Family group brings folk talent to town Nov 18, 2009
The band also performed Woody Guthrie songs with music written by other musicians, such as Billy Bragg, Wilco and a klezmer group the Klezmatics. Matt Olsen, of Clearfield, Pa. (Daily Collegian, PA)
Mali's Tinariwen beat Bob Dylan to win best album award Nov 9, 2009
Tinariwen were a unanimous choice by the 11 judges which included Billy Bragg, Radio 2 DJ Mark Radcliffe and Fleet Foxes frontman Robin Pecknold, who won the award last year. Uncut magazine editor Allan Jones said: "It speaks a common language. You don't have to have the lyrics translated to know what they're talking about. You don't need to listen to the words of rock 'n' roll to be excited by it.". (BBC News -- Africa)
Play It Again, Uncle Sam! Oct 24, 2009
Rage is listed in the coalition along with Metallica, Jackson Browne, Billy Bragg, REM, Pearl Jam and Nine Inch Nails Trent Reznor. Oddly, Sesame Street is also mentioned as a possible torture choice, which will surprise all but parents who have been snowbound at times for weeks on end with toddlers. (Townhall.com)
Viagra introduces its latest celebrity backer: the devil Oct 24, 2009
REM, Pearl Jam and Billy Bragg demand that the US government release details of music they claim was used as torture at Guantanamo. Thursday, 22 October 2009. (Yahoo News -- Men's Health)
Sesame Street songs used to torture Gitmo detainees Oct 24, 2009
October 23, 2009 - 5:36PM. They may appear harmless, and be used by millions of parents to educate and babysit their little ones. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Open Sesame: detainees' ears hammered with Nine Inch Nails Oct 24, 2009
Joining the call for more information were David Byrne, Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and T-Bone Burnett. The Washington Post. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
REM call for Guantanamo closure Oct 23, 2009
Other artists to sign up to the coalition include Jackson Browne, Steve Earle, Roseanne Cash, Billy Bragg, Bonnie Raitt and Rage Against The Machine. On behalf of the campaign, the National Security Archive in Washington is filing a Freedom of Information Act request seeking classified records that detail the use of loud music as an interrogation device. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails Join Campaign To Close Guantanamo Bay Oct 23, 2009
It's anti-American, period,' said R.E.M. about the practice of using their music and others' at high volumes to intimidate detainees. " According to in a statement announcing their participation in the coalition, R.E.M. said, "We have spent the past 30 years supporting causes related to peace and justice. (VHI.com -- Music News)
Rockers unite for jail campaign Oct 3, 2009
Billy Bragg (left), Mick Jones (centre), Chris Shiflett (back right) and Wayne Kramer ... Mick Jones of the Clash, Chris Shiflett of the Foo Fighters and Wayne Kramer of the MC5 joined Billy Bragg at the gig. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Squeeze file-sharers, stars say Sep 25, 2009
Film composer David Arnold, songwriter Guy Chambers, Billy Bragg, singer Patrick Wolf, sixties star Sandie Shaw and Keane's Tim Rice-Oxley were among others to put their names to the plan. Before the meeting, a debate over whether to penalise file-sharers had raged among artists in the media and online. (BBC News -- Technology)
Stars due at file-sharing summit Sep 24, 2009
The Featured Artists' Coalition includes Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Blur's Dave Rowntree, Kate Nash and Billy Bragg. Big-name British music artists will try to hammer out a truce in a public row over how to tackle illegal downloading at a meeting in London on Thursday. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Dylan shortlisted for Uncut award Sep 24, 2009
The judging panel includes Billy Bragg, Mark Radcliffe, Christian O'Connell and Robin Pecknold, the frontman of last year's winner, Fleet Foxes. The winner will be announced in Uncut magazine on 24 November. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Stars at war Sep 22, 2009
FAC board member Billy Bragg said Lily Allen and her disciples had "slightly got the wrong end of the stick". "I don't think the FAC has any disagreement with anything she said apart from her accusation that we're in favour of file-sharing," he said. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
What is Americana Music? Sep 17, 2009
Mermaid Avenue-- Billy Bragg & Wilco, with lyrics by. I Feel Alright-- Steve Earle. (Suite101.com)
UK musicians attack piracy plans Sep 10, 2009
Singer and fellow FAC board member Billy Bragg described the measures as a "very heavy sledgehammer". "We're concerned that, in an age where there is much greater competition for attention, these proposals are in danger of driving young people away from the idea of listening to music," he said. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Tuesday Trivia: Songs About Mastu... Aug 18, 2009
"My Ding-A-Ling" by Chuck Berry "Darling Nikki" by Prince "Icicle" by "Orgasm Addict" by The Buzzcocks "Pictures of Lily" by The Who "I'm a Wanker" by Ivor Biggun and the Winkers "St. Swithin's Day" by Billy Bragg "Dancing With Myself" by Billy Idol "The Keys to Her Ferrari" by Thomas Dolby "Blister in the Sun" by The Violent Femmes "Praying Hands" by Devo "Turning Japanese" by The Vapors "She Bop" by "I Touch Myself by DiVinyls "Pump It Up" by Elvis Costello "The Stroke" by Billy Squire "I'm... (New York Post -- Entertainment)
Brady hangs with the boys Aug 12, 2009
Others who have taken part in the five-week program this summer include Melissa Ferrick, Wyclef Jean, and Billy Bragg. Inglourious' opening The stars of Quentin Tarantino s Inglourious Basterds, including Brad Pitt and Newton s own Eli Roth and B.J. Novak, showed up for the film s LA premiere. (Boston Globe)
The Remy rundown Aug 5, 2009
British balladeer Billy Bragg followed up his weekend performance at the Newport Folk Festival with a visit to Berklee, where he treated students to a songwriting clinic. Today types Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb will sample Legal Sea Foods goodies today on the occasion of National Oyster Day. (Boston Globe)
New and old celebrate 50 years of folk at Newport Aug 3, 2009
Meanwhile, Billy Bragg used the Newport setting to dust off some of the Woody Guthrie songs ( Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key ) he previously recorded with Wilco. Perhaps no other band this weekend synthesized the electric energy of rock n roll with the spirit of old-fashioned storytelling quite as well as North Carolina s Avett Brothers. (Boston Globe)
»2009 Newport Folk Festival Pictures, Day One Aug 3, 2009
Fans were treated to an eclectic lineup and amazing weather, with main stage sets from Pete Seeger, the Decemberists, Fleet Foxes, Gillian Welch, the Avett Brothers, Billy Bragg and Tift Merritt. Iron & Wine and Providence's own the Low Anthem drew huge crowds at the side stages. (FOX61, CT)
A trove of Woody Guthrie gems are brought to light Aug 2, 2009
As caretaker of her father s legacy, she s worked to keep Woody s work relevant for people outside the traditional folk culture, getting his unpublished lyrics into the hands of artists like Wilco and Billy Bragg, the Klezmatics, and Jonatha Brooke, and hiring 20-somethings to work at the Archives who will become the next generation of Woody Guthrie scholars. She gets plenty of unsolicited help from devotees like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, and a... (Boston Globe)
Avett Brothers blend influences on major label debut Jul 31, 2009
With Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Billy Bragg, the Decemberists, Neko Case, and many others at Folk Festival 50 tomorrow and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, R.I. Tickets for two-day passes are $30-$125. Single-day tickets are $15-$69 at 800-514-3849 or. (Boston Globe)
Mightier than the guitar Jul 23, 2009
He enters a field populated by a fairly select band of musicians, most notably Nick Cave, Bob Dylan, Steve Earle, Leonard Cohen and Billy Bragg, who have written and published works of serious literary intent, aspiring beyond music criticism, memoir or autobiography ... Billy Bragg published his extended polemic, The Progressive Patriot, in 2006, and admits: "It didn't come easily. It was 18 months at the coalface, and very difficult for my family." ... " For Cave, then, a book offers freedom,... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Wilco (the interview) ... Jeff Tweedy talks about the tour, the album, and his music Jul 10, 2009
Q. Counting the live release and the Mermaid Avenue albums you did with Billy Bragg, this is Wilco s 10th record. It s been almost 15 years since the first. (Boston Globe)
Lineup for Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival Jul 4, 2009
A curious contingent of British acts that includes Marianne Faithfull, Billy Bragg, Nick Lowe, Robyn Hitchcock and World Party will help the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 9 festival once again live up to its forward-thinking moniker. They will be among more than 80 musicians appearing at the free annual event, bankrolled by billionaire financier and semipro bluegrass banjo player Warren Hellman. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Entertainment)
Musicians' call over BNP CD sales May 29, 2009
The letter was signed by Musicians' Union (MU) general secretary John Smith and Featured Artists' Coalition (FAC) members Billy Bragg, Sandie Shaw, Marillion's Mark Kelly, Blur's Dave Rowntree, Pink Floyd's Nick Mason and Ross Millard, of The Futureheads. Review call. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Jay Bennett, 45; songwriter, singer was member of Wilco May 26, 2009
He also played on "Mermaid Avenue," the band's Grammy-nominated 1998 project with Billy Bragg, which set unpublished lyrics by Woody Guthrie to music, as well as on its sequel, "Mermaid Avenue II," in 2000. But as documented in "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," a 2002 film about the recording of "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" and the band s extended struggle with its record company, Mr. Bennett and Tweedy frequently clashed in the studio, as Mr. Bennett bristled over the band's increasingly noisy... (Boston Globe)
Critic's picks - folk music May 17, 2009
Founder George Wein is back in business, with a crack lineup including Pete Seeger, Neko Case, the Decemberists, Joan Baez, the Avett Brothers, Gillian Welch, Judy Collins, Billy Bragg, Mavis Staples, Iron & Wine, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and Balfa Tojours. Aug. 1-2, Ft. Adams State Park, Newport, R.I. 401-848-5055 SCOTT ALARIK. (Boston Globe)
Springsteen Honors Seeger At 90th Birthday Concert May 5, 2009
Most of the evening consisted of multiple artists performing together with one highlight coming before the intermission -- Seeger joined by Harris, Joan Baez, Billy Bragg and others for a spiritual version of "We Shall Overcome.". Arlo Guthrie, son of folk legend Woody Guthrie, was joined by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band for "Oh Mary Don't You Weep.". (KIRO TV, WA)
The 23-year-old activist who became a lightning rod May 4, 2009
In his song The Lonesome Death of Rachel Corrie, the British singer-songwriter Billy Bragg says as much in the lyrics: (T)he horrible math of the awful equation / That brought Rachel Corrie into this confrontation / Is that the spilt blood of a single American / Is worth more than the blood of a hundred Palestinians. In fact, though Corrie was an articulate, photogenic blond college student from the U.S. Northwest, she seems to be something of a blank slate, a figure upon whom others have been... (Globe and Mail -- Entertainment)
An all-star hootenanny for an American icon May 4, 2009
The lighter side: British folk rocker Billy Bragg joked about "strange times when a labor union can own a car company (Chrysler)." Sesame Street's Oscar the Grouch joined Tom Chapin in a cheeky nod to Seeger's eco-consciousness on Garbage. And Seeger turned Amazing Grace into a singalong, telling the audience, "There's no such thing as a wrong note as long as you're singing.". (USA Today)
The Queen's new Apr 2, 2009
A New England - Billy Bragg. Crackerbox Palace - George Harrison. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Technology)
SUMMIT COVERAGE: Protesters swarm London Apr 2, 2009
Musician and political activist Billy Bragg said the time was now to make a difference. "It's better than sitting down shouting at the television at these bankers," he said. (USA Today)
The Fives: Cameras catch models rioting, Miss S.D. singing, a police beat down and more Mar 19, 2009
There's an old Billy Bragg song called "The Space Race Is Over" that laments most folks these days are engrossed in cyberspace and have long forgotten the near mystic thrill of seeing the first space missions. I was just a toddler when man first walked on the moon, but I do recall subsequent missions and watching them on television. (Rapid City Journal, SD)
'We need a voice' Mar 13, 2009
What we need is an industry where the next Billy Bragg can make a living like I have for the past 25 years ... What we need is an industry where the next Billy Bragg can make a living like I have for the past 25 years. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Robbie Williams, Edison Chen, Bristol Palin Mar 13, 2009
Other members include the drummer Dave Rowntree of Blur, Soul II Soul's Jazzie B, Kate Nash, Billy Bragg, Marillion's Mark Kelly and the hip- hop newcomer Master Shortie. (BBC). (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
Music stars call for more power Mar 12, 2009
O'Brien is on the committee's steering group alongside Blur drummer Dave Rowntree, Soul II Soul's Jazzie B, Billy Bragg, Marillion's Mark Kelly, hip-hop newcomer Master Shortie and pop star Kate Nash. Nash said artists needed "a seat at this negotiating table". (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Glastonbury eyes 40th anniversary Mar 4, 2009
Ms Eavis also revealed that 2009's festival, which takes place from 24-28 June, will not feature its famous Left Field area, which played host to artists such as Kate Nash, Reverend And The Makers, The Automatic and Billy Bragg last year. But she said fans would not be disappointed with other areas enlarged. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Arlo Guthrie: Music for hard times Feb 25, 2009
Wilco and Billy Bragg created some Woody Guthrie standards, and that's an amazing feat, I think. Almost everyone who touched the material has done something similar -- Eliza Gilkyson, Janis Ian, Jonatha Brooke. (Erie Times-News, PA)
The net and the real cost of free Feb 7, 2009
Unlike Billy Bragg, who asked Bebo founder Michael Birch to give artists a share of the company's sale price on the grounds that it has grown wealthy on the back of the music it serves, I don't see the social networks as "digital sharecroppers", to use Nick Carr's evocative phrase. But having my data locked up in Facebook and Flickr and Twitter and BrightKite creates an imbalance in the relationship, one that ends up distorting the free market in the interests of the service providers. (BBC News -- Technology)
