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Mark Lanegan announces track listing for 2-disc anthology

News

Uncut

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23rd October 2013

Mark Lanegan announces track listing for 2-disc anthology

Mark Lanegan has confirmed details of Has God Seen My Shadow? An Anthology 1989-2011. Collecting Lanegan’s solo material for Sub Pop, Beggars and more, plus 12 unreleased tracks, the anthology will be released by Light In The Attic on January 14, 2014 on two formats: a double-CD edition with a ga...

Mark Lanegan has confirmed details of Has God Seen My Shadow? An Anthology 1989-2011.

Collecting Lanegan’s solo material for Sub Pop, Beggars and more, plus 12 unreleased tracks, the anthology will be released by Light In The Attic on January 14, 2014 on two formats: a double-CD edition with a gatefold, tip-on jacket and a 44-page booklet comprising hand-written lyrics and rare archive photos, and a triple-LP box set, each LP in single pocket jackets within a heavy, tip-on slip case, with a 20-page book.

The tracklisting for Has God Seen My Shadow? An Anthology 1989-2011 is:

Disc 1:

Bombed

One Hundred Days

Come To Me

Mirrored

Pill Hill Serenade

One Way Street

Kimiko’s Dream House

Low

Resurrection Song

Shiloh Town

Creeping Coastline Of Lights

Lexington Slow Down

Last One In The World

Wheels

Mockingbirds

Wild Flowers

Sunrise

Carnival

Pendulum

The River Rise

Disc 2 (all previously unreleased):

Dream Lullabye

Leaving New River Blues

Sympathy

To Valencia Courthouse

A Song While Waiting

Blues For D (Vocal Version)

No Contestar

Big White Cloud

Following The Rain

Grey Goes Black

Halcyon Daze

Blues Run The Game (Live)

Morrissey’s autobiography outsells new Bridget Jones book in first week of sale

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23rd October 2013

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Morrissey’s autobiography outsells new Bridget Jones book in first week of sale

Morrissey's autobiography has beaten the new Bridget Jones novel to top the best sellers chart in its first week of sale. The Penguin published Autobiography sold just under 35,000 copies according to sales figures in trade magazine The Bookseller. Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones novel Mad About ...

Morrissey‘s autobiography has beaten the new Bridget Jones novel to top the best sellers chart in its first week of sale.

The Penguin published Autobiography sold just under 35,000 copies according to sales figures in trade magazine The Bookseller.

Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones novel Mad About The Boy sold 32,000 copies.

The autobiography is also on course to be a Christmas bestseller, according to high-street retailer Waterstones. Speaking to Associated Press, Jon Howells, spokesman for the Waterstones book store chain, said he expects the book to sell well in the run-up to the festive season. “In Britain, he is one of our icons,” Howells said. “His is the great untold story from the ’80s generation of music heroes.” Autobiography is also Number One on the Amazon best-sellers list at the time of writing.

You can read the Uncut review of Autobiography here.

Dr Feelgood guitarist Gypie Mayo dies aged 62

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23rd October 2013

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Dr Feelgood guitarist Gypie Mayo dies aged 62

Dr Feelgood and Yardbirds guitarist Gypie Mayo has died aged 62. He replaced Wilko Johnson in Dr Feelgood from 1977 to 1981, before going on to work with Yardbirds from 1996 to 2004. Johnson announced the news on his Facebook page today, writing "Very sad to hear Gypie Mayo passed away this morning..RIP Gypie". Gypie, born John Phillip Cawthra, worked at a printing shop for three years, before joining blues band White Mule in 1969. After the band split he played in various groups before replacing joining Dr Feelgood. He played with the group for four years and appears on six albums, including Be Seeing You, Private Practice, and As It Happens. He also co-wrote Dr Feelgood’s only UK top 10 single "Milk And Alcohol", and played on four of the five other Dr Feelgood singles to have appeared in the UK Singles Chart. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4IjrjMbmC4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7-3haPOlds

Dr Feelgood and Yardbirds guitarist Gypie Mayo has died aged 62.

He replaced Wilko Johnson in Dr Feelgood from 1977 to 1981, before going on to work with Yardbirds from 1996 to 2004.

Johnson announced the news on his Facebook page today, writing “Very sad to hear Gypie Mayo passed away this morning..RIP Gypie”.

Gypie, born John Phillip Cawthra, worked at a printing shop for three years, before joining blues band White Mule in 1969.

After the band split he played in various groups before replacing joining Dr Feelgood. He played with the group for four years and appears on six albums, including Be Seeing You, Private Practice, and As It Happens.

He also co-wrote Dr Feelgood’s only UK top 10 single “Milk And Alcohol“, and played on four of the five other Dr Feelgood singles to have appeared in the UK Singles Chart.

My Top 50 Albums Of All Time (Now including a Top 131, sort of)

John Mulvey

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23rd October 2013

0

My Top 50 Albums Of All Time (Now including a Top 131, sort of)

As you may have seen, this week’s NME features the 2013 edition of their 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. For this one, they also accepted votes from a bunch of the mag’s alumni, including me, so I thought it’d be an easy, albeit self-indulgent, blog to reproduce my Top 50 albums here. As I’ve said before, I find these lists a lot harder to compile as I get older and, I hope, become a bit less didactic in the way I think about the music I like and the music I dislike. This is what my Top 50 looked like in early September, anyhow: rather canonical, a little nostalgic, no doubt fatally undermined by the absence of records I will soon be mortified to have forgotten, but generally resembling one of those Rock Snob pisstakes from ten or so years back. I do remember, though, poring over an NME Greatest Albums list that was published in the mid-‘80s, and discovering a horde of extraordinary albums – like “What’s Goin’ On”, for a start – that broadened my perspective way beyond the world of Aztec Camera and Echo & The Bunnymen that I probably lived in at the time. It was a critical tool that allowed me to see the bigger picture, and whenever I see people treating all magazine lists with the same blanket disdain, thinking about it reassures me; at their best, they can have a profound effect. Be interested, as ever, to hear your thoughts: about the NME list as much as mine, of course. Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnRMulvey 1. The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds 2. Neil Young – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere 3. Television – Marquee Moon 4. Fairport Convention – Liege And Lief 5. Terry Riley – A Rainbow In Curved Air 6. My Bloody Valentine – Loveless 7. Gil Evans – The Individualism Of Gil Evans 8. Joni Mitchell – Hejira 9. The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main Street 10. Dexys Midnight Runners – Don’t Stand Me Down 11. The Go Betweens – Spring Hill Fair 12. Neil Young – On The Beach 13. Marvin Gaye – What’s Goin’ On 14. Steely Dan – Countdown To Ecstasy 15. Linda Perhacs – Parallelograms 16. Led Zeppelin – 4 17. Neu! – Neu! 75 18. Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited 19. REM – Murmur 20. The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead 21. Van Morrison – Astral Weeks 22. Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation 23. The Grateful Dead – Europe 72 24. Brightblack Morning Light – Motion To Rejoin 25. Love – Forever Changes 26. Elliott Smith – Either/Or 27. Gram Parsons – Grievous Angel 28. Robert Wyatt – Rock Bottom 29. The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers 30. Alice Coltrane – Journey In Satchidananda 31. The Stooges – Funhouse 32. GZA – Liquid Swords 33. Gillian Welch – Time The Revelator 34. Red House Painters – Red House Painters 35. Funkadelic – Maggot Brain 36. Robbie Basho – Venus In Cancer 37. The Waterboys – Fisherman’s Blues 38. Big Star – Third/Sister Lovers 39. Tim Buckley – Happy Sad 40. The Band – The Band 41. Leonard Cohen – The Songs Of Leonard Cohen 42. MC5 – High Time 43. Slint – Spiderland 44. Prince – Around The World In A Day 45. Kraftwerk – Trans Europe Express 46. Joanna Newsom – Ys 47. White Stripes – White Blood Cells 48. The Fall – This Nation’s Saving Grace 49. Pavement – Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain 50. Boredoms – Vision Create Newsun UPDATE 7/11/13: Responding to all your comments and interest, I've found the 131-strong longlist that I used to come up with my Top 50 (it mostly involved skimming through my iTunes, plus a cursory look at my shelves). A good few records that some of you have mentioned are in this lot, plus hopefully a few less well-known things that deserve a wider audience. Let me know what you think, anyhow (they're not in any order, I should point out): The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds AC/DC – Back In Black The Beach Boys – Surfs Up The Beach Boys – Smile The Beatles - Revolver Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works Volume II Alice Coltrane – Journey In Satchidananda Archie Shepp – Attica Blues Gil Evans – The Individualism Of Gil Evans Pharaoh Sanders – Black Unity Smog – Knock Knock Bill Fay – Bill Fay Neu! – Neu! 75 Bjork – Vespertine Led Zeppelin – 2 Led Zeppelin – 4 Led Zeppelin – Houses Of The Holy Boredoms – Vision Create Newsun Brightblack Morning Light – Motion To Rejoin Bruce Springsteen – The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle Caetano Veloso – Caetano Veloso (2) Can – Tago Mago Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation Of Millions GZA – Liquid Swords Robbie Basho – Venus In Cancer Boards Of Canada – Geogaddi Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited Bob Dylan – John Wesley Harding Bob Dylan – Blood On The Tracks Comets On Fire – Avatar Creedence Clearwater Revival – Cosmo’s Factory Lemonheads – It’s A Shame About Ray Rocket From The Crypt – Hot Charity The Byrds – Younger Than Yesterday David Bowie – Heroes David Bowie – Station To Station Dennis Wilson – Pacific Ocean Blue Dexy’s Midnight Runners – Don’t Stand Me Down The Waterboys – Fisherman’s Blues Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation Steely Dan – Countdown To Ecstasy Funkadelic – Maggot Brain Duke Ellington – Far East Suite Patti Smith – Horses Television – Marquee Moon Elliott Smith – Either/Or Os Mutantes – Os Mutantes (1st) Fairport Convention – Liege And Lief Fairport Convention – Unhalfbricking The Fall – This Nation’s Saving Grace Gram Parsons – Grievous Angel Tim Buckley – Blue Afternoon Tim Buckley – Happy Sad Linda Perhacs – Parallelograms Gillian Welch – Time The Revelator Neil Young – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere Neil Young – Ragged Glory Neil Young – On The Beach The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main Street The Grateful Dead – Europe 72 Nick Cave – The Good Son The Stooges – Funhouse MC5 – High Time LCD Soundsystem – Sound Of Silver Jim O’Rourke – Eureka Joanna Newsom – Ys Joni Mitchell – Hejira Joni Mitchell – Court & Spark Red House Painters – Red House Painters Sun Kil Moon – Ghosts Of The Great Highway Julian Cope – Peggy Suicide The Go Betweens – Spring Hill Fair The Go Betweens – Before Hollywood Aztec Camera – High Land Hard Rain Kraftwerk – Trans Europe Express Richard & Linda Thompson – I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight Leonard Cohen – The Songs Of Leonard Cohen Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man Cluster – Sowiesoso Love – Forever Changes Mike Oldfield – Hergest Ridge My Bloody Valentine – Loveless The Necks – Mosquito/See Through PJ Harvey – Dry The Pop Group – Y Pulp – Different Class Queens Of The Stone Age – Songs For The Deaf REM – Murmur Robert Wyatt – Rock Bottom Roy Harper – Stormcock Royal Trux – Accelerator Sandy Bull – E Pluribus Unum Scritti Politti – Songs To Remember Shirley & Dolly Collins – Death And The Lady Sly & The Family Stone – Fresh Pavement – Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain Terry Riley – A Rainbow In Curved Air Terry Riley – Persian Surgery Dervishes The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground Scott Walker – Scott 4 Wilco – A Ghost Is Born Nick Drake – Five Leaves Left The Band – The Band Spiritualized – Lazer Guided Melodies The Monkees – Head Jeff Buckley – Grace Pixies – Surfer Rosa The Feminine Complex – Livin’ Love Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate – By The Light Of The Moon Youssou N’Dour – Immigres Four Tet – Pause Fennesz – Endless Summer Marvin Gaye – What’s Goin’ On Isaac Hayes – Hot Buttered Soul Screaming Trees – Dust Love As Laughter – Destination 2000 Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead Slint – Spiderland Van Morrison – Astral Weeks Van Morrison – The Common One Van Morrison – Into The Music Husker Du – Candy Apple Grey Big Star – Third/Sister Lovers Prince – Around The World In A Day Van Dyke Parks – Song Cycle Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill D’Angelo – Voodoo Donald Fagen – The Nightfly White Stripes – White Blood Cells

As you may have seen, this week’s NME features the 2013 edition of their 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. For this one, they also accepted votes from a bunch of the mag’s alumni, including me, so I thought it’d be an easy, albeit self-indulgent, blog to reproduce my Top 50 albums here.

As I’ve said before, I find these lists a lot harder to compile as I get older and, I hope, become a bit less didactic in the way I think about the music I like and the music I dislike. This is what my Top 50 looked like in early September, anyhow: rather canonical, a little nostalgic, no doubt fatally undermined by the absence of records I will soon be mortified to have forgotten, but generally resembling one of those Rock Snob pisstakes from ten or so years back.

I do remember, though, poring over an NME Greatest Albums list that was published in the mid-‘80s, and discovering a horde of extraordinary albums – like “What’s Goin’ On”, for a start – that broadened my perspective way beyond the world of Aztec Camera and Echo & The Bunnymen that I probably lived in at the time. It was a critical tool that allowed me to see the bigger picture, and whenever I see people treating all magazine lists with the same blanket disdain, thinking about it reassures me; at their best, they can have a profound effect.

Be interested, as ever, to hear your thoughts: about the NME list as much as mine, of course.

Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnRMulvey

1. The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds

2. Neil Young – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

3. Television – Marquee Moon

4. Fairport Convention – Liege And Lief

5. Terry Riley – A Rainbow In Curved Air

6. My Bloody Valentine – Loveless

7. Gil Evans – The Individualism Of Gil Evans

8. Joni Mitchell – Hejira

9. The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main Street

10. Dexys Midnight Runners – Don’t Stand Me Down

11. The Go Betweens – Spring Hill Fair

12. Neil Young – On The Beach

13. Marvin Gaye – What’s Goin’ On

14. Steely Dan – Countdown To Ecstasy

15. Linda Perhacs – Parallelograms

16. Led Zeppelin – 4

17. Neu! – Neu! 75

18. Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited

19. REM – Murmur

20. The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead

21. Van Morrison – Astral Weeks

22. Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation

23. The Grateful Dead – Europe 72

24. Brightblack Morning Light – Motion To Rejoin

25. Love – Forever Changes

26. Elliott Smith – Either/Or

27. Gram Parsons – Grievous Angel

28. Robert Wyatt – Rock Bottom

29. The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers

30. Alice Coltrane – Journey In Satchidananda

31. The Stooges – Funhouse

32. GZA – Liquid Swords

33. Gillian Welch – Time The Revelator

34. Red House Painters – Red House Painters

35. Funkadelic – Maggot Brain

36. Robbie Basho – Venus In Cancer

37. The Waterboys – Fisherman’s Blues

38. Big Star – Third/Sister Lovers

39. Tim Buckley – Happy Sad

40. The Band – The Band

41. Leonard Cohen – The Songs Of Leonard Cohen

42. MC5 – High Time

43. Slint – Spiderland

44. Prince – Around The World In A Day

45. Kraftwerk – Trans Europe Express

46. Joanna Newsom – Ys

47. White Stripes – White Blood Cells

48. The Fall – This Nation’s Saving Grace

49. Pavement – Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

50. Boredoms – Vision Create Newsun

UPDATE 7/11/13: Responding to all your comments and interest, I’ve found the 131-strong longlist that I used to come up with my Top 50 (it mostly involved skimming through my iTunes, plus a cursory look at my shelves). A good few records that some of you have mentioned are in this lot, plus hopefully a few less well-known things that deserve a wider audience.

Let me know what you think, anyhow (they’re not in any order, I should point out):

The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds

AC/DC – Back In Black

The Beach Boys – Surfs Up

The Beach Boys – Smile

The Beatles – Revolver

Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works Volume II

Alice Coltrane – Journey In Satchidananda

Archie Shepp – Attica Blues

Gil Evans – The Individualism Of Gil Evans

Pharaoh Sanders – Black Unity

Smog – Knock Knock

Bill Fay – Bill Fay

Neu! – Neu! 75

Bjork – Vespertine

Led Zeppelin – 2

Led Zeppelin – 4

Led Zeppelin – Houses Of The Holy

Boredoms – Vision Create Newsun

Brightblack Morning Light – Motion To Rejoin

Bruce Springsteen – The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle

Caetano Veloso – Caetano Veloso (2)

Can – Tago Mago

Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation Of Millions

GZA – Liquid Swords

Robbie Basho – Venus In Cancer

Boards Of Canada – Geogaddi

Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited

Bob Dylan – John Wesley Harding

Bob Dylan – Blood On The Tracks

Comets On Fire – Avatar

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Cosmo’s Factory

Lemonheads – It’s A Shame About Ray

Rocket From The Crypt – Hot Charity

The Byrds – Younger Than Yesterday

David Bowie – Heroes

David Bowie – Station To Station

Dennis Wilson – Pacific Ocean Blue

Dexy’s Midnight Runners – Don’t Stand Me Down

The Waterboys – Fisherman’s Blues

Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation

Steely Dan – Countdown To Ecstasy

Funkadelic – Maggot Brain

Duke Ellington – Far East Suite

Patti Smith – Horses

Television – Marquee Moon

Elliott Smith – Either/Or

Os Mutantes – Os Mutantes (1st)

Fairport Convention – Liege And Lief

Fairport Convention – Unhalfbricking

The Fall – This Nation’s Saving Grace

Gram Parsons – Grievous Angel

Tim Buckley – Blue Afternoon

Tim Buckley – Happy Sad

Linda Perhacs – Parallelograms

Gillian Welch – Time The Revelator

Neil Young – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Neil Young – Ragged Glory

Neil Young – On The Beach

The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers

The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main Street

The Grateful Dead – Europe 72

Nick Cave – The Good Son

The Stooges – Funhouse

MC5 – High Time

LCD Soundsystem – Sound Of Silver

Jim O’Rourke – Eureka

Joanna Newsom – Ys

Joni Mitchell – Hejira

Joni Mitchell – Court & Spark

Red House Painters – Red House Painters

Sun Kil Moon – Ghosts Of The Great Highway

Julian Cope – Peggy Suicide

The Go Betweens – Spring Hill Fair

The Go Betweens – Before Hollywood

Aztec Camera – High Land Hard Rain

Kraftwerk – Trans Europe Express

Richard & Linda Thompson – I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight

Leonard Cohen – The Songs Of Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man

Cluster – Sowiesoso

Love – Forever Changes

Mike Oldfield – Hergest Ridge

My Bloody Valentine – Loveless

The Necks – Mosquito/See Through

PJ Harvey – Dry

The Pop Group – Y

Pulp – Different Class

Queens Of The Stone Age – Songs For The Deaf

REM – Murmur

Robert Wyatt – Rock Bottom

Roy Harper – Stormcock

Royal Trux – Accelerator

Sandy Bull – E Pluribus Unum

Scritti Politti – Songs To Remember

Shirley & Dolly Collins – Death And The Lady

Sly & The Family Stone – Fresh

Pavement – Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

Terry Riley – A Rainbow In Curved Air

Terry Riley – Persian Surgery Dervishes

The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground

Scott Walker – Scott 4

Wilco – A Ghost Is Born

Nick Drake – Five Leaves Left

The Band – The Band

Spiritualized – Lazer Guided Melodies

The Monkees – Head

Jeff Buckley – Grace

Pixies – Surfer Rosa

The Feminine Complex – Livin’ Love

Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate – By The Light Of The Moon

Youssou N’Dour – Immigres

Four Tet – Pause

Fennesz – Endless Summer

Marvin Gaye – What’s Goin’ On

Isaac Hayes – Hot Buttered Soul

Screaming Trees – Dust

Love As Laughter – Destination 2000

Stereolab – Emperor Tomato Ketchup

The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead

Slint – Spiderland

Van Morrison – Astral Weeks

Van Morrison – The Common One

Van Morrison – Into The Music

Husker Du – Candy Apple Grey

Big Star – Third/Sister Lovers

Prince – Around The World In A Day

Van Dyke Parks – Song Cycle

Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill

D’Angelo – Voodoo

Donald Fagen – The Nightfly

White Stripes – White Blood Cells

The Who: Townshend and Daltrey on Tommy, touring and their 50th anniversary

Michael Bonner

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23rd October 2013

0

The Who: Townshend and Daltrey on Tommy, touring and their 50th anniversary

To Hammersmith, and the launch of The Who’s super deluxe edition of Tommy at Riverside Studios. Tonight, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey are attending a special screening of Sensation – The Story Of The Who’s Tommy, a new documentary about the album due for broadcast this Friday [October 25]. I caught up with Townshend and Daltrey separately, and we managed to cover off some of their memories of Tommy, The Who's early run of singles, and what their plans are for the band's 50th anniversary next year... Townshend arrives first. He is sombrely dressed in dark jacket, trousers, and a check shirt; the only splash of colour is a red spotted handkerchief sprouting from the breast pocket of his jacket. Why is Tommy so important to you? I don’t know if it is the most important thing to me today. It’s a project that’s significant in the Sixties maelstrom of stuff like Dark Side Of The Moon, Sgt Pepper, Pet Sounds, those albums from the Sixties which made a particular mark. So it keeps coming back. This is about Universal trying to make some money at Christmas, isn’t it? What are your memories of making the album? Primarily, good. It was a strange recording session. It was very tricky because we were doing lots of shows around it. It was very sporadic, the recording. Very difficult to get momentum going, so when it was all brought together at the end I was quite surprised how well it hung together. Is there more material in the archive? I don’t think there’s much else to screw out of it. Although it’s interesting, when I’m dead and gone, and people start to go through all the paperwork that I gather, when I was writing my book I found I had a huge amount of really interesting paper. Not just press clips, but letters, documents, bills, but lots and lots of hand written notes, letters from Kit Lambert, letters from Keith, letters from Eric Clapton, all kinds of interesting things from right the way through my life. All of that stuff, when it’s curated, will be extremely interesting. But I just haven’t got the time. Well, I have got the time, I could easily do it. I gathered it for my book, and when it actually came to it, what I actually did in the book is I just went through it. But every time I come back to do something like this, I feel better informed in a sense, becoming more of a curator of the project. It’s The Who's 50th anniversary next year. Do you have any plans to commemorate it? We will probably just tour and it’ll probably be the last big tour that we do. I wasn’t going to do a tour for the anniversary. I won’t say I enjoyed Quadrophenia, but it was a successful tour. It was good for me because Roger did all the creative work. No, seriously, I just showed up and wanged away on the guitar. I enjoyed it. I wasn’t particularly crazy about being up on the stage and on the road. But with respect to the whole thing about, for me, having been through some real shit in the last 15 years personally, one of the things that really means something to me is to have the affection of the public. This is not a rock star thing to say. Most people think rock stars are cunts and they’re right. A quick interview with Noel Gallagher ands you’ll realize he’s a lovable rogue, isn’t he? But I think we do love it. So for me the important thing is that every time I would meet somebody in the street they would say, “So, are you going to tour again?”, and I’d kind of go, “No, not really.” As I said that, I’d realize they’d go “Oh. OK, then.” Whereas if I was to say yes, I’d get all this wave of “Oh, well, I’ll come and see you!” I’d think, ‘Why would you come and see us?” So, anyway, for our 50th anniversary I won’t have much fun. But I think we need to go out, we need to celebrate it. Roger Daltrey arrives ten minutes later. He looks a little like a Seventies' incarnation of Doctor Who enjoying his dotage. His curly hair is thick though greying. He wears blue-tinted round glasses and a long coat which has vertical grey stripes running through it. While Townshend appears thoughtful and intense as he answers questions, Daltrey seems more relaxed and expansive. Why is Tommy an important album to you? It was a transitional period. We were always destined to be more than a hit singles band. There was always something very, very different about The Who, and as a singles band we couldn’t express it properly. Playing Tommy live for the first time to audiences, that was an experience. It went on for about an hour and fifteen minutes, and we didn’t give them time to applaud between songs. It was like shaking up a bottle of Tizer because at the end they all went nuts. It was a bit hard to hang on to reality when it broke. It’s important to me because it’s the first piece of work outside the early singles, up to “My Generation” really, that I could really feel comfortable with the voice. It was that piece of work that made me look inward and express it vocally – much, much more than when I was doing “My Generation”, I was an angry young man, and that’s easy when you’re young, it’s easy to be angry. But then of course Tommy needed so many more emotions and you have to look very deeply inside yourself to bring that out within the words. So Tommy gave me the voice that later got me through those great albums like Who’s Next, Quadrophenia, Live At Leeds. It's The Who's 50th anniversary next year. What are your thoughts about that? We’re trying to ignore this. It’s just another year for us. You’re talking to a band that never thought it would make it to the end of the week. So who knows? We’ve got no plans at all for next year. And I really mean that. I wish we did, because I could do with The Who at the Albert Hall in March. To me, so what? It’s 50 years. It’s lucky Pete and I are still here. As long as we can still do it, it doesn’t matter if it’s 51 years or 53 years. I’d hate to think it’s all over. But if it is, it’s been a great run. I think Pete and I are playing better than ever, we're joined at the hip. There’s no reason to stop, and the music hasn’t dated, so why not? But equally, you can’t be on the road all the time. How’s your album going with Wilko Johnson? I’m going to do some songs with him. We were desperately trying to find new material, but we just want to get something done in the studio as quick as we can. See if there’s any chemistry, see if we can make something a bit different. I don’t know whether it’ll be any good, I don’t know, it’s going to be a joy to play with, I love him as a man, he’s an absolute treasure, an extraordinary character. I’ve always noted his guitar playing, but always thought there was a lot more there to get out of him. So we’ll see. Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX3w69FL2r0 Photo crredit: REX/Richard Young

To Hammersmith, and the launch of The Who’s super deluxe edition of Tommy at Riverside Studios. Tonight, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey are attending a special screening of Sensation – The Story Of The Who’s Tommy, a new documentary about the album due for broadcast this Friday [October 25].

I caught up with Townshend and Daltrey separately, and we managed to cover off some of their memories of Tommy, The Who’s early run of singles, and what their plans are for the band’s 50th anniversary next year…

Townshend arrives first. He is sombrely dressed in dark jacket, trousers, and a check shirt; the only splash of colour is a red spotted handkerchief sprouting from the breast pocket of his jacket.

Why is Tommy so important to you?

I don’t know if it is the most important thing to me today. It’s a project that’s significant in the Sixties maelstrom of stuff like Dark Side Of The Moon, Sgt Pepper, Pet Sounds, those albums from the Sixties which made a particular mark. So it keeps coming back. This is about Universal trying to make some money at Christmas, isn’t it?

What are your memories of making the album?

Primarily, good. It was a strange recording session. It was very tricky because we were doing lots of shows around it. It was very sporadic, the recording. Very difficult to get momentum going, so when it was all brought together at the end I was quite surprised how well it hung together.

Is there more material in the archive?

I don’t think there’s much else to screw out of it. Although it’s interesting, when I’m dead and gone, and people start to go through all the paperwork that I gather, when I was writing my book I found I had a huge amount of really interesting paper. Not just press clips, but letters, documents, bills, but lots and lots of hand written notes, letters from Kit Lambert, letters from Keith, letters from Eric Clapton, all kinds of interesting things from right the way through my life. All of that stuff, when it’s curated, will be extremely interesting. But I just haven’t got the time. Well, I have got the time, I could easily do it. I gathered it for my book, and when it actually came to it, what I actually did in the book is I just went through it. But every time I come back to do something like this, I feel better informed in a sense, becoming more of a curator of the project.

It’s The Who’s 50th anniversary next year. Do you have any plans to commemorate it?

We will probably just tour and it’ll probably be the last big tour that we do. I wasn’t going to do a tour for the anniversary. I won’t say I enjoyed Quadrophenia, but it was a successful tour. It was good for me because Roger did all the creative work. No, seriously, I just showed up and wanged away on the guitar. I enjoyed it. I wasn’t particularly crazy about being up on the stage and on the road. But with respect to the whole thing about, for me, having been through some real shit in the last 15 years personally, one of the things that really means something to me is to have the affection of the public. This is not a rock star thing to say. Most people think rock stars are cunts and they’re right. A quick interview with Noel Gallagher ands you’ll realize he’s a lovable rogue, isn’t he? But I think we do love it. So for me the important thing is that every time I would meet somebody in the street they would say, “So, are you going to tour again?”, and I’d kind of go, “No, not really.” As I said that, I’d realize they’d go “Oh. OK, then.” Whereas if I was to say yes, I’d get all this wave of “Oh, well, I’ll come and see you!” I’d think, ‘Why would you come and see us?” So, anyway, for our 50th anniversary I won’t have much fun. But I think we need to go out, we need to celebrate it.

Roger Daltrey arrives ten minutes later. He looks a little like a Seventies’ incarnation of Doctor Who enjoying his dotage. His curly hair is thick though greying. He wears blue-tinted round glasses and a long coat which has vertical grey stripes running through it. While Townshend appears thoughtful and intense as he answers questions, Daltrey seems more relaxed and expansive.

Why is Tommy an important album to you?

It was a transitional period. We were always destined to be more than a hit singles band. There was always something very, very different about The Who, and as a singles band we couldn’t express it properly. Playing Tommy live for the first time to audiences, that was an experience. It went on for about an hour and fifteen minutes, and we didn’t give them time to applaud between songs. It was like shaking up a bottle of Tizer because at the end they all went nuts. It was a bit hard to hang on to reality when it broke. It’s important to me because it’s the first piece of work outside the early singles, up to “My Generation” really, that I could really feel comfortable with the voice. It was that piece of work that made me look inward and express it vocally – much, much more than when I was doing “My Generation”, I was an angry young man, and that’s easy when you’re young, it’s easy to be angry. But then of course Tommy needed so many more emotions and you have to look very deeply inside yourself to bring that out within the words. So Tommy gave me the voice that later got me through those great albums like Who’s Next, Quadrophenia, Live At Leeds.

It’s The Who’s 50th anniversary next year. What are your thoughts about that?

We’re trying to ignore this. It’s just another year for us. You’re talking to a band that never thought it would make it to the end of the week. So who knows? We’ve got no plans at all for next year. And I really mean that. I wish we did, because I could do with The Who at the Albert Hall in March. To me, so what? It’s 50 years. It’s lucky Pete and I are still here. As long as we can still do it, it doesn’t matter if it’s 51 years or 53 years. I’d hate to think it’s all over. But if it is, it’s been a great run. I think Pete and I are playing better than ever, we’re joined at the hip. There’s no reason to stop, and the music hasn’t dated, so why not? But equally, you can’t be on the road all the time.

How’s your album going with Wilko Johnson?

I’m going to do some songs with him. We were desperately trying to find new material, but we just want to get something done in the studio as quick as we can. See if there’s any chemistry, see if we can make something a bit different. I don’t know whether it’ll be any good, I don’t know, it’s going to be a joy to play with, I love him as a man, he’s an absolute treasure, an extraordinary character. I’ve always noted his guitar playing, but always thought there was a lot more there to get out of him. So we’ll see.

Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner.

Photo crredit: REX/Richard Young

Arctic Monkey kick off UK tour in Newcastle

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23rd October 2013

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Arctic Monkey kick off UK tour in Newcastle

Arctic Monkeys kicked off the first night of their UK tour last night at Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena. Supported by The Strypes, the band played to a sellout crowd, kicking off with the first single from their fifth and most recent studio album, 'AM', 'Do I Wanna Know?', before a set which mixed ...

Arctic Monkeys kicked off the first night of their UK tour last night at Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena.

Supported by The Strypes, the band played to a sellout crowd, kicking off with the first single from their fifth and most recent studio album, ‘AM’, ‘Do I Wanna Know?’, before a set which mixed new tracks such as ‘Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?’ with classic hits from their repertoire including ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’, ‘Mardy Bum’ and ‘Dancing Shoes’.

The band rarely addressed the crowd throughout the 20-song set, although Alex Turner uttered a few choice words – after ‘Teddy Picker’, perhaps in reference to his Elvis-inspired quiff, he commented, “Thank you, thank you very much” before dedicating ‘I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ to “all the Geordie lasses”.

Returning for the encore to chants of “Arctic, Arctic, Arctic”, the band reestablished themselves on stage with a slow rendition of ‘Mardy Bum’ and then, fittingly, ‘One For The Road’. “Thanks for having us Newcastle. It’s been a pleasure. You’re a wonderful bunch. Was it good for you?” Turner asked the audience before launching into ‘R U Mine?’ which was the final song of the evening.

Arctic Monkeys played:

‘Do I Wanna Know?’

‘Brianstorm’

‘Dancing Shoes’

‘Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair’

‘Teddy Picker’

‘Crying Lightning’

‘Snap Out Of It’

‘Reckless Serenade’

‘Old Yellow Bricks’

‘Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High’

‘Arabella’

‘Pretty Visitors’

‘I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor’

‘Cornerstone’

‘Do Me A Favour’

‘Fluorescent Adolescent’

‘Knee Socks’

‘Mardy Bum’

‘One For The Road’

‘R U Mine?’

Arctic Monkeys will continue their tour in Manchester Arena tonight (October 23) before dates at London Earls Court, Liverpool Echo Arena, Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, Birmingham LG Arena and Glasgow Hydro Arena before a homecoming show at Sheffield Motorpoint Arena.

Arctic Monkeys will play:

Newcastle Metro Radio Arena (October 22)

Manchester Arena (23)

London Earls Court (25, 26)

Liverpool Echo Arena (28)

Cardiff Motorpoint Arena (29)

Birmingham LG Arena (31)

Glasgow Hydro Arena (November 1)

Sheffield Motorpoint Arena (2)

Rare Bob Dylan recordings to appear on Michael Bloomfield box set

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23rd October 2013

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Rare Bob Dylan recordings to appear on Michael Bloomfield box set

Michael Bloomfield is the subject of a career-spanning 3CD/1DVD box set anthology due for release in February. Produced and curated by Al Kooper - who played with Mike Bloomfield on Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited sessions in 1965 and the Super Session album in 1968 - From His Head To His Heart To...

Michael Bloomfield is the subject of a career-spanning 3CD/1DVD box set anthology due for release in February.

Produced and curated by Al Kooper – who played with Mike Bloomfield on Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited sessions in 1965 and the Super Session album in 1968 – From His Head To His Heart To His Hands contains a wealth of previously unreleased tracks – including Bloomfield’s first demos for John Hammond Sr.in 1964 and his final public performance, climaxing with a track from the 1980 Bob Dylan concert in San Francisco – alongside essential key recordings, both live and studio.

The anthology collates solo material, work with ensembles including the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the Electric Flag, tracks with Muddy Waters and Janis Joplin, “Highway 61” band outtakes and more.

The box set, which is released via Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, also contains Sweet Blues: A Film about Michael Bloomfield. Directed by Bob Sarles, the documentary combines vintage audio interviews and live performance footage of Bloomfield with newly lensed reflections on the artist from the guitarist’s friends and fellow musicians.

The tracklisting for From His Head To His Heart To His Hands is:

CD1 – ROOTS

1. I’m a Country Boy 2:45*

2. Judge, Judge 2:03*

3. Hammond’s Rag 2:09*

4. I’ve Got You in the Palm of My Hand 2:26

5. I’ve Got My Mojo Workin’ 2:36

6. Like a Rolling Stone (Instrumental) 6:35* – performed by Bob Dylan

7. Tombstone Blues (Alternate Chambers Brothers Version) 5:58* – performed by Bob Dylan

8. Michael Speaks About Paul Butterfield 0:39

9. Born in Chicago 3:05 – performed by The Paul Butterfield Blues Band

10. Blues with a Feeling 4:23 – performed by The Paul Butterfield Blues Band

11. East-West 13:12 – performed by The Paul Butterfield Blues Band

12. Killing Floor 3:51 – performed by The Electric Flag

13. Texas 4:47 – performed by The Electric Flag

14. Susie’s Shuffle (Live Jam) 3:42* – performed by The Electric Flag

15. Just a Little Something (Live) 3:22* – performed by The Electric Flag

16. Easy Rider 0:47 – performed by The Electric Flag

CD2 – JAMS

1. Albert’s Shuffle 6:55

2. Stop 4:17

3. His Holy Modal Majesty 7:17

4. Opening Speech (Live) 1:23

5. 59th Street Bridge Song (Feeling Groovy) (Live) Hybrid Edit 5:39*

6. Don’t Throw Your Love on Me So Strong (Live) 7:49

7. Santana Clause (Live) 4:41*

8. The Weight (Live) 4:08

9. Opening Speech (Live) 1:27

10. One Way Out (Live) 4:17

11. Her Holy Modal Highness (Live) 6:09

12. Fat Grey Cloud (Live) 4:30

13. Mary Ann (Live) 5:19

14. That’s All Right (Live) 3:42

CD3 – LAST LICKS

1. I’m Glad I’m Jewish (Live) 3:15

2. Men’s Room – Spoken Word Segment from McCabe’s (Live) 0:51

3. Don’t You Lie to Me (Live) 3:09

4. Can’t Lose What You Ain’t Never Had (Live) 3:04 – performed by Muddy Waters

5. Gypsy Good Time (Live) 4:29

6. One Good Man 4:02 – performed by Janis Joplin

7. It’s About Time (Live) 5:15

8. Carmelita Skiffle (Live) 2:53

9. Darktown Strutters Ball (Live) 3:56

10. Don’t Think About It Baby 3:31

11. Jockey Blues/Old Folks Boogie (Live) 3:15

12. A-Flat Boogaloo (Live) 3:55

13. Glamour Girl (Live) 8:02*

14. Spoken Intro – Bob Dylan (Live) 2:02*

15. The Groom’s Still Waiting at the Altar (Live) 5:50* – performed by Bob Dylan

16. Hymn Time (Live Excerpt) 1:53

DVD – SWEET BLUES: A FILM ABOUT MIKE BLOOMFIELD

A Ravin’ Film. Directed by Bob Sarles. Produced and Edited by Bob Sarles and Christina Keating. Director of photography: Ted Leyhe. Producers: Ted Leyhe, Larry Milburn & Bruce Schmiechen.

*Previously Unreleased

Rare David Bowie radio show to be aired on BBC 6 Music today

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23rd October 2013

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Rare David Bowie radio show to be aired on BBC 6 Music today

A rare David Bowie promotional radio programme will air on BBC Radio 6 Music today [October 23]. The 15-minute show was recorded by Bowie to promote the release of Bowie's 1973 album Pin Ups but never made it on air. The quarter of an hour broadcast includes tracks from the album, as well as clips of Bowie talking about the London music scene. The tape was discovered by Nigel Reeve, the man in charge of Bowie's back catalogue. Speaking to the BBC about his find, Reeve says: "I discovered it during some research several years ago. It was in an old tape vault on 1/4" tape with simply the words 'Radio Show' written on it. This is such a rare find. No-one knew of its existence, apart from David and Ken [Scott, the album and radio show's producer]. To play it for the first time was quite simply a jaw-dropping moment." The radio show will be broadcast in parts across the day on 6 Music, and will be available to listen to until midnight on October 27 via the BBC iPlayer. Breakfast Show presenter Shaun Keaveny will play the first part of the promo at 9.30am, followed by further clips through the day in Lauren Laverne, Radcliffe and Maconie and Steve Lamacq's shows, with the final part airing on Marc Riley's programme in the evening.

A rare David Bowie promotional radio programme will air on BBC Radio 6 Music today [October 23].

The 15-minute show was recorded by Bowie to promote the release of Bowie’s 1973 album Pin Ups but never made it on air. The quarter of an hour broadcast includes tracks from the album, as well as clips of Bowie talking about the London music scene.

The tape was discovered by Nigel Reeve, the man in charge of Bowie’s back catalogue. Speaking to the BBC about his find, Reeve says: “I discovered it during some research several years ago. It was in an old tape vault on 1/4″ tape with simply the words ‘Radio Show’ written on it. This is such a rare find. No-one knew of its existence, apart from David and Ken [Scott, the album and radio show’s producer]. To play it for the first time was quite simply a jaw-dropping moment.”

The radio show will be broadcast in parts across the day on 6 Music, and will be available to listen to until midnight on October 27 via the BBC iPlayer. Breakfast Show presenter Shaun Keaveny will play the first part of the promo at 9.30am, followed by further clips through the day in Lauren Laverne, Radcliffe and Maconie and Steve Lamacq’s shows, with the final part airing on Marc Riley’s programme in the evening.

Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds announce new live album details

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22nd October 2013

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Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds announce new live album details

Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds have announced the release of a new album, Live From KCRW. The album is due for release on December 2. It was recorded on April 18 this year at a live KCRW radio session at Apogee Studio in Los Angeles. It is the band's fourth live album and will be released on CD, down...

Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds have announced the release of a new album, Live From KCRW.

The album is due for release on December 2. It was recorded on April 18 this year at a live KCRW radio session at Apogee Studio in Los Angeles.

It is the band’s fourth live album and will be released on CD, download and double vinyl format. The vinyl edition features two additional exclusive, un-broadcasted live recordings from the session, “Into My Arms” and “God Is In The House”. The album will also be available as a digital deluxe bundle with Push The Sky Away.

The line up on the album is Nick Cave (piano, vocals), Warren Ellis (tenor guitar, violin, piano, loops, backing vocals), Martyn Casey (bass), Jim Sclavunos (percussion, drums, backing vocals) and Barry Adamson (organ, backing vocals).

The tracklisting for Live From KCRW is:

Higgs Boson Blues

Far From Me

Stranger Than Kindness

The Mercy Seat

And No More Shall We Part

Wide Lovely Eyes

Mermaids

People Ain’t No Good

Into My Arms (limited vinyl only)

God Is In The House (limited vinyl only)

Push The Sky Away

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0yLsDnnLgE

Okkervil River – The Silver Gymnasium

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22nd October 2013

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Will Sheff goes back to the future... Terrible things happened in the 1980s. People rolled up the jackets of their suit sleeves. There were keyboards worn like guitars, and guitars with no heads. It was widely believed acceptable behaviour to play the bass with one’s thumb. Every drum sound echoed like a thunderclap, everything else was drenched in turgid washes of synthesiser. Dave Stewart was paid money to produce things. Of the hair, we shall not speak. Yet this much-mocked decade was – especially when regarded from a distance of thirty years’ steady diminishment of rock’n’roll and fracturing of popular culture – incredibly exciting. MTV, the beginning of the media saturation which would eventually eat music alive from within, was in its early stages an invigorating agent making even the furthest-flung of settlements feel part of what was going on. Among these hamlets was Meriden, New Hampshire, home to fewer than 500 souls, one of whom was Will Sheff. The Silver Gymnasium, Okkervil River’s seventh studio album, finds Sheff revving up whatever a 21st century mad professor might use instead of a DeLorean, and returning whence he came. The Silver Gymnasium is, then, a concept album. But it is emphatically not a period piece. Though produced by John Agnello – once an accessory to assorted abominations by Cyndi Lauper, The Hooters, John Cougar Mellencamp and Twisted Sister, among others – “The Silver Gymnasium” conforms mostly to Okkervil River’s established template of anxious, wordy New Wave power pop (though this was, of course, a staple genre of the MTV era in the first place). The musical gestures to the period in which “The Silver Gymnasium” is set are few, and unshowy. Were one not equipped with foreknowledge of what Sheff was doing here, the big tinkling Cheap Trick keyboard riff on “Down Down The Deep River”, the shuffling Mr Mister white-boy funk of “Stay Young” would appear so seamless as to be unremarkable. The Silver Gymnasium, is no exercise in whimsical nostalgia. The opening track, “It Was My Season”, conceals beneath its jaunty Gilbert O’Sullivan-ish piano, and references to VCRs and Ataris, blurred recollections of teenage anguish which seem to surprise Sheff with its lingering potence, as memories of this febrile period in any person’s life can (“This pain inside’s still just too sharp/What was I thinking?”). There are recurring memories of assorted car crashes, some accidental, some apparently deliberate (“Lido Pier Suicide Car”). There are what appear laments to compadres who didn’t make it out of Meriden, and/or adolescence (“Walking Without Frankie”). There are also, more happily, any number of reminders of Sheff’s treasurable idiosyncrasies as a writer, of the fact that he is one of very few whose voice is recognisable in just a couple of lines of any given lyric sheet. The baleful yet irresistible singalong “All The Time Every Day” is structured as a Q&A dialogue, the chorused title replying to such posers as “Do you watch the world get cold, and crushed and small? And when you could do so much, do you do fuck all?” This last reproach is as crucial to The Silver Gymnasium, as it is to all examinations of youth as reviewed from middle age (though Sheff is not yet 40, his precocity advances him a decade or so). If we knew then what we know now, we’d be richer, happier and/or would at least have gotten laid a lot more. Conversely, if only we could unlearn some of what we have picked up since then, we’d be braver, kinder, more passionate. Or, as Sheff puts it on “Stay Young”, “Don’t get tough. Don’t ‘get on with it’. Stay on. It’s so heartbreaking and it’s so sad when it’s gone.” The Silver Gymnasium, is the archest conceit Okkervil River have yet attempted – a considerable accolade for this group in particular. But it is also the sincerest, most heartfelt album they’ve yet assembled, and it’s all the more powerful for it. Andrew Mueller Q&A WILL SHEFF Why Meriden, New Hampshire, and why 1986? I love it when art feels local. It’s done in films all the time, but rarely in rock music. And I think New England is misrepresented in art, as a sanitizsed land of picket fences where everyone talks like a Kennedy, and under-represented in songwriting. The 1980s adolescence seems to have been more so than most. Was there something special about being young at that time? I actually think it was kind of a terrible, tragic time. Especially in the second half. Something horrible happened to culture. People think of 80s music as silly, but when you look at stuff like ‘Scary Monsters’, ‘Remain In Light’, ‘Cupid & Psyche ’85’, you see the real promise of the 80s. Then it all crumbled and by the end it was all mullets and DX7s and gated drums and horror. Was making a concept album kind of an act of rebellion against the way that music has now become so fragmented, so instant? Yeah. I realised that for better or for worse I compose songs with a lot of love and care, and try to make whole integrated artworks that at least in my dreams will last for a little while. I think I kind of came home to that idea and just thought I was going to make something that felt defiantly substantial. How important was it to choose a producer associated with the 80s? I don’t want to take the listener to 1986 sonically. I want to take them there emotionally. We didn’t stress about period details in the sound. It was more about paying tribute to the spirit of that time, both the carefree and vulnerable aspects of childhood and what a child absorbed from the easy-breezy vibe of rock radio. I wanted a producer who was actually there, but more importantly I wanted a producer who was a real producer. INTERVIEW: ANDREW MUELLER

Will Sheff goes back to the future…

Terrible things happened in the 1980s. People rolled up the jackets of their suit sleeves. There were keyboards worn like guitars, and guitars with no heads. It was widely believed acceptable behaviour to play the bass with one’s thumb. Every drum sound echoed like a thunderclap, everything else was drenched in turgid washes of synthesiser. Dave Stewart was paid money to produce things. Of the hair, we shall not speak.

Yet this much-mocked decade was – especially when regarded from a distance of thirty years’ steady diminishment of rock’n’roll and fracturing of popular culture – incredibly exciting. MTV, the beginning of the media saturation which would eventually eat music alive from within, was in its early stages an invigorating agent making even the furthest-flung of settlements feel part of what was going on. Among these hamlets was Meriden, New Hampshire, home to fewer than 500 souls, one of whom was Will Sheff. The Silver Gymnasium, Okkervil River’s seventh studio album, finds Sheff revving up whatever a 21st century mad professor might use instead of a DeLorean, and returning whence he came.

The Silver Gymnasium is, then, a concept album. But it is emphatically not a period piece. Though produced by John Agnello – once an accessory to assorted abominations by Cyndi Lauper, The Hooters, John Cougar Mellencamp and Twisted Sister, among others – “The Silver Gymnasium” conforms mostly to Okkervil River’s established template of anxious, wordy New Wave power pop (though this was, of course, a staple genre of the MTV era in the first place). The musical gestures to the period in which “The Silver Gymnasium” is set are few, and unshowy. Were one not equipped with foreknowledge of what Sheff was doing here, the big tinkling Cheap Trick keyboard riff on “Down Down The Deep River”, the shuffling Mr Mister white-boy funk of “Stay Young” would appear so seamless as to be unremarkable.

The Silver Gymnasium, is no exercise in whimsical nostalgia. The opening track, “It Was My Season”, conceals beneath its jaunty Gilbert O’Sullivan-ish piano, and references to VCRs and Ataris, blurred recollections of teenage anguish which seem to surprise Sheff with its lingering potence, as memories of this febrile period in any person’s life can (“This pain inside’s still just too sharp/What was I thinking?”). There are recurring memories of assorted car crashes, some accidental, some apparently deliberate (“Lido Pier Suicide Car”). There are what appear laments to compadres who didn’t make it out of Meriden, and/or adolescence (“Walking Without Frankie”).

There are also, more happily, any number of reminders of Sheff’s treasurable idiosyncrasies as a writer, of the fact that he is one of very few whose voice is recognisable in just a couple of lines of any given lyric sheet. The baleful yet irresistible singalong “All The Time Every Day” is structured as a Q&A dialogue, the chorused title replying to such posers as “Do you watch the world get cold, and crushed and small? And when you could do so much, do you do fuck all?”

This last reproach is as crucial to The Silver Gymnasium, as it is to all examinations of youth as reviewed from middle age (though Sheff is not yet 40, his precocity advances him a decade or so). If we knew then what we know now, we’d be richer, happier and/or would at least have gotten laid a lot more. Conversely, if only we could unlearn some of what we have picked up since then, we’d be braver, kinder, more passionate. Or, as Sheff puts it on “Stay Young”, “Don’t get tough. Don’t ‘get on with it’. Stay on. It’s so heartbreaking and it’s so sad when it’s gone.”

The Silver Gymnasium, is the archest conceit Okkervil River have yet attempted – a considerable accolade for this group in particular. But it is also the sincerest, most heartfelt album they’ve yet assembled, and it’s all the more powerful for it.

Andrew Mueller

Q&A

WILL SHEFF

Why Meriden, New Hampshire, and why 1986?

I love it when art feels local. It’s done in films all the time, but rarely in rock music. And I think New England is misrepresented in art, as a sanitizsed land of picket fences where everyone talks like a Kennedy, and under-represented in songwriting.

The 1980s adolescence seems to have been more so than most. Was there something special about being young at that time?

I actually think it was kind of a terrible, tragic time. Especially in the second half. Something horrible happened to culture. People think of 80s music as silly, but when you look at stuff like ‘Scary Monsters’, ‘Remain In Light’, ‘Cupid & Psyche ’85’, you see the real promise of the 80s. Then it all crumbled and by the end it was all mullets and DX7s and gated drums and horror.

Was making a concept album kind of an act of rebellion against the way that music has now become so fragmented, so instant?

Yeah. I realised that for better or for worse I compose songs with a lot of love and care, and try to make whole integrated artworks that at least in my dreams will last for a little while. I think I kind of came home to that idea and just thought I was going to make something that felt defiantly substantial.

How important was it to choose a producer associated with the 80s?

I don’t want to take the listener to 1986 sonically. I want to take them there emotionally. We didn’t stress about period details in the sound. It was more about paying tribute to the spirit of that time, both the carefree and vulnerable aspects of childhood and what a child absorbed from the easy-breezy vibe of rock radio. I wanted a producer who was actually there, but more importantly I wanted a producer who was a real producer.

INTERVIEW: ANDREW MUELLER

Dolly Parton announces new album and live dates for 2014

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22nd October 2013

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Dolly Parton announces new album and live dates for 2014

Dolly Parton has announced European tour dates to coincide with the release of her new album. The album, called Blue Smoke, doesn't yet have a confirmed release date, however the Blue Smoke Tour reaches England on June 8 and includes one show confirmed so far for London's 02 Arena. “Every time I...

Dolly Parton has announced European tour dates to coincide with the release of her new album.

The album, called Blue Smoke, doesn’t yet have a confirmed release date, however the Blue Smoke Tour reaches England on June 8 and includes one show confirmed so far for London’s 02 Arena.

“Every time I come to Europe I’m just as excited as I was my very first time, which was many, many years ago. I love that part of the world and I especially love the fans,” adds Parton. “We always have such a good time and I’ve put together a lot of things for this show that I think the fans will love. We had not planned to come back so soon, but we got so much fan mail and such a great reaction that I thought ‘Well, why not. If they’re having a good time and we always do, let’s just do it’.”

Dolly Parton plays:

June 8: England, Liverpool, Echo Arena

June 10: Northern Ireland, Belfast, Odyssey Arena

June 11:: Ireland, Dublin, O2 Arena

June 12: Ireland, Cork, Live At The Marquee

June 14: England, Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena

June 15: Scotland, Aberdeen, GE Arena

June 17: Scotland, Glasgow, Hydro Arena

June 20: England, Leeds, First Direct Arena

June 21: England, Manchester, Phones 4U Arena

June 22: England, Birmingham, LG Arena

June 24: Wales, Cardiff, Motorpoint Arena

June 27: England, London, O2 Arena

July 2: England, Nottingham, Arena

July 5: Germany, Cologne, Lanxess Arena

July 6: Germany, Berlin, O2 World

July 8: Denmark, Copenhagen, Forum

July 9: Norway, Oslo, Spektrum

You can find more information here.

Reviewed: Donald Fagen’s “Eminent Hipsters”

John Mulvey

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22nd October 2013

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Reviewed: Donald Fagen’s “Eminent Hipsters”

In his excellent Uncut review of the Morrissey “Autobiography”, Michael alludes to the get-out clause afforded rock memoirists post-“Chronicles”: why bother obfuscating certain awkward details when you can, by being capricious with time and chronology, just skip the difficult stuff? Since my reading of Morrissey’s book has thus far been limited to randomly plucked references to Diana Dors, Dirk Bogarde, Peter Wyngarde etc, I can’t speak with total authority here, but it seems like Morrissey more or less sticks to what we might call the logical plot. Donald Fagen, in his memoir “Eminent Hipsters”, does not. He begins with a series of short essays, some of which appeared in Premiere in the 1980s, which map out the cultural landscape of Fagen’s childhood. The chapter titles are often great – “Henry Mancini’s Anomie Deluxe”, “The Cortico-Thalamic Pause: Growing Up Sci-Fi” – and Fagen, as you might expect, is an elegant and erudite writer, particularly when he’s trying his hand as a jazz critic. What gradually starts to emerge, as he tenderly reflects on the musical and literary enthusiasms of his Cold War childhood, will be familiar to fans of, in particular, “The Nightfly”. The adolescent Fagen hides a radio under his bedcovers and spends most of the early hours listening to a jazz DJ called Mort Fega (who Fagen finally meets, touchingly, at a show as late as 2005). He reads Alfred Bester and speculates that “maybe, out there somewhere, across Route 27, just around the next curve of space-time, the second half of the 20th Century might be just as exciting.” He talks about becoming adolescent at a time when corporate and legislative America were hymning a future of boundless possibilities, while simultaneously scaring the shit out of at least one generation with their rhetoric of “The Red Peril” and their exhortations to “Duck and cover!” Talking about Wes Anderson’s movies later in the book, Fagen laments, “Although it was no picnic, it’s too bad everyone’s coming of age can’t take place in the early ‘60s.” Here, fascinatingly, the raw materials of “New Frontier”, “IGY” and “The Nightfly” itself are laid out. Fagen, does not, though discuss how that record – or indeed how any of his other solo records – came about. Eventually, his wryly nostalgic trawl arrives – via a farcical interview with Ennio Morricone – to a reminiscence of his time at Bard College. Again, this chapter, titled “Class Of ‘69”, is pretty good, after a fashion. There is an auspicious arrival, in the shape of Walter Becker, with whom Fagen starts making music. “The sensibility of the lyrics, which seemed to fall somewhere between Tom Lehrer and ‘Pale Fire’,” writes Fagen, “really cracked us up.” Chevy Chase is briefly their drummer, keeps “excellent time”, and “didn’t embarrass us by taking off his clothes.” It being the late ‘60s, drugs are involved. A droll yarn that I won’t spoil here results in Fagen “looking like an accident involving a giant crow and an electric fan.” Becker, however, takes up roughly two and a half pages, then is gone: “But that’s another story,” notes Fagen, unnecessarily, and it’s one he’s clearly unwilling to tell. We have reached page 86, about halfway through “Eminent Hipsters”, and the point where the meaty tale of Steely Dan should be belatedly getting under way. What happens next is not, perhaps, quite so satisfying. The second half of the book is an extended tour diary from a summer 2012 jaunt that Donald Fagen took as bandleader of The Dukes Of September, a soul revue also featuring Boz Scaggs and Michael McDonald. For the best part of 80 pages, Fagen sleepwalks from one disappointing luxury hotel to another, from one depressingly small venue with awful sound to the next. The audiences are, mostly, irritatingly “geriatric” and almost certainly right-wing, or consist of what he repeatedly disparages as “TV Babies” – the generations he believes have been brainwashed by disposable culture and left with microscopic attention spans, and who as a consequence only want to hear him play his hits. It is not ‘til page 145 that some semblance of Fagen’s pleasure in making music – as opposed to his pleasure in listening to other people’s work – becomes apparent. “There’s no better job than being in a good rhythm section,” he claims, ever the recalcitrant jazzer. For all the familiarity of the rants, Fagen is a much better writer than most of the Grumpy Old Men/First World Problems school, and is self-aware enough – to a chronically debilitating degree, in fact – to know what he’s doing. He’s often capable of going on some scholarly tangent: the discussion of Stravinsky that briefly and brilliantly touches on George Clinton is especially good. Nevertheless, his exasperations with first class travel can recall the entitled whingeing of those scapegoated by the @DJscomplaining Twitter account. And it’s hard not to find someone hypocritical who complains about having to take his own personal bus rather than a chartered jet, then claims, “I have a hard time being around wealthy types.” Perhaps the greatest shock is not that Fagen is a grouch (who’d have guessed?), nor that he is contrary enough to avoid the story most of his fans will want to read. The real surprise is how much he reveals in passing details about himself, his domestic life, his health (a critical part of being on tour seems to involve sorting backstage passes for the local medical elite), if not his old band. A sceptic – surely scepticism is a prerequisite for being a Fagen/Steely Dan fan? – might conclude that, by ignoring Steely Dan so assiduously, some residual tensions with Walter Becker might be ongoing, regardless of this summer’s US tour. But every now and again, an incidental detail will suggest otherwise – will strongly imply, in fact, that Fagen and Becker’s friendship currently stretches far beyond their joint moneymaking potential on the oldies circuit. A terribly tragic story begins with a revealing little detail: Libby Titus, Fagen’s wife, out shopping on Madison Avenue with Becker, helping him buy kitchen equipment for his daughter. It’s a nice touch, but ultimately a tantalising and frustrating one. “Eminent Hipsters” feels like one of those ragbag, intermittently compelling anthologies that come out in the wake of a meatier autobiography. In the section about Stravinsky that’s too complicated to explain here, Fagen talks about a “sort of reversal of George Clinton’s slogan, ‘Free your mind and your ass will follow.’” Let’s hope he’s taking the same approach himself to writing memoirs. Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnRMulvey Picture: Danny Clinch

In his excellent Uncut review of the Morrissey “Autobiography”, Michael alludes to the get-out clause afforded rock memoirists post-“Chronicles”: why bother obfuscating certain awkward details when you can, by being capricious with time and chronology, just skip the difficult stuff?

Since my reading of Morrissey’s book has thus far been limited to randomly plucked references to Diana Dors, Dirk Bogarde, Peter Wyngarde etc, I can’t speak with total authority here, but it seems like Morrissey more or less sticks to what we might call the logical plot.

Donald Fagen, in his memoir “Eminent Hipsters”, does not. He begins with a series of short essays, some of which appeared in Premiere in the 1980s, which map out the cultural landscape of Fagen’s childhood. The chapter titles are often great – “Henry Mancini’s Anomie Deluxe”, “The Cortico-Thalamic Pause: Growing Up Sci-Fi” – and Fagen, as you might expect, is an elegant and erudite writer, particularly when he’s trying his hand as a jazz critic.

What gradually starts to emerge, as he tenderly reflects on the musical and literary enthusiasms of his Cold War childhood, will be familiar to fans of, in particular, “The Nightfly”. The adolescent Fagen hides a radio under his bedcovers and spends most of the early hours listening to a jazz DJ called Mort Fega (who Fagen finally meets, touchingly, at a show as late as 2005). He reads Alfred Bester and speculates that “maybe, out there somewhere, across Route 27, just around the next curve of space-time, the second half of the 20th Century might be just as exciting.”

He talks about becoming adolescent at a time when corporate and legislative America were hymning a future of boundless possibilities, while simultaneously scaring the shit out of at least one generation with their rhetoric of “The Red Peril” and their exhortations to “Duck and cover!” Talking about Wes Anderson’s movies later in the book, Fagen laments, “Although it was no picnic, it’s too bad everyone’s coming of age can’t take place in the early ‘60s.”

Here, fascinatingly, the raw materials of “New Frontier”, “IGY” and “The Nightfly” itself are laid out. Fagen, does not, though discuss how that record – or indeed how any of his other solo records – came about. Eventually, his wryly nostalgic trawl arrives – via a farcical interview with Ennio Morricone – to a reminiscence of his time at Bard College. Again, this chapter, titled “Class Of ‘69”, is pretty good, after a fashion.

There is an auspicious arrival, in the shape of Walter Becker, with whom Fagen starts making music. “The sensibility of the lyrics, which seemed to fall somewhere between Tom Lehrer and ‘Pale Fire’,” writes Fagen, “really cracked us up.” Chevy Chase is briefly their drummer, keeps “excellent time”, and “didn’t embarrass us by taking off his clothes.” It being the late ‘60s, drugs are involved. A droll yarn that I won’t spoil here results in Fagen “looking like an accident involving a giant crow and an electric fan.”

Becker, however, takes up roughly two and a half pages, then is gone: “But that’s another story,” notes Fagen, unnecessarily, and it’s one he’s clearly unwilling to tell. We have reached page 86, about halfway through “Eminent Hipsters”, and the point where the meaty tale of Steely Dan should be belatedly getting under way.

What happens next is not, perhaps, quite so satisfying. The second half of the book is an extended tour diary from a summer 2012 jaunt that Donald Fagen took as bandleader of The Dukes Of September, a soul revue also featuring Boz Scaggs and Michael McDonald. For the best part of 80 pages, Fagen sleepwalks from one disappointing luxury hotel to another, from one depressingly small venue with awful sound to the next. The audiences are, mostly, irritatingly “geriatric” and almost certainly right-wing, or consist of what he repeatedly disparages as “TV Babies” – the generations he believes have been brainwashed by disposable culture and left with microscopic attention spans, and who as a consequence only want to hear him play his hits. It is not ‘til page 145 that some semblance of Fagen’s pleasure in making music – as opposed to his pleasure in listening to other people’s work – becomes apparent. “There’s no better job than being in a good rhythm section,” he claims, ever the recalcitrant jazzer.

For all the familiarity of the rants, Fagen is a much better writer than most of the Grumpy Old Men/First World Problems school, and is self-aware enough – to a chronically debilitating degree, in fact – to know what he’s doing. He’s often capable of going on some scholarly tangent: the discussion of Stravinsky that briefly and brilliantly touches on George Clinton is especially good.

Nevertheless, his exasperations with first class travel can recall the entitled whingeing of those scapegoated by the @DJscomplaining Twitter account. And it’s hard not to find someone hypocritical who complains about having to take his own personal bus rather than a chartered jet, then claims, “I have a hard time being around wealthy types.”

Perhaps the greatest shock is not that Fagen is a grouch (who’d have guessed?), nor that he is contrary enough to avoid the story most of his fans will want to read. The real surprise is how much he reveals in passing details about himself, his domestic life, his health (a critical part of being on tour seems to involve sorting backstage passes for the local medical elite), if not his old band.

A sceptic – surely scepticism is a prerequisite for being a Fagen/Steely Dan fan? – might conclude that, by ignoring Steely Dan so assiduously, some residual tensions with Walter Becker might be ongoing, regardless of this summer’s US tour. But every now and again, an incidental detail will suggest otherwise – will strongly imply, in fact, that Fagen and Becker’s friendship currently stretches far beyond their joint moneymaking potential on the oldies circuit. A terribly tragic story begins with a revealing little detail: Libby Titus, Fagen’s wife, out shopping on Madison Avenue with Becker, helping him buy kitchen equipment for his daughter.

It’s a nice touch, but ultimately a tantalising and frustrating one. “Eminent Hipsters” feels like one of those ragbag, intermittently compelling anthologies that come out in the wake of a meatier autobiography. In the section about Stravinsky that’s too complicated to explain here, Fagen talks about a “sort of reversal of George Clinton’s slogan, ‘Free your mind and your ass will follow.’” Let’s hope he’s taking the same approach himself to writing memoirs.

Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JohnRMulvey

Picture: Danny Clinch

Hop Farm festival to return in 2014

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22nd October 2013

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Hop Farm Festival is set to return next summer, despite being called off this year because of poor ticket sales and going into administration following the 2012 event. Kent Online reports that the festival will be run by a new promoter, thought to be Flashback Festival's Neil Butkeratis. The festiv...

Hop Farm Festival is set to return next summer, despite being called off this year because of poor ticket sales and going into administration following the 2012 event.

Kent Online reports that the festival will be run by a new promoter, thought to be Flashback Festival‘s Neil Butkeratis. The festival’s head of marketing, Miguel Fenton, stated: “The event is going ahead, which is great news. There will be a fresh approach under a new promoter.” A spokesperson for UK Events added: “It will be more of a boutique festival with a new promoter and line-up.” It will staged over the weekend of 4-6 July 2014 and cater for 20,000 punters.

This summer’s Hop Farm Festival was cancelled, with organisers blaming poor ticket sales and the economy. My Bloody Valentine and Rodriguez were due to headline the festival with The Horrors, The Cribs and Dinosaur Jr also set to perform. Organiser Vince Power stated that a lack of interest in the event made it untenable. He commented:

“We have worked very hard to try to make it work but it has proved too much of a mountain to climb and despite fighting hard, circumstances are such that based on poor ticket sales and the forecast selling rate substantial losses would be made”.

Hop Farm Festival was due to take place in Paddock Wood, Kent this July. Earlier this year, Vince Power responded to reports that the festival, went into administration last year owing its 2012 headliners thousands of pounds.

Power responded in a statement issued to NME, saying: “The Hop Farm will happen this year, this is one blip in my career spanning over 30 years. All suppliers and artists are working with me and many of the suppliers have been with me for many years, through the Reading, Phoenix and Homelands days. They are being very supportive. I spent and paid artists alone approx £350 million over the years. The losses reported are inaccurate. The Hop Farm never lost £4.8 million. These losses included a group of companies in Kent Festival Ltd.”

Courtney Love to release autobiography this December

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22nd October 2013

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Courtney Love to release autobiography this December

Courtney Love will publish her memoirs this December. Courtney Love: My Story will come out on December 15. At 400 pages, it will be published by Macmillan and will see Love discussing her relationships with her late husband kurt Cobain, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and Billy Corgan of The Smash...

Courtney Love will publish her memoirs this December.

Courtney Love: My Story will come out on December 15. At 400 pages, it will be published by Macmillan and will see Love discussing her relationships with her late husband kurt Cobain, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins.

According to a listing for the Kindle edition on Amazon: “While she doesn’t shy away from tales of excess, Courtney also goes deeper, offering unique insights into the modern rock culture she helped shape, creating an unforgettable portrait of an outspoken, creatively dangerous, undeniably entertaining artist and woman.”

Meanwhile, Love has also said that she will release her “amazing” new album this Christmas. Speaking to Jam, Love said her album has a working title of Died Blonde and will be put out towards the end of 2013 to coincide with the release of her memoir.

Asked how the new record was shaping up, Love replied: “It sounds epic. It’s amazing. It’s great. But it’s really hard work.” Discussing the progress of her autobiography, she said: “I have a co-writer now so it’s actually much easier. I think his name is going to be on it but, I don’t know, if I can avoid his name being on it I will happily do that. Basically he sits there and I talk and then somebody transcribes what we talk about and then I go attack what’s on the written page and make it more literate.”

In May of this year, Love revealed that she had advertised for a bassist on internet listings site Craigslist and had received only one response. “I put an ad on Craigslist that said, ‘Band in the style of Hole looking for bassist in the style of Melissa Auf der Maur‘,” she said. “I got exactly one response. There’s just not a lot of chick bass players.”

The singer’s new album will be released under her own name rather than as Hole, like she did with her 2010 album, Nobody’s Daughter. She said: “My name symbolises a lot of things, and I have to sit in these rooms with lawyers and be called a ‘brand’ often, so I was just like, ‘Fucking name it after me!’ I don’t care.” Nobody’s Daughter was released in 2004.

Bob Dylan releases Bootleg Series app

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22nd October 2013

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Bob Dylan has released a companion app for Another Self Portrait (1969-1971): The Bootleg Series Vol. 10. The app, which is free to download at iTunes, holds over 500 pieces of content, including interviews, galleries and timelines; it also comes with one pre-loaded song. "Using the latest in medi...

Bob Dylan has released a companion app for Another Self Portrait (1969-1971): The Bootleg Series Vol. 10.

The app, which is free to download at iTunes, holds over 500 pieces of content, including interviews, galleries and timelines; it also comes with one pre-loaded song.

“Using the latest in media technology, we were able to bring the music and the artist to life in a truly tangible and personal environment.” said Christian Schraga, VP of Digital Marketing for Columbia Records in a statement. “It was about adding new dimension to a familiar icon by creating innovative digital experiences that engage fans of all generations.”

The app, optimized for iPhone 5, is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPad touch.

Among the app’s features:

** Visual timelines for all tracks

** Biographies of collaborators and session musicians

** Descriptions of historical events behind the recording

** Galleries of rare and previously unreleased photos

** New video interviews with artists and producers

** Looks at Dylan’s personal and musical influences

** Interactive lyrics and track details

Columbia have also released a brief demo:

The current leg of Dylan’s never-ending tour reaches the UK in November. He plays:

Glasgow Clyde Auditorium (November 18, 19, 20)

Blackpool Opera House (22, 23, 24)

London Royal Albert Hall (26, 27, 28)

First Look – Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel

Michael Bonner

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21st October 2013

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First Look – Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel

Without giving too much away here, one of the main characters in Wes Anderson’s new film works in a patisserie. There, she helps the owner concoct elaborate and sumptuous-looking pasties and cakes for the locals in l’entre deux guerres Lutz, a sleepy, Alpine town in the Republic of Zubrowka. These fabulous confections act as an reliable metaphor for Anderson’s film itself: colourful and delightful, rich with handcrafted detail. Anderson, of course, has habitually set his films in their own self-contained environments – an elite prep school, a New York brownstone, a submarine, a train car, even an island – but here he has gone one step further to create an entire European state, populated by ancient aristocratic dynasties and eccentric but well-meaning civilians. At the centre of this fuddy Ruritanian analogue lies the Grand Budapest Hotel, a splendid dolls’ house of a building overseen by the particular but kindly concierge, Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes). In a typical Anderson flourish, M. Gustave’s antics are presented to us via a number of leapfrogging narratives (distinguished by different aspect ratios, naturally): a girl reading a book in the present day called The Grand Hotel Budapest, a to-camera address by its author in 1985, a flashback to a 1969 meeting in the Hotel which inspired the book, and finally to 1932, where we find the Hotel in its imperial phase and Gustave in full pomp. What follows – this being a Wes Anderson film – involves a secret code, mysterious societies, a murder and a priceless painting, with the plot skipping gamely from hotel to prison and up into the snowy peaks of Zubrowka. As you’d expect, the colour palette and composition of every shot is exquisite, the attention to detail fastidious. Certain scenes rendered in stop-frame animation – a ski chase, a ride on a funicular – blend imperceptibly into the live action. It is utterly artificial and yet wholly beguiling. A lot of that, I think, is to do with the impressive work done here by Ralph Fiennes – admittedly, not an actor known for his comedy work, but who is terrific as M. Gustave, all prickly hauteur and prissy imperiousness, yet also an incorrigible libertine who seduces the hotel’s elderly female guests (“84? I’ve had older.”) Fiennes’ nimble performance anchors the film – though props are due to the usual high-functioning cast Anderson has assembled for this exuberant caper, including Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldlblum, Ed Norton, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel and Adrien Brody. The film has a deepening melancholic edge to it: an awareness that this wonderfully preserved Belle Époque world is facing the ravaging vicissitudes of the era: towards the film’s end, the Hotel is requisitioned as a barracks for troops in dark uniforms; certain travel permits are no suddenly longer valid. While Zubrowka is a mittel-European fantasia, nevertheless Anderson has decided that the very real intrusion of war is valid, the era to be trampled underfoot by the invading fascist army. The key, perhaps, to understanding the film lies in the 1969 setting. There, the book’s author – played by Jude Law – hears the story of M. Gustave’s exploits from Zero Mustapha (F Murray Abraham), who was once Gustave’s protégé (played by a pencil-mostachio'd Tony Revolori) and is now its owner. In the years since the war, the Grand Budapest Hotel has become “an enchanted old ruin”, run down and shabby. Although Anderson’s film announces itself as a whimsical construct, its artifice continually reinforced by literary devices, narrators, time periods and ‘Chapter’ headings, the murmurings of European conflict become increasingly hard to avoid. This celebration of the final, glory days of a dying world order are finally, subtly overwhelmed by genuine sadness. Michael Bonner Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fg5iWmQjwk

Without giving too much away here, one of the main characters in Wes Anderson’s new film works in a patisserie.

There, she helps the owner concoct elaborate and sumptuous-looking pasties and cakes for the locals in l’entre deux guerres Lutz, a sleepy, Alpine town in the Republic of Zubrowka. These fabulous confections act as an reliable metaphor for Anderson’s film itself: colourful and delightful, rich with handcrafted detail. Anderson, of course, has habitually set his films in their own self-contained environments – an elite prep school, a New York brownstone, a submarine, a train car, even an island – but here he has gone one step further to create an entire European state, populated by ancient aristocratic dynasties and eccentric but well-meaning civilians. At the centre of this fuddy Ruritanian analogue lies the Grand Budapest Hotel, a splendid dolls’ house of a building overseen by the particular but kindly concierge, Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes). In a typical Anderson flourish, M. Gustave’s antics are presented to us via a number of leapfrogging narratives (distinguished by different aspect ratios, naturally): a girl reading a book in the present day called The Grand Hotel Budapest, a to-camera address by its author in 1985, a flashback to a 1969 meeting in the Hotel which inspired the book, and finally to 1932, where we find the Hotel in its imperial phase and Gustave in full pomp.

What follows – this being a Wes Anderson film – involves a secret code, mysterious societies, a murder and a priceless painting, with the plot skipping gamely from hotel to prison and up into the snowy peaks of Zubrowka. As you’d expect, the colour palette and composition of every shot is exquisite, the attention to detail fastidious. Certain scenes rendered in stop-frame animation – a ski chase, a ride on a funicular – blend imperceptibly into the live action. It is utterly artificial and yet wholly beguiling.

A lot of that, I think, is to do with the impressive work done here by Ralph Fiennes – admittedly, not an actor known for his comedy work, but who is terrific as M. Gustave, all prickly hauteur and prissy imperiousness, yet also an incorrigible libertine who seduces the hotel’s elderly female guests (“84? I’ve had older.”) Fiennes’ nimble performance anchors the film – though props are due to the usual high-functioning cast Anderson has assembled for this exuberant caper, including Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldlblum, Ed Norton, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel and Adrien Brody.

The film has a deepening melancholic edge to it: an awareness that this wonderfully preserved Belle Époque world is facing the ravaging vicissitudes of the era: towards the film’s end, the Hotel is requisitioned as a barracks for troops in dark uniforms; certain travel permits are no suddenly longer valid. While Zubrowka is a mittel-European fantasia, nevertheless Anderson has decided that the very real intrusion of war is valid, the era to be trampled underfoot by the invading fascist army. The key, perhaps, to understanding the film lies in the 1969 setting. There, the book’s author – played by Jude Law – hears the story of M. Gustave’s exploits from Zero Mustapha (F Murray Abraham), who was once Gustave’s protégé (played by a pencil-mostachio’d Tony Revolori) and is now its owner. In the years since the war, the Grand Budapest Hotel has become “an enchanted old ruin”, run down and shabby. Although Anderson’s film announces itself as a whimsical construct, its artifice continually reinforced by literary devices, narrators, time periods and ‘Chapter’ headings, the murmurings of European conflict become increasingly hard to avoid. This celebration of the final, glory days of a dying world order are finally, subtly overwhelmed by genuine sadness.

Michael Bonner

Follow me on Twitter @MichaelBonner.

Neil Young confirms new album details

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21st October 2013

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Neil Young has confirmed details of his new album - the latest instalment of his Archives series. As previously reported on Uncut, Young's next release is Live At The Cellar Door, recorded during Young's six-show stand at Washington D.C.'s Cellar Door between November 30, 1970 and December 2, 1970....

Neil Young has confirmed details of his new album – the latest instalment of his Archives series.

As previously reported on Uncut, Young’s next release is Live At The Cellar Door, recorded during Young’s six-show stand at Washington D.C.’s Cellar Door between November 30, 1970 and December 2, 1970.

According to Rolling Stone, the two-disc set will be available on CD and 180-gram vinyl.

Previous stand-alone releases in Young’s ongoing Archive Performance Series series have included Live At The Fillmore East 1970 (with Crazy Horse), Sugar Mountain: Live At Canterbury House 1968 and Massey Hall 1971.

The release date for Live At The Cellar Door is listed as November 26, 2013.

Live At The Cellar Door track list:

Side One:

“Tell Me Why”

“Only Love Can Break Your Heart”

“After the Gold Rush”

“Expecting to Fly”

“Bad Fog of Loneliness”

“Old Man Birds”

Side Two:

“Don’t Let It Bring You Down”

“See the Sky About to Rain”

“Cinnamon Girl”

“I Am a Child”

“Down by the River”

“Flying on the Ground Is Wrong”

Hear new U2 song, “Ordinary Love”

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21st October 2013

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U2 have posted a lyric video for their new song, "Ordinary Love", on their Facebook page. Scroll down to watch it. The song, which is taken from the film Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, will be available as the A-side of a limited-edition 10-inch vinyl release on Record Store Day's Back to Black Fr...

U2 have posted a lyric video for their new song, “Ordinary Love“, on their Facebook page.

Scroll down to watch it.

The song, which is taken from the film Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, will be available as the A-side of a limited-edition 10-inch vinyl release on Record Store Day’s Back to Black Friday event on November 29.

U2 bassist Adam Clayton recently revealed that the band are aiming to finish a new album by the end of November. They last put out an album in 2009 when they released No Line On The Horizon. It is expected that their new record will appear in 2014, with Clayton confirming that the band are trying to get the songs “absolutely right” prior to Christmas.

“I think it’s a bit of a return to U2 of old, but with the maturity, if you like, of the U2 of the last 10 years. It’s a combination of those two things and it’s a really interesting hybrid,” Clayton said.

He added: “We’re in the studio. We’re trying to get these 12 songs absolutely right and get them finished by the end of November, and then we can kind of enjoy Christmas.”

Post by U2.

Morrissey: “Unfortunately, I am not homosexual”

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21st October 2013

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Morrissey: “Unfortunately, I am not homosexual”

Morrissey has issued a statement intended to clarify his sexuality, after opening up in Autobiography about his relationship with a man. The statement, which appeared on the quasi-official site, True To You, says: "Unfortunately, I am not homosexual. In technical fact, I am humasexual. I am attrac...

Morrissey has issued a statement intended to clarify his sexuality, after opening up in Autobiography about his relationship with a man.

The statement, which appeared on the quasi-official site, True To You, says:

“Unfortunately, I am not homosexual. In technical fact, I am humasexual. I am attracted to humans. But, of course … not many”.

-MORRISSEY, Sweden, 19 October 2013.”

The relationship in question was with Jake Owen Walters. “Jake and I neither sought not needed company other than our own for the whirlwind stretch to come,” Morrissey writes. “Indulgently Jake and I test how far each of us can go before ‘being dwelt in’ causes cries of intolerable struggle, but our closeness transcends such visitations.”

Elsewhere in his memoir, Morrissey also discusses his lack of interest in girls as a youth: “Girls remained mysteriously attracted to me, and I had no idea why, since although each fumbling foray hit the target, nothing electrifying took place, and I turned a thousand corners without caring … Far more exciting were the array of stylish racing bikes that my father would bring home.”

You can read Uncut’s review of Autobiography here.

Watch footage from Arcade Fire’s ‘secret’ weekend shows

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21st October 2013

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Watch footage from Arcade Fire’s ‘secret’ weekend shows

Arcade Fire played two shows in Brooklyn, New York - one on Friday night and one on Saturday. On the Friday night show [October 18], the band pranked fans by misdirecting them to the wrong stage. Although a stage was set up in the middle of the warehouse space at 299 Meserole in Bushwick, the band ...

Arcade Fire played two shows in Brooklyn, New York – one on Friday night and one on Saturday.

On the Friday night show [October 18], the band pranked fans by misdirecting them to the wrong stage. Although a stage was set up in the middle of the warehouse space at 299 Meserole in Bushwick, the band played their hour long set on a stage at the side of the venue which was revealed at the last minute. At 9.30pm, James Murphy appeared on stage. Speaking to cheers, he said: “We can only get three members for right now… I’d like to introduce The Reflektors.” Three musicians wearing giant papier-mâché heads then arrived onstage and played an aimless riff for a minute or so.

It soon became apparent that the real stage for the evening was at the side of the venue. Fans swarmed to the barrier on the left hand side of the room as a large black curtain dropped to reveal a large stage upon which were the members of Arcade Fire. The band burst into their recent single “Reflektor”, the chorus sparking off a massive singalong from the crowd, most of whom were in fancy dress.

After playing their second song, “Flashbulb Eyes”, Win Butler said to the crowd: “Everyone good? We’re called The Reflektors. We’re from Montreal. Thank you for coming. You guys look beautiful by the way. We figured we get dressed up every night…”. Later he thanked the crowd again for coming to watch them play in a “sweaty factory”. He also apologised for the stage switch, saying to the fans who climbed onto the ‘fake’ stage after the real one was revealed: “Sorry we played a trick on you. Will you forgive us? We just thought it was funny. It won’t be the last time we do something we think is funny that no-one else does.”

The band played an hour long, 10 song set made up of eight new tracks and two older songs – “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” and “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)“. The latter two songs were introduced as ‘cover versions’ of Arcade Fire songs. The new songs included “Afterlife”, which they debuted last month on Saturday Night Live, and “Here Comes The Night time”, which featured in their Roman Coppola directed television special of the same name, alongside “We Exist” and “Normal Person”. The songs “Joan Of Arc”, “It’s Never Over” and “Flashbulb Eyes” received their live debuts at the gig.

During the show Win Butler addressed the fact that touts were attempting to sell tickets for the sold out show for up to $5,000 online. Addressing the “whole scalper thing” he said: “As I understand it, we sold 1,800 tickets pretty much on the pre-sale, so consider that our $500 dollar gift to you… There could have been a bunch of weird scalper dudes, but I think it was pretty much humanity doing its thing.”

The band played a second show on Saturday [October 19].

Friday Set:

Reflektor, Flashbulb Eyes, We Exist, Normal Person, Joan of Arc, It’s Never Over (Oh Orpheus), Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains), Afterlife, Neighborhood #3 (Power Out), Here Comes The Night Time

Saturday Set: Reflektor, Flashbulb Eyes, We Exist, Joan of Arc, Normal Person, Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains), Supersymmetry, It’s Never Over (Oh Orpheus), Afterlife, Neighborhood #3 (Power Out), Here Comes The Night Time, Haiti

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