Amplifier
  • Neil Young's new/old live album A Treasure, which pairs tracks from his underrated '80s albums with unreleased material, is due out next week, and today the Canadian rock god dropped the first new/old music video for its first single, "Amber Jean." As evidenced by Young's fantastic honky-tonk outfit, this clip dates back a few decades and focuses on his more country-influenced output. The performance comes from the September 20, 1984 episode of Nashville Now and marks one of the few times this unreleased track - which shares its name with Young's then-recently born daughter -- was ever performed live. This unearthed "Amber Jean" will probably also feature on the Blu-ray that's accompanying some formats of A Treasure.

    Young's backing band, the International Harvesters, play a starring role here, and the real highlight is watching the heavy-set fiddler over Young's left shoulder when he isn't playing his fiddle; the way he awkwardly taps his leg with the beat is a lost art. The

    Read More »from Neil Young Wearing a Funny Outfit, Performing ‘Amber Jean’ in 1984
  • No Doubt have been stingy with details about their first album in a decade, but EW did leak one detail from a big interview with the band scheduled to run later this week: Gwen Stefani is done playing pop star. Calling her solo career -- which included 2004's Love. Angel. Music. Baby., 2006's The Sweet Escape, and two tours in 2005 and 2007 -- a "moment in time," Stefani explained, "It went on a little longer than we all thought it would, because it was inspired and you have to go with wherever you're at in that time in your life ... [But] everything works out how it should."

    Translation: She decided to capitalize on her fame and test the waters when the band was otherwise inactive, made the label a ton of money when "Hollaback Girl" became a megahit, and was tempted to double down two years later. So Stefani, now 41 and the mother of two, is newly devoted to the band she's been in since -- gasp! -- 1986. (And her Harajuku Girls are free! Run free, Harajuku Girls!)

    But a lot has

    Read More »from Gwen Stefani’s Solo Career Is a Wrap
  • When Beyoncé revealed the track list for her new album 4, "Party" piqued our interest the most: It's a joint production by Kanye West and Consequence (the masterminds behind the incredible "Chain Heavy") and it features a too-rare verse by Andre 3000. Thankfully, the song lives up to its billing. With a title like "Party," you'd expect another trademark Beyoncé dance track, but the song is actually better suited for an afterparty. It's a slow jam modeled in the style of Dirty Mind-era Prince but channeled through the laptop of Los Angeles funk revivalist Dam-Funk. It's like Kanye West producing an En Vogue song, so we approve. Check it out over at Nah Right because the Web Sheriff is swatting down videos on YouTube.

    Some might criticize the sound of "Party" as being too minimalist and Pro Toolsy for Top 40 radio, but it fits the genre well. "Party" is not your typical Beyoncé single, yet it's probably the best of her 4 songs so far -- but maybe that's because we applaud all efforts to

    Read More »from Beyonce Locates Andre 3000, Invites Him to ‘Party’
  • Last night, Paul Simon played an intimate show at New York's Webster Hall that was filmed for some undisclosed future release. His band was crisp, his voice was like buttah, and the highlights came late in the night: an epically gorgeous solo rendition of "The Sound of Silence" that showed off his out-of-this-world finger picking, a touching cover of "Here Comes the Sun" (which he'd performed with his pal George Harrison on SNL in 1976), and a pair of songs with special guest David Byrne. The spritely Byrne sounded incredible on the Talking Heads' "Road to Nowhere" and brought so much energy to the stage, he invigorated what was threatening to become a snoozy set -- he also nearly took a spill dancing to "You Can Call Me Al" that made the whole room gasp. But our favorite part was learning that Byrne knows about as many words to "Al" as the rest of us do.

    "Road to Nowhere"

    "You Can Call Me Al"

    "The Sound of Silence"

    "Here Comes the Sun"

    [Photo: Eugene Gologursky/WireImage.com]

    Read More »from Watch Paul Simon and David Byrne Play a Talking Heads Song
  • Did My Morning Jacket's Unstaged concert on Vevo not satiate your craving for live cuts from MMJ's new album Circuital? Hot on the heels of the band's Todd Haynes-directed webstream comes the band's VH1 Storytellers, where frontman Jim James tells the story behind older songs, from "Dondante" and "The Way That He Sings," to new tracks like "Wonderful." Watch James discuss the epic title track "Circuital" above, and check out all the MMJ performances over at the VH1 site. Unfortunately, Erykah Badu doesn't stop by for this gig.

    Read More »from Watch My Morning Jacket’s ‘VH1 Storytellers’
  • If you have 12 bucks and a working tape player, you should hurry up and order Dinosaur Jr.'s limited-edition reissue of their 1988 SST album Bug (and/or consider trading in your '89 LeBaron because hey, it's time). Only 125 "high quality purple tapes" -- yes, cassettes!! -- featuring eight-paneled artwork will be available via Joyful Noise Recordings as of June 21st. The other 125 will be up for sale on the band's 15-date tour of the U.S. and Europe where they'll be performing Bug in full at each show.

    Why now? Why cassette? It's the disc's 23rd anniversary, and yeah, there is no good reason for either of these things. But it is cool nonetheless, and hearkens back to another "Purple Tape" -- an early batch of Pixies recordings recording by the guy who "discovered" the Boston legends, Gary Smith. J Mascis and Frank Black actually attended the same Massachusetts college in the early '80s, and Mascis was a fan of Fort Apache, the local studio where Pixies laid down the Purple Tape in

    Read More »from Dinosaur Jr. Reissue 1988 Album ‘Bug’ on Cassette

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News for You

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  • Takei says Cho good choice for latest 'Star Trek'

    SINGAPORE (AP) — Portraying USS Enterprise helmsman Hikaru Sulu in the latest "Star Trek" movie comes with big shoes to fill, but the man who played the part in the TV series and six films has given his blessing to the actor currently playing the role.

  • Rare Superman comic found in house insulation

    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — It's considered the Holy Grail of comic books: Action Comics No. 1 from 1938, featuring the debut of Superman. And David Gonzales found one mixed in with old newspapers insulating a house he was renovating in a small town in Minnesota.

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    NEW YORK (AP) — Police say actress Amanda Bynes has been arrested in midtown Manhattan after she heaved a marijuana bong out of a window.

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