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  • Bono 'Not a Billionaire' After Facebook IPO, Still Trails Paul McCartney on Money List

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    Larry Marano, Getty Images

    Were every rock star in the world to line up according to net worth, Bono would still have to look at one man's butt. That's the word from the U2 singer himself, who told MSNBC yesterday (May 18) that, despite stories that surfaced earlier this week, the Facebook IPO did not push him past Paul McCartney on the list of richest rockers.

    "Contrary to reports, I'm not a billionaire or going to be richer than any Beatle -- and not just in the sense of money, by the way, the Beatles are untouchable -- those billionaire reports are a joke," Bono told Andrea Mitchell.

    The confusion likely stemmed from the fact that Bono's Elevation Partners equity firm owns 2.3 percent of Facebook, which took its stock public yesterday.


  • Tom Morello, Chicago Rally: Nightwatchman Rocks for National Nurses United

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    Charley Rogulewski

    Three songs into Tom Morello's five-song set at the National Nurses United rally on Friday afternoon (May 18), just as the Nightwatchman sang the final lyrics of the Bruce Springsteen cover "The Ghost of Tom Joad," the sound died. An awkward silence befell the estimated 5,000 protesters converged beneath the 50-foot Picasso sculpture at Chicago's Daley Plaza.

    Given the circumstances, the immediate thought was the omnipresent Chicago police department had pulled the plug on the outspoken rocker. But this wasn't Morello's first time at the rodeo, so to speak. The long-time social justice crusader quickly took matters into his own hands.

    "Mike check!" Morello screamed, initiating the call-and-response tactic revived by the recent Occupy Wall Street movements. "Mike check," the crowd roared back louder. "The power went out!" Morello shouted. Immediately, the statement was put on human reverb. "Either by design or by accident," Morello yelled. "But that will not stop the show." In fact, nothing could stop this show.


  • Honeyhoney, 'Angel of Death' -- Video of the Day

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    Artist: Honeyhoney
    Video: "Angel of Death"
    Highlight: "We are so goddamn proud of this video," Honeyhoney (aka Ben Jaffe and Suzanne Santo) tell Spinner. "We fought tooth and nail from the beginning to get it done how we wanted it, and to live out our twisted fantasy of being cold, emotionless, killers. It should be noted, however, that in reality we are very kind individuals who love and cry a healthy amount. We hope you enjoy."

    Watch Honeyhoney's "Angel of Death" Video


  • Jack White Feuds With Guinness, Beach House Get Ripped Off & More -- NEWS!

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    Jack WhiteJim Dyson, Redferns via Getty Images

    This Jack White and Guinness Book of World Records beef is quickly getting pretty real. [Rolling Stone]

    This British Volkswagon ad ripped off Beach House (and they would've gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for those pesky kids!) [Pitchfork]

    You can stream all of the new Sigur Ros album here [Stereogum]


  • Lal Member Says New Album Was a 'Disgusting Challenge,' Won't Do it Again

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    Matt White

    Those bleak dystopian worlds we see in dark fictional films and television shows? Toronto electronic group Lal believe we're living those days right now.

    "A lot of the media and movies coming out these days are talking about this dismal apocalyptic future, but, I think we are already living in that space," Lal singer Rosina Kazi tells Spinner.

    The Toronto-born Bengali frontwoman for the politically charged act says the disenfranchised should consider it an opportunity, though.


  • Squarepusher 'Ufabulum' Q&A: Electronic Pioneer Doesn't Know What 'EDM' Is

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    Warp Records

    Just two years after the release of his band project Shobaleader One: d'Demonstrator, Tom Jenkinson, aka Squarepusher, returned on May 15 with Ufabulum, a jagged, darkly beautiful instrumental album powered by the drill 'n' bass pioneer's signature pummeling drums, gurgling gleeps and soaring synths, and an absolutely mind blowing live show accompaniment.

    Though stylistically unpredictable, Jenkinson has remained the consistent, both in output and in principle, unyielding in his quest for experimentation, vocal in his disdain for "cult of personality" stardom. Given electronic dance music's recent surge in popularity, one cannot help but wonder what the recondite bass virtuoso, whose recent efforts display flashes of contemporary influence -- a dash of French touch, a hint of dubstep wobble -- thinks of the rise of stadium house and "EDM," an updated version of '90's blanket term "electronica."

    Realizing -- too late -- that I've assigned myself the role of informing Squarepusher about EDM feels a bit like explaining cyber sex to Tesla, and elicits an unnecessarily polite dodge and parry. In the conversation that follows, Jenkinson opts instead to discuss his refusal to abandon his initial premise, the principles that govern his artistic vision, and the relationship between the staggering visuals he's conjured for his live show and the accompanying music on     Ufabulum.

    How did you come up with the visuals for the live show?

    Well, there's a couple of things which I suppose formed the basis of it, one of which was synesthesia, in the sense that quite a lot of times that I listen to music, I have a visual response to it in my imagination. I often have this in response to my own work, and I thought it would be quite interesting to try to recreate some of those images in conjunction with the music that I'm currently making.

    One of the other reasons that got the project going, as well, was to try to make the link between picture and sound as coherent, apt and appropriate as possible, because quite often I find that when I watch the visuals which form a part of a musicians live show, or a DJ playing records, I find it hard to see, actually, a link between what I'm looking at and what I'm hearing. A major incentive to do this was to try to make that link as strong as possible, to make it such that, instead of the picture detracting from the sound, like I find in so many other people's performances, I actually am trying to make that link stronger, so that the picture brings something to the audio. So, one way of looking at it is that the pictures help the listener decode the audio. Anyway, that's what I'm trying to do. It's an experiment, very much an experiment.


  • Van Halen Cancel Summer Tour Dates

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    Jamie McCarthy, Getty Images

    Van Halen have canceled 30 dates on their summer tour without any explanation.

    The iconic hard rock troupe has canned every show after their New Orleans concert on June 26 including stops in major markets like Milwaukee, Detroit Cleveland and Salt Lake City.

    Although promoters in each of the canceled cities have alerted their local media contacts about the change, Van Halen have yet to offer a reason for the move. Naturally, the Internet is abuzz with rumors that there is tension within the group.

    One insider told RollingStone.com said, "The band is arguing like mad. They are fighting." Any talk about the dates being canceled due to soft tickets sales has been dismissed by the promoters who said their respective shows were either sold out or close to it.

    Van Halen is out on tour in support of A Different Kind of Truth, their first album with David Lee Roth on vocals since their landmark 1984 release.


  • Gold Panda Drops New 7", Foals to Release New 'Tapes' Mix, New Simian Mobile Disco Video & More

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    Ghostly International

    Gold Panda has a new 7" on the way, "Mountain" b/w "Financial District," which is his melancholic take on "modern hip-hop," with a nod to Drake collaborators Noah "40" Shebib and Boi-1da. [SoundCloud]

    British rockers Foals are the latest band to contribute to !K7's Tapes series, following The Rapture and The Big Pink with a pretty eclectic mix that spans their tastes, from Blood Orange to Clark. In stores July 24. [ClashMusic]

    New week, new video from Simian Mobile Disco. This one's for "Pareidolia," yet another dark instrumental joint from their new album Unpatterns, which has been on repeat over here for a minute. [YouTube]


  • Toronto Singer Corin Raymond Uses Canadian Tire Money to Pay For New Album

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    Corin Raymond

    It's not exactly Monopoly money but Canadians have often used Canadian Tire money -- the long-established hardware store chain's reward cashback bucks -- for beer, feeding puppies, or any number of other reasons. Now a Toronto singer-songwriter has used the five-cent and ten-cent coupon bills to fund recording a live studio album.

    According to the Toronto Star, Corin Raymond announced in January he was on a mission to pay for studio time at the Rogue Studios in Toronto, which accepted Canadian Tire money.

    Following a national tour, which made headlines for Raymond's ingenuity in landing studio time, the musician raised over $3,000 after beginning in January with just $140 in Canadian Tire money.


  • Adele, Glastonbury 2013: Singer Turns Down Invite to Perform at Festival

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    Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

    Though she is an accomplished singer and a record-breaking machine, underneath it all, Adele's a human being just like the rest of us. In a recent exchange with the Glastonbury Festival boss Micheal Evis, The 24-year-old singing sensation rejected an offer to headline the event in 2013.

    According to Eavis the chart-topping star declined the invitation because "She knows that we want her anyway, but she doesn't want to do a thing our size.


  • Neil Young and Crazy Horse, 'Clementine' -- Exclusive Video Premiere

    Danny Clinch

    For Americana, Neil Young's first album with the band Crazy Horse in nearly nine years, the singer-songwriter revisits classic American folk songs and delivers the tunes, which encompass familiar protest songs, murder ballads and campfire songs, with electrifying ferocity. In spite of -- or perhaps because of the approach, the universal appeal of the songs is neither lost nor diminished and they retain their relevance in these challenging times.

    "Clementine," the oft-sung tale of a grieving miner, which has become a popular children's song, is believed to be based on a 1863 song titled "Down by the River Liv'd a Maiden," by H.S. Thompson. However, Neil writes in the Americana liner notes that the song is usually credited to Percy Montrose or Barker Bradford from about 1884.


  • Wayne Newton Sexual Harassment, Animal Abuse Allegations: Singer Sued Over Home Museum Plans

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    Wayne Newton Sexual Harassment Animal Abuse AllegationsAxelle Woussen, Bauer-Griffin

    LAS VEGAS (AP) - Plans to turn Wayne Newton's sprawling Las Vegas estate into a celebrity museum have shifted into an ugly legal battle citing mismanagement, animal abuse and sexual harassment.

    The company that purchased the rights to convert Newton's home into "Graceland West" filed a lawsuit this week in Las Vegas against Newton, his wife and her 76-year-old mother that claims the family unreasonably delayed the project to ensure it never opens.

    The Newton family claims the lawsuit is a preemptive strike because they had planned to sue the company for breach of contract after multiple construction delays. The family plans to file a counter lawsuit challenging the allegations made by CSD, LLC.

    The legal wrangling paints an uncertain future for Newton's 40-acre estate featuring South African penguins, Arabian horses, Impressionist paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir and 17th-century antiques collected from European castles.


  • Handsome Furs Break Up

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    Handsome FursSub Pop

    Sad news rocked the indie world late Thursday May 17 when electro-punk duo Handsome Furs, also known as husband-and-wife Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry, announced on their website:

    "With a heavy heart the time has come to let all of you know that Handsome Furs are no more.

    The most important thing that needs to be said right now is how extremely grateful we are to all the fans all over the world that showered us with love and support over the years. Thank you for everything! It's been an incredible 6 years and we owe it all to you."

    Handsome Furs initially began as a spin-off of Boeckner's other (also sadly defunct) band Wolf Parade but never reaching a similar crossover success, despite being equally deserving. Since the release of 2009's unimpeachably epic Face Control, which perfected their mix of Bruce Springsteen-esque anthemics, floor-filling analogue synths and foreign land lyrics, the Handsome Furs had settled for being one of indie music's best groups.


  • Maya Jane Coles DJ-Kicks Mini-Mix: London House Producer Offers Exclusive Mix

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    Mads Perch

    London house producer Maya Jane Coles began DJing at the age of 17, before she was old enough to enter a night club. The 24-year-old's rise to prominence has been impressive to watch, from providing remixes for everyone from Little Dragon and house legend MK, to being hailed as "breakthrough DJ of 2011" by Pete Tong, and contributing to institutions like BBC's Essential Mix and the respected DJ-Kicks series, which was released in April.

    Coles took time out from working on her forthcoming debut LP to put together a pretty rad 25 minute mini-mix, exclusive to Spinner/RPM, featuring Soulphiction, Homeboy, Pig & Dan and more.

    "This mix was just a personal insight into the music that inspired me at that moment," Coles explained. "I didn't want to use obvious stuff. I was lucky enough to get to use some amazing exclusives, alongside some tracks that had been released already but initially may not have got the attention they deserved."


  • Bono to Become World's Richest Musician After Facebook IPO

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    Larry Marano, Getty Images

    Bono, that guy from U2, is set to become the world's richest musician in the world when Facebook's IPO starts trading tomorrow, NME reports. He will overtake Paul McCartney (that guy from the Beatles) and will likely commemorate the occasion with a very heartfelt "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!"

    The Irish singer owns 2.3 percent of the Facebook shares after having purchased them at $90 million in 2009. Now that the company is worth over $100 billion, Bono will be worth more than $1.5 billion. Meanwhile, McCartney is just over worth a measly billion dollars.

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