Soundbites: Rod Stewart devastates Rock Hall Of Fame, Tupac’s hologram goes on tour, Tellison review


In today’s Soundbites – our look back at the past week’s news, reviews, and tabloid gossip – Rod Stewart allows Mick Hucknall to infiltrate the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame (to devastating results), deceased musicians create White Albums and go out on tour, John Lydon sides with the monarchy this time around, the latest Tellison track is reviewed and our pick of the week’s new videos is selected.

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So in the end Axl Rose wasn’t the only one to decide the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame wasn’t a particularly good use of his time and resources. Though to be fair, the two other main absentees were forced to withdraw due to health reasons. The Beastie Boys had to cancel a planned performance due to an unspecified illness being suffered by Adam Yauch, while Rod Stewart admitted he was ‘absolutely devastated’ not to be able to appear with the Faces due to a bout of ‘flu – though not nearly as devastated as those in attendance who discovered Mick Hucknall had once again taken his place. Take a look at a snippet of the Guns n Roses’ performance at the ceremony.

As Universal prepare to re-release ‘God Save The Queen’ in a not-at-all cynical money making exercise, the band’s former frontman John Lydon has this time distanced himself from the plans, saying: “I am proud of what the Sex Pistols achieved and always will be but this campaign totally undermines what the Sex Pistols stood for. This is not my campaign.” Lydon, however, refused to reveal whether he himself would be upholding what the Pistols stood for by making another butter advert. Read his full comments here.

So the 456th series of Later…with Jools Holland began this week, to calls from some for the show to be given an apparently long overdue makeover. While it’s hard to argue that the formula hasn’t become very familiar over the years, history suggests the results of a committee re-branding almost always leaves said show in a far worse state than it was before, and while it’s far from perfect, Later… remains the only place to find the likes of Paul Weller, The Maccabees and Paul Buchanan all under one roof on terrestrial TV – that in itself will always make it worthwhile. Let’s just leave it be eh?

The brains behind the hologram of late rapper Tupac Shakur, which starred along side Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg at last weekend’s Coachella festival, have said it ‘makes sense’ to take the hologram on tour. “This is obviously a historic and exciting initiative that we’re all witnessing currently, and it would make sense for them to bring it to Europe and maybe take it to the rest of the world,” projection firm Musion’s Head of Music Sanj Surati has said. Could take reunions to a whole new level, couldn’t it?

Graham Coxon unveiled the promo for his latest single ‘Oh Yeh Yeh’ this week. Beginning with Coxon doing his best Subterranean Bob Dylan impression – all black and white film and London backstreets – the camera soon pans round to commence a few minutes of pleasing ’ooh look at that’ Bedknobs & Broomsticks trickery. Visit our Videos section to sort through all of the week’s new and classic videos.

This week, Hole‘s Eric Erlandson told US TV station Fuse Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain had been working on a solo album before his death which he believes would have been ‘his White Album’. “He was headed in a direction that was really cool,” Erlandson revealed. “It would have been his ‘White Album’. That’s really what he was going towards, a solo album but working with different people.” Read his full comments here.

In a world of constant change, it’s comforting to know that somewhere in the world, on some stage, Band Of Skulls are still relentlessly blowing amps up left, right and centre. “Yeah, Emma joined the club at this SXSW,” frontman Russell Marsden said. “It was at the show we did for KCRW. It was quite dramatic and ended in a cloud of expensive smoke. That’s what happens sometimes when you throw yourself in to the chaos of SXSW.” Marsden was speaking to Live4ever this week as part of our Band Of Skulls Ablaze feature. Be sure to check out the full interview here, while a comprehensive photo gallery of their gig in Williamsburg with We Are Augustines, as well as a review of their recent Los Angeles gig have also been published this week. Don’t say we’re not good to you.

Tellison will release their new single ‘Freud Links The Teeth and The Heart‘ on May 28th. As the title immediately suggests, this isn‘t your average love-soaked ditty, and in something of a departure for the band instead offers a quirky, awkward and understated look at love in the grandest tradition of The Divine Comedy and Belle & Sebastian. In a superb twist of metaphor, the band bring their emotions to the familiarly unnerving surroundings of a dentist‘s waiting room, where teeth are aching and hearts are breaking. ‘Freud Links The Teeth and The Heart‘ is featured in today’s New Tunes Guide. Look, listen, discover.


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