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Audioslave Begin New CD. 
RIFTrock reports: Audioslave, after taking a recent break from touring and playing their music, will begin to write new songs for a highly anticipated follow-up to their 2002 self-titled release. The band will use a few of the songs left from the recording process on their first album, and have outlines for the first four songs on the upcoming album.. Click Here for the Full Story

Sony & BMG Merge 
New York Post reports: Sony Music and Bertelsmann's music unit BMG are close to reaching a final merger pact and could announce the deal as early as today, The Post has learned. 

Early last month, Sony and BMG announced they had signed a non-binding letter of intent to create a 50-50 joint venture, and in the ensuing months executives from both sides worked to hammer out a final deal. 

The next step will be seeking regulatory approval for the deal in both Washington, D.C., and Europe - a process that will take, at minimum, several months. 

Spokespersons for Sony Music and BMG declined comment. 

The new company will be called Sony BMG and will have a 25 percent share of the world's music market - a close second to Vivendi's Universal Music. But Sony BMG will be the largest company in the key U.S. market, with about 29 percent of the market. 

Former NBC president Andrew Lack, who took the reins at Sony Music last February, will be CEO and in charge of the day-to-day operations. BMG head Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, another former television executive, will be the chairman...Click Here for the Full Story

Metalli-Book
siN's metal news reports: Here's the official press release from METALLICA's site Metallica.com: We've finally agreed to do an official book, which will be released via Broadway Books/Random House next August. It will be a 272 page collectible stuffed with high (and low) lights from the history of the Fan Club's So What! magazine with some reflective handwritten comments and additions from the band themselves and an assortment of other cool stuff. So What! has been published for ten years now and is sent to Fan Club members on a quarterly basis. So What! editor Steffan Chirazi, who has been reporting on the band for over 15 years, will be editing the book that promises to be filled with photos, handwritten notes, roundtable interviews, original fan artwork, letters, and so much more. -Click Here for the Full Story

No, it's not a cook book. 

The Vines Get Back
NME reports: After ending 2002 with the kind of tension that threatened to send THE VINES "either way" the band have finally finished their "more psychedelic" second record. 

NME.COM can reveal 'Winning Days', will be released on March 8, preceded by the highly charged first single 'Ride' on February 23. 

Bassist Patrick Matthews told NME.COM: "The album could have gone either way. We could have ended up at each other's throats because we were out in the middle of nowhere. But there was only one day like that out of three months."

Describing the sound of the album, Patrick said: "The harder songs are harder and the softer songs are maybe the ones which have improved more. It's more psychedelic than the first record. Just like 'Highly Evolved' there's a few snotty punk ones and then there are the slow songs which have the real mellotron sound on it." 

The tracklisting runs: 
'Ride' 
'Animal Machine' 
'TV Pro' 
'Autumn Shade 2' 
'Evil Town' 
'Winning Days' 
'She's Got Something' 
'Rainfall' 
'Amnesia' 
'Sunchild' 
'f*** The World'

. Click Here for the Full Story 

Silverchair Split?
News.co.au reports: SILVERCHAIR may be on the brink of breaking up, with lead singer Daniel Johns forming a new band.

Johns announced through his record company he had formed a new band with Australian music stalwart Paul Mac that was "more than a side project".

The news almost certainly spells doom for silverchair, which has sold more than  770,000 albums in Australia and won 10 record industry ARIA awards.

Johns' new project is titled The Dissociatives.

But silverchair manager John Watson  denied the split, saying the band was merely in hiatus.

"The band are on a break and when Daniel has more songs, the band will probably do another album. When that is going to happen, I can't say," he said.-Click Here for the Full Story

Look on the bright side we still have Puddle of Mudd =) 

Butch Walker Goes Midtown
Punkbands reports: After spending the past year negotiating off their former record contract, Midtown, the New Jersey four-piece, finally begins work on a new studio album in early December. "When you're on tour straight for two years, everything becomes a blur and you start going crazy", says singer Gabe Saporta. "It's important to stop and evaluate where you've been, where you are, and where you're heading." Judging by the reaction their new songs have received, Midtown is headed to a beautiful, beautiful place.

One of the people who happened upon Midtown's new jams was producer, Butch Walker. Instantly, Walker was blown away. "I was already familiar with Save the World, Lose the Girl, which I think helped pave the way for this emo onslaught we're experiencing. But when I heard these demos, I knew that this band was going to transcend all of that. They've challenged themselves in a way that brings them to a new level artistically, but does so without alienating the audience. They are striking that perfect, delicate balance. This is going to be an important record."

By jumping on board, Walker allowed Midtown to pull a move most bands don't have the luxury, savvy, or guts to pull: They resolved to record the entire album without the support of a label. "A bunch of labels approached us after they heard our demos", says Saporta, "but after we met Butch, we said, f*** it, lets go make the record we want to make without anyone telling us what they think we should or shouldn't do. Then when we're finished, whoever is interested can talk to us." Walkers' reputation as a hit machine gave Midtown the backing they needed to be able to make that jump. "We're definitely taking a gamble by doing this. We're betting on ourselves." .Click Here for the Full Story 

"You're so yesterday�" 

Stroking Reptilia 
VH1 reports: It was a pretty good year for the Strokes. They were featured on the covers of most major music mags, their second album, Room on Fire, sold over 126,000 copies its first week on shelves and their concerts were some of the hottest tickets in Hipster Central. And the bandmembers will likely remain on fire as they head into 2004.

They've just chosen "Reptilia" to be the follow-up single to "12:51," and they're currently searching for a director for the video. "I like that song," drummer Fabrizio Moretti said. "It's pretty balls-to-the-wall. It has an exciting opening and it has got some really great lyrics that make you feel like you're listening to something in a very specific time and place."

The next time the Strokes play that song in North America will be a specific time and place - midnight at their New Year's Eve concert in Las Vegas. "That should be fun," Moretti said. "Maybe we'll do some gambling while we're there, but hopefully not too much because you know what they say - if you do something when the New Year comes in, you'll be doing it for the rest of your life."

In January the band will play the Big Day Out festival in New Zealand and Australia; after that the Strokes will return to North America for a tour in February and March, according to their publicist. Click Here for the Full Story 

Sevendust Broken Down
Digital Noise reports: Sevendust have lined up their track "Broken Down" as the next single from their recently released album Seasons. In addition to the announcement of their next single, the band has also added more dates to their tour with Ill Niño. Here is the updated itinerary for the trek:

12/14 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
12/16 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
12/17 - Modesto, CA - Modesto Centre Plaza
12/18 - Reno, NV - The New Oasis
12/19 - Salt Lake City, UT - Bricks
12/20 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre (w/ Lo-Pro, Blister 66)
12/31 Lake Buena Vista, FL - House of Blues (Sevendust only)
01/02 - Tampa, FL - The Masquerade
01/03 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
01/04 - Norfolk, VA - The Norva
01/06 - Clifton Park, NY - Northern Lights
01/07 - Hartford, CT - Webster Theatre
01/08 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
01/09 - Boston, MA - Avalon Ballroom
01/10 - New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom
01/11 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
01/14 - Providence, RI - Lupo's at the Strand
01/15 - Niagara Falls, NY - Dome Theatre
01/16 - Cleveland, OH - The Odeon
01/17 - Ft Wayne, IN - Pierre's
01/20 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart's
01/21 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues
01/22 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave
01/24 - Waterloo, IA - McElroy Auditorium
01/29 - Billings, MT - Shrine Auditorium
01/31 - Spokane, WA - Big Easy Concert House 
. Click Here for the Full Story 

Plants Magic Bus
siN's metal news reports: LED ZEPPELIN frontman Robert Plant has set up a bus for blind musicians in Mali as part of a project to keep alive the music and culture of the country's nomadic Tamashek people. Plant actually performed at the Festival In The Desert in Mali, the most remote concert in the world, earlier this year.

Plant was so inspired by the number of projects under way to help the Tamashek that he has set up his own - the bus, which carries around disabled musicians in Mali's capital, Bamako. He said, "[They] are now roaring around in a super bus, singing the praises of some guy they've never even heard of, which is superb," Plant told BBC World Service's The Music Biz programme. "I can't wait to get out there and see how they're getting on."-Click Here for the Full Story

Sonic Youth Get Digital
Billboard reports: Veteran rock act Sonic Youth is making plans for its first official DVD releases, as well as an expanded reissue of its 1990 Geffen album "Goo" and the next in a series of experimental LPs. 

According to posts on the band's official Web site (http://www.sonicyouth.com), "the first official Sonic Youth DVDs ... will be jammed with anything/everything that needs to be jammed onto DVD." The group is eyeing a videoclip retrospective of its tenure on the Geffen label as well as commentary by band members and other artists. 

According to the post, director Dave Markey has also prepared a 2-DVD set of his 1991 documentary film "The Year Punk Broke," featuring extra footage of Sonic Youth, Nirvana and others. Release dates have not been set for either project. 

The expanded release of "Goo" will be in the vein of the 2-CD revisiting of the 1992 album "Dirty," released earlier this year by Universal. The "Goo" reissue will include B-sides, oddities and the original 8-track demos for the album. - Click Here for the full story

Armored DVD
Metal-Blade reports: The Saint have finished their new DVD entitled "Armored Saint Magazine: Lessons Not Well Learned" and is scheduled for a late spring  release.

Directed by Joey Vera, the DVD will include a one-hour feature, which contains 12 live bootleg videos ranging from the Symbol of Salvation tours (1991) through the Nod to the Old School tours  (2002). Done in a fictional eMagazine style, the feature takes you through several chapters of music mixed with off and onstage silly antics. All brought to you by a host simply named "Gahnzo". No surprise who that is though.

There will be several other bonus features, which we will release in January. Until then, here is the track listing for ASM: LNWL

1. Pay Dirt
2. Warzone
3. The Truth Always Hurts
4. After Me, The Flood
5. Take a Turn
6. Symbol of Salvation
7. Tainted Past
8. Creepy Feelings
9. Another Day
10. For the Sake
11. Tension
12. Tribal Dance

-Click Here for the Full Story 

Pete Yorn's New Jersey  
Billboard reports: Singer/songwriter Pete Yorn will on Jan. 6 unveil a double-disc concert set, "Live From New Jersey," which sports covers of the Elvis Presley-popularized "Suspicious Minds" and Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City." 

The album was taped Oct. 29 at the Community Theater in the Garden State city of Morristown. 

Other tracks pegged for inclusion are an acoustic version of "All at Once," Yorn's rock radio favorites "Strange Condition," "For Nancy ('Cos It Already Is)" and "Life on a Chain" and several cuts from his 2003 sophomore Columbia album, "Day I Forgot." That set debuted at No. 18 on the U.S. pop albums chart and has sold 247,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.  .-Click Here for the Full Story 

Rush Turns 30 
Billboard reports: Rush will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a 2004 tour of North America and Europe. The veteran Canadian rock trio -- bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart -- will hit amphitheaters beginning in June, for approximately 30 dates. In September, the group will visit Europe for the first time since 1992.

Sixty-three shows from Rush's 2002 tour in support of its latest Anthem/Atlantic album, "Vapor Trails," grossed more than $27 million, according to Billboard Boxscore. -Click Here for the Full Story

Avril, Nelly, Nora Not Original?
RANT of the Week� The perfect way to end the week is with a RANT.  Scott Galupo of the Washington Times discovers what most of us have known for a long time�  read on with the excerpts from his editorial or see the full story link to read the full thing.. 

They are young women. Hear them lay claim to the mantle of singer-songwriter. 

Alicia Keys, Nelly Furtado, Norah Jones, Michelle Branch, VanessaCarlton, Avril Lavigne: They may vary in aptitude and style, but they are all part of a new breed of female pop stars. 

Call them the Borderliners. 

Let me explain: If Joni Mitchell, Carole King and Chrissie Hynde blazed the trail of songstresses who write as well as they sing, and if women such as Aimee Mann and Lucinda Williams are keeping the trail fresh, our new X-chromosomed crop is something different. 

Much of the considerable respect they enjoy today is derived from their contradistinction from their contemporaries, the Tarts: Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson. 

They're not quite Britney, and they're not quite Joni. Hence the Borderline. They write, sing and play, but they need lots of outside help; they lack creative verve and imagination. 

They are, to varying degrees, all talented musicians but they are all primarily performing artists, not boldly original creative artists. 
-Click Here for the Full Story

I got a weird thing for girls who say "aboot."
 

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