Anticipated Rock Albums of 2010

This year looks good for fans of veteran groups who are emerging once again, hopefully, with great albums.

Blink 182 is almost guaranteed to put out an album this year following their inability to do so last year due to logistical issues. Fans will be happy to know that drummer Travis Barker will also be releasing an album; his solo debut will take place in spring.

Since Rock N Roll Jesus, Kid Rock has been silent and with good reason. The success of Rock N Roll Jesus was such that the pressure for its successor to be a smash has been great. Kid Rock has been in the studio working and reworking the material for the follow up album throughout the year 2009.

With the wild success that the Kings of Leon have been experiencing in recent times, it is only natural that they would want to experiment a bit more. According to the drummer, Nathan Followill, the band will sound “more adventurous” in their upcoming 2010 release.

It is titled Korn III and it could be here sooner than you think. Korn is back in the scene, reunited with producer Ross Robinson who put together the first two albums. The expectation is for an album similar to those previous hits.

After the massive success of Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water in 2000, Limp Bizkit and guitarist Wes Borland parted ways. Now they are back again in the studios recording a 2010 release album. Expect an early release as the initial target was December 2009.

Victoria Beckham’s £500,000 Shopping Spree

Apparently, Victoria Beckham forked out £500,000 for a recent shopping spree in Milan, Italy. Wow! Choosing the top designer boutiques in Milan for her shopping Victoria picked up 20 pairs of Dolce and Gabbana shoes, a £400,000 Rolex watch and 12 pairs of Versace sunglasses, based on reports by the Daily Star newspaper.

Admitting that overspending has become a habit during constant visits to Milan, Victoria said, “I’ve spent too much. Shopping is like a drug. The more you have the more you want. When I am in Milan I don’t know how to resist it. ‘The things in those wonderful boutiques are saying, ‘Come and buy me, come and buy me.’ Anyway, it helps the economy.”
Victoria has many top designer friends including Giorgio Armani, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, who all ensured their stores were closed - so she could shop undisturbed by fans.

Victoria also appears on the latest season of American Idol, but was not a favorite of the audience. Brought in to take up the spot left void by Paula, Victoria did little to live up to the challenge of being the ‘new judge’. Critics were also not impressed with her at American Idol with a Los Angeles Times reviewer stating, “The night’s saddest failure, however, was guest judge Victoria Beckham, who actually made plenty of appealing comments… but whose gaunt appearance was so off-putting it might have cost her the slot DeGeneres eventually won.” Another comment, which appeared on the Village Voice, stated: “[Victoria’s] face is just too crazy for the close-up, and she has nothing to add to the commentary… I always thought a British accent made people sound smart but I guess I was wrong.”

The Sunshine Underground exclusive free downloads

The phrase ‘Nobody’s Coming To Save You, does not intend to convey an anti religious message or anything like that but is actually the title of The Sunshine Underground’s second album due in February this year. To promote the upcoming release, the band is putting up an exclusive set of downloads on their website, www.thesunshineunderground.co.uk. Some of the material available is considered exclusive, as it will not be included on the upcoming album.

You will have to be quick, if you want these freebies. Only 500 downloads per track will be made available on three different days. The last three Mondays of January are the targeted days for freebie access and if you are having trouble getting these dates right, they are the 11th, 18th & 25th of January 2010.

In Your Arms is the first track that will be released on the 11th. Incidentally, this is the only album track that will be released for free download. The other two that follow will be exclusive commercially non-available tracks, so you had better be on your toes if you really want to get these songs.

The first single to be released from the album Nobody’s Coming To Save You, will be We’ve Always Been Your Friends and is distributed by City Rockers /EMI. The single will hit the airwaves and stores on February 15, 2010. The band will headline the Shockwaves NME Awards show, as well as engage in a month long UK tour in February to promote their album.

Pink Floyd & Dave Gilmour guitar tuition DVDs released

For guitar fans across the world, Lick Library’s (LL) newest release is great news. LL has released three Pink Floyd specific tutorials designed to generate nostalgia as well as show us how Dave Gilmour created magic. In the videos Jamie Humphries, who played with The Australian Pink Floyd (a Pink Floyd tribute band), will take over the duty of guiding us through the genius of Pink Floyd.

In “Learn to play Pink Floyd: Volume 2″, five classic Pink Floyd tracks are dissected by Jamie and are explained in minute detail. This includes demonstrations and explanations of many techniques. This package comes as a double DVD and contains live performance footage recorded at the Royal Albert hall of the Australian Pink Floyd band and is priced at RRP £24.99.

The second release is “Learn to Play Dave Gilmour: The Solos”. As the name suggests, this double DVD takes you through a comprehensive journey that will allow you to understand how Dave’s solos are composed. Again five classic tracks are targeted here and you get to play along with the tutor at whatever pace you decide is comfortable. A CD with jam tracks is also bundled with the offer which helps broaden your experience and the whole package is priced at RRP £24.99.

The final release is titled “Quick Licks in the style of Dave Gilmour” and is aimed at getting you to understand the style of Gilmour when it comes to blues licks. Many techniques, styles and variations are looked at and explained well by Jaime. This package too features jam tracks which will help you to further your Pink Floyd style and is priced a little lower at RRP £19.99.

The Red Bull Music Academy

The RBMA (The Red Bull Music Academy) started as a DJ event, and has now grown to bring together music of all genres and facets worldwide. Torstein Schmidt and Christopher Romberg are the founders of Red Bull Music Academy, an international Event for musicians that takes place once a year. RBMA is an excellent opportunity for DJs, singers, musicians, arrangers, and new producers to learn more about music from the top industry experts.

Every year, the event is held in different cities. The working of the RBMA is as follows: A demo CD of their work has to be prepared by all the applicants. Along with this CD, an application questionnaire has to be completed and sent to the RBMA offices located in Germany. The applications will be process, and no special consideration or quota will be enjoyed by any musical genre or country. In the last step, they select the 60 best tracks. It is then broken into two different groups of 30 each, which will then be used during the final event. The event usually lasts for a fortnight.

Workshops and Stages are also hosted by the RBMA at some of the world’s famous music festivals like Winter Music Conference, Oxegen, St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival, Sonar, Monegros desert Festival, and Detroit’s Electronic Music Festival Notting Hill Carnival and Melt. Apart from this, every year local workshop sessions are also hosted by RMBA in more than 50 countries. These sessions includes studio sessions, couch conversations, art exhibitions, hands-on production workshops, club events and concerts. The focus will be on international as well as local topics and all these events are usually open to the public