thursday

Wolfmother declare The Darkness "hams"

[source: NME.com] Wolfmother have attacked The Darkness for making rock a laughing stock. The Sydney three-piece, who've impressed with their gonzo rock riffs, believe their British rivals are more a comedy act than a rock band. "The Darkness are obviously hamming it up. They're so over-the-top," drummer Myles Heskett said. "I think they're trying to be funny. We're not about that. We're just playing the music we like. We don't have any control over how other people perceive us." Despite Wolfmother's obvious rock credentials, Heskett said there was one band that surprisingly isn't an influence on them: Led Zeppelin. "I don't have any Zeppelin albums," Heskett told Texan paper the Star Telegram. "We all dig Black Sabbath, but we didn't exactly pull out our record collections or anything. We're into lots of things."

Wolfmother: /artistDisplay.asp?artistid=3537444
The Darkness: /artistDisplay.asp?artistid=3501244

Gracelands a historic landmark

He's been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame and the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Now Elvis Presley's had his former Memphis home declared a National Historic Treasure by the US Federal Government. In a ceremony at Gracelands, Interior Secretary Norton described the honour as America's "highest recognition for historic properties". Elvis's former wife, Priscilla, said Elvis was immensely proud of Gracelands. "This home was his private corner of the world that he shared with his family and his closest friends," she said. "To him, having Graceland… was a tangible symbol of how far he had come from his very humble beginnings. Elvis would be honoured and moved to know his beloved home is now recognised as a National Historic Landmark."

Elvis: /artistDisplay.asp?artistid=3501580

Shane Nicholson's Faith & Science

Former Pretty Violent Stain frontman Shane Nicholson will release his second solo album in May. Nicholson says Faith & Science is a step on from acclaimed debut It's A Movie. "It's A Movie was about taking a step back for a while and doing things really organically and slowly," Nicholson admits. "I understand that record was really melancholy, but that's what I wanted to make at the time. I knew it would give me the platform to make the kind of record I have now with Faith & Science, which I think is more dynamic. I think of it as It's A Movie on steroids!" Produced by Nicholson's brother-in-law Nash Chambers (Nicholson is married to Kasey Chambers), Faith & Science features contributions from Diesel and Midnight Oil's Jim Moginie. The album's first single is "I Know What You Need".

Midnight oil: /artistDisplay.asp?artistid=3523234
Kasey: /artistDisplay.asp?artistid=3502032
Diesel: /artistDisplay.asp?artistid=3508031

Fed, Fed baby!

Not content with marrying Britney Spears, Kevin Federline has revealed details of his debut rap album, Playing With Fire. "My album is sure to set dancefloors across the world on fire!" K-Fed said in a statement. Music lovers will do anything to kill this record…

Britney: /artistDisplay.asp?artistid=3501556

DJ Shadow previews new album

[source: NME.com] DJ Shadow has unveiled the first fruits of his new album sessions, and says his forthcoming third album will be "very different". The reclusive artist is currently working on the follow-up to 2002's The Private Press. A video for a track called "3 Freaks", which features underground rappers Keak Da Sneak and Turf Talk, can be streamed from Shadow's official website (djshadow.com). On his site, Shadow writes: "Stylistically, it's very different from The Private Press. Some have said Press was an inward-looking album. If that's true, this album is the opposite, and that suits me just fine. I've also stopped worrying if my changing taste in music costs me fans. You can't please everybody all the time, but you can please yourself."

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Cigarettes and Suitcases for SFK

Something For Kate's highly-anticipated fifth album won't be released until July, but first single "Cigarettes and Suitcases" has hit radio, with Triple J adding it to high rotation. The single goes on sale in May. SFK recorded their still-untitled fifth album in Los Angeles with producer Brad Wood, who most recently worked on Ben Lee's Awake Is The New Sleep.

SFK: /artistDisplay.asp?artistid=3501569
Ben Lee: /artistDisplay.asp?artistid=3517375

Arctic Monkeys talk new material

[source: NME.com] Arctic Monkeys claim they have nearly written the follow-up to debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. Eager to head back into the studio to start work on the second album, they've revealed they have ten new songs penned. "The second album will be different, I think," singer Alex Turner said. "We've already got more than ten songs because we've been writing for a long time. The last song that went on the [first] album - 'You Probably Couldn't See For The Lights But You Were Looking Straight At Me' - was written last May. So there are all the songs that we've written since then and they're all a bit different. I'll just be excited about getting back into the studio." The singer also revealed the band enjoy playing a few games with their success. "I think we write great tunes and we ruffle feathers pretty well," he told Nuts magazine. "When you're in a position to do some feather ruffling, it's not always a bad thing. I don't know even why we do it - we just like being f###ing naughty little boys sometimes."

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