Pop Talk from Creators Syndicate

Malian Superstar Ignites Passion with her Words and Presence for 07/06/2009

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

A superstar in her native Mali since 1989 and a major attraction in much of Europe, Oumou Sangare counts such varied artists as Alicia Keys, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Bela Fleck, Me'Shell Ndegeocello and Indian percussion master Trilok Gurtu among her collaborators and admirers.

One of the greatest singers who many Americans have sadly not yet heard, Sangare is also a fearless songwriter. Her ...

Updated: Mon Jul 06, 2009

Legendary Band Finds New YouTube, Family Talents Agreeable for 07/13/2009

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

There are few trends in rock music more intriguing than legendary bands finding new members via live performances posted on YouTube or, increasingly common lately, by hiring the offspring of the group's current or former members.

In late 2007, Arnel Pineda, a member of a Journey cover band in the Philippines, was hired to become the real Journey's new lead singer.

More recently, M ...

Updated: Mon Jul 13, 2009

Airline's Destruction of Guitar Spurs Song, Video Sensation for 07/15/2009

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

It's the biggest public-relations bonanza in the 35-year history of Taylor Guitars, but the El Cajon, Calif., company can take only a fraction of the credit.

On March 31, 2008, Canadian singer-songwriter Dave Carroll was waiting on a United Airlines plane at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Suddenly, a woman behind him with a window seat exclaimed, "My God, they're throwing g ...

Updated: Wed Jul 15, 2009

Veteran Activist Joan Baez Still Going Strong for 07/20/2009

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

As a veteran of the original Woodstock festival in 1969 and an early champion of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez may seem like an unlikely musician to use Twitter and YouTube, two favored modes of communication for untold millions of young people around the world. But on June 25, she used her Twitter account (twitter.com/joancbaez) to announce she had posted a new version of the civil rights anthem " ...

Updated: Mon Jul 20, 2009

Rock Artists Find it's a Fine Line Between Borrowing and Stealing for 07/27/2009

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

If you want to accuse Coldplay of musical plagiarism over its 2008 hit song "Viva La Vida," get in line.

The top English pop-rock band was sued late last year by veteran San Francisco guitarist Joe Satriani, who alleged that "Viva La Vida" brazenly took from his 2004 song, "If I Could Fly."

Coldplay was also accused last year of copying parts of " ...

Updated: Mon Jul 27, 2009

Phish Heads Get Treat; Businesses See a 'Godsend' for 07/30/2009

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Trick or treat?

That's 60,000 fans to see one band — Phish — not the 120-plus bands and solo acts that typically perform at the same site for three days each April at the annual Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.

The treat, if Phish can pull it off, will be for more than the four-man group's rabid followers (or Phish Heads). Hoteliers in the California's great ...

Updated: Thu Jul 30, 2009

Amadou & Mariam Mix Western, Malian Idioms to Create 'Music that's Universal' for 08/03/2009

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Coachella. Lollapalooza. Bonnaroo. Glastonbury.

Over the past four years, the husband-and-wife team of Amadou & Mariam has performed its ebullient electric guitar-driven music at most major rock festivals on either side of the Atlantic.

During that time, the couple from the West African country of Mali has also collaborated with a growing bevy of musical admirers from Europe a ...

Updated: Mon Aug 03, 2009

Man of ('British') steel for 08/10/2009

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

From world-renowned metal god to mellow dude, Rob Halford has mastered the art of personal transformation.

When he's on tour as the lead singer in Judas Priest, a job Halford has had for nearly 30 years, he is a bigger-than-life heavy metal icon. Armed with a high-octane, near-operatic voice and wearing leather-and-studs-dominated stage attire, he has the chops and charisma to command th ...

Updated: Mon Aug 10, 2009

Taking Stock: Two Veterans of Sha Na Na Look Back on Woodstock for 08/16/2009

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

It was the most memorable 35 minutes of their young lives.

Forty years ago, Columbia University students John "Jocko" Marcellino and Joseph "Joe" Witkin were at Woodstock, the soon-to-be legendary rock music festival that drew half a million young people to a hilly dairy farm in upstate New York.

But Marcellino, then 19, and Witkin, then 20, came to do more tha ...

Updated: Sun Aug 16, 2009

No Doubt, It's a Full Life for 08/24/2009

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The world might not be a better place if all rock stars were as candid as Gwen Stefani. But rock 'n' roll would be a lot less pretentious — which, come to think of it, probably would make the world a better place.

"I'm quite a lazy person. I love to sleep, eat, watch TV and not do too much," said the lead singer of the recently reactivated ska-rock band No Doubt.

O ...

Updated: Mon Aug 24, 2009

Music Video Game, Remastered Albums, Reflect Enduring Passion for The Beatles for 08/31/2009

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Guitar Hero and Rock Band didn't set out to transform the struggling music industry, but they are doing exactly that by letting tech-savvy music fans simulate the experience of being rock stars on stage.

Since their introduction in 2005 and 2007, respectively, they have become a $3 billion success story at the same time that record stores are closing, the album i ...

Updated: Mon Aug 31, 2009

The Beatles are Hot Again for 09/07/2009

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Permanently disbanding 40 years ago has paid off handsomely for The Beatles. Now, with a flurry of posthumous high-profile activity slated to kick off Sept. 9 — most notably the debut of "The Beatles: Rock Band" interactive video game — it's time for another payday for the most successful and influential group in rock history.

Unlike The Who and the Rolling Stones, ...

Updated: Mon Sep 07, 2009

The Remaking of the Band for 09/14/2009

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

LOS ANGELES — Humility doesn't come easily, or often, for many rock stars, especially when they're soaring high in one of the biggest bands in the world.

But for the three members of blink-182, who split up under bitter circumstances in 2005 and reunited early this year, turning away from their collective stardom turned out to be a very good thing indeed.

"I found a lot ...

Updated: Mon Sep 14, 2009

Ray Suen's on a Roll with The Killers for 09/21/2009

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

San Diego multi-instrumental wiz Ray Suen hasn't done it all since he became a touring member of The Killers 13 months ago. But the 24-year-old University of California, San Diego grad has already enjoyed many dizzying musical experiences playing with one of the biggest American rock bands of this decade.

Among the highlights:

Headlining with The Killers at this year's Coachella a ...

Updated: Mon Sep 21, 2009

Make Space on the Shelf for 'Backspacer,' Pearl Jam's Appealing New CD for 09/28/2009

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The members of Pearl Jam don't reinvent rock 'n' roll on their triumphant new album, "Backspacer." But they reinvigorate the music and themselves, with so much infectious joy and galvanizing force that they seem to have achieved a welcome new lease on life.

Not that this five-man band was gasping for breath or grasping for new ideas before making "Backspacer," the ban ...

Updated: Mon Sep 28, 2009

Making Noise About Jazz for 10/05/2009

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Jazz has always relied on fresh, new ideas and bold, young artists to innovate and take the music forward. But is jazz itself attracting young, new audiences here and nationally? Or is the music long hailed as America's greatest artistic contribution to the world struggling to draw a new generation of listeners?

"Without question, a lot more young people listen to jazz now than 30 y ...

Updated: Mon Oct 05, 2009

Brad Paisley Believes in the Power of Positive Thinking for 10/12/2009

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

There are key differences between a really big accomplishment and a really meaningful one, and Brad Paisley has no doubt that he prefers the latter.

Over the past decade, this fleet-fingered guitarist, singer and songwriter has won three Grammy Awards, sold 10 million-plus albums, scored 14 consecutive chart-topping songs and won a combined 23 Academy of Country Music and Country Music A ...

Updated: Mon Oct 12, 2009

Pearl Jam Rocks and Reminisces for 10/14/2009

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Pearl Jam delivered so many rousing anthems at its marathon, 32-song concert last Friday night at San Diego State University's Viejas Arena that it almost seemed anti-climactic when the show concluded with guitarist Mike McCready's Jimi Hendrix-inspired solo version of "The Star Spangled Banner."

Then again, little short of a cameo by the ghost of Hendrix, who died in 1970, cou ...

Updated: Wed Oct 14, 2009

Cashing in on the Man-child for 10/25/2009

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

What's the difference between Michael Jackson and a dead cow laying on the side of the road?

The cow can't be milked anymore.

If that assessment seems exceedingly harsh and distasteful, it is. But not nearly as distasteful as the dizzying rush to cash in on the drug-fueled June 25 death of Jackson, an enormously gifted and tragic artist who seems to be even more exploited now than ...

Updated: Sun Oct 25, 2009

Alice Cooper, Puscifer in the Same Weekend -- Blessings for Halloween for 10/30/2009

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Trick or treat?

For Alice Cooper and Maynard James Keenan, there may be no difference.

Then again, given their shared penchant for performing eye-popping stage shows on a regular basis, Halloween just might be the most anticlimactic day of the year for these two charismatic rock singers and songwriters.

"We're going to dress like insurance men," shock-rock pioneer ...

Updated: Fri Oct 30, 2009