“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” soundtrack rises to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 this week, selling 153,000 copies (up 33%) in its first full week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The Summit/Chop Shop/Atlantic album, which features music by Death Cab for Cutie, Thom Yorke and the Killers, arrived on the chart last week with 115,000 after an early release last Friday (Oct. 16) pushed it onto the list with just three days of sales. “New Moon” is the second soundtrack this year to top the Billboard 200, following the “Hannah Montana: the Movie” album (Read more…)

The brash and edgy sarcasm of Jimmy Young, frontman, guitarist and songwriter of rock powerhouse People, inspired him to dub the L.A. based band’s debut The Cliche-but in reality, between their blistering live performances, hard hitting, deep and melodic songwriting, futuristic space punk rock vibe and inspiring star-studded rock collaborations make them pretty damn original. While the album’s first single and video for “The Kids” hit nationwide and build mightily on People’s intense West Coast cult following, old and young modern rock fans looking for the real deal will love the fact that Young got veteran punk/metal producer Dave Jerden (Jane’s Addiction, Alice in Chains, Mary’s Danish) to produce and Jerden’s right hand sound guy, Bryan Carlstrom (Billy Idol, The Offspring) to engineer. Before they even get acquainted with Young’s sharp, cliche free songwriting, these discriminating fans will no doubt claim the ten song set as a piece of rock history because it’s the last recording to feature former longtime Marilyn Manson bassist Gidget Gein, who died of a heroin overdose in October 2008, five days after he played with People at The Roxy and just before the band was set to do a Northeastern tour with Semi Precious Weapons. While the current lineup of the band-including co-founder and Chicago bred drummer Matty O. (aka “O”), keyboardist Grant Rhodes and new bassist Matt Powers-is excited about celebrating the legacy of Gein and the inspiration his musical and visual art brought to People’s first full-length recording, they’re definitely focused on the incredibly bright future. The major buzz they’ve generated from the two years the group has headlined in L.A. (at The Troubadour, El Rey and Sunset Strip landmarks like Viper Room, House of Blues) is about to reach the Midwest as People performs in New York at Sullivan Hall in June and at the indie rock festival D-Fest in Tulsa (known by many as “the next South By Southwest). The video for “The Kids”-a track lamenting the lack of social consciousness and political motivation of those who grew up in the grunge era-will soon air on outlets like MTV2, Fuse and Much Music, and People has over 30,000 online fans between the band’s myspace page and that of Powers, a solo artist in his own right who released his debut album Neverending Aftermath in 2007. Another cut getting major traction is the blistering “Song For The People,” which addresses the hypocrisy of bands who act too good for their fans and reminds them that at the end of the day, we’re all the same, and no matter what we go through, we’re still alive and kicking. “Cheap Money” is Young’s ode to the way materialistic people in L.A. think they can use money as a way to manipulate people. Dave Jerden says, “I’ve made my share of records, but every once in a while a project comes along that is just plain fun to do. Working with People was not only fun but a creative experience for myself.”

With a line up already boasting METALLICA, LINKIN PARK, THIN LIZZY, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, NINE INCH NAILS and ALICE IN CHAINS amongst others, SONISPHERE FESTIVAL KNEBWORTH has managed to impress once again, with four new additions to the already stellar line up, perfectly showcasing the diversity of the most exciting Rock event the UK has seen in years.

Platinum selling Welsh rockers FEEDER are joining the all-star SONISPHERE cast. FEEDER boast 24 top 75 singles (20 of which hit the top 40) and 8 top 75 albums in the UK, a remarkable achievement for any band and one recognised by the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums, which names FEEDER one of the most successful UK chart acts of the last 50 years. Hit singles such as ‘Buck Rogers’ and ‘Come Back Around’ are perfectly suited for a hot summer’s day at Knebworth.

LINE UP SO FAR:

METALLICA
LINKIN PARK
AIRBOURNE
ALICE IN CHAINS
ANTHRAX
AVENGED SEVENFOLD
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
FEEDER
FRANK TURNER
KILLING JOKE
LAMB OF GOD
MACHINE HEAD
MASTODON
NINE INCH NAILS
SKINDRED
TAKING BACK SUNDAY
THE SWORD
THIN LIZZY

Harmonix has announced plans today to release Rock Band Unplugged for the PSP(R) (PlayStation(R)Portable) system. Rock Band Unplugged, developed by Harmonix in partnership with Backbone Entertainment, a Foundation 9 Entertainment studio, and based on the award-winning Rock Band series of games, will launch simultaneously in both North America and Europe June 9, 2009. The game will launch exclusively on the PSP system with software retailing for $39.99 in North America. Rock Band Unplugged creates a full band experience in the palm of your hand by combining traditional beat match gameplay with key elements from both Rock Band and Rock Band 2, such as overdrive and chords. Your hands are the “peripherals” in Rock Band Unplugged allowing you to take direct control of the lead/bass guitars, drums and vocals. In addition, players can expect a rich Rock Band experience with fully functional modes like World Tour, Band Survival and Warm Up and a robust character creator for full customization! The following tracks will launch exclusively through Rock Band Unplugged on the PSP system for a limited time before becoming downloadable content for the other platforms:

- 3 Doors Down - “Kryptonite”
- AFI - “Miss Murder”
- Alice in Chains - “Would?”
- Audioslave - “Gasoline”
- Black Tide - “Show Me the Way”
- Blink 182 - “What’s My Age Again”
- Freezepop - “Less Talk More Rokk”
- Jackson 5 - “ABC”
- Tenacious D - “Rock Your Socks”

To commemorate the debut of the Rock Band franchise on the PSP system, Sony Computer Entertainment America plans to release a limited edition Rock Band branded PSP Entertainment Pack at the launch of Rock Band Unplugged. The bundle will include the game, a voucher to download Paramount Pictures’ School of Rock from PlayStation(R)Store, a 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo(TM), and a “Piano Black” PSP system. The Rock Band Entertainment Pack will be available in North America for $199.99 (MSRP).

SONISPHERE FESTIVAL are running a competition this weekend with 3 pairs of weekend camping tickets to give away. Sonisphere’s underground network will be planting USB sticks at three gigs this weekend, they are going to hide Stickets (USB Sticks) with access to two free weekend camping tickets on it at each gig. Clues to where these Stickets are will be posted on Twitter (http://twitter.com/sonisphere) by the Sonisphere moles 24 hours before the drops and through out the night! So make sure your phone is Twitter enabled, and you are rock lovin’ sonofabitch out on the town and you might just get to go to the hardest face-to-the-gravel guitar shredding lineup this summer has to offer for free. (www.sonispherefestivals.com)

Line Up: Metallica >> Linkin Park >> Nine Inch Nails >> Bullet For My Valentine >> Avenged Sevenfold >> Machine Head >> Anthrax >> Alice in Chains >> Lamb Of God >> Airbourne >> Killing Joke >> Thin Lizzy >> Mastodon >> The Sword >>

With a line up already boasting METALLICA, LINKIN PARK, ALICE IN CHAINS, THIN LIZZY and other rock greats, SONISPHERE is proud to announce 4 more giants to this year’s festival line up at Knebworth.

NINE INCH NAILS, ANTHRAX, AIRBOURNE and KILLING JOKE are now all confirmed for the event.

LINE UP SO FAR:

AIRBOURNE
ALICE IN CHAINS
ANTHRAX
AVENGED SEVENFOLD
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
KILLING JOKE
LAMB OF GOD
LINKIN PARK
MACHINE HEAD
MASTODON
METALLICA
NINE INCH NAILS
THE SWORD
THIN LIZZY

More about Nine Inch Nails.
Nine Inch Nails were the most popular industrial group ever and were largely responsible for bringing the music to a mass audience. It isn’t really accurate to call NIN a group; the only official member is singer/producer/multi-instrumentalist Trent Reznor, who always remained solely responsible for NIN’s musical direction (he was, however, supported in concert by a regular backing band). Unlike the vast majority of industrial artists, Reznor wrote melodic, traditionally structured songs where lyrics were a focal point. His pop instincts not only made the harsh electronic beats of industrial music easier to digest, but also put a human face on a style that usually tried to sound as mechanical as possible. While Ministry crossed over to heavy metal audiences, NIN built up a large alternative rock fan base right around the time of Nirvana’s mainstream breakthrough. As a result, Reznor became a genuine star and his notoriously dark, brooding persona and provocateur instincts made him a Jim Morrison-esque sex symbol for the ’90s. A long period of inactivity and writer’s block followed, which gave virtually every alternative metal band of the late ’90s a chance to rip off elements of NIN’s sound. By the time Reznor’s five-year hiatus finally ended, he was still a popular figure but his commercial momentum had slowed somewhat.

Michael Trent Reznor was born May 17, 1965, in the small town of Mercer, PA; he went by his middle name to avoid confusion with his father, Michael. At age five, Reznor’s parents divorced and he wound up being raised mostly by his maternal grandparents; even so, Reznor stated repeatedly that his childhood was mostly happy. He began playing the piano at age five, studying classical music, and later learned tenor sax and tuba in the school band; he also acted in musicals and became an avid Kiss fan. Reznor spent a year studying music and computers at Allegheny College, but dropped out after a year to pursue music full-time; he soon packed up and moved to Cleveland with high school friend Chris Vrenna. Around the same time, he was discovering new wave and assorted underground music; he was most fascinated with early industrial, since it offered an edgy, aggressive way to use electronic instruments. At age 19, he successfully auditioned to join an AOR band called the Innocent, which released one album, Livin’ in the Streets (Reznor’s picture does appear on the jacket). He quit the Innocent after just three months and subsequently gigged with local bands; he also worked in a keyboard store and as a janitor in the local Right Track recording studio. Eventually, he became a studio engineer, teaching himself various computer applications and working on his own material during off hours. In 1987, Reznor appeared in the Michael J. Fox/Joan Jett film Light of Day, where he played keyboards with a trio dubbed the Problems during a bar scene.

As Nine Inch Nails, Reznor began recording his own Ministry- and Skinny Puppy-influenced compositions in 1988, playing all the instruments himself. At first, he simply hoped to release a 12″ single on a small European label, but when he sent demo tapes to around ten American labels, nearly every one offered him a deal. He wound up signing with TVT, which released NIN’s debut album, Pretty Hate Machine, in 1989 (after having rejected an initial effort called Industrial Nation). Reznor quickly assembled a backing band and toured with Skinny Puppy for a short time, but soon tired of playing for strictly industrial artists. With a tighter outfit featuring Chris Vrenna on drums and Richard Patrick on guitar (plus several revolving-door keyboardists), he consciously chose to open for alt-rock acts (including, early on, the Jesus and Mary Chain and Peter Murphy), partly for the challenge of winning over fans who might not have liked industrial music. The strategy helped expand Nine Inch Nails’ fan base substantially; the single “Down in It” got some airplay in dance clubs, reaching Billboard’s dance and modern rock charts, and MTV later picked up on the video for the more rock-oriented “Head Like a Hole.” In 1991, after settling on keyboardist James Woolley, Nine Inch Nails became part of the inaugural Lollapalooza tour, which expanded their fan base by leaps and bounds. Pretty Hate Machine’s momentum kept building slowly, and although it never climbed higher than number 75, it spent over two years on the album charts and eventually sold over a million copies — one of the first indie-label rock albums to do so.

TVT had a massive hit on their hands, and to ensure that Reznor would produce another one, they attempted to take control of the follow-up’s creative direction. Enraged by the outside meddling, Reznor tried to secure a release from his contract, leading to a vicious court battle. His only recording outlets were side projects; in 1990, he co-wrote and sang on “Suck,” a track on Pigface’s debut album, Gub, and also sang on the Al Jourgensen-led 1000 Homo DJs cover of Black Sabbath’s “Supernaut.” (TVT ordered Reznor’s vocals removed from the track, but Jourgensen actually just altered them slightly and said he’d re-recorded it.) Eventually, he was able to sign with Interscope, which helped him set up his own label, the Cleveland-based Nothing imprint. Reznor had been recording new material on the sly, and in 1992 Nothing released the EP Broken as well as a concurrent remix disc titled Fixed. Broken featured more (and heavier) guitars than Pretty Hate Machine, partly in response to NIN’s live sound and partly as a sonic evocation of Reznor’s boiling frustration in the wake of the legal wars; it also featured two bonus cuts, a version of “Suck” and the Adam Ant cover “(You’re So) Physical,” a nod to Reznor’s new wave roots. Despite many reviews characterizing the EP as a harrowing, difficult listen, Broken — supported by NIN’s now-considerable fan base — debuted in the Top Ten and the first single/video, “Wish,” won a Grammy for Best Heavy Metal Performance. Reznor enhanced his reputation as a provocateur with a widely banned clip for “Happiness in Slavery,” which depicted S&M performance artist Bob Flanagan being torn apart by a machine; there was also a long-form clip for Broken that was never released commercially due to its graphic content (a torture victim is dismembered while viewing NIN videos).

Reznor moved to Los Angeles to craft the second full-length NIN album, assembling a studio in the house where actress Sharon Tate was murdered by Charles Manson’s associates. The Downward Spiral was a highly ambitious work, a concept album indebted to progressive rock that featured the most detailed, layered studio craft of any NIN release yet. Hugely anticipated, the album debuted at number two and became one of the bleakest multi-platinum albums ever. Richard Patrick had departed the touring band to form Filter, and Reznor revamped the group with drummer Vrenna, keyboardist Woolley, guitarist Robin Finck, and bassist Danny Lohner. NIN caused a sensation at that summer’s 25th-anniversary Woodstock concert, performing a ferocious set after horsing around and covering themselves in mud just before hitting the stage. Meanwhile, MTV had put an edited version of the video for “Closer” in heavy rotation and NIN scored one of the year’s unlikeliest hits: a song whose chorus began “I want to fuck you like an animal,” which helped make Reznor one of alternative rock’s biggest sex symbols. The subdued ballad “Hurt” gained some further airplay, even though it lacked the titillating shock value of “Closer.” Later in the year, Reznor assembled the soundtrack of Oliver Stone’s controversial Natural Born Killers, editing the songs together to create an innovative collage; he also guested on “Past the Mission,” a track on Tori Amos’ second album, Under the Pink. In 1995, with new keyboardist Charlie Clouser, Nine Inch Nails hit the road with David Bowie, whose late-’70s albums (along with Pink Floyd) had been a major influence on The Downward Spiral. He also contributed a cover of Joy Division’s “Dead Souls” to the soundtrack of The Crow and issued the remix album Further Down the Spiral, which nearly reached the Top 20 (a testament to his popularity).

Using money from The Downward Spiral, Reznor built a state-of-the-art studio in New Orleans in a building that had once been a funeral home. While pondering his next move in the wake of his sudden stardom, he produced Nothing signee Marilyn Manson’s second album, Antichrist Superstar, which did indeed make him a superstar. In 1997, longtime friend Vrenna had a falling out with Reznor and eventually was replaced by Jerome Dillon; Reznor’s maternal grandmother also passed away that year and his friendship with Manson soon deteriorated. Even so, he produced another movie soundtrack, for David Lynch’s Lost Highway, and contributed the new single “The Perfect Drug,” which flitted unpredictably between several different rhythm tracks. Though “The Perfect Drug” kept him in the public eye for a time, Reznor was still unsure what kind of statement would be an appropriate follow-up to The Downward Spiral; that uncertainty resulted in a severe case of writer’s block. In the meantime, NIN were proving vastly influential on a new crop of bands; major labels signed up industrial metal outfits like Filter and Stabbing Westward, and an assortment of alternative metal bands started grafting industrial production flourishes onto their music; Guns N’ Roses lead singer Axl Rose even fired the rest of his band and holed up in a studio to pursue a more NIN-influenced direction.

Nine Inch Nails finally returned in 1999 with the double-CD opus The Fragile. It debuted at number one with massive first-week sales, but slipped down the charts rather quickly afterward, perhaps because the musical climate had changed a great deal over the past five years. The remix album Things Falling Apart followed a year later, as did an extensive world tour. An album of live performances culled from the tour, And All That Could Have Been, was released in early 2002. Reznor was largely quiet during the next three years, finally re-emerging in 2005 with another chart-topper, With Teeth. Touring continued into 2006, where NIN spent the spring and summer on the road with various support acts including Saul Williams, Bauhaus, TV on the Radio, and Peaches. The EP Every Day Is Exactly the Same appeared in April 2006; it contained the title track and five various remixes (all originally from With Teeth). Touring America followed, and then late in the year Reznor was back in the studio working on the next album. In early 2007 the band resumed touring, this time in Europe. A viral marketing campaign began when USB key chains that contained new songs were found in the restrooms during NIN shows. These key chains also contained a noisy audio file that, when run through a spectrum analyzer, drew an audio wave in the shape of a phone number. The phone numbers were answering machines filled with conspiracy theories, there were fake websites strewn across the net, and busy Internet forums and wikis appeared to theorize about and document it all. The big payoff appeared in April when the dystopian concept album Year Zero arrived. A year later Reznor began experimenting with different methods of distribution when he made the Saul Williams album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust available as a digital download. Reznor had helped produce the album and had planned to release it on his Nothing imprint but as his distaste for the major label system increased, so did the possibilities of digital distribution. He completely broke free from the system when he left Interscope and released the entirely instrumental album Ghosts I-IV on his own in 2008, making it available in both digital download and CD formats. The album’s release also marked the end of his Interscope distributed Nothing label and the beginning of a new imprint, Null Corporation.