Weekly Music News

Your weekly news fix starts...now!

1. One of my favorite things this week has been reading all of the reviews of the new Gun N' Roses album Chinese Democracy. I checked it out on MySpace (as you can, too, by clicking here). Hmm. I like Appetite for Destruction - I'm not anti Gn'R as a matter of principle - but Chinese Democracy is definitely no Appetite. Still though, I think it could be a lot worse. In fact, I was expecting a lot worse. It's not on my Christmas list, but I think this is going to satisfy a lot of people. What do you think?

   The best thing I've read this week about the album is a New York Times article: How Axl Rose Spent All That Time. It offers a nice glimpse into how one takes 17 years to record an album. Thanks to Danilo Alfaro, the brains behind About.com's Culinary Arts site, for sending the article to me.

   By the way, did you know that as of 2005, $13 million had been pumped into Chinese Democracy? Did you know that, according to Orbis, 60 children go blind every hour due to poor nutrition and lack of medical care? Kind of makes you think, doesn't it?

2. Internship opportunity for aspiring music journalists: XXL is looking for interns for the spring semester. The internship is based in NYC and is unpaid, though you will receive college credit (as determined by your school). To apply, fax your resume to 212.620.7787.

3. Free piece of advice - if you commit a crime, don't confess to it in your lyrics. Rico Todriquez Wright found this out the hard way, when he wrote a song confessing to shooting his fellow Georgia native Chad Blue. Wright has now been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

4. Blip.fm has changed their format. You'll no longer be able to upload your music to their site - instead, you'll have to host your music yourself. They say this decision is due to bandwidth costs, although it seems like most people suspect that that is code for "we're scared of the RIAA." What do you think?

5. Jackson Browne and John McCain are to battle it out in court over McCain's use of Browne's song Running on Empty during his campaign. McCain claims his use of the song falls under fair use, and it actually sounds like he has a decent argument. He also claims that Browne tried to "chill free speech" (best legal term ever) by filing a lawsuit to stop him from using the song. Should be interesting to see how this one plays out.

That's all for now. Got news of your own? Let me know!