Crystal Castles @ MHOW - New Years Eve (more by Ryan Muir)

Al Green @ the Wellmont Theater - Nov 2008 (more by Eric M Townsend)

Superfly Productions and A.C. Entertainment are excited to announce the initial lineup for the 2009 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. The eighth annual four-day camping and music festival will be held on June 11 - 14 on the same beautiful 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, 60 miles south of Nashville. Every year Bonnaroo seeks to make history by offering unique and exclusive performances by rock's greatest legends as well as its most significant newcomers. A full list of confirmed acts follows, and more will be announced in the coming weeks. The final Bonnaroo 2009 lineup will total over 120 bands and over 20 comedians performing on 13 stages over four days. Tickets go on sale exclusively through www.bonnaroo.com on Saturday, February 7 at 12:00 PM Eastern.

Coachella announced their initial lineup less than a week earlier.

Metallica played Bonnaroo in 2008. Metallica played NY & NJ this past weekend.

Full (initial) 2009 Bonnaroo lineup below...

Continue reading "Bonnaroo announces initial 2009 lineup (Bruce Springsteen, Phish, Beastie Boys, NIN, Wilco, Animal Collective...)"

by Ryan Barkan

The B.I.G.gest music licensing story last week was the release of Notorious, the film based on the life story of Brooklyn rapper Notorious B.I.G. As you may already know, a virtual unknown was cast to play Biggie. The film hit theaters Friday and so far has received mixed notorious reviews. Notorious contains a number of Biggie's music; the official soundtrack even contains three unreleased songs (listen to them here).

The movie ended up in fourth place on the holiday weekend box office list, grossing an estimated $24 million. According to Variety, Notorious had the best per-location average of the weekend with $14,652 earned (approx) at each of the 1,638 theaters screening the film. I personally didn't see it this weekend because I was too busy helping Paul Blart Mall Cop take top spot on the weekend draw.

Other Notable Licensing News:

Commuters in Liverpool Station were surprised last week with the spontaneous (yet meticulously calculated) filming of a T-mobile commercial. The spot started with music coming over the loudspeaker and igniting a few members of the crowd to begin dancing. As the songs change (there are eight of them), more dancers join in until the entire station is engulfed in the excitement. The spot was created then on air within 48 hours and was shown as an exclusive premier on BBC 4. The songs in the spot, in order, are: Lulu's "Shout", Yazz's "The Only Way Is Up", Pussycat Dolls' "Don't Cha", Viennese Waltz, Kool & the Gang's "Get Down On It", Rainbow's "Since You've Been Gone", Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop", and Contours' "Do You Love Me". Watch the spot below.

Another spot out of the UK recently is this lyrically driven commercial for the Ford Ka appropriately using Soundtree's "Go Find It".

The Roots really like Cody Chesnutt; so much so they remade one of his songs ("The Seed") for their 2002 album and even had him play and sing on the record. Not sure if The Roots like Axe products, but the band and brand have mutual love for Chesnutt - his jam "Look Good In Leather" is the feature of a new claymation spot for the Lynx line. Check the spot below.

Continuing with the cool Euro commercials trend, Dutch snowboard gear company Protest uses a great Josh Ritter tune, "To The Dogs Or Whoever", in their new campaign. One interesting jump over to Protest's website finds some more interesting licensing: the brand hopes you will enjoy tunes by The Beastie Boys, N.W.A., The Kooks, and MGMT while you get your shop on. Watch the commercial below.

Fox TV show Fringe is running a promo that features Lykke Li's "I'm Good, I'm Gone". Watch it below.

Animal Planet is stepping up its entertainment offerings with a new show called Jockeys. No, it does not have to do with undergarments; it will follow a group of riders and will debut next month on the channel. The promo steps up the cool factor a bit by including Kanye West (and Daft Punk's) "Stronger". Watch the promo below.

continued below...

Continue reading "This week in Music Licensing"

Beastie Boys @ 9:30 Club, Washington DC, January 19, 2009 (Peter Hutchins)

"What to say. it was an amazing week for citizens of the world. A tremendous moment in time and in history. It's been said so much already, but it is all true. Finally, for at least a moment, the premise and the promise of what America is: equal opportunity for all, stops being hypothetical and becomes reality. A wake up call to the world at large that America is once again a land of potential and possibility, not privilege and greed. So many words and images have been put out there, so I will leave y'all with these few scattered images from our swing state travels:

This is and was a campaign by the people for the people. It really was inspiring seeing the many who sacrificed so much of their time, energy, and recourses for the Obama campaign. We are talking all types of people, from all types of places. In many cases traveling hundreds of miles to be of service in a state other then their own.Many students, yes, but also plenty of Bea Arthur types, regular working peeps, you name it. This was not about big money or infrastructure. I will always remember the rickety walk up field office in Milwaukee. Cots set up for people working long shifts. An impromptu day care. These are the people who did the work. On election day itself Yauch and I were in Denver, aka the big D for big E. We had the good fortune of watching the concession and acceptance speeches in a big ball room filled with peeps from the Colorado Obama campaign. I will always remember the beaming radiant smile on the face of a seventy something year old african american women following Obama's acceptance speech. I can only imagine what that moment meant to her. Then there was the dancing and singing in the streets afterwords. I can't remember ever seeing something like that in my lifetime. Maybe in europe after the world cup. In hind sight, the mood that night was more like people celebrating the end of a dictatorship then a democratic election."
Mike D (November 12, 2008)

Beastie Boys played the "Hey, America Feels Kinda' Cool Again, Inaugural Gala" last night at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC with Sheryl Crow, Citizen Cope, and Justin Jones. Proceeds from the show went to Rock The Vote.

Beastie Boys are ALSO working on and/or finished with new material for a new album release in 2009. They (don't actually) talk about it in the video below...

Continue reading "Beastie Boys played the 9:30 Club in DC, reissuing Paul's Boutique & releasing a new album in '09"

DOWNLOAD: The Secret History - It's Not The End of The World, Jonah (MP3)

AA Bondy @ Webster Hall (more by Zach Stern)

today in NYC
* DANCE
* The Aquabats @ BB King's
* Rasputina @ The Wonder Bar
* Baroness, Coliseum & Minsk @ Maxwell's
* Kristen Schaal & Max Silvestri @ Sound Fix
* The Secret History & Mahogany @ Public Assembly
* Tom Gabel (of Against Me!) @ Knitting Factory
* Sondre Lerche & Sylvie Lewis @ Bowery Ballroom
* Previously on Lost & Reggie Watts @ The Bell House
* AA Bondy, Steve Burns & The Struggle @ Union Hall
* Wilderness, San Serac & The Violet Hour @ Union Pool
* Violens, Telepathe & Picture Picture @ Mercury Lounge
* Ours & Plain Jane Automobile @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Gabriel Kahane & Ethan Iverson (The Bad Plus) @ (le) poisson rouge
* Made Out Of Babies, Swear On Your Life, Les Sans Culottes, Hype of the States @ Europa
* CaUSE co-MOTION!, Cheap Time & others @ Ash's Place

==== THURSDAY 11/20 @ ASH'S PLACE (aka 234 WYTHE) ====

:: caUSE coMOTION!
:::: Cheap Time --------- In The Red records
:::::: the Beets
:::::::: Jacques Detergent ----- short set
:::::::::: White Diamonds ------ short set

[ ASH'S PLACE ] aka 234 WYTHE
234 Wythe Ave @ N 4th St | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L-Bedford, JM-Marcy, G-Metropolitan | 8pm | $6 | all ages

[ curated by Mike Sniper ]

Jason Forrest will be at Le Poisson Rouge tonight as DJ Donna Summer.

Liquid Liquid performed at Special Disco Version at Santos Party House last night. Video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

"Indeed, I will be liveblogging the election coverage for four hours. Four fucking hours of me scanning through all the election coverage -- the three majors, MSNBC, FOX, CNN and, God help me, PBS. Why not drop by at INDECISION 2008? Would it kill you?* (*If it would literally kill you, please don't)" [Patton Oswalt]

For more election-related ideas on how to spend this evening, check out our own full list (and don't forget to look in the comments for even more).

Ben Stiller, Beastie Boys, Diplo, Santogold and others appear in the official Get Out and Vote video below...

Continue reading "Patton Oswalt & Diplo doing live election stuff tonight"

Beastie Boys m- Get out the Vote Tour - Milwaukee, WI (eytonz)

When the song ended and both audience and artists caught their breath, Mixmaster Mike donned a cheesy Uncle Sam Hat and the "Get Out And Vote" logo flashed on the video screens. An energetic (and skinny) Mike D. shed his green button-down sweater and addressed the fans, thanking them for coming out and encouraging them to vote this Tuesday.

"We're doing big things on this stage," he said with conviction and to applause, adding that the tour's been fun -- unlike the last 8 years of politics. "I voted absentee at home and personally, I voted for Barack Obama." Then they asked the audience to throw their hands up in the shape of 'O' for Obama, kicking off a set of tracks from Ill Communication with "Flute Loop," "Alright Hear This" and an amazing live version of "Sure Shot," Ad Rock's robust energy carrying the set. [Minneapolis City Pages]

DOWNLOAD: Beastie Boys - Sabotage (Streetlab Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Heartsrevolution - C.Y.O.A.! (Streetlab Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Hot Chip - One Pure Thought (Streetlab Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Kinski - Daytime at Narita Int'l (Streetlab Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter (Streetlab Remix) (MP3)

Tonight - HALLOWEEN - 11PMish - Streetlab LIVE
FREE HALLOWEEN PARTY
Stanton Public - 17 Stanton St @ Christie
This party is totally free. Walk in...
NO GUESTLIST NEEDED.
-= Streetlab LIVE @ Midnight =-

Continue reading "Streetlab - free remixes, a free NYC Halloween party"

Photos by Lori Baily

On October 6 Rational Animal hosted the 3rd annual Gimme Shelter: Rock & Rescue benefit concert at NYC's Highline Ballroom. Debbie Harry, Moby, Jessie Malin, AdRock, and more came out to show their support for the cause. The event raised money and media awareness to help end euthanasia of healthy and treatable animals in NYC Shelters. Fundraising for the cause continues with the Rockstar Online Auction. Rational Animal is the leading advocacy group for at risk animals in NYC. More pictures from the event below...

Continue reading "Rock & Rescue Benefit (Debbie Harry, Moby, Adam Green, Jesse Malin, etc) @ Highline Ballroom, NYC - pics"

with Guest Hosts: Adam Horovitz (Adrock of the Beastie Boys) and Gina Gershon Performances by: Debbie Harry, Lissy Trullie, Jesse Malin, Goonsquad , Bloody Social , Earl Greyhound, Adam Green and DJs: Moby & J.D. Samson (Le Tigre)

Mmmm, it does go well with the Jose Gonzalez

Playing a certain type of music can enhance the way wine tastes, research by psychologists suggests.

Continue reading "Naturally I'll say it's the wine. "

info @ Apple's site.

photos by Elizabeth Weinberg

The Beastie Boys (who are working on a new album) helped raise money for The Institute for Music and Neurologic Function by playing a benefit show at Terminal 5 in NYC last night (March 4, 2008). Moby hosted and played guitar for a patient at the institute named Jeremy who opened the show.

More pictures below....

Continue reading "Beastie Boys & Moby @ Terminal 5 benefit show, NYC - pics"

Adam Yauch, Mike D. and Adam Horovitz are working on a new album, recording at the Beastie Boys' Oscilloscope Studios in lower Manhattan. "It's in the early stages of development, but it sounds cool to me," says Yauch. He wouldn't offer much else in terms of details: "We make music and eat lunch," he says. "Sometimes we fantasize about how cool it would be if we had a chef that cooked lunch every day." [Rolling Stone]

Continue reading "Beastie Boys - workin on new album, benefit tix back on sale"

Les Savy Fav @ McCarren Pool, July 2006 (Jonny Leather)

Slip n Slide @ McCarren Pool, August 2007 (Brunocerous)

Deerhoof @ McCarren Pool, August 2006 (Paul Bachmann)

As Gothamist and Curbed have pointed out, McCarren Park Pool will be back for at least one more summer of concerts in 2008. After that? Other stuff.

Some videos from past pool shows below...

Continue reading "McCarren Park Pool will have concerts this summer"

DOWNLOAD: Beastie Boys - Ch-check It Out (snyder Remix) (MP3)

Beastie Boys will headline a Music Has Power™ Benefit Concert on March 4, 2008 at New York City's Terminal 5. The money goes to The Institute for Music and Neurologic Function (IMNF), "a leader in innovative music therapy treatments and research". Moby is hosting. More acts TBA. Tickets will go on sale on Friday, February 8th at 10 am via Ticketmaster. General Admission tickets will be $75.

Beastie Boys are also playing Langerado in Florida in March.

DOWNLOAD: Beastie Boys - Shake Your Rump (Uru-Nitro Remix) (MP3)

Allan Melvin passed away on Thursday from cancer at his home in Brentwood reports PageSix.com. Allan was best known for playing Sam the Butcher on "The Brady Bunch." He was also Archie Bunker's neighbor in "All In The Family." He was 84. [Dlisted]

LOOK I KNOW THERE ARE HATERS OUT THERE, I DEAL WITH IT EVERYDAY THATS NO FUCKING BIG DEAL AND IVE DEALT WITH WORSE IN MY LIFE, A FEW PEOPLE TALKING SHIT DONT MATTER TO ME, BUT TWISTING TRUTH ISNT THE LESSON I WANNA LEARN IN MY TIME IN MUSIC, SO WHO EVER THAT IS DOING IT , I WANNA SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT

1, I ORIGINALLY WANTED TO SHOOT THE VIDEO IN A FACTORY ON THE BORDER OF EQUADOR, BUT COULDNT. I WAS TOURING THE U.S, I COULDA BEEN ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD RIGHT THEN BUT THERE I WAS IN AMERICA, IN NYC, IN BROOKLYN, IN BEDSTUY , I WAS TORN BETWEEN SCRAPIN SHOWS IN AMERICA AND MEETING AMERICAN FANS OR SHOOTING IN NYC ON MY ONLY DAY OFF I'D HAD IN 4 MONTHS AND GETTING ON WITH IT.

2, SO THAT WAS THAT! I NEVER MADE A VIDEO IN AMERICA AND HEY ITS STILL A PART OF WHAT I DO AND SAY, ITS WAS STILL VALID, SO I WAS READY TO ROLL WITH IT.

3, YOU ALL KNOW HOW THE SONG SOUNDS, THATS WHY WHEN U GO ON YOUTUBE 400, 000 PEOPLE WOULD RATHER LISTEN THE SONG AS IT IS AND STARE AT SOME PICTURE THEN TO ACTUALLY WATCH A VIDEO

4, WHEN LETTERMAN CENSORD ME IT WAS WAC OF COURSE!!!!!! , AND YES I FELT SOOOOOO BAD FOR WHAT THEY DID TO MY SOUND. I WAS ABEL TO SOUND CHECK FOR THAT SHOW AND THEY LET ME SOUND CHECK FINE, THEN ON THE ACTUAL TAPING MY SOUND WAS SOOO DIFFERENT FROM WHAT ID AGREED, AS SOON AS I OPENED MY MOUTH THE DIFFERENCE BLEW ME AWAY, I FELT I WAS GETTING BULLIED ON NATIONAL TELEVISON, AND I COULDNT EVEN REACH OUT TO MY LABELS OR MY MANAGEMENT TO HELP, SINCE THEY ARE NEW TO WHAT HAPPENS TO AN ARTIST LIKE ME IN MAINSTEAM AMERICAN CULTURE.

SO THEY TRIED TO SHUT ME DOWN AGAIN. I MADE THE PAPER PLANES VIDEO. I MADE IT HOW THEY WANTED. NO VIOLENCE. AMBIGUOUS. MTV - FRIENDLY. NOW TODAY, I CHECK YOUTUBE AND SEE THE LEAKED MTV PAPER PLANES VIDEO UP FOR THE FIRST TIME. I CLICKED ON IT AND OUT COMES THIS FUCKED UP MESS WITH DOUBLE-TRACKED BULLSHIT MESS

WHO THE THE FUCK IS DOING THIS TO ME?????' [M.I.A.]

Continue reading "M.I.A.'s (uncensored?) "Paper Planes" video"

The Langerado Music Festival happens March 6-9, 2008 in Florida. R.E.M. and the Beastie Boys are two of the headliners. All announced bands below....

Continue reading "REM, Beastie Boys, Phil Lesh playing LANGERADO 2008"

Does anyone remember the infomercial The Beastie Boys ran for Hello Nasty back in 1998?

Continue reading "Beastie Boys sketch comedy videos & Tour Dates"

Wednesday night @ Summerstage, and last night @ McCarren Pool...

Reviews, and more photos, below...

Continue reading "Beastie Boys @ McCarren Pool, Brooklyn, NY - pics"

Jefferson stopped by Central Park Summerstage last night (aug 8, 2007) to check out the first of three Beastie Boys shows happening in NYC this week. He took these pics, and also had this to say...

The BBoys rocked hard, and rapped so well - mixing their early punk tracks and instrumental grooves with a stellar list of some of rap's classics. MixMaster Mike reminded me of why he's the greatest turntabalist, and the crowd gave an equally insane performance. The stage and audience had more energy than ConEd, and the only rain seemed to be the sweat flying off bodies surfing the crowd. But most remarkable of all was certainly the band's fresh attire. Real nice.

Continue reading "Beastie Boys @ Central Park Summerstage - pics"

words & photos by Bao Nguyen

Girl Talk

So this was a very last minute idea, meaning I left New York for Baltimore at 12 PM on Saturday when gates had already opened at 10 AM. Not knowing at the time whether I had a pass waiting for me at the festival, I made the 4 hour drive, hindered by the beach bound crowd on the NJ Turnpike, armed with a Polaroid, 4 hours of sleep, and a sense of regret for missing the previous night's CSS show. I arrived at Pimilico Field at exactly 4 PM and after nearly being run over by Richard Branson on a golf cart, I made it just in time to catch the start of Peter Bjorn and John's set. I think their music plays better in a small club than a large festival type atmosphere especially when the entire crowd seems to be waiting for only one particular song that everyone can whistle to. Following Peter Bjorn and John was an high energy set from LCD Soundsystem that included a very unusual mosh pit where three people were doing their best Thom Yorke seizure dance....

Continue reading "The 2007 Virgin Festival in Baltimore - review & pics"

More "gala" instrumental shows....

Continue reading "Beastie Boys add NJ & LA shows"

First - I'm no longer streaming the new Beastie Boys. To hear 'The Mix Up' now, you'll have to go to AOL (who is also streaming the new Bad Brains).

Second - tickets go on presale today for the Beastie's upcoming instrumental shows.

Third - email BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: Beastie) if you want to win a Beastie Boys prize pack. Let me know one non-music website you love. One winner will be picked at random on Monday July 2nd @ 6pm EST, and in turn notified for their address. Contents of the prize pack below....

Continue reading "BEASTIE BOYS presale today, stream + WIN stuff"

Hey Ladies?...

Continue reading "VIDEO: The Go! Team - 'Grip Like A Vice'"