Category: Music News

Ben Lee of The Bens fame has recorded an acoustic version of the entire Against Me! album.

The Australian said that he downloaded the album New Wave and fell in love with the album, saying it was “unmistakably a pop masterpiece” and wondered how they’d sound acoustically.

“A couple of days later I was on a flight from Sydney to Melbourne and had the thought “I’d love to cover this album.” The whole thing. Beginning to end. So I did. Anyway, here are the results.”

You can download the whole thing here.

www.ben-lee.com

The Radar Festival is offering emerging directors to get their work seen by industry figures.

The event allows every director the chance of an evaluation and up to 240 videos will be seen and judged by record label commissioners. Winners will get label commissions, cash and mentoring opportunities.

The tracks to be used for entry are found at www.radarfestival.com/tracks.html and have been licenses so there is no legal worries or red tape to get through. It costs £10 to enter and the deadline is October 7th.

For more details go to www.radarfestival.com and check out the promo video here.

Boston’s Piebald have split up.

The band posted an announcement on their website saying:

“In 1994 we started making music, screenprinting our own seven inch covers and borrowing our parents cars to get to shows. Since then, we have traveled the globe, released many records, and played thousands of shows; pedaling the righteous name of piebald to all whose paths we crossed…Thanks for all the undying support. We love you.”

www.piebald.com

Wu Tang’s Method Man is to go back to school to teach kids about the dangers of drug use.

The rapper was arrested earlier this year for possession of weed and driving under the influence. As part of his a plea agreement, he is to visit 15 city high school and warn children away from drugs, with his attorney saying:

“He’s thrilled to do it…He’s never been in trouble before. He’s not a stereotypical rapper.”

www.wutang-corp.com

Down frontman Phil Anselmo has begun blogging about the band’s new album.

The album, Down III: Over The Under is due out on September 25th and this blog is the first in what is expected to be a series regarding the record. To check out the first update, click here.

www.down-nola.com

Ever wondered how to make Calvin’s fly eye shades? Well get the chicken, bleach, shoes and crackerbread ready and watch this educational video:

www.calvinharris.tv

Murs is set to feature Kid Rock and Gym Class Heroes on his upcoming album.

His Living Legends crew-mate Luckyiam recently spoke about his own album but mentioned in passing that he’s heard there would be guest spots for Gym Class Heroes, Snoop, DJ Premier, Ne-Yo and Kid Rock. Seriously, GCH and Kid Rock? What the fucking hell are you thinking? Eesh.

Lucky also went on to say he’s heard the new Atmosphere album When Life Gives You Lemons… and commented:

“Yes, I’ve heard the new Atmos. It’s really dope to me. I think it will silence recent critics.”

Lucky’s new solo album Most Likely To Succeed is out now.

www.myspace.com/luckyiam

Canadian hardcore group Protest The Hero have announced they will release their new album, Fortress, on Vagrant Records. The album, which follows up Kezia from 2005.

And because this news piece is so short, we’ll put their video up for Heretics And Killers because flying monkeys playing instruments are great:

www.protestthehero.com

Radiohead will not release their new album until next year.

The band’s spokesperson recently told the NME that the follow up to Hail To The Thief, which came out in 2003, will not be coming out this year despite already having been mastered. The band are currently not on a label though there is no indication who they will sign to.

In other Radiohead news, Thom Yorke will re-release his book with Radiohead cover artist Stanley Donwood called Dead Children Playing on October 17th.

www.radiohead.com

Jay Z is the richest rapper in the world.

The Def Jam CEO earned around $34 million last year thanks to his work with Def Jam, the 2 million copies of his Kingdom Come album sold plus money from his sponsorships with Budweiser, Hewlett-Packard and General Motors.

Next in the list were 50 Cent [$32 million], Diddy, Timbaland and Dr Dre. I guess now is the bit where we say “Cash rules everything around us, CREAM get the money, dollar dollar bill y’all” or “Mo money, mo problems” right…?

www.jay-z.com