Spiderman, The Musical

June 6, 2007

Spiderman, the Musical

Spiderman, Spiderman, U2 digs the Spiderman... that’s right - Bono and the Edge are not merely fans of the Webbed Wonder, but they’re looking to collaborate (well, kinda) with him. The U2 duo will be working with Tony Award-winning director Julie Taymor on a new musical based on the Spiderman story. The project is already so far along that casting has started - U2 and Julie are currently working on finding actors to take on the roles of Peter Parker/Spiderman, Mary Jane, Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson, and a trio of teenage guys who will serve as narrators for the story. They’ve also added a new Spiderman character, a woman called Arachne who was “turned into a spider for her lack of respect for the gods.” The as-yet-unnamed musical will kick off rehearsals in NYC in July so keep your spider senses tuned in for more info...

MTV’s landmark Unplugged series is set to return this summer, with the show crossing channels in its zest for revival. Unplugged 2007 will be aired on not only MTV, but also MTV.com, VH1, and CMT, and new episodes of the show which, for the uninitiated, features popular musicians performing their songs in a stripped down, acoustic (or nearly acoustic) format will begin airing within the month. Already slated to appear on the latest version of Unplugged are The Police, John Mayer, Mary J. Blige, and a returning (again) Bon Jovi...

Also returning to the music scene are Aussie modern rockers Silverchair, who have just signed on the dotted line with Warner Music to release their fifth studio album. The new Nick (Arcade Fire, Talking Heads) Launay-produced Silverchair set, which has been dubbed Young Modern, is set to hit U.S. stores on July 24th, and will be accompanied by a full North American Silverchair tour, during which the band will also make a stop on the main stage at this year’s Lollapalooza festival the first weekend of August...

And for those of you who prefer to rock out in your own living room, get your virtual strings tuned up for the upcoming release of the videogame Guitar Hero III, which will hit stores late this year. For the first time, most of the songs utilized in Guitar Hero - in which players man a miniature guitar and “play along” with some rockin’ tunes - will be the original versions of the songs, as opposed to the cover versions used in much of the previous Guitar Hero editions. Included in this more modern rock-friendly set (as opposed to the metal-focused earlier versions) will be performances from Weezer, Muse, the Beastie Boys, the Rolling Stones, Tenacious D, and the Smashing Pumpkins, making this game a modern rocker’s must-have...

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK: Wanna get a listen to a little of Stereophonic’s new album before it hits stores? No problem - the band is giving fans a sneak earful of their sixth effort with the freely downloadable single “Bank Holiday Monday.” Check out www.stereophonics.com for the how-to...

MINI BUZZ:
Hot on the heels of iTunes’ new mission to sell DRM-free tracks, Amazon.com has staked claim to becoming an Apple rival by offering paid music downloads as part of its online store; all of the Amazon.com tracks will be free of copy protection, meaning they’ll be playable on any music player or computer...
Gorillaz may be on their way to defunct, but Blur is on their way to a return - Blur guitarist Graham Coxon recently stated that he’s set to reunite with his Blur bandmates to spend a week in London this August, during which they’ll stage a “trial collaboration” to see if the band’s still got it...
Portishead, who haven’t dropped an album or performed live since 1997, are finally working on a new disc, and will also be performing live at an All Tomorrow’s Parties event towards the end of this year...
Pop music/clothing magnate Justin Timberlake is joining the record business in yet another way - he’s set to launch his own record label, Tenmen Records, which will be distributed by Interscope...
Cali-rockers Rooney have announced that they’ll be hopping on the tour bus for a summer tour that will kick off this week in Florida, and will make stops in Chicago (6/10), Detroit (6/13), Providence RI (6/20), and Phoenix (7/19); the band’s new album, “Calling the World,” will hit stores on July 17th...
And actor Elijah Wood has been tapped to play none other than Iggy Pop in a biographical film on the punk icon; called The Passenger, the movie, which has been approved by Ig himself, will hit theaters next summer...
And just in time for this summer are this week’s new releases... ON CD: Paul McCartney’s much-anticipated Memory Almost Full... Chris Cornell’s Carry On... the newly-reissued The Police by (duh) The Police... Velvet Revolver’s Melody and the Tyranny EP... Idle Race’s Back to the Story... and the Afghan Whigs Unbreakable: A Retrospective 1990-2006... ON DVD: Atlantic Records: The House That Ahmet Built... Leonard Cohen: Under Review 1935-1977... Madonna: The Performance Review... and Moogfest 2006 Live... and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.

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