Arch MUSIC NEWS for 9/5/12

Arch Music News is compiled by Jay Philpott -

Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong is out of the hospital but searching for his voice. The band was forced to cancel a performance in Italy over the weekend after Armstrong was rushed to the hospital for illness. Details of what sidelined the rocker were not immediately available but upon his arrival to Los Angeles on Monday, Armstrong mouthed words to TMZ.com’s cameras that seemed to suggest he had lost his voice. Armstrong is set to appear on the new season of NBC’s “The Voice.” He’s a celebrity mentor for the team under “Voice” coach Christina Aguilera.

It turns out federal agents turned to Sheryl Crow to get more information about her ex Lance Armstrong and his alleged history of doping. According to the “New York Daily News,” Crow was interviewed late last year as part of the investigation into the cyclist’s possible use of performance enhancing drugs during his victorious Tour de France rides. Crow and Armstrong were together for his final two wins in 2004 and 2005. At the time, Crow called the doping allegations “tiresome” and a “nuisance,” but the opinions and information she shared with federal investigators in 2011 have yet to surface. Armstrong was stripped of all seven Tour de France titles last month after he abandoned his legal challenge to the doping charges.

The Rolling Stones have a couple of new tunes on the way. The tracks “Gloom And Doom” and “One Last Shot” will be part of the band’s new hits retrospective, “GRRR!,” which will be available in four different formats. A 50-song, three-disc digipack will also include a 24-page booklet, while another 50-song, three-disc set will be packaged in a DVD box along with a 36-page hardback book and five postcards. The “Super Deluxe Edition Box Set” boasts 80 tracks on four CDs, along with the hardback book and postcards as well as a poster, a bonus CD, and a seven-inch vinyl disc. A “Vinyl Box Set” will include 50 songs on five LPs packaged in a special case. The new songs mark the first fresh recordings from the Stones since 2005′s “A Bigger Bang.” The group recorded their latest material during their recent rehearsals in Paris. “GRRR!” will arrive in stores on November 13th.

There’s one prominent Thin Lizzy fan who isn’t happy the Republican Party is incorporating the band’s music into their campaign. The group’s 1976 hit “The Boys Are Back In Town” played as vice presidential hopeful Paul Ryan took the stage at the Republican National Convention last week, and the mom of the group’s late frontman Phil Lynott tells Ireland’s “Hot Press” she’s “really upset” over it. Philomena Lynott explains that her son wouldn’t be in favor of Ryan’s proposed economic plan or Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s stance on same-sex marriage. She says she also doesn’t want “the Lynott name to be associated with any of those ideas.”

Elton John is apparently ready to let go of his anger toward Madonna. The UK’s “The Sun” says the two pop superstars just happened to cross paths recently at a restaurant in Nice, France, and Elton extended the olive branch. Sources say he noticed Madonna as he was leaving, and went over to her table to talk. Those on hand say the singers had a good time together, and were “laughing and smiling.” One witness adds that the two even shared a hug. The encounter happened on what’s essentially Elton’s home turf. He’s said to be a regular at this eatery, which isn’t far from a villa he owns in the area. Madonna was in town for a concert, and had stopped in for dinner before her show.

Ownership of Dick Clark Productions is changing hands. RedZone Capital Management has announced its sale of the television production company to Guggenheim Partners, which co-owns “The Hollywood Reporter” among other media entities. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but sources tells TheWrap.com RedZone was looking to pocket anywhere between 350 and 400-million-dollars for the sale.  Why the huge price tag?  DCP is the production arm behind shows like the Golden Globe Awards, the American Music Awards and “So You Think You Can Dance.” The company was founded in Philadelphia in 1957 by late television icon Dick Clark. In 2007, Clark sold the company to RedZone Capital, the equity firm owned by Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. Clark died in April of this year at the age of 82.

The deluxe edition of Pink‘s album “The Truth About Love” will be dropping September 18th, but exclusively in Target stores. The album will feature four new tracks that can only be acquired at the retail superstores. According to Billboard.com, Pink will also start appearing in television commercials to advertise both Target and the deluxe album.  Pink is not the only musician to partner with Target. The company has 15 similar partnerships, most of which include exclusive tracks. The next Target exclusive to drop will be “Push and Shove” by No Doubt.