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B Sides for 09/19/2014



Howard Stern Addresses Retirement Rumors
(Extra) "Extra's" AJ Calloway caught up with Howard Stern at the "America's Got Talent" finale. AJ asking Howard about the reports that he is planning to retire and move to his $52 million Palm Beach Florida pad with wife Beth. Stern shooting down the headlines, "That is absolutely untrue. I saw that on the news myself and I said� 'Wow!'"

Calloway also got Stern's thoughts on the Ray Rice scandal, and his friend Joan Rivers. Stern said of the disgraced football player, "I think it's very unfortunate that a guy has to wreck his whole career doing something so despicable."

Remembering his eulogy for Joan earlier this month, Howard said, "I was very, very nervous about it in the sense that I wanted to honor Joan's memory. We go way back. And she was always there for me and I always tried to be there for her. And I miss her greatly."

Watch video here.

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U2 Meant To Annoy People With Free Album Says Bono
(Radio.com) Just to be clear, Bono knows how invasive it was to drop his surprise album in your iCloud - but that was the point. In an interview this morning with CBS Radio's KROQ, the U2 frontman opened up about the band's release method.

"The punk rock thing to do is annoy people and get in their faces," he said. "If people have a problem with the way we released the album, I'm sure they've read about it online."

Bono's talk of punk rock didn't end there. He also explained the band's Songs of Innocence tribute to Joey Ramone, "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)." Apparently, when Bono was just starting out, he had the realization that his singing voice wasn't very masculine - an asset that ended up helping him front U2 - and Joey Ramone's music made him feel like it was okay.

""I realized that I sang as a girl and I was a bit depressed about it as a young Irish male," he recalled. "And then I realized Joey Ramone sings like a girl. He was inspired by all those great sirens as well as everything else. He has a beautiful melodic voice. And if I could be so lucky, I might try to have one of those."

Read more here.

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Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani Have Lip Sync Battle Jimmy Fallon
(Radio.com) Sure, Blake Shelton can judge, but can he lip-sync? The Voice judge hit the The Tonight Show stage Wednesday night (Sept. 17) to show off his lip-sync skills for an epic battle against Voice newbie Gwen Stefani and host Jimmy Fallon.

For his first song, Shelton took on Taco's "Puttin' On The Ritz" adding a little bit of class to the battle. Handing his glass of champagne over to Fallon, he ended with a little soft shoe.

While a hard act to follow, Fallon attempted to do so with Ellie Goulding's "Burn," complete with his own spinning dance moves. And Gwen Stefani took us back to 2012 with her rendition of Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe."

In the final round, Shelton showed off with a little Starship "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now," Fallon went really old school hiccuping through comedian Spike Jones' song "Cocktails for Two."

But it was Gwen who brought it all home with "Endless Love" by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross. Gwen took on Lionel's part while Blake made a cameo as Ms. Ross.

So, who won? You'll have to watch the video to find out here.

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Rush Release 40th Anniversary Box Set R40 Preview
(hennemusic) Rush have issued a video preview of their forthcoming 40th anniversary box set, "R40." Due November 11, the package live footage spanning all four decades of their career and presents over two hours of unreleased material, including a rare performance of entire seven-part version of their 1976 classic, "2112".

Available as 6-disc and 10-disc packages, "R40" includes "Rush In Rio", "R30", "Snakes & Arrows Live", "Time Machine 2011: Live In Cleveland" and "Clockwork Angels Tour", plus a bonus disc of previously unseen and unreleased live material stretching from 1974 to 2013.

The bonus disc will include all 8 songs from the Laura Secord Secondary School show in 1974 which features original drummer John Rutsey. That recording includes two Rush originals, "I've Been Runnin'" and "The Loser", as well as their cover of Larry Williams' "Bad Boy", made famous by The Beatles.

The bonus discus also features 5 songs from songs from the Capitol Theatre in 1976 such as "Anthem" and "Lakeside Park", the rarely performed full, 7-part version of "2112" filmed in 1997, "Lock And Key" from the Hold Your Fire tour, as well as footage from the band's 2013 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Check out the preview here.

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Mastodon Rock Kimmel
(Prog) Mastodon can be seen in a clip from Jimmy Kimmel's late-night US TV show, performing their track The Motherload. It's taken from sixth album Once More 'Round The Sun, which was launched in June.

Drummer Brann Dailor recently described it as a "gorgeous" work, adding: "It's a reflection of our past with a few songs that are a bit out-there and show a new direction. We're as happy with it as we were our previous albums."

The band will be returning to the UK in November to launch a 9-date tour that will hit many major markets. Check out the tour dates and video of their Kimmel performance here.

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Sick Of It All Premiere New Song DNC (Do Not Comply)
(TeamRock Radio) New York hardcore veterans Sick Of It All have issued a lyric video for DNC (Do Not Comply). It's taken from their forthcoming album Last Act of Defiance which launches on September 29 via Century Media.

Drummer Armand Majidi previously said the follow-up to 2010's Based On A True Story would feature a mixture of styles while retaining a hardcore feel.

He said: "I want fans to feel that they just heard a hardcore record that has everything - from blistering speed and bouncing groove, to heavy and pounding, to bright and melodic."

Watch the video here.

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Hatesphere Release Gory Pandora's Hell Video
(TeamRock Radio) Veteran Danish thrash metallers Hatesphere have issued a gory video for their track Pandora's Hell. The track is taken from their 2013 album Murderlust.

The Pandora's Hell video was filmed in a forest in Hillerod, Denmark in August and was directed by Martin Vrede Nielsen (Snuppet, Repugnant and Supernatural Tales).

Hatesphere launch a European tour this week in their hometown of Aarhus, Denmark and will play two UK dates in October: The Dome, Tufnell Park on October 4 and Bristol's The Fleece on October 5. Watch the video here.

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Amaranthe Fill New Video With MMA Fighters, Cheerleaders & Flames
(TeamRock Radio) Sweden's Amaranthe have released a video for the track Drop Dead Cynical. It's taken from their upcoming third album Massive Addictive, which launches on October 21 via Spinefarm Records.

Guitarist Olof Morck says: "We can now finally unleash the Drop Dead Cynical video. It is energetic, bombastic and explosive - just like you have come to expect from Amaranthe's videos.

"You are in for a visual treat - more than 15 MMA fighters, cheerleaders and enough flames to light the heavens on fire. Get ready to be entertained." Watch the video here.

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Gary Cherone's Hurtsmile Stream New Song Rock 'N' Roll Cliche
(Classic Rock) Hurtsmile, fronted by Extreme and ex-Van Halen vocalist Gary Cherone, have streamed their track Rock 'N' Roll Cliche from upcoming second album Retrogrenade.

The follow-up to their 2011 self-titled work is set for launch on October 7th via their Slipkid label, following a successful crowfdunding campaign. Cherone says:

"The strength of this record is that all the members contributed to the songwriting, which resulted in a wonderfully creative diversity. This second effort has been a natural progression - we've yet to repeat ourselves musically."

Check out the new song here.

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Yes Release Preview Of Upcoming DVD
(Classic Rock) Yes have released another video clip from their forthcoming "Songs From Tsongas" live DVD, featuring their performance of Your Move and All Good People.

It was recorded in 2004 during the last tour featuring Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White, while they celebrated their 35th anniversary.

The new version is launched on September 22 via Eagle Rock in 2DVD, 3CD, Blu-ray and digital formats, including previously unseen footage. The current lineup of Yes, fronted by Jon Davison, recently released 20th studio album Heaven & Earth.

Check out the video here.

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Winger Release Better Days Comin' Video
(Classic Rock) Winger have released their latest promo music video from their most recent studio album Better Days Comin'. The new video clip is for the album's title track.

This new video follows an extensive 2014 worldwide tour, which included a main stage performance at Download Festival, where the band were joined by The Dillinger Escape Plan's bassist Liam Wilson.

The Better Days Comin' album entered the Billboard Chart at number 85, becoming the first Winger album to debut on the Billboard Top 200 since 1993's Pull.

Watch the video here.

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Singled Out: Engineers' Fight or Flight
Today Mark Peters from Engineers tells us about the song "Fight or Flight", the first song from their brand new album "Always Returning," which was released this week. Here is the story:

This track was written upon my return to the UK after a US tour as a sound guy for Ulrich (Schnauss who also plays synths in the band). He remarked that 'What It's Worth' (from Engineers' 3rd album "In Praise Of More") was perfect music for driving on the west coast of the US and that this atmosphere was one of the strongest facets of my song writing.

I wanted to tap into that same melancholy lyrically as that song but exchange the air of sadness for the uplifting sense of freedom in 'Fight Or Flight' that driving over those landscapes provides. The lyrics concern the breakdown of friendship and how I'm trying to reason with this person that in the grander scheme of things our differences, faults, daily struggles are essentially meaningless and our battles pointless. I think there's an anger in the verse of the song that is juxtaposed in the chorus with a philosophical sentiment that (hopefully) gives a feeling of resolve and possibility.

As I tracked the instruments I was listening to a lot of 80's indie and new wave music and the band Felt (In particular the Robin Guthrie produced 'Ignite The Seven Cannons') influenced me a great deal on this song. I like the fact that the jangly guitar band framework is given a subtly 'off kilter' feeling by modulation effects and a bright overall production. One of the most surprising things about the track sonically are Ulrich's synths which for me capture him at his most elegiac and blissful. I have to admit that this was a great moment in the recording session - one of those points in music making where you feel that (quite unrealistically I hasten to add!) anything is possible, and everything somehow will be fine.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself here and learn more about the band and the album right here!

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