Articles

IF you were satisfied with HBO’s brilliant ‘‘dramedy,’’ you will be amazed at the soundtrack that the people behind Six Feet Under have managed to unearth.   The haunting, dark and yet comic traits that the series boasts of, is reproduced with impeccable perfection in this compilation of music featuring some of the finest talents on the international scene.   It would seem easy to compose and compile music for a television series with a theme that defies life, since most would expect monotonous

There's no doubt that the Hume brothers - Jon, 22, Peter, 20 and Dann, 18 - are the biggest export that Feilding will ever have.   Their radio-friendly debut, Dreams, shot up the Australian charts before they were acknowledged at home with an Apra Silver Scroll award. This follow-up sees them signed to huge US label Sire Records by head honcho Seymour Stein, who launched the careers of Talking Heads and Madonna.   Evermore have never wanted to rock out. Instead they felt more comfortable being

While the debate rages as to whether the festival calendar is already over-saturated, news reaches us of two more being plannned for next summer - a 'mini T In The Park' and the Isle Of Man's first major music event...   With no Glastonbury Festival taking place this year it was perhaps inevitable that a whole new crop of festivals would spring up in attempts to fill the void. Some have worked, others have half-worked, several have completely fallen by the wayside and many more remain to be seen

Making a movie about 9/11 presents many challenges. There’s the need to remain faithful to the events and the people who died. There’s the need to be respectful to the survivors and the families while creating a compelling film. And that’s just what goes into the writing and filming of the movie – then you have to sell it, reports chud.com.   The film is tracking strongly with young women – 40% of women in their teens and 20s have “definite interest” in seeing the movie. The strong central love

South Florida couch potatoes can spend the last sizzling weeks of summer glued to the Tube.   The Tube Music Network, a music channel created by MTV co-founder Les Garland, launched Tuesday in Broward and Miami-Dade counties as an alternate to MTV. The Tube has been offered in Palm Beach County for more than a year.   The Tube showcases music -- period. Coldplay's melodies and Norah Jones' purrs are uninterrupted by VJs, dating games or award shows, which have become MTV staples. Advertising t

You won’t find any of their autographed glossies on Hotel Solamar’s walls, nor in its restaurant, the J-Six, or even in a manager’s office.   But an impressive lineup of celebrities have stayed, dined or partied at the 235-room boutique since it opened a little more than a year ago, including actor Jamie Foxx; singer, songwriter Baby Face; rhythm and blues great Al Green; rapper Eminem and the rock band Coldplay.   Last month, country singer Kenny Chesney gave an impromptu performance at the hot

Hong Kong was blasted into summer by three mega music events over ten days in July when the international sell-out tours of Coldplay and The Black Eyed Peas hit town, along with the MOOV Party extravaganza.   The new Arena at AsiaWorld-Expo drew this unprecedented glut of talent to Hong Kong for the first time, and tens of thousands of people crowded into the city’s largest purpose-built entertainment venue to see and hear live some of the hottest acts on the planet.   With four Grammys and as m

When you're the smallest kid in the class it helps to have a few tricks up your sleeve. But now the skills that Steven Frayne, 23, used as a schoolboy in Bradford to keep the other kids off his back and himself out of trouble are paving his way to stardom.   Frayne, aka Dynamo, has become the most sought-after guest on the celebrity party circuit, performing for, among others, Chris "Coldplay" Martin and his wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, the Prince of Wales and Snoop Dogg.   This year, he released his

Even if you missed Top of the Pops you probably taped it.   After more than 40 years on the small screen, the nation's favourite bids a fond farewell tomorrow night when original presenter Sir Jimmy Savile signs off with the last ever show. With more than 2,200 editions of the show recorded, the hit programme has fallen down the listening figures and BBC bosses have decided not to sing its praises any more.   Like it or loathe it, TOTP is a national institution and it will remain imprinted on th

Gwyneth Paltrow is looking to spend more time - and money - on this side of the pond, now that she’s buying property in the Hamptons.   Sources say the granola-crunching London resident, and sometime actress, is in contract to purchase a summer home in Amagansett.   This, of course, is a very good morale boost for us Yanks, since the Oscar winner has been quoted as saying that she prefers living in London instead of the U.S. because she believes that Brits are “more intelligent and civilized”

Her career hotting up for the second time, Furtado plans to record with Timbaland again later this year in what she describes as "a band project like Gorillaz or Gnarls Barkley".   She has also contributed to Justin Timberlake's forthcoming album (also produced by Timbaland) but will not confirm rumours her ex-boyfriend and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin - who co-wrote the Loose track All Good Things (Come to an End) - is working on a solo record with Timbaland.   "I've come to this great place

Shares of Warner Music Group fell after London-based EMI Group said it would no longer pursue a $4.6 billion merger with the U.S. recording giant.   EMI backed out of merger talks following a European court ruling earlier this month that scuttled two-year-old BMG Music Entertainment -- the joint venture between Sony Music Corp. and Bertelsmann AG.   Manhattan-based Warner Music issued a statement after EMI's announcement, saying it would also back out of its counteroffer for EMI.Shares of Warn

The well-behaved and uptight crowd spoilt it for Jessica Rajandran at Coldplay’s amazing concert in Singapore recently.   Ten of us went to see Coldplay when they were in Singapore on July 10. Two of us had gone to see them perform at Earl’s Court, London in December and the same two had gone to see them when they came last to Singapore.   But we weren’t the only out-of-stationers. Among the neighbours, fans travelled from Indonesia and Thailand for its only Southeast Asian stop on their Twiste

LONDON (Reuters) - EMI Group Plc, the world's third-largest music company, said it has dropped plans to buy smaller rival Warner Music (WMG.N) "for the time being," sending its shares down as much as 7 percent on Thursday.   The decision was expected following a European court judgment this month that annulled the 2004 approval of the merger between Sony Music and BMG, casting doubt on whether regulators would allow further consolidation in the industry.   "The board will review this position in

Typically, when movie studios set out to market an adult drama about a historic event, they write off teenagers.   But when Paramount Pictures executives first screened director-producer Oliver Stone's upcoming release, "World Trade Center," for a test audience last month, they realized there was nothing typical about selling a movie about 9/11.   Teens who were just children when the Twin Towers fell said in a focus group attended by Paramount marketing staffers that the movie strongly resonate

Multi-Platinum Act Barenaked Ladies Provides Millionth Track; Catalogue Milestone Illustrates Power of 'Long Tail' Model   NEW YORK, July 25 /PRNewswire/ -- The Orchard, the world's leading digital distributor and marketer of independent music, today announced that multi-platinum act Barenaked Ladies' "Sound of Your Voice" has become the company's one millionth licensed track.   This milestone solidifies The Orchard's position as the top independent distribution company in the industry, with a

Great concert in Singapore, man. Now, I don't usually do this, but after listening to 'Yellow' for the 586th time, I can no longer ignore the gaping holes in the song . Here's what I mean...   Read the full article here [thanks RYKO]

In a year which has seen Sandi Thom's online gigs lead to a major-label contract, Gnarls Barkley's record-busting download hit dominate the charts and now Lily Allen's MySpace friends help propel her debut single to number one, there has never been a better time to celebrate the UK's digital music pioneers.   The deadline for this year's BT Digital Music Awards, planned to be televised on Channel 4, is August 15.   Artists and music companies are encouraged to enter for one or more of the 19 cat

Police are desperately trying to find out details of a "mega" illegal rave expected to take place in the coming weeks, as forces across the country begin to report a significant resurgence in the free party movement.   First signs of the rebirth of the outdoor rave came last year, but partygoers now appear to be more emboldened to challenge laws brought in 12 years ago by the Conservative government to crush a scene that epitomised the dance and drug culture of the early 90s.   The so-called "re

Aristotle once wrote: "Where there is a dearth of quality, mediocrity is King."   And so it was when Parachutes landed upon us, and, it would seem, most of the time since. Because Coldplay write perfectly adequate songs, and have an almost original sound, and actually play their instruments, and do so perfectly adequately, and have clearly become a very successful "rock" band.   All very admirable, and, as Aristotle implied, given that there was absolutely nothing else around at the time, a very

Trade magazine Home Media Retailing's Jessica Wolf this morning has a new report about HBO shows coming to DVD this Fall. Among them is a new "complete series" release of Six Feet Under. Here's what Wolf says about it:   Streeting Oct. 31 is Six Feet Under: The Complete Series ($279.99). The elaborately packaged set includes all five seasons of the Emmy Award-winning show, boxed in burial-plot-themed packaging.   The set also features new bonus footage, including “The Book of Obituaries”, whic

Network television has always used its shows to sell the sponsor's soap. But as audiences find more ways to zap those commercial messages (think TiVo) and spend less time watching TV overall, networks are scrambling to find new ways to make shows sing for their supper.   In a recent episode of CBS's "CSI: New York," a cellphone rings with the song "Talk" by Coldplay, which the characters discuss. At the next commercial break, the audience is invited to download the ringtone for $2.49. Over on

IN the space of a month, three singers from stellar bands are releasing solo albums.   The Eraser, by Radiohead's Thom Yorke, came out two weeks ago and is being followed by the British release next week of The Great Western, from Manic Street Preachers' James Dean Bradfield, and My Secret is My Silence, by Idlewild's Roddy Woomble.   Solo albums are so effective at restoring functionality to dysfunctional bands that they should be prescribed to any group that seems to be losing its way. Coldpla

Vivendi's Universal Music has made a bid of close to $2 billion in the auction of Bertelsmann AG's music publishing arm, the Financial Times said on Friday, citing two people familiar with the situation.   The world's largest music company made it through to the second round, along with Warner Music and also private equity group BC Partners, with bids coming in between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, the newspaper said.   Fifteen prospective buyers have been sent information about BMG Music Publish

Mobile phone manufacturer Nokia is to end its headline sponsorship of the Isle of Wight music festival.   The event has been billed as The Official Nokia Isle of Wight Festival for three years but the company has now decided that it can associate itself with music in more strategic ways.   Nokia head of marketing Simon Lloyd revealed the news at the MusicWeek/Ricall Music & Brands conference yesterday (19 July). He said: “Isle of Wight has been good for us for the last three years and we go