Just a reminder to those of you who have short term memory damage: The spectacular US version of All Tomorrow's Parties (curated by cartoon guru Matt Groening) will feature Yo La Tengo, And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Daniel Johnston, Wire and the Breeders from June 20 to the 22 in Los Angeles.
I'm just posting this because it amuses me: The Goo Goo Dolls and Hootie and the Blowfish have joined the lineup for the inaugural (say what? since when?) Dale Earnhardt Tribute Concert, set for June 28th at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida. Sheryl Crow will also perform. I'm just wondering if this will become a yearly thing- you?
According to deftonesworld.com, the first single from the upcoming, as-of-yet untitled Deftones album will be the song "The Late Great Planet Earth." Apparently, production for the video starts sometime next week. Sounds good enough for me. When is that album scheduled for release again? Update: According to several sources, the track is now known at "Minerva." As material previously reported is still accurate though. Also, it seems the new Deftones album will be self-titled, at least for now.
The so-called "new" album from Portishead, Alien, is actually not an album at all. How this information perpetuated itself across so many credible news sources undetected is beyond me. However, the band's official website have issued an official statement: "We have noticed that there is some confusion on an album release called Alien. Please be aware that this is NOT a Portishead release. The band are in the studio working on new material now but no release dates are scheduled as yet. Keep an eye on the site as any release plans will of course be announced here first!" Ugh! So, we're still waiting. So, just forget about Portishead and that fact they are still even together, and we'll all be surprised when they get their shit worked out.
You heard about the upcoming Zwan tour, right? Well, head over to the Zwan website for your chance to win tickets to a show in your area. I also heard that "Lyric" will be the next single from Mary Star of the Sea and will hit radio soon.
While we wait for another EP and the follow-up to Double Figure, Plaid will feed their fans' collective stomach with Parts In The Post, a collection of nearly all the duo's remixes for Björk, Goldfrapp and U.N.K.L.E, among many others. According to Warp: "Plaid can always create something special when given a vocal to work with, and some of these tracks are among their best work to date." This writer already knows that, but do you? Head over to Warp to preorder this release or check out the full tracklisting.
Me'shell Ndegéocello has released an MP3 of a new song titled "Forgiveness & Love" on the web. In an message to her mailing list, she explained the idea behind the song: "I wrote this song following September 11th, 2001... I thought a lot about the radical love and forgiveness taught by Jesus and the early Christian tradition as well as the principles of peace and justice that are at the roots of Islam; I thought about the frequent uses and misuses of religion, including the invocations that imply that God would somehow choose sides in a war." You can download an MP3 of the track here. In return, all that is asked from the artist is that you leave a comment in this forum.
The guys in Mogwai are none too subtle -- in announcing the tracklisting for their new album, Happy Songs For Happy People, they describe it as "forty one minutes fifty seconds of total unadulterated brilliance". Of course, unlike most UK bands, they've got the talent to back up their boasts. So, yeah, click "more" for the tracklist.
The Sea and Cake have announced that they'll release a mini-album, Glass, May 8th on Thrill Jockey. In the meantime, you can pick it up at any stop on their current tour, which we have dates for under the "more" (in addition to a tracklist for the album -- isn't he a useful little guy?).
Those of you lucky enough to pick up one of the first 25,000 copies of Steven Malkmus' new album, Pig Lib (which comes out today) will be treated to a bonus EP and some extra-special packaging. So what happens if you're the 25,001st person to buy the album and you just have to have those bonus tracks? Well, you could download them off the internet, but that would be wrong. Instead, you can just wait for the April 21st release of the "Dark Wave" maxi-single, which will feature those very same tracks.
That video that we told you about for System of a Down's "Boom" song is available for viewing over on director Michael Moore's website, or over on the bands site. Your pick.
For the past two months, the Swedes of Division of Laura Lee have toured North America in support of their most recent offering, Black City. Rest assured, they don't seem to be done yet! They've announced a few more dates in April, capping the stint off with an appearance at Coachella. In other news, a full-fledged US tour is to begin again in the Fall, with the band hoping to record a new album before year-end.
In addition to the previous dates, Radiohead have added a gig at Nîmes Arena in Nîmes, France on July 14th. You can purchase tickets from this website for €34 plus booking fees.
Blur have launched a new website to support their upcoming album, Think Tank, due in stores on May 6th. The website features a section dubbed the "Think Tank" where fans can hook up their own webcams - much like the band has done and continues to do throughout the production of this album. While browsing the various webcams, your ears will be graced with samples from the new album.
"It's not a fair exchange," Ozzy Osbourne said to RollingStone.com, referring to former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted's joining his band to replace Robert Trujillo, who quit last month to join Metallica. "It's robbery, I say." WOW! Another reason to see Ozzfest, eh? We have pre-Ozzfest Canadian dates up @ the more, btw.
Much Music USA will premiere the MuDvAyNe "Uranium" Special This Friday, 3/21. The show will feature the band's live set at The Roxy Theater in Los Angeles, CA from January of this year. It airs on Friday at 7pm, 10pm and 1am, Saturday at 8pm and midnight, and then again on Sunday at 11:30pm.
Two different documentaries on punk rawks the Ramones will debut at the second annual Tribeca Film Festival, which begins May 3. "End of the Century: The Ramones Story" is the band's history as told by its members and their peers, while "Hey! Is Dee Dee Home?" is a pseudo-monologue by late bassist Dee Dee Ramone, shot (the movie, not Dee Dee) in the early '90s. Director Mary Harron is also adapting the 1996 oral history of the punk book, "Please Kill Me" into celluloid relverly.
Remember that Jimi Hendrix tribute album we told you about? Power of Soul is it's name, and motley assortement of arteests is its game. Minnesota purple lover Prince recorded a version of "Red House" and promptly renamed it "Purple House" (heretic!) and Musiq reinterpreted "Are You Experienced?" Carlos Santana covers "Spanish Castle Magic," Parliament/Funkadelic singer George Clinton and bassist Bootsy Collins do "Power of Soul," and Earth, Wind & Fire turning on the heat for "Voodoo Chile." A couple of collaborations will appear on the album as well. Kid Rock's guitarist Kenny Olson joins Chaka Khan on "Little Wing," and guitar virtuoso Jeff Beck and pop/R&B singer Seal take on "The Wind Cries Mary." Power of Soul will include one of the last recordings by the late John Lee Hooker, the disc's second version of "Red House." And former Hendrix alumni also chime in; Band of Gypsies drummer Buddy Miles plays on "Manic Depression" and bassist Billy Cox performs on "Machine Gun." No release date has been set.
Iggy and the Stooges will perform together for the first time in almost 30 years at this year's Coachella Festival. Mike Watt (you've heard of him right?) will fill in on bass and surely do a more than adequate job. The festival is set to take place April 26th and 27th in Indo, California. Other acts to appear include Sonic Youth, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Queens of the Stone Age. After Coachella the Iggy and the Stooges reunion will not end. Four tracks by the group will see release on Iggy Pop's next album.
We all know that Lollapalooza is making its big return this summer with acts such as Jane's Addiction, Audioslave, and Queens of the Stone Age. However, until now, the dates have remained a mystery. Hit 'more' and those elusive dates will appear on your very own screen.
