Top 10 Most Artistic Album Covers

The Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White in Sony’s Rockumentary

The Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White will be jamming for a rockumentary from Oscar-winning director Davis Guggenheim.

Sony Pictures Classics will present the guitar heroes from U2, Led Zeppelin and the White Stripes cranking their instruments up to 11 in “It Might Get Loud”,the documentry looks at the history of the guitar through the eyes of the three musicians profiled.

Each of these three picked for their contributions to guitar playing in three separate eras - Page in the ’70s, The Edge in the ’80s and ’90s, and White in the early years of the 21st century.

The movie was shot in London, Dublin, Nashville and Los Angeles.

Aretha Franklin Named Greatest Singer Of Rock Era

Aretha Franklin has been named the greatest singer of the rock era in a new Rolling Stone poll.

The Queen of Soul topped the list ahead of  Ray Charles at No. 2, Elvis Presley at No. 3, Sam Cooke at No. 4 and John Lennon at No. 5.

The top 100 list will be published on magazine’s December issue.The listed was selected by 179 musicians, producers and experts,including Keith Richards of Rolling Stones, James Hetfield of Metallica, David Crosby, Yusuf Islam,Iggy Pop and Mary J. Blige. Voters submitted their top 20 choices, and an accounting firm tabulated the results.

Besides 66 years old Franklin, the only other living people in the top 10 were Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder.

The top 10 is as follows:

1. Aretha Franklin
2. Ray Charles
3. Elvis Presley
4. Sam Cooke
5. John Lennon
6. Marvin Gaye
7. Bob Dylan
8. Otis Redding
9. Stevie Wonder
10. James Brown

What ’s your idea about this list?

Bob Geldof Awarded Honorary Doctorate

Sir Bob Geldof, the driving force behind 1985 Live Aid event was awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of East London.

“I actually thought you were going to be a bunch of musos, it turns out you’re geeks,”The former Boomtown Rat joked at the ceremony.

‘I have lived in London for most of my life and East London is probably the most fluid part of the Capital. There’s a constant influx of people, immigrants like myself. So it’s great to come here and see this mix of people now all amazingly well qualified!’

The ceremony was held at the Barbican Centre in central London.

The award is the third honorary degree that Bob Geldof has received.In 1986 Queen Elizabeth awarded him an honorary knighthood (Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire).

Organisers said the award recognises his “unique success in harnessing the power of popular music to raise funds and awareness of key global issues, and changing the lives of people worldwide”.

2008 American Music Awards Nominees Announced

Alicia Keys leads 2008 AMA Nominees with 5 and faces Eagles, Coldplay, Lil’ Wayne and Chirs Brown For Artist Of The Year.Keys whose newest flick, The Secret Life of Bees, will hit theaters this Friday (October 17), has been nominated for artist of the year, favorite female pop or rock music artist and favorite soul/rhythm & blues music female artist. Her 2007 release, As I Am, was also nominated for favorite album in both the pop or rock music and soul/R&B categories.

Coldplay and the Eagles earned four nominations each. Coldplay was nominated for artist of the year, favorite band, duo or group — pop or rock music, favorite artist — alternative rock music and favorite album — pop or rock music for “Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends.”

The Eagles scored nominations for: artist of the year, favorite band, duo or group — pop or rock music, favorite artist — adult contemporary music, and favorite album pop or rock music for “Long Road Out of Eden.”

Rihanna, Ne-Yo, Taylor Swift, the Pussycat Dolls and New Kids on The Block were also announced as performers for the 36th annual AMAs, joining previously named performers the Jonas Brothers and P!nk.

The American Music Awards will present 20 trophies in pop/rock, country, soul/rhythm & blues and rap/hip-hop, Latin, alternative, contemporary inspirational and adult contemporary. The awards will be presented in Nokia Theatre Los Angeles on November 23rd and Jimmy Kimmel will host the ceremony.

For the second consecutive year, all winners will be chosen by fans via online voting at amavote.com, votes will be collected from October 14 to November 7.

Here’s the complete list of nominees:

Artist of the Year

* Lil Wayne
* Chris Brown
* Alicia Keys
* Eagles
* Coldplay

POP/ROCK

Favorite Male Artist

* Chris Brown
* Kid Rock
* Usher

Favorite Female Artist

* Mariah Carey
* Alicia Keys
* Rihanna

Favorite Band, Duo or Group

* Coldplay
* Eagles
* Daughtry

Favorite Album

* Coldplay, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
* Eagles, Long Road Out of Eden
* Alicia Keys, As I Am

COUNTRY

Favorite Male Artist

* Garth Brooks
* Kenny Chesney
* Brad Paisley

Favorite Female Artist

* Reba McEntire
* Taylor Swift
* Carrie Underwood

Favorite Band, Duo or Group

* Brooks & Dunn
* Rascal Flatts
* Sugarland

Favorite Album

* Garth Brooks, The Ultimate Hits
* Rascal Flatts, Still Feels Good
* Carrie Underwood, Carnival Ride

RAP/HIP-HOP

Favorite Male Artist

* Flo Rida
* Lil Wayne
* Kanye West

Favorite Band, Duo or Group

* G-Unit
* Three 6 Mafia
* Wu-Tang Clan

Favorite Album

* Jay-Z, American Gangster
* Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III
* Kayne West, Graduation

SOUL/RHYTHM & BLUES

Favorite Male Artist

* Chris Brown
* J. Holiday
* Usher

Favorite Female Artist

* Mary J. Blige
* Alicia Keys
* Rihanna

Favorite Album

* Mary J. Blige, Growing Pains
* Mariah Carey, E=MC2
* Alicia Keys, As I Am

SOUNDTRACKS

Favorite Album

* Alvin and the Chipmunks
* Juno
* Mamma Mia!

ALTERNATIVE ROCK MUSIC

Favorite Artist

* Coldplay
* Foo Fighters
* Linkin Park

ADULT CONTEMPORARY MUSIC

Favorite Artist

* Daughtry
* Eagles
* Jordin Sparks

LATIN MUSIC

Favorite Artist

* Enrique Iglesias
* Juanes
* Wisin & Yandel

CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL

Favorite Artist

* Casting Crowns
* MercyMe
* Third Day

T-MOBILE BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST

* Colbie Caillat
* Flo Rida
* Jonas Brothers
* Paramore
* The-Dream

Guns ‘N’ Roses to release ‘Chinese Democracy’ Nov. 23

Billboard is reporting that Chinese Democracy, the delayed Guns N’ Roses album, will finally be released Nov. 23, exactly 15 years to the day since their last release, The Spaghetti Incident.Their new song Shackler’s Revenge will debut on the soundtrack of video game Rock Band 2 ahead of the album release.

The set will be a Best Buy exclusive and will be available Sunday, rather than the usual Tuesday.By releasing it on a Sunday rather than a Tuesday, Guns ‘N Roses can apparently give Chinese Democracy a chance to be eligible for Billboard’s sales charts a few days earlier.

Another track from the album, If The World, is used on the closing credits for the film Body of Lies, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe.

Chinese Democracy will be the sixth studio album by Guns,The album is completed after 14-years of production and costing over $13 million to produce.

In March Dr Pepper take the challenge after making a press announcement that it will give a free can of Dr Pepper to “everyone in America if Chinese Democracy arrives anytime during the calendar year 2008.

You can get your free Guns n’ Roses Chinese Democracy and 14 days of free music at musicmonster.fm

Nine Inch Nails edition of Tap Tap Revenge for iPhone

The iPhone startup Tapulous inked a deal with Nine Inch Nails to include a sampling of the band’s songs in a “premium version” of the iPhone rhythm game Tap Tap Revenge.

Tap Tap Revenge is a music game akin to Guitar Hero, designed for the iPod touch and iPhone. You match the beat of the music by tapping rhythms in time with what’s happening on the screen. The full version of Tap Tap Revenge is totally free, and features a wide assortment of music tracks available for download that interface with the product.Turns out Nine Inch Nail’s Trent Reznor is a fan as well.

Trent Reznor announced on his blog a new $4.99 NIN-branded premium version of the iPhone game that will feature 16 specially selected songs that will play in the background of each stage. The songs will come from NIN’s last two album’s The Slip and Ghosts I-IV.

The partnership is among the first to bring licensed content to an iPhone application, and will likely prompt a wave of similar deals between other musicians and applications on the platform.

10 Most Tragic & Untimely Deaths in Rock and Roll History

On the night of 8 December 1980, Lennon was shot four times in the back by Mark David Chapman outside the musician’s New York apartment. Lennon had autographed a copy of Double Fantasy for Chapman earlier that same night.

Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977 at his home Graceland in Memphis.His girlfriend at the time, Ginger Alden, was asleep in his bed when he died. It was she who discovered the body.

On April 8, 1994, Cobain’s body was discovered at his Lake Washington home by an electrician who had arrived to install a security system. Apart from a minor amount of blood coming out of Cobain’s ear, Smith reported seeing no visible signs of trauma, and initially believed that Cobain was asleep until he saw the shotgun pointing at his chin.The coroner’s report estimated Cobain to have died on April 5, 1994.

Early on September 18, 1970, Jimi Hendrix died in London.He had spent the later part of the evening before at a party and was picked up by girlfriend Monika Dannemann and driven to her flat at the Samarkand Hotel.

“When I die, I want people to play my music, go wild, and freak out an’ do anything they wanna do.”

Joplin died on October 4, 1970 in Los Angeles, California.John Cook, one of her band members, became alarmed when she didn’t show up for the recording session and after unsuccessfully trying to reach her by telephone, he went to the hotel, broke down the door and found her dead.

Morrison died on July 3, 1971, aged 27.He was found in a Paris apartment bathtub by Courson.

“Death makes angels of us all, and gives us wings, where we had shoulders, smooth as raven’s, claws”

Mercury died on 24 November 1991 at the age of 45 in his Kensington home.

He died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Miami, Florida on the morning of May 11, 1981.His final words to his son Ziggy were “Money can’t buy life.”

Cline died in a plane crash in March 5, 1963, in a forest just outside of Camden, Tennessee, only 90 miles from the destination.

Redding, his manager, the pilot, and four members of The Bar-Kays were killed when his chartered Beechcraft plane crashed into Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin, on December 10, 1967.

Paul McCartney Flashing V Sign in Israel

On arrival in Israel McCartney said he was bringing a “message of peace and love.” and flashing a V sign for peace to adoring fans.

The veteran Paul is scheduled to play a concert in Israel’s capital Tel Aviv on Sep 25,after 43 years that the Israeli government banned The Beatles from playing a show there thinking the group would corrupt the nation’s youth.

Israel’s ambassador to Britain formally apologized in January for the cold shoulder shown to the Beatles.He invited McCartney and the other surviving band member, Richard Starkey, whose stage name was Ringo Starr, to perform in the Jewish state.

McCartney has promised a few surprises, saying: “We’ve been rehearsing some songs we’ve not done for a while but that’s all I’ll tell you.”

Enthusiastic fans turned out to greet Sir Paul outside his hotel in Tel Aviv on Wednesday - and the star stopped to sign autographs and flash peace signs at the crowd.Inside, he met the press, throwing a variety of rock star poses and joking with reporters: “It is me”.

The landmark Friendship First Concert will take place on Thursday in Tel Aviv in front of tens of thousands of fans, despite fears over extremist threats.

“I think we”re at a very interesting stage in human development and I just hope for the best and I’m optimistic about it. I’m not so much religious as someone who likes to think I take the best from many religions: the best of what they all have to say. They obviously have a lot of things in common,”McCartney said.

Palestinians had urged McCartney to cancel his trip over Israel’s occupation of the West Bank since 1967.

“I was approached by different groups and political bodies who asked me not to come here. I refused. I do what I think, and I have many friends who support Israel,” McCartney was quoted as saying in an interview with the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth daily.

Unknown Mozart piece of music discovered

A previously unknown sheet of music by Mozart has been found a library in Nantes in western France as staff were going through its archives.The 18th century melody sketch is missing the harmony and instrumentation but was described as an important find.
Ulrich Leisinger, head of research at the International Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg, Austria,says the library contacted his foundation for help authenticating the work.
” there is no doubt that the single sheet was written by the composer.This is absolutely new,” Leisinger said “We have new music here.”
“His handwriting is absolutely clearly identifiable,” he added. “There’s no doubt that this is an original piece handwritten by Mozart.”
“It’s a melody sketch so what’s missing is the harmony and the instrumentation but you can make sense out of it,” he said. “The tune is complete. It’s only one part and not the whole score with eight or twelve parts.”
“One can really get a feeling of what Mozart meant although we do not know how he would have orchestrated it.”
There have been about 10 Mozart finds of such importance over the past 50 years, he said. If sold, the single sheet would likely be worth around $100,000.
“The fact that an entirely new sheet shows up is extremely rare,” he said.
The sheet appears also to have been examined in the 19th Century by Aloys Fuchs, a well-respected autograph hunter who collected works from more than 1,500 different musicians. Fuchs wrote “authenticity of this present handwriting of W.A. Mozart is confirmed,” in an annotation dated Aug. 18, 1839, in Vienna.

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