Tuesday 29 September 2009

Lily Allen Top Big Day Out Lineup, Muse


British alternative rock trio Muse, pop artist Lily Allen and returning local heroes Powderfinger are booked to play the 2010 Big Day Out festival tour of Australia and New Zealand. Others confirmed by arranger today (Sept. 29) for the line up include British electronica acts Groove Armada and Calvin Harris, swaggering Brit rockers Kasabian, alt-rock band the Horrors, rapper Dizzee Rascal and rising local artists Ladyhawke, Lisa Mitchell and the Temper Trap. But there was no space on today's announcement for David Bowie, who had been widely tipped by bloggers to gig down under for an acoustic performance. Now entering its 18th run, the Big Day Out is the largest outdoor music event of its kind in Australia. Attendance for the six-date 2009 edition reached 263,054, down slightly from the all time peak of 282,692 for the 2008 tour.The BDO 2010 kicks off Jan. 15 at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium, before moving on to venues at the Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and concluding Jan. 31 at Perth's Claremont Showground. Tickets will be priced at $140 Australian ($100) for the Australian dates and $132 New Zealand ($92) for the Auckland event.

Saturday 26 September 2009

Debuts At Top Of Euro Chart


British rock band Muse goes straight to No. 1 on Billboard's European Top 100 Albums with its fifth album "The Resistance" (Helium 3/Warner Music). David Guetta's "Sexy Chick" (Gum/Positiva/Virgin/EMI), featuring Akon, withstands the challenge of Madonna's "Celebration" (Warner Bros.) to start a third week atop European Hot 100 Singles.The Muse album goes straight to the top in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Ireland, Norway and Switzerland. Outside Europe, it tops the charts in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Korea and Mexico, in addition to a career-best No. 3 debut on the Billboard 200. Across Europe, the No. 1 rankings in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Italy and Norway are Muse's first in those markets.In the United Kingdom, the album's first week generated 148,000 sales, the highest weekly tally there for a British act this year, and well up on the 115,000 for Muse's 2006 predecessor "Black Holes and Revelations." Matthieu Lauriot-Prevost, SVP, international marketing, Warner Music, tells Billboard that the album "has taken Muse's popularity to the next level. There's a palpable sense of genuine excitement amongst both their long-term following and the newer fans."Mark Knopfler's "Get Lucky" (Mercury/Universal) also makes a confident start, at No. 2 overall. U.K. sales of 14,000 take it to No. 9 there, and it's new at No. 2 in Germany, Italy, Norway and Denmark, No. 3 in Holland, No. 4 in Spain, No. 5 in Switzerland, No. 6 in Sweden, No. 9 in Portugal and No. 10 in France. Knopfler's last studio set "Kill To Get Crimson" also debuted at No. 2 on the collective chart in 2007.Whitney Houston's "I Look to You" (Arista/RCA/Sony Music Entertainment), which fell 1-2 overall last week, dips again to No. 3, while last week's leader on Top 100 Albums, Guetta's "One Love," is down to No. 4.Two more heavyweight debuts are next on the composite chart: Jay-Z's "The Blueprint III" (Roc Nation/Warner Music) at No. 5 and Nelly Furtado's "Mi Plan" (Nelstar/Universal Music Latino) at No. 6. Jay-Z's album starts at No. 3 in Ireland and a career-best No. 4 in the United Kingdom, on sales of 38,000. Furtado's new entries include No. 3 in Switzerland, No. 5 in Germany, No. 6 in Austria and No. 8 in Spain.Black Eyed Peas' "The E.N.D. (The Energy Never Dies)" (Interscope/Universal), now in its 15th week on the aggregate survey, falls 6-7. Two albums in Apple/EMI's Beatles remasters campaign are up into the top ten: "Abbey Road" 12-8 and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" 13-10. Michael Jackson is down 5-9 with "King of Pop" (Epic/Sony Music Entertainment)."Sexy Chick" continues to rule the European Hot 100 ahead of a 12-2 climb for the Madonna single. Shakira's "She Wolf" (Sony Music Latin/Epic) is up 8-4 and Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" rebounds 30-5 thanks to a No. 3 debut in Germany.

Thursday 24 September 2009

second Twilight film, Muse remixes song


London (ANI): British alternative rock band Muse is set to be one of the bands contributing to the soundtrack of New Moon, the second film in the Twilight series. The band, from Devon, have remixed a song off their latest album 'The Resistance', called 'I Belong To You', for the soundtrack, reports the BBC.
The soundtrack will be released on October 19, a month before the film. Included in it are The Killers (A White Demon Love Song) and Radiohead's Thom Yorke (Hearing Damage), who have written brand new tunes. Other artists who've contributed include Editors, Lykke Li, and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Death Cab for Cutie song Meet Me On The Equinox is the title track to the film, and it was Zane Lowe's hottest record in the world on his Radio 1 show last week. The first Twilight soundtrack has sold more than 170,000 copies in the UK so far and more than 3.5 million copies worldwide.


The full track listing is:

1. Death Cab for Cutie Meet Me On the Equinox
2. Band of Skulls Friends
3. Thom Yorke - Hearing Damage
4. Lykke Li - Possibility
5. The Killers - A White Demon Love Song
6. Anya Marina - Satellite Heart
7. Muse - I Belong To You (New Moon Remix)
8. Bon Iver & St. Vincent - Rosyln
9. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Done All Wrong
10. Hurricane Bells - Monsters
11. Sea Wolf - The Violet Hour
12. OK Go - Shooting the Moon
13. Grizzly Bear - Slow Life
14. Editors - No Sound But the Wind
15. Alexandre Desplat - New Moon (The Meadow)

Monday 21 September 2009

UK charts to Muse's new album proves irresistible


LONDON (Reuters) British rock band Muse shot straight to the top of the UK album charts with their new release "The Resistance" outselling the next three top albums combined, the Official Charts Company said on Sunday.
British World War Two armed forces' sweetheart Vera Lynn, who last week became the oldest living artist to have a number one album, dropped a place to number two with "We'll Meet Again," a collection of her best known songs.
That meant singer Peter Andre, whose marriage break up with glamour model Katie Price, has dominated tabloid newspapers in current weeks, had to settle for third place with his new release "Revelation."
U.S. rapper Jay-Z was another new entry in fourth with "The Blueprint 3," while singer-songwriter David Gray's "Draw The Line" went into the charts in fifth place.
In the singles chart, Taio Cruz, whose writing and production talents have been used by the likes of Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and the Pussycat Dolls, debuted in top spot with "Break Your Heart."
David Guetta featuring Akon stayed in second place with "Sexy Chick," while Madonna was a new entry in third with "Celebration."
Jay-Z featuring Rihanna and Kanye West remained in fourth with "Run This Town," with "She Wolf" by Shakira climbing 20 places to fifth.

Wednesday 16 September 2009

'The Resistance' Muse, Album review


This over the top English trio has long played to smaller audiences in the United States than it does throughout Europe, where Muse is considered among the biggest rock bands on Earth. (In 2007 it played two sold out shows at London's 75,000 capacity Wembley Stadium.Yet singer-guitarist Matt Bellamy, bassist Chris Wolstenholme and drummer Dominic Howard received a considerable encouragement on these shores last year when their song "Supermassive Black Hole" was featured conspicuously in the hit movie "Twilight." And last week came news that "Uprising," the lead single from the band's fifth full length, had topped the U.S. alternative rock radio chart.In some ways, "The Resistance" seems designed for an American breakthrough: "Undisclosed Desires" rides a lithe R&B groove that could've come from a song by Nelly Furtado, while "Uprising" finds Bellamy sympathizing with folks who consider themselves victims of Wall Street greed. Over a thumping disco glam beat he sneers, "It's time the fat cats had a heart attack," a line that's probable to draw a huge reaction later this month when Muse opens a string of U2 shows on the East Coast and in Texas.On the other hand, much of "The Resistance" reflects how uninterested the members of Muse are in dialing down their appealing flamboyance to attract Daughtry and Nickelback fans. That arty intransigence often improves the band's music, as in "United States of Eurasia," which proceeds from a pretty piano ballad intro to an Arabian accented orchestral rock climax.Occasionally, though, it can make Bellamy and his bandmates sound like the world's most successful sourpusses. You don't have to make it all the way through "Exogenesis," the three part symphony that closes the new album, before you start hankering for a Nickelback style chorus.
Mikael Wood
Muse "The Resistance" Warner Bros. Two and a half stars

Muse: 'would say yes' to Bond song




Rock band Muse have said they would be keen to record the theme for the next James Bond film.
"It's something we'd probably say yes to, or at least give it a good go," drummer Dom Howard told the BBC.
The new Muse album The Resistance, released this week, sees the band blending their stadium rock sound with strings and opera.
"Certainly some of our music fits with the James Bond vibe and I think it could work," Howard said.
Dom Howard talks Vera Lynn and James Bond
Daniel Craig is due to return as James Bond in the 23rd adventure of the series, although no production date has been announced.
The last James Bond theme Another Way to Die was recorded by Jack White and Alicia Keys.
Duran Duran were the last British band to record the Bond theme, more than 20 years ago, for 1985's A View To a Kill.
"The last few have been pretty good," said Howard. "But I think we could do a good job.

Alicia Keys and Jack White performed the theme song for Quantum of Solace
"United States of Eurasia (from new album) could have worked but it's probably a bit late for that now."
He added that bassist Chris Wolstenholme was a big Bond fan.
Orchestral symphony
The Resistance is the follow up to 2006's Black Holes And Revelations and features a three part orchestral symphony called Exogenesis.
So would Muse consider writing a full film score?
"Matt 9Bellamy) did the end credits for a film called The International," said Howard. "It's not something we've done as a band, but we sometimes get asked for that kind of thing.
"It's a bit weird in the Hollywood world, because you spend a lot time being told what to do and that's a bit of a pain because we like to do what we want.
"So, I think if you can find a director you can acually relate to, and it's a great film, and you know you can work well together, then it could be a possibility."