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Leona Lewis Reportedly Punched by Man at London Book Signing

BASOAdmin — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:14:22 +0000

Photo: Martindale/WireImage.com

Leona Lewis was reportedly punched in the side of the head during a book signing today in London, Yahoo! U.K. reports. Lewis was at Piccadilly Circus to sign copies of her autobiography Dreams when, 90 minutes in, “a guy came up and punched her to the side of the head,” Lewis’ spokesperson said. Initial reports indicated Lewis was slapped, but her spokesperson, who witnessed the attack, said the altercation was more severe than that. According to witnesses at the signing, the incident was “unprovoked,” with the suspect reportedly approaching Lewis to have his book signed, and after she looked up following the signing, the suspect punched her.

Police were quickly called to the scene and arrested an unnamed man “following reports of an assault against a female.” Witnesses tell the BBC that the suspect was “laughing” while security wrestled him down following the incident. Lewis, who suffered bruising on the side of her head, was so “shaken” by the incident that she was forced to cancel the remainder of the signing. Thankfully, she did not require hospital care, but she did cancel a BBC appearance scheduled for later that day.

Lewis recently performed as part of VH1’s Divas special in New York. See photos from the event here.

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• Artist to Watch: Leona Lewis

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New Music Report: Built to Spill

BASOAdmin — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:38:37 +0000

Christian Hoard returns to host his “Christian Rock” segment of the New Music Report this week. His pick: Built to Spill’s latest album, There Is No Enemy. The long-running Idaho band led by Doug Martsch refused to be interviewed on camera when Hoard was covering All Tomorrow’s Parties for RS last year, and Martsch strikes Hoard as a shy, a small-town guy who likes to shoot hoops and hang with his kids when he’s not cooking up guitar riffs. His songs project a grounded daydreaming — he’s not afraid to indulge idle thoughts about Canada’s beauty, but he knows how to construct a straight-forward song, too.

This new set of 10 tracks is BTS’ strongest album in a decade. Hoard’s a fan of “Life’s a Dream” and “Nowhere Lullaby” which are slow but not lethargic. The guitar work isn’t as spectacular as on Built to Spill’s remarkable 2000 live album (pick it up to hear what an indie guitar hero sounds like), and this album has a little more Grateful Dead than Crazy Horse in the jams — guitars wander and play off each other. In short: it sounds like solid Built to Spill.

>>Watch every episode of our weekly New Music Report video podcast by subscribing via iTunes (when prompted, click “Launch application”). Every Tuesday, a new episode will be delivered to your iTunes. [If you don't have iTunes, download it here.]

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New Reviews: Built to Spill, Gossip, Tokio Hotel and More

BASOAdmin — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:03:31 +0000

This week Built to Spill, the pride of Boise, Idaho, release their latest disc There Is No Enemy, the group’s first album since 2006’s You In Reverse. Fifteen years into their career, There is No Enemy proves frontman Doug Martsch is still an expert at building “a crystal palace of refracting guitar tones and textures,” Will Hermes writes in his three-and-a-half-star review. “What’s on Martsch’s mind? What you’d expect from a dude spending lots of time in his head: dreams, boredom, life’s meaning or lack thereof.” It’s not as perfect as Perfect From Now On, but fans that have stuck with the jangly noodlers won’t be disappointed.

RS was also a big fan of the Gossip’s Music For Men, awarding Beth Ditto and crew’s newest LP a four-star rating. The disc finds the trio trading in their punk grooves and transforming into a badass dance machine, thanks in large part to producer Rick Rubin, who is usually associated more with heavy metal and hip-hop than the club scene. Among the many highlights are “Men in Love” and the B-52s-inspired “Spare Me From the World.” “Punk purists may hate it,” writes Hermes in his Rolling Stone review, “But dance-floor revelers will drown them out.”

Also out this week: Tokio Hotel’s Humanoid, the disappointing follow-up to their English-language debut Scream. As Jody Rosen says in his Zwei-star review (that’s two for non-German speakers), Humanoid “is melodically anemic and strangely low-key.” Seemingly overnight, singer Bill Kaulitz has lost all the charisma that made Tokio Hotel one of Europe’s most popular bands.

Finally, a pair of discs worth checking out: Air’s Love 2 and the Very Best’s Warm Heart of Africa.

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Is Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” Bound for “SNL”? New Track Hits the Web

BASOAdmin — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:52:52 +0000

Bummed out that the “Fame Kills” tour was canceled? This new song by Lady Gaga should help soften the blow. “Bad Romance” is rumored to be among the new songs on Gaga’s Fame Monster reissue out November 24th, and the front-running candidate to be that new song the Hot Diva has promised to perform when she serves as musical guest on tomorrow night’s Saturday Night Live. (Thanks to ONTD for the clip above.) Gaga acknowledged the tune with a tweet today that reads, “Leaked next single is makin my ears bleed. Wait till you hear the real version ”

Check out Lady Gaga’s wildest wardrobe moments.

“Bad Romance” was produced by RedOne, who also is credited on Gaga’s previous singles “Just Dance,” “LoveGame” and “Poker Face” (and is doing work on Adam Lambert’s anticipated debut). This new single doesn’t deviate far from the blueprint mapped out by those other hits, especially “Poker Face,” to which “Bad Romance” bears a striking resemblance. Lyrically, the track has Gaga exploring the joys of a bad romance, while the misplaced bridge takes a detour to talk about fashion.

“I think re-releases are unfair,” Gaga told Rolling Stone at her Heartbeats earbuds conference with Dr. Dre. “It’s artists sneaking singles onto an already finished piece of work in an effort to keep the album afloat. Originally [my label] only wanted me to put out three songs and now it’s much more than that. It’s a new album’s worth of material.” Dr. Dre also hinted at a possible collaboration with Gaga in the future.

As Rolling Stone reported, Gaga’s “Fame Kills” tour with Kanye West was canceled for reasons ranging from “creative differences” to poor ticket sales. Regardless, the setback seems to be a mere speed bump for Gaga, who is reportedly already planning to her launch her own tour in a few weeks.

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Paramore Postpone Shows Due to Hayley Williams’ Laryngitis

BASOAdmin — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:06:21 +0000

Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams was upfront with the audience at the band’s tour kick-off show in Pomona, California, earlier this week: she has laryngitis. (Read our full report from the show here: Paramore Rock Hayley Williams’ Voice Away at Cali Tour Launch). She pushed her way through a set packed with songs from the band’s new album, Brand New Eyes, but had to let the crowd sing lead on encore “Misery Business.” And as a result, the band has opted to postpone their gigs from tonight through October 9th to let their singer’s voice heal. Refunds are available at point of purchase, and the new slate of dates is after the jump.

Over the past few days, Williams’ Twitter has been blowing up with reports on her sore throat. “Naked Gun and chicken noodle soup,” she reported on September 30th. “PS, I have never felt more support nor have I been more thankful for our fans. You have no idea how much your encouragement means to me,” she added.

Oct. 10 – Chicago, IL @ House Of Blues
Oct. 11 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
Oct. 15 – Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
Oct. 16 – Montclair, NJ @ The Wellmont Theatre
Oct. 17 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
Oct. 19 – Boston, MA @ House Of Blues
Oct. 21 – New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
Oct. 23 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
Oct. 24 – Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
Oct. 26 – Orlando, FL @ House Of Blues
Oct. 27 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
Nov. 1 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
Nov. 3 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
Nov. 4 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
Nov. 6 – St. Paul, MN @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium
Nov. 8 – Denver, CO @ The Fillmore
Nov. 10 – San Francisco, CA @ Warfield Theatre
Nov. 11 – Hollywood, CA @ Palladium

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