Les Paul, who changed the face of modern music through his development of the guitar, has died aged 94.

According to a statement issued by the Gibson Guitar Corporation, which first released the seminal Les Paul guitar model in 1952, Paul passed away today (August 13) due to complications arising from a case of pneumonia. He died at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York.

Wisconsen-born Paul, real name Lester William Polsfuss, was a musician before he turned his hand to inventing. He recorded as Rhubarb Red as well as playing in bands including the Les Paul Trio.

Through Gibson he released the Les Paul Goldtop guitar followed by the Les Paul Custom and the Les Paul Standard – the current edition of which is hugely popular today.

Paul was influential in the rise of multi-track recording – allowing musicians to record different musical parts and vocals separately then fuse them together as a complete recording.

Henry Juszkiewicz, chairman and CEO of Gibson, paid tribute to Paul in a statement.

"The world has lost a truly innovative and exceptional human being today," he said. "I cannot imagine life without Les Paul.

"He would walk into a room and put a smile on anyone's face. His musical charm was extraordinary and his techniques unmatched anywhere in the world."

Source NME

Last night in London Pearl Jam broke out rarities, brand new songs and even the Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood. Playing in the legendary Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Eddie Vedder and Co. kicked off the evening with “Sometimes” from No Code before briefly visiting Pink Floyd’s “Interstellar Overdrive,” which served as a segue into “Corduroy.” The band then introduced “The Fixer,” the first single from their upcoming Backspacer, to the 2,000 stoked fans packed inside the tiny venue.

Get a look at Pearl Jam’s intimate London gig, in photos

Just four songs into the gig, frontman Vedder told the unsuspecting crowd, “You’re supposed to save the best for last, but we’re not,” as Wood sauntered onstage to lend his guitar skills to “All Along the Watchtower.” The group reveled in the moment while jamming out at length to the Dylan masterpiece before riding the momentum with inspired takes on old favorites “Why Go” and “Dissident.”

The energy of Wood’s appearance returned midway through the first set during “Even Flow” as Mike McCready bolstered the track with searing guitar leads and Matt Cameron added a thunderous drum solo. The band also dusted off gems including “Down,” “Present Tense” and “Low Light” for the fan club only audience. Pearl Jam wrapped up the 18-song first set with “Do the Evolution” and “Got Some,” another new track from Backspacer.

See classic photos of the Rolling Stones onstage.

A solo Vedder opened the first encore with an acoustic performance of “The End,” the last track on the new album (watch it, below). The band returned for “Inside Job” and the crowd took over on “Betterman,” singing along on the first two verses with gusto. When the band launched into “Alive,” the room seemed to time-travel back to the early ’90s as crowd surfers stumbled their way to the front of the stage.

See Pearl Jam’s famous tour posters.

Answering the calls for a second encore, the band reclaimed the stage and Vedder spoke about his introduction to Arthur Alexander, the composer of their next tune, “Soldier of Love.” After rocking out to “State of Love and Trust” Pearl Jam enlisted Simon Townshend for help on his older brother’s tune “The Real Me” from the Who’s Quadrophenia. The familiar first notes of “Yellow Ledbetter” signaled the end as Vedder told the faithful, “This is how we say goodbye.”

Check out photos from Pearl Jam’s 2008 tour.

Pearl Jam’s mini European tour continues Thursday in Rotterdam with additional stops in Berlin, Manchester and London’s O2 Arena. The band recently announced more U.S. dates this fall and will also play a half-dozen outdoor gigs in Australia and New Zealand. Backspacer is due out on September 20th.

Set List

“Sometimes”
“Interstellar Overdrive”
“Corduroy”
“The Fixer”
“All Along The Watchtower”
“Why Go”
“Dissident”
“Severed Hand”
“Given To Fly”
“Low Light”
“Even Flow”
“Present Tense”
“Save You”
“Down”
“Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town”
“Brother”
“Do The Evolution”
“Got Some”

Encore:

“The End” (Eddie Solo)
“Inside Job”
“Betterman”
“Alive”

Encore Two:

“Soldier Of Love”
“State Of Love And Trust”
“The Real Me”
“Yellow Ledbetter”

Source RollingStone

Radiohead singer Thom Yorke says the band will not be making another 'full' album for as long as he can see.

In an interview with US magazine The Believer, the singer said: "None of us want to go into that creative hoo-ha of a long-play record again. Not straight off.

"I mean, it's just become a real drag. It worked with In Rainbows because we had a real fixed idea about where we were going. But we've all said that we can't possibly dive into that again. It'll kill us.

"I mean, obviously, there's still something great about the album. It's just, for us, right now, we need to get away from it a bit… In Rainbows was a particular aesthetic and I can't bear the idea of doing that again. Not that it's not good, I just can't… bear… that."

Songs for orchestra

Instead, Radiohead plan to release to some 'singles', EPs, and other shorter one-off projects.

"Jonny [Greenwood] and I have talked about sitting down and writing songs for orchestra and orchestrating it fully and just doing it like that and then doing a live take of it and that's it ­– finished" says Yorke.

"We've always wanted to do it, but we've never done it because, I think the reason is, we're always taking songs that haven't been written for that, and then trying to adapt them. That's one possible EP because, with things like that, you think, Do you want to do a whole record like that? Or do you just want to get stuck into it for a bit and see how it feels?"

Radiohead have just released a track, Harry Patch (In Memory Of), in tribute to the longest-surviving British soldier of World War I. The song hints at a new orchestral slant to Radiohead's music.

The band pioneered a new model for albums with the release of 2006's In Rainbows. Prior to its physical release, fans could download an MP3 version and pay what what they wanted.

Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan and Ash are other artists who say they will no longer make full albums.

.Source music-radar

Mike Seeger, the American folk musician who Bob Dylan said inspired him to first start writing original music, has died aged 75.

Seeger passed away on Friday (August 7) at his home in Lexington, Virginia after battling cancer, reports BBC News.

The musician, who played in the group New Lost City Ramblers, was the artist whose influence Dylan said pushed him to write his own music.

"Sometimes you know things have to change," Dylan wrote in his 2004 book 'Chronicles'. "Somebody holds the mirror up, unlocks the door, and your head has to go into a different place. Mike Seeger had that effect on me."

Seeger, who was born in New York and credited with helping to kick off the '60s folk music boom, collaborated with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss on their 2007 multiple Grammy-winning album 'Raising Sand'.

As well as being a musician Seeger was a music historian, and was the sister of the equally influential Peggy and half-brother of the legendary Pete Seeger. He is survived by his wife, Alexia, and three children.

Source NME

David Bowie has confirmed that he is to release a 40th anniversary edition of his 1969 album Space Oddity on October 12.

The double-disc album release will feature 15 bonus tracks, largely consisting of previously unreleased material, including ultra-rare demo tracks, stereo versions and alternate mixes.

The original album has also been remastered from the original analague tapes.

The digipak version will also feature rare photographs, memorabilia, with sleeve notes and a chronology written by Kevin Cann.

David Bowie's Space Oddity: 40th Anniversary Edition track listing is:

CD 1:
1. Space Oddity
2. Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed
3. Letter To Hermione
4. Cygnet Committee
5. Janine
6. An Occasional Dream
7. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud
8. God Knows I'm Good
9. Memory Of A Free Festival


CD 2:
1. Space Oddity (demo)*
2. An Occasional Dream (demo)*
3. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (single B-side)
4. Let Me Sleep Beside You (BBC Radio session D.L.T. Show)
5. Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed (BBC Radio session D.L.T. Show) *
6. Janine (BBC Radio session: D.L.T. Show)
7. London Bye Ta-Ta (stereo version)
8. The Prettiest Star (stereo version)
9. Conversation Piece (stereo version) *
10.Memory Of A Free Festival (Part 1) (single A-side)
11.Memory Of A Free Festival (Part 2) (single B-side)
12.Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (alternate album mix) *
13.Memory Of A Free Festival (alternate album mix) *
14.London Bye Ta-Ta (alternate stereo mix) *
15.Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola (full length stereo version) *

*previously unreleased

Source UNCUT

Don't buy the upcoming archival box sets of Morrissey singles. That directive, strangely enough, comes from the former Smiths singer himself.

Those Morrissey collections, coming this fall from EMI/HMV/Parlophone, are titled The 7" Singles '88-'91 and The HMV/Parlophone Singles '91-'95.

You'd figure that most artists would love nothing more than for fans to snatch up any and all bits of catalogue. Not the Moz, who says he won't make a dime off such reissues. Furthermore, he claims that he hasn't been asked for approval for their release.

Morrissey's statement:

On the fansite True To You, Morrissey says the following:

"Morrissey would like it to be known that he has not been consulted by EMI/HMV/Parlophone with regards to two forthcoming boxed sets of Morrissey singles. Morrissey does not approve such releases and would ask people not to bother buying them.

"Morrissey receives no royalty payments from EMI for any back catalogue, and has not received a royalty from EMI since 1992. Morrissey also does not approve of, and was not consulted on, the Rhino box of Smiths CDs, or the Warner releases of Smiths LPs on 180 gramme vinyl.

"Morrissey last received a royalty payment from Warners ten years ago, and, once again, he would ask people not to bother buying the reissued LPs or CDs."

This isn't the first time Morrissey has asked his fans to boycott product. In August 2008, the singer called a Warner Music DVD titled Morrissey Live At The Hollywood Bowl "appalling" and appealed to his audience to not purchase it.

Source music-radar