Timberlake, Fiasco, Kenna to climb My. Kilimanjaro
Timberlake, Fiasco, Kenna to Climb Mount KilimanjaroKristi Kates 6/1/09
It sounds like yet another music biz tabloid rumor, but its not; Justin Timberlake, hip-hopster Lupe Fiasco, and singer Kenna are joining forces to climb Africas Mount Kilimanjaro to raise awareness for the worldwide water crisis. Timberlake told GQ magazine hes been training like a pro in order to get his oxygen consumption maximized, while Kenna is training in secret and Fiasco is busy conjuring up friendly jokes about sabotaging his fellow climbers with killer ants and tricky tent laces in order to beat them to the top. The climb will take the three musicians to the highest point in Africa, where the altitude at 19,000 feet plus low temps make it a tedious and physically taxing feat that will take them a week to accomplish...
Moby has completed work on his latest album, which he actually recorded at home by himself on his own home studio equipment, although he says he also roped in plenty of relatively unknown pals to help with the musical end of things. The album, which will be the follow-up to Mobys 2008 set Last Night, has been dubbed Wait For Me, and Moby hopes to have the set hit stores on June 30th. Tracks on the album will include Study War, A Seated Night, Isolate, Pale Horses, and the title track; Mobys already recruited David Lynch to craft the albums first music video...
Sinead OConnors hit 1990 sophomore album I Do Not Want What I Havent Got, which contains her breakout single Nothing Compares 2 U, is getting a reissue from Capitol/EMI records as a double-disc set. The expanded version will also include a 10-song bonus disc complete with B-sides, live cuts, and two of OConnors previously unreleased tracks, including her interesting cover of John Lennons single Mind Games. OConnor fans can snag the revamped set both online and at retail, as its in stores now...
Wilcos latest project, the whimsically-named Wilco (The Album), is now due on June 30th from Nonesuch Records, as produced by the band with Jim Scott, who mixed Wilcos 2007 set, Sky Blue Sky. On the new album, frontman Jeff Tweedy says that theyve used the studio as another instrument, and that approach can be heard in the lengthy compositions and super-layered arrangements on many of the tracks, including the 6-minute Bull Black Nova and the harmony-filled Country Disappeared. The humorous, self-referential opening track, Wilco the Song, was premiered late last year on TV show The Colbert Report...
MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:
And speaking of Wilco, if youd like a sneak preview of that new set, you can check it out (streaming, not downloadable, sorry) right here: http://beta.wilcoworld.net/records/thealbum/index.php...
MINI BUZZ:
Franz Ferdinand have turned down an offer from a U.S. fast food chain to use one of their songs (well let you guess which one); the band said that a large Mexican chain wanted to use one of their tunes in an ad campaign, but the band didnt feel comfortable signing over the song knowing that it would be played in the background while people were biting into their chili enchilada or something like that...
Retro-cool singer Adele is set to appear on the TV series Ugly Betty as herself; Adele will perform on the show later this year at a photo shoot that takes place within the sitcoms storyline...
The Dears, who are welcoming guitarist Rob Benvie back into the band for their upcoming North American tour, are already working on the follow-up to their current album, Missiles, and say that theyve been trekking the streets of Montreal in order to find inspiration...
Singer Nelly Furtado has launched her own indie record label, Nelstar, in order to work with new bands; her first signing is Toronto-based electro band Fritz Helder and the Phantoms, of which the members coincidentally also serve as Furtados backup dancers on tour...
Peter Wolf hasnt released a new album since 2002, but that hiatus will reach an end this summer when his as-yet-untitled album on Universal hits stores; Wolf has recorded a bunch of songs for the set, but expects at least a dozen to be on the final tracklisting...
And UK modern popsters Keane complete their current set of U.S. tour dates and, after a short break, return to Europe for a second set of live shows through August, including stops in Werchter, Belgium (6/20), Eadestown, Ireland (7/10), and Chelmsford, UK on August 23rd for the V Fest...
And now its time to break out your cash for this weeks new discs... ON CD: Channels Channel... The Heptones Meet the Now Generation... Brakes Touchdown... Camera Obscuras My Maudlin Career... Tom Middletons One More Tune... and Manic Street Preachers Journal for Plague Lovers... ON DVD: Last Days of the Fillmore... and Johnny Cashs America... and thats the buzz for this weeks Modern Rock.
Questions, comments, rants, raves, suggestions on this column or your favorite musicians? Send em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com
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