BEATLES NEWS ROUNDUP

In either the most ill-advised or ballsiest moves in recent music litigation history, the company being sued by EMI Records for illegally selling Beatles MP3's claims the tracks are actually NOT the copyright of the label. BlueBeat, the company selling the tracks illegally for 25 cents, actually stated that they hold the copyrights to the songs due to a process called "psycho-acoustic simulation." A Los Angeles federal judge set aside the laughable arguments by Hank Risan, the owner of BlueBeat whose defense was that "he -- and not EMI or the Beatles' Apple Corps. -- owns these sound recordings, because he re-recorded new versions of the songs using what he termed 'psycho-acoustic simulation.'"

Upon listening to BlueBeat's version of the Beatles' "Sun King," it's obvious that it's the same exact version as featured on the group's Abbey Road album.

A Los Angeles federal judge will now rule on whether BlueBeat actually owns new copyrights to the Beatles' sound recordings. A decision is expected in the near future.

Scott Mackenzie, a Dallas copyright attorney said, "They're hosed. That just doesn't make any sense. I don't even see the basis of their theory." (wired.com)

Paul McCartney was happy with the way his October 26th New York City tribute to composer Frank Loesser to benefit the Actor's Fund turned out. He posted a message on his official site (paulmccartney.com) talking about his performance of "On A Slow Boat To China" at the Minskoff Theatre, saying, "Normally I've got a guitar or a piano to help me out, but this time all I had was a hand mic but I had a great time all the same. The event raised more money than had been expected and will benefit members of the acting profession who have fallen on hard times. It was something completely different for me, but I knew the song from family sing-songs when I was a kid and I admire Frank Loesser's writing."

James McCartney, the 32-year-old son and youngest child of Paul and Linda McCartney, issued a press release talking about his recently launched musical career. James will be making his American debut with his band Light on November 14th in Fairfield, Iowa in connection with the David Lynch Foundation and the local Maharishi University of Management. James explained, "I have been playing music since I was nine and writing along the way. I met my band about a year ago. Producer David Kahne introduced us -- and my dad, Paul, helped... The music was inspired by the Beatles, Nirvana, the Cure, PJ Harvey, Radiohead -- and all good music. It is basically rock 'n 'roll, clean sounding, and vocal."

He shed some light on his musical development, saying, "My dad taught me guitar when I was nine. I play a Fender Stratocaster, which Carl Perkins gave me from the seventies, and a Gibson Les Paul that my dad gave me (which is) heart red."

James wrote about his still-unreleased debut album with his band -- which features some Liverpool musicians -- saying, "The words on the album refer to spirituality, love, family, trying to sort out one's own life, and many other things. I have written the songs over a ten-year period."

No release date is set for James McCartney's debut album.

THE ROLLING STONES TO TOUR IN 2010???

Ron Wood hinted that the Rolling Stones are gearing up for their first road trek in three years, telling BBC 6 Music, "It's all very good. I saw Mick (Jagger) and Charlie (Watts) last week. Everything is great." When asked about the rumored tour, Wood added that he was confident that the Stones will be out on the road in 2010, adding, "Let's hope so, yeah!"

Unconfirmed rumors claim that the Stones are in negotiations to close the UK's Glastonbury Festival in late June.

The Stones' 2005-2007 A Bigger Bang world tour grossed the band over half-a-billion dollars. Keith Richards says that it's not so unthinkable that the Stones will keep performing until they die: "That has always been my point. Ain't nobody that complained that Duke Ellington or Count Basie and said, 'Why are you still doing it?' They did it all their lives. What is it -- because I'm white and I play rock 'n' roll? You know what I mean? Otherwise, I'm just doing what all other guys who I follow -- you know Muddy (Waters), Howlin' Wolf. You do what you do until you drop. You know, you rock 'til you drop."

JACK WHITE TURNS DOWN APPEARANCE ON SLASH SOLO ALBUM

Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash told MusicRadar.com this week that he got almost every special guest he wanted to appear on his upcoming solo album, except for one: White Stripes singer/guitarist and Dead Weather drummer Jack White. Slash revealed, "I wanted to get Jack White to sing on something, but he didn't want to sing. He said I'll play drums, I'll play guitar, but I don't wanna sing. He was one guy that I wanted to work with. Pretty much everyone else that I went after I managed to get."

While he didn't get White, the guest list for Slash's project has become a who's-who of rock and pop.

According to RollingStone.com, the roster now includes Iggy Pop, Cypress Hill, Alice Cooper, Nicole Scherzinger, Meat Loaf and Maroon 5's Adam Levine. They join the previously announced Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Grohl, Flea, Fergie, Chris Cornell, Duff McKagan, Wolfmother's Andrew Stockdale and others.

The record, titled Slash & Friends, will appear sometime in early 2010.

Slash wrote on Twitter that he laid down the final track for the disc on Wednesday, with Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge supplying vocals.

The former Guns N' Roses axeman makes his own guest appearance on Rihanna's upcoming album, Rated R, on a song called "Rockstar 101."

Slash "and friends" will perform at a fundraiser for the Los Angeles Youth Nation at Hollywood's Avalon Theater on November 22nd. Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, Andrew Stockdale, Linkin Park's Chester Bennington, Dave Navarro and Travis Barker are all tentatively slated to appear.

JOHN FOGERTY TO PLAY PBS 'LIVE BY REQUEST' TOMORROW NIGHT

John Fogerty says that he's on pins-and-needles about tomorrow night's (November 7th) performance on PBS' Live By Request. Fogerty will be interacting with fans who'll be requesting songs and asking questions via Facebook, Twitter, and other social outlets. Fogerty admitted to Billboard, "It's pretty nerve-wracking, especially in this modern world. Way back in the old days, when the red light was on everything was live, and you really had to have it all together... That's what this show is going to be like. And then you add the thing that you're gonna be surprised by a request and I've got to turn around to the band and say, 'OK, here we go...'"

Still, Fogerty is ready to rise to the occasion and play some good old fashioned rock and roll for the masses: "It's gonna be fun, though. I did it one time before, and I remember getting very keyed up for it. Certainly that's what's going to happen this time. And once it's over there's something very satisfying about interacting with the fans."

Fogerty says that out of respect for both Creedence Clearwater Revival fans and the songs themselves, he tries to keep the song's live arrangements note-for-note as they were played on the record: "I just feel that because of the fact that touring, and even my career, has been so interrupted for long gaps of time, I think it's up to me to kind of reinforce the reverence that I have for those earlier songs -- and also, I think the way the audience treats them. So that's a way of explaining why when I do 'Bad Moon Rising,' it still sounds like 'Bad Moon Rising.'"

John Fogerty: Live By Request airs at 9 p.m. EST on PBS. Fogerty will perform on NBC's The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien on Tuesday (November 10th)

John Fogerty tour dates (subject to change):
November 12 - Hollywood, CA - Kodak Theatre
November 14 - Primm, NV - Star Of The Desert Arena
November 16 - Denver, CO - Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre
November 18 - Minneapolis, MN - The State Theatre
November 19 - Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theatre
November 21 - Chicago, IL - Auditorium Theatre
November 22 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
November 24 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
November 25 - Newark, NJ - New Jersey Performing Arts Center
November 27 - Mashantucket, CT - MGM Grand At Foxwoods
November 28 - Upper Darby, PA - Tower Theatre
November 29 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre

U2'S BERLIN EVENT STIRS UP SOME CONTROVERSY

U2 performed a short set in Germany yesterday (Thursday, November 5th) to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. According to the Associated Press, the band kicked off show at the Brandenburg Gate with the hit song "One." Frontman Bono thanked the crowd "for coming out in the cold" before wishing Berlin a happy birthday. The 30-minute, six-song set also featured "Beautiful Day," "Vertigo," a cover of Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up," as well as a special guest appearance by Jay-Z on "Sunday Bloody Sunday." But the free concert wasn't without controversy for the some 10,000 ticketholders who attended. Concertgoers couldn't see a lot of the show because it was obscured by 6-1/2-foot high metal barrier put up temporarily to prevent non-ticketholders from getting in to the event. Fans were upset that they couldn't get a good view of U2 -- an interesting situation considering the concert was put on to recognize 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Local politician Frank Henkel tells BBC News, "It's a shame that a barrier has been set up. It's stopping many Berliners from hearing the concert."

The Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989, signaling the end of nearly 30 years of Cold War division between the communist East and the democratic West.

The U2 show was part of the MTV Europe Music Awards, which took place last night.

CHECK IT OUT: Here's a photo from the show:
http://tinyurl.com/y963hb5

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN WRITING HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY???

Bruce Springsteen is reportedly writing his memoirs, according to The New York Post. An unnamed source said the project would be unparalleled in the rock world, saying, "It could be the biggest rock music autobiography of all time. He could get $9 million to $10 million for the world rights."

When pressed about the Springsteen-sanctioned trilogy Born To Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story, Glory Days, and Two Hearts: The Definitive Biography, 1972-2003, by rock journalist Dave Marsh, the source stated simply: "Springsteen is a better writer than Marsh."

A bidding war for the book is said to be strong enough to dwarf Keith Richards' $8 million advance from Little Brown for his upcoming autobiography and the $4 million Eric Clapton snagged for his 2008 memoir.

Springsteen, who has kept hundreds of notebooks and journals throughout his life, tested the autobiographical waters with the text to his 1998 book, Songs.

Springsteen has always aimed for his albums and tours to be more than just entertainment, and he hopes that his work will help inspire some type of dialogue among his audience: "People are looking for ways to have a dialogue about these ideas, about these issues. They're looking for ways to try to get a handle and make sense of what's happening, you know, and I think that music and film and art has a service to perform in that fashion. It can be one of its services."

Tomorrow night (November 7th), Springsteen and the E Street Band will kick off their two-night stand at New York City's Madison Square Garden by performing their 1973 album The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle in it's entirety, and on Sunday (November 8th) Springsteen will play his 1980 double album The River from start to finish.

GUNS N' ROSES MTV 'MOON MAN' SELLING FOR $13,500

A 1988 MTV Moon Man award for "Best New Artist In A Video," given to Guns N' Roses for their "Welcome To The Jungle" clip, has been acquired for sale by music memorabilia clearinghouse Rockaway Records.

The statue belonged to former Guns manager Alan Niven, who wrote an accompanying letter in which he says, "In 1988 this 'Moon Man' was presented to me in my capacity as manager of Guns n' Roses...it ought to have really been offered since the video 'concept' was mine -- but then it should have been presented to the talents I stole from -- the makers of the movies Midnight Cowboy, The Man Who Fell to Earth, and Clockwork Orange."

The award is available at the Rockaway site for a mere $13,500.