Former Smashing Pumpkins/Zwan leader Billy Corgan has contributed guitar to a song on Swedish rock band Blindside’s forthcoming album. “Billy Corgan heard a song, flipped out, and asked if he could play guitar on the record,” the band’s manager, Tim Cook, tells Billboard.com. Blindside guitarist Simon Grenehed flew to Chicago, where he joined Corgan in his studio to record the track, “Hooray, It’s L.A.”
The song will be included on Blindside’s second Elektra release, “About A Burning Fire,” due out early next year.
— Bram Teitelman, N.Y.
Beck has been added to Los Angeles public radio station KCRW’s “A Sounds Eclectic Evening” benefit show, to be held Nov. 22 at L.A.’s Universal Amphitheater. The artist will perform a solo acoustic set, joining previously announced performers Damien Rice, the Polyphonic Spree, Jurassic 5, Jem and Gary Jules. Cut Chemist and Felix Da Housecat will perform at an after party for KCRW subscribers.KCRW music director Nic Harcourt built the lineup from artists who have released critically acclaimed albums or EPs during the past year. Tickets are on sale to the public via Ticketmaster; for more information, visit KCRW’s official Web site.
In related news, MTV2 will on Friday (Oct. 24) broadcast an hour-long special from the recent Shortlist Music Prize ceremony, won by Rice for his Vector Records album, “O.”
— Troy Carpenter, N.Y.
PBS’s “Soundstage” series will on Nov. 27 air two hours of highlights from the 2003 edition of Farm Aid. The event, held Sept. 7 in Columbus, Ohio, featured performances by Farm Aid co-founders Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp, as well as Sheryl Crow, Brooks & Dunn, Emmylou Harris, Trick Pony, and Hootie and the Blowfish.“Soundstage” was recently reactivated after a nearly two-decade hiatus. The program originally ran on PBS from 1974-1985.
— Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.