Taylor, Gomez join Swift onstage

NEW YORK (AP) ― Taylor Swift closed her “Speak Now World Tour” with her best friend and the man her parents named her after.The 21-year-old brought out James Taylor and Selena Gomez at her concert Tuesday night at New York’s Madison Square Garden.Swift said her parents named her after Taylor, and the two performed his hit “Fire and Rain.” Taylor also played the guitar while Swift performed her song “Fifteen.”Gomez joined the country singer earlier in the night, and the two sang a duet version of

Nov. 24, 2011

Miami Beach getting ready for Art Basel Dec. 1-4

MIAMI BEACH, Florida (AP) -- Live graffiti painting. A colossal rose bed soaring 6.1 meters high. Early photos of Andy Warhol, a Picasso up for auction and a naked woman living in a pig pen. They’re all part of the lineup for Art Basel Miami Beach, which runs Dec. 1-4, with a host of related events beginning Nov. 30.The pig pen installation will undoubtedly be the most jaw-dropping event at the art fair. Known for photographing herself nude in subway tunnels or in front of graffiti walls, perfor

Nov. 24, 2011

Dylan discs to benefit Amnesty International

NEW YORK (AP) ― A sprawling new collection of Bob Dylan cover songs is being released in January to benefit Amnesty International.The human rights organization said Wednesday that all of the songs on the 4-CD collection will be new or previously unreleased versions, with the exception of Dylan’s title cut, “Chimes of Freedom.”The disc, to be released in the U.S. on Jan. 24, is being produced by the same music executives who made a 2007 benefit album for Darfur featuring John Lennon songs.Partici

Nov. 24, 2011

Grammy noms special to honor Ashford, Leiber

NEW YORK (AP) ― Three months after losing musical and life partner Nick Ashford, Valerie Simpson acknowledges that she still has a hard time performing any of the classic songs they created together.“I get a big lump in my throat when I try to sing one of our songs right now,” she said.She will get a little help next week as Usher is set to sing from the Ashford & Simpson catalog for what promises to be a poignant moment in the usually upbeat Grammy nominations prime-time special. It will be par

Nov. 23, 2011

Jazz drummer-composer Paul Motian dies aged 80

NEW YORK (AFP) ― The influential U.S. jazz drummer and composer, Paul Motian, died Tuesday at the age of 80 in New York, a close friend said.“Paul did pass away early this morning,” Carole d’Inverno, a painter, told AFP. Jazz producer Hans Wendl said Motian had died from complications from Myelodisplastic Syndrome, a bone disorder.In the latter half of his career Motian became a band leader, playing with saxophonist Joe Lovano, guitarist Bill Frisell and pianist Masabumi Kikuchi among others, an

Nov. 23, 2011

Queen reigns 20 years after Mercury

LONDON (AFP) ― Freddie Mercury died 20 years ago on Thursday but his star has only burned brighter in the two decades since, with Queen and their larger-than-life frontman as popular as ever.The British rockers, marking their 40th anniversary this year, are among the world’s biggest-selling artists ever ― with most of their sales coming in the 20 years since Mercury died.Queen’s guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor are busier than ever and Mercury’s songs such as “Bohemian Rhapsody” and

Nov. 23, 2011

Fans strip off in support of Ai Weiwei

BEIJING (AFP) ― Ai Weiwei fans have again rallied behind the outspoken Chinese artist after he revealed he is being investigated on pornography charges ― by posting naked pictures of themselves online.Supporters of Ai ― who disappeared into custody for 81 days earlier this year ― raised money when he was saddled with a 15-million-yuan ($2.4 million) bill in alleged back taxes, a move he called politically motivated.Their online drive to send him money totaled nearly nine million yuan, enabling A

Nov. 22, 2011

U.S. returns stolen painting to Germany

BERLIN (AP) ― An American university returned a 15th century painting to a Berlin museum on Monday, more than six decades after the valuable piece was stolen in the chaotic aftermath of World War II.The Flagellation of Christ was one of more than a dozen paintings that disappeared from Berlin’s Jagdschloss Grunewald museum during the summer of 1945, looted by British and Russian soldiers.The painting, which originally formed a wing of an altarpiece, was later sold and ended up in the Indiana Uni

Nov. 22, 2011

Stallone, Klitschko brothers present ‘Rocky’ musical

BERLIN (AFP) ― U.S. superstar Sylvester Stallone has teamed up with heavyweight boxing legends Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko for what is billed as the world’s first musical version of “Rocky,” producers said Monday.Stallone said he had always envisaged creating a musical version of the 1976 Oscar-winning rags-to-riches story of Rocky Balboa, a down-at-heel amateur boxer who bravely fights the world champion in a bruising and bloody bout.“I always had the idea of Rocky as a musical. At the end of

Nov. 22, 2011

Bruce Springsteen plans world tour

WASHINGTON (AFP) ―Bruce Springsteen is making plans for a world tour in the new year, with European dates to be revealed in a matter of days, as well as a new album of new material, his official website brucespringsteen.net said Sunday. “A lot of you have been hearing that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will be on tour in 2012. That is absolutely correct,” it said, confirming speculation on fan sites over the past several days. “The European dates run from the middle of May until end of

Nov. 21, 2011

Beyonce on secrecy of pregnancy

NEW YORK (AP) ― It’s tough to keep a pregnancy a secret when you’re in the public eye, and for a while, Beyonce thought the jig was up.“The whole time I definitely was thinking, ‘Everyone knows, everyone can see,’” said the singer before the screening of her new concert DVD Sunday in New York.It became particularly difficult for her to hide the growing baby bump when the Grammy-winner performed for four nights to sold-out crowds at New York’s Roseland Theater in August.

Nov. 21, 2011

Taylor Swift wins 3 trophies at AMAs

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Taylor Swift was crowned artist of the year at the American Music Awards for a second time.“This is so crazy!” the country superstar said after beat such contenders as Adele, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry to capture all three awards that she was nominated for at Sunday’s ceremony, including artist of the year, the show’s highest accolade that she previously claimed in 2009.“I ended up writing the record by myself, so the fact that you would honor it this way, you have no idea what

Nov. 21, 2011