The Mercury News
By Shay Quillen
Two weekend concerts reflect evolution of group
They’ve traded their track-suits for tailored suits, but after 25 years, the Beastie Boys still know how to throw a party.
Or two.
That’s what they did in the Bay Area this weekend, with a “dress to impress” instrumental gala Friday at the Warfield followed by a more informal bash Saturday at Berkeley’s Greek Theatre.
Times Union (Albany)
By Michael Eck
CLIFTON PARK — When does that mercurial mix of charisma, eccentricity and brilliance tip into self-parody?
Keith Richards might have some thoughts on that. So might singer David Allan Coe, if he hadn’t already made the trip himself.
Coe really is brilliant. Underneath all the wild hair, the braided beard and the tattoos (some in places you wouldn’t even imagine) lie a thoughtful mien and a poetic heart. Heck, he’d be the first to tell you that. But, as will happen, Coe has deeply bought into his own myth, turning a string of minor incarcerations into a fable and developing a self-referential streak stronger than any rapper’s (rare is the song in which he doesn’t drop his own name).
The Seattle Times
Associated Press
The rocker was awarded his qualification Thursday by London’s Imperial College and said submitting his thesis, “Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud,” to supervisors was as nerve-racking as any stadium gig.
“I’m feeling rather joyful,” May said Thursday. “I cannot tell you how much of a weight off the mind it is.”
By Natalie Martinez
Mercury News
For those of you hoping to catch Amy Winehouse during her U.S. tour, you’re out of luck.
The upcoming shows have been canceled because the “Rehab” singer is, well, probably in rehab, according E! (www.eonline.com).
She checked herself into rehab last week, E! said, and may have checked herself out.
Wherever she is, her family is speaking out about the latest turn in Winehouse’s struggle with drugs and alcohol. You know, Winehouse is known for her soulful voice as much as her wild behavior.
Winehouse’s husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, talked to E!: “She’s determined to get well. It’s not as bad as everyone thinks, but she’s fine.”
National Public Radio (NPR)
By Lisa Chow
The band toured the United States before the album’s release, performing at the South by Southwest musical festival in Austin, Texas, and several shows in New York.
International Herald Tribune
By Toby Sterling
Associated Press
An engineering marvel at the time but instantly recognizable today, the compact disc turns 25 years old on Friday. But in an age of iPods and MP3 players, the CD’s future is increasingly in doubt.
Those first CDs contained the Alpine symphony by Strauss and would sound equally sharp if played today, according to Royal Philips Electronics, which jointly developed the CD with Sony.
Yahoo News
AFP
The 17-year-old Los Angeles teenager was the centrepiece of one of the most iconic record sleeves of all time in 1991, when a photo of him swimming underwater graced the cover of Nirvana’s hit album “Nevermind.”
But Elden admitted in an interview with MTV.com that his small role in music history has given him mixed feelings.
Contra Costa Times
By Tony Hicks
STAFF WRITER
Technically, it’s his girlfriend’s balcony. But with his tightly shorn hair and goatee, and tidy gray sweater and jeans, Osborne fits well amongst the Mediterranean colors and art. The whole scene reeks of an urban, upwardly mobile professional, not necessarily someone who plays music for people calling themselves cowboys.
“Bananas … huh?” he asks.
sgvtribune.com
BY MICHELLE J. MILLS, STAFF WRITER
The metal glam band earned a spot in the L.A. scene in the mid-’80s and, despite the critics, have proved their salt over the years with the platinum effort, “Open Up and Say… Ahhh!,” the multi-platinum “Flesh & Blood” and “The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock,” which went gold.
International Herald Tribune
Culture
By Joseph P. Kahn
The Boston Globe
WASHINGTON, Massachusetts: This year has already marked several milestone anniversaries in the life of Arlo Guthrie, unrepentant litterbug and patriarch of one of America’s iconic musical families.
On July 10, the silver-haired singer-songwriter celebrated his 60th birthday here at his hillside compound in the Berkshires, surrounded by his four children and a brood of grandchildren. The party, a low-key burgers-and-beer affair, came in the middle of a rare solo tour by Guthrie and coincided with the release of a new live recording titled “In Times Like These,” on which Guthrie is accompanied by the University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra.
RTE News
He was aged 74 and had been suffering from lung cancer.
A musician, artist, poet and storyteller, he was best known as a member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem.
Yahoo Xtra
Entertainment
By Splash
The US rocker said he would scribble on them with permanent marker - a Sharpie - if he found them unconscious.
And he joked that he would perform a sick practical joke on them - placing his genitals in their mouths in a stunt known as teabagging.