Taylor Swift sold 592,000 copies of her new record making herself immune from the dwindling record biz.  She is more than an artist, she is a role model and a figure head to a certain segment in this generation.  Christina Aguilera ‘Keeps Gettin’ Better” came out just in time for the Christmas holiday but sold only 72,869.  Old School marketing strategies cannot get the public excited to spend 10 bucks on a diva that graces the pages of tabloid mags and gossip columns. Pink’s ‘Funhouse’ sold 52,000 records this week. Metallica’s ‘Death Magnetic’ sold 31,000 records, can we say they cameback? Regardless, The Day That Never Comes is a classic song.  AC/DC ‘Black Ice’ sold 105,146 with a total of  1,320,000.

Guns N’ Roses new release expects to sell 600k in its first week, which would make this one of the biggest releases of the year. Once again, where are the new artists?

13 years later, Guns N’ Roses ‘Chinese Democracy’ can be streamed in its entirety on myspace.

Guns N’ Roses began to write and record new music in 1994. Ex-bassist Duff McKagan is quoted as saying, “The band was so splintered at that point that nothing got started”. Slash has criticized Rose for making the band seem “like a dictatorship”. Slash quit the band in 1996; drummer Matt Sorum and McKagan left soon afterwards.

Chinese Democracy is a collaboration of artists who include:

* Axl Rose – lead vocals, backing vocals
* Robin Finck – lead guitar, backing vocals
* Bumblefoot – lead guitar
* Richard Fortus – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
* Tommy Stinson – bass guitar, backing vocals
* Dizzy Reed – keyboard, piano, percussion, backing vocals
* Bryan Mantia – drums, percussion
* Frank Ferrer – drums, percussion
* Chris Pitman – synthesizer, programming

Former members who are featured

* Buckethead – lead guitar
* Paul Tobias – rhythm guitar

Additional musicians

* Sebastian Bach – backing vocals (uncredited)
* Patti Hood – harp
* Marco Beltrami – orchestral arrangement
* Paul Buckmaster – orchestral arrangement

The Cost Of The Record: According to a March 2005 New York Times article, production costs for the album have reached $13 million

Virginia pop rock outfit My Favorite Highway who spent years on the scene finally signed to Virgin Records after generating excitement with their new full length.  My Favorite Highway caught the interest of KOAR when they released their first track ‘Murder On The Radio‘.  During the course of the years, the band dropped the rock roots and gravitated towards the pop direction ala Jason Mraz and The Fray.

Abby Owens who hails from Waycross, Georgia may have channeled the ghost of the south. Fans of Patti Griffin, Chrissie Hynde, and Joni Mitchell could connect with the track Bringin Us Down as Owens sorts out her pain and loss.

In her myspace blog Ownes writes, “Everyone goes through that time in their life when they’re so hopeful. So motivated and secure with things and then the rug gets snatched right out from underneath them. I realized I missed a step in the big math problem. I stepped where no stone was put. I breathed on my way up from the bottom too soon and now I’m drowning, skinning my knee, and failing.
Why don’t people have any guts anymore? Where’s the fire these days? ………

After thirteen years, Guns N’ Roses new album ‘Chinese Democracy’ has leaked on the internet.

Idolator says the entire album leaked within the last 24 hours lighting up Rapidshare and BitTorrent sites while causing lots of headaches for the Internet police.

Posted in New York Daily Mag, “How is it? Well, these are pretty much the same songs we’ve been listening to for the past six years, so if you liked that static-y MP3 of “I.R.S.” you downloaded in 2003, you’ll probably really like the cleaned-up version.”

Tom Oakes and Kyle Lobeck who go by the name More Amor held themselves up in a tiny Los Angeles apartment and wrote 14 beat-driven songs that were eventually produced by Mike Green. Sure, beat-driven electronic filled tracks can lose their luster quickly but that doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy the infectious tracks like Same Damn Song and OB Forever that are accompanied by hooky choruses and harmonies. I would love see to see this duo assemble a real band, but for now, you can purchase their self released album on iTunes.

Guns N’ Roses new track titled Better can be heard here. The unmixed and extended version of this track has been floating around the net for at least a year. This track is better (no pun intended) than Chinese Democracy and finds itself closer to the early days of eighties glam.

The Leakers: The entire Britney Spears album that is scheduled to hit streets on December 2nd has leaked online. The entire album can be heard and found on multiple links on Youtube. Her last album leaked as well.

50 Cent’s new album “Before I Self Destruct’ which was suppose to come out during the Christmas Holiday has been pushed back to 2009. Interscope says the artist was “rushing” to meet the December date but “with the deadline to secure advertising and retail placement for the album imminent,” the rapper opted to wait until next year. Other sources say the real reason for the delay is that the lead single “Get Up” failed to react with radio and listeners.

Unreleased Beatles Track? An unreleased Beatles track could be made public after 41 years. It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios and McCartney has the master. Before the track is released, McCartney needs the green light from Ringo Starr and the estates of Lennon.

Hollywood Scales Back Parties: The economic crisis has ripped through Hollywood and partygoers can expect less Eggnog this Christmas Season. Some big companies have canceled their annual celebrations all together while others like Disney and Universal will be scaling down.

The reviews are starting to come in for the new album by Nickelback titled Dark Horse that hits stores tomorrow.

Rolling Stone Mag says, “What’s a poor rock band to do when your last album sold 8 million copies at a time when nobody buys CDs anymore? You can hire a guy who produced AC/DC, Def Leppard and Shania Twain albums that sold even more.

New York Times says, “For the first time Nickelback is produced by Mutt Lange (AC/DC, Shania Twain), who has nudged from the band a tougher sound more suited to its inner louse. But he couldn’t fully jolt the band out of its comfort zone. Sprinkled throughout this album are vintage Nickelback songs, the brooding slow burners that have defined the band.

The Boston Herald says, “The good news? It’s the Canadian band’s least-boring record yet. Between the stupid lyrics and obnoxious glossy ’80s production, there are actually hooks and legit riffs here.

Some of the biggest releases this year came from rock artists and metal acts including Metallica, Slipknot, and AC/DC. Sure, these monsters of rock released solid albums and will be backed with near sold out tours, but where are the disciples?

Listen to The Treatment and Wonderful Life by Death Pilot. The Hollywood, California band should be releasing a record shortly which was produced by Dirty Icon Productions and co-produced by Tomo Milicevic (30 Seconds to Mars).

Nov 19     The VooDoo Lounge - San Jose, California
Nov 22     The Fire Escape -  Citrus Heights, California
Dec 15     The Key Club -  West Hollywood, California

Producer and songwriter Dr. Luke who has worked with Avril Lavigne, Britney Spears, and Katy Perry says the new Kelly Clarkson single could be out next month. He also said the song has a country twang. Luke says the song is called ‘My Life Would Suck Without You’ and that he wrote it with Max Martin a couple of years ago. Dr. Luke says. “It’s sick. She sings a song in two hours and kills it. You’re just, like, ‘holy s—.’ She has powerful lungs. She’s like the Lance Armstrong of vocal chords.”

Australia Cleans Up The Net: Australia is planning to block 10,000 websites. Unwanted content impacts internet speeds and costs to the industry.

Chinese Democracy Review: Rolling Stone Mag reviews Guns N’ Roses “Chinese Democracy. Check it out here..

New Video Stream: The new Mudvayne video for the track ‘Do What You Do’ can be seen here. This track is edgy with a cool bass hook. The new album ‘The New Game’ can be streamed here and will be released on November 18th via Epic Records.