Met Conductor to Miss Rest of Season (AP)

March 11, 2006

This file photo taken Feb. 13, 2006 shows Maestro James Levine during a news conference from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in New York. Levine will miss the rest of the Metropolitan Opera's season because of a shoulder injury that requires surgery. Levine, music director of the Met and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, was injured March 1 when he tripped and fell on the stage of Boston's Symphony Hall during ovations that followed a performance. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)AP - Conductor James Levine will miss the rest of the Metropolitan Opera's season because of a shoulder injury that requires surgery.


Aid groups keeping music alive in New Orleans (Reuters)

March 11, 2006

Reuters - It was a high-energy homecoming as Kirk Joseph's Backyard Groove blasted out the funk at New Orleans' Maple Leaf Bar to fans and old friends who couldn't help but dance long after midnight.

Sex Pistol Lydon Bashes Harassing Fans (AP)

March 11, 2006

John 'Johnny Rotten' Lydon, right, and Steve Jones, of the Sex Pistols, pose at the Indie 103.1 studio in Los Angeles on Friday, March 10, 2006. Between the Sex Pistols and Ozzy Osbourne, there is an air of malice associated with this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class. The Sex Pistols, who compared the rock hall to 'urine in wine,' will be a no-show at Monday's induction ceremony. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)AP - Sex Pistols lead singer John Lydon says harassing fans, such as those who threw bottles at the band at a Danish music festival, are "the very people we hate the most."


Judge Tells Man to Stay Away From Ronstadt (AP)

March 11, 2006

AP - A Colorado man accused of stalking singer Linda Ronstadt for nearly a decade has been ordered by an Arizona judge to stay away from her.

Antheil Composition Gets All-Robotic Show (AP)

March 11, 2006

AP - It's a concert without musicians when 16 baby grand player-pianos accompanied by a variety of drums, bells, xylophones and a siren perform American composer George Antheil's "Ballet Mecanique," or Mechanical Ballet.

Jackson Faces Deadline to Pay Workers (AP)

March 11, 2006

The entrance to pop star Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch home is seen in this Dec. 17, 2004, file photo, in Santa Ynez, Calif. The state barred workers from Jackson's Neverland Ranch Thursday, March 9, 2006, and fined the singer $69,000 because the estate's workers compensation insurance policy had lapsed. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)AP - State regulators said Friday they will go after Michael Jackson in court if he fails to meet a Tuesday deadline to pay $100,000 in penalties and $306,000 in back pay owed to nearly 50 workers at his Neverland Ranch.


Usher Wants to Teach Teens How to Succeed (AP)

March 11, 2006

AP - Grammy-winning R&B artist Usher wants to teach teenagers how to succeed in the sports and entertainment industries.

10-year-old Rock and Roll Hall spreads the word (Reuters)

March 11, 2006

Reuters - When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum staged its 10th annual American Music Masters concert last November at Cleveland's State Theater as a tribute to Sam Cooke, even the performers were star-struck. Elvis Costello, for one, walked offstage in a haze, leaving behind Solomon Burke and Aretha Franklin to sing "A Change Is Gonna Come."

Indie labels multiply in gospel realm (Reuters)

March 11, 2006

Reuters - Though mainstream corporations have become a major presence in Christian music as EMI, Warner Bros. and Sony BMG have staked claims on the Christian/gospel landscape during the past decade, independents manage still to enjoy a share of the pie. And even though the climate is difficult, new companies keep springing up.

Kiwi band Die! Die! Die! eyes deal! deal! deal! (Reuters)

March 11, 2006

Reuters - Hailed at home as New Zealand's most exciting new band, uncompromising art-punk trio Die! Die! Die! aims to lock in label and agency deals for the United States and Europe during its stateside visit around the time of the March 15-19 South by Southwest music festival.

Blondie enters Hall of Fame in style (Reuters)

March 11, 2006

Singer Deborah Harry of Blondie arrives for Swarovski Fashion Rocks for The Prince's Trust in Monte Carlo, in this October 17, 2005 file photo. Blondie sure knows how to celebrate its 30th anniversary. On March 13, the legendary band -- along with the Sex Pistols, Black Sabbath, Miles Davis and Lynyrd Skynyrd -- will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. REUTERS/Eric GaillardReuters - Blondie sure knows how to celebrate its 30th anniversary. On March 13, the legendary band -- along with the Sex Pistols, Black Sabbath, Miles Davis and Lynyrd Skynyrd -- will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.


Q&A with Van Morrison (Reuters)

March 11, 2006

Singer Van Morrison performs from his latest album 'Magic Time' in Malaga, southern Spain, in this January 17, 2006 file photo. REUTERS/Rafael MarchanteReuters - Few long-term recording artists remain as enigmatic as Van Morrison. The Belfast, Northern Ireland-born creator of countless classic albums and songs is notoriously media-wary and prefers to focus his energy on a prodigious recording output since leaving the ranks of the influential Northern Irish beat band Them in the 1960s.


Classic R&B thriving on indie releases (Reuters)

March 11, 2006

Reuters - The success of youngsters like Chris Brown, Keyshia Cole and Ne-Yo has many observers trumpeting the refrain "R&B is back."