Stereo Warning

MGMT : interview with Ben and Andrew

Sat, 31 May 2008 13:55:22 +0000

In a dusty parking lot at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in the California desert, a shiny tour bus sits in the sun, engine running to power the air conditioning. Inside, the founding members of the Brooklyn electro-psychedelic band MGMT relax on leather couches having just performed to an adoring crowd at one of America’s biggest rock festivals. Several attractive young women climb aboard, smile sheepishly at the two guys and head straight for the room at the back of the bus. As the door opens and closes, a whiff of marijuana escapes. It is a scene fitting for the young musicians, whose meteoric rise to stardom has been fueled by their hit single “Time to Pretend.”

"Let's make some music, make some money, find some models for wives," Andrew VanWyngarden sings on that song. "I'll move to Paris, shoot some heroin and f*** with the stars/You man the island and the cocaine and the elegant cars/This is our decision to live fast and die young/We've got the vision, now let's have some fun."

Trent Reznor releases new NIN album The Slip for free

Mon, 05 May 2008 14:11:33 +0000

"This one's on me," says Trent Reznor. Nine Inch Nails' brand new full length album The Slip is available as free download at NIN.com.

Unlike NIN's recently released Ghosts I-IV, there are no paid options available for The Slip, nor are there any retail partners. At present, The Slip is available exclusively as a free download at NIN.com. A physical configuration on CD and vinyl is in the works for a July release.

The Slip marks the first time Nine Inch Nails--or any artist of NIN's stature--has made its new album available completely and exclusively for free as a DRM-free digital download. The Slip is available as a high-quality MP3 or in a variety of lossless formats including, for the first time, a higher-than-CD quality 24 bit 96k version. All downloads include a PDF with credits and artwork.

The Cure to release one new single every month

Fri, 02 May 2008 20:00:01 +0000

The Cure will release four A & B side singles each month starting May 13th, leading up to the release of their thirteenth studio album, as yet untitled, which will be out on Suretone/Geffen Records September 13th. It will be the band's first album of new music since 2004’s self titled album The Cure. Physical and digital singles will be available for purchase in store and on all digital partners.

The first single is “The Only One” (released May 13th) and includes the b-side “NY Trip”. This song is now streaming at thecure.com. The second single “Freakshow” (released June 13th) includes the b-side "All Kinds Of Stuff". Neither b-side will appear on the album. Both tracks were produced by Robert Smith and Keith Uddin. July 13th and August 13th singles will be announced shortly, the band said.

Metallica plays new song for record label

Fri, 02 May 2008 12:04:03 +0000

The release of Metallica's new album is getting closer and closer.

If you're a fan, this has got to be good news: the boys have brought a finished song to their record label, Warner and played it for the execs. Read after the break to find out what the label thought...

Peter Hayes, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Interview

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:26:51 +0000

As a teenager in California, Peter Hayes first tried his hand at playing guitar by learning the Jimi Hendrix song “Castles Made of Sand.” Years later, after four albums with his garage rock band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, he is keenly aware that a career in music is just as fragile these days as a kid's construction on a beach. He laments high-spending rock stars that ruin the good name of modest, hard-working musicians and low-spending music fans who would rather download BRMC for free than support the band with a little cash. Check out our interview.

Where/how did you grow up?
I was born in California and raised in Minnesota on a farm of 90 acres until I was 14, then I moved back to California. I guess I grew up with a healthy disrespect for city folks. Us farm boys stuck together. I still have a bit of that even though I live in a city now. Just holding on to the roots... I just look back at that and what I do now I don’t really consider work. That was work, on a farm. Out here, playing music, is nowhere near working. I try to keep that reality in my brain.

Rooney challenges Rooney to a football match

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 20:55:38 +0000

So we happened to chat with the singer dude in Rooney and it turns out that they know there is a certain Wayne Rooney in England. Not only that, but the band challenged him to a football game -- the catch is though that the 5 of them want to play against Wayne by himself. I think we know who would win that one... The band did say though that they wouldn't like to invite Wayne to collaborate on any songs. They don't think he can sing...

Oh, and another thing: Rooney don't like it when you steal their songs. Here is Robert Schwartzman.

Sinead O'Connor interview

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 21:00:21 +0000

Sinead O’Connor is finding her way back after a long struggle with bipolar disorder that drove her to attempt suicide eight years ago. “It gets better as you get older,” she says. “You get more used to yourself. You’re not so angst-ridden because you don’t give a shit. It’s a good place to be.” After long avoiding them, she is again performing the songs that made her famous in 1990, like “Three Babies” and the Prince cover “Nothing Compares 2 U.” After a seven-year diversion into roots reggae, she wrote the Bible-inspired “Theology,” an album in which she says God is getting a bad rap because of man’s use of religion. “It pisses me off to see people blowing up people on behalf of God,” she tells us. “I wanted to lift out scriptures and show the peaceful nature of the God character.” Amen! Read on for the full interview.

Ben Harper interview

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:49:58 +0000

Ben Harper has been playing with the Innocent Criminals for more than a decade, each album soaring higher than its predecessor, hitting a peak with the soulful “Lifeline.” On stage he delivers electrifying slide guitar solos. He sings with abandon, eyes closed, living and breathing the songs, easily ranking as one of the most magnetic live performers out there today. Ben is a true music fan who still does it old school, listening to CDs instead of mp3s, studying the lyrics and the liner notes. In this interview, he reveals his secret: an early immersion into music and a keen ear for inspiration.

Where and how did you grow up?
I grew up in a town called Claremont, in California. It’s about 40 miles east of Los Angeles. I discovered music through my parents’ passion for it. They have a music store they built up since 1958 and it’s been open until now. That’s my earliest inspiration, the earliest way that music formed me.

Metallica album delayed again until September

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 21:05:45 +0000

The release of Metallica's new album has been delayed again, sources from the band's record label told Stereo Warning.

The album is now expected to hit the stores in September. Originally Lars Ulrich said it would be out in February, then the release was delayed till April. With the band still in the studio, it was clear that April was not gonna happen. Fans can take comfort in the fact that the last time the band spent this much time in the studio the year was 1991 and the result was the Black Album. One can only hope for similar results this time!

In the meantime, the boys have lined up a few dates for their upcoming European tour this summer. I guess that means they hope to be done recording by June...

Tags: photos pictures lars ulrich metallica james hetfield kirk hammett rob trujillo robert trujillo

The Cure - Robert Smith interview - final part

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 08:46:40 +0000

Apologies to everyone for the delay, but here's -- finally -- the final part of the interview with Robert Smith from the Cure. Enjoy!

Does it bother you that The Cure is still being called a goth band when it’s so much more complex than that?
I’ve given up a long time ago worrying about mainstream media calling us a goth band. It lightened up a little bit when we were called goth-pop after the Live 8 show, where we played some upbeat 3-minute pop songs. It’s so pitiful really when “goth” is still tagged onto the name The Cure...

New Metallica album delayed

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 19:04:21 +0000

The release of the new Metallica album will be delayed, sources from the band's record label told Stereo Warning.

The album, which was supposed to be released in February -- as Lars Ulrich had said several times -- is running behind schedule and will not be in stores until April at the latest, sources tell us. The band's website has recently said that the boys are still doing overdubs, although it did not give a date for the album release.

Tags: photos pictures lars ulrich metallica james hetfield kirk hammett rob trujillo robert trujillo

The Cure: Robert Smith interview - Part 3

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:20:51 +0000

Here's part three of the interview with Robert Smith from the Cure. Part four -- and final -- coming tomorrow.

You don’t have a keyboards player for the first time in decades. Why did you not replace Roger?
There’s no need to when you got someone like Porl playing guitar. He can pretty much create any sounds that you want. There are only two songs out of the 33 that have any keys on them at the moment and that’s me playing so I don’t really miss the keyboards. It’s nice every once in a while to totally limit the palette of sounds that we have. We did that on Disintegration to only allow certain sounds to happen so that that holds the whole album together so if you’re playing a very slow Eastern sounding song and put it against a really upbeat driving song, the fact that you’re using the same instrumentation and the same palette of sound tends to hold the whole thing together.

The Cure: Robert Smith interview - Part 2

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 11:22:52 +0000

Here's part two of the Robert Smith interview. Stay tuned for part three tomorrow, this thing is loooong!

How’s the recording going?
As usual I’m holding it up, because I can’t get the words how I want them. I find myself stopping short and thinking I’ve done this before better, so it’s hard to find subject matter that really matters to me, things that I really want to sing. I just don’t want to make a record because we’re in a group. That flies in the face of what I’ve always wanted The Cure to be. It frustrates the others a lot I think but there’s not much anyone can do about it. The last four Cure albums have really stalled on my lyric writing. I think it’s worthwhile because they end up better than they otherwise would have been. I never worry about writer’s block, I figure if I don’t have anything to write about I shouldn’t be writing.

Robert Smith from The Cure -- Interview

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 12:55:29 +0000

This is the first part of a long conversation we had with The Cure's Robert Smith while he was working on his band's latest album, due in stores next spring. A very candid Robert talked about everything from his relationship with Porl to the trials and tribulations of writing the new record to his approach to the live show. He even talked about drinking, getting old and (maybe) working with Ashlee Simpson. Enjoy!

Once again, you made big personnel changes in your band. What happened?
At the turn of the year 2005 it was time for a change. Roger O’Donnell and Perry Bamonte left and Porl Thompson returned for his third time in the band. It’s very hard to leave a successful group. Sometimes it takes a little cajoling and a little nod to make people realize they’re not happy in what they’re doing and holding everyone else back. I’m always the driving force of the band and if everyone’s happy with what I want to do it’s a happy band, if they’re not it’s not. I’m not very good at compromising when it comes to music and art. I just find it ridiculous that I should have to do something I don’t want to do, so it leaves everyone only one option, to leave. That’s what happened to Roger and Perry.

Rodrigo Y Gabriela cover Orion by Metallica

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 12:05:05 +0000

All we can say is, watch and learn. Rodrigo y Gabriela doing Orion by Metallica. A great cover of a great song.

Tags: metallica rodrigo y gabriela