Mick, Keith, Ron and Charlie at the Marquee Club to commemorate their 50th anniversary. Photo: Rankin
• It’s been a while since we’ve seen a first-rate documentary about the Rolling Stones. Leave it to HBO to fill the void. On Nov. 15 the cable network will debut Crossfire Hurricane, a new look at the legendary group’s rise and the various controversies that helped brand them as the anti-Beatles, the ultimate bad boys of rock ‘n’ roll.
Never-before-seen footage and fresh interviews from the band (including retired bassist Bill Wyman) amid this “kaleidoscopic” flick will “delight, shock and amaze longtime devotees, as well as another generation of fans, with its uniquely immersive style and tone.” Says director Brett Morgen: “This is not an academic history lesson … it’s an aural and visual roller-coaster ride.”
Expect to hear more about all the iconic highs and horrifying lows, from their Marquee Club start in London and the birth of the Mick Jagger/Keith Richards songwriting partnership through to the death of Brian Jones, the disaster of Altamont and the troubled making of Exile on Main St. and more.
Meanwhile, Billboard is reporting that the Stones will get $25 million to play four shows — two at Brooklyn’s Barclays Theatre, two more in London, to celebrate their 50th anniversary — further proof, along with new studio work they’ve indulged for a coming box set, that a 2013 tour is imminent.
• Free Killers: You may already have heard that this weekend’s Made in America festival in Philadelphia — Jay-Z’s baby, with expected sets from Pearl Jam, D’Angelo, Jill Scott, the reunited Run-D.M.C. and Mrs. Shawn Carter, Beyonce — will be streaming live on YouTube, like Coachella and Bonnaroo before it. Also keep an eye out for select sets from Seattle’s Bumbershoot, featuring Jane’s Addiction, Skrillex and (huh?) Tony Bennett.
But the Killers have announced a special online hook-up as well. On Sept. 18, due date for the Vegas band’s fourth album, Battle Born, Brandon Flowers & Co. will livestream their performance from the Paradise Theatre in the Bronx, NYC, as part of the next American Express Unstaged event. Show time is 4 p.m. on the West Coast. Legendary director Werner Herzog will be behind the camera. “We can’t believe we got him to do this,” Flowers said in a statement today.
• New albums: Deftones have set a Nov. 13 release date for their seventh effort, Koi No Yokan, with a nationwide tour to support launching with their appearance at the fourth Epicenter festival, Sept. 22 at Irvine’s Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. Nick Raskulinecz, who produced 2010′s Diamond Eyes, is back behind the boards. … And modern blues maverick Gary Clark Jr., so popular he’s been asked to perform at both days of Jay-Z’s Made in America fest this weekend, will finally issue his full-length debut on Warner Bros. Records on Oct. 23, with a title still to come and production from Mike Elizondo.
• EVH recuperating: Eddie Van Halen has shared on the VH website that he has undergone emergency surgery to stave off a severe bout of diverticulitis. No further surgeries are warranted and he’s expected to recover within six months, though that has pushed back Van Halen’s November tour of Japan.
• RIP: Chris Lightly, rap mogul who was longtime manager of 50 Cent, Ja Rule and Mariah Carey, has apparently committed suicide in his Bronx apartment with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 44. KTLA is reporting that his wife filed for divorce last year and that he also may have been facing financial hardship, including a $5 million IRS debt.
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In brief: Stones on HBO, Killers live, new Deftones is a post from: Soundcheck