More Top Stories: Bret Michaels, Jack White

Bret Michaels Announces 'Rock of Love Boat'
Bret Michaels will return to the Rock of Love franchise, but with a twist: the Poison singer will board a cruise ship and dole out relationship advice to couples as the ship's resident "love guru." [CMT]

Queens of the Stone Age to Reissue Debut LP
QOTSA will follow up the recent re-release of Rated R with a reissue their self-titled 1998 debut album. The disc, due November 26th, will feature three songs that were originally cut from the album's track list: "Spiders and Vinegaroons," "The Bronze" and "These Aren't the Droids You're Looking For." [Press Release]

New Pornographers' Gig Canceled Over Band's Name
The New Pornographers' October 15th concert at Calvin College, a Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has been canceled. "The irony of the band's name was impossible to explain to many. The band's name, to some, is mistakenly associated with pornography. Consequently, Calvin, to some, was mistakenly associated with pornography. Neither the college nor the band endorses pornography," the college wrote in a statement announcing the cancellation. [Spinner]

Jack White Presents 'Triple-Decker' Vinyl for Dead Weather Single
Dead Weather's upcoming "Blue Blood Blues" single will come in the form of what Jack White calls a "triple-decker" record, which features a 7" vinyl disc encased inside of the main 12" record. White's Third Man Records will release a limited run starting September 17th. [Third Man Records]

Plus: Coldplay's new album pushed to 2011, George Michael sentenced to prison and more.

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

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