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Pop Rock Nation

Category: News

music-news-from-breakups-to-the-lastest-buzz

  • Ben Folds + Boston Pops = Fistfight?

    Pity poor Ben Folds who has been traveling the globe for two years now, playing with orchestras from Australia to the US. Elton John’s old arranger, Paul Buckmaster, has even signed on, giving the prolific composer his own seal of approval.

    And Folds is due some respect as he is quietly becoming this generation’s Randy Newman. On tour now with John Mayer, Folds helped the famed Boston Pops open their concert season last week when a fistfight broke out in the upper rows.

    Cameras captured the image and spun it all over television and the web. One half expected the fight to have been caused by Folds’ fans well-known tradition of singing along with every line of every song. Orchestra members seem astounded, and sometimes a bit overwhelmed, by the attention. But in the end, the fight was simply one guy talking through a song, another telling him to shush and ratting him out to an usher, followed by shoves and punches and posturing.

    In the most delicious of ironies, Folds was not playing his sentimental favorite Boxing, but rather, Jesusland, when the brou-hahaed.

    Spinning In The CD:
    Forget that Taylor Hicks won season 5 of American Idol. We’ll also stipulate that McPhee can sing almost as well as K.T. Tunstall and looked pretty darn pretty sprawled on a stage singing Over The Rainbow. Elliot Yamin has turned in the slickest release of all of Season 5’s contestants. Daughtry will undoubtedly sell more. Playing your single to 30 million people every week will do that for an album. Just ask Daniel Powter. But Yamin, who producers kept on a short vocal leash, shows that his is a voice that will be releasing ballads, soft rock and smooth jazz for another generation. Now if we could just get him a duet with Stevie…

  • Delp Death Ruled Suicide Say NH Authorities

    New Hampshire authorities are ruling that Boston leader singer Brad Delp, 55, whose death last week sent shock waves through the rock world, was a suicide caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.

    The small town of Atkinson, New Hampshire where Delp had settled had made no official comment on its web site — indeed, its police blotter dates back to only last year. Multiple media outlets are confirming the report, however, although not indicating whether Delp left a note or had apparent reason to take his own life.

  • Rock Hall Parties, Welcomes New Inductees

    For an attraction located in Cleveland, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame sure throws some cool parties in New York. This time, ordinary folk got to watch, including the fabled jam session that closes each session.

    And as in previous years, some folks made headlines by attending and others made them by staying away. Bill Berry rejoined his REM bandmates for the first time in a decade after the group was inducted by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder. Another group with a cult following, Van Halen, showed up in disarray with David Lee Roth reportedly refusing to attend after plans for a summer reunion tour were canceled and mainstay Eddie Van Halen entering rehab for substance abuse issues last week. The band was represented by first replacement singer Sammy Hagar and fired bassist Bill Berry, who the Van Halen brothers replaced last year with Eddie’s teenage son. (A side note to Bill Berry on class: being an international rock star for 20 years only to be fired and replaced by the boss’ teenage kid sucks. Showing up as the only original band member with enough class to honor the award – shows class and style).

    Jay-Z was on hand because music events don’t “happen” without Jay-Z on hand. He inducted Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five while Zack De La Rocha from Rage Against The Machine inducted Patti Smith. And if you told someone at the start of her career that Patti Smith would be inducted, they would have laughed at you. Perhaps laughing loudest would have been her. Finally, Rolling Stone Keith Richards inducted The Ronettes (sans creator Phil Spector who stil has that nasty murder thing going on a couple of thousand miles away).

    No more bootleg videos. No more slice and dice for television bits and pieces. The Rock Hall finally became accessible to fans all over with this year’s broadcast, albeit on a borderline cable station. It’s a start.

    Tune in next year to see who shows up and who doesn’t. And speaking of showing up, was that really Stephen Stills on guitar?