We finally have an image and a name to attach to our ongoing news for the Cars’ reunion album. It is not called Free, but Move Like This, apparently. Look for it in May.

As previously mentioned, Ric Ocasek, Greg Hawkes, Elliot Easton and David Robinson are all on board and representing the band. The album will be released by the Concord Music Group, presumably through the Hear Music wing, once owned by Starbucks Coffee. Hear Music artists include Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell and Elvis Costello.

Who else is involved with the project still remains in speculation, but photos of producer Jacknife Lee have been posted in conjunction with the band’s official Facebook page. He is the co-producer of four of the songs on the album.


In other news, it is with sadness that we report the passing of guitarist Gary Moore over the weekend. Moore was known primarily with his stint as a guitarist for the band Thin Lizzy, specifically on the album Black Rose. Moore had collaborated over the years with a varied roster of artists including George Harrison, Ozzy Osbourne, Ginger Baker & Jack Bruce, as well as drummers Cozy Powell (Black Sabbath) and Mo Tucker (The Velvet Underground).

Moore had not been with Thin Lizzy for very long, but had a long working relationship with the band’s enigmatic leader Phil Lynott, contributing to some of Lynott’s solo recordings. The latest lineup of Thin Lizzy is touring this year with longstanding guitarist Scott Gorham and Def Leppard’s Vivian Campbell.

Gary Moore was 58. His death is being reported due to inadvertent effects of inebriation.


In film news, tentative dates for the start of shooting for The Hobbit are no longer so tentative. The film, which features Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, will also see the return of Andy Serkis (Gollum), Ian McKellan (Gandalf), Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) and Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins. The pencilled-in date for cameras rolling is March 21.

The production has seen a slew of obstacles thus far: original studio New Line was fully absorbed by Warners while the property, caught in co-production hell with a bankrupt MGM, was set to the backburner until that studio found new ownership. Eventually, that was settled (also clearing the path for a new James Bond entry), but a change in director, from Guillermo Del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy) to Executive Producer Peter Jackson, once again threw things into disarray.

Then a labor strike in New Zealand threatened the production, causing a need to consider all-new locations to shoot at. That was settled as well but then Jackson developed a perforated ulcer, once again pushing back the start-date. The speculation was that Jackson’s initial choice for Del Toro was exactly due to knowing what stress this production would be, having experienced it all through the production of The Lord Of The Rings.

Barring the further unforeseen, the first chapter of the two-part Hobbit adaptation will hit screens December 2012, provided the Mayan Calendar is wrong and the world doesn’t end before then.

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Dw. Dunphy

Dw. Dunphy is a writer, artist, and musician. For Popdose he has contributed many articles that can be found in the site's archives. He also writes for New Jersey Stage, Musictap.net, Ultimate Classic Rock, and Diffuser FM. His music can be found at http://dwdunphy.bandcamp.com/.

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