Music news, album reviews and release dates, updated frequently

British singer Amy Winehouse has canceled her planned North American tour, which was scheduled to begin next month, “due to the rigors involved in touring.” Why would a young singer be unable to cope with the “rigors” of touring? Peruse any of our previous “Music briefing” posts over the past month or so to find out. And fellow Brit Lily Allen, as previously announced, was also forced to cancel US dates when her visa was revoked. Her response in recent days has been to attack President Bush.

Lest you think all British singers are having a bad week, Pete Doherty–the Babyshambles frontman arrested on drug charges on Monday–was freed on a procedural technicality on Tuesday.

RealNetworks and MTV are teaming to launch a new music download service in the US this fall. It will mark an end of the companies’ respective Rhapsody and Urge online offerings, and the new service will also be integrated into Verizon’s VCast mobile service.

The Reading Festival, traditionally one of the most anticipated summer music festivals in England, is facing camping and parking problems this weekend due to the summer’s incessant rains and resulting flooding.

One more music biopic trailer we forgot to include yesterday: “I’m Not There,” Todd Haynes odd film about Bob Dylan. (By odd, we mean the Cate Blanchett and several other actors portraying Dylan kind of odd.) Here it is:

I’m Not There
Movie Trailer

Attracting attention in the press this week is the upcoming movie “I’m Not There,” a biopic about Bob Dylan. Currently in production, the film comes from Todd Haynes, the writer/director who also gave us “Velvet Goldmine,” “Safe,” “Far From Heaven,” and “Superstar” (in which Karen Carpenter’s life story is notoriously told through animated Barbie dolls).

The reason it has been in the public eye recently is that a short video clip from the production has leaked (we’ve got it at the end of this article), and it shows an actor in costume as Dylan: Cate Blanchett.

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No news is too small as we roundup the day’s events from the music world, including word of an innovative new way to share illegal music, an alternative “OK Computer,” and the latest buzz on Madonna’s guitar-playing and Shaun Ryder’s smoking habit. READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE »

Bob Dylan
On October 1st comes a three-CD, 51-track career retrospective called, simply, “Dylan.” The catch? The tracklisting will be determined by Dylan’s fans via voting at the dylan07.com website. (If you think that’s a nice touch, just wait until those dedicated fans feel obligated to buy both the standard edition and the deluxe edition, complete with cloth cover!)

Two Gallants
The San Francisco duo will issue their self-titled third album on September 25th on Saddle Creek Records.

NASA
NASA (aka North America South America, lest you think that the space agency is releasing an album), consisting of Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon, are joined by seemingly everyone in music for their debut release, expected this winter. The parade of stars includes M.I.A. David Byrne, George Clinton, Tom Waits, members of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Spank Rock, and CSS, and many more.

Enon
The John Schmersal-led band’s fourth full-length, “Grass Geysers…Carbon Clouds”, arrives October 9th.

Duran Duran
We don’t have a release date for the band’s next album (which includes their collaborations with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland), but we do now have a name: “Red Carpet Massacre.”

Lostprophets
The Welsh band is currently occupying a Los Angeles studio with producer John Feldmann (Good Charlotte) to record tracks for a fourth album, expected next spring.

Alicia Keys
The artist is also in the studio, completing tracks for an album expected to arrive this fall, possibly titled “As I Am.” She is currently working with Linda Perry, and has already collaborated with John Legend and Timbaland for the disc.

Full release calendar