Blink-182, Weezer Rock FreeFest

By the time Public Enemy shook the west stage crowd with Flavor Flav crowdsurfing during "Fight The Power" under the late afternoon sun, the musical momentum at the Virgin Mobile FreeFest on Sunday (Aug. 30) had been building for five hours. It didn't hit its peak, however, until nearly 8pm with Weezer's mainstage opening salvo, a cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs." The 19,000 who'd roamed the fest's three stages since the morning were on their feet cheering for all of Weezer's 14-song set until the long, carnival-like day finally made the crowd lose steam near the end of the energetic hour-and-a-half from headliners Blink-182 that followed.

Virgin founder Richard Branson's 2009 iteration of his annual Maryland music festival had taken a turn toward the recession-minded; this year the one-day fest featured free tickets and V.I.P. treatment for concertgoers who had done charity work. The bands on the bill eschewed their paychecks to play. Under the trees at Merriweather Post Pavillion, this message was telegraphed by a number of well-choreographed stunts and a zillion corporate sponsors with logos and giveaway tents everywhere. Between a midway lined with Kyocera's "lay-off" lounge (odd, for a fest lineup that clearly drew folks under 25) and well-attended Gibson and Converse tents, Blink-182's Tom DeLonge and Flavor Flav guest bartending unannounced in the charity oriented "Karma Bar," the branded skydivers parachuting over the venue and landing on the pavilion roof, and of course the 19 artists playing the three stages, the 12-hour event had the feeling of one big, slick non-stop fair.

The fans may have been out there trying to snag all the swag on offer, but it was also clear that most came for the music. Even at 1 in the afternoon, St. Vincent caught a large, appreciative crowd on the west stage as she did a solo cover of the Beatles' "I Dig A Pony," just her voice and black stratocaster, before her band joined her again for "Laughing With a Mouth Full of Blood." Simultaneously, Holy Fuck's quartet of dark-haired guys formed a semi-circle and bent to creating their throbbing beat on the dance stage out in the woods to another clutch of thousands.

Mates of State warmed up the main stage with their easy, poppy sounds ("Fraud In The 80s"), but festivities under the big roof didn't seem to really get underway until pop-punk New Yorkers Taking Back Sunday took their turn around 3pm to a chorus of high-pitched screams. They crammed fifteen songs into their hour-long set, drawing from their new album "New Again" ("Sink Into Me," "Lonely Lonely") as well as each of their previous sets, 2002's "Tell All Your Friends" ("So Last Summer"), 2004's "Where You Want To Be" ("180 By Summer"), and 2006's "Louder Now" ("MakeDamnSure"). Later, the band told Billboard.com that the next single will be ""Where My Mouth Is."

Soon the west stage emerged as the more informal, though no less popular, place to get rocked. The Hold Steady brought waves of sturdy verse chorus verse to the west while on the pavilion stage Jet strutted through songs from new album, "Shaka Rock," which debuted on the Billboard 200 last week at No. 5. The Aussie rawkers got their biggest surge from the crowd, however, when they pulled out their most familiar song, the Stooges-ey "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" from 2003.


Public Enemy captivated on the west stage come 5pm, with solider-dancers in camouflage uniforms moving in lockstep behind Chuck D and Flavor Flav's tag team rapping. The audience was thrilled mainly to see Flav, as they had chanted his name earlier during his bartending stunt. He really milked the attention too: sticking around after the set to play a few beats on the drum kit, giving out stickers and CDs and talking extensively to the crowd as roadies tore down their equipment to make room for The National, who were up next. "Thank you for making me No. 1 on TV," Flav said. "And good luck at school!"


After press photographers had to be warned about bodies surfing over the barricade onto their heads, it was no surprise that Weezer and Blink-182, under a bright moon, enjoyed the fest's biggest crowd and biggest cheers. Weezer, dressed all in red, followed "War Pigs" with "Hash Pipe," the first of many singalongs during their hit laden set ("Undone," "Say It Ain't So," "Buddy Holly"). They closed with the Clash's "Should I Stay Or Should I Go," and the band had the lyrics on a sheet taped next to the setlist at thier feet.

Next, Tom DeLonge launched Blink-182's set with "Dumpweed" and "Feeling This," peppering the set with jocular banter ("My name's so awesome it has it's own cock and balls!"). Blink got lots of singing along and plenty of hoots for drummer Travis Barker; the audience nearly drowned out the band during "What's My Age Again?." The crowd sustained their gleeful pushing and shouting for several songs, but as the band brought the fest to a close, just about everyone in sight seemed beat, facing a long drive home and a Monday morning. But hey, you could do much worse than to spend one of the last weekends of summer seeing free music under a perfect blue sky.

Source:Billboard.com

Collaborators Arctic Monkeys and Dizzee Rascal top albums and singles charts

Sometime collaborators Arctic Monkeys and Dizzee Rascal have topped the UK albums and singles respectively tonight (August 30).

Arctic Monkeys' third album 'Humbug' is Number One - it out-sold the rest of the Top Five combined - while the east London rapper has scored his third chart-topper in a row with 'Holiday'.

Both acts recorded 'Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend' together, and have released versions of the track on their own records.

The UK Top Ten singles are:

1. Dizzee Rascal – 'Holiday'
2. David Guetta Ft Akon – 'Sexy Chick'
3. Black Eyed Peas – 'I Gotta Feeling'
4. Calvin Harris – 'Ready For The Weekend'
5. Tinchy Stryder Ft Amelle – 'Never Leave You'
6. Little Boots – 'Remedy'
7. Beyonce – 'Sweet Dreams'
8. Esmee Denters – 'Outta Here'
9. Mr Hudson Ft Kanye West – 'Supernova'
10. Biffy Clyro – 'That Golden Rule'

The UK's Top Ten albums are:

1. Arctic Monkeys – 'Humbug'
2. David Guetta – 'One Love'
3. Calvin Harris – 'Ready For The Weekend'
4. Black Eyed Peas – 'The END'
5. Tinchy Stryder – 'Catch 22'
6. Paolo Nutini – 'Sunny Side Up'
7. Beyonce – 'I Am... Sasha Fierce'
8. Michael Jackson – 'The Essential'
9. James Morrison – 'Songs For You Truths For Me'
10. Florence And The Machine – 'Lungs'

Source:NME.com

Alternative Copyright System

The music industry is getting all frustrated with the current crisis, as well as the failing copyright system that is slowly drowning the entertainment industry. Seeing this situation, a legal scholar in Cambridge Massachusetts proposed a radical plan for a system that he claims would pay artists fairly and bring more digital media to the people who desire for it. But persuading both the music industry and the movie industry in liking the idea seems far fetched, or at least in the near future.

Rather than adapting with the current and failing copyright system, Harvard Law School professor Terry Fisher talked more about his proposal at the Internet Law Program, a three day event sponsored by the school’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society.

Fisher favors an alternate compensation system which could pay artists based on the popularity of their music. For this system to work, artists must register with the copyright office first, which would help them in tracking the times whenever work is downloaded. The revenue coming from the taxes such as for the Internet access and the sale of MP3 players would generate money that would eventually be used to pay for the artists.

The RIAA, or Recording Industry Association of America, which stands for the labels, has been using the copyright law to sue thousands of music enthusiasts for infringement since September. But according to Fisher, more than 60 million people still continue to share music via peer to peer networks. In accordance with this, Fisher said that his substitute model would allow music enthusiasts to get more music for less money, without the fear of any legal action against them from the RIAA. Therefore, all artists would get paid better than they are under the accustomed system.

While record industry executives did not show any particular interest in the idea, Fisher said that there are much more significant prospects for producing this system in other countries. To back this up, Fisher said that Brazil is interested on the idea and is already building a data base of digital music, an act supported by the country’s minister of culture, musician Gilberto Gil. If this system works successfully in Brazil for a few years, with the music industry in the US continue to suffer then an alternative compensation system may be more alluring.

But according to Fisher, the U.S. would more likely be embracing the idea on a voluntary version, which would require the participation of both musicians and music fans to be successful, and can provide funds through subscription revenues.

By: music business

When Is The Best Time To Love Music?

Your expression for the love of music comes out in many ways. Your music collection is a testimony of how much you adore music. But are there times you love yours blues, indie, emo, or alternative songs more than others?
Depending on the time, your love for music varies. There are moments you will prefer watching your music videos to listening to the blues or alternative songs. This is all natural. You feel and experience things differently from time to time in life. And your preference for music at these times also changes. However, this does not mean that you love music any less, but you just like listening to a different type at that point in time.

You can love music all the time. Conspicuously topping this list are musician and all people who work in the field. They live and breathe music. They wake up to music and sleep with it. You will be surprised that you appreciate and love music in a similar manner. That is why you always have the emo, indie or blues song quietly playing at the back of your mind. You find yourself humming to it endlessly. It is forever strumming your heart. Even without carrying your ipod with you, it just keeps on playing. That is how you love music at all times.

One of the best times to love music is during the early years of your life. Although this happens naturally, taking the time to know music and understand it is quite satisfying. Sampling different music is equally beautiful. Find out what your friends listen to. Start owning a collection. Listening to music as a hobby, make it enjoyable. You can also learn to draw lessons from it. The result is that you grow to deeply appreciate music as an art. That is what happens when you love from tender years.

You can love music more depending on the happenings in your life. You tend to love music more when going through tough times in life. You play it often and it seems you can’t get enough of it. Such instances are marked by moments of grief, a failed relationship, loss of a job, or simple misfortune in life. This is when your emo, indie or alternative music comes into play. You hear it differently and the words hold new meaning. Such are the times you can love music more.

You enjoy music the most when life is good to you and you can help but express your joy. This is where you go out to celebrate with people you hold dear. You love the blues and indie songs being played in the background. Sometimes, you can’t help but dance to it. Everything at this time is perfect. This is when you have met your dream girl or have just bought a new house or car. Colors appear brighter and life is full of promises. This is a good time for you to love music. So go on and enjoy every beat of it!

By: digband.music.00

Radiohead EP Release May Be Imminent

There is speculation that Radiohead will issue a new digital EP as early as Monday (Aug. 17), following the leak of a track online assumed to be a new song by the band.

Fan site At Ease reports that "These Are My Twisted Words" was posted on its message board and it has since appeared on YouTube. According to At Ease, the source file includes the title "Wall of Ice" and the release date Aug. 17.

Radiohead does not have a long-term label deal at present, releasing its 2007 set "In Rainbows" via its own Web site on a pay-what-you-want basis for the MP3 and following that with a full release in January 2008 via XL Recordings in the U.K and ATO/Red in the U.S.

In an interview with the Australian today (Aug. 14), multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood said: "Traditionally we'd be looking for 10 or 11 songs and putting them together, but that doesn't feel as natural as it used to, so I don't know what we'll do. Maybe we'll find four songs that work together and we'll call that a release. I don't know. No one knows how to release music any more, including us. How to put it together, in what format, how long. We're in the dark as much as anyone I think."

Radiohead is currently rehearsing for festival appearances including Leeds and Reading Festivals (Aug. 29 and 30) in the U.K.

Last week it issued the digital track "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)," with proceeds going to the British Legion, the U.K. charity that supports the armed forces and its veterans. Harry Patch, who died aged 111 on July 25, was Britain's last surviving veteran of World War I.

Source:billboard.com

How To Create A Killer Dubstep Reece Sound - Secrets Revealed.

Dubstep, techno and drum and bass engineers will at some point need a heavy Reece bass for there new dance floor track. The Reece bass is a classic 'dirty bass' sound. From the more subtle terrorist Reece to the hardcore alien girl Reece they all have one thing in common. The saw tooth wave.

So to start off with, get a multi oscillator synthesizer (ideally 3 or 4 oscillators) like the albino, logic's ES2, Massive etc. Set all oscillators to the saw tooth. There are many harmonic frequencies in the saw tooth, The normal waves ramps upward and then falls. There are also sawtooth waves where the wave ramps down and then rises sharply. Commonly known as a reverse sawtooth. As signals, the two variations of the sawtooth sound the same until paired together.

Once you have got your multi oscillator synth running with 3 oscillators, the next step in the process is to detune one or 2 of the oscillators by around +/- 25cents, this is essential for drum and bass and dubstep. It gives the Reece a very deep edgy sound, rather than just a flat buzzing sound.

After setting up your initial saw tooth with De-turning, (this is essentially the basis of the Reece) - You can go ahead and start producing and shaping the noise for your type of music, dubstep or drum and bass. Here are some of the main parameters you can use:

Filter Envelopes:
A nice way to get a movement on the Reece bass is to add envelope to the filter section, Reece bass sounds are extremely responsive to filters and using a high pass you can get a very nice sounding lead, or use a low pass and get a very fat bass. try using about 20% of filter attack for dubstep and 30% for drum and bass.

Phaser:
Because of the harmonic phases all ready occurring due to the multiple oscillation, adding a phase plug in can and does work very well. It's better to use a sparse amount of phase to subtly enhance the sound rather than extreme amounts

Flange:
The flange process can add a nice bit of subtle metallic rasp to the sound, this is very pleasing effect for that big warehouse dubstep sound.

Echo:
The delay effect can make a Reece sound wicked! Try using a delay just before the drop.

Reverb:
Again subtle uses of reverb can act very aggressively on your noise, Guitar amp reverbs tend to work well with Reece bass and also come packed with distortion for extra bite.

Other processes that add madness to your Reece include: Distortion, compression, LFO and auto filters work especially well with dubstep.

In summary, it is best to process your Reece sound a lot for dubstep and drum and bass programming. It is a very well used sound, so to make it stand out you will have to be creative with your sound programming skills - Filters act in the biggest way and reverb is essential!

By: Oliver Brown

Aerosmith Cancels Summer Tour

Aerosmith has canceled the remainder of its summer tour.

In a statement issued late Thursday, the band's publicist MSO said "it is with great regret" that the band is canceling the rest of its tour because of injuries that frontman Steven Tyler suffered when he fell off the stage during an Aug. 5 performance in South Dakota.

Tyler broke his left shoulder and needed 20 stitches in his head.

The statement said doctors have advised Tyler to take the time to properly recuperate from his injuries.

"Words can't express the sadness I feel for having to cancel this tour," guitarist Joe Perry said in the statement.

Perry said he wanted to thank the band's loyal fans for sticking by them, adding that the band hopes "we can get the Aerosmith machine up and running again as soon as possible."

The statement said ticket refunds for the remaining tour dates will be available at the place of purchase.

Earlier Thursday, Tyler released a lengthy statement thanking the Sturgis, S.D., police department and others who helped him after the fall. The 61-year-old also thanked the band's crew, the helicopter that evacuated him "for getting me outta there before I bled to death" and the doctors and nurses who treated him.

Tyler said thunderstorms delayed the band's set by an hour, then fuses blew and the audio systems failed shortly after the concert began.

"Well, I wasn't gonna go hide under the big top and play 'ROCK STAR' and wait for everything to be fixed," Tyler said. "I wanted to go out to the crowd to continue the show."

He said he was doing "the Tyler shuffle" when he slipped and fell off the edge of the stage.

"I just want to say that I' m plain grateful that I didn't break my neck," he said. "In truth, after thousands of live shows, falling off the edge four times ain't too bad."

Source:billboard.com