Tonight's Grammys are to feature a tribute to Whitney Houston and a comeback-from-surgery performance by heavily-favored multiple nominee Adele. We'll be watching closely to see if the British chanteuse can claim Record, Song, and Album of the Year--or if other big nominees like Bon Iver (for the song "Holocene") and Foo Fighters (for the album Read More
"Prewar" and "loft" are not the sorts of real estate monikers that often attach themselves to East Village housing stock, larded as the neighborhood is with grotty tenements and grottier college students. But, if such a gem exists, count on a sentimentally soulful guy like Guy Berryman to find it. The Glaswegian bassist for would-be Read More
We didn't plan on watching the 51st Grammy Awards (see the winners here), but all the glitz and ridiculousness simply sucked us in. This show was so humongous that U2 was the opening band! Let's put it this way: pop chanteuse Katy Perry got lowered onto the stage in a 20 foot-long banana before Read More
It’s been almost a week since Joe Satriani accused Coldplay of plagiarizing his song “If I Could Fly” for their own “Via La Vida.” And now, finally, the quartet has officially rebuked the charges, though in the politest of terms, of course. Posted to their website (via Stereogum) last Read More
As this blog encompasses culture, I suppose we’re contractually obligated to mention this year’s Grammy nominations. So here goes… The lucky nominees were announced last night at LA's Nokia Theatre during a live televised event that CBS humbly called “The Grammy Nominations Concert Live! — Countdown to Music's Biggest Night.” (Guess they needed to remind Read More
Coldplay, that quartet of droopy-eyed, arena-filling balladeers, may not be around after the end of next year. “I’m 31 now and I don’t think that bands should keep going past 33,” lead singer Chris Martin told the Daily Express this month, which led to rampant breakup rumors, which in turn led to The New Yorker’s Read More
Coldplay is a band so spectacularly mediocre that not even Brian Eno, practically the best producer on Earth, could have saved their last album, Viva La Vida, from being both bland and pompous. But they're also so spectacularly mediocre that the album sold more downloads than any in the history of digital sales--all in two Read More
Yesterday, on Sept. 11, Arthur Sulzberger Jr. held a meeting with Times employees to give the latest report on the State of the Times. There were two meetings, one in the morning and another in the afternoon, and we spoke to three people who attended the afternoon session.
Mr. Sulzberger, who wasn't wearing a wedding Read More
MONDAYThings aren't looking good in Hollywood. A week from today, on June 30, the Screen Actors Guild's contract will expire. And as Variety reported on Friday, it seems increasingly unlikely that a deal with producers will be struck by then. Anyway, time for S.A.G. to celebrate! The labor union turns 75 Read More
In 2008, a big day for record sales is a relative thing, for the majors and the indies alike. Physical sales are lower than ever, even for superstars; bands routinely crack Billboard’s top 10 with sales barely in the five digits. But today is a big day in the record industry.
Coldplay's newest, Viva la Vida, Read More
Coldplay’s Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends comes out today. That's about as big as record-release news gets nowadays. But more importantly for the band, on Sunday, the album hit No.1 on charts in the U.K., where it was first released last Thursday, selling more than 300,000 copies in three days. Then Read More
Set your Clocks! Check out www.coldplay.com tomorrow, April 29, after 7:15 a.m. for details on how to win tickets to Coldplay's June 23 show at Madison Square Garden. Tickets are free, but you gotta win 'em. While you're there, you can also download their first single, "Violet Hill," from their upcoming, Brian Eno-produced album, Read More
Fatboy, Coldplay: Hale Britannia
Could it be coincidence that the record labels behind two acclaimed British acts–Coldplay, a London-based band seeking to import its hit U.K. album to American shores, and Fatboy Slim, the big-beat D.J. hoping to continue his platinum success here–would pick Election Day, Nov. 7, to release their albums in the States? What Read More