Beyonc� to produce, star and sing in new film & other

Saturday, 30 August 2008

New Releases, Aug. 26: Slipknot, The Game, The Verve

Plus: Little Feat [ ], Motorhead [ ], more

Slipknot [ ]
"All Hope is Gone"
(Roadrunner)

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The cloaked men of metal are back with their quarter studio album, and first batch of new material since 2004's "Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)."

The band members have kept busy during this recording hiatus by focalization on various side projects, including spark advance singer Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root's participation in alt-metal act Stone Sour, and drummer Joey Jordison's stints with Korn and Ministry.

Slipknot spent the summer co-headlining the traveling, metal-oriented Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival with Disturbed.

* * *

The Game [ ]
"LAX"
(Geffen)

The Southern California tap star, world Health Organization, indeed, came "straight outta Compton," flies back into view with "LAX." The disc, the rapper's third gear overall and what's rumored to be his last, features a bevy of guest stars, including Keisha Cole, Ludacris, Nas and Ice Cube.

* * *

The Verve [ ]
"Forth"
(MRI)

The tuneful Brit-rock band returns with its fourth album, somewhat cleverly titled "Forth." It's The Verve's commencement release since reforming last year and it ranks as the band's first record of new material since 1997's "Urban Hymns." The first single from the album is the tune "Love is Noise."

* * *

Little Feat
"Join the Band"
(429 Records)

The classic American rock band, which primitively formed back in 1969, has called upon many of its famous friends to help oneself with this new all-star effort. "Join the Band" features contributions from such celebs as Jimmy Buffett, Dave Matthews, Bob Seger and Phish's Mike Gordon.

The ensemble tackles tunes from throughout Little Feet's 40-year recording life history. Included in the commix are such fan favorites as "Dixie Chicken" and "Oh Atlanta."

* * *

Motorhead
"Motorizer"
(Steamhammer)

The legendary speed-metal trio is set to drop its 20th studio album. "Motorizer," recorded in Los Angeles with producer Cameron Webb, is the band's first offering since 2006's "Kiss of Death."

Motorhead is presently on the road as part of the mammoth Metal Masters Tour, which also includes Judas Priest and Heaven and Hell. After that winds up with an Aug. 31 date in Northern California, Motorhead volition quickly launch its own headlining turn, beginning Sept. 2 at the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA.

* * *

More new releases:
Blues Traveler, "North Hollywood Shootout" (Verve)
Eva Cassidy, "Somewhere" (Blix Street)
Dragonforce, "Ultra Beatdown" (Roadrunner)
JJ Grey & Mofro, "Orange Blossoms" (Alligator)
Jan & Dean, "The Complete Liberty Singles" (Collector's Choice)
The Lost Trailers, "Holler Back" (BNA)
Jordan Pruitt, "Permission to Fly" (Hollywood)
Klaus Schulze, Lisa Gerrard, "Farscape" (SPV)
Solange, "Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams" (Geffen)
Matthew Sweet, "Sunshine Lies" (Shout Factory)
Thriving Ivory, "Thriving Ivory" (Wind-up)
Various artists, "Tropical Thunder" (Razor & Tie)
Jimmy Wayne, "Do You Believe Me Now" (Valory)

Soundtracks and scores:
"Gypsy: 2008 Original Broadway Cast" (Time Life)

More information

Wednesday, 20 August 2008

Jay-Z Live Nation Deal Not 'falling Apart'

Rap's comeback king JAY-Z is laughing off rumours his new record consider with concert promoters Live Nation is not going away to contrive.

The Big Pimpin' principal, who gestural with Live Nation in the beginning this year (08) to take over his succeeding album releases and tours, was aforementioned to be furious at Live Nation bosses because the carry on was allegedly "falling apart".

But the rapper has dismissed the claims, simply stating, "That's silly."

The Live Nation deal is not due to start until Jay-Z completes his contractual duties with Def Jam Records. He of late confirmed he was functional on his final LP on the iconic label, Blueprint 3, but the disc has yet to be granted a release date.

More information

Sunday, 10 August 2008

Falling Circle

Artist: Falling Circle

   Genre(s):
Metal

Discography:

The Conflict

Year: 2002
Tracks: 12

Tuesday, 1 July 2008

"Get Smart," "Love Guru" compete for laughs

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Oh, we've got comedy.

"Get Smart" and "The Love Guru" will open in North American theaters on Friday, saddled with middling to bad buzz, and the result could make the weekend no laughing matter for at least one of them.

"Get Smart" -- the big-screen adaptation of the classic TV show -- looks likely to top the weekend rankings with ticket sales of $30 million-$35 million. The $80 million film, which stars Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway, is a co-production between Warner Bros. and Australia's Village Roadshow. The two previously partnered on the recent bomb "Speed Racer."

Paramount's Mike Myers spoof "The Love Guru" should conjure about $20 million, finishing third after a second-weekend haul of $25 million or so for Universal's incumbent champion "The Incredible Hulk."

Paramount has been subjected to industry snickering for deciding to release its $60 million comedy at the same time as the clearly stronger "Get Smart." But though Warners is operating from a position of strength, even its willingness to stick with its first-choice date has many suggesting that the situation is less than ideal for either studio.

"The thought was always, 'When is one of these two pictures going to move?'" a rival distribution boss said. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that they're going to hurt each other and that one of them is going to do better than the other."

Paramount executives said their film's lower cost and a crowded summer schedule make such concerns much ado about something that little could be done about. Additionally, the studio shared the financial burden with independent producer Spyglass.

Myers hasn't appeared onscreen in six years. His biggest live-action bow remains "Austin Powers in Goldmember," which debuted with $73.1 million in July 2002. "The Love Guru" has drawn fire -- some might say free publicity -- from activist groups claiming that its mocking of a phony-baloney Indian spiritual leader treads heavily on Hindi religious sensitivities.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

Thursday, 19 June 2008

Child nudes exhibition passes without incident

A Melbourne artist's exhibition of a series of nude photographs of 11-year-old boys to protest against the censorship of photographer Bill Henson's work has passed without incident.

Victoria Larielle said she arranged the exhibition in a Melbourne bar as her protest against the censorship of an exhibition by Henson in Sydney last month.

NSW police seized 20 Henson photographs of a naked adolescent girl and boy.

Larielle's works, taken in 2001, were displayed in the Loop Bar, off Bourke Street in central Melbourne, under the provocative title 'I am not a pornographer nor a paedophile but an artist'.

She said she and many friends in the artistic community felt Henson had been unfairly vilified during the furore over the seizure of his photographs.

"I had always admired him as an artist. I've seen his work as a collective, not as portrayed by the media in snippets, so that you lose the whole feel of the art," she said.

"I just thought, `Wow, could someone perceive this work that I have created in the same way', and it made me very compassionate."

The images, all black and white and shot outdoors, mainly feature a boy with long, blond hair in various poses.

A dark-haired boy appeared with him and the pair hugged in some of the images.

Unlike the Henson images, there was no genital nudity although in one shot, the blond boy's buttocks were visible from the side as he crouched on the ground.

Larielle said her intent through her photographs, like Henson, was to show vulnerability and fragility, not just of young people, but of everyone.

Critics including Fairfax Radio talk host Neil Mitchell dismissed the exhibition as a publicity stunt from a little-known artist, but Larielle denied this, saying she was taken by surprise by the media interest.

"If this was a publicity stunt I would have been a lot more ready (for the media)," she said.

"There are good reasons that I am putting on this exhibition."

Larielle said her models and their parents had given permission for the images to be used in the exhibition.

She emphasised the photographs were not for sale.

A Victoria Police spokesman said a Melbourne CIU detective had visited the exhibition but no charges were expected.

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