Red Hot Discs

May 10, 2005

Back in the ‘90s, a charity project that combined musical talents into tribute albums was begun - namely, the Red Hot series, which expanded into 15 albums and generated plenty of dollars for the project’s causes. Now, the very first album in that series has been remastered into a Special Edition, two-disc DVD that will include all 18 of the original music videos and the remastered album itself, both in the same package.  Featuring tunes from such artists as David Byrne (“Don’t Fence Me In”), Sinead O’Connor (“You Do Something to Me”), Aztec Camera (“Do I Love You?”),  Lisa Stansfield (“Down in the Depths”),  U2 (“Night and Day”), and a standout duet from Debbie Harry and Iggy Pop on “Well, Did You Evah!”, the set will also include special live performances, comedy sketches, interviews and more. Titled Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter, you can pick the DVD up starting this week...
 
Geffen Records has announced that, in line with recent rumors and notices, Counting Crows and the Goo Goo Dolls will indeed be touring together this summer, starting in mid-June.  With a schedule that encompasses live dates in over 45 North American cities - including stops in Irvine, California (6/30), Milwaukee (7/9), Columbus OH (7/14), Detroit (7/21 at the DTE Music Theater), Chicago (8/18), and Atlanta GA (9/3) - the trek will run through early September, with even more shows expected to be announced.  Although the Crows aren’t currently promoting a new album (although more rumors have it that the band is in the process of preparing to record soon), the Goos are pushing Let Love In, their brand new disc which hit stores last week...

The soundtrack for the upcoming Disney animated film Meet the Robinsons is set to be chock-full of modern pop performers, including contributions from the likes of Jamie Cullum, Rob Thomas, and Rufus Wainwright, who will be contributing two original songs to the computer-animated flick (although one will be sung by him and one by Cullum.)  The movie, which chronicles the tale of a 12-year-old genius inventor who travels into the future, will feature voice work from Angela Bassett, Tom Selleck, Adam West, and Kelly Ripa, among others, and the score will be composed by Oingo Boingo’s Danny Elfman; you’ll be able to Meet the Robinsons in theaters next March...
 
Pop-rock diva Pink is prepping for an extensive European arena tour this fall that will begin in late September in Zurich and will keep the performer on the road through early December, when the tour wraps up in Germany. Supporting her latest disc, I’m Not Dead, which hit stores earlier this month, Pink is a frequent visitor to the European countries, and an earlier concert visit of hers can be seen on the new Pink concert DVD, Live in Europe, which hits stores on May 23;  the rockumentary covers one of Pink’s 2004 concerts in England.  Pink is also currently wrapping up work on a music video for her new single, “Who Knew”... 
 
MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK:  Neil Young’s anti-war protest album, Living With War, on which Young makes clear his opinions on Iraq and on George Bush, has been confirmed for a digital release later this month - but you can hear it early on a free album stream by going to this admittedly complex but worthy link:  http://www.soundgenerator.com/news/index.cfm?articleid=7577
MINI BUZZ:
Speaking of Young, the influential folk-rocker - along with fellow musicians Crosby Stills and Nash - will hit the road for their first tour together in four years on July 6 near Philadelphia;  the “Freedom of Speech” tour schedule will keep the quartet on the road through September...
Keep an eye out for Alice in Chains at a small club near you - the band has announced that they’ll be playing five club dates before heading overseas next month for a series of festival shows...
Taking Back Sunday will be touring this summer as well, with fellow rockers Head Automatica;  their first show of the summer will be at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey on June 22, and they’ll also be making stops in Pittsburgh PA (6/27), Rochester Hills MI (6/29), and Chicago (6/30)...
Alt-hair-metal-revivalists The Darkness are rumored to be the focus of a new reality show called “Band in a Bubble,” in which the band members (and their spandex) will be locked inside a sealed capsule in London and filmed around-the-clock while they record their new album...
It had to happen, didn’t it?  The last nine finalists from this season’s still-in-progress American Idol have all been signed to a 40-city “American Idol Live” tour set to kick off early this July...
And Cracker will drop their seventh studio album, Greenland, on June 6, a 13-song set produced by Cracker frontman David Lowery and including songs “The Riverside,” “Gimme One More Chance,” “Mintour,” and “I Need Better Friends”...
 
If you don’t want to wait until Cracker’s disc comes out in June, there’s plenty to keep you busy in the New Releases department... this week ON CD:  Jewel’s 3-years-in-the-making Goodbye Alice in Wonderland... The Goo Goo Dolls’ Let Love In... Eddy Grant’s Reparation... Starlight Mints Drowaton... Taking Back Sunday’s Louder Now... and Tom Verlaine’s Around...  ON DVD:  Sugarcubes: The DVD... The Best of Chris Isaak... The Velvet Underground’s Under Review... and The U2 Phenomenon... 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!