Iconic Drum Machine Has Kanye's Number

Sony blamed for UK price hike, now reversed

(NEWSER) - On Saturday, a Whitney Houston greatest-hits album cost about $8 in the UK iTunes store; but shortly after the singer was found dead, it had jumped to a little more than $12.50. The changed sparked a customer uproar. "It is just a case of iTunes cashing in on the singer's death, which in my opinion is totally parasitic," said one, according to DigitalSpy . But the Guardian reports that it was Sony, not iTunes, that was responsible for the change—which has now been reversed. More»

Band takes classic album on 40th anniversary 15-city tour

(NEWSER) - Jethro Tull’s 1971 album Aqualung may be a certified classic, but the band’s frontman calls it flawed. “It wasn’t a great sounding album,” Ian Anderson tells Bloomberg . The church-turned-studio where it was recorded was “big, echoey, daunting and rather dark,” he notes. “It had all the ghosts of its past, and plenty of technical problems. At the end of the sessions, I wasn’t sure what we’d got.” More»

Nirvana fans most likely to jump in the sack

(NEWSER) - If your idea of a good first date involves a roll in the hay, you’re probably not a Coldplay fan. You might be into Nirvana, though, a survey finds. The dating site Tastebuds.fm polled users on their willingness to have sex on the first date and compared it to their musical tastes, the Atlantic Wire reports. After Coldplay fans, those into Adele, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry were the least interested in first-date sex. More»

Eminem enjoys a comeback, too

(NEWSER) - Kanye West's comeback must be complete: Rolling Stone awarded him the top slot in its list of 2010's 30 best albums. The top 10:

1. Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: "Music as sprawlingly messy as his life," these songs are "hip-hop epics ... full of the kind of grandiose gestures that only the foolish attempt and only the wildly talented pull off."
2. The Black Keys, Brothers: "Their best record yet: vivid tunes stripped bare and rubbed raw ... it's rock minimalism pushed to the max."
3. Elton John and Leon Russell, The Union: "Two rock giants ... rekindle a friendship and make music that ranks with their best."
4. Arcade Fire, The Suburbs: "An album of vast, orchestral rock that locates the battle for the human soul amid big houses and manicured lawns."

Beyoncé sets record with 6 Grammys; Swift captures album of the year

(NEWSER) - Beyoncé won six Grammy Awards tonight in Los Angeles, setting a record for a female performer, but was foiled in two high-profile categories. The R&B superstar captured song of the year for "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On it)," while Taylor Swift took home album of the year for "Fearless"—one of the 20-year-old pop-country star's four trophies—and Kings of Leon won Record of the Year for "Use Somebody." More»