Post-preggers Gwen is back on the job

Nov. 8, 2006

Gwen Stefani may have taken some time off after giving birth to son Kingston (with Gavin Rossdale), but now she’s back in full force with several new projects that include her second solo album, which she hopes to have out before the end of the year. She’s already been working with Pharrell Williams on several collaborative songs that didn’t make the cut on her first solo disc, and has also been putting in some studio time with No Doubt bandmate Tony Kanal.  A Gwen Stefani concert DVD, Harajuku Lovers Live, was shot at Arrowhead Pond in Stefani and No Doubt’s hometown of Anaheim, California, as directed by Sophie Muller, and that DVD is expected before the end of the year, as is the release of eight dolls that were inspired by Gwen’s album and tour; the dolls will be packaged with posters, trading cards, and, of course, extra outfits, as reflects the fashion-forward Ms. Stefani...
 
A new album of children’s songs, helmed by Belle + Sebastian and titled The Colours Are Brighter, will feature a plethora of indie-pop stars playing fun, kid-friendly songs, with all proceeds set to go to Save the Children.  Among the artists set to appear will be Franz Ferdinand, who will play “Jackie Jackson,” The Kooks, who will do their version of “The King and I,” Snow Patrol, who will perform “I Am An Astronaut,” and Belle+Sebastian themselves, who will play “The Monkeys Are Breaking the Zoo.”  Look for the album in stores this month...
 
Music by the Rolling Stones is set for inclusion in a new animated film that’s being co-produced by Mick Jagger’s own company, Jagged Films, along with EuropaCorp. The movie, which will be written and directed by the talented Paul and Gaetan Brizzi (whose credits include the amazing “Firebird Suite” segment of Disney’s Fantasia 2000), is the Faust-inspired story of a single mother searching for a new life in New York City;  a dozen of the Stones’ songs will be used in the movie...
And, in old school music news, Elvis Presley’s appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show will be surfacing on DVD in the form of a 3-disc set that will be titled Elvis Presley: The Sullivan Shows. The disc will feature all three shows on which Elvis performed - September 9, 1956, October 28, 1956, and January 6, 1957, the infamous show on which he was filmed only from above the waist to obscure his then-racy dance moves. The January performance was the last time Presley appeared on live TV;  all of the shows on the discs will include appearances by the other guests plus the original commercial breaks and an additional 8mm home movie shot of Presley in 1955. The DVD set will be out on November 21...
 
MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:  Brazil’s brand new album, The Philosophy of Velocity, is out and about this week, and in the disc’s honor, a new song and video have been posted on the band’s MySpace;  stop by and have a listen/watch at www.myspace.com/brazil...
 
MINI BUZZ:
Snow Patrol have become the first guitar-based British band to break into the
American Top 100 Top Five in the past 13 years with their pretty, pensive single “Chasing Cars”...
“Sparklehorse” and “Dangermouse” are set to collaborate on a full-length CD that is hoped to hit stores next year;  now, the question is, will they call it Sparklemouse or Dangerhorse?...
Moby may have plenty of new material lying around - a whopping three or four hundred songs, by Moby’s own estimate - but he’s in no rush to put out his next album, instead working to promote his greatest hits disc and pondering his next Moby move...
In an effort to get more music on (cough cough) MTV MUSIC Television, the network has snagged Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba to serve as the guest music supervisor for an upcoming episode of MTV’s reality show “Laguna Beach”...
The Twilight Singers’ new A Stitch in Time EP will feature a guest appearance from Mark Lanegan and Joseph Arthur, who appear on “Live With Me” and “Sublime” respectively;  the disc is due exclusively via iTunes Music Store...
And Jeremy Enigk, whose stunning new album, World Waits, is now out, will serve as opening act for indie rockers Cursive on their North American tour, which begins this week and runs through late November...
 
ON CD: My Chemical Ro-mance’s The Black Parade...  Nellie McKay’s Pretty Little Head... Robbie Williams’ Rudebox... Moby’s Go - the Very Best of Moby... the new CD single for Madonna’s “Jump”... and the much-anticipated The Harry Smith Project: The Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited with contributions from the likes of Beck, Beth Orton, Gavin Friday, Elvis Costello, Marianne Faithfull, and Lou Reed... ON DVD:  Moe’s Live from the Fillmore... Andrea Bocelli’s Under the Desert Sky... Hillsong’s Mighty to Save... and Sound Tribe Sector 9 - Live as the Time Changes... 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