L.A. pop past and present collided Tuesday night (Dec. 15) when Brian Wilson and Nancy Sinatra joined local faves the Wondermints (best-known outside the city of angels for composing the theme to Austin Powers), for the band's record-release party at the trendy Silverlake club Spaceland. Although the celebrated record, Bali, is currently only available in Japan, hundreds of fans jammed in to watch as Wilson, who recently tapped the Wondermints to help back him on his upcoming U.S. tour, joined the group for a spirited run-through of the Beach Boys classic "Do It Again." Not to be outdone, Nancy Sinatra led the 'Mints through a slightly demented but totally rewarding version of her neo-psychedelic/country-pop classic "Some Velvet Morning." The Wondermints' own material, played sans celebs, took the audience to the edge of delirium with their futuristic, Barbarella-meets-Beach Boys pop . . .

The band once rumored to be completely deaf, the Scorpions, will make what they hope to be a million-decibel return to the fold next spring with a new album called Eye to Eye. Set for release on a yet-unknown label, Eye to Eye will be the German quintet's first album in three years and first without original drummer Herman Rarebell, who was replaced by James Kottak, of Warrant and Krunk fame. According to band manager Stuart Young, the album, which was produced by the "other" Peter Wolf (Wang Chung, Heart) and recorded in Austria, will be a major departure from previous material, relying on "more technology ... more loops ... [and] much more rhythm-based [material]." The band will tour both in the States and abroad to support the release, which will actually debut in Germany on March 8 following the release of the optimistically titled first single "To Be Number One" . . .

The Artist formerly known as married plans to make an honest woman of his wife Mayte -- again. His Purple Majesty announced late last week that he and wife Mayte Garcia-Nelson will annul their three-year marriage before joining hands in a spiritual ceremony on Valentine's Day 1999. "We will return [to Spain] on Feb. 14 to be united in a symbolic manner, leaving aside legal proceedings that do no more than separate people," the Artist said during a press conference last Friday (Dec. 11). "Mayte and I are joined for life, and the best way to demonstrate it is to do away with the legal bonds that people demand." Plus, there are no prenups, only spirits in the material world . . .

Desperate situations call for desperate measures. In a press conference held Tuesday (Dec. 15), the Recording Industry Association of America and all five major players in the music world (Sony, BMG, EMI, Universal and Warner Bros.) announced their "precedent-setting" initiative to curb pirating and non-compensatory downloading of digital music on the Web. Coined the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI), the enterprise resolves to create open specifications to which all digital formats must adhere in order to be deemed compliant by the industry. Though no exact methods have yet been proposed, RIAA president and CEO Hilary Rosen assures that the SDMI will "enable consumers to conveniently access music in all forms, artists and recording companies to protect their intellectual property and technology and music companies to build successful businesses in their chosen areas." So come Christmas 1999, don't expect to download Jennifer Lopez's debut album (yikes!) sans fee -- the industry is only (reluctantly) embracing technology to reap its profits, not to divvy out its merch to freeloaders . . .

Neil Young gets an F for punctuality and an A+ for intrigue. As 1998 skids to a halt, Reprise Records is slapping its fifth tentative release date on Young's forthcoming album, which has neither a title nor a definitive producer after more than a year of studio work. Originally due on store shelves last June 23, Young's first studio album since his mid-1996 release Broken Arrow is now penciled in for March 23, 1999. Bob Merlis of Reprise says that release date remains tentative, but the elusive album should arrive in stores by mid-1999 with a tour to follow. Details surrounding the CD remain scant, but reports suggest that Young is working with a number of collaborators, and has not yet whittled down his track listing . . .

Of course, Young is the very model of productivity next to Billy Idol. Idol's last album was 1993's Cyberpunk, a commercial milk dud that found him playing the role of a rocker storming into the brave new world of, well, cyberstuff. Fitting, then, that Idol's first new rebel yell in five years should be an online exclusive. Two new Idol tracks, "Find a Way" and the Glen Ballard-produced Christmas-themed "Sleeping With an Angel," are currently available at www.mp3.com. Both tracks, available for free download, are currently unreleased and credited to CyberCorp Recordings. Idol was apparently close to joining the roster of Ballard's Java label, but a source there said the deal did not go through . . .

If you don't wanna wait any more for a new Paula Cole album, take heart. On Monday (Dec. 14) Cole entered a New York studio to begin laying down tracks for the follow-up to her 1996 breakthrough album, This Fire, which spawned the Dawson's Creek staple "I Don't Want to Wait" and the Lilith Fair favorite "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" Cole has written twenty new songs already and will kick off her studio stint by recording a seven-minute song that her manager John Carter calls "intense and dramatic." He says the feminist singer/songwriter will "stretch out" a bit on her forthcoming release and incorporate a full orchestra and a stringed quartet into new material. Cole will most likely produce the album, which is tentatively slated for release next fall . . .

Less than a week before his band was tentatively scheduled to begin recording its second album, Snot singer Lynn Strait died in a car accident in California. Last Friday (Dec. 11) at approximately 1 p.m. Strait was exiting a stretch of coastal highway between Santa Barbara and Carpinteria when his Ford Tempo collided with a truck, killing him and his dog Dobbs (who appeared on the cover of Snot's debut album, Get Some). Strait, who was thirty, was due to appear in a Massachusetts court in January to begin his trial on felony charges of indecent exposure at an Ozzfest show. According to a Geffen spokesperson, Strait's funeral will be held Wed. (Dec. 16) at the Old Mission in Santa Barbara, located at 2201 Laguna Street. In lieu of flowers, Strait's family has requested that donations be made in the singer's name to the Sweet Relief Fund, P.O. Box 39666, Los Angeles, Calif., 90039 . . .

There are no free lunches for Greg Dulli, apparently. After a sold-out performance with his band the Afghan Whigs at Austin's Liberty Lunch nightclub on Saturday (Dec. 12), Dulli was rushed to Brackenridge Hospital to treat a fracture at the base of his skull. According to the Dallas Morning News, a fight ensued after the show between Dulli and a security guard at the venue. Bassist John Curley told the paper that, earlier, when the band arrived for soundcheck and found the doors locked, they began knocking and kicking at the door to catch the attention of insiders. When employees from the club finally answered, "There were some aggressive words exchanged." After the show, at approximately 2:15 a.m., the club guard and Dulli engaged in some fisticuffs, during which witnesses say Dulli fell backward and hit his head on the floor of the venue. No charges were issued on site, but police have interviewed eight witnesses in relation to the case. Dulli was released today from the hospital, and plans to return to his hometown of Seattle in a few days to recuperate. According to the band's publicist, the remainder of the tour, including three dates at New York's Bowery Ballroom on Dec. 17 - 19, have been postponed until February . . .

While Mariah Carey professes that she and Whitney Houston are the best of pals after recording their duet "When You Believe" for the Prince Of Egypt soundtrack, intimates say otherwise. In fact, gossip Ted Casablanca revealed on E!'s Gossip Show this past weekend that Mariah Carey personally called Jeffrey Katzenberg, one of the chiefs at DreamWorks, and insisted that her name precede Houston's on the album credits. Ever the diplomat (that's why he makes the big bucks), Katzenberg reportedly told the former Mrs. Motolla that her name would go first in the European version of the disc, and Whitney's would precede in America. Unbelievably, Carey was appeased. When contacted, DreamWorks confirmed that the two "share credit worldwide" . . .

Hole played a secret show at Los Angeles' Roxy after their appearance at KROQ's Acoustic Christmas bash at the Universal Amphitheater -- at both shows, Ed Norton played guitar on "Malibu." Courtney's good pal Pat Smear was backstage lending moral support, as was Smear's former bandmate, Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins . . .

The Arizona Daily Star reported that the Black Crowes concert at the Rialto Theater in Tucson, Ariz., was stopped short on Friday night (Dec. 11) when singer Chris Robinson was hit on the shoulder and head by a flying plastic water bottle. According to the report, the crowd was unusually unruly at the show, and prior to the incident Robinson was forced to defend himself with his microphone stand from at least one inebriated fan. In addition, a security guard was stabbed in the arm by one of the two men he was attempting to eject from the club . . .

Finally, this being the season of giving and all, isn't it about time somebody gave Seal some damn clothes?

The RSN Staff
(December 16, 1998)