Idlewild’s sixth LP is on sale, but the band has not even begun recording it yet. In a strange marketing strategy, Idlewild said it is trying to deal "more quickly and directly with the fans." Umm, what? Not having label support might have something to do with it; times are tough, even for rock [...]

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If the last year’s "will they/won’t they" saga is any indication, this news will probably be shat all over by another member of the band in a matter of days, but – for now at least – Blur is officially confirmed to be heading into the studio next year, according to frontman Damon Albarn. [...]

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Trail of Dead’s strong suit has never been its vocals. Neither Conrad Keely nor Jason Reece are very good singers (which Keely makes abundantly clear in this rehearsal video), but what they lack in natural ability they more than make up for in full throttle punch. Trail of Dead has erred on the side of [...]

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Next time you hear "When Doves Cry", you can pull up this handy flow chart to follow Prince’s "logic."

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Excerpt from an interview with Sammy Hagar on classicrockrevisited.com:
Jeb: Last one: I heard that Eddie and you got into a fight in an airplane, while in the air, and Eddie actually tried to smash out a window in the plane. Is that true?
Sammy: Yes, it is true. He tried to smash the window [...]

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Some altruistic soul has finally posted another Assfactor 4 video on YouTube. It’s a glorious version of “Sometimes I Suck” off the 7″ of the same name, which came out on Repercussion records in, I think, 1993. I’m pretty sure the first pressing came out in 1993. And I’m 99% certain I was at this [...]

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Found out about Kat Bjelland’s new band by way of one of Courtney Love’s illiterate and indecipherable blogs. Evidently, Bjelleand’s home is in danger of being "reposeesed", which one can only assume by context should read "repossessed." Sad news. But on the plus side, Bjelland’s new band is awesome. Her vocal stylings don’t stray [...]

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Great article in the Ireland’s Independent from Johnny Marr on Outsiders in the Music Industry.

It always came from the outside, from outsiders created in the real world. These people, out of necessity, rejection, frustration and talent, and with vision, built their own ark and sailed it alongside and ahead of the music industry. In doing [...]

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According to various sources, The New Yorker is standing behind its story that Prince has besmirched the gay lifestyle with some bible-thumping judgement high atop his purple throne. Prince’s minions are denying any of this, of course, with typically half-assed "out of context" excuses. No one wants to be publicly blackballed as a bigot, [...]

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Admittedly, I’ve been slow to come around on this, but Jay Reatard is devastatingly awesome. With only a perfunctory listen, his tunes can sound like generic punk thrashes, but if you take a minute to think about what’s happening, it’s clear that his music is very clever and well thought out. Perfectly taut little destructive [...]

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Annoyed at having completely missed Stereolab’s recent swing through the south, I was excited to see a friend sharing a link to Southern Shelter’s blog in my reader. It’s streaming Stereolab’s entire show in surprisingly high quality audio, which is also available for download in both mp3 and flac formats. The setlist leans heavily on [...]

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Man. I love Tainted Love AND My Brightest Diamond, so I am loving this version of the Soft Cell classic from the new Engine Room comp, Guilty by Association. (via Tug)

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Chuck Klosterman famously reviewed Chinese Democracy for Spin as an April Fools joke that worked because the album has become such a mythical clusterfuck that nobody actually thought it would ever be released. Least of all Dr. Pepper. Now that Axl has proven everyone wrong, does he get the last laugh? Surely not. The jokes [...]

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Teac’s version of the clunky all in one CD/Cassette/Vinyl recorder is not only hideous to look at but also ridiculously priced at $700. These things are notoriously of shitty quality, but sometimes the lazy way is the only way. I’ve been wanting to digitize some cassettes for a long time, and while I know there [...]

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Slate has employed Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein to test it out and review music video games before. This time it’s for Wii Music. The piece is cleverly titled “Wii Will Rock You.”
An excerpt:
The game shows you a fantastical sonic world but falls short of letting you invent your own. Instead, one’s enjoyment of Wii Music must [...]

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Our friend at The Daily Sabbatical recommends this band as sounding “a bit like a garage band version of Joy Division, with female vocals thrown in on a track or two” but questions whether they are actually from Paris. An intriguing endorsement. I think the Joy Division reference comes by way of the monochromatic baritone [...]

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I saw Barkmarket open for the Pixies in the spring of 1992 at a gymnasium in Nashville, and, unfortunately, I couldn’t have been less interested. I was just waiting to see the Pixies, so barring Elvis or Jesus with all of his disciples in tow, I would have been annoyed by almost anyone who tried [...]

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Franz Ferdinand’s follow-up to the whirlwind success of its fey interpretation of Gang of Four didn’t exactly cash in on the momentum very effectively. The pomp and ego took precedent over the actual tunes, diverting the band’s return to the dreaded sophomore-slump bins. In the three years hence, the band has built a fair [...]

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Bottomless Pit is Tim Midgett and Andy Cohen from Silkworm along with Brian Orchard (.22) and Chris Manfrin (ex-Seam). With an EP and a full-length under its low-profile belt, Bottomless Pit has played only a smattering of shows. The video evidence on YouTube suggests that the band is more road-worn than its tour schedule betrays, [...]

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As Duran Duran receives the star treatment for its first ever tour of Colombia, the band speaks candidly to the Guardian’s Roy Carroll about whether they think they’re too old for the pop machine anymore and how bands these days have co-opted their core sound.
Duran Duran meet Rory Carroll on their first tour of Colombia

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