Nirvana Concert to be Released, with Album to Follow
Fans who have been missing Kurt Cobain’s performances ever since his death nearly twenty years ago can now relive some of the magic! VH1 will release the filming of a Nirvana concert held on Halloween night in 1991 at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, three years before Cobain’s suicide. No one has ever seen the footage before and the network thinks that releasing it on the anniversary of the band’s Nevermind album is the perfect tribute. The concert is an hour long and will be shown on September 23 at 11:00 p.m. on VH1, VH1 Classic, and Palladia.
Fans that have been relying all-too long on their tired Nirvana recordings, both studio and live, will finally get a fresh taste of Nirvana through this concert showing. The concert shows Cobain and the rest of his band mates playing many of their biggest hits including Breed, Lithium, and Polly. But it’s not just the biggest song titles that made the show. The band also plays some lesser-known music, such as Jesus Don’t Want Me for a Sunbeam, a Vaseline cover that also appeared on their MTV Unplugged in New York album that was released in 1994, the same year as Cobain’s death.
And that’s not all the good news. The full live concert will also be released four days later on Blu-Ray and DVD on September 27. That’s bound to get fans excited, as it’s likely to be the last Cobain concert footage we’ll ever see.
Retired NFL Players to Sue NFLPA
There are more lawsuits floating around in the world of sports. But this time it’s not unions suing owners, or players’ associations suing league execs. This time, it’s retired NFL players who feel as though they’ve been getting the short end of the stick — and all because they’re no longer playing.
The lawsuit has been filed by 28 retired NFL players including Carl Eller, Chuck Bednarick, and John Hannah, although it represents all retired NFL players. The lawsuit is against the NFL Players’ Association; DeMaurice Smith, the union’s president; Tom Brady, New England’s quarterback; and Mike Vrabel, a former player in the league. The suit deals with the collective bargaining agreement that was agreed on to stop the lockout and get the season started for this year. The retired players say that their rights were given up during negotiations, in order so that the current players in the league could receive more benefits and bigger pay.
Just two of the benefits the retirees were forced to sacrifice affected their pension incomes as well as their health care in their retirement years. More importantly than that, the retired football players are also saying that because the union was decertified in March 2011 before the lockout began, there was no union to represent them and so, their rights were violated.
Lawyer Mark Hausfeld is representing the plaintiffs in the case. He was also the lawyer that represented the retired players while the labor dispute was being settled. And while he’s been talking plenty about the case, players on the defendant’s side, as well as the executive director of external affairs for the NFLPA, could not be reached for comment.
Nickelback Dishes about New Album, to be out Soon
It’s been just about three years since Nickelback released their last album, Dark Horse. And although it saw huge success, selling 3 million copies, the band wanted to stay in the studio and get the music right before they released another. The wait is over and sure to be worth it, as Nickelback has just announced that they’re ready to release their seventh studio album, Here and Now.
The album will be in stores on November 21, but you don’t have to wait that long to get a taste. The band will be releasing two singles, first When We Stand Together, which will be released on September 26; and then a follow-up single, Bottoms Up. Both will be aired on both pop & rock radio.
With a new album, two new singles, what more could Nickelback fans ask for? How about a world tour to promote said new album? That’s going to happen, and it will likely begin early 2012, although no official dates have been released yet. Chad Kroeger, the band’s front man, says that he’s excited to show fans what they’ve got; and although it may have taken a small wait, the band had a vision and was going to be in the studio for as long as it took to get that vision to come together.
Work on the album started earlier this year and now that the vision has all come together, it’s just a matter of weeks until we get to hear it!
Lil Wayne’s Release Strategy Sells More Than Kanye or Jay-Z
Just before he released his new album, The Carter IV, Lil’ Wayne said that he hoped more artists would follow his creative strategy in the future. The strategy was to release the album on iTunes seconds following MTV’s VMA Awards and, it worked. So well in fact that Lil’ Wayne might get his wish, and we might see more of these types of releases in the future.
The rapper did face some obstacles in getting his latest album released online; the main one being that some of the album was leaked on the Internet before it was actually released. But that did nothing to stop sales, as The Carter IV sold 300,000 downloads in just four days. That’s 10,000 more than Kanye‘s and Jay-Z‘s Watch the Throne, which was released last month and only sold 290,000 downloads in the same amount of time.
But Watch the Throne wasn’t the only album The Carter IV beat, it broke records too, and Lil’ Wayne holds the current record! Before The Carter IV, the most sales in the first week of release was The Carter III, which Wayne released in 2008. The Carter IV is expected to sell 850,000 copies in its first week; official sales results will be released this Wednesday.
There’s no doubt that with numbers like those, more artists will be sure to follow in Lil’ Wayne’s footsteps and plan for more creative and publicity-inducing release dates.
Come Hear the New Sensation Adele in Person!
Have you heard the sultry crooning of the newest British singer to hit the US charts? This British babe simply goes by Adele, and she has taken the music scene by storm! Adele has already added some hefty awards to her name, such as Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2009 for her debut album “19.” Her newest album “21” released just this year has already won over critics and audiences alike. She even broke the U.K. record for the most digital downloads!
Adele’s sound is unique; often described as having the soulfulness of Motown and the vibe of folk music, but with a modern youthful appeal. Get out your iPod and download her biggest hits such as “Someone Like You”, “Rolling in the Deep”, “Chasing Pavements”, and you’ll get a taste of what that big beautiful voice can do!
What can you expect of a live Adele concert? Moody lighting, witty banter and perhaps even some tears. Yes, Adele’s emotive voice has moved many sold out crowds to tears with hits like “Do You Remember”. Not to worry, there are still plenty of beats and thrills included that will bring a smile to your face after a good cry. You can tell this young singer is having the time of her life, which helps make the production a better show.
Adele is all about the music, so there is no lip-syncing at her sold out shows. Her fans often gush that the singer sounds even more amazing in person than she does on her albums. Well, that’s no surprise, as she is a graduate from the BRIT School for the performing arts. Adele isn’t some “girl” producers picked for her looks and then taught to sing. No, she is the real deal, a lover of music since she first learned to sing as a child. In fact, her first big single “Hometown Glory” was written when she was only sixteen!
Grab up a pair of tickets when Adele is touring your hometown and experience a concert like no other. Look for discounted tickets online for a good deal and a good time.
Tyler Perry: A Man That Transcends Race and Captures the Essence of American Culture
Tyler Perry made his name and his career by connecting with black audiences and black culture. That stint as “Madea” only helped to put his name on the map. However, in recent years, Tyler Perry has taken his once ghettoized plays and movies and brought them into mainstream consciousness. Perry doesn’t just shock like Spike Lee or John Singleton, nor does he clown around like the Wayans Brothers or Chris Rock. He really transcends race and captures the true spirit of Americana. One of his biggest successes was producing the Best Picture nominee Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire. He truly did the unprecedented and combined comedy and drama for a number of family-oriented features–stories that were not just about race but the American experience.
Despite his new success as a filmmaker, Tyler Perry is still sticking to his roots as a playwright. Many of his feature length films actually started as plays and were then adapted for the screen. His first production as a youth was “I Know I’ve Been Changed”, a community theater production that dealt with Christian themes and abusive families. Despite the production’s poor performance, Perry kept on, and eventually retooled the play until it received mainstream acceptance. Perry has since made more than $100 million on Broadway, which doesn’t even count his movie or merchandise profits.
His newest feature written for the stage is another comedy drama, this one entitled The Haves and The Have Nots. The play begins by observing a wealthy family who has everything. The family seems preoccupied with the peripherals of life until they become involved with a plot involving their poor housekeeper. Eventually, they are forced to see how the other half lives. However, the spiritual journey to come is the real issue. The play actually features dialog and music written by Tyler Perry, and some great performances by singers and comedians.
The production has received excellent reviews and is helping to cement Tyler Perry as one of the most popular artists of the new millennium. Come learn something about life by seeing one of Tyler Perry’s soul stirring plays in person!
Kasabian to Play Huge 10-Stop Tour
The four-man band that makes up Kasabian has certainly had a busy summer promoting their newest studio album, Velociraptor; and they’ve been traveling all over the UK to do it! In June they showed up at the Isle of Wright Festival, only to rush off to Belgium the next month to play Rock Werchter. They’ll take some time off to enjoy the madness after Velociraptor, their fourth album, is released on September 19. Then, they’ll hit the roads again starting in November for a huge 10-stop tour.
The tour for the new album will have Kasabian stopping in some of UK’s biggest arenas, including those in Liverpool, Manchester, and Sheffield. The tour will kick off in Brighton on November 28, 2011 and the band will wrap things up in London at the famous O2 arena on December 14, 2011. And if you’ll be anywhere around the UK in the meantime, you can check out the full listing of tour dates here.
Switchblade Smiles and Days are Forgotten are the band’s two latest singles off Velociraptor and the videos for each have already received millions of hits on YouTube. The album is the first time fans are getting a chance to hear guitarist Jay Mehler, who joined the band on a full-time basis in 2010; and most of the writing was done by band member Sergio Pizzorno, who took over song writing duties when former band member Christopher Karloff left the band due to “creative differences.”
What will come of NBA Meeting Next Week?
The NBA and the union have not been on good terms with each other this summer; and even though the lockout officially began on July 1, 2011, there hasn’t yet been any real sense of urgency to the entire matter. But with the season’s regular opening date looming closer and closer, and players starting to visualize the reality of not receiving a paycheck in the coming weeks, that sense of urgency is starting to set in.
David Stern, commissioner of the NBA, says that both sides must be in collective bargaining talks before Labor Day; and stresses that if they are not, there may be little hope of having a season at all. But even if talks do begin before the long weekend in September, what chance is there that anything will come of it?
This will after all, only be the second meeting the two sides have had since the lockout began. The first was held on August 1, and although it was originally thought that another two or three meetings would be held, that failed to happen. The union has mostly been busy speaking amongst themselves, and David Stern has been on vacation for much of that time. Added to that, both sides have also filed suits with the National Relations Labor Board, and that has also contributed to holding matters up.
Most predict that even with a Labour Day weekend meeting between the NBA (tickets) and the union, real talks and bargaining won’t start happening until games actually start being cancelled and everyone across the board starts losing real money because of it. That won’t happen until late in September, so it would be even later than that until any actual deals were made and finalized.
Lil Wayne to Release Album Immediately After VMAs
If you’re anybody in the music business, or you’re trying to be somebody in the music business, the VMAs is a great place to make a scene and get people talking about you. And while Lil Wayne probably won’t show up in a meat dress, he is going to create a buzz by releasing his newest album, Tha Carter IV, just minutes after the show.
MTV’s Video Music Awards will be held on Sunday, August 28, 2011, and just minutes after the host closes the show, you’ll be able to get your hands on a digital copy of it by going online. But if for some reason you’re disconnected on Sunday, you’ll still be able to get it at retail outlets the next day, Monday, August 29. For his eighth solo album, Lil Wayne has recruited some serious talent for this album, with the likes of Drake, John Legend, Rick Ross, Tech N9ne, and T-Nine all appearing on the album.
Talk of Tha Carter IV has been going on for some time and there was originally some question about what would actually happen to it. There was initially talk of packaging it as a double album along with Rebirth, another proposed project that includes many of Wayne’s leaked tracks, but Lil Wayne has been quick to dismiss any such notion. He’s proud of the album and says that the album has earned the right to stand on its own, and he has no doubt about it doing just that.
As for the creative marketing strategy to release it just moments after one of the biggest shows of the year? About that, Lil Wayne says, “I am extremely excited to be the first artist to utilize such an amazing idea. I hope that I can open the door for others.”
Eminem, Royce da 5’9, Bruno Mars Release “Lighters” Video
It’s not the first time that Eminem and Royce da 5’9 have teamed up together as Bad Meets Evil to pump out some great hits, but it is the first time in a long time — and this time, they’ve brought Bruno Mars along for the ride!
The video is for the song Lighters the first song off their latest album, Hell: The Sequel. And while you may expect these two hardcore rappers to come out with fists pumping and guns blazing, the video seems to be a tribute to the growth of both rappers since they last paired up in 2008, with Eminem’s original group, D12.
The video begins with Eminem sitting in his cluttered living room writing music and we’re given a sense that it’s “back in the day,” with Em donning shocking blonde locks, track pants, and all. The scene also gives off the tone of past times, when Em had yet to break out onto the scene and was frustrated with his struggling career and even more challenging life. Suddenly, he finds a trap door in his living room and after entering it, he’s taken to a dark tunnel where he has nothing but a blazing torch to guide him. And suddenly, his raggedy clothes have been traded for a leather jacket, and his hair has gone back to its original brown roots that Em has worn in the later stage of his career.
Meanwhile, Royce da 5’9″ is on his own journey in the video, going from a jail cell to the same dark tunnel, and making the same kinds of transformations along the way. Royce also wears a Detroit hat throughout the video, which is also symbolic of both rappers returning to their roots. And the entire time, Bruno Mars sits alone at his piano, tapping out the keys and crooning about lighting the sky up with lighters. At the end, Royce and Eminem come together, along with many onlookers, in a large field overlooking a valley, to see the sky fill up with glowing paper lanterns.
Check out this truly stunning and surprising piece from tough-guy rappers, Eminem and Royce da 5’9″ here.














