MJ "close to death"?

UK's Daily Express reports that popstar Michael Jackson might be "fighting for his life," according to a biographer, Ian Halperin. Apparently, MJ is suffering from a lung condition called Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency and requires an emergency lung transplant, but is too weak to get operated upon. Halperin says that the singer is now so ill that he can barely speak and that he has lost almost 95 percent of vision in his left eye. 

Sad, if true. 

New U2 album out on March 2

U2 have announced that their new album (their 12th studio effort) will be out on March 2, 2009. The album is named No Line on the Horizon.

Phish headlining Bonnaroo '09

According to Rolling Stone, reunited jam band Phish might be headlining two nights at the 2009 edition of Bonnaroo, due in June. We will have to wait till February to see if Rolling Stone's "reliable sources" are really that, because that's when the official line-up will be revealed.

Satriani v/s Coldplay. Round 3

The battle between Joe Satriani and Coldplay gets stranger. First Satriani sued Coldplay. Then Coldplay put out a statement on their website. And now, Coldplay's music label, EMI, has got YouTube to yank mashup videos of the two songs in question off the video-sharing site. Hmmm...

Chickenfoot album in 2009?

The weirdly named supergroup that sees Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, Chad Smith and Michael Anthony (from left) coming together has resumed work on its debut album. Ex-Van Halen bassist Anthony wrote on his blog last week, "Chad and I just got back this week from recording in the San Francisco area, and I am pleased to say that the basic tracks are finished and smokin'!! Right now, Joe is sprinkling some guitar magic on everything, and next week Sam will be doing vocals. Then I'll be back up there to slather some background vocals on everything. I can't wait for all of you to check it out!! Look out 2009!!!!"

Clapton auctions guns

Guitarslinger Eric Clapton has auctioned 13 pieces from his collection of - no, not guitars - shotguns. He is reported to have raised GBP 443,000 from this auction.

Bono gets Nobel Man of Peace Award

Supersinger and superhero Bono has been awarded the Man of Peace Award at the Nobel Peace Summit in Paris on Friday. Receiving the award, the U2 frontman said, "This is a big award for me, because, let's be honest, this is as close as I am going to get, as close as a rock star is ever going to get to the Nobel Peace Prize."

Rahman nominated for Golden Globe

AR Rahman's score for Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire has received a nomination for the 2009 Golden Globes, it was announced on Thursday. Interestingly, one of the other names he is up against in this category is Clint Eastwood who gets the nod for his score for Changeling.

The other music biggies who got themselves nominations include Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel and Beyonce Knowles.

Pearl Jam to reissue Ten

Pearl Jam has announced that they will be re-issuing their breakthrough debut, Ten, in March 2009. In this announcement on their official website, the Seattle band says that the package will include:

* Remaster of the original Ten album + remix by producer Brendan O'Brien * DVD of previously unreleased 1992 Pearl Jam MTV Unplugged performance * LP of the 1992 Drop in the Park concert * Replica of Pearl Jam three-song demo cassette with Eddie Vedder's original vocal dubs * Recreation of Eddie Vedder's composition notebook * Never before seen memorabilia * Bonus tracks and more.

Alright, dear friends. I am willing to wait till March 2009 for my Christmas/New Year gifts.

Coldplay responds to Satriani

After Joe Satriani went ahead and sued Coldplay last week for allegedly lifting parts of his song 'If I Could Fly' for their Grammy-nominated track, 'Viva la Vida,' the band yesterday put up a statement on their website. In the statement, Coldplay insist that the similarities are "entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him."

Meet Jim Morrison... at 65

Today is the 65th birthday of Jim Morrison. And according to Perception Lab, this is how the Lizard King would have looked like, if he had been alive.

Metallica release new video

Metallica has posted a video for 'All Nightmare Long' from their chartbusting album, Death Magnetic on their website.

Satriani sues Coldplay

According to BBC News, guitarist Joe Satriani has finally sued Coldplay for allegedly lifting one of the main riffs from his 2004 song 'If I Could Fly' and using it to build their song 'Viva la Vida'. The uncanny similarity came into light soon after the release of the Coldplay album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, earlier this year. Several people posted videos (mash-ups included) on YouTube to make their point. Including this one here:



Incidentally, another lesser-known band called Creaky Boards also accused Chris Martin and Co. of lifting the very same riff from their song, 'Songs I Didn't Write'. Bizarre, eh!

In the suit filed on December 4 in LA, Satriani is seeking damages and "any and all profits" from the alleged plagiarism. Ironically, the night before, Coldplay had notched up seven Grammy nominations, including one for Song of the Year, for - yes, you guessed right - 'Viva la Vida'.

Go, Joe, go!!

Motherjane rockumentary

Motherjane is, IMHO, one of the best Indian bands out there. And with the release of their second album, Maktub, they reinforce their position. Don't know the band? Check out the rockumentary-style video above. And once you are done with it, check out the couple of music videos below.

And oh, if you are in Bombay, you can catch them live this month. December 20 at IIT-B's Mood Indigo, and December 22 at SIES.

'Fields of Sound'



'Chasing the Sun'

Grammy nominations announced

The Recording Academy has announced the list of nominees for the 51st Grammy Awards. Leading the pack this time around is rapper Lil Wayne with 8 nominations. Right behind him are Coldplay with seven and Kanye West, Jay-Z and Ne-Yo with six. Hmm.... Rap seems to be the flavour of the year. The winners will be announced on February 8, 2009.

Three biggies, with our picks, below. Mind you, these are only our choices, what we would like to win. But chances are they might not.

Album of the Year
Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
Ne-Yo - Year of the Gentleman
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Our pick: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand

Record of the Year
Adele - 'Chasing Pavements'
Coldplay - 'Viva La Vida'
Leona Lewis - 'Bleeding Love'
M.I. A. - 'Paper Planes'
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - 'Please Read the Letter'
Our pick: Coldplay - 'Viva La Vida'

Best Rock Album
Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Kid Rock - Rock N Roll Jesus
Kings of Leon - Only By the Night
Metallica - Death Magnetic
The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
Our pick: Metallica - Death Magnetic

The Boss shows new video

My Lucky Day

Bruce Springsteen is now showing this new video on his MySpace page. "My Lucky Day" is the second song to be released from his next album, Working on a Dream (due out January 27).

Velvet Revolver find Weiland replacement?

They have. If Classic Rock is to be believed. According to a post on their website, VR might soon have Phil Conalane (centre, above) from Million Dollar Reload singing for them. Phil Who, Million Dollar What, you say? Well, according to Classic Rock, "Phil is experienced but relatively unknown on the international stage, which would fit Velvet Revolver's bill of fresh blood as they try to rebuild their career following the disappointing sales of their last album, Libertad, and the GN'R return that has left them reeling."

Soundpad

Sophie Harris, a journalist from London, came by recently to write about the British Council's Soundpad project. Read about the project here and here, and read her account here.

Live Earth India cancelled

Live Earth India, which was scheduled to have been held in Mumbai on December 7 has been cancelled in the wake of the terrorist strikes in the city.

In a posting on their website, the organisers said:

"Everyone involved with Live Earth India, from our U.S.- and India-based staff, artists and crew to our India-based broadcast, production, non-profit and marketing communications partners, is stunned and saddened by the tragic events of the past few days in our host city Mumbai. We always felt very welcomed and safe as we spent more time on the ground in Mumbai to finalize plans for Live Earth India, scheduled for December 7.

Due to circumstances far beyond our control, we are saddened to announce that Live Earth India has been cancelled. We will continue to work for solutions to the climate crisis for the good of the people of India and around the world. But for now, our thoughts and our prayers are with the victims of this terrible attack, with the bereaved, with the people of Mumbai and with everyone in India."

Les Paul. The person, not the guitar.

Mr. Lester William Polsfuss is probably single-handedly responsible for the rock guitar sound as we know it today. Yesterday, some of the best guitarists - Slash, Billy Gibbons, Richie Sambora et al - paid tribute to Les Paul at an American Music Masters concert held in Cleveland, Ohio. Read the Rollingstone.com report here. Les Paul was also given an American Music Master trophy, on receiving which, he said, "Everybody thought I was a guitar until I played here tonight."

And hey, don't forget to watch the video there.