LL Cool J & Eddie Van Halen Collaboration

To make his new album ‘Authentic,’ rapper LL Cool J searched for the best of the best from rock, country, rap pop and funk. In a recent interview he said Eddie Van Halen was at the top of his list.

“I just really wanted to work with the best, work with people that I respect, people that I look up to, people that impress me, people that I believe are truly super talented,” LL Cool J told Radio.com. “I feel like Eddie falls in that category.”

One clip of their collaboration leaked last week. The song is called ‘We’re the Greatest,’ and is one of two from the album to feature the guitarist. “It’s LL and Eddie Van Halen together,” he says. The song closes the project; ‘Not Leaving You Tonight’ is the other song and it also features Fitz and the Tantrums.

“I am in no way trying to put myself on the level of Van Halen or say that … I don’t want Van Halen fans to get the wrong impression like I don’t respect their legacy or who they are. I do. I just wanted to do something with Eddie that I think is cool. And, I think we accomplished something great. I hope they dig it.”

Other collaborators on ‘Authentic’ are Bootsy Collins, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and country star Brad Paisley. LL Cool J, Morello and Blink-182‘s Travis Barker performed a new song called ‘Whaddup’ at the 2013 Grammys.

LL Cool J & Eddie Van Halen ‘We’re the Greatest’ video clip:

Source: ultimateclassicrock.com

’80s band Pet Shop Boys set for Las Vegas concert

English electronic duo Pet Shop Boys are set to bring the spirit of the ’80s to Las Vegas.

Music venue The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel announced the duo’s arrival on Friday, Oct. 11. Tickets, which start at $45, go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Apart from their catchy 1980s-defining hits, Pet Shop Boys are stopping in Las Vegas as part of a tour to promote their latest album, Electric.

Tickets are available at the Hard Rock Hotel Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, online at Ticketmaster.com or charge-by-phone at 800-745-3000.

Michael Schenker adds London date to 2013 UK Tour

For our UK friends:

Rock guitarist Michael Schenker has added a London o2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire concert on Friday May 31st to his 2013 Temple of Rock UK Tour. Tickets for the London concert goes on sale Wednesday December 5th from www.thegigcartel.com and 0844 478 0898.

Stockton on Tees ARC (April 9)
Aberdeen Lemon Tree (April 10)
Edinburgh HMV Picturehouse (April 11)
Newcastle o2 Academy (April 12)
Holmfirth Picturedrome (April 13)
Warrington Parr Hall (April 14)
Falmouth Princess Pavilion (April 16)
Bristol o2 Academy (April 17)
Salisbury City Hall (April 18)
Oxford o2 Academy (April 19)
Nottingham Rock City (April 20)
Norwich Waterfront (April 21)
London o2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire (May 31)

The London o2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire concert dovetails Michael Schenker’s Temple of Rock: Live in Europe  CD, DVD, Blu-ray and Ltd Deluxe Collector’s Edition, released by inakustik on Monday December 10th.  Live In Europe was recorded and filmed in Tilburg, the Netherlands in May 2012, and at 2011’s London’s High Voltage Festival.

Grab your ‘Sledgehammer’ & help celebrate Peter Gabriel’s 25th anniversary of ‘So’

Eighties music artist Peter Gabriel wants people to recreate scenes from “Sledgehammer,” his popular 1986 stop-motion music video that MTV says is one of the most-played clips ever on the 24-hour music television network.

An link on the former Genesis rocker’s Facebook page allows his fans to pick a scene from the music video, record a re-creation or upload an existing YouTube clip and vote for the best videos. Click here to recreate scenes from ‘Sledgehammer’.

The “Grab Your Sledgehammer” contest is linked to the 25th anniversary of Gabriel’s “So” album, which was re-released Oct. 22 in three different versions.

One winner will receive a TDKperformance Wireless Boombox and autographed artwork, while 30 runners-up will earn “Sledgehammer” posters. Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” video won nine MTV Video Music Awards in 1987.

Duran Duran’s racy new video & look back on past videos

Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon and John Taylor reveal which of their classic new-wave videos they’d like to rewind and re-do. The video below also gives us a glimpse of their racy new music video for the song “Girl Panic” off of DD’s “All You Need Is Now” album — which features super models Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen and Cindy Crawford.

Jay-Z scores U2, Kanye West for ‘NBA 2K13′ soundtrack

U2 will be rocking arenas in a whole new way this fall.

The band’s “Elevation” will make an appearance in “NBA 2K13,” the latest installment of the popular basketball gaming franchise, as part of a soundtrack curated by the game’s executive producer, Jay-Z.

“I’m not sure if they’ve ever been in a video game,” 2K Sport’s vice president of marketing, Jason Argent, told Billboard.com. (The band came close in 2001, when the track made the soundtrack of “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,” the game’s big-screen adaptation.)

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Poison’s Bret Michaels calls off engagement & wants a biopic

Monday Poison singer Bret Michaels called off his engagement to his girlfriend Kristi Gibson. “Although the couple have separated they remain great friends and are committed to jointly raising their two daughters,” says the rep.

Michaels, 49, and Gibson, 41, are parents to Raine Elizabeth, 12, and Jorja Bleu, 7.

After 16-plus years together Michaels finally proposed to Gibson on Dec. 2, 2010, with the cameras rolling; the big moment aired on the finale of his VH1 show Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It.

Bret Michaels and Kristi Gibson. Photo by Carrie Reiser

On another note,  Bret is planning to make a movie about his life.

The 80′s rocker, who owns a film production company with actor Charlie Sheen, wants to put together a film to tell his story, starting from his childhood in Pittsburgh, Pa., and documenting his rise to fame with his band Poison.

“I want to tell the story,” Michaels told The Columbus Dispatch. “Mostly, when you see rock movies, it has to be this over-the-top thing. I want to give people a Bret Michaels movie where they see that my life is a comedy of errors. I also want to show my fans how to get through the kind of troubles that would leave most people flat on the floor.”

Madonna’s mashup of “Express Yourself” with Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”

While rehearsing for her M.D.N.A. tour, the Material Mom made it a point to mashup her classic song “Express Yourself” with Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.”

“When I heard ['Born This Way'] on the radio, I said that sounds very familiar. It feels reductive,” she told “20/20″ earlier this year. “I certainly think she references me a lot in her work.”

But, Madonna continued, she can’t really take offense.

“It’s a statement about taking something that was in the zeitgeist, you know, 20 years ago and turning it inside out and reinterpreting it,” she said. “I can’t really be annoyed by it because, obviously, I’ve influenced her.”

The rehearsal footage was taped just before Madonna kicked off her world tour in Israel over the weekend.

Beastie Boys rapper Adam “MCA” Yauch dies

Adam “MCA” Yauch, a member of the groundbreaking New York rap trio Beastie Boys, has died at the age of 47, Rolling Stone magazine reported Friday afternoon.

Yauch revealed in July 2009 that he had surgery for a cancer in a salivary gland and a lymph node. Information on the cause of Yauch’s death wasn’t immediately available.

Yauch’s death would come less than a month after the Beastie Boys were inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Because of his fight with cancer, Yauch did not attend, Rolling Stone reported.

The Beastie Boys – Yauch, Adam “Ad-Rock” Horowitz and Michael “Mike D” Diamond – did not perform that night. But Horowitz read a letter from Yauch to the audience.

“I’d like to dedicate this to my brothers Adam and Mike,” Yauch wrote, according to Rolling Stone. “They walked the globe with me. It’s also for anyone who has ever been touched by our band. This induction is as much ours as it is yours.”

The Beastie Boys’ debut album, 1986′s “Licensed to Ill” – featuring the singles “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party),” “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” ” Paul Revere” and “Brass Monkey” – was the first rap album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard album charts.

RIP MCA.

Duran Duran to headline Olympics concert

London will be going back to the 80′s with Duran Duran (among other headliners) kicking off the 2012 Olympics.

Duran Duran who’s hits include “Rio“, “Reflex“, “Notorious” and “Ordinary World” will represent England at the July 27 concert in London’s Hyde Park, which will feature acts from each of the four parts of the United Kingdom.

The other headliners are Snow Patrol from Northern Ireland, Stereophonics from Wales and Scotland’s Paolo Nutini.

According to The Associated Press, Duran’s lead singer Simon Le Bon said that the show would be “one of the highlights of the last decade for us.”

Tickets go on sale Friday.