Michael Jackson believed that initial mixes of his seminal 1982 album 'Thriller' were "crap" and "sucked", it has been revealed in a newly-unearthed interview.

In the interview from 1980s, published by the News Of The World, the late singer revealed that he was considering scrapping the Quincy Jones-produced album before being inspired by watching children play to salvage it.

"'Thriller' sounded so crap. The mixes sucked," he said. "When we listened to the whole album, there were tears... I just cried like a baby. I stormed out of the room and said, 'We're not releasing this'."

Jackson went on to explain that a visit to watch some school kids helped him turn the album around. "One of the maintenance crew in the studio had a bicycle and so I took it and rode up to the schoolyard," he said. "I just watched the children play. When I came back I was ready to rule the world. I went into the studio and I turned them songs out."

The tape isn’t the only interview to be unearthed since the singer's death in June. Recently interview tapes featuring Jackson and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach revealed that the singer said he believed he could have changed Adolf Hitler if he could have met him.

Source NME

The ballot for next year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class is one of the most diverse ever: the Red Hot Chili Peppers, LL Cool J, Kiss and Genesis are up for nomination alongside the Stooges, Donna Summer, ABBA, Darlene Love, Laura Nyro, the Chantels, the Hollies and Jimmy Cliff. Artists are eligible for induction 25 years after their debut release, so all the candidates released their first single no later than 1984. LL Cool J and the Red Hot Chili Peppers both made the ballot on their first year of eligibility.

Check out the potential Rock Hall Class of 2010 in classic photos.

This is Kiss’ first time on the ballot, and their wait for a nod has frustrated the band and its army of fans. “There are disco bands, rap bands, Yiddish folk song bands in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but not Kiss,” Gene Simmons said last year. “I believe we have more gold records in America
than any other group, but it’s OK.” The Stooges made an appearance at the induction ceremony just two years ago, as Iggy Pop and Co. performed a pair of Madonna songs when the Queen of Pop joined the Hall.

Rolling Stone’s Essential Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Coverage: photos, video, interviews and more.

If LL Cool J gets inducted he will be the third hip-hop act to get into the Hall, after Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five (Class of ‘07) and Run-DMC (Clas of ‘08). “I don’t even think I can describe it. In terms of music, it’s probably the happiest moment for me since I got my break,” LL Cool J tells Rolling Stone. “My break was the moment I was called by Rick Rubin and he said, ‘Come down, let’s make some records.’ Now they are nominating me for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it makes me feel like it mattered a little bit. It’s cool. It’s a great feeling.” Watch LL Cool J react to his Rock Hall nomination below.

The final list of inductees — decided by the 500 voters receiving ballots — will be announced in January and the ceremony will once again be held at New York’s Waldorf Astoria on March 15th, 2010. On October 29th and 30th the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will celebrate its 25th anniversary with two concerts at Madison Square Garden that will feature performances by U2, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Metallica, Simon & Garfunkel and many more. Read more about the special MSG shows here.

Source RollingStone

On November 24th, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers will release their career-spanning The Live Anthology, a four-disc set that features some of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers’ best onstage performances from 1978 to 2007. Anthology will feature no overdubs and a 48-song track list selected by Petty, Mike Campbell and Ryan Ulyate. In addition to the band’s own hits, The Live Anthology also finds the Heartbreakers covering the Grateful Dead’s “Friend of the Devil,” the Zombies’ “I Want You Back Again,” James Brown’s “Good, Good Lovin’” and more. Artist Shepard Fairey, who recently designed the Barack Obama cover of Rolling Stone, will provide cover art for the set.

As is the norm these days, The Live Anthology will also be available in a deluxe edition, and this Best Buy exclusive is packed with extras: There’s the four discs from the standard version, plus a fifth disc with 14 additional tracks and two DVDs: a New Year’s Eve concert in 1978 in Santa Monica, and the previously unreleased Petty documentary 400 Days, filmed during the 1995 Wildflowers tour. If that wasn’t enough, there’s also a vinyl of the 1976 album Official Live ‘Leg and a Blu-ray disc featuring all 62 songs from the deluxe Anthology in stunning 96K 24-bit audio. Concert poster, backstage pass reproductions, a deluxe booklet, a lithograph and much more are also included in the deluxe boxset, which comes out November 22nd, two days before the standard version.

Since this is the 21st century, no release is complete without an digital version, and the Tom Petty SuperHighway Tour has Petty’s more computer-savvy fans covered as well. The site, which launches September 29th with a free download, will allow fans to download 24 of the Anthology’s 48 songs eight weeks prior to release, with the remainder of the 24 songs coming on November 24th. To complete the online experience, the site will also feature band commentary, vintage photos, a merchandise booth with access to limited-edition shirts and much more.

.Source RollingStone

John Mayer debuted the first single from his new album Battle Studies, Who Says, on his website, and he let fans know about the song in a Tweet which reads, "From my heart to yours."

Electric blues aficionados who grooved to the guitarist's turn in The John Mayer Trio (featuring bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan) might not take to this first track, as it's a gentle acoustic ballad much like recent Mayer cuts like Say and Stop This Train.

The lyrics, however, are straight out of the '70s, as Mayer sings, "Who says I can't get stoned?/ Turn off the lights and the telephone/ My in my house alone/ Who says I can't get stoned?"

In a recent chat with Rolling Stone, Mayer defended the lines and claimed they were totally innocent. "When I sing it, I do not think about marijuana," he said. "I think about walking around your house naked with a guitar."

O-kayyyy. While the idea of John Mayer wandering about the ol' homestead au natural may not be everybody's idea of bliss, it's the song that counts and you can check it out here.

Meanwhile, Battle Studies, which Mayer describes as "a record where you could sing any of the songs in an American Idol audition" (wait...is that good or bad?) is due out 17 November.

In his Tweet, Mayer also states that Who Says sounds best between "8pm-3am on Friday and Saturday nights," so choose your listening sessions - and your attire - accordingly.

Source music-radar

If you're on O2 you can get Priority Tickets to The O2 and O2 Academy venues up to 48 hours before they go on general release. Register at o2.co.uk/priority. Terms apply.

Source NME

Spandau Ballet tickets:

• Oct 16, 2009 19:30 at Sheffield Arena, Sheffield - Buy from Seetickets
• Oct 17, 2009 19:30 at S.e.c.c., Glasgow - Buy from Seetickets
• Oct 21, 2009 19:30 at The O2 Arena, London - Buy from Seetickets

More Spandau Ballet tickets

Source NME