After another week of tireless news gathering, we're back with our weekend instalment: News Round-Up. Here's what's up for grabs.
First off, Arcade Fire fans had their work cut out for them this week. First, word came that Coldplay/Neon Bible producer Markus Dravs is once again be working with the Montreal band on their wildly anticipated third album, which they are currently recording in New York. Then reports surfaced that the new album would be out in May and that the band were preparing to return to the stage, which was soon followed by contradictory reports saying the new LP would likely be out in the second half of 2010 and no dates were planned.
In other news, there was a pair of stories this week involving Warner and the increasingly digital - and complicated - record industry. The first involves Warner Music Group attempting to explain the label's recent string of copyright problems with MySpace, which has found artists such as Edwyn Collins and Winnipeg's KEN Mode doing battle with the social-networking site and the label. The other involves '90s outfit Too Much Joy basically getting royally screwed over digital royalties from Warner.
We also had Animal Collective finally giving their long-awaited film a premiere, Kanye West setting his VH1 Storytellers for a proper CD/DVD release, and Beyoncé saying she's looking to work with Of Montreal and the band's Kevin Barnes responding by writing her a song, which he says sounds like "the Time Meets Four Tet."
And if you're looking for some news that can be filed under "completely ridiculous," a company has supposedly used Michael Jackson's DNA to make a perfume and ol' Wacko Jacko apparently composed music for the videogame Sonic the Hedgehog 3. By the looks of the archival photo we've dug up, it appears MJ was quite the Sonic fan, so maybe there's some real truth to that one.
Finally, to end things on a more Christmasy note, Vancouver's music and comedy communities have banded together for a new yuletide project, which features such Vancity stars as Nardwuar, Lightning Dust, No Kids' Nick Krgovich, No Gold, Fine Mist and more.
First off, Arcade Fire fans had their work cut out for them this week. First, word came that Coldplay/Neon Bible producer Markus Dravs is once again be working with the Montreal band on their wildly anticipated third album, which they are currently recording in New York. Then reports surfaced that the new album would be out in May and that the band were preparing to return to the stage, which was soon followed by contradictory reports saying the new LP would likely be out in the second half of 2010 and no dates were planned.
In other news, there was a pair of stories this week involving Warner and the increasingly digital - and complicated - record industry. The first involves Warner Music Group attempting to explain the label's recent string of copyright problems with MySpace, which has found artists such as Edwyn Collins and Winnipeg's KEN Mode doing battle with the social-networking site and the label. The other involves '90s outfit Too Much Joy basically getting royally screwed over digital royalties from Warner.
We also had Animal Collective finally giving their long-awaited film a premiere, Kanye West setting his VH1 Storytellers for a proper CD/DVD release, and Beyoncé saying she's looking to work with Of Montreal and the band's Kevin Barnes responding by writing her a song, which he says sounds like "the Time Meets Four Tet."
And if you're looking for some news that can be filed under "completely ridiculous," a company has supposedly used Michael Jackson's DNA to make a perfume and ol' Wacko Jacko apparently composed music for the videogame Sonic the Hedgehog 3. By the looks of the archival photo we've dug up, it appears MJ was quite the Sonic fan, so maybe there's some real truth to that one.
Finally, to end things on a more Christmasy note, Vancouver's music and comedy communities have banded together for a new yuletide project, which features such Vancity stars as Nardwuar, Lightning Dust, No Kids' Nick Krgovich, No Gold, Fine Mist and more.
