Kings Of Leon to Release 'Bigger Sounding' Third LP
Nashville sons-of-a-preacherman, Kings Of Leon, will return in March with their third LP, Because of the Times. Frontman Caleb Followill revealed to Spin magazine that the title is a play on the record's popularity gamble.
"If it's big, it's beacuse of the times; if it's a flop, it's because of the times."
Followill is promising that Times will be "bigger sounding" and "more anthemic" than 2004's Aha Shake Heartbreak. The album was produced and recorded in Nashville by Ethan Johns (Ryan Adams, Rufus Wainwtright) who also worked on Heartbreak and 2003's Youth & Young Manhood
Followill & Co.'s audience has been expanding thanks to recent tours with U2 and Bob Dylan. While on tour with U2, Bono apparently gave the Kings some elder statesmanly advice.
"Bono told us not to get married until we're off the road for a year in a house with a woman."
The non-married Kings play NME's Award Tour at the Astoria in London on Ferbruay 27, 2007.
Recommended Viewing:
Kings Of Leon's performance on Later with Jools Holland
Bank of America U2 Rendition Results in Lawsuit
A clip of two Bank of America employees singing a fucked up version of U2s One spread like wildfire on the internet recently. The overhauled lyrics garnered fans worldwide (its even better, now that were the same, two great companies come together, now MBNA and B of A), but didnt impress U2s copyright attorneys.
While guitarist Jim Debois blissfully strummed away, corporate suit Ethan Chandler sang his own Bank of America lyrics in a slightly pathetic attempt to motivate employees.
On Tuesday, a lawyer for the Universal Music Publishing Group, a catalog owner and administrator, posted the text of a cease-and-desist letter in the comments section of Stereogum.com, a Web site carrying the video. It contended that Bank of America had violated Universals copyright of the U2 song.
The video appeared to be typical corporate, motivational, cheerleading, drink-the-Koolaid kind of bullshit, but U2 can argue Bank of America failed to get permission and failed to pay royalties while using U2s intellectual property for profit.
If this were a church video or a nonprofit fund-raiser, I might think Bono needs to shut his big fucking mouth. Because this performance was to increase the earnings and profits of one of the largest, most evil banks in the world, I begrudgingly stand on the side of U2.
Damn you, Bank of America, for making me defend U2.
Bono Sues Stylist. Wants Hat Back.
There is high treason afoot in camp U2. The band's former stylist Lola Cashman is selling memorabilia she has collected from her time spent with the band, through London auction house Christie's.
But the band won't put up with such insubordination. The latest outrage is Cashman's attempt to auction off the Stetson that Bono donned for the cover of the Rattle and Hum album and wore during the corresponding Joshua Tree tour. This forced Bono to take Cashman to the High Courts of Dublin.
Bono apologized to the courts for things coming to this.
"We have tried to avoid this bizarre situation for many years," he said.
"She likes this. We don't. There isn't much of a case here from our point of view. It's our stuff, she has it, and a lot more beside. We want our stuff back. We want her to stop selling it."
The battle between U2 and Cashman has been an ongoing one. Last year the band successfully sued Cashman to reclaim items in her possession that date back to the Joshua Tree tour.
During that case, the honorable Justice Matthew Deery did not buy Cashman's story that the Irish rock star promised the articles taken while dancing in his underwear backstage following a concert in Phoenix, Arizona.
Personally, I can kinda buy that.
Bono's description of Cashman was one of mixed praise.
The 46-year-old singer said Ms Cashman was an "eccentric" who used to wear the band's clothing but was tolerated for her styling talent.
The stylist only worked with the band for a period of 9 months in 1987. It was discovered in 1992 that she had taken a few souvenirs from that time. I don't know why if they discovered these thefts in 92, they've waited until 2006 and their potential sale to try to reclaim them.
Lola Cashman has also authored a book recounting her tales as the band's stylist entitled Inside the Zoo With U2: My Life With the Worlds Biggest Rock Band.
I miss my hat.
Bono Accused of Hypocrisy
This isn't really news, but it's something I consider to be a pretty good eyebrow raiser.
I was a pretty huge fan of U2 in the 80s. They started losing me in the mid-90s when the tone of the band really got lost on me. While political Bono might have lost his appeal to my musical tastes, I still think Bono deserves praise for his debt relief campaigns.
Anyway, you may or may not know, that Irish artists had enjoyed tax-free incomes up until last December when the Irish finance minister imposed a tax-free cap of 168,000 pounds on artists residing in the Irish republic. That means that up until last year, U2 had not paid any money to the government of Ireland for their work as songwriters. Their now taxable publishing company comprises a 1/3 of the band's estimated 460 Million pound fortune and income generated by this portion of the empire could meet taxation percentages between 20 and 42%.
So Bono and company took their money out of Ireland and put it somewhere safe, Holland, where artists still enjoy very low taxation rates. Joan Burton, Irish Labor's finance spokesman, decided to ask Bono essentially to put up or shut up:
"Having listened to Bono on the necessity for the Irish Government to give more money to Ireland Aid, of which I approve, I am surprised that U2 are not prepared to contribute to the Exchequer on a fair basis along with the bulk of Irish taxpayers.
"I share Bono's desire to see more resources devoted to Ireland Aid but it is more difficult to make a case for it if everyone is not willing to be part of the social contract that stipulates that everybody should pay their fair share in what is a low-tax country."
While I am all in favor of supporting the arts and believe that a tax free income is a healthy way to relieve the burden on struggling artists, asking extremely rich artists to pitch in doesn't seem at all unjust. In fact, the cap at incomes above ₤168.000 seems incredibly and unreasonably high. I think adjusting the taxable bracket considerably lower than that would not be unfair or stifling to the arts.
Because Ireland's tax laws attracted so many successful artists, the government estimated an annual loss of 42.5 million Euros.
I always knew Bono was hiding a dark secret behind those sunglasses. I could just never figure out what.