Modern Rock

Dec. 6, 2006

Pea Prize
The Black Eyed Peas made, er, pea soup out of their fellow nominees last week at the American Music Awards, which were held in Los Angeles. Riding on the success of their latest album, Monkey Business, the AMAs shelled out three awards to The Peas, namely Favorite Group Hip-Hop/Rap, Favorite Group Soul/R&B, and Favorite Hip-Hop/Rap album. Other winners of the night included the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Kelly Clarkson, and live performers at the big show included Fall Out Boy and Gwen Stefani...

UK modern rockers Editors are currently in Ireland, where they’ll stick around for about a month working on their upcoming new album with producer Garret Lee (Bloc Party, Snow Patrol, U2) who produced the track “Bullets” for Editors’ debut disc. Singer Tom Smith says that the recording is going very well, and the band already has about a dozen songs finished and are working on some ideas for other new songs. Tracks expected to make the cut include “A Thousand Pieces,” “Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors,” “An End Has a Start,” and “The Racing Rats” - the new, as-yet-untitled album is expected sometime next year...
Singer Nelly Furtado has gridded out an extensive tour that will kick off in spring 2007 and has been dubbed Nelly’s Get Loose Tour. Set to hit Japan, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and Canada as well as the U.S., Furtado will rotate a wide variety of supporting acts and guest musicians throughout her grueling tour schedule, and among those expected to appear at various times are Latin band Calle 13, Coldplay singer Chris Martin, Timbaland, and Justin Timberlake, should Timberlake’s tour path get close enough to Furtado’s while they’re both on the road...

And the first Stroke to go solo, Albert Hammond Jr., is in the process of releasing his debut solo disc, Yours To Keep, and is currently on the road in Europe through the end of the year in support of the aforementioned disc while his other project - The Strokes, of course - are taking a break to recover from their fall U.S. tour. Hammond will also return to the U.S. in January to serve as opening act on Incubus’ upcoming tour, which begins during the first month of the year and wraps February 11 in L.A....

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK: Kerrang Magazine has posted their list of what they think are the Top 50 Punk Albums of all time. Among their picks are The Clash’s The Clash, Ramones’ Ramones, The Stooges’ Fun House, and Nirvana’s Nevermind - check out the other 46 and see if you agree at http://www.punknews.org/article/21079...

MINI BUZZ:
Damon “Blur” Albarn’s new band, which he’s dubbed The Good, The Bad, and The Queen, will release a new single, “Kingdom of Doom,” on January 15; the single will be followed by the band’s self-titled debut disc on January 22...
New Yorkers Interpol are working on a new album, themselves, tracking in their hometown and prepping to take that new album to their new label home of Capitol Records, as Matador Records inexplicably let the band go...
The Shins are getting into the holiday spirit by lining up a series of holiday-themed radio station concerts to take them through the end of the year; their ho-ho-shows will include The End’s Deck the Hall Ball, Live 105’s Not So Silent Night, and 97.7’s December to Remember...
Coldplay’s London show last week saw singer Chris Martin covering The Killers’ song “When You Were Young,” coupling the tune with a one-off comment about how much they admire the Las Vegas band...
The ohsocool V Festival, which expanded its overseas roots to the U.S. and Canada this autumn, will visit Australia for the first time next spring; set for March 31 in Sydney, the V Australia Fest will include sets from The Pixies, Groove Armada, and Gnarls Barkley...
And The Smashing Pumpkins have reportedly completed over half of their first album since 2000, although they’re being deliberately secretive so as not to reveal any song titles until they’re good n’ ready...

But while you wait for that info, we’re glad to reveal this week’s new releases... ON CD: Gwen Stefani’s much-discussed The Sweet Escape... Incubus’ Light Grenades... Red House Painters’ Mark Kozelek’s Little Drummer Boy Live (no, it’s not holiday music)... Razorlight’s America... The Fray’s How to Save a Life... and Breaking and Entering by Underworld and Gabriel Yared... ON DVD: U2’s U218 Singles... AFI’s I Heard A Voice... Foo Fighters, Skin and Bones... and, on an important environmental note, Al Gore’s The Inconvenient Truth... 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.