The times they are a-changin’ when it comes to releasing an album, and Bob Dylan is definitely keeping up with them.
His 35th studio album, “Tempest,” is officially due out on Tuesday, but his record company Columbia is harnessing the power of the Internet to the fullest to generate buzz.
On Wednesday, all 10 tracks were available for streaming for free, and for an unspecified limited time, on iTunes, Apple’s online jukebox. But it all started on Aug. 27 when opening track “Duquesne Whistle” got its world premiere on NPR Online, the public radio website whose All Songs Considered blog is best known as a springboard for little-known indie acts. Two days later, the video for the song was unveiled on the website of the left-leaning British newspaper the Guardian.
Then on Friday, listentobobdylan.com posted a map of locations in the United States and nine other countries where selected tracks from “Tempest” would be available for random streaming onto mobile devices.
That idea uses an app called Sound Graffiti, which requires fans to go to a specific address to hear a tune and get an opportunity to pre-order “Tempest” from Apple’s iTunes online music store.
For those who prefer something closer to brick-and-mortar music stores, temporary “pop-up shops” will be open from Monday in New York, Los Angeles and London where Dylan fans can buy “Tempest” and other albums, some autographed.
Prosecutors charge Amanda Bynes with hit-and-run
Prosecutors have charged Amanda Bynes with hit-and-run in connection with two traffic crashes in recent months.
Los Angeles City attorney’s spokesman Frank Mateljan says the actress was charged Tuesday and is due for arraignment on Sept. 27.
Mr. Mateljan says Miss Bynes was charged for leaving the scene of two accidents, one on April 10 and another on Aug. 4, without providing proper information. The first incident occurred just days after Miss Bynes was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after grazing a sheriff’s patrol car. She has pleaded not guilty in that case.
The 26-year-old is best known for her role in the WB’s “What I Like About You” and the film “Easy A.”
Her publicist Melissa Raubvogel did not immediately return an email message seeking comment.
Tom Cruise denies Scientology auditioned girlfriends
A lawyer for Tom Cruise has dismissed as “tired old lies” a magazine report claiming that the Church of Scientology had auditioned candidates to become a girlfriend for the star.
Vanity Fair quoted sources as saying the controversial church — of which Mr. Cruise is the most high-profile member — tested actresses as potential brides in 2004, after his divorce from fellow movie actor Nicole Kidman.
The report included details of a failed match with an Iranian-born actress, who was allegedly dismissed after failing to show enough public affection for the Hollywood A-lister and “Mission Impossible” star.
But Mr. Cruise’s lawyer Bert Fields dismissed the allegations. “Vanity Fair’s story is essentially a rehash of tired old lies previously run in the supermarket tabloids, quoting the same bogus ’sources.’ “
“It’s long, boring and false,” he added, in a statement emailed to Agence France-Presse.
• Compiled from Web and wire reports
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