After yesterday’s rather tame comments from Graham Coxon regarding why the Blur reunion didn’t happen as a result of a band lunch meeting, Damon Albarn has spoken up on the subject with a bit more drama, claiming that the rest of Blur “hate” him and don’t want to work with him. I’ve never gotten [...]

[Read more →]

Fat Cat recording artists The Twilight Sad — whose Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters was my favorite debut of 2007 — spoke recently with The Scotsman about their success in The States and how, curiously, it has outshined the response in their native Scotland:
“Last year was huge for the Twilight Sad — who come from [...]

[Read more →]

Since he can’t score a hit these days no matter what transparent stunt he pulls, alleged kid-toucher Michael Jackson is resorting to re-recording his old hits with current flashes in the pan in hopes that he might get the money train a-rolling again. Neverland is looking pretty sad these days. Fergie, Will.I.Am. and Kanye [...]

[Read more →]

Getting back to work quickly after suffering a miscarriage with Chemical Brothers’ Ed Simons’ baby, Lily Allen shot the pilot for her new BBC3 chat show this week, which is scheduled to debut later this year. The British station’s website reveals that Blur’s Alex James will lend his myriad charms to the premiere. Always [...]

[Read more →]

As though recording an album of Tom Waits covers weren’t cool enough, Scarlett Johansson collaborated with Yeah Yeah Yeah’s guitarist Nick Zinner on one of the songs, as well as an original. The Tom Waits covers record is called Anywhere I Lay My Head, and it’s due out this May. It’s practically guaranteed a [...]

[Read more →]

Murder by Death’s debut for Vagrant records, Red of Tooth and Claw, is due out March 4. Preceding the full-length is a digital EP entitled Fuego!, which is available February 12. Signing to a (mostly) pop-punk label worked for The Hold Steady, as far as propelling the band into the limelight is concerned. [...]

[Read more →]

While I’m somewhat excited about the new Portishead record news (it’s almost too little too late), I can’t help but be annoyed by the projected album title, Third. Seriously? Almost eleven years have gone by and that’s the title you come up with? It just seems so frustratingly uncreative and decidedly coy. I know [...]

[Read more →]

Since Paul Weller has come down with a nasty case of principles, his remaining two ex-bandmates in The Jam have reunited under the catchy moniker From the Jam: Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler. The leftover duo has recruited some anonymous scabs Hugh Cornwell of The Stranglers two replacements to fill in for Weller on [...]

[Read more →]

It’s been seventeen years since The Wedding Present recorded its aggressive master work, Seamonsters, with engineer Steve Albini. The marriage of Albini’s penchant for abrasiveness with The Wedding Present’s strumming frenzy of guitars may have frightened some of the band’s early pop fans, but it cemented its underground allure. Even though The Wedding Present [...]

[Read more →]

Sebastian Grainger, former drummer and lead singer of Canada’s sadly defunct Death From Above 1979, has a new band called Sebastian Grainger & The Mountains. The quartet’s myspace page has three “working mixes” posted, and they sound very, very promising, despite being a far cry from DFA1979’s glorious pummeling bass/drums attack. From the default [...]

[Read more →]

I know it pays the bills and everything to sell the remains of your dignity to soulless corporations, but would you really want a classic song off your defining early LP associated with Grade D beef that’s barely fit for human consumption? It’s probably a clever marketing ploy, since Joe Jackson has a new [...]

[Read more →]

I freakin’ love Depeche Mode, but honestly, I never cared all that much for “Personal Jesus.” It’s flimsy little guitar riff (wait, someone in Depeche Mode owns a guitar?) is too cheap and choppy, and it’s trite, blues-like progression makes for one of the weaker cuts off Violator. And Mr. Gore, just how exactly does [...]

[Read more →]

After an unexpectedly popular first season of its dryly understated HBO series, Flight of the Conchords, the New Zealand comedy duo comprised of Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie has a full-length LP in the works with Sub Pop, who released a teaser EP, The Distant Future, back in August. Billboard is reporting that all of the songs expected [...]

[Read more →]

Never one to shy away from political haughtiness of his own, folk-punk troubadour Billy Bragg has chimed in on the Morrissey “not a racist” PR scandal via The Guardian’s editorial pages. Bragg lightly slaps Morrissey for stirring up drama when the former Smiths singer knows good and well everything he said was caught on tape. Morrissey [...]

[Read more →]

Sometimes Throwing Muse and longtime solo artist Kristin Hersh has created CASH Music (the acronym stands for Coalition of Artists & Stake Holders), which is a ”new music business model” wherein artists post free mp3’s in multiple formats for listeners to critique, remix, or even produce. Hersh is no stranger to this process, as I was [...]

[Read more →]

Echo & The Bunnymen have made plans to recreate their monumental 1984 album Ocean Rain live in concert with a full orchestra in tow. The show is scheduled for September 16, 2008 at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Despite the fact that drummer Pete DeFreitas died over 18 years ago and bassist Les Pattison abandoned the [...]

[Read more →]

After reuniting in 1998 for the enormously successful Resurrection Tour, art-punk pioneers, Bauhaus, have taken their time putting together new material. The band originally split in 1983 after lead singer Peter Murphy fell ill during the recording of its then swan-song Burning from the Inside, allowing guitarist Daniel Ash to take up the slack. The taking up [...]

[Read more →]

Evan Dando recently told Billboard that his resurrected version of The Lemonheads is set to release a new album next spring. Recording will begin in January, but Dando is tight-lipped about the whole thing because he’s afraid of jinxing it. He’s not back on the crack again is he? Considering the ho-hum return of The [...]

[Read more →]

I guess it takes a fan revolt to force Prince into writing his best song in years. After threatening to sue his own fans for posting his likeness on their fan sites devoted to him, Prince has taken his tirade one step further: he’s written a diss song about the whole situation. When the fan [...]

[Read more →]

So, Thom Yorke shoots down Paul McCartney for a duet request. He is a Beatle, but I still don’t blame Yorke’s decision. What’s Paul done for you lately? Or in 20 years? The Starbucks record? Poor Paul had to comment on the rebuff publicly, explaining how Yorke had said “he couldn’t because he only [...]

[Read more →]