Music News & Notes

Doors Documentary Revisits 'Strange' Days

The Doors documentary "When You're Strange" will premiere Jan. 17 at the Sundance Film Festival.

Written and directed by Tom DiCillo, "Strange" utilizes a wealth of previously unseen footage to chart the band's beginnings at UCLA's film school through to frontman Jim Morrison's mysterious death in 1971.

Describing the movie to Billboard earlier this year, Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek said it was "the anti-Oliver Stone," in reference to the 1991 film "The Doors." "This will be the true story of the Doors."

Rhino will release a soundtrack to "When You're Strange" next summer.

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U2 to release new album in March

Irish rockers U2 have named their new album "No Line On The Horizon," and will release it worldwide in early March, their label said on Thursday.

The quartet's 12th studio album was originally expected to be released by the end of this year, but the band announced in September that it would keep writing more tunes. Recording took place in Morocco, Dublin, New York and London.

Interscope Records will release "No Line On The Horizon" internationally on March 2, and a day later in North America.

It marks the follow-up to "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb," which was released in late 2004 and went on to sell 9 million copies worldwide, according to Interscope. It also garnered U2 their second album of the year Grammy, following 1987's "The Joshua Tree."

The new album was produced by long-time collaborators Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, with additional production by Steve Lillywhite. Tunes recorded in 2006 with producer Rick Rubin, the man behind Johnny Cash's comeback, have been jettisoned.

Tour plans have not been announced. The "Vertigo" world tour for the last album ran from March 2005 to December 2006. U2 is partnered on touring and merchandise with concert promoter Live Nation Inc, which said earlier on Thursday that it bought back the band's stock in the company for a guaranteed $25 million -- $19 million more than the market price. Interscope is a unit of Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group.

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New Vinyl Release

Brooklyn, NY's indie-folk duo Ida have announced that currently label Polyvinyl Records will release the band's first three full length albums on vinyl for the first time. Tales of Brave Ida, I Know About You, and Tales of Small Places will all get the standard Polyvinyl vinyl treatment with double gatefold jackets, 180 gram vinyl, and a digital download coupon.