Obamas celebrate Motown music in D. C.

March 6, 2011

Obamas Celebrate Motown Music in DC
President Obama and the First Lady celebrated Motown at a special White House event last week that included a slew of live performances. Mr. Obama, who called Motown’s music “the soundtrack of the civil rights era... that helped blur the line between music that was considered either black or white” - and Michelle Obama, who named Stevie Wonder as her favorite Motown artist and said that in addition to Motown music being a soundtrack, it was also “a heartbeat” - were treated to a kickoff off of the festivities in the East Room via a Motown medley by Seal, John Legend, Jamie Foxx, and Nick Jonas. Next up, Natasha Bedingfield, Jordin Sparks, and Ledisi channeled the Supremes with their take on “Stop! In the Name of Love.” Other performers included the legendary Smokey Robinson, Berry Gordy, Sheryl Crow, and yes, Michelle’s fave, Stevie Wonder himself...
Gov’t Mule co-founder Warren Haynes is set to release his soulful fourth solo album, Man in Motion, this upcoming May. Recorded in Austin, Texas, the set actually includes some Motown-like R&B musical references (since we‘re on that topic…), including the sounds of Stax and Memphis’ Hi Records. Citing The Four Tops, James Brown, Ray Charles, and B.B. King among his influences, Haynes said in a recent interview that it was just “time” to make a soul-inflected album, and he’ll promote the same with a tour set to kick off in April…
English music fans - and plenty of American fans who saved up to attend the big Glastonbury music fest in the UK last year - were disappointed and concerned when U2 were unable to perform last year due to Bono’s back injury. But the Irish rockers are back in B-I-G form this year, and are now confirmed and set to join Coldplay and Beyonce as the top three headliners at this year’s Glasto event. U2 will play the festival’s huge Pyramid stage on Friday, June 24, for literally tens of thousands of fans, many of whom camp on the Glastonbury grounds for the privilege of watching loads of great live music…

R.E.M. are calling their new studio album, Collapse Into Now, one of their best ever, and it’s a set that features an eclectic, diverse mix of songwriting as well as special guests. Recorded starting in November of last year, the band worked with acclaimed producer Jacknife Lee on the set at studio locales in Nashville, New Orleans, and Berlin, Germany. And as for those guests, they include Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Patti Smith Band guitarist Lenny Kaye, and Patti Smith herself…

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:
March 8 has been selected as the release date for that aforementioned new R.E.M. album - but while-u-wait, you can snag a brand new MP3 track, “Discoverer,” via the band’s official website, remhq.com…

MINI MODERN BUZZ:
This year’s Pitchfork Music fest in Chicago has set its dates - get ready to hit Union Park July 15-17 for the 2011 event, tix go on sale March 4...
TV on the Radio have snagged April 4 as the release date for their new album Nine Types of Light, and will promote the album with a short spring U.S. tour…
The Black Keys, meanwhile, have announced their plans for not a spring, but a summer tour set to kick off on June 27 in Vancouver, Canada…
Phish will begin their 2011 summer tour on Memorial Day weekend this year, with dates only scheduled to run through mid-June…
Paramore plan to record a new batch of songs this summer, in preparation for a new album, although a date has yet to be announced…
Guitarists Steve Vai and Nigel Tufnel (of Spinal Tap - aka Christopher Guest) teamed up in an attempt to set a new Guiness World record last week, in which the pair tried to teach the world’s largest online guitar lesson…
And trying to find their way into your music collection are this week’s new CD releases… Dance Gavin Dance’s Downtown Battle Mountain Pt. II... Avril Lavigne’s Goodbye Lullaby... Wye Oak’s Civilian... Sara Evans’ Stranger... and Lupe Fiasco’s Lasers... And that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.

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