphis with a host of notable session musicians, including guitarist Mabon “Teenie” Hodges, bassists Leroy Hodges and David Smith, guitarist Doug Easley, keyboardist Rick Steff, saxophonist Jim Spake and trumpeter Scott Thompson.

Source billboard.com.

Mike Skinner, aka The Streets, will be delivering his third studio album this spring on April 25th on Vice Records. “The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living” is a completely autobiographical record that covers various things that have happened to Mike over the past few years since he’s become a well known figure in the UK – there’s love, loss, scandal, violence, sex, drugs and a whole load of bad behavior and regret. It’s a true story. It’s not a ‘story’ record like his last LP, but the thread of Mike’s reality runs through every song.

Philadelphia-based band The Disco Biscuits are gearing up for the release of their double live album The Wind at Four to Fly to be released on SCI Fidelity Records on April 18. The band has returned to being a quartet with the addition of their new drummer Allen Aucoin. The auditioning process was lengthy but they found that Aucoin jumped straight in, meshing with the Biscuits’ in the groove, solid feeling called BISCO.

The Disco Biscuits are back in fine form after the departure of Sam Altman and a hiatus and are ready to greet the New Year with cross country touring and a wildly diverse live album. The first leg of the tour takes the band to the South East U.S. with many more dates to be announced in the near future.

Tour Dates

4/13/06 Higher Ground Burlington, VT
4/14/06 Higher Ground Burlington, VT
4/15/06 Higher Ground Burlington, VT
4/18/06 Starr Hill Charlottesville, VA
4/19/06 Rox Nightclub Wilmington, NC
4/20/06 Lincoln Theatre Raleigh, NC
4/21/06 Lincoln Theatre Raleigh, NC
4/22/06 Neighborhood Theatre Charlotte, NC
4/23/06 Orange Peel Asheville NC
4/26/06 TBA TBA
4/27/06 Earthlink Live Atlanta, GA
4/28/06 Georgia Theatre Athens, GA
4/29/06 Georgia Theatre Athens, GA

In the clearest sign yet that Billy Corgan is moving ahead with his plan to revive seminal alternative rock act Smashing Pumpkins, sources say the group has signed a new management deal with Jared Paul and Paul Geary at the Irving Azoff-helmed Front Line Management.

Billboard.com has learned that Corgan and Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin will initially begin work on a new studio album, the first under the group name since the original Pumpkins’ 2000 swan song, “MACHINA/the machines of god.” When asked for comment, a Corgan spokesperson said there was no information to report at present.

It is understood that at this point, original members James Iha (guitar) and D’arcy Wretzky (bass) are not participating in the reunion, but sources say multi-instrumentalist Billy Mohler will be involved in some fashion. Mohler formerly played bass in pop/rock act the Calling and was a featured contributor on Chamberlin’s 2005 solo album, “Life Begins Again.”

Source billboard.com.