Monday, January 10, 2011

Music News & Notes

‘Reign In Blood’ Guitar By ESP Celebrates Slayer Album’s 25th Anniversary





Guitar company ESP plans to release a limited-edition Slayer guitar which will feature the cover art from the band’s classic 1986 thrash metal album 'Reign In Blood.'


Limited to just 250 guitars worldwide, the LTD Slayer-2011 is highlighted with a custom graphic finish that employs elements of the cover artwork from the “Reign In Blood” album. Details include a special LTD headstock logo in SLAYER’s distinctive typeface, pentagram-shaped neck inlays, and the SLAYER logo inlaid near the 12th fret. The guitar uses bolt-on construction, an alder body, a maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, 24 XJ frets, a TOM bridge with string-thru-body design, and EMG 81 (bridge) and EMG 85 (neck) active pickups.

Amongst other 2011 models being released by ESP are the James Hetfield Snakebyte guitar in black or white, and the Kirk Hammett Signature Series ESP KH-2 and LTD KH-SE guitars.

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Variety has a nice article about our beloved vinyl records:

Analog recording makes a comeback

Musical artists turn to old tech for vintage sound

By Variety Staff

John Mellancamp's recent album "No Better Than This" was recorded by the singer and "O Brother, Where Art Thou" music producer T-Bone Burnett using a single vintage RCA 77DX microphone and a 50-year-old refurbished mono Ampex 601 portable tape deck.

It's easy to dismiss the record as simply an artful manifesto on Mellancamp's part -- he along with fellow music artists Prince and Stevie Nicks have all railed publicly that digital technology in general and the Internet in particular have destroyed both music and the music business. Except that Mellancamp also took what has become a recent trend to its extreme: as CD sales continue to plummet and digital downloads barely dent that fiscal void, new recordings using hoary analog technology and released on vinyl making a surprising comeback.

Read the rest of the article HERE

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Superstars salvage tough year for country music album sales

By PETER COOPER • The Tennessean • January 9, 2011

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Del.icio.usFacebookDiggRedditNewsvineBuzz up!TwitterNASHVILLE, Tenn. - Sales of country music albums dropped 5 percent last year, a decline that would have been much steeper if not for late-year releases from big-name stars such as Taylor Swift, Sugarland, Jason Aldean and Kenny Chesney.

Across the music industry, album sales in all genres decreased 12.7 percent in the past year. The figures were released in a report Wednesday from industry tracker Nielsen SoundScan. Christian and gospel albums dipped 13 percent, and rock albums declined 16 percent. Country music was the only genre that did not see a double-digit decline, and rap music was the only category with an increase, rising 3 percent.

Read the rest of the artilce Here

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USA

Albums:
1.Taylor Swift : Speak Now
2.Eminem : Recovery
3.Rihanna : Loud
4.Nicki Minaj : Pink Friday
5.Kanye West : My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
6.Daft Punk : Tron: Legacy
7.Susan Boyle : The Gift
8.Mumford and Sons : Sigh No More
9.Katy Perry : Teenage Dream
10.Keyshia Cole : Calling All Hearts

Singles:
1.Katy Perry : Firework
2.Bruno Mars : Grenade
3.Ke$ha : We R Who We R
4.Rihanna feat. Drake : What's My Name
5.Pink : Raise Your Glass
6.Enrique Eglesias : Tonight (I've Lovin' You)
7.Black Eyed Peas : The Time
8.Wiz Khalifa : Black and Yellow
9.Bruno Mars : Just The Way You Are
10.Nelly : Just A Dream


UK

Albums:
1.Rihanna : Loud
2.Take That : Progress
3.Plan B : The Defamation of Strickland Banks
4.Tinie Tempah : Disc-Overy
5.The Wanted : The Wanted
6.Mumford and Sons : Sigh No More
7.Kings Of Leon : Come Around Sundown
8.Katy Perry : Teenage Dream
9.Ellie Goulding : Lights
10.Michael Buble : Crazy Love

Singles:
1.Matt Cardle : When We Collide
2.Rihanna : Whats My Name
3.Black Eyed Peas : The Time
4.Ellie Goulding : Your Song
5.Katy B : Lights On
6.Rihanna : Only Girl (In The World)
7.Take That : The Flood
8.Far East Movement : Like A G6
9.Willow : Whip My Hair
10.Olly Murs : Thinking Of Me

Europe

Albums:
1.Take That : Progress
2.Rihanna : Loud
3.Bruce Springsteen : The Promise
4.Shakira : Sale El Sol
5.Pink : Greatest Hits ... So Far
6.Bon Jovi : Greatest Hits
7.James Blunt : Some Kind Of Trouble
8.Susan Boyle : The Gift
9.Kings Of Leon : Come Around Sundown
10.JLS : Outta This World

Singles:
1.Rihanna : Only Girl (In The World)
2.Duck Sauce : Barbra Streisand
3.Bruno Mars : Just The Way You Are
4.Black Eyed Peas : The Time
5.X Factor Finalist 2010 : Heroes
6.Usher : DJ Got Us Fallin In Love
7.Rene La Taupe : Mignon Mignon
8.Eminem feat. Rihanna : Love The Way You Lie
9.Take That : The Flood
10.Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole : Over The Rainbow


Canada

Albums:
1.Rihanna : Loud
2.Black Eyed Peas : The Beginning
3.Kanye West : My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
4.Eminem : Recovery
5.Susan Boyle : The Gift
6.Various : Much Dance 2011
7.Taylor Swift : Speak Now
8.Katy Perry : Teenage Dream
9.Justin Bieber : My Worlds Acoustic
10.Pink : Greatest Hits ... So Far

Singles:
1.Black Eyed Peas : The Time
2.Bruno Mars : Grenade
3.Katy Perry : Firework
4.Pink : Raise Your Glass
5.Ke$ha : We R Who We R
6.Rihanna : Only Girl (In The World)
7.Rihanna feat. Drake : What's My Name
8.Enrique Iglesias : Tonight (I'm Loving You)
9.Bruno Mars : Just The Way You Are
10.Nelly : Just A Dream


Australia

Albums:
1.Pink : Greatest Hits So Far
2.Susan Boyle : The Gift
3.Bon Jovi : Greatest Hits
4.Altiyan Childs : Altiyan Childs
5.Glee Cast : Volume 4
6.Guy Sebastian : Twenty Ten
7.Ronan Keating : Duet
8.Katy Perry : Teenage Dream
9.Black Eyed Peas : The Beginning
10.James Blunt : Some Kind Of Trouble

Singles:
1.Guy Sebastian feat. Eve : Who's That Girl
2.Bruno Mars : Grenade
3.Black Eyed Peas : The Time
4.Chris Brown : Yeah X3
5.Katy Perry : Firework
6.Ke$ha : We R Who We R
7.Jessica Mauboy feat. Ludacris : Saturday Night
8.David Guetta feat. Rihanna : Who's That Chick
9.Far East Movement feat. Cataracs & Dev : Like A G6
10.Pink : Raise Your Glass

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