Articles

ERICA: Greg and I went to see Coldplay this weekend and I cried. It was an eighth grade, passing notes in class, TLF kind of moment, but I cried nonetheless.   Five years ago I moved here to NYC from LA and made my way to the east coast with two friends on a crazy cross country trip. We brought a ton of music with us, but wound up basically listening to Coldplay's Parachute album on a constant loop for six days. Some people get super duper sick of an album after that much listening, but I swear

SONY and Bertelsmann, the partners in the SonyBMG music label, are preparing to retain investment banks to examine a deal that would see the German company sell its €1.5 billion to €2 billion (£1 billion to £1.37 billion) share.   Sony is expected to use Goldman Sachs, amid expectations that Bertelsmann will rely on JPMorgan — although Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank are still hoping to be involved.   The operation, which handles song copyrights for Robbie Williams and Coldplay, would attract i

On the brink of topping the American Billboard Hot Dance Play Chart today is Mink, who is in the number two slot followed only by Coldplay's "Talk."   Other than the fact that Mink had enjoyed airplay in Japan, where she debuted, little had been known of her. However, the newcomer's song "Glory of Life" is one of the most played songs on the U.S. club scene. It turns out, though, that Mink is a 22-year-old Korean. She is currently signed with Japan's recording powerhouse Avex Trax.   According t

Senoir boys at The Edinburgh Academy are wearing their green tweed jackets for the last time this week. After 40 years, the garment has been ditched from the school uniform.   A new blue blazer is being introduced in September, and after March 30 the boys will be changing to a lightweight navy blazer for the summer. Academy rector John Light said the school was situated on two nearby campuses, but was very much a single school. "We hope that by introducing a co-ordinated uniform we will reflect

The Football Association yesterday unveiled indie band Embrace as its choice to compose England's World Cup single, hoping the group's journey from obscurity to triumphant comeback can inspire the team to similar success.   Ending months of speculation tipping everyone from the Kaiser Chiefs to the Streets for the official soundtrack to England's efforts in Germany, the FA said Embrace had started work on the track, entitled World at Your Feet.   But the band made an unlikely comeback by returni

Elbow has released a string of ambitious albums, but no masterpiece. Its 2001 debut Asleep in the Back evoked its title image by making you feel disoriented yet serene; the follow-up, A Cast of Thousands, coughed up bigger singles, louder guitars and a Gospel choir. Neither album put the band at the top of the British music scene—Radiohead strikes a better balance of mood and songcraft, and Coldplay’s Chris Martin gets The Girl—but Elbow’s unique atmosphere and creeping emotions always set it ap

Just call them the Blunos. Canada’s top music awards, the Junos, are sailing into Nova Scotia this week.   Canada’s sexiest export, Pamela Anderson, will play host for Sunday night’s live broadcast from Halifax on CTV (7:00 pm ET). Performers include Bryan Adams, Michael Buble and Nickelback [pictured], as well as British band Coldplay and U.S. group Black Eyed Peas.   Also scheduled to perform are Bedouin Soundclash, Broken Social Scene, Divine Brown, Hedley and Massari. Nova Scotia's Buck 65 w

Glastonbury The Film is on its way to a cinema near you, thanks to Orange and Sony Ericsson.   The film, the first to provide a unique insight into the ‘ultimate’ live music festival, will be launched in key towns across the UK in April, supported by live acoustic sets.   Since the first Glastonbury Festival was held four decades ago in 1970, this semi-annual event has grown into the UK’s biggest music going extravaganza, frequented by some of the biggest bands in the world. Musicians featured

Expanding its content library to include the largest catalog of recording artists, FunMail, Inc., a leading provider of mobile entertainment applications and services, has announced a mobile content licensing agreement with EMI Music, the world's largest independent record company. As part of the agreement, EMI artists, such as Coldplay, Norah Jones, Dem Franchize Boyz and Keith Urban, will be featured in FunMail's TrueTones Universe™ application, which is available through major wireless carrie

X&Y From A To Z   While most U.K. groups go down as easily in America as a plateful of haggis or a mug of room-temperature beer nowadays, there's one band that continues to lead a British invasion all on its own.   In fact, with their epic third album X&Y (13 tracks of universally appealing, U2-worthy rock--or "soft rock," as singer Chris Martin puts it), not to mention sold-out stadium tours and a regular spot in the tabloids thanks to Martin's high-profile marriage to A-list actress Gw

When Coldplay cut A Rush of Blood to the Head, the rock band didn't want the album's production and distribution to add to the greenhouse gases flowing into the atmosphere. So, working with a small British firm, the CarbonNeutral Co., the group bought 10,000 mango trees for villagers in Karnataka, India. Since plants breathe in carbon dioxide as they grow, Coldplay figures the mango trees will eventually neutralize all the CO2 released in the making and selling of its CDs.   It's a sweet deal al

Bertelsmann is making preparations to sell its music companies as Europe's largest media company fights to maintain its private status.   People briefed on the plans said it had mandated investment bankers to prepare disposals of its music publishing catalogues and its stake in Sony BMG, its recorded music joint venture with the Japanese group.   Four people familiar with the company's plans said a sale was under preparation, though still at an early stage. The group is examining the sale of its

I know, it's only frock 'n' roll but they like it, like it, yes they do.   Musicians love to shop. The guys from Oasis, here for an ACC gig early this week, had been spotted everywhere from Roots to Harry Rosen's and Uncle Otis in Yorkville. Dropping by Roots for T-shirts, sweats, jackets and shades has been an Oasis ritual for the past decade. Roots even specially made a pair of negative-heeled shoes called Manchester City Blues for Liam Gallagher and his wife.   Coldplay's Chris Martin, who pl

"I can’t stand biographies. Most of them are just bollocks, aren’t they? I’d like a biog that just has a list of what I’ve done and a few quotes. As little soapy bullshit as possible please. That would be top. Thanks." - Richard Ashcroft, November 2005   Well, you heard the man, so let’s keep this simple. Keys To The World is Richard Ashcroft’s third solo album, following July 2000’s Alone With Everybody and November 2002’s Human Conditions. He wrote its ten songs (which last 44 minutes) over a

Death, if we're so lucky, comes in the waning years of one's life. It would arrive with little suffering, as painless as closing your eyes and entering a deep sleep. Some of us aren't so lucky. My iPod wasn't. It suffered. And I cried a thousand tears.   On Monday, Feb. 27, 2006, at approximately 4:10 p.m., my 20-gigabyte, special-edition U2 black-and-red iPod died. No warnings, no goodbyes. It happened as I exercised on the elliptical machine at the gym. Its last words were: "You're seeing the

Snow Patrol, the emotive indie U.K. outfit fronted by the lanky, tender-voxed Gary Lightbody, return with their fourth album, Eyes Open, May 1st.   The follow-up to 2004's Final Straw -- boosted by the Coldplay-esque single "Run" -- was crafted with longtime producer Garrett Lee over the course of a year in the band's country of Scotland, and in a renowned little house at a dramatic location on the Irish coast."We were staying in this place called 'The Roundhouse,'" drummer Johnny Quinn says of

The Philosopher Kings have been revving the mojos of the Canadian populace for over a decade with hit singles like "Charms," "Hurts To Love You" and "If I Ever Lose This Heaven." After a long hiatus where other side projects (Jarvis Church, Prozzak) were explored, TPK have their fourth studio album, Castles, ready to drop on Valentines Day. And although their music is always very soothing and full of suave sexual energy, when frontman Gerald Eaton is given the opportunity, he'll raise that deep

Americans have been hearing about the next big thing in British rock, and wanting to believe it, ever since the Beatles made their clamorous stateside debut at New York's Shea Stadium in 1964. That may help to explain the scepticism, and the disappointment, that has greeted the Arctic Monkeys as they tried to replicate their impact on British pop culture on the other side of the Atlantic.   "Overhyped Monkeys," was the verdict of one critic. He was not alone. The Sheffield band made a mediocre

Ok.. so I was the "big" winner of the Fan Cam contest by Global Canada and EMI Records.   Day 1: March 21 We get to Toronto (four hour flight) Nothing special happens...   Read the full story here You can discuss this story here [thanks dajrekshn]

Julien Temple whittled down 54,000 minutes of home-movie footage to create the ultimate Glastonbury movie. You can practically taste the mud, says Patrick Barkham   Previous attempts to capture the craziness of the festival have fallen flat, perhaps because Glastonbury is all so unreal. This time, Temple, who made the classic Sex Pistol films The Great Rock’n'Roll Swindle and The Filth and the Fury, issued plea after plea for amateur videos taken by punters at the festival.   Deluged with 54,00

Mark Steel has well and truly made it: his name was recently the answer to a question on University Challenge.   But it is as a stand-up comedian that Mark first made his name, and this spring he is touring with his new show, Vive La Revolution, stopping off at Llangollen, Bangor, Aberystwyth and Cardiff. Capitalising on the success of his book of the same name, it mixes trenchant humour with tales of The Terror, tumbrils and turmoil during the French Revolution.   "Last summer at the Glastonbur

No rock assault since the '60s British Invasion has beat The Beatles or even whipped Cream, despite a steady influx of UK talent that conquers charts at home.   Oasis spearheaded a '90s wave before washing out. U.S. fans also tuned in for Radiohead and, to a lesser degree, Blur, Elastica and The Verve. (Related story: Elbow your way into 12 others, for maximo effect)   Mellower fare fared better. Coldplay's piano-driven pop seduced the U.S. mainstream, and crooner James Blunt's current No. 2 alb

This from The Sun (UK) newspaper:   Embrace frontman Danny McNamara has pleaded with my army of readers to help the band get to No1 tomorrow.   Yesterday I told you how a cock-up in counting downloads of new single Nature’s Law could mean the boys don’t hit the top of the charts. The band were woken up by panicked text messages from friends who had read Bizarre — and are now doing everything in their power to overhaul NE*YO in the race for the top.   Someone who will be as pleased as Danny if E

Coldplay’s fourth single from X&Y, The Hardest Part is catchy and easy to listen to, but unfortunately in exactly the same way as any other Coldplay single is.   The song lives up to the band’s usual high standard of radio-friendly sublime ballads. It’s excellent mellow music to have in the background and wind down to, it’s instantly accessible to the listener and has almost universal appeal.   Somehow sounding familiar on even the first listen, it takes us through with the same mid-tempo

Sinclair Broadcast Group has reached a distribution agreement with The Tube Music Network to broadcast the Tube's music channel to its markets.   The Tube bills itself as the first music network to be distributed through "digital multicasting." Viewers of Sinclair stations can get the network on their digital cable tier, or free over the air on television sets equipped with digital tuners. The network has no non-music programming, and viewers can buy the music they hear on the channel immediate