Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve announce U.S. tour dates

Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve announce U.S. tour dates
Lorne Thomson/Redferns)

Elvis Costello and longtime collaborator Steve Nieve will hit the stage together for a new tour next year.

The duo will play 15 U.S. dates, starting off Feb. 19 in Easton, Pennsylvania, with the tour hitting such cities as Woodstock, New York; Port Chester, New York; and Ann Arbor, Michigan. It will wrap with a three-night stand in Chicago.

For the Chicago shows, Costello and Nieve will be joined by Eleanor Whitmore on fiddle, Tony Garnier on double bass, Shaye Cohn on cornet and Sean McKeon on Uilleann pipes.

An artist presale launches Wednesday at 10 a.m., with tickets going on sale to the general public on Friday at 10 a.m.

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First fully authorized Fleetwood Mac documentary in the works

First fully authorized Fleetwood Mac documentary in the works
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

We’re finally going to get the definitive story of Fleetwood Mac straight from the band’s mouth. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers are going to be the subject of a new documentary, which has the backing of the band.

Apple Original Films is behind the “fully authorized” documentary, directed by five-time Academy Award nominee Frank Marshall. According to the description, it will be the first time the band will “share their extraordinary story in their own words.”

“I am fascinated by how this incredible story of enormous musical achievement came about,” says Marshall. “Fleetwood Mac somehow managed to merge their often chaotic and almost operatic personal lives into their own tale in real-time, which then became legend. This will be a film about the music and the people who created it.”

The doc is expected to cover both the highs and lows of the band, with the description noting it “will explore what allowed this combination of artists to create singular musical work again and again, and what drew them back together and held them there when every possible pressure, both outside and inside the band, threatened to blow them apart.”

So far there’s no word on when the currently untitled documentary will debut.

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Soul legend Al Green covers R.E.M.’s ‘Everybody Hurts’

Soul legend Al Green covers R.E.M.’s ‘Everybody Hurts’
Fat Possum Records

Legendary soul singer Al Green is back with a new song, dropping a cover of the R.E.M. classic “Everybody Hurts.”

“While we were in the studio recording ‘Everybody Hurts,’ I could really feel the heaviness of the song and I wanted to inject a little touch of hope and light into it,” the 78-year-old Green shares. “There’s always a presence of light that can break through those times of darkness.”

And the cover has already gotten the attention of R.E.M. 

“Speaking on behalf of the entire band—we could not be more honored, more flattered, more humbled,” frontman Michael Stipe shares. “This is an epic moment for us.”

Green’s cover of “Everybody Hurts” is available now via digital outlets.

The tune is the first song released by Green since sharing a cover of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” back in 2023.

“Everybody Hurts” appeared on R.E.M.’s eighth studio album, Automatic For The People, and was a top-40 hit for the band. 

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On This Day, Nov. 19, 1988: Bon Jovi scored their third #1 with ‘Bad Medicine’

On This Day, Nov. 19, 1988: Bon Jovi scored their third #1 with ‘Bad Medicine’

On This Day, Nov. 19, 1988 …

Bon Jovi topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart with “Bad Medicine,” the lead single from their fourth album, New Jersey.

The song, written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child, was the band’s third #1 single following the Slippery When Wet tracks “You Give Love A Bad Name” and “Living On A Prayer,” which were also written by the trio. 

“Bad Medicine” spent two weeks at #1 in the U.S. and also landed in the top 10 in Australia, Canada, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

 

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Bob Dylan added a ‘totally inaccurate moment’ to ‘A Complete Unknown’

Bob Dylan added a ‘totally inaccurate moment’ to ‘A Complete Unknown’
Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

While the upcoming Bob Dylan flick A Complete Unknown is not a straight biopic, director James Mangold says Dylan did have input in the film, although he wasn’t exactly fact-checking the project.

Mangold tells Rolling Stone that he met with the rock icon several times before filming began, noting, “I felt like Bob just wanted to know what I was up to.‘Who is this guy? Is he a s*******? Does he get it?’ I think the normal questions anyone asks when they’re throwing themselves in league with someone.”

When it comes to the feedback he gave on the script, star Timothée Chalamet tells the mag, “Bob would have these one-off lines that were so fantastic. Jim has an annotated Bob script lying around somewhere. I’ll beg him to get my hands on it. He’ll never give it to me.”

But apparently Dylan was a bit mischievous when it came to what he wanted in the film, with Ed Norton, who plays Pete Seeger, sharing that Mangold revealed Dylan made him put what’s described as “one totally inaccurate moment” in the film, although Mangold didn’t say what it was.

According to Rolling Stone, Norton said Mangold was a bit worried about including it, concerned about how the public would feel, to which Dylan reportedly said, “What do you care what other people think?”

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The Rolling Stones release ‘Welcome to Shepherd’s Bush’ performance of ‘You Got Me Rocking’

The Rolling Stones release ‘Welcome to Shepherd’s Bush’ performance of ‘You Got Me Rocking’
Mercury Studios

The Rolling Stones have shared a new preview of their upcoming live release, Welcome to Shepherd’s Bush, dropping Dec. 6.

Welcome to Shepherd’s Bush is a recording of the band’s June 8, 1999, London club show, and they just shared a video of their performance of the Voodoo Lounge track “You Got Me Rocking.”

The Shepherd’s Bush concert was a “secret gig” The Stones headlined just a few days before they played two sold-out shows at Wembley Arena. Only 1,800 fans witnessed the concert in person, among them celebrities like The Who‘s Pete TownshendLenny KravitzLed Zeppelin‘s Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.

Welcome to Shepherd’s Bush is being released in 4K Ultra High Definition with a Dolby Atmos audio option, making it the only Stones live concert film to be available in that format. It will also be released as a Blu-ray + two-CD set; a limited-edition two-CD package; a two-LP black vinyl package; and a two-LP set in 180-gram white vinyl.

The Stones will also be celebrating the release with a world premiere Nov. 21 at Vue Leicester Square in London.

Welcome to Shepherd’s Bush is available for preorder now.

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J. Geils Band frontman Peter Wolf releasing memoir in March

J. Geils Band frontman Peter Wolf releasing memoir in March
Little, Brown

Former J. Geils Band frontman Peter Wolf is the latest musician revealing his story on the page.

The rocker, best known for such songs as “Freeze Frame” and “Centerfold,” has written his first-ever memoir, Waiting on the Moon: Artists, Poets, Drifters Grifters and Goddesses, which will be released March 11.

According to a press release, in the book Wolf will share “a treasure trove of vignettes, musings and recollections of his fascinating life during his six decades long career,” with each chapter reading “as its own short story.” 

In addition to his early life, career and time with the J. Geils Band, the book also promises to delve into his marriage to actress Faye Dunaway in the ’70s.

Waiting on the Moon is described as “an enchanting and revealing glimpse through lyrical snapshots of artists, writers, actors, and musicians as they work—the creative forces that drive them to achievement; the demons they battle; and the patterns of their human relationships.”

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Billy Corgan’s hoping to win raffle for Courtney Love’s handwritten ‘Violet’ lyrics

Billy Corgan’s hoping to win raffle for Courtney Love’s handwritten ‘Violet’ lyrics
Disney/Randy Holmes

In a very full-circle moment, Billy Corgan could end up winning the handwritten lyrics to the Hole song “Violet.”

As previously reported, Courtney Love contributed the lyrics to a raffle benefiting Ellis Park, a wildlife sanctuary in Indonesia founded by Warren Ellis of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. As for why Corgan would be interested, “Violet” has long been thought to have been about Love’s relationship with the Smashing Pumpkins frontman, whom she dated in the early ’90s before she went on to marry Kurt Cobain.

“I’d like to win these lyrics because I think it’s about a guy I know a little bit about,” Corgan says in an Instagram video. “I’d love to put that on my wall.”

Love seemingly confirmed “Violet” was about Corgan when she introduced the song as being about a “jerk” during a 1995 TV performance, quipping, “I hexed him now he’s losing his hair.”

In an interview with NME 30 years later to promote the raffle, Love shared that “Violet” is “not just about Billy Corgan, as many might assume.”

“It’s about sitting on the fire escape of his flat, sipping cheap wine and taking a Vicodin (oh, to be young!) while the Chicago sun sets, leaving behind a bejewelled amethyst sky,” Love said.

Should you, like Corgan, be interested in the handwritten “Violet” lyrics, the raffle is open through Dec. 15.

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Alex Van Halen on releasing music from Van Halen’s vault: ‘I wanna do it right’

Alex Van Halen on releasing music from Van Halen’s vault: ‘I wanna do it right’
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Alex Van Halen has revealed that there is indeed plenty of unreleased Van Halen music in their so-called vault, but whether the material will ever see the light of day is another story.

Alex recently sat down for an interview with Chris Jericho‘s Talk is Jericho podcast, where he shared that there are likely “three or four” albums’ worth of material — “if not more” — in the vault.

“On the one end of the spectrum is the fact that little licks don’t make a song,” he said. “On the other end of the spectrum, some of those licks are so unbelievably powerful, it’s too bad that they ended up in the back of the vault, rather than being records.”

But Alex isn’t in a hurry to release anything and wants to make sure that if he does release songs, they’re up to the standards of previous Van Halen music.

“They will stay there [in the vault] until we figure out how and why and what to do with them,” he shared. “And again, you have to remember, it has to be on the level of where Ed and I, where we used to play.”

“We’re not just gonna shovel it in. We have access to some of the greatest musicians on the planet, and a lot of ’em are more than willing to take a chance on some of the stuff,” he noted, adding “that takes time. And you wanna do it right. I wanna do it right.”
 

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Pete Townshend opens up about his depression, says he cures it with cookies and tea

Pete Townshend opens up about his depression, says he cures it with cookies and tea
Katja Ogrin/Redferns

Pete Townshend is opening up about his personal battles with what he describes as “chemical depression” and the unconventional way he deals with it.

In an interview with the U.K. paper The Times, The Who legend shares that he stopped going to counseling after three years, noting, “I realized that the woman counseling me had only said about three words. I was just listening to myself.”

Instead, he says he writes in his journals and “every morning I rebuild myself in a sense with tea and coffee, and a few vitamin pills.”

“When I first wake up I’m suicidal, actually suicidal,” he says, sharing that on a typical morning it takes him about 30 minutes to escape the darkness.

“I have a couple of cups of tea, two digestive biscuits (cookies)—apparently equal to 17 sugar lumps—and I feel happy,” he said. “If I start my journals before I have my cup of tea, I’ll paint a very bleak picture of my life. Despite the fact that I have everything that I want and everything that I need. … And I have had a really extraordinary life.”

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