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Compiled by Keavin Wiggins
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The Day in Rock - antiMUSIC.com's look at Today's Top Rock News Stories From Across the Web

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The Prodigy Label
SMN reports: Britain's self-styled "electro-punks" THE PRODIGY have a new label home. The Liam Howlett-led trio has established its own label, Ragged Flag, which will handle the band's next album and projects from any subsequent signings. 

The imprint is backed by U.K. indie Cooking Vinyl, which is home to Billy Bragg, The Buzzcocks, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Hayseed Dixie.[see full story for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

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The Game Grasping for Headlines
Launch reports: The Game has threatened to "kick David Beckham's ass," following the football superstar's multi-million dollar transfer to the American soccer league. 

The hip-hop icon originates from Los Angeles, where Beckham will play for the L.A. Galaxy from August when he completes his move from the Real Madrid team in Spain.

He explains: "I'd kick David Beckham's ass on any given day. I'd just pick the ball up and kick the sh*t out of the stadium--game over."[see full story for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

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Diddy Denied
TMZ reports: Did you ever think you'd see the night when Sean "Diddy" Combs struggled to get into an after-party, but 61-year-old Helen Mirren would breeze right past the velvet rope?

It happened [the other] night at the Sunset Tower Hotel. Diddy arrived at the party, but met with resistance. He got into a pretty heated conversation with a guy who looked like the head of security for the hotel. Several uniformed guards stood by as Diddy haggled with security and talked on his phone. How many times do you think he said, "Do you know who I am?" [when you stop laughing you can click the full story for more]
- Click Here for the Full Story 

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Lou Reed for Old Knit Party
CMJ reports: Lou Reed is confirmed to perform at New York's Town Hall on March 1 for the 20th Anniversary Of The Old Knit, an event being thrown by Knitting Factory founder and former CEO Michael Dorf. (Dorf is longer involved in a managerial role with the Knitting Factory, who are having their own event to commemorate the landmark.) Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo, Laurie Anderson and others will celebrate along with Reed at Town Hall in honor of the Tribeca venue[see full story for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

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Anthema for Blue Label
PR reports: Ronnie King and Sean Couevas, principals of the growing new independent Blue Label Records, launched what is shaping up to be a busy 2007 with the January 3 signing of popular Orange County based alternative rock band Anthema. 

Over the past two years, the four piece Anthema-lead vocalist and guitarist Don Welsher, rhythm guitarist and vocalist Chas Trowbridge, bassist Eric Monteleone and drummer Matthew Longstreth-has become something of an institution in the O.C., building a devoted regional following via "intense sweat fests" (Longstreth's description of the energy of their live shows) at hotspots like The Galaxy in Santa Ana, Detroit, the Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa and The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. Anthema is currently in the process of mastering their as yet untitled debut album, which is set to be released to online and brick and mortar outlets later this year; the potential first single, the fiery rocker "I'm Closer God," has received over 1,200 plays on the band's MySpace page (myspace.com/anthema).[see full story for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

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New Rick James Music
PR reports: A brilliant and prolific musical "Super Freak" to the end, legendary R&B/ funk star Rick James may have skipped this mortal coil in 2004, but he left more than just a several decade legacy behind when he passed.

With James' estate finally settled, his longtime business manager Ron Kramer is excited to announce a new multi-media slew of Rick James projects in 2007�beginning with the release of the never before heard track "Deeper Still," set to ship to Urban AC Radio in late January. [see full story for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

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Richard Buckner / Six Parts Seven Tour
PR reports: Brooklyn, NY's Richard Buckner will embark on a major US tour with Kent, OH's Six Parts Seven. The tour will have Buckner supporting his latest release, Meadow, out now on Merge Records; 6P7 is gearing up for its forthcoming disc, Casually Smashed To Pieces, out January 23, 2007 Suicide Squeeze Records. The pairing has the songwriter headlining these shows, while the 6P7 handles both opening duties and act as his backing band. The union makes for an amazing live show, with the heartfelt and engaging storytelling of Buckner cradled beautifully by 6P7's engrossing stage dynamic. The tour kicks off February 17 with a two night stand at the Union Hall in Brooklyn, NY and wraps up in April 13 at Larimer Lounge in Denver[see full story for dates]- Click Here for the Full Story 

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Apples In Stereo Tour
PR reports: Revered indie rock band The Apples In Stereo have confirmed a month-long, headlining tour beginning the first week in February through the first week in March in support of their February 6 release New Magnetic Wonder (Simian Records/Yep Roc/Elephant 6). The tour, which will feature Casper & the Cookies as main support, kicks off February 8 in frontman Robert Schneider's hometown of Lexington, KY and continues through the Midwest concluding on March 3 in Columbia, MO. Following the end of the tour, The Apples will head down to Austin, TX for a performance at SXSW. Along with The Apples' guitarist John Hill and bassist Eric Allen, the touring lineup will include Elephant 6 co-founder Bill Doss (Olivia Tremor Control) and John Ferguson (Ulysses) both on keyboards and backing vocals, and drummer John Dufilho (Deathray Davies). 

In addition, The Apples in Stereo are set to perform at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival. The band will perform at The Jane House, sponsored by Jane Magazine, on Friday, January 19th at 10:00 PM and is also set to perform at at The Star Bar (formerly Plan B Nightclub), sponsored by REAL / film.com, on Sunday, January 21 at 9:30pm. [see full story for all the dates]- Click Here for the Full Story 

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Korn Unplugged Pushed Back 
DiR reports: Korn's unplugged CD will now be release on March 6th instead of Feb 20th. Here is a bit from the press release: The latest installment of the MTV Unplugged Series featuring Korn is set to air on all MTV platforms this February. But come March 6th, music fans looking to own a piece of this special MTV Unplugged performance can purchase the album in stores everywhere. The performance includes guest appearances from Robert Smith of The Cure on a cover of the Cure classic "In Between Days", and Amy Lee of Evanescence lending vocals to "Freak on a Leash". The album version of the performance will also include Korn's cover of "Creep" by Radiohead. Additionally, a video of the track "Freak on a Leash" featuring Amy Lee can be seen on MTV, MTV2, and mtvU beginning next week. Tune in online at mtv.com to see the full Unplugged performance beginning February 10th, and on-air beginning February 17th.- Click Here for the Full Story 

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MSTRKRFT/John Digweed Tour
PR reports: Electropunks MSTRKRFT are teaming up with dance music icon John Digweed for the first ever Diamonds 07 Tour. The first in what will become an annual event, will be presented by MTV Urge and Puma. Throughout the month of March, these two dance floor forces will be hitting up clubs all over the US, bringing to the masses their distinct DJ styles: Digweed, with his beautiful tech-inspired sets, and MSTRKRFT, with their fresh electro punk anthems. 

The pairing was conceived by MSTRKRFT in order to bring something new to the club circuit: "We're very excited about the first ever Diamonds Tour and are honored to have John Digweed headline. We think it's the type of lineup fans have been searching for," says MSTRKRFT's Jesse Keeler. [see full story for dates]- Click Here for the Full Story 

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Canada Goes Digital
PR reports: We just got the Nielsen SoundScan Canada numbers for 2006 and it was an interesting year for our neighbors to the North. Digital sales more than doubled with 14.9 million tracks sold in 06 compared to 6.7 million in 05. That's a jump of 122% Remember these are legal downloads so no lawsuits attached. Overall music sales increased almost 10% in 2006 with 64.1 million units sold (that includes Albums, Singles, Music Video, Digital Tracks). But the numbers get really interesting when you look at genre sales. Only two genres showed in increase in 2006 and it sure wasn't rap. In fact it was classical that saw the biggest jump with 20.6% increase and country with 15.4%. But that still couldn't top alternative that was the king in sales with 9,851,000 units sold, which was a drop from 11,837,000 in 05. Rap saw the biggest nosedive in sales falling 34.7% to 2.4 million units sold in 06. By contrast metal sold more than twice as many units in 2006. 

James Blunt had the top selling album, moving 456,281units of his Back to Bedlam/ but the top selling artist honors went to the late great Johnny Cash (maybe he's part of the reason for the country sales jump?), all told Cash had sales of 544,598 in 2006. But what's scary is that the Crazy Frog landed at #4 beating out The Beatles, Dixie Chicks, Nelly Furtado, and Canada's biggest rock export Nickelback who just barely made it into the top 10 with 285,448 units sold at home in 06. - Click Here for the Full Story 

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Chinese Backstreet Boys or Leprechaun in Alabama?
MTV Networks reports: VH1 is counting down the 40 greatest internet superstars and needs your votes to determine the list. From the Chinese Backstreet Boys to the Numa Numa kid, it's a who's who of web fame and infamy. Pick your number one choice by logging on to http://webjunk.tv/gis/ the companion website to VH1's "Web Junk 20" that serves as a one-stop destination for the best and latest viral videos. Vote for your top picks as many times as you like. 

"Web Junk Presents: 40 Greatest Internet Superstars" premieres Friday, March 23 on VH1, and includes new, exclusive interviews with the web stars themselves plus tons of new footage. You'll find out the real stories behind all these homemade heroes. [you can see the videos and vote at the full story link... our money is on the Leprechaun in Alabama. 
- Click Here for the Full Story 

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Locksley Rapture
PR reports: Locksley's debut full length Don't Make Me Wait hit stores yesterday, Jan. 16, on the band's own Feature Records. To celebrate, Locksley teamed up with fellow NYC-transplants The Rapture and SoCal soul-pop outfit Under the Influence of Giants for a 5 date run you don't want to miss. Get yourself into it:

02-02 Cincinnati, OH � 20th Century Theater 
02-03 Pittsburgh, PA � Rex Theater
02-05 Milwaukee, WI � The Rave
[see full story for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

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The Boy Who Cried Freebird
PR reports: Esteemed writer and public radio commentator, Mitch Myers debuts his first book, THE BOY WHO CRIED FREEBIRD: Rock & Roll Fables and Sonic Storytelling (HarperEntertainment) starring a wide-ranging cast of music industry icons including Ozzy Osbourne, Robert Johnson, Aretha Franklin, Phil Spector and many others. 

Taking cues from �70s era publications like Creem, Crawdaddy and Rolling Stone, THE BOY WHO CRIED FREEBIRD is a freewheeling collection of music-oriented parables, serious artist profiles, and edgy, offbeat essays. Myers incorporates factual reporting, oral storytelling and comedic spritzing�blending his social satire with historical fact in creative, literary fashion. Black Sabbath saving the world from alien infiltration, a classic update on the old American legend of John Henry, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention freak out � it's all within the pages of THE BOY WHO CRIED FREEBIRD, just waiting for you to make your own call; fact or fiction? - Click Here for the Full Story 

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Giant Squid's New Lineup
PR reports: Sacramento, California-based eclectic doom rock band GIANT SQUID, who are embarking on an upcoming tour of the U.S. and Canada this March, have gone through some recent lineup changes. Giant Squid's singer/guitarist/frontman Aaron Gregory provides an update on the band:

"Giant Squid will be entering a busy year of touring in 2007 as a once again, slightly different beast from before. Filling the large void made by Aurielle Gregory's recent departure from the band, will be Jackie Perez Gratz, the ten year veteran cello player of the highly renowned ambient, classical, post-rock group, Amber Asylum (Relapse). Gratz is also known for her vocal and cello skills in San Francisco based metal band, Grayceon, as well as her contribution to the recordings and live performances of bands such as Neurosis, Asunder, Ludicra, and Today is the Day. Giant Squid has been spending its weekends rehearsing with Jackie in San Francisco, finding that her cello skills and hauntingly beautiful voice fit perfectly in Giant Squid's songs. [see full story for more]- Click Here for the Full Story 

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Talking Sabbath
PR reports: TalkingMetal.com has posted episode 122 of their "Talking Metal" podcast. In this Black Sabbath special, hosts Mark Strigl and John Ostronomy are joined in the studio by Seven Witches guitarist Jack Frost and Metal Asylum's Rich Catino. Featured is an interview Strigl conducted with Metal historian Martin Popoff of BraveWords.com. Interview topics include all original Black Sabbath members, Dio and Heaven and Hell, Ian Gillan, the "Black Zeppelin" rumor, and the possibility of a 40th anniversary tour. Additional podcast topics include Guns N' Roses, Metallica, AC/DC, and The Bronx Casket Co. The 60-minute podcast can be downloaded at the full story link. - Click Here for the Full Story 

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