Music news, notes, articles 2/11/07

By Art Shimko
shimko_7@hotmail.com

-- This evening is the 49th Annual Grammy Awards on CBS at 8PM EST, a complete list of nominees were posted here earlier today. Nominees for record, album and song of the year include Mary J. Blige, James Blunt, Dixie Chicks, Gnarls Barkley, John Mayer, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Justin Timberlake, Carrie Underwood. The Metal category has promising talent like Lamb Of God, Slayer, Mastadon and Ministry but those awards won't be televised because are other "higher priorities" to be dealt with on TV. The Police will be opening the show which is good because that's all I want to see really, expect a medley ending with "Every Breath You Take" lumped in somewhere or concluding the medley. Hopefully they have a "SLY STONE~!" type of moment tonight.

-- According to a coroner report R&B singer Gerald Levert died last November of a fatal combination of perscription and over-the-counter drugs. Vicodin, Percocet and Darvocet, along with anxiety medication Xanax and two over-the-counter antihistamines were found in his bloodstream ruling the death accidental.

-- EMI is considering selling its digital music catalog without any copy protection and the company is asking retailers how much advanced payment they would offer EMI to sell its music in MP3 format. The DRM (Digital Rights Management) has been a hot topic lately in the music industry as well as with computer giant Apple.

-- The Who begin a 28-city tour in Europe on 5/9 in Lisbon, Portugal and concluding 7/9 in Helsinki, Finland.

-- Jerry Garcia's widow Deborah Koons Garcia is in court to gain access to tapes of her late husband's performances in order to restore them and I assume sell them but it seems other beneficiaries overseeing Garcia's estate are delaying that request. This is one of many legal rumblings occuring with Jerry Garcia's estate, a hearing for 4/13 has been scheduled.

-- A jazz visionary: Ornette Coleman

-- Jermaine Dupri has been named head of Island Record Urban Music, a new division of Island Def Jam Music Group.

-- Phil Spector Trial Could Be Televised

-- Rapper Indicted on New York Gun Charge

-- Rush will have a new album released on 5/1 tentatively titled Snakes And Arrows and its first single, Far Cry will be released on 3/13.

-- After years of recording for the Elektra and Atlantic labels for a majority of their career, Dream Theater has signed with metal label Roadrunner Records and will release its new album Systematic Chaos in June.

-- I thought this bitch was going to retire~!

-- Brown's partner granted access to home

-- R&B singer R. Kelly has appendix surgery
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