Go, Johnny, Go

Jan. 25, 2006

The Golden Globe Awards have arrived and left, complete with the requisite glittering celeb appearances and a plethora of awards that are said to be indicators of what will happen at this year’s upcoming Academy Awards ceremonies. Perhaps the biggest winner of the evening was the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line, which won for Best Musical or Comedy Film, while the film’s star actors, Joaquin Phoenix (as Johnny Cash) and Reese Witherspoon (as June Carter Cash) won for Best Actor and Best Actress; both Phoenix and Witherspoon did their own singing in the critically and fan acclaimed film. Meanwhile, the movie’s soundtrack was just certified gold for having sold half a million copies. In other Golden Globe music news, Jonathan Rhys Meyers won Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actor as Elvis Presley in Elvis, John Williams won Best Original Score for Memoirs of a Geisha, and Gustavo Santaolalla and Bernie Taupin snagged Best Original Song for “A Love That Will Never Grow Old” from Brokeback Mountain...

Michigan’s own Jack White has had to postpone a series of Japanese tour dates for himself and White Stripes bandmate Meg White after the Detroit modern rocker was diagnosed with a severe vocal cord problem, the result of which White has been instructed not to sing - or speak, for that matter - for the next two weeks. But never fear, White Stripes fans - the Japanese dates are set to be rescheduled for this spring, and the duo say that this short break is only temporary, to bring Jack back up to peak health so that the Stripes can appear at the Big Day Out Festival in Australia coming
up later this month, at which they’ll continue to promote their latest album, Get
Behind Me Satan...

Oh where, oh where have you been, Red Hot Chili Peppers? Well, in the studio, apparently, as they’ve nearly completed work on their ninth studio album, which they’ve dubbed Stadium Arcadium. But it’s not just your average studio album - nope, it’s a Peppers double disc, with a whopping 25 tracks set to be included. Among the tunes recorded with longtime producer Rick Rubin are “Hard to Concentrate,” “Ready Made,” and “C’mon Girl,” which were chosen from almost 40 tracks that the band had recorded - rumor has it that a song titled “Especially in Michigan” may also make the cut, although that particular song may only be available as a bonus download - to find out, you’ll have to stay tuned. In the meantime, the disc’s first single will be “Danni California,” and the album itself will be out on May 9...

Hard-working Brooklyn indie rockers Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are still promoting their self-titled 2005 debut disc - they’re currently touring Europe, and will return to the U.S. at the end of February to get ready for a set of live shows scheduled for March and April. Beginning in Philadelphia on March 7, the band will continue on for some two dozen dates throughout the spring, with stops including Atlanta, GA (3/10), Los Angeles (3/23), Chicago (4/3), and Ann Arbor, Michigan (at the Blind Pig on 4/7) - the band will also make an appearance at Florida’s Langerado Festival, a two-day music fest that will also include sets from Wilco, The Flaming Lips, and Ben Harper...

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK: Rocker Lenny Kravitz, who’s preparing to support Aerosmith on their upcoming tour this February, has teamed up with Absolut Beverages Europe to write a song for their latest promotion; the tune, titled “Breath,” can be downloaded for free at www.absoluttracks.com...

MINI BUZZ:
British rock legend David Bowie, who has never won a Grammy Award in his entire career (what!?) and has only received one Grammy nomination, will finally be honored for his musical work - he’ll be given the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award later this year...
Fellow Brit Richard Ashcroft will drop his new album, Keys to the World, on January 23, and will follow up the album’s release with a short UK tour set to begin on May 9...
Much-maligned Pete Doherty is back on the road again with his band, Babyshambles, and they’re starting slow with several UK live shows this month...
My Chemical Romance are prepping to release a new DVD and CD package, dubbed Life on the Murder Scene, on March 21 - it’ll be a three-disc set that will document the band’s history and will include live performance footage plus demos and more...
Alanis Morissette is looking both forward and back these days - she’s begun writing songs for her next album, which will serve as the follow-up to her 2004 disc, So Called Chaos, and is also making plans to write her autobiography later this year...
And, as MTV termed it, brace yourself, America - American Idol, Season Five has begun...
...but you can protect yourself by clamping on the headphones and taking a listen to these new releases... ON CD: Nina Simone’s Silk and Soul... Babyshambles’ Down in Albion... Duncan Sheik’s White Limousine... Yellowcard’s Lights and Sounds... Elton John’s Legendary Covers As Sung By Elton John... and the original motion picture soundtrack to Underworld: Evolution... ON DVD: Awol One with videos from High N Mighty, Danger Mouse, DJ Quest, and more... Wattstax 30th Anniversary Special Edition... The Old Grey Whistle Test Vol. 1... and, hey, look, it’s The Old Grey Whistle Test Vol. 2.. and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.

Questions, comments, rants, raves, suggestions about this column or your fave musicians? Send ’em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com!