PowerBlogs: Rumour Mills

Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton is attempting to answer the question on everyone’s minds: “What’s goin’ on with the band?”

Hamilton writes on the band’s website, it all boils down to Steven Tyler “wanting to go solo for a while and the other four of us wanting to continue.”

He says the band recently played some make-up concerts and they went well, but he admits, “Things have been tough lately.”

He adds, “The uncertainty is cruel to all sides in this case.”

—-

Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video will be the first music video to be named to National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.

The library preserves 25 films each year considered to be culturally or historically important.

Steve Leggett of the National Film Preservation Board says “Thriller” was considered for inclusion in past years, but the time was right to include it following Jackson’s death.

He says the board also wanted to include a representation of music videos because of the way the recording industry is evolving.

—-

Neil Young and The Guess Who’s Burton Cummings have been named officers of the Order of Canada. The annual award, Canada’s highest civilian honor, was established in 1967 to recognize “a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to community and service to the nation.” A ceremony honoring Young, Cummings and the other 50 new members of the order will be held in the spring.

—-

Kings of Leon enter 2010 with four Grammy nominations and more 2009 highlights than the band’s Nathan Followill can even process. Asked earlier this month what tops his list of the year’s accomplishments, the recently married drummer simply shook his head and said, “There are so many. I don’t think we’ve even realized the biggest highlight yet.”

One thing that won’t make bassist Jared Followill’s highlight reel as 2009 draws to a close is hearing “Use Somebody” on the radio. He tells Spin Magazine, “Before it was on the radio every five seconds, I thought [it] was a good song, but it’s hard to [bleep]in’ like it when you hear it 90 times a day.”

—-

Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Damien Rice and classical composer Phillip Glass are all working on music for the film When the Dragon Swallowed the Sun. The documentary, which director Dirk Simon has been working on for more than seven years, explores Tibetan life under Chinese rule. The film is expected out in the second half of 2010.

—-

Zakk Wylde is gearing up for a new Black Label Society album in 2010. It would be the band’s first studio album since 2006’s Shot to Hell. Wylde and the band will hit his new home studio in January and February with a goal of releasing the disc in June.

—-

Former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley will release Behind the Player, a career retrospective D-V-D on January 19th. It features interviews with Frehley, along with rare photos and video footage, guitar lessons for two songs he wrote for KISS — “Shock Me” and “Cold Gin” — and a jam session with a number of musicians, including Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum.

—-

Now that he’s off the road with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, guitarist Little Steven Van Zandt will get back to a number of projects, including the development of a rock and roll curriculum for schools, scheduled to launch in 2011. On February 11th, he’ll discuss that and more when he speaks at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan. Then on April 24th, he’ll be honored along with his wife Maureen at the Kristin Ann Carr Fund’s spring gala, A Night to Remember. The benefit raises money for cancer research and seeks to improve all aspects of cancer patient life with an emphasis on adolescents and young adults. Kristin was the daughter of Springsteen’s co-manager Barbara Carr.

More than 273-thousand people want John Mellencamp to quit smoking, but that’s still not enough.

Mellencamp’s son, Speck, started a Facebook page earlier this month to get his dad to kick the habit.

Mellencamp agreed that he’d quit smoking if one- (m) million people signed up.

Mellencamp’s wife, Elaine, is quoted on his website as saying Mellencamp started cutting back on cigarettes after 100-thousand people signed up.

—-

Counting Crows and Vanessa Carlton have reached the top of a decade-ender list that they probably don’t want to be on.

The Village Voice has chosen their version of “Big Yellow Taxi” as the worst song of the past 10 years.

The Voice seems to really hate remakes.

“What’s Going On,” an AIDS charity single featuring Fred Durst, Bono, Destiny’s Child, Gwen Stefani and many others, is the second-worst song.

Limp Bizkit’s version of “Wish You Were Here” with John Rzeznik (REZ’-nik) of the Goo Goo Dolls makes the list, as does Disturbed’s remake of “Land of Confusion,” Ozzy and Kelly Osborne doing Black Sabbath’s “Changes” and Hinder’s take on “Born To Be Wild.”

—-

As expected — considering his history of drug use — the autopsy results for Avenged Sevenfold drummer Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan came up inconclusive on Tuesday. The Orange County, California coroner’s office has ordered toxicology, microscopic and lab tests to help determine the cause of death. The results are not expected for at least a month. Sullivan was found dead at his Huntington Beach, California home on Monday.

—-

Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder is being sued for changing the words to a cover he did for the Into the Wild soundtrack. The writer of “Hard Sun,” Gordon Peterson, claims in his suit that “Vedder altered certain key lyrics of ‘Hard Sun’…eroding the integrity of the composition.” The suit doesn’t mention a specific damage amount in dollars, but wants all the profits from the “acts of infringement.” Vedder’s lawyer, Gregory Clarick, tells the New York Post, “We don’t see any basis for a copyright infringement claim.”

—-

Gregg Allman starts his winter tour tonight in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, with dates through January 16th in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Working apart from the Allman Brothers Band for a bit, the singer-keyboardist will ring in the New Year tomorrow night on stage in Lincoln, Rhode Island.

—-

Ted Nugent is taking his right-wing rabble-rousing to a whole new level — urging the imprisonment of the president of the United States! The Nuge tells Royal Flush magazine, “I think that Barack Hussein Obama should be put in jail. It is clear that Barack Hussein Obama is a communist. [Former Chinese leader] Mao Tse Tung lives and his name is Barack Hussein Obama. This country should be ashamed. I wanna throw up.” Sounds like someone got hold of a bad batch of elk jerky!

Trent Reznor is hinting he’s still got some music in him.

Reznor writes his Web site he’s planning new Nine Inch Nails music in the coming year and another project that is not Nine Inch Nails.

He says, “I am in a state of rediscovery and reinvention that feels unfamiliar, unsure and exactly what I need.”

Reznor has said he will no longer tour.

—-

Paul McCartney is going solo on “Rock Band.”

A three-pack of songs from his live album, “Good Evening New York City,” will be released for the video game “Rock Band” next month.

The songs are live versions of “Band on the Run,” “Jet” and “Sing the Changes.”

The tracks are available January 5 for X-Box 360 and Wii (WEE) and January 7 for Playstation 3.

“The Beatles: Rock Band” came out in September.

—-

A new Van Morrison has been born.

The Irish singer says on his Web site that he and his wife, GiGi, welcomed their son George Ivan Morrison III on Monday.

The couple says that “Little Van” is “the spitting image of his daddy.”

The baby is a dual citizen of the United States and United Kingdom.

—-

Police say The Rev, a drummer and backup vocalist for Avenged Sevenfold, has been found dead at his home in Southern California.

Lt. John Domingo says The Rev appears to have died of natural causes.

The Orange County coroner’s office is investigating the death.

—-

Melissa Etheridge has carried out her musical career with one rule — “What would Bruce do?”

Etheridge says for the past 20 years she’s always thought about how Bruce Springsteen would approach music, and she’d know how to proceed.

Springsteen received a Kennedy Center Honor earlier this month in Washington, and Etheridge says that shows how much Springsteen has contributed to American culture.

The Kennedy Center Honors will be broadcast tonight on C-B-S.

Mel Brooks, Robert De Niro, jazzman Dave Brubeck and opera singer Grace Bumbry also received the honour.

—-

Marilyn Manson and his original keyboardist, Madonna Wayne Gacy, have settled their lawsuit.

Gacy sued Manson for 20- (m) million dollars two years ago.

He claimed Manson used the money that was rightfully his to live a lavish lifestyle that included buying Nazi memorabilia.

Manson denied that and said Gacy did not properly perform his duties as a band member.

The agreement calls for Gacy’s lawyers to be paid 380-thousand dollars.

Manson’s lawyer, Howard King, is still calling that a victory.

He says Gacy is walking away with nothing and the case should never have been filed.

—-

The costume Tom Waits wears in the new movie “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” left him hardly any room to breathe.

Waits says he had to be sewn into his outfit.

The bowler hat he wears in the movie is the same one he wore on his 2008 tour and on the cover of his “Glitter and Doom” album that came out last month.

He likes it now, but he says he was really against it initially.

Waits says he wanted something a little more pointy.

—-

Coldplay are cleaning house and offering their stuff to the highest bidder.

Coldplay are holding an “End of Decade” sale, with proceeds going to a London children’s charity.

Among the items for sale are an autoharp used for the “Viva La Vida” album, the military-style jackets the band wore on the “Viva La Vida” tour, speakers from bassist Guy Berryman’s home studio, and uniforms the band used in soccer games against their crew.

Guitarist Jonny Buckland’s 1972 Telecaster is also for sale.

He was so hesitant to give it up he literally kissed it goodbye.

The auctions end at different times this week.

(Details can be found at www.Coldplay.com.)

—-

Bruce Springsteen was recently honored at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D-C along with Robert De Niro, Mel Brooks, jazz great Dave Brubeck and opera singer Grace Bumbry. Highlights of the gala event will air tonight on C-B-S at 6pm our time.

Springsteen’s achievements were recognized by Sting, John Mellencamp, Melissa Etheridge, Eddie Vedder, Ben Harper and T-V’s Jon Stewart, who joked audience that “Bob Dylan and James Brown had a baby, and that baby was Bruce. However, the era was not quite ready for a same-sex, inter-racial couple, and they abandoned the child somewhere between Exit 8-A and 9 on the New Jersey Turnpike. It was at this point that he was raised by feral vaudevillians and vagabond troubadors.”

Sting was joined by a choir to sing “The Rising.” Vedder offered “My City of Ruins.” Harper did “My Father’s House,” and then, hooking up with Jennifer Nettles from the country group Sugarland, did “I’m on Fire.” Nettles also did “Glory Days,” while Etheridge chipped in with “Born to Run.” Mellencamp, who did “Born in the U-S-A,” says he was “very proud and humbled to have been able to play the song in a different fashion — that I think was true to the feelings that Bruce had when he wrote it… I’m very proud of Bruce. As just some kid in New Jersey making records, I bet he never imagined in his wildest dreams that he’d someday be honored in this fashion. I’m glad to have been there to acknowledge the influence he’s had on all of us.”

—-

An A-C/D-C show scheduled for May 22nd in Austria is stirring up controversy with an animal rights group. N-G-O Birdlife says the band’s show at the Wels Airport will threaten the curlew, a rare bird species that nests in the area, and the organization is threatening legal action to block the gig. N-G-O Birdlife says the show should take place about a month later, when the bird’s nesting time will be over.

—-

A book written by one of U-2’s closest friends about his experience starting a band at the same time in Ireland is being turned into a movie. Killing Bono is based on Neil McCormick’s 2004 autobiography Killing Bono: I Was Bono’s Doppelganger. The film starts shooting January 11th in Belfast, Ireland.

—-

Saving Abel will release their second album on March 23rd. The as-yet-untitled album was produced by Skidd Mills, who worked with the band on their self-titled debut. The band members found themselves with extra time to work on the disc earlier this month when the last two weeks on their tour with Red was canceled because singer Jared Weeks had an insulin pump inserted into his body.

Married or not, there are some relationships you probably expect will last forever.

And, it’s a shock when they don’t.

That’s the case with Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins.

Her rep has issued a statement saying Sarandon and her partner of 23 years, actor Tim Robbins, have announced that they separated over the summer.

No further comments will be made from Sarandon’s publicist.

Sarandon and Robbins met while filming “Bull Durham.”

They have two sons together, aged 20 and 17.

Sarandon is 63 and Robbins is 51.

—-

If his brother has the straight scoop, this upcoming season of “American Idol” will be Simon Cowell’s last.

In a weekly podcast called “The Cowell Factor,” Tony Cowell says there soon will be an official announcement about it.

Tony Cowell says Simon Cowell is preparing for his last season of “Idol.” Tony Cowell adds a press statement is being prepared to confirm Simon Cowell will leave Idol at the end of 2010 to concentrate on bringing the American version of the British show “The X Factor” to American T-V in 2011.”

—-

Who knew Kate Hudson could sing and dance?

Certainly not Rob Marshall.

That’s why Hudson insisted on auditioning for the musical “Nine.”

She says she wanted to get in the room and hit one note and see if he bites.

Boy, did he.

Marshall was so impressed with her audition he wrote the part of Stephanie just for her.

“Nine” opens tomorrow.

Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler says he has entered a rehab clinic to treat an addiction to pain killers he has taken to cope with 10 years of performance injuries.

Tyler says in a statement released Tuesday to People and Rolling Stone magazines that he is eager to return to work with his bandmates.

The band cancelled a summer tour in August after Tyler fell off the stage during a performance in South Dakota and broke his left shoulder.

Tyler’s doctor Brian McKeon told People that orthopedic injuries over the past decade have left the 61-year-old rocker with severe chronic pain that will require surgeries on his knees and feet.

—-

Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood has gotten off with a warning for his arrest.

A spokesman for Wood says police gave him a formal warning Tuesday after he was arrested for assault near his home in southern England.

The spokesman will not say who filed the complaint.

Police will keep a record of the warning for five years.

Wood says in a statement he is greatly relieved the matter is resolved.

—-

The Flaming Lips have remade the Pink Floyd album “Dark Side of the Moon.”

The Lips put their own spin on the songs and many of them are more electronic than Pink Floyd ever envisioned.

Henry Rollins is a featured guest.

The album is for sale on i-Tunes through Monday.

Judging from the customer reviews, people either love it or hate it, because most users give it either one star or five stars.

—-

Ozzy Osbourne has named his new album Soul Sucka. This disc is due out and June and will be his first with new guitarist Gus G., who replaced Zakk Wylde this summer.

Ozzy has lined up several book signings for his new autobiography, I Am Ozzy, which is due out January 25th. His signing tour starts that day in New York and wraps up in Huntington Beach, California on February 3rd.

—-

Judas Priest singer Rob Halford lives in Arizona, but he’ll be heading home to England for Christmas. “I’ll be in that Christmas holiday-season spirit in the U-K with my immediate family — Mom and Dad and all the friends and relatives.” Halford just released his first holiday album, Winter Songs.

—-

This Christmas marks the 40th anniversary of John Bonham’s giving his three-year-old son Jason his first drum set, which he’d bought in America during Led Zeppelin’s 1969 fall tour. Sadly, Jason doesn’t remember that Christmas, but he does recall others with his late father, particularly the one when he got two dirt bikes.

Jason says Christmas is “big and always was very big… I still try and make it as good as I can for the kids… It’s very special.”

—-

Sting has once again posted a Christmas video at Sting.com. In addition to wishing you all the best for the holiday season, he also thanks you for buying his new holiday album, If on a Winter’s Night.

—-

A new Killswitch Engage song will be featured on the soundtrack for the video game God of War Three. The track will also be on a digital E-P called God of War: Blood and Metal that will be released in March. The E-P will be available as part of the God of War Three: Ultimate Edition package.

Jack White swears he really did make up “Fly Farm Blues” on the spot during the film “It Might Get Loud.”

White says the director told him he was setting up the camera for the next scene and he wanted White to compose.

White says a spider walked across his leg, so he sang about a spider, and they were on Fly Farm, and he liked the way that sounded.

“It Might Get Loud” is out on D-V-D today.

Jimmy Page and The Edge also appear in it.

—-

A lot of guitarists can name the song that inspired them to keep on playing.

Jimmy Page can’t.

He says it was more about the musical movement that was going on during his childhood, rather than a particular song.

In fact, Page says the moment when he realized he wanted to play guitar was when someone showed him how to tune one.

He says the reason he became a professional is the person who tuned up his guitar and stuck it in his hands.

—-

Carrie Underwood is poised to become Carrie Fisher.

Her publicist confirms Underwood is engaged to Ottawa Senators player Mike Fisher.

They’ve been dating about a year.

They have not set a wedding date.

—-

The Dave Matthews Band has been named top touring artist of the decade by Pollstar, the concert industry trade magazine. Matthews and company have grossed close to 530-million dollars since 2000. The rest of the Top 10 are Celine Dion, Kenny Chesney, Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, U-2, Madonna, the Eagles, Elton John and Jimmy Buffett.

—-

Reports out of London say The Rolling Stones are contemplating touring next year without guitarist Ronnie Wood unless he gives up drinking. Woody has made headlines this year for his drinking, leaving his wife of 23 years, Jo, for a 20-year old Russian cocktail waitress, and then breaking up with the waitress after reportedly assaulting her. London’s Daily Mail says if the Stones can’t get insurance for Woody, he’ll be left off the tour.

Jo always looked after Woody and kept him healthy enough to tour. The paper quotes a source who says, “All communication has gone through Jo for years, so now Mick [Jagger] has washed his hands of Ronnie… Ronnie has always been a bit lost, and without Jo, nobody can reach him.”

This same story circulated when the Stones did their Licks tour in 2002, with Woody telling us at that time, “I’ve always loved the challenge… Hopefully a lot of people will be proud of what I’m gonna do. Maybe it will rub off a bit.”

A spokeswoman for the Stones was unavailable for comment.

—-

According to the fan site GreasyLake.org, Bruce Springsteen and members of the E Street Band convened earlier this month at Convention Hall in Asbury Park, New Jersey to perform all the songs on his 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town. We’re not sure what they were up to, but it was likely connected to the Darkness box set coming out in the spring. A spokeswoman for Springsteen was unavailable for comment.

—-

If B-B-C Radio One had its way, Led Zeppelin would never have made it big. Documents from the B-B-C archive reveal that after they’d auditioned for the station in 1969, producers said they were “old fashioned” and “unconvincing,” with another producer saying they were “not for daytime radio — specialist listening only.” As a result, they were invited to perform only on a trial basis, but ended up doing numerous sessions.

Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page tells B-B-C Radio Six, “We’d showcase the material, whatever there was from the album of the time, and for the rest of it we would just jam, and that’s how urgent and how creative it all was at the time.”

—-

U-2 guitarist The Edge doesn’t see the band changing much in the next decade. He says in the year-end issue of Rolling Stone magazine, “It matters to us that we still make music that connects, and we are still capable of potentially doing our best-ever album. It’s not a foregone conclusion that our best work is behind us. That still makes it really exciting.”

U-2 will resume their 360 Degrees tour in June in Southern California.

—-

Radiohead will return to the studio next month to continue work on their next album. Guitarist Ed O’Brien writes on Radiohead.com, “The vibe in the camp is fantastic at present… I am so genuinely excited about what we’re doing, but for obvious reasons I can’t divulge anything more… 10 years ago we were all collectively in the land of Kid A. And although [I'm] hugely proud of that record, it wasn’t a fun place to be. What’s reassuring now is that we are most definitely a different band, which should therefore mean that the music is different, too.”

—-

Marilyn Manson has settled the 20-million-dollar breach-of-contract suit filed against him by former keyboardist Stephen Bier — better known by his stage names Pogo and Madonna Wayne Gacy. No details of the settlement have been made public, but Manson writes on his MySpace blog, “I want to make clear that, aside from the wasted legal fees, in no way did I pay off the person that stood behind a keyboard, pretending to play music other artists in this band wrote. And I would not [urinate] on Pogo if he was on fire.”

—-

Ronnie James Dio has left a holiday message for his fans as he battles stomach cancer. He says on RonnieJamesDio.com, “I’d like to take the time to thank everyone for the most wonderful gift I have ever received — your good wishes, your prayers, your support, your tears and laughter, your anger, your rejoicing and most of all, the unwavering love you have bestowed upon me. I guess I’ve always felt that we were one person and that you’ve allowed me to be our spokesman, but until this time of my greatest peril, the truth was perhaps slightly hidden. It is hidden no more.”

Dio was diagnosed with the disease last month and has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments in Houston.

—-

Theory of a Deadman have added more shows to their winter tour, which kicks off January 18th in Minneapolis. It now wraps up February 21st in Boise, Idaho and includes a performance at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver on February 19th.

—-

Sum 41 is one of the headline acts for next summer’s Warped Tour. Also on the bill are All-American Rejects, Reel Big Fish, Every Time I Die and Andrew W-K. The 16th annual trek will kick off on June 24th in Chula Vista, California and wrap up on August 15th in Hillsboro, Oregon.

—-

Atreyu’s Brandon Saller will play his first-ever solo show on January 14th at the Chain Reaction in Anaheim, California.

—-

Deftones’ new album is now due out in April.

—-

Joe Perry’s wife Billie writes on her Twitter page that she and Joe have started their Christmas shopping and they “bought local and tried to buy all made in U-S products.”

—-

Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer writes on his Twitter page that he is upset that the Boston Herald is still referring to his new wife Linda as his “gal pal.”

—-

John Mellencamp’s son Speck has reached the 250-thousand mark in signing up friends on Facebook. If Speck reaches a million, his father promises to quit smoking.

Rage Against The Machine have pulled an upset on the British singles chart with a 17-year-old song.

“Killing In The Name” is the top song in Britain this week.

The song that’s number one the week of Christmas is a big deal in Britain.

Why that song?

Because for the past several years, the Christmas number-one song has been the winner of “The X Factor,” which is like “American Idol” and features Simon Cowell.

A grass-roots campaign was started to make sure “X Factor” winner Joe McElderry’s version of “The Climb” didn’t hit number one this week.

Rage are calling it “the Anarchy Christmas Miracle of 2009” and have donated their earnings from the sale of the single to a homeless charity.

—-

Michael Jackson’s death has been voted one of the top news stories of the year.

A poll of editors and news directors chose that as the number-seven story of the year.

The faltering economy was the top story, followed by U-S President Barack Obama’s inauguration.

A poll of Facebook users put Obama’s inauguration first, the economy second, and Jackson’s death third.

—-

Tracks from U-2, Jack White, Paul McCartney and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O are among the 63 songs eligible for a Best Original Song Oscar nomination. White’s “Fly Farm Blues” is from It Might Get Loud, Karen O’s two songs, “All Is Love” and “Hideaway,” are from Where the Wild Things Are, U-2’s “Winter” is from Brothers, and McCartney’s “(I Want to) Come Home” is from Everybody’s Fine.

Both U-2’s and McCartney’s songs are up for Golden Globes in the same category. Oscar nominations will be announced February 2nd.

—-

Slash tells us Christmas is a “huge” holiday in his home. “I got two kids, five and seven — are you kidding me?” He and the family will spend Christmas and New Year’s at home. Then he heads to the Bahamas in January for a poker tournament before resuming work on his debut solo album.

—-

Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer just got hitched in October, so this will be the first Christmas that he and new wife Linda will spend as a married couple. Kramer says most of his in-laws will be coming up from Houston to his Boston-area house for the holiday. He adds, “They hope that there’s going to be lots of snow. And [they want to have] lobster and all the New England stuff, cause they’re not used to that.”

—-

Puddle of Mudd singer Wes Scantlin tells us there’s one Christmas gift he’d prefer not to see under his tree this year. In the past, he’s gotten a couple of sweatshirts from one of his grandmothers that she designed especially for him. Nothing wrong with that, and he loves grandma dearly — “But,” he complains, “they’re itchy — they itch my nipples perfectly.” Being the good dad he is, Scantlin says he’ll hand those down to his son Jordan and hope Santa doesn’t have another one in his bag on Christmas Eve. With or without a new sweatshirt, Scantlin and the band begin a tour with Shinedown on January 21st.

—-

Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo is asking fans to record a demo of a song for which he’s written music — but not lyrics. According to Radio Weezer, the group’s online radio station, Cuomo wrote the tune — titled “Shusui” — before his recent tour bus crash. His injuries from the accident have now improved to the point where he’d like to write lyrics to it, but he’s not happy with his demo and wants a better one. He’ll pay what he calls “the princely sum of 208-dollars” to the musician he chooses to work with. The collaboration will take place at indabamusic.com/sessions/riverscuomo.

—-

U-2 bassist Adam Clayton has filed suit against his former personal assistant, Carol Hawkins, alleging that she bilked him out of more than two-and-a-half-million dollars. Britain’s N-M-E reports that Hawkins admits to using Clayton’s credit cards, but denies stealing millions. According to the suit, she used his money to buy jewelry, cars and an apartment in New York. Clayton, who fired Hawkins last month, has obtained a court order to have her assets frozen. The case continues today in Dublin High Court.

—-

It looks like Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch has recovered enough from his cancer surgery that the trio will finally release Hot Sauce Committee Part One early next year. The disc was scheduled to come out in September but was indefinitely delayed when Yauch announced he’d been diagnosed with a cancerous saliva gland.

Now Yauch tells Gothamist that he’s “doing all right” and that as for a release date, “We’re just figuring that out right now. But hopefully, it looks like it’ll be coming out early part of next year. I don’t know that it’s official yet, but that seems to be the direction we’re moving in.”

—-

Bruce Springsteen has made in onto a few more year-end lists, this time being recognized for good and bad work. On the good side, his October 9th concert at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey — the final concert there — is one of Spin magazine’s 30 Biggest Concerts of 2009, along with U-2’s September 13th show at Soldier Field in Chicago.

On the bad side, Springsteen’s lyrics to “Queen of the Supermarket” were among the Worst Lyrics of 2009. In particular, Dallas Observer cites, “I’m in love with the queen of the supermarket/ As the evening sky turns blue/ A dream awaits in aisle number two.” And Pitchfork.com calls his Working on a Dream album cover among the Worst Album Covers of 2009 Neil Young’s cover for Fork in the Road also made that list.

—-

3-11 have announced dates for a brief late-winter tour. It starts on February 23rd in Santa Cruz, California and wraps up with the band’s annual 3-11 show in Las Vegas on March 11th.  They’ll play Vancouver March 2nd at the Commodore.

—-

Jimmy Page is the first artist to sign on for the inaugural Show of Peace Concert, a globally televised event on April 17th in Beijing, China. The full lineup for the concert, which marks the 30th anniversary of the cultural exchange agreement between the United States and China, will be announced on January 13th.

—-

After delays and a switch of record labels, Rob Zombie’s Hellbilly Deluxe Two will finally be released on February 2nd. You can get a free download of the track “Burn” at RoadrunnerRecords.com/Burn. Zombie is expected to tour after the album’s release.

—-

Roger Waters will join more than 50-thousand people on December 31st at the Freedom March in Israel in an attempt to break the siege of Gaza. The date marks the first anniversary of the beginning of the three-week attack on Gaza that left more than 14-hundred Palestinians dead, 100-thousand homeless and agricultural land destroyed. Waters has long been opposed to the barriers that divide the West Bank.

—-

Def Leppard will follow in The Beatles’ footsteps with an animated T-V show. Still in the development stage, the show will depict the band in a fictional setting. Also in development is a videogame and cell phone application.

Guitarist John Frusciante confirms he’s not only out of Red Hot Chili Peppers, but he’s been out for a while.

Frusciante writes on his website he quit the band more than a year ago when they were on indefinite hiatus.

He says there’s no drama or anger involved and the other guys are understanding and supportive.

He says he left because his musical interests led him in a different direction.

He says he wants to make his own music alone and be his own engineer.

—-
The song Jack White made up on the spot during the film “It Might Get Loud” could be up for an Oscar.

The song “Fly Farm Blues” is on the list of 63 songs that are eligible to be nominated for the best original song Oscar.

Other eligible songs include “All Is Love” by Karen O from “Where The Wild Things Are” and five songs from “Hannah Montana: The Movie” — including one co-written by Miley Cyrus.

Sinead O’Connor, Pharrell Williams, Paul McCartney, U-2, Linkin Park, They Might Be Giants, Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo, Duffy and Bryan Adams.

Up to five songs will be nominated.

The Oscar nominations will be announced February 2nd and the awards will be handed out on March 7th.

—-

According to Billboard, The Rolling Stones are the biggest touring act of the decade. They played 264 shows over the past 10 years with a gross of 870-million dollars. Other classic rock acts to crack the Top 10 include U-2 at number-two, Bruce Springsteen at number-four, Elton John at number-five, Bon Jovi at number-nine and Billy Joel at number-10.

Other big draws include the Eagles, Aerosmith, the Police and Metallica. –Sal Cirrincione

1 - THE ROLLING STONES

Total Gross: $869,471,325
Number of Shows: 264
Total Attendance: 8,236,586
Number of Sell-Outs: 190
2 - U2

Total Gross: $844,157,925
Number of Sell-Outs: 288
Total Attendance: 9,869,953
Number of Shows: 288
3 - MADONNA

Total Gross: $801,299,671
Number of Shows: 248
Total Attendance: 6,387,124
Number of Sell-Outs: 244
4 - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

Total Gross: $688,136,476
Number of Shows: 403
Total Attendance: 8,605,238
Number of Sell-Outs: 248
5 - ELTON JOHN

Total Gross: $603,804,670
Number of Shows: 541
Total Attendance: 5,789,833
Number of Sell-Outs: 470

—-

Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer just got hitched in October, so this will be the first Christmas that he and new wife Linda will spend as a married couple. Kramer says most of his in-laws will be coming up from Houston to his Boston-area house for the holiday. He adds, “They hope that there’s going to be lots of snow. And [they want to have] lobster and all the New England stuff, cause they’re not used to that.”

—-

John Mellencamp is impressed with his son Speck’s efforts to get him to stop smoking. Mellencamp has agreed that if Speck gets one-million people to befriend him on his Facebook page, he’ll kick the habit. He says on Mellencamp.com, “A son’s love for his father can be daunting sometimes, but here it’s the total opposite… In no way was it meant to gain national attention like it did, and we’d like to thank people for supporting my son in his endeavors. He’s a big dreamer, and I hope that someday he’ll use his dream to benefit his world in some fashion.”

—-

Not surprisingly, Weezer have canceled all their January shows so frontman Rivers Cuomo can recover from his slightly punctured lung. There are no plans to re-schedule the four shows, but the band says, “We’ll try to get back to the cancelled areas A-S-A-P.”

Cuomo is back in Los Angeles recuperating from his bus accident earlier this month in upstate New York.

—-

A number of rock acts came together Wednesday night for a Christmas benefit concert at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. In addition to Heart, Foreigner and Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora, the show featured an all-star band with Keith Emerson on keyboards, drummer Jason Bonham, Slash on guitar, former Toto guitarist Steve Lukather, and Rob Halford and The Tubes’ Fee Waybill on vocals. William Shatner was also on hand to recite “T’was the Night Before Christmas.”

Proceeds from the show went to the Midnight Mission, which helps the homeless with counseling, education, training and job placement.

—-

Former Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts says he’s retiring from the road. He writes on DickeyBetts.com, “I’m not retiring from playing. I’m sure there will be some great special events that I’ll be at in the future. But for now, I look forward to waking up tomorrow with nothing on my schedule.”

Betts was booted from the Allman Brothers in 2000.

Metallica singer James Hetfield is giving away his land.

He has donated 133 hectares that overlooks the Lucas Valley in Marin (mah-RIN’) County, California, to be preserved as farmland.

Hetfield previously donated 161 hectares of land for open space.

Both parcels are near his home.

County officials say they are close to a deal with Hetfield that would reroute a hiking trail that crosses his property at a cost of more than 200-thousand dollars.

—-

The best-selling catalogue album of the past 10 years is not by The Beatles or Pink Floyd.

It’s by Bob Seger.

Billboard reports his “Greatest Hits” album has sold nearly nine- (m) million copies since it came out in 1994.

Bob Marley’s “Legend” is second.

“Dark Side of the Moon” by Pink Floyd is third, with Metallica’s self-titled album in fourth and The Beatles’ “One” in fifth.

—-

Eric Clapton will hit the road with Roger Daltrey.

Their tour begins February 25th in Pittsburgh.

Clapton will perform without Daltrey but with Jeff Beck in New York, Toronto and Montreal in February.

—-

Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer says that he and Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton and Brad Whitford might not call themselved Aerosmith when they hit the road without Steven Tyler. Kramer says that while the singer spends two years on a solo project, “We wanna move forward. I don’t know if it’ll be Aerosmith, or the Booger Sniffers or Joe Schmoe and the Sugarcubes — whatever it is, we’re gonna go out and play.” Kramer adds that while Aerosmith has always been a “drama-rama,” he’s never seen it this bad.

—-

Robert Plant and John Paul Jones have kept busy making new music separately since Led Zeppelin’s one-off reunion show in 2007. Now it’s guitarist Jimmy Page’s turn. He tells England’s Sky News, “Next year, I have every intention of playing music live and making it — manifesting it. I’ve got the music waiting. It just needs to be done.” Page’s last studio album of new material was Walking to Clarksdale, a 1998 collaboration with Plant.

—-

John Mellencamp has recapped the year and talks about his plans for 2010 on his website, Mellencamp.com. Here are some of the highlights:

On the musical he is working on with Stephen King, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County: They are recording the show onto a C-D for insertion into a book. Among those lending their voices are Mellencamp, King, Kris Kristofferson, Elvis Costello, Rosanne Cash, Sheryl Crow and former boxer Joe Frazier. He hopes to have the book/C-D set out before the musical opens next September at Atlanta’s Alliance Theater.

On his four-C-D box set, On the Rural Route 7609: It is now being sequenced and should be out by June. It will include unreleased live and acoustic songs and more.

On his next album, No Better Than This: It should be out next fall along with a documentary on the making of the album, which will also include footage from The Bob Dylan Show tour with Mellencamp and Willie Nelson.

On touring: There’s talk of doing more dates with Dylan in 2010. It would visit major theaters and take on a “variety show” character rather than the traditional rock concert. Mellencamp will also do his own dates in May, June and October.

—-

U-2 and Paul McCartney are predictably happy about their Best Original Song Golden Globe nominations.

U-2, who are nominated for “Winter” from Brothers, say in a statement, “We gave it our all on this one, so we’re thrilled the Hollywood Foreign Press Association noticed. The subject matter of [director Jim] Sheridan’s Brothers — friendship and familial relationships — is something we’ve explored a lot with Jim over the years and it’s certainly pertinent now.” U-2 won a Golden Globe in 2002 for “The Hands That Built America” from Martin Scorcese’s Gangs of New York.

McCartney, who’s nominated for “(I Want to Come Home) Everybody’s Fine” from Everybody’s Fine, says, “I’m honored and delighted to be nominated for a Golden Globe. It’s not the kind of thing that happens every day.” He was nominated in 2001 for the title track to Cameron Crowe’s “Vanilla Sky.”

The Golden Globe Awards will air live on N-B-C on January 17th from Los Angeles. 

On Tuesday, it was announced that U-2 and Paul McCartney are both nominated for Golden Globe Awards in the category — U-2 for “Winter” from Brothers, and Macca for “(I Want to Come Home) Everybody’s Fine” from Everybody’s Fine. Commenting on the nomination, U-2 says, “We gave it our all on this one, so we’re thrilled the Hollywood Foreign Press Association noticed. The subject matter of [director Jim] Sheridan’s Brothers - friendship and familial relationships - is something we’ve explored a lot with Jim over the years and it’s certainly pertinent now. Jim’s film is right where we wanted to go.” U-2 won a Golden Globe in 2002 for “The Hands That Built America” from Martin Scorcese’s Gangs of New York.

McCartney is equally as appreciative for his nomination, saying, “I’m honored and delighted to be nominated for a Golden Globe. It’s not the kind of thing that happens every day.” He was nominated in 2001 for the title track to Cameron Crowe’s “Vanilla Sky.”

—-

Queen guitarist Brian May attended the London premiere this week of the James Cameron computer-animated thriller Avatar, and he suggests you do the same when it hits theaters this weekend. He writes on BrianMay.com, “I loved it. My God, it makes you feel humble, it really does. I’ve spent a lot of my life around 3-D images of various kinds, but I have to tell you, looking at this, I feel nothing but awe… Cameron has a lovely way of making the 3-D seem natural — you never feel over-cooked, and I think for me the piece de resistance was the way he subtly made us feel we were on the planet Pandora.”

—-

Ex-R-E-M drummer Bill Berry has teamed up with a former bandmate again, this time on the band’s fan-club Christmas single. Berry and singer-bassist Mike Mills (without Michael Stipe and Peter Buck) have recorded covers of “Santa Baby” and “Crazy Like a Fox,” a song written by Patti Smith guitarist Lenny Kaye.

Berry last recorded with R-E-M when they did a cover of John Lennon’s “Number-Nine Dream” for an Amnesty International charity album in 2007.

—-

Cheap Trick will sign copies of their new album, The Latest, at the Borders in West Palm Beach, Florida on December 28th.

—-

Depeche Mode will play a Teenage Cancer Trust benefit at London’s Royal Albert Hall on February 17th.

—-

Ex-Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur will release a solo album called OOOM (Out of Our Minds) on March 16th.

ABBA, Genesis, The Hollies, punk icons The Stooges and reggae pioneer Jimmy Cliff will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 15th at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. The ceremony will air live on Fuse.

This is the second induction for Hollies singer Graham Nash, who was enshrined as a member of Crosby, Stills and Nash in 1997. Nash is very excited about the honor, particularly for lead singer Allan Clarke. He tells Rolling Stone, “I always thought they deserved it. They were a very influential band. The Hollies were a great live band and obviously had a long string of hits. So I think they deserved to be in there, but my first initial reaction was for my friend Allan.” Nash says the band plans to perform at the ceremony.

Genesis keyboard player Tony Banks says the honor is “nice,” telling Billboard, “I suppose it being American-based and all that it just concentrates slightly more on [progressive] music.” Banks isn’t sure if Genesis will perform due to Phil Collins’ recent medical problems.

Iggy Pop of The Stooges is pleased, telling Rolling Stone, “We’ve been rejected seven times, and we would have set a record, I think, if it happened again. It started to feel like ‘Charlie Brown’ and the football. I had about two hours of a strong emotional reaction after hearing the news. It felt like vindication. Then I kind of scratched my head and thought, ‘Am I still cool? Or is that over now?’”

Notably absent from the list of new inductees are KISS, the mega-successful rock juggernaut that was nominated for the first time this year, as well as The Red Hot Chili Peppers and L-L Cool J.

In addition to the performer inductees, the Hall will enshrine songwriters Jesse Stone (”Shake, Rattle and Roll”), Mort Shuman (”This Magic Moment”), Otis Blackwell (”Great Balls of Fire”) and two iconic songwriting duos — Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich.

—-

The Kiss Army are manning their battle stations after learning Kiss does not make the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but ABBA does.

Genesis, Jimmy Cliff, The Stooges, The Hollies and ABBA will be inducted in the next Rock Hall class.

Kiss, Donna Summer, Darlene Love, The Chantels, L-L Cool J and songwriter Laura Nyro (NEE’-roh) were on the ballot, but did not make it.

Kiss fans are taking to the Internet to blast the Rock Hall, calling it the “Rock and Roll Hall of Shame.”

The Rock Hall inductions will be March 15th in New York.

—-

For all of the teasing and rumours there have been regarding a “Big Four” tour, it has finally come true.

Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax will share the same stage.

There’s just one catch — it’s in Europe.

The four bands will play in Warsaw, Poland, and in Prague in the Czech Republic in June, plus a few more European festivals yet to be scheduled.

North American dates have not been announced.

—-

Courtney Love’s daughter was not taken away from her because of any drug troubles.

Her lawyer, Keith A. Fink, tells People magazine Love has been clean for years and is “perfectly fine.”

He says her 17-year-old daughter, Frances Bean, simply prefers to live with her grandmother, Kurt Cobain’s mom.

A judge has appointed Cobain’s mother and sister as temporary legal guardians.

—-

Rick Springfield is writing what he calls an extremely candid memoir.

Springfield will publish his autobiography, called “Late, Late at Night,” next October.

He will discuss not only his rise to fame, but his life-long battle with depression.

Springfield says reaching his 60th birthday made him want to tell his life story honestly.

—-

Steven Tyler reportedly has signed on with yet another manager. Word has it he’s left Union Entertainment Group, which represents such acts as Nickelback and Cinderella, and inked with 10th Street Entertainment, which counts Motley Crue, Papa Roach, Buckcherry and Drowning Pool among its clients Spokespeople for 10th Street and Tyler were unavailable for comment.

Before Union Entertainment, Tyler was signed to H-K Management with Aerosmith, who are still with H-K. Tyler’s decision to be represented by a different manager is one of issues causing a rift between him and the band.

—-

Bruce Springsteen has turned down an invitation to perform at the inauguration ball for New Jersey governor-elect Chris Christie. Christie says, “Bruce and I don’t agree on certain things politically — big shock. But it doesn’t diminish at all my enjoyment of him as an artist and a performer.” Christie, a Republican, has seen Springsteen 122 times. The Boss isn’t registered with a political party but recently came out in favor of gay marriage, which Christie opposes.

Christie has reportedly booked the Springsteen tribute group, The B Street Band, for next month’s ball.

—-

U-2 and Paul McCartney will go head to head at the Golden Globe Awards next month — they’re both up for Best Original Song - Motion Picture. U-2 got the nod yesterday for “Winter” from Brothers, and Macca is up for “I Want to Come Home” from Everybody’s Fine. The Golden Globe Awards will air live from Los Angeles on N-B-C on January 17th.

McCartney’s “I Want to Come Home” has also been nominated for Best Song by the Broadcast Film Critics Association for the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. Those awards will be presented on January 15th.

—-

Foreigner, Heart, Slash, Judas Priest singer Rob Halford, Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora, Keith Emerson of E-L-P, Jason Bonham, Toto’s Steve Lukather and many others are coming together tonight in Los Angeles for a Christmas benefit concert at the Nokia Theater L-A Live. Proceeds will go to the Midnight Mission, which helps the homeless with counseling, education, training and job placement.

—-

Pearl Jam and the Allman Brothers Band are among the headline acts for the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, which runs April 23rd through the 25th and April 29th through May 2nd. The Allmans will headline on the first weekend, which also features The Black Crowes and The Levon Helm Band. Pearl Jam will headline on the second weekend, which also includes Van Morrison, Jeff Beck, The Dead Weather, Gov’t Mule, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and The Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi Band.

—-

Scott Weiland says the eagerly awaited new Stone Temple Pilots album is almost complete. He tells Spinner.com, “There will probably be 11 songs on the record and we have nine completed already. Then you have to have B-sides for Japan, the U-K and the rest of Europe, so we’ll probably record 14 songs total.” No word yet on a title or release date for the disc.

—-

The legal woes of Motley Crue’s Vince Neil never seem to end. The latest — his former lawyers in Costa Mesa, California have filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming that Neil owes them 62-thousand dollars. The suit says Neil refused to pay for four months of representation in negotiations over entertainment and corporate agreements in 2008.