May 29

The Police reunite in Vancouver
[source: NME.com] The Police began their reunion tour on Monday in front of 4000 fan-club members with a low-key preview show at Vancouver's GM Place.
Sting, drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers are heading out on their first major tour together for 21 years, and will visit the UK in September. But Summers has warned some old favourites may not sound quite the same as fans remember them.
"We've got all these famous songs, but we look at them like new pieces of material," he told the Vancouver Sun. "To a point, we've reworked them, but obviously all the famous riffs are there. You can't play 'Every Breath You Take' without me playing that guitar, obviously.
"We constantly fiddle with them, but because they're alive, they're living, they're not dead. We spent the last two months rearranging and fiddling around until we felt it was good. [There is] some intensity in the songs that may transcend the original recorded versions."

http://bigpondmusic.com/Artist/Police-The.aspx


Green Day to release Simpsons song
[source: NME.com] Green Day are set to release their own version of the Simpsons theme tune.
The band make an appearance in The Simpsons Movie, which is out in July, and now three different companies in the US will release the group's rendition of the famous theme tune on Tuesday July 24.
Warner Bros. Records will put out the single in the US, Fox Music will make a digital score album available through foxmusic.com and Extreme Music will release 25,000 doughnut cases to US retailers.

http://bigpondmusic.com/Artist/Green-Day.aspx


Justin Timberlake launches record label
"Sexyback" singer Justin Timberlake is teaming with major label Interscope Records to launch Tennman Records.
The pop singer will base the company in Los Angeles and act as its chairman and chief executive officer.
"Whenever you have the opportunity to get into business with someone as gifted as Justin Timberlake, you take it," Interscope Chairman Jimmy Iovine said. "We are thrilled to have his label as part of Interscope."
Meanwhile, Timberlake was equally positive.
"We are all excited about the talent we have to offer already on our roster and I cannot wait to introduce the world to my new discoveries."

http://bigpondmusic.com/Artist/Justin-Timberlake.aspx


Shout Out Louds head to Oz
Swedish indie pop outfit Shout Out Louds are heading back to Australia this August, fresh on the heels of new album Our Ill Wills.
Produced by Bjorn Yttling of Peter Bjorn & John, the new LP is due out on Saturday July 7 and follows critical hit Howl Howl Gaff Gaff.
Tickets are on sale now.

Tour dates:

Wednesday August 22 – Manning Bar, Sydney Uni
Thursday August 23 – The Zoo, Brisbane
Friday August 24 – The Corner, Melbourne
Saturday August 25 – The Rosemount, Perth

http://bigpondmusic.com/Artist/Shout-Out-Louds.aspx


Pet Shop Boys express concerns over Live Earth
Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant is the latest in a long line of stars to question the motives of the Live Earth concerts, which are due to take place on Saturday July 7.
Tennant admitted he's feeling "uneasy" about the concerts, which aim to raise awareness of global warming issues across the world.
"The Princess Diana concert is fair enough, but I feel more uneasy about the Al Gore thing [Live Earth]," Tennant said. "I've always been against the idea of rock stars lecturing people as if we know something [other people] don't. It looks arrogant. It's not as if we have a private source of information. To state the obvious as if you are the only person that knows it is intellectually weak."
Tennant also slammed U2 frontman Bono for his methods of charity work. "Bono uses his celebrity, but in doing so he increases his celebrity. I'm never even totally convinced that the rest of U2 feel comfortable with that."

http://bigpondmusic.com/Artist/Pet-Shop-Boys.aspx


Barbra Streisand forced to cancel Rome concert
With a month of concerts scheduled for Switzerland, Austria, France, Ireland and Britain, US singer Barbra Streisand has cancelled the opening show of her European tour, which was to be held in Rome on Saturday June 15.
The move is being claimed as a triumphant win by Italian consumer groups, who've been protesting about what they claim are "excessively high ticket prices".
Despite claims by the promoter that the gig was scrapped due to "unexpected production delays", the protestors labelled tickets – ranging from AU$244 to $1,465 – as "absurd and shameful".
"The stadium is public property and cannot be used for immoral deals that are shameful to a civilised country," the groups Codacons and Adusbef said in a statement.

http://bigpondmusic.com/Artist/Barbra-Streisand.aspx


Pete Murray re-issues a brand new Feeler
Aussie singer-songwriter Pete Murray will re-issue his multi-platinum debut album, Feeler, on Saturday June 16.
Newly mixed and re-mastered by engineer Michael Brauer (Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Jeff Buckley, My Morning Jacket, Ben Folds), the revised disc will feature two new versions of "Feeler" and "Please".

Feeler tracklisting:

"Feeler (Michael Brauer Mix)"
"Bail Me Out"
"So Beautiful (Single Version)"
"Lines"
"Freedom"
"Please (Single Version)"
"Fall Your Way (Eric Sarafin Mix)"
"My Time"
"Tonic"
"No More"
"Ten Ft Tall"

http://bigpondmusic.com/Artist/Pete-Murray.aspx


The Rolling Stones split with manager
The Rolling Stones have split with long-time manager Prince Rupert Loewenstein, who's been with the group since the beginning of their career.
"Prince Rupert Loewenstein is no longer taking care of The Rolling Stones' day-to-day business but is currently retained on some aspects of their career," the band revealed in a joint statement yesterday.
There was no news, however, on who would replace Loewenstein, who has spent more than 40 years with the group.
The Stones are currently on their Bigger Bang world tour.

http://bigpondmusic.com/Artist/Rolling-Stones-The.aspx