Hot to Trot

Projekt Revolution calls itself "an annual tour dedicated to featuring revolutionary, cutting-edge talent." This is debatable, since the festival is perpetually headlined by its founders - the angsty boys in Linkin Park - who are about as "cutting-edge" as Milli Vanilli are "authentic." Really, how can your band be cutting-edge when you're led by a dude named Chester? But there's no arguing with the festival's mission, which aims to bring together top artists from hip-hop and rock in an effort to bridge the gap between those styles.

Such a premise sounds like the perfect opportunity to book reunited rap-rock gods Rage Against the Machine for another festival debate (the group recently rocked the sun-baked crowd at Coachella), but Projekt Revolution can't really pull those types of longstanding acts. Still, the 2007 lineup isn't puny at all, with heavy-hitters like My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, Placebo, and Julien-K all taking the stage before Linkin's closing set.

Like Live Earth, Bonnaroo, Coachella, and the countless hippie-fests that dot this summer's festival schedule, Projekt Revolution is going green. And we're not just talking about pot. "Projekt Revolution and Music For Relief have been working hard at making this event an environmentally conscious effort," explains the Projekt Revolution press release. "Besides making the tour a "Green" tour, Projekt Revolution and Music For Relief will be donating $1 from each ticket to give to American Forests for their Global ReLeaf program to plant trees to help reduce global temperatures."

The tour kicks off on July 27th and will hit approximately 25 cities before ending its run in Englewood, Colorado, on September 3rd. Unfortunately, this is a slow revolution - at least during the planning stages - and the festival hasn't really announced how much the tickets will cost. We do know that they go on sale on May 19th, though! Gobble them up at Livenation.com.

Ryan Adams’ new album, Easy Tiger, is gonna be damn good. We’re sure about this. Stephen King said so.

Apparently, the literary master of modern-day horror is a big fan of Adams’ work. If you’ve recently been to Amazon.com to pre-order Easy Tiger (release date: June 26th), you might’ve seen that the product description is a little more verbose than usual. That's because it comes from the pen of Mr. King himself. Pitchfork confirmed things with Stephen King’s publicist, who says the two artists are mutually fond of each other’s prolific work, and that King apparently wanted to show his love by writing a lengthy tribute to one of his favorite artists. Amazon merely chose an excerpt to stick onto their site. Cool.

Here's a longer excerpt:
I won't say Adams is the best North American singer-songwriter since Neil Young...but I won't say he isn't, either. What I know is there has never been a Ryan Adams record quite as strong and together as Easy Tiger; it's got enough blue-eyed, blue-steel soul (with the faintest country tinge) to make me think of both Marvin Gaye and the Righteous Brothers. Probably ridiculous, but true. And the songs themselves are beautiful-- the lyrics tightly focused and brief, the feeling one of melancholy calm that will probably be a revelation to fans that remember the old, sometimes angry Ryan Adams.

He talks enthusiastically about all the unreleased material he hopes to set free in a box set, maybe at the end of the year ("If people hear it all, then they'll get the connections," he says), but that's then. Now there's this, maybe the best Ryan Adams CD ever. And I know you want to listen to it right away. But slow down. Take your time. This album asks for that, and it will reward your full attention.

In other words-- easy, Tiger.

Ryan Adams drops in a little less than a month. To hear live versions of some selected tracks, check out A-Reminder.com.

Guns 'n' Roses' unreliability used to be kinda cool. Would Slash pass out during a performance, or would he ride a rollercoaster of Gibson-fueled riffage until the encore? Would Axl take the stage wearing leather pants or a kilt? Would the band's music videos ever start making sense, or would they continue to feature weird storylines involving dolphins, funerals, and people jumping into wedding cakes? Would the band self-destruct, or would they maintain the barest sliver of sobriety possible and become the next Rolling Stones? No one really knew the answers to these questions, and the band could easily tip in either direction. It was exciting.

So while it used to be cool that the fate of this crazy, whiskey-chugging band was always in jeopardy, fans have gotten really antsy regarding this whole Chinese Democracy thing. G'n'R hasn't released a full album of original material since 1991, and frontman Axl Rose has made countless unfulfilled promises regarding Democracy's release date. Things keep getting pushed back. Band members keep coming and going. Others keep falling down flights of steps and delaying the band's world tour. It used to be funny - sorta - but now it's just plain annoying.

Which is why we're so happy that some Democracy tracks have been leaked this week! The album has been sporadically leaking since 2003, but the band's management has really tightened its fist on any such drip-drop incidents. So, while time allows, we urge you to check out the available tracks before Axl's management plugs up the leak... and then we'll have to wait another decade for more G'n'R material.

Democracy Downloads = Paradise City

•The Blues

•IRS

•There Was A Time

•Chinese Democracy

Sad. We just got word that Sacha Baron Cohen will NOT be playing Freddie Mercury, although the actor's singing skills will still be displayed in Tim Burton's next project - a silver-screen rendition of the musical "Sweeney Todd." Johnny Depp, who is still being considered for the Freddie Mercury role, will be playing the the title character in Burton's film. Alan Rickman and Helena Bonham Carter also have key roles, so look for that movie in early 2008. Still no word on a release date for the Queen movie, though... We suppose they have to actually cast it first.

And speaking of Queen, the surviving bandmates have learned a thing or two about reality TV since their cameo on American Idol last year. The band's music has been used exclusively in a musical entitled "We Will Rock You", and the show has received enough positive feedback to warrant a number of tours across the world. Now, audiences in places like Bolivia, Chile, and South Africa can experience this music-filled story that "takes place in a tongue-in-cheek dystopian future where originality and individuality are shunned, and a lone "Dreamer" appears who can fulfil a prophecy that will enable the return of rock 'n roll." Hmmm. Sounds like something from a Styx lyric sheet.

Anyway, guitarist Brian May has been very involved in the audition/casting process, but he draws the line at turning the experience into a reality TV show. "We were asked," May recently told WhatsOnStage.com, "but we said no. We all feel that TV auditioning would be contrary to the spirit of our show. It's actually an appalling lowering of standards, this whole TV-dominated culture. I promise you will never find us on some panel bullying and ridiculing young performers – I personally detest that kind of thing, and I think it's a shame that the public puts up with it." May concluded with: "How could you possibly expect to get the best performers this way? No self-respecting professional actor or actress would lower themselves to go in for this kind of humiliation. The best actors and singers will stay away."

Amen! Meanwhile, we're kinda dreading tomorrow's installment of Idol, where Barry Gibb will coach the four remaining contestants who reportedly represent America's best crop of young talent. If Blake remixes "Night Fever," he's dead to us.

• Great success! Borat actor will make benefit glorious music of Queen!

Sacha Baron Cohen – the English actor/comedian behind such characters as Ali G, Bruno, and everyone’s favorite Kazakh reporter, Borat – is gearing up to play another larger-than-life character. Things will be a bit more serious this time, though, since Cohen’s role will reportedly be that of Freddie Mercury. That’s right: Borat will star in the upcoming Queen biopic.

Johnny Depp was originally considered for the role, but the film’s producers were more impressed with Cohen’s physical resemblance to the Queen frontman. Is this too good to be true? Didn’t we learn anything from those rumors about Christopher Walken playing Ozzy in the Motley Crüe movie? The BaebleBlog is steering itself for a hard rose of reality… but we can dream, and until somebody tells us otherwise, we’ll be preparing ourselves to watch Cohen sing “Fat Bottomed Girls” in a spangled leotard. That would be one solid movie-film. Niiice.

• Missed SXSW? Check out some streaming/downloadable footage, compiled by LargeheartedBoy.com.

• Today in rock 'n' roll history:
- 1964: The Moody Blues form in Birmingham, England.
- 1972: Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt is born.
- 1973: Led Zeppelin embarks on a U.S. tour that will soon be called "biggest and most profitable rock & roll tour in the history of the United States."
- 1974: Grand Funk Railroad chugs into the #1 spot with "Loco-motion,"
- 1997: Courtney Love places an ad in the Seattle Times to sell the house she had shared with husband Kurt Cobain. The carriage house in which Kurt shot himself had previously been torn down.

• In what has to be the most collaborative project ever, a slew of bands (30 Seconds to Mars, Panic! At The Disco, The Bravery, Deftones, The Academy Is, + 44, and several others) are teaming up with MySpace Records to record a Smashing Pumpkins tribute album that will be distributed by SPIN Magazine in July, after all the bands have posted their respective covers onto their respective MySpace pages. Got that? If you don't understand - or if really you don't care - you should just wait for the real Pumpkins album (Zeitgeist) to drop on July 7th.

• Phil Stacey, the high-singing Navy officer who recently finished 6th on American Idol, may have to travel overseas now that he's been voted off the show. Although he was given a temporary reprieve while participating in Idol's sixth season, the L.A. Times reports that "Stacey could be reassigned or asked to volunteer for a musical tour in Iraq, Afghanistan or the two naval carrier groups stationed in the Persian Gulf" if his officers deem it necessary. Another officer told the Times that he hopes Phil will bring all the finalists with him, as it's been hard getting proper entertainment for the troops overseas. We'd like to see how long Sanjaya would last in a war-torn environment... and we're sure the troops would love to see Haley in cut-off combat fatigues.

• Tomorrow night's installment of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" will feature Snoop Dog and Tom Waits, but the two won't be performing together. Damn.

• Nickelback is back on tour this summer. Somewhere, Chris Daughtry is pumping his fist in delight.

The Fab Four continues to make headlines today, albeit not as a whole band.

First off, Paul McCartney's been busily stirring up some hype for his upcoming album Memory Almost Full. McCartney revealed the tracklisting this week, and his website features some written explanations of the album's themes. "It's a very personal record," he says, "and a lot of it is retrospective, drawing from memory, like memories from being a kid, from Liverpool, and from summers gone. The album is evocative, emotional, rocking, but I can't really sum it up in one sentence."

Starting June 4th, Starbucks patrons can pick up the disc on their morning coffee runs. Memory will be McCartney's first release on the Starbucks-backed record label Hear Music, and his 21st solo album to date. The tracklisting is: "Dance Tonight"; "Ever Present Past"; "See Your Sunshine"; "Only Mama Knows"; "You Tell Me"; "Mister Bellamy"; "Gratitude"; "Vintage Clothes"; "That Was Me"; "Feet In The Clouds"; "House Of Wax"; "End Of The End"; and "Nod Your Head."

Moving on to John Lennon - or, more specifically - his eldest son... Julian Lennon has sold a sizable economic stake in the compositions cowritten by his dad for the Beatles. Primary Wave Music Publishing will now control a portion of the royalties generated by the Beatles catalog. No one will talk about how much money is actually changing hands here, but we bet it's A LOT. When Courtney Love sold 50% of Kurt Cobain's music-publishing rights to Primary Wave, she netted herself a cool $50 million.

Julian is set to benefit similarly, and he apparently hopes this good luck with transfer over to his inconsistent music career. "Partnering with Primary Wave provides me with a great team of supportive music professionals whose experience I can tap into as I continue to produce and record music," he stated. "I felt it was the appropriate time to take on a partner for both my interest in my father’s legendary music and for my future music endeavors." Incidentally, it's been 17 years since Julian has had a hit in the UK, and 22 years since he cracked the Top 20 on this side of the pond.

Hey Jude, don't make it bad. Take your dad's songs.... and sell 'em for a bunch of money.

Sometimes, on random Tuesday afternoons, our thoughts inexplicably drift to a far-away land of lumber, flannel shirts, muddy river banks, and distorted guitar. We're talking about grunge, and today's news is rife with it.

First off, we've got a reunion album from Buffalo Tom. It's been nine years since this Boston trio released anything new, and we can only watch that one episode of My So-Called Life so many times before we really miss slow-dancing to "Late at Night" during awkward school functions. Stereogum's currently flaunting the title track for Three Easy Pieces, which will be released on June 10th by Animal Records. In typical Buffalo style, the song strikes a balance between Dinosaur Jr.-style distortion and folky, americana melodies. Nice chorus, too. This is what the Goo Goo Dolls wish they sounded like, but - alas - that band sucks.

Moving along, Courtney Love has decided to auction off some of her late husband's belongings, which are reportedly worth around $40 million. Having such memorabilia around is apparently a tiresome thing. "[My house] is like a mausoleum," she reported to Spinner.com. "My daughter [14-year-old Frances Bean] doesn't need to inherit a giant Hefty bag full of flannel f***ing shirts ... A sweater, a guitar and the lyrics to 'Teen Spirit' -- that's what my daughter gets. And the rest of it we'll just f***ing sell."

Love also has an upcoming album hitting stores, but that's just totally unrelated. Right? Right? Regardless, it's called "Nobody's Daughter," and it's apparently not going to be financed by her earnings after this Cobain-filled auction. "Most will go to charity since the money isn't what I'm that interested in," she assures.

Most? So what's going to happen with the, say, remaining $3 - $5 million? Is that going into a fund to fight the remaining Nirvana bandmates in court over... well, over anything? There's always something.

ANYWAY, last but not least, Kyle Anderson just released his first book ever: Accidental Revolution: The Story of Grunge. Anderson is an editor at SPIN, and he's really been ramping up his duties there ever since the magazine changed owners (and, for the most part, staffers) in early 2006. Accidental Revolution is odd, though, in that it seems to have two different titles. The US calls it one thing, and the UK calls it Grunge: The End of Rock and Roll. Anybody know what that's all about? Or did Anderson-the-wonderchild simultaneously write two different books about grunge, tailoring each to its respective country of publication, despite the fact that the 20something Anderson was pobably just entering middle school when Cobain committed suicide? Inquiring/jealous minds want to know...