He doesn’t quite top Jennifer Lopez, who ranks at number one, or 18-year-old Stratford pop sensation Justin Bieber who claims spot number three. But when it comes to influential classic rockers, Elton John has it all over Jon Bon Jovi and Paul McCartney on the Forbes Magazine list of the Top 100 Most Powerful Celebrities.
Well, this is a sad kickoff to the long weekend. Liverpool-born session drummer Peter Jones, perhaps best known for his work hitting the skins with Kiwi/Aussie pop superstars Crowded House, died yesterday after a long battle with brain cancer. His age isn’t immediately known.
Claiming there are two sides to every story (which proves they’ve definitely never met any of my exes), three-fourths of the original lineup of Black Sabbath have responded, tersely, to a statement posted earlier this week by drummer Bill Ward confirming that he won’t be part of any one of three Black Sabbath reunion dates slated for this summer.
Imagine waking up this morning to this thought: ‘Today, I am going to become the richest musician on the planet… richer than Sirs Paul McCartney or Mick Jagger or Elton John or Madonna! Tee hee!’ Welcome to May 18 in the fabuloso world of Bono.
Oh dear, is it trouble in paradise for a three-fourths reformed Van Halen? The rock gods, who this spring released their first studio album since 1984 with original lead singer David Lee Roth and who promptly hit the road supporting it, have abruptly postponed some 30 tour dates after their June 26th show in New Orleans with no explanation.
When former White Stripes mastermind, guitarist/songwriter Jack White talks, people tend to listen. And by "people," I mean me and a heap of my friends who are pretty much convinced of White's absolute musical genius, supreme hotness and superiority over just about anyone else in the rock world, Rolling Stones and ex-Beatles notwithstanding.
So when the reticent and highly private White comes out swinging, it's doubly worth paying attention. And brother, our man has a beef with the "elitist" Guinness Book Of World Records, who refuse to certify a White Stripes concert that consisted of a single note status as the shortest concert of all time.
Oh that Jack Black… what a comedian! What an ultra maroon (to borrow from Bugs Bunny).
The actor and musician with goofball metalheads Tenacious D has come out swinging - with tongue firmly planted in cheek presumably - against no less a roster of talent than Jack White, Foo Fighters and Australia's Gotye, claiming his duo's new album, Rize Of The Fenix, "is better than Jack White's Blunderbuss."
We would prefer to say this comes as a complete surprise but alas, it does not: original Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward will not be playing drums at any of the group's three scheduled reunion gigs this year.
For months, we've been hearing how Tom Cruise – excelling in his role as fictional 80s rock star Stacee Jaxx in the upcoming movie Rock of Ages - was singing for real and kicking butt. Even Def Leppard members who visited Cruise on set last year raved about his awesome vocal chops.
Now we get to hear it for ourselves: Cruise as Jaxx tackling Leppard's signature hit, "Pour Some Sugar On Me." Click below.
It's all white knuckles and bated breath as the clock ticks down to the new Garbage album, Not Your Kind of People, arriving next Tuesday, a belated seven years after its predecessor. (Sure hope it was worth the wait… no pressure, of course).
Not surprisingly, the phenomenally cool alt-rock foursome - Shirley Manson, Butch Vig, Duke Erikson, Steve Marker - is making lots of noise about the return to form, playing a show in New York City to coincide with the May 22 release. Even if you can't be there in person, you can definitely get the vibe.
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