Their name is appropriate. Their music seems panicked, almost chaotic. It’s straight up, in your face hardcore metal and it feels real. Face the Panic is a hardcore band from Buffalo and they have decried the current state of hardcore bands, intimating that it’s going glam. Their debut album is The Reclamation, their answer to the problem in hardcore music. Face the Panic has a number of years of experience amongst them, being members of other bands such as Every Time I Die and Herod among others. The experience pays off on this raw and gritty record. Musically and lyrically it attacks, aggravates, satiates. The guitars are muscular and never let up. Chris Murphy and Aaron Ratajczak combine well to present a tough hide of hardcore noise and also some melodic leads which hearken back to the early, early days of metal and punk. They list as influences Danzig, Misfits, Exodus, The Ramones; elements of all those bands can be heard throughout the record. The drumming is frenetic. I loved the muted slap of the kick drum, the flat crack of the snare, and the tinny taps on the ride cymbal. It’s all reminiscent of some weekend garage band - a bunch of guys who get together right after work and jam to remove all the stress and stupidity of the week they’ve just faced. And it’s effective. Jay Galvin’s vocals are like sandpaper on the microphone. He manages to belt out some interesting thoughts. In “Land of Opportunists,” a song ostensibly about the baleful state of humanity on a global scale, he forces out lyrics like “most people are ignorant/most people are racist.” At first it seems a stupid and ignorant thing to say. But, it’s true, really. That’s the way the whole record is. At first, it seems like it’s just not all put together right. But more and more, you start to hear the veracity of the music and the words. You can’t get enough of the hacking chords in “Elitist Fool” or the chanting chorus of “Land of Opportunists.” It’s a satisfying record. They aren’t pretentious, they aren’t trying to show up anybody. They are simply playing as hard and as intensely as they can and they dare you to Face the Panic.

The Bittersweets are the Nashville based band formed around vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Chris Meyers, vocalist Hannah Prater, and former Counting Crows drummer Steve Bowman. Together they have created a roots rock/ alt country sound that isn’t too country and not too rock and roll. Think Rilo Kiley without the twang or Shawn Colvin minus the twee.Their debut album The Life You Always Wanted released in 2006, is one of the strongest and most surprisingly mature albums from a young band I have heard. Not that the band members are overly young, but that they had been playing together only a very short time (a few months) before they recorded it. Prater’s voice has silky smooth, gentle, dulcet quality that weaves an enchanting aural picture, with echoes of vocalists like Norah Jones and Emmylou Harris. Meyers’ lyrics and music are thoughtful, never overwrought, never pushing you too far, but instead lulling you into a warm comfortable place. His vocals, whether harmonising with Prater’s or serving as main vocals are fluid and guileless. When they mingle together, Prater and Meyers voices have a bitter-sweet quality, undoubtedly the inspiration for the band name, which wraps you in a complaisant blanket of luxurious nostalgia.This week I interviewed Chris Meyers for Band of the Week. An intelligent, witty, and fun man whose talents seem to lean to this side of prodigy. Meyers taught himself to play piano by listening to Bruce Springsteen’s album Born in the USA, a guitar rock album if ever there was one, and playing the chords over and over again on the piano, when he was just five. Our conversation was a long and winding one, and what follows is the highlight of our chat.Tell me about your debut album The Life You Always Wanted. It has very biblical themed titles. What’s that about?It does have biblically themed titles; it’s one of those things that just kind of happened.It’s not a Christian music album though, right?It’s not a Christian album at all! I don’t mean that to be like it’s a heathen album, it’s just not Christian rock. I think that biblical imagery is really powerful, at least in America, it’s universally understood too. Like when you bring up something like the rapture to talk about a woman who’s freezing to death in her car, I think that’s appropriate.Is that what your song “Rapture” is about? Yeah. And people bring up “And Death Shall Have No Dominion”, which is actually my response to the Dylan Thomas poem, I wrote while my grandfather was dying. It was my mediation on that Dylan Thomas poem while that was happening. Tell me about your second record. You’re the primary song writer for the band, and wrote all the songs on the first album I know, but what about your soon to be finished second album? Second record I’ve written the most songs, but Hannah has written one – which is actually one of my favourites. And she co-wrote, I think we co-wrote maybe two of them. Then Steve (Bowman, drums) has started writing too. I don’t think he finished the song in time to make the record, but I think if we do a B-sides or European release that there is a chance that it will make it. It’s being produced by this wonderful producer, whose one of our favourites, a guy named Lex Price. He has worked with all sorts of people like, Mindy Smith, Glen Phillips, Toad The Wet Sprocket and Melissa Etheridge. He’s a brilliant producer and has brought together a group of great musicians, all these great Nashville musicians that he got on board to do the record. And you have relocated from the Bay Area of California to Nashville in order to make your new album correct? So how do like Nashville? Do you find it more creatively stimulating?Yes, I love it! I fell like everybody I meet here is a musician and not just a mediocre musician, but a really good musician. Half the houses in town are recoding studios, everybody is a songwriter or a guitar player. I used to think that it was much more a country town, like country music, but there are so many different musicians living here now, that it’s kind of like everything. There is this great, indie/folk/Americana theme. We have gotten to know a lot of folks and it’s been absolutely wonderful for us both creatively and personally. I think it’s a lot easier when you’re hanging around musicians ‘cause they get your lifestyle and the relationship. If there is somebody who’s working a nine to five job, that you are trying to have a friendship with, and you keep leaving for months at a time (laugh) people just don’t know when you’re available to hang out or whatever. Here everybody knows ‘cause everybody doing it, you just check somebody’s tour schedule and see when they’re getting back into town and then you give them a call and go grab a coffee or whatever.That must be difficult, to try and have a social life while building the sort of career that takes you away so much. Do you manage to have a personal life or a girlfriend?No, on all accounts. I feel like I was kind of built to play music and tour. My body kind of lends itself to being on the road and playing music, my whole make-up, it’s how I function. I love being on the road, I love being in the studio. I don’t feel like I don’t have a life, especially here; it’s a lot easier to have a life ‘cause you can hang-out with people and then take off and that’s kind of the whole deal.Do you have aspirations to have a wife and family someday? I’m a very in the moment person. I tend to live very in the moment. I think because of that I don’t really think about the future that much. I’m just kind of living in the now thing. This is great I love what I’m doing right now as I’m doing it.So, that in the moment thing, does that effect your song-writing as well?Yeah, you’re absolutely right, that’s exactly how I write songs. A lot of people will sit down and stew over their songs, edit them, and change things here and change things there. I’m very in the moment, but also a subconscious writer. Meaning I don’t sit back and think through lyrics a lot when I write, I just go with what’s coming to me. I might sit down and write the music, write the tune that’s in my head but not write words to it which is pretty common for me. And it will just stick with me for awhile and someday I’ll just start humming it again and I’ll sit down and pour through the whole thing.Where do you see yourself and your music in five years?You’re asking me a future question and I just told I’m an in the moment person. (laughs) I really don’t define success as having some huge band, playing arenas or anything like that. I would just love to have a solid group of people who want to hear the music, who want to listen to the music. The goal I guess is to get the music in front of as many ears as possible. To hear The Bittersweet’s for yourself, you can visit their MySpace space or their own website.

If all goes as planned, rapper Joe Budden will release his first album in five years, “Padded Room,” in the spring. “Padded Room” will be the follow-up to 2003’s “Joe Budden,” which launched the hit “Pump It Up.” Three editions of his “Mood Muzik” mixtape series have followed, but Budden tells Billboard.com that he’s looking forward to another proper album release. “It’s complete,” Budden says of “Padded Room,” which will be released by Amalgam Digital. “It basically will be in the same vein as ‘Mood Muzik,’ just a little more structure and the mood will probably be a little lighter. I’m definitely pleased with the direction that it’s going.” He adds that the album “sounds like Joe Budden. I can’t really say it sounds like the times, because the times right now I’m not too fond of. I’m not too big on how that sound is going. But Joe Budden fans will get what they’re accustomed to, and there’s music on there for the casual listener as opposed to ‘Mood Muzik,’ which is not for the casual fan.” Budden, of course, had intended to release a second album called “The Growth” in the wake of the self-titled record’s success. But it was scuttled by a deteriorating relationship with Def Jam, his label at the time, and a rumored feud with outgoing CEO Jay-Z. Nowadays Budden says that “the relationship went sour over the years, not something that just happened spontaneously or instantly. It was kind of a developing process.” But he does acknowledge that Def Jam’s changing of the guard in 2004, after his debut’s release, was not good for his career. “The people that signed me to Def Jam and had so much faith in me and believed in me, those weren’t the people who were in charge anymore,” Budden explains. “If the people who are running Def Jam now were in charge in 2002, 2003, who could say if I ever would have been signed to a deal.” Once “Padded Room” is out, meanwhile, Budden hopes that there won’t be as long a wait for his third album. “I’m in the studio every single day, vibing and coming up with ideas,” he notes. “There’s always music around to put out, so you’ll hear more from me sooner than later, I hope.”

Ed Banger cross-bearers Justice appear to have overestimated their pull in the US. The Grammy Award-nominated duo has been forced to downsize a planned live gig at New York’s Madison Square Garden to more humble surrounds. Madison Square Garden is a Big Apple icon, and usually hosts polite, parent-approved acts like Bruce Springsteen, Whitney Houston, Elton John et al. Upcoming shows in 2008 include Matchbox Twenty, Linkin Park and Keith Urban … so you can see why the French electro boffins were being a little over-ambitious. Justice will now play the WaMu Theater, a more â€?intimate’ setting within the Garden, on Tuesday 11 March. The show is under the MySpace Music Tour banner, and also boasts Chromeo, DJ Mehdi and Busy P. As you most likely already know, the long-awaited Justice Fabric mix is not coming to a store near you. It was rejected by Fabric due to its insufficient length, or as Xavier de Rosnay puts it, “They weren’t ready for something like this.” The boys decided to release it anyway as a Christmas gift to their fans, so sniff around the web and you shall find. Here’s Justice in all their tinnitus-inducing glory onstage in Paris.

According to Portfolio magazine, the troubled pop princess puts anywhere from $110 million to $120 million in the pockets of others each year—and that's when she's not even touring. Spears earns an estimated $737,000 a month, or about $9 million a year, and has already built up a fortune estimated at $125 million, according to recent court documents in her custody battle with Kevin Federline. Impressive as those figures are, however, they amount to little in comparison to the money others are making off the singer. Foremost, there's the direct Spears-related music and business ventures:   • Since releasing her debut album in 1999, Spears has gone on to sell a staggering 83 million records, raking in more than $400 million for her label, Jive Records.   • Her tours, too, are hot sellers, grossing close to $150 million to date. And Elizabeth Arden has sold close to $100 million of the Britney-based fragrances Curious, Believe and Fantasy.   • In all, the Spears brand is bringing in an average annual take of $30 million to $40 million for her record label, promoters, licensers and others. There's a reason the paparazzi are constantly on her tail.   • Money shots of the "Oops" singer can generate anywhere from $250 for the average shot of a gas station run to $500,000 for, say, X17's exclusive shaved-head photos.   • X17, which sold $2.5 million worth of Spears photos in 2007, estimated that shots of the singer represent 30 percent of its revenue, while rival agency Splash News pegged Spears' value at closer to 10 or 15 percent of its business.   • In all, photo agencies score an annual take of around $4 million by keeping their cameras trained on Spears. All of those photos are getting published somewhere—namely, celebrity tabloids.   • From January 2006 to July 2007, Spears was featured on the covers of People, Us Weekly, In Touch, Life & Style, OK! and Star 175 times.   • While that may seem like oversaturation, there's a good reason for it: A magazine with Spears' mug on the front sells about 33 percent more copies on the newsstand. Within the 78-week time period referenced above, newsstand sales of issues with her on the cover amounted to $360 million.   • On the Internet, Spears has topped the annual Yahoo search rankings for six of the last seven years, briefly dropping to number two in 2004 when Paris Hilton had a short-lived stint at number one.   • Searches for the singer were up 60 percent in 2007—the year she shaved her head, checked into rehab and committed numerous other interest-generating acts.   • In all, Spears fodder amounts to an estimated $75 million in annual media revenue. And then there's K-Fed…   • An unknown backup dancer BB (before Britney), he now commands up to $30,000 for a simple nightclub appearance.   • He also continues to draw $35,000 a month from the singer in spousal and child support payments.   • In all, Federline's ex factor probably nets him an annual take of about $1 million. "Gimme More" has suddenly taken on a whole new meaning.

Scotland Yard started an investigation today (Jan. 23) into a video that allegedly shows troubled British singer Amy Winehouse smoking crack. The British tabloid the Sun released grainy footage showing Grammy-nominated Winehouse, 24, inhaling fumes from a pipe. The video was reportedly shot hours before she attended a court hearing for her jailed husband. Police will look at the video before deciding whether any charges should be brought against Winehouse, a Metropolitan Police spokesman said while speaking on condition of anonymity in line with force policy. The Sun gave the police the video, he said. Winehouse spokesman Shane O’Neill said he was unable to comment on the investigation. In the video, Winehouse lights a pipe in front of a photo that appears to have been taken on her wedding day to Blake Fielder-Civil. Winehouse’s father, Mitch Winehouse, said in an interview with The Sun that he was devastated by the images and hoped it would prompt his daughter to turn her life around. “Your video of Amy taking drugs may well be the best thing that has ever happened to her,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. Universal Records, Winehouse’s record label, said it would do what it could to help her. “We are deeply disappointed and upset by these latest revelations and are doing everything we can to offer Amy our full support in dealing with her problems,” it said in a statement. The singer’s public demise amid allegations of drug use and lackluster musical performances have provided fodder for Britain’s notoriously scandal-hungry newspapers. Winehouse attracted yet more attention in court Friday when she blew Fielder-Civil kisses and shouted out, “I love you, handsome, gorgeous one,” as he was led away after facing charges of assault and conspiracy. Fielder-Civil, 25, is accused of attacking a pub landlord and then later conspiring with him to withdraw as a witness at the trial. Fielder-Civil pleaded innocent to the charge of assault, and is expected to plead to a charge of perverting the course of justice next month. Winehouse is nominated for six Grammys including best new artist and album of the year for “Back to Black,” plus record and song of the year for the brassy hit “Rehab.” The awards will be presented Feb. 10 in Los Angeles.

Normally when we think of pop groups the configuration that usually comes to mind is anywhere between three and five people playing on a variation of drums, keyboards, guitar, and bass with either a separate vocalist or one of the instrument players taking that duty as well. There have been exceptions to that with bands that had extended line-ups such as Lighthouse, Chicago, and Blood, Sweat, & Tears. In the past it was very rare to find pop groups fewer than three members, aside from folk duos. With the advent of technology that allows for the pre-recording of a variety of instrumental tracks, the potential now exists for even one person to climb on stage and create enough sound that he or she could do a performance. Still, there are very few pop groups that have taken this approach. (One that springs to mind readily was Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, a mid 80s electro-pop duo)So I when I heard that the band Ghostland Observatory was made up of two people I was intrigued enough to check out their DVD release on New West Records, Ghostland Observatory - Live From Austin Tx., part of a series taken from concerts given on the television show Austin City LimitsIf you're at all familiar with the show Austin City Limits you'll know that saying their usual offerings are country influenced, is like saying Johnny Cash had a fondness for black clothing. While they may have had Stevie Ray Vaughn and even ZZ Top on the show in the past, Merle Haggard, and Willy Nelson are more what the average Austin City demographic would be expecting when they tuned in.I wonder if they put disclaimers in their advertising for the show on which Ghostland Observatory appeared. Something along the lines of not being responsible for any heart failure or strokes that the evening's content may cause. The first clue that someone tuning in that night would have that something might not be quite right is when singer/guitar player Aaron Behrens was followed onto stage by the silver cape wearing, drummer/keyboardist/producer Thomas Turner. Perhaps it would be they would notice a distressing lack of Stetson's in the studio audience and how young everybody looked.If they acted fast enough they could have still turned off their televisions at that point and escaped relatively unscathed. If not they would soon realize that this was not going to be your typical night on Austin City Limits. It's difficult to describe what Ghostland Observatory does, but they definitely have nothing in common with the Country, Country Rock, or even the Southern Rock or Texas Blues that have been broadcast in the past.Try to imagine a tall guy wearing a long silver cape with a high collar bending over a keyboard and half hidden behind stacks of processors and effects boxes. Stroking a key here, twisting a knob there, he first generates the throbbing pulse so familiar to dance hall habitués. Then, with an adjustment and a tweak it veers more towards punk/funk. Finally, he's hunched over the keyboards churning out the melody for the first song.While Thomas is setting the controls and preparing for launch, Aaron is beginning to stalk the stage. As the music defines itself his movements begin to synchronize with the beat from the speakers until he is in full flow. With a fluidity that is reminiscent of martial arts and jazz dance, he builds his movements to match the increase in the density of the music. By the time Thomas has seated himself at the keyboard, Aaron is in full flight and ready to sing.Although the music doesn't lend itself to any particular style of singing, it was still something of a shock to hear him sing in up in the high range near falsetto that is the home to hard rockers a la Axel Rose, the former Guns 'n Roses front man. Perhaps it's only because he is dark complexioned and wears his hair in braids, Aaron's singing reminds one less of hard rockers and more of the sound that Native men achieve when they are singing around big drums at pow-wows.That impression is compounded by the fact that a great deal of his movement and dance are reminiscent of the Fancy Dancers who dance to the beat of the same drum. There's the same sense of him being one step away from losing complete control of himself while dancing that you get from those flamboyant males who strut and parade in seeming abandonment, yet who never once missing a step or going off beat from the sound of the drum.Musically Ghostland Observatory is a strange mix of hard rock and electro-beats that is not going to be to everyone's taste. There's no denying Aaron Behrens charisma as a front man and performer or his skill as a vocalist. Thomas Turner is far less flamboyant, aside from what is apparently his signature cape he makes no effort to perform but is no less skilled than his musical partner. It appears that none of the music he creates during their performances is the result of tapes or samples. He gradually builds the sound that forms the backbone for each song from scratch using various processors, effects machines, keyboards, and even a full drum kit. Not only does this provide the intro for each song, but it allows the audience the rare opportunity to see the artistry involved in the creation of this type of music.Like the rest of the DVDs in the Live From Austin Tx. series, the sound and video quality of this disc is quite wonderful, with the option of either 5.1 DTS or HD PCM sound available to the viewer. At 65 minutes in length it's the perfect opportunity for those who don't have any previous experience with Ghostland Observatory to be introduced to their sound and decide whether it's for them or not. For fans of the group it's a chance to see them perform in a controlled environment with great sound and a better seat than any live venue could offer.Austin City Limits deserves a lot of credit for not only showcasing local talent, Ghostland Observatory is from Austin but for being willing to take a chance and present music outside what people would normally associate with them. It's that type of attitude that will make an already wonderful showcase for talent to become even better.

An interesting collection of material to review this time around from re-issues to one crazy lady. Its nice to have some good variety for review. Lets see if anything here can warm up your cold winter bones. DVD reviews The Great Kat: Extreme Guitar Shred Not the most subtle of titles for not the most subtle of female guitarists. Considered one of the top 10 greatest guitar shredders, this is a collection to show The Great Kat in all her fury. Juliard grad and concert violinist, she took guitar shredding to a new level in the 80s. At the same time, she showed a woman could be as fast as the lads and gave young men a scary looking female for their wall. This DVD might not have mass appeal to anyone other than her fans or shred junkies. Nutty guitar playing from a nutty woman with an angry guitar. CD reviews Crown of Glory: A Deep Breath of Life This lot produce a rather good combination of power metal and Scandi-AOR that generally works rather well. There are the occasional lyrical gaffs and amusing mispronunciations. Songs like “Save Me,” with its soaring scale and the glorious “Anthem of the End” show the band have great potential. This band surely have to chops to rise above the foray that is European heavy rock, but probably need another album to fully shine. Yet another bunch to keep an eye out for, and well done to Metal Heaven for spotting this emerging talent. Cyclone: Brutal Destruction Eight tracks of Belgian thrash metal re-issued and re-mastered. Is this lot essential for your collection? Not really no; its fairly bog standard stuff complete with dubiously titled tracks like, wait for it, “Incest Love.” I suspect this is one for thrash completists and fans of the band who want to replace their vinyl. Napalm Death: Utopia Banished This is an impressive re-issue from the ND nutters complete with a limited edition DVD with videos and two live gigs plus an appearance on the BBC. Needless to say the rest of the brutality on the proper album has been remastered. This CD celebrates the band who brought brutality to a whole new level. Those of you who already have this classic album but on vinyl might finally have a reason to get this thing on CD. If you want to know about so-called “grindcore” then this is the CD to start. Balmy, noisy and in yer freaking face. Just what you’d want on a dark winter evening. Viron: Ferrum Gravis A latin title to a metal album…what a clever idea. This lot were lauded with their first release partly due to the fact that the album is not exactly what you expect from German metal. Its less Accept and far more US traditional metal. Nine tracks of decent competent heavy metal that never gets old or seems trite. There is even a hint of Iron Maiden on “The Isle of Man” which can never be a bad thing. Its pretty easy to tell why there are people touting this lot. Worth checking out for the more adventurous. Alright that is your lot for this week. Leaning on the heavy and hearty side, there is quite a good variety nonetheless. As always keep safe and keep rocking. Check out those live gigs whenever you can, weather permitting, of course.

John Mayer stands up for ex GF Jessica Simpson. [Dlisted] Queen Latifah and Missy Elliott hit the town. [A Socialite’s Life] Jennifer Lopez is planning a lavish baby shower. [Faded Youth Blog] Ashlee Simpson ditches the blond thing. [Yeeeah]Yikes. Kevin Federline tells all? [Popbytes] Zac Efron’s medical emergency! [Just Jared]

Photos by Richard Sharman Look at that hat! Look at that vest! As Sufjan Stevens continues to push the boundaries of form and genre, it seems that he’s experimenting with fashion as well. Last night, Stevens and his band hit Melbourne, Australia’s Forum Theatre, on the second-to-last date of his first-ever Australian tour. Everyone looked quite, um, dapper– especially Shara Worden, aka My Brightest Diamond, who played piano and sang. Soof plays a couple of dates in Japan before heading back Stateside for the Tibet House Benefit at Carnegie Hall in mid-February. And you can catch some Sufjan videos on the forthcoming Asthmatic Kitty DVD. More photos and tour dates below. Sufjan: 01-17 Melbourne, Australia - Forum Theatre 01-21 Osaka, Japan - Club Quattro * 01-22 Tokyo, Japan - Club Quattro * 02-13 New York, NY - Carnegie Hall (Tibet House Annual Benefit Concert) * with My Brightest Diamond