Nickelback's Chad Kroeger, The Folk Hero, Gets Served

By Alan Ranta on

Justice has finally been served. Not in the sense that justice has been delivered, but in the way Stan and his friends got served by a neighboring dance crew. Let's tip the scales, shall we?

Chad Kroeger, the banal growling frontman of Nickelback, was pulled over by the Canadian authorities at the typically suitable time of 2 AM on June 22, 2006. He was driving his $175,000 Lamborghini at estimated speeds of over 160 km/h (or 100 mp/h). Naturally, given the hour of the incident, he stank of booze and prompted a breathalyser test. His blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit. Chad pled not guilty anyway.

By some small miracle of faith, the court didn't go for the innocence plea and sentenced Kroeger with the harshest of penalties. On May 2, He received a $600 fine and a suspended license for a whole year. $600 wouldn't even buy a floor mat from the car he was driving, yet he still plans on appealing the ruling.

I mean, how could he ever afford a chauffeur? It's not like his band hasn't sold some 30 million albums or anything. I would hope if this happened in the U.S., the police would at least have the decency to drag him out the car by his curly mullet and curb stomp him against his diamond encrusted hubcaps untill he sobered up enough to be thrown in jail. He deserves nothing less than the star treatment, after all.

Starbucks Diverts Attention Away From Its Music Label And Back to Its Non-Free Trade Beans

By Mr P on 05-05-2008

Don't want to toot my own horn, but I saw this coming. Last week, Starbucks reported that it will be shifting attention away from its joint venture label, Hear Music, and back to its bread ‘n’ butter... uh, coffee beans. The decision was made due to minuscule gains in the music industry last year coupled with an overall company drop of 21%, from $150.8 million to $108.7 million.

Starbucks says the nosedive is due to decreased customer traffic. Not that Starbucks ever had a well-defined customer base, but its decision to stock Paul McCartney and Hilary McRae probably didn't do much to attract the younger demographic. Who wants their "Starbucks experience" to signify midlife crisis?

According to Howard Schultz, some Starbucks dude:

"Fiscal 2008 is a transitional year for Starbucks and, while our financial results are clearly being impacted by reduced frequency to our U.S. stores, we believe that as we continue to execute on the initiatives generated by our transformation agenda, we will reinvigorate the Starbucks experience for our customers."

Nine Inch Nails Release Free Album Again, Kinda Pull A Second “Radiohead”

By Mango Starr on 05-05-2008

I know a band with a lot of leisure time, and it ain't Lightning Bolt! (Because they're recording a new album in the studio right now.) It's Nine Inch Nails, and I know this because, well, they released yet another album online via their website, a quick "follow-up" to Ghosts I-IV (TMT Review). Titled The Slip, the 10-song release contains "The Discipline," a single that also garnered headlines like "Nine Inch Nails release free single!" when the band posted it on its website a couple weeks back (as if no band had ever done that before).

Take it, Trent:

as a thank you to our fans for your continued support, we are giving away the new nine inch nails album one hundred percent free, exclusively via nin.com.

the music is available in a variety of formats including high-quality MP3, FLAC or M4A lossless at CD quality and even higher-than-CD quality 24/96 WAVE. your link will include all options - all free. all downloads include a PDF with artwork and credits.

for those of you interested in physical products, fear not. we plan to make a version of this release available on CD and vinyl in july. details coming soon.

And, similar to Ghosts, The Slip, has been released under the awesome Creative Commons license.

The Slip tracklisting:

1. 999,999
2. 1,000,000
3. Letting You
4. Discipline
5. Echoplex
6. Head Down
7. Lights in the Sky
8. Corona Radiata
9. The Four of Us Are Dying
10. Demon Seed

Length: 43:45. Check the tourdates here.

Joe Lally Embarks On Solo Tour, Fugazi Continues On With Frustrating Hiatus

By Annapocalypse on 05-05-2008

Since 2002, my favorite band in the entire world, Fugazi, has been on indefinite hiatus. Do you know how difficult it is to call a band your favorite when you can’t even see them live or anticipate them releasing new music? I’ll tell you, it’s pretty difficult.

Thankfully, the members of Fugazi don’t completely hate their fans, as they’ve been respectively working on solo projects and producing other bands, keeping themselves just slightly in the public eye. Case in point: bassist Joe Lally, who is embarking on a solo tour this month in support of his newest album, Nothing Is Underrated. Whatever you do, don’t be that asshole in the crowd who yells out for him to play “Waiting Room”; that shit’s not cool.

Joe Lally Is Underrated:

INTRODUCING… TMT FILM!

By Judy Berman on 05-02-2008

Surprise! While you were smoking pot and passing out on your couch for the 17th night in a row, we gnomes were working overtime at TMT headquarters, running dangerous experiments, and offering human sacrifices to the media gods. Well, our work has finally paid off. Allow us to introduce to you the one, the only, the first, the last, the ultimate... TMT FILM!

That’s right, kids, your favorite music site is venturing into the world of moving pictures. We’ll be bringing you new content every week, including reviews, features, and coverage of film festivals around the country. Because TMT Film emerged organically from the interests of the TMT staff, we’ll be covering the kinds of movies that are most exciting to us and, we hope, to all of you. Our focus will be on independent and underground movies, foreign films, revivals, and cult stuff. That isn’t to say that we won’t offer a unique take on more mainstream fare from time to time, but, as with our music content, we want to spread the word about great work that is flying under the radar rather than add to the overexposure of blockbusters.

We know that change can be frightening at first, so we want to make sure everyone understands that the old TMT that we all love isn’t going anywhere. Music is still the center of our universe, but, as Woody Allen feared in Annie Hall, the universe is expanding. We’re not going for world domination, brand expansion, or any of that other bullshit. And we wouldn’t dream of reducing our music coverage by even a little bit.

So, click here for TMT Film. We hope you love it and can’t wait to hear what you think.

No Band Is an Island. Except Islands. Islands Is an Island; Also, Diamonds Reported on the Human Highway

By David Nadelle on 05-02-2008

When you look past the trees and see the forest, you know you’re in a safe, sane state of mind. When you look past the trees and see islands, you know you are in for a long time spent McGyvering tools, spearing fish, and talking to yourself and to painted volleyballs. Not all is lost if you see the right Islands, however. For example, if you see the six good-time goofs that comprise the band Islands, consider yourself blessed for the opportunity, regardless of the given geographical location. Islands have been playing dates already but have announced a more expansive tour that will take them throughout North America, starting May 22 in Washington, DC. Forever exuding optimism, a bit of deadpan comedy, and a love of patchwork quilts (possibly), Nicholas Thorburn and co. are a perennial audience favorite.

La isla bonita:
05.01.08 - Birmingham, AL - Bottletree
05.22.08 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
05.23.08 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unit
05.24.08 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
05.25.08 - Boston, MA - Middle East
05.27.08 - Ottawa, Ontario - Babylon
05.28.08 - Montréal, Quebec - Le National
05.29.08 - Toronto, Ontario - Phoenix
05.30.08 - London, Ontario - Call the Office
05.31.08 - Waterloo, Ontario - Starlight
06.01.08 - Detroit, MI - Crofoot
06.02.08 - Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium
06.03.08 - Minneapolis, MN - First Ave
06.04.08 - Fargo, MN - The Aquarium
06.05.08 - Winnipeg, Manitoba - West End cultural Centre
06.06.08 - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Amigo’s
06.07.08 - Edmonton, Alberta - Starlite
06.08.08 - Calgary, Alberta - Warehouse
06.10.08 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Plaza Club
06.12.08 - Seattle, WA - Neumos
06.13.08 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne
06.14.08 - Eugene, OR - U of O Grad Fest
06.16.08 - San Francisco, CA - Bimbo’s
06.17.08 - Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theater
06.19.08 - San Diego, CA - Epicentre
06.20.08 - Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
06.21.08 - Phoenix, AZ - Club House
06.23.08 - Austin, TX - Emo’s
06.24.08 - Dallas, TX - Granada
06.25.08 - Houston, TX - Walter’s
06.26.08 - Baton Rouge, LA - Chelsea’s Café
06.27.08 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
06.28.08 - Charlotte, NC - Neighborhood Theatre

If seeing the Montréal-bred sextet bounce around on stage isn't your bag, you have to at least pick up Arm's Way, Islands' second coming, which will be available May 20 through ANTI-. To not do so would be a crime against both good judgment and sanity. Period.

The Ways of The Arm:

1. The Arm
2. Pieces of You
3. J’aime vous voir quitter
4. Abominable Snow
5. Creeper
6. Kids Don’t Know Shit
7. Life in Jail
8. In the Rushes
9. We Swim
10. To a Bond
11. I Feel Evil Creeping In
12. Vertigo (If It’s a Crime)

Thorburn (don’t you hate it when musicians grow up and revert to their given surnames? Bring back Nick “Niel” Diamonds!), together with Canadian singer-songwriter, former Islands player, and Royal City/Three Gut Records lynchpin Jim Guthrie, have formed an old-fashioned r ‘n’ r combo called Human Highway. Human Highway will release its album Moody Motorcycle August 19 on Suicide Squeeze (Secret City Records in Canada). Expect an orgy of Everly Brothers-styled oldies and, according to label monkeys, “hot man-on-man vocal action.” Hmm, about time!

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