Music News & Notes

Give It Up Jacko

In the rumor mill, a "source" close to Michael Jackson says that he would like to make amends with Paul McCartney by willing what he owns of the Beatle's catalog back to the former Beatle. Get that will written up ASAP!

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Geico Not Hiring

Iggy Pop is the spokesman in a new multi-million dollar advertising campaign by the U.K. on-line insurance company Swift Cover.

According to the press release, the ads are based around their new catchphrase "get a life" and will feature Pop "embracing his online life and how it provides efficiencies and cost savings."

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Judas Priest Overture?

Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest recently talked to Britain's Sunday Mercury, confirming the group's plans to play their latest album, Nostradamus, in its entirety at 2009 shows. "Our ambition is to perform Nostradamus from start to finish when everyone's got used to it and they all know it."

As far as their next project, "We might do a live album. We've recorded quite a few shows so we have to get together and listen to those and a think about that, but with us you never know what's around the corner."

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Guitar Hero Moola!

It is reported that Rock & Roll icons Aerosmith have made more money off the June release of "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith," than the band made from their last two album releases.

Kai Huang, co-founder of RedOctave, which first developed "Guitar Hero," predicts that music videos games will become the biggest platform for music distribution in the world. More than 65,000 original songs have been uploaded so far and more than 22 million units of "Guitar Hero" have been sold in the US since its launch in October of 2005. And I still play Atari....

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Turn That Crap Down!

Blasting music across enemy lines is not a new form of psychological warfare and US military interrogators are utilizing music in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanmo Bay to combat detainees and resurgents.

Some of the most frequently used songs include Metallica's "Enter Sandman," "Bodies" by Drowning Pool, two AC/DC numbers, "Shoot To Thrill" and "Hells Bells" and Bruce Springsteen's appropriate American jingle "Born In The USA."

Apparently they have taken torture to new levels by blasting the theme song from the children's television shows "Sesame Street" and the insipid "I Love You" song from Barney and Friends.

Other artists whose music has been played at US detention sites include: Aerosmith, Britney Spears, Don McLean, Lil' Kim, Limp Bizkit, Red Hot Chili Peppers and the most torturous of all Meatloaf.