The Cranberries’ classic “Linger” is being included in a new CD compilation entitled “Greatest Irish Bands” due for release on February 24th in the US, just in time for the St. Patrick’s season.

The CD, out on Hip-O/UTV Records, has done an impressive job of collecting all of the biggest Irish artists, including U2, Sinéad O’Connor, The Corrs, Thin Lizzy, etc. The CD includes a Bonus DVD with the short film Sightings of Bono. According to the press release, “Bono is also part of Sightings Of Bono, a seven-minute film shot in Dublin in 2000 about a girl who sees the U2 lead singer everywhere until she eventually meets him in the shop where she works. The short was seen in a few theaters and on the Internet but has never been released elsewhere until now.”

Tracklisting:
1. U2 – Where The Streets Have No Name
2. SINÉAD O’CONNOR – Nothing Compares 2 U
3. THIN LIZZY – Whiskey In The Jar
4. BOOMTOWN RATS – I Don’t Like Mondays
5. CLANNAD (WITH BONO) – In A Lifetime
6. THE POGUES – Fairytale Of New York
7. STIFF LITTLE FINGERS – Alternative Ulster
8. RORY GALLAGHER – Tattooed Lady
9. THE CRANBERRIES – Linger
10. THE CORRS – Breathless
11. HOTHOUSE FLOWERS – Don’t Go
12. THE UNDERTONES – Teenage Kicks
13. VAN MORRISON – Brown Eyed Girl

Nationwide promotion of the CD and DVD are expected; you can download the sales sheet sent to retailers here to read about upcoming promotion for the CD. High-resolution cover art is below.

Thanks to Kama and several others for the tip.

Source: Universal Music

In their January 9th issue, editors of the Australian newspaper “Illawarra Mercury” compiled a list of the best songs of summer from the past 10 years, and The Cranberries’ are at the top of their list for the 1994-1995 season. In order to be considered, all songs on the list had to spend time at #1 on the Australian charts.

According to the paper, “Zombie” is one example of an “upbeat, party song that wedges itself so far into your head nothing short of a lobotomy is going to get it out… That song that is always being played in the car radio; the one that you’re singing in your head and you don’t even know how it got there. In fact, you didn’t even know you knew the words.”

“In the hottest months of the year we were listening to Dolores O’Riordan bang on about ‘their tanks and their bombs and their bombs and their gons’, Okay, the last word was actually ‘guns’, but her accent twisted it into ‘gons’. A serious song about the conflict in their Northern Ireland homeland, it might have skated under our… radar if it weren’t for the really cool grinding guitar that runs through the song. Released during the tail-end of grunge, it was a guitar sound we were used to.”

Here’s the full list of “Best Songs of Summer” that the editors picked for the past 10 years:

Other notable contenders of the past 10 years mentioned are No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak” and Oasis’s “Wonderwall.”

Source: Illawarra Mercury

Cede.ch, Sweden’s largest online CD, DVD, and game vendor, is teaming up with Universal Music Sweden to auction a series of gold and platinum award plaques for charity.

CeDe manager Eric Bachmann told German newspaper Blick,”Right now we have a minimum bid for each item. For Sting’s double platinum that includes an original autograph, we’ve set it at 1200 CHF ($960 US)… [there are] seven gold disks from the Cranberries. In addition platinum and gold from Sheryl Crow… all between 100 CFH ($80) and 300 CHF ($230).” Other Universal artists in the auction include Zucchero, The Cure, Andrea Bocelli, Texas, Metallica, and Tears for Fears.

The seven gold awards from The Cranberries are all in recognition of sales of 20,000 in Sweden for “Wake Up and Smell the Coffee.” The seven plaques were presented to MCA, UMI International, Mike Hogan, Noel Hogan, Fergal Lawler, Jay Boberg (MCA President), and Lewis Kovac (former Cranberries manager). Currently, all seven stand at around 300 CHF, or about $230 US. The auctions end on January 22nd and you must be registered to bid.

The three charities receiving the proceeds from the auction are Terre des Hommes (Land of the People), Stiftung der Elternvereinigung krebskranker Kinder (Fund for Parents of Children with Cancer), and Susy Utzinger Stiftung für Tierschutz (Susy Utzinger Fund for Animal Protection).

Click the golden flash banner on the left side of Cede.ch to access the auction site.

Although The Cranberries’ Official Website has been mysteriously inactive for months, a look at the website’s registration record suggests that there has been some movement behind the scenes, as the website was transferred this week to a different hosting company.

On January 6, the Official Website was transferred from Irish-based hosting company Elive to Atlanta-based Interland, a company that specializes in small- and medium-sized businesses. Elive was also Zombieguide’s previous hosting company. Elive had hosted the Official Site since it opened in January 1998.

A whois database lookup for the site shows that Alan McEvoy, The Cranberries’ longtime financial consultant, has been designated as the administrative contact after the band parted ways with former manager Lewis Kovac in September.

It appears that the bare-bones website for Timeless Music Management is still hosted by Elive and that no changes were made to the registration record.

In related news, the shopping cart function on the “Shopping” section of the site has been disabled, making it impossible to purchase anything from the site. (Update: Savannah has posted in the Forums that the shopping cart is working, although it still doesn’t functionn for us.)

No word on why the band’s administration ended their long-term relationship with Elive. The lack of any updates in the past 4 months caused some to fear the worst for the site’s future. However, the server move suggests that the site will be online at least for the foreseeable future.

As to when we’ll see an official update, that’s anyone’s guess. Until then (and even after then), stay tuned to Zombieguide for the latest Cranberries developments, official or otherwise.

Source: Exclusive

On Christmas Day, Britain’s BBC Radio 2 invited Irish celebrity Ronan Keating to host an hour and a half special entitled “Ronan Keating’s Celtic Christmas.” Keating was not only hosted the show, but was given full control over what songs were played on the program. In a move that the BBC website called “surprising,” he chose a Cranberries song for the program, along with selections by fellow countrymen Christy Moore, Clannad, Thin Lizzy, The Pogues, and Jackson Browne.

No word on what song he played during the evening Christmas special.

Source: BBC Radio 2

eBay shut down approximately 237 auctions for Cranberries rarities when they suspected that their seller, Danny Kronstrom, may have engaged in shill bidding. We told you last week that Kronstrom, one of the biggest Cranberries collectors in the world, had decided to auction his entire collection. By Saturday night, eBay closed all of his auctions and suspended his account. The goodies up for auction included a French “Hollywood” radio promo, a Brazilian “I’m Still Remembering” radio promo, countless European live bootleg CDs, and some promos that we’ve never even seen before.

Shill bidding is the process of creating a fake ID to bid on your own auctions in order to artificially raise the prices. A user with the ID of “patheticsenses” was found to be bidding on 117 of Kronstrom’s auctions. “Patheticsenses” had no previous eBay history, was created at the same time as Kronstrom’s account, and was bidding exclusively on Kronstrom’s auctions, but only to outbid other users and never as the first bid. These are all telltale signs of shill bidding. (Even your humble webmaster was outbid by “patheticsenses.”) While Kronstrom’s seller account (“dannykronstrom”) was suspended, the account “patheticsenses” was not.

In an email to Zombieguide, Danny denies all accusations and claims no wrongdoing. “‘Patheticsenses’ is not me, Alex. I don’t know who has made this rumor, began this story, but I only want to sell my items and quit [my interest] in The Cranberries…”

“I feel so bad.. I want to write my real emotions, but my English is not good.”

Zombieguide estimates that Kronstrom must still pay at least $60 in lost eBay listing fees for the closed auctions.

Thanks to Paul for keeping an eye on this situation for us.

Source: Exclusive

Longtime Cranberries collector Danny Kronstrom has made the hard decision of parting with his collection.

Many Cranberries fans, including myself, met Danny through his website,The Cranberries Tape Trader, formerly one of the largest Cranberries websites online. The page that remains there now is but a shadow of its former self. Danny has spent the last several years amassing one of the largest Cranberries memorabilia collections in the world.

Danny and I have a long history together, as we ran The Cranberries Gazettetogether before I was invited by former webmaster John Armijo to join Zombieguide.

When asked why he is selling his collection, Danny told me, “I fear it’s the end of The Cranberries and it’s no longer as important to me. I love it, but not enough to buy everything about them. I have some rare stuff and I think it’s important to share it. Some people have shared rare stuff… it’s my time now!”

Danny will be listing his collection piece by piece on eBay over the coming weeks and months. Click here to view Danny’s eBay items. (LINK NO LONGER AVAILABLE)

Source: Exclusive

Norbert from over at Zombieguide Europe has dug up an interview with Noel, Mike, and Fergal recorded backstage from this summer’s Rolling Stones Fourty Licks World Tour, where The Cranberries opened for several European dates. This marks the first, and probably only, video interview of The Cranberries that we’ve seen online in 2003.

“It’s been amazing,” Noel says about the band’s summer outing with the rock veterans. “I guess every band, when you begin, you dream that someday you’ll have this kind of opportunity. I think it’s been everything we hoped it would be. Everyone’s been really nice. We’ve played to an audience that maybe wouldn’t have known us before. I really couldn’t say a bad thing about any of those things. It’s been a really good experience.”

He goes on, “When we used to be teenagers, we used to go to alternative discos and stuff, and they used to play–”

“‘Sympathy for the Devil,’ was it?” Fergal interrups. “That was the big one.”

“There was a collection that they used to play every Friday night,” Noel continues. “When I was watching the show and listening to some of the songs, it kind of reminded me of when we were growing up and hanging out at places back at home.”

Fergal then recounts a story regarding The Rolling Stones’ frontman: “There was the Curse of Keith,” he begins, exchanging mischievous glances with Noel. “There was a pub in New York, and we were sitting down, a bunch of us for a night out. And there was a big picture of Keith in the background with a light on it. So we ended up having a [drinking] session all night until like 5 or 6 in the morning, or something like that. Then we were in some other pub down in Australia. This was like a couple of weeks later. There was another picture of him in the corner. That ended up being another session ’til like 5 or 6 int he morning. So over a few stages, these pictures appeared and it ended up in a drinking session, because of the Curse of Keith.”

Noel was admittedly impressed by the sheer size of The Rolling Stones’ tour: “It’s amazing to see, when you see the scale of it, the size of the whole setup, you know? I think we thought we had a big setup with a few trucks and a few buses, and then you see this… It’s like a town moving across Europe, it’s amazing to see.”

Click here to download the 2 minute interview. (LINK NO LONGER AVAILABLE)
The video should soon be available in the the ZG Videos Section.

Japan is finally getting their hands on the Special Edition 2CD version of “Stars: The Best of 1992-2002,” thanks to Universal Music Japan.

Japan initally only received the 1CD version of the greatest hits album when it was released there in September 2002. The new 2CD version will release on January 28, 2004 at a price of 2427 Yen, the same price as the original 1CD version. Universal Music Japan also gave the “Stars” DVD a low-price re- release last month, though no changes were made except new stickers on the outside.

No word yet on whether the re-release will contain anything new not included in the international 2CD special edition version. Zombieguide will keep an eye on the new release and let you know if there are any new additions.

Source: CD Japan

Patience has always had to be a virtue near and dear to the hearts of Cranberries fans. And now, it appears that it’s time once again to exercise the inspiring (albeit annoying) quality of patience as the January 5th, 2004 release date of Jam & Spoon’s upcoming CD Tripomatic Fairytales 3003 gets postponed.

Now, it seems that fans of The Cranberries will have to wait until the vague day in “early 2004” to pick up the Jam & Spoon album that includes “Mirror Lover,” the track that features guest vocals by Dolores O’Riordan. Because no exact date has yet been given to the delayed release, it’s not clear when Tripomatic Fairytales 3003 will finally hit stores.

As more information becomes available, we’ll bring it to you right here on Zombieguide.com

Source: danceartistinfo.com

Some people are counting down the days until Christmas. Others are counting down the days until the New Year. But fans of The Cranberries are counting down the days until January 5, 2004. That’s the scheduled release date of Tripomatic Fairytales 3003, the latest by German trance duo Jam & Spoon that includes the Dolores O’Riordan-vocaled song “Mirror Lover”. And for those close to the music industry, January 5 just got a lot closer. Universal has released a full-length advance album promo disc that includes all twelve album tracks plus three additional bonus tracks.

The advance Promo CD (CD: 2003 DE (Polydor / Island / Universal; 51446259) is in circulation now among key industry professionals, but is not sold in stores. Could it be time to go eBay-ing?

Head over to JamAndSpoon-Fan.de to check out the scans and more info.

Source: JamAndSpoon-Fan.de

Even if you have to wait two years before getting a chance to catch The Cranberries live in concert, you don’t have forfeit the thrill of watching The Cranberries live. Thanks to the power of the Internet and a slew of live performances from the past, MTV UK has posted a streaming video performance of “Salvation” live available for download. The only strand of red tape is you’ll need to download RealOne Player and obtain a subscription to RealOne SuperPass…both available now with a limited time free trial period. So logon to MTV UK, power up your pc’s speakers and enjoy.

Source: MTV UK

Well, we knew something was fishy when Google could not produce more information about this supposed cover of “Linger.” According to witnesses (no pun intended) and several reviews of the Witnness Festival show that it was not “Linger” that Coldplay covered, but Ash’s “Shining Light.” Apparently the representative at the Coldplay Official Website didn’t bother to check to see what song was actually played.

Though the person who sent the question was clearly describing “Linger,” we’ve We will take our beating now, because we really deserve to be whipped for missing this spectacular news: The magnificent Coldplay performed a cover of “Linger” during their tour of Ireland this summer.

On July 13, at the Witnness Festival in Ratoath, Ireland, the sublime Chris Martin introduced a special addition to the setlist, saying “We love Thanksgiving food so you should all enjoy this one.” In the Q&A Section of the Official Coldplay Website, one concert goer asked about the cover of The Cranberries classic:

“I was at Coldplay’s gig in Ireland in July, they sang this beautiful song that I hadn’t heard from them before and was wondering what it was. They introduced it like this, “We love Thanksgiving food so you should all enjoy this one”, and he made it sound like it was a song the Irish should know. I think the song was was called ‘Linger’ or ‘Do you have to?’, the lyrics said ‘You know I’m such a fool for you, you’ve got me wrapped around your finger, do you have to let it linger’, what CD is that from? It was a beautiful song.”

One of Coldplay’s representatives responded to the question, saying, “Are you Irish? Shame on you for not knowing this if you are! The reason they played this song is because it’s originally by an Irish group, The Cranberries. It’s called Linger and was one of their biggest hits. Coldplay like to play a cover of a native band wherever they go.”

Oi!! The first person to send Alex an MP3 of this live cover will receive a shiny penny and his eternal gratitude! Seriously, if anyone can help us find a recording of this cover of a great song by another great band, we will gladly host it for everyone to download.

Thanks to Brad P for the tip!

Source: Official Coldplay Website

An employee of Elive has confirmed to Zombieguide that The Cranberries will soon be ending their hosting of The Cranberries’ Official Website with their company.

“My commercial dealings with the band will be ending soon,” Seanie Ryan, Managing Director of elive Internet Business Solutions, told us on Sunday. Ryan declined to comment further.

This leaves two options for the future of the Official Site: either the band’s management is finding a new hosting company or the Official Site is shutting down. Elive has hosted the Official Site since it opened in January 1998. Given the site’s severe lack of any signs of life since September does not make for a pleasant outlook for the website’s future.

Zombieguide is also negatively effected by this revelation, since our site hosting has been provided by Elive as a side product of The Cranberries’ business with them. Because The Cranberries have ended their business with the company, Zombieguide has been asked to move servers within “a timescale of 3-4 weeks.”

Given this information, we speculate that the Official Site will either move servers or close before the end of the 2003.

Meanwhile, Zombieguide will be moving the site to our Metropoliglobal account, where we host most of our media files. This account was set up for us as a favor by Diego, webmaster of ChocolateBrown.com. Most of the main site should move fine, since our fiasco this past March, we’ve gotten some education on site-moving. However, the Zombieguide Forums may need to restart once more; moving SQL databases is not exactly our expertise.

We are grateful to Elive for the service they have provided us with for the past several months

We will take our beating now, because we really deserve to be whipped for missing this spectacular news: The magnificent Coldplay performed a cover of “Linger” during their tour of Ireland this summer.

On July 13, at the Witnness Festival in Ratoath, Ireland, the sublime Chris Martin introduced a special addition to the setlist, saying “We love Thanksgiving food so you should all enjoy this one.” In the Q&A Section of the Official Coldplay Website, one concert goer asked about the cover of The Cranberries classic:

“I was at Coldplay’s gig in Ireland in July, they sang this beautiful song that I hadn’t heard from them before and was wondering what it was. They introduced it like this, “We love Thanksgiving food so you should all enjoy this one”, and he made it sound like it was a song the Irish should know. I think the song was was called ‘Linger’ or ‘Do you have to?’, the lyrics said ‘You know I’m such a fool for you, you’ve got me wrapped around your finger, do you have to let it linger’, what CD is that from? It was a beautiful song.”

One of Coldplay’s representatives responded to the question, saying, “Are you Irish? Shame on you for not knowing this if you are! The reason they played this song is because it’s originally by an Irish group, The Cranberries. It’s called Linger and was one of their biggest hits. Coldplay like to play a cover of a native band wherever they go.”

Oi!! The first person to send Alex an MP3 of this live cover will receive a shiny penny and his eternal gratitude! Seriously, if anyone can help us find a recording of this cover of a great song by another great band, we will gladly host it for everyone to download.

Thanks to Brad P for the tip!

Source: Official Coldplay Website

Ireland’s Sunday Mirror must have a tracking device implanted in Noel Hogan’s body.

After spotting him buying CDs in Dublin last month, The Sunday Mirror has found him yet again. In yesterday’s issue of the tabloid, the Mirror ran a photo of Noel and his wife Catherine talking to Cranberries ex-manager Lewis Kovac at Limerick’s Trinity Rooms club.

Hmmm. And so the mystery grows. While Lewis Kovac has officially parted ways with The Cranberries, Hot Press hinted in September that Kovac will be working on a project with Noel, Mike, and Fergal, without Dolores. Or else, the meeting could have been related to Noel’s solo project. On another note, after hearing of Catherine Hogan’s sickness, it’s good to hear that she’s out and about with her husband.

Source: Sunday Mirror

According to a short blurb from the November 9th issue of the Irish newspaper “The Sunday Independent,” Dolores will be flying home to Limerick on December 12th, just in time for her mother Eileen’s birthday. The O’Riordan clan (that’s Dolores, Don, Taylor, and Molly) are currently in Toronto. Dolores is recording solo material at Metalworks with co-producerMatt Vaughan and engineer Mike Plotnikoff.

Sounds like the O’Riordan family will be spending Christmas at home this year. What, no third Pope performance? Dang it.

Source: Sunday Independent

Trying to find new interviews with The Cranberries this year has been a bit like hunting Yeti. But luckily, a new interview with Fergal Lawler is being published this week in book form, thanks to author Alan Swan. Alan has been working on his new book “From the Cradle to the Stage” for the past year and a half, and it’s turned into quite an impressive project with interviews from over 70 Irish musicians, including Damien Rice, Damien Dempsey, The Frames, Mundy, David Kitt, Christy Moore, The Corrs, Relish, Ronan Keating, Westlife, Bellefire, Six, and oh-so-many more.

Perhaps the best part is that it’s all for a good cause: all profits from the book will be donated to Irish charity Fighting Blindness. According to their press release, “Fighting Blindness has been in existence since 1983. It is a small but dynamic charity made up of families and individuals affected by progressive blindness. The charity is determined to investigate every avenue where a realistic hope of finding a cure exists. The projects it funds are at the cutting edge of international research and have become global leaders in the search for treatments for blindness. 65,000 Irish adults and children are currently losing their sight to progressive blinding conditions known as retinal degenerations. Funds raised through the sale of this book will ensure this vital work is maintained and developed, bringing hope of a bright future to those currently affected by blindness and to future generations.”

“From the Cradle to the Stage” will be released on Wednesday, November 10th for €14.99 ($15 US). You can order the book now from the publisher,Poolbeg (direct link to the book) or from Fighting Blindness.

A full review of the book will come soon, but in the meantime, Alan Swan sat down with Zombieguide’s Alex Kraus to talk about his interview with Fergal, Fighting Blindness, and the current state of Irish music…

Zombieguide: First of all, when did you come up with the idea for this book?

Alan Swan: It was brewing around in my mind for a long time but it
wasn’t until March of 2002 that I sat down and started the ball rolling
on the project. I was presenting a breakfast show on CKRfm, a
commercial station for counties Carlow and Kildare, at the time, so I was up early in the morning, in for work at 5 am, on air at 6 am, finished work at 11 am. I was getting into the habit of sitting down at home pottering around at this and that and not really making use of the time that I had in the afternoons. So one day I just switched on the laptop and got going.

Zombieguide: What was the idea behind the book?

Alan Swan: The creative idea behind the book was very simple. I’m a massive fan of music, always have been. I wanted to put together a book where the artist, speaking in their own words could talk about there younger years and why they choose the road they travel. I’ve always been fascinated about what lights the spark. I wanted all original material. So I set about interviewing over 70-75 acts either face to face, by phone or by e-mail. Hoping that I could get little snippets of information that would give the book a little edge. Because I only had space for 80,000 words myself and my editor felt that we would have to give each artist around 800-1000 words each. Looking at the book now I feel we have a nice mix, some chapters run a bit more, some are short and get the message across. I’m happy with the finished product and extremely proud. I hope that someday someone might pick it up and that it might inspire them to take up music.

Zombieguide: How many pages will the final book have?

Alan Swan: Well it comes in at around 80,000 words, so 200 words a page, 400 pages. To tell you the truth, I have no idea. I still haven’t seen the finished product yet… I have seen the cover and it looks great. It has lots of different shots of different acts, including the Cranberries.

Zombieguide: Nice… when did Fighting Blindness come into the picture?

Alan Swan: Fighting Blindness came in from the start. I wanted a charity involved because I knew it would the perfect vehicle for them to promote themselves. I am good friends with one of there chief fund raising managers in Fighting Blindness and out of courtesy I asked him first before I pitched the idea to other charities. His Chief Exec. liked the idea, got the board to approve it and here we are. I’m thrilled the proceeds of this book is going to charity, Fighting Blindness are an incredible organization and quoting their Chief Exec. Micahel Griffith “Its flagship project in Trinity College is a world leader in the development of gene therapy for dominantly inherited retinopathies and the contribution of this group to the global research effort to find treatments for blindness has been truly outstanding by international terms.” I knew by having the charity on board that it would make it a lot easier to have all the other pieces to come together. The result is that from all of us combined, ie., from publishers to record companies, from artists to me, all our efforts will result in the proceeds from this book going to charity.

Zombieguide: I would assume then that not only was it easier to publish the book once you got a charity sponsor, but that it was a lot easier to get artists to jump in once you told them that it was for

charity?

Alan Swan: It was in a way – but there was an awful lot of work and presentations to do. Our publishers are great, like myself they are very passionate about the book and have put so much effort into it. The artists have been great too – a few due to work commitments weren’t able to contribute (which I totally understand) but I would hope they would make the second edition which I would love to put together in a few years time. Those who did contribute in fairness gave up there time to take part, for example Donal Lunny wrote a beautiful piece from Japan which he e-mailed to me. A lot of artists really took the project to heart and were very generous.

Zombieguide: It looks like the book has gone under a few changes since the first press releases were put out. Originally, the press release stated that Dolores wasto appear in the book, but now it’s Fergal who will appear in the final version. Was Dolores originally supposed to be interviewed? What happened?

Alan Swan: It was a simple case of crossed wires. Nothing more. It was a really early Press Release that wasn’t really finalized before it went out into the public domain. We are delighted to have Fergal on board and I think you will like his contribution. I honestly think that all our contributors have great little stories to tell.

Zombieguide: Yeah, can’t wait to check it out. This question comes from Brad from the Zombieguide Forums… What makes this book unique and not just a mini-biography? I mean, a lot of us diehard fans have already read many, many biographies already, especially about the band’s early days. Just last year, Niall Quinn published his own story online about the earliest days of The Cranberry Saw Us in his own words. Can you promise us something new?

Alan Swan: To be honest I can’t promise anything.

Zombieguide: Then can you give us a little taste of what to expect?

Alan Swan: Each chapter contains small snapshots of the artists life. In Fergal’s case he talks about his first gig, listening to the radio, singing songs in his father’s rocking chair and so on. It would be unfair of me to say “Ah yeah, it’s full of so much new info, lots of it, go out and buy it.” I wouldn’t lie to you, it’s only when you read through the whole book that you get a sense of Irish life and how these stories compare. I found Fergal’s chapter really interesting and I hope whoever buys the book finds this too. Remember too it’s in his own words like all the chapters in the book. I would hope that whoever buys the book would enjoy the other artists stories too, and go, “Jaysus did that happen to Jim Corr, or I never knew that about James Galway or Damien Rice, was THAT the first ever song he learned?” It’s really a celebration of Irish music and that we as a small country have such an array of different styles and singers. I think it’s unique in the way that I don’t think there has been a book that gives such a broad taste of Irish music through the artists own words.

Zombieguide: Oh, really? So the chapters are in first-person monologue style, like an autobiography? Dolores did something very similar for Liz Evans’s book “Women, Sex, and Rock ‘n’ Roll” in 1994, only Evans had to turn the interview into a monologue on her own, since Dolores was in a hospital bed from her skiing accident in the Alps.

Alan Swan: Yes they are. I felt it would be more personal to the reader if it was written like that. I tried to have it flow like a natural conversation, snippets here, snippets there. I hope it works.

Zombieguide: When exactly did you get to interview Fergal? Was it a face-to- face interview or by phone or…? What were your overall impressions of him?

Alan Swan: Because the band where busy, I conducted Fergal’s interview via e-mail and he was very open and obliging. He also wished the project the very best of luck.

Zombieguide: Wow, so did you get Fergal’s personal email address? If you did, I think you just captured the envy of everyone reading this.

Alan Swan: Actually, I have a good friend who acted as a third party for me. E-Mails were then just forwarded to me through that address. I was delighted Fergal had the time to do it because he was on tour at the time. He also left a lovely good luck message for me at the end which was very kind.

Zombieguide: We know that “Cradle to the Stage” covers artists’ roots and early days, but what other subject matter is in the book? Did Fergal get the chance to talk about The Cranberries’ current or future projects?

Alan Swan: No I’m sorry he didn’t, because we asked the artists to focus so much on the past we tended not to get so much info on the future, In some cases we did, but in Fergal’s case we didn’t. Sorry…

Zombieguide: It’s alright. Dolores has been quoted as saying that she doesn’t like to incorporate “trad” elements into The Cranberries’ music because she feels that it’s too much of a cliché for an Irish band. In a sense, its one distinction that separates The Cranberries from other modern Irish, particularly female acts like Enya and The Corrs. Do you feel that a lot of new bands agree with Dolores’ sentiment, or are there still a number that have that “Irish” sound?

Alan Swan: Not to be arguing with Dolores, but in my honest opinion and in a sense I think Dolores’s main instrument, her voice, has a massive Irish traditional Sean Nos sense to it. Her voice is sensational and much of their early material had an Irish feel to it. Recently it has shifted away from that. I can see her point though; some Irish acts do go with the trad element. I don’t think it’s a cliché, I think if it works for Enya and The Corrs and the fans like it well then it works. There are a lot of Irish acts that don’t go with the Trad slant — JJ72, Ash and The Frames. I think it’s great for the Irish sound to be still around, it’s what makes us distinctive, different.

Zombieguide: About the Irish elements, I think everyone would have to agree that Dolores’ voice has a very inherently Celtic quality. But what she means to say is that she’s very much against incorporating stuff like the fiddle or the tin whistle unless it’s absolutely necessary…

Alan Swan: I know exactly where you’re coming from. With regards to Enya and so if it works it works. What the Cranberries do also works and works incredibly well.

Zombieguide: On a broader scale, there is this fear among some cultural purists that Ireland is losing a lot of its ethnic identity and “Irish charm.” (Not to be confused with Lucky Charms, of course.) A hundred years ago, it was a fear of Ireland becoming Anglicized, but today, there’s just as much of a fear of becoming Americanized, or even just “globalized” in general. Do you feel this social trend is having a large impact on music?

Alan Swan: It is in a way. A few years back, and to some small extent now, an awful lot of bands were trying to sound like Radiohead, singer- songwriters were trying to sound like David Gray, and many would follow what was the in sound at the time. I think you will get that in every country though and not just in Ireland. I don’t think Irish music is dying though, I think it’s stronger the ever and a lot of acts are going back to basics and bringing an Irish folk kind of feel to there music. In that I mean that many of our best artists have always been unique story tellers. We have a new generation of artists such as Damien Rice, Glen Hansard, David Kitt, Mundy and so on who all have there own unique sound and bring something fresh to Irish music. I’ve always said it but for a country as small as Ireland we really do produce amazing things. On the other side Trad music is as popular as ever and seems to have lost the stupid stigma that was attached to it. Acts like Altan, Donal Lunny, Dervish and as always The Chieftains are leading the way.

Zombieguide: One radio-related website that I ran across said that “From the Cradle to the Stage,” is your first book but that you have “several others in the pipeline.” Is that right?

Alan Swan: It is, I’m going to take a bit of break from writing for a while, maybe six months or so. I want to write a book about my grandmother, it’s a personal story and really a celebration of her life, she was an amazing woman and I’m really looking forward to sitting down and starting the research work on that. I also want to work on some other biogs but that’s a long way down the road.

Zombieguide: Any chance of another Cranberries-related book?

Alan Swan: Who knows, maybe some day… never say never!

Zombieguide would like to thank Alan Swan for his time and wish best of luck to him and Fighting Blindness.

Source: Exclusive!

Before they appeared on the show “Absolutely Fabulous,” British comedy duo Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French carried their own series called “French & Saunders,” which is now getting a flurry of releases on DVD. Their newest DVD release, Living in a Material World has something to offer which will amuse — or infuriate — Cranberries fans.

“Living in a Material World” includes one skit that impersonates Dolores O’Riordan. DVD Talk laments that the parodied lyrics are tough to make out, but hilarious none the less. “Bjork and the Cranberries… also get intricate send-ups… although the musical tributes are a bit less effective as the jokey lyrics are a bit tough to make out. Still, these skits are all awesomely funny.” Björk and Dolores aren’t the only ones getting a jab; Madonna also gets the shaft.

“French and Saunders – Living in a Material World” is now available on DVD in the US for a retail price of $14.98.

Source: DVD Talk

The Irish rock documentary “From a Whisper to a Scream” has been picked up by Eagle Vision USA for a re-release this week on DVD. The new version, entitled “Out of Ireland: From a Whisper to a Scream” was originally released by Fox Lorber under the title “From a Whisper to a Scream: The Living History of Irish Rock” in March 2001 on DVD and a VHS set. The documentary was produced in 2000 and was originally aired on national network RTE in Ireland. The documentary includes a brief segment on The Cranberries and an exclusive interview with Dolores O’Riordan as she comments on Sinead O’Connor, Thin Lizzy, and Irish traditional music.

The new version boasts new packaging (including a shot of Dolores on the cover), but the content appears to be the same as the original release.

Check out Zombieguide Europe for scans of the original release and screen captures.

(IMAGES NO LONGER AVAILABLE)

Source: Eagle Vision USA

It’s too bad the album title “Rumours” has already been done (snatched up by Fleetwood Mac in 1977), because lately, it seems that this would be the ideal title for the Cranberries’ sixth album. Amidst all of the mayhem of “will they or won’t they” ever return to the studio, fans are left wondering: how are The Cranberries coping with the allegations, insinuations, and the ever popular out-of-context publications?

Well, for a little poetic answer to that question, Zombieguide presents an astonishing creation by mesmerizing cartoonist, Maurizio di Bona aka The Hand. Cranberries fans may remember that it was The Hand who, earlier this year, was asked by The Cranberries to produce artwork for official band merchandise. Created in an attempt to portray The Cranberries’ struggle to balance personal with professional, this one-of-a-kind illustration, entitled “Stop Rumours” was submitted to Zombieguide in an effort to help stifle the whirlwind of conclusions and remind fans that The Cranberries remain individuals with significant responsibilities that lie beyond the group itself.

Special thanks to the astonishing artist, The Hand, for kindly allowing Zombieguide to post this terrific piece of art!

Source: Exclusive

What do The Cranberries have in common with Chopin? How about a top- ranked spot in the personal favorites list of Norwegian actor, Dennis Storhøi! In an IGN Filmforce online interview, actor Dennis Storhoi (The Thirteenth Warrior) named The Cranberries, alongside Chopin, as his personal favorite musicians…as odd of a combination as it might seem.

The accomplished actor has performed in numerous on-stage productions as well as silver screen projects. In IGN Filmforce’s brief ten questions spanning everything from favorite film to greatest influences, his reference to The Cranberries as favorite musical artist took first line in the interview.

Source: IGN Filmforce

As if quirky tunes such as “Yellow Submarine”, “Rocky Raccoon”, and “I Am the Walrus” aren’t enough of a novelty for Beatles fans, there is now a new three-volume compilation that exalts the music industry’s fascination with the Fab Four. We Want the Beatles is an eclectic compilation that’s turned up on eBay. The strange set features both well-known and obscure tracks that include virtually any reference to John, Paul, George or Ringo. So what has this to do with The Cranberries you ask? Think hard. Yes, you’ve got it. To The Faithful Departed’s rocking tribute to the late John Lennon, “I Just Shot John Lennon” is included in the smorgasbord of songs about The Beatles. As long-time fans of The Beatles, The Cranberries were bound to pay homage to the mop-topped music legends somehow; and a savvy bootlegger out there didn’t overlook The Cranberries contribution to Beatle Mania.

We Want the Beatles appears to be an unofficial collection of songs; yet it certainly does deserve credit for baring a painstaking appearance. Zealot bidders currently have the unofficially-released six-disc set priced at over $90.00 on eBay.com

Source: eBay.com

Universal Music has released a brand new limited edtion 2CD set in Colombia entited, “Master Collection.” The set consists of the full “Wake Up and Smell the Coffee” and “No Need to Argue” albums housed in a special cardboard sleeve. The limited edition set appears to be aimed at new fans, offering both the most recent album and what some consider to be the “best” album in one package. The officially-released set is currently available in Colombia; it is unknown if Universal plans to release the set in other areas as well. For reference, the full tracklising is:

Wake Up & Smell The Coffee:
1. Never Grow Old
2. Analyse
3. Time Is Ticking Out
4. Dying Inside
5. This is The Day
6. The Concept
7. Wake Up & Smell THe Coffee
8. Pretty Eyes
9. I Really Hope
10. Every Morning
11. Do You Know
12. Carry On
13. Chocolate Brown – bonus track
14. Salvation – Live In Paris
15. In The Ghetto

No Need To Argue:
1. Ode To My Family
2. I Can’t Be With You
3. Twenty One
4. Zombie
5. Empty
6. Everything I Said
7. The Icicle Melts
8. Disappointment
9. Ridiculous Thoughts
10. Dreaming My Dreams
11. Yeat’s Grave
12. Daffodil Lament
13. No Need to Argue

Thanks to Vincent for the tip!

Source: Esprit

Author Alan Swan sent us a note yesterday to say that his upcoming book,”From the Cradle to the Stage,” will be released on November 12th with a cover price of €14.99 (€5 lower than the anticipated price). The book contains an interview with The Cranberries’ Fergal Lawler, as well as a host of other Irish musicians like Ash, Devlins, The Corrs, Samantha Mumba, Christy Moore, Chieftains, and others, 70 in total. “From the Cradle to the Stage” contains a forward by Gay Byrne and commentary by Dave Fanning and Tom Dunne. All proceeds will benefit Irish charity Fighting Blindness.

Copies of the book will be available for purchase from the publisher’s website, Poolbeg.com, upon release.

Zombieguide has interviewed Alan Swan about his book (and about Fergal’s contribution!), and we will publish that interview as the release date draws near.

Source: Exclusive

The Limerick Post reports that members of The Cranberries were in attendence at the recent launch party for the Red Room, a new nightclub in downtown Limerick. The venue was formerly known as Doc’s Bar, but has undergone massive renovations to turn the building into a more modern, trendier nightclub and bar. Guests’ attendence at the party was by invitation only and the list included a large number of local personalities.

Members of The Cranberries were seen “rubbing shoulders” with fellow Limerick musicians Woodstar at the revamped venue. Woodstar opened for The Crans last December in Ireland, while Fergal gave them a name-check in an Official Site post this past May. All the crossovers aren’t coincidental; Woodstar’s lead singer Fin Chambers tells The Limerick Post that The Cranberries have been among their biggest supporters:

“They [The Cranberries] have been absolutely fantastic with their support for us. We know that if there is any help we want, anything we need such as getting someone to listen to our stuff, then all we have to do is ask. Some of the band have been to three of four of our gigs. They wouldn’t be very vocal people, but they seem to like our stuff and we know if we need anything they will oblige us, so it is fantastic to have their support,” Fin says.

Source: The Limerick Post

A new factory-produced Cranberries bootleg has appeared on the streets of Europe under the title “Go Your Own Way.” The new bootleg consists mostly of audio from professionally-recorded shows, primarily ARTE’s Music Planet 2Nite show from 2002 and the Vicar Street concert from 2000 (officially released on the “Stars” DVD). Due to the professional sources, the audio quality is said to be “excellent.”

“Go Your Own Way” has been released on the pseudo-label “Salavation Records” with the catalog ID “CRANBERRIESLIVE 2000/02.” The tracklisting is:

Arte TV Show, Sept 8, 2002, Gloria Theatre, Cologne:

1. Linger
2. I Can’t Be With You 3. Free To Decide
4. Salvation
5. Animal Instinct
6. Zombie
7. Interview 1
8. Interview 2

Vicar Street, Ireland, Nov 11, 2000:

9. Intro Irish Show
10. Time Is Ticking Out
11. Linger
12. In The Ghetto
13. Ode To My Family
14. Shattered
15. Animal Instinct
16. Loud And Clear
17. I Can’t Be With You
18. Analyse

Paris Bercy, Dec 9, 1999:

19. Go Your Own Way

Astoria, UK, Jan 22, 1994:

20. Daffodil Lament 21. Empty

Thanks to Vincent of My Cranberries Discography for the info.

Source: My Cranberries Discography

From Shannen Doherty (“Friends ‘Til The End”) now to Kathryn Morris (“Minority Report”), you can hear The Cranberries’ 1996 single “When You’re Gone”, lofting through the background of television drama after drama. On Sunday night’s episode of the new CBS series Cold Case, starring Kathryn Morris and John Finn, approximately ten seconds of “When You’re Gone” was used to help create the mood of dramatic television. Though it was just a clip, and a small one at that, it’s a rare treat to have the opportunity to savor a Cranberries moment on network television.

Thanks to Michelle for the news.
Cold Case airs Sunday nights at 8:00 pm ET/PT on CBS.

Source: Exclusive

Reports out of France indicate that art designer Storm Thorgerson is resting in a Paris hospital after suffering a stroke last Friday. Thorgerson has been in Paris for the last few weeks for a Pink Floyd art exhibition which runs from October 10th, 2003 until January 25th, 2004.

Thorgerson has designed the covers of nearly all of The Cranberries’ recent releases (aside from “Stars”). We all pray he has a swift recovery!

Thanks to Echoes In Babylon for the news.

Source: N/A

In her first commercially-released video performance since the announced 2-year hiatus for The Cranberries, Dolores O’Riordan appears on the new DVD companion to this year’s CD release, “Zu & Co”. As a part ofa collection of duets with Italian vocalist, Zucchero, Dolores’s performance of “Pure Love” will be included on the singer’s live DVD. The concert footage was taken from a performance held on May 6, 2004 at London’s Royal Albert Hall – a stage familiar to The Cranberries.

The region 2 DVD, currently scheduled for released on October 18 in most European countries, November for France, will most likely hit stores in November and will include a backstage documentary, a photo gallery, the making of the ZU & Co album (presumably the same as on the ZU & Co special edition), Dunne Mosse with Miles Davis and “Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime” live at the 46664 concert in South Africa with Queen’s Brian May as well as Roger Taylor and Sharon Corr. Plus, the disc has a teasing collection of “Hiden Extras”. Currently, only a Region 2 release is planned for “Live at Royal Albert Hall.”

The main event of the DVD, however, is the show itself, boasting this tracklisting:

Dunne Mosse (featuring Miles Davis ‘in spirit’)
Dindondio
Rossa mela della sera
Il grande baboomba (featuring Mousse T.)
Like the sun (featuring Irene Fornaciari)
Everybody’s got to learn sometime (featuring Jenny Bae)
I’m in trouble (featuring Tina Arena)
Baila Morena (featuring Maná’s Fher)
Ali D’Oro (featuring John Lee Hooker ‘in spirit’)
Senza una donna (featuring Paul Young)
Pure Love (featuring Dolores O’Riordan)
Diavolo in me (featuring Solomon Burke)
Il volo (featuring Ronan Keating)
Cosi Celeste (featuring Cheb Mami)
Madre Dolcissima (featuring Brian May)
Il Mare… (featuring Brian May)
Hey Man (featuring Eric Clapton)
Wonderful World (featuring Eric Clapton)
Miserere (featuring Luciano Pavarotti)
Solo una sana…
Shake
Diamante
X colpa di chi?
Hai scelto me

Zu & Co is not the only upcoming DVD release for Dolores. Universal is re- releasing 1994’s The Cranberries “Live” on DVD, November 29th throughout Europe.

Source: Un Po’ di Zucchero

Today’s issue of the Irish tabloid “The Sunday Mirror” has spotted The Cranberries’ Noel Hogan in Dublin this week. Photographers for the tabloid followed Noel around while he was shopping for CDs at the Tower Records on Wicklow Street.

The tabloid published a photo of their encounter with Noel. Unfortunately, since we only have the text version, we don’t have a scan to share. If anyone (Phil?) has access to today’s issue to make scans for us, please send it toZombieguide!

Source: Exclusive

Zombieguide’s own Shannon Sankar took the initiative today in contactingThe Cranberries Official Website regarding the recent lack of updates in the past month, sorely needed in the light of Irish reports that the band is taking a two year break. Shannon wrote, “And because the official web site continues to include, as its last update, a title that reads: ‘Cranberries quietly working away…’, I feel like this is starting to not only become frustrating for fans who have been left out of the loop of the truth, but is also becoming misleading, if in fact The Cranberries are NOT ‘working away’ right now. I write you because I know that you have always strived to be especially appreciative of the connection your band has with its fans. You have taken initiative in the past to communicate with your fans; and I have a great respect for that. … I am asking that you please clarify the information released on Sept. 17th from your publicists stating a vague reference to what could either be a two-year break or an indefinite break up.”

To her surprise, unlike most fans’ inqueries to the page, she received a reply! The response read, “Hi Shannon, an update will come soon!” Though no time frame was given, we should be able to hope for some kind of official announcement soon.

I know, I know. We said the same thing a month ago, but that statement from the official site had no promise of “soon.”

Zombieguide will have the absolute latest on The Cranberries’ hiatus status as we know it.

Source: Exclusive

“What’s in your head?” For Brazilian students learning the English language, educators at Yazigi Internexus, a leading educational facility in Brazil, are hoping to put a little English grammar in the heads of their students. Recently, Yazigi Internexus chose to incorportate clips of The Cranberries’ videos for both “Zombie” and “Salvation” to help students learn about and discuss controversial topics as conveyed in English. In classes with topics such as “Drugs” and “Violence,” students studied the lyrics to each song in depth, their meanings, and how they apply to society. With a little help from a gold-painted Dolores, students are debating the effects of violence while learning to communicate in English. And thanks to a drug-pushing psycho clown, Brazilian students are learning how English-speakers “just say no”. And to think, you’ve laughed at Dolores’s “one, two, tree, four” before kicking into “Salvation” live in concert. Look who’s the English language role model now!

Thanks to Daniel for the information!

Source: Exclusive

In celebration of its 10th anniversary, MTV Latin America is continuing to run more video countdowns, much like “Linger” in the Top 20.

This week, MTVLA has been running a new special entitled “MTV 10 Años: 100 Videos,” which encapsulates some of the most influencial music videos of the past decade. The series began on Monday and will conclude tomorrow, October 3rd.

The Cranberries’ “Zombie” placed at #67 on the list. During the video, a clip of Argentinian alternative rock singer Leo Garcia was shown, where he commented on the song and video. After doing his best imitiation of the chorus (“in your head, in your head”) Gracia said, “I really like the crucifix, the gold [kids], and her too. It’s a good anthem but the video is much better than the song. I like the fusion of the biblical and the mythological, not to mention a chick singing grunge — that’s great!”

Thanks to I Can’t Be With Them for the news.

Source: Cranstar Forums

Litsa just sent us a quick tip that CNBC Turkey will repeat the Istanbul concert on October 29th at 10:30 (unknown if AM or PM). If you live in Turkey, be sure to record and share if at all possible!

Turkish site Daffodil Lament reports that the Turkish CNBC television network will be broadcasting The Cranberries’ Istanbul 2002 concert later today. The network filmed The Cranberries’ concert last year for television broadcast. CNBC Turkey will be airing the concert today (September 20th) at 18:00 local time. The concert marked The Cranberries’ first concert in Turkey.

Last month, Turkish radio station Radyo Eksen broadcasted the audio from the concert, which was available streaming live over the station’s website.

Source: Daffodil Lament

Universal Music Japan has announced that The Cranberries’ “Stars: The Best of The Cranberries” DVD (as “Best of Videos” is called in Japan) will be part of a November-December campaign of specially priced Limited Edition re- releases. The campaign consists of a total of 84 titles, 29 of which are Western (non-Japanese) music titles.

Although content of the “Stars” DVD will remain the same, all of the titles in the new campaign will receive small packaging changes (new stickers, etc) and a new low price. The new low-price limited editon DVDs will only be available for purchase from November 1st until December 29th. All of the titles in the campaign will have a finite number of printed copies, so once they are sold out, they will not be replaced. Other artists’ DVDs in the promotion include Björk, Eminem, Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Jimi Hendrix, Blink 182 and Sting.

The “Stars” DVD was first released in Japan this past March with an expensive retail price of 4,200 yen ($35 US, nearly double the US retail of $20). The new limited editon re-release (catalogue number UIBO-9006) will be marked down to 3,200 yen ($28 US).

The new Japanese version of “Stars” will release on November 1st. Zombieguide will try to have images of the new packaging as its release date nears. If there are any Japanese Cranberries fans who can help us out in locating scans and info, please email us!

Sources: CD Japan, Watch Impress

In another quiet business-related update on The Cranberries’ Official Website, the contact page has been changed to show Curtain Call Limited as the band’s management group.

This revelation strikes us as strange since, at least on paper, The Cranberries’ Official Website is run by employees at Timeless Music and not Curtain Call. Perhaps this too will change soon.

This change comes just on the heels of contact info being removed from the Timeless Music website. However, the new “Curtain Call” listing on the contact page still links to Timeless.

All of this leaves us wondering if The Cranberries are planning to merge both companies into one? After last week’s news of the band parting ways with longtime manager Lewis Kovac, it is obvious that The Cranberries are undergoing some large management changes as they embark on their two- year hiatus.

To see the changes made on the official and Timeless websites, check out the current “contact” page vs. the Google cached version and the current Timeless Music page vs the Google cache.

For the record, Curtain Call, Ltd. is based in Limerick and is owned jointly by the four members of The Cranberries, each holding an equal number of the company’s shares. Timeless Music, Ltd., is (or at least was until this point) based in Dublin and is owned half by Dolores O’Riordan, half by Curtain Call jointly, so the lads have less control over Timeless, but some control none the less.

Source: Exclusive

They may be on hiatus, but The Cranberries are still creating a buzz. Brazilian-based music station Universo do Rock is hosting another poll with your chance to vote for The Cranberries. Ironically, the poll is asking fans: “Which bands would you like to see come to Brazil in 2004?” Despite the reality that a 2004 tour with The Cranberries doesn’t look very likely at the moment, the poll is a fun way to help The Cranberries maintain a little “top of mind awareness.”

To cast your vote for The Cranberries, logon to Universo do Rock
Thanks to: Emerson Erc.Josh for the information

Source: Exclusive

After waiting nearly a year, patient Cranberries fans in Turkey have finally gotten their hands on the DVD of “Stars: The Best of Videos 1992-2002.” The DVD was released in most regions of the world last October. The Turkish version of the DVD is identical to the European version released late last year.

When contacted earlier this year for comment, a representative for Universal Music Turkey cited “serious import problems” as the cause of the delay. The representative promised that the DVD would be shipped to stores in September, and Universal Music Turkey has made good on their promise.

Turkey hasn’t been the only country to receive the DVD late; Japan only received the “Stars” DVD this past March, although that version included added Japanese subtitles and a new Japanese sticker on the cover.

Thanks to Haluk Uslu for the news.

Source: Exclusive

Forget MTV…at least as far as Cranberries videos go. Here in the U.S., a Cranberries fan has just about as much chance of seeing the video for “Analyse” on MTV as seeing Dolores drive by in her gold BMW. It’s just not going to happen. But here’s a glimmer of encouragement: U.S.-based WAM Network, part of the Starz/Encore package, is airing promos of their “Get Reel” program airing on Thursday nights at 8:00 pm. The program showcases pop-rock music videos; and guess which video was included in the promo clip! Yes, it’s true. “Analyse” got approximately 0.10 seconds of air-time on U.S. television with the suggestion of a whole lot more.

Though the channel is dripping with pre-teen programs and off-the-wall movies, “Get Reel” takes an inside look at the world of entertainment and throws out the occasional music video. And if the promo is any indication of what to expect from the new season, this could be one of the few chances U.S. fans get to catch post-1996 Cranberries music videos on television without the need for a VCR. New episodes of “Get Reel” is currently slated to air on Thursdays at 8:00 pm, but may be shuffled around with WAM’s habit of haphazard scheduling.

The WAM Network is available through satellite television providers including Direct TV and Dish network, and through select cable companies as part of the Starz/Encore Superpak.

Source: Exclusive

Yesterday, music channel VH1 premiered their newest addition in their line of countdown specials, “The 50 Greatest Album Covers.” For the special VH1 interviewed Storm Thorgerson, considered one of the greatest album art designers of all time, working some striking pieces for Black Sabbath, Led Zepplin, Mike Oldfield, Phish, and perhaps most famously, Pink Floyd. Thorgerson, half of the team known as Hypnosis, was responsible for two of VH1’s top ten covers, with Led Zepplin at #6 and Pink Floyd at #4.

Of course Cranberries fans will know him best for the surreal dreamscapes that grace the covers of “Bury the Hatchet,” “Wake Up and Smell the Coffee,” “Beneath the Skin,” and all related singles. So of course we were on the lookout for a Cranberries nod during the segment, and sure enough, Thorgerson was interviewed while seated in front of two of his own pieces for The Cranberries and Pink Floyd. Apparently Storm Thorgerson enjoys his work for The Cranberries so much as to put it on the walls in his own office.

Thanks to our own Saeed Ali for the tip.

Source: Exclusive

While contemplating the possibility of a no new live Cranberries experiences in the near future, at least there’s the vicarious thrill of a “re-run”. Today, the Turkish CNBC station re-aired The Cranberries concert performance recorded live from Istanbul on November 5, 2002. Though the actual show boasted a full set list with a whopping 22 songs including an interesting blast from the past with “Put Me Down” and a look into the more recent era of “Stars” and “New New York”, the abbreviated televised version that aired today contained only 5 songs from the show. “Zombie”, “Animal Instinct”, “Empty”, “Promises” and “Dreams” were the songs that made the cut.

And if the abridged version doesn’t quite capture the full concert experience for you, feel free to do what we did, read the fan reviews, including an image of the full set list from the show, posted on the Official Site.

Thanks to Yaðýz Murat Aksu for the news.

Source: Exclusive