04 May 2011 22:06

Caption: Jay-Z and Beyonce Knowles Alexander McQueen: 'Savage Beauty' Costume Institute Gala 2011 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City, USA....

Rap mogul Jay Z can add Emmy Award winner to his list of achievements after taking home a top honour for his 2010 Super Bowl rendition of hit single Run This Town.

The hip-hop superstar won the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Music Composition/Direction/Lyrics on Tuesday (03May11).

His collaboration with Rihanna and Kanye West was remixed with the Cbs network’s National Football League theme song for a special promo, in which Jay Z performed with an orchestra and played maestro. The clip aired at the start of the big game between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints.

Irish rockers U2 also landed a Sports Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for their work with the Espn channel for its presentation of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

Video footage of the band in concert in 2009 was mixed with backing music by the Soweto Gospel Choir to produce a stirring sports anthem.

Contactmusic

http://www.contactmusic.com

Boroff: There’s a snippet of the U2 song “Vertigo” in the show. Have you discussed borrowing further from the U2 catalog?

Cohl: We have, but not with them! It’s not going to happen. They’ve written a new song. They’ve changed some of the other songs to make them work better. They’re working a lot on the other lyrics to make them flow better.

Boroff: What’s the new song like?

Cohl: Talking rap meets rock.

by Kevin S. Gary

posted April 19, 2011

Both the Jigga assisted version of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and a new mix of “Stranded” featuring Jay and Rihanna will appear on the limited edition collaborations album.

Jay-Z has always been open to collaborate with anyone he thinks is worthy, whether they be a Hip-Hop artist or a rock act, most notably his two collaborations with Chris Martin, on his own track “Beach Chair” and a remix of the Coldplay song “Lost.” So last year when Jay-Z toured Australia with Rock and Roll megastars U2 it may have come as a surprise to sum but it really shouldn’t have. During shows on that sold out stint Jay would often hop on stage with the Irish legends to perform a brand new verse during their classic single “Sunday Bloody Sunday.”

That track, released originally in 1983, was written as a commentary on “Blood Sunday” which occurred in 1972 when twenty six unarmed protesters were shot by British soldiers in the town of Derry, Ireland. Most of the victims died as a result of their wounds.

With the track’s themes of civil unrest and citizens versus armed authority it’s not surprising that this is the track that Jay-Z decided to guest on. And the collaboration was so well received that it is now being released as part of the Duals album, a record of collaborations U2 has participated in over the course of their three decade long career. The album, which also features Jay-Z guesting on another cut with Rihanna, will not be available in stores as it is only available to subscribers of the band’s website. Go here to subscribe.

http://www.hiphopdx.com

Walk On’ is one of 38 tracks on Songs For Japan, a benefit album responding to the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan earlier this month.

John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Lady GaGa, Kings of Leon, Beyonce, Eminem and Bruce Springsteen are among a stellar collection of artists taking part and profits will go to the Japanese Red Cross.

The album is available now to download from Itunes and will come out physically on April 4.

http://www.u2.com

Given all the problems plaguing Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, it was probably inevitable that someone besides the actors would fall. Since previews of the $65 million (and counting) Broadway musical began last November, four performers have been injured, including Spidey himself, who went tumbling 30 feet into the pit, breaking four ribs and sustaining a hairline fracture to his skull. OSHA descended on the Foxwoods Theatre to investigate, and fined the producers $12,600.

All might have been excused had audiences and critics actually liked the show. But with reviews like “‘Spider-Man’ is not only the most expensive musical ever to hit Broadway; it may also rank among the worst” in The New York Times, somebody had to be blamed. So it wasn’t much of a shock when the show’s celebrated director, Julie Taymor—whose Lion King has grossed $4.5 billion in its 14-year-run—finally got her walking papers last week. With much schadenfreude (Taymor isn’t the easiest director to work with, as anyone will tell you), Broadway wags are predicting she’ll never work in this town again.

But has justice been served to the real villain of Spider-Man?

The score, created by U2’s Bono and the Edge, isn’t made up of catchy, easily digestible pop songs in the “Hakuna Matata” vein. Even production sources admit to being mystified by what they describe as the joylessness of the music. “With the promise of U2, why they don’t have this big kick-ass, pulse-racing number that sends people out on a cloud is a big, big question,” one person involved with the show says. “And if Julie Taymor was standing in the way of that, she’s not anymore.”

When audiences walk out of Spider-Man, you don’t hear them singing show tunes. You hear their disapproval. “You just don’t leave with a song in your head,” Suzy Fink of Chicago says after a recent performance. “I’m a huge fan of U2, and I think my love affair just ended,” says a visibly angry JT Horenstein of New York. “Did they not spend the time to create something melodic or memorable?”

It’s a fair question to ask, given that Bono and the Edge were on tour for much of the production. “Back in December or January, Julie begged everyone to close the show temporarily so that they could make changes,” says a source close to the production who is sympathetic to Taymor. “The producers told her no. Bono and the Edge weren’t around. There was a clear breakdown in communication.” Neither Taymor, Bono, nor the Edge would comment for this story.

Rather inconveniently, by the time Bono and the Edge returned to work on the show about two weeks ago, Taymor was in California for a long-scheduled speaking commitment at the 2011 TED Conference. In her speech she explained that creating art regularly involves Sturm und Drang, and noted that Spider-Man’s theme song is “Rise Above.” Her good friend Norman Lear, who was at the conference, saw behind the upbeat mask. “She was suffering like crazy, she hated to be gone, Bono was seeing the show for the first time in months,” he says. “She’s been put through hell, and to see her taking the blame all by her frail and brilliant self, isn’t it ridiculous?”

Maybe so. What made her dismissal easy from a publicity standpoint was that she’s less famous than her collaborators and was coming off some major misfires in the film world. In 2007, Across the Universe, a musical created around the songs of the Beatles, tanked. And last fall her adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, starring Helen Mirren, earned back just $277,000 of its estimated $20 million budget.

“Julie is a poet, an obsessive, a charismatic leader, and a visionary, with the ego and fragility of all great artists,” says Mirren. “Her commitment to work and collaborators is total.” Can the same be said of her Spider-Man collaborators?

http://www.newsweek.com

Previews cancelled to allow for overhaul of Broadway show

* March 12, 2011

The producers of the much-delayed Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark musical have confirmed a new date for the U2-scored show’s opening night.

The show, which was due to debut in mid-March, will now officially open to the public on June 14, according to the show’s official website, Spidermanonbroadway.marvel.com.

In order to “allow rehearsal time” for script and production changes, previews scheduled between April 19 and May 11 have been cancelled.

Earlier this week, an overhaul of the show’s backroom team was announced, seeing Julie Taymor relieved of her directorial duties and new members of staff join the creative team.

Bono and The Edge have also contributed “a couple of new songs” to the musical and reaffirmed their “absolute faith” in the project.

The musical has suffered a succession of setbacks since previews began, with injuries to cast members, financial problems and cast changes all contributing to the delay.

Previews of the musical have also received scathing reviews from several prominent critics, who broke embargos and ran reviews of the show last month.

http://www.nme.com

David Guetta

24/01/2011

David Guetta says the opportunity to work with U2 would be an “honour”.

The French producer-and-DJ was thrilled to meet the band’s frontman Bono recently as he is a huge fan of the Irish rock group. He has revealed he is in talks to produce some tracks for U2’s new album and he hopes the plans will come to fruition soon. Although David is known for releasing successful dance tracks, he is confident he can turn his hand to a rockier sound.

“We met with Bono, and I was really excited, really honoured because he proposed me to maybe produce some tracks for the next U2 album,” Guetta told MTV News. “I started a few ideas already, yes.”

David is no stranger to star-studded collaborations, having previously worked with Kelly Rowland, Flo Rida, Rihanna and Akon.

He loves experimenting with different sounds and has a particular affinity with dance music and R&B. However, David insists he has been making every effort to broaden his horizons recently and has a respect for many other musical genres too.

“I’ve been more and more open to different styles of music, and obviously electronic music is still my main thing, but I just love music. If it’s good, it doesn’t matter what style,” he said. “After those collaborations with all these urban artists, I thought it would be a real challenge for me to try to go in that direction.”

http://www.musicrooms.net

http://www.u2.com