Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Announcement
I've started work at the blog for Best Week Ever, but I will continue to keep this blog going as best I can. I've been over there for two weeks, and I've been able to post fairly often, so that's encouraging. What it will mean is probably that I will post more in the evenings. Anyhow, just thought you'd want to know. Also, I'm really glad that I've always taken the position that selling out is Advanced!
U2 Meets Kanye
I read this somewhere, but lost the link:
Hip-hop star Kanye West have inspired rockers U2 to experiment with new styles of music. Frontman Bono, who recently admitted to being a huge fan of the hitmaker, insists the band's willingness to try new things is responsible for their continued success. He says, "I happen to be in really a truly great band, and experimentation has been the lifeblood of this band. We, of course, will look and are looking across at hip-hop and see the amazing innovation in the studio."
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This is Advanced, of course. However, there will be no evidence of the hip-hop influence on their next record, which is also Advanced.
Hip-hop star Kanye West have inspired rockers U2 to experiment with new styles of music. Frontman Bono, who recently admitted to being a huge fan of the hitmaker, insists the band's willingness to try new things is responsible for their continued success. He says, "I happen to be in really a truly great band, and experimentation has been the lifeblood of this band. We, of course, will look and are looking across at hip-hop and see the amazing innovation in the studio."
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This is Advanced, of course. However, there will be no evidence of the hip-hop influence on their next record, which is also Advanced.
Joe Strummer Movie Update
From billboard.com:
Director Julien Temple, best known for his Sex Pistols documentary "The Filth & the Fury," is working on a new movie about the life and career of the late Joe Strummer. Via a slew of archival audio and video footage, interviews donated by journalists and recordings of Strummer's BBC Radio show, the Clash legend will essentially narrate the film.
Now in the very early stages of production, the project plans to incorpoate new interviews with members of the Clash as well as members of Strummer's pre- and post-Clash bands, the 101ers and the Mescaleros, respectively. Temple was a longtime friend of Strummer, whom he first met during the 101ers years. He's making the film with the blessing of Strummer's widow, Lucinda.
"We didn't have a memorial concert or anything for him," Temple tells Billboard.com. "So this is something that I wanted to do. Three years on, it's easier for me and all the people involved to deal with it actually."
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I never really got the Clash, but I'm awared that this is probably my fault. There is an excellent case to be made for the Clash's Advancement. I'm just not going to make it.
Director Julien Temple, best known for his Sex Pistols documentary "The Filth & the Fury," is working on a new movie about the life and career of the late Joe Strummer. Via a slew of archival audio and video footage, interviews donated by journalists and recordings of Strummer's BBC Radio show, the Clash legend will essentially narrate the film.
Now in the very early stages of production, the project plans to incorpoate new interviews with members of the Clash as well as members of Strummer's pre- and post-Clash bands, the 101ers and the Mescaleros, respectively. Temple was a longtime friend of Strummer, whom he first met during the 101ers years. He's making the film with the blessing of Strummer's widow, Lucinda.
"We didn't have a memorial concert or anything for him," Temple tells Billboard.com. "So this is something that I wanted to do. Three years on, it's easier for me and all the people involved to deal with it actually."
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I never really got the Clash, but I'm awared that this is probably my fault. There is an excellent case to be made for the Clash's Advancement. I'm just not going to make it.
Morrissey at SXSW
From Aversion.com:
Morrissey will make an appearance at this year's South By Southwest Music Festival, giving fans a show and a public interview. The Mozfather will take center stage at the Austin music festival March 16, combining a public interview with Rolling Stone writer David Fricke about his influences, history and musical outlook. Following the interview, Morrissey will take the stage at the Austin Music Hall. Morrissey’s performance will unveil songs from his forthcoming Ringleader of the Tormentors, due April 4 from Attack Records.
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I'll give you twenty dollars if you ask him when the Smiths will reunite.
Morrissey will make an appearance at this year's South By Southwest Music Festival, giving fans a show and a public interview. The Mozfather will take center stage at the Austin music festival March 16, combining a public interview with Rolling Stone writer David Fricke about his influences, history and musical outlook. Following the interview, Morrissey will take the stage at the Austin Music Hall. Morrissey’s performance will unveil songs from his forthcoming Ringleader of the Tormentors, due April 4 from Attack Records.
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I'll give you twenty dollars if you ask him when the Smiths will reunite.
"Repo Man" II?
From moviehole:
Filmmaker Alex Cox has been trying to get a sequel to his 1984 classic “Repo Man” off-the-ground for longer than Paris has had money. Now, it seems the studio behind that original film (Universal) might be interested in exploring those follow-up possibilities. Speaking in an interview on the newly-released “Repo Man : Collectors Edition“, Cox says one of the films stars, actor Miguel Sandavol (Archie), has come up with a really interesting premise for a sequel.
“Miguel Sandoval has actually come up with an alternative sequel to Repo Man, for a very small fee, which is – we steal the idea for John Boorman’s film Point Blank. Otto comes back for revenge on the four repo men.
Cox says Emilio Estevez, Harry Dean Stanton, Tracey Walter, Sy Richardson and Tom Finnegan would hopefully be involved.
The repo-men of the first film have all “become very rich off the proceeds of the Malibu” in this sequel, adds Cox, so Otto “goes on this vengeance trail, like Lee Marvin in the Boorman film. Let’s do it!”
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Yes, let's.
Filmmaker Alex Cox has been trying to get a sequel to his 1984 classic “Repo Man” off-the-ground for longer than Paris has had money. Now, it seems the studio behind that original film (Universal) might be interested in exploring those follow-up possibilities. Speaking in an interview on the newly-released “Repo Man : Collectors Edition“, Cox says one of the films stars, actor Miguel Sandavol (Archie), has come up with a really interesting premise for a sequel.
“Miguel Sandoval has actually come up with an alternative sequel to Repo Man, for a very small fee, which is – we steal the idea for John Boorman’s film Point Blank. Otto comes back for revenge on the four repo men.
Cox says Emilio Estevez, Harry Dean Stanton, Tracey Walter, Sy Richardson and Tom Finnegan would hopefully be involved.
The repo-men of the first film have all “become very rich off the proceeds of the Malibu” in this sequel, adds Cox, so Otto “goes on this vengeance trail, like Lee Marvin in the Boorman film. Let’s do it!”
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Yes, let's.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
There Was Something in the Air That Night
I just got done watching Lou Reed playing at Montreaux, and I wanted to share with you what his bassist, Fernando Saunders, was sporting: black bandana, black muscle shirt, black Adidas workout pants, fretless five-string bass. That is Advanced.
Wrestling With Segways
From the comments section about the previous post:
Anonymous:
What I found flummoxing is a a preview I saw for one of his concert DVDs. It showed a clip of "Games without frontiers," where his daughter was singing Kate Bush's part. But what was more ridiculous was that they were both performing while riding Segways. There's something terribly Overt about Segways.
My response:
You might be right about the Segways, but it is Advanced to embrace new (and seemingly ridiculous) technology, so maybe that's what's up there.
This is just in case you guys don't read the comments. I didn't want you to miss it. By the way, I think maybe the Segway could be the keytar of the transportation world. Or maybe it's more the guitar without a headstock that Lou Reed played in the VU reunion.
Anonymous:
What I found flummoxing is a a preview I saw for one of his concert DVDs. It showed a clip of "Games without frontiers," where his daughter was singing Kate Bush's part. But what was more ridiculous was that they were both performing while riding Segways. There's something terribly Overt about Segways.
My response:
You might be right about the Segways, but it is Advanced to embrace new (and seemingly ridiculous) technology, so maybe that's what's up there.
This is just in case you guys don't read the comments. I didn't want you to miss it. By the way, I think maybe the Segway could be the keytar of the transportation world. Or maybe it's more the guitar without a headstock that Lou Reed played in the VU reunion.
Peter Gabriel Wrestles With Advancement
From Yahoo!:
Peter Gabriel's "Big Time" has become the official theme of World Wrestling Entertainment's upcoming "WrestleMania 22," nearly 20 years after the song hit the top 10 in the United States.
The tune is heard in TV and online spots for the annual live and pay-per-view extravaganza. The ads began airing earlier this month and will continue through April 2, when "WrestleMania 22" touches down at the Allstate Arena in Chicago.
WWE fans logging on to http://wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania are able to stream "Big Time" -- the song and its accompanying video. The site also spotlights Gabriel's best-of CD ("Hit") and DVD ("Play") collections.
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As I've written before, I'm not sure if Peter Gabriel rises to the level of Advancement for me, personally, but this news certainly helps his case.
Peter Gabriel's "Big Time" has become the official theme of World Wrestling Entertainment's upcoming "WrestleMania 22," nearly 20 years after the song hit the top 10 in the United States.
The tune is heard in TV and online spots for the annual live and pay-per-view extravaganza. The ads began airing earlier this month and will continue through April 2, when "WrestleMania 22" touches down at the Allstate Arena in Chicago.
WWE fans logging on to http://wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania are able to stream "Big Time" -- the song and its accompanying video. The site also spotlights Gabriel's best-of CD ("Hit") and DVD ("Play") collections.
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As I've written before, I'm not sure if Peter Gabriel rises to the level of Advancement for me, personally, but this news certainly helps his case.
Friday, January 27, 2006
Slap Your Grammy Now: Sly Stone
From CNN:
According to a press release from the Grammy Awards, there's going to be a special tribute to Sly and the Family Stone at the February 8 awards. And according to a report in Friday's Washington Post, the tribute may include the reclusive Sly Stone himself, along with the original band members.
Ron Roecker, a spokesman for the Recording Academy -- the organization that oversees the Grammys -- wouldn't confirm for the Post that the reunion is on the Grammy-night schedule. "The facts are what we put in the press release," Roecker said. "As far as anything else, it's all just rumor. But we do believe that he is attending the Grammy Awards."
...Motown copied Stone -- the Temptations' 1969-70 hits, such as "I Can't Get Next to You" and "Ball of Confusion," are obviously influenced by him -- and his sound can be heard today in everyone from Lenny Kravitz to Michael Jackson. Will he be at the Grammys? That's still anyone's guess.
"I don't think Sly has been hurting from his underground status -- I think he likes the mystique," Rickey Vincent, author of "Funk: The Music, the People, and the Rhythm of the One" and host of a funk radio show in the San Francisco Bay area, told the Post. "But it would be nice to see him make a triumphant return."
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That would be nice. I'd like to see a new record even. As a solo artist reimagining his old hits with an orchestra, of course.
According to a press release from the Grammy Awards, there's going to be a special tribute to Sly and the Family Stone at the February 8 awards. And according to a report in Friday's Washington Post, the tribute may include the reclusive Sly Stone himself, along with the original band members.
Ron Roecker, a spokesman for the Recording Academy -- the organization that oversees the Grammys -- wouldn't confirm for the Post that the reunion is on the Grammy-night schedule. "The facts are what we put in the press release," Roecker said. "As far as anything else, it's all just rumor. But we do believe that he is attending the Grammy Awards."
...Motown copied Stone -- the Temptations' 1969-70 hits, such as "I Can't Get Next to You" and "Ball of Confusion," are obviously influenced by him -- and his sound can be heard today in everyone from Lenny Kravitz to Michael Jackson. Will he be at the Grammys? That's still anyone's guess.
"I don't think Sly has been hurting from his underground status -- I think he likes the mystique," Rickey Vincent, author of "Funk: The Music, the People, and the Rhythm of the One" and host of a funk radio show in the San Francisco Bay area, told the Post. "But it would be nice to see him make a triumphant return."
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That would be nice. I'd like to see a new record even. As a solo artist reimagining his old hits with an orchestra, of course.
Nick Cave Movie Update
From Yahoo!:
Australian cult musician Nick Cave is best known for his violent lyrics and legions of black-clad fans but his latest incarnation is as screenwriter of a gritty Australian western.
..."I was determined not to spend inordinate amounts of time on something I felt would fundamentally never get made," Cave said in an interview in New York before the film was screened at the Sundance Film Festival this week.
"I just sat down and banged it out in the spirit of those old Hollywood guys," said Cave, who studied art before turning to music in the 1980s and becoming the archetypal Goth singer with his bands the Birthday Party and later the Bad Seeds.
The film ultimately did get made after director John Hillcoat, a veteran maker of music videos for the likes of INXS and Depeche Mode as well as Cave, was able to piece together financing for the project.
"The Proposition" stars Guy Pearce as outlaw Charlie Burns who is captured with his 14-year-old brother Mikey. He is told by the local police captain the only way to save Mikey from the gallows is to track down and kill their older brother Arthur, a psychotic renegade wanted for rape and murder.
...[It] also stars British actor Ray Winstone and Oscar nominee Emily Watson as the police chief and his wife, a loving and well-intentioned couple whose relationship is in stark contrast to their harsh surroundings.
A grizzled John Hurt makes an appearance as a bounty-hunter in the fly-ridden desert of central Australia in the 1880s where English and Irish newcomers are trying to impose themselves on the Aboriginal population. In a positive review, Variety described the film as "the first genuine, blood-and-thunder Aussie Western" but said its appeal could be limited by its "unremittingly bleak tone and bouts of graphic violence."
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Yes, you don't see many bouts of graphic violence these days.
Australian cult musician Nick Cave is best known for his violent lyrics and legions of black-clad fans but his latest incarnation is as screenwriter of a gritty Australian western.
..."I was determined not to spend inordinate amounts of time on something I felt would fundamentally never get made," Cave said in an interview in New York before the film was screened at the Sundance Film Festival this week.
"I just sat down and banged it out in the spirit of those old Hollywood guys," said Cave, who studied art before turning to music in the 1980s and becoming the archetypal Goth singer with his bands the Birthday Party and later the Bad Seeds.
The film ultimately did get made after director John Hillcoat, a veteran maker of music videos for the likes of INXS and Depeche Mode as well as Cave, was able to piece together financing for the project.
"The Proposition" stars Guy Pearce as outlaw Charlie Burns who is captured with his 14-year-old brother Mikey. He is told by the local police captain the only way to save Mikey from the gallows is to track down and kill their older brother Arthur, a psychotic renegade wanted for rape and murder.
...[It] also stars British actor Ray Winstone and Oscar nominee Emily Watson as the police chief and his wife, a loving and well-intentioned couple whose relationship is in stark contrast to their harsh surroundings.
A grizzled John Hurt makes an appearance as a bounty-hunter in the fly-ridden desert of central Australia in the 1880s where English and Irish newcomers are trying to impose themselves on the Aboriginal population. In a positive review, Variety described the film as "the first genuine, blood-and-thunder Aussie Western" but said its appeal could be limited by its "unremittingly bleak tone and bouts of graphic violence."
----------
Yes, you don't see many bouts of graphic violence these days.
Devo 2.0 Mall Tour
From billboard.com:
With its self-titled CD/DVD debut ready for a March 17 release via Disney Sound, the kid-staffed Devo 2.0 is preparing to take the original band's music to such unlikely locales as state fairs and suburban shopping malls. Devo co-founder Jerry Casale has spent the past couple of weeks in rehearsals with the five pre-teen members in advance of eventual live performances this spring.
"We always had this idea kind of like 'Star Trek: The Next Generation,' where it would be a kids band playing Devo songs for the exact demographic Disney wants, which is like 4-8 year olds," Casale tells Billboard.com. "It is benignly subversive. Some of the more controversial politics and irony of the adult Devo is left out of it of course, because that is the Disney mandate, but we enjoyed it. We think it's great."
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It just gets better and better.
With its self-titled CD/DVD debut ready for a March 17 release via Disney Sound, the kid-staffed Devo 2.0 is preparing to take the original band's music to such unlikely locales as state fairs and suburban shopping malls. Devo co-founder Jerry Casale has spent the past couple of weeks in rehearsals with the five pre-teen members in advance of eventual live performances this spring.
"We always had this idea kind of like 'Star Trek: The Next Generation,' where it would be a kids band playing Devo songs for the exact demographic Disney wants, which is like 4-8 year olds," Casale tells Billboard.com. "It is benignly subversive. Some of the more controversial politics and irony of the adult Devo is left out of it of course, because that is the Disney mandate, but we enjoyed it. We think it's great."
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It just gets better and better.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Paul McCartney: Blog Cabin
From Yahoo!:
Paul McCartney can't let it be. Local officials said Wednesday they had ordered the former Beatle to tear down a log cabin on his estate in southern England. Rother District Council said its planning committee refused to give the 63-year-old musician retrospective planning permission for the timber lodge on the grounds of Woodlands Farm in Peasemarsh, about 70 miles southeast of London.
A statement on McCartney's behalf to the council said the cabin provided "privacy, seclusion and security" away from the farm buildings and machinery and a public footpath that passed near the farmhouse. But at its meeting in December, the planning committee ruled that the building "harms the intrinsic landscape quality and character" of the area.
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First his wife takes away his weed, now he loses his cabin. I guess life never gets easy, even if you are Paul McCartney.
Paul McCartney can't let it be. Local officials said Wednesday they had ordered the former Beatle to tear down a log cabin on his estate in southern England. Rother District Council said its planning committee refused to give the 63-year-old musician retrospective planning permission for the timber lodge on the grounds of Woodlands Farm in Peasemarsh, about 70 miles southeast of London.
A statement on McCartney's behalf to the council said the cabin provided "privacy, seclusion and security" away from the farm buildings and machinery and a public footpath that passed near the farmhouse. But at its meeting in December, the planning committee ruled that the building "harms the intrinsic landscape quality and character" of the area.
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First his wife takes away his weed, now he loses his cabin. I guess life never gets easy, even if you are Paul McCartney.
Weezer Does "Heroin"
From nme.com:
Weezer have recorded a version of The Velvet Underground's classic 'Heroin' for the upcoming film 'Factory Girl'.
Guitarist Brian Bell and drummer Patrick Wilson covered the song - which originally appeared on 1967's 'Velvet Underground & Nico' album - for the film, which portrays the life of Edie Sedgwick.
Speaking about the recording process, Bell said: "Working on this project with Pat was a blast. There was no premeditated plan, no rehearsal, there was barely even a discussion of how to approach this seven-minute ride."
In a statement on the band's official website www.weezer.com, he added: "My reservation going into this was that no matter how good it turned out, criticism would soon follow. You can't attempt a rock classic (especially a cult band like the Velvets) and not get a few sneers. But the important thing here is that maybe we might help turn a new generation on to this amazing art rock band and change the perspectives of a few unknowing listeners."
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And you thought Lou Reed was mad about this movie before!
Weezer have recorded a version of The Velvet Underground's classic 'Heroin' for the upcoming film 'Factory Girl'.
Guitarist Brian Bell and drummer Patrick Wilson covered the song - which originally appeared on 1967's 'Velvet Underground & Nico' album - for the film, which portrays the life of Edie Sedgwick.
Speaking about the recording process, Bell said: "Working on this project with Pat was a blast. There was no premeditated plan, no rehearsal, there was barely even a discussion of how to approach this seven-minute ride."
In a statement on the band's official website www.weezer.com, he added: "My reservation going into this was that no matter how good it turned out, criticism would soon follow. You can't attempt a rock classic (especially a cult band like the Velvets) and not get a few sneers. But the important thing here is that maybe we might help turn a new generation on to this amazing art rock band and change the perspectives of a few unknowing listeners."
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And you thought Lou Reed was mad about this movie before!
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
U2 and Mary J. Blige
From billboard.com:
Irish rockers U2 will be joined by R&B diva Mary J. Blige as one of several big name collaborations during the upcoming 48th annual Grammy Awards. Also due to pair up on stage are Faith Hill and Keith Urban, Christina Aguilera and Herbie Hancock and Jamie Foxx with previously announced performer Kanye West.
Although specific songs have yet to be confirmed, it seems likely U2 and Blige will reprise their cover of the latter's "One," the studio version of which appeared on Blige's recent album, "The Breakthrough."
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Can't wait, though I hope they do "Lemon" instead of "One."
Irish rockers U2 will be joined by R&B diva Mary J. Blige as one of several big name collaborations during the upcoming 48th annual Grammy Awards. Also due to pair up on stage are Faith Hill and Keith Urban, Christina Aguilera and Herbie Hancock and Jamie Foxx with previously announced performer Kanye West.
Although specific songs have yet to be confirmed, it seems likely U2 and Blige will reprise their cover of the latter's "One," the studio version of which appeared on Blige's recent album, "The Breakthrough."
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Can't wait, though I hope they do "Lemon" instead of "One."
New Buzzcocks Update
From Pitchfork:
Time to sell that Hot Topic gift certificate you got for Christmas to your little sister, because England's one-time newest hitmakers, the Buzzcocks, are getting ready to issue a spankin' new album just in time for Spring Break 06.
The latest in a fresh line of full-lengths since the band reunited over a decade and a half ago, Flat-Pack Philosophy hits U.S. stores on March 7 (a day earlier in the UK). The Buzzcocks' eighth studio LP will be released by Cooking Vinyl, and is the follow-up to their acclaimed 2003 self-titled album on U.S. indie touchstone Merge Records.
Pitchfork recently caught up with founding Buzzcock Steve Diggle, who spoke at length about what longtime fans can expect with the band's upcoming release.
"There's a lot of vibe and energy in this new album," Diggle said. "That's what people seem to be saying to me. There's a lot of classic hallmarks of the Buzzcocks style taken through to the modern age. We're rocking better than ever at the moment."
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The Buzzcocks are certainly worthy of consideration. I particularly like that he claims that they are rocking better than ever.
Time to sell that Hot Topic gift certificate you got for Christmas to your little sister, because England's one-time newest hitmakers, the Buzzcocks, are getting ready to issue a spankin' new album just in time for Spring Break 06.
The latest in a fresh line of full-lengths since the band reunited over a decade and a half ago, Flat-Pack Philosophy hits U.S. stores on March 7 (a day earlier in the UK). The Buzzcocks' eighth studio LP will be released by Cooking Vinyl, and is the follow-up to their acclaimed 2003 self-titled album on U.S. indie touchstone Merge Records.
Pitchfork recently caught up with founding Buzzcock Steve Diggle, who spoke at length about what longtime fans can expect with the band's upcoming release.
"There's a lot of vibe and energy in this new album," Diggle said. "That's what people seem to be saying to me. There's a lot of classic hallmarks of the Buzzcocks style taken through to the modern age. We're rocking better than ever at the moment."
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The Buzzcocks are certainly worthy of consideration. I particularly like that he claims that they are rocking better than ever.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Paul McCartney Lies to His Wife
From entertainment.news:
SIR Paul McCartney had to fulfil one important condition before Heather Mills agreed to marry him, she revealed yesterday. The former Beatle had to stop smoking cannabis. Heather Mills McCartney, as she now calls herself, said her husband would use the drug as regularly as others drink cups of tea.
"Him and [his first wife] Linda smoked it every day for the whole of their lives together," she said of a relationship of more than 30 years. "But I would not get married to him if he was taking drugs. I hate it."
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Just kidding about that headline, of course. I'm sure if he says that he has stopped, then he has stopped. I'm not so sure it's wise of her to drag Linda into this one, though.
SIR Paul McCartney had to fulfil one important condition before Heather Mills agreed to marry him, she revealed yesterday. The former Beatle had to stop smoking cannabis. Heather Mills McCartney, as she now calls herself, said her husband would use the drug as regularly as others drink cups of tea.
"Him and [his first wife] Linda smoked it every day for the whole of their lives together," she said of a relationship of more than 30 years. "But I would not get married to him if he was taking drugs. I hate it."
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Just kidding about that headline, of course. I'm sure if he says that he has stopped, then he has stopped. I'm not so sure it's wise of her to drag Linda into this one, though.
Iggy Pop Rocks Strange World Where Everything Is Backward
From entertainment.news:
BARKING like a wild dog, crawling on his hands and knees, throwing himself into the audience - there is only one Iggy Pop. The 58-year-old rock legend has lost none of his edge or his attitude since he first started making music in Detroit 40 years ago With his band, The Stooges, Iggy gave a lesson in the essence of rock and roll stardom as 50,000 people, including many stars sharing the bill at this year's Big Day Out, looked on.
One of those stars was Jack White, another Detroit rocker whose band, The White Stripes, is the headline act at this year's Big Day Out, which began its Australian run yesterday on Queensland's Gold Coast. Stripped to the waist and taunting the audience and his fellow musicians, Iggy performed material from The Stooges's first two albums, released more than 35 years ago.
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The article referred to this as a summer festival. It's January! Don't they have fact checkers in Australia?
BARKING like a wild dog, crawling on his hands and knees, throwing himself into the audience - there is only one Iggy Pop. The 58-year-old rock legend has lost none of his edge or his attitude since he first started making music in Detroit 40 years ago With his band, The Stooges, Iggy gave a lesson in the essence of rock and roll stardom as 50,000 people, including many stars sharing the bill at this year's Big Day Out, looked on.
One of those stars was Jack White, another Detroit rocker whose band, The White Stripes, is the headline act at this year's Big Day Out, which began its Australian run yesterday on Queensland's Gold Coast. Stripped to the waist and taunting the audience and his fellow musicians, Iggy performed material from The Stooges's first two albums, released more than 35 years ago.
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The article referred to this as a summer festival. It's January! Don't they have fact checkers in Australia?
Lou Reed on the Edie Sedgwick Pic
From the New York Daily News:
Sienna Miller, Hayden Christensen and Guy Pearce just started filming " Factory Girl," in which Miller plays Andy Warhol's drug-addled muse Edie Sedgwick. But Lou Reed has already formed his opinion of director George Hickenlooper and his cast. "They're all a bunch of whores," the rock god tells us.
Reed knew Sedgwick, and his band, The Velvet Underground, provided the jagged soundtrack to her 1960s scene. In "Factory Girl," The Velvets are played by the highly regarded indie rockers Weezer. Hickenlooper says that guitarist Brian Bell, as Reed, does a terrific cover of "Heroin."
But Reed is far from flattered.
"I read that script," Reed said the other night at a party for his new photo shows at the Hermès boutique and the Steven Kasher Gallery. "It's one of the most disgusting, foul things I've seen — by any illiterate retard — in a long time. There's no limit to how low some people will go to write something to make money."
Reed was asked at one point to get involved with the project. "I wouldn't be part of that," said the rocker. "Just like I wouldn't be part of 'I Shot Andy Warhol,' " Mary Harron's 1996 film about Valerie Solanas' assassination attempt on the artist. "They tried to turn Valerie Solanas into a heroine. They're all a bunch of whores."
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I'll still probably see it, because I like whores. Not that kind, dirty.
Sienna Miller, Hayden Christensen and Guy Pearce just started filming " Factory Girl," in which Miller plays Andy Warhol's drug-addled muse Edie Sedgwick. But Lou Reed has already formed his opinion of director George Hickenlooper and his cast. "They're all a bunch of whores," the rock god tells us.
Reed knew Sedgwick, and his band, The Velvet Underground, provided the jagged soundtrack to her 1960s scene. In "Factory Girl," The Velvets are played by the highly regarded indie rockers Weezer. Hickenlooper says that guitarist Brian Bell, as Reed, does a terrific cover of "Heroin."
But Reed is far from flattered.
"I read that script," Reed said the other night at a party for his new photo shows at the Hermès boutique and the Steven Kasher Gallery. "It's one of the most disgusting, foul things I've seen — by any illiterate retard — in a long time. There's no limit to how low some people will go to write something to make money."
Reed was asked at one point to get involved with the project. "I wouldn't be part of that," said the rocker. "Just like I wouldn't be part of 'I Shot Andy Warhol,' " Mary Harron's 1996 film about Valerie Solanas' assassination attempt on the artist. "They tried to turn Valerie Solanas into a heroine. They're all a bunch of whores."
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I'll still probably see it, because I like whores. Not that kind, dirty.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Tom Snyder Talks Punk
From the New York Times:
"The Tomorrow Show With Tom Snyder: Punk & New Wave," a DVD set from Shout! Factory, compiles eight episodes that ran on NBC between 1977 and 1981. It surely represents the strangest assemblage of talent ever to appear on a television program produced by Roger Ailes (and yes, that's including all the work he's done as chairman of the Fox News Channel). But it also certifies Mr. Snyder's reputation as the Socrates of the late-night airwaves, capable of disarming some carefully constructed personas with a few innocent questions.
The first of these shows, a roundtable discussion whose participants include an 18-year-old Paul Weller and a baby-faced Joan Jett, does not bode well - Mr. Snyder is noticeably dismissive of the emerging new-wave scene and condescending to his young guests. Yet for reasons known only to Old Tom himself, he continues to invite the punks back to "Tomorrow," to provide them with a venue to perform music he clearly doesn't grasp, and to interview such emerging artists as Elvis Costello and Patti Smith no differently than if they were James A. Michener or Frank Capra. In his questioning, Mr. Snyder can come across as out-of-touch ("Is that a part of this punk thing, people hitting each other?"), overly intellectual ("How do you make certain that you don't become a member of what you now call the establishment?"), or superficial (to Iggy Pop: "Why are you bleeding?"), but he is never fawning or self-conscious, and his curiosity is sincere. And through his peculiar interrogation style, he actually achieves a kind of rapport with his guests, finding more common ground with the Plasmatics' Wendy O. Williams than should reasonably exist between a Jesuit-educated broadcaster and the woman who gave the world "Maggots: The Record."
Some of the instances when Mr. Snyder doesn't connect with his subjects are even more fascinating. On his June 25, 1980, broadcast, Mr. Snyder spends half his program attempting to converse with the former Sex Pistols lead singer Johnny Rotten, who was then fronting the band Public Image Limited under his given name, John Lydon. Four years earlier, Mr. Lydon had helped to bring down the British television presenter Bill Grundy with an especially raucous interview, and he seems to be spoiling for a rematch with Snyder: "Come on, prompt," the characteristically crabby singer goads his American host. "Do your business. Humor us."
But Mr. Snyder is either too professional to be flustered, or too naïve to know he's being insulted, because he keeps jabbing back at Mr. Lydon with simple, honest questions-"Is it a band? Is it a public relations firm?" "Let me try this: What do you like?" - before landing this unexpected uppercut on the ex-Pistol's chin: "It's unfortunate that we are all out of step except for you."
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Boy, Tom Snyder doesn't tolerate the Overt, does he? Let's all Netflix this one.
"The Tomorrow Show With Tom Snyder: Punk & New Wave," a DVD set from Shout! Factory, compiles eight episodes that ran on NBC between 1977 and 1981. It surely represents the strangest assemblage of talent ever to appear on a television program produced by Roger Ailes (and yes, that's including all the work he's done as chairman of the Fox News Channel). But it also certifies Mr. Snyder's reputation as the Socrates of the late-night airwaves, capable of disarming some carefully constructed personas with a few innocent questions.
The first of these shows, a roundtable discussion whose participants include an 18-year-old Paul Weller and a baby-faced Joan Jett, does not bode well - Mr. Snyder is noticeably dismissive of the emerging new-wave scene and condescending to his young guests. Yet for reasons known only to Old Tom himself, he continues to invite the punks back to "Tomorrow," to provide them with a venue to perform music he clearly doesn't grasp, and to interview such emerging artists as Elvis Costello and Patti Smith no differently than if they were James A. Michener or Frank Capra. In his questioning, Mr. Snyder can come across as out-of-touch ("Is that a part of this punk thing, people hitting each other?"), overly intellectual ("How do you make certain that you don't become a member of what you now call the establishment?"), or superficial (to Iggy Pop: "Why are you bleeding?"), but he is never fawning or self-conscious, and his curiosity is sincere. And through his peculiar interrogation style, he actually achieves a kind of rapport with his guests, finding more common ground with the Plasmatics' Wendy O. Williams than should reasonably exist between a Jesuit-educated broadcaster and the woman who gave the world "Maggots: The Record."
Some of the instances when Mr. Snyder doesn't connect with his subjects are even more fascinating. On his June 25, 1980, broadcast, Mr. Snyder spends half his program attempting to converse with the former Sex Pistols lead singer Johnny Rotten, who was then fronting the band Public Image Limited under his given name, John Lydon. Four years earlier, Mr. Lydon had helped to bring down the British television presenter Bill Grundy with an especially raucous interview, and he seems to be spoiling for a rematch with Snyder: "Come on, prompt," the characteristically crabby singer goads his American host. "Do your business. Humor us."
But Mr. Snyder is either too professional to be flustered, or too naïve to know he's being insulted, because he keeps jabbing back at Mr. Lydon with simple, honest questions-"Is it a band? Is it a public relations firm?" "Let me try this: What do you like?" - before landing this unexpected uppercut on the ex-Pistol's chin: "It's unfortunate that we are all out of step except for you."
-----------
Boy, Tom Snyder doesn't tolerate the Overt, does he? Let's all Netflix this one.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Rereleased Mott the Hoople and Prince on SNL
There are a couple of Billboard Bits that might interest you. First:
Two classic Mott The Hoople albums will be reissued in expanded form Feb. 21 via Columbia/Legacy. The new edition 1972’s David Bowie-produced “All the Young Dudes” features seven bonus tracks, while the following year’s “Mott” sports four new selections. “All the Young Dudes” is rounded out by demos of “One of the Boys,” “Momma’s Little Jewel” and “Ride on the Sun,” the U.K. single version of “One of the Boys,” a 1974 live take on “Sucker” and a run through “All the Young Dudes” with Bowie on lead vocals.
Second:
Prince will tease the March 21 release of his new Universal album, "3121," with a Feb. 4 stint as the musical guest on NBC's "Saturday Night Live." It will be the artist's first appearance on "SNL" since 1981, according to the network. Steve Martin will host the show for a record-extending 14th time.
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An Advanced actor/comdedian and Advanced musician the same night. Quite a coup for SNL.
Two classic Mott The Hoople albums will be reissued in expanded form Feb. 21 via Columbia/Legacy. The new edition 1972’s David Bowie-produced “All the Young Dudes” features seven bonus tracks, while the following year’s “Mott” sports four new selections. “All the Young Dudes” is rounded out by demos of “One of the Boys,” “Momma’s Little Jewel” and “Ride on the Sun,” the U.K. single version of “One of the Boys,” a 1974 live take on “Sucker” and a run through “All the Young Dudes” with Bowie on lead vocals.
Second:
Prince will tease the March 21 release of his new Universal album, "3121," with a Feb. 4 stint as the musical guest on NBC's "Saturday Night Live." It will be the artist's first appearance on "SNL" since 1981, according to the network. Steve Martin will host the show for a record-extending 14th time.
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An Advanced actor/comdedian and Advanced musician the same night. Quite a coup for SNL.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Tom Waits: Ad It Up
From the New York Times:
Mr. Waits has won wide acclaim and a cult following for his ballads of gutter characters and doomed lovers, sung in a distinctive sandpaper baritone. But that style has attracted imitators over the years, particularly in the advertising world, and Mr. Waits has established a laborious side business protecting his musical identity.
Sixteen years ago he won an influential case against Frito-Lay over a vocal sound-alike in a Doritos commercial, and he has pursued imitators ever since. Last Friday Mr. Waits was awarded damages in a case against the Audi division of Volkswagen for a commercial in Spain using music that was similar to his song "Innocent When You Dream," sung in a voice like his. Another lawsuit is pending in Germany against the Opel division of General Motors, this one for a version of the Brahms "Lullaby" performed in what he calls a suspiciously Waitsian voice.
"It does take a tremendous amount of time, energy and money" to pursue these cases, Mr. Waits said from his home in Northern California. "But in a way," he added, "you're building a road that other people will drive on. I have a moral right to my voice. It's like property - there's a fence around it, in a way."
..."It's part of an artist's odyssey," he said, "discovering your own voice and struggling to find the combination of qualities that makes you unique. It's kind of like your face, your identity. Now I've got these unscrupulous doppelgängers out there - my evil twin who is undermining every move I make."
...Mr. Waits said there were two kinds of imitation. "I don't mind if someone wants to try to sound like me to do a show," he said. "I get a kick out of that."
"I make a distinction," he added, "between people who use the voice as a creative item and people who are selling cigarettes and underwear. It's a big difference. We all know the difference. And it's stealing. They get a lot out of standing next to me, and I just get big legal bills."
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This is a pretty Overt stance, but as you may remember, Tom Waits is Second-Stage Advanced, which looks a lot like Overt. He started out Advanced (he must have been Overt before he started recording), then has gotten more and more Overt. But it isn't true Overtness because if you are Advanced, everything you do will be Advanced as well. You might be shaking your head, but you'd have a pretty hard time convincing yourself that Tom Waits doesn't belong among the Advanced.
Mr. Waits has won wide acclaim and a cult following for his ballads of gutter characters and doomed lovers, sung in a distinctive sandpaper baritone. But that style has attracted imitators over the years, particularly in the advertising world, and Mr. Waits has established a laborious side business protecting his musical identity.
Sixteen years ago he won an influential case against Frito-Lay over a vocal sound-alike in a Doritos commercial, and he has pursued imitators ever since. Last Friday Mr. Waits was awarded damages in a case against the Audi division of Volkswagen for a commercial in Spain using music that was similar to his song "Innocent When You Dream," sung in a voice like his. Another lawsuit is pending in Germany against the Opel division of General Motors, this one for a version of the Brahms "Lullaby" performed in what he calls a suspiciously Waitsian voice.
"It does take a tremendous amount of time, energy and money" to pursue these cases, Mr. Waits said from his home in Northern California. "But in a way," he added, "you're building a road that other people will drive on. I have a moral right to my voice. It's like property - there's a fence around it, in a way."
..."It's part of an artist's odyssey," he said, "discovering your own voice and struggling to find the combination of qualities that makes you unique. It's kind of like your face, your identity. Now I've got these unscrupulous doppelgängers out there - my evil twin who is undermining every move I make."
...Mr. Waits said there were two kinds of imitation. "I don't mind if someone wants to try to sound like me to do a show," he said. "I get a kick out of that."
"I make a distinction," he added, "between people who use the voice as a creative item and people who are selling cigarettes and underwear. It's a big difference. We all know the difference. And it's stealing. They get a lot out of standing next to me, and I just get big legal bills."
--------
This is a pretty Overt stance, but as you may remember, Tom Waits is Second-Stage Advanced, which looks a lot like Overt. He started out Advanced (he must have been Overt before he started recording), then has gotten more and more Overt. But it isn't true Overtness because if you are Advanced, everything you do will be Advanced as well. You might be shaking your head, but you'd have a pretty hard time convincing yourself that Tom Waits doesn't belong among the Advanced.
NIck Cave Double DVD: Two for the Price of Two
Nick Cave has a new double DVD coming out next week. Now I'm going to move over rover, and let skiddle.com take over:
Disc 1 is the re-release of 1990’s The Road To God Knows Where, while disc 2 is the first time dvd release for their Live At The Paradiso gig back in 1992. One package. 2 blasts of Nick Cave. How dark can it be?
It’s not. It’s fantastic. Director Uli M. Schuppel’s The Road…entwines the backstage boredom with the gang mentality of the band: the in-jokes, songs on the bus, necessary photo ops, interviews in hotel rooms, the frustration, the suits, Blixa Bargelds hair, and generally, the every day workings of a touring band. It accidentally explores the myth that the music industry isn’t a glitterball, in all its black and white glory. Very Mute, indeed. For all the forboding narrative of their songs, this is a film that explains a lot about how necessary the reality of the on-the-road lifestyle is.
Live at the paradiso on the other hand is a bathed in red eye-burner of a gig. When you watch Cave, back then, and you can still see now, this was the singer in The Birthday Party, possibly one of Australia’s greatest music exports and a band that inspire so many others. I’ve watched this on video several times, and I even caught the band on this tour, and they were just a feirce then as they are here, and, dear reader, now that it’s on dvd, you too can get a glimpse into the live world of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. And no, you don’t need to be a Goth to watch it.
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For years I've been trying to figure out whether NIck Cave is handsome. Maybe these DVDs will give me my answer.
Disc 1 is the re-release of 1990’s The Road To God Knows Where, while disc 2 is the first time dvd release for their Live At The Paradiso gig back in 1992. One package. 2 blasts of Nick Cave. How dark can it be?
It’s not. It’s fantastic. Director Uli M. Schuppel’s The Road…entwines the backstage boredom with the gang mentality of the band: the in-jokes, songs on the bus, necessary photo ops, interviews in hotel rooms, the frustration, the suits, Blixa Bargelds hair, and generally, the every day workings of a touring band. It accidentally explores the myth that the music industry isn’t a glitterball, in all its black and white glory. Very Mute, indeed. For all the forboding narrative of their songs, this is a film that explains a lot about how necessary the reality of the on-the-road lifestyle is.
Live at the paradiso on the other hand is a bathed in red eye-burner of a gig. When you watch Cave, back then, and you can still see now, this was the singer in The Birthday Party, possibly one of Australia’s greatest music exports and a band that inspire so many others. I’ve watched this on video several times, and I even caught the band on this tour, and they were just a feirce then as they are here, and, dear reader, now that it’s on dvd, you too can get a glimpse into the live world of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. And no, you don’t need to be a Goth to watch it.
---------
For years I've been trying to figure out whether NIck Cave is handsome. Maybe these DVDs will give me my answer.
More Lou Reed Photography Press
From NME.com:
Lou Reed is unveiling his photography at two simultaneous exhibitions. His first major photo project will open on January 20 in New York at both the Gallery at Hermes and the Steven Kasher Gallery. Shot on digital camera and showcasing urban landscapes, Reed has said that his work is influenced by Andy Warhol, Billy Linich and Wim Wenders.
Speaking to New York Magazine, the singer explained his decision to get behind the camera saying: "When I was touring around the world, I would find myself getting a chance to see things that other people might not, and I just thought it would be crazy not take pictures of it." He added: "I think Leonard Cohen had a line, 'I would travel anywhere in the pursuit of beauty.' And this is the beauty of New York, and I just wanted to take pictures of that, with no motive other than that."
When asked on the difference between how Warhol influenced Reed's art and his music, he said: "I'd be looking at the same thing he was, and then you'd see the way he would explain it and it was completely original."
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Check out the gallery's homepage here.
Lou Reed is unveiling his photography at two simultaneous exhibitions. His first major photo project will open on January 20 in New York at both the Gallery at Hermes and the Steven Kasher Gallery. Shot on digital camera and showcasing urban landscapes, Reed has said that his work is influenced by Andy Warhol, Billy Linich and Wim Wenders.
Speaking to New York Magazine, the singer explained his decision to get behind the camera saying: "When I was touring around the world, I would find myself getting a chance to see things that other people might not, and I just thought it would be crazy not take pictures of it." He added: "I think Leonard Cohen had a line, 'I would travel anywhere in the pursuit of beauty.' And this is the beauty of New York, and I just wanted to take pictures of that, with no motive other than that."
When asked on the difference between how Warhol influenced Reed's art and his music, he said: "I'd be looking at the same thing he was, and then you'd see the way he would explain it and it was completely original."
----------
Check out the gallery's homepage here.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Scott Walker Is Back!
From billboard.com:
Cult rock hero Scott Walker will release his first studio album in more than a decade via a new deal with 4AD Records. Titled "The Drift," the set is due in May and is the follow-up to 1995's Drag City effort "Tilt," which was Walker's first album since 1983's "Climate of Hunter." In addition, New York director Stephen Kijak is working on a Walker documentary that will also chronicle the making of "The Drift." The project, "Scott Walker: 30 Century Man," is expected later this year.
Walker has gone long periods without releasing music since his quartet of classic late 1960s releases ("Scott," "Scott 2," "Scott 3" and "Scott 4"). In recent years, he penned the soundtrack for the Leos Carax film "Pola X," curated the 2000 Meltdown Festival in London and produced Pulp's acclaimed 2002 studio album, "We Love Life."
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Scott Walker fits in somewhere in the Advanced world. I can't say where, exactly, but he's there. I didn't realize that he produced "We Love Life." That was a pretty good move on Pulp's part. I'll have to think about Jarvis Cocker now, but I don't know a whole lot about him.
Cult rock hero Scott Walker will release his first studio album in more than a decade via a new deal with 4AD Records. Titled "The Drift," the set is due in May and is the follow-up to 1995's Drag City effort "Tilt," which was Walker's first album since 1983's "Climate of Hunter." In addition, New York director Stephen Kijak is working on a Walker documentary that will also chronicle the making of "The Drift." The project, "Scott Walker: 30 Century Man," is expected later this year.
Walker has gone long periods without releasing music since his quartet of classic late 1960s releases ("Scott," "Scott 2," "Scott 3" and "Scott 4"). In recent years, he penned the soundtrack for the Leos Carax film "Pola X," curated the 2000 Meltdown Festival in London and produced Pulp's acclaimed 2002 studio album, "We Love Life."
---------
Scott Walker fits in somewhere in the Advanced world. I can't say where, exactly, but he's there. I didn't realize that he produced "We Love Life." That was a pretty good move on Pulp's part. I'll have to think about Jarvis Cocker now, but I don't know a whole lot about him.
David Gilmour Is All Right if You Like Saxophones
From another press release:
On An Island -- the third David Gilmour album and the artist's first studio recordings since Pink Floyd's 1994 multi-platinum The Division Bell -- will be in stateside stores Tuesday, March 7. From the first moments of the sound collage that begins On An Island, you know it's a special experience that not only bears comparison with the best of Pink Floyd, but also confirms their lead guitarist and singer as an outstanding solo artist. Here he reveals a personal vision and a breadth of styles – folk, jazz, orchestral and rock – brought together as a unified piece through his lyrical guitar playing and instantly recognizable voice.
With orchestrations by the renowned Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner and a luminous production (assisted by Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera), virtuosity abounds On An Island Guest artists include David Crosby and Graham Nash singing harmonies, Robert Wyatt playing the cornet, Caroline Dale on cello, Alasdair Molloy on glass harmonica and Pink Floyd's Richard Wright guesting on Hammond organ.
Gilmour shares writing credits with writer Polly Samson, continuing a collaborative partnership that began with The Division Bell. The album's songs tell of shared experiences that evoke a breadth of moods, from the hauntingly beautiful title track 'On An Island' (with a guitar performance set to enter the Gilmour canon of classics) to the meditative 'The Blue' and 'A Pocketful of Stones,' as well as the heavier rock and blues numbers 'Take A Breath' and 'This Heaven.' In the spirit of intimacy, this album sees Gilmour's debut on the saxophone, as well as contributions by contemporaries from his pre-Floyd days.
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It is Advanced to have a saxophone player in your band (preferrably David Sanborne), but actually taking it up yourself is pretty awesome.
On An Island -- the third David Gilmour album and the artist's first studio recordings since Pink Floyd's 1994 multi-platinum The Division Bell -- will be in stateside stores Tuesday, March 7. From the first moments of the sound collage that begins On An Island, you know it's a special experience that not only bears comparison with the best of Pink Floyd, but also confirms their lead guitarist and singer as an outstanding solo artist. Here he reveals a personal vision and a breadth of styles – folk, jazz, orchestral and rock – brought together as a unified piece through his lyrical guitar playing and instantly recognizable voice.
With orchestrations by the renowned Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner and a luminous production (assisted by Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera), virtuosity abounds On An Island Guest artists include David Crosby and Graham Nash singing harmonies, Robert Wyatt playing the cornet, Caroline Dale on cello, Alasdair Molloy on glass harmonica and Pink Floyd's Richard Wright guesting on Hammond organ.
Gilmour shares writing credits with writer Polly Samson, continuing a collaborative partnership that began with The Division Bell. The album's songs tell of shared experiences that evoke a breadth of moods, from the hauntingly beautiful title track 'On An Island' (with a guitar performance set to enter the Gilmour canon of classics) to the meditative 'The Blue' and 'A Pocketful of Stones,' as well as the heavier rock and blues numbers 'Take A Breath' and 'This Heaven.' In the spirit of intimacy, this album sees Gilmour's debut on the saxophone, as well as contributions by contemporaries from his pre-Floyd days.
---------
It is Advanced to have a saxophone player in your band (preferrably David Sanborne), but actually taking it up yourself is pretty awesome.
Jerome Dillon Concept Album
From a press release:
JEROME DILLON, best known for his work over the past six years as drummer and occasional guitarist with Nine Inch Nails, will release “reminder,” the first album from his band nearLY [sic] on April 11, 2006 (KUFALA Recordings/La Cosa Nostra). nearLY : reminder was recorded in Los Angeles and features Dillon as the primary writer, producer, performer and arranger, accompanied by former 12 Rounds vocalist Claudia Sarne, Afghan Whigs/Twilight Singers' Greg Dulli, former NIN programmer Keith Hillebrandt, violinist Petra Haden, and engineer/co-producer Brett Pierce.
With one media outlet describing the album’s sound as being "reminiscent of artists such as Pink Floyd, The Cure, and Dead Can Dance," nearLY: reminder is an intoxicating and hypnotic collection of 12 songs that merge baroque
strings and acoustic instrumentation with aggressive, bombastic drums and bass. nearLY : reminder is also a concept album that attempts to musically document a recurring dream Dillon had over a six-year period. “I kept getting a bit further along the path every time I had the dream, so I thought that it must be trying to tell me something,” he explains. “And for
about the last year of it, the dream ended with me accepting an invitation to drown myself in a very serene and calm body of water. Without sounding too bleak or depressing, the name ’nearLY’ just seemed to represent where we’re ALL heading: to the end of our time here.”
...The result is a record that ties together many themes to one unified concept with various musical and lyrical threads. Song titles include “One Day I Was Gone,” “Straight to Nowhere,” “Mary Vincent,” “Up in the Trees,” “Tributary,” and “Release.” “I always hoped that in the end, it would all come together like pieces to a puzzle,” added Dillon. “If I stayed on track, musically and otherwise, it would work itself out and everything contained within would all relate back to the same place. No matter how f**ked up things seem, the one dim light that always shines is complete honesty with yourself. Where you’re going, where we’re all going, someday.”
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Amen.
JEROME DILLON, best known for his work over the past six years as drummer and occasional guitarist with Nine Inch Nails, will release “reminder,” the first album from his band nearLY [sic] on April 11, 2006 (KUFALA Recordings/La Cosa Nostra). nearLY : reminder was recorded in Los Angeles and features Dillon as the primary writer, producer, performer and arranger, accompanied by former 12 Rounds vocalist Claudia Sarne, Afghan Whigs/Twilight Singers' Greg Dulli, former NIN programmer Keith Hillebrandt, violinist Petra Haden, and engineer/co-producer Brett Pierce.
With one media outlet describing the album’s sound as being "reminiscent of artists such as Pink Floyd, The Cure, and Dead Can Dance," nearLY: reminder is an intoxicating and hypnotic collection of 12 songs that merge baroque
strings and acoustic instrumentation with aggressive, bombastic drums and bass. nearLY : reminder is also a concept album that attempts to musically document a recurring dream Dillon had over a six-year period. “I kept getting a bit further along the path every time I had the dream, so I thought that it must be trying to tell me something,” he explains. “And for
about the last year of it, the dream ended with me accepting an invitation to drown myself in a very serene and calm body of water. Without sounding too bleak or depressing, the name ’nearLY’ just seemed to represent where we’re ALL heading: to the end of our time here.”
...The result is a record that ties together many themes to one unified concept with various musical and lyrical threads. Song titles include “One Day I Was Gone,” “Straight to Nowhere,” “Mary Vincent,” “Up in the Trees,” “Tributary,” and “Release.” “I always hoped that in the end, it would all come together like pieces to a puzzle,” added Dillon. “If I stayed on track, musically and otherwise, it would work itself out and everything contained within would all relate back to the same place. No matter how f**ked up things seem, the one dim light that always shines is complete honesty with yourself. Where you’re going, where we’re all going, someday.”
----------
Amen.
Lou Reed at Salon.com
Here's some of the article from Salon:
The first thing Lou Reed does when he walks into the Steven Kasher gallery, which will open one-half of his first major New York photography exhibit, "Lou Reed: New York," on Friday, is make fun of my name (too punny). The second thing he does is make fun of my tape recorder (too low-tech). Then, after he scolds the genial gallery owner about the font of some signage that displeases him, he settles in across a table from me, arms arranged protectively before him, fixes me with that cold stare that's oft been called reptilian and takes my questions.
Well, he doesn't exactly take my questions, but he does talk to me, and over the course of the next 45 minutes -- longer, much to the surprise and confusion of the trio of press handlers eavesdropping on our conversation from behind a half-wall, than our scheduled time -- the rock icon reveals himself to be a man of opposites, as high-contrast as the Warhol-era photography that first seriously inspired him to pick up a camera nearly three decades ago.
A notoriously difficult interview -- he has called journalists "vermin" -- Reed, 63, is, in fact, fiercely protective, even evasive, speaking over some questions, refusing to answer others, putting me on notice every step of the way. But as he carries our conversation along, with me and my ignored list of questions trailing hopefully after him, it becomes clear that something else is going on here: Reed is yearning to make contact, longing to be understood. C'mon, babe, he seems to be saying to me as, mid-interview, he reaches out and gives my hand an encouraging pat, take a walk on the wild -- or at least the wildly colorful -- side.
That's where his photography comes in. Reed's photos, which will also be shown uptown at the Gallery at Hermès and compiled and released as a book, offer the world a chance to look at New York through Lou Reed's eyes. Taken over the last three years, some of them from the window of Reed's own apartment, the photos are a vivid exploration of light and movement, and they are surprisingly beautiful, even -- dare I say? -- sentimental. Devoid of people, replete with brilliant sunsets and neon, they're certainly not the gritty-underbelly shots you'd expect from the man who, in his Velvet Underground days, turned out songs like "Heroin" and "Sister Ray." But Lou Reed, who catches me off guard by enveloping me in a warm hug as we wrap up our interview and then pulls me back into the gallery to look at one last photo he's sure I'll particularly enjoy, is nothing if not a man of surprises.
---------------
And then there's an interview. These are good days for Lou Reed!
The first thing Lou Reed does when he walks into the Steven Kasher gallery, which will open one-half of his first major New York photography exhibit, "Lou Reed: New York," on Friday, is make fun of my name (too punny). The second thing he does is make fun of my tape recorder (too low-tech). Then, after he scolds the genial gallery owner about the font of some signage that displeases him, he settles in across a table from me, arms arranged protectively before him, fixes me with that cold stare that's oft been called reptilian and takes my questions.
Well, he doesn't exactly take my questions, but he does talk to me, and over the course of the next 45 minutes -- longer, much to the surprise and confusion of the trio of press handlers eavesdropping on our conversation from behind a half-wall, than our scheduled time -- the rock icon reveals himself to be a man of opposites, as high-contrast as the Warhol-era photography that first seriously inspired him to pick up a camera nearly three decades ago.
A notoriously difficult interview -- he has called journalists "vermin" -- Reed, 63, is, in fact, fiercely protective, even evasive, speaking over some questions, refusing to answer others, putting me on notice every step of the way. But as he carries our conversation along, with me and my ignored list of questions trailing hopefully after him, it becomes clear that something else is going on here: Reed is yearning to make contact, longing to be understood. C'mon, babe, he seems to be saying to me as, mid-interview, he reaches out and gives my hand an encouraging pat, take a walk on the wild -- or at least the wildly colorful -- side.
That's where his photography comes in. Reed's photos, which will also be shown uptown at the Gallery at Hermès and compiled and released as a book, offer the world a chance to look at New York through Lou Reed's eyes. Taken over the last three years, some of them from the window of Reed's own apartment, the photos are a vivid exploration of light and movement, and they are surprisingly beautiful, even -- dare I say? -- sentimental. Devoid of people, replete with brilliant sunsets and neon, they're certainly not the gritty-underbelly shots you'd expect from the man who, in his Velvet Underground days, turned out songs like "Heroin" and "Sister Ray." But Lou Reed, who catches me off guard by enveloping me in a warm hug as we wrap up our interview and then pulls me back into the gallery to look at one last photo he's sure I'll particularly enjoy, is nothing if not a man of surprises.
---------------
And then there's an interview. These are good days for Lou Reed!
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Digital Archeology: Prinz for the Day
From Yahoo!:
More than 100,000 out-of-print European tracks recorded by such artists as Marianne Faithfull, Eddie & the Hot Rods, Nirvana and Chris de Burgh, will be made available exclusively via Internet digital download, Universal Music Group International said Wednesday.
The first group of 3,000 tracks, available from mid-February, will be recordings made over the past 40 years in the U.K., France and Germany. Other artists featured include Brian Auger & Julie Driscoll, Big Country, Jacques Brel, Nana Mouskouri, Eddy Mitchell and Brigitte Bardot.
"Over the next three to four years, we aim to reissue perhaps as many as 10,000 albums for downloading, which amounts to more than 100,000 tracks. This program will offer material that, in some cases, goes back to the early days of recorded music," said Barney Wragg, senior vp of UMGI's eLabs division, in a statement.
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I really hope they'll make the theme song for "Chico and the Man" available.
More than 100,000 out-of-print European tracks recorded by such artists as Marianne Faithfull, Eddie & the Hot Rods, Nirvana and Chris de Burgh, will be made available exclusively via Internet digital download, Universal Music Group International said Wednesday.
The first group of 3,000 tracks, available from mid-February, will be recordings made over the past 40 years in the U.K., France and Germany. Other artists featured include Brian Auger & Julie Driscoll, Big Country, Jacques Brel, Nana Mouskouri, Eddy Mitchell and Brigitte Bardot.
"Over the next three to four years, we aim to reissue perhaps as many as 10,000 albums for downloading, which amounts to more than 100,000 tracks. This program will offer material that, in some cases, goes back to the early days of recorded music," said Barney Wragg, senior vp of UMGI's eLabs division, in a statement.
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I really hope they'll make the theme song for "Chico and the Man" available.
Iha Didn't Give Nothing to America That They Didn't Already Have
I still have limited computer access, but I caught this interesting little story at Yahoo!, so I thought I should share it with you:
Former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha and Fountains Of Wayne/Ivy principal Adam Schlesinger have signed on to produce a new studio album from enduring soft rock act America. It will be the first from the group, best known for such massive '70s hits as "Ventura Highway," "Sister Golden Hair," "Tin Man" and "A Horse With No Name," since 1998's "Human Nature."
Despite having been absent from the pop charts since 1983's No. 33 hit "The Border," America remains a busy touring band. The group will begin a spring North American tour Friday in Stafford, Texas, and has dates on tap through late October. Schlesinger and Iha have already recorded two songs with the group, one written by Schlesinger and the other by America's Gerry Beckley.
"I think it's going to be really cool," Schlesinger told Billboard.com. "I'm a big fan of the band. They have a lot of cool songs and they pretty much sound the same as they always did."
Although specifics are still being determined, the idea is for Schlesinger and Iha to contribute musically to the new album as needed. "We're going to try to ask a bunch of friends to play on it," Schlesinger said. "They've put out some records (in recent years), but we really want to do something that gets back to sounding like the classic stuff they did. There's a whole bunch of people our age who love those songs even if they don't necessarily know they're by America."
--------------
I'll bet Billy Corgan is really jealous.
Former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha and Fountains Of Wayne/Ivy principal Adam Schlesinger have signed on to produce a new studio album from enduring soft rock act America. It will be the first from the group, best known for such massive '70s hits as "Ventura Highway," "Sister Golden Hair," "Tin Man" and "A Horse With No Name," since 1998's "Human Nature."
Despite having been absent from the pop charts since 1983's No. 33 hit "The Border," America remains a busy touring band. The group will begin a spring North American tour Friday in Stafford, Texas, and has dates on tap through late October. Schlesinger and Iha have already recorded two songs with the group, one written by Schlesinger and the other by America's Gerry Beckley.
"I think it's going to be really cool," Schlesinger told Billboard.com. "I'm a big fan of the band. They have a lot of cool songs and they pretty much sound the same as they always did."
Although specifics are still being determined, the idea is for Schlesinger and Iha to contribute musically to the new album as needed. "We're going to try to ask a bunch of friends to play on it," Schlesinger said. "They've put out some records (in recent years), but we really want to do something that gets back to sounding like the classic stuff they did. There's a whole bunch of people our age who love those songs even if they don't necessarily know they're by America."
--------------
I'll bet Billy Corgan is really jealous.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Monday, January 16, 2006
Axl Sues Car Dealership
From Yahoo!:
Axl Rose has an axe to grind over some missing wheels. The reclusive Guns N' Roses frontman has turned his appetite for destruction on a Beverly Hills auto dealership, targeting it with a lawsuit over a deal gone bad. Rose claims that he had an oral agreement with Beverly Hills Classic Cars to deliver two luxury sports cars after he paid a deposit of $20,000, per the suit filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. But, the "Patience" purveyor says, the dealer never made good on the promised 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo and a 2005 Porsche GT3. Further, Rose says, the dealer failed to pay him $135,000 for selling his Ferrari Marinello on consignment. The owners of Beverly Hills Classic Cars were out of town at the Detroit Auto Show and could not be reached for comment.
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I hope this won't delay the release of "Chinese Democracy."
Axl Rose has an axe to grind over some missing wheels. The reclusive Guns N' Roses frontman has turned his appetite for destruction on a Beverly Hills auto dealership, targeting it with a lawsuit over a deal gone bad. Rose claims that he had an oral agreement with Beverly Hills Classic Cars to deliver two luxury sports cars after he paid a deposit of $20,000, per the suit filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. But, the "Patience" purveyor says, the dealer never made good on the promised 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo and a 2005 Porsche GT3. Further, Rose says, the dealer failed to pay him $135,000 for selling his Ferrari Marinello on consignment. The owners of Beverly Hills Classic Cars were out of town at the Detroit Auto Show and could not be reached for comment.
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I hope this won't delay the release of "Chinese Democracy."
Lou York Post Interview
From the New York Post:
Weathered but never dated, Reed, now 63, may look older than his colleagues David Bowie and Iggy Pop - Dorian Grays, both - but his music continues to inspire younger bands like the Strokes and Arcade Fire. And he remains less a grizzled statesman than a street-fighting man: sinewy build, pulled-pork skin, Gollum eyes, mug-shot mug. His scowl could make Santa Claus cry.
...Fans of his music should not expect snapshots of "the mean streets of New York." Nor should they imagine visual commentary on the Disney-fication of Times Square or gentrification of the Meatpacking District. On those subjects, Reed shrugs, "I'm not an urban critic. I get asked: 'What do you think of the underbelly of New York? Where can musicians live anymore? Manhattan's all for rich people now. You can't even live in Brooklyn anymore. Where can you afford to live?' I don't know the answers to those things."
Nor should fans expect the kind of intimate portraits that comprise his songs like that one about "Holly," "Jackie" and "Candy," and were depicted in some of the imagery in his debut photographic tome, "Emotion in Action."
Forget the underbelly, he says. "I wanted people to look at this other side of New York and see how beautiful some of it is. This living city. There're no people in the pictures, but the buildings in them were built by people."
Off the sidewalks and into the stratosphere, the images are abstract, haunting, surprising, really. Many of them were shot from Reed's own downtown apartment building window and rooftop. He calls the collection "a recording of the city's celestial light show - the blazing changes from dawn to dusk across the Hudson - an everyday recording of the majestic flowing sky and waters."
And that comes sans the dramatic oomph of the fallen Twin Towers, which he says, were not a direct incentive for the exercise. "I've lived here for years, so I've been watching this incredible light show every morning, every night.." For three years, he's shot it digitally. The result is the book and the show. Marveling over his alternately inspirational and suicidal shots, he says, "My God, this is Amsterdam! This is Paris! This is Denmark!" Yet all of "this" is Manhattan.
"Look at these vistas," Reed continues. "People forget Manhattan is an island. It's so extraordinarily beautiful, you don't have to go to Africa to see an amazing sky. Just look up! But people don't. It's not like it's not within reach of anybody. All you have to do is walk, and there you go! It's natural light. There's a certain time of day when the natural light is perfect. You have to ask yourself, Who's the lighting designer for this?"
--------
When he talks about not being an urban critic, that is an example of Advancement. I would guess most people would expect him to take gritty pictures of New York, but that's not his reality anymore. His reality now is having tea with his wife and dog in the West Village, so it would be silly (and Overt) for him to pretend as if it weren't.
Weathered but never dated, Reed, now 63, may look older than his colleagues David Bowie and Iggy Pop - Dorian Grays, both - but his music continues to inspire younger bands like the Strokes and Arcade Fire. And he remains less a grizzled statesman than a street-fighting man: sinewy build, pulled-pork skin, Gollum eyes, mug-shot mug. His scowl could make Santa Claus cry.
...Fans of his music should not expect snapshots of "the mean streets of New York." Nor should they imagine visual commentary on the Disney-fication of Times Square or gentrification of the Meatpacking District. On those subjects, Reed shrugs, "I'm not an urban critic. I get asked: 'What do you think of the underbelly of New York? Where can musicians live anymore? Manhattan's all for rich people now. You can't even live in Brooklyn anymore. Where can you afford to live?' I don't know the answers to those things."
Nor should fans expect the kind of intimate portraits that comprise his songs like that one about "Holly," "Jackie" and "Candy," and were depicted in some of the imagery in his debut photographic tome, "Emotion in Action."
Forget the underbelly, he says. "I wanted people to look at this other side of New York and see how beautiful some of it is. This living city. There're no people in the pictures, but the buildings in them were built by people."
Off the sidewalks and into the stratosphere, the images are abstract, haunting, surprising, really. Many of them were shot from Reed's own downtown apartment building window and rooftop. He calls the collection "a recording of the city's celestial light show - the blazing changes from dawn to dusk across the Hudson - an everyday recording of the majestic flowing sky and waters."
And that comes sans the dramatic oomph of the fallen Twin Towers, which he says, were not a direct incentive for the exercise. "I've lived here for years, so I've been watching this incredible light show every morning, every night.." For three years, he's shot it digitally. The result is the book and the show. Marveling over his alternately inspirational and suicidal shots, he says, "My God, this is Amsterdam! This is Paris! This is Denmark!" Yet all of "this" is Manhattan.
"Look at these vistas," Reed continues. "People forget Manhattan is an island. It's so extraordinarily beautiful, you don't have to go to Africa to see an amazing sky. Just look up! But people don't. It's not like it's not within reach of anybody. All you have to do is walk, and there you go! It's natural light. There's a certain time of day when the natural light is perfect. You have to ask yourself, Who's the lighting designer for this?"
--------
When he talks about not being an urban critic, that is an example of Advancement. I would guess most people would expect him to take gritty pictures of New York, but that's not his reality anymore. His reality now is having tea with his wife and dog in the West Village, so it would be silly (and Overt) for him to pretend as if it weren't.
Gettin' Hip: Paul Stanley
From aversion.com:
Kiss guitarist Paul Stanley used to wanna rock and roll all night and party every day, but at his age, just getting up and down the stairs without wincing in pain is a big deal. The 55-year-old rocker will head back into surgery for a full hip replacement sometime later this year. The guitarist, also known as the Star Child when all decked out in grease paint and studded leather, previously underwent a hip replacement that’s proving about as unsuccessful as the disco, makeup-free version of Kiss nobody admits to remembering these days.
--------
Well, that last sentence isn't very nice, and it's not accurate either. The "disco" record came when they were still in their makeup (and I like "I Was Made for Lovin' You"), and that sold a lot of records after the makeup came off, thank you very much.
Kiss guitarist Paul Stanley used to wanna rock and roll all night and party every day, but at his age, just getting up and down the stairs without wincing in pain is a big deal. The 55-year-old rocker will head back into surgery for a full hip replacement sometime later this year. The guitarist, also known as the Star Child when all decked out in grease paint and studded leather, previously underwent a hip replacement that’s proving about as unsuccessful as the disco, makeup-free version of Kiss nobody admits to remembering these days.
--------
Well, that last sentence isn't very nice, and it's not accurate either. The "disco" record came when they were still in their makeup (and I like "I Was Made for Lovin' You"), and that sold a lot of records after the makeup came off, thank you very much.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Lou York Times Interview
From the New York Times:
Lou Reed, the cold-eyed chronicler of downtown grit, is heading this week to a most uptown spot: Hermès, the Upper East Side purveyor of $300 silk scarves. The Gallery at Hermès, at 691 Madison Avenue (at 62nd Street), is presenting half of a two-part show of Mr. Reed's photographs of New York.... At the Kasher gallery on a recent morning, Mr. Reed spoke with Ben Sisario about the island he calls home, the photographs he has taken of it, his forthcoming book of them ("Lou Reed's New York") and the gallery space they now share with high-end accessories.
Q So if someone were to say there's a photography show called Lou Reed's "New York" -
A Well, there is.
Q One might expect images of people. But this is almost nature photography. The city as nature.
A Exactly. It's water and light. We're an island. You forget we're an island. And I like that. There's this whole other thing to New York. It's very, very beautiful. I keep seeing it and saying, "My God, look that this."
Q It's easy to forget that in this city of buildings there are such beautiful sunsets.
A They're really there. If you don't believe me, you go down to the Hudson River. Watch what happens. Last week there was one that was so astonishing. The book's done, but I just can't stop doing this. You just go, "My God, who's doing this light show?"
Q So ... why Hermès?
A Because the owner of Hermès is a big fine art and photography fan. I went over there, and they had a Ralph Gibson show, on the top floor of Hermès, of all places. So I thought, "Wow!" And then they asked me would I like to do it. I mean, you don't get paid or anything. You don't get a free Hermès scarf, either.
Q Do you like their scarves?
A No, I don't own one thing from Hermès because I can't afford it. But I don't want to have to make excuses about "Why are you showing something at a store on the Upper East Side"? That would be really boring to have to go through that. I'm just interested in showing these pictures of this city in a nice setting.
Q Does it say anything about New York that Lou Reed has a show at Hermès?
A It's part of the charm of the city that you can be in two places at once. What I was interested in was having more people have the opportunity to see the photographs, and the person who's in charge of Hermès loves photography and loves being able to show photographs and photographers. So I think the impulses are all correct.
---------
Now that is Advancement.
Lou Reed, the cold-eyed chronicler of downtown grit, is heading this week to a most uptown spot: Hermès, the Upper East Side purveyor of $300 silk scarves. The Gallery at Hermès, at 691 Madison Avenue (at 62nd Street), is presenting half of a two-part show of Mr. Reed's photographs of New York.... At the Kasher gallery on a recent morning, Mr. Reed spoke with Ben Sisario about the island he calls home, the photographs he has taken of it, his forthcoming book of them ("Lou Reed's New York") and the gallery space they now share with high-end accessories.
Q So if someone were to say there's a photography show called Lou Reed's "New York" -
A Well, there is.
Q One might expect images of people. But this is almost nature photography. The city as nature.
A Exactly. It's water and light. We're an island. You forget we're an island. And I like that. There's this whole other thing to New York. It's very, very beautiful. I keep seeing it and saying, "My God, look that this."
Q It's easy to forget that in this city of buildings there are such beautiful sunsets.
A They're really there. If you don't believe me, you go down to the Hudson River. Watch what happens. Last week there was one that was so astonishing. The book's done, but I just can't stop doing this. You just go, "My God, who's doing this light show?"
Q So ... why Hermès?
A Because the owner of Hermès is a big fine art and photography fan. I went over there, and they had a Ralph Gibson show, on the top floor of Hermès, of all places. So I thought, "Wow!" And then they asked me would I like to do it. I mean, you don't get paid or anything. You don't get a free Hermès scarf, either.
Q Do you like their scarves?
A No, I don't own one thing from Hermès because I can't afford it. But I don't want to have to make excuses about "Why are you showing something at a store on the Upper East Side"? That would be really boring to have to go through that. I'm just interested in showing these pictures of this city in a nice setting.
Q Does it say anything about New York that Lou Reed has a show at Hermès?
A It's part of the charm of the city that you can be in two places at once. What I was interested in was having more people have the opportunity to see the photographs, and the person who's in charge of Hermès loves photography and loves being able to show photographs and photographers. So I think the impulses are all correct.
---------
Now that is Advancement.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Stewart Copeland's Police Documentary
From billboard.com:
Add "filmmaker" to drummer Stewart Copeland's list of credits. His documentary, "Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out," will debut Jan. 22 at the Sundance Film Festival. The 74-minute film is culled from Super 8 movies Stewart shot from the band's early days in the mid-'70s through the early '80s.
The project started as a love letter that he intended to share only with his fellow Police-men Sting and Andy Summers, as well as a few close friends. But more people viewed the footage, and Primus' Les Claypool helped him submit the film to Sundance. As Copeland tells Billboard, "My little toy escapes from the playpen and becomes a monster."
He was also aided greatly by Final Cut Pro and other software programs in seeing the project to completion. "This Super 8 film sat for 20 years in shoeboxes while I waited for a good medium to download it," he says.
The images, including lots of performance footage, are accompanied by a voice-over from Copeland that gives a first-hand view of what it was like to go from nearly empty in-stores to playing 60,000-capacity sold-out stadiums in a few short years.
And, more importantly, it shows how getting everything you wished for can be wonderful and deeply disturbing at the same time. Perhaps, he suggests, once you have reached the stratosphere, it may be time to quit before the inevitable decline begins. "It got to the point where there was no more up to go."
...While there may never be a new Police album, there are some new interpretations of vintage Police material. "Everyone Stares" includes what Copeland calls his "derangements" of Police songs, seven mash-ups of sorts that he created using the original multi-track tapes of the material.
"I put the lyric for 'Can't Stand Losing You' over the riff for 'Regatta De Blanc,'" he told Billboard.com in 2003. "I got 'Demolition Man' and screwed that all up. 'Tea in the Sahara.' For 'Don't Stand So Close To Me," I took the big vocal Sting did in the 1982 version and put it over the live track we did. It's all in a different key, which was interesting. I tried to do 'Message in a Bottle' but that thing is locked like a diamond! It will not come apart!"
-------
That last part is so true. Just ask Gwen Stefani.
Add "filmmaker" to drummer Stewart Copeland's list of credits. His documentary, "Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out," will debut Jan. 22 at the Sundance Film Festival. The 74-minute film is culled from Super 8 movies Stewart shot from the band's early days in the mid-'70s through the early '80s.
The project started as a love letter that he intended to share only with his fellow Police-men Sting and Andy Summers, as well as a few close friends. But more people viewed the footage, and Primus' Les Claypool helped him submit the film to Sundance. As Copeland tells Billboard, "My little toy escapes from the playpen and becomes a monster."
He was also aided greatly by Final Cut Pro and other software programs in seeing the project to completion. "This Super 8 film sat for 20 years in shoeboxes while I waited for a good medium to download it," he says.
The images, including lots of performance footage, are accompanied by a voice-over from Copeland that gives a first-hand view of what it was like to go from nearly empty in-stores to playing 60,000-capacity sold-out stadiums in a few short years.
And, more importantly, it shows how getting everything you wished for can be wonderful and deeply disturbing at the same time. Perhaps, he suggests, once you have reached the stratosphere, it may be time to quit before the inevitable decline begins. "It got to the point where there was no more up to go."
...While there may never be a new Police album, there are some new interpretations of vintage Police material. "Everyone Stares" includes what Copeland calls his "derangements" of Police songs, seven mash-ups of sorts that he created using the original multi-track tapes of the material.
"I put the lyric for 'Can't Stand Losing You' over the riff for 'Regatta De Blanc,'" he told Billboard.com in 2003. "I got 'Demolition Man' and screwed that all up. 'Tea in the Sahara.' For 'Don't Stand So Close To Me," I took the big vocal Sting did in the 1982 version and put it over the live track we did. It's all in a different key, which was interesting. I tried to do 'Message in a Bottle' but that thing is locked like a diamond! It will not come apart!"
-------
That last part is so true. Just ask Gwen Stefani.
More on Devo 2.0
I got emailed a press release about Devo 2.0. Here's some of it:
DEVO, one of the '80s most innovative and iconic bands, has partnered with Disney Sound to bring their hits to a new generation with 'DEVO 2.0,' a combination CD/DVD package set for release on March 14th. The original members of DEVO rerecorded ten of their old songs (some with revamped lyrics) and two brand new ones with DEVO 2.0, a group of five talented kids aged 10-13.
"The concept is about the energy and aesthetic of DEVO being passed like an Olympic torch to a new generation," said DEVO frontman Gerald V. Casale, who directed all 11 newly created music videos on the DVD. The platinum-selling band handpicked kids Nicole, Jackie, Nathan, Michael and Kane to don the famous "energy domes" and become DEVO 2.0; unlike the original DEVO, DEVO 2.0 is a co-ed affair, with lead singer Nicole and keyboardist Jackie lending diversity to the DEVO chemistry. "I'm honored to be the new Mark Mothersbaugh!" declared Nicole.
"DEVO is one of my favorite bands," Buena Vista Music Group EVP & GM David Agnew said in a recent interview. "I think their music was years ahead of its time -- and is timeless... it's playful and great to dance to, which is the key to any good kids' music. When you consider that Disney has been responsible for some of the most popular children's music of all time, and that most people trust Disney to bring them music that is appropriate for their kids, it seemed like a winning combination to me."
In addition to shots of DEVO 2.0 performing the songs, the DVD features frenzied, surreal animations, including neon dinosaurs, pandas in sombreros, and anthropomorphic potatoes; special features include an extensive photo gallery and interviews of the original DEVO's Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald V. Casale by the members of DEVO 2.0. DEVO's most famous songs all make appearances, including "Freedom of Choice," "Girl U Want" (both in original form and rewritten as "Boy U Want" to more appropriately accommodate lead singer Nicole) and the platinum-certified hit "Whip It," a music video staple for a fledgling MTV network in the early 1980s. The band also offers up their first original songs in 15 years, "Cyclops" and "The Winner."
...Disney Sound, which is releasing DEVO 2.0, is Walt Disney Records' new imprint designed to create original musical works for the whole family. Disney Sound is planning a series of "remaking the band" projects, uniting original band members of iconic groups with talented kids for newly recorded CD and DVD releases. Next up is a partnership with the Go-Go's.
DEVO 2.0 CD TRACK LISTING
1. That's Good
2. Peek A Boo
3. Whip It
4. Boy U Want
5. Uncontrollable Urge
6. Cyclops
7. The Winner
8. Big Mess
9. Jerkin Back N Forth
10. Through Being Cool
11. Freedom of Choice
12. Beautiful World
---------
This is just too Advanced for words. So go here to see some pictures instead.
DEVO, one of the '80s most innovative and iconic bands, has partnered with Disney Sound to bring their hits to a new generation with 'DEVO 2.0,' a combination CD/DVD package set for release on March 14th. The original members of DEVO rerecorded ten of their old songs (some with revamped lyrics) and two brand new ones with DEVO 2.0, a group of five talented kids aged 10-13.
"The concept is about the energy and aesthetic of DEVO being passed like an Olympic torch to a new generation," said DEVO frontman Gerald V. Casale, who directed all 11 newly created music videos on the DVD. The platinum-selling band handpicked kids Nicole, Jackie, Nathan, Michael and Kane to don the famous "energy domes" and become DEVO 2.0; unlike the original DEVO, DEVO 2.0 is a co-ed affair, with lead singer Nicole and keyboardist Jackie lending diversity to the DEVO chemistry. "I'm honored to be the new Mark Mothersbaugh!" declared Nicole.
"DEVO is one of my favorite bands," Buena Vista Music Group EVP & GM David Agnew said in a recent interview. "I think their music was years ahead of its time -- and is timeless... it's playful and great to dance to, which is the key to any good kids' music. When you consider that Disney has been responsible for some of the most popular children's music of all time, and that most people trust Disney to bring them music that is appropriate for their kids, it seemed like a winning combination to me."
In addition to shots of DEVO 2.0 performing the songs, the DVD features frenzied, surreal animations, including neon dinosaurs, pandas in sombreros, and anthropomorphic potatoes; special features include an extensive photo gallery and interviews of the original DEVO's Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald V. Casale by the members of DEVO 2.0. DEVO's most famous songs all make appearances, including "Freedom of Choice," "Girl U Want" (both in original form and rewritten as "Boy U Want" to more appropriately accommodate lead singer Nicole) and the platinum-certified hit "Whip It," a music video staple for a fledgling MTV network in the early 1980s. The band also offers up their first original songs in 15 years, "Cyclops" and "The Winner."
...Disney Sound, which is releasing DEVO 2.0, is Walt Disney Records' new imprint designed to create original musical works for the whole family. Disney Sound is planning a series of "remaking the band" projects, uniting original band members of iconic groups with talented kids for newly recorded CD and DVD releases. Next up is a partnership with the Go-Go's.
DEVO 2.0 CD TRACK LISTING
1. That's Good
2. Peek A Boo
3. Whip It
4. Boy U Want
5. Uncontrollable Urge
6. Cyclops
7. The Winner
8. Big Mess
9. Jerkin Back N Forth
10. Through Being Cool
11. Freedom of Choice
12. Beautiful World
---------
This is just too Advanced for words. So go here to see some pictures instead.
Interview: Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint
You hear it here. As you may remember, Elvis they recorded an album in New Orleans. According to NPR, "the session is in part a symbolic effort to show the city's music industry is not dead." So go have a listen.
Elliot Murphy
From rollingstone.com:
Elliott Murphy sidles into a Starbucks on Manhattan's Upper East Side, looking every inch the expatriate rocker: black designer jeans, black boots and a silk do-rag on his head. It's possible to see that the veteran folk rocker, born and bred on Long Island and a regular in the Seventies at New York's Max's Kansas City, has spent the last sixteen years in Paris, the site of his creative rebirth.
Now 56, Murphy has gone through some strange ups and downs over the course of his career. He's been "the New Dylan" (his 1973 debut was compared to Blonde on Blonde); had artists ranging from Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Phil Collins and members of the Velvet Underground guest on his albums; been dumped by Columbia Records; and, finally, been rediscovered by the French. Murphy began touring Europe in the late Eighties, shortly thereafter reinventing himself as a full-time Parisian.
..."One night, earlier this year, I was lying in bed with my wife," Murphy says of Francoise, with whom he has a teenage son, Gaspard. "I said, 'I've been playing for, like, forty years. Maybe I should retire.' Francoise turned to me and said, 'Rock-&-rollers don't retire. Either they die young, like your man Brian Jones, or they turn into bluesmen.'"
It was an epiphany for Murphy, and he took the gamble.
Murphy grew up loving the blues, and he cites his admiration for the dedication and work ethic of genre artists like B.B. King, who has been known to play some 250 shows a year. Murphy decided to cover King's classic "The Thrill Is Gone" on the album, and made his rendition of Robert Johnson's "Terraplane Blues" the first single. Waters, of course, also looms large, with tunes including "I'm Ready" and "Mannish Boy." The songs allow Murphy to exhibit a voice now lowered and grown even more confident with the years.
More than in his earlier days, when after releasing his debut, 1973's Aquashow, the singer-songwriter thought he might have to quit the business, that there was no way of evolving as an artist after his early critical acclaim. But he was bolstered by the creative support of men like Lou Reed. "Oh, Lou was great to me back in the Seventies," Murphy says of the former Velvet Underground frontman, initially slated to produce his follow-up, 1975's Lost Generation. "After my first album came out on Polydor, he helped me break my contract and get with RCA."
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Lou Reed does seem like he would be a good guy to help you break a contract. I don't know much about Murphy, but he sounds like someone I should get to know.
Elliott Murphy sidles into a Starbucks on Manhattan's Upper East Side, looking every inch the expatriate rocker: black designer jeans, black boots and a silk do-rag on his head. It's possible to see that the veteran folk rocker, born and bred on Long Island and a regular in the Seventies at New York's Max's Kansas City, has spent the last sixteen years in Paris, the site of his creative rebirth.
Now 56, Murphy has gone through some strange ups and downs over the course of his career. He's been "the New Dylan" (his 1973 debut was compared to Blonde on Blonde); had artists ranging from Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Phil Collins and members of the Velvet Underground guest on his albums; been dumped by Columbia Records; and, finally, been rediscovered by the French. Murphy began touring Europe in the late Eighties, shortly thereafter reinventing himself as a full-time Parisian.
..."One night, earlier this year, I was lying in bed with my wife," Murphy says of Francoise, with whom he has a teenage son, Gaspard. "I said, 'I've been playing for, like, forty years. Maybe I should retire.' Francoise turned to me and said, 'Rock-&-rollers don't retire. Either they die young, like your man Brian Jones, or they turn into bluesmen.'"
It was an epiphany for Murphy, and he took the gamble.
Murphy grew up loving the blues, and he cites his admiration for the dedication and work ethic of genre artists like B.B. King, who has been known to play some 250 shows a year. Murphy decided to cover King's classic "The Thrill Is Gone" on the album, and made his rendition of Robert Johnson's "Terraplane Blues" the first single. Waters, of course, also looms large, with tunes including "I'm Ready" and "Mannish Boy." The songs allow Murphy to exhibit a voice now lowered and grown even more confident with the years.
More than in his earlier days, when after releasing his debut, 1973's Aquashow, the singer-songwriter thought he might have to quit the business, that there was no way of evolving as an artist after his early critical acclaim. But he was bolstered by the creative support of men like Lou Reed. "Oh, Lou was great to me back in the Seventies," Murphy says of the former Velvet Underground frontman, initially slated to produce his follow-up, 1975's Lost Generation. "After my first album came out on Polydor, he helped me break my contract and get with RCA."
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Lou Reed does seem like he would be a good guy to help you break a contract. I don't know much about Murphy, but he sounds like someone I should get to know.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
In Lou of News
Not much going on today, so I thought I'd let you know what Lou Reed is up to, with a little help from earvolution.com:
Mercurial rocker Lou Reed will kick off a month long European tour with a performance at the 2006 Winter Olympics at the Piazza Castello in Turin, Italy. The tour will primarily remain in Italy with March stops in Slovenia, Serbia and the Czech Republic. Reed will be joined by longtime band members Fernando Saunders, Mike Rathke, Rob Wasserman and Tony "Thunder" Smith.
Prior to going overseas, Reed will play two warmup shows in his native New York. On February 11th, Reed will play the New York Bardavon Opera House in Poughkeepsie. Two days later, Reed will take over the hip-hop club Crobar in New York City. The show will mark a return to Crobar for Reed, who played a one-off B-sides only gig there a couple years ago. For now, Reed's two New York shows look to be Reed's only Stateside appearances in the near future.
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Hopefully things will pick up later...
Mercurial rocker Lou Reed will kick off a month long European tour with a performance at the 2006 Winter Olympics at the Piazza Castello in Turin, Italy. The tour will primarily remain in Italy with March stops in Slovenia, Serbia and the Czech Republic. Reed will be joined by longtime band members Fernando Saunders, Mike Rathke, Rob Wasserman and Tony "Thunder" Smith.
Prior to going overseas, Reed will play two warmup shows in his native New York. On February 11th, Reed will play the New York Bardavon Opera House in Poughkeepsie. Two days later, Reed will take over the hip-hop club Crobar in New York City. The show will mark a return to Crobar for Reed, who played a one-off B-sides only gig there a couple years ago. For now, Reed's two New York shows look to be Reed's only Stateside appearances in the near future.
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Hopefully things will pick up later...
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Gene Simmons and the IRL
From ESPN:
Don't be surprised to find a checkered flag soon amid the black-and-white KISS face paint of tongue-wagging bassist Gene Simmons. Simmons and marketing partner Richard Abramson have signed a deal to promote the Indy Racing League, the open-wheeled circuit announced.
The promotion campaign features a 91-second anthem called "I Am Indy" co-authored by Simmons, performed by the band BAG. The lyrics, which repeat the song's title "I Am Indy," preach about individuality and top-speed performance: "I am everything I want/ I have everything I need/ I know exactly what to do/ 'cuz I am Indy."
"It's a personal statement that's a sort of personal allegiance to the United States of Indy," Simmons said.
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I never thought I'd see the day when Gene Simmons would sell out.
Don't be surprised to find a checkered flag soon amid the black-and-white KISS face paint of tongue-wagging bassist Gene Simmons. Simmons and marketing partner Richard Abramson have signed a deal to promote the Indy Racing League, the open-wheeled circuit announced.
The promotion campaign features a 91-second anthem called "I Am Indy" co-authored by Simmons, performed by the band BAG. The lyrics, which repeat the song's title "I Am Indy," preach about individuality and top-speed performance: "I am everything I want/ I have everything I need/ I know exactly what to do/ 'cuz I am Indy."
"It's a personal statement that's a sort of personal allegiance to the United States of Indy," Simmons said.
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I never thought I'd see the day when Gene Simmons would sell out.
Johnny Cash Musical: Update
From Yahoo!:
The director of the new Johnny Cash stage musical, "Ring of Fire," struggles to define exactly what the show is, but one thing is certain -- no one portrays the country music legend known as "The Man in Black." "This isn't a biography," director Richard Maltby told reporters on Wednesday at a rehearsal for the show that starts previews on Broadway next month for a March 12 opening. "It's 38 songs without connecting material, but it's not a revue," he said.
"It has a story, it has characters," he continued, but no plot. "It's some other kind of theater piece, a play made up of songs. It's a book-musical without a book."
Confused? All will become clear, Maltby said, when audiences see what he calls a classic tale of American life -- not Cash's own life but the story of an everyman who emerges from the songs he wrote.
...Producer Bill Meade spent five years persuading Cash to give his approval for a musical.... Meade said Cash was a big fan of Broadway and was excited about the prospect of a musical using his songs, though he was uncertain when the subject first came up. "He said, 'Do you feel that my material is good enough?"' Meade told Reuters.
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When it comes to Broadway shows, it's not the heat, it's the humility. (The same goes with karate.)
The director of the new Johnny Cash stage musical, "Ring of Fire," struggles to define exactly what the show is, but one thing is certain -- no one portrays the country music legend known as "The Man in Black." "This isn't a biography," director Richard Maltby told reporters on Wednesday at a rehearsal for the show that starts previews on Broadway next month for a March 12 opening. "It's 38 songs without connecting material, but it's not a revue," he said.
"It has a story, it has characters," he continued, but no plot. "It's some other kind of theater piece, a play made up of songs. It's a book-musical without a book."
Confused? All will become clear, Maltby said, when audiences see what he calls a classic tale of American life -- not Cash's own life but the story of an everyman who emerges from the songs he wrote.
...Producer Bill Meade spent five years persuading Cash to give his approval for a musical.... Meade said Cash was a big fan of Broadway and was excited about the prospect of a musical using his songs, though he was uncertain when the subject first came up. "He said, 'Do you feel that my material is good enough?"' Meade told Reuters.
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When it comes to Broadway shows, it's not the heat, it's the humility. (The same goes with karate.)
Finnish AC/DC Marathon: Oh, to Be a Fly on the Wall
From news.com.au:
ROCK groups will play the music of hardrock legends AC/DC for 15 hours nonstop on a Finnish stage for charity, organisers said. Leningrad Cowboys, Ismo Alanko as well as Freud, Marx, Engels and Jung, among others, will play songs from 13 of AC/DC's 14 albums on February 18 in the Atria club in Oulu, western Finland.
The one exception is the album Fly on the Wall which was judged, perhaps uncharitably, as too awful to be included in the event, which starts at 10am (local time) and will last well into the night. "No band has accepted to perform Fly on the wall. I have to say it is the worst album of AC/DC. It really sucks," concert organiser Pertti Havas told AFP. The proceeds from the hardrock marathon will go to the Finnish association for mental health, Havas said.
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I find it very hard to believe that they couldn't find anyone to do "Sink the PInk." I'll do it myself if they'll fly me over there.
ROCK groups will play the music of hardrock legends AC/DC for 15 hours nonstop on a Finnish stage for charity, organisers said. Leningrad Cowboys, Ismo Alanko as well as Freud, Marx, Engels and Jung, among others, will play songs from 13 of AC/DC's 14 albums on February 18 in the Atria club in Oulu, western Finland.
The one exception is the album Fly on the Wall which was judged, perhaps uncharitably, as too awful to be included in the event, which starts at 10am (local time) and will last well into the night. "No band has accepted to perform Fly on the wall. I have to say it is the worst album of AC/DC. It really sucks," concert organiser Pertti Havas told AFP. The proceeds from the hardrock marathon will go to the Finnish association for mental health, Havas said.
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I find it very hard to believe that they couldn't find anyone to do "Sink the PInk." I'll do it myself if they'll fly me over there.
Patti Smith: Auguries Ben Doggeries
There is a kind article at Slate about Patti Smith's latest book of poetry, "Auguries of Innocence." Here's a glimpse:
Auguries of Innocence is a testament to her ongoing devotion to poetry—and not the poetry of her contemporaries. She adheres to poetic inversion and archaic language, and the poems are studded by her trademark French symbolist abstractions: "I saw the book upon the shelf,/ I saw you who was myself" (a la Rimbaud) and "I will sit here till dawn tripping/ the spine of the stars." The influence of poets like Baudelaire and Blake (whose "The Chimney Sweeper" she reprises here) is obvious, and her wide reading has resulted in a sense of how structure and sentiment intertwine in poetry. She relies on short lines and tercets for a hammering effect in "Birds of Iraq," a political poem that effectively intertwines Virginia Woolf's biography with events in Iraq. If there are a few too many invocations of moons, she also writes touchingly about loss, avoiding the usual clichés. She builds solid, blocky stanzas in poems like "To His Daughter," which is addressed to her niece, after her father (Smith's brother) died: "He is the gust that lifts a bit of sail/ To press your cheek, wipe the tears./ A bit of sail without moral/ turning like an apron on the cloud"—a nice little twist, since we associate aprons with mothers. She says that these poems are highly "personal," but the reader would be hard-pressed to find the therapeutic disclosure and earnest cris de coeur that animate the work of plenty of confessional poets (including Jewel).
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I'm glad I'm not the only one who associates cris de coeur with Jewel.
Auguries of Innocence is a testament to her ongoing devotion to poetry—and not the poetry of her contemporaries. She adheres to poetic inversion and archaic language, and the poems are studded by her trademark French symbolist abstractions: "I saw the book upon the shelf,/ I saw you who was myself" (a la Rimbaud) and "I will sit here till dawn tripping/ the spine of the stars." The influence of poets like Baudelaire and Blake (whose "The Chimney Sweeper" she reprises here) is obvious, and her wide reading has resulted in a sense of how structure and sentiment intertwine in poetry. She relies on short lines and tercets for a hammering effect in "Birds of Iraq," a political poem that effectively intertwines Virginia Woolf's biography with events in Iraq. If there are a few too many invocations of moons, she also writes touchingly about loss, avoiding the usual clichés. She builds solid, blocky stanzas in poems like "To His Daughter," which is addressed to her niece, after her father (Smith's brother) died: "He is the gust that lifts a bit of sail/ To press your cheek, wipe the tears./ A bit of sail without moral/ turning like an apron on the cloud"—a nice little twist, since we associate aprons with mothers. She says that these poems are highly "personal," but the reader would be hard-pressed to find the therapeutic disclosure and earnest cris de coeur that animate the work of plenty of confessional poets (including Jewel).
--------
I'm glad I'm not the only one who associates cris de coeur with Jewel.
Nothing Doing
I don't know why, but 2006 has not been a very good year for the Advanced. There's just nothing to write about these days! I guess maybe all the Advanced artists are still on vacation or something. Oh well, things will pick up. They always do.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Slap Your Grammy Now: Bowie Gets Lifetime Achievement Award
From billboard.com:
Rock legends David Bowie and Cream, country icon Merle Haggard and late comedy innovator Richard Pryor are among the recipients of the 2006 Grammy Lifetime Achievement awards, which will be formally acknowledged Feb. 7 and then presented the next evening during the live Grammy telecast on CBS. Additional Lifetime Achievement honors will be given to late blues legend Robert Johnson, opera vocalist Jessye Norman and preeminent folk quartet the Weavers.
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I'd like to see Bowie and Haggard do a duet. Maybe "Blue Jean"?
Rock legends David Bowie and Cream, country icon Merle Haggard and late comedy innovator Richard Pryor are among the recipients of the 2006 Grammy Lifetime Achievement awards, which will be formally acknowledged Feb. 7 and then presented the next evening during the live Grammy telecast on CBS. Additional Lifetime Achievement honors will be given to late blues legend Robert Johnson, opera vocalist Jessye Norman and preeminent folk quartet the Weavers.
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I'd like to see Bowie and Haggard do a duet. Maybe "Blue Jean"?
Monday, January 09, 2006
Another Installment of "Why I Love the Shuffle"
I'm on the subway, hating all the music I own, so I switch to shuffle and let the Nanner do its magic. Right away it rocks me with "(She's) Sexy and 17" by the Stray Cats.
This has been another installment of "Why I Love the Shuffle."
This has been another installment of "Why I Love the Shuffle."
Bjork Wins Most Overt, I Mean, Eccentric
From Reuters:
Icelandic singer Bjork, who famously dressed up as a swan at the 2001 Academy Awards, has been voted the world's most eccentric celebrity in a recent British magazine poll. The 40-year-old, who also had a run-in with a reporter in Bangkok 10 years ago, beat out former world boxing champion Chris Eubank and goalkeeper-turned-commentator David Icke, who came second and third respectively.
Bernie Herlihy, editor of the BBC's "Homes and Antiques'' magazine which held the poll, said readers had crowned Bjork the most bizarre star thanks to "her quirky dress sense and very individual type of music. "She's known by the public for pretty crazy things like having an altercation with a journalist,'' she added.
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Michael Jackson was robbed.
Icelandic singer Bjork, who famously dressed up as a swan at the 2001 Academy Awards, has been voted the world's most eccentric celebrity in a recent British magazine poll. The 40-year-old, who also had a run-in with a reporter in Bangkok 10 years ago, beat out former world boxing champion Chris Eubank and goalkeeper-turned-commentator David Icke, who came second and third respectively.
Bernie Herlihy, editor of the BBC's "Homes and Antiques'' magazine which held the poll, said readers had crowned Bjork the most bizarre star thanks to "her quirky dress sense and very individual type of music. "She's known by the public for pretty crazy things like having an altercation with a journalist,'' she added.
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Michael Jackson was robbed.
Lou Reed Pics
From theartnewspaper.com:
Lou Reed has been busy in Tribeca. Not only has he been playing live along with partner Laurie Anderson before a small local audience to mark the opening of the new Canal Park, a verdant triangle which both artists lobbied to get planted, but also snapping surrounding views. This month Reed reveals for the first time his photographic art, mostly images of the Hudson River from the Tribeca corner where he now resides. Two concurrent exhibitions at Hermès and Steven Kasher Gallery coincide with the publication of Lou Reed’s New York (Steidl) and reveal his lyric gift extends to the humble press release. As Lou puts it: “These images are the result of a small attempt to share the beauty that has bedazzled the consciousness of this viewer standing on the edge of the river with a box in hand trying to catch the lightning bolt of time.”
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The picture they run with the story is rather Advanced. I believe he has a toothpick in his mouth. Will this be the new Advanced prop?
Lou Reed has been busy in Tribeca. Not only has he been playing live along with partner Laurie Anderson before a small local audience to mark the opening of the new Canal Park, a verdant triangle which both artists lobbied to get planted, but also snapping surrounding views. This month Reed reveals for the first time his photographic art, mostly images of the Hudson River from the Tribeca corner where he now resides. Two concurrent exhibitions at Hermès and Steven Kasher Gallery coincide with the publication of Lou Reed’s New York (Steidl) and reveal his lyric gift extends to the humble press release. As Lou puts it: “These images are the result of a small attempt to share the beauty that has bedazzled the consciousness of this viewer standing on the edge of the river with a box in hand trying to catch the lightning bolt of time.”
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The picture they run with the story is rather Advanced. I believe he has a toothpick in his mouth. Will this be the new Advanced prop?
Friday, January 06, 2006
Robert Fripp Scores Vista
Would you like to see behind the scenes at Robert Fripp's Windows Vista recording session? Go here.
New Morrissey: Release the Hounds
From billboard.com:
Morrissey returns to a thicker, more rock-driven sound on his ninth solo album, "Ringleader of the Tormentors," due April 4 via Attack/Sanctuary. The 12-track set was produced by Tony Visconti and recorded in Rome, references to which appear in a number of songs. Legendary composer Ennio Morricone scored the string arrangement on "Dear God Please Help Me," while an Italian children's choir can be heard on several others.
Morrissey credits the "marked difference" in sound here to the presence of guitarist/songwriter Jesse Tobias, particularly on tracks like the stomping "In the Future When All's Well," the simple, effective first single "You Have Killed Me" and "The Youngest Was the Most Loved." "These songs, especially, fully release the hounds," Morrissey said earlier this week on the fan site True to You.
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Rock on, Morrissey.
Morrissey returns to a thicker, more rock-driven sound on his ninth solo album, "Ringleader of the Tormentors," due April 4 via Attack/Sanctuary. The 12-track set was produced by Tony Visconti and recorded in Rome, references to which appear in a number of songs. Legendary composer Ennio Morricone scored the string arrangement on "Dear God Please Help Me," while an Italian children's choir can be heard on several others.
Morrissey credits the "marked difference" in sound here to the presence of guitarist/songwriter Jesse Tobias, particularly on tracks like the stomping "In the Future When All's Well," the simple, effective first single "You Have Killed Me" and "The Youngest Was the Most Loved." "These songs, especially, fully release the hounds," Morrissey said earlier this week on the fan site True to You.
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Rock on, Morrissey.
Candy & Dorothy
From playbill.com:
It's doubtful that Catholic Worker activist Dorothy Day and Andy Warhol Factory habitue Candy Darling met in real life. But they will in the afterlife in David Johnston's new play, Candy & Dorothy. The show will premiere Jan. 6 at Theatre Three, open Jan. 9 and run through Jan. 28. Kevin Newbury directs. Broadway veteran Sloane Shelton will star along with Vince Gatton, Nell Gwynn, Amir Arison and Brian Fuqua.
In the play, Candy is Dorothy's unexpected "caseworker" in the afterlife. They fight over fashion and theology, while trying to help a distraught living Lower East Side librarian, who doesn't understand why her two guardian angels are taking on such odd forms.
Dorothy Day was born in Brooklyn and spent her early years living in a wild, bohemian fashion, haunting the famous Hell Hole drinking den, marrying and divorcing, having a child out of wedlock and writing both journalism and novels. After converting to Catholicism, she founded The Catholic Worker newspaper in 1933. The paper espoused pacifism and advanced social thought, and influenced many readers and publications of the day. The same year, she opened a soup kitchen. By 1938, several such kitchens were feeding hundreds of people. She died in 1980.
Transvestite and performer Candy Darling was one of Warhol's "superstars," perhaps the most famous to bear that manufactured label. Like Day, he was from Brooklyn. Born James Slattery, Candy began appearing in drag at an early age, adopting several names before settling on Candy Darling. He met Warhol in 1967 and soon started appearing in his experimental films. Other films and plays followed, but major stardom proved elusive. Darling died of leukemia on March 21, 1974, at the age of 29. She was memorialized in Lou Reed's songs "Walk on the Wild Side" and "Candy Says" and was played by Stephen Dorff in the 1996 film "I Shot Andy Warhol."
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I f I were Candy Darling, and someone asked me why I changed my name, I would say, "Slattery will get you nowhere."
It's doubtful that Catholic Worker activist Dorothy Day and Andy Warhol Factory habitue Candy Darling met in real life. But they will in the afterlife in David Johnston's new play, Candy & Dorothy. The show will premiere Jan. 6 at Theatre Three, open Jan. 9 and run through Jan. 28. Kevin Newbury directs. Broadway veteran Sloane Shelton will star along with Vince Gatton, Nell Gwynn, Amir Arison and Brian Fuqua.
In the play, Candy is Dorothy's unexpected "caseworker" in the afterlife. They fight over fashion and theology, while trying to help a distraught living Lower East Side librarian, who doesn't understand why her two guardian angels are taking on such odd forms.
Dorothy Day was born in Brooklyn and spent her early years living in a wild, bohemian fashion, haunting the famous Hell Hole drinking den, marrying and divorcing, having a child out of wedlock and writing both journalism and novels. After converting to Catholicism, she founded The Catholic Worker newspaper in 1933. The paper espoused pacifism and advanced social thought, and influenced many readers and publications of the day. The same year, she opened a soup kitchen. By 1938, several such kitchens were feeding hundreds of people. She died in 1980.
Transvestite and performer Candy Darling was one of Warhol's "superstars," perhaps the most famous to bear that manufactured label. Like Day, he was from Brooklyn. Born James Slattery, Candy began appearing in drag at an early age, adopting several names before settling on Candy Darling. He met Warhol in 1967 and soon started appearing in his experimental films. Other films and plays followed, but major stardom proved elusive. Darling died of leukemia on March 21, 1974, at the age of 29. She was memorialized in Lou Reed's songs "Walk on the Wild Side" and "Candy Says" and was played by Stephen Dorff in the 1996 film "I Shot Andy Warhol."
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I f I were Candy Darling, and someone asked me why I changed my name, I would say, "Slattery will get you nowhere."
Thursday, January 05, 2006
New York Dolls: Boo-Yeah!
There is a lovely picture of David Johanssen at billboard.com. It's from the New York Dolls' performance at the ESPN New Year's Eve concert at the Hard Rock Cafe. I don't think I need to tell you how Advanced it is to A) reform, B) continue after an original member dies, and C) play the ESPN New Year's Eve concert at the D) Hard Rock Cafe. Wow.
Def Leppard Work Out the Kinks
Wondering what Def Leppard's been up to recently? Rolling Stone has the scoop:
After a nonstop 2005 -- marked by a twenty-fifth-anniversary hits compilation, a slew of TV appearances and tours with Bryan Adams and Cheap Trick -- Def Leppard have no plans of stopping. This spring will bring a covers album, Yeah!, followed by a summer tour.
For Yeah!, the Eighties mega-rockers plan to reach back into music history for over-the-top favorites that predate the band. "I saw Marc Bolan and T. Rex in 1971 on Top of the Pops," Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell recalls, "and [singer] Joe [Elliott] has the same memory. I was nine years old, and I knew I wanted to play guitar. So most of the songs come from the glam era: T. Rex, Roxy Music, E.L.O."
While the album will include renditions of E.L.O.'s "10538 Overture" and Roxy Music's "Street Life" -- which Campbell says the band recorded "as more of a punk-rock song" -- expect more straight-up rockers, like Thin Lizzy's "Don't Believe a Word," as well as some melodic material, like the Kinks classic "Waterloo Sunset." "But we really made it sound like Def Leppard," Campbell says of the Kinks track. "Joe does a great vocal, and we made the guitar parts work."
-------
Finally, someone has made the guitars on "Waterloo Sunset" work!
After a nonstop 2005 -- marked by a twenty-fifth-anniversary hits compilation, a slew of TV appearances and tours with Bryan Adams and Cheap Trick -- Def Leppard have no plans of stopping. This spring will bring a covers album, Yeah!, followed by a summer tour.
For Yeah!, the Eighties mega-rockers plan to reach back into music history for over-the-top favorites that predate the band. "I saw Marc Bolan and T. Rex in 1971 on Top of the Pops," Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell recalls, "and [singer] Joe [Elliott] has the same memory. I was nine years old, and I knew I wanted to play guitar. So most of the songs come from the glam era: T. Rex, Roxy Music, E.L.O."
While the album will include renditions of E.L.O.'s "10538 Overture" and Roxy Music's "Street Life" -- which Campbell says the band recorded "as more of a punk-rock song" -- expect more straight-up rockers, like Thin Lizzy's "Don't Believe a Word," as well as some melodic material, like the Kinks classic "Waterloo Sunset." "But we really made it sound like Def Leppard," Campbell says of the Kinks track. "Joe does a great vocal, and we made the guitar parts work."
-------
Finally, someone has made the guitars on "Waterloo Sunset" work!
Dion: I'm the Type of Guy That Likes to Make a Blues Record
From the New York Daily News:
In the half century rock 'n' roll has been rising up from the sidewalks of New York, no one has done more to shape its style - the exhilaration, the attitude - than Dion DiMucci of the Bronx. Now 66 years old, and still in fine voice, he has cut a record "that shows where, for me, it all came from." "Bronx in Blue" (Dimensional Music) may surprise fans who still associate Dion primarily with such doo-wop classics as "I Wonder Why," "A Teenager in Love," "Runaround Sue" or "The Wanderer."
Musically, the new album consists simply of Dion, his Martin guitar and a little percussion stomping through a dozen acoustic blues songs written or made famous by Robert Johnson, Willie Dixon, Lightnin' Hopkins, Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Reed and Hank Williams. "I was listening to blues before there was rock 'n' roll," he says. "To me, 'Teenager in Love' was the stretch, not this record."
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Dion's not really Advanced, but he looks it in the picture attached to this story. (I encourage you to click the link.)
In the half century rock 'n' roll has been rising up from the sidewalks of New York, no one has done more to shape its style - the exhilaration, the attitude - than Dion DiMucci of the Bronx. Now 66 years old, and still in fine voice, he has cut a record "that shows where, for me, it all came from." "Bronx in Blue" (Dimensional Music) may surprise fans who still associate Dion primarily with such doo-wop classics as "I Wonder Why," "A Teenager in Love," "Runaround Sue" or "The Wanderer."
Musically, the new album consists simply of Dion, his Martin guitar and a little percussion stomping through a dozen acoustic blues songs written or made famous by Robert Johnson, Willie Dixon, Lightnin' Hopkins, Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Reed and Hank Williams. "I was listening to blues before there was rock 'n' roll," he says. "To me, 'Teenager in Love' was the stretch, not this record."
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Dion's not really Advanced, but he looks it in the picture attached to this story. (I encourage you to click the link.)
Barry Gibb Buys Johnny Cash's Home
From Yahoo!:
Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees has purchased the home where Johnny Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, lived for 35 years. Gibb and his wife, Linda, bought the rustic retreat on Old Hickory Lake for an undisclosed amount, a lawyer for the Cash family said Wednesday. Hendersonville is 13 miles northeast of downtown Nashville.
"This place will always be the spiritual home for the Cashes," Gibb said. "My wife, Linda, and I are determined to preserve it, to honor their memory. We fell in love with it; it's an incredible honor for us. We plan to use the home to write songs because of the musical inspiration."
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I've always thought of Barry Gibb and Johnny Cash as kindred spirits, so this makes sense.
Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees has purchased the home where Johnny Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, lived for 35 years. Gibb and his wife, Linda, bought the rustic retreat on Old Hickory Lake for an undisclosed amount, a lawyer for the Cash family said Wednesday. Hendersonville is 13 miles northeast of downtown Nashville.
"This place will always be the spiritual home for the Cashes," Gibb said. "My wife, Linda, and I are determined to preserve it, to honor their memory. We fell in love with it; it's an incredible honor for us. We plan to use the home to write songs because of the musical inspiration."
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I've always thought of Barry Gibb and Johnny Cash as kindred spirits, so this makes sense.
Hall and Oates: Our Kind of Lyme Disease
From livedaily.com:
Veteran singer/songwriter duo Daryl Hall and John Oates get their 2006 tour schedule started next month as they continue to back 2004's "Our Kind of Soul." Hall & Oates are currently scheduled to get things started with a series of early February shows throughout Florida, followed by a swing up the eastern seaboard that so far runs into mid-March. Tickets for some shows are on sale now, while others are due to hit the box office over the next couple of weekends. Details are included below.
...A live DVD, also titled "Our Kind of Soul," hit stores in November. The disc houses footage shot during Hall & Oates' 2005 tour--an outing that was waylaid for several weeks after Hall was diagnosed with Lyme disease, a tickborne illness with flu-like symptoms, last July. The ailment forced the act to cancel a number of shows.
"Lyme and other tick-related diseases are very serious maladies that for some reason have been underplayed by the media and medical profession," Hall, who was successfully treated with a lengthy round of antibiotics, wrote in a posting at Hall & Oates' website last summer. "Chronic Lyme causes arthritis, heart problems, stroke--even death. This is serious stuff, and the public should be better informed, as it has reached epidemic proportions in the Northeast! You'll be hearing more from me about this."
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I know Daryl Hall's getting Lyme disease isn't funny, but it actually is.
Veteran singer/songwriter duo Daryl Hall and John Oates get their 2006 tour schedule started next month as they continue to back 2004's "Our Kind of Soul." Hall & Oates are currently scheduled to get things started with a series of early February shows throughout Florida, followed by a swing up the eastern seaboard that so far runs into mid-March. Tickets for some shows are on sale now, while others are due to hit the box office over the next couple of weekends. Details are included below.
...A live DVD, also titled "Our Kind of Soul," hit stores in November. The disc houses footage shot during Hall & Oates' 2005 tour--an outing that was waylaid for several weeks after Hall was diagnosed with Lyme disease, a tickborne illness with flu-like symptoms, last July. The ailment forced the act to cancel a number of shows.
"Lyme and other tick-related diseases are very serious maladies that for some reason have been underplayed by the media and medical profession," Hall, who was successfully treated with a lengthy round of antibiotics, wrote in a posting at Hall & Oates' website last summer. "Chronic Lyme causes arthritis, heart problems, stroke--even death. This is serious stuff, and the public should be better informed, as it has reached epidemic proportions in the Northeast! You'll be hearing more from me about this."
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I know Daryl Hall's getting Lyme disease isn't funny, but it actually is.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Johnny Marr Record
From billboard.com:
Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr is eyeing a spring release for his second album with his band the Healers. No label has yet been announced for the as-yet-untitled project; the group's 2003 debut, "Boomslang," was issued via iMusic, which has only been sporadically active in recent years.
According to Marr's official Web site, among the songs expected to appear on the album are "Denial Denial," "I've Seen More," "The Sparks of Life," "Reign Down the New Days," "Save Ourselves Again," "For the True Believers," "I'm the One," "A Certain Kind" and "Run in the Dust."
The Healers now feature guitarist James Doviak, bassist Iwan Gronow and drummer David Tolan. The original incarnation of the group included Zak Starkey on drums and former Kula Shaker bassist Alonza Bevan.
...In other Marr news, the guitarist played guitar and harmonica on five tracks due for inclusion on a new album from vocalist Jane Birkin. The set is due early this year via EMI internationally and finds Birkin covering songs popularized by Tom Waits, Kate Bush, Rufus Wainwright and Portishead's Beth Gibbons, among others.
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A possible move toward Advancement for Johnny Marr would be to give up the guitar for the harmonica. Also, he could call the new record "You Look Marr-velous."
Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr is eyeing a spring release for his second album with his band the Healers. No label has yet been announced for the as-yet-untitled project; the group's 2003 debut, "Boomslang," was issued via iMusic, which has only been sporadically active in recent years.
According to Marr's official Web site, among the songs expected to appear on the album are "Denial Denial," "I've Seen More," "The Sparks of Life," "Reign Down the New Days," "Save Ourselves Again," "For the True Believers," "I'm the One," "A Certain Kind" and "Run in the Dust."
The Healers now feature guitarist James Doviak, bassist Iwan Gronow and drummer David Tolan. The original incarnation of the group included Zak Starkey on drums and former Kula Shaker bassist Alonza Bevan.
...In other Marr news, the guitarist played guitar and harmonica on five tracks due for inclusion on a new album from vocalist Jane Birkin. The set is due early this year via EMI internationally and finds Birkin covering songs popularized by Tom Waits, Kate Bush, Rufus Wainwright and Portishead's Beth Gibbons, among others.
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A possible move toward Advancement for Johnny Marr would be to give up the guitar for the harmonica. Also, he could call the new record "You Look Marr-velous."
Johnny Cash: Souvenirs, Novelties, Party Tricks
From the Chicago Tribune:
If Johnny Cash were still alive, he might write a song about the plight of the old train depot he bought more than 25 years ago. The Amqui Station along the Louisville & Nashville Railroad tracks in Madison was vacant and close to demolition when Cash bought it in 1979 and moved it a few miles northeast to his property in Hendersonville.
After the singer's death in 2003, Halo Properties purchased the depot and is now donating it back to Madison, where community leaders want to use it as a museum and possibly as part of a planned commuter rail system for Nashville and its suburbs.
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Is anyone else thinking of the sight gag from "Top Secret!" where it appears that the train is moving but it is actually the station that is moving?
If Johnny Cash were still alive, he might write a song about the plight of the old train depot he bought more than 25 years ago. The Amqui Station along the Louisville & Nashville Railroad tracks in Madison was vacant and close to demolition when Cash bought it in 1979 and moved it a few miles northeast to his property in Hendersonville.
After the singer's death in 2003, Halo Properties purchased the depot and is now donating it back to Madison, where community leaders want to use it as a museum and possibly as part of a planned commuter rail system for Nashville and its suburbs.
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Is anyone else thinking of the sight gag from "Top Secret!" where it appears that the train is moving but it is actually the station that is moving?
Pete Townshend: Headphones Bad
From the AP:
Guitarist Pete Townshend has warned iPod users that they could end up with hearing problems as bad as his own if they don't turn down the volume of the music they are listening to on earphones. Townshend, 60, guitarist in the 60s band The Who, said his hearing was irreversibly damaged by years of using studio headphones and that he now is forced to take 36-hour breaks between recording sessions to allow his ears to recover.
"I have unwittingly helped to invent and refine a type of music that makes its principal components deaf," he said on his Web site. "Hearing loss is a terrible thing because it cannot be repaired. If you use an iPod or anything like it, or your child uses one, you MAY be OK ... But my intuition tells me there is terrible trouble ahead."
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Class-action lawsuit, anyone?
Guitarist Pete Townshend has warned iPod users that they could end up with hearing problems as bad as his own if they don't turn down the volume of the music they are listening to on earphones. Townshend, 60, guitarist in the 60s band The Who, said his hearing was irreversibly damaged by years of using studio headphones and that he now is forced to take 36-hour breaks between recording sessions to allow his ears to recover.
"I have unwittingly helped to invent and refine a type of music that makes its principal components deaf," he said on his Web site. "Hearing loss is a terrible thing because it cannot be repaired. If you use an iPod or anything like it, or your child uses one, you MAY be OK ... But my intuition tells me there is terrible trouble ahead."
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Class-action lawsuit, anyone?
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Van Halen Reunion?
From billboard.com:
Reuniting the original Van Halen lineup is just a matter of time, according to David Lee Roth. "I talked to the drummer [Alex Van Halen] about a week ago," the band's former lead singer tells the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. "And I think, eventually, the inevitable will happen."
"It definitely won't be rockers with walkers," he adds, seemingly indicating that a reunion is in the near, as opposed to distant, future. "Getting onstage and singing 'Dance the Night Away' -- let me tell you how difficult that isn't going to be."
The comments came in a Q&A about Roth's new career: morning radio host. Once one of rock's notorious bad boys, the performer debuted today (Jan. 3) in the 6 a.m.-10 a.m. slot on more than a half dozen stations that formerly broadcast Howard Stern, who will soon bow a show on Sirius Satellite Radio.
...[D]espite that and plenty of public feuding with his old band, some of it aired in his 1997 autobiography, "Crazy From the Heat," Roth holds his career with Van Halen in an honorable place. "When people bring up Van Halen, I talk about it with pride and with no apprehension at all," he told the Tribune Review. "I play those songs all the time."
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As do I.
Reuniting the original Van Halen lineup is just a matter of time, according to David Lee Roth. "I talked to the drummer [Alex Van Halen] about a week ago," the band's former lead singer tells the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. "And I think, eventually, the inevitable will happen."
"It definitely won't be rockers with walkers," he adds, seemingly indicating that a reunion is in the near, as opposed to distant, future. "Getting onstage and singing 'Dance the Night Away' -- let me tell you how difficult that isn't going to be."
The comments came in a Q&A about Roth's new career: morning radio host. Once one of rock's notorious bad boys, the performer debuted today (Jan. 3) in the 6 a.m.-10 a.m. slot on more than a half dozen stations that formerly broadcast Howard Stern, who will soon bow a show on Sirius Satellite Radio.
...[D]espite that and plenty of public feuding with his old band, some of it aired in his 1997 autobiography, "Crazy From the Heat," Roth holds his career with Van Halen in an honorable place. "When people bring up Van Halen, I talk about it with pride and with no apprehension at all," he told the Tribune Review. "I play those songs all the time."
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As do I.
Donald Fagen Update
From rollingstone.com:
Steely Dan frontman Donald Fagen will release his third solo album, Morph the Cat, in March. Whereas his 1982 debut The Nightfly viewed the future from an adolescent's eyes, and 1993's Kamakiriad viewed it from middle age, Morph, says Fagen, "is looking toward the endings of things."
"It's the album that's closest to my vision of how [death] would sound," says Fagen. "I don't know if I could do much better."
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The album closest to my vision of how death would sound has to be "No Jacket Required."
Steely Dan frontman Donald Fagen will release his third solo album, Morph the Cat, in March. Whereas his 1982 debut The Nightfly viewed the future from an adolescent's eyes, and 1993's Kamakiriad viewed it from middle age, Morph, says Fagen, "is looking toward the endings of things."
"It's the album that's closest to my vision of how [death] would sound," says Fagen. "I don't know if I could do much better."
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The album closest to my vision of how death would sound has to be "No Jacket Required."
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