Rock News

--Scottish folk music legend, Bert Jansch, has passed away at the age of 67. Jansch, a
founding member of 60s/70s folk-rock band Pentangle, has been battling cancer for a
number of years, going into remission in 2008 long enough to perform in a Pentangle
reunion, co-headline a tour with Neil Young, as well as performing as part of Eric
Clapton’s 2010 Crossroads Festival. Jansch’s virtuosic guitar playing was a major
influence on players suck as Johnny Marr and Jimmy Page.

--Even death can’t stop Tupac from creating controversy. The rapper, who was shot
and killed in 1996, is featured in a sex tape set to be released online in the near future.
The tape, which was reportedly filmed in 1991, is said to show Tupac rapping to an
unreleased track, while holding a joint in one hand, a drink in the other, and being
gratified by a young woman all at the same time. The release of the tape is being held up,
not by the singer’s estate, but by two rival pornography companies currently involved in
a bidding war for the tape. The party releasing the tape has hinted that there may be more
footage along the same lines.

--The band Block Party has confirmed rumors that they are auditioning singers to
replace Kele Okereke. Okereke announced a few weeks ago that he spotted his former
bandmates heading into a studio without him, adding that he was unaware as to whether
he was still a member of the band or not. Guitarist Russel Lissack said there was no bad
blood between the other embers of the band and Okerekes, who is currently working on
solo projects.

--Scientists at Goldsmith University in London have recently conducted a study in
what makes a song “catchy.” During the research, they discovered that “sing-along
songs” contained four key elements: Long and detailed musical phrases, multiple pitch
changes in a song's 'hook', male vocalists, and higher male voices making a noticeable
vocal effort. They then used a test pool of over a thousand volunteers to determine
that Queen’s “We Are The Champions” is the catchiest song of all times. Other top
contenders were “YMCA” by The Village People and Europe’s “The Final Countdown.”