North Korean involvement in sinking of warship obvious: Seoul
The South Korean government for the first time pointed its finger at Pyongyang on Wednesday for the sinking of one of its warships, saying North Korean involvement in the incident was “obvious”.
An examination of the salvaged wreck showed it was sunk in March by “a strong underwater explosion generated by the detonation of a torpedo,” Foreign Minister Yu Myung Hwan said at a meeting with European business representatives.
Asked by the press whether he thought North Korea was responsible, he replied: “It’s obvious.”
Seoul previously said it intends to bring the case to the UN Security Council if evidence of North Korean involvement was found.
South Korea was due to make the results of the investigation into the sinking public on Thursday.
The 1,200—tonne Cheonan went down March 26 near the disputed Yellow Sea border with North Korea after witnesses heard an explosion and the ship broke apart. Forty—six crew members lost their lives.
Mr. Yu said the government would take “appropriate measures in a firm and prudent manner”.
Aiken Promotions are proud to announce a second show for Thomond Park in the guise of the legendary Bob Dylan. Bob will take to the stage at the Munster Stadium on July 4th.
Columbia Records released Bob Dylan's studio album Together Through Life last April which received universal critical acclaim. Together Through Life was produced under the pseudonym Jack Frost, prompted by the composition of a new song, "Life Is Hard," which was written for a forthcoming film by French director Oliver Dahan (La Vie En Rose)
Together Through Life, was the 46th release from Bob Dylan, and follows 2006's Platinum album Modern Times, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 and reached the top of the charts in seven additional countries and the Top 5 in 22 countries around the world and spent 2 weeks at No.1 in Ireland.
Bob Dylan's three previous studio albums have been universally hailed as among the best of his storied career, achieving new levels of commercial success and critical acclaim for the artist. The Platinum-selling Time Out Of Mind from 1997 earned multiple Grammy Awards, including Album Of The Year, while "Love and Theft" which was no.2 album of the decade in Newsweek and No.1 album of the decade in Uncut Magazine continued Dylan's Platinum streak and earned several Grammy nominations and a statue for Best Contemporary Folk album. His most recent studio work, "Together Through Life" went straight into the Irish Charts at No.1 and became one of his biggest albums worldwide, selling more than 5 million copies and earning Dylan two more Grammys.
Those three studio albums fell within a ten-year creative span that also included:
An Oscar and Golden Globe win for, "Things Have Changed," written for the film Wonder Boys
A worldwide bestselling memoir; Chronicles, which spent 19 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List in 2001
A Martin Scorsese-directed documentary, No Direction Home in 2004
Several volumes of the best-selling Bootleg Series, which culminated in last year's highly-acclaimed Tell Tale Signs in 2005
Dylan was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."
He was also the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 1997, The French Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres in 1990, Sweden's Polar Music Award in 2000 and numerous other awards and accolades.
Bob Dylan Live @ Thomond Park, Limerick this July 4th. Tickets are €81.25, €70.70, €60.00 Euro Seated & €65.70GA on sale Monday March 15th @ 9am through Ticketmaster and other usual outlets nationwide. Booking Line: 0818 719 300.
I would go if I were a bigger Dylan fan but didn't Mark say he wasn't great live?
Liam Gallagher has told Xfm Manchester he’s not a fan of Florence And The Machine. Speaking with Clint Boon, the former Oasis frontman said:
'No, I’m not having someone with ginger hair making music', he said of the Xfm New Music Award Nominee. 'I’m not going down that road. I’m sure she’s a nice girl, but she sounds like someone’s stood on her fucking foot'.
He also wasn’t blown away by the current crop of bands.
'People are far off being the best band in England or the best band in the world. There’s some good bands out there but there’s no one claiming that mantle'.
It seems every week now he's bashing someone but I guess there isn't much great bands out there at the moment.
David Bowie's 1972 album 'The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars' has been voted the gayest album of all time by a panel of "gay experts".
Out.com polled a panel including Boy George, Rufus Wainwright and Cyndi Lauper to determine the 100 most homosexual albums of all time, with Bowie's effort emerging as Number One.
According to the compilers, albums included were "not only records by queer musicians but also any records that have had relevance to those voting".
The Smiths, Tracy Chapman and Madonna also made the top ten.
http://www.nme.com/news/lily-allen/48488
Lily Allen has waded into the illegal download debate again, claiming that she doesn't oppose people purchasing burned copies of her CDs as long as they pay for them.
The singer, who previously launched a campaign against illegal file-sharing and said that music piracy and downloading is damaging the industry, said she wants fans to appreciate the value of her work.
"If someone comes up with a burnt copy of my CD and offers it to you for Ł4 I haven't a problem with that as long as the person buying it places some kind of value on my music," she told Key 103.
The singer's old anti-file-sharing blog was supported by a host of artists including Mark Ronson, Gary Barlow of Take That and Bat For Lashes Natasha Khan before she pulled the plug on it in September because the "abuse" she was getting for doing it was "getting too much".
The star initially criticised the Featured Artists Coalition, which is supported by Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, over their stance on illegal downloads. But they later sent her a letter outlining that they were in fact opposed to the concept in principle.
So let me get this straight, she hates people sharing her music on the internet, but if someone wants to make shed load of copies of her album and sell them for a profit that's ok?
Steven Tyler has quit Aerosmith, according to the band’s guitarist Joe Perry. It comes just months after the singer spoke out publicly to dismiss reports the band was on the verge of splitting following a year of cancelled tour dates, injuries and accidents. In August (09), Tyler broke his shoulder after falling off stage while performing in South Dakota, and the group was forced to scrap the remainder of its summer tour. Perry admitted that following the accident he and Tyler didn’t speak for more than a month, prompting rumours the band’s future was in jeopardy. And it seems fans’ fears were justified – guitarist Perry has revealed his pal has left the rock group after its performance as part of the Formula One racing season’s final weekend in Abu Dhabi last weekend
Boyzone singer Stephen Gately has been found dead at the age of 33, it was reported today.
Gately was believed to have been holidaying in Majorca when he died yesterday, according to a newspaper.
A friend of Gately's told the newspaper: "It looks like he went out for a few drinks, then got back, fell asleep and never woke up."
Boyzone manager Louis Walsh told the News of the World: "We're all absolutely devastated. I'm in complete shock. I was only with him on Monday at an awards ceremony. We don't know much about what's happened yet.
"I only heard after The X Factor and we will rally around each other this week. He was a great man."
All four remaining members of Boyzone - Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch and Mikey Graham - will be flying to Palma, Majorca tomorrow.
Boyzone star Shane Lynch told the News of the World: "Me and the boys are flying out in the morning. We just need to get over to where he's passed and work out what we need to do."
Ronan Keating, who is in Chicago, has been left devastated by the death of his close friend. A pal revealed to the newspaper: "Ronan is completely distraught. No-one saw this coming.
"He loved Stephen like a brother, they were so close, it's absolutely floored him.
"It's a massive shock to everyone and no one can take it in yet.
"He was a man in the prime of his life, and this is a huge tragedy."
Thats a shocker. He was very well liked in Ireland.
The 'We’re From America’ rocker has been officially diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, although he does not have a life-threatening case and is expected to make a speedy recovery.
Joking about his diagnosis on his MySpace Celebrity blog, he wrote: 'So I have officially been diagnosed, by a real doctor, with THE SWINE FLU.
'I know everyone will suggest that f***ing a pig is how this disease was obtained.
'However, the doctor said my past choices in women have in no way contributed to me acquiring this mysterious sickness. Unfortunately, I am going to survive. M [sic]'
Manson isn't the only celebrity to have been diagnosed with the potentially fatal disease, which originated in Mexico and has the symptoms of a heavy cold.
'Harry Potter' actor Rupert Grint - who plays Ron Weasley in the hit wizard film franchise - thought he was going to die when he contracted the highly contagious disease.
He said: "It was quite scary when I first found out I had swine flu. I thought, 'Am I going to die?' But it was just like any other flu really. I had a sore throat and I went to bed for a few days."
Kasabian singer Tom Meighan was rushed to hospital in Sydney, Australia, where he was diagnosed with the virus.
A day later, his bandmates guitarist Serge Pizzorno, bassist Chris Edwards and drummer Ian Matthews were left bedridden after coming down with the same symptoms.
Canadian musician Leonard Cohen is recovering after collapsing onstage while on tour in eastern Spain, his music company said today.
The veteran poet and performer has been released from hospital after suffering from a stomach complaint, Doctor Music Concerts said in a statement. It is understood he had a case of food poisoning.
Mr Cohen was part-way through his song Bird on the Wire in Valencia when he fainted, causing the band to stop playing to rush to his aid as concertgoers watched. The concert was stopped.
A video showing Cohen kneeling down several times during the performance and then keeling over sideways during a saxophone solo has been placed on YouTube by a fan.
The musician, who will be 75 on Monday, was taken in an ambulance to the Nueve de Octubre hospital in Valencia but released early today, his Barcelona-based Doctor said.
Cohen was due to perform the last show of his Spanish tour at the Palau Sant Jordi concert hall in northeastern Barcelona on Monday. Trucks carrying Cohen's show had arrived at the hall this morning and were to set up as normal, a spokesman for the concert hall said.
Cohen had to come out of retirement five years ago when he discovered that most of his retirement fund had disappeared in a disputed case of mismanagement.
After leaving Spain Cohen was due to perform next at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida on October 17th, his website said.
Elton John said he wants to adopt a 14-month-old boy from an orphanage in Ukraine who has 'stolen his heart'.
The singer was visiting the country with his Aids foundation and during his visit yesterday he performed 'Circle of Life' for the children, some there because their parents had died of Aids.
At a press conference later he and partner David Furnish, were asked whether they thought of adopting and John announced he would like to adopt one of the children, Lev.
He said: 'David and I have always talked about adoption, David always wanted to adopt a child and I always said 'no' because I am 62 and I think because of the travelling I do and the life I have, maybe it wouldn't be fair for the child.
'But having seen Lev today, I would love to adopt him. I don't know how we do that but he has stolen my heart. And he has stolen David's heart and it would be wonderful if we can have a home. I've changed my mind today.'
'I don't know what the procedure is to adopt a boy from the Ukraine. I don't think that I can because England has a treaty with the Ukraine but David is Canadian so we might be able to work through something like that.'
Ukraine has the fastest rising HIV rates in Europe. Two years ago the singer gave a free concert on the main square in Kiev attended by tens of thousands people to raise awareness of HIV and Aids.
A wave of Beatlemania swept the globe anew Wednesday as fans from Tokyo to London to New York queued to buy the Fab Four's music in formats old and new.
Creating the buzz were the band's remastered albums and The Beatles: Rock Band video game.
Music fans who already own the iconic band's albums on LP and CD were among those in early-morning queues outside music stores, waiting to buy the newly released material. It includes painstakingly digitally remastered versions of the Beatles' original U.K. albums and box sets of stereo and mono mixes.
"It's kind of like restoring the colouring of the Sistine Chapel," music journalist Alan Light, former editor-in-chief of Spin magazine, told CBC News on Wednesday morning.
Fans in the U.K. also gathered at famous Beatles sites, including outside the band's legendary Abbey Road recording studio.
"I will absolutely go out and buy them," Uma Nolan, an Irish nurse visiting London, said of the entire new 17-disc remastered set of albums.
"I'm a huge Beatles fan and have every single LP in original first edition copies. They were the first real pop group. The entire generation was waiting for that to happen. They sent worldwide pop culture off into orbit."
'This is where it all happened'
Newer fans are also eager to get their hands on the much-anticipated Rock Band video game, which allows players to perform as the Fab Four using the game's microphone, guitar and drum controllers. The initial batch of songs offered in the game will be bolstered by further online releases.
The Beatles: Rock Band was launched at a midnight event featuring a Beatles tribute band at the revamped Cavern Club in Liverpool, where the band got its start.
"This is where it all happened," fan Hans Roosenbrand, who travelled from Holland to Liverpool for the launch, told gaming website Games Industry.
"I have been coming here every year for 34 years. The first thing to do tomorrow is go to the record shop," he said, adding that the video game was "a good opportunity for young kids to get to know The Beatles."
I saw a Beatles song on one of the music channels last night and was like 'wtf?' How cool will it be to see The Beatles in the charts after all this time.
British hip hop artist Speech Debelle emerged triumphant at the U.K.'s Mercury Prize Tuesday night, snagging the prestigious music honour for her debut album Speech Therapy.
"It feels better than I imagined," the singer-rapper said after her win. "My family's here. My friends are here …I don't get emotional — I'm emotional."
She beat out more established acts such as rock group Kasabian and solo artist Bat for Lashes.
The 26-year-old Debelle, whose album was inspired by a period when she was homeless, had reportedly sold less than 3,000 copies of Speech Therapy before Tuesday evening, when she picked up the Ł20,000 (about $34,000 Cdn) prize.
By Wednesday morning, however, online retailer Amazon reported that the south London singer-rapper has seen a 4,000 per cent rise in sales.
Mercury Prize judge Charles Hazlewood praised Debelle for "just quietly telling her stories in the most beguiling way."
Since its inception in 1992, the Mercury Prize has been considered a noted — and much emulated — music prize that celebrates the year's best album by a British or Irish artist, as chosen by an independent group of music journalists and industry reps.
Judges have often favoured little-known artists over established acts. As such, winners typically see a significant jump in album sales. Past winners have included the Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Dizzee Rascal and Antony and the Johnsons.
Apparently GaGa Admitted to this a long time ago, but somehow it didn"t make a splash in the news. There was video of her penis hanging out during a concert.(See Video Below)
So GaGa"s a hermaphrodite " I thought that was a politically correct term, but I"ve been informed the more PC term is "intersexual." She has a penis and a vagina and she identifies as female. This is reportedly her statement about it, although take it with a grain of salt, because I haven"t been able to trace it back to any reliable source:
Gaga Said..."Its not something that I"m ashamed of, just isn"t something that i go around telling everyone. Yes. I have both male and female genitalia, but i consider myself a female. Its just a little bit of a penis and really doesn"t interfere much with my life. the reason I haven"t talked about it is that its not a big deal to me. like come on. its not like we all go around talking about our vags. I think this is a great opportunity to make other multiple gendered people feel more comfortable with their bodies. I"m sexy, I"m hot. i have both a poon and a peener. big f*cking deal.'
I keep picturing the Rock calling her a hermaphrodite like he did that time with Chyna.
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20090629-20267.html
Controversial Body Worlds creator Gunther von Hagens plans to preserve the late Michael Jackson’s body in a dancing pose for display using his plastination process, a spokesperson told The Local on Monday.
Shortly after the legendary pop entertainer was pronounced dead in Los Angeles, von Hagens released a statement revealing his personal assistant had been contacted by an anonymous member of Jackson’s management team about plastination some six months ago.
“During the phone conversation we were told about Michael Jackson’s interest to become plastinated after his death,” the statement said, adding Body Worlds did not confirm the King of Pop’s interest because the caller wished to remain anonymous and the body donation form is available online.
The validity of the call “is soon to be seen,” the statement added.
On Monday, Institute for Plastination press spokesperson Christiane Casott told The Local the organisation is still awaiting confirmation the King of Pop wanted to become plastic.
Von Hagens promised the late 50-year-old’s family that his body would be preserved through plastination for “a didactic eternity,” and would be conducted free of charge.
“The pose would be a dancing one, to be determined by the family in detail,” he added.
The provocative 64-year-old, known as “Dr. Death” in Germany, is infamous for transforming the bodies of people and animals into exhibition pieces for his Body Worlds exhibitions. He recently caused a stir this May in Berlin where his show, “The Cycle of Life" featured dissected corpses having sex
The stress of the upcoming concerts in London - which would have earned him $50 million to $100 million to get out of debt - killed Michael Jackson, says a former publicist.
The King of Pop, who had earned $750 million, was reportedly in debt between $300 and $500 million when he died Thursday.
He was working hard for his 50-date comeback 'This Is It' tour beginning July 13 in London.
Canadian Stuart Backerman, who was Michael Jackson's close confidante and publicist from 2002 to 2004, told the local Vancouver Sun Friday that stress killed the pop star.
He also revealed unknown facts about the star's private life and his insecurities.
'To be quite honest, his lifestyle, the anxiousness he has been under, and stress in terms of the concerts in London (was incredible)' was too much for the King of Pop to handle, the Vancouver man told the newspaper.
'Remember, he signed up for 50 concerts, (rehearsed) every other night. (That's a lot) for a guy who hasn't performed since 2001. Even in 2001 he could barely do two sets of 20 minutes at that Madison Square Garden (Motown) celebration. Since then he has not really practised,' said the Canadian who handled Jackson's public affairs at the most difficult time in the pop star's life.
Backerman said Jackson was probably taking too much Demerol (a powerful opiate painkiller) to deal with the stress.
'I have heard from very, very good sources, in fact it has been confirmed as I understand it, that at 11.30 a.m. (Thursday) he was given an injection of Demerol,' Backerman told the newspaper.
'He used Demerol following the Pepsi commercial (in 1984) and the burning of his hair and the scalding of his scalp. I would say between that, (and) the pressure he's been under trying to practise and rehearse and get in shape after all the years of doing nothing, and all the other stresses ... it created almost a lethal cocktail of situations that put him over the edge, and taxed his heart to the degree that he couldn't handle it,' the Canadian said.
He described the ill-fated Pepsi commercial in 1984 as the defining moment of Jackson's 'descent from the King of Pop to a walking tabloid headline'.
Jackson was filming a TV commercial for Pepsi when his hair caught fire from a special effects explosion and he was seriously injured.
'That Pepsi commercial debacle was a seminal event in Michael Jackson's life,' Backerman said.
'He was in pain, deep, incredible pain, and he was prescribed Demerol. Like a lot of people who get pre.scription drugs, that turned into a semi-habit. And it created the situation of him being 'off' sometimes, because of his Demerol,' the former publicist said.
Michael Jackson started wearing wigs after that mishap to hide his scalp.
'Because his scalp was burned, he could never have that gorgeous head of hair that he had in the 'Thriller' days that girls died for. He was such a handsome African-American male. He had the perfect, beautiful Afro, tied back, he was the handsomest guy around, really. But he couldn't grow his hair any more, so he had to wear different wigs which made him look strange,' Backerman said.
'He wore wigs. Those were all wigs, all of them. That kind of parted-down-the-middle, dopey look that you see. Sometimes you could see that he didn't have the wig on properly, and it covered what was really just stubble on his hair, because of the accident. Cosmetically he had to get that (covered up), and that sort of led to his thinking about other cosmetic approaches', including Jackson's infamous nose jobs and surgeries.
Backerman said Jackson probably kept trying to change his face because of his troubled relationship with his father who was very demanding as he pushed his son to stardom.
'He saw a computer graphic of what he would look like at about 50 years old, and he freaked out because he thought he looked just like his father Joe Jackson,' Backerman told the newspaper.
'That combined with the wig got him thinking about changing his look,' he said.
'(His father) was very hard on Michael, being the lead singer and being the youngster. He pushed him around, and he pushed his brothers around. Michael was very scared of his father,' Backerman said.
'He grew up ... that's the point, he never grew up. He never really grew beyond the prepubescent 12-year-old, in a sense. That's why he was attracted to - and I don't necessarily mean sexually - but he was attracted to hanging out with 11, 12, 13-at-the-most year-old boys, you know? Because he felt comfortable with them. They didn't judge him, they loved him, and he could love them.'
About the lawsuits against Jackson for allegedly molesting young boys, Backerman said: 'I had no personal experience seeing Michael in any dalliance. I would like to think that whatever he had going with any boys was reasonably innocent prepubescent experimentation - if that.'
Backerman said he parted company with Jackson in early 2004 after the star joined hands with the controversial religious group the Nation of Islam.
'They basically took over Michael's business and isolated everybody,' Backerman alleged.
He said Jackson was done in by his crazy shopping habits and unfettered spending.
'He had a tremendous burn rate of several million dollars a month running Neverland, shopping and going crazy, flying people all over the world. He kept borrowing against his asset base, and put himself in a deep cash-flow situation,' Backerman said.
Apparently there was only dissolved tablets in his stomach after his death, truely shocking. This man did not take care of himself, he was a sick man before his death.
Animated comedy Futurama is to return to US TV screens with 26 new episodes - seven years after it was axed by Fox.
They will air in 2010 on cable network Comedy Central, which shows repeats and previously commissioned four specials.
Futurama tells the story of pizza delivery boy Philip Fry, who was cryogenically frozen at the end of 1999 before being defrosted in 2999.
Creators Matt Groening and David X Cohen said they were "excited and amazed" the show was returning.
'Passionate fans'
The show, which follows the space-age adventures of Fry, his love interest Turanga Leela, and Bender - a cigar smoking misanthropic robot - originally ran on Fox between 1999 and 2003.
The popularity of the repeats of the 72 original episodes - bought from Fox in 2006 - as well as strong DVD sales for the four feature-length specials have led to the resurrection.
Groening, who also created The Simpsons, said: "We're thrilled Futurama is coming back.
"We now have only 25,766 episodes to make before we catch up with Bender and Fry in the year 3000."
Comedy Central's David Bernath said there remained "a deep and passionate fan base for this intelligent and very funny show that matches perfectly with our audience".
"It's fantastic that we can add brand new instalments of Leela, Fry and Bender's adventures to our existing library," he added.
In 2005, Fox resurrected another animated comedy, Family Guy, which it had cancelled in 2002.
Excuse the lame article but I had to post something to promote this fairly awesome piece of news. Futurama is in our future!
Can't say I disagree, I thought that that Shine a Light concert was pretty poo, as is all their performances nowadays, they're just not the rock n' roll band they used to be! They perform their songs all...strangely. Funky I guess, like Bob says. Still, Bob himself should pack it in! I really didn't think much of that new song of his and I was watching a live performance of Blind Willie McTell last night...rotfl, it was just terrible!
Eminem debuted the video to "We Made You," the first single off his forthcoming album "Relapse" on MTV Tuesday.
The video, directed by Joseph Kahn, mercilessly spoofs a slew of celebrities, including Jessica Simpson and her alleged weight issues, Kim Kardashian's rear, Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson's fractured lesbian relationship, Sarah Palin, Elle DeGeneres, Jessica Alba and others.
"When you walked through the door, it was clear to me/ You're the one they adore, who they came to see/ You're a rock star, everybody wants you," goes the track's chorus over the Dr. Dre-produced beat.
In the video, Eminem plays John Mayer crooning to a smitten Jennifer Aniston; Tony Romo doing a dirty dance with Simpson, Spock from "Star Trek;" Kevin Federline alongside a dancing Britney Spears; and an incarcerated Blake Fielder-Civil making out with estranged wife Amy Winehouse. 50 Cent and Bobby Lee from MAD TV make guest appearances.
"Relapse" is due in stores in May 19.
I was really into Eminem years ago before he got stale towards the end. I sold his albums to make money for Christmas one or two years in school. I'd rather listen to him in the mainstream than most others they have on there these days.
Fans of Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, The Beatles and Cher can now get their hands on their own life-sized model of the stars - wax representations of the icons are going up for auction next month.
Executives at the Hollywood Wax Museum in Los Angeles are selling off the imitations along with nearly 200 other waxworks of celebrities including actors Stevie Wonder, Will Smith and Charlie Chaplin, sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, and former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George Washington.
A portion of the profits from the Profiles in History sale will be used to help preserve Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
The auction, the first in the wax museum's 44-year history, is due to take place on 1 May.
Legendary rocker Alice Cooper told Slam Wrestling that he was terrified when he appeared at WrestleMania 3 in Detroit, Mich. "I had performed in front of big audiences, but nothing like (Wrestlemania III)," Cooper said.
"It was terrifying, and I remember telling Jake (Roberts) as we were riding that little ring on wheels down the aisle, 'This isn't my audience, my audience isn't as crazy as this.' It was one of the most terrifying things in the world -- 90,000 people, wrestling fans, 60,000 of them were blue-haired ladies going nuts and screaming for blood." To read the full story, visit Slam Wrestling.
I remember being terrified going to a small wrestling show in Cork when I was 9 so add about 92,000 people on, I bet it was pretty terrifying for him.
(PR) Thomson, worldwide leader of services to the content creators, today introduces mp3HD, the latest addition to the mp3 family. The new mp3HD format allows mathematically lossless compression of audio material while preserving backward compatibility to the mp3 standard.
Content creators, the music industry and end users are now able to enjoy the ultimate audio quality experience with the same ease of use as the mp3 format. Users and content owners can organize their music library with the simplicity that they are used to with mp3 files. With the mp3HD format, the music industry can engage in user-friendly distribution of lossless music and audio files. The added file size required for lossless compression no longer being a limiting factor thanks to the continuous increase in Internet bandwidth capacity and file storage size.
"Over the past years, most of the music download services have adopted mp3 as their format of choice. By introducing this new mp3HD format, Thomson enables users and content providers to enjoy ultimate audio quality while preserving the convenience of the mp3 format," said Rocky Caldwell, General Manager, mp3 and Audio Licensing for Thomson.
mp3 is the most famous and recognizable digital audio and music file format. It was co-developed by Thomson and the Fraunhofer Institute IIS. The mp3 format is one of the major assets of Thomson's portfolio of licenses with over 600 licensees.
mp3HD files are mp3-compliant files that include additional side information, which, together with the mp3 portion of the file, can be decoded by an mp3HD-capable decoder. Standard mp3 players can simply play the mp3 portion of the file.
By visiting the websites www.all4mp3.com or www.mp3HD.com, users can download free mp3HD utilities, such as a command line encoder to create their own content and play it back with the Winamp plug-in.
The evaluation encoder enables the creation of mp3HD files out of stereo material in wav form at 16 bit precision and 44.1Khz. It is available for both Linux and Windows platforms. The mp3HD Winamp plug-in for Windows is capable playing back the lossless files as a bit-exact replica of the original. Professionals can find all information and license mp3HD from Thomson at www.mp3licensing.com.
The Who would be no more if bass player John Entwistle hadn't died in 2002 - because Pete Townshend only agreed to hit the road to help his pal out of debt.
Band leader Townshend reveals he planned to bow out of performing with the rock group after that year's hits tour, but when Entwistle died in Las Vegas on the eve of the trek, the guitarist was forced to forget his past differences with frontman Roger Daltrey, and get on with the shows. The tour brought the two existing The Who stars closer - and led to bigger plans.
The guitarist tells the Sydney Daily Telegraph newspaper, "John's death in 2002 was a factor in the return to serious touring. That 2002 tour was the last I ever intended to do with the band, and my mission was to make enough money for John so that he could get out of debt. He had some back tax, and a double mortgage to juggle. He died the day before the tour was meant to begin. I felt his mischievous and wonderful sense of irony in that: 'You thought you'd give me a hand-out Pete. Well, now I'm giving you a hand-out. Take my share, and tour without me if you dare.'"
Daltrey and Townshend took on the challenge, replaced Entwistle with accomplished session musician Pino Palladino and performed in Los Angeles to kick off the tour - as planned.
Townshend adds, "It felt like a gracious gift from John, in the best of humor, even though his passing was really tragic. Roger and I were thrown together. We had been respectful, and friendly to each other, but we had never been great friends. We had never managed to find a way to live with how different we are, and how differently we think and work. With John gone, we were on our own, no distractions, no excuses that we were working to help John pay his debts."
A former Brewster police officer is scheduled to be arraigned April 8 in Boston Municipal Court on two counts of assault and battery and one count of open and gross lewdness stemming from a Jan. 18 incident at TD Banknorth Garden. During a Metallica concert at the Garden, Joseph Houston, 29, allegedly exposed himself and urinated on a young couple from Connecticut, according to the Suffolk County district attorney's office. He was ejected from the concert, and then refused to leave North Station despite repeated orders to do so by Transit Police, the DA's office said in a statement. Houston was escorted out, only to return, the DA said. He was arrested and charged with trespassing. Brewster Police Chief Richard J. Koch said Houston has been discharged for cause from the department.
Wanna piss off Sharon Osbourne? Ask her if she thinks there would be any controversy over the fact that a family with past drug issues like hers is hosting a family-oriented variety show. That's what one reporter (not us!) did this morning during the press conference call to promote the family's new show Osbournes: Reloaded.
"That must be the most ridiculous question I have ever been asked in my entire career," Osbourne spewed. "I'm really angry. Do you know how many people in this country alone suffer from addiction?"
"This is a terrible epidemic that covers every race," she continues. "It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, black or white. It's an epidemic of drugs and alcohol in this country. OK? And all my family are examples of being truthful about their condition and working through it and trying to better themselves as human beings."
She continues, "You know that we have been so open about our lives. My husband has struggled with addiction his entire life. And my son has been clean and sober for six years and lives a very, very strict AA lifestyle. And, so if anything he is a beacon of hope to any young person in this country who is struggling with addiction. So when you talk about family, we are family and we are a real family. I've taken real offense, because you know why? We're real people. And probably half of the people watching our show, they have someone in their family who has a problem with alcohol and drugs."
Well, now that that's over, on with the show. What can we expect from Osbournes: Reloaded? Answer: lots of pranks, contests, audience interaction, performances and even visits from a few of the Osbournes' famous friends, such as Pamela Anderson, Miss Piggy and Fall Out Boy. Oh, and children play the parts of Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne. (They say friggin' a lot!)
Specifically: Kelly Osbourne and Ozzy Osbourne duet on Black Sabbath's "Changes." Ozzy sings solo. Fall Out Boy does a ditty, too. Kelly sings a version of Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now." Pamela has a wardrobe malfunction and reveals a bit of her bits to the audience. And, Miss Piggy speaks through helium as she answers questions to a blindfolded cast about who she is. "We didn't want to make it celebrity driven," says Sharon. "The show is more about being funny with real people."
Stupid reporter. That Miss Piggy thing sounds like a riot.
U.S. glam rag diva Lady Gaga took top spot in Britain's singles pop charts Sunday, emulating the success of her debut release.
The 23-year-old New Yorker's "Poker Face" jumped three places to replace the Comic Relief charity single "Islands in the Stream" at the top, the Official UK Charts Company said. Lady Gaga hit No. 1 earlier this year with her Grammy-nominated single "Just Dance."
What do people see in this...thing? She's terrible. Its almost as if the PR people pick the number one these days and the people downoading/buying the records are brain-washed into buying the like of Lady GaGa. People wil be listening to Led Zeppelin in 20 years but Lady Gaga will be lucky if she gets played again in 8 months. She'll become an after-thought. Just like that Katy Perry.
AUSTIN, Texas (Billboard) – Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang says plans for a 40th anniversary concert are "all speculative ideas" for now, but he hopes to bring them to reality this summer.
Lang told Billboard.com that his vision is "a free event ... a very green project," possibly in New York City.
"We want to have as small a carbon imprint as we can and use as many green techniques as we can," said Lang, who was in Austin to participate in a South by Southwest panel discussion on the legendary 1969 concert.
The holdup? "It's got to be sponsor-driven," he said.
"It's free, but it costs a lot of money. That's kind of what we're in the middle of right now. Depending on how successful we are in raising that sponsorship (money) will determine when and how we do this event -- or if we do this event, frankly."
He added that reports of a concurrent Woodstock festival in Berlin, possibly at Tempelhof airport, were "premature."
Lang said that musically a 2009 Woodstock would go "back to its roots ... There would be a lot of legacy bands -- the Who, Santana, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Joe Cocker maybe. And it would be people like Steve Earle and Ben Harper. There's certainly room for the (Red Hot) Chili Peppers and Dave Matthews ... That would be the shape of the music."
The Chili Peppers, of course, closed the ill-fated 30th anniversary concert in 1999, which was marred by complaints about the facilities, food and water prices and ended with a fiery riot. But Lang said he's confident that the Woodstock brand is not permanently damaged.
"I think it always hearkens back to the '69 event, somehow," he said. "When people think (of Woodstock) they don't think '99 or '94. They think (of) the '69 event. I think (1999) has its ramifications, but I don't think it did any real damage in that sense."
With or without concerts, Woodstock's 40th will be celebrated with an array of projects this year. Lang has written a book in collaboration with Holly George-Warren that will be published in August. He's also working on a VH1 documentary with filmmaker Barbara Kopple.
On June 9, meanwhile, Warner Home Video will release a four-hour director's cut of the film "Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace and Music," featuring 18 new performances, including some by five groups -- Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Grateful Dead, Johnny Winter, Mountain and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band -- that did not appear in the original film. Rhino Records will roll out new albums of Woodstock performances.
And director Ang Lee has made "Taking Woodstock," a narrative feature film about the real estate agent who helped the 1969 festival move to Bethel, N.Y., after losing permission to hold it in nearby Wallkill.
Scottish singer Leon Jackson, winner of The X Factor in 2007, has been dropped by his record label after one album.
A spokeswoman for Sony BMG label Syco Music confirmed the 20-year-old was no longer with the company.
"I had a great year and learned so much recording and releasing my album," said Jackson, who released his debut record, Right Now, last October.
"Every artist knows these things can go either way. I'm really looking forward to my tour and doing more writing."
Jackson won the 2007 series of The X Factor, beating 24-year-old Welsh favourite Rhydian Roberts in the final.
Another addiition to the long list of X-Factor and Pop Idol failures. Even Will Young didn't become as big as the potenial he could have been. Give it another year or so and Leona will drop off the face of the earth as well. You heard it here on MFF first folks! I never liked Leon. He always tried to do Sinatra and me, Nathan and maybe even acphenom knows NOBODY does Sinatra but Sinatra himself.
Former Stone Roses guitarist John Squire has used one of his own artworks to end speculation that the band are planning a comeback.
Squire, now an artist, has superimposed a statement onto one of his latest steel exhibits.
It said: "I have no desire whatsoever to desecrate the grave of seminal Manchester pop group The Stone Roses."
Earlier this week, the Mirror newspaper claimed the band had agreed to play 21 comeback shows.
The Stone Roses were one of the most revered bands of the late 1980s and '90s, with their debut album still regarded as one of the landmark releases of British guitar music.
The denial was added to a photograph of the artwork, called Civilian, from his Luggage series.
Speculation about a Stone Roses reunion has resurfaced ahead of the 20th anniversary of the release of their debut.
Shame. The Mirror newspaper are idiots making up lies.
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