By Steve Balton / Rolling Stone
Bob Seger is hard at work on his first studio collection since 2006’s Face The Music [it's actually called Face The Promise]. “I’m setting myself a deadline of September 24th to have it out,” Seger tells Rolling Stone. “Wish me luck.”
The Detroit-based rocker released a greatest hits compilation, Ultimate Hits: Rock and Roll Never Forgets, last year. He just finished a highly successful tour built around the classics that earned him a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame: “Night Moves,” “Hollywood Nights,” “Like A Rock,” “Against The Wind” and “Travelin’ Man/Beautiful Loser,” just to name a few.
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From Contact Music
Adele took a job at a local record store following her Grammy Awards win in 2009 because she wanted to stay abreast of the industry’s up and coming talent.
The Chasing Pavements hitmaker walked away with the coveted Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance accolades at the Los Angeles ceremony three years ago and she subsequently took up work at London-based Rough Trade Records to fuel her inspiration. [...]
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By Chuck Klosterman / Grantland
When I saw Van Halen at Café Wha? in January, I was operating from a position of accidental enthusiasm. I didn’t think I was even going to a concert, to be honest; I halfway expected to show up at the venue and find myself sitting through a press conference punctuated by an acoustic rendition of “Me Wise Magic” (or something of that order). But then I realized the band was going to play for real, with actual amps and electricity, in a claustrophobic basement. I got excited. And then they played, and then I got really excited. And then I went home and immediately wrote a 2,000-word review, and then I woke up the next day and realized the review I’d written made absolutely no linear sense, so then I immediately wrote another one, this time with my corpus callosum intact. And then (AND THEN) I kind of stopped thinking about the show entirely. I stopped thinking about the future of the band, or the fact that they were releasing a new album in February. [...]
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By Andrew Martin / Prefix
Just as he did four years ago when he was running for election, President Barack Obama has released a playlist of his current favorite songs. The big difference this time around, however, is not just the fact that he’s trying to be reelected. Nope, it’s the fact that you can listen to the entire playlist right now on his Facebook page using Spotify. If you’re not on FB and still want to pretend you’re listening along with the prez, don’t worry. You can view the playlist, which is pretty indie-heavy, below. Good call on the Wilco, Arcade Fire, and Raphael Saadiq tracks, Obama team. [...]
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By Andrew Martin / Prefix
The Jesus and Mary Chain made a return-of-sorts in 2007 when they were announced as one of the performers for that year’s Coachella Music Festival. But since then, brothers Jim and William Reid and their bandmates have been playing out sporadically. And while they did release a rarities box set in 2008, no proper new material has surfaced. [...]
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From msnbc.com
Amazon.com is planning to open a retail store in Seattle within the next few months, according to a report on the Good e-Reader blog, a provider of news on the e-reader and tablet computing market.
The store’s main emphasis will be on books from their growing line of Amazon Exclusives, and also on selling e-readers and tablets, the report said. Amazon will use the store as a test to gauge the market and see if a chain of retail stores can be profitable, according to the blog.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
A move into retail stores is a curious one for a rapidly growing and highly profitable retailer that has built its success on the elimination of brick-and-mortar retailers. [...]
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By Tom Tobin / Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
Richard Storms has been selling music in Rochester since the time of the Bee Gees, if you can remember them.
When he began in retailing as proprietor of The Record Archive in Rochester 37 years ago, playing recorded music at home generally involved a vinyl disk, a bulky turntable and a sharpened needle.
Those are still around, though more as artifacts and curiosities than industry leaders. But Thursday, Storms was at the front and center of the social media revolution, playing host to a “cash mob” at his store at 331/3 Rockwood St.
A cash mob is a retail sales event that is publicized through the vast interconnections of modern social media — Facebook, Twitter and others. Cash mobs have become popular in recent months as a way to bring people to a business, a small business particularly, at a prescribed time and day to help sales and provide visibility. [...]
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By Nellie Andreeva / Deadline
FX is developing a half-hour comedy created by and starring comedian Dana Gould and executive produced by Foo Fighters’ lead vocalist/songwriter Dave Grohl. Gould is writing/executive the project, which centers on a rock band on the verge of mega-stardom who finds itself on the verge of breaking up and is forced to seek professional help in a last-ditch effort to stay together. [...]
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By Kathie Bassett / The Telegraph
The great jazz musician Miles Davis has received the official stamp of approval from the U.S. Post Office.
Linn’s Stamp News announced that stamps honoring Davis and French singer Edith Piaf would be issued in 2012 as part of a joint issue with France.
“This is a fitting honor,” said Lee Barham, chairman of the steering committee for the Miles Davis Jazz Celebration. “Miles Davis was one of the greatest jazz musicians and trumpet players in the world. Before Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley, there was Miles Davis.” [...]
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By Andy Greene / Rolling Stone
Neil Young is recording a new album with Crazy Horse, according to a post on Young’s fansite Thrasher’s Wheat – and now confirmed by Rolling Stone: “It’s looking good,” a representative for Young says. According to the fansite report, Young shared the news over the weekend at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, at an event with Jonathan Demme to promote their new movie Journeys. The audience “erupted in applause” when Young said that he was working with Crazy Horse again. [...]
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