While the history of musicians moving into movies -- whether acting, directing or otherwise -- has been dodgy to say the least, there are times when the artist and material syncs up perfectly and the transition makes sense. And such is the case with "Sound City," a new documentary produced and directed by Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana beatkeeper Dave Grohl.

The film is about the famed studio in California that was not only the home to the sessions for Nirvana's Nevermind, but a number of landmark bands and seminal albums over the years. Fleetwood Mac recorded their self-titled LP and Rumours there, Neil Young laid down After The Gold Rush, Tom Petty put Damn The Torpedoes to tape, and acts ranging from Rage Against The Machine to Foreigner all spent time at Sound City. The studio is said to have one of the most distinct and best-sounding rooms available, and look on any list of all-time great albums, and a handful will have been recorded at Sound City. And this first trailer for the film steps right into the mystique of the studio, with a handful of talking heads -- Tom Petty, Trent Reznor -- talking about the unique space and equipment that gave their recordings a sound that really couldn't have been duplicated elsewhere.

There's no word on a release date, but this seems like a solid flick for festival programming so hopefully it will start that journey this fall.

from indiewire.com

Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker may rethink plans to sideline himself for his band’s upcoming tour of Australia due to his fear of flying.

He narrowly escaped with his life in 2008 when a private jet he’d hired with collaborator DJ:AM crashed on takeoff, killing four of the six people on board. It was later revealed Barker’s injuries nearly killed him too. DJ:AM later died as a result of becoming addicted to the medications prescribed for him after the accident.

Barker, 36, recently said his reluctance to board a plane meant a stand-in would have to be hired when the three-piece played down under.

But after fans pleaded with him to change his mind, he says he’s considering flying after all – although he’ll do it under sedation.

The drummer says: “I’m contemplating getting knocked out and getting on a plane to Australia. I want to overcome that eventually for me – and my kids are scared to death to fly. I want them to witness me overcome it.”

He’s researched which service he might use and concludes:  “I think it’s going to be Qantas. They never had a crash, never had a fatality… knock on wood.”

In November 2008 the Learjet 60 hired by Barker and DJ:AM careered off its South Carolina runway, ran into an embankment and burst into flames. Along with two crewmen, Barker’s personal assistant and bodyguard were killed. The vehicle’s owners settled out of court the following year. The events were later hailed by Blink 182 as fuelling their 2009 reunion.

from classicrockmagazine.com

Eagle Rock have set a September 25 DVD and Blu-ray release date for Freddie Mercury's The Great Pretender. Here is the official word:

Created by the same team behind the widely acclaimed Queen: Days of Our Lives BBC documentary, The Great Pretender, in similar vein, presents a compelling insight into its subject matter, unearthing previously undiscovered or rarely seen footage and presented for the first time in High Definition.

Produced and directed by Rhys Thomas, life-long Queen fan and expert (to the extent that Rhys famously broke the Mastermind all time record points score with a specialist subject of Queen), Rhys has this time turned his attention to the Freddie archive, going back as early as 1976 in search of vintage gems which reveal more than ever before the inside story of Freddie's life and career and the solo projects he worked on outside of Queen.

The extensive archive footage is drawn from rare interviews with Freddie, concerts, video shoots and personal material, much of it being seen for the first time, along with newly filmed contributions from fellow Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor, Queen manager Jim Beach, soprano Montserrat Caballé, composers David Arnold and Mike Moran, lyricist Tim Rice, comedian and lifelong fan Matt Lucas and many more.

From it emerges a portrait of a man who was very different to his flamboyant onstage public persona.

from antimusic.com

Yellowcard will release their new album, Southern Air, on August 14th via Hopeless Records.

Once again featuring the crisp production of longtime producer Neal Avron, Southern Air is the sound of band who has not only returned to form but is expanding and growing in confidence with the help and support of the people who welcomed them with open arms – the fans. The propulsive and immediate opening track “Awakening” reveals a fiercely confident and assured band, one that now stands on firm ground after the resounding success of their previous album.

From the rhythmic attack of “Surface of the Sun” to the rousing anthem “Here I Am Alive” to the ballad “Telescope” (which serves as a memorial to Ryan’s Aunt Stephanie who passed away last year) to the epic album closing title track, Southern Air is the sound of a band who has found the voice and energy that fueled their fire from the beginning.

from drivenfaroff.com

Iggy Pop and Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino have teamed up for "True Blood."

The unlikely pair duets on the song "Let's Boot and Rally," a track written for the HBO vampire drama by the show's music supervisor, Gary Calamar, and songwriter James Combs.

"Iggy Pop, or should I say Iggy's people, had reached out to me saying he was a True Blood fan and if any opportunities come up, to please keep Iggy in mind," Calamar, also a DJ at Santa Monica's KCRW, wrote on the radio station's blog. "We sent Iggy the demo of 'LB&R'. He loved it and said sign me up."

With the rock veteran attached, Cosentino -- in the midst of a sophomore album release and her Urban Outfitters fashion line -- "jumped at the chance to sing with Mr. Pop."

It's not the first big get for the show: artists from Snoop Dogg to Nick Lowe have contributed original material and covers to the series' numerous soundtracks.

"Let's Boot and Rally" will appear on Sunday, July 8's "True Blood" episode.

from billboard.com

Alternative metal outfit Deftones are fast-forwarding things for their new album. The gents recently hit the studio to work on the follow-up to their 2010 release, “Diamond Eyes,” and they’ve already finished writing and recording the new disc. While the band have yet to announce the title of the forthcoming album, they’ve announced to EW.com that the set is projected to drop Oct. 9, and it will include an Elvis Presley cover.

According to frontman Chino Moreno, producer Nick Raskulinecz really helped quicken the recoding process. “We adopted a work ethic that was really productive on the last record. We said we were going to work eight hours a day, and since we had those hours, everybody in there was super focused,” he said. “Before that we had been working up in Sacramento, and the vibe was everybody would come in and hang out and we would work when we got around to it. We had to get more efficient.”

One thing left to record for the new album is a cover track, something they’ve included on all their albums since 1995’s “Adrenaline.” Moreno says to expect some very classic covers this time around. “We’ve done a lot of ’80s stuff, but we wanted to do something from farther back,” Moreno said. “We sat down and everybody had their computers on and were playing songs that we like. So we’re going to do an Elvis Presley song — we have five Elvis songs that we’ve been talking about. And we’re going to do Earth, Wind, and Fire. Hopefully we’ll get at least two, maybe three or four.”

Moreno says the band always get a kick out of putting their own spin on other bands’ tracks: “It’s always fun. We’re done with the real creative part of having to come up with music out of thin air, and now we can be experimental with someone else’s song.”

from audioinkradio.com

Former Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri explains why he recently jumped ship on the Kyuss reunion, explains his side of the story concerning his legal troubles stemming from a standoff with LAPD last July and briefly touches on the circumstances surrounding his exit from QOTSA.

In a new video interview with Antiquiet, Nick Oliveri gives a very long-winded update on all the hot topic issues surrounding the bassist — of which there are several.

First there is the matter of Kyuss, who reunited without former guitarist and Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme as Kyuss Lives. A lawsuit has recently been brought against the band by Homme and former bassist Scott Reeder regarding the use of the name Kyuss. Oliveri says that when Kyuss Lives was just a touring thing, Homme was fine with it — it wasn’t until there was talks of a new album that it became an issue.

“Josh is a key player and songwriter in what Kyuss was and is. I don’t know that without Josh there — it will be what it should be,” says Oliveri of his exit from the partial reunion. “I don’t want to let anyone down. I don’t want to let myself down. I figure walk away with my head up high and do my own thing is the respectable thing and I think I need to do that.”

Oliveri is also facing up to 15 years in prison after a standoff with police at his apartment last July ended with the bassist facing multiple drug and weapons charges. “Basically at the end of the day I screwed up cause I didn’t open the door,” Oliveri explains. “I was like ‘I’m not going to open, I don’t have to open the door.’ I didn’t think you have to open the door [laughs]. You have to open the door. A robot came and knocked down my door [laughs].

Oliveri also talked about being fired from Queens of the Stone Age over eight years ago. Though his explanation was a bit vague and hard to follow, his termination stemmed from an incident at a Queens show where Oliveri was so intoxicated, Homme refused to go back on stage with him.

from antimusic.com

In a recent interview around their just-completed UK tour, Brand New vocalist Jesse Lacey revealed that the band will be hitting the studio in April, and hope to have new music out before the end of the year:

"Well we probably started writing new material as soon as we were done with the last record, it’s just lately we’ve all been exploring our peripheral projects outside of Brand New. It’s been nice to get back together again, because you’ll hear something that Brian’s done, or Vinni’s done, you almost get jealous of it, because you wish you had been part of that, so we’re definitely excited to get back in the studio together. We have studio time in April but we’re not really sure how that will turn out, unfortunately for our fans, it’s really ‘see how it goes’ for now. But we are intent on getting music out, we’d like to do it before the end of the year."

Brand New last released Daisy in 2009.

From Altpress.com

Epic Records chairman and CEO L.A. Reid has promised that the followup to Fiona Apple's 2005 album Extraordinary Machine will hit stores sometime in early 2012. "Lots of good music coming from @Epic_Records in the next few weeks. Stay tuned music fans. Welcome back Fiona!," Reid wrote in a tweet on Sunday.

A new Apple album was rumored all through last year, but until now there had been no word from the label on an actual release. Apple confirmed that Epic had put her fourth record on hold at a concert in Los Angeles in November, explaining to fans that "I can't remember [how to play] any of my new songs because they've been done for a fucking year."

This is not the first time an Apple album has met with delays. The songwriter began work on Extraordinary Machine in 2003, but after label holdups, leaks and re-recordings, the disc was finally released in 2005 following a "Free Fiona" campaign led by her most hardcore fans.

From Rollingstone.com

After shocking fans months ago with the news that its desert festival will span two weekends in 2012, Coachella confirmed with its lineup announcement Monday (January 9) that it is going big this year. Posted to the fest's Facebook page, the roster boasts Radiohead, The Black Keys and Dr. Dre with Snoop Dogg.

In response to last year's event selling out — a week after the 2011 lineup was announced — the festival is experimenting with featuring the same artists for two consecutive three-day weekends: April 13-15 and April 20-22.

The Black Keys, who performed last year, return to Friday night, this time getting top billing. Radiohead, Saturday's headliner, last graced Indio, California's Empire Polo Fields in 2004. This is the first booking for West Coast hip-hop legends Dre and Snoop, who will close out the main stage Sunday night.

Also headed to the desert are Florence and the Machine, Bon Iver, Swedish House Mafia, Afrojack, Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky and the just-announced At the Drive-In reunion. Tickets for the 2012 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. PT. The full lineup includes:

Friday, April 13 and 20:

The Black Keys, Swedish House Mafia, Pulp, Refused, Arctic Monkeys, Mazzy Star, Afrojack, Explosions in the Sky, M83, Amon Tobin, Cat Power, Madness, Jimmy Cliff & Tim Armstrong, GIRLS, the Rapture, Madeon, M. Ward, the Horrors, Frank Ocean, James Alesso, Sebastien, Yuck, Neon Indian, Dawes, Black Angels, Deathgrips, Wu Lyf, Breakbot, Atari Teenage Riot, Feed Me, Givers, Other Lives, Band of Skulls, R3hab, Wolfgang, Midnight Beast, EMA, Ximena Sarinana, Kendrick Lamar, The Dear Hunter, Honeyhoney, Hello Seahorse!, Sheepdogs, LA Riots.

Saturday, April 14 and 21:

Radiohead, Bon Iver, the Shins, David Guetta, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Kaskade, Miike Snow, Jeff Mangum, Sebastian Ingrosso, Andrew Bird, Feist, Firehose, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, St. Vincent, Martin Solveig, Subfocus, Sbtrkt, Flying Lotus, Manchester Orchestra, Kasabian, AWOL Nation, Azealia Banks, Squeeze, A$AP Rocky, Buzzcocks, Kaiser Chiefs, Destroyer, the Head and the Heart, Laura Marling, Tuneyards, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Black Lips, the Big Pink, Childish Gambino, the Vaccines, Zed's Dead, Grouplove, Jacques Lu Cont, We Were Promised, Jetpacks, Gary Clark Jr., Borgore, Dragonette, We Are Augustines, Mt. Eden, Destructo, Suedehead, Keep Shelley in Athens, Pure Filth Sound.

Sunday, April 15 and 22:

Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, At the Drive-In, Justice, Florence and the Machine, AVICII, La Roux, Beirut, the Weeknd, Girl Talk, the Hives, DJ Shadow, Calvin Harris, Nero, Wild Flag, Modeselektor, Dada Life, Porter Robinson, Santigold, Flux Pavilion, Dr. P, Gotye, Seun Keti, Egypt 80, Beats Antique, Fitz and the Tantrums, Araabmuzik, Company Flow, Real Estate, Zed, Le Bucherettes, Greg Ginn, the Growlers, Noisia, Morgan Page, Gaslamp Killer, First Aid Kit, Oberhofer, Lissie, Thundercat, Metronomy, Wild Beasts, Housse de Racket, Fanfarlo, Spector, Gardens & Villa, Airplane Boys, Sleeper Agent.

From MTV.com