B-52s Shimmy Again

'We're doing this for good reasons'

(NEWSER) - After 31 years, what makes a band decide to go separate ways ? For REM, it’s pretty simple. “We're happy. But we're done,” bassist Mike Mills tells Rolling Stone . Or, as singer Michael Stipe put it: “A wise man once said, ‘The skill in attending a party is knowing when it's time to leave.'" In short, “it's not because we have to or we can't stand each other or we suck,” Mills notes. More»

CDs showcase Fab Four as they were meant to be heard

(NEWSER) - The Beatles just got better: every one of their original albums and a batch of collected singles has been remastered, boosting the quality to the level “the Beatles themselves would have heard and intended,” writes Matt Hurwitz in the Washington Post. The stereo CDs remind us that the Beatles were a “rock band”: these recordings pack a punch not heard on the older discs. More»

Aussie power rock group gets back to roots with album you can only get at Wal-Mart

(NEWSER) - After an 8-year hiatus, AC/DC is back—in black, one might say, as their album Black Ice is poised to go on sale exclusively at Wal-Mart stores Oct. 20, Rolling Stone reports. In 2 months of studio work, the Aussie rock icons churned out 15 new songs (including four with the word “rock” in the title) and plan a massive world tour beginning in October. More»

Study says music reflects our personalities

(NEWSER) - Our favorite music speaks volumes about who we are, according to a new psychological study. It turns out that Indie fans are miserable, and metal heads act a lot like classical music lovers. The Independent breaks down personalities by genre:

• Indie: Low self-esteem and lazy, not to mention selfish and unkind.

• Rock: Hard-working and creative, but also unfriendly and hardly generous.

Keyboardist played on decades of Springsteen hits

(NEWSER) - Longtime Bruce Springsteen keyboardist Danny Federici died yesterday at the age of 58 in New York after a three-year battle with melanoma. As a member of the Boss’ E Street Band, he performed on hit records for decades and helped bring Springsteen into the spotlight after jamming in New Jersey in the 1960s. “We grew up together,” Springsteen said in an online statement. More»