http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/?service=Rss http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/the-friday-playlist-1824627.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/the-friday-playlist-1824627.html <p> This week's Spotify playlist is compiled by Matilda Egere-Cooper, who writes about music for The Independent. She describes her playlist an "eclectic mix of underground neo-soul from the nineties to the noughties." </p> News Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:40:04 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-tom-waits-glitter-amp-doom-live-anti-1824461.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-tom-waits-glitter-amp-doom-live-anti-1824461.html ]]> <p> In his earlier years, all Tom Waits needed to animate a live show was a piano and a standard lamp, the latter casting a suitably sepulchral gloom over his rough-hewn crooning. In those days, he was most renowned as a lyricist who had helped reconnect a sagging singer-songwriter tradition with its beat-poetry roots, so the accompaniment was kept sparse enough not to get in the way of the words. </p> Reviews Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:35:15 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-them-crooked-vultures-them-crooked-vultures-rca-1824458.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-them-crooked-vultures-them-crooked-vultures-rca-1824458.html ]]> <p> At a time when it's widely assumed that Jack White and a handful of unknown indie chums merits the accolade, Them Crooked Vultures is a supergroup worthy of the term, in the classic rock tradition of Blind Faith and ELP. </p> Reviews Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:33:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-the-real--tuesday-weld-the-end-of-the-world-six-degrees-1824457.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-the-real--tuesday-weld-the-end-of-the-world-six-degrees-1824457.html ]]> <p> The End of the World is also ostensibly a live album, recorded "on the eve of Valentine's Day at The End of the World club in London 2012". </p> Reviews Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:31:58 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-norah-jones-the-fall-blue-note-1824456.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-norah-jones-the-fall-blue-note-1824456.html ]]> <p> Parts of Norah Jones's 2007 album Not Too Late sounded rather like a scrubbed-up, housetrained Tom Waits, so it's no surprise that for this follow-up, she enlisted the services of producer Jacquire King in an attempt to obtain the "balance between beautiful and rough" that he secured for Waits's Mule Variations. </p> Reviews Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:31:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-chip-taylor-yonkers-ny-train-wreck-1824454.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-chip-taylor-yonkers-ny-train-wreck-1824454.html ]]> <p> Best known for writing a bouquet of diversely distinctive 1960s hits – "I Can't Let Go", "Angel of the Morning" and "Wild Thing" – Chip Taylor has led the kind of life that usually only happens in Hollywood films, including a stint as a professional gambler ultimately banned from Las Vegas casinos. </p> Reviews Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:29:45 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-alesha-dixon-the-alesha-show-ndash-encore-asylum-1824450.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-alesha-dixon-the-alesha-show-ndash-encore-asylum-1824450.html ]]> <p> Doubtless figuring that Alesha is a more bankable prospect following her adoption as judge on Strictly Come Dancing than she was a year ago, when the original version of The Alesha Show was released, Asylum have chosen to reissue it with a handful of extra tracks to tempt the undecided. </p> Reviews Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:27:50 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/a-new-taste-of-girl-power-1823665.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/a-new-taste-of-girl-power-1823665.html ]]> Features Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:23 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/my-fantasy-band--peter-hook-exnew-order-1823712.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/my-fantasy-band--peter-hook-exnew-order-1823712.html <p><b>Vocals - Iggy Pop</b><br/>As well as being a fantastic songwriter, he lives the rock 'n' roll dream... or nightmare! When I was in New Order we played with the Stooges and we were so terrified to talk to Iggy, we couldn't do it. </p> Features Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/gil-scottheron--another-new-day-1823714.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/gil-scottheron--another-new-day-1823714.html ]]> <p>When I finally got hold of an address for Gil Scott-Heron and went to his apartment to meet him, not only was he not living there, there was no apartment there, either. God knows, the so-called "Godfather of Rap" has led an irregular life of late, but this was a no-show that only a virtuoso of the disappearing act could have pulled off. Having come all the way to New York City to interview the man, I was in danger of having nothing to report on. </p> Features Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/lake-of-stars--music-without-barriers-1823719.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/lake-of-stars--music-without-barriers-1823719.html ]]> <p>As venues go, it's going to take something rather special to top this. I'm stood on the sandy shores of Lake Malawi, gentle waves lapping the beach, the night sky liberally peppered with twinkling stars reflected in the blue-black water. Even though it's past 10pm, anything more than shorts and a T-shirt is unbearable. Flip-flops are essential.</p> Features Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/cultural-life-pixie-lott-singer-1823808.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/cultural-life-pixie-lott-singer-1823808.html ]]> <p> <b>Music</b> </p> <p> James Morrison's new tune "You Give me Something", Kings of Leon's new album 'Aha Shake Heartbreak', Jazmine Sullivan's album 'Fearless', and Jay-Z's song "Empire State of Mind" with Alicia Keys. </p> Features Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/observations-seasick-steve-stranded-by-modern-life-1823828.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/observations-seasick-steve-stranded-by-modern-life-1823828.html <p> Steve Wold, the American bluesman better known as Seasick Steve, is dressed in his usual garb of check shirt and trucker's cap. The title of his recently released fourth album, Man From Another Time, neatly sums up Wold's current musical status, and goes some way towards explaining his success. </p> Features Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-barometer-julian-casablancas-lil-wayne-sleigh-bells-amerie-tom-waits-ryan-bingham-amp-tbone-burnett-vampire-weekend-1823807.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-barometer-julian-casablancas-lil-wayne-sleigh-bells-amerie-tom-waits-ryan-bingham-amp-tbone-burnett-vampire-weekend-1823807.html <p> <b>Julian Casablancas</b><i> I Wish It Was Christmas Today</i> </p> <p> The Strokes' frontman takes a foray into the dangerous world of the Christmas single with this sparky cover of a song that was originally 'Saturday Night Live' parody. </p> Features Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-word-on-50-cent-before-i-self-destruct-1823729.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-word-on-50-cent-before-i-self-destruct-1823729.html <p>"50 has said all this before, often better, and while this probably won't put off his legion of fans, at best 'Before I Self Destruct' is merely familiar, and at worst it's difficult to shake the sensation of diminishing returns." -<b> Louis Pattison, bbc.co.uk/music</b></p> Features Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/caught-in-the-net-flying-lotuss-beckhander-1823720.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/caught-in-the-net-flying-lotuss-beckhander-1823720.html <p>In the 90s it was noted what a great record deal Beck had, allowing him to put out independent releases while signed to a major label. </p> Features Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/vevo-sets-launch-date-for-online-music-video-portal-1824236.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/vevo-sets-launch-date-for-online-music-video-portal-1824236.html ]]> <p>Vevo, the music video site developed by Universal and Sony in conjunction with Google, announced November 19 that it will launch its service on December 8. Vevo is a joint venture between Google and the two music labels, "powered by YouTube," and is intended to become an online destination for all videos owned by the labels involved.</p> News Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/weekly-music-agenda-grammy-nominations-avatar-cd-release-1824687.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/weekly-music-agenda-grammy-nominations-avatar-cd-release-1824687.html ]]> <p>Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna all release albums on November 23. Coming in December: Grammy nominations are announced, and the soundtrack for James Cameron's <em>Avatar</em> releases worldwide.</p> News Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/music-magazine/live-music/live-review-muse-the-o2-friday-13th-november-1823512.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/music-magazine/live-music/live-review-muse-the-o2-friday-13th-november-1823512.html ]]> <p> Muse might have just released the worse album of their career, but even a bad album by Muse standard is still something unearthly awesome to behold. It’s so chockfull of smoke and mirrors there’s almost no room for songs, but when a band like Muse play live, all those bits you don’t get from the record come flashing to life. </p> Live Music Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:09:56 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/arctic-monkeys-wembley-arena-london-1823089.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/arctic-monkeys-wembley-arena-london-1823089.html <p>Fancy meeting you in here," Alex Turner sings, in the first moment of quiet. "You're all tarted up, you don't look the same." He could be talking intimately in the Sheffield dancehall setting of this old song, "Still Take You Home". But some girls in the arena crowd he's in fact here to meet scream at the sight of him. Scattered moshpits of men throwing careless fists show the Arctic Monkeys have also inherited some of Oasis's more testosterone-addled constituency. </p> Reviews Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/rachid-taha-royal-festival-hall-london-1823092.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/rachid-taha-royal-festival-hall-london-1823092.html ]]> <p>You can only imagine Rachid Taha's reaction if he were to know that his early career as a DJ mixing Western and Eastern records in a Parisian nightclub in the 70s would lead him eventually to the throbbing makeshift dancefloor of the Royal Festival Hall's first two rows three decades later. It would probably be a cause of some jubilation for a man who's prided himself on his ability to cross geographical and stylistic boundaries.</p> Reviews Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/michael-jackson-moonwalk-glove-set-to-sparkle-at-auction-1823342.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/michael-jackson-moonwalk-glove-set-to-sparkle-at-auction-1823342.html ]]> <p>A rhinestone-studded leather glove worn by pop icon Michael Jackson on his maiden Moonwalk in 1983, was on display Tuesday in New York before it rocks on to the auction block.</p> News Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/susan-boyle-tops-amazonrsquos-list-of-global-cd-preorders-of-all-time-1823902.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/susan-boyle-tops-amazonrsquos-list-of-global-cd-preorders-of-all-time-1823902.html ]]> <p>Susan Boyle's upcoming album <em>I Dreamed a Dream</em> is the largest global CD pre-order in the history of Amazon, the company announced November 19. Accompanying the announcement, Amazon released a list of its global top 5 CD pre-orders of all time.</p> News Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/new-rules-could-put-beatles-michael-jackson-in-billboard-200-1824142.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/new-rules-could-put-beatles-michael-jackson-in-billboard-200-1824142.html <p>Billboard will change the criteria for its weekly Billboard 200 chart, said the company on November 17. Beginning with the 2010 chart year, Billboard 200 will become a comprehensive list of top-selling albums in the US, rather than featuring only those albums with recent release dates.</p> News Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/music-magazine/live-music/scope-fundraising-party-halo-bar-friday-20th-november-1822868.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/music-magazine/live-music/scope-fundraising-party-halo-bar-friday-20th-november-1822868.html ]]> <p> Maggie K de Monde (Scarlet Fantastic, Swans Way) has teamed up with Martin Watkins, Marc Almond’s co writer, together making Maggie and Martin. </p> Live Music Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:21:53 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/black-joe-lewis-and-the-honeybears-the-garage-london-1822280.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/black-joe-lewis-and-the-honeybears-the-garage-london-1822280.html ]]> <p>This is Friday night," Black Joe Lewis reminds the crowd as they happily howl for more. "Don't y'all got nothing better to do?" Not now, they don't.</p> Reviews Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/ms-dynamite-at-ladies-unplugged-stratford-circus-london-1822283.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/ms-dynamite-at-ladies-unplugged-stratford-circus-london-1822283.html <p>Ms Dynamite's been MIA until recently, doing tiny gigs around the country to build up momentum for what's expected to be the comeback of 2010, rumoured to be on such a phenomenal scale it'll effectively discount every single faux pas that's dented her career over the last four years, starting with the brick that was 2005's Judgement Days to the assault charge for slapping a PC in 2006, and the reality TV stints which did nothing more than threaten to place her in the realm of urban-pop novelty – although a glance at the urban scene nowadays might suggest that that direction is totally en vogue. </p> Reviews Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/you-call-these-the-best-albums-of-the-last-decade-1822407.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/you-call-these-the-best-albums-of-the-last-decade-1822407.html ]]> <p> In principle, the notion of the NME compiling a Greatest Albums of the Decade is one that should be welcomed, not least as a much-needed corrective to the overwhelmingly sales-and industry-led nature of most such lists. </p> Features Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/preparations-for-elvisrsquos-75th-birthday-underway-1822571.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/preparations-for-elvisrsquos-75th-birthday-underway-1822571.html ]]> <p>If Elvis were still alive, he would turn 75 years old on January 8, 2010. So the party plans are starting with several events planned to commemorate the date, including a CD package, special concerts at Graceland in Memphis, and a Cirque du Soleil tribute show.</p> News Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/sxsw-music-chooses-first-bands-for-its-international-lineup-1823276.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/sxsw-music-chooses-first-bands-for-its-international-lineup-1823276.html ]]> <p>On November 17, SXSW.com announced the first round of acts chosen to perform at the 2010 South by Southwest Festival in March. Thousands of bands applied to play at the music event, which annually attracts more than 12,000 attendees to Austin, Texas from around the world.</p> News Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/rappers-sought-after-fan-is-raped-after-gig-1822170.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/rappers-sought-after-fan-is-raped-after-gig-1822170.html ]]> <p> Two members of the MOBO award-winning hip-hop band N-Dubz are being sought as witnesses by detectives investigating a rape allegation. </p> News Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:40:45 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/leona-lewis-records-avatar-theme-tune-1822173.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/leona-lewis-records-avatar-theme-tune-1822173.html <p> Leona Lewis has recorded the theme for Titanic director James Cameron's eagerly anticipated new sci-fi film Avatar. </p> News Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:57:56 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/janet-jackson-blames-doctor-for-michael-jacksons-death-1822125.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/janet-jackson-blames-doctor-for-michael-jacksons-death-1822125.html ]]> <p> Janet Jackson blames Dr. Conrad Murray for her brother Michael's death. </p> News Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:03:50 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/nme-names-top-50-albums-of-the-decade-1822046.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/nme-names-top-50-albums-of-the-decade-1822046.html ]]> <p> Music magazine NME has published its list of the top 50 albums of the noughties, as voted for by leading figures in the music industry. </p> News Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:50:57 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/alesha-dixon-shepherds-bush-empire-london-1821717.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/alesha-dixon-shepherds-bush-empire-london-1821717.html ]]> <p>Alesha Dixon has come a long way, and yet scepticism has never been that far behind. First, there was her decision to embark on a solo career following the demise of garage trio Mis-Teeq in 2005, which was muddied by doubts over her ability to hold a note. Dixon was mainly relegated to those ultra-speedy rap chats, tagged with the overused but ever-so-catchy "And away we go!". Then, when she was chosen by Pharrell to star in the N.E.R.D frontman's video for "She Wants to Move", it appeared her only input was to simply be the pretty young thing who could shake it like a Polaroid picture.</p> Reviews Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/yo-la-tengo-the-roundhouse-london-1821720.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/yo-la-tengo-the-roundhouse-london-1821720.html <p>Yo La Tengo have a certain way with a song. It can be trundling along nicely but not necessarily grabbing you, when a sound emerges that makes your ears prick up and suddenly all the divergent parts of the music come alive and the song becomes great. In their opening track, "My Heart's Reflection", it's James McNew's rumbling bass; in their second, "More Stars Than There Are in Heaven", it's Ira Kaplan's guitar solo followed by McNew's sweetly pitched backing vocal, that bring their songs into sharp, brilliant focus. </p> Reviews Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/beyonc-lady-gaga-rihanna-albums-to-hit-shelves-november-23-1821889.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/beyonc-lady-gaga-rihanna-albums-to-hit-shelves-november-23-1821889.html ]]> <p>Albums by three pop music divas are on their way to record stores worldwide. Beyoncé's <em>I Am... Yours</em> live album and <em>I Am...Sasha Fierce</em> Deluxe Edition, Lady Gaga's <em>The Fame Monster</em>, and Rihanna's <em>Rated R</em> are all due to hit shelves November 23.</p> News Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/paul-mccartney-to-receive-gershwin-award-1822292.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/paul-mccartney-to-receive-gershwin-award-1822292.html ]]> <p>The US Library of Congress will present Sir Paul McCartney with the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song for his body of work from the Beatles to Wings and his solo songbook.</p> News Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/weekly-us-music-releases-mayer-to-mccartney-1822231.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/weekly-us-music-releases-mayer-to-mccartney-1822231.html ]]> <p>Major releases come out this week and next in the US with a couple dozen heavy hitters lining up for the holiday season crush. Tuesday, November 17's offerings include a range of genres and artists from 50 Cent to John Mayer, Katy Perry to Leona Lewis.</p> News Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/christmas09/entertainment/the-secret-garden-partys-christmas-voyage-1821646.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/christmas09/entertainment/the-secret-garden-partys-christmas-voyage-1821646.html ]]> <p> The Secret Garden Party cordially invites you aboard the wildest ocean liner ever to set sail. The HMS Ulysses (aka The Troxy) will play host to an all night party in a beautifully dressed art-deco setting, featuring all the usual irreverent fun and frolicking of the main event, with a nautical twist. </p> Christmas Entertainment Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:02:31 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/calvin-harris-i-made-an-idiot-of-myself-for-the-good-of-the-nation-1821649.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/calvin-harris-i-made-an-idiot-of-myself-for-the-good-of-the-nation-1821649.html ]]> <p> Calvin Harris has claimed that he crashed The X Factor stage to "make a mockery" of the competition and its "terrible" music. </p> News Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:59:21 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/matilda-egerecooper-all-that-jazz-robert-glasper--bilal-at-queen-elizabeth-hall-london-jazz-festival-1821563.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/matilda-egerecooper-all-that-jazz-robert-glasper--bilal-at-queen-elizabeth-hall-london-jazz-festival-1821563.html <p> Great, great, great show last night from one of jazz's premier pianists with the ability to captivate the stiff followers and the hip-hop heads with his eclecticism and respect for rap's forefathers. </p> News Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:39:47 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/geoffrey-gurrumul-yunupingu-shepherds-bush-empire-london-1821232.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/geoffrey-gurrumul-yunupingu-shepherds-bush-empire-london-1821232.html ]]> <p> The Empire's normally heaving, sweaty mosh-pit was furnished with seats for this particular concert, lending the venue a more low-key atmosphere, but one that seemed appropriate for the unostentatious Aboriginal singer-songwriter Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu. Supported by a string quartet, second acoustic guitarist Francis Diatschenko and double bass player Michael Hohnen, Gurrumul, who was born blind, was led to his seat carrying his right-handed guitar, which he plays upside down. </p> Reviews Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:23 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/stackridge-100-club-london-1821236.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/stackridge-100-club-london-1821236.html ]]> <p> Back in the early 1970s Stackridge were what the more discerning listener moved on to when they had finished with Lindisfarne. Like the Geordie folk-rockers, Stackridge had an air of feisty provincialism – they emerged from the Bath/Bristol area – and were not lacking in fiddles and flutes. But they were less earnest and more whimsical. </p> Reviews Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/beyoncrsquos-video-phone-premiere-rescheduled-for-november-17-1821638.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/beyoncrsquos-video-phone-premiere-rescheduled-for-november-17-1821638.html ]]> <p>On Tuesday, November 17, MTV will air the world premiere of Beyoncé's music video for "Video Phone," featuring Lady Gaga. The much-hyped premiere, which was originally scheduled for November 5, will air across 60 channels on MTV networks, reaching 168 countries around the world.</p> News Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-shirley-horn-live-at-the-monterey-jazz-festival-mjf-1820777.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-shirley-horn-live-at-the-monterey-jazz-festival-mjf-1820777.html ]]> <p> If a fraction of Diana and Barbra’s many fans were to buy this – a snip at midprice – justice will have been served, for the late Shirley Horn was the greatest female vocalist pianist in the history of jazz, and her perfectly poised, sexy way with a lyric has no equal. </p> Reviews Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:53 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-them-crooked-vultures-them-crooked-vultures-sony-bmg-1820760.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-them-crooked-vultures-them-crooked-vultures-sony-bmg-1820760.html ]]> <p> Pop has its own answer to swine flu right now, and it’s the seemingly unstoppable proliferation of supergroups. In rapid succession we’ve seen The Raconteurs, Monsters of Folk, The Last Shadow Puppets, The Dead Weather and the as-yet unnamedThom Yorke/Flea project. And Them Crooked Vultures – Josh Homme, Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones – are the biggest of them all. </p> Reviews Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:50 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/beyonce-echo-arena-liverpoolbrthe-flaming-lips-troxy-london-1820735.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/beyonce-echo-arena-liverpoolbrthe-flaming-lips-troxy-london-1820735.html <p> If you were to brick <b>Beyoncé </b>Knowles into an airtight room with no windows and doors – a disproportionate response, arguably, to her assorted crimes against pop – the singer’s hair would, I’m convinced, continue to billowas it does throughout her concerts. Such is the air of unreality Knowles exudes that her different-sized eyes, giving her a mischievous squint, are the only proof that she didn’t come straight out of the Real Doll factory. </p> Reviews Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:49 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-ralph-towner-and-paolo-fresu-chiaroscuro-ecm-1820773.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-ralph-towner-and-paolo-fresu-chiaroscuro-ecm-1820773.html ]]> <p> Spare and mournful, Sunday-morning coffee and croissants music from the duo of veteran guitarist and Oregon founder Towner and the superb Sardinian trumpeter Fresu, who also plays a mean flugelhorn. </p> Reviews Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:40 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-various-artists-warp-20-unheard-warp-1820776.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-various-artists-warp-20-unheard-warp-1820776.html ]]> <p> Boards of Canada’s woozy one-loop lullaby “Seven Forty Seven”; Autechre’s approachable acid groover “Oval Moon”; the arpeggio squall of Clark’s “Rattlesnake”; the melodic techno-warble of Plaid’s “Dett”; Broadcast’s ever so slightly menacing cover of the Nico song “Sixty Forty”: when the music that it didn’t previously release is as good as it is on this, the third and most desirable of Warp’s 20th anniversary CD compilations, you know a record label has an embarrassment of riches. May the next 20 be as varied and fruitful. </p> Reviews Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:12 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-ceu-vagarosa-six-degrees-1820774.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-ceu-vagarosa-six-degrees-1820774.html ]]> <p> The difficult second album? No sirree! Not for this Brazilian singersongwriter. </p> Reviews Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:07 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-dave-rawlings-machine-a-friend-of-a-friend-acony-1820775.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-dave-rawlings-machine-a-friend-of-a-friend-acony-1820775.html ]]> <p> Recognise the name? He’s Gillian Welch’s other half, the idiosyncratic picker/producer who harmonises. </p> Reviews Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/grammy-nominations-concert-to-feature-black-eyed-peas-maxwell-sugarland-1821089.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/grammy-nominations-concert-to-feature-black-eyed-peas-maxwell-sugarland-1821089.html ]]> <p>On December 2, the nominations for the 2009 Grammy Awards will be announced at a special concert event in Los Angeles. Hosted by LL Cool J, the event will feature performances by Black Eyes Peas, Maxwell, and Sugarland, reported Grammy.com November 11.</p> News Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/miles-davis-collection-in-a-deluxe-71disc-box-set-1821227.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/miles-davis-collection-in-a-deluxe-71disc-box-set-1821227.html ]]> <p><em>Miles Davis: The Complete Columbia Album Collection,</em> a deluxe CD/DVD box set, contains every album released by the jazz master on Columbia Records. This limited edition retrospective of 70 CDs and one DVD will be released on November 24.</p> News Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/soundtrack-album-debuts-make-music-on-the-charts-1820620.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/soundtrack-album-debuts-make-music-on-the-charts-1820620.html ]]> <p>Michael Jackson's <em>This Is It</em>,  the no. 1 record on the Billboard 200 charts for the week of November 14, dislodged <em>The Twilight Saga: New Moon</em>-- which reached the top the week of November 7. But unexpectedly this week (for November 21), another soundtrack, this time for the new Fox television hit show<em> Glee</em>, debuted at no.4, showing the ability of film and TV programs to help create music fans.</p> News Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/rihanna-lets-music-do-the-talking-on-new-album-1820667.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/rihanna-lets-music-do-the-talking-on-new-album-1820667.html <p>Pop star Rihanna flaunted a blonde look Thursday to present new album "Rated R" but let the music speak for itself, refusing to answer any questions on ex-boyfriend Chris Brown who assaulted her in February.</p> News Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/jimmy-cobb-still-kind-of-blue-after-50-years-1820987.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/jimmy-cobb-still-kind-of-blue-after-50-years-1820987.html ]]> <p>Fifty years on, drummer Jimmy Cobb still can't believe what he, Miles Davis and five other jazz musicians achieved over two days in a converted church in New York.</p> News Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/bands-get-behind-pancreatic-awareness-week-1820342.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/bands-get-behind-pancreatic-awareness-week-1820342.html ]]> <p> Next week is the UK’s first Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Week. The cancer type attracts only a pitiful 1 per cent of all funding despite having the worst survival rate. </p> News Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:51:15 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/take-that-studio-reunion-has-already-happened-claims-williams-1820143.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/take-that-studio-reunion-has-already-happened-claims-williams-1820143.html <p> Robbie Williams has claimed he has recorded again with Take That - and said the tracks are "amazing". </p> News Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:23:07 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/pulp-singer-jarvis-cocker-receives-honorary-doctorate-1820324.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/pulp-singer-jarvis-cocker-receives-honorary-doctorate-1820324.html <p> Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker joked today he would not open a medical surgery, even with his newly acquired title of Doctor. </p> News Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:15:28 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-dave-rawlings-machine-a-friend-of-a-friend-acony-1819439.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-dave-rawlings-machine-a-friend-of-a-friend-acony-1819439.html ]]> <p> Better known as Gillian Welch's personal and performing partner, Dave Rawlings' first album in his own right is an outright triumph, reflecting not just his instrumental and production expertise, but his considerable songwriting abilities too. </p> Reviews Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:58 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/navigator--reveal-records-mixtape-giveaway-1819588.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/navigator--reveal-records-mixtape-giveaway-1819588.html ]]> <p> Available exclusively to readers of The Independent online, Navigator and Reveal records present a compilation of 30 tracks of the finest new music around, all free to download. </p> Features Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:55 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/melody-gardot-an-accidental-musician-1819426.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/melody-gardot-an-accidental-musician-1819426.html ]]> <p> Melody Gardot is sitting in a New York bar swilling a glass of Cognac. A bartender dims the lights, but Gardot keeps her dark glasses on. "The only thing I long for," she says, stroking the large black cat curled up on her lap, "is warm weather. I'm really no good here. I've had more pain in my body in the last nine days than I've had the last six months". </p> Features Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:43 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-leonard-cohen-live-at-the-isle-of-wight-1970-columbia-1819435.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-leonard-cohen-live-at-the-isle-of-wight-1970-columbia-1819435.html ]]> <p> Now that Leonard Cohen is acknowledged as a musical treasure, it's fascinating to revisit this performance from a time when his star was in its early ascendancy. </p> Reviews Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:35 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-john-mayer-battle-studies-columbia-1819442.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-john-mayer-battle-studies-columbia-1819442.html ]]> <p> Though only moderately appreciated in the UK, in America John Mayer is a kind of all-purpose one-man media industry, combining a highly successful music career with sidelines in design, journalism and clothing, whilst becoming a gossip-column fixture through his relationships with such as Jessica Simpson and, most recently, Jennifer Aniston. </p> Reviews Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:35 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-stereophonics-keep-calm-and-carry-on-mercury-1819431.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-stereophonics-keep-calm-and-carry-on-mercury-1819431.html ]]> <p> For their 7th album – their first with guitarist Adam Zindani listed as a full member – Stereophonics have enlisted the help of producer Jim Abbiss, perhaps hoping for a little of the anthemic fairy-dust he's sprinkled over Arctic Monkeys and Kasabian in recent years. And in places, that's not far from the case: "I Got Your Number" is a Kasabian-esque galumphing boogie, while the turgid riff and windy clichés of "Live'n'Love" are reminiscent of Oasis at their most emptily anthemic. </p> Reviews Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:31 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/ginger-baker-drum-cat-who-got-the-cream-1819419.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/ginger-baker-drum-cat-who-got-the-cream-1819419.html ]]> <p> Even if you missed growing up in the 1960s, you're bound to have heard Ginger Baker's explosive drumming with the rock bands Cream and Blind Faith. In both beat combos, Baker was an amazing sight. </p> Features Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:21 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/my-fantasy-band-tori-amos-1819409.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/my-fantasy-band-tori-amos-1819409.html Features Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:17 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-mercury-rev-the-complete-peel-sessions-universal-1819444.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-mercury-rev-the-complete-peel-sessions-universal-1819444.html ]]> <p> Mercury Rev are the kind of group for whom Peel Sessions were originally conceived: an all-channels-open, questing outfit who took the opportunity to reassess old favourites and break virgin territory. </p> Reviews Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:09 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-leona-lewis-echo-syco-1819429.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-leona-lewis-echo-syco-1819429.html ]]> <p> Of all the talent-show turns unearthed in the past decade, Leona Lewis is the only one to have parlayed the opportunity, when it knocked, into a significant international career; and judging by this safe, careful follow-up to the multi-platinum <i>Spirit,</i> she's not taking any unnecessary chances that might prematurely derail that career. She might admirably refer to the original Greek myth – in which an unrequited lover pines away till just her voice remained – in explaining the album's title, but one doesn't have to be a complete cynic to place a more prosaic interpretation on <i>Echo,</i> so closely does it stick to its predecessor's formula. </p> Reviews Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:06 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-barometer-four-tet-best-coast-wale-hot-chip-the-very-best-featuring-kano-steve-reich-1819446.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-barometer-four-tet-best-coast-wale-hot-chip-the-very-best-featuring-kano-steve-reich-1819446.html Features Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/observations-french-synth-star-pascal-arbez-produces-album-featuring-brigitte-the-virtual-voice-1819448.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/observations-french-synth-star-pascal-arbez-produces-album-featuring-brigitte-the-virtual-voice-1819448.html <p>Clasping an espresso at his management's London offices, the French synth star Pascal Arbez, better known to his acolytes as Vitalic (pronounced "vee-tal-ique"), shakes his head despondently. "All the time I am told that dance music is in danger, or even that it is dead," he says. "It's stupid. All you need to do is check the internet or go to a club or a festival and you can see how alive it is," he sighs. "But attitudes are beginning to change. Dance music has become stronger definitely. La Roux play electronic music and look what they have achieved. And I hear [the Dutch disc jockey] Tiësto has more fans than Madonna."</p> Features Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/observations-rosie-oddie-follows-in-her-fathers-musical-footsteps-1819467.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/observations-rosie-oddie-follows-in-her-fathers-musical-footsteps-1819467.html ]]> <p>Prepare yourselves for the latest daughter of a familiar face trying her luck in the music world. Rosie Oddie, daughter of TV twitcher Bill, comes with a husky singing voice. Her first appearance came rather tentatively a couple of years back as Rosie Oddie and the Odd Squad. Her band has forged a denser, more complex sound than their previous ska-pop shtick. It better suits this former schoolmate of Peaches Geldof's gritty, rock'n'roll vocal, that nods more to Skunk Anansie than Lily Allen.</p> Features Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/caught-in-the-net-braids-weave-magic-1819497.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/caught-in-the-net-braids-weave-magic-1819497.html ]]> <p> A band picking up some "blog hype" (see below) are the young Canadian band Braids (right). Based in Montreal and comprised of two girls and two boys, the band are unsigned but have released two EPs, with talk of new material to come in the first half of next year. They play a sort of spacey, experimental pop that calls to mind Animal Collective, Broken Social Scene and Telepathe. Download two of their tracks, including the wonderful "Liver and Tan", at tinyurl.com/ya7q5x3. </p> Features Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/weekly-music-agenda-releases-from-beyonc-lady-gaga-rihanna-1820315.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/weekly-music-agenda-releases-from-beyonc-lady-gaga-rihanna-1820315.html ]]> <p>Upcoming highlights include albums by Beyoncé, Lagy Gaga, and Rihanna -- all due out internationally November 23. Tours by Green Day and Paul McCartney begin in early December.</p> News Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/just-jack-shepherds-bush-empire-london-1818831.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/just-jack-shepherds-bush-empire-london-1818831.html <p> A happy-go-lucky Jack Allsopp steps forward to meet the crowd, peers around and announces: "I just saw my mum and dad up there. That's pretty cool." He explains his usual trick of finding something to greet each new audience with, concluding, a little relieved, "We're home." </p> Reviews Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/staff-benda-bilili-barbican-london-1818838.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/staff-benda-bilili-barbican-london-1818838.html <p>When Staff Benda Bilili spin wheelchairs, dance on their legs' stumps and pluck instruments created from abandoned debris, they are embodying their nation's contradictions. They are homeless youths and paraplegic men from Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, sub-Saharan Africa's most cursed country. But their UK debut proved that a history of colonial and local dictators, civil wars and corporate mineral-stripping can still fuel defiant art.</p> Reviews Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/opera-sheds-new-light-on-tchaikovskys-gay-lifestyle-1818839.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/opera-sheds-new-light-on-tchaikovskys-gay-lifestyle-1818839.html ]]> <p>An opera by Tchaikovsky? It must be about Fate, with a capital F. Duels in the frosty dawn, blood on the snow. A fragile, innocent heroine, doomed love, incipient madness. Tchaikovsky: the ultimate gloomy Russian bastard. You can hear it in his music, can't you? </p> Features Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/pope-to-release-album-to-spread-the-word-1819127.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/pope-to-release-album-to-spread-the-word-1819127.html <p>An album of Pope Benedict XVI speaking against a background of specially composed classical and world music will be released on November 30, but the Vatican said it will get only 31,000 euros from the deal.</p> News Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/motown-celebrates-its-50th-anniversary-with-stevie-wonder-temptations-performance-1819618.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/motown-celebrates-its-50th-anniversary-with-stevie-wonder-temptations-performance-1819618.html ]]> <p>Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, the Temptations, and other headliners will perform at Motown's 50th anniversary in Detroit on November 20-21.</p> News Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/taylor-swift-makes-history-at-country-music-awards-1819679.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/taylor-swift-makes-history-at-country-music-awards-1819679.html ]]> <p>American country singer Taylor Swift picked up four awards at the 43rd annual CMA Awards, which took place on November 11 in Nashville. Among her victories, Swift took the top title of Entertainer of the Year, becoming the youngest person ever to receive that award.</p> News Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/sxsw-offers-discounted-registration-through-november-13-1819874.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/sxsw-offers-discounted-registration-through-november-13-1819874.html ]]> <p>The annual South by Southwest Music and Media Conference & Festival gathers members of the music, film, and interactive media industry in Austin, Texas, for a weeklong convergence of ideas and talent. A reduced registration fee for the 2010 event -- scheduled for March 12-21 -- is being offered through November 13.</p> News Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/george-michael-to-release-live-in-london-dvd-1819229.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/george-michael-to-release-live-in-london-dvd-1819229.html ]]> <p>Epics Records announced on Monday that George Michael will release <em>Live in London</em>, the first live DVD of his career, on December 7. The full-concert DVD was recorded and filmed at London's Earls Court arena on August 24 and 25, 2008, two shows that marked the end of the artist's 25 Live Tour.</p> News Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/the-cinematic-orchestra-the-roundhouse-london-1818104.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/the-cinematic-orchestra-the-roundhouse-london-1818104.html <p>The Cinematic Orchestra defy classification. Is it jazz? Electronica? Hip-hop or trip-hop? Or movie soundtrack music? What is obvious, though, is that the shape-shifting outfit formed by John Swinscoe in the late 1990s does not lack musical conviction. Which other band could perform an hour-long instrumental accompaniment to an 80-year-old silent Soviet movie and be confident of a capacity crowd?</p> Reviews Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/katy-perry-unplugged-songs-to-premiere-on-mtvcom-1818527.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/katy-perry-unplugged-songs-to-premiere-on-mtvcom-1818527.html ]]> <p>MTV.com announced November 9 that it will premiere Katy Perry's <em>Unplugged</em> performance online on November 16, one day before the singer's <em>MTV Unplugged</em> album hits shelves worldwide.</p> News Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/sadomasochistic-german-album-banned-1818709.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/sadomasochistic-german-album-banned-1818709.html ]]> <p>German fans under 18 of homegrown hard rock group Rammstein had until midnight on Tuesday to buy their latest album after authorities took exception to a song with explicit sadomasochist lyrics.</p> News Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/steven-tyler-insists-he-is-not-quitting-aerosmith-1818966.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/steven-tyler-insists-he-is-not-quitting-aerosmith-1818966.html ]]> <p>Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler made a surprise appearance at a New York concert on Tuesday night to reassure fans and deny reports that he was quitting his band.</p> News Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/ancient-cambridge-college-buys-top-london-music-venue-1818563.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/ancient-cambridge-college-buys-top-london-music-venue-1818563.html ]]> <p>Cambridge University's Trinity College, one of the world's oldest seats of learning, would not normally be associated with showbiz glitz and the pounding beats of rock music. But the 500-year-old college, one of the wealthiest academic institutions, has bought The O2, London's top music venue, where Led Zeppelin staged their famous comeback and Michael Jackson planned to do so, too.</p> News Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/lou-reed-photographer-1817676.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/lou-reed-photographer-1817676.html ]]> <p>Lou Reed may be a rock legend, the founding member of the Velvet Underground, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a man so cool that fans keel over in the reflection of his mirrored shades. Yet he has an alter ego, a solitary figure, a man who retreats quietly into nature to observe the light and make elegant, romantic photographs, far removed from his life at the heart of New York City. The process could not be more different but there are parallels between his music and his photographs. Putting together a book of photographs is, says Reed, like sequencing a CD. It is intuitive, an indefinable way of working where things happen not through planning and preordained ideas, but because they feel right. He approaches photography with the qualities of a musician. "The response is emotional. That's all I want; they are taken with emotion and put together with emotion, equal emotion," he says.</p> Features Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/wilco-forum-london-1817678.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/wilco-forum-london-1817678.html ]]> <p>Where you been?" responds an amused Jeff Tweedy to a punter's call to "play the hits", midway through Wednesday's show at the Forum. "These are the hits!" </p> Reviews Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/steve-martin-with-the-steep-canyon-rangers-royal-festival-hall-london-1817801.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/steve-martin-with-the-steep-canyon-rangers-royal-festival-hall-london-1817801.html <p>"It's always been a dream of mine to play banjo at the Royal Festival Hall," says Steve Martin, banjo in hand, from the stage of the Royal Festival Hall. The briefest of pauses, and then: "And tonight, I feel one step closer to realising that dream." Written out like that, it doesn't seem quite as funny as it did earlier this evening – but then, comedy is all about timing and delivery. And jokes. And some other stuff too humorous to mention, probably.</p> Reviews Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:01 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/michael-bubl-plans-rerelease-of-crazy-love-1817888.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/michael-bubl-plans-rerelease-of-crazy-love-1817888.html ]]> <p>Canadian singer Michael Bublé plans to reissue his album <em>Crazy Love</em> in 2010, announced Billboard.com on November 9. The release will include additional songs Bublé recorded during the album recording sessions, among them "Hollywood Dead," which will be released as a single after "Have I Met You" and "Hold On."</p> News Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/russian-rock-band-plans-worldwide-tour-dates-1817906.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/russian-rock-band-plans-worldwide-tour-dates-1817906.html ]]> <p>The Russian rock band Mumiy Troll has a huge following in its native country, where it plays more than 100 gigs a year. Now, the band is selling out shows in North America, and <em>Variety</em> Magazine reports that 2010 tour dates are expected throughout Europe and Asia.</p> News Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/zemeckis-wants-mccartney-starr-for-yellow-submarine-remake-1818088.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/zemeckis-wants-mccartney-starr-for-yellow-submarine-remake-1818088.html ]]> <p>In September, Walt Disney Studios and The Beatles Apple Corps Ltd. announced a deal to remake The Beatles' 1968 animated classic <em>Yellow Submarine</em> with director Robert Zemeckis. Now, as MTV News reported November 4, Zemeckis has indicated that he hopes to enlist Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in the project.</p> News Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/britney-spears-upset-over-australian-tour-complaints-1817566.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/britney-spears-upset-over-australian-tour-complaints-1817566.html ]]> <p> Britney Spears has done it again, hitting the headlines during her first Australian tour over a row about lip-synching and a lacklustre performance that her tour promoter said had left her "extremely upset". </p> News Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:40:04 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/i-love-techno-flanders-expo-ghent-belgium-1817182.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/i-love-techno-flanders-expo-ghent-belgium-1817182.html <p> Techno has acquired a reputation somewhere between Eurotrash and Madchester in recent years in the UK, but Ghent's annual I Love Techno festival is proof that neither the music nor the fans are as naff or as addled as either of these connotations unfairly suggest. </p> Reviews Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:30 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/nneka-ulu-london-1817179.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/nneka-ulu-london-1817179.html <p> Although one of the Mobo's less heralded awards has always been Best African Act, the 2009 winner, Nneka Egbuna, could well break the trend for underachievement set by previous recipients 9ice and Batman Samini. </p> Reviews Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:08 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/japanese-cellist-wins-worlds-top-competition-1817550.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/japanese-cellist-wins-worlds-top-competition-1817550.html ]]> <p>Japan's Dai Miyata, 23, won the Ninth Rostropovich cello competition at the final on Saturday in Paris, among the 64 musicians who competed in this year's event, organisers said.</p> News Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/un-to-receive-proceeds-from-john-lennon-hit-1817786.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/un-to-receive-proceeds-from-john-lennon-hit-1817786.html ]]> <p>John Lennon's family has agreed to donate all proceeds from downloads of the hit single "Give peace a chance" to UN peace initiatives, an official said Monday.</p> News Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/stoneplaying-zen-master-gives-rare-paris-concerts-1817705.html http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/stoneplaying-zen-master-gives-rare-paris-concerts-1817705.html ]]> <p>He turned his back on the music business in the 1970s to practice Zen Buddhism, but a very special stone lured renowned Japanese percussionist Stomu Yamashta back into melody-making.</p> News Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000