Lest We Forget - Herb Ellis

Famed jazz guitarist Herb Ellis -- who played alongside the legendary Ella Fitzgerald during his storied career -- died Sunday at home in Los Angeles, according to the Associated Press. Ellis, 88, passed away due to complications from Alzheimer's disease.

Ellis originally got his start with big band icon Jimmy Dorsey but the jazz soloist was regarded for his work with the Oscar Peterson Trio. Following his stretch playing with Dorsey, he co-founded the Soft Winds trio. That outfit's song 'Detour Ahead' was embraced by Billie Holliday, who helped make it a standard in the jazz genre. Later, Ellis joined pianist Peterson and bassist Ray Brown for a productive run between 1953 and 1958 before touring and recording as a sideman to Fitzgerald.

A native of Farmersville, Texas, Ellis was an innovative player who fused bebop with country twang, and was touted as one of the genre's finest guitarists. In addition to his aforementioned efforts, Ellis was a recurrent contributor to Norman Granz's all-star Jazz at the Philharmonic tours.

In a statement, Recording Academy President Neil Portnow said, "Ellis always remained true to the form he played from the beginning. The jazz world has lost a great musician, and we extend our deepest sympathies to his family, friends and all who enjoyed his work."

Love Is All - Two Thousand and Ten Injuries

Love Is All’s first two albums (2006’s Nine Times That Same Song and 2008’s A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night) were thrilling noise pop records that drew from post-punk experimentalism, twee pop sweetness, and punk rock energy, added hooky songs and rambunctious performances, and ended up making a glorious racket. It’s nice to report that their third album, Two Thousand and Ten Injuries, is the equal to the first two in quality, that it delivers the same level of thrills, and is packed from to top to bottom with excellent songs and fiery playing. The band took a more relaxed approach to writing and recording the album and it shows in the slightly more precise arrangements, the songs that sound more constructed than hastily slapped together, and the clearer production. That’s not to say the intensity level has dropped, only that they have refined and focused their approach a bit. Where they used to clatter, now they might smolder, and where Josephine Olausson would have howled, now she might croon a little more. It’s a welcome move toward sophistication that works because the underlying passion and drive that are the group’s strength are never far from the surface. For every song like "Never Now" that scales back the energy in favor of arrangement, there are songs like "Early Warnings" or "Kungen" that rattle and roll like early Love Is All. The crisp and punchy production gives these rockers an extra kick that was sometimes lost in the ramshackle production of their debut and in the reverbed murk of A Hundred Things. The care given the sound really comes to light on "The Birds Were Singing with All Their Might; the synths, saxes, and Olausson’s vocals combine to give the song a majestic feel that brings to mind early New Order with Clare Grogan (of Altered Images) singing. The album is filled with great moments like this, and plenty of songs that will be the highlights of summer 2010 mixtapes. Many bands start to lose their way around the time of their third album, but on Two Thousand and Ten Injuries Love Is All sound better than ever and well-positioned to keep making smart, hooky, passionate records for a long time to come.

Disintegraton - Deluxe Edition

The Cure - Disintegration... THE PUFF...

Deluxe Edition - Polydor/Universal

Date : 24th May 2010



Three-Disc Deluxe Edition Produced & Compiled by Robert Smith, Including a Remastered Version of the Original Album, plus Unreleased Songs, Demos, Out-takes and Live Performances.



The Cure’s eighth studio album, released in 1989, is the dark tour de force Disintegration.


Following on from 1987's outstanding Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me release, and spurred by the hits “Lullaby”, “Fascination Street“, “Lovesong” and “Pictures Of You”, the album quickly became the group’s most successful yet, with sales topping more than 3 million, as the band sold out stadiums and arenas around the world.



Polydor/Universal reissues this landmark album, remastering the original, adding a disc of unreleased out-takes and demos, plus a third disc that contains a live performance of the entire album recorded in 1989 over 3 nights at Wembley Arena, London, the European climax of the The Cure's global ‘Prayer Tour‘. This Deluxe Edition comes with a 20 page booklet containing previously unseen pictures and art, as well as lyrics and an in depth overview of the period by the band's founder Robert Smith.



Robert Smith compiled, produced, and supervised the mastering of this three-disc collection, which covers the evolution of Disintegration, from demos and rehearsals to studio and stage. The first disc contains newly remastered versions of the album’s original 12 tracks.



Gathering 20 unreleased tracks, the second disc trawls through Smith’s home recordings to find early instrumental demos of fan favourites “Pictures Of You”, “Prayers For Rain” and “Fascination Street.” The Cure can be heard rehearsing and arranging various instrumental versions, including ”Homesick”, “Closedown” and “The Same Deep Water As You”, as well as playing studio out-takes of several other tracks, including “Plainsong”. The disc also contains four unreleased songs: “Noheart”, “Esten”, “Delirious Night” and a cover of Judy Collins’ “Pirate Ships”, the latter a solo performance by Smith that was recorded for, but ultimately not included on, Rubáiyát, a 1990 album celebrating Elektra Records’ 40th anniversary.



For the final disc, Smith remixes and expands Entreat, a live album recorded in 1989 at Wembley Arena. Entreat Plus combines the original’s eight tracks, remixed with the four 'missing' songs to create a complete contemporary live version of Disintegration.



Comments Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai: “Disintegration by The Cure is one of the greatest records of all time. It has the feel that only a tiny amount of albums have, that it exists completely in its own universe, immune to context or fashion. I literally cannot imagine the band members in a room playing these songs for the first time, its as if they've always been there. From stunning opener “Plainsong” through to “Untitled”, it is unrelentingly beautiful and achingly sad. Disintegration is a simply wonderful record.”

DISINTEGRATION: DELUXE EDITION

Disc One: Remastered Album

01: Plainsong

02: Pictures Of You

03: Closedown

04: Lovesong

05: Last Dance

06: Lullaby

07: Fascination Street

08: Prayers For Rain

09: The Same Deep Water As You

10: Disintegration

11: Homesick

12: Untitled

Disc Two: Rarities (1988 - 1989)

01: Prayers For Rain – RS Home Demo (Instrumental)

02: Pictures Of You – RS Home Demo (Instrumental)

03: Fascination Street – RS Home Demo (Instrumental)

04: Homesick – Band Rehearsal (Instrumental)

05: Fear Of Ghosts – Band Rehearsal (Instrumental)

06: Noheart – Band Rehearsal (Instrumental)*

07: Esten – Band Demo (Instrumental)*

08: Closedown – Band Demo (Instrumental)

09: Lovesong – Band Demo (Instrumental)

10: 2 Late (alternate version) – Band Demo (Instrumental)

11: The Same Deep Water As You – Band Demo (Instrumental)

12: Disintegration – Band Demo (Instrumental)

13: Untitled (alternate version) – Studio Rough (Instrumental)

14: Babble (alternate version) – Studio Rough (Instrumental)

15: Plainsong – Studio Rough (Guide Vocal)

16: Last Dance – Studio Rough (Guide Vocal)

17: Lullaby – Studio Rough (Guide Vocal)

18: Out Of Mind – Studio Rough (Guide Vocal)

19: Delirious Night – Rough Mix (Vocal)*

20: Pirate Ships – RS Solo, Rough Mix (Vocal)*

* Previously Unreleased Song

Disc Three: Entreat Plus

01: Plainsong*

02: Pictures Of You

03: Closedown

04: Lovesong*

05: Last Dance

06: Lullaby*

07: Fascination Street

08: Prayers For Rain

09: The Same Deep Water As You*

10: Disintegration

11: Homesick

12: Untitled

* Previously Unreleased Live Performance

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Frusciante finally quits... again.

Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante has confirmed that he has “quit” the band, writing in a MySpace blog post, “To put it simply, my musical interests have led me in a different direction.” The Peppers are reportedly working on their follow-up to 2006’s Stadium Arcadium, and rumors began circulating last week that Frusciante had permanently left RHCP and was replaced by guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who along with Frusciante toured with the band in 2007 and also appeared on Frusciante’s 2009 solo album The Empyrean. Until now, representatives for the RHCPs would not confirm the news of Frusciante’s departure to Rolling Stone. Frusciante clarifies in his MySpace post that he actually left the band over a year ago when they were on indefinite hiatus.

“I really love the band and what we did,” Frusciante writes, adding that there was no drama or anger involved in his decision to leave. “Over the last 12 years, I have changed, as a person and artist, to such a degree that to do further work along the lines I did with the band would be to go against my own nature. There was no choice involved in this decision. I simply have to be what I am, and have to do what I must do.”

Frusciante’s statement ends his second stint with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. After appearing on 1989’s Mother’s Milk and 1991’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Frusciante left the Peppers in 1992. Following RHCP’s brief Dave Navarro era, Frusciante rejoined the band for their three most recent albums: Californication, By The Way and Stadium Arcadium. In September, the band was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; as RS revealed earlier this week, the Peppers will not be a part of the Hall’s class of 2010.

Read Frusciante’s full letter to fans here:

“When I quit the band, over a year ago, we were on an indefinite hiatus. There was no drama or anger involved, and the other guys were very understanding. They are supportive of my doing whatever makes me happy and that goes both ways.

To put it simply, my musical interests have led me in a different direction. Upon rejoining, and throughout my time in the band, I was very excited about exploring the musical possibilities inherent in a rock band, and doing so with those people in particular. A couple of years ago, I began to feel that same excitement again, but this time it was about making a different kind of music, alone, and being my own engineer.

I really love the band and what we did. I understand and value that my work with them means a lot to many people, but I have to follow my interests. For me, art has never been something done out of a sense of duty. It is something I do because it is really fun, exciting, and interesting. Over the last 12 years, I have changed, as a person and artist, to such a degree that to do further work along the lines I did with the band would be to go against my own nature. There was no choice involved in this decision. I simply have to be what I am, and have to do what I must do.

Sending love and gratitude to you all.”

Jeff Beck and Eric "Slowhand" Clapton

On February 18th Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck took to the stage at Madison Square Garden. The long-running rivalry between these two guitar idols has been legendary. The significance of their sharing a stage has brought full circle a battle that began more than 40 years ago when Beck replaced Clapton as the lead guitarist for The Yardbirds.

The concert at Madison Square Garden, along with an unprecedented joint interview Beck and Clapton gave in the March 4, 2010 issue of Rolling Stone magazine, proves that both men have grown beyond the competitiveness that marked their younger days.

They have finally begun to show one another the respect they deserve as two of the most influential guitarists in the history of rock and roll. It's a credit to Clapton that he has been able to overcome his past rigidness and give Beck the credit he has long been due.

There is, once or twice during their Rolling Stone interview, a feeling of cloying, mutual genuflection; an ingratiating, ego-stroking that feels purely saccharine. Even as they poke one another in humorous fashion a few statements stand out. For instance, after being asked, Clapton admits that there are things Beck can play on a guitar that he can't. When Beck is asked if Clapton can do things on a guitar that he can't his response is "no." Both men laugh, but Clapton replies that "it really is true." Beck responds "No, bollocks" and takes his turn to compliment Clapton's playing. No bollocks, indeed.

The one thing woefully missing from this triumphant reunion story is a historical overview of these men, the musically incestuous, and often ugly, relationships between the original members of the British rock explosion and the rift that has now become a part of rock and roll lore.

In the Rolling Stone interview Clapton admits that he was "very disagreeable — intolerant" during the break-up with The Yardbirds. Over the years, mixed reports have accumulated of Clapton's battles with his contemporaries. Couple that with Beck's notoriously violent on-stage temper tantrums, and this reunion would seem unlikely at best. The fact that it happened at all can probably only be attributed to the passage of time and life's lessons hard learned.

Eric Clapton Vs Jeff Beck: The Rivalry Years

In the mid 1960s graffiti proclaiming 'Clapton is God' began springing up all over brick buildings of London. Eric Clapton had recently vacated his position as lead guitarist for The Yardbirds. He let it be known that he had no interest in being in a band that was veering away from hardcore blues into more experimental psychedelic and pop music. Clapton packed his guitar and joined John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. It was during this time that his phenomenal blues guitar playing began spawning a devoted group of followers. These followers would proclaim his holiness by word of mouth and, most famously, in paint across the dirty facade of London's Underground stations. By the time The Yardbirds' single "For Your Love" hit the charts Clapton was already long gone.

The Yardbirds, looking for a replacement, turned to friend and fellow musician Jimmy Page. Page, who was making a name for himself, and a good income as a studio musician, turned them down but directed them to Jeff Beck. It wouldn't take long for Beck to gain his own acclaim within The Yardbirds. He was a fearless innovator when it came to experimenting with new sounds. As The Yardbirds began to rack up hits, Jeff Beck was racking up fans, including worshipful writers from some of London's most influential music magazines. It was during this time that he developed the fuzz, feedback and distortion that would become his trademark, and his legacy.

It's no surprise that a rivalry would develop between Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. It wasn't only the critical and commercial success that The Yardbirds achieved during Beck's time with the band that drove a wedge between them, these two musicians harbored entirely antipodal views on guitar playing as well. Clapton was always a purist, almost elitist, blues guitarist. The pop/blues/psychedelic musical anomalies that The Yardbirds and others (such as The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Rolling Stones' Their Satanic Majesties Request) were creating held no attraction for him. When Jimmy Page decided to join The Yardbirds, taking a backseat by playing bass and rhythm guitar to Beck's lead guitar, the Clapton/Beck rift was firmly set in stone.

The late 1960's marked a turning of the tides. Clapton found his own commercial success and critical acclaim in Cream. His reputation as a first class blues guitarist had grown rapidly within British music circles. Beck and Page, now playing dual lead guitars, had taken The Yardbirds about as far as they could go. Beck would be fired in the middle of a US tour for being a consistent no-show; his perfectionism and explosive temper were reaping havoc on the band and his own health. After his departure, The Yardbirds were unable to recapture their former popularity. Jimmy Page would leave to form Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton would move into one of the darker periods of his career, a period that would lead to great commercial success, but would also put him at odds with friends and fans alike.

After the death of founding member Brian Jones Jeff Beck was approached to join The Rolling Stones. Mick Taylor had initially filled that spot but left complaining of poor treatment by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

Beck's post-Yardbirds project, The Jeff Beck Group, originally started with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, although musically successful, was cementing Beck's reputation for being tempermental and difficult to work with. Stewart and Wood would finally jump ship to join The Faces. Ironically, it would be Ronnie Wood who would take the position that Beck had coveted in The Stones.

The Jeff Beck Group would go on to cycle through impressive line-ups featuring some of the best musicians in the UK. This project allowed Beck the freedom to experiment, to surround himself with other creative artists, to grow at his own pace musically. During his career Beck has been credited with creating the sounds that would become psychedelic rock and heavy metal. He has won five Grammy awards.

At the same time that Beck was becoming renowned for musical combat, Eric Clapton was entering a period of personal turbulence that would prove to intensify his reputation as both an incomparable guitarist and a deeply troubled, often self-destructive, man. If there were a grave marker at the end of each of Clapton's musical phases and I could write the epitaph, this period would read Broken on the wheel, I climbed their corpses to reach the Gods.

This period would see Clapton vilified for rumors of his mistreatment of Brian Jones just prior to his death. Even as his place as a world renowned musician was secured, his reputation for erratic behavior was growing. He was facing down the dual demons of heroin and alcohol addiction and the implosion of Cream. When his next effort, Blind Faith, failed to rise above mediocrity, Clapton took off for the U.S. He worked on the studio sessions known as Music From Free Creek, as did Jeff Beck, although they managed to avoid one another during recording.

It was also during this period that Clapton was introduced to Jimi Hendrix. As much as he had been critical of Jeff Beck and Brian Jones' musical experimentation, he embraced Hendrix's reverb and feedback-laced acid rock. The fact that Jimi Hendrix was the only guitarist at the time to usurp Clapton's place as the world's greatest guitarist might also have made Clapton more tolerant towards his musical bastardizations.

Whatever the reason, Hendrix was one of the few musicians with whom Clapton never found fault. It has long been rumored that Clapton even went so far as to buy Hendrix a left-handed guitar for his 28th birthday (An extremely thoughtful gift). Hendrix was known to re-string right-handed guitars and play them upside down. A skill born of necessity during the days when he couldn't afford the more expensive left-handed guitars. It would be a birthday that Hendrix would never celebrate, a gift that he would never receive.

Clapton worked with The Plastic Ono Band on the Live Peace in Toronto album as well as recording his self-named first solo album. He also began spending time with close friend George Harrison as they worked on Harrison's album All Things Must Pass. It was during this time that Clapton developed an intense infatuation with Harrison's wife, Pattie Boyd. His unrequited passion would lead him to form Derek and the Dominos and release the song "Layla", written to woo her. The song marked a dynamic change in Clapton's musical style. It was raw, fiery and passionate. It was rock and roll.

With the addition of Duane Allman (The Allman Brothers Band) and his searing guitar work to the Dominos, his growing friendship with Jimi Hendrix and inspiration from his (still unattainable) musical muse, Pattie Boyd-Harrison, Clapton seemed to be overcoming the demons of his past. And then it all came crashing down around him.

The devastating deaths of Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman, along with public criticism over the discovery that "Layla" was written for Harrison's wife, sent Clapton further into the depths of drug addiction. In a drunken rage he took to the stage in Birmingham England and went on a tirade saying that England was turning into "a black colony" and people should vote for Enoch Powell to "keep Britain white." The media and his fans turned against him. The response from his fellow musicians was the creation of the crusade Rock Against Racism.

His reputation seriously tarnished, he would disappear from the public eye while he fought his heroin addiction and reappear with Pattie Boyd, now divorced from George Harrison, finally by his side. He would release the critically acclaimed album Slowhand featuring "Wonderful Tonight," another song written for Boyd, although it would still be years before she would agree to marry him.

I recall once reading an article after the break up of Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall in which Hall was asked about gifts given her by Jagger. Although I do not recall her exact reply it was something along the lines of 'I always knew when Mick cheated. He would return home with a sheepish look and expensive gifts'.

I imagine that it was much the same for Boyd. In 1979, after years of public criticism for dumping Harrison and pressure from Clapton, she finally agreed to marry him. During their marriage Clapton would father two children by women he had affairs with. Ruth, whom he did not acknowledge publicly as his daughter until well after his divorce from Boyd, and Conor, whose death after a fall from his mother's 53rd story New York apartment window at the age of four inspired the song "Tears In Heaven." That song earned Clapton six Grammy Awards. It also marked a change in Clapton's attitude. He has become less rigid and competitive over music and musicianship. Willing to give credit where credit is due. For the most part.

Clapton ranked #4 to Beck's #14 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists, published in 2003. The one thing that is consistently said about Clapton's playing is that he plays as if his guitar is merely an extension of his own body. The heights that Clapton has risen to as a musician would be viewed by most as an achievement, but for Clapton it was an obstacle that he needed to overcome. No one can truly appreciate success when they take themselves too seriously. Clapton seems to have found his humor at last.

Jeff Beck's re-emergence into the spotlight is introducing his music, and his unique approach to guitar playing, to a new generation of fans. His determination to dissect every chord and note, to move it, bend it and stretch it until it holds no secrets from him. He knows his instrument intimately. He has explored it like a lover. But it is the precision of his fretwork that still impresses most. His fingers seem to fly in a blur, yet he hits every note distinctly. While fellow guitarists bemoan Beck's lower ranking on the lists of guitar players there really is no one to blame but Beck himself. He has never courted, nor even seemed to care for, commercial popularity.

Eventually Eric Clapton ditched the raw, emotional wailing that has made "Layla" consistently rise to the top of Greatest Songs lists for the more adult contemporary/pop oriented sound that led to heavy radio rotation and record sales, while Jeff Beck continued to work in a different realm entirely, gaining critical praise for his innovative guitar explorations and becoming the sort of guitarist that other guitarists use as a measuring stick. There are few guitarists who can do what Beck does with a guitar. They may be able to emulate him, but the process by which he creates is a secret that lives within him only.

The point where these two artists diverged musically made their 'guitar rivalry' moot. They were no longer competition for one another. They weren't even playing for the same audience any more. But they have now. To sold out audiences in London, New York and Canada.

In a minuscule musical community that offers no more than two degrees of separation between members (that fishbowl known as The British Invasion), Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck have managed to keep their distance from one another for more than forty years. The end of their rivalry leaves a faint ray of hope for future collaborations--and a certain sense of mourning; a nostalgic longing for the good old days of piss and spit, rock and roll rivalries.

Billy Corgan News

Smashing Pumpkins mastermind Billy Corgan definitely knows how to write a sonic epic.

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, his two-disc opus from 1995, remains a modern alternative rock classic—spawning multiple hits and a journey that was definitive for an entire generation. You'll never forget that "Zero" shirt or the "1979" video…Given the breadth, scope and vision of Corgan's work, he might as well be rock 'n' roll's equivalent of Tchaikovsky. There's always a symphonic, orchestral and cinematic thread tying together Corgan's music. Siamese Dream had it, and his most recent studio release Zeitgeist exhibited the same progressive cohesion. However, Corgan's releasing his most epic work to date right now with Teargarden By Kaleidyscope, 44 new songs, released one-at-a-time forming a larger vision. Released via the band's official site for free, the tracks are classic Pumpkins—haunting, hypnotic, heavy at times and simply undeniable. "Widow Wake My Mind" and "A Stitch In Time" show just how diverse Corgan is, while "A Song for a Son" is one of the legend's most poetic and pensive offerings.

The Smashing Pumpkins visionary sat down with ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino for an exclusive interview about how crucial "the song" is for Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, the importance of social networks, what an honor it'd be to work with Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino and why the world can always thankfully just go back to Shakespeare.

Given the engaging, visual nature of the songs, if Teargarden By Kaleidyscope were a movie, what would you compare it to?

I would say if Teargarden were to be a film, it would be best served as directed by the great Russian director Tarkovsky. I wish it was more like Alice in Wonderland, but alas I have not had a life so charmed.

Do these 44-songs tell one complete story?

I don't feel like a single life tells only one story. So in that way my album will tell many different stories about my life.

How important is it for artists to tell stories sonically?

I don't think it is important at all. Many great rock songs are more like perfect snapshots of a moment in time that can never be reclaimed, only visited.

The Teargarden songs have a pronounced poetry lyrically that's very poignant. Where you reading a lot while you were writing?

Usually when I'm writing lots of songs I can't read, which drives me crazy because I love to read. I find these days I am writing a simpler lyric, which I am OK with but I would prefer to be writing more like F. Scott Fitzgerald instead.

Are there any authors or works of literature that are especially inspiring to you?

Shakespeare and Bob Dylan I find are always best when trying to goad oneself into a higher level of written communication.

Did you go into recording Teargarden with all 44 songs completed?

So far I've written something like 50+ songs but I think many of them are good but not great. My guess is many of the good ones won't see the light of day, and I'll just have to write more in the hopes of besting what I have. I would prefer if every song were great from now on.

"A Song for Son," "Widow Make My Mind" and "A Stitch in Time" all standalone wonderfully, but at the same time, they share the same spirit. Would you say that's the case?

I agree with that, and thank you for the compliment. They all, I feel, are born of the same 'wandering bard, folkish' root. I might be a closet hippie.

Do you have a favorite song from these Teargarden sessions? It almost seems like the songs blend the classic distorted psychedelica of Gish with the epic nature of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.

There is a song called "Spangled" that I love very much that is sitting in a box waiting to come out. It is not often that the songs I love are the ones others love. but this one might be one of those. It has one of my favorite lines I think I've ever written, something about butterflies not being able to make it in the movies. As far as the mix of distorted psychedelia in the music with the epic quality of say the Mellon Collie album, that is probably true about it re-appearing. It is kind of surprising to me because it is a sound I thought I had lost for good but it seems to have organically re-appeared to support these songs. I love the sound a lot and it is exciting to be in this amusement park of fuzz and blurry colors again.

Your guitar playing and lyrics align so seamlessly. Do you feel like you speak through both at the same time?

I would say with 25 years and counting behind me I communicate best when my guitar playing is well married to my voice and whatever it is I am trying to say. I learned to sing by playing lines on the guitar and so maybe that's where that all comes from?

In some ways, do you feel like you're bridging the gap between the modern and classic methods of releasing an album with Teargarden? You're embracing the online platform of sending out a song at a time, but you've certainly created an intricate whole vision with the entire record.

I think we are back to the old way of connecting with people, which is one song at a time. And maybe it isn't such a bad thing that you are as only as good as your last song. It is exciting to be more in the moment with the songwriting and recording. I'm sure I'll make some funny choices about what should or shouldn't come out, but I want to see if I can reach a level that the old way of releasing didn't seem to afford me.

How crucial are online tools such as Facebook, Twitter and Myspace to music? Do you feel like they bring fans closer to the music or make the experience more impersonal?

The social networks, as they are known, are fantastic places to connect the dots between something exciting and how to gain quick access to it. If people are finding friends and, even in some cases, husbands and wives and partners online, then music would naturally be a part of the way that they would share who they are.

Are there any Teargarden iPod or iPad apps in the works?

It has been discussed but someone tried to tell me that it was a mixed bag, that stuff. I am not tech savvy enough to know what is and isn't cool in that world.

How do you stay so prolific? Are you constantly finding new avenues of inspiration?

I believe the source of all creativity comes from the same place that keeps the Sun hot and the Earth spinning. In essence since each moment is unique in our lives there is always something new to discuss.

The visual aesthetic of The Smashing Pumpkins has always been so unique and unforgettable. Do you have ideas for the stage show, album covers and video concepts when you're writing the songs or do the songs dictate that aesthetic once they're complete?

I have tons of ideas but often times I don't have the support or resources around me to help me make them real. I wish I could do all that I dream of.

If you could work with any director on scoring a film, who would you want to collaborate with and why?

I would be honored to work with Quentin Tarantino or Martin Scorcese in that capacity because they use music in very important ways in their films. Woody Allen as well.

What's on your playlist right now? Who are you listening to? Also, have you seen any movies that were particularly inspiring as of late?

I mostly listen to Fred Astaire and Vaughn Monroe these days, if any one wants to look them up. As far as movies, I mostly watch movies from the 30s, 40s, and 50s.

What inspired you to come up with the "open audition" online process for the band?

The open process of audition seems to me to be the best way to say that The Smashing Pumpkins as a band is really about creating an opportunity, and trying to find whoever out there might be most drawn to that opportunity. It has more to do with faith and the laws of attraction than music in many ways.

What's next for you?

I am currently writing a long-form story version of the old myth of Medea that will be published in book along side a story by my friend Claire Fercak. Once I finish that, I am writing a spiritual memoir that would be finished next year. Also planning a tour with the Pumpkins, which is exciting.

30 Seconds To Mars

While it seemed that struggles with their record label would lead to the end of 30 Seconds to Mars, the Los Angeles-based rock band made sure that this wouldn't get them down and marched on to record and release 'This Is War' in 2009. Following 2005's 'A Beautiful Lie,' the new album showed fans just how much the band has grown over the years and that they still had something to say.

"It's an accurate depiction of the interests we have at this time in our life," 30 Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto told Spinner when the band stopped by our NYC studio. "It's really what we wanted to say in musical terms, and that's what's great about making music -- you have an opportunity to redefine, rediscover, to reinvent, and we're really excited about the songs."

Taking two years to record the album, the band didn't only just lock themselves up in the Hollywood hills and write songs, but they also invited fans to sing on the album when the band hosted its "Summit" last year. With more than 701,000 MySpace friends and over 79,000 followers on Twitter, the band is more than thankful for the dedicated fanbase they've had over the years.

"I suppose, when you think about the fans, the audience around the world, it's like this amazing dysfunctional family -- just a sense of gratitude and awe, respect, pride, a lot of great people around the world that we've been able to share this journey with," Leto said. "We're very blessed."

The band is currently on their world tour, 'Into the Wild,' which kicked off in the UK in February. However, there's one city in particular that the Leto is very excited about. "It's the biggest tour we've ever done," he said. "We've sold out Wembley arena, and those milestones are really just a lot of fun. It's surreal that we're playing these legendary places."

With three albums under their belt and sold-out shows all over the world, 30 Seconds to Mars aren't doing too shabby. But there's one still on thing they'd like to do. "I would really like to hear Barack Obama on a 30 Seconds to Mars song," Leto says. "He's got the voice. He's got the timbre."

Ok Go News

The viral phenomenon that was OK Go's homemade, treadmill-o-riffic music video for 'Here It Goes Again' may never be duplicated, thanks to tightening restrictions on embeddable licensed content. The group's lead singer and guitarist, Damian Kulash, laments these frugal industry policies in a New York Times op-ed titled 'WhoseTube?'

"Believe it or not," Kulash writes, "in the four years since our treadmill dance got such attention, YouTube and EMI [OK Go's label] have actually made it harder to share our videos." OK Go shot to fame when their no-budget video for 'Here It Goes Again' garnered tens of millions of views.

"In these tight times, it's no surprise that EMI is trying to wring revenue out of everything we make, including our videos," says Kulash, who opens the article stating the band sees their videos "as creative works and not as our record company's marketing tool."

The Times op-ed seems to have been precipitated by Kulash's recent post on OK Go's official forum. Kulash began by linking to a video for 'This Too Shall Pass.' The clip is a fun, meticulously-choreographed romp with the potential to spread like Web-wildfire -- if only embedding it wasn't strictly verboten.

According to Kulash, embedded videos are exempt from the revenue YouTube pays record companies, meaning viral success comes at the peril of record labels' coffers. The dispute is a textbook case of artistic freedom clashing with an increasingly tough-to-meet bottom line for the music industry. "To the band, 'Here It Goes Again' was a successful creative project. To the record company, it was a successful, completely free advertisement," Kulash says in his Times piece. He continues:

"Now we can't post the YouTube versions of our videos on our own site, nor can our fans post them on theirs. This isn't how the Internet works. Blogs, Web sites and video aggregators serve as cultural curators, daily collecting the items that will interest their audiences the most. By ignoring the power of these tastemakers, our record company is cutting off its nose to spite its face." Kulash's screed is bold, defining "biting the hand that feeds" in his plain statement that record labels have a well-deserved reputation for greed and short-sightedness.

My Chemical Romance - News

Hello Friends,

Recently it seems as though every time we write to you guys we have bad news, and we apologize for that, but we've learned in life you can't have the sweet without the sour. As a band we have been very fortunate over the years that our sweet times have greatly outweighed the sour ones, and a great deal of that is owed to you, the fans. Which is why we wanted this news to come from us and not some bullshit gossip site.

As of 4 weeks ago, My Chemical Romance and Bob Bryar parted ways. This was a painful decision for all of us to make and was not taken lightly. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors and expect you all to do the same.

We also wanted to give you all a quick heads up on how the record is progressing. We have been writing some very powerful new songs so this week the four of us entered the studio once again, and what has been ending up on tape each night is some of the most exciting and honest work we have ever created.

Pink Floyd News

Rock band Pink Floyd have launched legal action against record label EMI over payment of online royalties and the marketing of their music. The group, signed to EMI since 1967, are disputing the way payments for their digital sales are calculated. They are also seeking a ruling on whether the label can sell individual tracks from their original albums. Pink Floyd did not appear at the first hearing of what is expected to be a lengthy case. Their lawyer, Robert Howe QC, told the court that the musicians wanted "to know where they stand as a matter of contract". Mr Howe said EMI contend that the sale of individual tracks from albums "only applies to the physical product and does not apply online". He added that the practice "makes no commercial sense" and contravenes agreements signed by both parties. Pink Floyd's back catalogue is the most lucrative in pop music apart from that of The Beatles.

Episode 1

Soundwave 2010 - Jimmy Eat World

Shortlisted as the most popular band among the acts at Soundwave Festival 2010, Jimmy Eat World are a live act made for Soundwave and after coming out of recording sessions 2 weeks prior to Soundwave week and managing their sidewaves as well did not disappoint anyone, except for those My Chemical Romance fans that solely bought tickets to see them, but that's another story.

Following Jane's Addiction, Jimmy Eat World were the first 'night' set and what better way to start off by getting the crowd into it with one of their many sing-a-longs - Sweetness. Though the set was mainly predictable, this opener was probably not as fans were expecting A Praise Chorus to open (which evidently came right after), but for the majority of the people at Soundwave, they did opt for a majority of Bleed American songs with remnants of their other records - which left most fans satisfied.

Definitely not the loudest set imaginable for Jimmy Eat World, with at least 4 tracks from my favourite record - Clarity, it really wasn't the best set to mosh too, although it did make Faith No More louder than first imagined. So maybe there's a positive eh? JEW followed radio favourite Let It Happen and Always Be from their newest record - 2008's Chase This Light. JEW apoligised and damn right so for not touring down under for the promotion of Chase This Light, but made up for it even more (as much of a lie as it was although I have to admit that the crowds this year were probably near 50000) by telling Sydney that this is the best place they ever played. I'll leave it up to you to decide.

Vintage were waiting for vintage tracks this didn't take long with Lucky Denver Mint up next yet, we were still waiting for a louder track!! Nevertheless, people at Eastern Creek with their special other had a good time and it made it even better with 23 from Futures. JEW expresses their emotional all here making it a memorable set.

But surely Short. Fast. Loud. didn't sponsor the event for this old school crap right? You betcha! Get It Faster finally started to get spme speed and sound into fans early and the pit finally started to have some hardcore energy that I was waiting for. No Sensitivity emerged and those that hadn't the song weren't sure if it was really them, but it sufficed for a little buffer song, before more from Futures - Work and Futures following and the crowd began to get some life, peaking in the right time for the last 30 mins of the set!

Though Jimmy Eat World's enegy was not like many other bands before, their ability to write such a wide range of songs was won over fans instead of their stage banter and antics, like Jane's Addiction or AFI before them. somewhat lifeless to what some of their records sound like but the music up close and personal is infinitely better than paying 20 bucks for a CD.

Down the stretch is where Jimmy Eat World like to excel, we aren't disappointed with the latter parts of their Soundwave Sydney Set. Starting off the finale with their single from Chase This Light – Big Casino begins the loudness and rocking attitude we had been waiting for and fans really knew what was to come, or at least hope! Blister, their popular track from Clarity set the pit off, and then followed by Hear You Me and their energy was really starting to peak; but as the clock was winding down and fans actually didn't know how many songs were left due to the timing problems earlier in the day (possibly due to Alexisonfire?), overdrive turned on and volume set to 11 – Bleed American starts to blast before crowd favourite – Pain and as JEW announce good night and farewell to Sydney, there could only be one song left – unless there was an encore (which had not happened so far at the festival and if could happen I guess right?) The Middle began to rock the house down and the radio hit from 2001 made it a very successful set for JEW and most fans weren't too disappoint, except for a lack of Futures track, but that could always wait for the sideshow at UNSW Roundhouse on Tuesday. Near perfect Music Festival set and I am personally glad that they got to play 23, so all in all a very successful outing for Jimmy Eat World – 8/10.

Story of the Year - The Constant

Alternative Metal rockers Story of the Year come out with a new record for 2010 and isn't the title fitting - The Constant. Anything but, is the new album with their variety of influences of styles mixing some hardcore, funk metal and alternative rock as well as the presumptious emo-pop lyrics gives fans new hope and especially Australian fans - a solid act for Soundwave Festival 2011. Yes that's right. i have already been looking. And wouldn't we also love Jimmy Eat World to come back soon, especially given that Aussie fans know of a new and in recording album to be released over the new future. But that's another story altogether.

The Constant opens with The Children Sing and it proves to be an epic and suitable opening track to the record. A great pop-metal track with accompaniment from some children makes it a fun and great sing-a-long for the live stages. But the next track really shows what Story of the Year bring to the table - The Ghost of You and I, a shoe in for their live single of the album. Using great melodies with a bit of the old 'short, fast and loud' treatment to make their point as the songs transitions into what fans love - Emo-Rock lyrics mixed with some alternative metal melodies as they are 'longing for daylight'.

To The Burial presents us with a slower but more epic and just as loud track indefinitely leave us with moments of screamo and hardcore in our ears. A bit of punk-rock follows the opeing chorus and every other chorus to keep us in our seats, the pop and radio friendly feature of this track makes it really the lowlight of the record.

The Dream Is Over shows us Page Avenue saga Story of the Year which all listeners will love with the under-melody and the lyrics are the subtle but most important part of the track - they just know how to put our feelings into words, who really wants to wake up from a dream?

Are we looking for more vintage Story of the Year? You bectcha! Time Goes On and so do Story of the Year as their new record looks to invograte old fans who are still stuck on Page Avenue. Interesting lyrics as well as how we choose to interpret them but they sit down and realise that lives came and gone but time still goes on.

The Constant finish with a speed-metal/hardcore track that's title doesn't have the best intentions, but that's we love them isn't it? Eye For An Eye really shows why Story of the Year have produced such commercial success - their ability to be different from other alternative-metal/post-hardcore groups and present such varying material with a vast array of influences, but still able to keep their core music writing styles to please old fans and still keep their fan base growing.



7/10

Jane's Addiction News

History has a habit of repeating itself and not for the first time, founding member Eric Avery has walked out on Jane's Addiction. Claiming the "experiment is at an end," the remaining members of the band have vowed to continue and have drafted in the bottom-end services of erstwhile Guns N'Roses and Velvet Revolver bassist Duff McKagan.

Having completed an Australian tour in Perth on Monday (Mar. 1), Avery announced on Twitter that his days with Jane's Addiction were over.

"That's it with equal parts regret and relief," he wrote.

It's been clear that all hasn't been well within the band. In addition to using his Twitter account to count down the days of the Australian tour, the bassist had been absent from recent group shots as well as revealing that he wasn't a part of the writing process.

The response from Jane's Addiction has been cryptic to say the least, with singer Perry Farrell writing, "Slipping out of that shell of a past. Wow we're on to something faster now. And so worth the wait." No, we're not sure what that means either.

Avery previously quit Jane's Addiction in 1991 and he refused to take part in their first reunion of 1999-2004. His place was then taken by a succession of bassists including Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea.

Jane's Addiction are reported to be writing new material with Duff McKagan which is likely to form the basis of the follow-up o 2003's 'Strays'. Avery is thought to be pursuing a solo career.

Alkaline Trio - This Addiction

This Addiction was promoted as a return to roots for the Alkaline Trio, no doubt as a ploy to bait old fans who have been waiting over ten years for the second coming of Goddamnit! With Matt Allison (the producer responsible for most of the band's earliest work) manning the boards and new label Epitaph footing the bill, things looked promising. The lead single and title track was a great start, and showed itself to be close to a return to form, with its blazing surge of guitars and slightly vintage feel (traces of "My Friend Peter" can be heard), and it seemed to reveal a band with something to prove. However, the deeper you get into This Addiction the more apparent it becomes that the model for their punk past must be From Here to Infirmary (not the heralded classic Goddamnit!), since the end result is still the same polished album full of vaguely gothic and bloody references where characters like Draculina live — no real bitterness, sore-throat defiance, or endearing heartache to be found. Despite their efforts to convince listeners otherwise, Alkaline Trio just can't seem to recapture the spirit of their early days, when purpose and emotion fueled every note. Instead, one is left with totally competent — and at times, yes, catchy — songs that ring just a bit too hollow compared to the urgent leave-it-all-on-the-floor guts of those earliest releases. Once the listener gets past the initial bait and switch, This Addiction takes a few spins to sink in, but when it does, several tracks do stick out of the bunch, the title track and "Off the Map" being some of the strongest. Dan Andriano has a solid showing, but with only three songs compared to Matt Skiba's eight, it would have been nice to hear him more, especially since Skiba's lyrics leave much to be desired. So despite the polished and punchy singalong choruses, This Addiction is really just more of the same recycled melodies from the Trio rather than any sort of rebirth. Those who have been enjoying what the Alkaline Trio have been releasing for the better part of the 2000s will love This Addiction all the same, but everyone else who still clings to hope of the band reclaiming its former fury may finally just throw up their hands and move on.

Soundwave 2010 - Paramore

Paramore's energy especially from Hayley WIlliams and her ability to command the stage like a dance floor still with mic in hand shows their ability to become the newest pop-rockers of the world.

Opening with Josh and the distorted electric guitar oppf the opening song of their 40 minute set - Ignorance really encapsulated the crowd - until Hayley takes the stage. Paramore's ability to write short, fast and loud songs for the popular culture of the Western World sees them take the crowd by storm with their 4th disc - Brand New Eyes. Anger and happiness cross in Hayley's voice and image with the iconic lyric from the new record - 'Ignorance is your new best friend.'

Following in a 35 degree day out at Eastern Creek in Sydney, it doesn't bother them although Hayley still has to ask the crowd if they are ok in the blistering heat, and they following with other classics from Riot which all fans were hoping for - and they weren't disappointed. Crushcrushcrush and That's What You Get were some older singles from their breakthrough record, and this following with the inevitable popular tracks from Brand New Eyes, which made No. 1 in Oz, and even Hayley doesn't know how it happened.

After a break and the introduction as well as the short but sweet banter from Hayley WIlliams - 'This is gonna be a fun set, it already is... So let me ask you a question, and there is no right answer, 'No' is acceptable... Who has our new record?' (screaming, yelling). They continue with Careful and Let The Flames Begin and set the crowd on fire with Pressure - the classic track from their first record, All We Know Is Falling.

Is there another track to top the already fantabulous set? You fucking better believe it. for those rare Twilight fans out there, Paramore's Decode deom the soundtrack set fans wild and with limited time left, we all knew what tracks were remaining. Misery Business followed and the crowd all joined in with Hayley's true dancing 'moves' coming out when Josh started banging the guitar solo.

With energy at a peak in the pit, what could be left? Brick by Boring Brick, the radio hit on Triple J and a crowd favourite with full participation for the whole song. Fans couldn't wait for the final 30 seconds of the set as we all chanted - 'Pa da pa pa da pa pa da!'

The Flaming Lips - From Spin

Why the Flaming Lips: "Back in 1983 when we were approaching our first gig," recalls frontman Wayne Coyne, "we really didn't know what we were gonna be called. It was still sort of the punk era back then, but we didn't want to be called something too political like the Dead Kennedys. I'd read somewhere about a group called the Flaming Hands, which was a name I'd liked and that led to the Flaming Lips. But I've had a lot of people come up to me and tell me that they really know where the name comes from. Some folks have told me that I got the name from an old Fred Astaire musical that it supposedly shows up in. Others said we took it from a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Nope, it happened like I said it did. I even remember making a flyer for the show where I cut out a picture of a woman with her legs spread and put a mouth over her, uh, parts -- so there was this idea of a throbbing orifice. It just proves that if a man is completely left to his own devices, he'll always go straight for vaginas."

Previously Rejected Names: "Oh, we had a bunch of ridiculous ideas. We had considered things like the Tijuana Toads; the Corporation; the Firm. Silly names like that."

Best Band Names Ever: "Echo and the Bunnymen and Sonic Youth are both good ones. So is the Teardrop Explodes."

Worst Band Name Ever: "The first time I heard the Boredoms, I thought, 'What is that?' And the first time I heard Husker Du, I thought 'What the ****?' Another one that I never thought was amazing was Dinosaur Jr. Even the Beatles -- it's just a spin-off from Buddy Holly and the Crickets."

Tegan and Sara Live Preview

Soundwave 2010 - Motion City Soundtrack

Fans have been waiting for Justin Pierre and his Motion City Soundtrack to come back to Australia for a long time and their Soundwave performance did not disappoint. Showing the world that they are truly the band to beat after their success of their first three albums, I Am The Movie, Even If It Kills Me and Commit This To Memory. In 2010, after 4 years of waiting, Motion City Soundtrack release a fourth disc and with that a new and anger-filled record to excite and entice old fans as well as capture new fans with tracks from with new record – My Dinosaur Life. Also being their first record on a mainstream recording label – Columbia we see the band branch out and encourage a wider range of music for the mainstream listeners around the world with new popular favourites like Disappear and Her Words Destroyed My Planet.

At Eastern Creek Raceway, they looked good and their energy was excellent producing a solid outing and for me a great start to Soundwave. Although outnamed by so many other acts this year, they only received a short 30-40 minute set but that was sufficient for Justin to promote the new album as well as play some old favourites that fans came to hear.

1.Disappear
2.The Future Freaks Me Out
3.My Favourite Accident
4.Broken Heart
5.When You're Around
6.Delerium
7.This Is For Real
8.A Lifeless Ordinary
9.Attractive Today
10.Her Words Destroyed My Planet
11.Everything Is Alright

Soundwave Review - Overall

Soundwave at Eastern Creek Raceway like past years gone by produces a large array of rock, metal, emo and punk rock acts to come around to Australia and blast away with noise. This year we say a multitude of international acts appear from all over the world. What brings tear to mine and I'm sure many fan's eyes is the rebirth and reformation of several acts including minor favourite band - The Get Up Kids, who have molded the path of modern Emo-Pop for the generation of listeners around the world over the last decade.

Interestingly, not only the reforming of bands occurred but Soundwave Festival 2010 was a chance for international acts to show what they have done for popular and rock music around the world including Paramore, Motion City Soundtrack and Jimmy Eat World. But who really stole the stage away this year? Eagles of Death Metal and Reel Big Fish produced solid live outings as hoped but nothing can be taken away from the main stage acts that were brought in for those old fans; and encapsulated young listeners out there as well - Jane's Addiction and Faith No More. With Perry Farrell and Mike Patten's stage presence mixed with their deep and influential alternative rock/metal music over the 80s and 90s they were quite simply FAST and LOUD and brought fans together as one, although hardcore Anti-Flag or H.I.M. fans just couldn't miss those acts on alternate stages.

Stay tuned - Individual reviews coming soon...

Herbie Hancock News

Jazz legend Herbie Hancock will be feted at a belated 70th birthday bash at Carnegie Hall that will highlight the revival of a major summer jazz festival in the Big Apple.

The pianist, who turns 70 on April 12, will be joined by comedian Bill Cosby, saxophonist Joe Lovano, trumpeter Terence Blanchard, and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Hancock's bandmate in Miles Davis' famed 1960s quintet, with more guests to be announced. The June 24 concert, "Herbie Hancock, Seven Decades: The Birthday Celebration," will benefit The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.

"That will be a very exciting night - perhaps one of the unique nights in the history of the festival with a lot of people coming just to salute Herbie," the festival's producer, George Wein, said Friday.

The concert will be followed by a festival first - an old-time midnight jam session paying tribute to Hancock - at the City Winery nightclub.

After lining up new sponsorship from medical technology company, CareFusion Corp., Wein has resurrected New York's flagship summer jazz festival, which he first launched in 1972. The festival was canceled last year after Japanese electronics firm JVC withdrew its sponsorship.

Wein, who founded the first outdoor jazz festival in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1954, had envisioned retiring when he sold his company, Festival Productions, in 2007. But the new owners ran into financial difficulties, and Wein formed a new company last year to save the Newport and New York festivals.

The CareFusion Jazz Festival will make its debut from June 17 to 26 with some 45 concerts at 20 venues, including concert halls, parks, museums and libraries in four boroughs.

Carnegie Hall will be the site of three other high-profile concerts featuring trumpeter Chris Botti, Brazilian bossa nova maestro Joao Gilberto, and the trio of pianist Keith Jarrett, bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette.

There will also be several free outdoor concerts, with Latin jazz star Eddie Palmieri performing in a Bronx park and pianist McCoy Tyner's quartet and the Stanley Clarke Band with Japanese pianist Hiromi playing at Central Park's SummerStage.

But otherwise, Wein says that this year's festival will take a new youth-friendly approach highlighting up-and-coming musicians like Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, the quartet Mostly Other People Do the Killing, and the jazz-hip-hop collective Revive da Live, including rapper Talib Kweli.

"We feel the future of jazz relates to the young people that are playing now," said the 84-year-old Wein. "Jazz is not a dying situation - it's more alive than ever because there are more people playing the music than ever before."

To that end, Wein has teamed with a new generation of music presenters at venues in downtown Manhattan, Harlem and Brooklyn. The festival is paying the musicians and letting the clubs collect the gate, asking only that ticket prices be kept at a recession-friendly $15 for most events.

"It's helping the clubs and the musicians," said Wein. "Its our own stimulus program."

Brit Awards - Sales Increase

Florence and The Machine was a major domestic beneficiary from last week's BRIT Awards, with a 53% week-on-week sales increase in the U.K. for her debut album "Lungs" (Island/Universal) and a No. 2 single.

The alternative artist's set, which won for best British album, moved 9-3 on the U.K. chart with weekly sales of 39,000 according to the Official Charts Company. Florence and the Machine performed at the Feb. 16 ceremony with rapper Dizzee Rascal, and their duet "You Got The Dirtee Love" made No. 2 on the singles chart following its Feb. 17 release exclusively via iTunes. It moved almost 63,000 units in four days.

Lady Gaga's "The Fame" (Interscope/Universal) increased weekly sales by 54% to 53,500, and moved 5-2 behind the Glee Cast. She won three international awards and performed during the ceremony, which got an average 5.8 million viewers for the live broadcast on ITV1.

The majority of BRITs performers' albums benefited. Robbie Williams increased sales for "Reality Killed the Video Star" (Virgin/EMI) by 22% and moved 21-8; Lily Allen's "It's Not Me It's You" (Parlophone/EMI) was up 13% and moved 28-19; and Jay-Z's "The Blueprint 3" (Roc Nation) increased sales by 25% and moved 22-10. The BRIT Awards album tops the compilation chart.

Ted Cockle, co-president of Island U.K., says Florence and the Machine's success - U.K. shipments are now over 800,000 - justifies their slow build for the artist, who released her debut album several months after winning the critics' choice award at the 2009 BRIT Awards.

"She's just a rare breed, which gives you the confidence to take your time with her," says Cockle. "Most of the time [with other artists] we drive one hit single and the airplay on that and the album off the back of it, whereas this [success] is coming from five or six tracks that people are enjoying."

Cockle is eyeing a total of 1 million-plus sales in the U.K. with two further singles to come. "Historically, the million-seller has always been the hallmark of the records that seem to stay around forever and always hold a precious place in people's hearts," says Cockle. "If we can get beyond that it would be good, but we don't need to be pushing on forever because I think it will have a natural life of its own without us needing to market it too aggressively."

The single "You Got the Love" also improved 29-12 post-BRITs, and Cockle notes that Candi Staton, who had a 1991 top 20 U.K. hit with the Source on the original dance version, has given her approval. An on-stage collaboration between Florence Welch and Staton is "something talked about for across the summer," he says.

There have already been some studio sessions for new material because Cockle says it is "the best way to keep her excited," and there is also discussion about her writing a "power ballad" with Duffy songwriter Eg White.

Cockle stresses that Island has encouraged Florence to take risks musically. "People fell in love with her for the wild songs and for the more alternative stuff," he adds.

Florence and the Machine follows the current European tour with dates in the U.S. in April including Coachella festival.

Rock act Kasabian also got a BRITs boost following their win for best British group and performance of "Fire." "West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum" (Columbia) increased weekly sales by 179% - although this was from a lower base than "Lungs" - and moved from No. 63 to No. 20. The album sold almost 12,000 copies last week.

"They were also the only rock act to win an award during the night and that probably reflects the way music went during 2009 unfortunately," says Columbia Records U.K. managing director Mike Smith. He says consistent support from U.K. national top 40 station Radio 1 has been crucial.

Smith believes Kasabian is "the biggest band [active] in the U.K. now and we want to go on and take that message out around the world, and that's certainly where Serge [Pizzorno]'s head is at with the new material he's writing at the moment."

"It's interesting that rock music has not had as much exposure in the last 12 months as other musical genres, but Kasabian has proved that people love this kind of music," he adds. "What's been great is that Kasabian has consistently researched and tested incredibly well at the radio stations that have played them, people absolutely love this kind of music. When they get the opportunity to hear them and see them live, the record sales certainly grow in accordance with that."

Rapper Dizzee Rascal increased sales of his album "Tongue 'N' Cheek" (Dirtee Stank/PIAS) by 75% for a weekly sale of 6,600, which sent it 73-33. Dizzee's best British male victory was "totally deserved" according to PIAS U.K. managing director Peter Thompson, who says that "2009 was the year that Dizzee Rascal became a major commercial force."

The brand new Dizzee track "Disco" will be released to radio in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, Ellie Goulding, winner of the critics' choice award, enjoyed a 400% increase on pre-orders for her March 1 debut "Lights" (Polydor) according to download store 7digital.

Test

Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back

As the leader of Genesis in the early '70s, Peter Gabriel helped move progressive rock to new levels of theatricality. He was no less ambitious as a solo artist, but he was more subtle in his methods. With his first eponymous solo album in 1977, he began exploring darker, more cerebral territory, incorporating avant-garde, electronic, and worldbeat influences into his music. The record, as well as its two similarly titled successors, established Gabriel as a critically acclaimed cult artist, and with 1982's Security, he began to move into the mainstream; "Shock the Monkey" became his first Top 40 hit, paving the way for his multi-platinum breakthrough So in 1986. Accompanied by a series of groundbreaking videos and the number one single "Sledgehammer," So became a multi-platinum hit, and Gabriel became an international star. Instead of capitalizing on his sudden success, he began to explore other interests, including recording soundtracks and running his company Real World. By the time he returned to pop with 1992's Us, his mass audience had faded away and he spent the remainder of the '90s working on multimedia projects for Real World.

Following his departure from Genesis in 1976, Peter Gabriel began work on the first of three consecutive eponymously titled albums; each record was named Peter Gabriel, he said, as if they were editions of the same magazine. In 1977, his first solo album appeared and became a moderate success due to the single "Solsbury Hill." Another self-titled record followed in 1978, yet received comparatively weaker reviews. Gabriel's third eponymous album proved to be his artistic breakthrough, however. Produced by Steve Lillywhite and released in 1980, the album established Gabriel as one of rock's most ambitious, innovative musicians, as well as one of its most political — "Biko," a song about a murdered antiapartheid activist, became one of the biggest protest anthems of the '80s. "Games Without Frontiers," with its eerie chorus, nearly reached the Top 40.

In 1982, Gabriel released Security, which was an even bigger success, earning positive reviews and going gold on the strength of the startling video for "Shock the Monkey." Just as his solo career was taking off, Gabriel participated in a one-shot Genesis reunion in order to finance his WOMAD — World of Music, Arts and Dance — Festival. WOMAD was designed to bring various world musics and customs to a Western audience, and it soon turned into an annual event, and a live double album was released that year to commemorate the event. As Gabriel worked on his fifth album, he contributed the soundtrack to Alan Parker's 1984 film Birdy. His score was highly praised and it won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes that year. After founding Real World, Inc. — a corporation devoted to developing bridges between technology and multiethnic arts — in 1985, he completed his fifth album, So.

Released in 1986, So became Gabriel's commercial breakthrough, largely because his Stax homage "Sledgehammer" was blessed with an innovative video that combined stop-action animation with live action. So climbed to number two as "Sledgehammer" hit number one, with "Big Time" — featuring a video very similar to "Sledgehammer" — reaching the Top Ten and "In Your Eyes" hitting the Top 30. As So was riding high on the American and British charts, Gabriel co-headlined the first benefit tour for Amnesty International in 1986 with Sting and U2. Another Amnesty International Tour followed in 1988, and the following year, Gabriel released Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ, a collection of instrumentals used in Martin Scorsese's film. Passion was the furthest Gabriel delved into worldbeat, and the album was widely acclaimed, winning the Grammy Award in 1989 for Best New Age Performance. In 1990, he released the hits compilation Shaking the Tree.

Gabriel labored long on the pop-music follow-up to So, finally releasing Us in the spring of 1992. During the recording of Us, Gabriel went through a number of personal upheavals, including a painful divorce, and those tensions manifested themselves on Us, a much darker record than So. For various reasons, not the least of which was the fact that it was released six years after its predecessor, Us wasn't as commercially successful as So, despite positive reviews. Only one single, the "Sledgehammer" knockoff "Steam," reached the Top 40, and the album stalled at platinum sales. In 1993, Gabriel embarked on the most ambitious WOMAD tour to date, touring the United States with a roster including Crowded House, James, and Sinéad O'Connor, with whom he had an on-off romantic relationship. The following year, he released the double-disc Secret World Live, which went gold. Later in 1994, he released the CD-ROM Xplora, one of many projects he developed with Real World. For the rest of the decade, Gabriel concentrated on developing more multimedia projects for the company and working on a new studio album.

Up was released in 2002, a full decade after Gabriel's last studio effort. Dense, cerebral, and often difficult, the record peaked at number nine but failed to sell well in America. It fared slightly better in Canada, where it went gold. He then turned his attention to a host of different projects, although the release of Big Blue Ball — a compilation of collaborative performances recorded at Real World Studios during the '90s — helped placate fans while Gabriel focused his energies elsewhere. He eventually returned to the studio for another album, Scratch My Back, which featured orchestral covers of songs originally performed by Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Paul Simon, David Bowie, and others.