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Click to listen to Lindstrøm’s ‘Quiet Place to Live (Todd Rundgren Remix)’

Norwegian producer Hans-Peter Lindstrøm has created remixes of songs by countless artists, including LCD Soundsystem, Best Coast and Roxy Music. But the tables were recently turned on him when Todd Rundgren agreed to remix Lindstrøm’s original track “Quiet Place To Live.” ”When speaking about possible remixers for the album with friend partner in crime Prins Thomas, he suggested that I rather ask anybody special instead of the usual suspects,” Lindstrøm says.

“When suggesting Todd Rundgren, I told him: ‘Yeah that would have been awesome!,’ but I THOUGHT that it was never gonna happen. However, when mentioning it to Joakim from smalltown, he told me that he was gonna give it a shot, since he already knew his management,” Lindstrøm says. “Less than a week after, he agreed upon doing a remix of ‘Quiet Place To Live’ from my new album. I’m not aware of any other remixes he’s done before, in which case this feels really special as Todd Rundgren’s  music has been inspiring me a lot over the years.” 

Article source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-listen-to-todd-rundgrens-remix-of-lindstroms-quiet-place-to-live-20120202

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Jack White, Beck and Bon Iver will headline the 11th annual Sasquatch Music Festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington this Memorial Day Weekend. The festival will also include performances by the Shins, Feist, the Roots, Tune-Yards, Wild Flag, Spiritualized, St. Vincent, the Walkmen, Girl Talk, Tenacious D, Explosions in the Sky, Gary Clark Jr., Beirut, the Joy Formidable, the Civil Wars, Silversun Pickups, M. Ward and Blitzen Trapper. In addition to these and many other bands, the weekend will also feature comedy performances by the cast of Portlandia, Todd Barry, John Mulaney, Nick Kroll, Rob Delaney and others.

Beck’s appearance at the top of the bill will come as a surprise to many fans of the alt-rock icon, who has been almost entirely absent from the stage since 2009. This could be an indication that the songwriter is working on new material, which would be his first since Modern Guilt came out in the summer of 2008.

Jack White’s headlining slot is also noteworthy, as it is the first solo gig announced for the former White Stripes frontman, who will release Blunderbuss, his first album under his own name, in April.

You can watch a video announcement for the festival below.

Article source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/jack-white-beck-bon-iver-to-headline-sasquatch-festival-20120203

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Liz Phair has certainly inspired us – her 1993 debut, Exile in Guyville, is one of our 500 Greatest Albums of All Time – and now we have inspired her. Rolling Stone reached out to the singer-songwriter/provocateur to share her thoughts on Lana Del Rey, who has been as intensely loved and loathed by fans and media in recent weeks as Phair herself was in the Nineties.

Unfortunately for us, Phair said she wasn’t interested in sharing her perspective on Del Rey. But she then penned an op-ed on the subject for the Wall Street Journal. ”Lana Del Rey seems to be bothering everybody because she allegedly ‘remade’ herself from a folk singing, girl-next-door type into an electro-urban kitty cat on the prowl (of course I like her), and they feel she is inauthentic,” Phair writes. “I would argue that the uncomfortable feelings she elicits are simply the by-product of watching a woman wanting and taking like a man.”

We would have loved to run this piece, but, instead, we’ll settle for recommending it.

Read Liz Phair’s full Lana Del Rey op-ed.

Article source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/liz-phair-defends-lana-del-rey-20120205

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Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon has announced plans to collaborate with Alicia Keys on a project he hopes will include many other female singers. “I have a big idea to do an American songbook of the greatest women singers. There are so many: Casey [Dienel] from White Hinterland, Bonnie Raitt, Alicia,” he told USA Today. Vernon has already written songs with Keys, but so far it’s unclear exactly how they will be recorded and released.

Vernon is set to perform with Bon Iver on Saturday Night Live this weekend and will appear at the Grammys the following week as a nominee for Best New Artist, Record and Song of the Year. The songwriter has already begun work on a new disc with his side project Volcano Choir, but warns his fans that he may not release a new Bon Iver album for several years. “I don’t have songs written yet,” he says. “I’m guessing three years. But it could be five. It could be only one more. It just depends when the songs come about. I sort of have to wait till they reveal themselves.”

Article source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bon-iver-collaborating-with-alicia-keys-20120203

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Soul Train creator Don Cornelius’ son, Tony Cornelius, has spoken out on his father’s apparent suicide earlier this week. “The family is saddened as we mourn the loss of Don Cornelius,” he said in a statement to CNN. “At this time, we respectfully ask that you allow our family and friends the privacy necessary to get through this difficult time. We thank all the well-wishers and the fans who have supported the Soul Train legacy.”

Artists closely associated with Cornelius and Soul Train have also issued comments on the host’s passing. “It’s a heartbreak to the music world, to the television world, and it is a heartbreak to me personally,” Stevie Wonder said in a statement. “That’s why we have to always reach out to friends and put our best love forward. God bless his family and God bless his soul.”

“My deepest condolence goes out to his family and to the multitude of his friends in this time of sorrow and grief,” Dionne Warwick told CNN. “The world has lost an icon of the broadcasting world, and I personally have lost a dear friend.”

“Don Cornelius was simply a genius and the contributions he made to music and our culture are second to none,” said Patti LaBelle. “I will always treasure the fond memories I have of working with Don over the years and being part of the history that he created through Soul Train. He will truly be missed, and my heart and prayers go out to his family.”

Article source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/don-cornelius-son-speaks-out-on-fathers-death-20120203

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Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon says his band turned down an offer to play the upcoming Grammy Awards telecast because they were not comfortable with the required collaborative appearance. “We kind of said ‘fuck you’ a little bit,” the singer told Billboard.

The problem, said Vernon, was not the musicians with whom Bon Iver was being asked to perform. “Awesome people,” he said, without naming them. “People I would love to play a song with. But you know what? Fuckin’ rock roll should not be decided by people that have that job [booking the show]. Rock roll should be the fuckin’ people with guitars around their backs.”   

Article source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/why-bon-iver-isnt-playing-the-grammys-20120203

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Adam Lambert is reportedly singing with Queen, replacing the American Idol winner’s own late idol, Freddie Mercury. Lambert broke the news to the U.K.’s Daily Star.

Article source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/adam-lambert-is-queens-new-singer-20120203

There is a lot to recommend about a Skrillex show: Sonny Moore’s pure rock charisma, an exceptionally well-designed light show, the raw enthusiasm of the dance-happy fans. But the main attractions are the drops, in which the dubstep star hits the crowd with a heavy, plunging bass line accompanied by wild, stuttering beats. Skrillex didn’t invent the drop – it’s been a convention of dubstep and electronic dance music for years – but he’s a virtuoso of the style, and the man most likely to bring the sound fully into the mainstream. (Britney Spears gets credit as the first pop star to include a drop in a major hit, with her smash “Hold it Against Me” last year.)

If you’ve never heard a drop, it sounds like this: 

This is one way of dancing to a drop: 

The bass drop has an exciting effect on a studio recording, but to really understand its appeal, you need to witness it in a live setting. Skrillex uses it like a joy buzzer, periodically zapping the audience with a jolt of low end. It’s an extremely physical thing – the bass gets so loud that the vibrations shake your body. It’s as if he’s reaching out and physically touching and pushing the crowd, enforcing the communal experience with a rattling sound that everyone feels at once, whether they are enjoying the music or not.

It’s a thrilling feeling, and once you’ve experienced it a few times, you start jonesing for more. Skrillex is fully aware of this, and uses it to his advantage. All through last night’s packed gig at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan, he stretched out on a variety of musical tangents, always circling back to reward the audience with increasingly visceral drops. In addition to including bits of his own hits “Rock N’ Roll (Will Take You to the Mountain),” “Bangarang” and “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites,” Skrillex added drops to familiar hits like Damian Marley’s “Welcome to Jamrock” and the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize.” These songs go over well with their high recognition factor, but they fit seamlessly into the set and served as a subtle argument for the flexibility of dubstep as a genre. Skrillex was particularly compelling whenever he integrated elements of dancehall and reggae, with the harsh bass tone and jagged rhythms contrasting nicely with the warm, relaxed melodies.

Skrillex is already popular enough to headline festivals and play several large gigs in one week in both Los Angeles and New York, but he’s poised to get even bigger this year. He’s up for Artist of the Year at the Grammys next weekend, and though he’s a bit of a long shot in that race, it’s a good indication that the record industry is keenly aware of his star power and potential to bring this niche sound into the mainstream. It wouldn’t be surprising if Skrillex-style bass drops became a ubiquitous feature of pop music in the next few years – it’s a fresh sound that could get shoehorned into a wide variety of tunes chasing after the zeitgeist. (Skrillex has already dropped the bass on Korn’s latest album, The Path of Totality.) It’s hard to imagine many artists beating Skrillex himself at his own game though, at least not any time soon. For now, this guy is the king of the drops.

Article source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/skrillex-drops-the-bass-in-manhattan-20120204

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A spokesperson for Drake has responded to the lawsuit filed against the rapper over royalties for the song ”Marvin’s Room.” As Rolling Stone reported yesterday, a woman who says she is Drake’s ex-girlfriend is claiming that she was wrongfully excluded from sharing co-writer royalties for the song. 

“This claim is entirely without merit and our client has not engaged in any wrongful conduct,” the spokesperson told Rolling Stone. ”Ericka Lee consented to the use of her voice in the song ‘Marvin’s Room’ prior to its release. Lee asked only for the credit she received as ‘Syren Lyric Muse,’ and she did not ask for any compensation. It was only after she retained a lawyer that there was a demand for payment.  Drake tried for months to resolve the matter amicably, and he now looks forward to being vindicated in court.”

Article source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/drake-rep-responds-to-marvins-room-lawsuit-20120204

This weekend Madonna will join the ranks of an elite group of superstars including Michael Jackson, U2, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Diana Ross and Tom Petty who have performed at the Super Bowl halftime show.

While many of the biggest names in music have played the show over the past two decades, there are still some major stars – including Eminem, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, Van Halen and Pearl Jam – who have yet to do it. Our question for you is: Who should play the Super Bowl halftime show next year?

Random Notes

You can vote here in the comments, on facebook.com/rollingstone, or on Twitter using the #weekendrock hashtag.

Article source: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/weekend-rock-question-who-should-play-next-years-super-bowl-halftime-20120203