Van Halen Reveals Album Art
The first public viewing of Van Halen's highly anticipated new album took place in New York's Times Square on New Year's Eve. The artwork for the forthcoming release was projected on a giant LED billboard above the McDonald's at 46th St. and 7th Ave. and could clearly be seen at various points throughout the night, as several networks, including CNN, ABC and NBC, were broadcasting live. It was especially visible during Justin Bieber's performance of the Beatles' "Let It Be" on Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve.
The cover image, a photo-illustration of a train from the New York Central System, one of the largest railroads in US history which operated in the northeast during the 1800s, was potentially viewed by more than a billion people, when you factor in the global TV audience in addition to the one million people who gathered in midtown Manhattan to ring in 2012.
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Hooded Priest Reissuing Last Album On Vinyl
Hooded Priest, the side project put together by members of Belgian and Dutch old school bands in 2006, have reissued their last album on vinyl. Titled 'Devil Worship Reckoning, it also includes a few reworked tracks from the 2009 demo 'Call For the Hearse.'
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The Allman Brothers Band Announce Annual 2012 Beacon Theater Run
by: Matt Wardlaw
The year 2012 will be a big one for the Allman Brothers Band in more ways than just one. They’ll be honored at the Grammy Awards with a Lifetime Achievement Award and ramping up to that, the band has declared 2012 ‘The Year Of The Peach’ and announced their annual New York slate of dates at the Beacon Theater beginning March 9.
The 1972 ‘Eat A Peach’ double album was the last to include legendary guitar player Duane Allman, who passed away tragically in a motorcycle accident at the age of 24. Largely composed of unused live material from their ‘Live at Fillmore East’ set, ‘Peach’ also featured some new studio material, including ‘Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More,’ a composition that Gregg Allman credits as being the song that personally helped him to move forward and continue with the Allman Brothers Band.
Read more at
ultimateclassicrock.com
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album cover art of the day:
Deeds Of Flesh Reveal Album Artwork
Deeds of Flesh has posted the full cover artwork for their upcoming 'Portals to Canaan' album. The band also commented:
"As promised, here is the album cover art by Raymond Swanland for our upcoming release 'Portals to Canaan.' Enjoy and Happy New Year everybody!!"
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interesting info on some classic album covers:
The Stories Behind 11 More Classic Album Covers
by Bill DeMain
Last month, Bill DeMain took us behind the scenes for 11 iconic album covers. Today he’s back with 11 more.
Read the full text at
mentalfloss.com
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not sure if they are going with the uk artwork or us, none the less, it's great to see these covers!
Evolution of Pink Floyd Album Covers, 1967-1994
See more album covers at
retronaut.co
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The Worst Album Covers of 2011
The end of 2011 means that it is time for the "Best of" and "Worse of" lists to be published online and in magazines. This year, there were not as many disgusting album covers as we have seen in the past. There were not any animal mutilations or covers featuring feces and other bodily wastes.
However, there were covers featuring amputated limbs, a mutilated woman, and a nose or two being picked. There were also a couple of covers that are noteworthy for being poorly designed and disappointing to fans. My list of The Worst Album Covers of 2011 appears below in order from 10 to 1.
Read more and see some more awful album cover art at
albumartexchange.us
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here are some covers from down under:
Favourite Australian Album Covers 2011
It’s the end of the year again and another opportunity for me to look at my favourite Australian album covers from the past 12 months. All in all it was a fairly good year cover design wise – maybe the art of the album cover isn’t dead after all. While the rest of the world produced some pretty lacklustre results, Australia seemed to up it’s game with some fantastic imagery for some very interesting music produced during the year. It took some searching and as usual. most of the really inspiring stuff came from independent and under-the -radar releases rather than the more chart friendly releases, with some notable exceptions.
Read the rest at
facingsideways.wordpress.com
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and in music history for jan 2, 2012:
In 1926, the first issue of The Melody Maker magazine went on sale in the UK. Advertised as being for "all who are interested in the production of popular music", the first issue featured dance band news, a story about ukuleles and how to read music by sight.
In 1941, the Andrews Sisters recorded "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."
In 1955, the funeral of Johnny Ace was held in Memphis, TN. 5,000 people attended.
In 1962, after refusing to sign an oath that says they have never been members of the Communist party, the American Folk group, The Weavers are removed from the line-up of NBC-TV's Jack Parr Show.
In 1968, the entire shipment of John and Yoko’s album Two Virgins was seized by authorities in New Jersey due to the full frontal nude photograph of the couple on the cover. The album was eventually wrapped in plain brown paper in record stores.
In 1969, Led Zeppelin played the first of four nights at the Whisky A Go-Go, Los Angeles, during the band’s first North American tour. Support group was the Alice Cooper band.
In 1969, in London, the Beatles gathered at Twickenham Studios to begin rehearsals for their new project, conceived by Paul McCartney and tentatively titled "Get Back." What was intended to be a bare bones, "return to roots" production that would bring the band back to the camaraderie of their earliest days, proved instead to be a disaster. The studios were cold, a lot of the material was subpar, the band seemed half-hearted, and all four of them began sniping at each other over issues left unresolved from when they worked on "The White Album." No professional multi-track recordings were made of these sessions at Twickenham since they were simply rehearsing for a proposed live performance. Recording for the album was done at Apple Studios between January 22 and 31, including their famous rooftop performance on January 30. The film and album were released as "Let It Be" after the band broke up, and the Beatles went on to record one more studio album, "Abbey Road."
In 1971, George Harrison became the first solo Beatle to have a #1 album in the US when "All Things Must Pass" went to the top of the Billboard chart for a seven week stay. It was eventually certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA and was ranked #437 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
In 1972, Elvis Presley buys a $10,000 robe inscribed "The People's Champion" and presents it to boxer Muhammad Ali.
In 1974, singer/actor Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter died of a heart attack at age 68 while trying to bail a member of his band out of jail.
In 1975, US District Court Judge Richard Owen ruled in New York, that John Lennon and his lawyers will have access to Department of Immigration files pertaining to his deportation case.
In 1977, jazz pianist/composer (Misty) Erroll Garner died after a heart attack at age 55.
In 1979, the trial of ex-Sex Pistol, Sid Vicious for the October 1978 murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, opened in New York City. Vicious died of a heroin overdose, thereby not living to hear the verdict.
In 1980, singer Larry Williams was found dead from a gunshot wound to his head in his Los Angeles, California, home at age 45. Williams had the 1957 US #5 and U.K. #21 single “Short Fat Fannie.” He also was known for “Bony Moronie” and “Dizzy Miss Lizzy.” The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dr. Feelgood, Flying Burrito Brothers, Johnny Winter, Little Richard, The Who, Ritchie Valens and Bill Haley & His Comets all covered his songs.
In 1981, R&B singer David Lynch of the Platters died of cancer at age 51.
In 1989, Tom Jones made a guest appearance on Late Night With David Letterman, performing his comeback tune, "Kiss", a song he recorded with The Art of Noise. It was his first US hit in almost a dozen years.
In 1990, Phil Collins started a three-week run at the top of the Billboard album chart with "...But Seriously". It will become the second best selling album of the year, behind Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation 1814".
In 1994, Meat Loaf started a three week run at the top of the UK album chart with "Bat Out Of Hell II - Back Into Hell". The LP, which featured the single "I'd Do Anything for Love", also topped the charts in the US and Australia and has sold more than 14 million copies world-wide.
In 1997, 45 year old Randy California, who is best known as the leader of the Rock band Spirit, died tragically when he was gripped by an undertow while swimming on the coast of the Hawaiian island of Molokai. Before he died, he was able to save his 12 year-old son, Quinn.
In 2000, jazz cornet and trumpet player/composer Nat Adderley died of complications from diabetes at age 68.
In 2003, Edward Farran of The Arbors died of kidney failure at the age of 64. The group reached #20 on the Billboard chart in 1969 with their version of "The Letter".
In 2007, Cristin Keleher, who once broke into former Beatle George Harrison's Hawaii home, was found dead at age 34 after an apparent murder-suicide in California. She made headlines in December 1999 by entering Harrison's Maui estate and then cooking herself a frozen pizza. Police said her body and that of a 48-year-old man had been found in a car. Both had gunshot wounds to the head.
In 2008, Billboard.com reported that Paul McCartney underwent a heart-related surgical procedure in the latter part of 2007. Reports said the 65-year-old former Beatle had a coronary angioplasty, which involves the opening of arteries to allow greater blood flow. McCartney recovered sufficiently to perform in a televised New Year's Eve program with Kylie Minogue.
In 2009, according to official U.S. sales figures, AC/DC were the biggest sellers of 2008 with over 3.4 million in sales. Lil Wayne was in second place with 3.3 million, Taylor Swift was third with 3.2 million, Coldplay fourth with 2.5 million and Metallica fifth with 2.3 million.
birthdays today include (among others): Douglas Robb (Hoobastank) (36), Chick Churchill (Ten Years After) (66), Dawn Silva (Sly & the Family Stone, Parliament-Funkadelic) (57), Scott Underwood (Train) (50) and Robert Gregory (Babybird) (44)
