Songs for Tibet gets deluxe re-release

Dec. 14, 2008

Songs For Tibet Gets Deluxe Re-Release
A deluxe edition of the Art of Peace Foundation’s Songs for Tibet album will be released this month as a continuing expression of peace and support for Tibet and the Dalai Lama. Initially released as a download just days before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the set, which features artists from Alanis Morissette and Garbage to Damien Rice, Sting, Duncan Sheik and Moby, will now also include an accompanying three-hour DVD with teachings from the Dalai Lama himself. Get more info at www.artofpeacefoundation.org...
Kasabian were recently treated to an introduction by U2’s The Edge at their album-preview performance in London, where they played an acoustic headlining set to treat fans to sneak peeks at their newest songs. The band, who played tracks “Processed Beats,” “Thick as Thieves,” and “Empire,” among others, also worked in a few segments of cover songs, from The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” to the Velvet Underground’s “Who Loves the Sun.” In other Kasabian news, the band has just been tapped as openers for at least part of Oasis’ 2009 tour...
Matisyahu’s new, long-awaited album (he hasn’t put out a new release in three years) may not be heading to stores until early 2009, but his Shattered EP is in-stores now as an advance to the 2009 CD, which he’s dubbed Light. Matisyahu spent the entire past year working on Light with producer David Kahne, also working with such other collaborators as L.A. band Glitch Mob and reggae musician Stephen McGregor; a collaboration he worked on in Jamaica with Sly and Robbie may also surface on the set...
Classic ‘80s band Duran Duran is set to be the subject of Eagle Rock Entertainment’s latest Classic Albums documentary series. A new 90-minute DVD will look at the recording of D2’s album Rio, including excerpts from various tracks, plus interviews with band members and producers. Rio was the album that first made Duran Duran stars of the early music/MTV video era; the band has since released 10 more albums, including 2007’s Red Carpet Massacre...

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:
The link to watch this week is
www.itunes.com, thanks to the Futureheads; they’ve released a new song this week, “I Wouldn’t Be Like This If You Were Here,” that was recorded during the sessions for the band’s latest album, This is Not the World - the previously unreleased song is now available on iTunes, so go snag it for cheap while you still can...

MINI BUZZ:
Even though Oasis’ latest album, Dig Out Your Soul, has only been in stores for a little over a month, Oasis’ Noel Gallagher says he’s already written and demoed the next album, which he describes as very The Kinks/Ray Davies-inspired...
The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy has been meeting with actor/producer Tom Hulce and his director pal Michael Mayer about the possibility of writing a rock musical for the big stage...
And My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way may be working on a similar side project; Universal recently optioned Way’s The Umbrella Academy comic book series, which may be crafted into a movie by 2010...
Manchester pop quartet Take That have just booked a short series of UK dates for next spring; they’ll be playing, albeit minus Robbie Williams, of course, in Sunderland, Manchester, and London, among other stops, starting in June 2009...
Against Me!, who are doing a live show in Zurich, Switzerland this week, are hoping to do some shows in the spring to road test some new tunes...
The American Idol judge you love to hate - that being, of course, Simon Cowell - has been presented with the Special Recognition Prize at the 14th National Television Awards in London, England...

And hoping to win your wallets with their music are this week’s new releases... ON CD: Fall Out Boy’s Folie a Deux... All-American Rejects When the World Comes Down... Maroon 5’s Call and Response... Stevie Nicks’ The Soundstage Sessions... The Kinks’ Picture Book... and Collective Soul’s Afterwords... ON DVD: Pelican’s After the Ceiling Cracked... Mariah Carey’s The Adventures of Mimi... and Bob Dylan: Changing Tracks... 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