Stars to the Rescue

Jan. 12, 2005

Many musicians and celebrities are pitching in to try and help alleviate some of the suffering caused by the tsunami that devastated the coastlines of much of Southeast Asia and Africa recently, and there are several projects in the works, as well. As far as individual contributions go, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne have donated almost $200,000; Linkin Park have donated $100,000; actress Sandra Bullock has contributed a million dollars; and Leonardo DiCaprio, whose 2000 movie The Beach was filmed in Thailand, has also contributed an unspecified amount.
NBC TV has announced plans for a telethon on January 15 (that will likely air on NBC and many of its sister cable channels, such as Bravo, Sci-Fi, CNBC, and USA) to help raise money for tsunami victims; so far, musicians Eddie Vedder, Neil Young, and Alicia Keys are all confirmed to perform, with Brad Pitt and Jack Nicholson also set to appear. In Texas, Willie Nelson is set to headline a benefit concert along with Patty Griffin, Spoon, Alejandro Escovedo, and others. Meanwhile, in the UK, several stars, including Cliff Richard, Boy George, Ronan Keating, Jamie Cullum, Olivia Newton John, and Chris Rea are prepping to record a charity single; and British promoters are working to quickly finalize plans for a benefit concert to take place in Wales - they’re aiming for the likes of U2, Coldplay, Franz Ferdinand, and The Darkness, among others, but with scheduling proving to be a little tricky, the final performance schedule remains to be seen. There’s also talk of similar concert events to possibly take place in the U.S. and Australia. Help is seriously needed, and the best place to go online if you’d like to help is www.networkforgood.org, where you can choose which charity to funnel your contribution through...
In other news, the Jennifer Garner movie Elektra is set to hit theatres this January, accompanied by a full-length soundtrack that will include a previously-unreleased studio version of the Evanescence song “Breathe No More.” Also included in the movie’s music collection will be tunes from Jet (“Hey Kids”), The Donnas (“Everyone Is Wrong”), Switchfoot (“Sooner or Later”), Taking Back Sunday (“Your Own Disaster”), 12 Stones (“Photograph”), and Alter Bridge (“Save Me”)...
Super Furry Animals have three separate album projects in the works for the new year; they’re currently working on their seventh full-length album; lead singer Gruff Rhys is working on his first solo album, which is due on March 8; and they also have a career-retrospective set due later this month. Songbook: The Singles Volume One is the first such collection from SFA, and includes tunes from the band’s 1995 debut disc all the way up through their hit 2003 effort, Phantom Power. A companion DVD of the same title will include all of the band’s music videos plus a 40-minute documentary that’ll be a must-have for Super Furry Animals fans...
Sheryl Crow may have chilled out for much of 2004, but she’s now prepping a pair of albums for release this year. Her latest release, 2003’s The Very Best of Sheryl Crow, has sold over 3 million copies in the U.S. alone, and those sales have now given Crow a little more freedom to craft what she calls “an artist record” along with the upcoming pop effort that’s become expected of her. For her “artist record,” Crow says she’ll take a stripped-down, heartfelt approach to the songs; the pop record, of course, will likely contain more of the chart-and-radio friendly folk-rock-tinged pop songs that Crow’s become known for. Both efforts remain untitled as of press time; the “artist record” is expected first, with the pop record to follow in the fall...

MINI BUZZ:
SoCal punk rockers The Vandals spent their New Year’s Eve in the Green Zone in Iraq, playing a live show for the troops of the 3rd Brigade of the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division...
The South By Southwest Music Conference is taking shape for 2005, with the dates set for March 16-20 and, as usual, a whole slew of eclectic artists set to perform, including Hot Hot Heat, The Dears, The Raveonettes, Soundtrack of Our Lives, Nada Surf, Robyn Hitchcock, Billy Idol, Aimee Mann, American Music Club, and The Go! Team; more info can be found at www.sxsw.com...
Ian Brown has been confirmed to play at this year’s Oxygen Festival in Ireland, and he has also scheduled several UK tour dates for spring...
In spite of Britney Spears’ recent pledges to “take time off,” she recently popped up on L.A.’s KIIS-FM to premiere a rough mix of a new song called “Mona Lisa,” and said she hopes to have a new album out by next summer...
While Detroit’s own Madonna has been tapped to strike a pose for the camera in Versace’s 2005 spring/summer print advertising campaign, which will be shot by famed fashion photog Mario Testino...

And new in stores this week are quite the variety of offerings on disc... ON CD: Soul Coughing releases not one, not two, but four live CDs - Berlin/Amsterdam 1997, New York NY 16.08.99, Rennes, France 03.12.94, and Tokyo, Japan 03.02.97... Embrace offers up Out of Nothing... and Julia Fordham releases That’s Live... ON DVD: Hype, an overview of the Seattle music scene... We Are Scissor Sisters and So Are You... Live Aid: The DVD... and The Richard Thompson Band - Live in Providence... and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.

Questions, comments, rants, raves about this column or your fave music? Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com!