Ryan Book, The Music Times

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  • Australian Music Festival Fails: 5 Events Suffering Bad Luck and Bad Organization in Memory of Sunbury

    Australia is one of the toughest places to stage a music festival due to its relative isolation from the rest of the world. There's plenty of fans to provide funding for a limited number of events but it's still tough to draw (and pay) huge acts for traveling so far for what's most likely to be just on appearance (versus a longer tour scenario, where headliners such as Katy Perry can make oodles of cash). Here are five festivals that have undergone downsizing down under recently.

  • Kirk Hammett Books 3 Rock Superstars for 'Fear FestEvil' and None of Them Are From Metallica

    Metallica's Orion Fest may not have succeeded on a financial level enough to justify future versions, but guitarist Kirk Hammett and his "Kirk von Hammet''s Fear FestEvil" will have a second run in San Jose during April. The thrash icon and horror movie enthusiast has announced a lineup for the three-day event, although the characters he's booked for a panel may be even more exciting than the confirmed musicians: Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 and Slash will all appear in speaking roles.

  • Why Does 'Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck' Lack Commentary from Dave Grohl? Director Brett Morgen Explains

    'Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck,' the documentary based on the Nirvana frontman that debuted at the Sundance Film Festival this week, had a little bit of everything but some noticed that it didn't feature Dave Grohl, the band's drummer and current Foo Fighters vocalist. Although there have been questions in the past over the relationship between the two bandmates, director Brett Morgen assured viewers at the film's premiere in Utah that a later cut of the film may include commentary from Grohl, who was interviewed for the project.

  • Grateful Dead Reunion: Deadheads Ask Chicago to Allow Parking in Soldier Field Lot for Jam Band's Last Stand with Trey Anastasio

    Grateful Dead fans, the famous "Deadheads," are grateful that the band will be celebrating its 50th anniversary with a special series of shows at Chicago's Soldier Field, however they'd be especially grateful if the venue would allow them to camp in the parking lot between shows. Fans of the jam icons would often follow the group on the road and camp along the way, and the Deadheads want to do things right during their idols' last stand on the road.

  • Meow The Jewels: El-P Releases Preview of 'Run The Jewels 2' Mock-Up on Instagram, Announces Special Celebrity Cat Guest

    Run The Jewels member El-P got on Instagram this week and previewed clips of Meow The Jewels, a project where the "Close Your Eyes" rappers' music is replaced by cat noises. He also revealed special guest spots on the album for noted musicians such as Geoff Barrow of Portishead, hip-hop producer Dan The Automator and...internet sensation Lil Bub, a cat whose tongue constantly pokes from is open mouth.

  • Barack Obama, David Cameron and Narendra Modi: Guessing at 6 World Leaders' Favorite Performers

    The favorite music of the world's most powerful people is often kept a secret, as one controversial faux pas could be the death of a political career. Things have started to warm up however, as the leaders of the free (and less than free) world have taken to filling the general public in on their Facebook favs. David Cameron told the world this week that he preferred Bryan Ferry over Jay Z, and even Vladimir Putin has warmed enough to inform his constituents that he was "a Russian man and I listen to Russian music." French President Francois Hollande used "Niggas in Paris" as part of a campaign commercial during 2012 (although we doubt he personally is a fan of Jay and Kanye).

  • Deflategate Playlist: Songs Summing Up The Patriots and Tom Brady's Bad Week with Under-Inflation

    "Deflategate" and the New England Patriots, whether coach Bill Belechick or quarterback Tom Brady knew anything about it, and whether the NFL will crack down on the organization with the Super Bowl approaching is the viral topic on the tips of every tongue. The Patriots were already one of the easiest football teams to hate, thanks to previous convictions for taping signals from the New York Jets and then accusations of shifty behavior during the team's divisional round game against the Baltimore Ravens. Music Times has come up with a quick playlist of tracks to describe the team's week, along with the connection.

  • Back of The Billboards: 'Mind Games' by Palisades

    Society always celebrates the records that top the Billboard 200 album chart. Back of The Billboards is a Music Times weekly segment that looks at the opposite end: the new record that finished closest to the back of the Billboard 200 for the previous week. We hope to give a fighting chance to the bands you haven't heard of. This week we look at Palisades' new album 'Mind Games' and its aim to combine hardcore with just about every mainstream genre: pop punk, EDM and hip-hop.

  • Lawsuit Against Google, Sony, Rdio, Beats Electronics and More May End Pre-1972 Music Streaming and Internet Radio

    Music streaming controversy has gotten uglier as a lawsuits have been filed against Google, Sony Entertainment, Rdio, Songza, Apple's Beats Electronics and more on behalf of the music group that owns the catalogues of the Flying Burrito Brothers, Hot Tuna and Purple Sage. The results of the collective legal push could result in thousands of songs written prior to 1972 disappearing from the internet.

  • Michael Jackson's Family Asks for Retrial in 2013 Lawsuit Against AEG Live About Drug-Induced Death

    Michael Jackson's mother Katherine Jackson and the children of the deceased pop icon got their day in court as lawyers for the involved parties argued that the lawsuit the family brought against AEG Live LLC during 2013 should receive a new trial. The family had alleged that the concert promoter was responsible for providing Jackson with the services of Conrad Murray, the doctor who applied a lethal dose of propofol and other drugs. Still, the Jacksons face an uphill battle in getting a new decision.

  • Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock Co-Headlining for First Time Since 1978; Check Out Full List of Dates

    Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, two of the greatest living jazz musicians, have announced a dual-headlining world tour that will kick off in Seattle during March. The pair have toured together before but it's been a while, lasting co-headlining during 1978. Both legendary pianists will appear onstage together, according to Billboard. A trek through Australia, Asia and more European dates will reportedly come later this year.

  • No Offense to LL Cool J, but 5 Other Options for Grammy Hosting: Beyoncé, Steven Colbert, Blake Shelton and More

    Today the Recording Academy confirmed that LL Cool J will be the host at The Grammys when they go down on February 8. It was hardly a surprise to anyone who's paid attention in recent years: The emcee has hosted the event every year since 2012. That said, it's tough to blame the Academy and CBS for not wanting to shake things up: Although the performer will have now hosted 10 times, the recent results don't lie. The previous three years have featured, respectively, the no. 1, 3, and 2 highest viewerships since the '80s (the 2012 edition got a boost from those tuning in after Whitney Houston's death).
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