Recently in In the News Category

Joe McElderry, the 2009 winner of the British talent competition The X-Factor, confirmed rumors that he is gay in an announcement on his official website today.

Hey Guys,

Tomorrow there will be some articles about me in the newspapers because I have been doing some important interviews today. I wanted you to know that the articles are true. I also wanted you to know that I really respect your loyal support and all the kind messages I have had from you up to this date.

I have always been a very honest person and so it is important for me to continue to be honest. It has been the most amazing year so far and I feel so privileged. It's also been a time of real self realisation and I feel as if I have grown up so much in these few months.

There has been speculation about my sexuality in the past and I have always been honest at the time I have been asked. Over the past few weeks I have really had time to reflect and to realise who I am. I spoke to my friends and family about this in the last few days and it was important to do the same for you all as you have been so supportive.

I have had nothing but support from you and many of you have been very open in saying that you will continue to support me whatever my sexuality. It is important to me to let you know first, so that you know the stories in the papers are true. I made the choice to speak openly about this.

Again, I can't thank you enough for all your support.

Everything is going well and I'm really happy to be able to move forward from here

Joe. x

Source: www.joe-music.com

McElderry's debut album is scheduled to be released on October 25, 2010. The album is still untitled, but is available for presale in the U.K. The album art below is the promotional image.

This photo of Broadway legend Carol Channing holding her CD of Christian music was posted on the newswires today. For Heaven's Sake was released last year.

The new season of Mad Men premieres tomorrow. Many people are having Mad Men viewing parties with 1960s themes. If you're thinking about doing something like this, you'll need to have the right music (and plenty of booze).

Last year, The Verve Music Group released an entire series of EPs through iTunes that would be perfect for a Mad Men viewing party. Each EP features music based on the fictional tastes of a character from the series.

If you're looking for some costume ideas, I suggest that you check out MadMenYourself.com. There you will find a Flash game that you can use to create a cartoon version of yourself in Mad Men attire. I selected a slinky black number and a rifle. I'll teach that Don Draper a lesson for firing Sal Romano!

Charlie Brand, frontman of the indie rock band Miniature Tigers just sent out the following tweet. It is a clever joke about the news that Vampire Weekend is being sued by the woman whose photograph was used on the cover of their most recent album, Contra.

I have been putting off writing about the Vampire Weekend album cover suit. One of the reasons is that I really don't like the trend of using old snapshots as album cover art. Several bands have already copied the Vampire Weekend cover (right), digging through old family albums to find a faded Polaroid to scan and label with a title that is supposed to be ironic.

Unfortunately, it looks like the Vampire Weekend cover is going end up being rather expensive. Two million dollars will buy one heck of a masterpiece. The band would have been better off hiring a model and doing a professional photo shoot.

You can bet that the cover for Miniature Tigers' forthcoming album, Fortress, cost quite a bit less than two million. Yet, it is obvious that their album cover is real art and not just something that was kept in a shoe box for 25 years. Fortress is scheduled to be released on July 27, 2010.

Obviously, Brand was making a joke about his band being sued by the girl on their album cover. However, the painting used for the cover of Fortress has to be taken seriously. It caught my eye immediately when I was browsing through upcoming releases a couple weeks ago. I just hope that the parrot signed a release!

Last week, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert was publicly ridiculed for using the Comic Sans font in an angry letter to player LeBron James. The letter was posted on the team's website after James announced that he is leaving the team. Gilbert's ridiculous font choice was instantly a trending topic on Twitter and become a hot topic on blogs across the Internet.

It has been quite a long time since I have seen Comic Sans used on an album cover. However, I often see other fonts that have become cliche from overuse or have been reviled by graphic designers for their lack of artistic merit. There are just some fonts that should not be used unless it is intended to be ironic. The recent cover for the album Brothers by The Black Keys (above right) is an excellent example of an ironic cover. It uses a version of the overly common font Cooper Black for a generic look.

Recently, I saw that the font Copperplate Gothic was used for the cover of David Archuleta's forthcoming single, Something 'Bout Love (below). Copperplate Gothic is certainly not as despised as Comic Sans. However, it is a font that has been used for countless rock and heavy metal album covers. It has a kind of horror movie look to it, especially when modified to include crosses and other symbols. It definitely doesn't work on a David Archuleta cover.

Perhaps the art director who approved Copperplate Gothic for Archuleta's cover should have gone the ironic route instead and used Comic Sans and Cooper Black. At least that would have been cute and creative.

This week, the 2000 album by Finnish metal band Stratovarius was released as a special edition. The cover by British artist Derek Riggs features golden dolphins jumping though the symbol for infinity. One side of the album displays a pristine, crystal blue ocean. The other shows an ocean spoiled by polution, with what appears to be an oil-soaked sea bird gasping for life and dead fish floating on the surface.

It is impossible not to draw a connection to what is currently happening in the Gulf of Mexico. However, the cover was created a decade ago. The release of the 2010 special edition of the acclaimed album was in the works long before oil began spilling into the Gulf. Riggs' album cover simply makes a stronger impression now that we've seen his illustration come to life.

Derek Riggs is best known for creating Iron Maiden's mascot Eddie the Head. His personal website and online portfolio, including the full poster for Infinite (above), can be seen at derekriggs.com.

Sometimes life does imitate art. Sadly, that often is not a good thing.

According to a news release from EMI Music, eight of John Lennon's classic solo albums and other recordings have been digitally remastered from his original mixes to commemorate the late musician's 70th birthday on October 9, 2010.

The project is being managed by Lennon's widow Yoko Ono and will launch on October 4 in the U.K. and October 5 in the U.S., with the worldwide release of the eight remastered studio albums and several new compilations.  

The campaign's new collections include:

• A hits compilation in two editions titled Power To The People: The Hits
• A 4CD set of themed discs titled Gimme Some Truth
• A deluxe 11CD collectors box with the remastered albums, rarities, and non-album singles, titled the John Lennon Signature Box

All of the remastered albums and collections will be available on CD and for download purchase from all major digital service providers.

According to the release, the albums have been digitally remastered from Lennon's original mixes by Yoko Ono and a team of engineers led by Allan Rouse at EMI Music's Abbey Road Studios in London and by George Marino at Avatar Studios in New York. All of the remastered titles will be packaged in digisleeves with replicated original album art and booklets with photos and new liner notes by noted British music journalist Paul Du Noyer.

The albums to be reissued are:

• John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970)
• Imagine (1971)
• Some Time In New York City (1972)
• Mind Games (1973)
• Walls and Bridges (1974)
• Rock 'n' Roll (1975)
• Double Fantasy (1980)
• Milk and Honey (1984)

The John Lennon Signature Box is a deluxe 11 CD and digital collection of the eight remastered albums, a disc of rare and previously unreleased recordings, and an EP of Lennon's non-album singles. The CDs will be housed in digisleeves within a deluxe box including a collectible limited edition John Lennon art print and a hardbound book featuring rare photos, artwork, collages, poetry, and new liner notes by DeCurtis.

According to CNBC, sales of Michael Jackson records, publishing rights, and related merchandise have generated between $250 million and $275 million for the singer's estate in the year following his death.

CNBC has learned that debts which once totaled $500 million have been reduced to approximately $400 million, and that figure will soon be lowered to $350 million. The mortgage on the Jackson family home has been paid off.

[...]

The beneficiaries of Jackson's estate are his three children, his mother, Katherine, and charitable causes he cared about. The task of managing through the millions of dollars coming in, and the millions yet to be paid out, is being administered by co-executors John Branca, his longtime attorney, and music industry veteran John McClain, who grew up with Jackson and his brothers. Both not only had worked with the King of Pop, but had been close to him for decades.

Source: CNBC

Personally, I have purchased several Michael Jackson albums over the past 12 months. One of my favorite purchases is The Remix Suite, a 2009 collection of new remixes of Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson hits. The cover art for the album features a teenage Jackson sitting on a golden throne.

Check out this promo video for the forthcoming album from Nick Cave's Grinderman project. It was posted on Mute Records' YouTube channel with very little explanation.

The cover art for the Grinderman album (right) was a monkey. I'm betting that this time it will be a wolf.

Grinderman 2 to scheduled to be released in Europe by Mute on September 13, 2010 and by ANTI- on September 14. Grinderman will begin a 20-date European tour on September 25.

4TROOPS - S/T

Posted by: zeefritz

SSgt Barry Sadler - Ballad of the Green Berets

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Leonard Berstein - Gershwin, Copland, Barber

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One of the questions that may never be answered as the TV series Lost comes to an end tonight is whether or not the band Geronimo Jackson is real. The album cover has been featured on the show several times over the years that it has been on the air.

The producers of Lost once stated that the band was an obscure 1970s rock band. Since then, it has been reported that the band was the fictional creation of writer Eddy Kitsis. It is rumored that Geronimo Jackson will be featured in tonight's series finale.

Today, millions of people across the United States will be celebrating Harvey Milk Day. The day marks what would have been the politician and gay rights activist's 80th birthday.

Events are taking place in many U.S. cities and even in Sydney, Australia. Having been a fallen hero to the world's LGBT communities for decades, many were introduced to Harvey Milk for the first time though the motion picture Milk in 2008.

The soundtrack for the film includes a brilliant score by Danny Elfman and addtional tracks by David Bowie, Sly & The Family Stone, Sylvester and others. The cover art features actor Sean Penn, who won an Oscar for his performance.

In 2009 and early 2010, Erasure's Andy Bell released two singles under the pseudonym MiMó. Bell was reported to have slected the name as a tribute to his friend Tomeau Mimó.

Unfortunately, the name was already being used by another artist and Bell was forced to use his own name for the singles and a forthcoming album, Non-Stop.

The cover art for the singles Running Out and Will You Be There? were redone, with the name MiMó replaced with Andy Bell in much the same style. The album is Scheduled for release on June 8, 2010.

Posted by: zeefritz		Posted by: zeefritz
Posted by: zeefritz		Posted by: zeefritz

According to the New York Times, fantasy illustrator Frank Frazetta died on today in Fort Myers, Florida. He was 82. The artist's business managers confirmed that death was due to a stroke that occurred yesterday.

In addition to illustrations for book covers, comic books, and magazines, Frazetta illustrated numerous album covers for heavy metal bands such as Molly Hatchet and Nazareth. His contemporaries include Boris Vallejo and George Grie.

Frazetta's painting Death Dealer was used as the cover art for Molly Hatchet's 1978 self-titled album. It is often included in lists of best album covers.

Legendary singer and actress Lena Horne died tonight at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. She was 92.

In the 1940s, Horne became the first African-American performer to be signed to a major contract by a Hollywood movie studio. She went on to achieve international fame as a singer, recording dozens of albums and blazing the trail for black performers in the United States. Horne is best remembered for Stormy Weather, the title song of the 20th Century Fox musical she performed in 1943.