News of the Week: Aerosmith tour, lala gone, McCartney attacked

From the Awesome: 

Aerosmith have announced their full summer tour schedule. I can't help but wonder if all that drama a few months ago (Steven Tyler's in, he's out - broken back - we're together, we're not...enough to make your head spin) was to any extent a publicity stunt, or just five dudes that got sick of looking at each other after so many decades.

Not that it really matters, the Fenway Park (Boston) show was announced a few weeks ago, and sold out in a whopping 23 minutes. Fenway is a 39,000 seat venue. That's about 30 seats sold per second, or 1700 seats per minute. I'm guessing they'll do pretty well.

Aerosmith tour dates:

7/23, Oakland, CA (Oracle Arena) *

7/26, Paso Robles, CA (State Fair)

7/29, Irvine, CA (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater)

7/31, Las Vegas, NV (MGM Grand Garden Arena) *

8/3, Dallas, TX (Superpages.com Amphitheatre)

8/5, Woodlands, TX (Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion) *

8/7, Tampa, FL (Ford Amphitheatre)

8/9, Fort Lauderdale, FL (BankAtlantic Center) *

8/12, Wantagh, NY (Nikon at Jones Beach Theater) *

8/14, Boston, MA (Fenway Park)

8/17, Toronto, ON (Air Canada Centre) *

8/19, Omaha, NE (Qwest Center) *

8/22, Tinley Park, IL (First Midwest Bank Amphitheater)

8/24, Holmdel, NJ (PNC Bank Arts Center) *

8/26, Syracuse, NY (NY State Fair)

8/28, Atlantic City, NJ (Boardwalk Hall) *

8/31, Detroit, MI (The Palace at Auburn Hills) *

9/2, Cincinnati, OH (Riverbend Music Center) *

9/4, Uncasville, CT (Mohegan Sun Arena)

* w/ support from Sammy Hagar and the Wabos

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To the Alarming: 

Even though his music spreads a message of peace and love, Paul McCartney was a victim of violence this weekend when his tour bus was attacked by a Mexican gang after his gig at Mexico City Foro Sal Stadium on Friday (May 28).  

The rowdy mob surrounded his bus, blocking the road, then climbed onto the roof, jumping up and down. McCartney's security team called police immediately, and the gang dispersed when they heard the sirens. 67 year old former Beatle was reportedly left terrified by the attack.  Boo not cool.  

On the bright side: on Wednesday, Sir Paul McCartney will be honored by the president of the United States for his work on and off the stage. McCartney will be awarded the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song and then, along with Stevie Wonder, Faith Hill, Elvis Costello and several others, he will rock the East Room of the White House.

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To the Annoying: 

Lala music service officially shut down and was totally removed as of May 31. Apple purchased lala.com 5 months ago. All users with remaining Lala credits will be given iTunes Store credit in the next 14 days.  PCMag says "credits will be rounded up to the nearest dollar for refunds less than $10 and to the nearest $5 for refunds greater than $10."  Apple is expected to open a Web-based iTunes that will be based on the Lala framework and will do much of the same things.

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To the Absurd: 

Apparently M.I.A. is not a fan of facebook and Google. In an interview with Nylon Magazine she claimed, "All governments are connected to Google," she said. "Governments can shift their search engines so only what they want you to see comes up. I want kids to be aware of this digital circumstance."

She added: "Everyone on the internet is like, 'Oh my God, come and join Facebook!' They’re all so optimistic… and really, everyone is f*cking you up behind the screens. And I don't like that. It makes it difficult for me to interact with my fans knowing that. Google and Facebook were developed by the CIA, and when you're on there, you have to know that."

Yes. I'm sure the CIA spends loads of time on facebook. Checking out your fanpage, and snooping into your personal private life. Because they have absolutely nothing better to do with their time...

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