Reuters - With his 83rd birthday fast approaching, blues legend B.B. King has just scored the highest-debuting solo album of his career.
Rock group Heart says "Barracuda" use is fishy (Reuters)
Reuters - The rock group Heart, angry that its '70s hit "Barracuda" is being used as the unofficial theme song for Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, is taking aim at the Alaska governor.
Chris Cornell, Timbaland prepare to 'Scream' (Reuters)
Reuters - Chris Cornell will release his new Timbaland-produced album, "Scream," on October 14.
Soprano Anna Netrebko gives birth to baby boy (AP)
AP - Anna Netrebko has a new tenor in her life.
Hootie frontman Rucker a hit with country radio (AP)
AP - Darius Rucker says he's always been a sucker for a country shuffle.
Tony Bennett On Piano Jazz
The quintessential American crooner, Tony Bennett is known around the world for his mellow tenor and swinging bel canto style. Bennett talks about his love of painting, his favorite songwriters and the significance of American popular song on this program from 2004.
The Gits' Mia Zapata Resurrected In Film
Kerri O'Kane's new film The Gits succeeds as a documentary—she makes the viewer fall in love with her subject—and then some. Working with sparse footage from the 1980s and '90s, O'Kane still manages to make us fall head over heels for the rag-tag bunch of punk rock misfits better known as the Gits.
Cabin Man
Chris Elliott went from NBC gofer to semi-fame as a juvenile oddball on "Letterman," but never tasted true Hollywood glory. Why the former "Get a Life" star may be his generation's most underappreciated comic genius. Late in 1980, Chris Elliott was working the admission booth at Rockefeller Center's observation deck when David Letterman walked up with his mother, Dorothy, and asked to buy two tickets. Earlier that summer, Letterman had been the host of his own daring and funny NBC morning show that had proven popular with television critics but not with viewers. And though the network, based in Rockefeller Center, had canceled the show after only a few months on the air, it had kept Letterman under...
Pavarotti to be remembered around the world (AP)
AP - The world will mark the first anniversary of the death of Luciano Pavarotti with a series of concerts, an exhibit and other events, organizers and his family announced Friday.
Radiohead: Live In Concert
Hear the band recorded live in concert, from one of the year's most memorable tours. Radiohead ended its run of U.S. cities this summer with a dazzling spectacle of sight and sound at the Santa Barbara Bowl, in Santa Barbara, Calif. Though the tour was intended to showcase the band's latest album, In Rainbows, Radiohead thrilled the audience with plenty of old favorites, including "Karma Police," "The National Anthem," and "Everything In Its Right Place."
The Ting Tings: Sassy Electro-Pop
The Ting Tings' debut album, We Started Nothing, has propelled the British duo to worldwide fame on the strength of some of the catchiest pop songs in recent memory. The British duo layers together synths, powerful drum beats and catchy melodies in a session from WXPN.
Gabriel Kahane: Leader Of Indie Lieder
A singer and composer, Kahane blends wry personal stories with complex brass and string arrangements, and mixes it up with both classical musicians and indie rockers. He performs live from his forthcoming self-titled album.
Weekly wrap-up of entertainment quotes (AP)
AP - "Oh, please. They've been speculating whether we've been getting divorced I think almost since we got married. The same can be said as to whether she's pregnant or whether we're adopting another child. I think that's just the nature of gossip. ... Everything seems fine. As far as I'm aware." — Guy Ritchie, on his marriage to Madonna.
AARP celebrates 50th with star-studded event (AP)
AP - Actress Sally Field had some advice for the mature crowd celebrating AARP's 50th anniversary on a sunny day at the Lincoln Memorial: Don't get burned.
Jacksons reunite at BMI Urban Awards (AP)
AP - The Jacksons were crowned icons at the BMI Urban Awards, but the King of Pop was an absentee.
Beck Debuts Stripped-Down Tour in Reno
On the first night of his seven-week North American tour, at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada, Beck was standing on an acre-size stage (the largest indoor stage in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records). "I thought, 'Shit, this goes on forever!' " he says. "If I had known, I would have really done something special." Opening with the tense groove of "Devils Haircut," Beck and his four-piece band played a 23-song set that ranged from the gutbucket...
Five Comics to Watch
Comedy can be a very tough business ? but here are five funny folks you might see on a bigger stage soon Bo Burnham Age: 18 Hometown: Hamilton, MA Style: Giddy teenager performing songs in bedroom Background: Taught himself guitar and keyboard and began churning out YouTube videos — "I'm just a giddy teenager who would like to break into show business anyway I can," Burnham says. Signature bit: Rhapsodic ode to Helen Keller ("I could walk around the house naked/She wouldn't even know") Reminiscent of: Adam Sandler Tough gig: Followed Jerry Seinfeld onstage at...
NFL season kicks off with free NYC concert (AP)
AP - NEW YORK (AP) — Usher, Keith Urban and Natasha Bedingfield are kicking off the NFL season with a free concert that's expected to draw thousands to Manhattan's Columbus Circle.
Kanye West ends VMA boycott (Reuters)
Reuters - A year after vowing never to perform on the MTV Video Music Awards again, hip-hop star Kanye West will close the show's 25th annual ceremony in Hollywood on Sunday, joining a lineup that includes Christina Aguilera and the Jonas Brothers, organizers said.
Mozart's 'Idomeneo,' Busting Opera's Boundaries
Heading home from the Trojan War, a heroic leader makes a dangerous pact with Neptune that jeopardizes the entire community. It's Mozart's innovative Idomeneo in a production by the Bavarian State Opera.
Dylan rolls out rocking show in rarely used venue (Reuters)
Reuters - Leave it to an enigmatic-after-all-these-years rock legend to play a 50-year-old creaky venue that hasn't been a concert hotspot for quite some time. Back in the 1970s and '80s, the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium played host to shows from the Kinks to Queen to the Clash. The sound was never very good.
Rapper T.I. retains lead on singles chart (Reuters)
Reuters - A week after setting a new record with a 70-place leap to No. 1, rapper T.I. logged a second round atop Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart Thursday.
A3: From 'The Sopranos' To Joy Division
The band formerly known as Alabama 3 strips down its roots-meets-dance sound with just two acoustic guitars and voices. The trio plays and talks about its Sopranos success song and plays a country death ballad version of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart."
The Gaslight Anthem: Revisiting Sounds Of '59
The Gaslight Anthem's new album, The '59 Sound, is filled with narratives that recall and refer directly to Bruce Springsteen's early works. Music reviewer Tom Moon says that it's one of the year's great surprises.
Young Jeezy's 'Recession' Pushes Hope
On his new album, Young Jeezy uses his motivational rasp to raise the spirits of people facing rising gas prices and unemployment rates. Though he's not a great rapper by traditional standards, the young Atlanta MC pads his raps with what he does best: big, clunky punchlines and inspirational refrains.
Paul Weller Counts Off His '22 Dreams'
British pop icon Paul Weller has described his new double-disc album, 22 Dreams, as "a year in my life." It tracks Weller's course through the changing seasons. The former frontman of The Jam performs his kaleidoscopic pop music in a session on World Cafe.
Thao Nguyen's Tiny Desk Concert
Thao Nguyen makes captivating music. Her songs are raw and infectious, her voice has a distinctive swagger, and she's a remarkably nimble guitarist. The singer-songwriter stopped by NPR's offices recently to give an intimate performance at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen.
Double Header: Arturo Sandoval And Cyrus Chestnut
Trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and his Afro-Cuban band show some Miami style while pianist Cyrus Chestnut sets the direction for his show with the title "Spirituals to Swing." JazzSet mixes these two concerts from January 2008, recorded at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
Michael McDermott On Mountain Stage
The Chicago singer-songwriter went from making hit singles to winding up in the same Cook County jail that his father once occupied. He performs songs from his latest record, musing on his addiction, incarceration and hope for redemption.
Let There Be Rock: AC/DC Plan Big Comeback
New disc "Black Ice" hits Wal-Mart in October, massive tour to follow This past spring, eight years after AC/DC released their last album, the five band members entered a recording studio with producer Brendan O'Brien — and banged out 15 new songs in just two months. "We just wanted something like, 'Hey, this is gonna be rock & roll,' " says guitarist and bandleader Angus Young — who emphasized the point by using the word "rock" in the titles of four different tracks. The resulting disc, Black Ice, is set to be released exclusively in Wal-Mart stores...
American Warlord
Chucky Taylor was an ordinary suburban teenager - until he went to live with his father, one of Africa's most brutal dictators. How did a kid from Orlando end up as the first U.S. citizen on trial for torture abroad? Chucky Taylor stood in the garage of a villa on the outskirts of liberia's capital, gun in hand. Outside, crimson puddles of rain pocked the muddy red-clay road to Monrovia. By Chucky's side was a spectral figure named Benjamin Yeaten, known as "50" to the legion of mercenaries and former child soldiers he and Chucky commanded. In front of the two men, bleeding and terrified, was a university student accused of aiding a rebel army that was working its way through the jungle toward the...
Britney Spears to raise curtain on MTV awards (Reuters)
Reuters - Britney Spears is to star at this year's MTV Video Music Awards, a year after a calamitous comeback performance at the same award ceremony. But this time the pop singer won't be performing.
Paul Motian, Bill Frisell, Joe Lovano: Live At The Village Vanguard
Paul Motian, Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano are all towering figures of modern jazz. They also happen to have played together for more than a quarter-century. They convene once again at the club where they sell out weeklong engagements every year.
Elizabeth Cook On Mountain Stage
Hearing the country singer should be enough to prove that her vernacular rings true. But she also has a family history that's the stuff of true country music. She performs from her latest album, Balls, live on Mountain Stage.
Christina Aguilera Reaches Target Audience (E! Online)
E! Online - Ain't no other retailer for Christina Aguilera.
Move Over, Amy Winehouse! (E! Online)
E! Online - Do you think you've got what it takes to be the next Amy Winehouse?
Slipknot Strangles Game's Shot at No. 1 (E! Online)
E! Online - Who knew The Game and Al Gore had so much in common?
Weiland Pilots New Solo Effort (E! Online)
E! Online - Come on, fans, Scott Weiland wants you to get Happy.
Trial Set in Akon's Fan-Tossing Case (E! Online)
E! Online - Looks like Akon may get Konvicted after all.
Lily Praises Po-po, Eviscerates Elton (E! Online)
E! Online - She may have had nothing but vitriol for cohost Elton John, but at Tuesday night's London-set GQ Men of the Year Awards, Lily Allen did have some kind words reserved for one British icon: the bobbies.
