News Roundup: Guns N’ Roses, They Might Be Giants, Genesis, Erin McKeown

News you can dance to.

Guns N’ Roses manager Irving Azoff has adressed the growing controversy over a couple of samples on the band’s 2008 decade-in-the-making album Chinese Democracy. Guns N’ Roses are being sued by the record labels Independiente and Domino for $1 million dollars, on behalf of German electro artist Ulrich Schnauss, who claims two of his songs were sampled on the album without his permission.

Said Azoff in a snappy statement: “The band believed when the record came out and still believes that there are no unauthorized samples on the track. The snippets of ‘ambient noise’ in question were provided by a member of the album’s production team who has assured us that these few seconds of sound were obtained legitimately. Artists these days can’t read the minds of those they collaborate with and therefore are unfortunately vulnerable to claims like this one. While the band resents the implication that they would ever use another artist’s work improperly and are assessing possible counterclaims, they are confident this situation will be satisfactorily resolved.

“Assessing possible counterclaims“? You gotta love Axl Rose.

While nerd-rock greats They Might Be Giants are performing their classic album Flood in it’s entirety at Chicago’s Vic Theater October 10, average-size singer/songwriter Jonathan Coulton will be doing the same thing across town. Coulton will perform all of Flood (which turns 20 this year) at the Park West venue, “partly to console TMBG fans who may have mistakenly wandered into the wrong Chicago venue.” Sounds like a party. Coulton explains his actions in a blog post on his site, which is entitled “I Might Also Be Giants.” Here’s a video of Coulton tackling “Birdhouse in Your Soul.”

Erin McKeown, who’s excellent new album Hundreds Of Lions is due out October 13 via Rightous Babe, has found a new way to use “the Twitter.” As she tours the country with Jill Sobule, she’ll be taking to the radio at various locales. Each time she does, she’ll tweet a word or phrase on her Twitter page. The first person to respond via Twitter when she repeats the word on the air will win a pair of tickets to the show of their choice.

Do you like Genesis? Do you really like Genesis? Well, pop some popcorn. On November 24, Rhino will release Genesis: The Movie Box, a massive 5-DVD set. The package contains the following: Three Sides Live (1982), Genesis Live–The Mama Tour (1984), Genesis Live At Wembley Stadium (1987), Genesis: The Way We Walk–Live In Concert (1992), and an updated 2009 version of the VH1 Behind The Music special on the group.

Good golly, that’s a lot of Genesis.

Each disc is stuffed with extras and comes with new 5.1 DTS and Dolby Digital sound mixes. Check out the full track listing below.

DVD 1: THREE SIDES LIVE

1. Behind The Lines
2. Duchess
3. Misunderstanding
4. Dodo/Lurker
5. Abacab
6. No Reply At All
7. Who Dunnit?
8. In The Cage (Medley)
* Cinema Show
* Slippermen
9. Afterglow
10. Me & Sarah Jane
11. Man On The Corner
12. Turn It On Again

DVD Extras:
Full length AUDIO ONLY versions of:

* Behind The Lines
* Duchess
* Me & Sarah Jane
* Man On The Corner
* One For The Vine
* Fountain of Salmacis
* Follow You, Follow Me

DVD 2: THE MAMA TOUR

1. Abacab
2. That’s All
3. Mama
4. Illegal Alien
5. Home By The Sea
6. Second Home By The Sea
7. Keep It Dark
8. It’s Gonna Get Better
9. In The Cage
* Cinema Show
* In That Quiet Earth
* Slippermen
10. Afterglow
11. Drum Duet
12. Turn It On Again (Medley)

* Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
* Satisfaction
* Twist And Shout
* All Day And All Of The Night
* Baby Let Me Take You Home
* Karma Chameleon
* Every Breath You Take
* Pinball Wizard
* In The Midnight Hour
* Turn It On Again

DVD Extras:
The Mama Documentary by Phil Collins

DVD 3: LIVE AT WEMBLEY STADIUM

1. Mama
2. Abacab
3. Domino (Part 1. In The Glow Of The Night)
4. Domino (Part 2. The Last Domino)
5. That’s All
6. The Brazilian
7. Land Of Confusion
8. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight
9. Throwing It All Away
10. Home By The Sea
11. Invisible Touch
12. Drum Duet
13. Los Endos
14. Turn It On Again (Medley)
* Turn It On Again
* Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
* (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
* Twist & Shout
* Reach Out and I’ll Be There
* You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling
* Pinball Wizard
* In The Midnight Hour
* Turn It On Again
15. Do The Neurotic (credits)

DVD Extras:
Visible Touch Tour Documentary

DVD 4: THE WAY WE WALK

1. Land Of Confusion
2. No Son Of Mine
3. Driving The Last Spike
4. Old Medley
* Dance On A Volcano
* The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
* The Musical Box
* Firth Of Fifth
* I Know What I Like
* That’s All
* Illegal Alien
* Follow You, Follow Me
5. Fading Lights
6. Jesus He Knows Me
7. Dreaming While You Sleep
8. Home By The Sea
9. Hold On My Heart
10. Domino
* The Domino Principle
* In The Glow Of The Night
* The Last Domino
11. The Drum Thing
12. I Can’t Dance
13. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight
14. Invisible Touch
15. Turn It On Again

DVD 5: VH1 BEHIND THE MUSIC (REVISITED)