21st Century Breakdown: the news for weeks of 2/8 and 2/15/09

Alright, it's been a couple of weeks since my last update. Sorry about that. My internet connection has repeatedly been crapping out and I've been busy with college-related activities. Before I get to news, I would just like to say that I watched the Grammys. U2, Radiohead, and Paul McCartney were the best performances. Chris Martin really needs someone to tell him he can't dance. Allison Krauss/Robert Plant won too many awards. Finally, I'd like to say that Radiohead got robbed in a lot of categories, especially album of the year. They deserved that award. Warning: this update will be long.

- Blink-182 announced at the Grammys that they would be reuniting for an album. I don't know how this will work since they already didn't look like they wanted to be together while they announced their reunion.

-Green Day also had an announcement to make at the Grammys. Their new album, 21st Century Breakdown will be released in early May with an arena tour to start in July.

- Live Nation and Ticketmaster officially announced their merger last week. To me, this is an extremely bad idea for the concert goers. The Live Nation-Ticketmaster company will pretty much now have a monopoly on concert tickets. Not good at all.

- Ozzy Osbourne has canceled OzzFest 2009 in order to have more time to work on his new solo album. Now I'm wondering why he can't just have someone else organize it and simply not perform this year. I'm sure the fans can live a year without Ozzy at OzzFest.

- U2 has booked David Letterman's Late Show for 5 straight days, from March 2nd to March 6th.

- Peter Gabriel has dropped out of performing his nominated track, "Down to Earth," at the Oscars. He refuses to perform because they Academy wanted him to only perform about a minute of the song as part of a medley. M.I.A. is unlikely to show up as well since she has recently given birth. Looks like the Oscars are running out of performance options here.

- Blind Faith, the group containing the duo of Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood, will be hitting the road this summer. The tour is to start on June 10th at the IZOD Center in New Jersey and end on June 30th in L.A.

- Robert Plant and Allison Krauss are back in the studio, working on a follow-up to Raising Sand.

- Nine Inch Nails will be touring with Jane's Addiction later this year. Dates are expected to be announced in a couple of weeks. Trent Reznor also stated that it may be some time before a new NIN project.

- The Sasquatch! Music Festival revealed that Kings of Leon, Jane's Addiction, and Ben Harpr & Relentless7 will headline this year's festival on May 23, 24, and 25, respectively. Other groups scheduled to perform are Nine Inch Nails, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Animal Collective, TV on the Radio, Peter, Bjorn, and John, Fleet Foxes, and Santogold.

- Coldplay have announced the dates for a summer American leg of their world tour. The tour will begin on July 10th in Portland and end on August 9th in Tampa.

- Kings of Leon are also hitting the road in North America, starting on April 19th in Boston and ending May 21st in San Francisco.

- The title of Grizzy Bear's new album has been revealed. It's called Veckatimest and will be released in May.

- Slipknot will headline this year’s Download Festival along with The Prodigy, Korn, and Motley Crue. The festival will take place at Donington Park, Derby from June 12th to 14th.

- Limp Bizkit have officially reunited after their 8-year hiatus because "we decided we were more digusted...with the state of heavy popular music than we were with each other." All I can say is that my digust has just been revived.

- Concert tickets that go on sale this week (in the tri-state area):
-> Blue October on May 1 at the Webster Hall, on sale on 02/21 at noon
-> Primal Scream on March 29 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, on sale on 02/20 at noon

- Rock album releases this week (always Tuesday unless stated otherwise)
-> Years of Refusal by Morrissey
-> Common Existence by Thursday
-> Sargarmartha by The Appleseed Cast
-> The Century of Self by ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead
-> Pins and Panzers by Plushgun

My Grammy Predictions!

Hey everyone. Since the Grammy Awards are technically later today, here are my predictions on who should win, who will win, and who should have been nominated in some categories. Since I mainly listen to rock, I won't try to predict categories I know nothing about. Anyway, here's my list.


Album of the Year:

Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends by Coldplay

The Carter III by Lil Wayne

Year of the Gentleman by Ne-Yo

Raising Sand by Allison Krauss and Robert Plant

In Rainbows by Radiohead

Who Should Win: In Rainbows
Who Will Win: Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Who Should Have Been Nominated: Modern Guilt by Beck

Even without the pay-what-you-want deal, In Rainbows would still deserve all the media attention it received simply for being an amazing album. Every song is great from beginning to end and go over a wide range of territory. From the dirty guitar riff of "Bodysnatchers" to the string-laced beauty of "Nude" to the piano-driven closer, "Videotape," this album never fails to deliever and is even better on repeat listens. Sadly, I don't think the Grammys will go for Radiohead. They've rarely go against a safe choice and this year, the safest choice is Coldplay. Also, why the hell is Ne-Yo nominated when Beck possibly released his best album in his career? He should of at least received a nomination here.


Record Of The Year:

"Chasing Pavements" by Adele

"Viva La Vida" by Coldplay

"Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis

"Paper Planes" by M.I.A.

"Please Read The Letter" by Allison Krauss and Robert Plant

Who Should Win: "Viva La Vida"
Who Will Win: "Viva La Vida"

Coldplay created one of the biggest hits in 2008 and their entire career with the infectiously catchy "Viva La Vida." It's the most mainstream song out of all the choices and also the best here. The only way Coldplay could lose this one is if guitarist Joe Satriani's copyright infringement suit against the band makes the Grammy Foundation nervous about negative media exposure. In that case, I'd say it's a toss-up between "Paper Planes" and "Please Read The Letter."

Song of the Year:

"American Boy" by Estelle featuring Kayne West

"Chasing Pavements" by Adele

"I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz

"Love Song" by Sara Bareilles

"Viva La Vida" by Coldplay

Who Should Win: "Viva La Vida"
Who Will Win: "Viva La Vida"
Who Should Have Been Nominated: "Spiralling" by Keane

See Record of the Year. Also, Keane definitely deserved a nod for their inventive and nostalgic pop-rock song, one of the best in recent years.

Best New Artist:

Adele

Duffy

Jonas Brothers

Lady Antebellum

Jazmine Sullivan

Who Should Win: Anyone who is NOT the Jonas Brothers
Who Will Win: The Jonas Brothers
Who Should Have Been Nominated: Ra Ra Riot

Please Grammys. Please don't let me down on this. Do not give in to the hoards of preteen girls who love the Jonas Brothers. They are not original, innovative, or talented at all. Anyone else on this list would be a better pic. Even if I don't like some of the other artists, at least I can say they have talent.
Best Rock Song:

"Girls in their Summer Clothes" by Bruce Springsteen

"House of Cards" by Radiohead

"I Will Possess Your Heart" by Death Cab for Cutie

"Sex on Fire" by Kings of Leon

"Violet Hill" by Coldplay

Who Should Win: "House of Cards"
Who Will Win: "House of Cards"

"House of Cards" is probably Radiohead's most radio-friendly song since...well...ever. But it doesn't feel like the group was going for a hit single or anything like that. It's just naturally catchy with an amazing falsetto from Thom Yorke at the start of the track. If Radiohead doesn't get it, the award will go to Bruce.

Best Alternative Album:

Modern Guilt by Beck

Narrow Stairs by Death Cab for Cutie

The Odd Couple by Gnarls Barkley

Evil Urges by My Morning Jacket

In Rainbows by Radiohead

Who Should Win: Modern Guilt
Who Will Win: In Rainbows or Modern Guilt

This category all comes down to whether or not Radiohead wins the Best Album award. If they do, expect Beck to win this award for his incredible piece of psychedelic rock. If not, Radiohead will win this as a consolation prize.

Here are a few more quick category predictions for winners.

Best Rock Album: Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends
Best Rock Performance by Duo or Group With Vocals: "House of Cards"
Best Solo Rock Performance: "Girls in Their Summer Clothes"

Agree? Disagree? Think I'm a genuis? Want to throw rocks at me? Let me know! I want to see lots of comments about who you think will win the Grammy Awards. I would love to hear your opinion. Anyway, I'll be back by Monday with the winners and other rock news.

Springsteen is Everywhere: News for the week of 2/1/09

Sorry for the delay everyone. The Super Bowl put me behind schedule this week. Anyway, here's the news.

- Bonnaroo have announced that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and Phish will headline their festival this June. Springsteen will get one night while Phish will get the other two. Other acts performing include Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails, David Byrne, Snoop Dogg, Wilco, Elvis Costello, The Mars Volta, TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Andrew Bird, MGMT, and Santogold.

- Springsteen was busy this week as he also performed at the Super Bowl. He played a medley of hits with his E Street Band and at one point, let a gospel choir on the stage as well. His set was "Tenth Avenue Freezeout," "Born to Run," "Working on a Dream," and "Glory Days." I only really had two questions about his set. Where was "Born in the U.S.A" and why did he slide his crotch into the camera?

- Pop band The Flamin' Groovies will reunite for the first time since 1971 to perform at the Ponderosa Stomp festival, taking place at New Orleans’ House of Blues on April 28-29th.

- The Hold Steady will release their first live album on April 6th. It's called A Positive Rage and will include a DVD documentary of their tour.

- The Langerado Festival in Miami has been cancelled this year due to poor ticket sales. This has been the first festival to cancel their 2009 show due to the economy. Hopefully it'll be the last but that's highly doubtful this year.

- Spinal Tap plans to release a new album sometime this year. It would be the group's first album since 1992's Break Like The Wind.

- Rob Zombie has announced that his new album is complete but he won't release it until he finishes directing Halloween 2. The album should drop by the end of the summer.

- Elbow will release a CD/DVD live combo in March on their performance at Abbey Road studios.

- The White Lies' To Lose My Life will be released in America on March 17th. The album is already #1 in the UK. The band will also play a couple of shows at the Bowery Ballroom on March 26/27.

- Flight of the Conchords will be heading on the road this spring for a tour throughout America. The tour starts on April 6th in Tampa and will end on May 25th in Berkley, CA.

- Coldplay and The Killers will both headline a charity gig at the O2 arena in London on February 18th. All proceeds will go to War Child.

- Depeche Mode have released the tracklisting for their next album, Sounds of the Universe, due on April 21st. Here's the tracklisting:

1. "In Chains"
2. "Hole to Feed"
3. "Wrong"
4. "Fragile Tension"
5. "Little Soul"
6. "In Sympathy"
7. "Peace"
8. "Come Back"
9. "Spacewalker"
10. "Perfect"
11. "Miles Away/The Truth Is"
12. "Jezebel"
13. "Corrupt"

- Concert tickets that go on sale this week (in the tri-state area):
-> The Allman Brothers Band on March 26 at the Beacon Theatre, on sale on 02/06 at 10 am
-> Gomez on April 2 at the Bowery Ballroom, on sale on 02/06 at noon
-> Flight of the Conchords on April 14 at Radio City Music Hall, on sale on 02/06 at 10 am
-> Ratatat on April 21 at Terminal 5, on sale 02/06 at noon


- Rock album releases this week (always Tuesday unless stated otherwise)
-> Changing Horses by Ben Kweller
-> Eviseration Plague by Cannibal Corpse
-> The Fray by The Fray
-> Lonely Road by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Coachella lineup announced!

Both Coachella has announced their complete lineups for this year. Headlining acts are in bold.

Coachella:

Friday - Paul McCartney, Morrissey, Franz Ferdinand, Leonard Cohen, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Beirut, The Black Keys, Girl Talk, Silversun Pickups, The Ting Tings, The Crystal Method, Ghostland Observatory, Crystal Castles, The Airborne Toxic Event, We Are Scientists, N.A.S.A., Patton & Rahzel, M. Ward, The Presets, The Hold Steady, A Place to Bury Strangers, Felix da Housecat, Buraka Som Sistema, Ryan Bingham, Bajofondo, Peanut Butter Wolf, Noah & the Whale, White Lies, The Bug, Alberta Cross, Los Campesinos!, Craze & Klever, Molotov, Switch, Gui Boratto, Steve Aoki, The Aggrolites, People Under the Stairs, The Courteeners, Cage the Elephant, Dear and the Headlights.

Saturday - The Killers, Amy Winehouse, Thievery Corporation, TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, MSTRKRFT, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Atmosphere, Mastodon, TRAV$DJ-AM, Henry Rollins, Crookers, Turbonegro, Hercules and Love Affair, Superchunk, Glasvegas, Dr. Dog, Drive-By Truckers, Booker T & the DBT’s, Amanda Palmer, The Bloody Beetroots, Surkin, Para One (Live), Calexico, Liars, Bob Mould Band, Zane Lowe, Electric Touch, Blitzen Trapper, James Morrison, Drop the Lime, Glass Candy, Thenewno2, Gang Gang Dance, Billy Talent, Ida Maria, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Zizek, Cloud Cult, Tinariwen.

Sunday - The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Throbbing Gristle, Lupe Fiasco, Paul Weller, Peter Bjorn and John, X, Antony & the Johnsons, Roni Size, Public Enemy, Jenny Lewis, Groove Armada, Paolo Nutini, Christopher Lawrence, Lykke Li, The Kills, Okkervil River, M.A.N.D.Y., Clipse, Sebastien Tellier, Fucked Up, Perry Farrell, The Horrors, Late of the Pier, K’naan, Junior Boys, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Supermayer, No Age, Vivian Girls, Shepard Fairey, Themselves, Gaslight Anthem, The Knux, Mexican Institute of Sound, The Night Marchers, Marshall Barnes.