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Aerosmith have said that they hope to release their as-yet-untitled new album in July of this year.

Frontman Steven Tyler said that he would like the record to come out a month after the band’s Global Warming tour begins on June 16 in Minneapolis.

Tyler made the comments yesterday (March 28) at The Grove in Los Angeles, reports Billboard. Introduced by Jimmy Kimmel, Tyler said: “Doing a record in four months is unheard of in Aerosmith territory.”

He explained that the album, which follows 2004’s ‘Honkin’ On Bobo’, still needs to be mixed and that two more songs need to be written. The album will be produced by Jack Douglas, who was behind 1975’s ‘Toys In The Attic’. Drummer Joey Kramer said: “Jack is part of the Aerosmith DNA. On the first day of writing at rehearsal, that all came right back.” Read the rest of this entry »

Jazz pianist Vijay Iyer, guitarist Prasanna, and tabla player Nitin Mitta brought their highly skilled trio to the Crystal Ballroom, a venue revered by Deadheads everywhere. The 3pm show time was perfect for many of the attendees, and the trio darted and weaved through its unique repertoire to a highly receptive audience.

Mitta was the trio’s one-man rhythm section, playing both bass and drum parts with his insistent hand patterns and intuitive interplay with his co-players. He earned many ovations and single-handedly propelled the spirited afternoon set.

At stage left, guitarist Prasanna showed his mastery of the Carnatic style of playing, and his beautiful compositions reflected that sound as well. His glissandi vertically along the strings contrasted sharply with the way most other guitarists bend strings horizontally across the neck, and his singing and vocal cadences added a Chennaian flair to the proceedings. Read the rest of this entry »

Mary J. Blige gave a performance and interview onstage at the New York Time’s Times Talks event Monday, November 28. During the talk, she opened up about her candor in music, her surprise collaboration with Beyonce and working with greats such as Aretha Franklin.

“When life is real it’s not going to be smooth,” said Blige to New York Times music critic Jon Pareles about her career-long decisions to make her private life known through her music. “I was just singing from my life, singing through my experiences, singing through the hurt and the pain in order to survive,” Blige said.

Blige also spoke about the serendipitous road that led to her recent collaboration with Beyonce, in which the single “Love a Woman” was born.

“She had her A&R people play the record for us. I’m sitting in the back thinking,”Is she really going to give me this record? That’s crazy! It’s amazing,’” Blige said. “I asked her A&R person and he said, ‘Yes, she wants you to have the record, but she wants to stay on it with you.’ I loved that idea and I’m thankful. I thank Beyoncé for the record.”

However, despite being a legend in her own right who has worked with the aforentioned Queen Bee, U2, Diddy and others, Blige admitted that working with such icons as Aretha Franklin made her a bit gun-shy.

“It’s like being in a room with your mom because she is no nonsense. A sweet lady, but she’s been in this business a long time, so she’s seen everything. I gave her space and waited until she would embrace me and she finally did.” The legends collaborated on the Golden Globe and Grammy nominated, “Never Gonna Break My Faith.”

Mark E. Smith has said he “agrees with Colonel Gaddafi,” when asked about the UK riots and the uprising in the Middle East this summer: “Too much laptops, too much Nescafe, that is what he [Colonel Gaddafi] said, you know,” said the inimitable frontman of legendary Manchester band The Fall.

“It’s quite biblical actually, it was predicted in the bible, you know. People are just protesting about what they don’t really know anything about. What makes me laugh is that they always seem very well dressed. They don’t seem very ragged, do they.” Read the rest of this entry »

Justin Timberlake has been awarded two more Emmys for his acting, writing and comedic performances on Saturday Night Live.

This year’s Emmy Awards may not be televised until Sunday night but, as is the case every year, some are announced prior to the show. Singer, and former member of the boy-band N*Sync, Justin Timberlake, has been recognized for his work on Saturday Night Live.

Timberlake, who has previously won Emmys for Outstanding Music Lyrics for SNL’s 2007 skit “D*ck in a Box” as well as the 2009 award for Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, has been granted two wins in this year’s Creative Arts Emmys: Guest Actor in a Comedy Series and co-writing his opening SNL monologue song, “Not Gonna Sing”. Read the rest of this entry »